State, local and primary elections in Wisconsin must proceed, the state supreme court said after ruling that the governor lacks authority to postpone them – which he tried to do earlier, citing the coronavirus crisis. The court handed the 4-2 ruling on Monday afternoon, after the Republican majority in the state legislature complained that Governor Tony Evers overstepped his powers by ordering the April 7 primary […]
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7 Apr, 2020 00:21 Australia’s highest court has tossed conviction of Cardinal George Pell, found guilty of historic child sex crime and sentenced to 6 years in prison. The cardinal, former Vatican treasurer, was once a close aid to Pope Francis. Source
American pharmaceutical firms are meeting in London to work out treatments for coronavirus-stricken British PM Boris Johnson, who was sent to intensive care after his condition deteriorated over the weekend, the US president said. “We’re very saddened to hear that [Johnson] was taken into intensive care this afternoon. Americans are all praying for his recovery,” President Trump said at a press briefing on Monday, adding that […]
Going by the official line, Boris Johnson’s admission to hospital was a surprise. Throughout the week, the PM and his cabinet repeatedly said that nothing was wrong. Can we rely on them to tell the truth amid a deadly pandemic? Johnson was hospitalised on Sunday night, ten days after testing positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus. He was moved to intensive care on Monday, after his condition […]
Stories of human tragedy abound during the Covid-19 pandemic, but in its hunger for tearjerking moments, CBS has thrown the rulebook out the window and spread some viral “fake news.” In a clip aired on Sunday but filmed a week earlier, nurse Imaris Vera bursts into tears and describes how she quit her job after “none of the nurses” in a dedicated coronavirus unit were wearing […]
This year it’s a big one: The 75th anniversary of Soviet Russia’s defeat of Nazi Germany. Now officials are trying to work out how to hold celebrations in the age of coronavirus. Anton Kobyakov, man in charge of organizing this year’s parade, has appealed to the government to ask them not to invite people older than 65. That, of course, means no surviving veterans will be […]
Yesterday, when giving an update on the global coronavirus infection curve, and highlighting where various nations currently reside on the curve, we said what has become conventional wisdom, namely that “with every passing day, the world – most of which is currently on lock down – gets closer to the infection inflection point, and as the updated “corona curve” chart shows, all the nations that were […]
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved into intensive care, a day after being hospitalized with coronavirus. So, with the PM out of action, how will the British government function? Temporary measures Johnson was admitted to hospital for testing on Sunday, 10 days after testing positive for Covid-19. The PM was moved into intensive care on Monday night, after his condition “worsened,” his office said. […]
Russian citizens, who were caught by the coronavirus outbreak while being abroad, will be able to return home. The government has announced the resumption of repatriation flights after a brief halt. The planes will take to the skies right away, and the schedule of the flights will be put together by late Monday, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has promised. The first flights will deliver the Russians […]
Amid Fox News’ round-the-clock promotion of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential coronavirus cure, renowned biologist Dr. William Haseltine told Fox News host Dana Perino on Monday that it was “irresponsible” to tout the unproven drug and called claims of its miraculous healing powers “complete and utter nonsense.” Haseltine, who recently said Trump’s response to the pandemic was “among the worst in the world” and “dangerous,” […]
6 Apr, 2020 19:56 The British pound has fallen sharply in value compared to the dollar and euro following coronavirus-stricken UK PM Boris Johnson’s admission to an intensive care unit after his condition “worsened” in the hospital. The pound dropped 0.3 percent against the dollar on the announcement Monday night, to the equivalent of $1.2229. Against the euro, it fell 0.1 percent to €1.1326. Also on […]
Because of Covid-19, in-person voting in Wisconsin’s elections will be postponed to June 9, Governor Tony Evers said in an executive order. His admitted constitutional overreach has sparked a furious partisan backlash. Mailed-in ballots will still be counted, Evers said on Monday in a controversial decision he admitted he had no powers to actually make, but insisting that it had to be done as a matter […]
6 Apr, 2020 19:15 Boris Johnson has been moved into an intensive care unit, a spokesperson for No. 10 Downing Street said Monday, a day after the PM was hospitalized for tests. Johnson was diagnosed with coronavirus over a week ago. “Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been […]
The suggestion by two French medical experts to test coronavirus vaccines in Africa is racist, appalling and a relic of colonial mentality, head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said. Jean Paul Mira and Camille Locht brought up the issue during an appearance on the French TV channel LCI last week, pointing to the lack of masks, treatments and ventilators on the continent. […]
Uranus’ mysterious rotation pattern and its unusual rings have long puzzled scientists, but new research says that the planet’s peculiar properties are explained by a massive collision when the solar system was still young. The icy giant stands out in the solar system as it is the only planet that doesn’t rotate with its poles at 90 degrees to the axis of gyration, instead marching to […]
The death toll from Covid-19 and related complications has exceeded 10,000 across the United States, according to a Reuters tally. But this number could be under-reported due to limited posthumous testing, data aggregators say. The agency reported the grim mark around noon Eastern Time Monday, while another popular tally by Johns Hopkins University had the number slightly lower than 10,000. Even so, the resulting numbers are still […]
The EU is facing the biggest trial in its history, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned, urging impatient citizens to put aside thoughts of ending coronavirus-related restrictions and focus on survival as a bloc. “Germany can only do well if Europe is also doing well,” Merkel told reporters on Monday. “The answer can only be: more Europe.” EU member states have quarreled over border closures, medical […]
The oil market could be put under “extreme physical pressure” if major global oil producers fail to reach a deal to cut output, Fitch Solutions has said. According to the agency’s report, a fall in demand and an increase in supply could result in more than 20 million barrels per day of excess oil. “While it is unlikely that nominal storage capacity will be breached, it is possible […]
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has confirmed that Covid-19 has claimed the lives of ten public transport workers, as unions call for further protections for staff who should also be considered frontline workers. The London transport worker death toll includes eight bus drivers, one Transport for London (TfL) worker and one employee of the London Underground. “They are in my thoughts and prayers and my […]
Journalist Peter Hitchens has lambasted the unprecedented restrictions put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus, provoking fierce debate about preserving liberties versus safeguarding public health among Britons. The outspoken British author exchanged barbs with TalkRadio’s Mike Graham on Monday, with the pair taking nearly polar opposite views on how to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Graham insisted that limiting non-essential commerce and movement was […]
For those looking to brighten up their Wednesday evening on lockdown, literally and figuratively, there’s some good news coming over the horizon; the biggest and brightest of the spring’s full supermoons is due this week. A supermoon is a full moon or new moon that occurs when the satellite is within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth, appearing seven percent larger and 15 percent […]
US stock markets are surging higher on Monday following news that the death rate from Covid-19 in New York State and the worst-hit European countries is slowing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained nearly four percent after the opening bell. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are trading over three percent higher. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained more than four percent to start the week, […]
Hopes are growing that lockdown measures in Spain may be relaxed after figures suggested the country has “passed the peak” as tentative optimism moves across Europe. Spain will extend coronavirus testing to people showing no symptoms as new infection rates slow in the country, the country’s foreign minister announced. On Sunday, 647 deaths were reported over 24 hours – half the rate recorded during the previous […]
Small shops and markets in Austria could reopen under certain conditions next week, although tight lockdown restrictions will remain in place, the country’s chancellor has said, while other businesses could follow next month. Sebastian Kurz has rolled out a plan to “gradually open our society” after weeks of tough restrictions aimed at containing the spread of Covid-19. While the international situation is still “dramatic,” Austria could […]