Friday, March 6, 2020

World News Briefs -- March 6, 2020 (Evening Edition)




Crossing more borders, the new coronavirus hit a milestone Friday, infecting more than 100,000 people worldwide as it wove itself deeper into the daily lives of millions, infecting the powerful, the unprotected poor and vast masses in between.

The virus, which has killed more than 3,400 people and emerged in more than 90 countries, edged into more U.S. states and even breached the halls of the Vatican. It forced mosques in Iran and beyond to halt weekly Muslim prayers, blocked pilgrims from Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem and upended Japan’s plans for the Olympic torch parade.

As financial markets dived again, repercussions from the virus also rattled livelihoods in the real economy.

Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

US blocks UN statement backing Syria ceasefire: diplomats.

Syria war: Idlib ceasefire between Russia and Turkey begins.

Tense calm, sporadic clashes in Idlib as Russia-Turkey ceasefire broadly holds.

Turkey kills 21 Syrian troops as cease-fire with Russia signed.

Iraq forces continue fight against ISIL without US air support.

ANOTHER senior Iranian official dies from coronavirus: Foreign minister adviser, who took part in 1979 US embassy hostage crisis, is regime's latest victim.

Friday prayers across Middle East overshadowed by coronavirus fears.

Palestine declares state of emergency over coronavirus.

ASIA

Asia-Pacific economies face $211 bn hit from virus, says S&P.

Gunmen stage deadly attack on Shiite memorial service in Afghan capital.

Afghan political leader Abdullah escapes attack on Kabul ceremony.

Trump insists Taliban wants to 'make a deal' after surge in violence in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan war crimes investigation by ICC goes ahead despite US opposition.

Trump: Taliban could 'possibly' seize power after US troops leave.

Coronavirus heightens tensions between Japan and South Korea.

North Korea stays quiet on Kim Jong Un letter.

India protest violence leaves thousands displaced.

Pakistan is hit by its worst locust plague in 30 years: Insect swarms DECIMATE entire harvests as country declares nationwide emergency.

AFRICA

U.S. creates new envoy position to counter rising terrorism in Sahel.

Away from coronavirus, DR Congo battles deadly measles outbreak.

Egypt detects 12 new coronavirus cases on Nile cruise boat.

Suicide bombers kill policeman in attack near US embassy in Tunisia’s capital.

Six killed in attack on Nigeria military base.

Zambia's leader blames church officials for mob violence.

Sudan's June crackdown may have killed 241 people: Rights group.

Guinea protests: One dead in anti-government demonstration.

Congo protests against unpaid pensions as gov't debt balloons.

Farmers fear impact of Nile River dam.

Coronavirus: What misinformation has spread in Africa?

EUROPE

Vatican halts Mexico abuse prevention mission, cites virus.

EU blasts Turkey for “organized” migrant attack on Greece.

Clashes between Greek police, migrants reported on Turkish border.

Refugees told 'Europe is closed' as tensions rise at Greece-Turkey border.

‘Open the gates,’ migrants chant at Turkey-Greece border.

EU 'won't be pressured' over Greece-Turkey border crisis.

Ukraine president: Putin has one year to strike deal to end war.

Europe experiences exceptionally warm winter.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle begin farewell Royal events.

AMERICAS

Trump to host Brazilian president Bolsonaro in Florida.

Trump meets Tennessee tornado survivors and tours destruction which razed homes and shakes their hands despite first case of coronavirus hitting state.

Costa Rica confirms first coronavirus case in Central America.

Colombia confirms its first case of coronavirus.

Coronavirus: Trump signs $8.3bn aid bill as cases rise.

Solid US economy bracing for coronavirus infection.

US economy adds 273K jobs in February, crushing expectations amid coronavirus worries.

US Senator Romney to vote for Burisma subpoena.

Poll shows Joe Biden SIXTEEN points ahead of Bernie Sanders as AOC says she WILL back Biden if he gets the Democratic nomination despite her campaigning for democratic socialist.

Biden, Sanders set for key battle in Michigan.

Brazil recalls diplomats, officials from Venezuela.

'Our role is central': more than 1m Chilean women to march in huge protest.

Guyana president urged not to claim election victory. Guyana election: US concerned over 'electoral fraud'.

U.S. charges Russian billionaire with hiding $1B in income, assets.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

Singapore jails Indonesian maid for funding IS-linked group.

Suicide bombers target police near U.S. Embassy in Tunisia.

Turkey’s Operation “Spring Shield” delivers blow to Hezbollah.

Uzbek jihadist group congratulates Taliban for ‘victory’ in Afghanistan.

Germany: Alleged IS terrorist goes on trial.

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

Dow falls 250 points at close after wild week on Wall Street amid coronavirus fears.

Apple tells ALL its 12,000 staff at the Cupertino HQ to work from home with immediate effect - following Facebook and Microsoft edicts to its Bay Area staff.

Oil prices plunge 8% after OPEC+ fails to agree on a massive production cut.

The coronavirus is shaking up the world's art market in unexpected ways.

House investigation finds Boeing’s 737 Max was ‘marred’ by technical problems, lack of transparency.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Live updates: N.Y. coronavirus cases double; Austin and Miami cancel major festivals as states of emergency widen in U.S.

Anonymous said...

This virus is just one mainly that old geezers should be worried about.

It is why they should get out and walk and not be diabetic.

Anonymous said...

...sure...and those who go to a hospital and live but have insufficient money to pay?
and all those things canceled?
and the economy shot to hell?

Anonymous said...

"and the economy shot to hell?" - little biotch

not a little bitch like someone I know

3.5% unemployment. Great Jobs reports for the last 3 months.

You know what happens when the unemployment level gets really low?

Since you do not know and cannot think for yourself I will tell you.

Wage growth. You have to hire your workers form someone else. You have to steal or poach them from another employer.

Anonymous said...


"do you think the elderly just stay in and do not workout, walk, etc?"

Some do not get outdoors. They hire Mexicans on the side, pay them under the table, and do not tend to their own lawns.

It gives them more time in front of a computer cutting and snipping.

Anonymous said...


"that geezer might be a relative, a father a grandmother"

You never heard of the second law of thermodynamics have you.

You can bend the curve a little but not forever.

Seriously, I think a person like you could live forever, but at the expenses of others making sure that the entropy in your system never increases, but theirs does. You'll have some socialist explanation about why you are taxing others.

You seriously ought to look into it, because I think you know not G-d. You go once a week like others to see and be seen.

Anonymous said...

President Donald Trump's properties have charged taxpayers nearly eight times more than previously claimed for Secret Service stays, according to new documents obtained by the watchdog group Public Citizen.

Eric Trump has claimed that Secret Service agents "stay at our properties for free — meaning, like, cost for housekeeping." He insisted last year that "we charge them, like, 50 bucks."

But receipts obtained by Public Citizen and first reported by The Washington Post show that Trump's properties have charged the Secret Service $396 per night for 177 rentals at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort since he took office.

The Post previously reported that some Trump properties charge taxpayers as much as $650 per room. The president's Bedminster, N.J. golf club also charged $17,000 per month for Secret Service agents to rent a cottage on the property. The Secret Service continued to pay for the cottage even after he left.

The report found that taxpayers spent more than $471,000 on Trump properties, but the new receipts show that the Trump Organization charged Secret Service an additional $157,000 since 2017, bringing the total to more than $628,000.

Anonymous said...


You are screaming again. Must have a bad hand logically and rhetorically.

Anonymous said...


Since bird brain went off on a tangent


Obama’s Homeland Security IG Indicted on Theft of Government Property, Wire Fraud and Scheme to Defraud US Govt


"Not a smidgen of corruption, though. Just ask Barry Obama."

Anonymous said...

Trump Interrupts Coronavirus Briefing to Ask Fox Reporter About His TV Ratings
Daniel Modlin
4 minutes

Florida health authorities reported two fatalities from COVID-19 late Friday, marking the first deaths on the East Coast. The total number of reported cases of the coronavirus has risen to at least 308 across the U.S. as authorities grapple with a shortage of tests. The U.S. is also debating what to do with some 3,500 passengers and crew onboard the Grand Princess cruise ship anchored off San Francisco after at least 21 people tested positive for the potentially deadly virus after around 40 people were tested. President Donald Trump had expressed concern over letting them disembark on American soil because of the impact on the total number of cases logged in the U.S.

Anonymous said...

‘Maybe I have a natural ability’: Trump plays medical expert on coronavirus by second-guessing the professionals
By David Nakamura closeDavid NakamuraReporter covering the White HouseEmailEmailBioBioFollowFollow
6-8 minutes

President Trump likes to say that he fell into politics almost by accident, and on Friday, as he sought to calm a nation gripped with fears over coronavirus, he suggested he would have thrived in another profession — medical expert.

“I like this stuff. I really get it,” Trump boasted to reporters during a tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, where he met with actual doctors and scientists who are feverishly scrambling to contain and combat the deadly illness. Citing a “great, super-genius uncle” who taught at MIT, Trump professed that it must run in the family genes.

“People are really surprised I understand this stuff,” he said. “Every one of these doctors said, ‘How do you know so much about this?’ Maybe I have a natural ability.”

But for members of the general public alarmed by more than 300 diagnosed cases in the United States — including at least 21 that his administration announced Friday were discovered on a cruise ship off the San Francisco coast — Trump’s performance during an impromptu 45-minute news conference at CDC was not necessarily reassuring.

Sporting his trademark red 2020 campaign hat with the slogan “Keep America Great,” the president repeatedly second-guessed and waved off the actual medical professionals standing next to him. He attacked his Democratic rivals — including calling Washington Gov. Jay Inslee a “snake” for criticizing his response — and chided a CNN reporter for smiling and called her network “fake news.”

Anonymous said...

Trump Interrupts Coronavirus Briefing to Ask Fox Reporter About His TV Ratings

The thing that makes Trump important and effective in part is that he is not a doctrinaire Republican. He does not have to die on that hill. He's made campaign promises that he really means to keep unlike bait and switch Republican (Ms Lindsey, Billy Kristol, ...) and Democrats. Why is Trump asking about his rating important? Because he is not tone death. He responds. He tries to deliver. He'll respond to rating, but without caving like a stiff-spined, wet-noodle RINO.

Trump can build the wall lower illegal border crossing 90% to 95% over a period of years and then get amnesty done. In the meantime like a trained seal you will be bad mouthing him like a girlie boy even though you protest that you are for amnesty. That makes you special.

Copying and pasting '4 minutes' to your post really added to your argument Mr. Fred Lapides.

4 minutes

It was the pièce de résistance of you logical cut and paste argument.

Bob Huntley said...

Trump is unable to separate his official role as President of all the people from his being a candidate for the office and therefore continues to belittle everyone else he sees as competition. A sad, so sad situation for the country. But I will say, he certainly has been successful at making Americans grate their teeth again.