Italian streets are empty after the government extends a clampdown across the entire country in a bid to slow Europe’s worst outbreak of the coronavirus. Elsewhere, Lebanon records its first casualty from the virus while guests at a Canary Islands hotel celebrate the end of a two-week lockdown. VOA’s Mariama Diallo has more.
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As thousands of migrants continue to mass on the Turkey-Greece border, there were few signs of a breakthrough in emergency talks between Turkey and the European Union Monday.  Meanwhile five EU member states, Germany, Finland, France, Luxembourg and Portugal, agreed to take in unaccompanied migrant children who are stuck in Greece, though the numbers are unclear.Ankara encouraged migrants to head to the Greek border last week, accusing the EU of failing to keep to the promises it made in a 2016 deal struck at the height of the European refugee crisis. Turkey is hosting around 4 million migrants, many of them escaping the war in Syria. However, critics say most of those trying to cross into Greece are not from Syria and accuse Turkey of weaponizing migrants to blackmail Europe.  Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
A child walks next to tents in a migrant camp set up near the Turkish-Greek border in Pazarkule, Edirne region, Turkey, March 10, 2020.For migrants stuck on the border, including thousands of children, the misery continues. Many are sleeping in the open or in makeshift camps. Greece has stepped up security across the land and sea borders and anyone caught trying to breach the frontier is turned back.  A few do manage to get through and are quickly arrested. It’s not yet clear if they will be returned to Turkey or be allowed to remain on Greek soil, after Athens announced it will not accept any asylum applications for at least the next month.    Back home, Turkey’s president continues to ramp up the rhetoric for his domestic audience.Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, in Brussels, Belgium, March 9, 2020.“Aren’t women and their children suffering the most among the refugees swarming to land and sea borders, hoping to go to Europe?” President Erdogan told supporters at a rally Sunday in Istanbul. “And what is the West doing about this? Is the West’s heart breaking over all of this? No. Is it raising its voice? No.”Meanwhile the United Nations has voiced concern over the vulnerability of the migrant population to the COVID-19 virus outbreak. A team from the U.N. refugee agency is visiting camps along the Greek border to advise on hygiene and transmission prevention.
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As thousands of migrants continue to mass on the Turkey-Greece border, there were few signs of a breakthrough in emergency talks between Ankara and Brussels Monday. Turkey is hosting around four million migrants, many of them escaping the war in Syria. But critics say accuse Turkey of weaponizing the migrants to blackmail Europe. Henry Ridgwell reports.
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The United States has offered to sell Turkey its Patriot missile defense system if Ankara promises not to operate a rival Russian system, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said, in what he called a significant softening in Washington’s position.Two Turkish officials told Reuters that Turkey was evaluating the U.S. offer but that Ankara had not changed its plans for the Russian S-400 systems, which it has said it will start to activate next month.Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, March 2, 2020.In Washington, the Pentagon said that U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper had not changed his position on the issue, which was: “Turkey is not going to receive a Patriot battery unless it returns the S-400.”NATO allies Turkey and the United States have been at odds over Ankara’s purchase last year of the S-400s, which Washington says are incompatible with the alliance’s defense systems.Turkey asks for PatriotsAfter heavy fighting in northwestern Syria’s Idlib region this year Turkey asked Washington to deploy Patriots along its border with Syria for protection but the United States said Turkey cannot have both the S-400s and the Patriots.Speaking to reporters on his return flight from Brussels, Erdogan said Ankara had told Washington to deploy Patriot systems to Turkey and that it was ready to purchase the systems from the United States as well.”We made this offer to the United States on the Patriot: If you are going to give us Patriots, then do it. We can also buy Patriots from you,” he said.”They also softened significantly on this S-400 issue. They are now at the point of ‘promise us you won’t make the S-400s operational’,” Erdogan added.FILE – First parts of a Russian S-400 missile defense system are unloaded from a Russian plane near Ankara, Turkey, July 12, 2019.U.S. offers supportPrevious talks between Turkey and the United States on the purchase of the Patriots have collapsed over a host of issues, from the S-400s to Ankara’s dissatisfaction with Washington’s terms. Turkey has said it will only agree to an offer if it includes technology transfer and joint production terms.While ties between Ankara and Washington have been strained, the United States has offered support for its ally as it battles to stop Russia-backed Syrian government advances in Idlib. But U.S. officials said on Tuesday Ankara had to clarify its position on the S-400s for their security ties to advance.U.S. special representative for Syria James Jeffrey and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield told reporters on a conference call from Brussels that Washington was discussing with NATO what support it can offer Turkey militarily.Jeffrey also said they had considered possible responses should Russia and the Syrian government break a ceasefire in Idlib, officials said.NATO help for TurkeyHe suggested other NATO states could individually or as an alliance provide military support to help Turkey. But he ruled out sending ground troops and said there still needed to be a resolution to the S-400 issue for the security relationship to move forward.”You can forget ground troops. Turkey has demonstrated that it and its opposition forces are more than capable of holding ground on their own,” Jeffrey said. “The issue is the situation in the air and it’s what we are looking at,” he said.Washington did not believe that Russia and Syrian had any interest in a permanent ceasefire in Idlib, he said.”They are out to get a military victory in Syria and our goal is to make it difficult for them to do that,” Jeffrey said.”Our goal is … to make them think twice. If they ignore our warnings and preparations and move forward, then we will react as rapidly as possible in consultation with our NATO and European allies on what the package of sanctions and other reactions will be.”Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses his ruling party members, in Ankara, Turkey, March 2, 2020.Position “Unchanged”While Erdogan has frequently referred to the S-400 purchase as a “done deal” and said Turkey will not turn back from it, he did not repeat that stance in his comments on Tuesday. Turkish officials, however, said Turkey’s position remained unchanged.”The United States has once again brought up the Patriot offer. The United States’ previous strong stance isn’t the case anymore. They are approaching Turkey more empathetically now,” a senior official said.”The core condition is that the S-400s are not activated, or in other words that they are not unboxed. This offer is being evaluated, but there is no change of stance on the S-400s,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity said.A separate Turkish official told Reuters the latest offer byWashington also include Turkey’s return to the F-35 stealth fighter jet program, which Turkey was involved in both as manufacturer of plane parts and customer for the jets.After Ankara bought the S-400s, Washington suspended its involvement in the program and threatened sanctions.”There is a U.S. offer for Patriots, but this offer includes the F-35s,” the Turkish official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Air defense systems can be purchased, but Turkey’s conditions are clear: there has to be issues like the know-how transfer and joint production.”Turkey has said it plans to activate the S-400s it received from Russia in April. The United States has warned that such a move will trigger U.S. sanctions, though Ankara has repeatedly said good ties between Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump may be able to avert this.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is standing by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, despite escalating tensions between them over Syria.Erdogan confirmed Tuesday his commitment to activate Russia’s S-400 missile system, claiming Washington’s “position regarding the S-400 has toned down significantly.”In a telephone press briefing Tuesday with James Jeffrey, U.S. special representative for Syria engagement, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield said the Russian missile system was at odds with Turkey’s NATO partnership.”It is incompatible with Turkey’s role as a NATO partner, and it would produce serious consequences with respect to the U.S. CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act),” Satterfield said, warning that Congress could impose sanctions in the “not-distant future.”In the face of Washington’s threats, Erdogan pledged this month to activate the system in April.Ankara’s S-400 purchase violates the CAATSA, which forbids the acquisition of advanced Russian military systems.FILE – First parts of a Russian S-400 missile defense system are unloaded from a Russian plane near Ankara, Turkey, July 12, 2019.Washington initially threatened to sanction Turkey on the delivery of the S-400. But in a widely interpreted gesture to Ankara, the threat of sanctions were instead linked to the activation of the missile system.  Erdogan’s determination to go ahead and activate the system is likely to be a blow to Washington’s efforts to improve ties with its NATO ally.Ankara’s deepening relationship with Moscow is causing alarm with Turkey’s western allies. However, recent rising Turkish-Russian tensions over Syria are fueling speculation of Turkey pivoting back to the West.  “Turkey is getting stronger with the American support, militarily and psychologically,” said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci, of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.”Turkey never left the West, from the very beginning. Turkey will stay with the West. All these appearances with Russia are periodical and not permanent, and this period is probably, in general terms, over, and Turkey will return to the West, said Bagci.While Ankara and Moscow back rival sides in the Syrian civil war, they have been cooperating to end the conflict. But that cooperation started to break down over Idlib, Syria’s last rebel stronghold. Last month, Turkish troops intervened to back rebels faced with being overrun by Russian-backed Syrian government forces.  An explosion is seen following Russian airstrikes on the village of al-Bara in the southern part of Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.Earlier this month, Erdogan went to Moscow to hammer out an Idlib cease-fire agreement with Putin. In a widely reported snub, Putin kept Erdogan waiting in front of TV cameras before his meeting.  Observers, along with western diplomats, are warning that the cease-fire is also likely to be a temporary affair.”We don’t believe they (Damascus and Moscow) have any interest in a permanent cease-fire in Idlib,” Jeffrey said. “They are out to get a military victory in all of Syria. Our goal is to make it very difficult for them to do that by a variety of diplomatic, military and other actions.”  But Erdogan is showing little signs of abandoning his relationship with Putin.”Erdogan is not ready to give up on the Turkish-Russian relations and his very personal relationship with Vladimir Putin,” said Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.”In the end, it is not Turkey so much, but Erdogan who appears reliant on Moscow,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners. “This suggests that even when extremely vital national interests, such as the defense of Idlib, are at stake, Erdogan prioritizes his anti-Western ideology to optimal policymaking.”But it’s Washington’s reluctance to back its words of support with action and willingness to confront Moscow that other analysts explain Erdogan’s reticence to pivot away from Moscow.  “There has been a reluctance on the part of both the United States and NATO to commit militarily in Syria,” Aydintasbas said. “So, while Turkey has ample political support with politicians and officials lining up to criticize Russia and praise Turkey for its work, in Syria, there is no substantial military backing nor any desire to get involved in the Syrian war or confront Russia, in order to create a safe zone in Syria.”Erdogan is seeking to create a safe zone in Idlib protected by a no-fly zone. The zone would provide a sanctuary to rebels and their families, averting a new exodus of refugees into Turkey.A Turkish military convoy is seen moving through eastern Idlib province, Syria, Feb. 28, 2020, a day after 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in the province in an airstike by Syrian government forces.Washington backs the idea but remains ambiguous over what support it’s prepared to give.”We are looking at ways to assist Turkey. That’s why we are here,” said Jeffrey. “Everything is on the table. We will see what happens next and what our allies are willing to put on the table, and will see what the United States can do to support them.”But observers claim a broader lack of trust between Ankara and Washington is also an obstacle to improving ties. The U.S.-led war against Islamic State relies on supporting the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish militia designated by Turkey as terrorists.”Hopes of Turkey pivoting back to the United States are definitely misplaced, because for Erdogan and Ankara, the U.S. position in particular in relations (to) the YPG is unacceptable. It’s an anathema for Ankara,” said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who is now an analyst for Mediascope.Ankara’s suspicions of Washington’s motives continue to corrode relations. Turkish prosecutors are still filing cases over the 2016 failed coup that accuse America of being involved.Analysts suggest such mistrust will likely mean Erdogan will continue to look to Moscow. 
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The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is deploring the violent, escalating attacks against political opponents of the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Michelle Bachelet presented an oral update of the situation in Venezuela to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva Tuesday.Bachelet said the human rights situation in Venezuela has worsened since she last reported on conditions in that country in December. She said opponents of the Maduro government are in a particularly difficult and dangerous situation.  As political tensions increase, Bachelet said, so does violence against opposition members of parliament and other dissidents by security forces and government supporters. She said several parliament members have been arrested.FILE – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet speaks at a session of the Human Rights Council, at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 27, 2020.“My office has also documented acts of aggression against members of the political opposition, protesters and journalists. And, the security forces did not act to prevent such acts of aggression.… We have also registered cases of seizures targeting political parties and NGOs.  These acts of aggression are usually accompanied by a rhetoric that stigmatizes, exposes and discredits the victims, and justifies violence,” the U.N. human rights chief said.Bachelet, a former president of Chile, said she is also concerned about pending legislation to sanction human rights organizations that receive funding from abroad.  Other causes for alarm, she said, are growing restrictions on the freedom of trade unions, whose leaders often face arbitrary detention. She added her office receives allegations that some people under arrest have been subjected to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.At the same time, Bachelet criticized economic sanctions imposed on Venezuela’s airline, Conviasa, as well as the country’s oil industry. She said they deprive the government of money to spend on social programs, which most hurts the impoverished general population.Venezuela’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Jorge Valero Briceno, criticized the high commissioner’s presentation as lacking balance. But he noted the necessity of maintaining a dialogue with her office and said his country welcomes its technical assistance.But Briceno reserved the full blast of his ire for what he calls the war-mongering administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.  He said the U.S. president’s threats to blockade and even militarily invade his country undermine the security, economy and human rights of the Venezuelan people. 
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Airlines are slashing flights and freezing hiring as they experience a sharp drop in bookings and a rise in cancellations in the face of the spreading coronavirus.Delta Air Lines said Tuesday that travel demand has fallen so badly in the past week that it expects one-third of seats to be empty this month on flights within the United States — previously the market most immune to virus fallout.Business travelers are grounded as meetings and conferences are being canceled. Leisure travelers are scared.Normally airlines try to lure reluctant customers by discounting fares, but that won’t work in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak.“If you are scared of flying, you are probably scared at any price,” said Delta President Glen Hauenstein.Delta, the world’s biggest airline by revenue, said it will cut international flights by 20% to 25% and reduce U.S. flying by 10% to 15%, roughly matching cuts previously announced by United Airlines. CEO Ed Bastian said the airline is “prepared to do more” if the outbreak grows.A Delta Air Lines plane is taking off at Reagan Washington National Airport outside Washington, D.C. (Photo by Diaa Bekheet)The airline is cutting spending, including putting a freeze on hiring, delaying voluntary pension contributions and suspending share buybacks.American Airlines announced it will cut international flying by 10% this summer and reduce U.S. flying by 7.5% in April. It has delayed training of new pilots and flight attendants.United said it has arranged $2 billion in additional bank borrowing to preserve financial flexibility — raising liquidity from $6 billion to $8 billion.The airlines are also evaluating their assets — planes, engines, spare parts and other items — to determine what could be used as collateral for more borrowing, if that is needed.The demand drop-off that began in Asia picked up steam in the U.S. about two weeks ago, when the virus spread outside Asia, notably to Italy. It has been felt equally among business and leisure travelers.Hauenstein said demand has fallen more sharply on the West Coast — Washington state and California have suffered larger outbreaks — than on the East Coast. He said younger people have been more willing to keep flying; people over 55 less willing.The virus appears to be most dangerous among older people. The Associated Press reported this week that the White House overruled a plan by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend that older and physically weak Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the new virus, according to a federal official.American’s CEO, Doug Parker, said the largest decline has been in tickets within seven days of departure, which are often bought by business travelers.“That is absolutely driven by U.S. corporations putting in place travel advisories and travel restrictions and canceling travel,” he said. “Once we get to the point where corporate America is ready to travel again, that will come back.”Airlines have been waiving change fees and touting stepped-up cleaning of airplane cabins to make passengers feel more comfortable about flying.Delta, United, American and most international carriers have suspended flights to China, where the outbreak began and has infected the most people.U.S. airline officials have expressed steadfast confidence that they can manage their way through the outbreak.Airline stocks have been among the hardest hit during the market sell-off of the last few weeks.Since mid-February, shares of American have lost more than half their value, United’s stock has fallen more than 40% and Delta and Southwest Airlines more than 25%. They rallied slightly in trading Tuesday morning.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin says he agrees with a proposed constitutional amendment allowing him to seek another term in office, but only if it is approved by the Constitutional Court.”In principle, this option would be possible, but on one condition — if the constitutional court gives an official ruling that such an amendment would not contradict the principles and main provisions of the constitution,” Putin said on Tuesday while speaking to parliament’s lower house, the State Duma.Currently, the constitution allows for a president to serve two consecutive six-year terms.Putin’s current presidential term, his second consecutive one, ends in 2024.However, Valentina Tereshkova, a lawmaker from the United Russia party, proposed earlier in the day a constitutional amendment that would reset Putin’s presidential term count back to zero because of sweeping changes to the constitution currently being debated. 
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Scores of women across Mexico stayed away from their jobs Monday to call attention to the unchecked violence they face on a daily basis.The strike, dubbed “A Day Without Us,” left subways, offices, schools, and government agencies in Mexico City and elsewhere virtually empty.  The walkout was an outgrowth of Sunday’s massive protests in the Mexican capital to mark International Women’s Day.  Sunday’s protests were marked by sporadic violence, as protesters threw homemade gasoline-filled bombs at the doors of the national palace.The organizers used Sunday’s protests and Monday’s subsequent strike to focus the country’s attention on the alarming rise of femicides, the deliberate murder of women and girls, made even more prominent due to Mexico’s machismo, or male-dominated culture. Statistics show that an average of 10 Mexican women are killed every day.  President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador angered women when he complained last week that the protests were staged to undermine his government.  
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The death toll from coronavirus in Italy is mounting as nearly a quarter of the country’s population starts the week under travel and other restrictions. In the United States, the number of cases is surging – spreading to 34 states – with 22 people having died from the illness.  In China, a different picture, with workers slowly returning to their offices as the number of new coronavirus cases declines. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports.
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The European Union outlined Monday a new partnership with Africa that seeks to build a more equal relationship between the two sides.    The strategy is still in the bare-bones stage. Many details still need filling in, including financial ones. European Union officials said they will be looking for feedback from African counterparts in the run-up to an EU-Africa summit later this year.  But the EU’s executive arm has outlined five key focus areas — transitioning to and accessing green energy; the digital transformation; sustainable growth and jobs; peace security and governance; and migration and mobility.  EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said overall, the bloc wants to scale up its partnership with Africa and make it more effective.  “We have geopolitical interests in Africa. Our growth and security depends on what happens in Africa, maybe more than in any other part of the world,” Borrell said.While the EU is not always seen as a financial heavyweight in Africa, the 27-member bloc together is the source of more than $250 billion in foreign investment on the continent, compared to $48 billion from the United States, and $43 billion from China.  Borrell said current European support also includes helping African nations cope with the global coronavirus outbreak, and more broadly strengthening their health systems.  Reuters reports that some aid agencies worry European efforts to staunch migration risked undermining the bloc’s new partnership strategy.  But that was not the message Brussels sent out Monday. Borrell said the EU’s new strategy aimed not to see Africa simply within the prism of migration. He said while it was necessary to fight against illegal migration, legal migration should turn into a win-win for both sides.
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Public health officials and epidemiologists are at odds over how deadly COVID-19 will prove to be, with forecasts ranging from 1% to 3.4% of infected people dying.​
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The disparity, disease modelers and virologists say, isn’t surprising for a novel virus. They warn national differences could skew predictions — especially if health care systems are overwhelmed by patients needing hospitalization and buckle under the strain.​
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Some epidemiologists worry that may be happening now in the worst affected parts of northern Italy. The death-to-case ratio in Italy climbed Sunday to an alarming 5%, with the Civil Protection Agency reporting a disturbing 51% spike in deaths, bringing the total death toll attributed to coronavirus to 366.The almost empty St. Mark’s Square is seen after the Italian government imposed a virtual lockdown on the north of Italy including Venice to try to contain a coronavirus outbreak, in Venice, Italy, March 9, 2020.Italy’s spike in mortalities exceeded worst-case forecasts, as well as the overall rate in other stricken countries. But public health officials say the death toll is not extraordinary considering Italy has a large elderly population with nearly a quarter of Italians over 65. Only Japan has an older demographic among advanced countries. China has seen about 9% of over-80-year-old coronavirus victims die. In Italy, the death rate for infected seniors is just over 8%.​​As of Monday, Italian authorities reported only two deaths under the age of 63, and said that many who succumbed to the virus were in their 80s or 90s. Most already had weakened immune systems from chronic health conditions, including kidney disease, diabetes and heart problems.Nonetheless, public health officials say that while the health care system is holding up, it is under extraordinary strain that will likely worsen if drastic containment measures announced Sunday by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte don’t start having an effect. ​
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Italy is taking unprecedented steps to handle the patients needing hospitalization by bringing doctors out of retirement and accelerating graduation dates for nursing students. Lombardy, the worst affected Italian region, already has more than 10% of its doctors and nurses unable to work because they tested positive for the virus and are in quarantine, according to the Lombardy region’s top health official, Giulio Gallera.FILE – Paramedics stand by a tent that was set up outside the emergency ward of the Cremona hospital, northern Italy, Feb. 29, 2020.Hospitals in the towns of Lodi and Cremona last week were so packed that they had to shutter their emergency rooms and send patients elsewhere.”Some of the hospitals in Lombardy are under a stress that is much heavier than what this area can support,” Dr. Massimo Galli, head of infectious disease at Milan’s Sacco Hospital, told Sky TG24. “This epidemic is on a scale that is larger than anyone could have thought, imagined or prevented.”More than 300 triage tents have been erected outside medical facilities to handle the volume.​
​Trump predictionItaly aside, the disparity in death-toll forecasts sparked a political dispute in the U.S. last week when U.S. President Donald Trump speculated the death-to-case ration will end up at around 1%, contradicting the World Health Organization (WHO), which has pegged the global mortality rate for the coronavirus at around 3.4%.”Well, I think the 3.4% is really a false number. Now — and this is just my hunch — but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this. Because a lot people will have this, and it’s very mild. They’ll get better very rapidly. They don’t even see a doctor. They don’t even call a doctor,” Trump said during a television interview. ​
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British medical officials say they also suspect the mortality rate of the virus will be about 1%. Chris Whitty, the country’s top medical officer, told lawmakers last week it was heartened by the decline in cases in China and the slowing death rate there.​Unknown variables
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Epidemiologists and disease modelers are united on one thing — they all acknowledge that forecasting the case fatality ratio is highly tricky because of unknown variables. Not everything is understood about the novel virus, and trying to adjust for undetected or unreported cases is also a challenge. Refined treatment protocols and the use of repurposed existing drugs could alter the picture significantly, they say.Officials from hospital support services talk outside negative pressure screening tents set up outside the emergency room entrance at University of Utah hospital as they prepare for coronavirus testing, in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 9, 2020.”It is surprisingly difficult to calculate the death rate during an epidemic,” said John Edmunds, a professor in the Center for the Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Diseases, at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. “This is because it takes some time to die. In the case of COVID-19, the time between onset of the disease and death is quite long — two to three weeks or more— so the number of cases that you should divide by is not the number of cases that we have seen to this point, but the number of cases that there were a few weeks ago. Estimating what fraction of the cases might be reported is very tricky.” ​
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He noted that not all cases of infection will be reported, because only mild symptoms are suffered.”If there are many more cases in reality, then the case-fatality ratio will be lower,” he told the Science Media Center website. ​
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And there are other factors that can upset predictions, including people’s adherence to or disregard of protocols like self-isolation and handwashing. The efficacy of the containment and delay strategies governments craft and implement to retard the spread of the disease will also be critical. ​Infection spikes 
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Avoiding significant infection spikes will be crucial — high volumes of patients needing hospitalization at the same time can overwhelm health care services, leading to a shortage of beds or attending staff. The end result can be inadequate treatment and more deaths.​
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While Italy, with its soaring numbers of infections, is focusing on what Conte described Monday as “shock therapy” with a Chinese-like containment policy, British virologists and epidemiologists are advising Downing Street to pursue a much more phased approach, arguing that timing is everything. They worry a draconian containment policy may help now but could set the stage for a large second wave of contagion later in the year. ​FILE – Medical staff in protective suits treat coronavirus patients in an intensive care unit at the Cremona hospital in northern Italy, in this still image taken from a video, March 5, 2020.​The British hope to avoid large numbers of people in hospitals at the same time. Disease modeling by the Statistics and Epidemiology Department at Britain’s Lancaster University, which is advising Downing Street, suggests an extreme approach like China’s quarantining of Hubei province, where the virus first appeared, initially can be highly effective, but that when measures are relaxed, a higher peak subsequently emerges, according to Britain’s Sky News. ​
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“One of the things which is clear, if you model out the epidemic, is you will get 50% of all the cases over a three-week period, and 95% of the cases over a nine-week period, if it follows the trajectory we think it’s likely to,” Whitty told British parliamentarians last week.He said his aim is to try to space out the cases, making it easier for Britain’s public National Health Service, the NHS, to manage them.
 
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Venezuelan officials are vowing not to let a fire that destroyed thousands of voting machines deter their quest to hold legislative elections this year that could help President Nicolas Maduro consolidate his power.
    
Tibisay Lucena, president of the government-stacked National Electoral Council, said the fire that tore through a warehouse Saturday, obliterating 49,323 voting machines and nearly 50,000 fingerprint readers, would not prevent a planned vote to replace lawmakers in the last opposition-controlled federal institution.
    
“If there are groups who think that they’re going to stop electoral processes, constitutionally established, they are very wrong,” she said Sunday.
    
Maduro has been vowing to quickly convoke legislative elections for several months, threatening to hold them earlier than usual. The election is constitutionally scheduled to take place in 2020, though it usually is held at the end of the year. Opposition leaders have not yet stated whether they will participate.
    
The opposition has boycotted other recent elections, refusing to participate in an election run by the current electoral body, which is dominated by pro-Maduro officials. Authorities have barred a number of high-profile opposition leaders from running and are accused of manipulating the vote in which Maduro’ was reelected in 2018.
    
Opposition leaders have expressed concern about running in a legislative vote without a reformed National Electoral Council that would allow what they consider a free and fair election, though analysts also warn that if they do not participate, Maduro allies could assume control of the opposition’s only remaining national platform in the government.
    
Key opposition members did not respond to news of the fire, instead pushing forward in calling for a planned march on Tuesday.
    
Lucena said two prosecutors have been assigned to investigate the fire, which took place at a warehouse in the state of Miranda, not far from the capital.
    
“The CNE wants to know the truth: What was the origin of the fire and how did it spread so rapidly?” she said in a state broadcast. “No hypothesis is being discarded.”
    
First responders were able to rescue only 562 voting machines and 724 fingerprint readers.
   
 “Very little could be recovered,” Lucena said. “It was a great effort, but the fire was greater.”
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A Turkish court on Monday sentenced the ex-mayor of a major Kurdish city to more than nine years in prison after convicting him of “membership in an armed terror group.”  The Turkish authorities removed from their positions more than 20 mayors from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) last year over their alleged ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), just months after they won local elections in March.Critics say the suspensions were aimed at removing political opposition to Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party in the country’s southeast after poor election results.Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli was mayor of Diyarbakir until he was suspended in August along with the mayors of Mardin and Van — all of them replaced by government-appointed trustees.The court in Diyarbakir on Monday convicted Mizrakli, who refused to attend the final hearing, “of membership in an armed terror group,” the Anadolu state news agency reported.Prosecutors said he attended the funerals of PKK militants and meetings that were used for the group’s propaganda.He was sentenced to nine years, four months and 15 days in prison, Anadolu said.The government has repeatedly claimed the HDP has links to the PKK, which has fought a bloody insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 and is listed as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.The HDP says it has no official connection to the PKK but has tried to broker peace talks between the insurgents and government. 
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Greeks and Turks are waging a proxy war on social media with photos, video and commentary purporting to show the other side behaving badly in a migrant crisis that has seriously strained already tense relations between Athens and Ankara.An estimated 35,000 migrants from the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere have been trying to enter Greece, a European Union member state, since Ankara said on Feb.28 it would no longer keep migrants on its territory as required under a 2016 deal with the European Union in return for aid.Greece has used tear gas and water cannon to hold them back.On Greek Twitter, the hashtags GreeceUnderAttack and GreeceDefendsEurope have become common. On Turkish Twitter KahpeYunan (GreekBitch) was briefly a trending topic. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu used the tag GreeceAttacksRefugees.One video circulating on Monday appeared to show a tractor on the Greek side spraying liquid towards the border fence, dousing hundreds of migrants gathered on the Turkish side.Some Greek social media users speculated it was a farmer spraying pig urine along the border. Turkish social media users said it showed Greek police and farmers spraying chemical weapons and tagged the United Nations.The heated online exchanges draw on a long history of conflict between Muslim Turkey and Christian Greece, which today remain at loggerheads over issues such as Cyprus and drilling for gas in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as over migrants.Turkey, which hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees, says the EU has failed to honor its promises of aid. Brussels and Athens accuse Ankara of goading migrants to storm the border in a bid to “blackmail” Europe into offering more cash and supporting its geopolitical aims in the Syrian conflict.Stripped to underwearPhotos unverified by Reuters have shown migrants apparently being stripped to their underwear after being caught on the Greek side of the border, and then sent back. Others show Turkish forces allegedly attempting to dismantle parts of the border fence to make it easier for migrants to cross.Turkey says Greek forces are firing live ammunition and that they killed four migrants last week, claims that Athens denies.As nationalist passions have flared on both sides, Greek television interviewed three men dressed in combat fatigues who were headed out in a small boat with their German shepherd dog to patrol the Evros river delta along the border for migrants.Among the accounts frequently retweeting videos and commentary from the Turkish side has been Russia Today, while other Russian commentators have suggested that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is increasingly focusing his military attention on Greece. Turkey and Greece are NATO allies.All this comes as Turkey and Russia face off in the Syrian conflict, where Ankara backs anti-government rebels while Moscow is key ally of President Bashar al-Assad.The media manipulation and disinformation have even extended to the coronavirus outbreak.One Turkish commentator suggested that Greece was “filled with coronavirus, unlike Turkey”, and recommended “never visit Greece”, even as Erdogan actively encourages migrants to move there.Greece has 73 confirmed cases of coronavirus but no fatalities, a relatively low toll for Europe. Turkey has no confirmed cases so far. 
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Italy’s coronavirus death toll spiked Sunday by 133 to 366, the most in any country outside China.With the growing health risks, Rome imposed a new emergency decree, locking down the northern part of the country with a quarter of Italy’s population.That includes the Lombardy region and the financial capital, Milan. In addition, Italy is closing off 14 other provinces, including Veneto, home of Venice.Travel into and out the areas will be highly restricted until early next month, as the country seeks to slow the tide of fatalities from the virus. Museums, theaters, cinemas and other entertainment venues have also been ordered to close.Italy has also asked retired doctors to return to service to help treat coronavirus victims.Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said that 100 countries are now reporting coronavirus cases with more than 106,000 people reported as being ill, while deaths have surpassed 3,500.”While very serious, this should not discourage us,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There are many things everyone, everywhere can and should do now.”FILE – World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press briefing on COVID-19 at the WHO headquarters on March 6, 2020 in Geneva.Tedros praised Italy for “taking bold, courageous steps aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus (and) protecting their country. They are making genuine sacrifices.” He said the WHO “stands in solidarity” with Italy and “is here to continue supporting you.”In the U.S., where there have been at least 19 deaths, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter, “We have a perfectly coordinated and fin- tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!”We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Carrying multiple people who have tested positive for COVID-19, the Grand Princess maintains a holding pattern about 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco, March 8, 2020.Nearly 1,000 Californians on board, will be quarantined for 14 days at military bases in California, Georgia and Texas, where they will be monitored for COVID-19. The ship carried passengers from 54 countries, and the State Department is working to send several hundred foreign passengers home.France, which has also had 19 deaths and 1,126 cases as of Sunday, is banning events of more than 1,000 people in hopes of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.Across the English Channel, Great Britain reported its largest one-day increases in confirmed cases: 273 cases, up by 64 cases, or 30%. A third person has died.Iran said Sunday the coronavirus has killed 49 more people, an increase of 25%, in the last 24 hours, bringing its death toll to 194. The country has 6,566 confirmed cases.In China, a hotel used to quarantine people who had had been exposed to the virus collapsed Sunday. At least 10 people were killed and 23 are missing. The virus first erupted in China late last year.Saudi Arabia announced early Sunday it was suspending classes and activities at mosques starting Monday. It reported later the closure of a winter wonderland and the shopping and entertainment district of Riyadh boulevard because of the virus. It reported four more cases, for a total of 11.Bahrain announced Sunday that Formula One’s Bahrain Grand Prix will be run March 22 without spectators; it will be televised only.    
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Italy’s coronavirus death toll spiked Sunday by 133 to 366, the most in any country outside China.With the growing health risks, Rome imposed a new emergency decree, locking down the northern part of the country with a quarter of Italy’s population.The northern part of the country includes the Lombardy region and the financial capital, Milan. In addition, Italy is closing off 14 other provinces, including Veneto, home of Venice.
Travel into and out the areas will be highly restricted until early next month, as the country seeks to slow the tide of fatalities from the virus. Museums, theaters, cinemas and other entertainment venues have also been ordered to close.
Italy has also asked retired doctors to return to service to help treat coronavirus victims.Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said that 100 countries are now reporting coronavirus cases with more than 100,000 people reported as being ill.”While very serious, this should not discourage us,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There are many things everyone, everywhere can and should do now.”FILE – World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press briefing on COVID-19 at the WHO headquarters on March 6, 2020 in Geneva.Tedros praised Italy for “taking bold, courageous steps aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus (and) protecting their country. They are making genuine sacrifices.” He said the  WHO “stands in solidarity” with Italy and “is here to continue supporting you.”In the U.S., where there have been at least 19 deaths, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Twitter, “We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!” We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Nuns watch Pope Francis on a giant screen as he delivers the Angelus, in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, March 8, 2020.In a break with centuries of tradition, Pope Francis did not deliver the annual Angelus prayer live Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square. The Vatican, which has already reported one coronavirus case, is hoping to keep crowd size down in the tiny city-state in its attempt to stop the virus.  The pontiff instead utilized 21st-century technology and delivered the prayer “via livestream by Vatican News and on screens in Saint Peter’s Square,” the Vatican said.Iran said Sunday the coronavirus has killed 49 more people in the last 24 hours, bringing its death toll to 194. The Middle Eastern country has 6,566 confirmed cases.In China, a hotel used to quarantine people with the virus collapsed Sunday. At least six people were killed in the incident. The virus first erupted in China late last year.Reuters reported that at least two federal health screeners at Los Angeles International Airport had tested positive for the coronavirus and have been ordered to self-quarantine until March 17.  The news agency said screeners, many of them federal workers, had already “asked their supervisors . . . to change official protocols and require stronger masks.”The Grand Princess cruise ship, hit by a coronavirus outbreak, is scheduled to dock in Oakland, California, Monday. The ship has been held at sea since last week when San Francisco refused to allow the ship to return there because of the outbreak. The Grand Princess is carrying more than 3,500 passengers and crew.Worldwide, there were more than 106,000 infections Sunday, while the death toll has surpassed 3,500.Bahrain has announced it will hold its Formula 1 Grand Prix later this month, but without any spectators.  “Given the continued spread of COVID -19 globally, convening a major sporting event, which is open to the public and allows thousands of international travelers and local fans to interact in close proximity would not be the right thing to do at the present time,” the Bahrain International Circuit said Sunday.
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Relatives of the victims of the MH17 plane crash set up 298 empty chairs outside the Russian embassy in the Netherlands, a day before four individuals will stand trial at the Hague over their alleged involvement in the downing of the passenger jet.The Malaysian air flight crashed over territory in Ukraine held by pro-Russia separatists in July of 2014.  Russia has denied accusations of involvment, but relatives of the deceased are calling on Moscow to participate in the investigation into the crash which killed all 298 people on board.The silent protest was staged a day before three Russians and a Ukrainian are to be tried at the Hague for their alleged roles in the missile attack.  Rows of white folding chairs were arranged to resemble seats on the airplane. Among the victims of the 2014 crash were 196 Dutch citizens, 43 Malaysians, and 38 Australians. “We have the utmost confidence in the Dutch legal system to establish the truth and do justice in this case,” a statement released by the U.S. State Department Sunday said. “We again urge Russia to cease its continuing aggressive and destabilizing activities in Ukraine,” the statement went on.Tomorrow, the trial will begin for four individuals indicted for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight #MH17. We support the ongoing investigatory work of the Joint Investigation Team and urge #Russia to cease its continuing aggressive and destabilizing activities in #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/26eGUqp1bs— Morgan Ortagus (@statedeptspox) March 8, 2020Two independent investigators determined that the plane was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile sent to Ukraine by Russia to help pro-Russia separatists fight Ukraine.  Russia has denied providing financial or military support for separatists in Ukraine.Russian citizens Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian separatist Leonid Kharchenko are the four individuals going on trial Monday, though none are expected to appear in court. If they do not send legal representatives, the Dutch court is expected to order that their trial be conducted in absentia.
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Countries hit by outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are celebrating International Women’s Day despite the cancellation of multiple events.In China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus which originated in the northeastern city of Wuhan, state-run news outlets celebrated the female health workers on the frontlines of the crisis.State-run media outlet Xinhua profiled female laboratory technicians, nurses, and psychological professionals helping those affected by the outbreak to honor International Women’s Day.According to the World Health Organization, roughly 70% of the global health workforce is female.Women make up 70% of the global health workforce. That’s why on #WomensDay, I remind everyone that the world needs 9 million more nurses & midwives to achieve #HealthForAll. 2020 is the year to #SupportNursesAndMidwives & to invest in their education & jobs. pic.twitter.com/ueK07bP5qO
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 8, 2020In South Korea, which is reporting the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside of China, many events scheduled to celebrate the day were cancelled, the French Press Agency reported.”Although we can’t be physically together, our minds for realizing gender equality are stronger than ever,” the country’s gender equality minister Lee Jung-Ok said in a video message.In Italy, which has reported the most deaths from COVID-19 outside of China, a quarter of the country was on lockdown as of Sunday.The theme of International Women’s Day 2020 is “Each for Equality”. “An equal world is an enabled world,” International Women’s Day wrote on their website. 
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The number of female parliamentarians in the world has more than doubled since the groundbreaking U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, 25 years ago, the Inter-Parliamentary Union said Friday. Part of the reason may be quotas.While female representation in national parliaments has increased, gender parity remains a distant dream. However, significant changes have occurred. In 1995, the top-ranked country in terms of female members of parliament was Sweden, followed by other Nordic and developed countries.This year, Rwanda, with more than 60% female MPs, beat 171 other countries for the top spot, followed by Cuba, Bolivia and United Arab Emirates. Sweden has been bumped down to seventh position.The Inter-Parliamentary Union finds countries in the Americas have made the most progress in terms of representation of women in parliament, followed by Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia. The Pacific, which holds up the bottom of the rankings, is the only region where some parliaments have no women.IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong said women fare best in countries that apply quota systems for their representation.“Wherever quotas are being used during electoral processes, we see an increase in the women’s representation when compared with the countries where there are no quota systems. So, we continue to lay emphasis on the need for quotas to be legislated in order to achieve gender equality,” he said.Chungong told VOA statistics show strong female participation in parliaments leads to better-designed and -implemented gender equality laws.“It is more often possible to address some of those issues that may be specific to women; such as, maternal and newborn and child health to be on the agenda, women’s political participation, violence against women, sexism. Those things tend to come to the fore when you have strong women’s participation in parliament,” he said.Chungong said he believes the MeToo movement could help boost women’s political representation. He said the movement directly confronts sexism, sexual harassment and gender-based violence, which help keep women from seeking and winning electoral office. 
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The World Health Organization said Sunday that 100 countries are now reporting coronavirus cases with more than 100,000 people reported as being ill.”While very serious, this should not discourage us,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “There are many things everyone, everywhere can and should do now.”Tedros praised Italy for “taking bold, courageous steps aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus [and] protecting their country. They are making genuine sacrifices.” He said the  WHO “stands in solidarity” with Italy and “is here to continue supporting you.” 
Italy, with 233 deaths, more than any other country outside of China, imposed a new emergency decree on Sunday, locking down the northern part of the country with a quarter of Italy’s population.The northern part of the country includes the Lombardy region and the financial capital, Milan. In addition, Italy will close off 14 other provinces, including Veneto, home of Venice.Travel into and out the areas will be highly restricted until early next month, as the country seeks to slow the tide of fatalities from the virus. Museums, theaters, cinemas and other entertainment venues have also been ordered to close.Italy has also asked retired doctors to return to service to help treat coronavirus victims.In the U.S., where there have been at least 19 deaths, President Donald Trump said on Twitter, “We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!”We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus. We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Nuns watch Pope Francis on a giant screen as he delivers the Angelus, in St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, March 8, 2020.In a break with centuries of tradition, Pope Francis did not deliver the annual Angelus prayer live Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square. The Vatican, which has already reported one coronavirus case, is hoping to keep crowd size down in the tiny city-state in its attempt to stop the virus.  The pontiff instead utilized 21st-century technology and delivered the prayer “via livestream by Vatican News and on screens in Saint Peter’s Square,” the Vatican said.Iran said Sunday the coronavirus has killed 49 more people in the last 24 hours, bringing its death toll to 194. The Middle Eastern country has 6,566 confirmed cases.In China, a hotel used to quarantine people with the virus collapsed Sunday. At least six people were killed in the incident. The virus first erupted in China late last year.Reuters reported that at least two federal health screeners at Los Angeles International Airport had tested positive for the coronavirus and have been ordered to self-quarantine until March 17.  The news agency said screeners, many of them federal workers, had already “asked their supervisors . . . to change official protocols and require stronger masks.”The Grand Princess cruise ship, hit by a coronavirus outbreak, is scheduled to dock in Oakland, California, Monday. The ship has been held at sea since last week when San Francisco refused to allow the ship to return there because of the outbreak. The Grand Princess is carrying more than 3,500 passengers and crew.Worldwide, there were more than 106,000 infections Sunday, while the death toll has surpassed 3,500.Bahrain has announced it will hold its Formula 1 Grand Prix later this month, but without any spectators. “Given the continued spread of COVID -19 globally, convening a major sporting event, which is open to the public and allows thousands of international travelers and local fans to interact in close proximity would not be the right thing to do at the present time,” the Bahrain International Circuit said Sunday.   
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More than 15 million people were placed under forced quarantine in northern Italy early Sunday as the government approved drastic measures in an attempt to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus that is sweeping the globe.Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said via Twitter he had signed off on plans to strictly limit movement in and out of large areas including Venice and the financial capital Milan for nearly a month.“#Coronavirus, the new decree is finally approved,” Conte wrote, confirming earlier reports of the lockdown in the newspaper Corriere Della Sera and other media.With more than 230 fatalities, Italy has recorded the most deaths from the COVID-19 disease of any country outside China, where the outbreak began in December.Military and policemen inside Milan’s main train station as Italian authorities prepare to lock down Lombardy to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Milan, Italy, March 7, 2020.Second-oldest populationItaly has the world’s second oldest population after Japan, according to the World Bank, and older people appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill from the new coronavirus.Without a serious reason that cannot be postponed, such as urgent work or family issues, people will not be allowed to enter or leave the quarantine zones, Corriere Della Sera reported.These include the entire Lombardy region as well as Venice and its surrounding areas, and the cities of Parma and Rimini — affecting a quarter of Italy’s population of 60 million.Museums, nightclubs, gyms and casinos will be closed in these places, with people advised to stay at home as much as possible, the newspaper said, adding that the restrictions would be in place until April 3.People will be allowed to return home from outside these regions, while bars and restaurants are allowed to remain open provided it is possible for customers to stay a meter (three feet) away from one another.Protective masks and health care facilities are displayed in a pharmacy in Rome, March 7, 202,0 amid fear of COVID-19 epidemic. On March 6, Italy reported 49 deaths from the new coronavirus, the highest single-day toll to date.Following ChinaThe measures echo those taken in China’s central Hubei province, whose nearly 60 million residents have been under lockdown since late January when the government rushed to put a lid on the virus that first emerged in the regional capital, Wuhan.Worldwide, the total number of people with COVID-19 has passed 100,000 while 3,500 have died across 95 nations and territories.The disease has convulsed markets and paralyzed global supply chains, and Italy has found itself at the forefront of the global fight against the virus, with more than 5,800 infections recorded in the past seven weeks in all 22 Italian regions.The virus has now spread to all 22 Italian regions and the first deaths are being recorded in Italy’s less well medically equipped south.
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Over the years, villagers who live near Greece’s border with Turkey got used to seeing small groups of people enter their country illegally. The Greek residents often offered the just-arrived newcomers a bite to eat and directed them to the nearest police or railway station.But the warm welcomes wore off. When Turkey started channeling thousands of people to Greece, insisting that its ancient regional rival and NATO ally receive them as refugees, the Greek government sealed the border and rushed police and military reinforcements to help hold back the flood.Greeks in the border region rallied behind the expanding border force, collecting provisions and offering any possible contribution to what is seen as a national effort to stop a Turkish-spurred incursion.’We know the crossings’In several cases, authorities asked villagers familiar with the local terrain to help locate migrants who managed to slip through holes cut in a border fence or to cross the River Evros — Meric in Turkish — that demarcates most of the 212-kilometer border.”We were born here, we live here, we work here, we know the crossings better than anyone,” Panayiotis Ageladarakis, a community leader in Amorio, a village that lies 300 meters from the river banks.Other villages also responded to the call for volunteer trackers. Small groups of unarmed men monitor known crossing points after dark.”We sit at the crossings, and they come,” Ageladarakis told The Associated Press as he drove a pickup truck with a fellow Greek border village resident along a rough track at night. “We keep them there most of the time, call police, and they come and arrest them. Then, it’s a matter for the police. We aren’t interested in where they take them. We just try to help this effort taking place by the army and the police.”Pitching inHelp for the border units also came from Evros businesses and store owners. Nikos Georgiadis, head of the local restaurant owners association, said his colleagues delivered food and water to units stationed at four points on the border.”They also asked us for masks and gloves, and we’ll try to find some,” he said.Ageladarakis said all the migrants he encountered over the past few days were cooperative.”These people are frightened. Nobody has caused any trouble,” he said.But the village community leader said that in his view, the people he encountered did not look like they were fleeing wars in their own countries.”There’s nobody coming from a war,” he said. “None of them are refugees. They’re all illegal migrants and that’s why they’re trying to get into Europe [this way].”Greek authorities said that out of a the 252 people arrested for illegal entry over the past week as of Friday, 64% were Afghans, 19% Pakistanis, 5% Turks and 4% Syrians. The others were from Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Egypt.
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Britain is expected to announce next week a new levy on banks and other firms regulated for anti-money laundering to raise up to 100 million pounds ($130 million) to tackle dirty money, the government said Saturday.London has long attracted corrupt foreign money, especially from Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan, former Soviet states and Asia, and the police estimate that around 100 billion pounds of dirty money is moved through or into Britain each year.In his first budget on Wednesday, finance minister Rishi Sunak is expected to unveil plans for an Economic Crime Levy to generate cash for new technology for law enforcement and to hire more financial investigators.The levy is likely to come into force in 2022-23 and the Treasury will consult in the spring about which firms will be asked to contribute.”Criminals will have nowhere left to hide their illicit earnings,” Sunak said in a statement. “We’re going to put more financial investigators and better technology on the front line to fight against money laundering.”Last year the government and business leaders agreed an Economic Crime Plan to try to better tackle dirty money with improved information sharing and more cash for police to tackle fraudsters and money launderers.
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