A Mexican judge issued an arrest warrant for the former head of investigations for the Attorney General’s Office for alleged violations in the investigation of the case of 43 college students who disappeared in 2014, officials said Wednesday.Tomas Zerón and five other former officials face charges including torture, forced disappearance and judicial misconduct. Three have been arrested and three, including Zerón, are still at large.Zerón oversaw the criminal investigation agency of the Attorney General’s Office and also its forensic work in the case. The students’ bodies have never been found, though a burned bone fragment matched one student.FILE – People stand under the portraits of 43 college students who went missing in 2014 in an apparent massacre, by Chinese concept artist and government critic Ai Weiwei at the Contemporary Art University Museum in Mexico City, Mexico, April 13, 2019.Many of the suspects arrested in the case were later released, and many claimed they had been tortured by police or the military. The current administration, which took office Dec. 1, 2018, has pledged to re-open the case.Federal officials who were not authorized to be quoted by name said that a warrant was issued for Zerón’s arrest and that Interpol had been notified to help locate him in case he was outside of Mexico. One of the officials said there were indications that Zerón may have left for Canada in late 2019, but it was unclear whether he later traveled elsewhere.Zerón’s investigation had long been criticized by the families of the 43 teachers’ college students who disappeared in September 2014 after they were detained by local police in Iguala, in the southern state of Guerrero. They were allegedly handed over to a drug gang and slain, and have not been heard from since.Zerón was at the center of the government’s widely criticized investigation, which has failed to definitively determine what happened to the students. Two independent teams of experts have cast doubt on the insistence of Mexican officials that the students’ bodies were incinerated in a huge fire at a trash dump.The students attended the Rural Normal School of Ayotzinapa. They were in Iguala on Sept. 26, 2014, to hijack buses to use for transportation to a rally in Mexico City. They were attacked on the buses by local police and allegedly handed over to members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel.
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As lockdown becomes the new norm in Europe, people in France — the EU’s third largest economy — discuss their experiences during the coronavirus pandemic.Busy avenues like the Champs Elysées are not buzzing these days in the French capital. Since Monday at noon local time, French citizens have been ordered to remain home and self-quarantine to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Many are teleworking and taking care of their children, since the schools are closed, too. This is the case for Isabelle Garcia, a lawyer with two toddlers. “The current situation is quite difficult. My husband and I are both teleworking, but (our) son’s school is closed. So is my daughter’s day care. We are waking up early while they’re still asleep. And when the children are awake, I work for an hour when my husband looks after them, and we rotate. It is quite tiring and hard work, but we are making the best of it and trying to do everything we can to get through it, I think, like anybody else,” she said.The French government put the whole country in lockdown, but no curfew has been implemented. People must stay home as much as they can, but they can go outside to grocery shop, see a doctor, walk the dog, or if they cannot telework. Police can fine people up to $150 if they do not have a valid excuse to be outside. A man runs in front of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, March 18, 2020.Philippe Offroy is a sales manager in Lyon, in east-central France. He had to leave Italy, where he was working in one of the main coronavirus clusters when troubles occurred. He is now stuck in his own country. He said that he has no dog or any animal to walk outside, so he has no valid excuse to go outside his house. Unlike Italy or Spain, the government does not ban all sports activities, as long as you are not in a group and stay close to your home. So, there is this option to breathe a little bit, said Offroy. Some, like Jonathan Peterschmitt, are seeing this lockdown as another quarantine. He tested positive with the coronavirus two weeks ago in Mulhouse Suburb, a town close to Germany. After two weeks of self-quarantine, he is undergoing another long waiting period at home. “I do not go outside now, because I am waiting to have zero symptoms to be sure I am not any threat to anybody. My wife and my kids are very well, but because we are experiencing another quarantine, we have to be extra careful not to meet anybody and stay away from other people.”French authorities may extend the current lockdown after the initial first two weeks.  
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Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated a nationwide vote on constitutional amendments that would open the door to extending his power might face delays because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected Russia little but ravaged other parts of the globe.“I really am counting on people to show up on April 22 and support the changes,” Putin said in a Wednesday speech that was meant to mark the sixth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula but touched on the vote set for next month.“Although, if there will be problems connected to this well-known coronavirus, then the law allows us to calmly … move it to a later period,” he said. “If the epidemiological situation allows, we’ll hold the national vote. If not, then we’ll postpone a bit.”At the heart of the issue: a controversial referendum over reforms that, among other measures, would allow the Russian leader to retain his post and compete in future presidential elections when his current term ends in 2024.Russian chess players forgo a handshake for an elbow bump as they take part in the Candidates Tournament, organized by the International Chess Federation, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, March 18, 2020.Yet the move — widely seen as an effort to legitimize Putin’s hold over Russian political life well into the next decade — has run into an unexpected foe in the form of a pandemic that demands social distancing and thinning of crowds to avoid mass contagion.Critics say the growing dissonance between government efforts to respond to the virus and the Kremlin’s rush to push through with the vote has revealed the constitutional reforms as nothing short of an orchestrated coup.“The left hand is closing everything, and the right is demanding 24 hours a day, is demanding we come to the booth and vote,” said Matvei Ganapolsky, a commentator on Echo of Moscow radio and vocal critic of the referendum.Few reported infectionsThus far, Russia has been spared the brunt of coronavirus infection — a move government officials have chalked up to smart policies but critics worry may reflect underreporting.A government task force on Wednesday reported 33 new infections in Russia over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 147, with no confirmed deaths.“It’s well-known to us that viruses know no government borders,” Putin said in addressing his cabinet Tuesday at the Kremlin. “Despite the potential high risks … the situation is, on the whole, under control.”Yet scientists continued to question how it was that Russia, the world’s largest country by land mass, had so few cases when it shares borders with coronavirus-ravaged neighbors in China and Europe.A view shows empty shelves in the meat department of a supermarket amid coronavirus concerns in Moscow, Russia, March 18, 2020.For weeks, rumors have circulated of Russian authorities reclassifying coronavirus cases as flu or pneumonia to prevent public panic.Yet Passengers check their smartphones as they wait in an empty hall inside Sheremetyevo international airport outside Moscow, March 18, 2020. Russian authorities are taking strong steps to try to prevent the spread of coronavirus.Moscow’s city government announced its vast transportation network of trains and buses would undergo daily disinfection. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of offices and government services encouraged employees to take time off or work from home.Russia’s Orthodox Church introduced measures aimed at containing the spread of infection, including instructing followers to refrain from the common practice of kissing icons. In a related move, the Moscow Patriarch issued an order for priests to discourage worshippers from kissing their hands.The U.S. Embassy in Moscow announced it was temporarily cutting back on visa and other services out of concern for its American and Russian staff.There were reports of consumer runs on meat, pantry items and other key supplies.Yet, on social media, users mostly swapped ideas — and jokes — on how to spend the coming weeks quarantined in Russia’s traditionally small, cramped apartments.“It’s not so bad to sit under quarantine, only there’s one thing I don’t get: why does one packet of buckwheat hold 2,082 kernels and another 2,947?” asked one user in a widely shared tweet joking about a staple grain of the Russian diet.Очень полезно сидеть на карантине, одно не понятно – почему в одной пачке гречки 2082 штучек гречки, а во второй 2947?— натурал – дезертир (@PapaPozdnyakov) March 17, 2020His point? He, like many others around the world, was now at home with plenty of time to kill.
 
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 After closing their external borders to help slow the spread of coronavirus, European countries are now scrambling to reduce the economic fallout of COVID-19, even as experts say more needs to be done.Rescue packages and fiscal stimulus measures — even the possibility in France of nationalizing some struggling companies—European governments are looking for ways to calm coronavirus-spooked businesses and citizens.Analysts said the European Union’s second-largest economy, France, is taking the most dramatic steps so far. Addressing the nation this week, French President Emmanuel Macron said no company would risk collapse. His government has announced a roughly $50-billion financial relief package, along with another 300 million in loans for small businesses.French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a television address, Monday, March 16, 2020 in Ciboure, southwestern France. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms.And while most of France is in lockdown, with people only allowed to go out for key necessities, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire urged companies and workers allowed to keep running to show up for work. He has also not ruled out nationalizing some strategic companies, if needed, to save them.Europe’s largest economy, Germany, promised a so-called “bazooka” of measures, including at least 550 billion dollars in loan guarantees for its companies. Spain has announced a 220 billion-dollar financial rescue package. Italy, Europe’s hardest-hit country so far, has announced a 27 billion-dollar rescue package for businesses an individuals—which analysts say is not enough.The EU’s internal market Commissioner Thierry Breton told BFM TV the coronavirus pandemic will push the EU into a recession this year, hitting the bloc’s economy by up to 2.5%. He said world governments must work together to find solutions.That was also the message from European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who noted coronavirus lockdowns and other health measures were battering the bloc’s economy.”Now we have to do our utmost to protect our people and to protect our economies.,” she said.The Commission is looking for ways to ease cross border trade, but the bloc has yet to agree on a joint economic plan.The European Central Bank, or ECB, did announce some new stimulus measures last week, but did not lower interest rates. Similarly, members of the eurozone currency union have yet to come up with the “very large policy response” that Eurogroup head Mario Centeno is promising.Analyst Gunther Wolff of the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank says now is the time for the ECB and eurogroup to be bold, and announce big fiscal and monetary measures. He says they are technically, physically and economically feasible, and they are needed. But, he adds, it is unclear whether they will be politically acceptable.
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Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize has moved to protect its customers over 65 years of age — the age group most at risk from the coronavirus epidemic — by reserving the first hour after its shops open only for elderly shoppers.The decision has applied since Tuesday in more than 700 of the company’s shops in Belgium as well as its Stop&Shop chain in the United States.”I came here to shop for some groceries to have enough at home so I don’t have to run around too much because I think it’s too dangerous,” Henri, a 71-year old wearing a mask over his nose and mouth, told Reuters as he was leaving the shop.Despite the especially reserved time there were still lines of elderly shoppers waiting to enter shops on Wednesday because of a restriction that only 150 people can be in a Delhaize supermarket at any given time, to limit the risk of infection.”We chose the first hour of operation of the shops, from 0800 to 0900, to give the elderly customers access to all produce in the store and because the premises have just been cleaned,” Delhaize spokeswoman Karima Ghozzi told Reuters.She said that although there were temporary shortages of certain products in Delhaize shops, they did not stem from the lack of merchandise, but from insufficient staff to unload trucks and replenish shelves quickly enough.”We have enough of everything. We are asking customers to shop for groceries normally, rather than buy dozens of items of the same product to stock up,” she said. 
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After months of bickering over new competitions, talks of closed  super leagues and complaints of greed by elite clubs, football’s leaders have buried their differences to tackle the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.
 
On Tuesday, UEFA agreed to delay its flagship Euro 2020 competition for one year to allow domestic leagues to complete their seasons, once football resumes, and FIFA in turn recommended postponing its new Club World Cup from 2021.
 
“It was a relatively short call, probably the most united front of opinion I have seen in European football so far,” said Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, general secretary of the global players’ union FIFPRO, after a video conference with UEFA and representatives of clubs and leagues.
 
“It was a very cordial conversation — not at all tense or contentious.”
 
That could not be said of recent encounters involving football’s various stakeholders.
 
Only two weeks ago, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin told his organization’s annual congress that “no football administrator, no matter the size of the ego, should think we are the stars of the game. We are only the guardians of the game.”
 
He didn’t mention any names but FIFA president Gianni Infantino, whose efforts to create the Club World Cup have not gone down well with UEFA, was sitting in the front row.
 
Last year, UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA), proposed a reform of the Champions League which would have turned it into semi-closed competition from 2024 onwards.
 
The proposal was eventually dropped amid widespread opposition led by Europe’s domestic leagues.
 
In December, the Financial Times and New York Times reported that discussions led by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez had taken place over the possibility of setting up a super league featuring the world’s richest clubs split into two divisions. Ceferin said the idea was “far-fetched” and “insane.”
 
Such reports of breakaways have become commonplace over the years as the financial gap grows between a handful of elite clubs and the rest.
 
Only two weeks ago, Andrea Agnelli, president of Serie A champions Juventus, questioned the right of smaller rivals Atalanta to take part in the Champions League because the club lacked “international history.”
 
FIFA’s ambitions for a 24-team Club World Cup have themselves been seen as an attempt to muscle in the lucrative club game and reduce financial dependency on the World Cup.
 
But the tone was very different on Tuesday.
 
“It is at times like these, that the football community needs to show responsibility, unity, solidarity and altruism,” said Ceferin, while Baer-Hoffmann recognized that UEFA had taken a “significant hit” with its decision to postpone Euro 2020.
 
“Finding appropriate and fair solutions at global level is imperative,” added Infantino, who also proposed a fund to help those in football affected by the pandemic. “We need to think of all those around the world potentially impacted by our decisions.”
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The U.S. and Canada have agreed to temporarily close their shared border to nonessential travel, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday as the two nations work to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Both countries are eager to choke off the spread of the virus but also maintain their vital economic relationship. Canada relies on the U.S. for 75% of its exports.  Trump made the announcement on Twitter, saying the decision would not affect the flow of trade between the countries. “We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic,” Trump tweeted. We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic. Trade will not be affected. Details to follow!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau works from his home office at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, March 13, 2020, during his self-quarantine. (Prime Minister’s Office via Reuters)Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he would close the country’s borders to anyone not a citizen, an American or a permanent resident, and even then they must self-isolate for 14 days on arrival. Trudeau said the exemption for Americans, despite the rapid rise of cases in the U.S., was due to “the level of integration of our two economies.”  For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.  The United States has seen about 6,500 coronavirus cases and more than 110 deaths while Canada has seen about 600 cases and eight deaths. Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the border is vital to the daily life to people on both sides.  “Nearly 200,000 people cross that border every day, and that border and that traffic that goes across that border is literally a lifeline for both the Canadians and the Americans on both sides of that border,” Freeland said. “We get our groceries thanks to truckers who drive back and forth across that border,” she said. “Very urgently needed medical supplies and medicines go back and forth across that border. And essential workers go back and forth across that border every day. So it is a unique relationship for Canada, and it’s important for us in handling our situation on the border to be sure that we act to get things right.” But many people in Canada criticized the decision to give Americans an exemption. British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix said he vehemently disagreed with the American exemption given the surge in cases in neighboring Washington state.  Bruce Heyman, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada, said both countries recognize how many people cross the border daily.  “Border traffic has already slowed and in line with recommendations to stay home and eliminate nonessential movement,” Heyman said. “New rules jointly accepted for our shared border makes sense.” Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, noted the government-to-government accord merely ratifies what is already in place. “Tourism in the age of the coronavirus is a contradiction in terms,” Bothwell said. “And no Canadian in his or her right mind would want to be caught with the virus on the U.S. side of the border, given the predatory U.S. medical pricing system. Actually, the insurance companies have already taken care of the problem. Many of us have received notices that they will not pay for virus treatment south of the border.” ___ 
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The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is threatening to worsen labor shortages experienced by Pacific Northwest farms and food processors. On March 16, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico said it would suspend routine immigrant and non-immigrant visa services due to COVID-19, potentially cutting off seasonal and migrant agricultural workers through the H-2A visa program. Dan Fazio, CEO of Wafla — formerly the Washington Farm Labor Association — told the Capital Press that the USDA is working with the State Department to obtain an emergency designation for H-2A visas, which would allow temporary farmworkers to continue entering the country. “We’ve got to get these people here in May so we can have a harvest in October,” Fazio said. Washington state had over 25,000 H-2A labor certifications in 2019, which accounted for 25% of seasonal workers, Fazio said. So far this year, Wafla has brought in more than 5,000 H-2A workers, with the biggest wave still to come in late May for the start of cherry harvest. Agriculture is a baseline industry, Fazio said, and any disruptions would trickle down throughout the economy.  Spring is also peak shipping season for Oregon’s $995 million greenhouse and nursery industry. Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, said it is already difficult to find workers willing to package products and load trucks. With coronavirus potentially stalling the H-2A program, he said it only adds to the pressure. “All this really shows is the fragility of the workforce,” Stone said. “This adds a layer of worry. I feel for every business.”  
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Wednesday brought new restrictions on movement in Malaysia, as well as the start of a European Union ban on entry to foreigners as governments seek to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Malaysia has more than 500 confirmed cases and will be under a partial lockdown for two weeks. In Saudi Arabia, officials on Wednesday told private sector businesses to have all their employees telework if possible, and for those who have to physically be present to take steps to keep their distance from each other. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared a “human biosecurity emergency” Wednesday, clearing the way for the government to impose curfews and quarantines. Other countries have already taken those steps to halt public life. Italy, Spain and France are currently under severe bans on movement as they deal with some of the highest number of cases in the world. In Brazil, where there are more than 300 cases, the agency that overseas parks has announced closures in accordance with health official guidance for people to avoid crowds.  The ban includes the famous Christ The Redeemer statue that overlooks Rio de Janeiro. Brazil reported its first coronavirus death on Tuesday. A cleaner works on the disinfection of a subway train as a measure against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, March 17, 2020.The virus has reached 159 countries, with more than 185,000 confirmed cases and 7,500 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Kyrgyzstan was the latest to report its first case Wednesday.  It has already closed its borders to foreigners. China was the first to report a case of the COVID-19 virus and has been the hardest hit with more than 82,000 cases.  But the situation there has been steadily improving in recent weeks, and the city of Wuhan, the center of the outbreak, reported a single new case on Wednesday. The virus has been blamed for 100 deaths in the United States where officials are urging people to avoid being in groups larger than 10. About 7 million people in the San Francisco area have been told to shelter in place.  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he will decide by Thursday whether to institute a similar order for the country’s most populous city. Late Tuesday, the governors of two states – California and Kansas – announced that public schools may have to stay closed until the fall. 
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CureVac, the German biotech firm at the center of an argument over alleged U.S. attempts to gain access to an experimental coronavirus vaccine it is developing, denied Tuesday it had received U.S. offers for the company or its assets.European Union leaders said they would discuss Tuesday via videoconference how to prevent hostile U.S. takeovers of EU-based research firms at the forefront of developing drugs and vaccines against the coronavirus, officials said.Media reports that Washington had tried to gain access to the vaccine stirred a political backlash in Germany, with economy minister Peter Altmaier and interior minister Horst Seehofer voicing support for keeping CureVac German.The U.S. overture was first reported by Welt am Sonntag and confirmed to Reuters by German government sources. However, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, said on Twitter that the German newspaper report was wrong.No offerCureVac on Tuesday sought to play down any U.S. move.“There was and is no offer from the U.S. neither with regard to taking over the company nor to have manufacturing slots reserved exclusively,” CureVac’s acting Chief Executive Franz-Werner Haas told journalists in a conference call, adding that its scientists had also not been lured to relocate.The Tuebingen-based company, which is backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has said it hopes to have an experimental vaccine ready by June or July and to then seek the go-ahead from regulators for testing on humans.If successful in clinical trials, the group would be ready to produce up to 10 million doses in one production cycle that typically lasts several weeks. More than one dose may be required to immunize a person.Output could rise to a billion dosages in a single production cycle, said CureVac’s Chief Production Officer Florian von der Muelbe, at a new manufacturing site that the company is planning to build with financial support from the EU.Others racing to deliver a vaccine include Johnson & Johnson’s , Moderna Inc. and BioNTech.Co-founder rejects ideaCureVac did say here earlier this month that its CEO at the time, Daniel Menichella, met U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and pharmaceutical companies to discuss a vaccine.SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp, who owns a more than 80% stake in CureVac, was quoted as saying Monday that he had also weighed in against a U.S. approach.Hopp, who is also the owner of German first-division soccer team Hoffenheim, was asked about U.S. interest in exclusive rights to the CureVac vaccine under development by German sports broadcaster Sport1.“He (Trump) spoke to the company and I was told about it immediately and was asked what I made of it and I knew immediately this was out of the question,” he was quoted as saying on Sport1’s website.Hopp and officials representing him were not immediately available to comment.He had said in a statement Sunday he was not selling and wanted CureVac to develop a vaccine to “help people not just regionally but in solidarity across the world.”
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A migrant advocacy group is suing the Trump administration to stop three children from deportation to El Salvador, where their family says their lives would be in danger.   The three children are in a U.S. facility. Their mother is in a tent camp in Mexico, while their father lives in Maryland, outside Washington, D.C., and says he is willing to bring his children into his home. Lawyers for the Coalition Action Justice Center say the children should be considered “unaccompanied” minors and deserve an asylum hearing. The lawyers say the children would be in grave danger if deported, because their father ran a church there and preached against the violent MS-13 gang. The family fled El Salvador for Mexico. The father and a fourth child entered the U.S. last June and were allowed to stay.  Three children and the mother crossed the border into Texas, but a judge rejected their asylum claim in January and ordered them back to a camp in Mexico. After a 16-year-old daughter barely escaped being raped, and her 9-year-old brother was beaten and robbed, their mother sent all three children back over the border into Texas.  They are in a U.S. facility, unsure of what will happen next. If they are granted asylum, it is unclear if or when their mother would be allowed to leave the camp and join the family. U.S. officials have not commented on the case. 
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A British court has found the younger brother of Manchester bomber Salman Abedi guilty of the murders of 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in May of 2017. The brother, Hashem Abedi, was in Libya during Salman Abedi’s suicide bombing, but was involved in planning the attack and manufacturing the explosive. Hashem Abedi was convicted of 22 counts of murder, one of attempted murder and one of conspiracy to cause an explosion at the Old Bailey Court in London Tuesday. During a six-week, trial prosecutors said Hashem Abedi “encouraged and helped his brother” Salman Abedi, knowing that he “planned to commit an atrocity.” The Abedi brothers grew up in Manchester with their parents, who had fled the regime of Libya’s longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. They had returned several years ago after Gadhafi had been killed in the Arab Spring uprising. The brothers traveled to Libya in April 2017 and Hashem Abedi stayed there. Salman Abedi returned to Britain in May and on May 22 entered the concert venue and detonated a device he had created with his brother, killing himself and 22 other people. Hundreds of concert-goers were also injured.   Hashem Abedi did not appear in court Tuesday and had declined to give evidence. Prosecutors presented evidence that Hashem Abedi obtained chemicals, metal drums and other components for home-made explosives. Witnesses gave testimony suggesting that the Abedi brothers developed an extremist mind set. 
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Turkish, French, German and British leaders met by videoconference Tuesday to commit themselves to joint actions on the Syrian refugee crisis and coronavirus pandemic.The last-minute conference due to the COVID-19 outbreak replaced an Istanbul summit between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.  “We have the opportunity to undertake comprehensive assessments on many issues up, from EU-Turkey relations to the asylum issues,” tweeted Erdogan after the meeting.Few details on the nature of the cooperation agreed between the leaders have been released.The video summit is in response to Erdogan sparking a crisis by opening Turkish frontiers with European Union members to migrants and refugees living in Turkey. Turkey hosts nearly 4 million Syrians and Erdogan insists his country can no longer cope.In 2015, Ankara made a similar move, resulting in more than one million people fleeing to neighboring Greece and Bulgaria, sparking a refugee crisis across Europe.  The exodus spurred the EU’s agreement on a 2016 migration deal with Turkey. Ankara then secured its borders, markedly curtailing migrants entering Europe.The threat of a new refugee exodus into Europe is widely seen as Erdogan’s most important leverage over the European leaders.”In the past, Europe panicked, especially Germany, with the threat of Turkey opening its borders to refugees, and they tried to appease Turkey,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners.However, both Greece and Bulgaria, strongly backed by Brussels, robustly resisted the latest mass movement of migrants into their countries, following Erdogan opening Turkey’s borders.Greek Army soldiers detain a group of migrants that crossed from Turkey to Greece, near the village of Protoklisi, in the region of Evros, Greece, March 10, 2020.Erdogan described Greek border forces’ tactics as “Nazi-like.” On Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch also condemned Greek methods employed to stop migrants from entering Greece.”The European Union is hiding behind a shield of Greek security force abuse instead of helping Greece protect asylum-seekers and relocate them safely throughout the EU,” said Nadia Hardman, a refugee rights researcher of Human Rights Watch. “The EU should protect people in need rather than support forces who beat, rob, strip and dump asylum-seekers and migrants back across the river.”While drawing international condemnation, Athens’ success in securing its borders and restricting the numbers of migrants entering Greece appear to have weakened Ankara’s leverage over Brussels.”Turkish President Erdogan was threatening all these years to release these refugees to the EU, and finally he did. But it was a fiasco,” said political scientist Cengiz Aktar of the University of Athens. “He used his trump card in his hand, and it failed. The Greeks reacted, the EU reacted, and at the end of the day, has shown a firm stance towards Erdogan.”  Earlier this month, Erdogan left Brussels empty-handed after meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, president of the European Council.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 2nd left, meets with European Council President Charles Michel, right, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, 2nd right, at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, March 9, 2020.Erdogan is pressing the EU to not only pay out what he claims is an outstanding 3 billion euros owed from the 2016 migrant deal, but also further funding going forward. With a slowing economy, compounded by escalating costs of the coronavirus, analysts say Ankara is in urgent need of funds.With reports of migrants ending their bid to enter EU countries and returning to Turkish cities, Brussels is predicted to provide further funding.  “The tension is dying down. We understand there are less and less people at the [Greek] border,” said Aktar. “Following [Tuesday’s] video meeting, the EU might come up with funding, but not now. Maybe further down the road, with 1 or 2 billion [euros] later this year.”Analysts suggest Erdogan’s main priority is to avert a new wave of Syrian refugees. Damascus forces are threatening to overrun Idlib, the last rebel-controlled province.  A tentative cease-fire was hammered out between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month. But the deal is widely seen as only offering a temporary respite for the estimated 4 million people trapped in Idlib.”Cease-fires with Russian guarantees have not been cease-fires,” U.S. Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield said in a telephone briefing in March. “They were temporary, transactional halts until Russia was prepared to renew the campaign.”Syrians climb on a Turkish tank in Neyrab, March 15, 2020, as they protest agreement on joint Turkish and Russian patrols in northwest Syria.Erdogan is using the cease-fire to build support from critical European NATO members for his proposal of a haven in Idlib.  In a gesture to Ankara, Merkel has voiced support that a haven preventing a new refugee exodus is of critical importance to Erdogan.”If they [the Syrian refugees] can’t go back, they’ll move on to Turkey, exacerbating AKP’s problems with voters,” Yesilada said. “Survey after survey reveals that the Turks blame Syrian refugees for unemployment and social frictions.”  Analysts point out that there is little appetite among NATO members to confront Russian forces based in Syria. But with Europe and Ankara increasingly focused on addressing the coronavirus crisis, analysts predict all sides will be perceptive to a compromise over the refugee crisis, especially given the dangers such vulnerable people face by the pandemic.”The pandemic is an absolute priority for everyone. This additional 1 or 2 billion euros the EU might give could well be directed towards helping Turkey for its refugees within the framework of the fight against the pandemic.” 
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has set April 22 for a nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments that would allow him to remain in power until at least 2036. Putin signed a decree Tuesday, a day after the country’s Constitutional Court approved the amendments. The controversial amendments last week had passed both chambers of the national parliament and were backed by all Russian regions. The amendments would reset the count on Putin’s presidential terms to zero. The court had rejected a similar attempt to change the constitution in 1998 during then-President Boris Yeltsin’s second term. The Central Election Commission said the vote would be postponed if the coronavirus outbreak affected too many people. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Russian Federation rose to 114 Tuesday, but no deaths have been reported. Putin is currently required to step down in 2024 when his fourth presidential term ends. He avoided the two-term limit by serving as prime minister from 2008 to 2012, between his second and third terms as president. The amendments, if passed, would allow him to run for the next two six-year terms. Putin has ruled Russia either as president or prime minister since 1999. 
 
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The bells are tolling in the villages of the north Italian region of Lombardy, registering yet another coronavirus death.  North Italy has suffered epidemics before, albeit much more deadly contagions in the 17th and 18th centuries, which left more than 300,000 dead. But Italians never thought they would encounter again a contagion powerful enough to test their country to its limits.Opinion polls suggest that more than 60% of Italians approve of the government lockdown. But cooped up in their homes for a second week, Italians are wondering how many more times the bells will toll sounare a morto (song of death). And how long the country will remain at a standstill because of a virus that first appeared nearly 9,000 kilometers away in a Chinese city most had never heard of.  Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte speaks during a news conference due to coronavirus spread, in Rome, Italy, March 11, 2020.The Italian government, like its pre-industrial forerunners, has turned to the use of quarantines, first used by Venice in the 14th century to protect itself from plague epidemics.  Quarantining was at the heart of a disease-abatement strategy that included isolation, sanitary cordons and extreme social regulation of the population. Without a vaccine — or as yet effective pharmaceutical therapy for those who suffer severe illness — there’s not much else to do, as Italy’s neighbors and the United States are also discovering.  Hand-painted banners with the slogan, “Everything will be alright,” have started to appear in Italian cities. But many worry about the likely duration of the war against an invisible killer, and what the long-term consequences will be for their livelihoods and their country.  They aren’t the only ones in Europe asking the same questions.As scary, surreal and disruptive as it is now, the long-term political and economic consequences of the biggest public health challenge the continent has faced since the 1918 Spanish flu are likely to be huge.FILE – Influenza victims crowd into an emergency hospital near Fort Riley, Kansas in 1918, when the Spanish flu pandemic killed at least 20 million people worldwide.Aside from quarantining, the past also has some possible lessons for Europe about how infectious diseases can leave a long-term imprint, say historians. They say plagues and pestilence have reshaped countries before, changing politics, contributing to instability, retarding economic development and altering social relations.“Plague caused a shock to the economy of the Italian peninsula that might have been key in starting its relative decline compared with the emerging northern European countries,” noted Italian historian Guido Alfani in an academic paper on the impact of the 17th century plague.In England, the long-term effects of the medieval Black Death were devastating and far-reaching, according to historian Tom James, with “agriculture, religion, economics and even social class affected. Medieval Britain was irreversibly changed,” he wrote in a 2017 commentary for the BBC. Historians say it reordered England’s social order by hastening the end of feudalism.The Spanish flu epidemic, which killed tens of millions of people worldwide, including 500,000 Americans, affected the course of history — it may have contributed to the Western allies winning World War I, say some historians. German General Erich Ludendorff thought so, arguing years later that influenza had robbed him of victory.  And it even affected the peace, argued British journalist Laura Spinney in her 2017 book “Pale Rider,” which studied the Spanish flu. Among other things, Spinney said the flu may have contributed to the massive stroke U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffered as he was recovering from the viral infection.  “That stroke left an indelible mark both on Wilson (leaving him paralyzed on the left side of his body) and on global politics,” Spinney wrote. An ailing U.S. president was unable to persuade Congress to join the League of Nations.Historians and risk analysts caution that as no one knows how COVID-19 will play out — what the death toll or economic costs will be, or how well or badly individual governments may perform — they are sure it will leave an indelible mark.Much of the impact of past contagions was due to demographic crises left in their wake — high death tolls caused social dislocation and labor shortages. Even worst-case scenarios suggest the coronavirus won’t cause a demographic crisis. But shutting down economies will have long-term ramifications, possibly a recession or depression, and will likely spawn political change.“While the health challenges and economic consequences are potentially devastating, the political consequences are harder to foresee but might be the most long-lasting,” said John Scott, head of sustainability risk at the Zurich Insurance Group.  “Voters may not be kind to politicians who fail in their basic duty to protect citizens,” he said in a note for the World Economic Forum.For all of Europe’s political leaders and ruling parties, regardless of ideology, the pandemic and its economic fallout risks driving them from office if they’re seen to have bungled.Many have already been forced into policy reversals. Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, who outlined Monday the biggest set of changes in the daily lives of Britons since World War II, has made large U-turns in the space of days.This week, he made his biggest reversal following new modeling by disease experts at London’s Imperial College, which suggested that without a national shutdown the death toll would exceed 250,000.In Europe, member states have been breaking with Brussels over border controls. European Union officials insisted that national governments should not close borders or stop the free movement of people within the so-called Schengen zone.  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a media conference after the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 4, 2020.Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that “each member state needs to live up to its full responsibility, and the EU as a whole needs to be determined, coordinated and united.”Her advice has been ignored, with countries across the continent closing their borders.  Some believe that the Schengen system of borderless travel will never be fully restored after the virus has been suppressed or run its course.  Luca Zaia, governor of the Veneto region, one of Italy’s worst-hit areas, told reporters that Europe’s borderless zone was “disappearing as we speak.”  “Schengen no longer exists,” he said. “It will be remembered only in the history books.”  He and others believe as the crisis deepens, member states will take other unilateral actions, setting the stage for a patchwork of national policies that will erode European unity and set back the cause of European federalism.The Economist magazine also suggested last week that the coronavirus will play more to the agenda of populists, who decry globalization and have lamented the weakening of nation states.But other observers say COVID-19 could have the reverse effect by trigging an uptick in multilateralism and greater cross-border solidarity, much as the Spanish flu prompted the ushering in of public health care systems and the first international agencies to combat disease.How the fight goes against the virus is one thing. Another is how Europe copes with the likely economic slump that follows, and a debt crisis that might be triggered, analysts say.  That, too, will reshape national and continental politics, much as the 2008 financial crash shattered the grip of mainstream parties on European politics. 
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St. Patrick’s Day celebrations around the world have fallen victim to the new coronavirus — but even a pandemic could not quash the desire to celebrate the color green, Guinness and all things Irish. Parades and parties were canceled around the globe Tuesday as governments imposed restrictions on human contact to slow the spread of the virus. A deserted O’Connell street outside the GPO in Dublin city center, March 17, 2020. The St Patrick’s Day parades across Ireland were cancelled due to the outbreak of COVID-19 virus.Irish authorities called off Dublin’s parade, which usually draws half a million revelers into the streets of the capital city, and pleaded with people not to congregate at house parties. Thousands of pubs across Ireland have been closed as part of measures to fight COVID-19, tens of thousands of pints of Guinness will go un-poured and 140,000 people who work in pubs, restaurants and childcare are unemployed, at least temporarily.  But even in a time of social distancing and self-isolation, the desire to mark the day bloomed.  Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, urged people to post footage of their improvised, isolated celebrations on social media. The hashtag #RTEVirtualParade soon became a riot of flag-waving family processions, pets in green, white and orange tricolors and children performing Irish dancing. Peter Hynes, a dairy farmer in County Cork, southwest Ireland, assembled his family for a makeshift procession through the farmyard that included a child in a wheelbarrow, a calf, a pony, a quad bike and a young man banging a bucket as a drum. “We just kind of grabbed whatever we could use as props,” said Hynes, who lives on the farm with his wife and three daughters aged 6 to 16. “We just wanted to fly the Irish flag around the world, because that’s what’s done on St. Patrick’s Day every year. “We didn’t think it would get the reaction it did. But to see the messages coming from Italy and Spain and Australia, and people in quarantine — it just put a smile on their face. That’s all we wanted to do.” In the U.K., London’s St. Patrick’s Day festival in Trafalgar Square was called off, and the government urged Britons not to visit bars and restaurants but did not formally shut them down.  In the U.S., New York’s giant parade was canceled for the first time in its 258-year history. Other cities including Chicago and Boston also scrapped their long-established parades. Still, landmarks around the world, including Sydney Opera House, the London Eye and The Colosseum in Rome, were lit up in green as part of Tourism Ireland’s “Global Greening” project. “We hope our Global Greening will bring a little positivity and hope to people everywhere and remind them that, if we all do the right thing now by following advice of our medical experts, this crisis will pass,” said chief executive Niall Gibbons. In his annual St. Patrick’s Day message, Irish President Michael D. Higgins urged people to show “solidarity and concern for the well-being of our fellow citizens” as they marked the country’s patron saint. “St Patrick’s Day has become a profound expression of a common history that extends far beyond Irish shores,” he said. “As members of that global community, we must commit to working in a spirit of solidarity and co-operation, joining with citizens across the world in fighting this global health emergency.”  
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The Church of England said on Tuesday it would suspend public worship to slow the spread of the coronavirus, although churches would remain open for prayer if possible.”Our life is going to be less characterized by attendance at church on Sunday, and more characterized by the prayer and service we offer each day,” the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Justin Welby and John Sentamu, wrote in a letter to clergy.PA Media said church weddings and funerals would continue. 
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The European Union’s external borders will be closed to non-essential travel  for 30 days as of Tuesday to fight the spread of the coronavirus, while France is following Italy and Spain in imposing a nationwide lockdown for at least 15 days.In an address to the nation Monday night, President Emmanuel Macron announced France was at war against COVID-19. He announced new measures both within France and across the EU to contain its spread.   Macron said as of midday Tuesday, the EU and Europe’s visa-free Schengen zone borders would be shut for 30 days for all but essential travel. Earlier in the day, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she had made the recommendation to the 27-member bloc.  Macron also announced a minimum 15-day lockdown across France and its territories. People must drastically limit their movement outside their homes to essential work, errands and health services also as of Tuesday midday. Getting together with friends and non-household family members is forbidden, and violators risk punishment.  The new restrictions come amid surging numbers of coronavirus cases here — and as some hospitals increasingly struggle to cope with an overload of sick patients, especially in the eastern part of the country.   Macron also said the second round of local elections would be postponed, along with a series of unpopular reforms his government has pushed through in recent months. He announced measures to support businesses hard hit by the coronavirus, including more than $335 billion in tax and other relief.
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