From The Alpha and the Omega - Chapter Eight
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved
"KING OF THE EAST 2020 MAY-JUNE"

    This file is attached to http://www.mazzaroth.com/ChapterEight/BeastThatCameOutOfTheSea.htm from “Beast That Came Out Of The Sea” - Chapter Eight by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved.
Or return to the Astronomical Events To Appear Between 2014 Through 2017 A.D.
    This link will return you to King Of The East 2020 March-April or continue to King Of The East 2020 July-August.

KING OF THE EAST 2020 MAY-JUNE
    So as 2019 has passed do we know who the "King of the East" is?
    As Bible students, we all are aware of the allusions to the "Kings of the East" in the prophetic scenario: "And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared."    Revelation 16:12.
       
    The spectacular rise of China on the world scene, and achievements are spectacular, indeed.    In just one generation, they have tripled their per capita income, and lifted over 300 million people out of poverty.
    Xi Jinping is still president for life and continues to push "Belt And Road Project" fits the scenerio to fulfil prophecy to go into the Middle East at the appointed time.
    He continues to push the unconditional authority of the Communist Party, and controversial territorial claims in the South China Sea, boosted its military capabilities and unveiled a vast international logistics and transportation project called the “Belt and Road” initiative that aims to connect Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, so I believe the The King of the East has made his bed and have become the major competitor for energy and other commodities.
    As to the emergence of India in the global technological culture Idid not see much of that in 2019 to dominate the next few decades in research and development centers are sprouting everywhere and are the seedbeds of the most advanced software platforms, multimedia devices, and other next-generation innovations and India's Prime Minister is still Narendra Modi.
    China and India account for one-third of the world's population.
    Although numerous commentators try to connect these kings with the 200 million horsemen of the sixth trumpet judgment, they are not related: as Rev. 16:12 only says "way of the kings of the east might be prepared."    This tells me that it could be several countries from the Kings of the East could take that journey.
    The “two hundred million” is in Rev. 9:16 are in a Trumpet Judgment, whereas the kings of the east are in a Bowl judgment.    Furthermore, . . . it was shown that the two hundred million are demons and not men.
    As to kings from the Orient, but this is not required by the text, they are kings representing nations east of the Euphrates.    Commentators particularly of the postmillennial and the historical schools have guessed at the identity of the kings of the East and as many as fifty different interpretations have been advanced.    The very number of these interpretations is their refutation.

    As to cooperation for China and the U.S. in 2019, China threatens retaliation if tariffs increase as trade war bites and China’s Xi preaches openness.    China’s 2019 growth was seen slowing to 6.2% as trade war weighs on China’s June exports, and imports fall as trade war takes heavier toll.    China lets yuan break key 7 level for first time in decade as trade war worsens.    China’s birth rate falls to lowest ever.    China lawmakers urge freeing up family planning as birth rates plunge U.S.
    Italy's PM wants to sign “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), deal to help exports championed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who aims to link China by sea and land with southeast and central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, through an infrastructure network on the lines of the ancient Silk Road.    A number of European Union states have signed memorandums on the BRI with China, including Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Malta, Poland and Portugal.    If Italy signs, it would be the first members of the Group of Seven industrial powers to do so.    China Development Bank has provided over $190 billion for Belt and Road projects.
    Taiwan tells China to use peaceful means to resolve differences and Taiwan president calls for international support to defend democracy.    U.S. warships pass through Taiwan Strait amid China tensions and China’s Xi threatens Taiwan with force but also seeks peaceful ‘reunification.’    U.S., Japan, India and Philippines challenge Beijing with naval drills in the South China Sea.    And a miracle win offers Australian PM authority and government stability.    U.S. pursues sale of over $2 billion in weapons to Taiwan, which is angering China.    Premier Li says China opposes Taiwan independence.
    Afghan Taliban and the U.S. sat down to peace talks, but the Taliban talks end with no Afghan peace deal.
    U.S. sanctions are putting pressure on Iran and Iranians, and supreme leader.    Iran says it is taking initial steps to design reactor fuel, and could enrich uranium to 20 percent within four days as atomic chiefIran says it will be ready for new satellite launch.    U.S. sanctions hit Iran-backed airlines, fighters in Syria and Iranian commander threatens Israel’s destruction if it attacks, while Iran is facing the toughest economic situation in 40 years.    The president of Iran facing economic difficulty amid U.S. pressure on regime and Iran’s Rouhani says U.S. sanctions are ‘terrorist act.’    Iran’s Khamenei doubted Europe could help Tehran against U.S. sanctions.    Iran urged Palestinians to resist Trump’s pro-Israel moves.    U.S. designated elite Iranian force as terrorist organization, and Iran kept enriching uranium in despite.    Hardliners target Iran’s president as U.S. pressure grows.    Iran claims youth will witness demise of Israel and ‘American civilization.’    Iran’s Khamenei says Tehran will not abandon its missile program and will increase uranium enrichment to whatever levels it needs and will boost uranium enrichment level which will breach nuclear pact.
    Thousands march in Hong Kong against China ‘repression’ on 3/15/2019 protesters were arrested in Hong Kong over proposed China extradition law.    Hong Kong lawmakers clash over what democrats call ‘evil’ extradition bill.    Hong Kong leader presses on with extradition bill undeterred.    Huge Hong Kong protest expected in last push to scrap extradition bill    Hundreds of thousands march in Hong Kong to protest China ‘Sea of black’    Hong Kong protesters demand leader step down extradition bill    Embattled Hong Kong leader Lam suspends China extradition bill.    Black-clad, anti-extradition protesters flood streets of Hong Kong Hong Kong descends into chaos as protesters storm legislature.    In challenge to Beijing, Hong Kong activists attempt to take fight to mainland.    Anti-Chinese protests in Hong Kong turn violent.    Protesters mass in Hong Kong amid fears of growing cycle of violence.
    Trump walks away from deal with North Korea’s Kim over sanctions demand and was ending the year with new Trade deals with China as the U.S. economy is up in all items.
    Since Iran has become more of an issue during 2019 I decided to input the following again regarding Jeremiah 49:35-39 New King James Version (NKJV) PROPHESY OF ELAM to let you know what the Bible says about them and their possible future.
35 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, The foremost of their might.
36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies And before those who seek their life.    I will bring disaster upon them, My fierce anger,’ says the Lord; ‘And I will send the sword after them Until I have consumed them.
38 I will set My throne in Elam, And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the Lord.
39 ‘But it shall come to pass in the latter days: I will bring back the captives of Elam,’ says the Lord.”
   
    Elam in the Hebrew Bible is said to be one of the sons of Shem, the son of Noah.    It is also used, for the ancient country of Elam in what is now southern Iran, whose people the Hebrews believed to be the offspring of Elam, son of Shem.    This implies that the Elamites were considered Semites by the Hebrews.
    Elam in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 10:22, Ezra 4:9;) is said to be one of the sons of Shem, the son of Noah.    It is also used (as in Akkadian), for the ancient country of Elam in what is now southern Iran, whose people the Hebrews believed to be the offspring of Elam, son of Shem (Genesis 10:22).    This implies that the Elamites were considered Semites by the Hebrews.    Their language was not one of the Semitic languages, but is considered a linguistic isolate.
    Elam (the nation) is also mentioned in Genesis 14, describing an ancient war in the time of Abram (father of the tribe, for possibles leaders over time) not Abraham, (father of many nations) involving Chedorlaomer, the king of Elam at that time, and noted that Sarai, Princess of the tribe, who became the final as Sarah.
    The prophecies of the Book of Isaiah (11:11, 21:2, 22:6) and the Book of Jeremiah (25:25) also mention Elam.    The last part of Jeremiah 49 is an apocalyptic oracle against Elam which states that Elam will be scattered to the four winds of the earth, but "will be, in the end of days, that I will return their captivity," a prophecy self-dated to the first year of Zedekiah (597 BC).
    The Book of Jubilees may reflect ancient tradition when it mentions a son (or daughter, in some versions) of 'Elam named "Susan," whose daughter Rasuaya married Arpachshad, progenitor of another branch of Shemites.    Shushan (or Susa) was the ancient capital of the Elamite Empire. (Dan. 8:2)


2020 MAY-JUNE

5/1/2020 Australian PM says no evidence coronavirus originated in China laboratory, urges inquiry by Colin Packham and John Mair
FILE PHOTO: People practising varying degrees of social distancing wait in line to pick up orders from a fish market, as the
spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Sydney, Australia, April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
    SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has angered Beijing by calling for a global inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak, said he had no evidence to suggest the disease originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the evidence he said he had seen.
    Morrison said on Friday that Australia had no information to support that theory, and said the confusion supported his push for an inquiry to understand how the outbreak started and then spread rapidly around the world.
    “What we have before us doesn’t suggest that that is the likely source,” Morrison told a news conference in Canberra when asked about Trump’s comments.
    “There’s nothing we have that would indicate that was the likely source, though you can’t rule anything out in these environments,” he said.
    “We know it started in China, we know it started in Wuhan, the most likely scenario that has been canvassed relates to wildlife wet markets, but that’s a matter that would have to be thoroughly assessed.”
    The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), based in the city where the disease was first identified, has rejected suggestions the coronavirus came from its laboratory.
    Most scientists now say the virus originated in wildlife, with bats and pangolins identified as possible host species.
    Relations between Australia and China have been strained since the government began canvassing support in mid-April for an international inquiry into the outbreak.
    Beijing sees the inquiry call as part of U.S.-led propaganda against China, while Morrison says the world needs to understand exactly what happened to prevent a repeat of an outbreak that has so far killed more than 200,000 people and shut down much of the global economy.
    “That’s why it is just so important to understand what happened, to make sure that we can prevent such a broadbased global catastrophe from happening again,” Morrison said.
    Beijing’s ambassador to Australia said that Chinese consumers could boycott Australian beef, wine, tourism and universities in response to the push for an inquiry, comments members of Morrison’s government have called “threats of economic coercion.”
AUSTRALIA MAY EASE RESTRICTIONS
    Australia has successfully contained the outbreak so far, but measures implemented to do that are set to see unemployment surge, the economy sink into recession for the first time in three decades and government debt increase massively.
    The Australian government said on Friday it would meet next Friday, a week ahead of schedule, to decide whether to ease social distancing restrictions, as the numbers of new infections dwindle and pressure mounts for business and schools to reopen.
    Australia has reported about 6,700 cases of the new coronavirus and 93 deaths, well below the levels reported in the United States and Europe.    Growth in new infections has slowed to less than 0.5% a day, compared to 25% a month ago.     Morrison said it was imperative to lift social distancing restrictions as early as possible as 1.5 million people were now on unemployment benefits and the government forecast the unemployment rate to top 10% within months.
    “We need to restart our economy, we need to restart our society.    We can’t keep Australia under the doona,” Morrison said, using an Australian word for quilt.
    Morrison’s government has pledged spending of more than 10% of GDP to boost the economy but the central bank still warns the country is heading for its worst contraction since the 1930s.
    With less than 20 new coronavirus cases discovered each day, Morrison said state and territory lawmakers would meet on May 8 to determine whether to lift restrictions.
    “Australians deserve an early mark for the work that they have done,” he told reporters.
    Australia attributes its success in slowing the spread of COVID-19 to social distancing restrictions imposed in March, including the forced closures of pubs, restaurants and limiting the size of indoor and outdoor gatherings.
    Morrison said 3.5 million people had downloaded an app on their smartphones designed to help medics trace people potentially exposed to the virus, though the government is hoping for about 40% of the country’s 25.7 million population to sign up to ensure it is effective.
    Cabinet will also decide next week how to restart sport across the country, the prime minister said.
    The government says any resumption of sport should not compromise the public health, and recommends a staggered start beginning with small groups that play non-contact sport outdoors.
(Reporting by Colin Packham and John Mair; Editing by Stephen Coates and Michael Perry)

5/1/2020 Afghanistan likely facing coronavirus ‘health disaster’: U.S. watchdog by Jonathan Landay
FILE PHOTO: Men wait to receive free food donated by the Afghan government, amid the spread of the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Jalalabad, Afghanistan April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Parwiz/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Afghanistan, beset by a poor healthcare system, malnutrition, war and other vulnerabilities, likely is facing a “health disaster” from the coronavirus, a watchdog report to the U.S. Congress warns.
    The report released late on Thursday by Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko could heighten concerns among U.S. officials and lawmakers that the pandemic threatens to derail stalled U.S.-led peace efforts.
    The spread of COVID-19 already has significantly impacted Afghanistan, the report said, from complicating the peace initiative to forcing border crossing closures that have disrupted commercial and humanitarian deliveries.
    “Afghanistan’s numerous and, in some cases, unique vulnerabilities – a weak health-care system, widespread malnutrition, porous borders, massive internal displacement, contiguity with Iran, and ongoing conflict – make it likely the country will confront a health disaster in the coming months,” the report said.
    Rising food prices in the impoverished country likely will worsen the crisis, Sopko said in a letter accompanying the report.
    As the pandemic has spread, Washington has pressed the Taliban and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to free thousands of at-risk militant and government prisoners as a precursor to peace talks originally set to begin on March 10.
    Kabul, however, was not a party to a Feb. 29 U.S. troop withdrawal deal between the Taliban and Washington that called for the releases.    Differences over the pace and numbers of prisoners to be freed have helped stall the peace effort, which could suffer a major blow if many prisoners were to die.
    Afghanistan has confirmed nearly 2,200 coronavirus cases and 64 deaths, according to local news reports quoting the Health Ministry.
    The report said the NATO-led international coalition declined to make available for public release data on the number of attacks launched by the Taliban in the first three months of 2020.
    It was the first time that publication of the data has been denied since SIGAR began using them to track levels and locations of violence in 2018, the report said.
    The coalition, it said, explained that the data are “now a critical part” of internal U.S. government deliberations on negotiations with the Taliban, who have escalated attacks on Afghan security forces since the Feb. 29 deal.
    The Pentagon added that the release of the data could resume once those deliberations end, the report said.
(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Mary Milliken and Dan Grebler)

5/1/2020 Japan’s coronavirus containment needs to stay until cases fall more: experts by Takashi Umekawa
FILE PHOTO: A man stands in front of a closed Pachinko parlour, following the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan, April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan needs to keep its coronavirus containment policies in place until the number of cases falls more, experts said on Friday, with the government set to decide on whether to maintain a state of emergency.
    The month-long state of emergency is set to expire on May 6.
    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the situation remained tough and he would make a decision on the emergency or Monday.
    On Thursday, he warned citizens to prepare for a “drawn-out battle” against the virus and political sources told Reuters the government was planning to extend the emergency for about a month.
    “For a while, we are going to need to keep these policies going,” Shigeru Omi, a member of a government panel of experts, told a news conference after a meeting on Friday.
    “New cases haven’t declined quite as much as we’d like, and there are some regions where the medical system hasn’t been able to prepare sufficiently.”
    Earlier, Economics Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters the experts had also said some regions needed to keep strict restrictions in place while others could start to ease them.
    Japan has had more than 14,000 confirmed cases and 436 deaths, according to an NHK tally.    Of the confirmed cases, more than 4,000 were in the capital, Tokyo, with 165 new ones on Friday.
    But there are worries that Japan’s low testing regime has undercounted many coronavirus cases, and fears that the medical system may be strained caring for them.
    The outbreak and slowdown in business activities is darkening the outlook for the world’s third-biggest economy, leading to calls for more spending even after parliament approved an extra budget to fund a $1.1 trillion stimulus package.
    Consumer prices in Tokyo fell for the first time in three years in April and national factory activity slumped, data showed on Friday, increasing worries the coronavirus outbreak could tip the country back into deflation.
WARNING
    The government has called for vigilance during the long Golden Week holiday – normally a peak travel period – that runs through May 6, calling on people to stay home and reduce contact with others.
    Abe declared the emergency on April 7, initially for Tokyo and several other prefectures after a jump in infections, and later extended it nationwide.
    It gives governors greater power to tell people to stay at home and ask businesses to close, but it does not mandate penalties in most cases for non-compliance, relying instead on social pressure and respect for authority.
    Tokyo has seen a decline in daily reported cases since hitting a peak of 201 on April 17, with further falls into double digits this week, but the city’s governor, Yuriko Koike, has warned residents not to be complacent.
    On Friday, the Nippon Foundation, a philanthropic organisation, unveiled the first part of a field hospital built in a waterside area of Tokyo.
    Set up in an arena built for Paralympic sports, the 100-bed facility features alcoves containing a bed, locker and table set apart from each other.    Other beds will be put in tents and expanded as needed, NHK reported.
    The International Olympic Committee and the government in March postponed the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games for a year, until July 2021, because of the coronavirus crisis.
(Reporting by Chris Gallagher, Takashi Umekawa, and Rocky Swift; Additional writing by Linda Sieg and Elaine Lies; Editing by Michael Perry and Lincoln Feast.)

5/1/2020 Foreign criticism of activists’ arrests ‘unfounded’: Hong Kong
FILE PHOTO: Media mogul and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying (C) leaves from a police station after being arrested
for illegal assembly during the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, China February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong hit back on Friday at Washington and London for condemning the arrests in April of 15 pro-democracy activists, saying that their criticism was “unfounded” and “grossly irresponsible.”
    Police arrested the activists, including Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, 81, and millionaire publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, 71, on 18 April, in the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the outbreak of mass protests last year.
    Foreign governments and human rights groups condemned the arrests, with Britain’s Foreign Office saying at the time that the right to peaceful protest was “fundamental to Hong Kong’s way of life” and authorities should avoid “actions that inflame tensions.”
    In its strongest response to the criticism so far, the Hong Kong government said the remarks by the United States, Britain and the     European Parliament were “totally unfounded and amounted to a serious intervention in Hong Kong’s affairs.”
    “The allegation by some that those arrests amounted to an attack on Hong Kong’s freedoms … is absurd and can hardly stand the test of any law-abiding jurisdiction,” a spokesman for the government said.
    Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” style of governance that grants it broad freedoms, including the right to protest and an independent judiciary, not seen in the mainland.
    Critics say Beijing is increasingly encroaching on those freedoms, which the central government rejects.
    The 15 activists were arrested on charges of organising and participating in anti-government protests last year that crippled parts of the city and posed the gravest popular challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
    The outbreak of the novel coronavirus and measures adopted to curb its spread have seen a relative lull in protests this year, although smaller demonstrations have emerged in the past week amid renewed concerns over Beijing’s tightening grip on the city.
    Fuelling those worries, questions have been raised in recent weeks over the role of Beijing’s institutions overseeing the city’s affairs – the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office and Liaison Office.
    The government said criticism over remarks by the offices “only illustrates an ignorance of the constitutional order” of Hong Kong.
(Reporting By Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

5/1/2020 Business booms for ‘yellow’ firms backing Hong Kong protest movement by Jessie Pang
Customers sit inside a yellow restaurant called ''Mainichi'', during ''golden week'' holiday by supporting
local businesses with the pro-democracy views, in Hong Kong, China, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong anti-government protesters queued outside businesses that openly support the democracy movement on Friday, a show of support for “yellow” restaurants and cafes reeling from the twin impact of the coronavirus crisis and months of demonstrations.
    While small businesses are bearing the brunt of the economic downturn in a city where rents are among the highest in the world, pro-democracy activists are providing a lifeline to so-called “yellow” companies, or those that back the movement.
    Long lines formed at many restaurants and cafes, snaking out onto streets thanks to an online campaign dubbed “Hongkonger’s 5.1 Golden Week” that called on people to visit yellow businesses over the long May Day weekend.
    “This week is a great motivation for us to further strengthen the yellow economic circle.    We need to keep resisting even though the crackdown is getting harder and harder,” said Miki Chan, 25, who works in the education sector.
    Activists say they are fighting against the erosion of the “one country, two systems” style of governance that guarantees broad freedoms for Hong Kong since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
    The central government rejects criticism that Beijing is encroaching on the city’s much-cherished freedoms.
    Flash protests that organisers had called for did not materialise on Friday, although riot police patrolled districts in large numbers.
    The “yellow” promotion comes at a time when mainland Chinese traditionally flock to the city, providing a boost to retailers. But most are staying at home due to travel restrictions adopted to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
    Hong Kong is gradually easing lockdown measures, with some civil servants returning to work from Monday.
    A ban on gatherings of more than four people remains in place, but some flout the rules on public holidays and weekends.    Restaurants are required to operate at half their capacity and set tables at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) apart.
‘YELLOW’ VERSUS ‘BLUE’
    Organisers said more than 2,300 businesses, including retailers, restaurants and wedding shops, joined the action and offered discounts to pro-democracy protesters.
    Stepping up an economic campaign that took root amid sometimes violent protests last year, mobile apps and shop banners guided consumers to yellow businesses across the city.
    The “yellow economic circle,” which contrasts with “blue” businesses, or those deemed pro-government, is seen as a way for people to support the protest movement through peaceful means.
    At Mainichi restaurant in the bustling working class district of Mong Kok, sales had plunged 70% since the outbreak of the coronavirus, but business was booming this week thanks to yellow circle promotions.
    Mary Ma, 25, who was dining at Mainichi’s where colorful Post-it notes of support for the movement covered one wall, said it was a great way to maintain support.
    “We might not be able to come out and protest every day due to the pandemic, but supporting yellow shops in our daily life is something everyone can do – it’s a way to revolutionise our daily life,” said Ma.
    Mainichi’s owner Chong, 35, formed a group called “Small Mong Kok Alliance” with yellow shops nearby and he offers his customers a yellow discount card to shop at members’ outlets.
    “I have seen many young people come out and make sacrifices for Hong Kong’s future.    My restaurant is also part of the society, I want to make use of it to support the demands of the students.    Their demands are also my demands,” Chong said.
    Ka Yung, 21, co-owner of a boutique shop called Freeland and also a member of the alliance, said she hoped to strengthen the circle by forming tie-ups with other yellow shops.
    “No one can earn all the money himself.    I would rather let shops with similar political views share the market than let the blue shops earn money,” she said.
(Additional reporting by Pak Yiu and Donny Kwok; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Mike Collett-White)

5/1/2020 Tourists trickle back to village by China’s Great Wall as virus curbs relaxed
A woman wearing face mask and traditional Chinese clothing visits Gubei Water Town on the first day of the five-day Labour Day holiday,
following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on the outskirts of Beijing, China, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    GUBEI WATER TOWN, China (Reuters) – The mock Qing dynasty village nestled below the Great Wall would normally be teeming with tourists on Labour Day, but the thin crowds on Friday showed that while China’s coronavirus epidemic has subsided, people’s fears could take longer to fade.
    During holidays, some 100,000 visitors a day would traipse round the quaint stone-paved streets of Gubei Water Town, 110 kilometres (68 miles) northeast of Beijing.    Its marketing manager reckoned on getting just a tenth of that number this year.
    “People have concerns about the virus and are unwilling to travel long distances,” said Guo Baorong.    For a start, there will be no international tourists this time, he said, noting foreigners would normally make up around 15% of visitors.
    About 70% of China’s tourist attractions had reopened as of Thursday, according to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, but all sites have had to cap visitors to 30% of designed capacity.
    More sites, including the Forbidden City in Beijing, were set to reopen Friday.
    Staff at the entrance to Gubei Water Town checked visitors’ temperatures and health tracking codes.    And inside, lines on the ground directed tourists to stand one meter apart and stores used ropes to keep crowds from forming.    Like everywhere in China since the lockdowns were imposed to stem the epidemic, everyone wore masks.
    Still, in places where tourists squeezed together as the streets narrowed, staff shouted at them to spread out.     Some tourists enjoyed the smaller crowds.
    Xiao Chen, a 24-year-old student wearing traditional Chinese garb known as “Hanfu” came to Gubei to take pictures around ancient architecture.
    “It’s good to come out of the city.    There was barely anyone in Gubei Water Town yesterday, and even today, it’s not crowded,” she said.
    The tranquility may not last.    Room bookings jumped on Thursday after Beijing and nearby areas began easing coronavirus restrictions, with about 90% of accommodation now reserved.
    “We were not expecting that many people to come in,” said Guo.
(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Carlos Garcia Rawlins; Writing by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/1/2020 China’s Hubei to lower emergency coronavirus response level: Xinhua
FILE PHOTO: Medical workers from a hospital collect swabs from high school teachers for nucleic acid tests at a school,
following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Yichang, Hubei province, China April 27, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS
    SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s central province of Hubei will lower its coronavirus emergency response level from the highest to second-highest level from Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported Friday, citing a local official.
    The virus was first detected in the province’s capital Wuhan in late 2019.
(Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; editing by John Stonestreet)
[IT STARTED HERE IN JANUARY SUPPOSEDLY AND HAS CEASED IN APRIL WHICH IS 4 MONTHS.].

5/1/2020 Indonesia reports 433 new coronavirus cases, eight deaths
FILE PHOTO: A health worker performs a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) nasal swab test on a man, in Depok, on the outskirts
of Jakarta, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Indonesia April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia confirmed on Friday 433 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases to 10,551, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said.
    Yurianto reported eight new deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 800, while 1,591 people have recovered.
    Indonesia has tested more than 76,500 people for the virus.
(Reporting by Nilufar Rizki and Bernadette Christina Munthe; Writing by Ed Davies; editing by John Stonestreet)

5/1/2020 Malaysia reports 69 new coronavirus cases with 1 new death
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing protective mask passes by a mural at a Mass Rapid Transit station,
following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia reported 69 new coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 6,071.
    The number of fatalities rose by one to 103.
    Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia would allow the majority of businesses to resume operations from May 4, partially easing restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the outbreak.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; editing by John Stonestreet)

5/1/2020 China refuses to cooperate with WHO investigation of Wuhan origin by OAN Newsroom
FILE – In this Wednesday, March 11, 2020 file photo, a technician prepares COVID-19 coronavirus patient
samples for testing at a laboratory in New York’s Long Island. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
    The World Health Organization recently spoke out against China for refusing to let the agency investigate the origins of the coronavirus.
    In an interview with Sky News Friday, World Health Organization (WHO) representative Dr. Gauden Galea stated the group has not been allowed to join Beijing’s probe despite its repeated requests.    He went on to say WHO experts are convinced the virus was not manufactured and originated in Wuhan.
    However, they still need to investigate logs from two Wuhan laboratories.    Dr. Galea stressed it’s crucial to fully understand how the virus broke out in order to prevent future pandemics.
    “The origins of the virus are very important, the animal-human interface is extremely important and needs to be studied,” he explained.    “Priority is we need to know as much as possible to prevent the re-occurrence, you don’t want this whole thing to happen all over again.”
    Regarding the early days of when the virus broke out in China, Dr. Galea went on to say the WHO only knows what China has reported.    He added that it’s likely there were many more cases of coronavirus in early January than Chinese authorities let on.
[THE DRAGON IS SHOWING ITS TRUE COLORS COMMUNIST RED AND NOT LETTING THE WHO DO WHAT THEY NEED TO.]

5/1/2020 U.S. sanctions Iranian-Iraqi businessman over support of Iran’s Quds Force
FILE PHOTO: A staff member removes the Iranian flag from the stage after a group picture with foreign ministers and representatives
of the U.S., Iran, China, Russia, Britain, Germany, France and the European Union during the Iran nuclear talks at the Vienna
International Center in Vienna, Austria July 14, 2015. To match Analysis USA-ELECTION/IRAN REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on an Iranian-Iraqi businessman and his mining company, accusing him of involvement in efforts by Iran’s elite Quds Force to generate revenue illegally and smuggle weapons abroad, the U.S. Treasury Department said.
    Amir Dianat has supported Quds Force smuggling operations for years, including efforts aimed at shipping weapons such as missiles and smuggling shipments from Iran to Yemen, the department said in a statement.
    The sanctions freeze any U.S.-held assets of Dianat or his company Taif Mining Services, which the U.S. Treasury Department alleged was a front company for the Quds Force, and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.
    “The Iranian regime and its supporters continue to prioritize the funding of international terrorist organizations over the health and well-being of the Iranian people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.
    In addition to the blacklisting, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia filed criminal charges against Dianat and his business associate, Iranian Kamran Lajmiri, alleging they violated sanctions and money laundering laws.
    A related complaint was also filed alleging that $12 million is subject to forfeiture as funds involved in the crimes and as assets of a foreign terrorist organization, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.
    The forfeiture action marks the largest ever seizure of Quds Force-related funds, it said.
    The complaint alleges that Dianat and Lajmiri in 2019 conspired to purchase a petroleum tanker in a scheme involving the National Iranian Oil Company, the National Iranian Tanker Company and the Quds Force, all blacklisted by the United States.
    If convicted of the criminal charges, Dianat and Lajmiri would face a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.
    “These defendants purchased a crude oil tanker valued at over $10 million by illegally using the U.S. financial system, defiantly violating U.S. sanctions,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in the statement.
    Tensions between Washington and Tehran have spiked since U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and began reimposing sanctions that had been eased under the accord.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by David Gregorio and Tom Brown)

5/1/2020 Taliban step up attacks on Afghan forces since signing U.S. deal: data by Hamid Shalizi, Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Rupam Jain
FILE PHOTO: An Afghan man wearing a protective face mask walks past a wall painted with photo of Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan,
and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the leader of the Taliban delegation, in Kabul, Afghanistan April 13, 2020.REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
    KABUL/MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Taliban have mounted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, marking a sharp escalation in violence, in the 45 days since signing a deal with the United States that paves the way for a U.S. troop drawdown, according to data seen by Reuters.
    Two sets of data, one from a Western military source and one from an independent body, both show attacks by the hardline Islamist group up by more than 70 percent between March 1 and April 15 compared with the same period a year ago.
    Separately, Afghan government data indicates that more than 900 Afghan local and national forces were killed during that same period, up from about 520 a year earlier.
    Meanwhile, Taliban casualties fell to 610 in the period, down from roughly 1,660 a year ago, as U.S. and Afghan forces have reduced the number of offensive attacks and air strikes following the U.S.-Taliban accord.
    Senior Western, Afghan and independent officials tracking the ground situation say that the increase in attacks shows the insurgent group’s wilful disregard of a pledge to reduce violence made as part of the accord signed in late February.
    The violence in the war-damaged nation has coincided with the rapid spread of the coronavirus infection.
    In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters that while the Taliban have adhered to a commitment in the Feb. 29 deal not to mount attacks on U.S.-led coalition forces or major cities, the militants’ level of violence “is unacceptably high” and “not conducive to a diplomatic solution.”
    “We have continued to do defensive attacks to help defend our partners in the area and we will continue to do that,” Hoffman added.
    The four provinces that have reported the highest number of cases of the infection have also been the ones hit the most by Taliban violence in recent weeks, according to the two data sets and at least three senior Afghan and Western officials.
    As of May 1, Afghanistan has reported over 2,335 coronavirus cases and 68 deaths, but international observers believe numbers could be much higher, given the lack of testing.
    “Taliban fighters are not hitting large government centres or cities, they are focusing on villages in Herat, Kabul, Kandahar and Balkh provinces that have reported the highest number of coronavirus cases,” a senior Western security official said on condition of anonymity.
‘A MATTER OF TIME’
    Western security officials, diplomats and international observers said the Taliban’s strategy to slowly erode government control of rural areas and then position themselves to besiege cities during the pandemic could derail the peace deal.
    “They are slowly encircling all of Afghanistan’s major cities,” said Jonathan Schroden, an expert with the Center for Naval Analyses who has provided assessments on the security situation in Afghanistan to the U.S. military and Congress.
    “So it’s either a matter of time before they get a deal satisfactory to them or they put those major cities under siege.”
    Two Taliban spokesman said the group was not responsible for a majority of the attacks in recent weeks.    They accused the United States of jeopardising the peace agreement by supporting Afghan security forces and not releasing 5,000 Taliban prisoners as part of a prisoner swap stipulated under the accord.
    The Taliban say the group’s attacks between the start of March and April 15 fell 54.7% compared with a year ago to 537.
    The group said its attacks were not “as intense” compared with the previous year and Afghan security forces members killed fell 54.2% to 935 while the number wounded fell 55.9% to 742.
    The Defence Ministry said army troops were in “active defence mode” and using the air force to stop Taliban advances.
    On Friday, clashes between Taliban fighters and Afghan forces intensified in northern Balkh and southern Logar province as warring sides fought to control checkpoints. Dozens of Afghan security men and Taliban fighters were killed.
    Last month, General Scott Miller, commander of U.S. forces and the NATO-led non-combat Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, travelled to Qatar amid the pandemic to meet Taliban political leaders.
    Security officials said Miller issued a “” to stop operations against Afghan forces and adhere to pledges under the accord aimed at ending nearly two decades of war.
    Some of the attacks included four cases in which Taliban fighters allegedly used insiders to poison food eaten by Afghan forces at checkpoints in the north.    Those checkpoints were now manned by Taliban fighters, Western security officials said.
    Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was aware of recent insider attacks in which several Afghan force members were fatally poisoned, but denied the group was responsible and said recent violence at checkpoints involved Afghan forces attacking civilians.
    He added, however, that the Taliban did not deny using infiltrators or causing insider attacks as part of its war strategy.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Euan Rocha, William Maclean and Jonathan Oatis)

5/1/2020 KCNA reports North Korea leader Kim Jong Un resuming public activity
FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks as he takes part in a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers'
Party of Korea (WPK) in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 11, 2020. KCNA/via REUTERS/File Photo
    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said on Saturday leader Kim Jong Un attended the completion of a fertilizer plant in a region north of the capital, Pyongyang, in the first report of his public activity since April 11.
    Reuters could not independently verify the KCNA report.
    There has been speculation about his health after he missed the birth anniversary celebrations of state founder Kim Il Sung on April 15.    The day is a major holiday in North Korea and Kim as leader usually pays a visit to the mausoleum where his grandfather lies in state.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Jack Kim; Editing by Sandra Maler)

5/1/2020 Malaysia detains hundreds of refugees and migrants during virus lockdown: rights groups by Rozanna Latiff and A. Ananthalakshmi
Police officers wearing protective suits gather outside an apartment under enhanced lockdown to pick up illegal immigrants, during the movement
control order due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia on Friday detained hundreds of refugees and migrant workers for illegally living in the country, rights groups said, at a time of movement and travel restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
    There has been growing public anger in recent days over the presence of migrant foreigners with some in Malaysia accusing them of spreading the coronavirus and being a burden on government resources.
    Malaysia has around 2 million registered foreign workers but authorities estimate many more are living in the Southeast Asian country without proper documents.    Malaysia does not formally recognise refugees, regarding them as illegal migrants.
    The arrests followed immigration raids in a neighbourhood in capital Kuala Lumpur where thousands of migrant workers and refugees live, according to human rights groups and photos shared on social media.
    Human Rights Watch and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network said over 700 migrants were taken into custody including young children.     Rohingya refugees from Myanmar were among those detained, other rights groups said.
    Malaysian police and the immigration department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said a “small number of asylum seekers” had been detained and it had informed by authorities that refugees and asylum-seekers were being held for the purpose of identity verification.
    A Malaysian official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the foreign workers, mostly from South Asia, were detained because they did not have the necessary permits and that more raids would be conducted in the coming days.
    Rachel Tan, programme officer at the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, said the arrests were a “criminalisation of a people who toil in difficult and dangerous work conditions.”
    The neighbourhood where the raids took place was close to an area with three buildings that had been placed under strict lockdowns last month after a surge in coronavirus cases there.
    Around 9,000 people live in the buildings, most of whom are foreign nationals, and 235 of them have tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus, the government has said.
    Malaysia has reported a total of 6,071 coronavirus cases and 103 deaths, and its prime minister said on Friday that most businesses will reopen from Monday following six-week long curbs that have caused a damaging economic slowdown.
    Photos shared on social media showed dozens of migrant workers lined up in close quarters as authorities watched from the sidewalk.    Some officials were seen wearing full protective equipment, while the migrant workers only had masks on.
    Other photos seen by Reuters showed dozens of migrants packed in trucks that typically carry illegal foreign nationals to immigration detention centres, which are known to be cramped and unhygienic.
    “This is not at all humane,” rights advocate Tan said.    “Even innocent children and babies were being dragged onto the trucks like cattle.”
    Migrant workers have been a particularly vulnerable community during the pandemic.    In neighbouring Singapore, thousands of infections have been linked to migrant worker dormitories.
(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi and Rozanna Latiff with additional reporting by Lim Huey Teng; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

5/1/2020 Afghanistan suffers upsurge in fighting and in coronavirus
FILE PHOTO: An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier stands guard at a check point near the
Bagram Airbase north of Kabul, Afghanistan April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
    KABUL (Reuters) – Clashes between Taliban fighters and Afghan forces intensified in northern Balkh and southern Logar province as warring sides fought to control checkpoints and the number of coronavirus cases in Afghanistan rises, officials said on Friday.
    In recent weeks, the Taliban has attacked several provinces, ignoring a pledge to reduce violence as part of a peace deal signed with the U.S. government on Feb. 29.
    The fighting also defies an appeal from international aid agencies for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
    At least 14 members of the Afghan forces were killed and more than 20 injured during the Taliban’s attack on a district centre in the Zare district of Balkh province, Shamsurrahman Rahmani, the governor of Zare, said.
    “The district centre is on the brink of collapse and Afghan forces may suffer more casualties if reinforcements are not deployed soon,” Rahmani said.
    Taliban spokesmen have so far not commented on the clashes in Balkh that shares a border with Uzbekistan.    The province has reported 173 positive cases of the coronavirus and 10 deaths.
    As of May 1, Afghanistan reported 2,335 cases of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, and 68 deaths, but international observers and medics on the ground believe the real number of infections could be much higher.
    Afghan forces said they killed Qari Momen, a Taliban commander along with eight other fighters during an airstrike in the Khanabad district of north eastern Kunduz province on Thursday night.
    A Taliban spokesman could not be contacted immediately to confirm the airstrike.
    In southern Logar province, Afghan forces quelled Taliban fighters from a checkpoint of the National Defense and Security Forces in the Baraki Barak district on Thursday night.
    “Afghan forces repulsed the Taliban’s attack as part of an active defence operation…killed 15 Taliban fighters, wounded six others, and destroyed large quantities of weapons and ammunition,” the federal defence ministry said in a statement.
    At least four members of the Afghan forces were killed and five were injured in the clashes, it stated.
    The Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said 10 Taliban fighters and 14 members of the Afghan forces were killed in Logar.
(Reporting by Abdul Matin Sahak in Mazar-i-Sharif, Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Orooj Hakimi in Kabul; writing by Rupam Jain; editing by Barbara Lewis)

5/1/2020 DOD plans to not release Taliban attack data publicly by OAN Newsroom
FILE – In this Wednesday, April 29, 2020 file photo, Afghan special forces stand guard at the site of
a suicide bomber attack on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
    Pentagon officials recently announced they will no longer be releasing data on insurgent attacks carried out by the Taliban.    On Friday, spokesman Jonathan Hoffman confirmed the Defense Department’s support for the move and suggested it will help restart peace talks with the terrorist group.
    In February, U.S. and Taliban leaders signed a deal, which ensured American troops would be withdrawn if the group made efforts to start peace talks with Afghanistan’s government.
    According to Hoffman, releasing the data would be counterproductive to negotiations with the group.
    “So the decision was that we’re working toward a better solution, a better place for Afghanistan, and that the sharing of that information would not move that ball forward,” stated the spokesman.
    The decision came after the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released a report, which said the Taliban has increased violent attacks.
    In the meantime, the U.S. is planning to reduce its presence in the country to 8,600 troops by mid-July, keeping its promise to fully withdraw from Afghanistan within 14 months.

5/2/2020 Malaysia rounding up migrants to contain coronavirus spread, police say
FILE PHOTO: Police officers wearing protective suits pick up an illegal immigrant from an apartment under enhanced lockdown, during the movement
control order due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian authorities are rounding up undocumented migrants as part of efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, the country’s police chief said late on Friday, after hundreds of migrants and refugees were detained in the capital Kuala Lumpur.
    Over 700 migrants were taken into custody, including young children and ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, during Friday’s raid in a downtown area where thousands of migrants and asylum-seekers live, rights groups had said.
    The operation was aimed at preventing undocumented migrants from travelling to other areas amid movement curbs imposed to contain the spread of the outbreak, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador told state news agency Bernama.
    “We cannot allow them to move freely… as it will be difficult for us to track them down if they leave identified locations,” Abdul Hamid was quoted as saying.
    Those detained would be placed at a single location for monitoring until the movement curbs were lifted, he said according to Bernama.
    The arrests followed public anger in recent days over the presence of migrant foreigners, particularly Rohingya refugees, with some in Malaysia accusing them of spreading the coronavirus and being a burden on state resources.
    Malaysia has around 2 million registered foreign workers but authorities estimate many more are living in the Southeast Asian country without proper documents.    Malaysia does not formally recognise refugees, regarding them as illegal migrants.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Michael Perry)

5/2/2020 Singapore to ease some coronavirus curbs over next few weeks
FILE PHOTO: People leave a tent used as a thermal scanning station, while buying groceries, amid the
outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Singapore April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore will start easing some curbs put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus over the next few weeks, authorities said on Saturday, as the city-state takes the first tentative steps towards reopening its economy.
    Selected activities such as home-based businesses, laundry services and barbers will be allowed to operate from May 12.    Some students will be allowed to go back to schools in small groups from May 19.
    Some work premises will be allowed to gradually reopen, taking into account their importance to the economy and supply chains and their ability to minimise risks of transmission.
    Singapore is facing the deepest recession in its 55-year history, compounded by restrictions called ‘circuit breakers’ due to last until June 1, which include the closure of most workplaces and shops.
    “We are preparing for the safe and gradual resumption of economic and community activities after the end of the circuit breaker period on 1 June 2020,” the ministry of health said in a statement.
    Singapore has among the highest number of infections in Asia, mainly due to outbreaks in cramped migrant workers dormitories. It has managed to curb the spread of the disease among locals outside the dormitories.
    It reported 932 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking its total infections to 17,101 and has suffered 16 virus-related deaths.
    The average daily number of new cases outside the dormitories has dropped by more than half to 12 in the past week, from 25 in the week before.
    Authorities said SafeEntry, a digital check-in system to log details of visitors and employees, will be deployed extensively across the country to help with contact tracing.
    The government said the measures could still be adjusted depending on the situation, and that people should continue to stay at home and not meet in groups.
    “Even as we ease and adjust some of these measures, the bottom line is this – this is not the time to slacken and let our guard down,” Singapore minister Lawrence Wong, who co-heads the country’s virus fighting taskforce, told a media briefing.
    “We are not out of the woods,” he said.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Michael Perry)

5/2/2020 Harbin city shuts eateries, coronavirus curbs ease elsewhere in China
FILE PHOTO: Workers in protective suits are seen at a registration point for passengers at an airport in
Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province bordering Russia, following the spread of the novel
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in the country, China April 11, 2020. REUTERS/Huizhong Wu
    BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A northeastern Chinese city of 10 million people struggling with currently the country’s biggest coronavirus cluster shut dine-in services on Saturday, as the rest of China eases restrictions designed to hamper the spread of the disease.
    Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang and its biggest city, said it temporarily suspended dine-in services for all eateries, reported the official CCTV citing an emergency epidemic prevention notice.
    Catering services operating in the city, such as barbecue eateries and those selling skewers, shabu shabu, and stew, shall suspend dine-in meals until further notice and in accordance with changes in the epidemic situation, the notice said.
    While mainland China reported only one case on Saturday and crowds returned to some of its most famous tourist attractions for the 5-day May holiday, the northern province of Heilongjiang is hunkering down to prevent further clusters from forming.
    Of the 140 local transmissions in mainland China, over half have been reported as from Heilongjiang, according to a Reuters tally.
    Heilongjiang province borders Russia and has become the frontline in the fight against a resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic, with many new infections from citizens entering from Russia.
    The province has already banned entry to residential zones by non-locals and vehicles registered elsewhere.    It had also ordered isolation for those arriving from outside China or key epidemic areas.
    On the back of the outbreak, deputy secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Wang Wentao said at a Friday meeting “we deeply blame ourselves,” according to local media.
    “We had an inadequate understanding of epidemic prevention and control,” said Wang, adding that the failure to carry out testing in a timely manner contributed to the clusters.
(Reporting by Tina Qiao and Ryan Woo in Beijing and Engen Tham in Shanghai; Editing by Michael Perry)

5/2/2020 India makes government tracing app mandatory for all workers by Sankalp Phartiyal
FILE PHOTO: Employees wearing protective masks work inside a call centre run by Uttar Pradesh state police during an extended
lockdown to slow the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Lucknow, India, April 21, 2020. REUTERS/ Pawan Kumar
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has mandated that all public and private sector employees use a government-backed Bluetooth tracing app and maintain social distancing in offices as New Delhi begins easing some of its lockdown measures in lower-risk areas.
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Friday said India – the country with the largest number of people in lockdown – would extends its nationwide control measures for another two weeks from Monday to battle the spread of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 illness, but allow “considerable relaxations” in lower-risk districts.
    As part of its efforts to fight the deadly virus, India last month launched the app Aarogya Setu – meaning Health Bridge – a Bluetooth and GPS-based system developed by the country’s National Informatics Centre.    The app alerts users who may have come in contact with people later found to be positive for COVID-19 or deemed to be at high risk.
    “Use of Aarogya Setu shall be made mandatory for all employees, both private and public,” India’s Ministry of Home Affairs said in a notification late on Friday.
    It will the responsibility of the heads of companies and organizations “to ensure 100% coverage of this app among the employees,” the ministry said.
    Officials at India’s technology ministry and a lawyer who framed the privacy policy for Aarogya Setu told Reuters the app needs to be on at least 200 million phones for it to be effective in the country of 1.3 billion people.
    The app has been downloaded around 50 million times on Android phones, which dominate India’s smartphone user base of 500 million, according to Google Play Store data.
    The app’s compulsory use is raising concerns among privacy advocates, who say it is unclear how the data will be used and who stress that India lacks privacy laws to govern the app.
    “Such a move should be backed by a dedicated law which provides strong data protection cover and is under the oversight of an independent body,” said Udbhav Tiwari, Public Policy Advisor for internet company Mozilla.
    New Delhi has said the app will not infringe on privacy as all data is collected anonymously.
    The app can help authorities identify virus hotspots and better-target health efforts, the tech ministry told Reuters in late April, adding that information on the app is used “only for administering necessary medical interventions.”
    On Friday, the government said that offices re-opening will also have to implement measures like gaps between shifts and staggered lunch breaks to contain spread of the coronavirus that has infected 3.3 million worldwide and caused more than 230,000 deaths.
    India has reported over 37,000 cases and 1,218 deaths from the virus.
(Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by Alexandra Ulmer and Tom Hogue)

5/2/2020 Thailand reports six new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective face mask gets her temperature measured at a checkpoint during the holy fasting month of
Ramadan, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Yala province, Thailand, April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Surapan Boonthanom
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand reported six new coronavirus cases and no new deaths on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases to 2,966.
    New daily infections have stayed in the single digits for six consecutive days, prompting the government to allow some businesses and public parks to reopen starting on Sunday.
    Three of the new cases were found on the southern resort island of Phuket, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman of the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    While more than half of Thailand’s nearly 3,000 cases were concentrated in Bangkok, Phuket has the highest rate of infection per population, Taweesin said.
    Since Thailand first detected the coronavirus in January, a total of 54 patients have died, 2,732 have recovered and 180 are still hospitalised, according to official figures.
(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat. Editing by Kay Johnson.)

5/2/2020 Hong Kong protesters pack small businesses in support of pro-democracy campaign by OAN Newsroom
A pro-police supporter shouts slogan in front of riot police as pro-democracy activists gather outside a shopping mall
during the Labor Day in Hong Kong, Friday, May 1, 2020 amid an outbreak of the new coronavirus. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
    Hong Kong protesters poured into small businesses greatly impacted by pandemic shut downs this week.    On Friday, pro-democracy protesters flooded several restaurants and companies in an effort to inject much needed funds into businesses, which are reeling from the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
    The city’s rents are among the highest in the world.
    According to demonstrators, the move is in support of “yellow businesses,” which are open to the democracy movement.
    “The reason I came on May 1st is to support this campaign, a lot of the yellow businesses are urging for help.    So coming here, I want to spend money and let other people know that we still want to keep the protest going.    Even though the spending may be a small thing, it’s all about the thought.” – Nicola Law, local student
    The event came amid the Asian region’s May Day holiday, which typically brings in visitors from mainland China for “mini Golden Week celebrations.”
Riot police enter the shopping mall to disperse the protesters during the Labor Day in Hong Kong, Friday, May 1, 2020 amid
the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Hong Kong police deployed pepper spray during a protest in a Hong Kong shopping mall on Friday,
as they dispersed over a hundred protesters who gathered to sing and chant pro-democracy slogans. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

5/2/2020 ‘Once Upon a Virus’: China mocks U.S. coronavirus response in Lego-like animation
FILE PHOTO - Chinese and U.S. flags flutter near The Bund, before U.S. trade delegation meet
their Chinese counterparts for talks in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song
    SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China has published a short animation titled “Once Upon a Virus” mocking the U.S. response to the new coronavirus using Lego-like figures to represent the two countries.
    Washington and Beijing are locked in a war of words over the origins of the disease, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has grown into a global pandemic.
    U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the evidence.
    In the animation posted online by China’s official Xinhua news agency, red curtains open to reveal a stage featuring Lego-like figures in the form of a terracotta warrior wearing a face mask and the Statue of Liberty.
    “We discovered a new virus,” says the warrior.br>     “So what?” replies the Statue of Liberty.    “It’s only a flu.”
    As the warrior issues warnings about the virus and counts off the grim milestones in China’s outbreak, the Statue of Liberty replies dismissively with echoes of Trump’s press conferences in which he played down the severity of the illness.
    “Are you listening to yourselves?” asks the warrior as the statue begins to turn red with fever and gets hooked up to an intravenous drip.
    “We are always correct, even though we contradict ourselves,” the statue replies.
    “That’s what I love about you Americans, your consistency,” says the warrior.
    The United States and other countries have accused China of misleading the world about the severity of the outbreak, and there are growing calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the virus.
    In an interview with Reuters, Trump said he believes China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic is proof that Beijing “will do anything they can” to make him lose his re-election bid in November.
(Reporting by Engen Tham; Editing by Stephen Coates)

5/2/2020 Afghan rivals say they’re close to ending leadership feud by Hamid Shalizi and Abdul Qadir Sediqi
FILE PHOTO: Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani (L) and Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah (R)
participate in a family photo at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland July 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
    KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and rival Abdullah Abdullah are close to resolving a standoff over last year’s disputed presidential election that has threatened a U.S.-brokered peace process, both sides said on Saturday.
    The feud culminated in both men declaring themselves president at parallel inauguration ceremonies in March.
    A draft deal had been finalised that included proposals that Abdullah lead a high council for peace talks and have a half-share in government appointments, Fraidoon Khwazoon, a spokesman for Abdullah, said.
    “In principle an agreement is reached but there are a few things that need to be finalised.    We believe they are not big obstacles and will be solved,” Khwazoon said.
    The dispute has sparked fears among many, including the United States, that the split was undermining momentum in peace talks with Islamist Taliban insurgents.
    Ghani’s spokesman, Sediq Sediqi, had said on Twitter late on Friday that there had been progress in resolving the dispute.
    “Progress has been made in the ongoing negotiations and discussions on important political issues and matters to resolve them politically,” Sediqi said.
    Both sides have been under international pressure to strike a deal. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Afghanistan in March for a one-day visit to try to broker an arrangement even as most travel was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
    “We have told both sides to firm up a deal this week.    If not, then aid could be hit badly in this time,” a senior Western diplomat said on Saturday.
    Spokesmen for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and for Ghani declined to comment.    A spokesman for Abdullah said donors had emphasised they should solve the issue but they had not been given a deadline to come to a resolution.
    Pompeo had announced a $1 billion reduction in aid and threatened to slash the same amount next year to try to force Abdullah and Ghani to end their feud.
    After nearly 20 years of fighting the Taliban, the United States is looking for a way to extricate itself and to achieve peace between the U.S.-backed government and the militant group.
    The United States and the Taliban signed a pact on Feb. 29 that was designed to pave the way for peace talks between the militant group and the Afghan government.
    But formal talks have not started because of the political feud, as well as an escalation in violence by the Taliban since the deal was reached and disagreements over a prisoner swap.
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Hamid Shalizi and Rupam Jain; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by James Drummond and Nick Macfie)

5/2/2020 Indonesia reports 292 new coronavirus cases, 31 new deaths
FILE PHOTO: Health workers look on during a nasal swab test for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
in Depok, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia recorded 292 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the total number of infections to 10,843, said health ministry official, Achmad Yurianto.
    Yurianto also reported 31 new deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 831.    The number of people who have recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, rose by 74 to 1,665, he said.
    The country has tested more than 79,800 people for the virus, he said.
(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Tom Hogue)

5/3/2020 Mosques and schools to reopen in Iran’s low-risk areas
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the United Nations
General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran plans to reopen mosques and schools in areas that have been consistently free of the coronavirus as President Hassan Rouhani’s government starts to ease restrictions that were aimed at containing the outbreak.
    With mosques closed and religious gatherings banned since mid-March as the outbreak spread in the Middle East’s worst-hit country, ordinary Iranians have turned to drive-ins for ceremonies during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
    State TV and videos on social media showed people in their cars watching a religious ceremony on a big screen in a Tehran car park.
    “Mosques will reopen in 132 low-risk or ‘white cities’ and towns from Monday.    Friday prayer sermons will resume in those areas as well … However, all these steps will be taken by respecting the health protocols,” Rouhani said in a televised meeting.
    Iran’s health ministry has divided the country into white, yellow and red areas based on the number of infections and deaths.
    The ministry said on Saturday that the trajectory of infections has started a “gradual” downward trend in Iran.    On Sunday the health ministry said the country’s coronavirus death toll had risen to 6,203 and the total number of diagnosed cases had reached 97,424.
    Iran has already lifted a ban on inter-city trips and malls, with large shopping centres resuming activities despite warnings by some health officials of a new wave of infections.
    School and university closures were maintained and cultural and sports gatherings are also still banned, though Rouhani said the plan is for some schools to reopen soon.
    “The schools in the white and low-risk areas will reopen from May 16 … However, we will continue to review the situation,” he said.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; additional reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by David Goodman)br>
5/3/2020 Japan indicates could ease some coronavirus-related curbs
FILE PHOTO: People wearing face masks stand in a queue during the nationwide state of emergency following
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Tokyo, Japan, April 25, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan could ease some of the current coronavirus-related curbs on economic activity by allowing places such as parks and museums to reopen, provided proper preventive measures were in place, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Sunday.
    The remarks come a day before the government is set to announce the extension of its state of emergency after struggling to suppress the spread of the novel coronavirus that has infected 15,589 people and killed 530 in the country.
    “As long as the proper preventive measures are in place, it could be possible to ease some of the current restrictions on economic activities,” Nishimura said at a news conference held on Sunday morning.
    Places like parks, museums, art galleries, and libraries could reopen even in the 13 prefectures where the coronavirus has spread rapidly, if they take steps to disinfect their premises and ensure visitors maintain their distance, he added.
    Further details on how restrictions might be eased would be discussed at an expert’s meeting on Monday, Nishimura said.
    The government-issued state of emergency in Japan is set to expire on Wednesday, the last day of a week-long national holiday.    The government is preparing to extend the state of emergency for another month.
    Under the state of emergency, the government has asked people to stay at home, avoid unnecessary outings, and refrain from going to crowded areas.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

5/3/2020 Singapore looks to ramp up factory activities as virus curbs ease
FILE PHOTO: A view of an empty Merlion Park, as tourism braces for a steep decline following the outbreak of
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) along Marina Bay in Singapore, March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore will progressively ramp up its manufacturing activities, its minister of trade and industry said on Sunday, with the city-state looking to restart its economy as coronavirus curbs start to ease over the next few weeks.
    Sectors that are intertwined with the global supply chain such as biopharmaceutical and petrochemicals as well precision manufacturing will be among priority sectors, Chan Chun Sing told reporters.
    Only about 17% of Singapore’s labour force is currently working onsite to maintain essential services and support for global production chains and connectivity.
    Chan said workplaces will have put in place prescribed measures to minimise the risk of infection before they can reopen.    He added that those who are able to work from home will have to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
    “So we will not be able to open some of the social entertainment outlets, but we will focus on our manufacturing capacities and production capabilities first,” he said.
    The city-state is facing the deepest recession in its 55-year history, compounded by so-called “circuit breaker” restrictions, which are aimed at stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus and are due to last until June 1.
    Singapore will start allowing some businesses to reopen from May 12, authorities said on Saturday.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; editing by Jane Wardell)

5/3/2020 South Korea to relax social distancing rules further, starting May 6 by Cynthia Kim
FILE PHOTO: People wear masks to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
at a department store in Seoul, South Korea April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea will further relax social distancing rules from May 6, allowing a phased re-opening of businesses, as the nation has largely managed to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Sunday.
    Widespread testing, intensive contact tracing and tracking apps have enabled South Korea to limit the spread of the virus rather than rely on the lengthy lockdowns seen elsewhere.
    The government “will allow businesses to resume at facilities in phases that had remained closed up until now, and also allow gatherings and events to take place assuming they follow disinfection guidelines,” the prime minister told a televised meeting of government officials.
    Further easing of rules means public facilities such as parks, libraries as well as schools could reopen in phases, although the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended citizens to continue to exercise some caution in everyday life.
    The new guidelines from the government advise everyone to stay home for three to four days if they feel unwell, stay arms-apart with others in public spaces, and wash hands frequently.
    Seoul extended its social distancing policy until May 5 even as it managed to bring down daily infection cases of more than 900 in late February to around 10 per day in the past week.
    The national tally is at 10,793 as of midnight Saturday, with 250 deaths.
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim; editing by Jane Wardell and Elaine Hardcastle)

5/3/2020 South Korea says Kim Jong Un did not have surgery, as two Koreas exchange gunfire by Cynthia Kim and Hyonhee Shin
FILE PHOTO: North Korean soldiers look toward the south as a South Korean soldier stands guard in the truce village of Panmunjom
inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, August 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool
    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not undergo surgery during his almost three week absence from public life, South Korean news outlet Yonhap said citing a senior government official, as the two Koreas exchanged gunfire around the border on Sunday.
    The South Korean official declined to provide reasons for believing that Kim did not undergo surgery, but said speculative reports that he may have had surgery, citing some differences in his leg movements, is not true, Yonhap reported.
    Earlier on Sunday, North and South Korea exchanged gunfire around the South’s guard post, raising tension a day after North Korean state media showed Kim visiting a factory, the first report of him making a public appearance since April 11.
    Multiple gunshots were fired from North Korea at 7:41 a.m. local time towards a guard post in South Korea that borders the North, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staffs (JCS) said in a statement.
    South Korea responded by firing two shots towards North Korea, no injuries were reported.
    After weeks of intense speculation about Kim’s health and whereabouts, which included one report he had undergone cardiovascular surgery, North Korea’s official media published photographs and a report on Saturday that Kim had attended the completion of a fertiliser plant.
    Kim was seen in photographs smiling and talking to aides at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and touring the plant.    State TV footage showed Kim’s leg movements appearing stiff and jerky.
    The authenticity of the photos, published on the website of the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, could not be verified.
    The exchange of gunshots on Sunday was the latest confrontation between the rival Koreas that technically remain at war.
    In a lengthy briefing held later on Sunday, an official at South Korea’s JCS said the gunshots did not seem a planned provocation, as the area where it ocurred was farmland, but declined to provide a clear conclusion about the incident.
    “In absence of vision (for the target) and in the fog, would there be an accurate provocation?” the official said.
‘MESSAGE KIM STILL CONTROLS MILITARY’
    Choi Kang, vice president of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said he believed the timing of the ‘grey area’ provocation shows it could have been planned to show that Kim was still in charge of the North Korean military.
    “Yesterday, Kim was trying to show he is perfectly healthy, and today, Kim is trying to mute all kinds of speculation that he may not have full control over the military,” Choi said.
    “Rather than going all the way by firing missiles and supervising a missile launch, Kim could be reminding us, ‘yes I’m healthy and I’m still in power’.”
    Ewha University international affairs professor Leif-Eric Easley in Seoul said the shooting incident could be aimed at boosting morale in the North Korean military.
    “The Kim regime may be looking to raise morale of its frontline troops and to regain any negotiating leverage lost during the rumor-filled weeks of the leader’s absence,” said Easley.
    “South Korea and the United States should not take lightly such North Korean violations of existing military agreements.”
(Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Hyonhee Shin, Josh Smith; Editing by Michael Perry)

5/3/2020 With fighter jets and army bands, India’s military thank health workers
Indian Air Force aircrafts fly over Rajpath to show solidarity with frontline warriors fighting against
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New Delhi, India, May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s air force flew aircraft low over more than a dozen cities on Sunday, part of a nationwide campaign by the armed forces to thank healthcare workers and other essential services personnel fighting the coronavirus outbreak.
    So far India has recorded nearly 40,000 coronavirus cases and more than 1,300 deaths amid a weeks-long nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.
    In the southern city of Bengaluru, a helicopter showered flowers over Victoria Hospital, as doctors and other medical workers in hospital gowns and masks cheered on, local television showed.    A military band played alongside.
    In the financial capital of Mumbai, television showed fighter jets roaring over the famous Marine Drive, which runs parallel to the Arabian Sea, as some residents craned for a view from their balconies.
    Later on Sunday, navy and coast guard ships will line up along more than 30 locations on the Indian coast, with some vessels lit up and firing flares.
    But the celebrations were dampened by news of the death of four Indian army personnel, including two officers, as well as a police official during a gun battle with militants in the northern Kashmir region on Saturday.
    The five were killed while freeing hostages in Kashmir’s Kupwara district, an Indian Army spokesman said.    Two militants were also shot dead, he added.
(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal in NEW DELHI, additional reporting by Fayaz Bukhari in SRINAGAR; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

5/3/2020 Thailand reports three new coronavirus cases, as some restrictions ease
FILE PHOTO: People in protective masks, who are affected by the government's measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19),
walk in line for free meals distributed by volunteers at a school in Bangkok, Thailand, May 2, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand reported three new coronavirus cases and no new deaths on Sunday, as the country started lifting restrictions on some businesses and aspects of life.
    The new infections marked the lowest number since early March, just before the country started reporting clusters and tolls started rising.
    Thailand has seen a total of 2,969 coronavirus cases and 54 deaths since the outbreak began in January.
    New daily infections have stayed in the single digits for a week.    The government has allowed some businesses and public parks to reopen on Sunday, as well as resumed alcohol sales.
(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat)

5/3/2020 Iran’s OPEC governor in coma after brain haemorrhage
FILE PHOTO: Iran's OPEC governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili talks to the media at the OPEC Ministerial
Monitoring Committee in Algiers, Algeria September 23, 2018. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina/File Photo
    (Reuters) – Iran’s OPEC Governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili is in a coma after a “severe brain haemorrhage,” SHANA, the news site of the Iranian oil ministry, reported on Sunday.
    He was hospitalized on Friday, SHANA said, without providing any additional details.
    Kazempour Ardebili is a key figure in Iran’s oil industry and served as the country’s deputy foreign minister and deputy oil minister in the 1980s.    He was ambassador to Japan in the early 1990s, while at the same time serving as OPEC governor.
(Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Alexander Smith)

5/3/2020 Vietnam reports first new coronavirus infection in 9 days, taking its tally to 271
FILE PHOTO - Medical specialists wearing protective suits collect blood specimen at a rapid testing center
for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Hanoi, Vietnam March 31, 2020. Picture taken March 31, 2020. REUTERS/Kham
    HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam reported its first new coronavirus infection in nine days on Sunday, a British oil expert who was quarantined on arrival, the health ministry said.
    The Southeast Asian country has registered a total of 271 coronavirus cases and has reported no deaths, the ministry said in a statement.     Over 30,500 people have been quarantined, and 261,000 tests have been carried out.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Frances Kerry)

5/4/2020 In city of India’s Taj Mahal, coronavirus resurgence carries warning signs by Devjyot Ghoshal
A policeman wearing a protective mask stands guard near the historic Taj Mahal during a nationwide lockdown to
slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Agra, India, April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
    AGRA, India (Reuters) – On Feb. 25, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania posed for pictures outside the Taj Mahal on an official visit to India, Sumit Kapoor returned to his nearby home from a trip to Italy.
    Kapoor, a partner in a shoe manufacturing firm, tested positive a week later for the new coronavirus, becoming the first confirmed case in the northern Indian city of Agra and the origin of the country’s first big cluster of the virus.
    The city of 1.6 million people, famous for its 17th-century marble-domed Taj Mahal, moved fast.    It set up containment zones, screened hundreds of thousands of residents and conducted widespread contact tracing.
    By early April, the city thought it had the virus beat, containing cases to under 50, while new infections exploded in other Indian cities.    Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government lauded the “Agra Model” as a template for the country’s battle against COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
    Now, as the city and its hospitals battle a second wave of infections, Agra is a model of a different kind, illustrating how the coronavirus can roar back even after a swift lockdown and elaborate containment measures.
    “If it hadn’t spread in the hospitals, we would have been able to contain it,” said Agra’s top local official, District Magistrate Prabhu N. Singh.
    As India grapples with around 42,000 coronavirus infections, second only to China in Asia, Agra’s tangle with the virus offers lessons for big cities in India and elsewhere.
    It all began with a shoemaker who visited a trade fair in Italy.
    After flying home via Austria, Kapoor, 44, who lives about 10 kilometres away from the Taj Mahal, first learned he might be infected on March 1, when his brother-in-law who travelled with him came down with a fever and tested positive in New Delhi.    A state official called Kapoor the next day and told him to get tested at the Agra District Hospital.
    He was positive – and so were his father, mother, son, wife and brother.    All six were moved to a hospital in New Delhi, about 200 kilometres to the north.    “My brother and I had a sore throat and the other four didn’t have any symptoms,” Kapoor told Reuters.     Later, Kapoor’s accountant in Agra and his wife also tested positive for COVID-19, while other unrelated cases started showing up around the city.
CONTAINMENT ZONES & LOUDSPEAKERS
    Singh, the district magistrate, and his team attempted to establish containment zones as the virus spread across the city, but they ran into a problem: how to quickly screen thousands of households.
    Dr. Brajendra Singh Chandel, a surveillance medical officer with the World Health Organization in Agra, said he pulled out vaccination “microplans” that had been developed for polio control by the WHO, using them alongside Google Maps to plot target areas.
    The detailed household-level plans, which helped India eradicate polio in 2014, have clearly demarcated starting, middle and end points for surveying an area, Chandel explained, allowing teams to work their way through any neighbourhood efficiently.
    “Once we zeroed down on the area, we used the polio microplans to execute,” he said.
    Local authorities identified an epicentre for each cluster of infections and drew three-kilometre-wide containment zones around them.    They surveyed residents in those areas, looking for those who had contact with people who tested positive for the coronavirus or who were showing symptoms.    Nearly 3,000 workers screened some 165,000 households, according to a government presentation.
    Meanwhile, epidemiologists from the federal government’s India Epidemic Intelligence Service arrived in Agra to help with containment, contact tracing and analysing data, said Dr Anshul Pareek, who leads the city’s coronavirus rapid response team.
    As the number of cases grew, authorities sealed off infection hotspots – typically groups of houses or parts of a street – and cordoned off adjoining neighbourhoods holding as many as 10,000 people.    In a control room used to manage traffic, officials monitored camera feeds from across the city to ensure the lockdown was enforced.    Thousands of police were deployed to hotspots and checkpoints.    Loudspeakers blared messages telling residents to stay indoors.
    That differed from other Indian cities, many of which failed to isolate patients or track down their contacts, allowing the infection to spread, according to health authorities.    Weak lockdowns allowed potential carriers to slip through containment cordons, they added.    More than 1,300 people have died from the virus in India.
REVIVAL OF CASES
    Agra was celebrated for appearing to have contained the virus.    On April 11, Lav Agarwal, a senior official in India’s federal health ministry, held up Agra as an example of how India was working “to defeat the pandemic.”
    But a resurgence was already in the works. In late March, a gathering of the Islamic missionary group Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi had become a source for hundreds of new infections nationwide.    Federal authorities sent officials in Agra a list of attendees to track down, Singh said.
    Agarwal did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters.
    District police chief Babloo Kumar said he used police investigation tactics and cell phone data to identify Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts.    Eventually, 104 people from this group tested positive in Agra.
    The effort was helped by the nationwide lockdown on March 25 that stopped all public transport, shut businesses and kept residents at home.
    “Without a lockdown, we could not have done anything,” Singh said.
    By early April, a patient linked to the Tablighi group showed up at an Agra hospital and later tested positive for COVID-19, officials said.    The disease spread rapidly among patients and staff who went on to infect their families and relatives.    New cases also popped up in Agra’s other healthcare facilities.
    Worst hit was Paras Hospital, the source for at least 92 coronavirus cases, Singh said.    One staff member infected 14 others in a two-room home, he said.    In another case, a patient from the hospital infected 32 others in a nearby town, he added.
    The hospital was sealed off on April 6. Late last month, a chart tracking contacts of positive patients linked to the facility still stood next to Singh’s desk.
    Agra now has around 600 coronavirus cases and 14 deaths, according to local authorities.    As of the end of April, there were 39 infection hotspots and tests had been conducted on 6,848 samples, with some people tested multiple times.
    Singh says he’s confident the city will defeat the virus, thanks in part to its aggressive contact-tracing system.
    “The good part is that for all the cases, we know the source,” he said.
    Still, eradicating COVID-19 in Agra’s crowded neighbourhoods will remain difficult, particularly without testing large groups of people, said Dr. Rajib Dasgupta, an epidemiologist who teaches at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.
    “Even within a containment zone, for some conceivable time, it’s not going to go away very rapidly,” said Dasgupta.
(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal, additional reporting by Saurabh Sharma in LUCKNOW; Editing by Euan Rocha)

5/4/2020 New Zealand and Australia consider coronavirus “travel bubble” by Colin Packham and Praveen Menon
FILE PHOTO: A medical personnel administers tests for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Bondi Beach
drive-through testing centre in Sydney, Australia, April 7, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo
    SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand and Australia are discussing the potential creation of a “travel bubble” between the two countries, sources said on Monday, even as Australia reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in two weeks.
    New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will take part in a meeting of Australia’s emergency coronavirus cabinet on Tuesday, the Australian government said, stoking speculation that two-way travel could be permitted in the near future.
    “The idea of a bubble with Australia was floated two weeks ago, and this is an example of the sort of action that could happen within it, while always ensuring the protection of public health,” New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
    “Officials in both countries are considering all aspects of the trans-Tasman concept, and planning how this could happen more broadly,” Peters added.
    The prospect of two-way travel was first proposed by Peters, though Ardern in April insisted it was a “long-term goal” and would need to include other Pacific countries.
    Australia and New Zealand have both slowed the spread of coronavirus in recent weeks to levels significantly below the those reported in the United States, Britain and Europe.    Both governments attribute their success to social distancing restrictions and widespread testing.
    However, Australia on Monday reported 26 new cases, including a seven-year-old boy, its biggest daily jump in two weeks.    That could rise as more states report throughout the day.    New Zealand recorded no new cases on Monday for the first time since March 16.
    Overall, Australia has recorded around 6,800 infections and 95 deaths, and New Zealand 1,137 cases and 20 fatalities.
    On Sunday, a New Zealand rugby league team arrived in Australia to self-isolate before joining Australia’s tournament later this month, after receiving special permission, a move that Peters said could pave the way for a trans-Tasman bubble.
    Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison are expected to discuss their strategies to slow the spread of coronavirus at Tuesday’s meeting, one source familiar with the details of the meeting told Reuters.
    New Zealand does not have a contact tracing app like the one launched by Australia last week to find and inform people who have been in contact with confirmed infected people.
    Just over 4 million Australians have downloaded the CovidSafe app so far, well short of Morrison’s previously announced target of 40% of the country’s estimated 16 million smartphone owners.
    Morrison has made wider adoption of the app a prerequisite to further ease strict social distancing regulations in Australia.
SCHOOLS DEBATE
    The rise in Australia’s death toll was largely due to an outbreak at a meat processing plant in the state of Victoria.
    The infection of the seven-year-old boy in New South Wales (NSW) state, which closed his Sydney school, has drawn attention to the contentious question of whether children should attend school during the outbreak.
    The federal government has said schools should stay open since children are low-risk carriers of the virus, while some state governments have urged parents to keep children at home.
    NSW will reopen schools on a staggered basis from next week, while Victoria has asked parents to keep children at home until the middle of the year.
    The states and territories are also moving at different speeds to lift movement restrictions: NSW has allowed people to make house visits in groups of up to two, while Victoria is retaining its stay-home order until at least May 11.
    “This is a struggle and … it’s not easy to live this way, but none of us can assume, just because we’re frustrated, that this is over,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Monday.    “This is far from over.    We have to stay the course.”
(Reporting by Byron Kaye, Colin Packham and Praveen Menon; Editing by Sam Holmes and Jane Wardell)

5/4/2020 Japan’s PM expected to extend state of emergency until end-May: NHK
FILE PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declares state of emergency during a meeting of the new coronavirus task force
at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, April 7, 2020. Franck Robichon/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to extend the country’s state of emergency on Monday until the end of May, public broadcaster NHK said.
    The government is also expected to determine new prevention measures for the coronavirus outbreak that has infected around 15,000 people and killed more than 500 in the country.
    Abe is expected to explain the reasoning behind the extension of the state of emergency, which is now due to expire on Wednesday, at a news conference in the evening, NHK said.
    The government may also ease some of the current coronavirus-related constraints on economic activity by allowing places with relatively low infection risks, such as parks, to re-open, even in hard-hit prefectures.
    The state of emergency gives governors in those prefectures the authority to request residents to stay at home and businesses to close.     There are, however, no penalties for non-compliance.
    The virus-triggered slump in business activity is threatening to throw the world’s third-largest economy into a deep recession, prompting calls for more government spending.
    Japan’s parliament last week approved an extra budget to fund a record $1.1 trillion stimulus package.
(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Sam Holmes)

5/4/2020 Commuters stream to work as Malaysia lifts coronavirus curbs on movement by LIM HUEY TENG and Ebrahim Harris
A family jog at a park near Petronas Twin Towers as Malaysia reopens a majority of businesses, after a movement control order was
imposed to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Thousands of Malaysians joined the morning rush hour on Monday as the government eased curbs on movement and businesses for the first time in six weeks, looking to restart an economy racked by the coronavirus pandemic.
    Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said most businesses would be allowed to resume in the effort to stem economic losses the government estimates to stand at 63 billion ringgit ($14.52 billion) since the March 18 curbs.
    Heavy traffic filled thoroughfares into the capital of Kuala Lumpur, highway authorities and media said.
    “You can see now, even the traffic is bad,” said Raja Muizuddin, 29, who works in customer service.    “Literally everyone is going out using the same excuses that they’re going to work.    It’s a mass opening.”
    A phased opening of different sectors every two weeks might have been preferable, he added.    “I’m not happy.”
    Many retail businesses remain closed, however, a Reuters witness said.
    The government defended its relaxation despite a recent climb in infections, with Sunday’s tally of 122 new cases the highest since April 14, for a total of nearly 6,300 infections.
    Malaysia, which until mid-April had the highest number of infections in southeast Asia, imposed a partial lockdown on movement and businesses on March 18 to rein in the virus.
    Nine of its 13 states have expressed reservations over the easing move, opting to delay it or toughen restrictions for fear of a surge in infections.
    The largest palm producing state of Sabah, on Borneo island, said it would stick to a previous shutdown order that runs until May 12, to ensure people “are not exposed” to the virus, Chief Minister Shafie Apdal said in a statement on Sunday.
    But manufacturers are keen to get back to work, with some, such as tech firm Qdos Group, aiming to ramp up production.
    Chief Executive Jeffrey Hwang said his company was focused on clearing a backlog in demand for its products, used to make medical equipment, while maintaining “absolute safety” at its facility.
    “Got to turn on more overtime in May and June to cope with that,” Hwang added.
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-MAP/0100B59S39E/index.html in an external browser.)
(Writing by Joseph Sipalan; Reporting by Ebrahim Harris and Lim Huey Teng; Additional reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

5/4/2020 Bangkok’s street food hub of Chinatown comes alive as lockdown eases by Jiraporn Kuhakan
Vendors wearing protective masks sell food in Chinatown, after the government started opening some restaurants outside shopping
malls, parks and barbershops during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand has loosened restrictions on some businesses after progress in containing the coronavirus, bringing life back to the streets, including the hawker-food heaven of Bangkok’s Chinatown.
    Thailand was the first country outside China to record a case of the coronavirus, back in January, but its daily tally of new cases has fallen to single digits for the past week, with a total of 2,969 confirmed infections and 54 deaths, as of Sunday.
    The government has welcomed the progress with a relaxation of some lockdown rules, allowing food stalls and restaurants outside shopping malls to reopen, and allowing shops to sell alcohol for drinking at home.
    “My stall has been closed for 40 days, because no one’s been here.    I’ve lost 70% of my income,” said Taweesak Tabthong the owner of a famous Chinatown shark fin restaurant, who was happy to see a queue of customers outside.
    Up to Sunday, restaurants and street stalls were only allowed to sell food for takeaway or delivery.
    Customers are now allowed to eat in again but are meant to observe social distancing, with tables spaced apart.
    Wannika Naphon, happy to be getting out for a meal for the first time in weeks, said she was confident businesses would be careful with distancing.
    “I’m sure Yaowarat will return to normal with a lot of tourists soon,” she said, referring to the street by which Bangkok’s Chinatown is known.
    Under the relaxed rules, outdoor markets, small shops, parks and outdoor sports facilities, barbers and pet groomers can reopen.
    But a nighttime curfew, from 10 p.m., will remain until the end of the month so it will be some time before Bangkok’s famous night life even begins to get back to normal.
(Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Robert Birsel)

5/4/2020 Thailand reports 18 new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
A woman wearing a protective mask walks in Chinatown, after the government started opening some restaurants outside shopping malls,
parks and barbershops during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s new coronavirus cases rose to 18 on Monday, after falling to single-digits for the past week, but the country reported no new deaths.
    Monday’s report brought the total number of cases to 2,987 since the new virus was detected in Thailand in January, with a total of 54 deaths.
    The new cases were migrants who were entering Thailand through an immigration checkpoint in the southern province of Songkhla, which shares a border with Malaysia, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman of the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    They were all being quarantined in an immigration detention centre, along with 42 cases found previously on April 25, Taweesin said.
(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat)

5/4/2020 Taiwan says ‘not yet’ received invite for key WHO meeting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee
People wear face masks as a mandatory precaution for riding on public transportations amid the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) outbreak while boarding on and off a metro in Taipei, Taiwan, April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan has “not yet” received an invitation to a meeting this month of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, but will strive take part, the government said on Monday.
    Taiwan’s exclusion from WHO membership, due to objections from China, which considers the island one of its provinces, has infuriated Taipei, which says its exclusion has created a glaring gap in the global fight against the coronavirus.
    The United States has supported Taiwan’s participation at the assembly as an observer, adding to tension with China over its handling of the new coronavirus.
    Taiwan attended the assembly as an observer from 2009-2016 when Taipei-Beijing relations warmed, but China blocked further participation after the election of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who China views as a separatist.    She rejects that.
    The WHO said last week the assembly will take place virtually from May 18.
    Taiwan foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the government had “not yet received an invitation from WHO” and was “still awaiting” it so a delegation could attend as an observer and share the island’s experience in fighting the outbreak.
    Taiwan has reported far fewer cases of the new coronavirus than many of its neighbours, due to early and effective detection and prevention work.
    “Although the current situation we are facing is still very difficult, the government will never give up, and will join with allies and countries with similar ideals to continue to strive until the last moment,” Ou said, referring to efforts to take part in the meeting.
    The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    The government and diplomatic sources have said Taiwan’s chances of taking part are very slim because of China’s position.
    The health ministers of Taiwan and the United States discussed Taiwan’s bid to join the assembly last week.
    China says Taiwan can only take part in the WHO under Beijing’s “one China” policy, in which Taiwan would have to accept that it is part of China, something Tsai’s government will not do.
    In a statement on Saturday, China’s mission in Geneva, where the WHO is based, expressed strong opposition to the Taiwan-U.S. call last week.
    “The Taiwan region is part of China.    The Taiwan region’s participation in international bodies, including the activities of the WHO, must be handled in accordance with the ‘one China’ principle,” it said.
    Beijing has repeatedly condemned Washington for seeking to “politicise” the issue of Taiwan’s participation at the WHO, and both China and the WHO say Taiwan has been provided with the help and information it needs during the coronavirus pandemic.
    Taiwan says it has only received limited information and that the WHO ignored its initial enquiries about the outbreak.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Robert Birsel)

5/4/2020 Exclusive: Internal Chinese report warns Beijing faces Tiananmen-like global backlash over virus
FILE PHOTO: A Chinese flag flutters at the Yellow Crane Tower attraction after the lockdown was lifted in Wuhan, the
capital of Hubei province and China's epicentre of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    BEIJING (Reuters) – An internal Chinese report warns that Beijing faces a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into confrontation, people familiar with the paper told Reuters.
    The report, presented early last month by the Ministry of State Security to top Beijing leaders including President Xi Jinping, concluded that global anti-China sentiment is at its highest since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, the sources said.
    As a result, Beijing faces a wave of anti-China sentiment led by the United States in the aftermath of the pandemic and needs to be prepared in a worst-case scenario for armed confrontation between the two global powers, according to people familiar with the report’s content, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
    The report was drawn up by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a think tank affiliated with the Ministry of State Security, China’s top intelligence body.
    Reuters has not seen the briefing paper, but it was described by people who had direct knowledge of its findings.
    “I don’t have relevant information,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson’s office said in a statement responding to questions from Reuters on the report.
    China’s Ministry of State Security has no public contact details and could not be reached for comment.
    CICIR, an influential think tank that until 1980 was within the Ministry of State Security and advises the Chinese government on foreign and security policy, did not reply to a request for comment.
    Reuters couldn’t determine to what extent the stark assessment described in the paper reflects positions held by     China’s state leaders, and to what extent, if at all, it would influence policy.    But the presentation of the report shows how seriously Beijing takes the threat of a building backlash that could threaten what China sees as its strategic investments overseas and its view of its security standing.
    Relations between China and the United States are widely seen to be at their worst point in decades, with deepening mistrust and friction points from U.S. allegations of unfair trade and technology practices to disputes over Hong Kong, Taiwan and contested territories in the South China Sea.
    In recent days, U.S. President Donald Trump, facing a more difficult re-election campaign as the coronavirus has claimed tens of thousands of American lives and ravaged the U.S. economy, has been ramping up his criticism of Beijing and threatening new tariffs on China.    His administration, meanwhile, is considering retaliatory measures against China over the outbreak, officials said.
    It is widely believed in Beijing that the United States wants to contain a rising China, which has become more assertive globally as its economy has grown.
    The paper concluded that Washington views China’s rise as an economic and national security threat and a challenge to Western democracies, the people said.    The report also said the United States was aiming to undercut the ruling Communist Party by undermining public confidence.
    Chinese officials had a “special responsibility” to inform their people and the world of the threat posed by the coronavirus “since they were the first to learn of it,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in response to questions from Reuters.
    Without directly addressing the assessment made in the Chinese report, Ortagus added: “Beijing’s efforts to silence scientists, journalists, and citizens and spread disinformation exacerbated the dangers of this health crisis.”
    A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council declined to comment.
REPERCUSSIONS
    The report described to Reuters warned that anti-China sentiment sparked by the coronavirus could fuel resistance to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure investment projects, and that Washington could step up financial and military support for regional allies, making the security situation in Asia more volatile.     Three decades ago, in the aftermath of Tiananmen, the United States and many Western governments imposed sanctions against China including banning or restricting arms sales and technology transfers.
China is far more powerful nowadays.
    Xi has revamped China’s military strategy to create a fighting force equipped to win modern wars.
He is expanding China’s air and naval reach in a challenge to more than 70 years of U.S. military dominance in Asia.
    In its statement, China’s foreign ministry called for cooperation, saying, “the sound and steady development of China-U.S. relations” serve the interests of both countries and the international community.
    It added: “any words or actions that engage in political manipulation or stigmatization under the pretext of the pandemic, including taking the opportunity to sow discord between countries, are not conducive to international cooperation against the pandemic.”
COLD WAR ECHOES
    One of those with knowledge of the report said it was regarded by some in the Chinese intelligence community as China’s version of the “Novikov Telegram,” a 1946 dispatch by the Soviet ambassador to Washington, Nikolai Novikov, that stressed the dangers of U.S. economic and military ambition in the wake of World War Two.
    Novikov’s missive was a response to U.S. diplomat George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” from Moscow that said the Soviet Union did not see the possibility for peaceful coexistence with the West, and that containment was the best long-term strategy.
    The two documents helped set the stage for the strategic thinking that defined both sides of the Cold War.
    China has been accused by the United States of suppressing early information on the virus, which was first detected in the central city of Wuhan, and downplaying its risks.
    Beijing has repeatedly denied that it covered up the extent or severity of the virus outbreak.
    China has managed to contain domestic spread of the virus and has been trying to assert a leading role in the global battle against COVID-19.    That has included a propaganda push around its donations and sale of medical supplies to the United States and other countries and sharing of expertise.
    But China faces a growing backlash from critics who have called to hold Beijing accountable for its role in the pandemic.
    Trump has said he will cut off funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), which he called “very China-centric,” something WHO officials have denied.
    Australia’s government has called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of the virus.
    Last month, France summoned China’s ambassador to protest a publication on the website of China’s embassy that criticized Western handling of coronavirus.
    The virus has so far infected more than 3 million people globally and caused more than 200,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
(Editing by Peter Hirschberg)

5/4/2020 Police clash with crowds as India eases coronavirus curbs by Sumit Khanna and Devjyot Ghoshal
People stand in a queue to buy liquor outside a wine shop during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow
the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
    AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian police fired tear gas at a crowd of protesting migrant workers in Gujarat and launched baton charges against hundreds of people queuing at liquor stores in New Delhi, even as the first steps were being taken to relax a coronavirus lockdown.
    The world’s largest lockdown, in force since March 25, is slowly being eased in some areas with fewer infections, although it will stay in place at least until May 17, the government said last week.
    Although officials say rigid restrictions on work and travel are key to beating the virus, the shutdown has endangered the economic survival of many, including an estimated 140 million migrant labourers banned from going home.
    About 1,000 stranded workers seeking help to return to homes in states across India gathered on the outskirts of Gujarat’s city of Surat and threw stones at police who ordered them to disperse, an official said.
    “We have detained 80 people so far and are in the process of identifying more,” Surat’s police chief A.M. Muniya told reporters.
    Reuters partner ANI shared a video showing police firing tear gas into a large group of men standing inside a lane lined with shuttered shops.    Local television showed images of police entering buildings and homes in the area and detaining people.
    Surat, an industrial centre and a hub for diamond processing, has suffered multiple incidents of labour unrest since the lockdown began.
    In the capital New Delhi, where some offices resumed work on Monday with fewer staff and traffic trickled into the streets, a police official said officers were forced to act after unruly crowds gathered outside liquor stores.
    “People were not listening to the directions of police,” the official said, declining to be identified, since he was not authorised to speak to media.
CASES RISING
    India has so far tallied more than 42,800 cases and 1,300 deaths in a steady rise, and some experts fear that the true figures may be higher in a country of 1.3 billion people where many people have only limited access to health care.
    The lockdown has been one of the strictest in the developing world.    The national government is worried that easing up too quickly could accelerate the pace of infections.    But some state governments want economic activity to resume as revenue dwindles and millions struggle without income.
    “We have to get prepared to live alongside corona, we have to get used to it,” Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, told a Sunday briefing, outlining a plan to seal off 97 infection hotspots while opening up the rest of the city of 20 million.
    With all international flights also stalled during the lockdown, India’s government on Monday said it will bring back Indian nationals stranded abroad on special flights and navy ships starting May 7.
    “Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel,” the government said in a press release, adding that individuals would have to pay for the journey and a mandatory 14-day quarantine.
(Reporting by Sumit Khanna in Ahmedabad and Devjyot Ghoshal in New Delhi. Additional reporting by Adnan Abidi and Sanjeev Miglani in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Peter Graff)

5/4/2020 Bangladesh eases some restrictions, extends lockdown to May 16 by Ruma Paul
FILE PHOTO: People go through a disinfection tunnel installed by Artoonad, a volunteer organisation, as a preventive measure
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo
    DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh authorities said on Monday they will gradually open up more factories, as well as farms and logistics operations, as they try to diminish the economic impact of a coronavirus lockdown which they extended to May 16.
    Shopping malls were given permission to reopen with shorter than usual hours.    The move followed a decision last week to reopen more than 2,000 garment factories that supply global brands, after a month-long shutdown.    Much of the rest of the economy remains offline.
    The official tally of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus rose by 688 to surpass 10,000, the health ministry said. Some experts are concerned that the real number of cases could be higher in a country of more than 160 million people where many have only limited access to healthcare.
    The death toll rose to 182 from 177.
    Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has told government officials that schools and colleges may have to remain closed until September if the situation does not improve.
GARMENT TROUBLE
    Garment workers took to the streets in Savar, on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka on Monday, demanding wages.
    “We are not getting wages for the last three months.    We are literally starving,” said Abdur Rahim, a textile worker.
    The government has announced a $588 million package aid for the crucial exports-oriented sector to pay its workers, but garment manufacturers say the funds were not enough to mitigate the crisis.
    Some of the world’s biggest clothing companies, including Gap Inc, Zara-owner Inditex and H&M source supplies from Bangladesh.
    Bangladesh is home to around 4,000 garment factories employing 4.1 million workers. Industry groups had warned that the shutdown that began on March 26 and cancellation of orders could cost the country $6 billion in export revenue this financial year.
    Competitors such as Vietnam, China and Cambodia have already resumed operations.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Jane Wardell; Editing by Toby Chopra, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Peter Graff)

5/4/2020 Bangkok reopens with stylists in scrubs, plastic screens between diners by Jorge Silva and Matthew Tostevin
Hair stylist Ponpimon Meantaggi in a face mask and goggles to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19),
cuts Reuters journalist's hair at the Zahara Salon in Bangkok, Thailand May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Matthew Tostevin
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Businesses reopening in Bangkok on Monday after weeks of near lockdown were taking intense precautions to prevent new outbreaks of the coronavirus.
    One restaurant placed home-made plastic barriers between tables to ensure customers maintained distance.
    A hair salon could be mistaken for a medical ward, with stylists wearing goggles and plastic face shields and scrubs-style protective gowns.
    For the foreseeable future, such scenes will be normal in the city where business is just getting going again now that new coronavirus cases have sharply reduced.
    At the Hanji restaurant, which serves Taiwanese-style hot pot dishes, plastic screens had been set up between tables in line with government orders to keep customers two metres apart.
    “It’s kind of weird walking in and there’s plastic everywhere,” said Soranan, 30, an office worker.
    But he understood the importance of safety.
    “So, it might be weird in the beginning but take some time, I think people will get used to it and it will feel normal one day,” he said.
    The restaurant’s Thai co-owner, Ittinun Trairatanobhas, said he and the staff built the barriers from plastic sheets and tubing.
    “We follow all the rules that the government handed out and the Bangkok city gave out … Whether it could prevent COVID-19, we cannot really tell,” Ittinun said.
    Elsewhere in Bangkok, a hair stylist at the Zahara Salon worked in protective goggles, a cloth mask and a plastic face shield as well as a gown and plastic hair cap.
    “It’s so nice being back at work, but now we feel as though we are doctors with what we have to wear,” said stylist Ponpimon Meantaggi, 34.
    Thailand in January was the first country outside China to report a case of the new coronavirus that since swept the globe, infecting 3.5 million and killing 460,000.
    The Southeast Asian country has so far managed to hold its own cases down to 2,987, with a total of 54 deaths, but officials warn that reopening should be done carefully to avoid a new outbreak.
(Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Giles Elgood)

5/5/2020 Hong Kong to relax some restrictions as new coronavirus cases dwindle
People wearing masks to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) enjoy
the day at a park, in Hong Kong, China April 26 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s government said on Tuesday it will relax restrictions on public gatherings and allow gyms, cinemas and beauty parlours to re-open later this week as only a handful of new coronavirus cases have been reported in recent weeks.
    The Chinese-ruled city has not reported any local transmissions for more than two weeks and recorded zero cases for seven of the past 10 days.    It discovered one new imported case on Monday, which took the total to 1,041 patients, four of whom have died.
    A ban on gatherings of more than four people was announced at the end of March, when there was a spike in cases as a result of people returning from Europe, North America and the Middle East to escape outbreaks there.    The government will allow gatherings of eight from May 8.
    That’s also when game centres, gyms, cinemas and other places of amusement and public entertainment, which have been closed for more than a month, will be allowed to re-open.
    Some students will return to school at the end of the month.
    Bath houses, karaoke bars and night clubs will stay closed.
    The looser crowd restrictions should give some relief to restaurants and bars.    But limiting gatherings to groups to eight effectively prevents a resumption in large-scale anti-government protests.
    Having been put on hold due to fears of spreading infections, protests are expected to resume later in the year if the coronavirus is kept under control, as anger with the government and hopes for greater democracy have not faded.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/5/2020 Indonesia reports biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections
FILE PHOTO: Women wearing protective face masks as a preventive measure against the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) walk at a traditional market in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 5, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported on Tuesday its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections with 484 new cases, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 12,071, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
    Yurianto reported eight new deaths, taking the total to 872, while 2,197 have recovered.
    More than 88,900 people have been tested, he said.
(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Nilufar Rizki; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Louise Heavens)

5/5/2020 Malaysia reports 30 new coronavirus cases and one death
FILE PHOTO: A security guard checks a customer’s temperature at a mall entrance as Malaysia reopens a majority of businesses, after a movement control
order was imposed to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian health authorities on Tuesday reported 30 new coronavirus cases, bringing the cumulative total to 6,383 cases as the country entered the second day of relaxed curbs on movement and businesses.
    The health ministry also reported one new death, raising the 7 total fatalities to 106.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Philippines reports 14 deaths, 199 more coronavirus infections
A soldier wearing a face mask holds on his weapon as he guards an empty street following the lockdown imposed
to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manila, Philippines, April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ health ministry on Tuesday reported 14 new coronavirus deaths and 199 additional infections.
    In a bulletin, the health ministry said total deaths from the outbreak have reached 637, while confirmed cases have increased to 9,684.    But 93 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,408.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales, editing by Louise Heavens)

5/5/2020 India’s Delhi imposes 70% ‘corona tax’ on alcohol to deter large crowds by Sanjeev Miglani and Nidhi Verma
A police officer tries to control the crowds outside a wine store during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow
down the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Officials in India’s capital imposed a special tax of 70% on retail liquor purchases from Tuesday, to deter large gatherings at stores as authorities ease a six-week lockdown imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
    Taxes on alcohol are a key contributor to the revenue of many of India’s 36 states and federal territories, most of which are running short of funds because of the lengthy disruption in economic activity caused by the virus.
    Police baton-charged hundreds of people who had flocked to liquor shops when they opened on Monday for the first time in a relaxation of the world’s biggest lockdown, which is set to run until May 17.
    The Delhi state government announced the “special corona fee” in a public notice late on Monday.
    “It was unfortunate that chaos was seen at some shops in Delhi,” said Arvind Kejriwal, the state’s chief minister.
    “If we come to know about violations of social distancing and other norms from any area, then we will have to seal the area and revoke the relaxations there,” he added.
    Other states, such as southern Andhra Pradesh, where people also violated social distancing measures to queue up in their hundreds for alcohol, also hiked prices.
    The increases come as India reported 3,900 new infections on Tuesday for its highest single day rise, taking the tally to 46,432.    The death toll stood at 1,568, the health ministry said.
    Health experts said the daily increase shows India remains at risk despite a severe lockdown that has confined its population of 1.3 billion to their homes since late March, with all public transport halted and economic activity nearly frozen.
    “The curve has not shown a downward trend.    That is cause for concern,” said Dr Randeep Guleria, director of New Delhi’s premier All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.
    India’s average daily increase in cases has been 6.1 over the past week, behind Russia and Brazil but higher than Britain, the United States and Italy.
    The biggest spikes were recorded in the western states of Maharashtra, home to India’s commercial capital of Mumbai, and Gujarat as well as Delhi.    These densely populated urban centres drive India’s economy, powered by armies of migrant workers.
    Government officials said the lockdown had helped avert a surge of infections that could have overwhelmed medical services, however.
    Now cases are doubling every 12 days, up from 3.4 days when the lockdown began, said Lav Agarwal, a joint secretary in the health ministry.
    “Lockdown and containment are yielding results, the challenge is now to improve on the doubling rate,” he added.
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.)
(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

5/5/2020 Tokyo governor Koike to ask businesses to refrain from operating until end of May: NHK
FILE PHOTO: Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike attends a news conference on Tokyo?s response to the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan, April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike will ask businesses in Japan’s biggest city to refrain from operating until the end of this month, following the central government’s extension of the state of emergency, a public broadcaster NHK reported.
    The Tokyo government will pay more financial aid to businesses that remain closed during the period, the report said, adding that she will announce details at a media briefing later on Tuesday.
    Japan on Monday extended a nationwide state of emergency to May 31, saying the new coronavirus infection rate had yet to drop enough to justify ending measures aimed at slowing the outbreak.
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Kim Coghill)

5/5/2020 Taiwan rebuffs WHO, says China has no right to represent it
People wear face masks as a mandatory precaution for riding on public transportations amid the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) outbreak while boarding on and off a metro in Taipei, Taiwan, April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Only Taiwan’s democratically-elected government can represent its people on the world stage, not China, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to “cast off” China’s control during the coronavirus pandemic.
    Taiwan’s exclusion from WHO, due to China’s objections which considers the island one of its provinces, has infuriated Taipei, which says this has created a dangerous gap in the global fight against the coronavirus.
    Taiwan has been lobbying to attend, as an observer, this month’s meeting of the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), although government and diplomatic sources say China will block the move.
    Steven Solomon, the WHO’s principal legal officer, said on Monday that the WHO recognised the People’s Republic of China as the “one legitimate representative of China,” in keeping with U.N. policy since 1971, and that the question of Taiwan’s attendance was one for the WHO’s 194 member states.
    Speaking in Taipei, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the 1971 decision, under which Beijing assumed the U.N. China seat from Taipei, only resolved the issue of who represented China, not the issue of Taiwan, and did not grant China the power to represent Taiwan internationally.
    “Only the democratically-elected Taiwanese government can represent Taiwan’s 23 million people in the international community,” she told reporters.
    The WHO should “cast off the Chinese government’s control,” and let Taiwan fully participate in fighting the virus, Ou said.
    “Do not let China’s improper political interference become an obstacle to impeding the world’s united fight against the virus.”
    Taiwan attended the World Health Assembly as an observer from 2009-2016 when Taipei-Beijing relations warmed.
    But China blocked further participation after the election of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who China views as a separatist, charges she rejects.
    The United States has strongly supported Taiwan’s participation at the WHA as an observer, another fault line in Washington-Beijing ties that have been already overshadowed by the Trump administration’s criticism of how China and the WHO have handled the outbreak.
    China says Taiwan is adequately represented by Beijing and that Taiwan can only take part in the WHO under Beijing’s “one China” policy, in which Taiwan would have to accept that it is part of China, something Tsai’s government will not do.
    Taiwan has reported far fewer cases of the new coronavirus than many of its neighbours, due to early and effective detection and prevention work.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

5/5/2020 Thailand reports one new coronavirus case, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: An artist wearing a protective face shield performs at the Erawan Shrine, after the government
started opening some restaurants outside shopping malls, parks and barbershops during
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Tuesday reported one new coronavirus case and no new deaths, the lowest number of new infections since March 9.
    The new case is a 45-year-old Thai man from the southern province of Narathiwat, authorities said.
    The number of new cases have been declining in the last two weeks with the exception of a cluster at an immigration detention centre in southern Thailand that has seen 60 new cases in that period, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    Since Thailand’s outbreak began in January, the country has seen a total of 2,988 coronavirus cases and 54 deaths.    Taweesin said 2,747 patients have recovered, while 187 are still being treated in hospitals.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat)

5/5/2020 Taliban not living up to commitments, U.S. Defense Secretary says
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper takes questions during a news conference
at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday that the Taliban were not living up to their commitments under an agreement signed this year, amid signs the fragile deal is under strain by a political deadlock and increasing Taliban violence.
    After lengthy talks behind closed doors, the Taliban and Washington signed an agreement in February for reduced violence and a move toward talks with the Afghan government, but attacks by the group have increased since then.
    “I don’t think they are,” Esper told reporters when asked if the Taliban were living up to their commitment.
    He added that he believed the Afghan government was also not living up to its commitment.    The Afghan government was not part of an agreement between the United States and the Taliban.
    Esper said the Afghan government and the Taliban “both need to come together and make progress on the terms that (are) laid out.”
    Progress on moving to negotiations between the militant group and the Afghan government has been delayed, in part by the political feud between President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who both claimed to be Afghanistan’s rightful leader following September’s disputed election.
    The political deadlock comes as the Taliban has increased the pace of violence.
    The Taliban have mounted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan in the 45 days since signing a deal with the United States that paves the way for a U.S. troop drawdown, according to data seen by Reuters.
    The United States is continuing it’s drawdown of forces in Afghanistan, which are expected to reach about 8,600 troops in this summer.
    Senior Western, Afghan and independent officials tracking the ground situation say that the increase in attacks shows the insurgent group’s wilful disregard of a pledge to reduce violence made as part of the accord signed in late February.
    The violence in the war-damaged nation has coincided with the rapid spread of the coronavirus infection.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by David Gregorio)

5/5/2020 Reuters Pulitzer team captured Hong Kong’s descent into chaos
An anti-extradition bill protester is detained by riot police during skirmishes between the police and protesters
outside Mong Kok police station, in Hong Kong, China, September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File photo
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – The young woman is pressed to the ground next to a riot police shield.    Detained by Hong Kong authorities, she screams her name out to friends so they can call a lawyer to help.
    The picture, taken on Sept. 2 last year in the midst of huge and violent protests that rocked Hong Kong for more than six months, was part of a series of images by a team of Reuters photographers that won a Pulitzer Prize this week for breaking news photography.
    The photographs range from sweeping bird’s eye views of boulevards packed with tens of thousands of demonstrators to close-ups of pitched battles between anti-China protesters and police seeking to restore order.
    Most of the violence took place at night, lending an eerie aura to the action – protesters stood out as silhouettes against teargas smoke; giant neon letters reading “FREE HK” and carried aloft by protesters glowed in the gloom from a hilltop.
    For Tyrone Siu, a Reuters photographer who is from Hong Kong, covering the story was intensely personal.
    A graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, scene of some of the fiercest clashes between police and protesters, he saw his alma mater turned into a battleground.    The city sports stadium became a giant shelter for injured protesters.
    “At the same time, I must remain calm amid the intense atmosphere in order to carry out my duty as a photojournalist, helping foreign colleagues to get about and handling the fast-changing situation,” he recalled.
    Siu took the picture of the shouting woman and, despite spending months on the streets of a city that resembled a war zone at times, it sticks in his memory.
    “The emotions shown on her face were so strong and striking that it left a lasting memory,” he said.
    “But it was only one day of many days, one face of many young faces being detained by the police in this manner throughout the months-long protest.”
‘CHASING AROUND’
    The Pulitzer Prize for Reuters, a unit of Thomson Reuters, was the newsroom’s eighth since 2008, and fifth in the last three years.    Reuters coverage of the Hong Kong uprising was also a Pulitzer finalist in the international reporting category.
    Many of the winning photographs depicted violent clashes between Hong Kong protesters and authorities, including images taken in the midst of skirmishes with tear gas, rubber bullets and hurled bricks.
    Ahmad Masood, Asia Editor for Reuters Pictures who oversaw the coverage, said he and others began to prioritise the Hong Kong story in June, when big rallies were announced.
    As mass protests turned violent and time passed, the protest movement began to fracture, making it harder to plan.
    “This is where Tyrone’s local knowledge and network of contacts kept the team informed of what the next development was likely to be,” said Masood.
    “There was a lot of chasing around.    Sometimes there were four photographers at different spots across the city with some serious clashes going on during daylight and night.”
    In some pictures, civilians are caught up in the chaos – passengers outside an airport running with their luggage or a man crouching as he leaves an optician store, the flames of a molotov cocktail licking the street in front of him.
    In others, police clash with demonstrators, many of them students wearing gas masks and helmets.
    There are moments of brutality.    A photograph taken by Thomas Peter shows a masked anti-government protester attacking a man suspected of being a pro-Beijing activist with a hammer.    Blood pours from the victim’s head.
    Jorge Silva photographed a woman with fury etched on her face as she held a Chinese flag in support of Beijing and shouted into her smartphone, while anti-China protesters crowded around her.
    Rickey Rogers, Global Editor for Reuters Pictures, said the prize was a testament to the teamwork that went into covering a protracted and often dangerous story.
    “Eleven photographers have their names inscribed in journalistic history, but there were 28 Reuters photographers who rotated through Hong Kong during 2019, plus security and legal advisers, and a team of editors."
    “All of them were critical in what truly matters beyond any prize – telling the news story to the world.”
(Reporting and writing by Mike Collett-White)

5/5/2020 Asia coronavirus cases hit 250,000 but pace much slower than U.S., Europe by Jane Wardell
Migrant workers, who were stranded in the western state of Gujarat due to a lockdown imposed by the government to
prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), maintain social distance as they stand in a queue to board a train
that will take them to their home state of northern Uttar Pradesh, in Ahmedabad, India, May 5, 2020. REUTERS/Amit Dave
    SYDNEY (Reuters) – Coronavirus cases in Asia rose to a quarter of a million on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally, driven by outbreaks in Singapore, Pakistan and India, even as China, South Korea and Japan significantly slowed the spread of the disease.
    The region where the COVID-19 pandemic started has fared better overall than North America and Europe since the first case was reported in Wuhan, China on Jan. 10.
    It has taken Asia almost four months to reach the 250,000 infection milestone, a level that Spain alone is approaching just a little over two months since reporting its first case.
    At 250,650, Asia now accounts for just 7% of global cases, compared with 40% for Europe and 34% for North America, although experts worry that unreported infections are masking the true extent of the pandemic.
    Infection may cause only mild symptoms and not everyone with symptoms is tested, while most countries only record hospital deaths, meaning deaths in private homes and nursing homes have not yet been included.
    The death toll in Asia has also slowed significantly in most countries and is now nearing 10,000 for the region as a whole, representing just 4% of global deaths.    Europe accounts for 57% and North America for 29%.
    By comparison, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and France have all recorded more than 25,000 deaths each. The United States leads the grim tally with 70,000 fatalities.
SOUTH KOREAN SUCCESS
    Stringent lockdown measures in China and South Korea that lasted for weeks have been credited by officials with sharp decreases in the rate of new cases and deaths.
    South Korea reported just three new cases over the past 24 hours, a turnaround from the peak of the national epidemic in late February when it reported 1,165 cases in a single day.
    Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician and microbiologist at Canberra Hospital, said South Korea was currently the country with reliable data that has been most successful at stemming the spread of the virus.
    “South Korea has kept new cases to low numbers without paralysing the economy,” Collignon said.
    China has reported single digit or low double digit new cases for the past week, keeping cases at just under 83,000.
    Japan, where the lockdown has been less severe than many other countries, has reported an average of around 200 cases per day over the past week for a current total of around 16,000.
    At the other end of the spectrum, India has recorded over 46,000 cases and 1,500 confirmed deaths from the virus, with more than 2,000 new cases over recent days.    India’s biggest cities have maintained tight restrictions despite the end of a nationwide lockdown on Sunday, amid concerns infections may be underreported in the country of 1.3 billion people.
    In neighbouring Pakistan, daily detection of the virus has hit record highs over the past week as the country ramps up its testing efforts.    Still, the government said 21,000 infections and nearly 500 deaths are well below projections and it plans to ease lockdown measures further.
    Singapore has a total of 19,410 infections and continues to log 500-800 new cases a day, largely due to mass outbreaks in migrant worker dormitories, but has reported just 18 deaths.    It began reopening its economy this week.
    The nearby Oceana region, made up of Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island nations, accounted for less than 1% of global cases.
    Australia has recorded around 6,800 infections and 96 deaths, and New Zealand 1,137 cases and 20 fatalities.    The pair began talks on Tuesday about creating a trans-Tasman “travel bubble” that would allow people to move between the two countries, while broader international travel remained banned.
(Reporting by Jane Wardell; Editing by Alison Williams, Richard Pullin and Mark Heinrich)

5/5/2020 Afghanistan distributes free bread as prices soar amid coronavirus by Abdul Qadir Sediqi
An Afghan girl receives free bread distributed by the government, outside a bakery, during the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) outbreak in Kabul, Afghanistan May 3, 2020. Picture taken May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
    KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s government began distributing free bread to hundreds of thousands of people across the country this week as supplies have been disrupted during the coronavirus shutdown and prices have soared, officials and experts said.
    More than 250,000 families in the capital Kabul started receiving ten flat ‘Naan’ breads per day in the first phase of the project.
    President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has said the bread distribution programme was also taking place in other cities as rising prices were hitting what is already one of the poorest countries in the world, with more than half of the population living below the poverty line.
    Kabul’s headline inflation was an annual 7.5% in April and food inflation stood at 16.7%, said Omar Joya, an economist at the independent Biruni Institute think-tank in Kabul, who had access to the government’s latest consumer price data.
    “Given Afghanistan’s high dependence on imported food and non-food products, disruption in trade as a result of border closures can have a severe impact on domestic inflation,” Joya said.
    The spike in food prices, which has come in the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, is a harsh blow for a country reeling from the decades-old conflict between U.S.-led forces and Taliban insurgents.
    “The COVID-19 situation in Afghanistan is quickly turning from a health emergency to a food and livelihood crisis,” said Parvathy Ramaswami, deputy country director of World Food Programme, Afghanistan.
    Afghanistan reported on Tuesday it had 3,224 positive cases of coronavirus, including 95 deaths.
    “As if blasts and attacks were not enough to make our lives miserable, now we have to deal with fears of a virus and a shortage of food,” said Amiran Jalazi, a mother of four children whose husband was killed in a militant attack this year in Kabul.
(This story corrects inflation figures in paragraph 4 and clarifies they are for Kabul not whole country)
(Additional reporting by Abdul Matin Sahak in Mazar-i-Sharif, Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad; Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

5/5/2020 China launches spacecraft via largest carrier rocket: CCTV
The Long March 5B carrier rocket takes off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in Wenchang, Hainan Province,
China May 5, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT.
    SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Tuesday successfully launched its largest carrier rocket, which was carrying a new-generation spacecraft, state broadcaster CCTV said.
    The Long March-5B carrier rocket took off at 1800 local time (1000 GMT) at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern island province of Hainan.    It was the first mission carried out by the Long March-5B, CCTV reported, citing the China Manned Space Engineering Office.
    The Long March-5B – with a length of about 53.7 meters and takeoff mass of about 849 tonnes – was also carrying an inflatable cargo return module.
    China said in March it was aiming to launch an experimental spacecraft without a crew as part of a broader spaceflight programme to shuttle astronauts to its future space station and for future manned space exploration.    The launch was earlier scheduled for mid- to late April.
    China aims to complete a multi-module, inhabited space station around 2022.    It became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket in 2003 after the former Soviet Union and the United States.
    China has since been racing to catch up with Russia and the United States to become a major space power by 2030.
(Reporting by Emily Chow in Shanghai and Jing Xu in Beijing; Editing by Giles Elgood)

5/6/2020 China says Hong Kong will never be calm unless violent protesters removed
FILE PHOTO: A riot police officer holds a pepper spray projectile as he disperse anti-government protesters from a shopping mall
during a rally following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Hong Kong, China May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Hong Kong affairs office warned on Wednesday that the city will never be calm unless “black-clad violent protesters” were all removed, describing them as a “political virus” that seeks independence from Beijing.
    The strongly worded statement comes amid mounting concerns among democracy activists that China is tightening its grip over the former British colony, while a lockdown to prevent coronavirus infections has largely kept their movement off the streets.
    The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office warned that China’s central government will not sit idly by “with this recklessly demented force in place” and that China’s central government has the greatest responsibility in maintaining order and safeguarding national security.
    “The scorched-earth action of the black-clad violent protesters is a political virus in Hong Kong society and a big enemy to ‘one-country-two-systems’,” the office said in a statement on Wednesday.
    “As long as the protesters are not removed, Hong Kong will never be calm,” it said.
    The Asian financial hub was rocked in 2019 by months of massive, and sometimes violent, political protests over a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial.
    Many young protesters dressed in black fought running battles with Hong Kong police as the demonstrations evolved into calls for greater democracy.
    Protesters said Beijing was seeking to erode the “one country, two systems” style of governance that guarantees broad freedoms for Hong Kong since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
    Beijing rejects criticism that it is seeking to encroach on the city’s much-cherished freedoms.
    Hong Kong riot police dispersed a crowd of 300 pro-democracy activists, some wearing black, late last month — the first sizable protest since the government imposed a ban on public meetings at the end of March to curb coronavirus infections.
    The arrests of 15 activists in April, including veteran politicians, a publishing tycoon and senior barristers, thrust the protest movement back into the spotlight and drew condemnation from Washington and international rights groups.
    Beijing’s top representative office in Hong Kong on Saturday condemned what it described as extreme radicals for holding illegal assemblies over the Labour Day holiday and accused them of undermining the rule of law.
    A war of words has intensified in the past few weeks, with Beijing’s top official in Hong Kong urging the local government to work to enact national security legislation “as soon as possible,” fuelling worries over what many see as encroachment on the territory’s freedoms.
    Fear that Beijing is flexing its muscle over Hong Kong risks a revival of anti-government protests after months of relative calm amid social distancing rules to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
    Hong Kong’s economy recorded in the first quarter its deepest annual contraction since at least 1974, as the coronavirus pandemic dealt a heavy blow to business activity, already in decline following the anti-government protests.
    The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office said that while there were many factors contributing to Hong Kong’s economic woes, the main problem was anti-government protests.
    “Hong Kong’s biggest trouble comes from within, that is the violent forces openly calling for and engaging in ‘lanchao’,” said the office, referring to a scorched-earth tactic.
(Reporting by Huizhong Wu, Yew Lun Tian and Se Young Lee in BEIJING and Anne Marie Roantree in HONG KONG; Editing by Michael Perry & Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/6/2020 Facility near Pyongyang airport linked to North Korea’s missile programme, U.S. think-tank says by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith
FILE PHOTO: Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) are driven past the stand with North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un and other high ranking officials during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary
of country's founding father Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang April 15, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj//File Photo
    SEOUL (Reuters) – A new facility near Pyongyang International Airport is almost certainly linked to North Korea’s expanding ballistic missile programme, according to a report from a Washington-based think-tank.
    The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) cited commercial satellite imagery it says shows the facility and a nearby underground structure have the capacity to accommodate North Korea’s largest intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that experts believe are able to strike anywhere in the United States.
    The facility has been under construction since 2016, and includes a number of notable features, including an unusually large covered rail terminal and buildings that are linked by drive-through access, according to the CSIS report, published on Tuesday.    The facility is also relatively close to ballistic missile component manufacturing plants in the Pyongyang area.
    “Taken as a whole, these characteristics suggest that this facility is likely designed to support ballistic missile operations,” the report said, calling it the Sil-li Ballistic Missile Support Facility.
    The North Korean embassy in Beijing could not immediately be reached for comment on the report.
    When asked about the report at a regular briefing in Seoul on Wednesday, a spokesman for South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it would be inappropriate to comment.
    Negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes have been at a standstill after working-level meetings with the United States collapsed last year.
    In 2018, North Korea said it closed its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, and last year it offered to dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear complex in return for the revocation of five key U.N. resolutions during a failed summit between leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam.
    But experts and U.S. officials say in the absence of a denuclearisation deal, North Korea has continued to expand its arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
    In recent months, North Korea has also warned it could rethink its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons tests and ICBM launches.
    Located on the southwest corner of Pyongyang International Airport – approximately 17km (10 miles) northwest of the North Korean capital – the Sil-li facility encompasses approximately 442,300 square metres (4.76 million square feet), according to CSIS.
    “A high-bay building within the facility is large enough to accommodate an elevated Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile and, therefore, the entirety of North Korea’s known ballistic missile variants,” the report said.
    “The facility has been constructed next to an underground facility whose likely size is also large enough to easily accommodate all known North Korean ballistic missiles and their associated launchers and support vehicles.”
    The buildings are connected by a wide surfaced road network that could help move large trucks and ballistic missile launchers, the report said.
    North and South Korea on Saturday exchanged gunfire around a rural guard post, raising tension a day after North Korean state media showed Kim visiting a factory, the first report of him making a public appearance since April 11.
    North Korea launched multiple short-range anti-ship cruise missiles into the sea and Sukhoi jets fired air-to-surface missiles on April 14.
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/6/2020 Give us first-hand information to fight virus, Taiwan asks WHO by Ben Blanchard
Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung speaks to the Taipei Foreign Correspondents' Club about the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) outbreak, at Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control in Taipei, Taiwan, May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ben Blanchard
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s health minister asked the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday to ensure the island had access to first-hand information about the coronavirus, saying that not having the full picture slows down epidemic-prevention work.
    Taiwan’s exclusion from WHO – China, which considers the island one of its provinces, objects to Taiwan’s membership – has infuriated Taipei.    Officials there say it has created a gap in the global fight against the coronavirus and threatened the island’s health.
    Speaking to foreign reporters in Taipei, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said Taiwan wanted proper access to the WHO.
    “For Taiwan, what we want is first-hand information.    Any second-hand information slows down any actions we take, and distorts our judgement about the epidemic, like we’re unable to see the woods for the trees,” he said.
    “But if we can we get first-hand information within the organisation, we can see the whole picture and can react proactively by creating various systems or policies,” he added.
    “Our speed in reacting will become faster, so Taiwan does not become a gap” in epidemic prevention.
    Taiwan has produced a list of complaints against the WHO, including that it gave wrong case numbers for Taiwan, ignored requests for information, and has bent to Chinese pressure to interfere with the island’s requests for help.
    Both the WHO and China say Taiwan has been provided with the help it needs.    China says only it has the right to speak for Taiwan’s 23 million people internationally, a claim Taipei’s democratically elected government angrily rejects.
    Taiwan has stepped up its campaign to attend, as an observer, this month’s virtual meeting of the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), though government and diplomatic sources say China will not agree to that.
    Taiwan attended the World Health Assembly as an observer from 2009-2016, when Taipei-Beijing relations were warmer.
    But China blocked further participation after the election of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, whom China views as a separatist, a charge she rejects.
    Chen would not say whether he was optimistic or pessimistic about Taiwan’s chances of participating, but said there was “of course no problem” in trying to reach a consensus to allow this to happen.
    “Our only standard is that we cannot be belittled,” he said.
    Steven Solomon, the WHO’s principal legal officer, said on Monday that the WHO recognised the People’s Republic of China as the “one legitimate representative of China,” in keeping with U.N. policy since 1971, and that the question of Taiwan’s attendance was one for the WHO’s 194 member states.
    Taiwan says the 1971 decision, under which Beijing assumed the U.N. China seat from Taipei, only resolved the issue of who represented China, not the issue of Taiwan, and did not grant China the power to represent Taiwan internationally.
    Chen said the world should not be locked in the past and have to stick by something from almost five decades ago.
    “The times keep changing,” he added.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Fabian Hamacher. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

5/6/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 788 new coronavirus cases
FILE PHOTO: A worker wearing a protective face mask and gloves weights medicinal herbs at a traditional
Chinese medicine shop, which reopened as restrictions are relaxed during the "circuit breaker" measures
to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Singapore May 5, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su

5/6/2020 Indonesia’s Widodo tells ministers to exert all energies to curb coronavirus
FILE PHOTO: Indonesia's President Joko Widodo attends an ASEAN leaders summit with United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in Bangkok, Thailand November 3, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered ministers in his cabinet on Wednesday to use “whatever means” necessary to ensure the country’s infection curve of the coronavirus outbreak goes down in May, to reach a low in cases by July.
    “I ask that you exert all of your energy and concentrate on efforts to control COVID-19 and its impact,” Widodo said during a cabinet meeting broadcast by media.
    Widodo also ordered ministers to ensure economic stimulus went to sectors that had suffered the greatest contraction, based on first-quarter data on the gross domestic product.
(Reporting by Maikel Jefriando; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Ed Davies and Clarence Fernandez)

5/6/2020 Thailand reports one new coronavirus case, one new death
FILE PHOTO: A Nok Air, airline staff wearing protective face shield and face mask works as resumed local flights at Don
Mueang Airport during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Wednesday reported one new coronavirus case and one new death, a senior health official said.
    The death was of a 69-year-old Australian male who was a hotel manager in the southern province of Phang-nga, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    The new case of infection by the coronavirus was of a 27-year-old female patient who had returned from Russia, he said.
    Thailand has reported a total of 2,989 cases and 55 fatalities since the outbreak began in January.
    There are 173 patients being treated at hospital and a total 2,761 patients have recovered.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Tom Hogue)

5/6/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 788 new coronavirus cases, reports two additional deaths
FILE PHOTO: A worker wearing a protective face mask and gloves weights medicinal herbs at a traditional
Chinese medicine shop, which reopened as restrictions are relaxed during the "circuit breaker" measures
to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Singapore May 5, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s health ministry on Wednesday confirmed 788 new coronavirus cases, taking the city-state’s tally to 20,198.
    The health ministry also reported two more deaths, bringing the virus-related death toll in the island nation to 20.
    Among the new cases, 11 are Singaporeans or permanent residents, while 759 are foreign workers living in dormitories in the city-state, which has among the highest number of coronavirus infections in Asia.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Additional reporting by Rebekah Mathew in Bangalore; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Shounak Dasgupta)

5/6/2020 Iran’s coronavirus death toll rises by 78 to 6,418
FILE PHOTO: A general view of Tehran is seen as women sit on a bench, in Tehran, Iran April 15, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS
    (Reuters) – The death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak in Iran rose by 78 in the past 24 hours to 6,418 and the total number of infections to 101,650, the Health Ministry said in a tweet on Wednesday.
    Iran has suffered the deadliest coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East.    There has been a gradual increase in the number of infections in 15 provinces over the past couple of days, a Health Ministry spokesman said on Twitter.
    “At the moment we can’t pass judgment about this issue and it’s necessary to wait and see what the statistics are in the coming days,” Kianush Jahanpur said.
    Iran, keen to mitigate the pandemic’s blow to an economy already battered by U.S. sanctions, has been gradually lifting restrictions on public life imposed to limit contagion from the global COVID-19 pandemic.
    A ban on inter-city trips and business at shopping malls has been lifted and President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday mosques and schools would reopen soon in areas that have been consistently free of the coronavirus.
    ISNA news agency said on Wednesday hair salons for men and women have been given permission to reopen.
    Health officials, however, have repeatedly warned that Iran could face a new wave of infections if social distancing is not maintained and masks and gloves not used as more and more restrictions are lifted.
(Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

5/6/2020 Special Report: U.S. rearms to nullify China’s missile supremacy by David Lague
FILE PHOTO: With the USS-Wasp in the background, U.S. Marines ride an amphibious assault vehicle
during the amphibious landing exercises of the U.S.-Philippines war games promoting bilateral ties
at a military camp in Zambales province, Philippines, April 11, 2019. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez/File Photo
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – As Washington and Beijing trade barbs over the coronavirus pandemic, a longer-term struggle between the two Pacific powers is at a turning point, as the United States rolls out new weapons and strategy in a bid to close a wide missile gap with China.
    The United States has largely stood by in recent decades as China dramatically expanded its military firepower.    Now, having shed the constraints of a Cold War-era arms control treaty, the Trump administration is planning to deploy long-range, ground-launched cruise missiles in the Asia-Pacific region.
    The Pentagon intends to arm its Marines with versions of the Tomahawk cruise missile now carried on U.S. warships, according to the White House budget requests for 2021 and Congressional testimony in March of senior U.S. military commanders.    It is also accelerating deliveries of its first new long-range anti-ship missiles in decades.
    In a statement to Reuters about the latest U.S. moves, Beijing urged Washington to “be cautious in word and deed,” to “stop moving chess pieces around” the region, and to “stop flexing its military muscles around China.”
    The U.S. moves are aimed at countering China’s overwhelming advantage in land-based cruise and ballistic missiles.    The Pentagon also intends to dial back China’s lead in what strategists refer to as the “range war.”    The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), China’s military, has built up a huge force of missiles that mostly outrange those of the U.S. and its regional allies, according to senior U.S. commanders and strategic advisers to the Pentagon, who have been warning that China holds a clear advantage in these weapons.
    And, in a radical shift in tactics, the Marines will join forces with the U.S. Navy in attacking an enemy’s warships. Small and mobile units of U.S. Marines armed with anti-ship missiles will become ship killers.
    In a conflict, these units will be dispersed at key points in the Western Pacific and along the so-called first island chain, commanders said.    The first island chain is the string of islands that run from the Japanese archipelago, through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing China’s coastal seas.
    Top U.S. military commanders explained the new tactics to Congress in March in a series of budget hearings.    The commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General David Berger, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 5 that small units of Marines armed with precision missiles could assist the U.S. Navy to gain control of the seas, particularly in the Western Pacific.    “The Tomahawk missile is one of the tools that is going to allow us to do that,” he said.
    The Tomahawk – which first gained fame when launched in massed strikes during the 1991 Gulf War – has been carried on U.S. warships and used to attack land targets in recent decades. The Marines would test fire the cruise missile through 2022 with the aim of making it operational the following year, top Pentagon commanders testified.
    At first, a relatively small number of land-based cruise missiles will not change the balance of power.    But such a shift would send a strong political signal that Washington is preparing to compete with China’s massive arsenal, according to senior U.S. and other Western strategists.    Longer term, bigger numbers of these weapons combined with similar Japanese and Taiwanese missiles would pose a serious threat to Chinese forces, they say.    The biggest immediate threat to the PLA comes from new, long-range anti-ship missiles now entering service with U.S. Navy and Air Force strike aircraft.
    “The Americans are coming back strongly,” said Ross Babbage, a former senior Australian government defense official and now a non-resident fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a security research group.    “By 2024 or 2025 there is a serious risk for the PLA that their military developments will be obsolete.”
    A Chinese military spokesman, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, warned last October that Beijing would “not stand by” if Washington deployed land-based, long-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region.
    China’s foreign ministry accused the United States of sticking “to its cold war mentality” and “constantly increasing military deployment” in the region.
    “Recently, the United States has gotten worse, stepping up its pursuit of a so-called ‘Indo-Pacific strategy’ that seeks to deploy new weapons, including ground-launched intermediate-range missiles, in the Asia-Pacific region,” the ministry said in a statement to Reuters.    “China firmly opposes that.”
    Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said he would not comment on statements by the Chinese government or the PLA.
U.S. MILITARY UNSHACKLED
    While the coronavirus pandemic rages, Beijing has increased its military pressure on Taiwan and exercises in the South China Sea.    In a show of strength, on April 11 the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning led a flotilla of five other warships into the Western Pacific through the Miyako Strait to the northeast of Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry. On April 12, the Chinese warships exercised in waters east and south of Taiwan, the ministry said.
    Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy was forced to tie up the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt at Guam while it battles to contain a coronavirus outbreak among the crew of the giant warship.    However, the U.S. Navy managed to maintain a powerful presence off the Chinese coast.    The guided-missile destroyer USS Barry passed through the Taiwan Strait twice in April.    And the amphibious assault ship USS America last month exercised in the East China Sea and South China Sea, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said.
    In a series last year, Reuters reported that while the U.S. was distracted by almost two decades of war in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the PLA had built a missile force designed to attack the aircraft carriers, other surface warships and network of bases that form the backbone of American power in Asia.    Over that period, Chinese shipyards built the world’s biggest navy, which is now capable of dominating the country’s coastal waters and keeping U.S. forces at bay.
    The series also revealed that in most categories, China’s missiles now rival or outperform counterparts in the armories of the U.S. alliance.
    To read the series, click https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/china-army
    China derived an advantage because it was not party to a Cold War-era treaty – the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) – that banned the United States and Russia from possessing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges from 500 kilometers to 5,500 kilometers.    Unrestrained by the INF pact, China has deployed about 2,000 of these weapons, according to U.S. and other Western estimates.
    While building up its missile forces on land, the PLA also fitted powerful, long-range anti-ship missiles to its warships and strike aircraft.
    This accumulated firepower has shifted the regional balance of power in China’s favor.    The United States, long the dominant military power in Asia, can no longer be confident of victory in a military clash in waters off the Chinese coast, according to senior retired U.S. military officers.
    But the decision by President Donald Trump last year to exit the INF treaty has given American military planners new leeway.    Almost immediately after withdrawing from the pact on August 2, the administration signaled it would respond to China’s missile force.    The next day, U.S. Secretary for Defense Mark Esper said he would like to see ground-based missiles deployed in Asia within months, but he acknowledged it would take longer.
    Later that month, the Pentagon tested a ground-launched Tomahawk cruise missile.    In December, it tested a ground-launched ballistic missile.    The INF treaty banned such ground-launched weapons, and thus both tests would have been forbidden.
    A senior Marines commander, Lieutenant General Eric Smith, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 11 that the Pentagon leadership had instructed the Marines to field a ground-launched cruise missile “very quickly.”
    The budget documents show that the Marines have requested $125 million to buy 48 Tomahawk missiles from next year.    The Tomahawk has a range of 1,600km, according to its manufacturer, Raytheon Company.
    Smith said the cruise missile may not ultimately prove to be the most suitable weapon for the Marines.    “It may be a little too heavy for us,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee, but experience gained from the tests could be transferred to the army.
    Smith also said the Marines had successfully tested a new shorter-range anti-ship weapon, the Naval Strike Missile, from a ground launcher and would conduct another test in June. He said if that test was successful, the Marines intended to order 36 of these missiles in 2022.    The U.S. Army is also testing a new long-range, land-based missile that can target warships.
    This missile would have been prohibited under the INF treaty.
    The Marine Corps said in a statement it was evaluating the Naval Strike Missile to target ships and the Tomahawk for attacking targets on land.    Eventually, the Marines aimed to field a system “that could engage long-range moving targets either on land or sea,” the statement said.
    The Defense Department also has research underway on new, long-range strike weapons, with a budget request of $3.2 billion for hypersonic technology, mostly for missiles.
    China’s foreign ministry drew a distinction between the PLA’s arsenal of missiles and the planned U.S. deployment.    It said China’s missiles were “located in its territory, especially short and medium-range missiles, which cannot reach the mainland of the United States.    This is fundamentally different from the U.S., which is vigorously pushing forward deployment.”
BOTTLING UP CHINA’S NAVY
    Military strategists James Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara suggested almost a decade ago that the first island chain was a natural barrier that could be exploited by the American military to counter the Chinese naval build-up.    Ground-based anti-ship missiles could command key passages through the island chain into the Western Pacific as part of a strategy to keep the rapidly expanding Chinese navy bottled up, they suggested.
    In embracing this strategy, Washington is attempting to turn Chinese tactics back on the PLA. Senior U.S. commanders have warned that China’s land-based cruise and ballistic missiles would make it difficult for U.S. and allied navies to operate near China’s coastal waters.
    But deploying ground-based U.S. and allied missiles in the island chain would pose a similar threat to Chinese warships – to vessels operating in the South China Sea, East China Sea and Yellow Sea, or ships attempting to break out into the Western Pacific.    Japan and Taiwan have already deployed ground-based anti-ship missiles for this purpose.
    “We need to be able to plug up the straits,” said Holmes, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College.    “We can, in effect, ask them if they want Taiwan or the Senkakus badly enough to see their economy and armed forces cut off from the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean.    In all likelihood the answer will be no.”
    Holmes was referring to the uninhabited group of isles in the East China Sea – known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China – that are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing.
    The United States faces challenges in plugging the first island chain.    Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to distance himself from the United States and forge closer ties with China is a potential obstacle to American plans. U.S. forces could face barriers to operating from strategically important islands in the Philippines archipelago after Duterte in February scrapped a key security agreement with Washington.
    And if U.S. forces do deploy in the first island chain with anti-ship missiles, some U.S. strategists believe this won’t be decisive, as the Marines would be vulnerable to strikes from the Chinese military.
    The United States has other counterweights.    The firepower of long-range U.S. Air Force bombers could pose a bigger threat to Chinese forces than the Marines, the strategists said.    Particularly effective, they said, could be the stealthy B-21 bomber, which is due to enter service in the middle of this decade, armed with long-range missiles.
    The Pentagon is already moving to boost the firepower of its existing strike aircraft in Asia.    U.S. Navy Super Hornet jets and Air Force B-1 bombers are now being armed with early deliveries of Lockheed Martin’s new Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, according to the budget request documents.    The new missile is being deployed in response to an “urgent operational need” for the U.S. Pacific Command, the documents explain.
    The new missile carries a 450 kilogram warhead and is capable of “semi-autonomous” targeting, giving it some ability to steer itself, according to the budget request.    Details of the stealthy cruise missile’s range are classified.    But U.S. and other Western military officials estimate it can strike targets at distances greater than 800 kilometers.
    The budget documents show the Pentagon is seeking $224 million to order another 53 of these missiles in 2021.    The U.S. Navy and Air Force expect to have more than 400 of them in service by 2025, according to orders projected in the documents.
    This new anti-ship missile is derived from an existing Lockheed long-range, land attack weapon, the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile.    The Pentagon is asking for $577 million next year to order another 400 of these land-attack missiles.
    “The U.S. and allied focus on long-range land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles was the quickest way to rebuild long-range conventional firepower in the Western Pacific region,” said Robert Haddick, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer and now a visiting senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies based in Arlington, Virginia.
    For the U.S. Navy in Asia, Super Hornet jets operating from aircraft carriers and armed with the new anti-ship missile would deliver a major boost in firepower while allowing the expensive warships to operate further away from potential threats, U.S. and other Western military officials say.
    Current and retired U.S. Navy officers have been urging the Pentagon to equip American warships with longer-range anti-ship missiles that would allow them to compete with the latest, heavily armed Chinese cruisers, destroyers and frigates.    Lockheed has said it successfully test-fired one of the new Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles from the type of launcher used on U.S. and allied warships.
    Haddick, one of the first to draw attention to China’s firepower advantage in his 2014 book, “Fire on the Water,” said the threat from Chinese missiles had galvanized the Pentagon with new strategic thinking and budgets now directed at preparing for high-technology conflict with powerful nations like China.
    Haddick said the new missiles were critical to the defensive plans of America and its allies in the Western Pacific.    The gap won’t close immediately, but firepower would gradually improve, Haddick said.    “This is especially true during the next half-decade and more, as successor hypersonic and other classified munition designs complete their long periods of development, testing, production, and deployment,” he said.
(Additional reporting by the Beijing newsroom. Edited by Peter Hirschberg.)

5/7/2020 Gas leak at South Korea-owned factory in India kills nine, hundreds hospitalized by Sudarshan Varadhan
A rescue official helps a victim drink water following a gas leak at the LG Polymers Plant Building
in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, May 7, 2020, in this still image taken from video. ANI/via REUTERS
    CHENNAI (Reuters) – At least 9 people were killed in southern India by a gas leak at a South Korean-owned factory making polystyrene products, with emergency services rushing over 300 people to hospitals and evacuating 1,500 from a nearby village, a police official said.
    The accident occurred some 14 kilometres (9 miles) inland from the east coast city of Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh state, at a plant operated by LG Polymers, a unit of South Korea’s biggest petrochemical maker, LG Chem Ltd.
    Srijana Gummalla, Commissioner, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation said styrene leaked from the plant during the early hours of the morning, when families in the surrounding villages were asleep.
    A spokesman for LG Chem in Seoul said the leak was discovered by a night shift maintenance worker and has been brought under control.
    According to both the company spokesman and Gummalla, the plant was being reopened after India relaxed a nationwide lockdown that had been imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
    Swarupa Rani, an Assistant Commissioner of Police in Visakhapatnam told Reuters that at least 9 people had died and between 300-400 were hospitalised.    Another 1,500 people had been evacuated, mostly from a neighbouring village.
    “All those who have been hospitalised are currently stable,” said Dr B. K. Naik, a local health official.
    Areas within an approximately 3-kilometre (nearly 2-mile) radius of the plant were vulnerable, the municipal corporation said in a tweet.    Cross-referencing maps of the affected area, there is at least one coronavirus containment zone in the neighbourhood.
LISTLESS AND UNCONSCIOUS
    Yashwanth Saikumar Ambati, 23, who lives about 300 metres away from the plant, said he woke up around 4.30 a.m. on Thursday because of a strong smell.
    “I went back to sleep and I woke up around 6 because the smell got stronger.    My eyes were itchy, and I was feeling drowsy, light-headed and slightly breathless,” he told Reuters.
    Others in his neighbourhood also complained of eye irritation, Ambati said, while some said they had a stomach ache. He then called a friend living a few kilometres away and quickly moved there.
    Local revenue official B. V. Rani said she received a call at around 4 a.m. from a police officer near the facility, who sounded panicky.    “He asked me to come to the spot immediately,” Rani told Reuters.
    When Rani went there, she saw that people had collapsed unconscious in the village adjoining the 60-acre site of the plant.
    “I personally helped more than 15 people get to an ambulance who had tried to run away from the village but dropped down within a few metres,” she said.
    Video from Reuters partner ANI shot later on Thursday showed emergency workers in the area rushing to help victims, some of whom appeared to be listless and disoriented.
    A number of victims lay unconscious on the streetside, as some volunteers fanned them and others rushed to carry them into ambulances.
    At least one child was among the dead, a policeman at the site told ANI, and video showed at least two other children being lifted into an ambulance.
    India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he had spoken to officials from the federal home ministry and the National Disaster Management Authority, who were monitoring the crisis.
    “I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam,” Modi said in a tweet.
    Thursday’s incident evoked memories of a gas leak at an factory of U.S. chemical firm Union Carbide that killed thousands in the central Indian city of Bhopal in 1984.
TOP PETROCHEMICAL MAKER
    LG Chem’s share priced closed nearly 2% weaker on Thursday.
    South Korea’s top petrochemical maker by capacity, LG Chem acquired the plant in 1997 and established LG Polymers India Private Limited (LGPI), according to a company website.
    The LG Polymers plant makes polystyrene products which are used in manufacturing electric fan blades, cups and cutlery and containers for cosmetic products such as make up.
    The raw material, styrene, is highly flammable and releases a poisonous gas when burnt.
    In a statement, LG Chem said that the gas emitted in the leak can cause nausea and dizziness when inhaled, adding that it was seeking to ensure casualties received treatment quickly.
LG Chem operates two naphtha crackers in South Korea, with a total ethylene output capacity of 2.5 million tonnes each year.
    It also makes electric vehicle batteries and General Motors and Volkswagen are among its customers.
(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Derek Francis and Euan Rocha; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Anil D’Silva & Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/7/2020 China accuses Pompeo of telling lies over its handling of coronavirus
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
during a media briefing at the State Department in Washington, U.S., May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Pool
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China accused U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of telling one lie to cover up another in his continued attacks against Beijing over the coronavirus pandemic.
    The remarks were made by Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, who reiterated that Beijing has been transparent about the COVID-19 outbreak that emerged in China late last year and that U.S. politicians are making baseless accusations against China.
    The United States has accused Beijing of mishandling the outbreak.
    Hua also said Beijing opposes U.S. interference in its domestic affairs in response to a question about the State Department’s decision to delay a report to Congress assessing whether Hong Kong enjoys sufficient autonomy from China to continue receiving special treatment from the U.S.
Pompeo told a news conference on Wednesday the report will be delayed “to account for any additional actions” leading up to the annual meeting of Chinese parliament in late May. [nL1N2CO1BD]
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

5/7/2020 EU envoy says removal of phrase in op-ed in China newspaper ‘regrettable’ by Yew Lun Tian
FILE PHOTO: EU Ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis speaks at a news conference in Beijing, China January 17, 2020. REUTERS/Jason Lee
    BEIJING (Reuters) – The European Union ambassador to China said on Thursday it was “regrettable” that part of an opinion piece co-authored by 27 European ambassadors and published in the official China Daily had been removed before publication.
    A comparison between the original op-ed uploaded onto the EU embassy website and the one published on Tuesday by the China Daily showed that in a sentence beginning, “But the outbreak of the coronavirus” the words that followed – “in China, and its subsequent spread to the rest of the world over the past three months” – were removed.
    “It is regrettable that part of the sentence about the spread of the virus has been edited,” EU Ambassador to China Nicolas Chapuis told reporters at a briefing.
    The China Daily could not immediately be reached for comment.
    The EU ambassadors had submitted the opinion piece to mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the EU and China.
    Chapuis refused to comment on why the words may have been taken out.
    China is locked in a war of words with the United States over the outbreak, including its origin, which has been traced to a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

5/7/2020 China says supports WHO, opposes U.S., others trying to politicise COVID-19
A security guard stands outside a high school during a government-organised media tour as more students returned to
campus following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Thursday it supports World Health Organization efforts to investigate the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, and opposes attempts by the United States and some other countries to politicise the issue and attack Beijing.
    Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments comparing the outbreak to Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 attacks, said the enemy the United States faced was the coronavirus and not China.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; writing by Se Young Lee; editing by John Stonestreet)

5/7/2020 Coronavirus-wary Japan tries to take business card ritual online by Linda Sieg
FILE PHOTO : Japanese job-hunting students dressed in suits practice swapping business cards during a
business manners seminar at a placement centre in Tokyo May 28, 2012. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s time-honoured ritual of exchanging business cards face-to-face is under pressure as the government promotes a “new lifestyle” to combat the coronavirus.
    Experts this week updated recommendations including frequent hand-washing, social distancing, off-peak commuting, video conferencing – and the exchange of “meishi,” or business cards, online.
    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday extended a nationwide state of emergency to fight the virus through May 31 but said some areas with fewer infections could begin to ease restrictions.
    Exchanging business cards in Japan is a well-choreographed ritual that foreign executives are often advised to get down pat to avoid unintended offence to potential customers or partners.
    The practice involves extracting a pristine card from a card holder – not a pocket or wallet, then exchanging cards with the right hand, and finally, scrutinising the received card while making small talk, often about the information contained.
    People depend on business cards to exchange contacts “and start conversation,” said Chikahiro Terada, CEO of cloud-based business card management service, Sansan Inc.
    “It’s ice-breaking,” added Terada, whose company will offer an “online meishi exchange” for business customers from June.
    Japan has not had the explosive surge of infections seen in many other countries, but as of Thursday, it had nearly 15,500 confirmed cases including 578 deaths, according to public broadcaster NHK.
    The coronavirus outbreak is increasing pressure to change many traditional practices long been criticised as inefficient.
    Abe recently told cabinet ministers to overhaul regulations and identify burdensome procedures with a view to scrapping or simplifying them, among them the stamping of paper documents with traditional “hanko” seals.
    The coronavirus “is changing the work culture in Japan in many different ways,” said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University’s Japan campus.    “It’s not like turning a light switch off and on, but reforms have been accelerated by the pandemic.”
(Reporting by Linda Sieg; editing by Nick Macfie)

5/7/2020 Indonesia reports 338 new coronavirus cases, 35 deaths: health ministry official
A woman wearing a protective mask walks outside a closed shop at a traditional market during the large-scale social restrictions by
the government during the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Bogor, Indonesia, May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported 338 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number to 12,776, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto told reporters on Thursday.
    Thirty-five more people who tested positive for the virus have died, taking the total number of deaths to 930, the highest death toll in East Asia outside China.
    As of Thursday, 96,717 people had been tested and 2,381 had recovered.
(Reporting by Nilufar Nizki; Writing by Fathin Ungku; editing by John Stonestreet)

5/7/2020 Thailand to expand coronavirus testing as new cases dwindle
A Buddhist monk passes his time at an almost empty temple which used to be crowded on the Vesak Day also known as
Buddha Day during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand plans to expand coronavirus testing for critical groups as the number of new cases is dwindling into single digits and some business are reopening, a senior official said on Thursday.
    The government aims to reach a total of 400,000 tests from the current level of around 230,000, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    “This is about 6,000 tests for every million individual … and considered a moderate amount globally,” Taweesin said.
    Thailand has a population of about 66.5 million and has recorded 2,992 infections since January, with a total of 55 deaths.br>     The criteria for testing will be expanded to include flu-like symptoms without a fever or the loss of the sense of smell, which will account for 85,000 new tests, he said.
    There will also be additional testing for high-risk professions such as medical personnel, screening authorities, migrant workers, public transportation drivers and delivery workers – but not widespread random testing in the population.
    “The theory of casting a wide net will not work, but this approach is effective,” Taweesin said.
    The number of new cases in Thailand has been declining since April and authorities have said they will consider a second phase for easing of restrictions such as re-opening of businesses next week after allowing smaller businesses to open earlier this month.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Aditya Soni)

5/7/2020 Philippines records 27 new coronavirus deaths, 339 more infections
A soldier wearing a protective mask guards a street while children look out from a balcony, as the city undergoes a stricter
lockdown to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread, in Pasay City, Philippines, April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ health ministry on Thursday reported 27 more coronavirus deaths and 339 additional infections.
    In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths from the coronavirus had increased to 685 and infections to 10,343.    It recorded 112 more patient recoveries, bringing that total to 1,618.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; editing by John Stonestreet)

5/7/2020 India’s coronavirus infections jump past 50,000, fueled by Mumbai, Delhi by Sanjeev Miglani
FILE PHOTO: People wait to receive free food at an industrial area, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow
the spreading of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New Delhi, India, April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Coronavirus cases in India rose past 50,000, the health ministry said on Thursday, with the pace of new infections showing no signs of abating despite a strict weeks-long lockdown in the world’s second-most populous country.
    India added 3,561 cases, taking its total 52,952 – behind over 82,000 in China where the virus originated – while the death toll rose by 89 to 1,783, still low compared with the United States, United Kingdom and Italy.
    Officials attributed the low toll to the government’s move to impose a stay-at-home order on the nation’s 1.3 billion people early in the cycle, but noted a spurt in cases from the densely packed economic centres of Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad.
    Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said Maharashtra, the state where Mumbai is located, was an area of particular concern and said the federal government stood ready to help.
    “The (government) is ready to help in every way possible — be it manpower increase, capacity building, technical assistance etc. or any kind of handholding that is required to manage the situation,” he said at a meeting with state health officials.
    India this week allowed some economic activity to restart in less-affected parts of the hinterland to reduce the pain for hundreds of thousands of people out of work for weeks and running short of food and cash.
    But the spreading contagion will increase the pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep restrictions in place so it does not spin out of control and overwhelm the limited public health system.
    India has reported an average of around 2,800 cases each day over the past week.    By comparison, China has reported new cases in the single digits over the same period.
    Infectious diseases experts have also expressed concern that official data in India is not capturing the full extent of the crisis.    The infection numbers in India fall far short of the United States, which has 1.2 million cases and is nearing 75,000 deaths despite a much smaller population.
    While the federal lockdown is due to end on May 17, authorities in south-central Telangana state decided to extend the lockdown till May 29 in a bid to flatten the curve of infections before opening up fully.
    “The people themselves have asked for an extension,” said chief minister K.Chandrashekhar Rao.
    India, along with the United States, Russia and Brazil, was among big countries that had not yet been able to slow the pace of new infections, said Shamika Ravi, a Brookings senior fellow and a former member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
    “Their current strategies (contact tracing + testing + containment) are ineffective,” she said.
(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani and Derek Francis; Editing by Richard Pullin)

5/7/2020 Singapore reports 741 new coronavirus cases, taking total to 20,939
Migrant workers are seen at their dormitory, situated near a car junkyard, amid the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Singapore has registered 741 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Thursday, taking the city-state’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 20,939.
    The vast majority of the new cases are migrant workers living in dormitories, the health ministry said in a statement.    Five are permanent residents.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

5/7/2020 Iraq lawmakers approve government of Prime Minister-designate Kadhimi by Ahmed Rasheed and John Davison
The speaker of Iraq's parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi meets with Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi before the vote
on the new government at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, May 6, 2020. Iraqi Parliament Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
    BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government on Wednesday after six months without one as parties squabbled until the last minute over Cabinet seats in backroom deals.
    Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraq’s intelligence chief and a former journalist, will head the new government.    He will begin his term without a full Cabinet, however, after several ministerial candidates were rejected.
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the new government in a call with Kadhimi, the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
    It also said Washington would renew for 120 days a waiver allowing Iraq to import electricity from Iran “to help provide the right conditions for success” of the new government.
    Former prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who has been leading a caretaker government, resigned last year as anti-government protesters took to the streets in their thousands, demanding jobs and the departure of Iraq’s ruling elite.
    They accuse the political class that took over after the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein of corruption that has driven the country into dysfunction and economic ruin.
    The battle over government portfolios since Abdul Mahdi’s resignation in November prevented two previous nominees for prime minister from forming a Cabinet.
    Kadhimi’s candidates for Cabinet posts including interior, defence, finance and electricity passed with votes from a majority of lawmakers present.
    Voting on the oil and foreign ministries was delayed as the parties failed to agree on candidates.    They rejected the incoming premier’s picks for justice, agriculture and trade.
    “The security, stability and blossoming of Iraq is our path,” Kadhimi wrote on his Twitter account after parliament voted for his Cabinet.
    He said he would make tackling the coronavirus pandemic, of which Iraq has suffered more than 2,000 cases and more than 100 deaths, a priority and hold to account those who had killed protesters in previous months of anti-government unrest.
    Iraqi officials say Kadhimi is acceptable to both the United States and Iran, whose battle for influence over Iraq has boiled into open confrontation in the past year.
MULTIPLE CHALLENGES
    The United States killed Iranian military mastermind Qassem Soleimani and his close ally the Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike next to Baghdad International Airport in January.
    Iran responded with its first ever direct missile attack against U.S. forces at a base in Western Iraq several days later but did not kill anyone.
    Washington accuses paramilitary groups backed by Tehran of carrying out a series of rocket attacks on other bases in recent months, one of which killed three troops in the U.S.-led military coalition based in Iraq.
    Rockets have regularly been fired near the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.    None of the rocket attacks have been claimed by known Iran-backed groups.
    Kadhimi’s government must deal with an impending economic crisis precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused the prices of oil – Iraq’s principal source of revenue – to plummet.
    It also faces a growing Islamic State insurgency as the extremist group steps up attacks on government troops from hideouts in remote areas of northern Iraq.
    Iraq risks being caught up in any regional conflagration between Washington and Tehran, as militia groups vow revenge for the killing of Soleimani and Muhandis and President Donald Trump continues his bellicose rhetoric against Iran.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and John Davison; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Grant McCool)

5/7/2020 Exclusive: Afghan lawmakers say 45 migrants drowned after Iranian guards forced them into river by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Storay Karimi
    KABUL/HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Iranian border guards killed 45 Afghan migrant workers trying to cross into Iran this month by forcing them into a raging mountain torrent at gunpoint, according to two Afghan lawmakers investigating the deaths.
    The incident has triggered a diplomatic crisis between the neighbours, who share trade, economic and cultural ties.    Iran has denied that such an event took place on its soil.
    Afghan authorities said on Thursday they had recovered 12 bodies in the past two days from the Harirud River, which forms much of the northern, mountainous section of Afghanistan’s border with Iran, taking the confirmed death toll to 17.
    Afghan officials and survivors say the incident took place on May 1.
    Habiburrahman Pidram, a lawmaker from the westerly Herat province who spoke with survivors, said a group of 57 men trying to enter Iran from Herat had been detained by Iranian border guards.
    “These workers were kept in custody by Iranian forces and, after 24 hours, the Afghan workers were brought to the bank of the river, beaten and ordered to jump in the river to go back to Afghanistan,” he said.
    Those who could swim then jumped into the deep, fast-flowing mountain torrent, while the others were beaten up and threatened with being shot before jumping or being pushed in, said Pidram, part of a 16-strong team appointed to investigate by President Ashraf Ghani’s government.
    “Of 57 workers who were forced into the river by Iranian security forces, only 12 managed to survive,” Pidram said, meaning 45 must have died.    Five bodies were pulled out by a shepherd, downriver in Turkmenistan, to the north, he added.
    Lawmaker Abdul Satar Hussaini, who is also investigating the incident, said some of the dead workers had come from his province, Farah, which adjoins Herat.
2.5 MILLION MIGRANTS
    Abdul Ghani Noori, the governor of Herat’s Gulran district, opposite the Iranian bank where the incident is alleged to have taken place, said 17 bodies had been found so far.
    He said preliminary investigations had shown that the migrants had been forced into the river at gunpoint in an area called Zulfiqar on the Iranian side.
    On May 2, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi issued a statement saying only that the incident in question had taken place on Afghan soil.
    “Border guards of the Islamic Republic of Iran denied the occurrence of any events related to this on the soil of our country,” he said.
    The Iranian embassy and consular office in Afghanistan said on Thursday that they could not add to the ministry’s statement, and the ministry could not be reached for further comment.
    Iran says about 2.5 million Afghan migrants, both legal and undocumented, mostly from Herat, are in Iran after failing to find work in war-ravaged Afghanistan.
    U.N. officials say Iran’s coronavirus epidemic has caused more than 150,000 Afghans to return home, some of them deported.
    Dozens of Herat residents have staged protests against Iran in defiance of a pandemic lockdown, some smashing the windows of Iranian trucks.
    The United States has condemned the river incident and encouraged the Afghan authorities to undertake a full investigation.
    Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday said that Iran had agreed to a joint investigation to determine the facts and the identity of the perpetrators.
(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

5/7/2020 Exclusive: Large number of COVID-19 cases among Afghan medics spark alarm in Kabul by Hamid Shalizi and Rupam Jain
An Afghan man wearing a protective face mask walks past a painted wall during the spread of
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kabul, Afghanistan May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
    KABUL/MUMBAI (Reuters) – More than a third of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Afghan capital have been among doctors and other healthcare staff, two senior health officials said on Thursday, in a sign that the war-torn country is struggling to deal with the pandemic.
    The officials cited a lack of protective equipment for medics as well as a lack of awareness among some medical staff of the precautions needed to avoid infection.
    The high rate of infection among healthcare workers has sparked alarm among medics and some doctors have closed their clinics.
    However, it is not clear whether the apparently disproportionate rate of infection might be at least in part because medical staff are more likely to be tested for the illness.    Few people with the classic COVID-19 symptoms of high fever and respiratory problems are being tested in Afghanistan, because of a shortage of testing kits.     The total of 925 confirmed cases in Kabul has included some 346 medical staff, a government health official and an Afghan doctor who is on the board of a government-led pandemic task force said.
    As of Thursday, 3,563 people have tested positive and 106 people have died from COVID-19 in Afghanistan, according to official figures.
    The two officials, who asked not to be named as they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, said at least 13 doctors had died in different parts of the country last month and in the first week of May.
    At least nine of those doctors had been attached to public, private or military hospitals in Kabul, two other health officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
    The government has said it is providing the best available facilities to deal with the health crisis, which it calls a big challenge.
    The rate in Kabul compares with a global rate of infection for medical staff issued on Wednesday by the International Council of Nurses, which said 6% of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 were among healthcare workers, based on data from 30 countries.
    Some doctors have closed their clinics, putting a strain on limited health resources in Afghanistan.
    “I have decided to suspend my practice for two months, many doctors will not open their clinics and private nursing homes… pregnant women are being told to find midwives instead of coming to hospitals,” said a cardiologist in Kabul.
    With a population of more than 37 million, Afghanistan has roughly 172 hospitals, and four doctors per 10,000 people, according to a 2019 government report.    The healthcare system is dependent on millions of dollars in foreign donor aid for support.     At least six doctors who Reuters spoke with say the government has not made accurate data about COVID-19 cases public, and many hospitals are teetering on the verge of collapse.
    “The situation is so bad that it’s best for doctors to sit at home,” said a Western doctor who has been working in Kabul for six years.
    The health ministry said it is collecting data on confirmed cases but in some cases infections are not reported to the ministry.    There are parts of the country that are under the control of the militant Taliban group where it is hard for the government to access data.
    The government also says that while it is doing its best to protect people, a large part of the response to the pandemic is dependent on foreign aid.
    Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz has tested positive for the illness, the minister said on Thursday.
(Additional reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Orooj Hakimi in Kabul; Editing by Frances Kerry)

5/8/2020 Australia annoyed as U.S. pushes Wuhan lab COVID-19 theory by Kirsty Needham and Colin Packham
FILE PHOTO: An Australian flag is pictured at its embassy in Beijing, China January 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee
    SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian officials are frustrated that their push for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus is being undermined by the White House, which has sought to link the outbreak to a Chinese lab, government, diplomatic and intelligence sources told Reuters.
    Washington’s attack on China has given Beijing room to argue that Australia’s request for an independent inquiry is part of a U.S.-led agenda to blame it for the coronavirus outbreak, the sources said.
    Canberra has been caught in a diplomatic squeeze between Washington, its main security ally, and already strained relations with Beijing, it major trading partner, even as its successful handling of the coronavirus has it planning to reopen the economy.
    One government source said that officials were working hard to cast the review as open-minded and global, and that the American approach of “let’s get China” wasn’t helping.
    Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, responding to criticisms about whether an inquiry would hurt trade with China, sought to underscore Australia’s independence during an interview on ABC radio on Friday.
    “We’re not doing this as some sort of lapdog of the United States,” he said.    “You’ll see there are some marked differences between some of the things that the Australian Government has said and some of the commentary coming out of the United States and that’s because we take our own analysis, our own evidence, our own advice and we will take this issue through to the World Health Assembly.”
    China’s foreign ministry has said the calls for an inquiry are “political manipulation” and said Australia should “give up its ideological prejudices.”
DOSSIER
    Last weekend, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper said a “dossier prepared by concerned Western governments” showed China had deliberately suppressed or destroyed evidence of the coronavirus outbreak.
    The report was published shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had seen evidence the coronavirus came from a laboratory in Wuhan, the epicentre of the global outbreak.
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said there was “a significant amount of evidence” the virus came from the Wuhan laboratory, although he has also said there wasn’t certainty.
    Government and intelligence officials said the document the article referred to was a compilation of public reports and newspaper articles, and was not based on intelligence sources.
    “It’s a research paper.    I can tell you, we aren’t paying much attention to it,” an intelligence source said.
    No public evidence has linked the outbreak to the lab in Wuhan, and scientists have said the coronavirus appears to have developed in nature.
    Australia shares intelligence with the United States under the “Five Eyes” arrangement which also includes Canada, Britain and New Zealand.
    An official familiar with the 15-page document cited in the article told Reuters it was American, appeared to be designed to gather support for the U.S. position, and wasn’t a piece of intelligence work.
    The document included bullet points describing ways in which China hadn’t been transparent in dealing with the coronavirus, sourced to newspaper articles and other claims already in the public domain, the official said.
    There was no input from Australian agencies into the document, the source said.
    Australian media have reported concerns that the U.S. embassy in Canberra may have been the source of the document.    The U.S. embassy declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
    “The Australians are pushing for reform at the World Health Assembly; this doesn’t help those efforts.    You can understand their frustration,” said one Western diplomat, who declined to be named as the diplomat, like the other government and intelligence sources, is not authorised to talk to the media.
TENSE TIES
    Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly said that he has seen no evidence to support the theory the virus came from a lab, and that the most likely source was a wildlife market in Wuhan.    He said the goal was to know how to prevent another outbreak.
    “It’s not directed at anyone, we just want to know what happened so it doesn’t happen again,” Morrison said on Friday, when asked whether the U.S. focus on the Wuhan lab theory was counterproductive.
    “It’s a pretty honest question, with an honest intent and an honest motive.    And I’m seeing more and more support for that position,” he said, referring to Australia’s goals.
    Morrison wrote to G20 leaders this week seeking support for an independent inquiry.    The European Union will raise the issue at the World Health Assembly this month.
    Australia hopes that if there is wide international support for an independent investigation, China will cooperate.
    But China is Australia’s largest trading partner, and an already fraught diplomatic relationship has become more strained by the push for an inquiry.
    China’s ambassador warned last month that Chinese consumers could boycott Australian products, which the government said was a threat of economic coercion.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham and Colin Packham. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

5/8/2020 Japan businesses reopen as government eyes end to emergency measures in some regions by Naomi Tajitsu and Kaori Kaneko
People wearing protective masks make their way during rush hour on the first working day after the Golden Week holiday amid
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Shinagawa station in Tokyo, Japan, May 7,2020.REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
    TOKYO (Reuters) – As Japan prepares to ease coronavirus restrictions in some parts of the country, a growing number of the country’s businesses are planning to resume operations despite concerns that isolation guidelines were being lifted too early.
    After a monthlong shutdown brought economic activity to a grinding halt, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday that the government was looking at ways to bring some parts of the country out of lockdown measures as the rate of infections has slowed in several outlying regions.
    “The number of new infections of the coronavirus is significantly falling,” he told reporters.    “There are more prefectures with no new coronavirus cases, so lifting the state of emergency is within sight.”
    After lockdown measures led to a record contraction of Japan’s services sector last month, businesses including cafes, bars and sports clubs have been resuming operations even as the coronavirus epidemic has sapped demand.
    Casual clothing chain Uniqlo reopened 48 stores in Japan on Thursday, including several large stores in Tokyo and Osaka, said its owner, Fast Retailing, while Aeon Co, the region’s biggest supermarket operator, said it was reopening its Aeon Mall shopping centres.
    A queue of more than 100 people snaked in front of Tokyo’s famed Kinokuniya book store in the Shinjuku district when it reopened on Thursday for the first time in three weeks, local media reported, with most customers waiting to purchase the latest manual for the video game “Animal Crossing.”
    But Tokyo Disneyland operator Oriental Land on Friday said that the park, one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions, would remain closed through May amid the state of emergency in the city and neighbouring Chiba Prefecture.
    Japan this week extended its nationwide state of emergency but said it would reassess the situation on May 14 and possibly lift the measures earlier for some prefectures.
TOO EARLY?
    So far, 27 of Japan’s 47 prefectures have lifted some or all requests for residents to remain indoors as much as possible, or are planning to do so in the coming days.
    About 15,500 coronavirus infections and 590 deaths have been confirmed in the country as of Friday.
    Businesses were permitted to reopen in Iwate Prefecture in the country’s northeast, which has yet to report any infections, but some local shop owners were wary of resuming normal operations.
    “It feels like it’s too early to reopen.    People have done a good job of keeping infections in the prefecture at zero,” said Mana Takahashi, owner of Clammbon cafe in Morioka City in the prefecture, who has been relying on coffee bean sales for revenue since closing the cafe’s dining area in April.
    “It would be unfortunate for an infection to occur just as rules are being loosened,” she added, adding that the streets outside her shop have remained largely empty even after the shutdown request was lifted.
    Across town, sports clubs and karaoke bars were opening for the first time in weeks.
    “We’ve had a few groups of students, and also single customers have come in so far,” said an employee at a karaoke bar shortly after it reopened at noon on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not permitted to speak with media.    “We’re expecting our regulars back tonight.”
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Naomi Tajitsu; additional reporting by Ritusko Ando; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Gerry Doyle)

5/8/2020 Indonesia reports 336 coronavirus infections, 13 deaths
FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers take a swab sample from a vendor amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak,
at a traditional market in Bogor, West Java province, Indonesia, May 8, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported 336 new coronavirus infections on Friday, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 13,112, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
    Yurianto reported 13 more deaths, taking the total to 943, while 2,494 have recovered.
    More than 103,300 people have been tested, he said.
(Reporting by Nilufar Rizki and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/8/2020 Malaysia reports 68 new coronavirus cases with no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: A vendor wearing a protective face mask waits for customers at a shop, as Malaysia reopens a majority of businesses, after a movement control
order was imposed to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian health authorities on Friday reported 68 new coronavirus cases, bringing the cumulative total to 6,535 cases.
    The health ministry also reported no new deaths at its daily media briefing for a second straight day, leaving total fatalities at 107 cases.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/8/2020 Philippines’ coronavirus deaths inch closer to 700
FILE PHOTO: A nurse gets a swab from a health worker in a booth set up in a hospital parking lot as the Philippines ramps
up testing for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manila, Philippines, April 15, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ Health Ministry on Friday recorded 11 new coronavirus deaths and 120 additional confirmed cases.
    In a bulletin, the ministry said total infections had increased to 10,463 while deaths had reached 696.    It added that 116 patients had recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,734.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Alison Williams)

5/8/2020 Pro-Beijing lawmakers, democrats clash in Hong Kong legislature
Pan-democratic legislator Raymond Chan Chi-chuen is being taken away by security during a
Legislative Council's House Committee meeting, in Hong Kong, China May 8, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Rival lawmakers scuffled in Hong Kong’s legislature on Friday in a row over electing the chairman of a key committee, a fresh sign of rising political tension as the coronavirus pandemic tapers off in the Chinese-ruled city.
    Lawmakers shouted and pushed one another at the legislative council meeting.    Pro-Beijing lawmakers scuffled with pro-democracy lawmakers, several clashing with guards seeking to eject a pro-Beijing lawmaker who attempted to chair the meeting in a move that democrats said violated procedure.
    Beijing has accused the former British colony’s pro-democracy lawmakers of “malicious” filibustering to prevent some proposed bills from going to a final vote.
(Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

5/8/2020 Singapore records 768 new COVID-19 cases, total now 21,707
FILE PHOTO: Medical personnel attend to migrant workers at a dormitory amid the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore, April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su

5/8/2020 South Korea tracks new coronavirus outbreak in Seoul nightclubs by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith
A list of precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is seen at an entrance of a club in Seoul, South Korea, May 8, 2020.
Yonhap via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SOUTH KOREA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean health authorities are investigating a small but growing coronavirus outbreak centred in a handful of Seoul nightclubs, seeking to keep infections in check as the country moves to less restrictive social distancing measures.
    The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said on Friday at least 15 people have confirmed cases of the virus linked to the clubs in Itaewon, a neighbourhood popular with Koreans and foreigners in the city.
    South Korea has reported only a handful of cases in recent days, the majority of them in people arriving from overseas.    The nightclub infections, while still limited, are expected to increase, and come at a time when the country has eased some social distancing restrictions.
    “These venues have all the dangerous conditions that we were the most concerned about,” KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong said on Friday, referring to crowding and ventilation issues.
    “We think it is necessary to strengthen management for such facilities and we urge you to refrain from visiting such facilities as much as possible.”
    Seoul city officials say they have a list of about 1,500 people who have visited the clubs, and more cases have been confirmed in other cities where the patients lived or travelled.    Authorities have asked anyone who visited the clubs over the weekend to self isolate for 14 days and be tested.
    The cluster of infections also raised controversy over the possible unintended side effects of South Korea’s invasive tracing and wide public disclosure of some patient information.
    When several local media outlets identified the nightclubs as “gay clubs,” it sparked criticism the disclosures and media coverage could out lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer(LGBTQ) individuals against their will or lead to discrimination.
    “Gay” and “Itaewon corona” were among the top trending terms on South Korea’s Naver web search portal following the reports.
    Some social media users worried that fear of public disclosure could deter some club goers from being tested, and compared the cluster to the country’s largest outbreak, which infected thousands of members of a secretive church.
    The reports included the age, gender, location and movements of the first individual who was tested positive after visiting those clubs, as well as the type of job he worked in, according to Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights in Korea, the nation’s largest rights group.
    “It is not just unhelpful to disclose information of an individual’s movement for prevention efforts, but also a serious human rights violation that invades the individual’s privacy and has him outed to society,” the group said.
    Some local media later ammended headlines, removing references to “gay bars” but did not make any official apologies.
    Homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, and there is growing public acceptance of LGBTQ relations.
    Yet discrimination remains widespread and some gay people suffer hate crimes, rights advocates say.
    To battle the coronavirus outbreak, South Korea has embraced a high-tech approach to contact tracing, which can include accessing a patient’s cell phone location data, CCTV footage, credit card statements, and other information.
    Automated cell phone alerts are then sent to anyone suspected of having been in the same area as the confirmed case, with health authorities often disclosing details on the patient’s gender, age, whereabouts and sometimes workplace in an effort to track new cases.
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith. Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/8/2020 Thailand reports eight new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: A young woman is seen as she lines up to get her monthly financial aid, for a three month period, during the government's measures against
the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) near the Finance Ministry office in Bangkok, Thailand, May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Friday reported eight new coronavirus cases but no deaths, bringing the total to 3,000 cases and 55 deaths since the outbreak started in January.
    Of the new cases, three are from the southern province of Yala where authorities are aggressively testing the population due to high infection rates, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    Five other new cases are migrants who have been detained at an immigration detention centre in southern Songkhla province, Taweesin said.    The centre has seen 60 other cases in the past two weeks.
    Slowing numbers of new cases have prompted Thailand to cautiously allow some businesses this week to reopen after weeks of semi-lockdown.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat. Editing by Kay Johnson.)

5/8/2020 Pakistan coronavirus cases surge past 25,000, pace quickens: Reuters tally
FILE PHOTO: An activist, wearing a protective mask and a plastic shield as preventive measures against the
spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), attends a rally demanding improvements in the working conditions,
during the International Labour Day or May Day, in Karachi, Pakistan, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
    (Reuters) – Coronavirus cases in Pakistan surged past 25,000 on Friday, just hours before the government was due to lift lockdown measures, with the country reporting some of the biggest daily increases in new infections in the world.
    Officials reported 1,764 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours on Friday, taking the total to 25,837.    Deaths rose by 30 to 594.
    Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced plans to begin lifting Pakistan’s poorly enforced lockdown from Saturday, amid fears for the country’s economy as it sinks into recession.
(Reporting By Jane Wardell; Editing by Richard Pullin & Shri Navaratnam)

5/8/2020 No warning, no escape as deadly gas swept through an Indian village by Sudarshan Varadhan, Harish Baskar and Pushkala Aripaka
Municipal workers decontaminate outside of the LG Polymers Plant following a gas
leak at the plant in Visakhapatnam, India, May 8, 2020. REUTERS/R Narendra
    CHENNAI/BENGALURU (Reuters) – When gas began leaking from a nearby chemical factory and drifting towards his house in southern India, there were no warnings and no alarms, welder Elamanchili Venkatesh said.
    He realised something was wrong when he woke up choking and spluttering in the pre-dawn darkness on Thursday in RR Venkatapuram village, just 250 metres (275 yards) from the plant owned by South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd.
    “My eyes were burning and the room was filled with a strong smell,” the 22-year-old said.
    Somehow, he was able to dial a friend and urged him to come over immediately.    He then stumbled around trying to wake his family of six, but failed.
    Venkatesh, who staggered outside blindly, said he coughed up blood before losing consciousness.    When he woke up hours later in a hospital, his mother was fighting for her life and his one-year-old niece was in intensive care.
    His mother died soon afterwards.    She was one of 11 people killed after gas from styrene, a raw material used at the factory, leaked into the air around 2:30 a.m. and enveloped homes on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam city in Andhra Pradesh state, officials said.
    Hundreds more fell ill and were taken to hospital.
    “Why couldn’t they have raised an alarm?    Don’t they have a siren in the company to alert citizens when something like this happens?” he said.    “I didn’t hear anything.”
    A dozen other victims interviewed by Reuters described similar scenes of confusion after the leak.
    LG Chem did not immediately respond to specific queries from Reuters for this article, including why residents did not hear an alarm.
    It said that when the accident occurred, it was reopening the unit after a weeks-long nationwide lockdown imposed to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
    The leak was discovered by a night shift maintenance worker, the company said.
    “Currently, we are focusing on all necessary measures together with relevant authorities to protect residents and employees and surveying the extent of the casualties and damage,” LG Chem said in a statement on Friday.
    It said the leak followed a chemical reaction in an industrial material that had been in storage for weeks.
    “The exact cause of the incident is currently being investigated and will be notified as the findings and information becomes more concrete,” it said.
    A senior Andhra Pradesh government official briefed about the matter said that the temperature of stored raw material was higher than it should have been, adding that authorities were investigating whether a cooling system had malfunctioned.
    P. Chandra Mohan Rao, a director at the plant, which makes polystyrene plastic used in cutlery, cups and packaging, did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.
IMPOSSIBLE TO BREATHE
    Authorities said the first call to emergency services came from a local resident at 3.25 a.m., not the company.
    Over the next few hours, police, firemen and ambulance crews evacuated about 4,500 families living in the villages surrounding the factory.
    Naresh Patrudu, one of three friends who came to rescue Venkatesh, reached the area a little before 4:00 a.m.
    On the way to their friend’s home, Patrudu said he saw more than a dozen people lying completely motionless in lanes, and along storm drains and ditches.    Others were semi-conscious, rolling around on the ground, but disoriented and unable to run.
    Avinash Kumar Gusida, 28, who also came to rescue a stranded friend, saw several children, adults and several dogs and cows lying unconscious.    “It was very, very horrible,” he said.
    Pasala Kanakaraju, 56, who fled his house on his motorcycle, found people lying unconscious in the streets, some frothing from the mouth.    He lost control of his bike and collapsed.
    LG Chem said that inhaling the gas causes nausea and dizziness, but multiple witnesses told Reuters the symptoms exhibited by the victims were more severe.
    Patrudu said Venkatesh’s mother was found lying unconscious about 400 metres from the house.    His father and older niece lay motionless nearby.
    Venkatesh himself was discovered outside a neighbouring cement plant, throwing up.    His sister-in-law was the last to be found. She lay unconscious inside the house.
    “We still didn’t know what was happening,” Patrudu said.
    By then, the ambulances had started arriving.    “Those were the first noises we heard,” he said.
    Ventakesh’s brother and younger niece were evacuated by other rescuers, and the family was briefly reunited at a local hospital before his mother died.
(Additional reporting by Asha Sistla, Siddharth Cavale, Shanima A. and Aditya Munjuluru in Bengaluru; Narendra R in Visakapatnam’ and Jack Kim, Hyunjoo Jin and Jane Chung in Seoul; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Euan Rocha and Timothy Heritage)

5/8/2020 Japan, faced with criticism, scrambles to do more coronavirus testing by Kiyoshi Takenaka
FILE PHOTO: A medical worker waits to conduct a simulation for a walk-in style polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a makeshift facility in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan, April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
    TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government, under fire for a limited number of coronavirus tests conducted, eased access to such tests on Friday and indicated that a new test supplementing the currently dominant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test could be approved next week.
    The Health Ministry said it now wants people experiencing difficulty breathing or heavy sluggishness to seek advice on whether they may have been infected with the new coronavirus.    It also loosened its criteria on fevers.
    Government guidelines had previously specified that those who had had a fever of 37.5 Celsius (99.5 Fahrenheit) or more for four consecutive days should seek advice at local public health centres.
    Those centres are tasked with conducting screening ahead of administering PCR tests for the virus.
    Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike welcomed the move.
    “The widening of the gateway, which was narrow, makes it easier to have tests,” she told reporters.
    Japan had conducted 188 PCR tests per 100,000 people, compared with 3,159 in Italy and 3,044 in Germany, data from a panel of experts advising the government on coronavirus responses showed on Monday.
    Critics say the low rate of testing in Japan has made it difficult to trace the virus as it spread in major cities and led to a series of in-hospital infections, crippling some facilities.
    Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told parliament on Friday the government’s review of antigen test kits, which are simpler and quicker to conduct than PCR tests, will be completed next week for possible approval.
    An antigen test targets the virus’s protein to establish whether a person is infected, while an antibody test is used to detect those who have been infected with the virus.
    “We can use them once approved.    We would naturally need to think about utilising them to supplement PCR tests,” Kato said.
    Fujirebio, a subsidiary of Japanese diagnostics and laboratory testing service provider Miraca Holdings, last month applied for government approval for Japan’s first antigen coronavirus testing kits.
    In an additional step to help promote more tests, the government plans to start providing medical workers with 30 million surgical masks, 2 million gowns and 1.5 million face shields starting next week.
    The expert panel advising the government said on Monday the “overwhelming” shortage of personal protective equipment for sample collectors and laboratory technicians has been one factor behind a slow pickup in the number of PCR tests.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Steve Orlofsky)

5/9/2020 Australia’s biggest states hold off on easing COVID-19 restrictions for businesses by Sonali Paul
FILE PHOTO: Tourists sit on the mostly deserted steps of the Sydney Opera House, March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo
    MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s most populous states held back from relaxing coronavirus restrictions on Saturday although other states began allowing small gatherings and were preparing to open restaurants and shops.
    Prime Minister Scott Morrison outlined a three-stage plan a day earlier to remove most curbs by July and get nearly 1 million people back to work, given that new confirmed coronavirus infections have fallen to less than 20 a day due to strict lockdowns.
    In the nation’s capital, Canberra, and some states people can visit each other again, with indoor and outdoor gatherings, including weddings, of up to 10 people allowed.
    In South Australia, outdoor dining at restaurants and cafes will be allowed from Monday seating up to 10 people at a time, and in the Northern Territory, pubs, bars and restaurants will reopen next Friday.
    But New South Wales and Victoria, home to Sydney and Melbourne and which account for nearly two-thirds of the country’s coronavirus cases, will only outline plans for easing business restrictions next week at the earliest.
    “What we’re doing here, is we very clearly have one country, one direction, different speeds,” Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters in a suburb of Melbourne.
    NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said while the rate of infection in the state had dropped, the government was still working on a plan for getting people back to work.    He did not say when that would be ready.
    “I understand the energy and exuberance about wanting us to lay out a timetable.    All I can say is that at this point, the highest priority…is to keep people safe, but also to find the right balance,” Hazzard told reporters.
    Although visits of up to 2 adults in NSW are now allowed, Hazzard urged people not to let their guard down on social distancing and hand-washing when visiting on Mother’s Day on Sunday.
    “It’s really tough to not be able to hug your mum or kiss your mum, but it would be the wisest course to not do that,” Hazzard said.
    Many nursing homes around the country started allowing limited visits this weekend, with some requiring temperature checks and proof of flu vaccinations for visitors as well as strict social distancing of 1.5 metres (4.9 ft).
    Australia’s total deaths from COVID-19 remain just below 100.    Hunt said 770,000 people have been tested across the country and the rate of positive tests has dropped below 1%.
    New Zealand reported two new coronavirus cases on Saturday, taking the country’s total to 1,492.    It has had 21 deaths linked to the coronavirus.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Edwina Gibbs)

5/9/2020 U.S. lawmakers urge support for Taiwan at WHO, as U.S. criticizes China by Patricia Zengerle
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) arrives to hear testimony from U.S. Ambassador to the
European Union Gordon Sondlandin Washington, U.S., October 17, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The leaders of U.S. congressional foreign affairs committees wrote to nearly 60 countries on Friday asking them to support Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization, citing the need for the broadest effort possible to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
    Taiwan, which is not a member of the United Nations, has been excluded from the WHO, which is a U.N. agency, due to objections from China.
    “As the world works to combat the spread of the COVID-19, a novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China, it has never been more important to ensure all countries prioritize global health and safety over politics,” the lawmakers said in their letter, sent on Friday and first reported by Reuters.
    It was signed by Representatives Eliot Engel, Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and Michael McCaul, the panel’s ranking Republican member, as well as Senators Jim Risch, the Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, and Bob Menendez, the panel’s ranking Democratic member.
    The letter was sent to “like-minded” countries, large and small, seen as friends and allies of Taiwan, including Canada, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Britain, Saudi Arabia and Australia.
    It was sent as President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials have ramped up criticism of China over the spread of the coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19.    The Trump administration has accused China of making the pandemic worse by hiding information.
    Last month, Trump announced that he was suspending aid to the WHO, accusing it of being “China-centric” and promoting China’s “disinformation” about the outbreak, assertions the WHO denies.
    Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress have echoed the president’s criticisms.    Democrats have criticized Trump for attacking the WHO during a global health crisis, while saying it needs reforms.
    Taiwan has been seeking to join a ministerial meeting this month of the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly (WHA), with backing from Washington and several U.S. allies.
    But China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province under its “one China” policy, said Taiwan’s effort to join the meeting will fail, insisting its efforts are based on politics, not health concerns.
    Taiwan has argued that its exclusion from the WHO has created a dangerous gap in the global fight against the coronavirus.
    In their letter, the U.S. lawmakers said Taiwan’s resources and expertise are assets that could benefit the world as it struggles with the pandemic.    They noted that Taiwan was invited to participate in WHA meetings from 2009 to 2016.
    “Diseases know no borders.    We urge your government to join us in addressing the pressing issue of Taiwan’s inclusion in global health and safety organizations.    Given what the world has endured as a result of COVID-19, UN Member States joining together to insist Taiwan be invited to the upcoming virtual WHA session in May 2020 is the right place to start,” the letter said.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis)

5/9/2020 U.S. tightens visa rules for Chinese journalists amid coronavirus tensions by Ted Hesson
FILE PHOTO: Chinese and U.S. flags flutter near The Bund in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States issued a new rule on Friday tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists, saying it was in response to the treatment of U.S. journalists in China, a shift that comes amid tensions between the two nations over the coronavirus global pandemic.
    The United States and China have been engaged in a series of retaliatory actions involving journalists in recent months.
    In March, China expelled American journalists from three U.S. newspapers, a month after the United States said it would begin to treat five Chinese state-run media entities with U.S. operations the same as foreign embassies.    One day after the U.S. verdict on the state-run entities, Beijing expelled three Wall Street Journal correspondents, two Americans and an Australian, following the publication of an opinion column that China denounced as racist.
    In issuing the new regulation on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security cited what it called China’s “suppression of independent journalism.”
    The regulation, which will take effect on Monday, will limit visas for Chinese reporters to a 90-day period, with the option for extension.    Such visas are typically open-ended and do not need to be extended unless the employee moves to a different company or medium.
    A senior DHS official, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter, said the new rules would allow the department to review Chinese journalist visa applications more frequently and would likely reduce the overall number of Chinese journalists in the United States.
    “It’s going to create greater national security protections,” the official said.
    The new rules will not apply to journalists with passports from Hong Kong or Macau, China’s two semi-autonomous territories, according to DHS.
    Tensions between the United States and China have increased in recent months as the novel coronavirus has swept across the globe, killing more than 269,000 people worldwide to date, according to a Reuters tally.
    President Donald Trump said in late April that he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab, but declined to describe the evidence, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing over the origins of the deadly outbreak.    The Chinese state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed the allegations.    Most experts believe the virus originated in a market selling wildlife in Wuhan.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Leslie Adler)
[GOOD JOB U.S. IF THEY SILENCE OUR JOURNALISTS THEN WE SHOULD SILENCE THEIRS AS WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.].

5/9/2020 Malaysia reports 54 new coronavirus cases and one new death
FILE PHOTO: Nurses wearing protective suits work inside the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ward at Kuala Lumpur
Hospital, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia April 21, 2020. Picture taken through glass. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia health authorities on Saturday reported 54 new coronavirus cases for a total of 6,589.
    The health ministry also reported one new death, bringing total fatalities to 108.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

5/9/2020 Indonesia reports 533 new COVID-19 cases, biggest in a day
FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers prepare before taking swab samples from vendors amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
outbreak, at a traditional market in Bogor, West Java province, Indonesia, May 8, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported on Saturday 533 new coronavirus infections, the biggest daily increase, taking the total number to 13,645, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said.
    Yurianto reported 16 more have died from the disease, taking the total number of death to 959, while 2,607 have recovered.
    Nearly 108,700 people have been tested as of Saturday, he added, while urging Indonesians to continue obeying the stay-at-home order to prevent further spread of the virus.
(Reporting by Nilufar Rizki; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

5/9/2020 Tokyo reports 36 new cases of coronavirus infection on Saturday: TV Asahi
FILE PHOTO: Passengers wearing protective face masks, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19),
are seen inside a train after the government announced the state of emergency for the capital
following the disease outbreak in Tokyo, Japan April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo reported 36 new cases of coronavirus infections on Saturday, TV Asahi said, three less than a day earlier and the seventh consecutive day that new infections have remained below 100.
    The latest figures, for which the broadcaster cited unnamed sources, bring total coronavirus infections in Japan’s capital city to 4,846 cases.
(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

5/9/2020 Philippines’ coronavirus deaths breach 700
FILE PHOTO: A soldier wearing a face mask holds on his weapon as he guards an empty street following the lockdown imposed
to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manila, Philippines, April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ health ministry reported on Saturday that coronavirus deaths have reached more than 700.
    The country recorded eight new coronavirus deaths, bringing the total to 704, the health ministry said in a bulletin.    Infections increased by 147 to 10,610 while 108 patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,842.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

5/9/2020 Singapore reports 753 new coronavirus cases, taking total to 22,460
FILE PHOTO: Medical personnel attend to migrant workers at a dormitory amid the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore, April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Singapore registered 753 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Saturday, taking the city-state’s total to 22,460 cases.
    The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the health ministry said in a statement.    Nine are permanent residents.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru)

5/9/2020 China to reform disease prevention system by Yew Lun Tian
FILE PHOTO: People wearing face masks walk at a main shopping area, following an outbreak of
the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Shanghai, China May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China will reform its disease prevention and control system to address weaknesses exposed by the coronavirus outbreak, a senior health official said on Saturday.
    China has been criticised domestically and abroad as being initially slow to react to the epidemic, which first broke out on a large scale in Wuhan.    The virus has since spread across the world, infecting almost 4 million people and killing almost a quarter-million from the COVID-19 disease it causes.
    “This coronavirus epidemic is a big test of our country’s governance and governing ability, and it exposed the weak links in how we address major epidemic and public health systems,” Li Bin, vice minister of the China National Health Commission, told reporters.
    The commission intends to build a “centralised and efficient” chain of command and reform, and modernise the disease prevention and control system, he said.
    The commission also aims to make better use of big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing to better analyse the disease, trace the virus and distribute resources.
    He said the commission plans to step up research on core technology, improve medical insurance and better ensure the availability of emergency materials.
    China has not seen any new deaths from coronavirus for 24 days.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Editing by William Mallard)

5/9/2020 China says willing to help North Korea in fight against virus
FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi jinping speaks during a meeting with Tedros Adhanom, director general of the World
Health Organization, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, January 28, 2020. Naohiko Hatta/Pool via REUTERS
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China is willing to offer support to North Korea within its ability against the coronavirus epidemic, state television said on Saturday, quoting President Xi Jinping as saying in a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
    Xi said he was very concerned about the situation in North Korea and the health of its people, and said he was pleased that its efforts to control the respiratory illness had achieved positive results, state television said.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

5/9/2020 Thailand reports four new coronavirus cases, one new death
FILE PHOTO: People in face masks run inside a park, after the government started opening some restaurants outside shopping malls, parks,
and barbershops during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand reported four new coronavirus cases and one more death on Saturday, bringing the total to 3,004 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak started in January.
    A 68-year-old man from Bangkok died, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    Of the new cases, two are from the southern province of Yala, where the authorities are aggressively testing people due to high infection rates.    One was linked with previous cases and one had a risk history from public places, he said.     Slowing numbers of new cases have prompted Thailand to cautiously allow some businesses to reopen after weeks of semi-lockdown.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon; Editing by William Mallard)

5/9/2020 Gunfire at Afghan protest leaves 6 dead by OAN Newsroom
FILE – In this Aug. 19, 2019, file photo, a man waves an Afghan flag during Independence
Day celebrations in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)
    At least six people are dead after protesters and police clashed in western Afghanistan.    According to reports, people gathered outside the provincial governor’s office Saturday to protest alleged unfair food distribution during the pandemic.
    Witnesses claimed protesters opened fire at police officers, sparking the gun battle that killed four civilians and two police officers.
    Meanwhile, protesters argued food distributors are favoring those with ties to people in positions of power.
    “We want justice, we want our rights, we want our freedom,” stated one demonstrator.    “The government is ruining our motherland, we are protesting to replace our governor (and) we want our rights.”
Afghan Volunteers prepare a free Iftar meal for needy people during the holy fasting month
of Ramadan in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
    A radio presenter, who was in attendance at the protests, was reportedly among those killed.
    Reports stated many Afghans rely on day labor, which has become non-existent after non-essential businesses were closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

5/9/2020 Protests break out after Indian chemical plant leak kills 12 by OAN Newsroom
A crowd gathers outside the LG Polymers plant from where chemical gas leaked in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday, May 7, 2020.(AP Photo)
    Indian police have filed charges against a South Korean owned chemical factory after a gas leak killed 12 people and left hundreds sick.     Workers were preparing to restart the LG Chem facility Thursday after coronavirus lockdown orders expired in the area, but were exposed the chemical Styrene during the leak.
    Styrene has been used to make plastic and rubber, but in gaseous state can be fatal, immobilizing people within minutes of inhalation.
    Protests broke out in response to the leak.    Demonstrators demanded justice and for a permanent closure of the factory.
Firefighters walk with oxygen cylinders outside LG Polymers plant, the site of a chemical gas leak, in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo)
    “After the leakage, we locked our doors, but the smell was coming into the house.    We could not breathe.    We came out and ran on the road, but so many fell down…they are unconscious.    They did not know what they were doing.” – Laxmi, gas leak victim
    On Saturday, the company apologized to those affected by the incident and said it would extend all support to ensure those affected were taken care of.
    Local authorities have accused the plant’s operators of endangering the public through negligence.    Environmental courts have also requested the company pay a $6 million dollar fee.
Smoke rises from LG Polymers plant, the site of a chemical gas leakage, in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo)
[I lived in Franklin, Ky. in the year 2000 plus and the city Russellville which was 20 miles west of there had a company that produced the same chemicals and it had been leaked into their water system, and the entire city had to use bottle water for years because of it.].

5/10/2020 Iran says United States yet to respond about prisoner swap by Parisa Hafezi
FILE PHOTO: An Iranian national flag flutters in Tehran April 15, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Washington has yet to respond to Iran about a prisoner swap, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei was quoted as saying by the government’s website on Sunday, reiterating that Tehran was ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States without preconditions.
    If a swap goes ahead, it would be one of very few instances of cooperation in an otherwise deeply frayed U.S.-Iran relationship, which has grown more hostile since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.
    “We have stated our readiness to discuss the release of all prisoners without preconditions … but Americans have not responded yet.    It seems to us that Americans are more prepared than before to end this situation,” Rabiei said, according to the government’s website Dolat.ir.
    Both countries have called for the release of prisoners because of the new coronavirus outbreak.    Iran is the worst hit country in the Middle East, while the United States has reported the highest number of deaths worldwide from the virus.
    Three Iranian officials told Reuters last week that a prisoner swap between the two countries was in the works.    Michael White, a U.S. navy veteran who has been detained in Iran since 2018, is a likely candidate to be swapped.    He was released from prison in mid-March on medical furlough but remains in Iran.
    “Washington is aware of our readiness and we think there is no need for a third country to mediate between Tehran and Washington for the prisoner exchange,” Rabiei said.
    “However, if the American side agrees, the interest section of Iran in Washington will inform the U.S. of our views on the details, including how and when the exchange will take place.”
    Tehran and Washington cut diplomatic relations shortly after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution after hardline Iranians seized the U.S. embassy and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.    Switzerland looks after U.S. interests with Tehran.br>     “We are worried about the safety and health of jailed Iranians in America … We hold America responsible for their safety amid the coronavirus outbreak,” Rabiei was quoted as saying.
    It is not clear exactly how many Americans Iran may hold, but they include father and son Baquer and Siamak Namazi.    Several dozen Iranians are being held in U.S. prisons, many of them for breaking sanctions.
    Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in December that Tehran was ready for a full prisoner exchange with the United States, tweeting: “The ball is in the U.S.’ court.”
    In mid-March U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Tehran to free American prisoners as a humanitarian gesture because of the coronavirus.
    Last December, Iran freed U.S. citizen Xiyue Wang, who had been held for three years on spying charges, and the United States released Iranian Massoud Soleimani, who faced charges of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.
    The United States is set to deport Iranian professor Sirous Asgari, who was acquitted of stealing trade secrets, once he receives medical clearance to leave, U.S. and Iranian officials said on Tuesday.
    Relations have grown more hostile again since 2018 when Trump exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran that has crippled its economy.    Iran has responded by gradually scaling back its commitments under the agreement.
    Animosity reached historic heights in early January when top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.    Iran retaliated on Jan. 9 by firing missiles at bases in Iraq where U.S. troops were stationed.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Susan Fenton)

5/10/2020 South Korea’s Moon warns of COVID-19 second wave as cases rebound by Hyonhee Shin
FILE PHOTO: People wearing masks to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
shop at an outlet mall in Gimpo, South Korea, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea warned of a second wave of the new coronavirus on Sunday as infections rebounded to a one-month high, just as the authorities were starting to ease some pandemic restrictions.
    “It’s not over until it’s over,” President Moon Jae-in told the nation, saying a new cluster shows the virus can spread widely at any time, and warning of a second wave late this year.
    The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 34 new infections, the highest since April 9, after a small outbreak emerged around a slew of nightclubs, prompting the authorities to temporary close all nightly entertainment facilities around the capital.
    The death toll remained at 256.
    Battling the first major coronavirus outbreak outside China, South Korea brought infections of the virus, and the disease COVID-19 that it causes, down drastically through widespread testing, aggressive contact tracing and tracking apps.    The response has helped Asia’s fourth-largest economy come to grips with the pandemic without extensive the lockdowns seen elsewhere.
    The daily tally of new infections had hovered around 10 or less in recent weeks, with no or very few domestic cases over the past 10 days.
    The fresh outbreak comes just as the government was easing some social distancing restrictions and moving to fully reopen schools and businesses, in a transition from intensive social distancing to “distancing in daily life.”
    “We must never lower our guard regarding epidemic prevention,” Moon said in a televised speech marking the third anniversary of his inauguration.    “We are in a prolonged war.    I ask everyone to comply with safety precautions and rules until the situation is over even after resuming daily lives.”
    He said the KCDC will get greater power as part of the long-term fight and be renamed the Disease Control and Prevention Administration to reflect its enhanced position, while the authorities beef up local expertise.
    The resurgence is driven by an outbreak centred around a handful of Seoul nightclubs, which a man in his late 20s had visited before testing positive last week.
    At least 24 out of the 26 new domestically transmitted infections were traced to that man, bringing the infections related to the case to 54, the KCDC said.
    The KCDC said officials are tracking down about 1,900 people who have gone to the clubs, which could be increased to 7,000, asking anyone who was there last week to self-isolate for 14 days and be tested.
    “This case is once again showing a rapid spread of the virus as well as high infectiousness,” KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.    “We’re in a battle against time to head off additional transmissions in the local communities.”
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by William Mallard and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

5/10/2020 China reports first coronavirus case in Wuhan since April 3 among 14 new infections
FILE PHOTO: People wearing face masks exit a subway station during a rainy day, following an outbreak of
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Beijing, China May 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s National Health Commission reported 14 new confirmed coronavirus cases on May 9, the highest number since April 28, including the first for more than a month in the city of Wuhan where the outbreak was first detected late last year.
    While China had officially designated all areas of the country as low-risk last Thursday, the new cases according to data published on Sunday represent a jump from the single case reported for the day before.    The number was lifted by a cluster of 11 in Shulan city in northeastern Jilin province.
    Jilin officials on Sunday raised the Shulan city risk level to high from medium, having hoisted it to medium the day before after one woman tested positive on May 7.    The 11 new cases made public on Sunday are members of her family or people who came into contact with her or family members.
    The new Wuhan case, the first reported in the epicentre of China’s outbreak since April 3, was previously asymptomatic, according to the health commission.
    Aside from the Shulan cluster and the Wuhan case, the remaining two new confirmed cases were imported infections.    It also said newly discovered asymptomatic cases were at 20, the highest since May 1 and up from 15 a day earlier.
    No new deaths were reported, it said.
    The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in mainland China reached 82,901 as of May 9, while the total death toll from the virus stood at 4,633, according to the commission.
(Reporting by Judy Hua, Yew Lun Tian and Ryan Woo; Editing by Chris Reese and Kenneth Maxwell)

5/10/2020 Australia’s biggest state to ease coronavirus lockdown from May 15 by Sonali Paul
FILE PHOTO: The words "Love Syd" are spelled out in rooms at the Shangri-La Hotel, near the Sydney Opera House,
amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sydney, Australia May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
    MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s most populous state, home to Sydney, will allow restaurants, playgrounds and outdoor pools to reopen on Friday as extensive testing has shown the spread of the coronavirus has slowed sharply, New South Wales state’s premier said on Sunday.
    The state has been worst hit by the coronavirus in Australia, with about 45% of the country’s confirmed cases and deaths.    However it recorded just two new cases on Saturday out of nearly 10,000 people tested, clearing the way for a cautious loosening of lockdown measures.
    “Just because we’re easing restrictions doesn’t mean the virus is less deadly or less of a threat.    All it means is we have done well to date,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters on Sunday.
    From May 15, New South Wales will allow cafes and restaurants to seat 10 patrons at a time, permit outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, and visits of up to five people to a household.
    Playgrounds and outdoor pools will also be allowed to reopen with strict limits.
    The moves are in line with a three-step plan to relax lockdown measures outlined by the Australian government on Friday, which would see nearly 1 million people return to work by July.
    Places of worship in New South Wales (NSW) will be permitted to open to up to 10 people from Friday.    Weddings, which had been restricted to two guests, will be able to host up to 10, and indoor funerals will be allowed to have 20 mourners.
    Schools in NSW are set to reopen from Monday, but only allowing students to attend one day a week on a staggered basis.
    Berejiklian gave no time frame for any further reopening of the economy, saying that would depend on infection rates.
    “We continue to take a cautious approach in New South Wales, but also one which has a focus on jobs and the economy, because we can’t continue to live like this for the next year or until there is a vaccine,” Berejiklian said.
    NSW and Victoria, which has had the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country, have maintained their tight restrictions longer than other states.
    Victoria’s premier said he would announce plans for easing lockdown measures in the state on Monday.
    Dozens of people protested against the lockdown measures outside Victoria’s state parliament in Melbourne on Sunday, leading police to arrest 10 people for breaching coronavirus restrictions on large gatherings.
    “It’s incredibly disappointing that people would be protesting or seeking to suggest we don’t have a pandemic,” Victoria Health Minister Jenny Mikakos told reporters.
    Meanwhile Australia’s chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, told reporters in Canberra that state and federal officials will meet on Monday to discuss ways of dealing with the risks of crowds on public transport as businesses start to reopen.
    Western Australia (WA), which shut its borders to combat the spread of the virus and has had only 1 new COVID-19 case in the past 11 days, has moved faster than other states in easing restrictions.
    On Sunday, WA Premier Mark McGowan said from May 18 the state would allow indoor and outdoor gatherings of up to 20 people, including at cafes and restaurants.
    Queensland state will allow restaurants, pubs and cafes to reopen with up to 10 people at a time from next Saturday, and said it would increase that to 20 people from June 12.
    In South Australia, from Monday, holiday travel will be allowed within the state, in a push to revive tourism that has been devastated this year by bush fires and the coronavirus.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Kenneth Maxwell)

5/10/2020 Philippines reports 184 new coronavirus cases, 15 more deaths
FILE PHOTO: A soldier wearing a face mask holds on his weapon as he guards an empty street following the lockdown
imposed to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manila, Philippines, April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ health ministry on Sunday confirmed 184 new coronavirus cases, taking the Southeast Asian nation’s total reported infections to 10,794.
    Fifteen more deaths related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, were recorded, bringing the toll to 719, while 82 patients have recovered to bring total recoveries to 1,924, it said in a bulletin.
(Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by William Mallard)

5/10/2020 Indonesia’s coronavirus infections top 14,000: official
FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers prepare before taking swab samples from vendors amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
outbreak, at a traditional market in Bogor, West Java province, Indonesia, May 8, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported 387 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the total number to 14,032, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
    The Southeast Asian country also reported 14 more people have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, bringing total to 973, Yurianto said. Meanwhile, 2,698 people have recovered.
    More than 113,452 people have been tested, he said, adding that many areas across the country are still showing fluctuating number of new infections.
(Reporting by Nilufar Rizki; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by William Mallard)

5/10/2020 Malaysia extends curbs on movement, businesses to June 9
FILE PHOTO: A cleaner sterilises handrails at a mall as Malaysia reopens a majority of businesses, after a movement control order
was imposed to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s government extended the time frame for movement and business curbs by another four weeks to June 9, amid a gradual reopening of economic activity stunted by the coronavirus pandemic.
    Earlier this week, businesses were allowed to resume business as usual, albeit under strict health guidelines, after having to close shop for two months as health authorities worked to contain the pandemic.    Malaysia has so far reported 6,589 cases with 108 deaths.
    Existing rules under a conditional movement control order remain in place until the new expiry date in June, which include practicing strict hygiene and social distancing, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address on Sunday.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

5/10/2020 Thailand reports five new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: People in face masks run inside a park, after the government started opening some restaurants outside shopping malls,
parks, and barbershops during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, May 3, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand reported five new coronavirus cases but no deaths on Sunday, bringing the total to 3,009 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak started in the country in January.
    However, there are four more infected people from the resort island of Phuket, who will be included in figures to be reported on Monday, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    Of the new cases reported on Sunday, two were linked to previous cases and three had travelled abroad, he said.
    Slowing numbers of new cases have prompted Thailand to allow some businesses to reopen after weeks of semi-lockdown.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

5/10/2020 Singapore reports 876 new coronavirus cases, taking total to 23,336
FILE PHOTO: Medical personnel attend to migrant workers at a dormitory amid the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore, April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Singapore registered 876 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Sunday, taking the city-state’s total to 23,336 cases.
    The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the health ministry said in a statement.    Three are permanent residents.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)

5/10/2020 Iran says it’s ready for a full prisoner swap with U.S. by OAN Newsroom
In this photo released Wednesday, April 22, 2020, by Sepahnews, an Iranian rocket carrying a satellite
is launched from an undisclosed site believed to be in Iran’s Semnan province.(Sepahnews via AP)
    Iran has announced it’s ready for a prisoner swap with the U.S. without any preconditions.    On Sunday, an Iranian spokesperson said the government has been waiting months for the U.S. to respond to its offer.
    The official also noted the country considers the U.S. responsible for the health and lives of Iranian prisoners detained in the U.S.
    Both countries have been seeking the release of their prisoners, due to the current state of the coronavirus outbreak.
    “It is America that has so far refused to respond,” stated spokesman Ali Rabiei.    “We hope that in the face of the outbreak of COVID-19, which threatens the lives of Iranian citizens in American prisons, the American government should prefer the care of human life to politics and return to this path.”
Mourners wearing face masks and gloves, pray over the body of a victim who died after being infected with the new
coronavirus, in the outskirts of the city of Babol, in north of Iran, Thursday, April 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
    It’s unclear how many Americans are being detained by Iran.
According to reports, U.S. Navy veteran Michael White, who has been in Iranian custody for two years, is a likely candidate for a prisoner swap.
   
5/10/2020 China refutes 24 ‘lies’ by U.S. politicians over coronavirus by Yew Lun Tian
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a news conference
in Beijing, China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China has issued a lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 “preposterous allegations” by some leading U.S. politicians over its handling of the new coronavirus outbreak.
    The Chinese foreign ministry has dedicated most of its press briefings over the past week to rejecting accusations by U.S. politicians, especially Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that China had withheld information about the new coronavirus and that it had originated in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan.
    A 30-page, 11,000-word article posted on the ministry website on Saturday night repeated and expanded on the refutations made during the press briefings, and began by invoking Abraham Lincoln, the 19th century U.S. president.
    “As Lincoln said, you can fool some of the people all the time and fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time,” it said in the prologue.
    The article also cited media reports that said Americans had been infected with the virus before the first case was confirmed in Wuhan.    There is no evidence to suggest that is the case.
    Keen to quash U.S. suggestions that the virus was deliberately created or somehow leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the article said that all evidence shows the virus is not man-made and that the institute is not capable of synthesising a new coronavirus.
“TIMELY” WARNINGS
    The article also provided a timeline of how China had provided information to the international community in a “timely,” “open and transparent” manner to rebuke U.S. suggestions that it had been slow to sound the alarm.
    Despite China’s repeated assurances, concerns about the timeliness of its information have persisted in some quarters.
    A report by Der Spiegel magazine last Friday cited Germany’s BND spy agency as saying that China’s initial attempt to hold back information had cost the world four to six weeks that could have been used to fight the virus.
    The article rejected Western criticism of Beijing’s handling of the case of Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old doctor who had tried to raise the alarm over the outbreak of the new virus in Wuhan.    His death from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, prompted an outpouring of rage and grief across China.
    It ministry article said Li was not a “whistle-blower” and he was never arrested, contrary to many Western reports.
    However, the article did not mention that Li was reprimanded by the police for “spreading rumours.”    Though Li was later named among “martyrs” mourned by China, an investigation into his case also drew criticism online after it merely suggested the reprimand against him be withdrawn.
    Rejecting suggestions by U.S. President Donald Trump and Pompeo that the new coronavirus should be called the “Chinese virus” or “Wuhan virus,” the article cited documents from the World Health Organization to say the name of a virus should not be country-specific.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Gareth Jones)

5/10/2020 South Korea’s Moon warns of COVID-19 second wave as cases rebound by Hyonhee Shin
FILE PHOTO: People wearing masks to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
shop at an outlet mall in Gimpo, South Korea, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea warned of a second wave of the new coronavirus on Sunday as infections rebounded to a one-month high, just as the authorities were starting to ease some pandemic restrictions.
    “It’s not over until it’s over,” President Moon Jae-in told the nation, saying a new cluster shows the virus can spread widely at any time, and warning of a second wave late this year.
    The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 34 new infections, the highest since April 9, after a small outbreak emerged around a slew of nightclubs, prompting the authorities to temporary close all nightly entertainment facilities around the capital.
    The death toll remained at 256.
    Health Minister Park Neung-hoo said the government will decide on whether it will reopen schools in stages starting from May 13 as planned after examining the impact of the nightclub cases for two to three days.
    Battling the first major coronavirus outbreak outside China, South Korea brought infections of the virus, and the disease COVID-19 that it causes, down drastically through widespread testing, aggressive contact tracing and tracking apps.    The response has helped Asia’s fourth-largest economy come to grips with the pandemic without extensive the lockdowns seen elsewhere.
    The daily tally of new infections had hovered around 10 or less in recent weeks, with no or very few domestic cases over the past 10 days.
    The fresh outbreak comes just as the government was easing some social distancing restrictions and moving to fully reopen schools and businesses, in a transition from intensive social distancing to “distancing in daily life.”
    “We must never lower our guard regarding epidemic prevention,” Moon said in a televised speech marking the third anniversary of his inauguration.    “We are in a prolonged war.    I ask everyone to comply with safety precautions and rules until the situation is over even after resuming daily lives.”
    He said the KCDC will get greater power as part of the long-term fight and be renamed the Disease Control and Prevention Administration to reflect its enhanced position, while the authorities beef up local expertise.
    The resurgence is driven by an outbreak centred around a handful of Seoul nightclubs, which a man in his late 20s had visited before testing positive last week.
    At least 24 out of the 26 new domestically transmitted infections were traced to that man, bringing the infections related to the case to 54, the KCDC said.
    The KCDC said officials are tracking down about 1,900 people who have gone to the clubs, which could be increased to 7,000, asking anyone who was there last week to self-isolate for 14 days and be tested.
    “This case is once again showing a rapid spread of the virus as well as high infectiousness,” KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.    “We’re in a battle against time to head off additional transmissions in the local communities.”
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by William Mallard and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

5/11/2020 Hong Kong police arrest more than 200 as pro-democracy protests return
Riot police raise their pepper spray projectile inside a shopping mall as they disperse
anti-government protesters during a rally, in Hong Kong, China May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong authorities said on Monday they arrested 230 people during pro-democracy protests on the weekend after a sing-along demonstration at a shopping mall spilled out on to the streets of the Chinese-ruled city.
    Hundreds of riot police were deployed to disperse the protesters on Sunday, with some members of the media caught up in the chaos that evoked memories of the sometimes violent unrest that rocked the global financial hub last year.
    Police said the arrested were aged between 12 and 65 and their offences included unlawful assembly, assaulting a police officer and failing to produce proof of identity.
    A 22-year-old man was found to have materials believed to be intended for making petrol bombs, police said.
    The Hospital Authority said 18 people were taken to hospital.
    Images beamed live from the working class district of Mong Kok showed riot police pushing back some reporters and firing pepper spray amid chaotic scenes.
    Footage showed protesters being subdued on the ground, scuffles and people bleeding.
    Police fired pepper spray at journalists and activists, and conducted stop and search operations on members of the public and media.
    The Hong Kong Journalists’ Association (HKJA) said some members of the press were prevented from filming.
    “Some journalists who were sprayed by pepper spray were not allowed to receive immediate treatment, and they were requested to stop filming,” said Chris Yeung, chairman of the HKJA.
    Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    The outbreak of coronavirus and strict rules to curb its spread had brought a relative lull in anti-government protests this year, but the recent arrest of democracy activists and renewed concern about Beijing’s tightening grip on the city have revived the movement.
    Police in riot gear told protesters they were staging an illegal assembly and violating anti-virus measures that bar gatherings of more than eight people.
    Democratic Party lawmaker Roy Kwong was arrested for “disorderly conduct in a public place,” police said.
    Video footage showed Kwong apparently being pushed to the ground and then surrounded by officers.    He was later taken to hospital after he said he was feeling unwell.
    The financial hub is gearing up for protests over the next few months, with activists calling for two million people to gather for an annual march on July 1 that marks the anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
(Reporting By Clare Jim and Jessie Pang; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Robert Birsel)

5/11/2020 South Korea scrambles to contain Seoul nightclub coronavirus outbreak by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith
FILE PHOTO: People wearing masks to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
arrive at Gimpo international airport in Seoul, South Korea, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean officials scrambled on Monday to contain a new coronavirus outbreak, searching for thousands of people who may have been infected in a cluster of cases linked to nightclubs and bars in the densely populated capital city of Seoul.
    The Asian country has been lauded for its quick action on the pandemic, significantly reducing the rate of new infections in recent weeks, but a resurgence in case numbers has raised concerns the country could be entering a second wave outbreak.
    Officials reported 35 new infections across the country as of midnight on Sunday, the second consecutive day of new cases of that magnitude and the highest numbers in more than a month.
    Twenty-nine of those new cases were linked to an outbreak at a number of Seoul nightclubs and bars, many of them catering to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.
    That has raised complications for officials desperately trying to track those who might be infected in a nation where open homosexuality is often taboo and LGBTQ people still face discrimination, including job loss and hate speech.
    Authorities have tested more than 2,450 people who had patronised the night spots in the Itaewon neighbourhood, but were still trying to track down around 3,000 more.    Hundreds of other people who came in contact with clubgoers have also been tested.
    “Our top priority is to minimise the spread of the infections in the greater Seoul area,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun told a meeting with government officials on Monday, calling on local governments to work with police to track down patrons.
    “We should quickly find and test them, and speed is key.”
    The outbreak has highlighted the potential unintended side effects of South Korea’s invasive tracing methods and wide public disclosure of some patient information as part of its approach to tackling the coronavirus.
    Health Ministry official Yoon Tae-ho acknowledged concerns that individuals within the LGBTQ community could be outed against their will or face discrimination if they came forward.
    “We release the movement of confirmed patients to encourage anyone who might be exposed get tested voluntarily,” he told a briefing.    “We urge you to refrain from distributing patients’ personal information or groundless rumours, which not only hurts them but can also be subject to punishment.”
    The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said 86 people have tested positive in connection with the Itaewon outbreak, which was made public on Friday, including people who had travelled to the capital and subsequently returned home.
    Seoul mayor Park Won-soon pleaded with clubgoers to be tested, promising that personal information would be protected and warning that people caught evading testing could be fined.
    “If Seoul was penetrated, the nation is at risk,” Park said, noting the city currently has around 700 of the nation’s 10,909 cases, which include 256 deaths.
SECOND WAVE?
    The spike in cases comes just as the South Korean government was easing some social distancing restrictions and reopening schools and businesses.    Official data released on Monday showed exports and imports suffered a precipitous decline in the first 10 days of May, underlining a bleak outlook for Asia’s fourth largest economy.
    Seoul’s education superintendent Cho Hee-yeon issued a statement proposing delaying the reopening of schools, which was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, by one week in light of the new outbreak.
    Technology firms Kakao Corp <035720.KS> and Naver Corp <035420.KS> suspended plans for employees to return to the office starting Monday, after two cases linked to the club outbreaks were reported at IT firm TmaxSoft, company spokespersons said.
    TmaxSoft said on Friday it had shut down its office near Seoul and would test all employees for COVID-19.
    The 69 cases reported by the KCDC over the past 48 hours were equivalent to the number of cases it recorded over the entire previous week.
    Still, KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong said while the outbreak was worrisome, it was not appropriate to call it a second wave just yet.     “The epidemic is ongoing,” she said.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Sangmi Cha; editing by Jane Wardell)

5/11/2020 Indonesia reports 233 new coronavirus infections, 18 deaths
Healthcare workers take a swab sample from a passenger amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak,
at a commuter train station in Bogor near Jakarta, Indonesia, May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported on Monday 233 new coronavirus infections, taking the total of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 14,265, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
    Yurianto reported 18 new COVID-19 related deaths, taking the total to 991, while 2,881 have recovered.
    More than 116,350 people have been tested, he said.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Nilufar Rizki; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/11/2020 Malaysia reports 70 new coronavirus cases with one new death
FILE PHOTO: Medical workers wearing protective suits pass by barbed wire at the red zone under enhanced lockdown,
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian health officials reported 70 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the cumulative total to 6,726.
    The health ministry also reported one new death, bringing total fatalities to 109.
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Toby Chopra; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/11/2020 India to restart some passenger trains even though coronavirus infections jump by Sanjeev Miglani
FILE PHOTO: A migrant worker, who was stranded in the western state of Gujarat due to a lockdown
imposed by the government to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), looks out from a train
that will take him to his home state of eastern Bihar, in Ahmedabad, India, May 8, 2020. REUTERS/Amit Dave
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India announced a limited re-opening of its giant rail network beginning on Tuesday after a nearly seven-week lockdown, despite also reporting its biggest single-day jump in coronavirus cases.
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced increasing calls to end his government’s stringent lockdown of the nation’s 1.3 billion population, with political parties, businesses and citizens saying the containment measures have destroyed the livelihoods of millions that rely on daily wages for sustenance.
    The shutdown, which has been repeatedly extended to stave off a surge in infections, is in force until May 17.    Ahead of that, though, the railway ministry said it would gradually restart passenger services with 15 trains from Tuesday, connecting Delhi to Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and other big cities.
    “Thereafter, Indian Railways shall start more special services on new routes,” the government said in a statement.    The rail network, among the world’s largest, carries over 20 million people each day and is the lifeline for people living in far flung corners of the country.
    The announcement late on Sunday of the restart of some train service came on the same day India’s coronavirus infections jumped by 4,214, the most ever, to 67,152.
    India’s rail, road, and air services were suspended in March to stop infections from spreading into the country’s interior, but the number of cases has kept rising each day.    Officials say the spread of the disease would be worse if Modi’s stringent restrictions had not been put in place.
    The number of people who have died from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, has reached 2,206, the ministry of health also said on Monday.
    A fifth of India’s cases of coronavirus come from the densely populated cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Pune, which are also major centres of economic activity.
    Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said three-fourths of Delhi’s cases of coronavirus were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms and did not need hospital treatment.
    “Overall corona figures (are) rising in Delhi but at the same time people are getting cured and going back home safe. Now we’ve to learn to live with corona,” he said.
    India’s rising numbers of infections are also the result of increased testing, which has grown from 2,000 tests per day in late March, to 85,000 to 90,000 a day now, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research, the government’s top body leading the fight against the disease.
    Modi was due to hold a meeting with state chief ministers later on Monday to determine a path out of the lockdown even as infections spread.
    Passengers taking the trains that will start up on Tuesday will have to wear masks and undergo screening at the stations, a government official said.
(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Tom Hogue)

5/11/2020 Masks and no touching: Indonesia aims to keep traditional markets alive by Budi Purwanto and Heru Asprihanto
FILE PHOTO: People practice social distancing while buying vegetables amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
outbreak in Depok, near Jakarta Indonesia, April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/File Photo
    SALATIGA, Indonesia (Reuters) – A traditional market on the island of Java has moved outdoors and set stalls at least a metre (3.3 ft) apart as Indonesia looks to safely maintain the bazaars where most people go to get affordable food and are part of the fabric of society.
    The 857 vendors at the Salatiga market in Central Java province, as well as visitors, are required to wear masks and avoid physical contact with each other to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, the head of the vendor association said.
    A vegetable seller said the social distancing measures made him feel safe and comfortable at work.    At least eight confirmed cases of the virus have been found in the city of Salatiga, local media has reported.
    Indonesia, which had over 14,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Sunday, has been reluctant to enforce a complete nationwide lockdown.
    Instead, many cities have adopted “large-scale social restrictions” that have closed businesses and encouraged people to stay home.
    Attempts to keep traditional market stalls running are happening elsewhere in the country, in one form for or another, with precautions in place.
    In Depok, a city near the capital Jakarta, for example, one vegetable seller has set up his stall in a residential area to make sure residents can buy necessities without having to venture too far from home.
    Customers must wear masks, sit apart while waiting for their turn to shop and wash their hands after shopping.
    “This rule must be obeyed by everyone because it is a shared responsibility to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” said local resident Sumarna, who uses only one name, after shopping at the stall.
    Indonesian authorities expect cases of the new coronavirus to peak in late May and taper off in the following month, if the country is successful in avoiding a second wave of infections.
(Editing by Pravin Char)

5/11/2020 Philippines’ coronavirus infections breach 11,000 mark
FILE PHOTO: A nurse gets a swab from a health worker in a booth set up in a hospital parking lot as the Philippines
ramps up testing for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manila, Philippines, April 15, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ confirmed coronavirus infections have broken past the 11,000 mark, the health ministry said on Monday.
    In a bulletin, the health ministry reported 292 additional cases, bringing the total to 11,086.    It recorded seven more deaths, increasing the total to 726 while 75 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 1,999.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/11/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 486 new coronavirus cases
FILE PHOTO: Migrant workers wait to be transported to a medical facility from their dormitory, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Singapore April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s health ministry said on Monday it confirmed 486 new coronavirus cases, taking its tally of infections to 23,822.
    The health ministry said the number of cases, the lowest in a week, were partly distorted by fewer tests being processed as one of its laboratories was recalibrating apparatus after 33 false positives were identified.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/11/2020 China’s Wuhan reports first coronavirus cluster since lifting of lockdown
FILE PHOTO: People wearing face masks walk at the Happy Valley amusement park, following an outbreak of the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Beijing, China May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, reported on Monday its first cluster of infections since a lockdown on the central Chinese city was lifted a month ago, stoking concerns of a wider resurgence of the disease.
    The new infections sounded a note of caution amid efforts to ease coronavirus-related restrictions across China as businesses restart and individuals go back to work.
    Wuhan reported five new confirmed cases, all of whom live in the same residential compound.    One of them was the wife of an 89-year-old male patient reported a day earlier in the first confirmed case in the city in more than a month.
    “At present, the task of epidemic prevention and control in the city is still very heavy,” said the Wuhan health authority in a statement.    “We must resolutely contain the risk of a rebound.”
    All of the latest confirmed cases were previously classified as asymptomatic, people who test positive for the virus and are capable of infecting others but do not show clinical signs such as a fever.
    The number of asymptomatic cases in China is not known, as they only appear on the radar of health officials when they show up positive during tests conducted as part of contact tracing and health checks.
    China does not include asymptomatic cases in its overall tally of confirmed cases, currently at 82,918, until they exhibit signs of infection.    Mainland China has reported 4,633 deaths.
    Hundreds of asymptomatic cases in Wuhan, which was released on April 8 from a months-long lockdown, are currently being monitored, according to the city’s health authority.
    The number of new cases reported in China since April have been small compared with the thousands confirmed each day in February, thanks to a nationwide regime of screening, testing and quarantine.
    The government said on Friday that China will gradually reopen cinemas, museums and other recreational venues, though restrictions including mandatory reservations and a limit on numbers will be in place.
    Shanghai has already reopened some night entertainment venues such as discotheques.    Walt Disney Co on Monday reopened its Shanghai Disneyland park to a reduced number of visitors. [L4N2CT0QU]
    New outbreaks in China in the past two months have mainly developed in residential compounds or at hospitals.
    South Korea is also battling a wave of new cases, although there the most recent outbreaks started in nightclubs and bars.
    GRAPHIC: World-focused tracker with country-by-country interactive – https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/COUNTRIES/oakveqlyvrd/index.html?id=united-kingdom
‘WAR-TIME’ MODE
    The Wuhan cases helped push the overall new COVID-19 infections confirmed on May 10 to 17, the highest daily increase since April 28.
    Northeastern Jilin province, which on Saturday reported a cluster of infections in one of its cities, Shulan, reported three additional local cases.
    Shulan has been marked a high-risk area, the only place in China currently with that designation.
    “We’re now in a ‘war-time’ mode,” said Jin Hua, mayor of Shulan, which until the weekend had reported no local cases for more than 70 days.
    Shulan has imposed a lockdown on its 600,000 residents since the weekend, with just one member of a household being allowed out each day to buy necessities.
    One of the three cases confirmed in the Jilin province on May 10 was from Shulan.
    The other two were from the city of Jilin uncovered through contact tracing of people who were in contact with earlier Shulan cases.
    Nearby Liaoning and Heilongjiang provinces each reported one case, adding to worries about a resurgence of the outbreak in the region.
    A 70-year-old patient in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang, had tested negative seven times before results turned positive.
    Of the new cases, seven were so-called imported cases in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia involving travellers from overseas.
    Across China, the number of new asymptomatic COVID-19 cases fell to 12 on May 10 compared with 20 reported a day earlier.
    GRAPHIC: Coronavirus – knowns and unknowns: https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-UNKNOWNS/0100B5M447T/index.html
(Reporting by Se Young Lee, Lusha Zhang, Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Gerry Doyle, Stephen Coates and Lincoln Feast.)

5/11/2020 Thailand reports six new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: People line up to get their monthly financial aid, for a three month period, during the government's measures against the
spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) near the Finance Ministry office in Bangkok, Thailand, May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand reported six new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing its total to 3,015 cases since the outbreak began in January.
    The new cases were all in Thailand’s southern provinces, including four on the tourist island of Phuket and one each in Narathiwat and Yala provinces, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman of the government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    Daily new cases in the single digits have prompted Thailand to begin cautiously reopening some businesses that had been closed to slow the spread of the virus.
    The death toll remained at 56, while 2,796 patients have recovered.
(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat)

5/11/2020 Markets teem as Pakistan’s lockdown eases despite infection surge by Syed Raza Hassan
A general view of a road traffic after Pakistan started easing the lockdown as the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) continues, in Karachi, Pakistan May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
    KARACHI (Reuters) – Markets across Pakistan were teeming on Monday after opening up for the first time in over a month as the country began to lift its lockdown despite a rise in the rate of coronavirus infections.
    Pakistan announced last week that it would begin a phased lifting of its lockdown because of the effect it was having on the economy and an impoverished workforce.
    Public transport remains shut, but factories and offices have been allowed to resume operations.    Restrictions on mosque attendance had already been lifted before last week’s announcement.
    “We opened today after almost two months; I am almost bankrupt and owe workers their salaries,” said Muhammad Sattar, a garment shop owner in one of the busiest commercial areas of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and financial capital
    Areas around wholesale markets in Karachi saw heavy traffic jams, and there were also big crowds in the commercial centres of the provincial capitals of Lahore and Quetta.
    However, there are signs that Pakistan’s outbreak is accelerating.    Of its 667 deaths from the coronavirus, around 200 have been registered over the past week, and there are almost 31,000 confirmed infections.
    Prime Minister Imran Khan justified easing the lockdown by saying: “We know we’re doing it at a time when our (infection) curve is going up … but it is not increasing (as fast) as we were expecting.”
    But he said the virus could run out of control if people did not take precautions.
    Faisal Subzwari, a leader of a political party allied with Khan, tweeted his frustration with many citizens:
    “If 99%, 95% of shopkeepers and buyers are not wearing masks, what’s the point of talking about other precautionary measures?”
    Many doctors have said they fear the outbreak will gather pace among a population of more than 200 million and overwhelm the struggling health system.
    Markets were also packed in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which has registered 245 dead and has the highest mortality rate in the country.
    “I opened my shop for the first time today after locking it on March 24,” said Ghousul Azam, adding that he had a family to support.
    “Better to die of coronavirus, because I can’t survive sitting at home.”
    Schools and large shopping malls remain shut for now, and markets will initially be allowed to operate only until 5 p.m.
    But with the Muslim holiday of Eid coming in two weeks, crowds are likely to increase.
‘NEITHER HERE NOR THERE’
    Pakistan’s parliament also met on Monday for the first time in nearly two months, with the government’s handling of the outbreak coming in for scathing criticism from the opposition.
    “Pakistan is fighting corona like a war, and our prime minister is missing, our prime minister is confused,” the leader of an opposition party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said in his address to the session.
    Khan was not present at the session, where parliamentarians were seated at a distance from one another and almost all wore face masks.
    Another opposition leader, Khawaja Asif, said the decision to impose a lockdown and to then lift it before infections peaked was “neither here nor there.”
    Minister Murad Saeed defended the government’s decisions and claimed Pakistan’s model was being quoted and followed by the richest countries in the world, including New York in the United States and the United Kingdom.
(Reporting by Syed Raza Hasan in Karachi, Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore, Gul Yousafzai in Quetta and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Chizu Nomiyama)

5/11/2020 Iranian warship hit by missile in training accident, killing 19 sailors by Parisa Hafezi
FILE PHOTO: An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
    DUBAI (Reuters) – One Iranian warship accidentally struck another with a missile during an exercise, killing 19 sailors and wounding 15 others, Iran’s navy said on Monday.
    The incident took place during training in the Gulf of Oman, a sensitive waterway that connects to the Strait of Hormuz through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes.    Iran regularly conducts exercises in the area.
    The frigate Jamaran fired at a training target released by a support ship, the Konarak.    However, the support ship stayed too close to the target and was hit, state broadcaster IRIB said.
    “The incident took place in the perimeter of Iran’s southern Bandar-e Jask port on the Gulf of Oman during Iranian Navy drills on Sunday afternoon, in which 19 sailors were killed and 15 others were injured,” state TV said, quoting the navy.
    Fars news agency quoted an unidentified military official as denying some Iranian media reports that the Konarak had sunk.    The navy statement said investigations were undergoing regarding the cause of the incident, student news agency ISNA said.
    Video posted on Twitter purportedly of the Konarak showed a heavily damaged ship with black smoke rising from one side.
    Reuters could not independently confirm the authenticity of the video.
    IRIB said the Dutch-made Konarak vessel, which was purchased before Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, had been overhauled in 2018, and is equipped with four cruise missiles.
    The incident took place at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the United States since 2018, when the United States withdrew from a nuclear deal between major powers and Iran, and Washington re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.
    Animosity deepened in early January when a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.    Iran retaliated on Jan. 8 by firing missiles at U.S. military bases in Iraq. Later that day, Iran’s armed forces shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people aboard, in what the military later acknowledged was a mistake.
    Many of those killed aboard the airliner were Iranian and postings on social media on Monday drew comparisons between the two incidents.
    “Until when does the Islamic Republic want to play with the lives of Iranians,” a Twitter user name Sedighe Taheri wrote.
(Additional Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Kim Coghill, Robert Birsel, Simon Cameron-Moore and Peter Graff)
[GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS AS IRAN SHOT DOWN THEIR OWN AIRPLANE WHILE ATTACKING A U.S. BASE IN IRAQ, NOW GOD IS HAVING IRAN'S NAVY ATTACKING THEIR OWN NAVY SHIPS SO 3 TIMES IS A CHARM IRAN.].

5/11/2020 All mosques in Iran to reopen on Tuesday
FILE PHOTO: Iranian worshippers pray as they keep social distancing at a mosque following the outbreak of the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran, April 30, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS
    (Reuters) – All mosques in Iran will reopen on Tuesday, a further step in the government’s plans to ease restrictions that aimed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, the official IRIB news agency reported.
    The decision to reopen the mosques was made in consultation with the ministry of health, IRIB quoted Mohammad Qomi, the director of the Islamic Development Organization, as saying.
    The move comes even though some parts of the country have seen a rise in infections.
    Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday that a county in southwestern Iran had been placed under lockdown to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.    It also quoted the governor of Khuzestan province, where the county is located, as saying there had been a sharp rise in new cases across the province.
    Last Friday, prayer gatherings resumed in up to 180 Iranian cities and towns seen as being at low risk of coronavirus contagion after a two-month suspension, state media reported.
    The resumption of Friday prayers — still banned in the capital Tehran and some other major cities — followed the reopening last Monday of 132 mosques in areas consistently free of the virus.
    Schools will reopen next week, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, according to the official presidency website.
    Iran has already lifted a ban on inter-city trips and malls, with large shopping centres resuming activities.
    The total number of Iran’s coronavirus deaths rose by 45 in the past 24 hours to 6,685, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement on state TV.    The total number of diagnosed cases in the country has reached 109,286.
    Iran, one of the countries in the Middle East hit hardest by the novel coronavirus, has begun easing restrictions on normal life in order to keep afloat its economy, already battered by U.S. sanctions.    Health officials have repeatedly warned, however, that easing restrictions could lead to a renewed spike in the number of infections.
    Rouhani also announced the replacement of the minister of industry, mines and trade on Monday, according to the official presidency website, a decision that appeared to be an attempt to boost the economy.
    Hossein Modares Khiabani will replace Reza Rahmani as the caretaker head of the ministry, the announcement said without noting why Rahmani was dismissed.
    Rouhani called on Khiabani to stabilise car prices, eliminate obstacles for domestic production and expand non-oil exports.
    In a letter addressed to Rouhani, Rahmani wrote that the reason for his removal was that the parliament had not agreed to the formation of a ministry of commerce, according to Fars news, which published a copy of the letter.
    Rouhani’s chief of staff had warned Rahmani that if he did not lobby parliamentarians for the formation of the ministry he would be dismissed, Rahmani wrote.
(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alex Richardson)

5/11/2020 China’s health authority to tighten rules on laboratory controls
FILE PHOTO: A worker in a protective suit examines specimens inside a laboratory following an outbreak
of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province, China February 6, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China will require local health authorities to tighten their supervision over how virus strains and their samples are handled in labs, the National Health Commission said in a draft rule issued on Monday.
    Provincial governments should prevent unapproved transport of strains and samples of the new coronavirus that has killed over 280,000 people globally and provide central health authorities with details on any between-lab transportation of the virus.
(Reporting by Judy Hua, Huizhong Wu and Roxanne Liu in Beijing, editing by Louise Heavens)
[TOO LITTLE TOO LATE CHINA AND RESPONSIBLE FOR MILLIONS OF DEATHS AROUND THE WORLD AND NOW YOU DECIDE TO DO SOMETHING.].

5/12/2020 Gunmen attack Afghan hospital where MSF aid group runs a clinic by Abdul Qadir Sediqi
Afghan security forces arrive at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
    KABUL (Reuters) – Gunmen attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday where the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders runs a maternity clinic, officials said.
    There was no immediate information about any casualties in the attack on the Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital, or any claim of responsibility but the Taliban said they were not involved.
    The 100-bed government-run facility is supported by Doctors Without Borders, which is also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said Wahidullah Mayar, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.
    Security forces were working to counter the attack and the deputy health minister may have been visiting the clinic at the time, an interior ministry source said.
    Two other security sources said that explosions had been heard at the site.
    MSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.    It says on its website it operates a maternity clinic at the hospital in one of Kabul’s poorest neighbourhoods.
    A series of bloody attacks have taken place in the capital in recent months claimed by the Islamic State group.
    On Monday, security forces said they had arrested three senior Islamic State members including a regional leader.
    Last week, security forces killed and arrested several members of an Islamic State cell that authorities said was responsible for several high-profile attacks in Kabul including one on a Sikh temple in March.
    Roadside blasts in the capital on Monday, which wounded four civilians, were claimed by the group.
    Afghanistan is also facing violence around the country from the Taliban even as the United States tries to usher in peace talks after signing a troop withdrawal agreement in February with the militants.
    The Taliban say they are holding back from attacking urban centres and their operations are aimed at government security forces.
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Hamid Shalizi and Rupam Jain; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Robert Birsel)

5/12/2020 China says it is not yet the time to relax coronavirus measures
People wearing face masks walk inside a subway station during morning rush hour, following an outbreak of
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Beijing, China May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s health authority said on Tuesday that the reappearance of local clusters of coronavirus cases in recent days suggests that counter-epidemic measures cannot be relaxed yet.
    While prevention and control efforts have normalised, that does not mean measures can be eased, Mi Feng, spokesman at the National Health Commission, said at a media briefing.
    Wuhan on Monday reported its first cluster of coronavirus infections since a lockdown on the city, the original epicentre of the outbreak in China, was lifted a month ago.
(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

5/12/2020 South Korea investigators comb digital data to trace club coronavirus cluster by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith
Quarantine worker spray disinfectants at a night club on the night spots in the Itaewon neighborhood, following
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Seoul, South Korea, May 12, 2020. Yonhap/via REUTERS
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean authorities were combing through mobile phone data, credit card statements and CCTV footage on Tuesday to identify people who visited nightclubs at the centre of one of the capital’s biggest novel coronavirus clusters.
    More than 100 new cases linked to the nightclubs have brought fears of a second wave of infections in a country held up as a coronavirus mitigation success story.
    Health authorities have tracked and tested thousands of people linked to the nightclubs and bars in Seoul’s Itaewon nightlife neighbourhood, but want to find others who they have not been able to identify.
    Authorities fear that the fact some of the establishments were known as gay bars might be putting people off coming forward for testing in a conservative country where homosexuality if still taboo.
    “We are using telecom station information and credit card transactions from the nightclubs to identify 1,982 of those who are not available,” health ministry official Yoon Tae-ho told a briefing.
    The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) on Tuesday said at least 102 people have tested positive in connection with the cases linked to nightclubs and bars.
    Seoul mayor Park Won-soon put the total at 101 confirmed cases and said 7,272 people had been tested in connection with the cluster, including family members or coworkers of clubgoers.
    Officials had identified 10,905 people who were in the Itaewon area when the cluster of cases is believed to have got going this month, based on cell tower information, and another 494 who used credit cards, Park said.
    Media outlets have identified the nightclubs the first patient visited as gay clubs, sparking concern that the disclosures and media coverage could out lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people against their will or lead to discrimination.
‘ANONYMOUS TESTING’
    Human rights group Amnesty International said some media outlets were making the authorities’ prevention and disinfection measures more difficult by pointing fingers at a “certain group” of patients.
    “Amnesty International Korea Branch urges the authorities and media to take concrete and selective measures to prevent discrimination and stigmatization,” the group said.
    Given the sensitivity, authorities have introduced what they call “anonymous testing,” with people only needing to provide a phone number and not a name.
    Park said the number of people getting tested had doubled as a result of the new service.
    But he also said another 20-year-old man who had visited a different club had tested positive, raising concern that the outbreak may not be limited to the venues initially identified.
    South Korea has been widely praised for its prompt action on its epidemic with massive testing and aggressive contact-tracing, significantly reducing the rate of new infections in recent weeks to fewer than 10 cases a day before this new outbreak.
    Officials reported 27 new coronavirus infections across the country as of midnight on Monday, the fifth day of double-digit cases after the first case at the nightclubs was revealed last week.
    In all, South Korea has had 10,936 cases of the coronavirus and 258 deaths.
    President Moon Jae-in called for a prompt action to empower the KCDC to fight the pandemic.
    “We cannot afford to hesitate while looking at a crisis in front of us,” he said.    “We need to urgently reinforce the quarantine and health system.”
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Josh Smith and Robert Birsel)

5/12/2020 In Japan’s elder-care homes, coronavirus tests limits of overstretched staff by Elaine Lies
A staff member is seen inside an elderly care home according to local media where more than 40 residents and staff
members have been infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tokyo, Japan May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
    TOKYO (Reuters) – At the Tokyo elder-care home where 27-year-old Yoshimu works, the coronavirus has stretched already tight staffing, leaving residents to sometimes sit longer in soiled diapers or to steal food from one another.
    “Everything’s slower.    If feeding them takes longer, then things like toileting are delayed,” said Yoshimu, who declined to give her last name because of the sensitivity of the issue.    “We really try not to make them wait but sometimes their diapers can leak.”
    With the coronavirus depleting numbers of overworked staff in elderly care homes, concern for some of the most vulnerable is deepening in a country with one of the world’s largest elderly populations.
    About 28% of Japanese are over 65 and the country has long struggled to staff elder homes.    The coronavirus means more care workers are self-quarantining or staying home to take care of their own children, and has kept foreign workers out of Japan.
    Nearly a dozen home managers, elder care providers and carers told Reuters cutbacks in services and staff made them busier in every way.    Yoshimu said she can clock 10 hours of weekly overtime, and more than once found residents stealing each others’ food.
    “The caregiver industry is barely hanging on as it is, and with even only one person off, then it just won’t be possible to care for everybody,” said Jun Sasaki, a doctor and the head of Yushokai Medical Corporation, a care provider company.    “The elderly are very delicate, and any kind of change in their environment can affect them.”
    In January, the number of care jobs per applicant was 3.95.    The law mandates 1 carer to 3 residents – though the Health     Ministry said in February that since shortfalls due to the virus could be expected, facilities could temporarily “respond flexibly.”
    About 60 of Japan’s 624 coronavirus-related deaths as of May 10 were in care homes, public broadcaster NHK said.
ISOLATED RESIDENTS
    About 6.7 million Japanese need care and roughly 1 million of them are in homes, according to government data.    That compares with 1.2 million in the United States, which has more than twice the population.    The United States is also younger, with only 16% over 65.
    Many homes have suspended group games and exercises because of the outbreak, and most have banned family since early March.    That can take both a mental and physical toll on residents.
    One man wandered his care home, searching for his family, Sasaki said.    Another woman became convinced her daughter had died and began preparing for her funeral, Yoshimu recalled.
    Workers must self-quarantine for two weeks if they or family members have a fever, and wear masks while working, which can frighten some residents.    Japan does little testing relative to other developed countries, and there is no plan to test all care workers, the Health Ministry said.
    “If we get to June, July, August with this, staff numbers will keep going down and we won’t be able to deliver services,” Yasuhiro Yuki, a professor in social welfare studies at Shukutoku University.    “There could be a whole breakdown of elder care.”
LONG HOURS, HARD WORK
    With 2.5 million caregivers of required by 2025, up from 2.2 million in 2020, foreigners are an increasingly important resource.    About 10,000 currently work in elder care in Japan.
    A Filipina caregiver in Osaka, declining to give her name, said she runs a group for people interested in coming to Japan with about 3,000 members and returns home to recruit.
    “We were supposed to have new people coming from April, but of course they can’t leave,” said the 34-year-old, who says there are 13 foreign staff among roughly 80 where she works.    “It’s really tough.”
    Sei-ichi Kaneko hasn’t seen his father, Kentaro, 96, since the start of March.
    “Three or four days a week he’s basically alone in his room,” Kaneko said.    “We’re concerned about his mental health.”
Care home staff try to arrange calls with family, but doing so also adds to workers’ duties.
    “Being able to talk with family is the best for giving them energy, so I am trying to do that,” said Fusako Shimizu, whose parents – Fueo and Hisako, both 82 – are in assisted living near Tokyo.    “It’s very lonely not being able to meet.”
    Hisako said she was trying to walk each day in the halls to maintain strength.
    “I’d like life to be normal again, but I think it may take a long time,” she said.    “Somehow it makes me feel depressed.”
(Additional reporting by Ami Miyazaki; Editing by David Dolan and Gerry Doyle)

5/12/2020 Philippines reports 25 coronavirus deaths, 264 more infections
FILE PHOTO: A village officer dressed as the Star Wars character Darth Vader rides a small boat to deliver relief goods to
residents in the flooded Artex Compound in Malabon, Metro Manila, Philippines, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 25 more coronavirus deaths and 264 additional infections.
    In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths had reached 751 while confirmed cases have risen to 11,350.    But 107 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 2,106.
    President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday announced an extension of lockdown measures in the capital to June, making it among the world’s longest community quarantines to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Alison Williams)

5/12/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 884 new coronavirus cases
FILE PHOTO: Customers queue up to have their haircut outside a hairdressing salon as they reopen for business
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su

5/12/2020 Philippines extends lockdown in capital beyond 11 weeks by Martin Petty and Neil Jerome Morales
FILE PHOTO: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during his fourth State of the Nation Address
at the Philippine Congress in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines on Tuesday announced an extension of a lockdown of its capital, Manila, to 11 weeks, stretching one of the world’s strictest and longest community quarantines to June to try to contain coronavirus outbreaks.
    That would buck a global trend of easing lockdowns as countries try to strike a balance between containment and restoring some normalcy to limit economic damage.
    President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned an extension in “some areas” on Tuesday and his spokesman Harry Roque later confirmed the timeframe and retention of lockdown in the biggest cities, Manila and Cebu.
    That means Manila, which accounts for two-thirds of the country’s infections and 72% of deaths, will be under lockdown for 11 weeks, or 80 days, longer than the 76-day quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the global epicentre of the virus.
    “The lockdown had a big impact on COVID cases but it also impacted the economy,” Roque said in a briefing.    “Government resources are limited, so we have to generate resources for the long-term fight against COVID.    In the future, if without economic interventions, the result would be more harmful than the effects of COVID.”
    Restrictions will be eased across most of the country in areas deemed lower-risk, and some essential economic activities will be permitted in the capital, Roque said, in a bid to restart an economy racing towards recession due to a sharp drop in domestic consumption, the main driver.
    That has slammed the brakes on two decades of uninterrupted growth in the first quarter, which shrank to 0.2% compared with a year earlier, far short of economists’ forecasts of a 3.1% expansion.
    The Philippines has recorded more than 11,000 coronavirus infections and 726 deaths, but tested only 158,000 people so far – many fewer than other countries – making it tricky to gauge the full extent of the spread.
    Duterte had warned the public against complacency and said the wearing of masks was “a must-comply.”
    “Remember that the easing up of the restrictions, this is not to say COVID is no more,” he said.    “We cannot afford a second or third wave to happen.”
    Manila’s lockdown has since mid-March mandated home quarantine, social distancing, curbs on transport, immigration and outdoor exercise, and limits movement to workers in essential sectors and one adult per household for visits to supermarkets, pharmacies or clinics.
    The Philippines was one of the first countries to ban flights to and from China after three Chinese visitors tested positive, and it was the third country after China and Italy to order home quarantine, even though it had only a fraction of the cases reported elsewhere.
    That move aimed to keep its under-resourced health sector from being overwhelmed.
(Additional reporting by Karen Lema. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

5/12/2020 Thailand reports two new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
People in protective masks, who are affected by the government's measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) queue to grab free foods in a
food pantry installed by people who want to donate at a community in Bangkok, Thailand, May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Tuesday reported two new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing the total to 3,017 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak started in January.
    The two new cases are a 19-year-old woman from Bangkok and a 51-year-old woman from southern Narathiwat province.    Both were infected by coming into contact with previous cases, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    The majority of new cases in the past two weeks are from southern Thailand, including a cluster at an immigration detention centre in Songkhla province, Taweesin said.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um)

5/12/2020 Newborns among 16 dead in Kabul hospital attack; 24 killed in funeral bombing by Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Hamid Shalizi and Ahmad Sultan
Afghan security forces stand guard outside Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital which came
under attack in Kabul, Afghanistan May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
    KABUL/JALALABAD (Reuters) – Gunmen disguised as police attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, killing 16 people including two newborn babies from a maternity clinic run by the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders.
    In a separate attack the same day, a suicide bomber struck the funeral of a police commander, attended by government officials and a member of parliament, in the eastern province of Nangahar, killing at least 24 people and injuring 68. Authorities said that toll could rise.
    Islamic State Khorasan, the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State militant group, claimed responsibility for the Nangahar bombing, the SITE Intelligence Group reported. Reuters could not immediately verify the report by SITE, which tracks online jihadist activity.
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Kabul attack.    The Taliban, Afghanistan’s main Islamist insurgency group which says it has halted attacks on cities under a U.S. troop withdrawal deal, denied involvement in both.
    The Islamic State militant group operates in Nangahar and has carried out a number of high-profile attacks in Kabul in recent months.    On Monday security forces arrested its regional leader in the capital.
    The violence, as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic, risks derailing movement towards U.S.-brokered peace talks between the Taliban and an Afghan government long sceptical of the insurgents’ renunciation of attacks.
    Ministry of Interior photos showed two young children lying dead inside the hospital.    An image showed a woman who had been killed lying on the ground still holding tightly to her baby, who a nurse in the unit confirmed to Reuters had survived and had been moved to an intensive care unit at another hospital.
    President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attacks and said he had ordered the military to switch to offensive mode rather than the defensive stance it had adopted as the United States withdraws troops and tries to broker the talks.
    “In order to provide security for public places and to thwart attacks and threats from the Taliban and other terrorist groups, I am ordering Afghan security forces to switch from an active defence mode to an offensive one and to start their operations against the enemies,” he said in a televised speech.
    Meanwhile National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib said on Twitter: “there seems little point in continuing to engage Taliban in peace talks.”
    In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned “the two horrific terrorist attacks” in the strongest terms, noted the Taliban had denied responsibility and said the lack of a peace deal left the country vulnerable to such attacks.
    Pompeo also described the stalled peace effort, which planned for intra-Afghan peace talks to begin on March 10 but have yet to occur, as “a critical opportunity for Afghans to … build a united front against the menace of terrorism.”
    The Pentagon declined comment on Ghani’s stated intent to restart offensive operations, saying only that the U.S. military continued to reserve the right to defend Afghan security forces if they are attacked by the Taliban.
MOTHERS, CHILDREN, NURSES
    The Kabul attack began in the morning when at least three gunmen wearing police uniforms entered the Dasht-e-Barchi hospital, throwing grenades and shooting, government officials said. Security forces had killed the attackers by the afternoon.
    “The attackers were shooting at anyone in this hospital without any reason.    It’s a government hospital, and a lot of people bring in their women and children for treatment,” said Ramazan Ali, a nearby vendor who saw the start of the attack.
    The 100-bed government-run hospital hosted a maternity clinic run by Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
    Just hours before the attack, MSF had tweeted a photo of a newborn in his mother’s arms at the clinic after being delivered safely by emergency caesarean section.
    Interior and health ministry officials said mothers, nurses and children were among the dead and wounded.
    Soldiers ferried infants out of the compound, some wrapped in blood-stained blankets, and officials said 100 people were rescued, including three foreigners.
    The neighbourhood is home to many of Afghanistan’s Hazara community, a mostly Shia Muslim minority that has been attacked by Sunni militants from Islamic State in the past, including at a March ceremony commemorating the death of one of its leaders.
    Countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey and Pakistan released statements condemning the violence.
    Last week, security forces killed and arrested several members of an Islamic State cell that authorities said was responsible for a number of attacks in Kabul including one on a Sikh temple in March.    A roadside blast in the capital on Monday, which wounded four civilians, was claimed by the group.
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Hamid Shalizi and Ahmad Sultan; additional reporting by Rupam Jain, Orooj Hakimi, Sayed Hassib, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Jonathan Landay and Arshad Mohammed; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, Robert Birsel, Peter Graff, Howard Goller and Lincoln Feast.)

5/12/2020 Gunmen attack Doctors Without Borders clinic in Kabul by OAN Newsroom
An Afghan security officer carries a baby after gunmen attacked a maternity hospital, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Gunmen stormed the
hospital in the western part of Kabul on Tuesday, setting off a shootout with the police and killing several people. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
    Security forces in Afghanistan are on high alert after gunmen stormed a Doctors Without Borders clinic in Kabul. According to reports, the assault resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people and multiple injuries.    Among the deceased were two newborns as the hospital was used as a maternity clinic.
    A spokesperson for the country’s Interior Ministry reportedly confirmed the incident Tuesday in the western part of the capital city.    Officials said the attackers wore military-style uniforms and used firearms as well as grenades in the assault on patients and medical staff.
    “A man wearing military uniform, who was looking like a wrestler, entered the clinic and opened fire on patients’ relatives at the gate of the clinic,” recounted eyewitness Noor Agha.
    It’s not immediately clear who carried out the attack, but the Taliban claimed they are not responsible for the incident.    An investigation is underway as authorities work to relocate patients and staff.
An Afghan security officer carries a baby after gunmen attacked a maternity hospital, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 12, 2020. Gunmen stormed
the hospital in the western part of Kabul on Tuesday, setting off a shootout with the police and killing several people. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

5/13/2020 Slowly but steadily, China strives to make widespread virus testing the new normal by Brenda Goh and Min Zhang
FILE PHOTO: People wear protective during evening rush hour following the spread of the
novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, China May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
    SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing resident Wang Yukun was happy to comply in April when the construction firm he works for told him he’d need to take a test for the novel coronavirus before he could come back to work, even though he was at low risk of having the disease.
    “My company arranged it and covered the test fee.    The process was less time-consuming than I imagined,” he said, recalling how he got his negative result the next day.    “I think everyone should be tested as a matter of personal health.”
    While coronavirus tests can be difficult to obtain in many countries, China is rapidly expanding their availability and affordability, enabling the masses – not just frontline workers, people from hard-hit areas or the sick – to get tested.
    China is able to produce 5 million test kits a day, the country’s industry ministry said last month.
    While China has not tallied how many daily tests are being carried out nationally, its capacity is far greater than other countries including the United States, which has conducted around 300,000 tests daily on average in recent days, according to the non-profit COVID Tracking Project.
    Even South Korea and Germany, hailed for tested widely, are currently able to conduct up to 30,000 and 120,000 tests a day, respectively.
    Major Chinese cities and provinces have published lists of hundreds of hospitals and clinics now authorised to perform tests and are expanding laboratory capabilities to allow people to obtain their nucleic acid test results in a few hours.
    Some local governments have added the tests to basic medical insurance schemes, helping to cover costs which range from 60-270 yuan ($8.50-$38).
    The easy access has helped firms, schools and entertainment providers to reopen after widespread testing.    Hosts of popular Chinese singing competition, Singer 2020, invited 251 audience members to record a live show last month after testing them.
    It is also laying the groundwork for mass testing efforts, should the need arise.
    Wuhan, the epicentre of China’s coronavirus outbreak, plans to conduct nucleic acid testing across the city of 11 million after a cluster of new infections emerged, sources said.
TESTING UNEVEN, VOLUNTARY
    China began pushing for widespread testing in April as concerns about the potential asymptomatic patients spreading the virus rose.
    Since April 13, each Chinese province has been required to provide daily reports on their virus testing efforts, and a stringent nationwide regime of screening, testing and quarantine has seen case numbers fall sharply since peaking in mid-February.
    Even so, China has refrained from making testing mandatory for all people.    Daily, country-wide testing data is not published, and the ramp up of testing capability has been uneven.
    Hubei, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Heilongjiang, which have a combined population of over 267 million, are together able to conduct at least 321,000 tests a day, according to statements they made in April and May.
    Beijing has 67 labs capable of processing 48,000 tests a day.    But other less well-off provinces including Yunnan and Guangxi are playing catch-up, opening new labs in recent weeks.
    And with testing compulsory only for certain categories of people, decisions are mainly left to companies or individuals.
    A source from a Hunan-based state-owned steel mill that employs around 80 people said they were initially asked to take a test only if they lived near a confirmed case.    However, colleagues who travel outside the province are now asked to take a test before they return to the office.
    Still, everyone who wants to get tested is being encouraged to do so. Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and JD.com allow people to book appointments via their widely used platforms, and companies often waive the fees for workers.
    One taxi company based in Guangzhou sent all 14,000 of its drivers for tests at the request of the government.
    “This given to the drivers for free,” said Kuang Yali, head of Guangzhou Baiyun Car Rental Group’s publicity department.    “This is to give the drivers assurance, and to also put passengers at ease.”
(This story refiles to correct headline to steadily, not steady)
(Reporting by Brenda Goh in Shanghai and Min Zhang in Beijing; Additional Reporting by Cheng Leng and Roxanne Liu in Beijing, Josh Horwitz in Shanghai, Josh Smith and Sangmi Cha in Seoul, Shanghai and Beijing Newsrooms; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/13/2020 South Korea sticks with virus lockdown rollback despite nightclub outbreak by Sangmi Cha and Hyonhee Shin
Quarantine worker spray disinfectants in front of a night club on the night spots in the Itaewon neighborhood,
following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Seoul, South Korea, May 12, 2020. Yonhap/via REUTERS
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea health authorities said on Wednesday they had no immediate plans to reinstate strict social distancing rules despite a fresh coronavirus outbreak in the capital of Seoul.
    Officials have scrambled to trace and test thousands of people over the past week after a cluster of new infections linked to nightclubs and bars in Seoul’s Itaewon district raised fears of a second wave outbreak.
    Officials have linked at least 119 cases of COVID-19 to the night spots, which had just reopened as part of the country’s move to ease lockdown measures to jumpstart its struggling economy.    Eleven of the 119 patients are 19 years old or younger.
    Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said bringing back the social distancing rules was unlikely as long as the daily number of new cases remained below 50 and officials were able to trace 95% of all infections.
    “For now, we will still monitor how the current transmissions go and review whether we should reconsider our distancing policy,” Kim told a media briefing.
    The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC)reported 26 new cases as of midnight Tuesday, with 21 tied to the Seoul nightclub outbreak.    That was slightly lower than levels reported in the previous two days and brought the national tally to 10,962, including 259 deaths.
    The Itaewon outbreak prompted officials to re-shutter some nightclubs and bars as well as delay the planned reopening of schools by a week, but the government has stood by its decision to ease broader restrictions by reopening offices, public facilities and sports centres.
    Seoul city officials did introduce a new policy requiring people to wear protective face masks during peak hours on the subway from Wednesday.
    South Korea’s experience underscores the need for long-term efforts to prevent new outbreaks, said John Fleming, the Head of IFRC’s Asia Pacific Health Unit.
    “We need to remain vigilant for new outbreaks in countries that have flattened the curve, like South Korea,” he told Reuters.    “It’s easy to get complacent when restrictions ease off.”
    More than 22,000 people have been tested since the nightclub cluster was first revealed last week, Seoul mayor Park Won-soon told a media briefing.    Cellphone data was used to identify and locate thousands of them.
    More than 1,200 of the people tested were foreigners, Park said, prompting the city to send out automated text messages in English asking people to be tested.
    The confirmed infections include co-workers, family members and students of the people who had been in the clubs.
    Park expressed concern the young, mobile demographic of most of the infected could expand the outbreak.
    “This is very worrisome,” he said.
CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
    Authorities in Incheon, a city west of Seoul, said they would pursue a criminal complaint against one infected clubgoer who they said had not disclosed to officials that he worked at a private school.
    Investigators traced the man’s movements using his cellphone data and determined that he worked at a school where five students and one instructor have since been confirmed to be infected.    A student privately tutored by the man and the student’s mother also tested positive, according to Incheon city officials.
    “If there are more cases where people give inaccurate accounts, the government cannot take proactive measures, we can’t prevent the spread of secondary and tertiary infections, and our entire society can fall back into danger,” Kim said.
    The KCDC is still trying to locate about 3,000 of the 5,517 who had visited nine Itaewon clubs, for which it secured credit card transactions data involving some 1,800 people, director Jeong Eun-kyeong said.
    They are also carrying out epidemiological surveys on other suspected areas, including two bars in Hongdae and Sinchon, both popular hangout spots for youngsters, she said.
    “The biggest problem with COVID-19 is its silent transmission,” Jeong told a briefing.    “Nearly 30% of the new patients are in their 20s who are very active and carry greater risks of infecting others even when they’re not showing any symptoms.”
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha, Hyonhee Shin, and Josh Smith; Editing by Jane Wardell & Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/13/2020 Malaysian PM delays confidence vote, says virus battle takes priority
FILE PHOTO: Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin speaks during a news conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will not face a confidence vote on May 18 as earlier scheduled, the speaker of parliament said on Wednesday after the government cited the battle against the coronavirus as a priority.
    Last week, the speaker approved a motion seeking a vote of no confidence in Muhyiddin’s leadership, brought by 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad who resigned as prime minister in February as his ruling coalition fell apart due to political wrangling.
    But Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof said in a statement that Muhyiddin later informed him that the government had decided to list only one order of parliamentary business for the day, the opening address by the king, “as the COVID-19 pandemic has not been fully cleared.”
    The next meeting of parliament has been set for July 13 to Aug 27 but no date has been given for the confidence vote.
    People close to the ruling coalition say they have a majority among the 222 elected members of parliament.
    An aide to Mahathir said he would not immediately comment on the development.    The office of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said he would address the matter during a Facebook Live session on Thursday.
    Muhyiddin, a former colleague of both Mahathir and Anwar, was unexpectedly sworn in on March 1 as the head of a government formed with the support of a corruption-ridden party that was defeated by a multi-ethnic coalition in the last general election in 2018.     Malaysia has so far reported 6,779 coronavirus patients, with 111 dead.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; additonal reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

5/13/2020 Indonesia reports biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections
FILE PHOTO: A man wears protective face mask while receiving rice from an automated rice ATM distributor amid the
spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jakarta, Indonesia May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/File Photo
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported on Wednesday its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections with 689 new cases, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 15,438, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
    Yurianto reported 21 new deaths related to COVID-19, taking the total to 1,028, while 3,287 have recovered.    He added that more than 33,000 patients are suspected to be carrying acute respiratory illnesses for which there is no clinical explanation other than the new coronavirus, he added.
    Over 123,570 people have been tested, he added.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Nilufar Rizki; Editing by Louise Heavens)

5/13/2020 Malaysia reports 37 new coronavirus cases; two deaths
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing protective mask passes by a mural at a Mass Rapid Transit station, following
the outbreak of the coronavirus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng/File Photo
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia reported 37 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, taking its cumulative total to 6,779 infections.     The health ministry also reported two new deaths, raising the total number of fatalities from the outbreak to 111.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

5/13/2020 Philippines records 21 new coronavirus deaths, 268 more infections
FILE PHOTO: Health workers wearing personal protective equipment pick up a person suspected of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) infection for swab testing in a slum area in Manila, Philippines, April 15, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ health ministry on Wednesday recorded 21 more coronavirus deaths and 268 additional infections.
    In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths from the novel coronavirus have reached 772 while confirmed cases have risen to 11,618.    But 145 more patients have recovered, increasing total recoveries to 2,251.
(Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

5/13/2020 Thailand reports no new coronavirus cases for first time since March 9
FILE PHOTO: People in protective masks, who are affected by the government's measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), grab free food
in a food pantry installed by people who want to donate at a community in Bangkok, Thailand, May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand, the first country outside China to discover a case of the new coronavirus, reported no new daily cases for the first time in two months on Wednesday as the government considered easing more restrictions on businesses.
    “We all can be relieved but not complacent,” said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    “We need to continue with the main measures … wash hands, practice social distancing and wear masks,” he said.
    Thailand detected its first coronavirus case, a tourist from China on Jan. 13.    Since then it has recorded a total of 3,017 infections and 56 deaths.
    Taweesin said areas that were still most at risk included Bangkok and surrounding provinces, as well as southern Thailand, where there has been a large number of cases in the past two weeks.
    Fuelling the rise in southern cases has been a cluster at an immigration detention centre in Songkhla province and in provinces bordering Malaysia.    Thailand’s neighbour to the south has had 6,742 coronavirus cases and 109 deaths.
    The last day Thailand recorded no new cases was March 9, but within two weeks the daily numbers jumped to double digits and then to more than 100 a day.
    That sharp escalation prompted the government to order the closure of shopping malls, restaurants, gyms and other businesses and to impose a 10 p.m. curfew.
    Last week, as the number of new cases fell, some of those restrictions were lifted, with businesses such as hair salons and pet groomers allowed to open.
    The government is considering reopening shopping malls next week.    It is expected to meet on Friday to decide on the easing of measures.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Tom Hogue, Robert Birsel)

5/13/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 675 new coronavirus cases
FILE PHOTO: Medical personnel assist a migrant worker to an ambulance at a dormitory amid
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore, April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su

5/13/2020 China threatens to wipe out 65% of Australian agricultural exports by OAN Newsroom
FILE – In this May 14, 2019, file photo, frozen beef filets from Australia, United States, and Canada are on sale at a supermarket
in Beijing. China has suspended imports of beef from four Australian producers following a threat by Beijing of possible trade
retaliation if Australia pushed for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
    China is ramping-up economic pressure on Australia over its ongoing probe into Beijing’s alleged cover-up of COVID-19.    On Tuesday, China imposed a partial ban on the imports of meat from Australia and threatened an 80 percent import tariff on Australian barley.
    Officials in Beijing have threatened to decimate Australia’s foreign trade unless the nation drops its probe into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak.
    China is the largest market for Australia’s agricultural sector.    The Asian country accounts for $153 billion, or 65 percent, of its total exports.    Despite this, Australian officials said they will not back down.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the media during a press conference
at Parliament House in Canberra, Friday, May 1, 2020. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)
    “It’s been an ongoing issue between our two countries and we have seen the level of trade of barley into China fall from $1.7 billion down to $600 million,” explained Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, MP.    “We have had anti-dumping inquiries in relation to Chinese products into Australia and not all of those decisions have been well received, but they’ve been made on the merits.”
    Australia is reportedly looking at limiting trade of strategically important goods with China in response to — what it calls — “economic coercion.”
[IF THE ABOVE ARTICLE DOES NOT LET YOU KNOW THAT COMMUNIST CHINA WILL THREATEN AND EXTORT A COUNTRY TO GET THEIR WAY AND NOW YOU KNOW WHY TRUMP HAS FOUGHT BACK AGAINST THEM BECAUSE HE CAN AND WILL SO WAKE UP AMERICA AND MAKE US SELF EFFICIENT TO STOP IT AND WHEN WE DO YOU WILL HEAR CHINA CRY BABYING ABOUT IT AND WE WILL KNOW THAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED THAT AND CHINA IS LIKE AN ANT COLONY WHICH WILL KEEP INVADING YOUR HOUSE UNTIL YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.].

5/13/2020 Ignoring social distancing, protesters mock Hong Kong leader Lam on her birthday by Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou
FILE PHOTO: An anti-government protester holds a flag with Chinese calligraphy that reads "Liberate Hong Kong, the
Revolution of Our Times", during a protest at Mong Kok in Hong Kong, China, May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters gathered in shopping malls across Hong Kong on Wednesday, flouting coronavirus-related social distancing rules to mock unpopular Chief Executive Carrie Lam on her birthday.
    Police, both in riot gear and plainclothes, entered some of the malls and at least one arrest was made after officers pushed back a crowd using pepper spray. Most shops had to close.
    It was the latest sign social unrest was resurfacing in Hong Kong as the city has proven relatively successful at tackling the coronavirus, having recorded 1,051 cases and four deaths.
    While the government has allowed bars, gyms and cinemas to reopen and civil servants to come back to work, it maintains that group gatherings should be limited to eight people.
    Lam, who turns 63, is the Chinese-ruled city’s least popular leader since its handover from Britain in 1997, having tried to push a bill that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China last year, sparking large-scale, often violent protests.
    “I wish Carrie Lam can live a long life so that she can bear the responsibility of the decisions she made,” 20-year-old protester Ken said.    “We will continue to resist.    If we don’t try to fight, they will just try to suppress us more severely.”
    In the New Town Plaza mall in the working class Sha Tin district, protesters hung up banners reading “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times,” and chanted “There are no rioters, only tyranny” and “Disband Hong Kong police.”
    Last week, Lam said on Facebook that a purse sent by post as a gift from her family for Mother’s Day had security staff on their toes after repeated bomb threats in recent months.
    In Sha Tin, protesters taped posters with her face on glass windows, one reading “Happy birthday and go to hell soon” and another “Because of you, many didn’t have a happy Mother’s Day.”
    Social distancing rules imposed to help contain coronavirus contagion has largely put a brake on protests since January.
    But, after clashes with the police at the weekend in which 230 were arrested, demonstrations are expected to pick up steam again into the summer, especially amid fears the coronavirus is distracting the international community, potentially offering a window of opportunity for a stronger security crackdown.
    Although the extradition bill has been scrapped, protesters continue to demand an independent inquiry into the police handling of protests last year, as well as universal suffrage – a promise enshrined in the city’s mini-constitution.
    Pro-democracy demonstrators are further incensed by renewed calls from Beijing and pro-government officials in Hong Kong to enact national security legislation, known as Article 23, which is also a requirement of the Basic Law.
    A previous attempt to pass such legislation in 2003 was met with mass protests amid fears it would erode the city’s liberties, agreed with Britain as part of the “one country, two systems” handover deal in 1997.
    Communist authorities in Beijing deny interference in Hong Kong, blaming “foreign forces” for protracted unrest.
    China’s Hong Kong affairs office warned last week that the city would never be calm unless “black-clad violent protesters” were all removed, describing them as a “political virus” that seeks independence from Beijing.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

5/13/2020 WHO chief ‘shocked and appalled’ by Afghan clinic attack
FILE PHOTO: Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference
on the situation of the coronavirus (COVID-2019), in Geneva, Switzerland, February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
    GENEVA (Reuters) – World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday he was “shocked and appalled” by an attack on a maternity clinic run by the international humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières in Afghanistan.
    Gunmen dressed in police uniforms on Tuesday stormed the Kabul hospital that housed the clinic, killing 16 people including two newborn babies.
    Medical facilities “should never be a target”, Tedros told an online press briefing.
(Reporting by Michael Shields and Emma Farge; Editing by Alex Richardson)
[AND THE ENTIRE WORLD IS IN SHOCK AND APPALLED THAT THE WHO LET CHINA GET AWAY WITH IT IN RELEASING THE DEADLY CORONAVIRUS ON THE WORLD WHICH KILLED 4 MILLION PEOPLE.    SO WHY DID YOU KNOW TO TELL THEM THAT.].

5/13/2020 Focus on COVID-19 battle, France tells China after Taiwan warning
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a news conference in Beijing, China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
    BEIJING/PARIS (Reuters) – France dismissed Chinese warnings on Wednesday about selling arms to self-ruled Taiwan, saying it was implementing existing deals and that Beijing should focus on battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
    China’s foreign ministry warned Paris over a contract for Taiwan, which is planning to buy weapons from Paris as part of an upgrade to a French-made warship fleet bought 30 years ago.
    China says Taiwan is part of “one China,” and that this principle must be accepted by any country with which it has diplomatic relations.    Arms sales to Taiwan are always highly sensitive and regularly prompt a strong reaction from Beijing.
    The French foreign ministry responded by saying it followed a “one China” policy as agreed with Beijing in 1994 and continued to urge both sides to hold dialogue.
    “Within this context France respects the contractual commitments it made with Taiwan and has not changed its position since 1994,” the ministry said in a statement.    “Facing the COVID-19 crisis, all our attention and efforts should be focused on battling the pandemic.”
    The timing of the dispute is awkward for Paris, which has ordered millions of face masks from China because of the coronavirus outbreak.
    Last month, the French foreign ministry summoned China’s ambassador over posts and tweets by the embassy defending Beijing’s response to the pandemic and criticising the West’s handling of the outbreak.
“COMBAT NEEDS”
    Taiwan is mostly equipped with U.S.-made weapons, but in 1991 France sold Taiwan six Lafayette frigates, to China’s anger. France also sold Taiwan 60 Mirage fighter jets in 1992.
    Taiwan said last month it was seeking to buy equipment from France to upgrade the ships’ missile interference system.
    In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China resolutely opposed any arms sales to Taiwan.
    “We have already expressed our serious concern to France,” he told a daily news briefing.    “We again urge the French side to abide by the one China principle and withdraw the arms sale plan to Taiwan to avoid harming Sino-French relations.”
    Taiwan’s Defence Ministry quoted the navy as saying it was following related procurement regulations for the arm purchase to meet its “combat needs.”    It declined further comment.
    Taiwan media reported that Taiwan was proposing to spend around T$800 million ($26.8 million) on the DAGAIE missile interference system from French firm DCI-DESCO.
    Taiwan says it needs to upgrade its armed forces to deal with a growing threat from China, which has stepped up military drills near the democratic island.
    China describes Taiwan as its most sensitive and important territorial issue, and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.    Taiwan has shown no interest in being ruled by autocratic China.
(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley and John Irish; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee in Taipei; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie and Tim Heritage)

5/13/2020 China willing to further cooperate with South Korea on coronavirus prevention and control
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective mask is seen past a portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping on a street
as the country is hit by an outbreak of the coronavirus, in Shanghai, China March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping told South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday that China is willing to further cooperate with South Korea on coronavirus prevention and control, state television CCTV reported.
    The neighbouring countries are effectively cooperating with each other against the coronavirus pandemic and ensured smooth operation of regional supply chain as shown in the “fast-track” entry system for business travelers, the report quoted Xi as saying.
    The cooperation include drug and vaccine research and development, it said.
(This story has been refiled to fix typo in headline)
(Reporting by Twinnie Siu in Hong Kong and Colin Qian in Beijing; Editing by Catherine Evans)

5/13/2020 Report: Iran building new weapons cache in Syria by OAN Newsroom
In this photo released Wednesday, April 22, 2020, by Sepahnews, an Iranian rocket carrying a satellite is
prepared for launch from an undisclosed site believed to be in Iran’s Semnan province. (Sepahnews via AP)
    Iran’s ayatollah regime is reportedly building yet another weapons storage facility in Syria.    Recently released satellite images revealed     Iranian paramilitaries working on a major construction project at the Imam Ali Military Base near the Iraqi-Syrian border.
    According to intelligence officials, the new facility may pose a threat to Israel and U.S. military personnel in Iraq.
    The images were released on the heels of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Israel.
    The Jewish state has warned of a lingering military threat posed by the ayatollah regime.
    “There is something else plaguing our region, which is the unremitting Iranian aggression and terror,” stated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.    “I want to express my appreciation for the strong position that the president, you and your administration put forward against Iran.”
    This latest construction came after the Israeli military bombed a similar Iranian facility in Syria back in March.

5/14/2020 South Korea to boost coronavirus tracing privacy amid fears of backlash by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith
Quarantine workers spray disinfectants at night spots of Itaewon neighborhood, following the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Seoul, South Korea, May 11, 2020. Yonhap/via REUTERS
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean health authorities said on Thursday they would revise their practice of publicising the travel routes of coronavirus patients due to fears of a backlash against people who attended nightclubs at the centre of a new outbreak.
    After weeks of nearly no new domestic coronavirus cases, South Korea has seen a new spike in infections centred around nightclubs and bars in some of Seoul’s most popular nightlife neighbourhoods.
    Investigators have struggled to find around 2,000 people wanted for testing, an effort complicated by public criticism of the clubgoers, as well as concerns about discrimination as several of the clubs cater to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.
    While clubs and bars were required to log the names and contact phone numbers for all visitors as a condition of reopening, much of the information turned out to be incomplete or false, officials said.,br>     That has left officials combing through cellphone location data and CCTV footage to try to identify some customers, while publicly pleading for people to come forward and be tested.
    Officials say they understand some individuals may fear social stigmatisation, and have promised to try to reduce the amount of information usually released about confirmed patients.
    South Korea has typically released information like a patient’s age, gender, and places visited immediately before testing positive, as well as in some cases, patients’ last names and general occupations.
    About 2,000 people are still being sought by officials.
    “The health and quarantine authorities have expanded anonymous testing nationwide to prevent unnecessary violations of privacy,” Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said at a meeting of health authorities on Thursday, according to his office.
    “In addition, we plan to revise the guidelines to prevent excessive disclosure of a patient’s travel itinerary.”
    People who ignore calls to be tested can face a fine of up to 2 million won ($1,630), health ministry official Yoon Tae-ho told a briefing.
    South Korea reported 29 new cases as of midnight Wednesday, bringing the country’s total to 10,991 with 260 deaths.
    Of those new cases, 20 were linked to the outbreak from the clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon neighbourhood.    A total of 131 cases have been linked to that outbreak, including clubgoers as well as secondary infections in family members, coworkers, and students.
    In one case, a young man who visited a club is accused of not disclosing his work at a school in the nearby city of Incheon.
    After officials used cellphone data to discover his workplace, they confirmed at least 11 related infections, including among the man’s students.
    That case has also led to 1,700 people in Incheon being tested and quarantined after some of the students went to church on Sunday.
    The cluster of infections in Itaewon and other nightlife spots came as the country was easing social distancing guidelines, and the cases led to public criticism of both the clubgoers as well as health officials who allowed the clubs to reopen.
    “I think the authorities missed these venues,” said Kim Dong-hyun, president of Korean Society of Epidemiology.    “They had grounds to suspend operations of the facilities earlier, but it’s unclear why they didn’t.”
    South Korean media reported that some of the restaurants and other businesses in Itaewon have had to stop trading for the first time in 20 years, and some taxi drivers are refusing to take passengers to or from the neighbourhood. (Reporting by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith; Editing by Stephen Coates)

5/14/2020 As China pushes back on virus, Europe wakes to ‘Wolf Warrior’ diplomacy by Luke Baker and Robin Emmott
FILE PHOTO: The Chinese national flag flies at half-mast behind a statue of late Chinese chairman Mao Zedong in Wuhan, Hubei province, as China holds
a national mourning for those who died of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on the Qingming tomb-sweeping festival, April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Earlier this month, Europe’s ambassador in Beijing submitted to Chinese censorship.
    Seeking to mark an anniversary of the European Union’s relations with China on May 6, he and the EU’s 27 ambassadors co-wrote an opinion piece titled “EU-China ties vital amid global crisis,” for publication on embassy websites and in China Daily, an English-language newspaper controlled by the state.
    “The outbreak of the coronavirus in China, and its subsequent spread to the rest of the world over the past three months,” said the carefully orchestrated piece, had “temporarily side-tracked” plans for meetings.
    But in the China Daily version, the reference to the virus starting in China was deleted.
    The change emerged as the article appeared on EU embassy websites, causing alarm among representatives of member states.    Diplomats said the ambassador, French diplomat Nicolas Chapuis, had not consulted his bosses in Brussels or his fellow envoys about the change.    He had, the EU executive said on May 7, unilaterally decided to accept it, with “considerable reluctance.”
    Chapuis told a news conference the omission was “regrettable,” his boss, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, subsequently spoke out against censorship by China’s state controlled media.    Borrell also said that accepting the cut “was not the right decision to take,” though Chapuis kept his job.
    China Daily did not respond to requests for comment, but the paper’s bureau chief in Brussels, Chen Weihua, responded to the EU ambassador on Twitter, saying, “You did nothing wrong. I don’t think those people should make a big fuss of the editing out of such a phrase.”
    As the new coronavirus casts its shadow over geopolitics, the episode highlights concern among European diplomats over what they see as an increasingly conflictual relationship with Beijing.
    As China is seeking to control the damage the pandemic threatens to its global reputation, the government of President Xi Jinping is pushing hard to control the story from Berlin to Bratislava, diplomatic cables seen by Reuters and interviews with more than a dozen diplomats, advisers and officials show.
    In a campaign of increasingly assertive and at times aggressive diplomacy, China has sought to pressure European countries that criticise its handling of the outbreak, Reuters found. At a time when Europe’s ties with the United States are already strained by President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ policy, the fallout from the coronavirus underscores how the EU is caught between two powers – needing both, but reluctant to side with either.
    On the one hand, officials in Brussels and European capitals argue they need to show China that the European Union – the world’s largest trading bloc and a wealthy market of 450 million consumers – won’t be pushed around.
    On the other, countries within Europe are rarely unanimous. States such as Germany have large trade relationships with China that they don’t want to jeopardise.    German manufacturers, for example, depend on China, Germany’s biggest trading partner, to both supply components and to buy their cars.
    “We don’t have the structure or culture to reciprocate the assertiveness or use power plays like China,” one diplomat said.    “The aim of     European diplomacy since the Second World War has been all about finding a compromise.    China doesn’t necessarily look at things the same way at all.”
    China’s foreign ministry and its officials declined to respond to questions posed by Reuters for this story.    The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, declined to comment on the diplomatic contacts.
CREATE A NARRATIVE
    This year was meant to be an important one for Sino-EU ties. Until the virus emerged in Wuhan in December, the EU had started to make progress with Beijing after tense summits in 2016 and 2017 ended without any joint declarations.    Last year, the European Commission dubbed China an economic competitor and “systemic rival.”
    Beijing in April 2019 acquiesced for the first time on key issues such as equal treatment of European companies in China, after months of negotiations, according to senior EU officials.    That accord was to be followed this year by an EU-China summit in Beijing and a meeting between Chinese leader Xi and EU national leaders in Leipzig, Germany, in September.
    But now, besides practical obstacles to such meetings from social distancing, both sides are pushing back against each other.
    In China, the virus has compounded an already more pugnacious approach to international affairs – dubbed “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy in both Western and Chinese media – after two popular Chinese movies in which the action hero outguns and outsmarts nefarious U.S. special agents.
    Spurred by Xi’s calls for the country to be more imposing, Chinese diplomats have pushed back against criticism of its handling of the outbreak, in every forum from social media to TV, newspaper op-eds, and diplomatic correspondence.
    A striking example was on April 12, when the Chinese embassy in Paris posted an unsigned article on its website that suggested care workers in Western nursing homes had abandoned their jobs, leaving residents to die.    China’s ambassador in Paris, Lu Shaye, was summoned by the French foreign ministry and wrote a post saying ties between China and France remain strong, but did not withdraw the comments, which France rejected.
    Chinese foreign ministry officials told EU diplomats that the issue was one for France and China, not the wider EU, and that “it was now at an end,” according to a diplomatic cable from the EU delegation in Beijing to Brussels from April 22.
    On April 26, China’s embassy in France posted another article on its website complaining of “China bashing” and claiming that “some Westerners are beginning to distrust liberal democracy.”    The article said that “in the response to the epidemic, socialism with Chinese characteristics has demonstrated its ability to concentrate resources in the service of great achievements.”
    Janka Oertel, head of the Asia programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said China is transferring its domestic approach to controlling public perception to the diplomatic arena.
    “China is desperately trying to get its coronavirus story out there and as far as it’s concerned set the record straight,” she said.    “It’s trying to do what it does domestically, which is create a narrative and protect its reputation.”
DIVIDE AND RULE
    Chinese diplomats have also approached German government officials to persuade them to make positive statements on how Beijing is handling the pandemic, a letter dated April 22 from the German interior ministry to a German parliamentarian Margarete Bause showed.
    The letter, reviewed by Reuters, said the diplomats had made individual contact with German officials to seek “positive public statements about the coronavirus management of the People’s Republic of China.” It said Germany had not complied.
    And senior Chinese foreign ministry officials on several occasions pressured EU diplomats to block publication of an EU report analysing alleged Chinese disinformation online about the virus, according to documents seen by Reuters and diplomatic sources.    The Chinese foreign ministry said the report would be “very bad for cooperation,” according to the April 22 EU diplomatic cable.
    The internal version of the report, dated April 20 and reviewed by Reuters after parts were previewed by Politico, noted as a main finding that “China has continued to run a global disinformation campaign to deflect blame for the outbreak of the pandemic and improve its international image.”
    In the public version, published on April 24 as a “snapshot overview,” criticism of China was given less prominence.
    Top EU diplomat Borrell, called before the European Parliament on April 30 to explain the discrepancy between the versions, said there had been no watering-down, the published document was directed at a different public and while diplomatic pressures always exist, “We have not bowed to anyone.”
    Beijing has long played on tensions between the EU’s founding states and its newer, formerly Communist members, through a special contact group of mostly east European countries called the 17+1, in which China is the 1.    China has promised billions of dollars to countries which otherwise rely on EU development funds or outside investment to build railways, roads, airports and power stations.
    China’s close relationships with such states make it harder for them to stand up to Beijing when Brussels wants them to, EU officials and diplomats say.
    Even before the pandemic in the first two months of 2020, one diplomat said, Slovenia and Slovakia had requested help from the European Commission in pushing back against China’s pressure to take its side on issues including human rights.    He said the states had effectively sent the message: “Help us: We don’t have the political clout to stand up to the Chinese.”
    Slovenia’s foreign ministry said it had not sought such help, but did not know if others had. In a statement to Reuters, it said “very intensive” talks had been going on for an accord to be agreed at the EU-China summit which “will balance out the relations between the EU and China.”    Slovakia did not respond to a request for comment.
MASK DIPLOMACY
    When COVID-19 hit Italy and Spain, two large and influential member states, fellow EU members such as Germany initially came under fire for offering scant help.    But China sent hundreds of thousands of testing kits and facemasks to them and other countries.
    Italy, in particular, has been grateful.    A poll of 800 people in Italy, carried out by the SWG research institute between March 20 and April 12, showed more than 50% of Italians consider China a friendly country, while other polls have shown once-solid support for EU membership falling.
    China’s ‘mask diplomacy’ also spurred a dramatic change of tone from Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis.    Before the pandemic, he had called for the removal of the Chinese ambassador after a threatening letter from the embassy over a Czech lawmaker’s planned visit to Taiwan.
    But as COVID-19 infections spread, Babis raced to the airport to personally greet a planeload of medical supplies from China, and publicly thanked the ambassador he had wanted withdrawn.
    Babis said there was no connection between those actions.    “When I did not like the communication of the ambassador, I said so,” he said in a statement to Reuters.    “The same way, I did not have any problem to thank him publicly when he did his share.”
    Not all responses have been as simple.    Dutch, Spanish and other European authorities have questioned the quality of equipment sent – the Netherlands recalled some masks that had been distributed to hospitals on the grounds that they were not surgical, the Dutch health ministry said.
    China rejected such complaints, saying for example that faulty test kits in Spain were provided by a company without a proper licence that had nothing to do with government shipments.
SUMMITRY
    In the EU headquarters in Brussels and in European capitals, discussions are underway about how to respond to China’s toughening line.
    Europe is intent on ensuring closer cooperation with Beijing on landmark issues like climate policy, especially after the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.    EU and Chinese representatives spoke on May 11 about opening up on trade.    But there is little clarity on the diplomatic road.
    The EU-China summit may take place on June 3, according to a European Commission planning note, but by video conference, rather than in person in Beijing.
    The last time China policy was discussed by the EU’s 27 envoys in Brussels in March, Ireland’s envoy expressed concern that China’s “huge propaganda machine” may win the narrative on trade, cooperation and the summit, according to the minutes seen by Reuters.
    France’s representative to Brussels urged the EU to demand China be more transparent on such issues, as well as coronavirus.
    “We need to preserve our position,” he said.
(Luke Baker reported from London, Robin Emmott from Brussels; with additional reporting by Liz Piper in London, Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Crispian Balmer in Rome, John Irish in Paris, Marja Novak-Vogric in Ljubljana, Tomas Mrva in Bratislava, Michael Kahn in Prague, Michel Rose in Paris, Ben Blanchard in Taipei and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Edited by Sara Ledwith)

5/14/2020 Wuhan residents brave rain, queues for COVID-19 mass-testing campaign by Brenda Goh
A medical worker in a protective suit conducts a nucleic acid testing for a resident at a residential compound in Wuhan, the
Chinese city hit hardest by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Hubei province, China May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    WUHAN, China (Reuters) – Residents in Wuhan braved pouring rain in queues of more than an hour to take part in a government-led exercise to test the city’s 11 million people for the novel coronavirus, a scale health experts describe as unprecedented.
    Authorities in the central Chinese city, where the global pandemic began last year and whose cases account for more than 80% of the country’s total, started the campaign this week after a cluster of new cases raised fears of a second wave of infections.
    While Wuhan lifted its 76-day lockdown last month, concerns persist over how many asymptomatic cases – people who show no symptoms but are capable of spreading the virus – there may be.
    In Wuhan’s Qiaokou district, at the Zirun Mingyuan apartment community where about 10,000 people live, men, women and children stood under umbrellas while elderly residents perched on stools as they waited to get tested at four sites set up in the middle of the compound.
    Many said they were notified by text by the compound’s residential committee on Tuesday that they could get tested in batches and were under the impression it was voluntary and free of charge.
    Authorities say they aim to test all 11 million residents, though the priority are people from 12 categories, such as school, medical, transport, supermarket and government workers and people returning from overseas or leaving Wuhan for work.
    “Even though there weren’t any new cases in a while it seems Wuhan continues to have asymptomatic patients.    Everyday there’s a few,” said Zhu Fangmin, 43, who stood in a queue of more than 60 people.
    “It’s very likely these people could be around us so this wide-scale examination will put people’s mind at ease,” she said.
    One test site was made up of two tables. At the first, a volunteer took down identification details.    The other was staffed by two nurses dressed in face shields, gloves and hazmat suits, one of whom took throat swabs from residents.
    Some people expressed concern that they could catch the virus through the testing exercise, by standing in the queues.    “I heard that the nurses aren’t switching their gloves,” said one woman who gave her surname as Chen.
PRESSURE
    Health News, a newspaper affiliated to China’s National Health Commission, said on Tuesday while the exercise would likely cost Wuhan more than 1 billion yuan, it would help find possible sources of infection and provide reassurance for work resumption purposes and to other provinces receiving travellers from Wuhan.
    Wuhan now had a daily testing capacity of 100,000 and 63 agencies that could process nucleic acid tests, the newspaper said.    But if it wanted to hit its target of testing all residents in 10 days, it would need to test 730,000 people a day, it said.
    Reuters, citing an internal document to district officials, reported on Monday that the city planned to conduct the campaign over 10 days.    A government official said on Wednesday city districts could conduct tests at their own pace for now as the city health authority had yet to issue a notice about officially starting the tests.
    “I’m not aware of anything at this scale ever being performed in previous pandemics.    It demonstrates the level of concern about the cluster of new infections,” said Lawrence Young, Professor of Molecular Oncology at the University of Warwick.
    “This approach will be interesting in identifying the degree of infection in asymptomatic individuals and how such individuals are responsible for spreading virus infection,” he said.
    Others said testing on such a large scale posed its own challenge.    “You need to make sure not one single sample is mistaken with another,” said Dr. Chen Guangjie, an immunology professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University.
    While a shortage of testing kits was blamed for slowing China’s response to the outbreak in the early days, by March tests were relatively easy to obtain at Wuhan’s hospitals and clinics and residents were told they could get their results by a mobile app.
    Since Wuhan’s lockdown was lifted on April 8, the city has conducted an average of 47,422 tests a day and more than 1.66 million tests in total, according to Reuters calculations based on health authority reports.
    Wuhan tested 67,026 people on May 13, government data showed, the second highest level since it started publishing data on Feb. 21.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Additional Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Ryan Woo in Beijing and Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

5/14/2020 China calls U.S. accusation of hacking in COVID-19 research “slander”
This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2, also known as novel coronavirus, the virus that causes COVID-19,
isolated from a patient in the U.S. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab.
The spikes on the outer edge of the virus particles give coronaviruses their name, crown-like. NIAID-RML/Handout via REUTERS.
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry, asked about China-linked hackers breaking into U.S. COVID-19 research, said China opposed what it called slander from the United States.
    Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian added on Thursday that any action online to sabotage efforts against the disease should be condemned.
(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Alex Richardson)

5/15/2020 Japan’s regions emerge from virus emergency while Tokyo enters ‘new normal’ by Rocky Swift
Passersby wearing protective face masks are seen on the street after Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the
lifting of the state of emergency by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 39 of Japan's 47 prefectures, including
Aichi, in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo May 14, 2020. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Large parts of Japan marked the first day out of a state of emergency on Friday while Tokyo’s governor asked residents to prepare for the “new normal” as restrictions stay in place in the capital and major cities.
    Softbank Corp. and McDonald’s Japan said they would start returning to normal operations in 39 of Japan’s 47 prefectures that are now exempt from the emergency declaration.    The 39 prefectures account for about 55 percent of Japan’s 126 million people.
    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the state of emergency for these prefectures on Thursday but said the urban centres of Tokyo and Osaka and six other prefectures will remain under restrictions until there is convincing containment of the coronavirus.    The emergency gives governors more authority to tell people to stay at home and to close schools and businesses, but there is no penalty for non-compliance.
    “Even in areas where the emergency has been lifted, we would like to see people refrain from moving between prefectures as much as possible, at least during this month,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Friday.    “We hope that people will be able to return to their daily lives in stages.”
    Restrictions in the capital would remain in place until at least the end of May, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters, laying out a road map of conditions that need to be met before measures can be eased.    New daily infections should be below 20, while restrictions on businesses will be eased in stages.
    “We need to solidify a ‘new normal’ in view of a long fight against the virus,” Koike said.    “Telecommuting and staggered commuting would be among the concepts that we’d like to create with residents.”
    New cases in Tokyo have been trending downward of late, and were at 30 on Thursday.    Even so, the true number may be much higher.
TEN TIMES OFFICIAL FIGURES
    Kyodo News reported that antibody tests of 500 Tokyo residents conducted by the health ministry indicated that 0.6% had been exposed to the virus.    That would correlate to about 55,000 cases, based on the 9.2 million population of Tokyo’s 23 central wards, more than 10 times the official figure of infections.
    Softbank said its mobile phone shops would return to normal operations in the 39 prefectures.    McDonald’s, which had done take-out only, said it would resume in-store dining in those regions.
    But it was unclear how soon the regional economies could snap back.    Little movement is expected at least until the end of the month, said Gardner Robinson, an American who runs a hotel and restaurant in Nagano prefecture, where the state of emergency is over.
    “A lot of local, prefectural and federal support is tied to staying closed until then,” Robinson said.
    “But lifting the declaration will make it easier to get guests coming back for the green season,” he added, referring to the non-ski season in the winter sports destination.
    Japan’s economy will recover only modestly in the second half of this year from a steep contraction in the current quarter, a Reuters poll of analysts showed on Friday.
    Nationwide, Japan has reported 16,203 cases of the coronavirus and 713 deaths, according to public broadcaster NHK.    The figures are much lower than in most industrialized nations, but the pandemic cost Tokyo its chance to host the Summer Olympics this year.
    The International Olympic Committee said on Thursday it expects to bear costs of up to $800 million related to the postponed Games, now due to be staged in Tokyo next year.    The figure does not include any costs Tokyo Games organisers and the Japanese government have to incur due to the delay.
* For an interactive graphic tracking the global spread of the coronavirus, open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.
(Reporting by Rocky Swift and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

5/15/2020 Australians emerge from coronavirus lockdown to beers and lattes by Colin Packham
FILE PHOTO: A worker cleans the mostly deserted waterfront area of the Sydney Opera House, in the wake of New South Wales implementing
measures shutting down non-essential businesses and moving toward harsh penalties to enforce self-isolation as the spread of coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) reached what the state's premier calls a "critical stage" in Australia, March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
    SYDNEY (Reuters) – Restaurants, cafes and bars in Australia’s most populous state reopened on Friday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown, boosting the federal government’s bid to get people back in work and the economy back on track.
    The easing of some quarantine measures in New South Wales (NSW) state came just a day after the national statistics office reported unprecedented record high job losses and Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned that worse was still to come.
    “While there isn’t too much to be celebrating with the difficult circumstances we face, and particularly yesterday’s unemployment numbers, it is welcome sign that we are on the way back,” Morrison said on Friday.
    In Sydney, locals braved a cold, wet morning to catch up with friends and family over a coffee as cafes, restaurants and bars opened under the proviso they limit patrons to 10 at any one time.
    “It is such a treat,” said Jess Best, who met up with a friend in a cafe in the city’s eastern suburbs.    “To be able to sit down with other people around and chat to my friend.    I can have a normal morning, not hiding away in my home.”
    NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian cautioned people to remain vigilant and maintain social distancing.
    “Easing restrictions has failed in so many places around the world and I don’t want that to happen in NSW, I want people to have personal responsibility for the way we respond,” she said.
    NSW and Victoria, the country’s second most populous state, reported a total of 29 new cases on Friday, a bump up from the recent daily average of fewer than 20.
    Australia has recorded just over 7,000 COVID-19 cases, including 98 deaths, significantly below the levels reported in North America and Europe.    Officials said on Friday that only 50 people remained in hospital.
.     Officials have credited lockdown measures adopted in March, including closing the country’s borders and ordering people to stay home unless on essential business, with constraining the virus’ spread.
    State and territory leaders across the country are now rolling out a three-stage plan, following different timetables, to remove lockdown measures.
    Morrison wants the bulk of restrictions gone by July to revive a national economy that had experienced more than two decades of uninterrupted growth before the pandemic. Most economists are now forecasting a recession.
    In NSW, schools are slowly reopening, private households will be able to have five guests, public gatherings were expanded to 10 people from two and public swimming pools reopened with a maximum of 10 people allowed in the water.
    “It’s amazing to be able to swim again,” said Jenny Finikiotis as she emerged from at the Bronte Swimming Club’s ocean pool.    “The water is so warm, it’s crystal clear and the best it has been all summer, probably because there has been no one here swimming in it.”
BEERS ON TAP
    In the Northern Territory, where case numbers have been low and there have been no deaths, pubs opened with no restrictions on patron numbers.
    “I think I’ve earned one and I think I lot of territorians out there have earned a beer as well,” Chief Minister Michael Gunner said, pouring a beer at the Cavenagh Hotel in Darwin as the clock struck midday.
    Victoria, which reported 21 new cases, is currently retaining most of its lockdown measures.
    Morrison is hoping the resumption of some businesses will help get the economy on a firmer footing, a goal that has been partly overshadowed by a diplomatic spat with China, Australia’s largest trading partner, over Australia’s push for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.
    China earlier this week suspended the export licences of several of Australia’s largest beef processors and proposed tariffs of 80% on Australian barley shipments, in what many viewed as retaliatory actions.
    “When it comes to our relationship with China, it is built on mutual benefit,” Morrison said on Friday.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; additional reporting by Jill Gralow and James Redmayne; editing by Jane Wardell)

5/15/2020 China’s Wuhan says tested almost a third of residents for coronavirus since April
People wearing protective face masks are seen at a street market in Wuhan, the Chinese city hit the hardest
by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in the Hubei province, China, May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Wuhan, the original epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak in China, has tested over 3 million residents for the pathogen since April, and will now focus its testing efforts on the rest of its 11 million population, according to state media.
    Wuhan will conduct tests on everyone in the city, with the goal of getting a clear number of asymptomatic cases as businesses and schools reopen, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Thursday.
    The priority will be residents who have not been tested before, people living in residential compounds that had previous cases of the virus, as well as old or densely populated estates, Xinhua said, citing a Wuhan government meeting.
    Wuhan reported a cluster of infections over the weekend, the first since a virtual lockdown on the city was lifted on April 8, raising fears of a second wave.    The latest infections were previously asymptomatic cases, people who had the virus but showed no symptoms such as a fever.
    Reuters, citing an internal document to district officials, reported on May 11 that the city planned to conduct the campaign of city-wide nucleic acid tests over 10 days.
    Wuhan has conducted 1.79 million tests from April 1 to May 13, according to Reuters calculations based on daily reports published by the city’s health commission.
    The official test number for May 14 will be published on Friday.
    Recently, Wuhan has detected several to more than a dozen asymptomatic infections every day.    Although those people are all treated in isolation, they still spark concern in the society, Xinhua said.
    Some experts say the mass testing is unprecedented in scale, and shows the level of concern.    Others warn on potential testing errors due to the sheer size of the sampling.
    On Friday, China reported four new confirmed cases in the mainland for May 14, up from three cases a day earlier, the National Health Commission said in a statement on Friday.
    All of the new cases were locally transmitted and the number of new asymptomatic cases fell slightly to 11 from 12 a day earlier.
    The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China now stands at 82,933 while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,633.
    China does not include asymptomatic virus carriers in its tally of confirmed cases.    It also does not disclose the overall number of asymptomatic cases in the country.
(Reporting by Engen Tham, Wang Jing, Lusha Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Lincoln Feast and Michael Perry)

5/15/2020 Chinese official hails ‘incomparable’ improvement in air quality as virus hits industry by Muyu Xu and David Stanway
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective mask walks near the Central Business District on a “blue sky day" in Beijing as
the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in China April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s air quality saw “incomparable” improvements in the first quarter of this year as a coronavirus outbreak led to rapid declines in industrial activity and transportation, an environment ministry official said on Friday.
    The number of “blue sky days” rose by 6.6 percentage points in the first quarter of 2020, said Liu Bingjiang, head of the air pollution office at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
    “That was a level we didn’t even dare imagine,” he said, noting the target for the whole 2016-2020 period was 3.3 percentage points.
    China has for several months been grappling with a coronavirus outbreak, which has spread around the world and infected more than 4 million people, forcing governments to impose strict lockdowns, severely hurting economic activity.
    With millions staying home, concentrations of small lung-damaging floating particles fell by nearly 15% in more than 300 Chinese cities in the first three months of the year, according to official ministry data.
    Emissions in the city of Shanghai fell by nearly 20% in the first quarter while Beijing’s average emissions levels stood still in the first three months of the year, the data showed.
    In Wuhan, where the pandemic originated, monthly averages of particulate matter emissions dropped more than a third.
    Normally the country’s smoggiest province, Hebei also saw PM2.5 concentrations, a measure of air pollution, fall 15.7% in the first four months of 2020.
    The province, however, attributed the drop to its crackdowns on pollution rather than the coronavirus.
NEW NORMAL
    China has gradually loosened the lockdown since late March in several cities and Liu said the resumption of normal economic activity had not led to a noticeable decline in air quality so far.
    He also attributed the improvements in China’s air quality to its strenuous anti-pollution efforts over the last few years.
    China declared “war” on pollution in 2014 after a spate of politically damaging outbreaks of smog in Beijing and other regions and has been strict to punish those breaking the rules.
    The country normally sets targets over the October-March winter heating period, forcing cities to make improvements in air quality compared to the previous year.
    But Liu said the steep declines in emissions brought about by the virus would make it too difficult for cities to make further year-on-year cuts next winter, so China would not make the targets a “decisive element” of compliance over the period.
    He said China would continue to eliminate small-scale coal use this year and further promote the replacement of coal by gas or electricity in households throughout northern regions, noting that the policies and financial support were now in place.
    China is currently working on a new anti-smog plan that would further target ground-level ozone pollution, a rising health risk caused mainly by vehicle exhaust fumes and sunlight.
    It will also extend the “blue sky” campaign to other regions, including Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong and Henan, he said.
(Reporting by Muyu Xu and David Stanway; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
[Don't get excited China since you were the biggest polluter before and will be it again.].

5/15/2020 U.S. says Islamic State conducted attack on Kabul hospital
FILE PHOTO: U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad speaks during a debate at
Tolo TV channel in Kabul, Afghanistan April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday blamed Islamic State militants — not the Taliban — for a gruesome hospital attack in     Afghanistan this week that killed two newborn babies, and it renewed calls for Afghans to embrace a troubled peace push with the Taliban insurgency.
    But it was unclear if the U.S. declaration would be enough to bolster the peace effort and reverse a decision by the Kabul government to resume offensive operations against the Taliban.
    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered the military on Tuesday to switch to “offensive mode” against the Taliban following the hospital attack in Kabul and a suicide bombing in Nangarhar province that killed scores of people.
    U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad blamed Islamic State for both attacks in a statement issued on Twitter, saying the group opposed any Taliban peace agreement and sought to trigger an Iraq-style sectarian war in Afghanistan.
    “Rather than falling into the ISIS trap and delay peace or create obstacles, Afghans must come together to crush this menace and pursue a historic peace opportunity,” Khalilzad said.
    “No more excuses.    Afghans, and the world, deserve better.”
    An affiliate of the Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the Nangarhar bombing, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.    No one has claimed the hospital attack.
    The Taliban denied involvement in either attacks, but the government accused the group of fostering an environment in which terrorism thrives or of working with other militant groups who could have been involved, straining U.S. efforts to bring the insurgents and Afghan government together.
    The attacks were another setback to U.S. President Donald Trump’s stalled plans to bring peace to Afghanistan and end America’s longest war.
    A Feb. 29 U.S.-Taliban deal called for a phased U.S. troop withdrawal and for the Afghan government and Taliban to release some prisoners by March 10, when peace talks were to start.
    Intra-Afghan peace talks have yet to occur and there is some bitterness within the Afghan government, which was not a party to the Feb. 29 deal, that the United States undercut their leverage by negotiating directly with the Taliban.
    Ghani’s decision to revive offensive operations is supported by many opposition figures, who believe Washington’s sole focus is to keep the U.S. troop withdrawal plan on track to help Trump win a second term in the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election.
(Reporting by Eric Beech and Phil Stewart; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Daniel Wallis)

5/15/2020 Thailand reports 7 new coronavirus cases, all from overseas
Staff wearing protective face masks pass their time as they prepare to reopen their shop in a shopping centre during
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Pathum Thani, Thailand May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand reported seven new coronavirus cases on Friday, while the number of deaths remained unchanged at 56.
    The new cases were all patients who arrived from Pakistan last week and have been in state quarantine, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    Thailand has confirmed a total of 3,025 cases since the coronavirus outbreak started in January and earlier in the week reported zero new daily cases for the first time in two months.
(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat)

5/15/2020 Pompeo says TSMC’s $12 billion investment to increase U.S. economic independence from China
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a media
briefing at the State Department in Washington, U.S., May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Pool/File Photo
    (Reuters) – Chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s <2330.TW> $12 billion investment in the United States will increase U.S. economic independence from China, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement early on Friday.
    TSMC, a major supplier to Apple Inc , announced on Friday it will build a $12 billion chip factory in Arizona, in what the company called a “strong partnership” with the U.S. government.    Pompeo said the investment will strengthen U.S.-Taiwan ties.
    “TSMC’s announcement comes at a critical juncture, when China is competing to dominate cutting-edge technology and control critical industries.    The TSMC facility in Arizona will increase U.S. economic independence,” Pompeo said on Friday.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

5/15/2020 Taiwan rejects China’s main condition for WHO participation
Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung holds a news conference about Taiwan's efforts to get
into the World Health Organization in Taipei, Taiwan, May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s health minister rejected on Friday China’s main condition for the island to be able to take part in the World Health Organization (WHO) – that it accepts it is part of China – ahead of a key meeting of the body during a pandemic.
    Non-WHO member Taiwan has lobbied to take part as an observer in next week’s World Heath Assembly (WHA), drawing strong objections from Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces.
    Taiwan says the coronavirus pandemic has made it more urgent than ever that it be allowed proper access to the WHO.
    China says Taiwan can only participate under the “one China” principle, in which it accepts it is a part of China.
    China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party refused to do this, and so the political foundation for Taiwan’s WHO participation had “ceased to exist.”
    Speaking at a news conference in Taipei to press home Taiwan’s desire to take part, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said there was no way Taiwan would do this.
    “I have no way to accept something which does not exist,” Chen said, adding that Taiwan would not give up efforts to attend the health assembly, even though it has not received an invitation.
    The issue has taken on broader diplomatic significance thanks to the strong support from the United States and Japan in particular for Taiwan to attend the WHA, to China’s anger.
    China says it has the right to represent Taiwan on the international stage.    Taiwan says that only its democratically elected government can speak for the island’s 23 million people.
    “We can represent our own people,” Taiwan Deputy Foreign Minister Kelly Hsieh told the same news conference in Taipei.    “We hope the WHO can set aside political considerations, and be neutral and professional.”
    Taiwan attended the WHA as an observer from 2009-2016 when Taipei-Beijing relations were warmer.
    But China blocked further participation after the election of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who China views as a separatist, an accusation she rejects.
    The WHO says it has no mandate to invite Taiwan to the WHA and that only member states can decide.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/15/2020 Awkward greetings and long queues as Hong Kong’s financiers return to work by Sumeet Chatterjee and Scott Murdoch
FILE PHOTO: People wear protective face masks as they take their lunch breaks at the financial Central district,
following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, in Hong Kong, China March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – The greetings are awkward and the skyscraper lifts half-empty. But Hong Kong’s cafes are filling and taxis are harder to find as the first wave of financial professionals return to their offices after an easing of coronavirus lockdown rules.
    The re-emergence of facemask-wearing bankers, investors, lawyers and their clients in Central, Hong Kong’s main business district, is being closely watched by other major financial centres looking forward to resuming business.
    Few, however, have described it as anything like a return to a pre-virus normal.
    “Everything takes time these days, and there are queues everywhere,” said Alex, a bank worker lining up for the lifts in the 88-storey IFC 2 tower, which houses UBS, Nomura, BNP Paribas and others.
    “Everyone is very cautious … you literally have to think before you do anything – literally anything – even doing a high-five with a buddy.”
    Greetings have proved a particular minefield as face-to-face meetings resume.
    Handshakes are sometimes offered, producing awkwardness over whether to accept, while others report an uptick in “namaste greetings,” with palms pressed together, or the Chinese-style fist pressed in a palm.    Foot and elbow bumps are also popular.
    Face masks are de rigeur on the streets – and increasingly uncomfortable in Hong Kong’s sweltering summer weather – and several bankers report their use inside offices, even though not all firms demand it.
    “It’s not the nicest thing in the world but you get used to it,” said one banker at a European institution.    “Also you aren’t being particularly respectful if you are not wearing one.”
    Banks including Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are now allowing meetings of up to eight people, although all meetings at Bank of America remain virtual, sources said.    Citigroup allows meetings of up to 10 people if they can’t be avoided.
    Morgan Stanley has changed the algorithms for its dedicated lifts in the 108-storey ICC tower – also home to Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank – to allow a maximum of eight people, while Citigroup is installing plastic partitions in higher-density areas like trading floors.
    Office staffing levels at the banks vary from around 50% to just 15%.
    Private bankers have noticed a pick-up in meeting requests – particularly among their older clients.
    “The family offices are fine because they would have proper set up… but some of the high net worth individuals who are older may not be that tech-savvy,” said Anthony Chan, chief Asia investment strategist at Union Bancaire Privée.
    Many bankers are still leery of face time, however. One senior dealmaker at another institution says while some of his team attend a regular Monday meeting together, he dials in from his office in the same building.
DRESSED-DOWN EFFICIENCY
    With the bulk of interaction still being online, dress codes have become markedly more casual.    Few expect that to change soon, with travel banned and external meetings so limited.
    Several banks have said “smart casual” will suffice for office goers and some staff think a more relaxed dressing style could become permanent.    The dealmaker not attending his team meeting in person said his tailor told him some bankers were asking for casual shirts and jackets, not suits.
    Mahendra Kumar, Asia Pacific head of financing for financial sponsors at Deutsche Bank, has swapped his suits for business causal and stubble for now.
    “I’m not going to the tailor ordering a few suits at once like I usually do every January.    He is not going to be my friend anymore.”
    However, Kumar sees private equity activity picking up later in the year, which would mean a return to his monthly China trip and in-person client meetings.
    The chances, and merits, of a return to regular travel are hotly debated.    Before the crisis, about a third of investment bankers in Hong Kong could expect to be travelling at any one time.
    “One thing has been shown during the coronavirus shutdown was that so much more can be achieved using technology,” said one chino-wearing capital markets lawyer.
    Previously, travelling to Beijing from Hong Kong for one meeting could take up two days of your time, he said.
INFECTION CAUTION
    Hong Kong this week broke a 23-day run of zero local infections with a family cluster of three positive tests, but some government officials say they do not currently plan to tighten restrictions.
    Bars in the city re-opened last Friday, observing a 1.5 metre gap between tables, while restaurants and cafes can now seat groups up to eight at similarly distanced tables, leading to long queues at popular banker hangouts.
    One group of bankers this week gave up on a team coffee and returned to their office after waiting for a table.
    “Even going out for coffee with colleagues has become such a big pain now,” said one of the group.    “It’s refreshing to come back to the office, but with so many restrictions, I now wouldn’t mind working from home once in a while.”
(Reporting by Scott Murdoch, Sumeet Chatterjee, Kane Wu, Noah Sin and Alun John; Writing by Jennifer Hughes; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/15/2020 Taiwan rejects China’s main condition for WHO participation by OAN Newsroom
In this photo taken Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, supporters of the Nationalist or KMT party cheer with the Taiwanese flag.
About two-thirds of Taiwanese don’t identify as Chinese, according to a survey released Tuesday,
highlighting the challenge China faces to bringing the self-governing island under its control. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
    Tensions between Taiwan and China are heightening as Taiwan lobbies for a spot in the World Health Assembly.    On Friday, Taiwan’s health minister rejected China’s main condition to allow the island to take part in the World Health Organization.
    China said it will only grant participation if Taiwan agrees to what’s dubbed the One-China policy and accept it’s part of their country.    The objection comes as Beijing considers the island to be one of its provinces.
    Taiwan argues the coronavirus pandemic is one of the more urgent reasons it should be allowed “proper access” to the World Health Organization.
    “It is the right of Taiwan to participate in the World Health Organization.    We can represent our own people.    We have said this many time.    Our democratically elected government alone, including the public health system headed up by our professionals from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, can take care of our 23 million citizens and contribute to organizations like the World Health Organization.” — Kelly Hsieh, Deputy Foreign Minister – Taiwan
    Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said it’s not mandatory to invite Taiwan, adding that only member states can decide.

5/15/2020 Special Report: Caught in Trump-China feud, WHO leader under siege by Kate Kelland and and Stephanie Nebehay
FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news conference
on the situation of the coronavirus at the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
    (Reuters) – When the head of the World Health Organization returned from a whirlwind trip to Beijing in late January, he wanted to praise China’s leadership publicly for its initial response to the new coronavirus.    Several advisers suggested he tone the message down, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
    After meetings with President Xi Jinping and Chinese ministers, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was impressed by their knowledge of the new flu-like virus and their efforts to contain the disease, which by then had killed scores in China and started to spread to other countries.
    The advisers encouraged Tedros to use less effusive language out of concern about how he would be perceived externally, the person familiar with the discussions said, but the director general was adamant, in part because he wanted to ensure China’s cooperation in fighting the outbreak.
    “We knew how it was going to look, and he can sometimes be a bit naive about that,” the person said.    “But he’s also stubborn.”
    The WHO chief’s subsequent lavish public praise of China’s leadership for its efforts to combat the disease came even as evidence mounted that Chinese officials had silenced whistleblowers and suppressed information about the outbreak.    His remarks prompted criticism from some member states for being over the top. U.S. President Donald Trump has led the charge, accusing the WHO of being “China-centric” and suspending American funding of the health agency.
    The internal debate over the WHO’s messaging around China provides a window into the challenges facing the 72-year-old United Nations organization and its leader as they engage in battles on two key fronts: managing a deadly pandemic and coping with hostility from the United States, its largest donor.
    Interviews with WHO insiders and diplomats reveal that the U.S. offensive has shaken Tedros at an already difficult time for the agency as it seeks to coordinate a global response to the pandemic.    COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has killed more than 300,000 people and continues to spread.    The virus is thought to have emerged in a market in Wuhan, China, that sells live animals.
    Tedros is “obviously frustrated” by Trump’s move and feels the WHO is being used as a “political football,” the person familiar with the discussions said.
    “We’re in the middle of the fight of our lives – all of us around the world,” said Michael Ryan, the agency’s top emergencies expert, about the challenges facing the WHO.    In an interview with Reuters, Ryan said the WHO is focused on helping health systems to cope, developing vaccines and drugs, and getting economies back on track.
    “That’s a big enough task to worry about for any organization,” said Ryan.    “I’ve got to now deal with the potential that we’ll have a significant disruption in funding in front-line essential health services in many fragile countries in the coming months.”
    “It’s bending the system,” added Ryan, an Irish doctor and epidemiologist, “but it’s not breaking it.”
    The WHO said Tedros was not available for an interview. He has strongly rejected criticism that he was too quick to praise Beijing, saying China’s drastic measures slowed the virus’ spread and allowed other countries to prepare their testing kits, emergency wards and health systems.    He has also said he hoped the Trump administration would reconsider its freeze, but that his main focus is on tackling the pandemic and saving lives.
    Tedros knew there was a risk of upsetting China’s political rivals with his visit and his public show of support, according to the person familiar with the discussions — an account backed by a WHO official. But the agency chief saw a greater risk – in global health terms – of losing Beijing’s cooperation as the new coronavirus spread beyond its borders, the two sources said.
    “That’s the calculation you make,” said the person familiar with the discussions.
    During the two-day Beijing visit, Tedros secured agreement from China’s leadership to allow WHO experts and a team of international scientists to travel to China to investigate the origins of the outbreak and find out more about the virus and the disease it was causing.    That delegation included two Americans.
    Ryan, who accompanied the WHO chief on the trip, said he and Tedros both thought it was important to support China once they became aware of its containment plans and found them solid.    The WHO’s aim was to ensure the response was implemented “as aggressively, as fast and as successfully as possible.”    He added: “You want to ensure that that commitment to doing that is absolute and you want to ensure that you keep the lines of communication open if there are problems with that implementation.”
    The WHO, in a follow-up statement, said it expressed appreciation to China “because they cooperated on issues we had sought support on,” including isolating the virus and sharing its genetic sequence, which enabled other countries to develop tests.    At a meeting of the WHO’s executive board in early February, the agency said, “most countries overwhelmingly praised China for its response to this unprecedented outbreak.”
    The Trump administration, which has come under fire at home for its own handling of the outbreak, isn’t easing off its recent attacks on the WHO and China.
    A senior U.S. administration official told Reuters the WHO “repeatedly failed to acknowledge the growing threat of COVID-19 and China’s role in the spread of the virus.”    Noting that the United States has been a larger contributor to the WHO than China, the official said the WHO’s actions were “dangerous and irresponsible” and had contributed to the public health crisis “rather than aggressively addressing it.”
    The U.S. official alleged that “poor coordination, lack of transparency, and dysfunctional leadership have plagued its response” to the threat of COVID-19, among other health crises.    “It’s time for the United States to stop giving millions of dollars to an organization that does more to impede global health than to advance it.”
    China – whose combined contributions to the WHO’s current two-year budget were due to be about a third of what the United States was expected to pay – has stood by the WHO chief.
    “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, WHO, under the leadership of director general Tedros, has been actively fulfilling its responsibilities and upholding an objective, scientific and impartial position,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement to Reuters.    “We pay tribute to the professionalism and spirit of the WHO and will continue to firmly support the WHO’s central role in global cooperation against the pandemic.”
    China also rejected American criticism of its response to COVID-19.    Beijing has been “open, transparent and responsible” in sharing information about the virus, the foreign ministry said.    It added Beijing had maintained close communication and cooperation with the WHO, and it “appreciates” the positive comments the agency has made about China’s response to the outbreak.
    China’s State Council, or cabinet, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“GRINDING OF TEETH”
    The WHO has come under fire before.    Its 2009 declaration of the H1N1 flu outbreak as a pandemic later drew criticism from some governments that it triggered countries to take expensive measures against a disease that ultimately turned out to be milder than originally thought.    The agency and its then-director general Margaret Chan also faced sharp criticism for not reacting fast enough to the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa that began in December 2013.
    Chan has defended her decision to declare the H1N1 flu outbreak a pandemic but admitted that the WHO was “overwhelmed” by the Ebola outbreak, which she has said “shook this organization to its core.”
    As COVID-19 has spread, 55-year-old Tedros has become the public face of the global fight against it, holding near-daily news conferences, calling heads of state when the virus reaches their doorstep to offer support, and tweeting frequently to his 1.1 million followers. He teamed up with pop music superstar Lady Gaga to organize a benefit concert for health workers that was broadcast online last month.
    The son of a soldier, Tedros was born in Asmara, which became the capital of Eritrea after independence from Ethiopia in 1991. Tedros lost his younger brother to a childhood disease that the WHO said was suspected to be measles.    A microbiologist by training, Tedros served as Ethiopia’s minister of health and then foreign minister.
    In 2017, Tedros became the first African to lead the WHO, winning the top job despite potentially damaging questions surfacing late in the race about whether he had any role in restricting human rights or covering up cholera outbreaks in Ethiopia.    He denied the accusations, as did Ethiopia.
    As head of the global health agency, which has offices in 150 countries and 7,000 staff, he has drawn praise from world health experts and senior colleagues for implementing fundamental changes at the WHO, including re-establishing the emergency-response department that Ryan now heads.
    When a disease breaks out, Tedros is often quick to visit the epicenter in person.    He made at least 10 trips to the Democratic Republic of Congo during a nearly two-year Ebola epidemic that erupted in August 2018.    That outbreak had been close to being halted before resurging last month.
    A Western diplomat recalled having witnessed Tedros cry after a Cameroonian doctor working for the WHO was shot dead at an Ebola hospital in Congo in April 2019.    “I’ve seen that passionate style. He takes things personally,” the diplomat said.
    China informed the WHO on Dec. 31, 2019, of a concerning cluster of pneumonia cases.    On Jan. 14, the WHO said in a tweet that preliminary investigations by Chinese authorities had found “no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission.”    That statement would later be cited by Trump as a sign the agency wasn’t being skeptical enough toward China.    The same day, a WHO expert said it was possible there was limited transmission occurring.    On Jan. 22, a WHO mission to China said there was evidence of human-to-human transmission in Wuhan but more investigation was needed to understand the full extent.
    In late January, Tedros and three colleagues flew to Beijing.    “I think we got the official invitation at 7:30 in the morning and we were on the airplane at 8:00 p.m.,” said Ryan.
    During the Jan. 28 meeting with China’s president, the WHO chief discussed the sharing of data and biological material, among other collaboration.    Tedros tweeted a photo of himself and Xi shaking hands, saying they’d had “frank talks” and that Xi had “taken charge of a monumental national response.”
    At a press conference the following day in Geneva, Tedros praised Xi’s leadership, saying he was “very encouraged and impressed by the president’s detailed knowledge of the outbreak.”    The WHO chief added that China was “completely committed to transparency, both internally and externally.”
    By contrast, during the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, in 2003, the WHO chief at the time, Gro Harlem Brundtland, was openly critical of China when it was slow to report and share information about the emerging epidemic.
    “Tedros has a different approach” than Brundtland, another WHO official said.    “It took a lot of phone calls and patience.”
    Brundtland, in a written response to Reuters, said she spoke out publicly because China hadn’t provided access to the WHO.    “This time was different,” she said, without elaborating.
    Publicly criticizing governments can make them reluctant to share information about disease outbreaks or otherwise cooperate, WHO veterans say.    Michel Yao, head of emergency operations for WHO’s Africa region, said he had seen some nations shut down access to the WHO when they felt under pressure.    This happened on several occasions when the WHO announced cholera outbreaks in Africa, Yao told Reuters, without naming the countries.    “You lose access to data, and you lose access to capacity to at least assess the risk of the particular disease.”
    But Tedros’ warm words for Beijing grated on some.    “When he refers to China with praise, there is always a grinding of teeth,” one European envoy who attends Tedros’ weekly briefings for diplomats of member states told Reuters.
DEATH THREATS
    The World Health Organization has limited leverage over member states.    It has no legal right to enter countries without their permission, nor does it have any power of enforcement.    So, the main tools at Tedros’ disposal are politicking and cajoling its 194 member states into abiding by the International Health Regulations framework they agreed to in 2005.
    Tedros has praised a number of governments battling the new coronavirus, including Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan.    On March 30, he publicly complimented Trump’s daughter and presidential adviser, Ivanka Trump, for an article she wrote about the U.S emergency relief bill, tweeting, “very good piece.”
    Among WHO insiders, the perception in March was that relations with the United States were “good,” said the first WHO official.    Ryan said in the interview that communications between the WHO and Washington in early 2020 were part of the “normal bump and grind of multilateral organizations.”    He added: “I certainly for my part did not perceive that there was a major, major issue brewing.”
    During a March 23 call, Tedros and Trump had a “good and cordial” discussion regarding the COVID-19 response and “nothing was raised on the funding issue,” the WHO said in its statement.
    Trump initially voiced repeated praise of China and its president for their response to the crisis.    By mid-March, he was ramping up his criticism of Beijing’s handling of the virus, saying Beijing should have acted faster to warn the world.    His own administration’s response to the pandemic was coming under wide criticism at the time, including its troubled effort to roll out tests for the disease.    Trump, who staunchly defends his performance, faces a re-election campaign as the coronavirus has claimed tens of thousands of American lives and ravaged the U.S. economy.
    At the same time, the United States and other countries had been pressing WHO’s leadership for several months to make stronger statements about the need for transparency and the timely sharing of accurate information by member states, “and those concerns were not acted upon by the WHO,” a Western diplomatic source said.
    Andrew Bremberg, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva and a former White House official, had met regularly with Tedros to discuss the WHO’s response and voice concerns, two European envoys said.
    The WHO, in its statement, said Tedros asks all countries to share information under the international regulations that member states have agreed to.
    On April 7, Trump threatened to withhold WHO funding, criticizing the agency for being too close to China and too slow to alert the world to the epidemic, an accusation the agency strongly rejects.    The threat had teeth, as Washington is the WHO’s largest funder.    For the current two-year period, ending in December 2021, it was due to contribute $553 million in combined membership fees and voluntary contributions, or 9% of the agency’s approved budget of $5.8 billion, according to the WHO.    That’s nearly three times China’s $187.5 million share, WHO figures show.
    Tedros appeared rattled the following day during a regular news conference, at one point disclosing he had been the target of “racist” comments and even death threats, and gave long, impassioned responses to questions from reporters.
    In a 12-minute reply to a question about Trump’s criticisms of the WHO and his funding-cut threat, Tedros called for unity, adding, “we will have many body bags in front of us if we don’t behave.”    In response to accusations that the WHO was too close to China, he replied, “we’re close to every nation.”
    The WHO, in its statement, said Tedros was calm and measured during the news conference and that he said the U.S. decision was regrettable.    During his three years in office, Trump has criticized other multinational organizations and withdrawn funding from other U.N. agencies.
    Trump announced the funding freeze a week later. Countries typically contribute to the WHO through membership dues and voluntary contributions.    A second senior U.S. administration official said Washington already has paid almost half of the $122 million of the membership dues it owed for 2020.    The official added that Trump’s freeze means Washington will likely redirect the remaining $65 million in dues payments and more than $300 million in planned giving to other international organizations.
    Two Western diplomats said the U.S. funding suspension is more harmful politically to the WHO than to the agency’s current programmes, which are funded for now.    But they also voiced concern that the freeze could have long-term impact, especially on central programmes such as those targeting polio, AIDS and immunization that are supported by Washington’s contributions.
    “It has been a big blow to WHO and to Tedros,” said the second WHO official.
    Tedros, asked about relations with the United States, told reporters on May 1: “We are actually in constant contact and we work together.”    A WHO spokeswoman said dialogue and technical collaboration continue between the agency and Washington.    The U.S. mission to the U.N. in Geneva declined comment.
“SHOT IN THE ARM”
    Trump isn’t the only one prodding the WHO. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for an independent review of the outbreak and the WHO’s response.    The European Union has proposed a resolution calling for a timely evaluation of the pandemic response, including by the WHO, an idea that’s due to be considered at the WHO’s annual assembly of ministers next week.
    The WHO said Tedros has promised to conduct a post-pandemic review of the agency’s performance, including by the WHO’s independent oversight body, which is standard practice after a health crisis.
    But so far, most major donors have closed ranks around the WHO.    France, Germany and Britain have voiced support for the agency, saying now is the time to focus on fighting the outbreak rather than apportion blame.    A German government official described the U.S. approach of focusing on past events rather than joining the fight against the outbreak as “absurd.”    French President Emmanuel Macron is supportive of the WHO because he believes it is essential to an effective response to the crisis, one of his advisers said.
    China’s foreign ministry, in its statement, said that Beijing is supportive of the WHO director general setting up a review committee to evaluate the global response to COVID-19 “at an appropriate time after the pandemic is over.”    It added it objects to the eagerness of some countries to start reviewing the WHO and trace the origins of the virus, which it said were attempts to “politicize the epidemic” and interfere with the WHO’s work.
    WHO insiders saw a victory of sorts in a webcast launch of an agency initiative on April 24 that turned into a public show of support for the organization and its leader.    During the event, which was on the topic of accelerating the development of tests, drugs and vaccines against COVID-19, world leaders appearing via video link offered thanks and praise to Tedros and the WHO.
    France’s president, addressing Tedros as “my friend,” urged major countries to come together to support the initiative, including China and the United States.    “The fight against COVID-19 is a common human good and there should be no division in order to win this battle,” said Macron.
    “It felt like a shot in the arm,” the second WHO official said.    “It felt like there are people out there who are battling with us.”
(Reporting by Kate Kelland in London and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva ; Additional reporting by the Beijing Newsroom, Steve Holland in Washington, D.C., Dawit Endeshaw and Giulia Paravicini in Addis Ababa, Katharine Houreld in Nairobi, Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Michel Rose in Paris and Kirsty Needham and Colin Packham in Sydney.; Editing by Cassell Bryan-Low)

5/15/2020 Brutal Afghan attacks highlight limitations of U.S.-Taliban deal by Jonathan Landay, Idrees Ali and Arshad Mohammed
FILE PHOTO: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the leader of the Taliban delegation, and Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. envoy
for peace in Afghanistan, shake hands after signing an agreement at a ceremony between members
of Afghanistan's Taliban and the U.S. in Doha, Qatar February 29, 2020. REUTERS/Ibraheem al Omari/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two brutal attacks this week laid bare major weaknesses of the U.S.-Taliban troop withdrawal pact: nothing in it obliges the Taliban to prevent such massacres and the Afghan government’s ability to thwart them will only wane as U.S. troops pull out.
    The pact is ultimately supposed to promote peace between the Afghan government and the Taliban, which denied carrying out a Kabul attack in which three gunmen disguised as police killed 24 people, including two babies, at a Kabul maternity ward https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attacks-hospital-insight/maternity-ward-massacre-shakes-afghanistan-and-its-peace-process-idUSKBN22P2F5 and a suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan that killed 32.
    The key provisions of the Feb. 29 agreement – to which the Afghan government was not a party – involved a U.S. commitment to reduce its military footprint in Afghanistan to 8,600 by mid-July and, conditions permitting, to zero by May 2021.
    In return, the Taliban promised, among other things, not to allow “its members, other individuals or groups, including al Qaeda, to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.”
    Technically, Afghanistan is not formally an ally of the United States because they do not have a mutual defense treaty.    And the agreement says nothing about attacks on Afghan civilians such as the two that occurred on Tuesday.
    “There’s nothing in our peace agreement with the Taliban that would preclude them from killing Afghans,” Democratic U.S. Representative Tom Malinowski, a former top State Department official for human rights, told Reuters.
    “And of course the moment we’re out, there’s no practical deterrence either,” he added.
    U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, architect of the deal https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-peaceplan/attacks-deal-trumps-long-shot-afghan-peace-push-a-fresh-blow-idUSKBN22P3BH advocated by Republican President Donald Trump, acknowledged it did not bar attacks on Afghans and said it would be best if both sides began talks and efforts to combat such attacks while U.S. forces are still there.
    “The agreement does not specifically (call) for them not to attack Afghan forces,” Khalilzad told reporters on Friday.    However, he said the Taliban committed to reducing violence and that a ceasefire would be among the first topics in intra-Afghan negotiations.
    “We are saying that they are violating the spirit, if not the letter,” he said.
‘FULL OF HOLES’
    The Taliban has been careful not to attack U.S. and coalition forces, but have mounted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, a sharp increase in violence https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-afghanistan-taliba/taliban-step-up-attacks-on-afghan-forces-since-signing-u-s-deal-data-idUSKBN22D5S7, in the first 45 days after signing the agreement, according to data reviewed by Reuters.
    More than 500 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in the first quarter of 2020 as violence raged even after the pact was struck, according to the United Nations.
    A Western diplomat based in Kabul suggested the Taliban got the better of the United States in their deal.
    “The agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban is full of holes, while it clearly lays down the U.S./NATO withdrawal plan, it expects very little from the Taliban side,” the diplomat said.    “It’s a nebulous deal where one side makes its intentions clear but the other side makes no serious commitment.”
    The United States on Thursday blamed an Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-attacks-usa/u-s-says-islamic-state-conducted-attack-on-kabul-hospital-idUSW1N2BU02R militant group – not the Taliban – for the gruesome hospital attack in Kabul and it renewed calls for Afghans to embrace a troubled peace push with the Taliban.
    Afghan officials, however, rejected this assessment and blamed the Taliban.    They also suggested that the Taliban, which earned U.S. enmity for harboring al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, provides an environment that enables such groups.
    The three main impediments to the start of intra-Afghan negotiations – which were to begin on March 10 – have been the rise in violence, the pace of prisoner releases and the failure of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his main rival, former chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, to resolve a power struggle.
    Further undercutting the prospects for talks, the Kabul government said it had decided to resume offensive operations against the Taliban following Tuesday’s attacks.
    Khalilzad said he had heard positive reports about the formation of an inclusive Afghan government and he urged the government and the Taliban to begin talks.
    “There are forces such as the ISIS that doesn’t see peace in Afghanistan in its interest and are trying to increase violence to undermine the prospects for peace,” he told reporters.    “We are urging both sides not to fall into that trap but indeed to cooperate against terrorists including ISIS."
    “We want this to happen as soon as possible when now, we’re still there in a significant way,” he added.
(Reporting By Jonathan Landay, Idrees Ali and Arshad Mohammed; Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Abdul Qadir Sediqi in Kabul and by Rupam Jain in Mumbai; Writing by Arshad Mohammed and Idrees Ali; Editing by Mary Milliken and Grant McCool)

5/16/2020 India’s coronavirus infections surpass China, but contagion slowing by Sanjeev Miglani
FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective gear sprays disinfectant on a bus before passengers board, after the
state government resumed public bus service on limited routes after nearly seven-week lockdown to slow the spreading
of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kolkata, India, May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s total novel corornavirus cases rose to 85,940 on Saturday, taking it past China, where the pandemic originated last year, though a strict lockdown enforced since late March has reduced the rate of contagion.
    State leaders, businesses and working class Indians have called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reopen the battered economy, but the government is expected to extend the lockdown, which would otherwise expire on Sunday, though with fewer restrictions.
    So far the death rate in India appears far better, according to health ministry data, with 2,752 fatalities reported, compared with China’s 4,600.    The toll in the United States, United Kingdom and Italy is much higher.
    Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was also encouraged by the slowing rate of infection, as it now takes 11 days for the number of cases to double, whereas before the lockdown cases were doubling every 3 1/2 days.
    “Clearly the situation has improved due to lockdown.    We have utilised this period of lockdown to accelerate public health measures such as case detection, contact tracing, isolation and management of cases,” Vardhan said.
    Indian officials say the low death rate could be because a majority of people infected with the virus were either asymtomatic or had mild symptoms and that the vast shutdown imposed early on had helped avoid a major catastrophe.
    A third of the infections are from the western state of Maharashtra, with Mumbai the worst hit, followed by Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Delhi.
    These are also the most important economic centres of the country, complicating the government’s task as it tries to re-open without triggering a big spurt in infections.
    “India is still in the growth phase, since total cases are still rising. Active cases are growing at 3.8% (daily) – and this needs to fall to 0% and decline subsequently for the country to recover overall,” Shamika Ravi, a Brookings expert and former member of the Indian Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, said.
    One area of concern has been India’s low testing in relation to its large population, public health officials say.    The country has ramped up testing since the beginning of April to 100,000 this week, but with 1.3 billion people on a per capita basis it is trailing far behind other major countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy.
(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani, editing by Alasdair Pal & Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/16/2020 China reports eight new COVID-19 cases, up from four a day earlier
FILE PHOTO: Residents wearing face masks line up for nucleic acid testings at a residential compound in Wuhan, the
Chinese city hit hardest by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Hubei province, China May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Mainland China reported eight new confirmed COVID-19 cases for May 15, up from four the previous day, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement on Saturday.     Six of the eight confirmed cases are so-called imported infections, while two are locally transmitted in northeastern Jilin Province.
    The number of new asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus rose to 13 from 11, the NHC said.
    The number of confirmed cases in the mainland stands at 82,941 and the death toll at 4,633.
(Reporting by Pei Li)

5/16/2020 As Australia slowly relaxes lockdown, Victoria battles COVID-19 clusters by Lidia Kelly
FILE PHOTO: Medical personnel administer tests for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) amidst the easing of restrictions
at the Bondi Beach drive-through testing centre in Sydney, Australia, May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
    MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Struggling to curb the spread of the coronavirus while the rest of Australia has begun relaxing a two-month lockdown, Victoria state on Saturday reported 11 new cases, including some linked to known clusters at a meat factory and a McDonald’s restaurant.
    The nationwide tally of new cases had still to be compiled for Saturday, but on Friday the southeastern state had accounted for 20 of the 31 new cases reported across the country.
    New South Wales, the most populous state, has been hardest hit by COVID-19, but new cases there have subsided, with just three reported on Saturday.
    For the first weekend since mid-March, restaurants, cafes and bars were re-opening in most parts of Australia, including New South Wales, but Victoria retained most of its lockdown measures.
    The northeast state of Queensland, where just one case was reported on Saturday, also eased its restrictions over the weekend, allowing restaurants, cafes and beauty salons to reopen, and groups of 10 people to meet for recreational purposes in parks, at playgrounds or for barbecues.
    Australia has recorded just over 7,000 COVID-19 cases, including 98 deaths, significantly below levels reported in North America and Europe, but health officials continued to urge vigilance and encouraged people to stay home.
    Victoria state health minister, Jenny Mikakos, said that it was “inevitable” that there will be more coronavirus outbreaks.
    “It’s important that everyone understands this pandemic is not over,” Mikakos said during a televised briefing.    “It is important people take every possible precaution.”
    Two of Victoria’s new cases were connected to a cluster at a meat factory, where 98 people have been infected so far.    Another new case was linked to a McDonald’s restaurant in Melbourne, bringing the total number of cases in that cluster to 11.
    Earlier this week, Australia reported record high job losses as a result of the lockdown and Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned that worse was still to come.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/16/2020 Thailand reports no new coronavirus cases, no additional deaths
FILE PHOTO: People queue up to have their temperature taken before entering the Ratchada Railway Night Market,
which is reopening amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, after the Thai government
eased isolation measures, in Bangkok, Thailand, May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Saturday reported no new coronavirus cases or deaths as the country begins to reopen businesses and ease restrictions.
    “Today there are two zeros … thank you all Thais who have given their cooperation,” a spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, said.
    This is the second day since March 9 that the country has reported no new daily cases.
    Thailand on Sunday will allow malls and department stores to re-open.    It will also shorten a nighttime curfew by one hour, to 2300 to 0400, from 2200 to 0400.
    Thailand has reported a total of 3,025 cases of the coronavirus and 56 fatalities.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Sam Holmes)

5/16/2020 Vehicles, not marches, to mark Iran’s annual anti-Israel rally: president
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the
United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid//File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Rallies next week in Tehran to mark the annual Quds Day against Israel will involve Iranians driving in vehicles not marching through the streets, to avoid spreading the coronavirus, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on state television on Saturday.
    The elite Revolutionary Guards would be in charge of organising the rallies, Rouhani said, adding that those joining in could still chant slogans from their vehicles and wave flags.
    Rallies to mark Quds Day, which uses the Arabic name for Jerusalem, are held in towns and cities across the country and aim to show of support for the Palestinians.    Typically those marching chant “Death to Israel” and burn the Israeli flag.
    Rouhani said Quds Day, held each year on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which falls on May 22, would go ahead as normal in 218 other towns and cities, where the coronavirus outbreak has been less severe than the capital.
    “The coronavirus danger is still there, but our situation is better than before,” he said.    “We have crossed the main peak.”
    As of Saturday, Iran’s death toll from the pandemic stood at 6,937 with 118,392 diagnosed cases, the health ministry said.
    The ministry spokesman said the death toll in the past 24 hours was 35, the lowest in the past 70 days, while the number of new cases was 1,757.
    Shia Muslim shrines dotted around the country are due to reopen for six hours a day after Ramadan, which is based on the lunar calendar and is expected to end around May 24 this year.
    Shrines would open for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, Rouhani said, although he said some areas of the shrines, such as narrow corridors, would stay shut.
    The president said restaurants would also reopen after Ramadan and sports activities would resume without spectators.    Universities, but not medical schools, would reopen on June 6, Rouhani added.
(Editing by Edmund Blair)

5/16/2020 Singapore reports 465 new coronavirus cases, reports one additional death
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective face masks crosses a street, amid the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Singapore registered 465 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Saturday, taking the city-state’s total to 27,356 cases.
    The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the health ministry said in a statement. Four are permanent residents.
    Singapore also reported one more death, bringing the virus-related death toll in the island nation to 22.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sam Holmes and Alexandra Hudson)

5/16/2020 Pakistan resumes domestic flights, insists on masks and empty seats by Syed Raza Hassan
Fishermen are silhouetted as they clean fishing nets along the deserted Clifton beach, as public places remain closed,
after Sindh provincial government imposed complete lockdown for three days and ordered people to stay home, despite
Pakistan started to ease the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown, Karachi, Pakistan May 16, 2020. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
    KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan resumed domestic flights between major cities for the first time in nearly two months on Saturday with the requirement that face masks be worn and vacant seats left between passengers, officials said. International flights will remain suspended till May 31.
    The first Pakistan International Airline (PIA) flight carrying 84 passengers departed from Karachi for Lahore at 1300 local time (0800 GMT), along with flights for Lahore and Islamabad operated by a private airline, local media reported.
    “In view of the difficulties faced by passengers in traveling between major cities, the Federal Government has allowed limited domestic flight operations from five major airports, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta with effect from May 16,” said a statement issued by the Aviation Division.
    Domestic and chartered flight operations will require disinfection of the aircraft prior to boarding, at least one vacant seat between the passengers and compulsory wearing of masks and use of hand sanitizers.    No food and beverages will be allowed during domestic flights, the statement added.
    On Saturday, the Aviation ministry released pictures of passengers seated with a gap of a seat in the flights.
    Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that the country could not afford an indefinite lockdown and the nation would have to learn to live with the pandemic.
    At a press briefing along with some cabinet members, Khan said he wanted to tell the country’s medical community that lifting the lockdown was imperative to provide jobs to 25 million informal laborers and workers.
    Pakistan has reported over 38,000 cases of infection from the new coronavirus, and 834 deaths.
(Reporting by Syed Raza Hassan; Editing by Christina Fincher)

5/16/2020 Crowds at Wuhan clinics fear coronavirus testing could rekindle disease by Brenda Goh
A woman wearing a face mask looks on in front of others standing in a queue for nucleic acid testings in Wuhan, the Chinese
city hit hardest by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Hubei province, China May 16, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    WUHAN, China (Reuters) – As Wuhan, the Chinese city where the COVID-19 pandemic began, revs up a massive testing campaign, some residents crowding the test centres expressed concern on Saturday that the very act of getting tested could expose them to the coronavirus.
    Safety has become a hot topic on social media groups among the 11 million residents of Wuhan, people told Reuters as they converged on open-air test sites at clinics and other facilities. Many said, though, that they support the voluntary campaign.
    Wuhan health authorities sprang back into action after confirming last weekend the central Chinese city’s first cluster of new infections since it was released from virtual lockdown on April 8.
    The new cases – all of them people who had previously shown no symptoms of the disease – spurred Wuhan authorities to launch a citywide search for asymptomatic carriers of the virus, aiming to gauge the level of COVID-19 risk.
    Although Wuhan’s cinemas and banquet halls remain shut to curb large gatherings, the testing requires people to wait in long, sometimes messy, queues.
    “Some people have expressed worry in the (social media) groups about the tests, which require people to cluster, and whether there’s any infection risk,” said one Wuhan resident who asked not to be named.
    “But others rebutted those worries, saying such comments are not supportive of the government.”
    The unprecedented scale of testing indicates the official level of concern, some experts say.    Others say it is an extremely costly exercise and question its effectiveness.
    At a testing kiosk set up at the side of a busy road in Jianghan district in central Wuhan, a volunteer was patrolling and spraying disinfectant at a long line of people.
    Many people observed social distancing, such as queuing 1 metre apart, and there were signs to remind them.    But just as many did not.    In some cases, volunteer workers were not insisting that they comply.
    At another open-air testing kiosk, where throat swabs were taken, yellow and black stickers on the ground kept people from converging. But at the back of the long queue, about 40 people gathered with no guidance from officials or volunteers.
    At a third site, a woman who had just reached the front of the queue quizzed medical workers on whether they had changed their gloves between each test.    When they said they disinfected their gloves but did not switch them, she said she no longer wanted to take the test.
    Residents said the authorities have not told them when they would get the results of their tests.
    To cope with the surge in work, more Wuhan hospitals have been asked to set up testing points, and other institutions have been roped in to help process tests, said a doctor involved in the exercise who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.     “We are now working 24 hours a day,” he said.    “There is a lot of pressure.”
    China has confirmed 82,941 cases of COVID-19 as of Friday and 4,633 deaths.    The government does not include people found to be asymptomatic carriers of the virus in its tally and does not publish a cumulative number of asymptomatic cases.
    National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng told reporters 194 asymptomatic carriers were confirmed in the first half of May, down 62% from the second half of April.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by William Mallard)

5/16/2020 Indonesia reports 529 new coronavirus cases, 13 new deaths
FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective face masks stand in line to get free food, amid the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported 529 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, taking the total number of cases to 17,025.
    Indonesia also reported 13 new deaths, taking the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 1,089, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto told an online news conference.
    The Southeast Asian country has tested 135,726 people, Yurianto said.
    Yurianto said 35,069 patients with suspected acute respiratory illnesses were being treated across the country.
(This story has been officially corrected to change the number of people tested to 135,726 from 135,725)
(Reporting by Tabita Diela; Writing by Fathin Ungku. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

5/16/2020 Malaysia reports 17 new coronavirus cases with one new death
FILE PHOTO: Medical workers wearing protective suits pass by barbed wire at the red zone under enhanced lockdown,
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian reported 17 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the cumulative total to 6,872     Health authorities there reported one new death, with total fatalities at 113.
(Reporting by Liz Lee. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

5/17/2020 Afghan president, rival close in on power-sharing deal: sources by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Hamid Shalizi
FILE PHOTO: Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani (L) and Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah (R)
participate in a family photo at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland July 8, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
    KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, his rival in a disputed presidential election, are close to completing a power-sharing deal to end a political stalemate that has hampered progress towards peace, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
    The draft agreement envisages Abdullah leading the peace process with the insurgent Taliban while Ghani leads the country as president, senior sources within both camps said.
    Discussions over some key posts were still underway but if an agreement was struck, the deal could be signed as early as Sunday afternoon, the sources said.
    “Overall both teams have reached an agreement based on which they will have 50% share in the government.    The thing that is still under debate right now is about which ministry should go to whom,” said one of the sources.
    Abdullah wants to control a major portfolio such as finance or foreign affairs and while Ghani has not agreed to this, he could offer control of the interior ministry, sources said.
    Abdullah had disputed the results of the September election and announced the formation of a parallel government earlier this year, undermining Ghani’s administration at a time when the United States was trying to advance a peace process with the Taliban to end the 19-year Afghan war.
    Washington, frustrated by the growing impasse between the two men, even after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to Kabul to mediate, threatened a $1 billion aid cut if the men could not agree.
    It was not immediately clear whether the agreement, if reached, would result in aid being reinstated, but it comes as Afghanistan faces growing fiscal pressures, with tax revenues falling and foreign aid pledges due this year expected to shrink.
    Officials say that a deal between the Ghani and Abdullah is crucial to launching peace talks, as Abdullah’s camp represents much of the country’s north-west.
    But the talks face a number of stark challenges, as violence in the country increases and a harrowing attack on a Kabul maternity ward this week prompted Ghani to switch the military to an “offensive” stance against insurgent groups.
    The Taliban deny involvement in the attack, but the government has remained sceptical and angry at ongoing Taliban attacks against the Afghan military, fraying the momentum for peace talks, which were due to start in March.
    U.S. Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said on Friday that a new date for intra-Afghan peace talks was under discussion and he would soon travel to the region and try to encourage a reduction in violence.
(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Abdul Qadir Sediqi; additional reporting by Orooj Hakimi; Writing by Euan Rocha and Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and William Mallard)

5/17/2020 South Korea reports single digit domestic coronavirus cases; plans to reopen schools by Sangmi Cha
FILE PHOTO: Quarantine workers spray disinfectants at night spots of Itaewon neighborhood, following the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Seoul, South Korea, May 11, 2020. Yonhap/via REUTERS
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea on Sunday reported five new domestic cases of coronavirus, all linked to a cluster of cases centred around bars and nightclubs in the capital which has raised fears in the country of a fresh wave of contagion.
    After weeks of nearly no new domestic coronavirus cases, South Korea relaxed its lockdown on May 6, but a subsequent spike in infections linked to Seoul’s Itaewon nightlife neighbourhood forced a rapid re-think.
    The government has stood by its decision to ease broader restrictions by reopening offices, public facilities and sports centres, but some nightclubs and bars in the capital were ordered to close again, and authorities have also delayed the planned reopening of schools by a week.
    South Korea reported 13 new cases as of midnight Saturday, bringing the country’s total to 11,050 with 263 deaths.
    Of those new cases, five were linked to the outbreak from the night spots in Seoul, and seven were people with the infection entering South Korea from abroad.
    It was the second consecutive day in single figures for new domestic cases since the latest scare erupted, but so far there have been 168 cases linked to the Itaewon cluster, including clubgoers as well as secondary infections in family members, coworkers, and students.
    Director Jeong Eun-kyeong of Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) warned the clubgoers to stay in isolation as their incubation period hasn’t passed yet.
    “Even if you have been tested negative, there still is a risk of infection during the incubation period.    Please do get tested again if you have any symptoms,” said Jeong.
    South Korean authorities confirmed that 6,800 out of about 9,000 bars and nightclubs nationwide were shut down on Saturday and 61,000 tests have been carried out linked to the Itaewon outbreak, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo told a briefing.
    Park said schools will reopen in phases as planned, starting with high school seniors on Wednesday.
    The education ministry will keep track of whether teachers or students have a fever using an online self-diagnostic system and anyone with a temperature over 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 degrees Fahrenheit) would be kept from attending school.
    The ministry will partner with the National Fire Agency to transfer any students who develop symptoms at schools to local health clinics to get tested, Vice Minister of Education Park Baeg-beom told a briefing.
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Christian Schmollinger)

5/17/2020 China reports five new coronavirus cases, adviser says risk of second wave remains
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a face mask looks on in front of others standing in a queue for nucleic acid testings in Wuhan, the Chinese
city hit hardest by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Hubei province, China May 16, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – Mainland China reported five new confirmed COVID-19 cases for May 16, down from eight the previous day, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement on Sunday.
    Two of the five confirmed cases were so-called imported infections, while three were locally transmitted in northeastern Chinese city of Jilin.
    The number of confirmed cases in the mainland now stands at 82,947 and the death toll at 4,634.
    The three domestically-transmitted cases are related to a district in Jilin city called Fengman, which has been classified by Chinese officials as a high-risk area for COVID-19.
    Heightened disease control measures in the district include only allowing only one person from a family to go out and purchase daily necessities each day, according to the district’s official post on WeChat.
    Residents were advised not to leave the city and any who do need to leave must provide a negative test result taken within the previous 48 hours.
    Jilin is the second largest city of Jilin province, which borders North Korea and Russia.    It temporarily suspended passenger train services last Wednesday.
    The number of China’s new asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus fell to 12 from 13, the NHC said.
    Zhong Nanshan, the Chinese government’s senior medical adviser told CNN on Saturday that the danger of a second wave of infections is looming large.
    “The majority of… Chinese at the moment are still susceptible to COVID-19 infection because (of) a lack of immunity,” Zhong said as quoted in the CNN report.    “We are facing (a) big challenge, it’s not better than the foreign countries I think at the moment.”
    Zhong acknowledged that the number of infections were initially under reported in Wuhan but said the government has learned lessons from the SARS epidemic 17 years ago and he thinks all the data will be correct since Jan. 23.
(Reporting by Yilei Sun, Yingzhi Yang and Ryan Woo; editing by Richard Pullin & Simon Cameron-Morre)

5/17/2020 Japan COVID-19 doctors lack fresh masks, hazard pay: union survey
FILE PHOTO: A doctor wearing an N95 mask prepares a simulation for drive-through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests
for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Edogawa ward in Tokyo, Japan April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese hospital doctors on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic face tough working conditions, with many reusing masks and few getting hazard pay, a survey by a labour union showed.
    The survey of about 170 doctors, conducted online from late April through May 6, found three-quarters said they were ordered to work on the coronavirus front line, while four-fifths said they receive no hazard allowance for the work.
    In the global scramble for protective gear and medical equipment, some Japanese doctors and other experts say there has been a failure by the national and some local governments to provide adequate financial assistance and protective gear to hospitals and medical staff.
    The survey by the Zenkoku Ishi Union, posted on its website on Friday, found nearly 70% of doctors saying the government is failing to handle the situation properly.
    An official at Japan’s health ministry said no one was available on Sunday to comment on the survey’s findings.
    The survey found 31% of doctors reusing N95 respirator masks, which are essential for protecting healthcare workers from contagion and meant to be discarded immediately, with some using the masks indefinitely.
    One doctor reported using “the same mask until the ear bands break.”
    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted his state of emergency for 39 of Japan’s 47 prefectures on Thursday, easing curbs on 54% of the population.    The greater Tokyo area, accounting for one-third of the nation’s economy, and other major cities remain under restrictions.
    Japan has reported some 16,300 cases of the coronavirus, not counting infections on a cruise ship that was quarantined in Yokohama port early this year, and 748 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to public broadcaster NHK.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by William Mallard)

5/17/2020 Indonesia reports 489 new coronavirus cases, 59 new deaths
FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers take a swab sample from a vendor at a traditional market amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
outbreak, in Depok, near Jakarta, Indonesia May 16, 2020, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Asprilla Dwi Adha via REUTERS
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported 489 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the total to 17,514.
    Indonesia also reported 59 deaths from the COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, bringing the toll to 1,148, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto told an online news conference.
    The Southeast Asian country has tested around 140,473 people, Yurianto said.
(Reporting by Tabita Diela; Writing by Fathin Ungku; Editing by William Mallard)

5/17/2020 Malaysia reports 22 new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: Medical workers wearing protective suits pass by barbed wire at the red zone under enhanced lockdown,
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s health ministry reported 22 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the cumulative total to 6,894.
    The country reported no new deaths, with total fatalities remaining at 113.
(Reporting by Liz Lee; editing by Richard Pullin)

5/17/2020 Philippines records 208 new coronavirus cases, seven more deaths
FILE PHOTO: A soldier wearing a face mask holds on his weapon as he guards an empty street following the lockdown imposed
to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Manila, Philippines, April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ Department of Health on Sunday reported 208 new cases of coronavirus infections and seven more fatalities.
    The Southeast Asian country’s total confirmed cases have risen to 12,513, most of which are in the capital Manila, while its death toll has climbed to 824.    The number of recoveries has reached 2,635, the health department said in a bulletin. (Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

5/17/2020 Singapore reports 682 more coronavirus cases, taking total to 28,038
FILE PHOTO: Medical workers prepare to perform a nose swab on a migrant worker at a dormitory, amid
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Singapore registered 682 more infections of the new coronavirus, its health ministry said on Sunday, taking the city-state’s total to 28,038 cases.
    The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the ministry said in a statement.    Four are permanent residents.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)

5/17/2020 Thailand reports three new coronavirus cases, no additional deaths
FILE PHOTO: People queue up to have their temperature taken before entering the Ratchada Railway
Night Market, which is reopening amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, after the Thai government
eased isolation measures, in Bangkok, Thailand, May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand reported three additional cases of the new coronavirus, bringing its total cases to 3,028 as the country relaxes local restrictions and re-opens malls and department stores.
    The three new cases, detected in state quarantine, were students returning from overseas, one from Pakistan and two from Egypt, a spokesman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, said on Sunday.
    Thailand has reported a total of 56 deaths and 116 patients were still being treated.
    2,856 patients have recovered.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/17/2020 China urges food companies to boost supplies on fears of further COVID-19 disruption by Naveen Thukral and Hallie Gu
FILE PHOTO: A worker inspects soybeans during the soy harvest near the town of Campos Lindos, Brazil
February 18, 2018. Picture taken February 18, 2018. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo
    SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) – China has asked trading firms and food processors to boost inventories of grains and oilseeds as a possible second wave of coronavirus cases and worsening infection rates elsewhere raise concerns about global supply lines.
    Both state-run and private grain traders as well as food producers were urged to procure higher volumes of soybeans, soyoil and corn during calls with China’s Ministry of Commerce in recent days, three trade sources told Reuters.
    “There is a possibility of a breakdown in supply pipelines due to the coronavirus infections.    For example, a port of origin or destination might shut down,” said a senior trader at one of China’s leading food processors, which was on a call last week with authorities to discuss purchases.
    “They have advised us to increase stocks, keep supplies higher than we usually have.    Things are not looking good in Brazil,” he added, referring to China’s main supplier of soybeans and a key meat exporter where the number of coronavirus cases has surpassed those in Spain and Italy.
    A second source in China who was briefed by a person who attended one of the meetings said China’s Ministry of Commerce met with some state companies on Tuesday to discuss how to guarantee supplies during the pandemic.
    “One of the main concerns is how the epidemic in South America might impact supplies (of beans) to China,” the source said.
    China’s Ministry of Commerce did not respond to a fax seeking comments on plans to increase food stocks.
SOY SHOCK
    Brazilian shipments of soybeans were delayed in March and April due to a combination of heavy rains and reduced manpower as coronavirus containment measures took effect, leading to a plunge in Chinese soy inventories to record lows.
    Arrivals from Brazil have since rebounded, but authorities remain wary of fresh disruptions.
    China’s state-owned agriculture conglomerate COFCO and grain stockpiler Sinograin have been stepping up purchases of U.S. soybeans and corn in recent weeks.
    Chinese importers bought at least four cargoes, or about 240,000 tonnes, of U.S. soybeans on Monday for shipment beginning in July, two traders familiar with the deals said.
    Beijing has also increased its allocations of crop import quotas to major grain buyers, paving the way for further potential purchases.
    China is under pressure to buy more U.S. farm products under a trade deal signed between Washington and Beijing in January, and trade sources expect more of China’s crops to come from the United States once the South American export season ends and the North American harvests approach in the autumn.
    “The effort is to build supplies, not just from Brazil, but from all over,” said the senior trader at the food processing company.    “U.S. beans are looking attractive from September onwards,” he added.
    U.S. crop export sales data show that Chinese buyers have accelerated soybean purchases of the upcoming crop, with new crop bookings of 374,000 tonnes already registered, compared with an average of 60,000 tonnes for this period since 2016.
    China is also a top meat importer and is facing a large domestic supply shortfall following an outbreak of African swine fever which has decimated its pig herd, the world’s largest.
    Imports from the United States – the top global pork exporter – had been expected to surge as a result, but widespread COVID-19 outbreaks at U.S. slaughterhouses and processing plants have cut national meat output.
    China has booked a record volume of U.S. pork shipments already this year, raising concerns about fresh tensions between the countries if U.S. meat production problems curb domestic supplies at a time when shipments to China remain strong.
(Reporting by Naveen Thukral in SINGAPORE and Hallie Gu in BEIJING. Editing by Gavin Maguire and Richard Pullin)

5/17/2020 Afghan president and rival strike power-sharing deal after months of feuding by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Hamid Shalizi
Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah sign a political agreement during
a ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan May 17, 2020. Afghan Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS
    KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal to end a months-long political stalemate, Ghani’s spokesman said on Sunday, a step that could smooth efforts to end the country’s long-running war.
    Abdullah had disputed the results of an election in September and announced the formation of a parallel government earlier this year, undermining Ghani’s administration at a time when the United States was trying to advance a peace process with the Taliban to end the 19-year Afghan war.
    “Today is a historic day for our dear Afghanistan.    Afghans have proven that they are committed to their national interests with common thinking,” Ghani said during the signing ceremony.
    “In the coming days, we hope that with unity and cooperation, we will be able to provide the ground for a ceasefire and lasting peace,” he added.
    Discussions over the final sticking points including the allocation of some key posts had been underway throughout the day, three sources said.
    Abdullah had wanted to control a major portfolio such as finance or foreign affairs, and while Ghani has not agreed to this, he could offer control of the interior ministry, sources said shortly before the deal was signed.
    It was not immediately clear which ministries each camp controlled after the agreement was struck.
    Washington has been frustrated by the growing impasse between the two men, even after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to Kabul in March to mediate.    It had announced a plan to cut $1 billion in aid because the men could not agree.
    Pompeo welcomed the agreement but chided Ghani and Abdullah for taking so long.    He said the United States looked forward to prompt intra-Afghan talks and a political settlement.
    “Secretary Pompeo noted that he regretted the time lost during the political impasse,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
    It was not clear whether Sunday’s agreement would result in the aid commitment being reinstated.    Afghanistan is facing growing fiscal pressures, with tax revenues falling and foreign aid pledges due this year expected to shrink.
    “Please reconsider your potential $1 billion aid cut. In fact, since we have the COVID-19 pandemic, add more to it. Thank you,” Shamroz Khan Masjidi, a spokesman for the ministry of finance said on Twitter, tagging the Secretary of State.
    The State Department did not immediately comment on the aid cut.
    NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also welcomed the deal and called on the Taliban to reduce violence and for all sides to work towards peace.
    Officials say a deal between Ghani and Abdullah is crucial to launching peace talks, as Abdullah’s camp represents much of the country’s north-west.
    But the talks face a number of stark challenges, as violence in the country increases.    An attack on a Kabul maternity ward this week prompted Ghani to switch the military to an “offensive” stance against insurgent groups.
    The Taliban has denied involvement in the attack, but the government has remained sceptical and angry at ongoing Taliban attacks against the Afghan military, fraying the momentum for peace talks, which were due to start in March.
    U.S. Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said on Friday that a new date for intra-Afghan peace talks was under discussion, and that he would soon travel to the region and try to encourage a reduction in violence.
(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Additional reporting by Orooj Hakimi and Hameed Farzad, Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Euan Rocha and Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Frances Kerry, Jan Harvey and Lisa Shumaker)

5/17/2020 Iran Supreme Leader says Americans will be expelled from Iraq and Syria
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a televised speech on the occasion of the
Iranian New Year Nowruz, in Tehran, Iran March 20, 2020. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
    (Reuters) – Americans will be expelled from Iraq and Syria, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday, renewing Iran’s demand for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from the Middle East.
    Iran almost got into a full-blown conflict with the United States when a U.S. drone strike killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 3, prompting Tehran to retaliate with a missile barrage against a U.S. base in Iraq days later.
    Khamenei said Americans’ actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria had led to them being hated, according to a transcript of a speech to students published on his website.
    “The Americans won’t stay in Iraq and Syria and will be expelled,” Khamenei said.
    Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had instructed the U.S. Navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass it at sea, but said later he was not changing the military’s rules of engagement.
    After Trump’s statement, the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, said that the Islamic Republic would destroy U.S. warships if its security is threatened in the Gulf.
(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens)
[Its not American's its your policies and obviously your beliefs and hatred of America because we have stopped you from doing your corrupt policies on the rest of the world and what you are doing to the Iranian people also who if they could would overthrow you.    And your own actions have been backfiring on you instead of who you tried to do it to, which should have sunk in but we do not expect you to learn anything new.].

5/17/2020 India extends lockdown to May 31, to relax rules in some areas by Nigam Prusty and Sumit Khanna
Migrant workers and their families wait for transport to reach to a railway station to board a train to their home state
of northern Uttar Pradesh, after a limited reopening of India's giant rail network following a nearly seven-week lockdown
to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ahmedabad, India, May 17, 2020. REUTERS/Amit Dave
    NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD (Reuters) – India on Sunday extended a nationwide lockdown to May 31, as cases exceeded 90,000 and further clashes erupted between police and stranded migrants.
    Schools, malls and other public places will remain mostly closed, though rules will be relaxed in areas with low numbers of cases, according to an order from the interior ministry.
    “New guidelines have permitted considerable relaxations in lockdown restrictions,” the ministry said in a tweet accompanying the order.
    Large gatherings are still prohibited, but outside of containment zones with high numbers of active cases “all other activities will be permitted,” it said, potentially allowing commerce and industry to reopen across much of the country.
    Decisions on where to set containment zones would be decided by district authorities, the order said.
    Several Indian states, some of which had lobbied the federal government for a relaxation in the lockdown, immediately said they would allow many businesses to restart.
    Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said all industries and offices would be allowed to operate, barring those in containment zones.
    India also softened its stance on a contact tracing app, which it previously said was mandatory for all public and private sector employees returning to work.
    While it once said that heads of companies and organizations needed “to ensure 100% coveragebest effort basis.”
    India has now reported more cases than China, where the virus first emerged late last year, although deaths, at 2,872, remain much lower than China’s 4,600.    The death toll in the United States and some European countries is much higher.
    India’s lockdown, introduced on March 25 and extended several times, had been due to expire at midnight on Sunday.
    The curbs have sparked a crisis for the hundreds of millions of Indians who rely on daily wages to survive.
    With no work – and little public transport – many urban migrants attempting to return to their home villages have set out on gruelling journeys on foot or hitched rides in the back of trucks.
    In Rajkot in the western state of Gujarat, more than 1,500 migrant workers blocked roads, damaged more than a dozen vehicles and threw stones at police on Sunday, after two special trains that were supposed to take them home were cancelled.
    A police official in Shapar told Reuters police baton-charged the migrants to disperse them, with several officers injured in the process.
    “The workers had not gathered with the intention of violence. Two or three trains were rescheduled, but the workers misunderstood that the trains had been cancelled, and resorted to violence,” Balram Meena, Rajkot’s superintendent of police, told local media.
    “We are identifying the people who were involved in the violence,” Meena added.
    At least 23 migrants were killed trying to reach their homes on Saturday when a truck crashed in northern India. [L4N2CY02D]
    Sixteen migrant workers died on May 8 after being struck by a train.    They had fallen asleep on the tracks while walking back to their village after losing their jobs in the coronavirus lockdown, police said.
(Reporting by Nigam Prusty in New Delhi and Sumit Khanna in Ahmedabad; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Gareth Jones, Jason Neely and Jan Harvey)

5/18/2020 Hong Kong legislature to push ahead with China anthem bill after chaotic scuffles by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret
Pan-democratic legislators Chan Chi-chuen and Chu Hoi-dick scuffle with security during
Legislative Council’s House Committee meeting, in Hong Kong, China May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s legislature plunged into chaotic scuffles for a second time this month, as pro-Beijing lawmakers on Monday took control of a key committee, paving the way for a debate on a bill that would criminalise abuse of China’s national anthem.
    Pro-democracy legislators charged at security guards surrounding pro-establishment lawmaker Chan Kin-Por, who had taken the chairman’s seat in the meeting against procedural objections by the opposition.
    Guards hauled several legislators out of the chamber, some kicking and shouting. Some tried leaping over the guards from benchtops to take back the chairman’s seat only to be forced back.    The Democrats chanted “foul play” and held a placard reading “CCP (China Communist Party) tramples HK legislature.”
    Opposition lawmaker Ted Hui shouted at Chan that the meeting was “illegal.”    Even as the protests continued, Chan called a vote for a chairperson of the committee that was won by pro-Beijing lawmaker Starry Lee.
    Lee’s camp condemned the violence and pledged to push ahead with the anthem bill.
    “It’s painful to watch and it’s saddening to see a legislative assembly degenerate into this level of behaviour,” pro-Beijing lawmaker Martin Liao said.
    Beijing has accused the former British colony’s pro-democracy lawmakers of “malicious” filibustering to prevent some proposed bills from going to a final vote, effectively paralysing the legislature.
    It was the second time in 10 days that have legislators pushed and shoved each other over the procedures of electing a chairperson.
    Last May, scuffles broke out in the legislature over a proposed extradition bill that if passed could have seen people stand trial in courts in mainland China.    The bill sparked often-violent protests in the Hong Kong and was later scrapped.
    “They can take away the rules of procedures today but I am sure the Hong Kong people won’t forget today,” said Democratic lawmaker Dennis Kwok.
ONLINE CALLS FOR PROTESTS
    The house committee’s role is to scrutinise bills before a second reading in the legislative council and has built up a backlog after failing to elect a chairperson since late last year.    The backlog includes the China national anthem bill, which is expected to be given a second reading on May 27 despite the procedural chaos.
    Protesters have been calling on social media for city-wide demonstrations on that day.
    Liao acknowledged the bill could spark social unrest.
    “We cannot shun our legislative duty because we think there’s a risk,” he said.
    Social distancing amid the pandemic has largely put a brake on protests since January, but demonstrations are expected to resume later this year with the outbreak coming under control.
    The arrest of 15 activists in April, including veteran politicians, a publishing tycoon and senior barristers, thrust the protest movement back into the spotlight and drew condemnation from Washington and international rights groups.
    China’s Hong Kong affairs office warned this month that the city would never be calm unless “black-clad violent protesters” were all removed, describing them as a “political virus” that seeks independence from Beijing.
    Beijing blames foreign forces for fomenting unrest and says protesters are undermining the rule of law in Hong Kong.
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday he believed China had threatened to interfere with the work of U.S. journalists in Hong Kong, and warned Beijing that any decision impinging on Hong Kong’s autonomy could affect the U.S. assessment of Hong Kong’s status.
    Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, and the territory was promised a “high degree of autonomy” for 50 years.
    The “one country, two systems” deal formed the basis of the territory’s special status under U.S. law, which has helped it thrive as a world financial centre.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Michael Perry)

5/18/2020 China’s defence budget likely to grow despite economic cost of coronavirus by Yew Lun Tian
FILE PHOTO: Military delegates leave the Great Hall of the People after a meeting ahead of National People's
Congress (NPC), China's annual session of parliament, in Beijing, China March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
    BEIJING(Reuters) – China, facing what it sees as increasing military pressure from the United States, is likely to shrug off the pall hanging over its economy from the novel coronavirus and increase its defence budget again this year.
    China’s military spending, due to be announced at the opening of the annual meeting of parliament on Friday, is closely watched as a barometer of how aggressively it will beef up its military capabilities.
    China set a 7.5% rise for the defence budget in 2019, outpacing what ended up as full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.1% in the world’s second-largest economy.
    Its economy shrank 6.8% in the first quarter of 2020 from a year earlier, as the novel coronavirus spread from the central city of Wuhan where it emerged late last year, and the government has said economic conditions remain challenging.
    Despite the coronavirus outbreak, the armed forces of China and the United States have remained active in both the disputed South China Sea and around Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
    Xie Yue, a professor of political science at Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University and a security expert, said that while it is hard to predict if the defence budget would grow at a higher or lower rate than last year, it would definitely rise.
    “From the national security point of view, China needs to appear strong to the West, especially the United States, which has been putting more pressure on China on all fronts, including militarily,” he said.
    The coronavirus has worsened already poor ties between Beijing and Washington, with accusations from the Trump administration of a Chinese cover-up and delayed release of information about the outbreak.
    The Ministry of State Security warned in a recent internal report that China faced a rising wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into armed confrontation.
    “Even if the government cuts everything else, it won’t cut defence,” said Tang Renwu, dean of Beijing Normal University’s school of public administration.
    The Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. China routinely says spending is for defensive purposes only, is a comparatively low percentage of its GDP, and that critics just want to keep the country down.
‘UNBEARABLE COSTS’
    China reports only a raw figure for military expenditure, with no breakdown. It is widely believed by diplomats and foreign experts to under-report the real number.
    Taking the reported figure at face value, China’s defence budget in 2019 – 1.19 trillion yuan ($167.52 billion) – is about a quarter of the U.S. defence budget last year, which stood at $686 billion.
    China has long argued that it needs much more investment to close the gap with the United States.    China, for example, has only two aircraft carriers, compared with 12 for the United States.
    Hu Xijin, editor of the ruling Communist Party-backed Global Times newspaper, wrote in a WeChat post on Monday that he anticipated the defence budget would rise.
    “China needs more military power as a deterrent, to ensure the U.S. will not act on its impulses because of unbearable costs,” Hu said.
    Hu had previously argued that China should expand its stock of nuclear warheads to 1,000, including “at least 100 DF-41 strategic missiles,” an intercontinental missile capable of striking the continental United States.
    Experts point out that the benefit of increasing defence spending when the economy is weak is that it can give the economy a much-needed shot in the arm, with manufacturing struggling and domestic consumption slack over worries about job security.
    China’s 2019 defence spending represented slightly over 5% of total government expenditure and about 1.2% of GDP for the year.
    Xie said investing in home-grown military technology research and development would be money well-spent, as tightening sanctions meant it was increasingly hard for China to buy technology on the global market.
    “With nationalist sentiment running high, not only will the increase in military expenditure not be criticised too much, it may even lead to citizens feeling more pride in the country,” he said.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Robert Birsel)

5/18/2020 Exclusive: Huge fentanyl haul seized in Asia’s biggest-ever drugs bust by Tom Allard
Weapons, ammunition, alongside bags of crystal methamphetamine and meth-laced yaba pills seized by Myanmar police and
military are seen in this undated photo near Loikan village in Shan State, between February and April 2020 in what the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime described as Asia's biggest-ever drug bust. Myanmar Police/UNODC/Handout via REUTERS
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Myanmar police say they have seized a huge haul of liquid fentanyl, the first time one of the dangerous synthetic opioids that have ravaged North America has been found in Asia’s Golden Triangle drug-producing region.
    In a signal that Asia’s drug syndicates have moved into the lucrative opioid market, Reuters can reveal more than 3,700 litres of methylfentanyl was discovered by anti-narcotics police near Loikan village in Shan State in northeast Myanmar.
    The seizure of the fentanyl derivative was part of Asia’s biggest-ever interception of illicit drugs, precursors and drug-making equipment, including 193 million methamphetamine tablets known as yaba.    At 17.5 tonnes, the yaba almost equalled the amount seized in the previous two years in Myanmar.
    The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said the scale of the bust was unprecedented and Myanmar’s anti-drug authorities had “dismantled a significant network” during a two-month operation involving police and military.    Also seized were almost 163,000 litres and 35.5 tonnes of drug precursors, as well as weapons.    There were more than 130 arrests.
    Even so, the methylfentanyl discovery was an ominous indicator for the region’s illicit drug market, the U.N. agency and a Western official based in Myanmar told Reuters.
    “It could be a game-changer because fentanyl is so potent that its widespread use would cause a major health concern for Myanmar and the region,” said the Western official, who declined to be identified.
    In an interview with Reuters, the head of law enforcement for Myanmar’s counter-narcotics agency, Colonel Zaw Lin, said the methylfentanyl had been verified using state-of-the-art equipment.
    The seizure showed the methods of the drug syndicates were changing, he said.
    Fentanyl and its derivatives have caused more than 130,000 overdose deaths in the United States and Canada in the past five years, according to government agencies.    The opioid epidemic has not swept Asia, Europe or Australasia but there have been signs it is an emerging threat.
    “We have repeatedly warned the region fentanyl could become a problem but this is off the charts,” said the UNODC’s Southeast Asia and the Pacific representative Jeremy Douglas.
    “It is the shift in the market we have been anticipating, and fearing.”
DEADLY MIX
    While Myanmar police did not disclose the purity and exact make-up of the methylfentanyl found, it comes in two main variants, both more potent than fentanyl, according to the European Union’s drug monitoring agency.
    Fentanyl itself is 25 to 50 times stronger than heroin.
    Increasingly, drug traffickers have been mixing fentanyl and its derivatives with heroin, meth and cocaine, adding to their potency and lethality.
    Half of all heroin and cocaine overdoses in the United States included substances with traces of synthetic opioids in 2017, a Rand Corporation analysis found.
    A Canadian survey found 73% of those who tested positive for fentanyl did not know they had consumed it.
    Zaw Lin said the methylfentanyl and other drugs and precursors were found in clearings near Loikan village where several drug factories were located but had been abandoned when the raids took place.
    “Upon interrogation, the offenders revealed most of the drugs would be distributed inside Myanmar and distributed around neighbouring countries,” he said.
    “But we are still conducting interrogations.    We haven’t totally got the final destinations yet.”
    Liquid fentanyl is usually converted into powder before being sold, often in tablet form, two analysts, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
CHEAP TO MAKE, EASY TO TRAFFIC
    As well as being easier and cheaper to produce than heroin, strong synthetic opioids like fentanyl can be readily concealed and transported as only small amounts can deliver thousands of doses.
    At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has closed borders and curbed movements in many countries, the UNODC is concerned that fentanyl will still spread around the world.
    For decades, Asian crime syndicates in partnership with ethnic minority militias have used the Golden Triangle – centred on northern Myanmar and including parts of Laos and Thailand – to grow opium and refine heroin.
    More recently, meth production by groups such as the Sam Gor syndicate has exploded in the region, in part due to a crackdown in neighbouring China.
    Zaw Lin said the methylfentanyl had come from a neighbouring country but declined to identify it.    Myanmar police documents reviewed by Reuters said most of the seized drugs, precursors and equipment had come from China.
    China, along with Mexico, has been a major supplier of fentanyl to North America but escalating law enforcement efforts have brought a slump in Chinese exports of the synthetic opioid to the United States, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
    Mexican cartels have picked up the slack but the UNODC said recent difficulties obtaining precursors from China had crimped their fentanyl production.
    Northern Myanmar’s proximity to China makes it an attractive alternative for Asian drug syndicates looking to produce fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, analysts said.
    “The alliances between Myanmar’s ethnic militias and transnational crime groups must be broken or the synthetic drug problem will continue to deteriorate,” said the UNODC’s Douglas.
    Zaw Lin said Myanmar was stepping up efforts to disrupt the syndicates and was increasing cooperation with other nations.
    “Myanmar is carrying out counter-drug operations as one of our top national priorities,” he said.
(Reporting by Tom Allard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

5/18/2020 Thai traffic back to gridlock as coronavirus measures ease by Jiraporn Kuhakan
FILE PHOTO: People walk in front of an Apple store in Icon Siam shopping center as shopping centers reopen nation wide
during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand May 17, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Cars, trucks and motorcycles jostled on Monday in a return of the Thai capital’s familiar gridlock as commuters headed back to work in the second phase of easing coronavirus restrictions to get the economy back on track.
    As snarl-ups grew in Bangkok’s notoriously congested streets, travelers headed to its northern bus terminal to get out to the provinces for the first time since March, most sitting beside empty seats, in line with social distancing rules.
    “I’ve been waiting to go home for many months.    I’m glad to finally be able to do so,” said Ratchari Maneenop, 22, who was heading to her home province of Loei in the northeast.
    Thailand reported three new coronavirus infections on Monday, taking confirmed cases to 3,031 since January, with 56 deaths.
    But restrictions on commerce and transport have battered tourism, household spending and private investment, leaving a dent in Thailand’s economy, which contracted at its sharpest pace in eight years in the first quarter, pushing it into recession sooner than expected.
    Bus driver Boonsong Misa said he was thrilled to be back on the road.
    “I’ve stopped working since March 8, it’s been two months already,” he said at the bus terminal.    “I’m glad that I get to do the job I love again.”
    Queues formed on Sunday at the reopening of Thailand’s malls, where some operators using touch-less elevators and deploying robots to take customers’ temperatures.
    Even though Thailand has been reporting fewer coronavirus cases in recent weeks, the government is keeping closed places that typically attract large groups of people, such cinemas.
    Passenger flights have been halted until the end of June.
    “Do not sit” signs have been posted on many of the seats on Bangkok’s elevated train network to give sufficient gaps between passengers and floor markers are in place to control lines.
    There were similar traffic jams in the Philippines, with trucks and private vehicles pouring into the capital Manila, which started a “modified” lockdown.    Some businesses and offices are allowed to reopen, but public transport remains suspended, leaving many workers in the lurch.
    “I’ve been waiting for over 30 minutes, hoping to get a ride,” said commuter Rolan Obani.
    “My work is very important to me.”
(Reporting by Artorn Pookasook, Prapan Chankaew and Panu Wongcha-um; Additional reporting by Adrian Portugal in Manila; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)

5/18/2020 Indonesia reports 496 new coronavirus infections, 43 deaths
FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers take a swab sample from a vendor at a traditional market amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
outbreak, in Depok, near Jakarta, Indonesia May 16, 2020, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Asprilla Dwi Adha via REUTERS
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported on Monday 496 new coronavirus infections, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 18,010, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
    Yurianto also announced 43 new COVID-19 related deaths, taking the total to 1,191, while 4,324 people have recovered.    More than 143,030 people have been tested, he said.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto and Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Editing by Ed Davies)

5/18/2020 Malaysia reports 47 new coronavirus cases with no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: Medical workers wearing protective suits pass by barbed wire at the red zone under enhanced
lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian health authorities on Monday reported 47 new coronavirus cases, bringing the cumulative total to 6,941 cases.
    The health ministry also reported no new deaths, keeping total fatalities at 113.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Catherine Evans)

5/18/2020 China says premature to immediately begin a COVID-19 investigation
FILE PHOTO: People wearing face masks are seen at Wuhan Railway Station, in Wuhan, the Chinese city hit the hardest
by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in the Hubei province, China, May 17, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Monday it was premature to immediately launch an investigation into the origins and spread of the coronavirus that has killed more than 300,000 people globally.
    Spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that the vast majority of countries in the world believe the pandemic is not yet over.
    The ministry said in a separate statement that President Xi Jinping will give a video speech for the opening ceremony of the World Health Assembly later on Monday.
(Reporting by Cate Cadell; writing by Se Young Lee, Editing by Catherine Evans)
['CHINA CONTINUES COVID-19 COVER UP' SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE HEADLINES ABOVE.].

5/18/2020 Taiwan says did not receive WHO meeting invite, issue off the table for now
FILE PHOTO: Taiwan's Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Wu speaks during an interview in Taipei, Taiwan November 6, 2019. REUTERS/Fabian Hamacher
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Despite strong efforts Taiwan did not get invited to this week’s meeting of a key World Health Organization (WHO) body due to Chinese pressure, its foreign minister said on Monday, adding they had agreed to put the issue off until later this year.
    Non-WHO member Taiwan had been lobbying to take part in the WHO’s decision-making body the World Health Assembly, which opens later on Monday, saying that to lock it out was to create a gap in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
    Taiwan has said it wanted to share with the world its successful experience at fighting the coronavirus, having only reported 440 cases and seven deaths thanks to early detection and prevention work.
    But China, which considers democratically-ruled Taiwan its own with no right to attend international bodies as a sovereign state, strongly objected to Taiwan taking part in the assembly unless it accepted it was part of China, something the Taipei government refused to do.
    “Despite all our efforts and an unprecedented level of international support, Taiwan has not received an invitation to take part,” Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told reporters.
    “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses deep regret and strong dissatisfaction that the World Health Organization Secretariat has yielded to pressure from the Chinese government and continues to disregard the right to health of the 23 million people of Taiwan.”
    Both the WHO and China say Taiwan has been provided with the help and information it needs during the pandemic, which Taiwan has strongly disputed.
    The United States has repeatedly clashed with China over its refusal to allow Taiwan full access to the body, helping to further fuel tension between Washington and Beijing.
    Taiwan attended the assembly as an observer from 2009-2016 but China blocked further participation after the election of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who China views as a separatist, an accusation she rejects.
    Wu said that Taiwan had agreed the issue of its participation would be put off until later in the year so the shorted assembly can focus on the coronavirus
    “Understandably, countries want to use the limited time available to concentrate on ways of containing the pandemic,” he said.
    “For this reason, like-minded nations and diplomatic allies have suggested that the proposal be taken up later this year when meetings will be conducted normally, to make sure there will be full and open discussion,” Wu added.
    “After careful deliberation, we have accepted the suggestion from our allies and like-minded nations to wait until the resumed session before further promoting our bid.”
(This story has been refiled to add dropped word in headline)
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)
[Taiwan warned the WHO about the virus in China and ignored them and now they are going to diss them from China pressure.].

5/18/2020 Malaysia’s king upholds PM’s appointment as opposition mounts challenge by Joseph Sipalan
Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah wearing a protective mask leaves after his speech during the welcoming ceremony at
the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia May 18, 2020. Malaysia Information Department/Nazri Rapaai/Handout via REUTERS
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s king on Monday said the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister during turmoil this year was proper and constitutional, days after parliament put off a vote on an opposition challenge to his leadership.
    Muhyiddin’s appointment on March 1, at the end of a week of political wrangling that led to the collapse of the ruling coalition, has been challenged by the opposition who say it was not clear that Muhyiddin had majority support from among the 222 members of parliament’s lower house, the Dewan Rakyat.
    The lower house speaker had initially approved a motion tabled by Muhyiddin’s 94-year-old predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, seeking a vote of no confidence in Muhyiddin, but the vote was postponed indefinitely after the government shortened Monday’s meeting, only allowing time for the royal address.
    “Surely, every contest will have a conclusion.    The country’s political wrangling could not be allowed to fester without any end,” King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said in his address broadcast live on national television.
    “Hence … in line with provisions under the Federal Constitution, I found that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had the majority support of members of the Dewan Rakyat and was qualified to be appointed as the eighth prime minister,” the king said, using Muhyiddin’s honorifics.
    The king’s role is largely ceremonial and it is unlikely his endorsement of Muhyiddin’s appointment would have any sway over a vote in parliament on his leadership.
    Monday’s one-day meeting was the first time parliament convened this year.    Its next session is scheduled for July 13 to Aug. 27.
    In February, the veteran prime minister Mahathir resigned from his second stint in the job when his coalition collapsed.
    Muhyiddin, who had served as home minister under Mahathir, was unexpectedly sworn in on March 1 as the head of a government formed with the support of the old ruling party, that was tainted by corruption accusations and defeated by a multi-ethnic coalition in the last general election in 2018.
    Muhyiddin has focused on managing the health and economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus.
    Malaysia, which imposed curbs on movement and business since mid-March, has reported 6,894 cases of the virus and 113 deaths.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan)

5/18/2020 Taliban claims responsibility for suicide bombing in Afghan city of Ghazni, 7 dead, 40 wounded by OAN Newsroom
Afghan security forces inspect the site of a bomb explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, May 18, 2020. A suicide bomber in
a stolen military Humvee targeted a base in eastern Afghanistan belonging to the country’s intelligence service early on
Monday, killing many members of the force. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
    An apparent suicide bombing recently left several people dead and dozens of others wounded in eastern Afghanistan.
    Government officials confirmed a car bomb was detonated outside a military base in the city of Ghazni on Monday, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 40 others.
    In a statement, the country’s interior ministry said most of the victims have been identified as intelligence personnel.    During the attack, a second group of militants reportedly engaged in a gun fight with security forces outside the facility.
    “At first, we heard gunshots.    The shooting lasted about 10 minutes and then there was a very loud explosion.    My friend and I were resting in this room, and pieces of glass and the door fell on us.” — Mustafa Jan, eyewitness
    Meanwhile, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.    The bombing marks the latest escalation of violence in the region after the Afghan government ordered its military to resume strikes against the militant group.

5/18/2020 U.S. savages WHO as it promises pandemic review, but China pledges $2 billion by Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of World Health Organization (WHO) attends the virtual
73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Geneva, Switzerland,
May 18, 2020. Christopher Black/WHO/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
    GENEVA (Reuters) – The World Health Organization said on Monday an independent review of the global coronavirus response would begin as soon as possible and it received backing and a hefty pledge of funds from China, in the spotlight as the origin of the pandemic.
    But the WHO’s chief critic, the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, decried an “apparent attempt to conceal this outbreak by at least one member state.”
    Trump said later in Washington that the WHO, which he called a “puppet of China,” had “done a very sad job” in its handling of the coronavirus and he would make a decision about U.S. funding to the body soon.
    “The United States pays them $450 million a year; China pays them $38 million a year.    And they’re a puppet of China.    They’re China-centric, to put it nicer, but they’re a puppet of China,” Trump told reporters at a White House event.
    Trump has already suspended U.S. funding for the WHO after accusing it of being too China-centric, and at the same time led international criticism of Beijing’s perceived lack of transparency in the early stages of the crisis.
    Health Secretary Alex Azar did not mention China by name, but made clear Washington considered the WHO jointly responsible.
    “We must be frank about one of the primary reasons this outbreak spun out of control,” he said.    “There was a failure by this organization to obtain the information that the world needed, and that failure cost many lives.”
    Speaking after Azar, Chinese Health Minister Ma Xiaowei said Beijing had been timely and open in announcing the outbreak and sharing the virus’s full gene sequence, and urged countries to “oppose rumours, stigmatisation and discrimination.”
    Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $2 billion over the next two years to help deal with COVID-19, especially in developing countries.
    The amount almost matches the WHO’s entire annual programme budget for last year, and more than compensates for Trump’s freeze of U.S. payments worth about $400 million a year.
    But White House National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot called it “a token to distract from calls from a growing number of nations demanding accountability for the Chinese government’s failure to … warn the world of what was coming.”
‘LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE’
    WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. body had “sounded the alarm early, and we sounded it often.”
    When it declared a global emergency on Jan. 30, there were fewer than 100 cases outside China, and no deaths, he said.     He was addressing a virtual meeting of the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, at which Xi said China had acted with “openness and transparency and responsibility.”
    Tedros, who has always promised a review, told the forum it would come “at the earliest appropriate moment” and make recommendations for the future.    He received robust backing from the WHO’s independent oversight panel.
    “Every country and every organisation must examine its response and learn from its experience,” he said, adding that the review must cover “all actors in good faith.”
    In its first report on the handling of the pandemic, the oversight committee said the WHO had “demonstrated leadership and made important progress in its COVID-19 response.”
    The panel endorsed a review but said conducting it now could hamper the WHO’s response to the pandemic.
    It also said “an imperfect and evolving understanding” was not unusual when a new disease emerged and, in an apparent rejoinder to Trump, said a “rising politicization of pandemic response” was hindering the effort to defeat the virus.
    Azar said the United States supported “an independent review of every aspect of WHO’s response” and that China’s conduct should be “on the table” too.
    A resolution drafted by the European Union calling for an independent evaluation of the WHO’s performance appeared to have won consensus backing among the WHO’s 194 states.    It was expected to be debated and adopted on Tuesday.
    German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the WHO must become “more independent from external interference” and that its role in “leading and coordination” must be strengthened.
‘OPPOSE RUMOURS AND STIGMATISATION’
    China has previously opposed calls for a review of the origin and spread of the coronavirus, but Xi signalled that Beijing would accept an impartial evaluation of the global response, once the pandemic is brought under control.
    “This work needs a scientific and professional attitude, and needs to be led by the WHO,” he told the meeting via video.
    The WHO and most experts say the virus is likely to have emerged in a market selling wildlife in the central city of Wuhan late last year.    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this month there was “significant” evidence that it had come from a laboratory in Wuhan, a charge China rejects.
    Australian health minister Gregory Hunt said the planned review could look at strengthening the WHO’s mandate and powers of inspection, and also how to protect against “the global threat posed by wildlife and wet markets.”
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge; Additional reporting by Cate Cadell, Gabriel Crossley and Se Young Lee in Beijing and Kirsty Needham in Sydney; and by Steve Holland, Jeff Mason, Tim Ahmann, David Brunnstrom and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Timothy Heritage and Kevin Liffey; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Mark Heinrich and Lisa Shumaker)

5/18/2020 U.S. envoy to press Taliban, Afghan officials on peace talks
FILE PHOTO: U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad speaks during a debate at
Tolo TV channel in Kabul, Afghanistan April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A senior U.S. envoy left for Doha and Kabul on Sunday to press Taliban and Afghan government officials to open peace talks that the United States hopes will allow it to withdraw from Afghanistan, the U.S. State Department said.
    The U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, left one day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal that could help lead to peace talks to end the country’s long-running war.
    The three main impediments to the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, which were to begin March 10, have been a rise in violence, the pace of prisoner releases and the failure of Ghani and Abdullah to resolve a power struggle.
    While in Doha, Khalilzad will meet with Taliban officials to discuss carrying out a Feb. 29 U.S.-Taliban agreement that called for prisoner releases by both sides and to “press for steps necessary to commence intra-Afghan negotiations, including a significant reduction of violence,” the State Department said.
    In Kabul, Khalilzad will meet with senior government officials “to explore steps the Afghan government needs to take to make intra-Afghan negotiations begin as soon as possible,” it added.
    The key provisions of the Feb. 29 agreement – to which the Afghan government was not a party – involved a U.S. commitment to reduce its presence in Afghanistan to 8,600 troops by mid-July and, conditions permitting, to zero by May 2021.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and David Brunnstrom; Writing by David Brunnstrom and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler)

5/19/2020 China says U.S. trying to shift blame and smear Beijing over WHO
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a news conference
in Beijing, China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China said the United States was trying to shift the blame for Washington’s own mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, responding to President Donald Trump’s letter threatening to halt funding to the World Health Organization.
    Trump threatened on Monday to reconsider the United States’ membership of the World Health Organization (WHO) if the organisation did not commit to improvements within 30 days, and said the body had shown an “alarming lack of independence” from China.
    Chinese Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters on Tuesday that the United States was trying to smear China and had miscalculated by trying to use China to avoid its own responsibility.
(Reporting by Huizhong Wu; writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
[PROVE IT CHINA SO FAR YOU HAVE COVERED UP EVERYTHING AND YOUR PAST ACTIONS DO NOT SHOW ANYONE THAT YOU CAN BE TRUSTED SO UNTIL YOU LET INVESTIGATORS IN TO CHECK IT OUT YOU ARE THE CULPRIT TO THE DEATHS OF MULTI-MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD AND THE LONGER YOU KEEP COPPING OUT ON IT THE WORSE THE CONDITIONS YOU WILL EXPERIENCE WILL GET WORSE.].

5/19/2020 Japan may free more regions from emergency as new virus cases drop: Asahi by Sakura Murakami
A man wearing a protective mask makes his way under the rain amid the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Tokyo, Japan, May 19, 2020.REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan may lift its state of emergency in more regions this week as new coronavirus infections drop, the Asahi newspaper said on Tuesday, moving to resume sorely needed activity in the world’s third-largest economy, battered by containment measures.
    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe freed 39 of Japan’s 47 prefectures last week from a blanket state of emergency, while urging people to adopt a “new lifestyle” of social distancing and guard against a possible spike.
    This week, the government could drop the western prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo from the list of eight remaining ones, while maintaining curbs on Hokkaido, Tokyo, and those around them, the paper said, citing an anonymous government source.
    Like other world leaders, Abe faces pressure to balance protection of public health with avoiding the collapse of the economy, which is facing its worst postwar slump.
    First-quarter data on Monday showed Japan slipped into recession for the first time in 4-1/2 years, as the virus ravages businesses and consumers.
    With much of Japan now freed from the emergency, coffee chain Starbucks re-opened about 850 stores on Tuesday, including some offering only takeout in the prefectures still under curbs.    Among other businesses, Toho Cinemas said it would reopen 23 more theatres on Friday.
    The Japan Sumo Association is also exploring prospects of resuming a summer tournament in July, it said, after cancelling a tournament originally set to start on Sunday.
    Its decisions would take into account the results of antibody tests begun on Monday for members, including wrestlers and referees, the association added.
    The ancient Japanese sport has been hit especially hard by the virus, with several organisation members testing positive, as well as the death last week of a 28-year-old wrestler.
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-MAP/0100B59S39E/index.html in an external browser.)
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Clarence Fernandez)

5/19/2020 U.N. expresses alarm at violence in Afghanistan as April civilian casualties jump
FILE PHOTO: An Afghan man removes broken glass after a suicide bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan April 29, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    KABUL (Reuters) – The United Nations said Afghan civilian casualties jumped to 380 in April, expressing alarm about a “striking deterioration” in respect for international humanitarian law as the United States withdraws troops and attempts to usher in a peace deal.
    The new figures come after a shocking attack last week on a Kabul maternity hospital that killed 24, including newborn babies.
    Civilian casualties attributed to the Taliban in April rose by a quarter from the same month a year earlier to 208, while casualties attributed to Afghan security forces rose 38% to 172, according to provisional data from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
    “I call for a halt to the fighting and for parties to respect humanitarian law that is there to protect civilians,” said Deborah Lyons, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.
    The United States has sent an envoy to Doha and Kabul to press the Afghan government and the insurgent Taliban to start stalled peace talks, which it hopes will begin in earnest after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal.
    Violence increased even after a Feb. 29 U.S.-Taliban pact on the withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.    The Taliban have rejected repeated calls for a ceasefire by the Afghan government.
    After last Tuesday’s maternity ward attack, which the Taliban denies involvement in, the Afghan government switched its military from a defensive to an offensive stance.
    Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement rejected the UN report, saying it is Kabul government “propaganda.”
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

5/19/2020 China’s delayed parliament to focus on reviving virus-hit economy by Kevin Yao and Yew Lun Tian
A Paramilitary police officers gestures at the photographer while keeping watch at a station of Line 1 of the metro that runs past the
Great Hall of the People, the venue of the upcoming National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China May 19, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
    BEIJING (Reuters) – After a 78-day delay, China’s parliament begins its annual session this week and is expected to unveil stimulus measures to spur an economy battered by the coronavirus as leaders grapple with problems from surging unemployment to worsening U.S. ties.
    The National People’s Congress (NPC) will open on Friday in Beijing’s stately Great Hall of the People in the clearest sign yet that life is returning to normal after the coronavirus.
    But President Xi Jinping faces unprecedented challenges with his long-term economic goals under threat and an urgent need to revive growth and fend off big job losses that could threaten stability.
    All eyes at the opening will be on Premier Li Keqiang’s 2020 work report, when he is expected to offer clues on whether and how Beijing will target growth for the world’s second-largest economy and fiscal stimulus plans.
    China’s economy shrank 6.8% in January-March from a year earlier, the first decline in decades.
    The politburo, a top decision-making body of the ruling Communist Party, has pledged to raise the annual budget deficit ratio, issue more local government special bonds, and what would be the first special treasury bonds since 2007, in order to help spur growth, but few details have been made public.
    Li is expected to announce a growth target substantially lower than the roughly 6% originally set.
    Government think-tanks and advisers have proposed lowering the target to 2-3%, or around 3%, or simply not announcing one due to the global economic gloom.
    “This year’s NPC is quite unusual,” said Zhao Xijun, deputy dean of the School of Finance and Economics at Renmin University.
    “More concerns will be on the anti-virus work and how to revive economic activity, and through what measures.”
SAFETY FIRST
    The largely rubber-stamp parliament is also expected to pass the first civil code, wide-ranging legislation that, among other things, will formalise property and personal rights as part of Xi’s plan to reform the legal system.
    The civil code also sends the message that the Communist Party wants to give more protection to a private sector that has long been vulnerable to bureaucratic and administrative abuses, on top of difficulties over access to markets and bank credit.
    To minimise virus infection risk, the 3,000 delegates from across China are expected to practice social distancing and shun contact with outsiders, according to state media.
    That means attendees who usually gather cheek by jowl in row upon row in the assembly may have to attend some meetings via video link.
    Diplomats hoping to observe sessions must check into a state guesthouse the night before and be tested for the coronavirus,some told Reuters.
    While China remains wary of a second wave of infections, Xi is likely to be lauded for leading the “war against the virus” and achieving “decisive results”, according to language in a summary of last week’s politburo meeting.
    “Leaders and delegates will likely also discuss the next step in epidemic control, how to prevent a second wave, and how to address the problem of Western countries asking for probes and compensation,” said Tang Renwu, dean of Beijing Normal University school of public administration.
    Government economists expect fiscal stimulus measures to be announced amounting to 5 trillion to 6 trillion yuan, or 5%-6% of gross domestic product (GDP), along with more policy easing by the central bank.
    China has already taken a raft of steps, including cuts in interest rates and bank reserve requirements, more fiscal spending, tax breaks and subsidies, but its stimulus has been dwarfed by that of other countries.
    But even with more stimulus, Xi may find it hard to fulfil the party’s long-term goal of doubling GDP and incomes in the decade from to 2020.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao and Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Tony Munroe, Robert Birsel)

5/19/2020 Indonesia reports 486 new coronavirus infections, 30 deaths
People pray between plastic separation curtains to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Semarang,
Central Java Province, Indonesia, May 18, 2020, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Aji Styawan/ via REUTERS
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported on Tuesday 486 new coronavirus infections, taking the total in the Southeast Asian country to 18,496, the country’s COVID-19 task force reported on its official website.
    The task force also recorded 30 more deaths, taking the total to 1,221, while 4,467 people have recovered.
(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Ed Davies)

5/19/2020 Philippines reports 224 new coronavirus infections, cases near 13,000
Shopping mall employees wearing protective equipment against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) clean the handrails of escalators in a shopping mall,
which has reopened after two months as lockdown restrictions ease, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, May 17, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine health ministry on Tuesday reported six new coronavirus deaths and 224 more infections, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 12,942.
    The number of deaths was the lowest in just over two weeks, with the total now at 837, the ministry said in a bulletin.    Some 114 patients had recovered, with the total number of recoveries at 2,843.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty)

5/19/2020 Australia and China spat over coronavirus inquiry deepens by Paulina Duran and Kirsty Needham
FILE PHOTO: Qantas planes are seen at Kingsford Smith International Airport, following the coronavirus
outbreak, in Sydney, Australia, March 18, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo
    SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia and China traded barbs on Tuesday in an increasingly acrimonious diplomatic spat over Australia’s support for a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, as Australia recorded its 100th COVID-19 fatality.
    Australia’s relative success in constraining the spread of the virus has been overshadowed by the rift with its largest trading partner, which was exacerbated by a World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution in favour of the inquiry.
    In an unusually blunt statement on the same day that China imposed hefty tariffs on Australian barley exports, China’s embassy in Canberra said it was “nothing but a joke” for Australia to claim the resolution was vindication of its push for a global review.
    “The draft resolution on COVID-19 to be adopted by the World Health Assembly is totally different from Australia’s proposal of an independent international review,” a Chinese embassy spokesman said in an emailed statement.
    Asked about the comments, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham told Sky News that “Australia is not going to engage in cheap politicking over an issue as important as COVID-19.”
    “I would have thought the appropriate response from China’s ambassador in Australia would have been to welcome these outcomes and welcome the opportunity for all of us to work together on this important issue.”
    Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday told the assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organisation, that China would support a comprehensive review after the pandemic is brought under control.
    Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s spearheading of the call for an inquiry, alongside the European Union, has been a lightning rod for a more assertive approach by Chinese embassies to criticism of its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.    That policy has been dubbed “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy in both Western and Chinese media.
    The Chinese ambassador had earlier warned of a consumer boycott of Australian goods, which prompted Australian accusations of “economic coercion.”    The subsequent barley tariffs and the suspension of the export licences of several of Australia’s largest beef processors were viewed by many as retaliatory.
    The row potentially undermines Australia’s shift to allow significantly more public activity this week under the first phase of a three-step federal government plan to reopen business, schools, restaurants, and other public life in a bid to give the economy a boost.
    The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) warned on Tuesday that the country was facing an “unprecedented” economic contraction, though massive fiscal and monetary policy stimulus would help cushion the blow.
    Qantas Airways Ltd said it was ready to restart 40-50% of its domestic capacity in July if states relax border controls, and expects to offer low fares to stimulate travel demand.
100 DEATHS
    While a grim milestone, Australia’s death toll of 100 from 7,060 confirmed cases remains well below the fatalities reported in China, North America, Europe and other parts of Asia despite Australia’s earlier exposure to the pandemic.
    “The outcome in Australia is better because we were lucky in that we saw what was happening in China and so we were able to prepare and put the testing in place,” Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician and microbiologist at Canberra Hospital, told Reuters.
    Australia’s rate of new daily infections peaked on March 23 with 430 cases, according to a Reuters tally based on official data.    New cases have averaged about 15 a day over the past week.
    The 100th fatality was a 93-year-old woman from a care home outside Sydney, a facility responsible for 19 deaths.
Australia’s first reported case on March 1 was a 78-year-old man who had been a passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
    The two cases illustrate Australia’s biggest weaknesses in its fight against the disease, with the majority of the country’s deaths people aged 70 or over and many linked to either cruise ships or aged care homes.
(Reporting by Paulina Duran and Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Jane Wardell)

5/19/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 451 new coronavirus cases
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective face mask passes grocery shoppers amid the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su

5/19/2020 India coronavirus infections surge past 100,000, deaths top 3,000 by Jane Wardell
A woman and her baby wait for a bus to take them to a railway station to board a train to their home state of Uttar Pradesh,
after a limited reopening of India's giant rail network following a nearly seven-week lockdown to slow the spreading of the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ghaziabad in the outskirts of New Delhi, India, May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
    (Reuters) – Coronavirus cases in India reached 100,000 on Tuesday, matching its number of intensive care beds, and the rate of increase of new infections showed little sign of slowing.
    India reported 4,970 new cases over the previous 24 hours, taking its total to 101,139.    Deaths rose by 134 to 3,163.
    India’s number of cases has easily outstripped that of China, where the virus emerged late last year and which has been one of Asia’s infection hot spots.
    China has reported nearly 83,000 cases but has kept its daily rise in new infections to single digits for the past week.
    In contrast, new cases in India have risen by an average of more than 4,000 a day over the past week, according to a Reuters tally based on official data, despite a severe weeks-long lockdown.
    India officially extended the lockdown on Sunday to May 31, although several states indicated they would allow businesses to reopen.
    Health experts and officials are worried about the strain the epidemic is placing on India’s over-stretched and under-funded hospital system.
    Dhruva Chaudhry, president of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, told Reuters last month that India probably had only about 100,000 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 40,000 ventilators.
    Chaudhry warned there was not sufficient infrastructure or staff in the country of 1.35 billion people to handle a sharp spike in the number of critical patients.
    While not every coronavirus patient needs an ICU bed, health experts worry about surging cases in India, particularly as many believe the official tally falls short of the reality.
    India has not provided a detailed breakdown on the condition of people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, although authorities have reported that about 37,000 people have recovered.
    India’s death rate is less than that of some other big countries, at 3%, compared with about 6% for the United States, where some 89,000 people have died, and 14% for Britain.
(Editing by Richard Pullin and Jacqueline Wong)

5/19/2020 China reports six new coronavirus cases, including one in Wuhan
FILE PHOTO: Residents wearing face masks line up for nucleic acid testings at a residential compound in Wuhan, the Chinese
city hit hardest by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, Hubei province, China May 17, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – China reported six confirmed coronavirus cases for May 18, including a new case in Wuhan, the health authority said on Tuesday, compared to seven a day earlier.
    The National Health Commission (NHC) said in its daily bulletin that three of the six new cases were imported.    The imported cases were all in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.
    Of the three new local transmissions, two were in the northeastern border province of Jilin, currently in a semi-lockdown as it battles with a new wave of infections.
    Separately, the Jilin health authority reported on Tuesday that it had confirmed five new cases for May 18.    No explanation was given for the discrepancy with the NHC number.
    Wuhan, where the new coronavirus outbreak first began in China, reported one new case for May 18, a patient who was previously asymptomatic.
    The central Chinese city in Hubei province is in the midst of a massive testing campaign to identify virus carriers who exhibit no outward signs of illness but are still capable of infecting others.
    Wuhan last reported a cluster of six cases on May 9-10.
    The new cases reported for May 18 takes the cumulative tally of mainland infections to 82,960, with the death toll at 4,634.
    The NHC also reported 17 new asymptomatic coronavirus cases on May 18, compared with 18 on the previous day.    China excludes asymptomatic cases from its tally of confirmed infections.
(Reporting by David Stanway, Wang Jing and Ryan Woo; Editing by Richard Pullin)

5/19/2020 After WHO setback, Taiwan president to press for global participation
FILE PHOTO: Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen speaks at a non woven filter fabric factory, where the fabric is
used to make surgical face masks, in Taoyuan, Taiwan, March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan will strive to actively participate in global bodies despite its failure to attend this week’s key World Health Organization (WHO) meeting, and will not accept being belittled by China, President Tsai Ing-wen will say on Wednesday.
    Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party won January’s presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide, vowing to stand up to China, which claims Taiwan as its own, to be brought under Beijing’s control by force if needed.
    China views Tsai, who will be sworn into office for her second and final term on Wednesday, as a separatist bent on formal independence for Taiwan.    She says Taiwan is already an independent state called the Republic of China, its official name.
    Tsai will say at her inauguration that Taiwan will seek to “actively participate” in international bodies and deepen its cooperation with like-minded countries, generally a reference to the United States and its allies, according to an outline of her speech provided by Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang.
    Taiwan sees the need for participation in WHO as all the more urgent because of the coronavirus pandemic, which was first reported in China.
    Taiwan is locked out of most global organisations like the WHO due to the objections of China, which considers the island one of its provinces with no right to the trappings of a sovereign state.
    Despite an intense lobbying effort and strong support from the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and others, it was unable to take part in this week’s meeting of the World Health Assembly.
    On relations with China, Tsai will reiterate her commitment to peace, dialogue and equality, but that Taiwan will not accept China’s “one country, two systems” model that “belittles” Taiwan.
    China uses this system, which is supposed to guarantee a high degree of autonomy, to run the former British colony of Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.    It has offered it to Taiwan too, though all major Taiwanese parties have rejected it.
    Tsai will also pledge to speed up the development of “asymmetric warfare” capabilities, and boost renewable technologies in a move to position Taiwan as a hub of clean energy in the Asia Pacific.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)

5/19/2020 Hundreds of thousands evacuated as India, Bangladesh brace for super cyclone by Subrata Nagchoudhry Ruma Paul
A scientist at India Meteorological Department Earth System Science Organisation, points to a section of the screen showing
the position of the Cyclone Amphan to media people inside his office in Kolkata, India, May 19, 2020. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
    KOLKATA, India/DHAKA (Reuters) – India and Bangladesh evacuated around half a million people out of the way of the most powerful storm in a decade ahead of its landfall on Wednesday amid fears of heavy damage to houses and crops and disruption of road, rail and power links.
    The authorities’ task to save lives was complicated by ongoing efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic and enforce social distancing to avoid a surge of infections. Many thousands of migrant workers are on the roads trying to get home from big cities after a nationwide lockdown destroyed their livelihoods.
    Approaching from the Bay of Bengal, super cyclone Amphan was expected to hit the coast of eastern India and southern Bangladesh with winds gusting up to 185 kmh (115 mph) – the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane.
    The Indian weather department forecast a storm surge of 10- to 16-foot waves – as high as a two-storey house – that could swamp mud dwellings along the coast, uproot communication towers and inundate roads and rail tracks.
    There will be extensive damage to standing crops and plantations in the states of West Bengal and Odisha while large boats and ships could get torn from their moorings, the weather service said in a bulletin late on Tuesday.
    Authorities were hastily repurposing quarantine facilities for the looming cyclone soon after easing the world’s biggest lockdown against the virus, which in India is reported to have infected more than 100,000 people and killed 3,163.
    Railway officials diverted away from the cyclone’s path a number of trains carrying thousands of migrant workers to eastern states from the capital New Delhi where they had lost their jobs due to coronavirus lockdowns.
    “We have just about six hours left to evacuate people from their homes and we also have to maintain social distancing norms,” disaster management official S.G. Rai told Reuters.
    “The cyclone could wash away thousands of huts and standing crops.”
    About 300,000 people had been moved to storm shelters, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said. The state capital Kolkata lies near the cyclone’s path and there was concern about people living in about 1,500 old, dilapidated buildings.
MOVING PEOPLE TO HIGHER GROUND
    Neighbouring Bangladesh, where the cyclone posed a devastating threat along a low-lying, marshy coast, was shifting hundreds of thousands of people to higher ground.    Bangladeshi authorities were also urging use of masks against the virus, which has caused 20,995 infections and 314 deaths.
    “We have taken necessary steps so that people can maintain distance and wear masks,” said Enamur Rahman, the junior minister for disaster management.    He said 12,000 cyclone shelters were set up to accommodate more than 5 million people.
    Bangladeshi officials said the cyclone could set off tidal waves and heavy rainfall, unleashing floods.
    It was expected to hit land between the districts of Chittagong and Khulna, just 150 km (93 miles) from refugee camps housing more than a million Rohingya in flimsy shelters.
    Aid workers have stockpiled emergency items such as food, tarpaulins and water purification tablets.
    “We are really very worried,” said Haiko Magtrayo, a worker of the International Committee of the Red Cross based in the nearby town of Cox’s Bazar.
    Hundreds more Rohingya, rescued from boats adrift in the Bay of Bengal, are living on the flood-prone island of Bhasan Char.
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.)
(Additional reporting by Jatindra Dash, Poppy McPherson; Writing by Rupam Jain and Shilpa J Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Mark Heinrich)

5/19/2020 China protests at support of U.S. and others for Taiwan at WHO
FILE PHOTO: Ambassador of China to the United Nations Chen Xu attends a session of the Human Rights Council
at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, February 24, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
    GENEVA (Reuters) – The Chinese envoy to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday denounced the support shown by the United States and others to Taiwan during its annual ministerial assembly and said that was undermining the global response to the pandemic.
    Taiwan lobbied hard to be included as an observer at the two-day virtual meeting and received strong support from the United States, Japan and others, but says it was not invited due to opposition from China.
    “There are still a few countries determined to plead for Taiwan authorities, seriously violating relevant U.N. and WHO resolutions and undermining global anti-epidemic efforts,” Chen Xu, the Chinese ambassador, told the virtual assembly.
    “China solemnly protests and firmly opposes this behaviour.”
    Taiwan is locked out of U.N. organisations such as the WHO due to the objections of China, which considers it a breakaway province with no right to the trappings of a sovereign state.
    The WHO says it is bound by U.N. protocol, and that Taiwan can only be included in WHO meetings if the members make a decision to do so.
    Several delegates protested at Taiwan’s exclusion in their speeches, including senior U.S. diplomat Howard Solomon in closing remarks as well as Haiti and Paraguay.
    Shortly after the U.S. speech, Chen dismissed the remarks as “political hype,” saying: “This conduct is not acceptable.”
    Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, is due to say on Wednesday that the island will continue to strive to participate actively in global bodies despite the setback at the WHO.
(Reporting by Emma Farge and Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
[SUCK IT UP CHINA YOU HAVE TEED OFF A LOT OF COUNTRIES AND THE MEMBERS JUST MIGHT PUSH FOR TAIWAN’S ENTRY INTO THE WHO ESPECIALLY IF YOU KEEP DENYING WHAT YOU DID AND TRUMP MAY THREATEN TO CUT FUNDING IF TAIWAN IS NOT ADMITTED IF YOU KEEP PLAYING THE GAMES.].

5/19/2020 Afghan doctors protest over unpaid salaries amid coronavirus outbreak by Storay Karimi
FILE PHOTO: A medical official with protective gear checks the body temperature of a traveller, who arrives from provinces,
amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kabul, Afghanistan March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo
    HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – More than 200 doctors and medical staff took part in protests in the western Afghan city of Herat on Tuesday, saying they had not been paid for three months while risking their lives to treat coronavirus patients.
    Herat, war-torn Afghanistan’s third largest city, has reported a high number of COVID-19 cases since March and its 10 government hospitals have grappled with shortages of testing equipment and protective gear.
    “We have been risking our lives to save people, many doctors have been infected too.    The government must at least respect us and pay (our salaries) on time,” said Abdul Rauf Rahimi, a doctor in an intensive care unit allocated for COVID-19 cases.
    Rahimi was among 78 doctors and over 110 medical staff who took part in the six-hour-long protest before returning to work, saying they did not want patients to suffer unduly.
    Ahmad Tawhid Shukohmand, deputy spokesman for the health ministry, said he recognised doctors’ ire over unpaid wages.    “We are in dire need of doctors and health workers and in a few days their salaries will be paid.    We are seriously working on this,” he said, without giving a reason for the delay in payments.
    The protest added to pressure on Afghanistan’s fragile medical infrastructure just weeks after hundreds of doctors and healthcare staff tested positive for coronavirus in the capital Kabul, forcing many to self-isolate at home.
    As of Tuesday, Afghanistan had confirmed 7,653 COVID-19 infections and 178 deaths from the respiratory disease.
    The pandemic together with continuing fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban militants has worsened the health crisis in Afghanistan.
    Last week unknown gunmen stormed a maternity ward in a private hospital in Kabul, killing at least 24 people, including newborns, mothers and nurses.
(Additional reporting by Orooj Hakimi in Kabul; Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

5/19/2020 India to help migrant workers leave cities, but infections mount by Devjyot Ghoshal and Jatindra Dash
A family waits to board a bus taking them home, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow the spread
of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Noida, India, May 19, 2020. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
    NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR (Reuters) – India will run more special trains and buses to allow millions of distressed migrant workers to leave big cities, the federal government said on Tuesday, as concerns grew in some states over rising infections from those returning home.
    Workers are walking long distances to their homes in the countryside ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a vast lockdown in March to control the spread of coronavirus, shutting down all public transport.
    After initially trying to keep them in their cities of employment, authorities are now helping them get home.
    The federal home ministry said it was working with states to run special trains and buses, and set up rest stops for those on foot.
    The move came as India’s confirmed cases surged past 100,000 on Tuesday, outstripping China, where the virus emerged late last year.
    The concern is that migrants, who are leaving coronavirus hotspots such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Ahmedabad, could be carrying the virus into the hinterland.
    Since early May, around 70% of all coronavirus cases in the densely populated eastern state of Bihar have been linked to migrant workers, the state’s top health official, Sanjay Kumar, said.
    “The top priority is the people who are coming from Delhi because they have the highest percentage of positive cases,” Kumar told Reuters.
    In Odisha, also in the east, 851 out of 978 confirmed cases till Tuesday were returnees, mostly migrant workers, according to state data.
    In the state’s Ganjam district, more than 53,000 migrants have been screened and quarantined since early March, and another 200,000 are expected later this month, a health official said.
    The official said managing such numbers was a challenge.
    “Things are under control but we could have handled it much better had people been brought in smaller numbers in phases,” he said.
(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal in NEW DELHI and Jatindra Dash in BHUBANESHWAR; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Giles Elgood)

5/20/2020 b>Exclusive: In veiled warning to Iran, U.S. tells Gulf mariners to stay clear of its warships by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
FILE PHOTO: Three Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessel, some of several to maneuver in what the U.S. Navy says are
"unsafe and unprofessional actions against U.S. Military ships by crossing the ships’ bows and sterns at close range" is seen next to
expeditionary mobile sea base USS Lewis B. Puller in a still image from video taken in the Gulf April 15, 2020. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In an alert that appeared aimed squarely at Iran, the U.S. Navy issued a warning on Tuesday to mariners in the Gulf to stay 100 meters (yards) away from U.S. warships or risk being “interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures.”
    The notice to mariners, which was first reported by Reuters, follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat last month to fire on any Iranian ships that harass Navy vessels.
    “Armed vessels approaching within 100 meters of a U.S. naval vessel may be interpreted as a threat,” according to the text of the notice, which can be seen here. (https://bit.ly/36msOL2)
    A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new notice to mariners was not a change in the U.S. military’s rules of engagement.
    The Pentagon has stated that Trump’s threat was meant to underscore the Navy’s right to self-defense.
    The Bahrain-based U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement that its notice was “designed to enhance safety, minimize ambiguity and reduce the risk of miscalculation.”
    It follows an incident last month in which 11 Iranian vessels came close to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, in what the U.S. military called “dangerous and provocative” behavior.
    At one point, the Iranian vessels came within 10 yards (9 meters) of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Maui, the U.S. military said.
    Trump’s threat followed that incident, which Tehran, in turn, said was the fault of the United States.
    The head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards responded to Trump by threatening to destroy U.S. warships if its security is threatened in the Gulf.
    The back-and-forth is just latest example of razor-sharp tension between Washington and Tehran, which has steadily escalated since 2018, when Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed crippling sanctions.
    Animosity reached historic heights in early January, when the United States killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad.
    Iran retaliated on Jan. 9 by firing missiles at bases in Iraq, causing brain injuries among U.S. troops at one of them.
    Close interactions with Iranian military vessels were not uncommon in 2016 and 2017.    On several occasions, U.S. Navy ships fired warning shots at Iranian vessels when they got too close.
    But Iran had halted such maneuvers before the April incident.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Sandra Maler and Tom Brown)

5/20/2020 After U.S. warning, Iran says its navy will still operate in Gulf
FILE PHOTO: Four Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels, some of several to maneuver in what the
U.S. Navy says are "unsafe and unprofessional actions against U.S. Military ships by crossing the ships’ bows and sterns at
close range" is seen next to the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton in the Gulf April 15, 2020. U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTER
    DUBAI (Reuters) – The Iranian navy will maintain regular missions in the Gulf, the ISNA news agency reported on Wednesday, a day after the United States warned mariners there to stay away from U.S. warships.
    “The naval units of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman will continue their regular missions in accordance with professional principles as in the past,” ISNA quoted an unnamed military official as saying.
    The U.S. warning to mariners followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat last month to fire on any Iranian ships that harass U.S. Navy vessels.
    The Bahrain-based U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement its notice was “designed to enhance safety, minimize ambiguity and reduce the risk of miscalculation.”
    It follows an incident last month in which 11 Iranian vessels came close to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf in what the U.S. military called “dangerous and provocative” behaviour.    Tehran blamed its longtime adversary for the incident.
    Friction between Tehran and Washington has risen since 2018, when Trump quit Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and reimposed sanctions on the country that crippled its economy.
    The head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards last month said Tehran would destroy U.S. warships if its security is threatened in the Gulf.
    Iran’s clerical rulers consider the U.S. military presence in the Middle East a threat to the Islamic Republic’s security.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Angus MacSwan, William Maclean)

5/20/2020 Taiwan president rejects Beijing rule; China says ‘reunification’ inevitable by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
The live inauguration ceremony of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is seen playing at a shop in Taipei, Taiwan, May 20,2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan cannot accept becoming part of China under its “one country, two systems” offer of autonomy, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday, strongly rejecting China’s sovereignty claims and likely setting the stage for an ever worsening of ties.
    China responded that “reunification” was inevitable and that it would never tolerate Taiwan’s independence.
    In a speech after being sworn in for her second and final term in office, Tsai said relations between Taiwan and China had reached an historical turning point.
    “Both sides have a duty to find a way to coexist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences,” she said.
    Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party won January’s presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide, vowing to stand up to China, which claims Taiwan as its own and says it would be brought under Beijing’s control by force if needed.br>     “Here, I want to reiterate the words ‘peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue’.    We will not accept the Beijing authorities’ use of ‘one country, two systems’ to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-strait status quo.    We stand fast by this principle,” Tsai said.
    China uses the “one country, two systems” policy, which is supposed to guarantee a high degree of autonomy, to run the former British colony of Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.    It has offered it to Taiwan, though all major Taiwanese parties have rejected it.
    China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, responding to Tsai, said Beijing would stick to “one country, two systems” – a central tenet of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Taiwan policy – and “not leave any space for Taiwan independence separatist activities.”
    “Reunification is a historical inevitability of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” it said.    “We have the firm will, full confidence, and sufficient ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
    China views Tsai as a separatist bent on formal independence for Taiwan. Tsai says Taiwan is an independent state called the Republic of China, its official name, and does not want to be part of the People’s Republic of China governed by Beijing.
TAIWAN OPEN TO DIALOGUE
    China has stepped up its military drills near Taiwan since Tsai’s re-election, flying fighter jets into the island’s air space and sailing warships around Taiwan.
    Tsai said Taiwan has made the greatest effort to maintain peace and stability in the narrow Taiwan Strait that separates the democratic island from its autocratic neighbour China.
    “We will continue these efforts, and we are willing to engage in dialogue with China and make more concrete contributions to regional security,” she added, speaking in the garden of the old Japanese governor’s house in Taipei, in front of a socially-distanced audience of officials and diplomats.
    Taiwan has become a rising source of friction between China and the United States, with the Trump administration strongly backing Taiwan even in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent his congratulations to Tsai on Tuesday, praising her “courage and vision in leading Taiwan’s vibrant democracy,” in a rare high-level message from Washington direct to Taiwan’s government.
    China’s Foreign Ministry condemned Pompeo’s remarks, and said the government would take “necessary countermeasures,” though did not elaborate.
    China cut off a formal talks mechanism with Taiwan in 2016 after Tsai first won election.
    Yao Chia-wen, a senior adviser to Tsai, told Reuters the chance of talks with China were small given ongoing tensions.
    “We are ready to engage with them any time, but China is unlikely to make concessions to Taiwan,” he said.    “In the next four years there’s little chance for the cross-strait relationship to improve.”
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Huizhong Wu in Beijing; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Michael Perry)

5/20/2020 ‘Unreasonable’ to say China is vying for global leadership through virus aid: CPPCC
Journalists attend a news conference by Guo Weimin, spokesman for the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC), broadcasted at a media center in Beijing, China May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/Pool
    BEIJING (Reuters) – It is unreasonable and narrow-minded to say China is vying for global leadership by giving virus assistance to other countries, a top government spokesman said on Wednesday.
    Guo Weimin, spokesman for the high-profile but largely ceremonial CPPCC advisory body, made the comments at a press conference ahead of the country’s annual meeting of its legislature.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

5/20/2020 Bangladesh moves Rohingya to island shelters as huge cyclone nears by Ruma Paul and A S M Suza Uddin
Preparations are underway for Cyclone Amphan in a Rohingya refugee camp outside
the port town of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Sabbir Ahmed
    DHAKA/COX’S BAZAR (Reuters) – Authorities in Bangladesh have moved hundreds of Rohingya refugees living on a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal to storm shelters as super cyclone Amphan, the strongest recorded in the region, barrels down, they said on Wednesday.
    The eastern edge of the storm headed for Bangladesh and neighbouring India is expected to batter Bhasan Char island, where 306 Rohingya, members of a persecuted minority from Myanmar, were sent this month after being rescued from boats.
    “Each block has a cyclone centre and they have been moved to the centre,” said Bimal Chakma, a senior official of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission.
    The United Nations has called for the refugees to be moved to the mainland to join more than a million more who live in sprawling camps outside the town of Cox’s Bazar.
    Although that settlement, the world’s largest refugee camp, is expected to escape the worst of the storm, the danger level has been raised to nine from six, signifying a severe threat.
    Heavy rain and high winds lashed the flimsy shelters, built on hills prone to landslides, and red flags were raised to warn refugees to stay inside.
    Aid workers say the cyclone could hamper efforts to control a coronavirus outbreak in the camps, which reported their first infections last week.
    “It is already a huge challenge to contain the spread of coronavirus amongst the Rohingya refugees living in over-crowded camps, sharing water and toilet facilities,” said Dipankar Datta, the country director of charity Oxfam in Bangladesh.
    Water-borne and other infections were also a threat, he added in a statement.
    Bangladeshis and Rohingya are among thousands of volunteers trained in emergency response measures who received life-jackets and torches.
    “We are using megaphones and the mosque microphones to warn people,” said Sabbir Ahmed, a 24-year-old Rohingya volunteer.
    Refugees have been told to head for madrasas and schools if the storm destroys shelters, he told Reuters by telephone, adding, “If it hits the camps there will be huge destruction.”
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7 in an external browser.)
(Reporting by Ruma Paul and A S M Suza Uddin; Writing by Poppy McPherson; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

5/20/2020 Cambodia lifts entry ban from six countries as coronavirus eases
FILE PHOTO: Tourist walk with a guide outside the Royal Palace which has being closed for visitors as precaution
against the coronavirus outbreak in Phnom Penh, Cambodia March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Cindy Liu/File Photo
    PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia has lifted a ban on entry of visitors from Iran, Italy, Germany, Spain, France and the United States that had been put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
    Despite the easing, foreign visitors would still need to have a certificate no more than 72 hours old confirming that they are not infected with the novel coronavirus and proof of $50,000 worth of health insurance while in Cambodia, the ministry said.
    They also would be quarantined for 14 days after arrival at government designate place and tested for the coronavirus, a ministry statement said, but did not specify where.
    “All passengers, both Cambodian and foreign, who are travelling to Cambodia, are admitted to waiting centres for the COVID-19 tests and that they are waiting for results from the Pasteur laboratory,” Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in a statement, referring to respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
    The Health Ministry said on Saturday that the last patient with the coronavirus has recovered and left hospital, leaving the Southeast Asian country with zero cases.
    Cambodia has reported 122 cases of the virus that causes COVID-19 and no deaths from the disease since it emerged in China and started spreading around the world, infecting more than 4.5 million and killing about 300,000 since January.
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Kay Johnson and Christian Schmollinger)

5/20/2020 Australia opens up domestic life further as China dispute lingers by Melanie Burton and Kirsty Needham
FILE PHOTO: People fish following the easing of restrictions implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19), at Darling Harbour near the city centre in Sydney, Australia, May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
    MELBOURNE/SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian officials announced a raft of plans on Wednesday to speed up the resumption of public life to boost the ailing economy amid a diplomatic spat with major trading partner China.
    The government is also talking with Australian universities about allowing the return of some international students, a sector that contributes more than A$30 billion ($19.6 billion) to domestic coffers.
    New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, will allow people to resume recreational travel from next month, effectively reopening tourist regions on its southern coast that were badly damaged by huge bushfires before the epidemic.
    “We want people to enjoy themselves, to feel free, but at the same time please know that nothing we do is the same during a pandemic,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
    Australia has reported just over 7,000 infections, including 100 deaths, and has completed around 1.1 million tests among its population of 25 million.    Health Minister Greg Hunt said just 11 new cases were logged over the past 24 hours.
    Australia’s states and territories are implementing a three-step federal government plan to unwind lockdown measures that have been in place for two months, but the staggered pace means different restrictions around the country at any point in time.
    South Australia said it planned to move more quickly to phase two, allowing more people to eat and drink in restaurants and bars.    Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania, which have all reported low numbers of cases, are keeping state borders closed.
    Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said from a medical point of view there was no need to keep borders closed.
    The resumption of business and social life across the country comes amid a dispute with China over Australia’s leading role in the push for a global inquiry into the origins and spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
    World Health Organization members overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday for an independent review on the pandemic, with China eventually joining over 130 other countries as a co-sponsor.
    China has attacked Australia’s lobbying for an inquiry as “political manoeuvring.”    Canberra has said it wanted to learn the lessons of the pandemic so the world could prevent a repeat.
    After Beijing last week banned some major Australian meat exporters, citing labelling breaches, and this week placed hefty anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on Australian barley, concerns were raised in local media that it was retaliation for seeking the inquiry.
    “We would be disappointed if there was any process of conflating these issues,” Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio.
    The Chinese embassy in Canberra on Tuesday derided as “a joke” the Australian assertion that the WHO resolution, first proposed by the European Union, was a vindication of its push for a global review.
    An article in China’s Global Times newspaper on Wednesday cited an anonymous comment made in a Weibo post saying “Australia, this giant kangaroo that serves as a dog of the U.S., will hit a deadlock with China on trade disputes in sectors like coal and beef.”
    The disagreement could affect plans by universities to lure back pupils. Chinese students account for almost 40% of Australia’s international higher education population.
SMARTPHONE APP
    In Victoria, the country’s second most-populous state, health authorities revealed they were using a controversial smartphone contact tracing app for the first time to track the movements of an infected person.
    Almost 6 million Australians have downloaded the COVID-safe app, short of the 40% of 18 million smartphone users the government has said would make it an effective tool, amid privacy concerns.    Authorities have said use of the data is restricted to state health officials but have so far provided limited detail on its use.
(Reporting by Melanie Burton and Kirsty Needham; editing by Jane Wardell and Lincoln Feast.)

5/20/2020 Malaysia reports 31 new coronavirus cases; total tops 7,000
FILE PHOTO: A worker takes the temperature of a man at the National Mosque entrance as Malaysia eases a ban on mass prayers
in mosques, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s health ministry reported 31 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the cumulative total to 7,009 infections.
    No new deaths were recorded, leaving the total number of fatalities at 114.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

5/20/2020 Indonesia reports biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections
Women wearing protective face masks and a face shield walk as they shop for clothes at Tanah Abang wholesale market for textile,
amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Jakarta, Indonesia May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported on Wednesday 693 new coronavirus infections, the Southeast Asian nation’s biggest daily rise and taking the total number of cases to 19,189, according to the website of Indonesia’s COVID-19 task force.
    The task force reported 21 additional deaths, taking the total to 1,242, while 4,575 people have recovered.
(Reporting by Nilufar Rizki; Writing by Stanley Widianto)

5/20/2020 Iran will support any nation or group that fights Israel: supreme leader
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a televised speech on the occasion of the
Iranian New Year Nowruz, in Tehran, Iran March 20, 2020. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS
    (Reuters) – Iran will support any nation or group that fights Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday.
    “We will support and assist any nation or any group anywhere who opposes and fights the Zionist regime, and we do not hesitate to say this,” Khamenei said in a post on his official English language Twitter account.
(Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Sandra Maler)

5/20/2020 U.S. envoy meets Afghan president and former rival Abdullah in push for peace
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, meet with U.S. Special
Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 20, 2020. Afghan Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS
    KABUL (Reuters) – The United States’ special envoy for Afghanistan on Wednesday met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former rival Abdullah Abdullah, to discuss progress towards a peace deal with the insurgent Taliban.
    The meeting was the first between the three men since Ghani and Abdullah ended a months-long political impasse in which both claimed to be Afghanistan’s rightful leader.
    The pair struck a power-sharing agreement on Sunday, removing a major obstacle to the U.S.-brokered peace process and in which Abdullah was appointed head of a reconciliation council designated to hold talks with the Taliban.
    Ghani said that during his meeting with Khalilzad, shortly before the three men met, they had discussed a ceasefire with the Taliban.
    “Both sides talked about the upcoming steps for the peace process and both side stressed the issue of a ceasefire before the start of the inter-Afghan talks,” Ghani’s statement said, adding they discussed how to continue with a prisoner swap that the Taliban have demanded before beginning talks.
    His statement made no mention of a $1 billion aid cut the United States announced in March when Abdullah and Ghani failed to strike a deal and which officials have asked be reinstated.
    Khalilzad is in the region to escalate efforts to bring the Afghan government and the Taliban to the negotiating table after months of delays.
    The Taliban has increased violence even after a Feb. 29 U.S.-Taliban pact on the withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.
    In the latest attack in northeastern Takhar province on Tuesday evening the Taliban killed nine pro-government militia force members.
    On Wednesday the Taliban’s leader Haibatullah Akhundzada released a statement marking the Islamic celebration of Eid, calling for progress on the peace deal but also asking its fighters to stay “focused on their objectives” and “consolidate … ranks,” which government security officials criticised as inciting violence.
(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi, Hameed Farzad and Sardar Razmal; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Alison Williams)

5/20/2020 U.S. blacklists Iran’s interior minister over human rights abuses
FILE PHOTO: A staff member removes the Iranian flag from the stage after a group picture with foreign ministers and
representatives of United States, Iran, China, Russia, Britain, Germany, France and the European Union during the Iran nuclear
talks at the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria, July 14, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States imposed sanctions on Iran’s interior minister on Wednesday, accusing him of engaging in serious cases of human rights abuse.
    Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli gave orders authorizing the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) of Iran to use lethal force in response to anti-government protests in November, leading to the killing of protesters, including at least 23 minors, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.
    “His – and the regime’s – goal was to quash these peaceful protests and suppress the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression at any cost,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a separate statement.
    The Treasury on Wednesday also blacklisted seven senior officials of the LEF, including commander Hossein Ashtari Fard, and a provincial commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, for their roles in the suppression of protesters.
    The LEF Cooperative Foundation – which the Treasury said is controlled by the LEF and is active in Iran’s energy, construction, services, technology and banking industries – was also blacklisted, as were its director and members of the board of trustees.
    Treasury’s action freezes any U.S.-held assets of those blacklisted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.
    Washington also barred Rahmani Fazli and Ali Fallahian, the head of Iran’s intelligence service from 1989 to 1997, from traveling to the United States.    The State Department said Fallahian was involved in assassinations and attacks around the world.
    “The United States will continue to hold accountable Iranian officials and institutions that oppress and abuse their own people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
    Tensions between Washington and Tehran have spiked since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal and began reimposing sanctions eased under the accord.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)

5/21/2020 Iran says 10,000 of its health workers infected with coronavirus
FILE PHOTO: A member of the medical team wears a protective suit as she collects blood specimens at a testing center for
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS/File Photo
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Around 10,000 Iranian health workers have been infected with the new coronavirus, the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted the deputy health minister as saying on Thursday.
    “Around 10,000 health workers have been infected with the deadly disease in Iran and some of them have died,” Qassem Janbabai said, according to ILNA.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alison Williams)

5/21/2020 U.S masses planes at Japan base to show foes and allies it can handle coronavirus by Tim Kelly
U.S. soldiers wearing protective face masks are seen in front of C-130 transport plane during a military drill amid the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Yokota U.S. Air Force Base in Fussa, on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
    TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. Air Force transport aircraft on Thursday massed at Washington’s key Asian military air transportation hub, Yokota Air Base in Japan, to show potential foes and allies it was ready for action despite the coronavirus emergency.
    “It shows both our adversaries as well as our allies in Japan the importance of our placement, the importance of our ability to execute our mission,” base Vice Commander, Colonel Jason Mills, said.
    U.S. forces are stationed in Japan to defend Washington’s key Asian ally from attack from North Korea, but also to check China’s growing influence in the wider region, including Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
    As Washington tries to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, some officials worry outbreaks in the military may provide fodder for Beijing to question U.S. strength in the region.
    “When you’re dealing with COVID-19 induced domestic chaos, you just can’t pay as much attention to foreign affairs,” said Grant Newsham, a research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies and a former U.S. Marine colonel who liaised with Japan’s Self Defense Forces.
    In April, the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt was forced to dock in Guam after a coronavirus outbreak infected several hundred sailors.    Carriers such as the Ronald Reagan that is forward deployed in Japan and others that regularly pass through Asian waters are among the most conspicuous symbols of U.S. military might.
    Yokota has had to quarantine sailors passing through the base who have tested positive for the virus.
    Yokota’s air wing, including C-130 transport planes and helicopters, moves troops and equipment around the Asia Pacific.    Like other bases in Japan, which hosts the largest concentration of U.S. military personnel outside the United States, it has declared a public health emergency.
    Troops at the base in western Tokyo are under orders to keep a distance from each other and local people and wear face masks.    Commanders have also split personnel into shifts to lessen contact.
    The coronavirus, like the rain that reduced visibility on Thursday, was another issue for air and ground crews to deal with to keep their aircraft flying, said Mills.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

5/21/2020 U.S. to sell Taiwan $180 million of torpedoes, angering China
FILE PHOTO: Taiwan Kee Lung (DDG-1801) guided-missile destroyer (C) and navy vessels take
part in a military drill near Hualien, Taiwan, May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – The U.S government has notified Congress of a possible sale of advanced torpedoes to Taiwan worth around $180 million, further souring already tense ties between Washington and Beijing, which claims Taiwan as Chinese territory.
    The United States, like most countries, has no official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but is bound by law to provide the democratic island with the means to defend itself.    China routinely denounces U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
    The U.S. State Department has approved a possible sale to Taiwan of 18 MK-48 Mod6 Advanced Technology Heavy Weight Torpedoes and related equipment for an estimated cost of $180 million, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
    “The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today,” it added.
    The proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting Taiwan’s “continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” the agency said.
    In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China had lodged “solemn representations” with Washington about the planned sale.
    China urged the United States to stop all arms sales to, and military ties with, Taiwan to prevent further damage to Sino-U.S. relations, Zhao added.
    The U.S. announcement came on the same day Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in for her second term in office, saying she strongly rejecting China’s sovereignty claims.    China responded that “reunification” was inevitable and that it would never tolerate Taiwan’s independence.
    China has stepped up its military drills near Taiwan since Tsai’s re-election, flying fighter jets into the island’s air space and sailing warships around Taiwan.
    China views Tsai as a separatist bent on formal independence for Taiwan.    Tsai says Taiwan is an independent state called the Republic of China, its official name, and does not want to be part of the People’s Republic of China governed by Beijing.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Cate Cadell in Beijing; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Richard Pullin)

5/21/2020 Malaysia confirms more coronavirus cases at migrant detention centre
FILE PHOTO: Medical workers wearing protective suits pass by barbed wire at the red zone under enhanced lockdown, amid
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia reported 35 new coronavirus cases at an immigration detention centre on Thursday, after authorities rounded up undocumented migrants this month in areas under lockdown.
    The United Nations has called on Malaysia to stop the crackdown, which it said has spread fear among migrant communities in Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, which has so far reported 7,059 cases, with 114 deaths.
    Malaysian authorities have detained more than 1,800 migrants in at least two raids as part of efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, raising concerns they could instead raise infection risks in overcrowded detention centres.
    The health ministry said on Thursday it had 35 confirmed cases at the Bukit Jalil immigration detention centre, located in the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, out of 645 people who were being held in one block at the centre.
    “The source of infection is still under investigation … we need to investigate in detail before making any comments,” the ministry’s Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah told a daily news conference broadcast live on national television.
    Noor Hisham said the 35 positive cases include 17 people from Myanmar, 15 from India and one each from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Egypt.
    They were detained before Malaysia imposed movement and business curbs on March 18, aimed at containing the spread of the pandemic, and did not have any interaction with others who were detained after that, Noor Hisham said.
    Felipe Gonzalez Morales, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants said on Wednesday that Malaysia’s approach was not helping to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
    “The current crackdown and hate campaign are severely undermining the effort to fight the pandemic in the country.”
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alexander Smith)

5/21/2020 Some 10,000 Iranian health workers infected with coronavirus: state media by Parisa Hafezi
FILE PHOTO: Iranians wear protective masks and face shields against possible coronavirus contagion
in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Around 10,000 Iranian health workers have been infected with the new coronavirus, the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted a deputy health minister as saying on Thursday.     Health services are stretched thin in Iran, the Middle East country hardest hit by the respiratory pandemic, with 7,249 deaths and a total of 129,341 infections.    The Health Ministry said in April that over 100 health workers had died of COVID-19.
    No more details on infections among health workers were immediately available.
    Earlier on Thursday, Health Minister Saeed Namaki appealed to Iranians to avoid travelling during the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday later this month to avoid the risk of a new surge of coronavirus infections, state TV reported.
    Iranians often travel to different cities around the country to mark the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, something Namaki said could lead to a disregard of social distancing rules and a fresh outbreak of COVID-19.
    “I am urging you not to travel during the Eid. Definitely, such trips mean new cases of infection…People should not travel to and from those high-risk red areas,” Namaki was quoted by state television as saying.
    “Some 90% of the population in many areas has not yet contracted the disease.    In the case of a new outbreak, it will be very difficult for me and my colleagues to control it.”
    A report by parliament’s research centre suggested that the actual tally of infections and deaths inn Iran might be almost twice that announced by the health ministry.
    However, worried that measures to limit public activities could wreck an economy which has already been battered by U.S. sanctions, the government has been easing most restrictions on normal life in late April.
    Infected cases have been on a rising trajectory for the past two weeks.    However President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran was close to curbing the outbreak.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

5/21/2020 China supports “improvement” of Hong Kong’s political system
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and other officials observe a minute of silence for victims
of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the opening session of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Thursday it supports improving the system and mechanism related to the constitution and basic law of Hong Kong and Macau, in comments likely to stir concern that it could take measures to tighten its grip on Hong Kong.
    The former European colonies returned to Chinese rule in the late 1990s under a system aimed at preserving their economic systems and ensuring their autonomy, known as “one country, two systems.”
    But in Hong Kong in particular, the political system has been thrown into question by student-led pro-democracy protests that went on for months last year and have shown signs of building up again in recent weeks.
    “We will push for the long-term stability of one country, two systems … and continue to support the improvement of implementing the systems and mechanisms of the constitution and basic law,” Wang Yang, the ruling Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader and head of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said in a speech.
    He did not elaborate.    Hong Kong’s “basic law” is its mini constitution.
    Wang’s remarks came at the opening of a session of the government advisory body that meets in parallel with parliament, which starts its annual session on Friday and will lay out policy targets and initiatives for the year.
    Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997.    The former Portuguese colony of Macau returned two years later.
    The high degree of autonomy promised to Hong Kong for 50 years under the “one country, two systems” arrangement has helped it thrive as a financial centre, while Macau is a major gambling centre.
    But many people in Hong Kong fear that Beijing is whittling away at its freedoms, worries that fuelled the sometimes violent protests last year.    The protests have ebbed since January because of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian, Judy Hua and Huizhogn Wu; writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Robert Birsel)

5/21/2020 China set to implement its first civil code, as private investment slows by Keith Zhai, Gabriel Crossley and Yew Lun Tian
Chinese President Xi Jinping and officials observe a minute of silence for victims of the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19) at the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    (Reuters) – China’s parliament is poised to enact its first civil code, a wide-ranging legislative package that includes strengthening protection of property rights in a Communist Party-ruled country whose embrace of private ownership has long been awkward.
    The civil code, in the works since 2014, will become law at a time when China needs its often-embattled private sector to step up investment to help revive a virus-battered economy, and will be a centrepiece of the annual parliamentary session that begins on Friday after a more-than two month delay.
    However, the civil code is largely an amalgamation of existing laws, meaning its impact may be limited, some analysts said. And enforcement is uncertain, as courts are not independent and ultimately answer to the party, although legal reforms in recent years have aimed to give judges more independence and rein in local officials’ influence over courts.
    The civil code, which among other provisions protects personal information and makes it easier to divorce or sue for sexual harassment, is expected to spell out the clearest boundary yet between government and markets since the 1949 founding of the People’s Republic of China.
    It is a cornerstone of President Xi Jinping’s push to reform the country’s legal system by 2020, even as China has tightened controls on civil society and expanded party control under his leadership.
    The legislation – on paper at least – reduces the scope for bureaucratic meddling and abuse that have often bedevilled private firms and property owners in a country where business owners were not allowed to join the Communist Party until 2001 and are still treated with suspicion by some party officials.
    “It gives more complete protection to the rights of the individual,” said Wang Jiangyu, a law professor at the City University of Hong Kong.
    “The bigger context is, is this a country that adheres to the rule of law?    Is the government really executing the law?”
BUSINESS INSECURITY
    Implementation of the code, which incorporates existing laws including those covering property, contracts and torts, reflects long-running concerns among business owners over protection of personal and property rights.
    “All private firms have their ‘original sin,'” Xu Bin, a steel trader in Henan province, told Reuters in March, referring to the sometimes dubious actions taken by entrepreneurs in the early days of China’s reform and opening.
    Some worry those “sins” can still be used against them.
    A 2017 survey on the climate for private sector firms by Unirule Institute of Economics, a now-defunct liberal Beijing-based think tank, found companies rated “legal fairness” 4 out of 10.
    “Without legal protection, private businessmen don’t feel safe.    Our survey showed that they think there is a 22.5% chance of danger to themselves and a 26.8% chance that their assets are at risk,” Sheng Hong, an independent scholar who was previously Unirule’s executive director, told Reuters.
    However, the civil code will not protect entrepreneurs in criminal cases.
    “Since the Civil Code only covers civil disputes, it does not help protect property rights against seizure of assets by the state, a most important concern among entrepreneurs,” said Xin Sun, a lecturer in Chinese and East Asian business at King’s College London.
NEEDED INVESTMENT
    Private sector investment in China has slowed sharply, to the worry of officials, from more than 20% growth when Xi assumed power to single digits in recent years.    It fell 13% during the coronavirus-battered first four month of this year, compared with a 7 percent decline for state companies.
    In an April meeting chaired by Xi, the Communist Party’s decision-making Politburo said the government will support the private economy and development of small- and medium-sized firms, which remain excluded from several industries and have long had difficulty securing bank credit.
    “The civil code could restore confidence of private business owners and to help prop up economic growth,” said Hu Xingdou, a retired economics professor with Beijing Institute of Technology.
    Sun, of King’s College, isn’t so sure, saying the civil code brings little added protection for rights and property, and is more symbol than substance.
    “China does have a comprehensive system of high-quality written laws but a lot of concerns arise from their enforcement rather than the laws themselves,” he said.
(Reporting by Keith Zhai, Gabriel Crossley, and Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Tony Munroe and Michael Perry)

5/21/2020 Lockdown over, Pakistan’s COVID-19 deaths, infections tick higher
FILE PHOTO: Railway workers wearing protective gears measure the temperature and disinfect passengers before they board
a train as they return to their hometowns, after Pakistan started easing the lockdown restrictions and allowed to resume
passenger trains, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Karachi, Pakistan May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – COVID-19 infections in Pakistan trended higher in recent days and were approaching 50,000, official data showed, with total deaths crossing 1,000, as the government remained unsure over the consequences of its decision to end the nation’s lockdown.
    Fearful of the economic and financial impact, and swayed by the acute hardship suffered by millions of poor families, Prime Minister Imran Khan has defended the lifting of the lockdown last week, saying the virus spread has been well below projections.
    Education is the only major sector that remains closed.
    “The ending of the lockdown doesn’t mean the threat is over,” Yasmeen Rashid, the health minister of Punjab, the country’s largest province, said in an interview on Pakistani television on Wednesday, adding that people needed to adopt safety measures themselves.
    How the mostly Muslim nation of 207 million people behaves when the fasting month of Ramadan ends and festivities for Eid begins, which is expected on Sunday or Monday, could influence the course of the contagion.
    Usually Eid draws big crowds to malls and shops, and people travel in droves to reach their hometowns.    While the government has advised people to act responsibly, and avoid going out for non-essential reasons, there has been little mention of special precautions needed over the festival period.
    For a country of Pakistan’s size, levels of testing remains low at around 14,000 a day.    But Reuters calculations, using official data, suggest the infection rate has so far remained relatively steady, with total infections doubling every 9 to 11 days since April 1.     Doctors and experts fear Pakistan’s under-funded and creaking healthcare system if the contagion gathers more pace.
    In the first 20 days of May, over 630 people have died, compared to around 380 in the entire month of April, data tabulated by Reuters shows.    There were less than 10 deaths in March.
    The 32 deaths reported on Wednesday took the total to 1,017, a government website showed, making Pakistan the 25th country worldwide where the toll has crossed a thousand.    On Tuesday, Pakistan reported the most deaths for a single day at 46.
    Infections on Wednesday were reported at 2,193 – the second highest for a single day – taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan to 48,091.
    Regardless of the final death toll, Pakistan expects to suffer an awful human cost, as the government expects millions more of its people to fall into poverty.
    The International Monetary Fund has forecast Pakistan’s economy will shrink 1.5% this year, and the government is expected to miss major revenue and deficit targets, making it more dependent on loans from multilateral lenders.
(Reporting by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/21/2020 China set to impose new Hong Kong security law, Trump warns of strong U.S. reaction by James Pomfret, Yew Lun Tian and Steve Holland
FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators protesting the proposed extradition bill aim their flashlights towards riot police as
they are chased through the streets of Hong Kong, China, August 25, 2019. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo
    HONG KONG/BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China is set to impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong after last year’s pro-democracy unrest, a Chinese official said on Thursday, drawing a warning from President Donald Trump that Washington would react “very strongly” against the attempt to gain more control over the former British colony.
    The U.S. State Department also warned China, saying a high-degree of autonomy and respect for human rights were key to preserving the territory’s special status in U.S. law, which has helped it maintain its position as a world financial centre. [L1N2D31WG]
    China’s action could spark fresh protests in Hong Kong, which enjoys many freedoms not allowed on the mainland, after often violent demonstrations of 2019 plunged the city into its deepest turmoil since it returned to Beijing’s rule in 1997.
    Trump, who has ratcheted up his anti-China rhetoric as he seeks re-election in November, told reporters “nobody knows yet” the details of China’s plan.    “If it happens we’ll address that issue very strongly,” he said.
    Zhang Yesui, spokesman for the China’s National People’s Congress, said details of the legislation would be given on Friday when the parliament holds its annual session.
    “In light of the new circumstances and need, the National People’s Congress (NPC) is exercising its constitutional power” to establish a new legal framework and enforcement mechanism to safeguard national security in Hong Kong, he told a briefing.
    The “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act” approved by Trump last year requires the State Department to certify at least annually that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to justify favourable U.S. trading terms.
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on May 6 he was delaying this assessment to account for any NPC actions.
    If the State Department decertifies the territory, it would still ultimately fall to Trump whether to decide to end some, all, or none of the privileges Hong Kong currently enjoys.
    On Thursday, Democratic and Republican U.S. senators said they would introduce legislation to strengthen the Hong Kong act’s sanctions provisions.
    Wall Street ended lower on Thursday as U.S.-China tensions raised doubts about a trade deal reached this year between the world’s two largest economies.    Tensions have heightened significantly in recent weeks, with bitter exchanges over the coronavirus.
    Pro-democracy demonstrators have for years opposed the idea of national security laws, arguing they could erode the city’s high degree of autonomy, guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” formula in place for two decades.
    A senior Hong Kong government official said details on the move and its implementation remained unclear, but Hong Kong media have reported the legislation would ban secession, foreign interference, terrorism and all seditious activities aimed at toppling the central government.
    U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said any Chinese move to impose legislation that did not reflect the will of the people would be highly destabilising and met with strong condemnation.
    Ending Hong Kong’s special status would be a big blow for U.S. firms.    The State Department says 85,000 U.S. citizens lived in Hong Kong in 2018 and more than 1,300 U.S. companies operate there, including nearly every major U.S. financial firm.
    A previous attempt to introduce Hong Kong national security legislation, known as Article 23, in 2003 was met with mass peaceful protests and shelved.
    Online posts had urged people in Hong Kong to protest on Thursday night and dozens were seen shouting pro-democracy slogans in a shopping mall as riot police stood nearby.
    Opposition lawmakers said the move would gravely wound Hong Kong’s reputation as a financial centre and its autonomy.     “If this move takes place, ‘one country, two systems’ will be officially erased,” said democratic lawmaker Dennis Kwok. “This is the end of Hong Kong.”
    Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia until early in the Trump administration, suggested Chinese President Xi Jinping might see “muscle-flexing” on Hong Kong as a means to make up for a series of setbacks, most notably the coronavirus pandemic that began in China – despite the risk of severe economic consequences for Hong Kong, China and others.
(Additional reporting by Greg Torode, Clare Jim, Sarah Wu, Jessie Pang, Steve Holland, Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom, Humeyra Pamuk and Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Marius Zaharia, Alistair Bell and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Toby Chopra, Nick Macfie and Howard Goller)

5/22/2020 Iran’s Khamenei says Israel is a ‘cancerous tumor’ in Middle East
FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a televised speech on the occasion of the
Iranian New Year Nowruz, in Tehran, Iran March 20, 2020. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Palestinians on Friday to continue their uprising against Israel, suggesting the Israeli government was a “tumor” that should be confronted until Palestinians were liberated.
    “The uprising by Palestinians should continue … fight to liberate Palestine is an obligation and an Islamic jihad … The Zionist regime (Israel) is a cancerous tumor in the region.”    Iran’s top authority Khamenei said in an online speech.
    “The long-lasting virus of Zionists will be eliminated.”     Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials have called repeatedly over the years for an end to the Jewish state, including through a referendum in the region, where Palestinians are in the majority.
    Khamenei reiterated the call in his speech on Quds Day, held on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and which was declared by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Catherine Evans)

5/22/2020 China drops word ‘peaceful’ in latest push for Taiwan ‘reunification’ by Yew Lun Tian and Yimou Lee
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is seen on a screen as he delivers a speech at the opening session of the National
People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang left out the word “peaceful” on Friday in referring to Beijing’s desire to “reunify” with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, an apparent policy shift that comes as ties with Taipei continue on a downward spiral.
    Taiwan has complained of increased Chinese military harassment since the coronavirus pandemic began, with fighter jets and naval vessels regularly approaching the island on drills China has described as routine.
    China says Taiwan is its most sensitive and important territorial issue, and has never renounced the use of force to bring what it views as a Chinese province under its control, making the Taiwan Strait a potential military flashpoint.
    Li, in his state-of-the-nation work report at the start of the annual meeting of China’s parliament, said his country would “resolutely oppose and deter any separatist activities seeking Taiwan independence.”
    China will improve policies and measures to encourage exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, and protect the well-being of Taiwan’s people, he added.
    “We will encourage them to join us in opposing Taiwan independence and promoting China’s reunification,” Li said.    “With these efforts, we can surely create a beautiful future for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
    However, there was no mention of the word “peaceful” in front of “reunification,” departing from the standard expression Chinese leaders have used for at least four decades when addressing parliament and mentioning Taiwan.
    Democratic Taiwan has shown no interest in being ruled by autocratic China.
    A senior Taiwan official, however, told Reuters the absence of the word “peaceful” did not signal a fundamental change in China’s approach towards the island.
    “They are still talking about the concept of peaceful unification, just in an indirect linguistic expression,” said the person who is familiar with Taiwan’s policy towards China, pointing to Li’s remarks on cross-Strait exchanges and economic integration.
    “It’s neutral.    We do not look at it that way.”
    China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    China believes Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen is a separatist bent on independence.    Tsai says Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name.
    Speaking in Taipei on Wednesday at the inauguration of her second term, Tsai said Taiwan could not accept becoming part of China under its “one country, two systems” offer of autonomy, and rejected China’s sovereignty claims.
    China wants Taiwan to accept the “one country, two systems” model, which is supposed to guarantee a high degree of autonomy and which Beijing uses to run the former British colony of Hong Kong.
    However, all major Taiwanese parties have rejected it.
    Responding to Li’s speech, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said the Taiwanese people were resolutely opposed to the “one country, two systems” proposal as it “belittles Taiwan and damages the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.”
    On Friday, China proposed new legislation for Hong Kong requiring it to quickly enact national security regulations, a move some see as contradicting the “one country, two systems” concept, and swiftly condemned by Taiwan.
(This story has been refiled to add dropped word “not” in paragraph 14).
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian and Yimou Lee; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Clarence Fernandez)

5/22/2020 Coronavirus cases in Singapore surpass 30,000: Reuters tally by Jane Wardell
FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective face mask passes grocery shoppers amid the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Coronavirus cases in Singapore topped 30,000 on Friday as the city-state reports hundreds of new infections in cramped migrant worker dormitories every day.
    The lowly paid workers represented the vast majority of the 612 new cases reported on Friday, a daily infection rate that is one of the highest in Asia, taking Singapore’s total cases to 30,426.    The death toll remains 22.
    Singapore closed schools and most workplaces in April as part of measures to curb infections.    This week, the government published plans for some businesses to resume at the beginning of June, given the low rate of infections outside the worker dormitories.
    Businesses with less transmission risk like manufacturing and finance will be allowed to reopen, along with schools. Retail shops and restaurants will remain closed.
    The rapid spread of the disease among the migrant labour population appeared to catch Singapore health officials by surprise.
    It took the country about three months from the end of January to report its first 10,000 cases, according to a Reuters tally based on official data.    The next 20,000 cases were reported in just one month, as testing was boosted in the worker dormitories.
    There are more than 300,000 workers from other Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India and China, living in tightly packed accommodation in Singapore.
    The daily rate of new infections has slowed to about 600 over the past week, down from a high of 1,426 cases on April 20.
    Coronavirus cases and deaths are still well below the Ministry of Health’s estimates that about 20% of the 5.7 million population is infected with seasonal flu each year, with an annual average of 600 deaths.
(Reporting By Jane Wardell; Editing by Richard Pullin, Robert Birsel)

5/22/2020 Indian PM visits cyclone stricken Kolkata promising help, Bangladesh counts cost by Ruma Paul and and Subrata Nagchoudhury
Residents salvage their belongings from the rubble of a damaged house in the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan, in
South 24 Parganas district in the eastern state of West Bengal, India, May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
    KOLKATA/DHAKA (Reuters) – Peering down from his aircraft, Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw on Friday the devastation and flooding caused by the most powerful cyclone to strike India and Bangladesh in more than a decade, before landing in the stricken city of Kolkata.
    At least 96 people died in the two countries when cyclone Amphan swept in from the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday most of them in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.
    The toll is expected to rise as communications are restored and authorities reach villages cut off by blocked and submerged roads, but the evacuation of some three million people before the cyclone struck undoubtedly reduced the number of deaths.
    Modi has promised to leave no stone unturned to get West Bengal back on its feet, as the state counts the cost of rebuilding infrastructure and homes, and supporting farmers whose crops and livestock were destroyed by Amphan.
    Wearing a face mask as he stepped onto tarmac at the airport in Kolkata, Modi was greeted by the state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other officials, all wearing masks.
    Kolkata’s deputy mayor Atin Ghosh told Reuters “the city is still in a state of shock.”
    “Municipal teams, civil defence personnel, police personnel have been working overtime to restore road connectivity first.    But there is an acute shortage of manpower due to coronavirus related restrictions,” Ghosh said.
    “Private buses and trains are still not in service.    We really need citizens of Kolkata to come forward and lend a helping hand in whatever way possible.”
    On Friday, police were using drones to assess the damage in Kolkata, a city of 14 million, where an estimated 10,000 trees fell during a storm that lasted several hours.
    Reuters Television footage showed some streets strewn with uprooted trees and broken branches, while torn power lines lay amid pools of stagnant water.    At least a dozen people died in the city during the storm, most of them either electrocuted or crushed beneath collapsed walls.
    “It is complete devastation.    First it was COVID-19 that drained our resources and now this,” Banerjee told a news conference late on Thursday.
    “One has to see to believe the magnitude of devastation in North and South Parganas, Sundarbans and in Kolkata."
    “Most of the affected parts are still not accessible by road or through communication channels.    It will take several days before we get on the ground reports from interior areas.”
    Amphan unleashed torrential rains and a storm surge in the low-lying coastal areas that burst river embankments protecting villages in the delta.    Its winds, gusting up to 185 km per hour (115 mph), wrecked their mud walled houses and tore off roofs.
    Amphan originally started as a super cyclone with wind speeds reaching over 230 km per hour, the equivalent of a category 5 hurricane, but it weakened after making landfall into a very severe cyclone as it moved inland through Bangladesh.
    Initial estimates from the Bangladesh government put the damage to infrastructure, housing, fisheries and livestock, water resources and agriculture at around 11 billion taka ($130 million).
    “Some 1,100 kilometres of road, 200 bridges and 150 kilometres of dams in coastal districts have been damaged,” said Enamur Rahman, Junior minister for disaster management and relief.
    Crops have been damaged over an area of 176,000 hectares, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque said.    And the country’s electricity authority was scrambling to restore power for some 10 million people.
    “It has left a trail of destruction in its wake," said Rahman.
(Additional reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal and Nigam Prusty in New Delhi, Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneshwar, Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/22/2020 North Korea’s Kim keeps low public profile in May: analysts by Josh Smith
FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks as he takes part in a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party
of Korea (WPK) in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 11, 2020. KCNA/via REUTERS/File Photo
    SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made an unusually small number of public appearances in the past two months, once again going three weeks without state media reporting his attendance at a public event, according to analysts.
    Kim’s low profile comes as North Korea imposes anti-coronavirus measures, although the country says it has no confirmed cases, and follows intense speculation about his health last month after he missed a key anniversary.
    Kim has appeared publicly four times in April and so far in May, compared to 27 times in the same period last year.
    Since coming to power in 2011, the previous fewest public appearances Kim has made during those months was 21 in 2017, according to a tally by Chad O’Carroll, CEO of Korea Risk Group, a Seoul-based organisation that tracks North Korea.
    “This is not business as normal,” he said in a post on Twitter this week.
    As a leader with near-absolute power over North Korea’s 25.5 million people, and access to a growing arsenal of nuclear weapons, Kim’s health and whereabouts are often scrutinized by the international community for any signs of instability.
    Information in North Korea is tightly controlled, however, and independently confirmed details on Kim are almost non-existent.
    South Korean officials have said they believe Kim’s limited public appearances may be precautions in the face of coronavirus concerns.    North Korea has cancelled, postponed, or toned down many major public gatherings because the new coronavirus.
    When asked about Kim’s absences, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on Friday it is monitoring the situation, but noted Kim is often out of the public eye.
    Citing an unnamed South Korean government official, JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported Kim may be carrying out his duties from a favoured villa in Wonsan, on the coast.
    But the North Korean leader may also simply be focused on some of the domestic economic and political goals he outlined before the coronavirus crisis struck, said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a former North Korea open source intelligence analyst in the U.S. government.
    “COVID does remain a major concern for the country, but state media coverage of COVID has declined over the past month or so, so I don’t seen regime’s increased concern,” she said.
    Friday marks three weeks since state media last showed images of Kim attending a public event.
    North Korean state media reported Kim attended the opening ceremony of a fertilizer plant on May 1.    That appearance marked a reemergence for Kim, whose unprecedented absence from a major holiday on April 15 sparked weeks of international speculation over his health and whereabouts.
    Since then, state media has carried a steady stream of stories on Kim sending or receiving letters and diplomatic correspondence, but have not shown him attending public events.
    Kim’s longest public absence was for 40 days in 2014.    South Korea’s spy agency later said Kim had undergone a medical procedure on his ankle during that time.
(Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/22/2020 Philippines reports 11 coronavirus deaths, 163 more cases
FILE PHOTO: Workers wearing protective masks stand by to hitch a ride as some industries resume operations with limited public transportation
available, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines on Friday recorded 11 additional coronavirus deaths and 163 more infections, the lowest daily increase in cases in nearly two weeks, health ministry said.
    In a bulletin, the ministry said total infections have increased to 13,597 while deaths have reached 857.    But 92 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 9,648.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Ed Davies)

5/22/2020 China defence spending rise at three-decade low, still to grow 6.6% by Yew Lun Tian
Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak stands at the end of the opening session
of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s defence spending this year will rise at the slowest rate in three decades but will still increase by 6.6% from 2019, as the country grapples with what it sees as growing security threats and a wilting economy.
    The figure, set at 1.268 trillion yuan ($178.16 billion) in the national budget released on Friday, is closely watched as a barometer of how aggressively the country will beef up its military.
    China’s economy shrank 6.8% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with a year earlier, as the novel coronavirus spread from the central city of Wuhan, where it emerged late last year.
    China omitted a 2020 economic growth target for the first time and pledged government support for the economy in Premier Li Keqiang’s work report on Friday, launching the country’s annual parliament meeting.
    Still, Li pledged that the armed forces, the world’s largest, should not be worse off.
    “We will deepen reforms in national defence and the military, increase our logistic and equipment support capacity, and promote innovative development of defence-related science and technology,” he told about 3,000 legislators in the largely rubber-stamp body.
    “We will improve the system of national defence mobilisation and ensure that the unity between the military and the government and between the military and the people remains rock solid,” he added, speaking in the Great Hall of the People.
    Despite the coronavirus outbreak, the armed forces of China and the United States have remained active in the disputed South China Sea and around Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
    China also faces unrest in Hong Kong in reaction to Beijing’s plans to impose national security legislation in the city.
    Bates Gill, Professor of Asia-Pacific Security Studies at Macquarie University in Australia, said the growth of the defence budget strikes a balance, and reflects the tighter budgetary climate.
    “That said, 6.6% growth is not insignificant and is perhaps multiples higher than expected GDP growth for the coming year,” he said.
    China’s military faces a challenge in the recruitment, training and retention of better-educated and technologically savvy soldiers to operate in a more complex and high-tech future, Gill added.
EXTERNAL THREATS
    The coronavirus has worsened already-poor ties between Beijing and Washington.
    The Ministry of State Security has warned in an internal report that China faced a wave of hostility because of the coronavirus outbreak that could tip relations with the United States into armed confrontation.
    Collin Koh, a research fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, said Beijing senses an urgent need to bolster its defences in the face of what it perceives as threats to national security.
    “A rollback on military modernisation, especially in numerical terms expressed in the defence budget, could send a wrong signal to the domestic and external audiences,” Koh said.
    China routinely says spending for defensive purposes is a comparatively low percentage of its GDP and that critics want to keep the country down.
    It gives only a raw figure for military expenditure, with no breakdown.    It is widely believed by diplomats and foreign experts that the country under-reports the real number.
    “China continues to announce big defence spending increases and we urge it to be transparent about that spending, its military strength and national defence policy,” Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Friday.
    China’s reported defence budget in 2020 is about a quarter of the U.S. defence budget last year, which stood at $686 billion.
    China has long argued that it needs to close the gap with the United States.    China, for example, has only two aircraft carriers, compared with 12 for the United States.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Additional reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Tim Kelly in Tokyo; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Gerry Doyle and Barbara Lewis)

5/22/2020 Beijing, on HK, says no country would let separatists endanger security
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a news conference
in Beijing, China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Friday it opposed foreign interference in Hong Kong and that no country would allow separatists to endanger national security, responding to the latest U.S. criticisms about Beijing’s handling of the city.
    Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remarks during a daily briefing.    Beijing plans to impose new national security legislation for Hong Kong, which has prompted alarm among activists who believe the new regulation could further erode freedoms in the city.
    Zhao said Beijing seeks cooperation and dialogue with Washington but will fight back if the United States tries to oppress China.

5/22/2020 Thailand to extend coronavirus emergency to end of June
FILE PHOTO: A crowd of passengers is seen in a train, after the Thai government eased isolation measures,
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    Reuters) – Thailand will maintain its state of emergency over the coronavirus until the end of June, its COVID-19 task force said on Friday, in an effort to keep infections under control as the government prepares to ease restrictions further.
    Shopping malls and department stores reopened at the weekend after almost two months of closure as the number of cases slowed, but bars, nightclubs, cinemas, playgrounds and some sports remain off-limits.
    The government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) proposed the extension in response to developments with the global pandemic and to allow time to prepare for further easing at the start of next month.
    “The reason for extending the emergency decree for one more month is health security, enabling a unified and continued operation by officials in a pandemic situation that has not been resolved,” said CCSA spokesman Taweesin Wisanuyothin.     The extension is subject to Cabinet approval on Tuesday.
    The government has extended a ban on international passenger flights, which has been in place since April, until the end of June.    Schools remain closed and are scheduled to reopen in July.
    Thailand has been recording daily infections in single digits for most of the past month and on Friday reported no new coronavirus infections or deaths.
    Its total confirmed cases are 3,037, of which 56 were fatalities, with 2,910 recoveries.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty)

5/22/2020 India reports biggest 24-hour rise in virus cases as lockdown eases by Alexandra Ulmer
FILE PHOTO: A migrant family waits to get registered before boarding a train to their home state of eastern Bihar, during an
extended lockdown to slow the spreading of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
    MUMBAI (Reuters) – India registered some 6,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, the country’s biggest jump in 24 hours, as New Delhi eases a nationwide lockdown and airlines prepare to resume some domestic flights.
    The country of 1.3 billion people reported a total of over 118,000 confirmed cases on Friday, a roughly 5% increase from Thursday’s figures.    Included in the total are 3,583 deaths.
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended a lockdown, begun on March 25, to May 31, but relaxed rules in areas with lower numbers of cases and allowed state governments to issue their own guidelines on some matters.
    India’s airlines will be allowed to resume flights with about a third of operations as of Monday, but only on domestic routes and under rules that are among the strictest in the world.
    “This surge in cases has happened after movement of people has been partially allowed.    But if you see overall, this is a much lower exponential trajectory as compared to the rest of the world,” said Giridhar Babu, a professor of epidemiology with the Public Health Foundation of India.
    “The only question now is: How do you reduce mortality?    Do we have the capacity?    The answer seems to be yes,” Babu added.
    India’s contagion hotspots include the capital New Delhi, financial hub Mumbai, Modi’s home state of Gujarat, and the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
    “Our COVID wards have been full for the past week, and we are expanding capacity to enable us to admit more patients,” said Dr. Lancelot Pinto, a respirologist at the P. D. Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.
(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/22/2020 Hong Kong fears end of democracy as China moves toward security law by OAN Newsroom
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, center, and other officials attend a press conference in Hong Kong after returning
from China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) meeting in Beijing, Friday, May 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
    Pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong are striking back as China moves to pass new security legislation, which may threaten an end to the free city-state.    Demonstrators took to the streets on Friday following China’s announcement of its intention to impose a new security law on the free city.
    The new law would limit public demonstrations and place many restrictions on the democratic city.
    Lawmakers are worried the new security law could remove the protection of the city’s civil liberties against the communist regime and end the city’s long upheld “one country, two systems” formula.
    “Up until yesterday, I still believed Hong Kong has the rule of law. One of the central principles of the rule of law is that everyone is equal, no one is above the law, not even the chief executive is above the law.    Are they saying that there will be a commission or an organization in Hong Kong that is above the law?    That will be the end of Hong Kong.” – Dennis Kwok, pro-democracy lawmaker
Members of the Democratic Party holding placards argue with police officer during a protest in front of
the Chinese central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, Friday, May 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
    The security legislation is expected to be voted upon next week, with lawmakers having yet to flesh out an actual law.     This move followed the city’s ongoing pro-democracy protests, which have endured for over a year, against the control of the communist state.

5/22/2020 Tankers carrying Iranian fuel approach the Caribbean: data by Marianna Parraga
FILE PHOTO: A worker stands at a closed gas station of the state oil company PDVSA in
San Cristobal, Venezuela, May 17, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Eduardo Ramirez/File Photo
    (Reuters) – A flotilla of five tankers carrying Iranian fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela is approaching the Caribbean, with the first vessel expected to reach the South American country’s waters on Sunday, according to Refinitiv Eikon tracking data.
    Iran is supplying about 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and alkylate to Venezuela, according to both governments, sources and calculations made by TankerTrackers.com based on the vessels’ draft levels.
    The shipments have caused a diplomatic standoff between Iran and Venezuela and the United States as both nations are under U.S. sanctions.    Washington is considering measures in response, according to a senior U.S. official, who did not elaborate on any options being weighed.
    The United States recently beefed up its naval presence in the Caribbean for what it said was an expanded anti-drug operation.    But a Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said on Thursday he was not aware of any operations related to the Iranian cargoes.
    “We have continued to say that Iran and Venezuela – both two outliers in the international order – (are) clearly violating international sanctions on both nations with this transaction,” he told reporters.     Venezuela’s defense minister said its military will escort the Iranian tankers once they reach the nation’s exclusive economic zone.
    Iran-flagged tanker Fortune, the first in the flotilla, was approaching the Caribbean Sea on Friday.    It has been navigating with its satellite signal on since it passed the Suez Canal earlier in May.    The four other vessels are following the same route across the Atlantic Ocean, the Eikon data showed.
    The OPEC-member country desperately needs fuel for up to 1,800 gasoline stations that have been partially closed for weeks due to insufficient supply from state-run PDVSA’s refineries, which until March worked at about 10% of their joint capacity of 1.3 million barrels per day.
    PDVSA’s gasoline output is now limited to a single facility, the Amuay refinery, but most fuel produced is low octane as most of the country’s alkylation units are out of service, according to company sources. Imported alkylate could improve the quality of domestic gasoline.
    PDVSA did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
    Venezuela was consuming 170,000 bpd of gasoline before coronavirus-related lockdown measures.    Fuel sales at stations declined to about 40,000 bpd due to rationing, according to analysts.
    Over a decade of mismanagement and lack of staff, combined with U.S. sanctions that since 2019 have limited imports, Venezuela’s refineries are in poor condition.    Shipments of equipment in flights by Iran’s Mahar Air have arrived in Venezuela in recent weeks to start repair work.
    The U.S. Treasury Department this week blacklisted the Chinese firm that provided the refinery parts.    Beijing called the sanctions “illegal.”
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Phillip Stewart in Washington and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Dan Grebler)
[This is hillarious since it cost Iran more to make the oil per barrel than they make for them but we are sure they are desperate for any kind of compensation.].

5/23/2020 Philippines reports six coronavirus deaths, 180 more cases
FILE PHOTO: Workers wearing protective masks stand by to hitch a ride as some industries resume operations with limited public transportation available,
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines on Saturday recorded six additional coronavirus deaths and 180 more infections, the health ministry said.
    In a bulletin, the ministry said total infections have risen to 13,777, while deaths have reached 863. But 85 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 3,177.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/23/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 642 more coronavirus cases
FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective face mask is seen at a new medical facility set up for testing migrant workers
residing in dormitories for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Singapore May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Singapore’s health ministry said on Saturday it had confirmed 642 more coronavirus cases, taking its tally of infections to 31,068.
    The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the ministry said in a statement. Six are permanent residents.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/23/2020 Thailand reports three new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: Passengers embark from a train at a station, after the Thai government eased isolation measures, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand May 18, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Saturday reported three new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing the country’s total to 3,040 confirmed cases and 56 fatalities since the outbreak started in January.
    The new cases are two Thai nationals recently returned from overseas and under quarantine and a 49-year-old Italian man living in Phuket, said Panprapa Yongtrakul, a spokeswoman for the government’s coronavirus task force.
    There are 2,916 patients who have recovered and returned home since the outbreak started, Panprapa said.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um. Editing by Kay Johnson)

5/23/2020 China reports no new coronavirus cases for first time since pandemic began
FILE PHOTO: Volunteers in protective gear measure the body temperature of a man at the entrance of a residential compound following the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Chuanying district of Jilin, Jilin province, China May 22, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS
    SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China recorded no new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland for May 22, the first time it had seen no daily rise in the number of cases since the pandemic began in the central city of Wuhan late last year.
    The National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement on Saturday that this compared to four new cases on the previous day.    It said, however, there were two new suspected cases: an imported one in Shanghai and locally transmitted case in the northeastern province of Jilin.
    New asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus fell to 28 from 35 a day earlier, the NHC said.
    China has seen a sharp fall in locally transmitted cases since March as major restrictions on people movement helped it to take control of the epidemic in many parts of the country.
    However, it has continued to see an influx of imported cases, mainly involving Chinese nationals returning from abroad, while new clusters of infections in the northeastern border provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang have emerged in recent weeks.
    Wuhan also reported this month its first cluster of infections since a lockdown on the city ended on April 8, prompting authorities to warn that counter-epidemic measures could not be relaxed and to launch a campaign to test all of Wuhan’s 11 million residents for COVID-19.
    The number of confirmed cases in the mainland stood at 82,971 and the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

5/23/2020 Iranian fuel tankers approach Venezuelan waters despite U.S. warning by Deisy Buitrago and Luc Cohen
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks at a news conference on the sidelines of the United Nations
General Assembly in New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid//File Photo
    CARACAS/DUBAI (Reuters) – The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela approached the South American country’s waters on Saturday afternoon, despite a U.S. official’s warning that Washington was considering a response to the shipment.
    As of 4:51 p.m. local time (2051 GMT), the tanker – named Fortune – was passing north of the neighboring dual-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.
    Venezuelan state television reported that the vessel would arrive in the country’s waters at 7 p.m. local time (2300 GMT), and showed images of a navy ship and aircraft preparing to meet it.
    The nation’s defense minister had pledged that the military would escort the tankers once they reached Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) due to what authorities described as threats from the United States.
    “We welcome the boats from the Islamic Republic of Iran, which will soon arrive at our fatherland’s ports,” Tareck El Aissami, Venezuela’s economy vice president and recently named oil minister, wrote on Twitter.
    The tanker flotilla is carrying a total of 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and alkylate to Venezuela, according to both governments, sources and calculations by TankerTrackers.com.
    The shipments, desperately needed as gasoline is increasingly scarce in Venezuela, have caused a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Iran and Venezuela as both countries are under U.S. sanctions.
    Washington is considering measures in response, according to a senior U.S. official, who did not elaborate on any options.
    The United States recently beefed up its naval presence in the Caribbean for what it said was an expanded antidrug operation. But a Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said on Thursday he was not aware of any operations related to the Iranian cargoes.
    Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned of retaliatory measures against the United States if Washington caused problems for tankers carrying Iranian fuel to Venezuela, the semi-official news agency Mehr reported.
    “If our tankers in the Caribbean or anywhere in the world face trouble caused by the Americans, they (the U.S.) will also be in trouble,” Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with Qatar’s Emir, Mehr reported.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom, Deisy Buitrago in Caracas, Luc Cohen in New York and Marianna Parraga in Mexico City; Editing by David Evans, Andrea Ricci and Jonathan Oatis)

5/23/2020 China’s new Hong Kong laws a ‘flagrant breach’ of agreement, foreign officials say
FILE PHOTO: Former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten in Hong Kong, China November 25, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nearly 200 political figures from around the world on Saturday decried Beijing’s proposed national security laws for Hong Kong, including 17 U.S. Congress members, as international tensions grow over the proposal to set up Chinese government intelligence bases in the territory.
    In a joint statement organized by former Hong Kong Governor Christopher Patten and former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, 186 law and policy leaders said the proposed laws are a “comprehensive assault on the city’s autonomy, rule of law and fundamental freedoms” and a “flagrant breach” of the Sino-British Joint Declaration that returned Hong Kong to China in 1997.
    “If the international community cannot trust Beijing to keep its word when it comes to Hong Kong, people will be reluctant to take its word on other matters,” they wrote.
    The legislation comes as the relationship between Washington and Beijing frays, with U.S. President Donald Trump blaming China for the coronavirus pandemic.
    U.S. officials have said the Chinese legislation would be bad for both Hong Kong’s and China’s economies and could jeopardize the territory’s special status in U.S. law.    China, though, has dismissed other countries’ complaints as meddling.
    Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans – Senator Marco Rubio, acting chair of the Intelligence Committee, and Senator Ted Cruz – signed the statement.    Democratic signatories included Representative Eliot Engel, head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Adam Schiff, chairman of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
    Forty-four members of Britain’s House of Commons and eight members of its House of Lords also signed the statement, alongside figures from across Europe, Asia, Australia and North America.
(Reporting by Lisa Lambert; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

5/23/2020 Xi makes high-stakes power play in move to subdue Hong Kong by David Lague
FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators clash with police during a protest against police violence during previous marches,
near China's Liaison Office, Hong Kong, China July 28, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – For Chinese leader Xi Jinping it is a high-stakes power play.    His move to impose tough national security laws on Hong Kong risks reigniting pro-democracy protests that plunged the city into chaos last year, increasing tensions in an already fraught relationship with the United States and undermining Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub.
    In the aftermath of the protests, Beijing appears determined to stamp out any renewed rebellion against the Communist Party’s authority over the former British colony.    China’s largely rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress, is preparing to circumvent the city’s lawmaking body, the Legislative Council, in drafting the new laws.    The fear among many in Hong Kong is that China intends to criminalize existing freedoms, including criticism of the central government and its policies.    It is the latest and biggest step in a concerted effort by Beijing to assert control over Hong Kong and its 7.4 million people.
    In recent weeks there had been widespread speculation here that Beijing was planning this move, described by some local commentators as the “nuclear option.”    Thursday’s announcement by China nonetheless stunned pro-democracy lawmakers, business leaders and lawyers in the city.    It was, they said, a historic turning point – the end of “one country, two systems,” the formula Beijing had promised would allow Hong Kong to retain its way of life and freedom for at least 50 years after the 1997 handover to Chinese rule.
    “This represents a real demolition of the one country, two systems idea and also the idea of Hong Kong’s autonomy,” said barrister Wilson Leung, a member of the Progressive Lawyers Group. Leung said extremely harsh sentences had been imposed on dissidents, journalists and lawyers on the mainland under vaguely expressed but draconian laws.    “These same vague concepts are now being introduced to Hong Kong,” he said.
    Many details of the new laws and exactly how they will be absorbed into Hong Kong’s existing statutes remain unclear.    But Beijing has openly expressed its intentions in recent months.    It wants to end the cycle of mass protests that have thwarted successive post-colonial administrations each time they have moved to more closely align the city with China’s political and legal system.
    The current Beijing-backed leader of Hong Kong, Carrie Lam, was forced to drop proposed laws last year that would have allowed extraditions for trial in mainland Chinese courts after demonstrations convulsed the city.    Alarmingly for Beijing, many young protesters began making calls to “free Hong Kong” and became increasingly violent as police battled to restore order.
    The new laws will be annexed into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, outlawing secession, subversion and terrorism – and providing for the stationing of mainland national security agencies in the city, according to a draft seen by Reuters that spells out what the legislation will cover.    That intention is raising fears in Hong Kong that Chinese intelligence agents and police will not only be based in the city, but have formal enforcement power for the first time.
    The draft also states that Hong Kong’s “judicial organs” along with its government and legislature “must effectively prevent, stop and punish acts endangering national security.”
    Senior judges in the city told Reuters last month that the independence of Hong Kong’s judicial system is under assault from the Communist Party leadership, posing a grave threat to the rule of law.
    The proposal for new legislation is expected to be passed on May 28 by the National People’s Congress, though it remains unclear how and when exactly Hong Kong will bring it into effect.
    Legal scholars are unsure whether the Basic Law’s extensive human rights protections will apply to the new imposed legislation.    The Basic Law currently prevents mainland security institutions from routinely taking enforcement action inside the city.
    Shiu Sin-por, a former top aide to Lam’s predecessor as city leader, told Reuters that the deployment into Hong Kong of the Ministry of State Security – China’s leading intelligence agency – could happen “right away.”
    “For Beijing to announce this, they most probably already have something in mind,” Shiu said.    “This is not difficult to set up, so this can happen anytime.”
‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’
    Chinese officials say the decision to pass the legislation via the National People’s Congress is because they know it won’t be passed by the Legislative Council in Hong Kong.    “Hong Kong still has not completed legislation on national security since its return to China,” said a person with direct knowledge of Beijing’s thinking.    “After the endless protests, it’s time for Beijing to say enough is enough.”
    The mainland authorities did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.     Lam said in a statement on Friday that she “deeply” believed the new law “will seek to practically and effectively prevent and curb acts and activities that seriously undermine national security, as well as sanction those who undermine national security by advocating ‘Hong Kong independence’ and resorting to violence.”
    The immediate risk for Beijing is that the move will spark a fresh, more violent round of demonstrations.    Protest groups and pro-democracy lawmakers are furious and have vowed to take to the streets to protest what they describe as “evil laws.”
    “Beijing is attempting to silence Hong Kongers’ critical voices with force and fear,” pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said on Twitter.    “Deep down protesters know, we insist not because we are strong, but because we have no other choice.”
    It is a decisive but potentially fraught move for the Chinese leadership at a time when Beijing faces the most intense international and domestic pressure it has experienced in decades.
    The Covid-19 pandemic that began late last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan is battering the global economy.    The death toll now exceeds 330,000 worldwide.    China’s inability to initially contain the virus – and evidence that it suppressed information about the outbreak – has damaged its international standing. A report presented early last month by the Ministry of State Security to Xi and other Chinese leaders contained a stark warning, Reuters reported: Global anti-China sentiment was at its highest since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
    Compounding Beijing’s discomfort, Taiwan’s government under President Tsai Ing-wen is basking in international acclaim for its success in containing the infection and avoiding serious economic harm.    So far, Taiwan has had 441 confirmed cases of coronavirus and just seven deaths.    China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to assert that sovereignty.
    As the pandemic spreads, Beijing has unleashed what Chinese commentators dub “wolf-warrior” diplomats – envoys who are lashing out against perceived slights or criticism with mockery and threats of trade retaliation.
    China may be misreading the international mood.    After Australia last month called for an independent inquiry into the origins and spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, China’s ambassador said Chinese consumers could boycott Australian beef, wine and tourism.    Beijing ultimately agreed to back a probe when it became clear at this month’s meeting of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, that there was overwhelming global support for an inquiry.
‘READY TO FIGHT TONIGHT’
    Military and economic tension with the U.S. is also on the rise.    The Trump administration is sending loud signals that it will resist any Chinese move to expand its footprint in the South China Sea or seek territorial gains while the world is distracted with the public health crisis.    Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet took the unusual step of announcing that all its forward deployed attack submarines were at sea on patrol in the Western Pacific.    The location of U.S. submarines is normally secret – unless the Pentagon wants to send a warning that it is prepared to counter a threat.
    “The Pacific Fleet submarine force remains lethal, agile and ready to fight tonight,” U.S. Pacific Fleet submarine commander Rear Admiral Blake Converse said in a statement.
    In the South China Sea and East China Sea, U.S. warships and long-range bombers have been mounting an ongoing series of patrols and exercises off the Chinese coast.
    On Hong Kong, the United States is warning that Washington could retaliate economically if the city’s freedoms are threatened.    At stake is Hong Kong’s special status in its ties with the United States, which provides for a broad range of trade, economic, political, social and law enforcement cooperation.    Hong Kong, for example, is treated separately from the mainland by the United States in terms of customs and immigration.
    On Thursday, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a bill to impose sanctions on Chinese officials or entities who violate freedoms China pledged to preserve in Hong Kong.    The bill also would place sanctions on any bank that does significant business with those officials and entities.
    Chinese officials bristle at U.S. attempts to dictate to Beijing how it should handle Hong Kong, which is a Chinese city.    In particular, some point to the State Department saying it would delay the release of a report on whether Hong Kong is autonomous enough to continue receiving special treatment from the world’s biggest economy.
    “Beijing doesn’t bow to threats like this,” said the person with direct knowledge of Beijing’s thinking.    “To Beijing, Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong.”
    Damage to Hong Kong’s role as a financial center could compound the challenge facing Beijing in rejuvenating the Chinese economy.    Business activity had been slowing even before the pandemic; Covid-19 has hammered it.    Official figures recorded a 6.8% contraction in economic output in the first quarter.    One measure of the country’s woes: The authorities announced this week that because of the uncertainty created by the pandemic, they won’t be setting an annual growth target, a stark turnaround for a country whose statistics have shown unbroken expansion for decades in virtual lockstep with government forecasts.
    Hong Kong is a vital cog in China’s economy.    While China still has extensive capital controls and often intervenes in its financial markets and banking system, Hong Kong is one of the most open economies in the world and one of the biggest markets for equity and debt financing.    China uses Hong Kong’s currency, equity and debt markets to attract foreign funds, while international companies use Hong Kong as a launchpad to expand into mainland China.    The bulk of foreign direct investment in China continues to be channeled through the city.    And many of China’s biggest firms have listed in Hong Kong, often as a springboard to global expansion.
    The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said in a statement that the move by China “may jeopardize future prospects for international business,” including the ability to “recruit and retain top tier talent” in the city.    “No one wins if the foundation for Hong Kong’s role as a prime international business and financial center is eroded,” said Robert Grieves, chairman of the business group.
MORE DIRECT ROLE
    The core of the problem for Xi and other top leaders is that the Communist Party and the authoritarian political system it enforces on the mainland remain deeply unpopular in free-wheeling Hong Kong. With the 23rd anniversary of the handover approaching, top Chinese leaders are rarely seen in the city.    When they do appear, usually at carefully staged events, they are enveloped by security cordons designed to ensure they never face the kind of rowdy protests or public criticism that Hong Kong leaders routinely endure.
    In some respects, the mainland leadership appears to be more remote from the city’s people than top British officials in the final years of colonial rule.    Hong Kong’s last colonial governor, Chris Patten, remains a popular figure here and a regular commentator on local political affairs.
    “I think there has been a significant change in China, in Beijing, since Xi Jinping became president or dictator for life, complete with a personality cult which is extraordinary,” Patten told members of the city’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club in an online presentation earlier this week.    “I think the sad point is that Xi Jinping and his court have regarded Hong Kong and Hong Kong’s freedoms as an existential problem for them because Hong Kong represents so much of what they don’t like.”
    Mainland authorities and their proxies have worked tirelessly to win support from local people since the handover, but these efforts appear to be ineffective.    Pro-democracy groups scored a dramatic victory at local elections held after the climax of last year’s protests, in what was widely seen as a referendum on the performance of the Lam administration.    A poll conducted for Reuters in March found that support for the demands of pro-democracy protesters had grown even though the demonstrations had paused as a result of the pandemic.
    Veteran political activists in the city anticipate that pro-democracy candidates will repeat their success in a Legislative Council poll scheduled for September.
    Resistance in the Legislative Council and mass protests killed off Beijing’s first attempt in 2003 to introduce national security legislation.    Last year’s proposed extradition laws met a similar fate. Imposing such laws via the National People’s Congress means Beijing won’t have to risk another such setback at the hands of elected lawmakers and their supporters on the streets.
    “Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy, but Hong Kong definitely is not independent from China,” Leung Chun-ying, a former leader of the city and now an adviser to China’s government, told Reuters.    “Hong Kong is part of China, and therefore, Hong Kong has an obligation to protect the national security of China.”
    Even as the pandemic and social distancing regulations restricted protests in Hong Kong in the early months of this year, there were signs Beijing was preparing to play a much more direct role in running the city.    Key moves included the appointment of two top officials, both with reputations for toughness and both with close ties to President Xi, to oversee Hong Kong.
    Luo Huining, who Xi had earlier deployed as party secretary to take down a corruption network in Shanxi province, was appointed to run Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong. Another former provincial party secretary, Xia Baolong, took over the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing, the top government body responsible for handling the city.    Xia was Xi’s deputy when the Chinese leader was Party Secretary in Zhejiang province between 2002 and 2007.
    After the two leaders took up their new posts, the Liaison Office sparked a controversy when it said in a statement last month that it had the power, along with the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, to “handle Hong Kong affairs.”    Pro-democracy supporters in the city condemned the move as a clear threat to Hong Kong’s autonomy.
    The Liaison Office and Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not immediately respond to questions.
    In a speech on April 15, Luo also signaled that new national security laws were in the pipeline.    “For the nearly 23 years since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, the system for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong has had shortcomings and could be fatal at critical moments,” Luo said.    New laws were needed “without delay,” he added.
    On Thursday, five weeks after Luo spoke, Beijing made its dramatic announcement: Chinese-style national security is coming to China’s freest city.
(Reporting by David Lague. Additional reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing and Greg Torode, Anne Marie Roantree and James Pomfret in Hong Kong. Editing by Peter Hirschberg.)

5/24/2020 Hong Kong police fire tear gas on biggest protests since COVID curbs by James Pomfret and Jessie Pang
Anti-government protesters march again Beijing's plans to impose national security
legislation in Hong Kong, China May 24, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired tear gas and pepper spray to disperse thousands protesting on Sunday against Beijing’s plan to directly impose national security laws on the city, the biggest flare-up in the city since COVID-19 lockdowns began.
    Crowds thronged the bustling shopping district of Causeway Bay, where protesters chanted, “Revolution of our time. Liberate Hong Kong,” “Fight for freedom, Stand with Hong Kong,” and “Hong Kong independence, the only way out.”
    The protest was the first since Beijing proposed national security laws on Thursday and pose a fresh challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping as authorities struggle to tame public opposition to China’s tightening grip over the global financial hub.
    The demonstrations come amid concerns over the fate of the “one country, two systems” formula that has governed Hong Kong since the former UK colony’s return to Chinese rule in 1997.    The arrangement guarantees the city broad freedoms not seen on the mainland, including a free press and independent judiciary.
    Sunday’s rally was initially organised against a controversial national anthem bill, due for a second reading in the city’s lawmaking body on Wednesday.    The proposed national security laws sparked calls for more people to take to the streets.     The city government sought on Sunday to reassure the public and foreign investors over the tough security laws that sent a chill through financial markets and drew a swift rebuke from foreign governments, international human rights groups and some business lobbies.
    Police conducted stop-and-search operations in Causeway Bay and warned people not to violate a ban on gatherings of more than eight, imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.
    They fired tear gas and pepper spray to disperse crowds amid chaotic scenes that evoked memories of sometimes violent anti-government protests that roiled the city last year, drawing as many as two million people.    Some protesters tried to set up road blocks.
    “I am worried that after the implementation of the national security law, they will go after those being charged before and the police will be further out of control,” said Twinnie, 16, a secondary school student who declined to give her last name.    “I am afraid of being arrested but I still need to come out and protest for the future of Hong Kong.”
    China has dismissed other countries’ complaints about the proposed legislation as “meddling,” saying the proposed laws are necessary and will not harm Hong Kong autonomy or foreign investors.
    “These radical claims and illegal violence are extremely worrying,” Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said in a blog post, referring to a backlash against the proposed laws as well as anti-government protests that roiled the city for months from June last year. “EVIL LAW”
    In a bold challenge to the mainland authorities, a small group of democracy activists protested outside Beijing’s main representative office in the city, chanting, “National security law is destroying two systems.”
    Avery Ng of the League for Social Democrats pasted protest signs on a plaque outside the Liaison Office, despite warnings from police.    He described the proposed legislation as an “evil law” and appealed to Hong Kong people to come out and protest against it.
    “It’s a moveable red line.    In future they can arrest, lock up and silence anyone they want in the name of national security. We have to resist it,” Ng told Reuters.
    Some local commentators have described the proposal as “a nuclear option” that is part of Chinese President Xi’s high-stakes power play.
    A backlash intensified on Saturday as nearly 200 political figures from around the world said in a statement the proposed laws said the proposed laws are a “comprehensive assault on the city’s autonomy, rule of law and fundamental freedoms.”
    Hong Kong has increasingly become a pawn in deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing, and observers will be watching for any signs of resignation to defeat among the broader local community or indications that activists are gearing up for a fresh challenge.
    Last year’s anti-government protests plunged the city into its biggest political crisis in decades, battered the economy and posed the gravest popular challenge to President Xi since he came to power in 2012.
(Reporting by James Pomfret, Jessie Pang, Donny Kwok, Twinnie Siu, Pak Yiu; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Lincoln Feast and William Mallard)

5/24/2020 Senior Chinese diplomat says new legislation on Hong Kong to have no impact on freedoms, rights
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a joint press conference with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic
following their meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, February 26, 2020. Roman Pilipey/Pool via REUTERS
    BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese government’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Sunday new China legislation on Hong Kong that is being considered would target a narrow category of acts and would have no impact on the city’s freedoms or rights, or interests of foreign firms.
    State Councillor Wang, speaking at his annual news conference, said instead of being more worried, people should be more confident of stability of Hong Kong.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/24/2020 China, U.S. to gain from cooperation, lose from confrontation – senior Chinese diplomat by Yew Lun Tian
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wearing a face mask following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak attends the opening session of
the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese government’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, said on Sunday that China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and would lose from confrontation, adding both sides must find a way for peaceful co-existence.
    Ties between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, with the administrations of President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping repeatedly trading barbs over issues related to the pandemic.
    They have also clashed over Hong Kong, human rights, trade and U.S. support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
    State Councillor Wang, speaking at his annual news conference, said China and the United States need to start coordinating macro policies for their respective economies as well as the world economy.
    “I want to say here: Don’t waste precious time any longer, and don’t ignore lives,” said Wang, who is also China’s foreign minister.
    “What China and the United States need to do the most is to first learn from each other and share their experience in fighting against the epidemic, and help each country fight against the epidemic.”
    China remains prepared to work with the United States in the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect, he told reporters, when asked if Sino-U.S. relations would further worsen.
    “China has always advocated that, as the world’s largest developing country and the largest developed country, both of us bear a major responsibility for world peace and development,” he said.
“China and the United States stand to gain from cooperation, and lose from confrontation.”
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Stephen Coates, Lincoln Feast and William Mallard)

5/24/2020 China says WHO chief has done a good job
FILE PHOTO: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) attends the virtual 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA)
during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Geneva, Switzerland, May 19, 2020. Christopher Black/WHO/Handout via REUTERS
[THIS MUST BE WHAT AMERICA CALLS A CHINESE JOKE OR HUMOR AND OR A CHINESE UNFORTUNATE COOKIE.    HA! HA!.].

5/24/2020 China hopes U.S., North Korea can resume meaningful dialogue
Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks to reporters via video link at a news conference held on the sidelines
of the National People's Congress (NPC), from the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 24, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China hopes the United State and North Korea can resume meaningful dialogue as soon as possible, the Chinese government’s top diplomat Wang Yi said on Sunday.
    The United States should not to squander the hard-won outcomes of engagement, State Councillor Wang said at his annual news conference in Beijing.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/24/2020 For world’s largest Muslim country, a virus-disrupted and bittersweet Eid by Angie Teo and Agustinus Beo Da Costa
Indonesian Muslims men take part in prayers during Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival marking the end the
holy fasting month of Ramadan, at a mosque in Palu, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, amid the spread of
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), May 24, 2020, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Basri Marzuki/via REUTERS
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – For Indonesia’s 225 million Muslims, celebrating Eid al-Fitr this year, the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, is bittersweet.
    Many are forced to spend it away from their families due to travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. Hundreds of mosques across Indonesia, however, are still hosting prayers, albeit while asking participants to wear masks and attempt social distancing.
    Eid is traditionally a raucous three-day celebration in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, marked by large family festivities, the exchange of gifts and mass prayers.
    But Indonesia has struggled to stem its coronavirus outbreak, with more than 21,000 cases.    On Saturday, its reported death toll had reached 1,351, the highest in East Asia outside China.
    Indonesia’s biggest Islamic group, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), issued a fatwa this week urging Muslims to pray at home, rather than congregate in mosques.
    Dicky Adam Sideq chose to spend Eid in the capital Jakarta, where cases have been concentrated, rather than risk travelling 150km home to Bandung, in neighbouring West Java province.
    “What if I’m an asymptomatic carrier and infect others?” the 25-year-old photo editor told Reuters, after video calling his family, who he has not seen for the last four months.    “I will wait until the situation is better before going home.”
    Sideq and 18 others at his boarding house decided to do morning prayers together and cook the feast they would usual eat with their families.
    “The most important thing is the Eid prayer.    Thankfully, we can still pray together,” he said.
    Thousands of Indonesians are still congregating at mosques for prayers, despite the risks.
    Novita Sari, 37, told Reuters she went to her mosque in Klaten, in Central Java, after her village chief insisted the community attend prayers because no one had tested positive for the coronavirus.
    Participants were asked to wear masks and bring prayer mats from home.    The mosque checked temperatures, and the elderly and young children are not allowed to attend.
    “It’s okay to be worried about COVID, but we should not be paranoid,” she said.    “We also need to balance our obligations to this world and to the afterlife.”
(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Angie Teo. Writing by Fanny Potkin. Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/24/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 548 more coronavirus cases
FILE PHOTO: A medical sick bay for migrant workers is pictured at the Marina Cruise Center amid the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 23, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Singapore’s health ministry said on Sunday it had confirmed 548 more coronavirus cases, taking its tally of infections to 31,616.
    The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the ministry said in a statement.    Three are permanent residents.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/24/2020 Thailand reports no new coronavirus cases for fourth time this month
FILE PHOTO: A staff member wearing face-shield and a mask serves customers in Icon Siam shopping center as shopping centers
reopen nation wide during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand May 17, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Sunday reported no new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, maintaining the total to 3,040 confirmed cases and 56 fatalities since the outbreak began in January.
    Sunday was the fourth day in this month that there were no new daily cases, said Panprapa Yongtrakul, a spokeswoman for the government’s coronavirus task force.
    There are >2,921 patients who have recovered and returned home since the outbreak started.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um)

5/24/2020 ‘A sad mood’: Muslim doctor in Malaysia spends Eid in hospital amid pandemic by Ebrahim Harris
Muslims disperse after they were warned by police officers outside the closed National Mosque while
celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival marking the end the holy fasting month of Ramadan,
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 24, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian doctor Muhammad Syahidd Al-Hatim was used to being away from his family on Eid al-Fitr, having spent the past two years celebrating the end of the holy Ramadan fasting month at Kuala Lumpur Hospital where he works.
    But this year, the 26-year-old said, Eid has become a more sombre affair for the hospital’s many Muslim staff, amid a pandemic that has so far seen over 7,000 people in the country infected with the coronavirus, including 115 who have died of COVID-19.
.     “It’s sad because some of my friends – the staff nurses, some of the senior doctors – they don’t come from KL itself,” Muhammad Syahidd told Reuters, referring to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital.
    “Usually, they would go back (to their hometowns) to spend time with their families, and they’re not getting the chance to do that. So yeah, it brings a sad mood to the working area.”
    Muslim-majority Malaysia has imposed widespread restrictions on movement since mid-March in a bid to stem the virus outbreak.
    Although some curbs were eased this month, interstate travel for non-essential reasons is still banned, with many people unable to return to their hometowns during the holiday season.
    Muhammad Syahidd, who works in the emergency ward, was on duty again on Sunday, the first day of Eid, amid concerns that the holiday will lead to a surge in coronavirus infections, as more people risked violating lockdown measures to visit relatives.
    The junior doctor, who lives with his parents, has been tested and quarantined twice after coming into close contact with patients suspected to have been infected with the virus.
    “I’m attending to patients here,” he said.    “Then I bring back the sickness to my parents – that’s the only thing that I’m scared of.”
    The pandemic, however, has brought the hospital staff closer, with non-Muslim workers often covering for Muslim staff breaking fast at sunset during Ramadan, Muhammad Syahidd said.
    “We take care of each other a lot,” he said.
(Reporting by Ebrahim Harris; Writing by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by William Mallard)

5/24/2020 China reports three new coronavirus cases after first day with none
FILE PHOTO: Volunteers in protective gear measure the body temperature of a man at the entrance of a residential compound following the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Chuanying district of Jilin, Jilin province, China May 22, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS
    SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China recorded three new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland for May 23, following the first day with no new cases since the outbreak began, the National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement on Sunday.
    Of the new cases, two were imported while one was a local transmission, the NHC said.
    Friday was the first time China had seen no daily rise in the number of cases since the pandemic began in the central city of Wuhan late last year.
    The number of new asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus increased to 36 from 28 a day earlier, the NHC said.
    The number of confirmed cases in the mainland stands at 82,974 and the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by William Mallard)

5/24/2020 Secy. Pompeo welcomes Eid armistice in Afghanistan by OAN Newsroom
In this Wednesday, May 20, 2020 photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, right, and fellow leader under a recently signed
power-sharing agreement, Abdullah Abdullah, center, hold a meeting with U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad aimed at resuscitating a
U.S.-Taliban peace deal signed in February, at the Presidential Palace, in Kabul, Afghanistan. (The Presidential Palace via AP)
    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has welcomed the latest ceasefire between terror group Taliban and the Afghan government.    On Sunday, Pompeo praised officials for announcing a three-day armistice for the duration of the Islamic holiday Eid.
    According to the secretary, both must advance talks to achieve a sustainable peace for the sake of the Afghan people.
    The Taliban offered the ceasefire Saturday and the Afghan government reciprocated the following day.    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has confirmed the armistice will be accompanied by a prisoner swap.
    “I hereby announce that there will be an acceleration in the releasing process of the Taliban prisoners, and serious measures will be taken in this regard,” stated Ghani.    “In the meantime, I call on the Taliban to release our security and defense prisoners from their captivity as soon as possible.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, right, and political rival Abdullah Abdullah, speak after they signed a power-sharing
agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, May 17, 2020. (Afghan Presidential Palace via AP)
    Officials pointed out the Taliban killed at least 146 civilians during the most recent Islamic holiday of Ramadan and will be approaching the latest armistice with caution.

5/24/2020 O’Brien: U.S. may place sanctions on China over Hong Kong legislation by OAN Newsroom
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, center, and other officials attend a press conference in Hong Kong after returning
from China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) meeting in Beijing, Friday, May 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
    The White House is considering placing sanctions on China if the new legislation against Hong Kong is passed.    According to National     Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wouldn’t be able to certify Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, which would lead to sanctions on both.
    O’Brien went on to say it would be difficult for Hong Kong to remain the financial center in Asia if China takes control.
    “I also think you’re going to have a terrible brain train.    I think Hong Kong citizens, many of whom can travel under certain circumstances, could travel to the United Kingdom or seek refuge in other places.    They’re not going to stay in Hong Kong to be dominated by the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party.” – Robert O’Brien, National Security Adviser
    He also said it would have a significant economic impact, because global corporations would have no reason to stay if the capitalist system is taken from Hong Kong.
In this photo taken Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, researchers work in a lab of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in central China’s
Hubei province Claims promoted by the Trump administration that the global coronavirus pandemic originated at the Wuhan Institute of
Virology in the central Chinese city are a “pure fabrication,” the institute’s director said Sunday, May 24, 2020. (Chinatopix Via AP)
    Meanwhile, the Wuhan lab accused of releasing the coronavirus has claimed it had nothing to do with the outbreak.    On Sunday, the director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology profusely denied any possibility the virus had leaked from the facility.
    She called the allegations from the Trump administration “pure fabrication.”
    The director went on to say her lab had absolutely no knowledge the pathogen existed until it tested a sample of the virus it received on December 30th, which was after the virus had already broken out.
    “We didn’t have any knowledge before that, nor had we ever encountered, researched or kept the virus.    In fact, like everyone else, we didn’t even know the virus existed.    How could it have leaked from our lab when we never had it?” – Wang Yanyi, Director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology
    According to her, most scientists agree the coronavirus originated from wild animals.    She added there needs to be cooperation among the scientific community to get to the bottom of how it exactly broke out.
[CHINA UNTIL YOU ALLOW INDEPENDENT SOURCES TO ENTER YOUR COUNTRY TO EVALUATE AND INVESTIGATE THE ORIGIN OF THE VIRUS AND THE WAY YOU RELEASED THIS PANDEMIC ON THE REST OF THE WORLD WHICH IS MAKING YOU ARE BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD SO GET OFF YOUR DEFIANCE THAT ANYONE IS GOING TO BELIEVE YOU EXCEPT ONLY YOUR PUPPET TEDROS IS DOING THAT AND THE SOCIALIST LEFTIST DEMOCRATS LEADERS IN THE U.S..].

[AND AS SOON AS THE PANDEMIC SLOWS DOWN THE DEMONSTRATIONS START ALL OVER AGAIN WILL CHINA DO THE UNTHINKABLE?].
5/25/2020 Hong Kong’s security, police chiefs warn of growing ‘terrorism’ as national laws loom by Twinnie Siu and Jessie Pang
A masked anti-government protester holds a flag supporting Hong Kong independence during a march against Beijing's
plans to impose national security legislation in Hong Kong, China May 24, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s security and police chiefs said “terrorism” was growing in the city, as government departments rallied on Monday behind Beijing’s plans to introduce national security laws after thousands took to the streets to protest against the move.
    The security legislation, which could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in Hong Kong and aims to tackle secession, subversion and terrorist activities, has sent shockwaves through the business and diplomatic communities.
    “Terrorism is growing in the city and activities which harm national security, such as ‘Hong Kong independence’, become more rampant,” Secretary for Security John Lee said in a statement.
    “In just a few months, Hong Kong has changed from one of the safest cities in the world to a city shrouded in the shadow of violence,” he said, adding national security laws were needed to safeguard the city’s prosperity and stability.
    Police said they arrested more than 180 people on Sunday, when authorities fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse anti-government protesters as unrest returned to the Chinese-ruled city after months of relative calm.
    Police Commissioner Chris Tang said there have been 14 cases involving explosives “commonly used in terrorist attacks overseas” and five seizures of firearms and ammunition since protests began in June last year.
    The draft legislation “will help combat the force of ‘Hong Kong independence’ and restore social order.    Police fully support it,” Tang said.
    In a return of the unrest that roiled Hong Kong last year, crowds thronged the streets of the city on Sunday in defiance of curbs imposed to contain the coronavirus, with chants of “Hong Kong independence, the only way out,” echoing through the streets.
    Calls for independence are anathema to Beijing, which considers Hong Kong an inalienable part of the country.    The proposed new national security framework stresses Beijing’s intent “to prevent, stop and punish” such acts.
    Protests are expected to resume on Wednesday, when the city’s legislature is expected to give a second reading of a bill that would criminalise abuse of China’s national anthem.
    Agencies issuing statements in support of the legislation included the Commissioner of Correctional Services, Hong Kong Customs, the Fire Department and the Government Flying Service.
“MISUNDERSTANDING”
    Financial Secretary Paul Chan wrote on his blog on Sunday the national security law “itself” does not affect investor confidence, only the “misunderstanding” of it does.
    “The central government has already said the law is targeted at the minority of people who are suspected of threatening national security and will not affect the rights of the general public.”
    The United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and others have expressed concerns about the legislation, widely seen as a potential turning point for China’s freest city and one of the world’s leading financial hubs.
    Taiwan, which has become a refuge for a small but growing number of pro-democracy protesters fleeing Hong Kong, will provide the people of Hong Kong with “necessary assistance,” President Tsai Ing-wen said.
    Nearly 200 political figures from around the world decried the legislation.    Bankers and headhunters said the legislation could lead to money and talent leaving the city.
    Hong Kong’s bourse added a 1% fall to the 5.6% plunge on Friday when the new security plan was unveiled by Beijing and the Hong Kong dollar hovered around its lowest since March.
    In a statement late on Sunday, a Hong Kong government spokesperson said the vast majority of residents and overseas investors “have nothing to fear” from the new security legislation and hit back at criticism from abroad.
    “Sadly, and perhaps tellingly, those who claim to be acting in Hong Kong’s best interests turn a blind eye to the explosives, petrol bombs, firearms, weapons, attacks on bystanders, wanton vandalism, online trolling and disinformation campaigns used by radical protesters and their hidden handlers to stoke fear and chaos and destabilise society,” it said.
(Writing by Anne Marie Roantree and Marius Zaharia; Editing by Michael Perry)

5/25/2020 Chinese official in Hong Kong says some protest acts ‘terrorist in nature’
The Chinese and Hong Kong flags flutter at the office of the Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region in Beijing, China May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Ministry branch in Hong Kong said on Monday some acts during last year’s pro-democracy protests were “terrorist in nature,” posing “imminent danger” to China’s national security.
    Xie Feng, Commissioner of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, made his remarks during a speech on proposed national security legislation in Hong Kong.
(Reporting by James Pomfret, Anne Marie Roantree, Clare Jim; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/25/2020 Abe’s ‘own goals’ slash support rates even as Japan’s coronavirus emergency set to be lifted by Linda Sieg
FILE PHOTO: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe walks wearing a face protective mask during a news conference as the spread
of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Tokyo, Japan, May 14, 2020. Akio Kon/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
    TOKYO (Reuters) – A string of controversial missteps has slashed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s support to levels that could threaten to end his term early, even as he prepares to lift a state of emergency after the rate of coronavirus infections declined.
    The slide in ratings, now below 30%, may erode Abe’s clout in his Liberal Democratic Party and has sparked speculation that he might step down before the end of his term as ruling party leader, and hence premier, in September 2021.
    His response to the pandemic, which critics call clumsy and tone deaf, had already eaten into Abe’s support.
    Then came a furore over his attempt to keep Tokyo’s top prosecutor in his job after retirement age and to enact a bill extending prosecutors’ retirement age, which critics say would erode judicial independence.
    The prosecutor, Hiromu Kurokawa, resigned on Thursday after admitting he played mahjong for money during the state of emergency, when citizens were asked to stay home.
    “Perhaps Abe will be able to stop the decline if the coronavirus situation doesn’t worsen and as the Kurokawa scandal fades,” said Columbia University emeritus professor Gerry Curtis.    “But I can’t see him regaining much ground. He is a lame duck at best and if the numbers go down any further a dead one.”
    Japan has not suffered the explosive surge of coronavirus infections seen elsewhere, and Abe is expected to lift a state of emergency for Tokyo and four other prefectures on Monday.
    A weekend opinion poll by the Asahi newspaper, however, showed his support rate had slid to 29%, echoing a fall to 27% posted in a Mainichi newspaper survey published on Saturday.
    Nearly 70% of voters in the Asahi poll said Abe had “big responsibility” for trying to retain Kurokawa.    Fifty-seven percent disapproved of how he handled the coronavirus outbreak.
    A costly programme to send two protective cloth masks to each household was marred by complaints about mould, insects, and stains.    Abe also had to abandon a plan for cash payments of 300,000 yen ($2,786) for hard-hit households and replace it with 100,000 yen payouts for every citizen.    But the new program was criticised for technical and other hassles in the application process.
    Japan’s economy is already on track for its deepest slump in postwar history, an outlook that could make it hard for Abe – who has survived rough patches before since returning to office in 2012 – to regain his footing.
    Several names have been floated as possible successors, including former foreign minister Fumio Kishida and ex-defence minister Shigeru Ishiba, a rare LDP critic of the premier.
    But while Ishiba fares well in voter opinion polls, his backing in the LDP is weak, while Kishida lacks popular support.
    “If there were an obvious successor, Abe might have to quit, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone,” said Nihon University political science professor Tomoaki Iwai.    “It’s the worst possible situation.”
(reporting by Linda Sieg. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

5/25/2020 Japan PM Abe: to lift state of emergency for all of Japan today
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that the state of emergency will be lifted for all of Japan, and that the country managed to get the spread of the virus under control in under two months.
    Social distancing curbs were loosened for most of the country on May 14 as new infections fell, but the government has kept Tokyo and four other prefectures under watch.
    The world’s third-largest economy has escaped an explosive outbreak with more than 16,600 infections and 839 deaths so far, according to NHK public broadcaster.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, writing by Elaine Lies; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/25/2020 Malaysia reports 172 new coronavirus cases, most of them foreigners
FILE PHOTO: Health workers get a swab from a woman in a makeshift centre tent set up in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital parking lot,
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 23, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia reported 172 new coronavirus cases on Monday, most of them foreigners held at immigration depots, and taking the total number of infections in the country to 7,417.
    The Ministry of Health said the number of deaths remained unchanged at 115.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/25/2020 India air travel restart hits chaos and cancellations by Aditi Shah
Passengers wearing protective face masks wait in a queue to enter Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport,
after the government allowed domestic flight services to resume, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow
the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India, May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Airlines’ plans to resume air travel in India were in disarray on Monday after some states restricted the number of flights hours before departure, causing last-minute cancellations and leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
    Airlines, including IndiGo, India’s biggest carrier, SpiceJet and Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, had been preparing to resume operations from Monday with about a third of their capacity amid strict rules.
    But new restrictions at major airports, including Mumbai and Chennai, forced airlines to scramble late on Sunday to revise schedules.
    The confusion will make it even harder for airlines to recover from the impact of a two-month lockdown to contain the novel coronavirus that has already cost tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue, industry executives, lawyers and analysts said.
    “The entire handling of the restart has been reduced to a farce, causing pain for airlines, airports, and passengers,” said an industry executive on condition of anonymity.
    IndiGo had planned to start with about 430 daily flights while its low-cost rival SpiceJet said it would operate 204 flights a day and AirAsia India would start with 77 flights.
    The final number could be much lower as some states, especially where coronavirus cases are rising, have curtailed air travel following relaxations that last Thursday allowed some domestic operations to resume.
    IndiGo said on Monday it plans to fly just over 200 daily flights until May 31.
    Potential travellers are also likely to be deterred by a lack of clarity on quarantine rules in different states.
    “It’s unfortunate there was no effective coordination between the states and central government.    Each state has come out with its own rules, which is confusing and will compel only a few to fly,” aviation law expert Nitin Sarin, a managing partner at Sarin & Co, said.
(Reporting by Aditi Shah; editing by Barbara Lewis)

5/25/2020 More patients than beds in Mumbai as India faces surge in virus cases by Abhirup Roy, Devjyot Ghoshal and Aditya Kalra
FILE PHOTO: Men wearing protective masks walk inside the premises of a hospital where a special ward has been set up
for the coronavirus disease in Mumbai, India, March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
    MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – When Manit Parikh’s mother tested positive for the new coronavirus, she was rushed by ambulance to Mumbai’s private Lilavati Hospital, but officials told the family no critical-care beds were available.
    Five hours and dozens of phone calls later the family found a bed for her at the private Bombay Hospital.    A day later, on May 18, Parikh’s 92-year-old diabetic grandfather had breathing difficulties at home and was taken to the city’s Breach Candy Hospital, another top private facility, but there were no beds.
    “My dad was pleading with them,” Parikh told Reuters.    “They said they didn’t have a bed, not even a normal bed.”    Later that day, they found a bed at Bombay Hospital but his grandfather died hours later.    His test results showed he was infected with the virus.
    Parikh said he believes the delays contributed to his grandfather’s death.    Officials at Lilavati and Bombay Hospital declined to speak with Reuters.    Representatives of Breach Candy hospital did not respond to requests for comment.
    For years, India’s booming private hospitals have taken some of the strain off the country’s underfunded and dilapidated public health network, but the ordeal of Parikh’s family suggests that as coronavirus cases explode in India, even private facilities are at risk of being overrun.
    India on Sunday reported 6,767 new coronavirus infections, the country’s biggest one-day increase.    Government data shows the number of coronavirus cases in the world’s second-most populous country are doubling every 13 days or so, even as the government begins easing lockdown restrictions.    India has reported more than 131,000 infections, including 3,867 deaths.
    “The increasing trend has not gone down,” said Bhramar Mukherjee, a professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the University of Michigan, referring to India’s cases.    “We’ve not seen a flattening of the curve.”
    Mukherjee’s team estimates that between 630,000 and 2.1 million people in India – out of a population of 1.3 billion – will become infected by early July.
    More than a fifth of the country’s coronavirus cases are in Mumbai, India’s financial hub and its most populous city, where the Parikhs struggled to find hospital beds for their infected family members.
    India’s health ministry did not respond to a request for comment on how it will cope with the predicted rise in infections, given that most public hospitals are overcrowded at the best of times.    The federal government has said in media briefings that not all patients need hospitalization and it is making rapid efforts to increase the number of hospital beds and procure health gear.
    The federal government’s data from last year showed there were about 714,000 hospital beds in India, up from about 540,000 in 2009.    However, given India’s rising population, the number of beds per 1,000 people has grown only slightly in that time.
    India has 0.5 beds per 1,000 people, according to the latest data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), up from 0.4 beds in 2009, but among lowest of countries surveyed by the OECD.    In contrast, China has 4.3 hospital beds per 1,000 people and the United States has 2.8, according to the latest OECD figures.
    While millions of India’s poor rely on the public health system, especially in rural areas, private facilities account for 55% of hospital admissions, according to government data.    The private health sector has been growing over the past two decades, especially in India’s big cities, where an expanding class of affluent Indians can afford private care.
    Mumbai’s municipal authority said it had ordered public officials to take control of at least 100 private hospital beds in all 24 zones in the city of almost 20 million people to make more beds available for coronavirus patients.
    Still, there is a waiting list.    An official at a helpline run by Mumbai’s civic authorities told Reuters that patients would be notified about availability.
SHORTAGE OF STAFF
    It is not just beds that are in short supply.    On May 16, Mumbai’s municipal authority said that it did not have enough staff to operate beds required for patients critically ill with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
    As a result, resident doctors will receive less time off than what is prescribed by the federal government, the authority said.    Some medical professionals told Reuters they already are overburdened and treating patients without adequate protective gear, exposing them to a higher risk of infection.
    Several hospitals in Mumbai, western Gujarat state, the northern city of Agra and Kolkata in the east have in recent weeks shut partially or fully for days because some medical staff were infected with the virus.    The federal government has not reported any deaths of medical staff from the virus.
    “In our country, healthcare has never gotten priority,” said Dr Adarsh Pratap Singh, head of the 2,500-strong resident doctors association at New Delhi’s top public hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.    “The government is now realizing the reality, but it’s already too late.”
    The AIIMS group has in recent weeks protested about the lack of health gear and publicly rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for doctors to donate a part of their salaries to his coronavirus fund.
    Some health experts say India’s struggle to treat virus patients is the result of chronic underinvestment in healthcare.    The Indian government estimates it spends only about 1.5% of its GDP on public health.    That figure is higher than it was – about 1% in the 1980s and 1.3% five years ago – but India still ranks among the world’s lowest spenders in terms of percentage of GDP.
    This year, Modi’s federal government raised its health budget by 6%, but that is still short of the government’s own goal of increasing public health spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2025, according to New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation.
‘TOO MANY PATIENTS’
    Keshav Desiraju, a former Indian health secretary, said more investment in the health system before the virus outbreak might have made the health system more resilient.    “At the times of a crisis, all the holes show up,” he told Reuters.
    Dr. Chaitanya Patil, a senior resident doctor at King Edward Memorial government hospital, one of Mumbai’s largest, said the facility had a shortage of medical staff and the 12 coronavirus wards catering to about 500 patients were almost full.
    “There are just too many patients coming in,” said Patil, “It is lack of preparedness or a lack of insight of the people planning.”
    Last week Rajesh Tope, health minister of the state of Maharashtra, which contains Mumbai, said the lack of hospital beds for critically ill patients will not last long.
    “In the next two months, more than 17,000 vacant posts of doctors, nurses, technicians and other health workers will be filled,” he said in a public address.
    India’s United Nurses Association, which represents 380,000 medics, took a list of 12 issues they said they are facing – including lack of protective gear and accommodation – to the Supreme Court in April.    The court told them they can lodge complaints on a government helpline.
    Some nurses are leaving the big cities.    Earlier this month, about 300 nurses working at hospitals in Kolkata city left for their hometowns 1,500 km (930 miles) away in India’s remote northeastern state of Manipur.    A group representing them said they had left because of irregular salaries and inadequate safety gear, among other issues.
    “We love our profession,” said 24-year-old Shyamkumar, who quit his nursing job in one of Kolkata’s hospitals and is planning to head back to Manipur.    “But when we are going to work, please give us proper equipment.”
(Reporting by Abhirup Roy in Mumbai and Devjyot Ghoshal and Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Additional reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Shilpa Jamkhandiker in Mumbai, Sumit Khanna in Gujarat, Subrata Nagchoudhury in Kolkata, Zarir Hussain in Guwahati; Editing by Euan Rocha and Bill Rigby)

5/25/2020 Philippines posts five new coronavirus deaths, 284 infections
FILE PHOTO: Men wearing masks for protection against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) play chess while vendors sell vegetables, as
lockdown restrictions ease after two months in "community quarantine", in Manila, Philippines, May 19, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ health ministry on Monday reported five additional novel coronavirus deaths and 284 more infections, the largest daily increase of cases in two weeks.
    In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths have increased to 873, while confirmed cases have risen to 14,319. But 74 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 3,323.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Ed Davies)

5/25/2020 Taiwan considers revoking Hong Kong’s special status on law fears by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
FILE PHOTO: Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen speaks at a non woven filter fabric factory, where the fabric
is used to make surgical face masks, in Taoyuan, Taiwan, March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – China’s planned national security law may prompt Taiwan to revoke the special status it extends to Hong Kong, President Tsai Ing-wen said, a move that could anger Beijing and make it harder for Hong Kongers to visit and invest.
    China is proposing the new legislation for the Chinese-ruled city after months of anti-government protests, and the decision has already ignited renewed unrest in Hong Kong and prompted condemnation from Western capitals.
    The demonstrators have won widespread sympathy in democratic Taiwan, and the support for the protesters by Tsai and her administration has worsened already poor ties between Taipei and Beijing.
    China has repeatedly denounced Taiwan’s government for supporting the protesters, and accused activists in both places of colluding to plot independence.
    Writing on her Facebook page late on Sunday, Tsai said the proposed legislation was a serious threat to Hong Kong’s freedoms and judicial independence and that Taiwan would provide the people of Hong Kong with “necessary assistance.”
    Taiwan deals with Hong Kong and neighbouring Macau under rules that, for example, allow residents of the two Chinese cities to visit and invest in Taiwan much more easily than mainland Chinese.
    Tsai said if there were a “change in the situation” in Hong Kong, the act laying out those rules could be revoked.     “We hope the situation in Hong Kong does not get to this stage, and will pay close attention to developments, and take necessary corresponding measures in a timely way,” she added.
    Beijing would inevitably see any move by Taiwan regarding Hong Kong as Taipei again siding with the protest movement, sparking further Chinese ire.
    A senior official familiar with Taiwan’s security planning said Tsai’s comment was a “clear message” to Beijing that Taipei would “reinterpret” its ties with Hong Kong if China pushes the security legislation through.
    “This is set to be a fundamental change in terms of Taiwan-Hong Kong relations.    We are not happy to see it happening,” the official said.
    Another senior Taiwan government official familiar with policy towards China said the security legislation would mean the death knell for “one country, two systems,” in which Beijing rules the city as part of China, but with separate institutions and laws.
    “We wouldn’t need to provide special status for Hong Kong,” the official told Reuters.
    Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
    The government is watching how the legislation plan progresses in Beijing before deciding the next move.    In the worst-case scenario, people and investment from Hong Kong would be treated as stringently as those from mainland China, the official added.
    Taiwan offers special treatment to Hong Kong, including an investment-immigration programme that has attracted tens of thousands of immigrants from the city.
    However, the second official warned that Beijing may close Taiwan’s de facto consulate in the city in retaliation, and that any change to the act could choke Taiwan-Hong Kong trade.
    Hong Kong was Taiwan’s second-largest export destination in April after mainland China, official data shows.
    The United States is also considering whether to maintain Hong Kong’s special status in U.S. law, which has helped the city maintain its position as a global financial centre.
    However, the second official said Taipei would keep offering “necessary assistance” to Hong Kong citizens whose safety and liberty are threatened for political reasons.
    “This is not aimed at Hong Kong’s people, but aimed at Beijing.”
    Taiwan has no law on refugees that could be applied to Hong Kong protesters who seek asylum on the island.    Its laws do promise, though, to help Hong Kongers whose safety and liberty are threatened for political reasons.
    The number of Hong Kong immigrants to Taiwan jumped 150% to 2,383 in the first four months of 2020 from the same period last year, official data shows.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Michael Perry)

5/25/2020 China says opposes all U.S. restrictions on Chinese airlines
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a news conference in Beijing, China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Monday it opposes all U.S. restrictions imposed against Chinese airlines, responding to a report that the U.S. Transportation Department has demanded Chinese carriers file their schedules and other flight details by May 27.
    Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said flight restrictions imposed by Beijing treated all airlines equally and were due to efforts to curb COVID-19 related risks.
    The U.S. government late on Friday accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for U.S. airlines to resume service to China.
(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley; writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/25/2020 India among 10 worst-hit COVID-19 nations as cases jump; air travel reopens
A member of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) talks with a passenger through a glass shield, after the government
allowed domestic flight services to resume, during an extended nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19), at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, in New Delhi, India, May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
    MUMBAI (Reuters) – India on Monday posted its biggest single-day jump in cases of COVID-19, overtaking Iran to become one of the 10 worst-hit nations, even as the government allowed domestic air travel to restart.
    India reported another 6,977 cases, taking its total ot 138,845, according to government data, despite the world’s longest lockdown imposed in March by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.    Total deaths have passed 4,000.
    The rise in new cases came as some businesses and travel reopened under a new phase of the national coronavirus lockdown.
    Some passengers and crew members scheduled to board a flight on Monday at New Delhi airport said the mood at the terminal was sombre as security forces implemented strict social distancing norms and passengers donned masks.
    While the federal government has not insisted that passengers be quarantined after their flights, some states have implemented their own quarantine measures, creating confusion among travellers.
    “Flying to meet my family almost feels like I am entering a war zone, it’s the mask and gloves that add to the stress,” said Subham Dey, an engineer travelling to the north-eastern state of Assam.
    Indian Railways also said it would run an additional 2,600 special trains in the next 10 days to help nearly 3.5 million stranded migrant workers get to their homes.
    The sudden lockdown announced on March 24 left millions of migrant labourers in the lurch with little other option but to walk to reach home, sometimes more than 1,000 km (620 miles).
    Tens of thousands daily wage labourers have lost their jobs in cities, or left because they were scared to live in urban slum districts that have reported high rates of infections in the last two months. [nL8N2C82F1]
    More than 100 of them have also died – either in accidents or through sheer exhaustion on their way back home.
(Reporting by Rupam Jain; editing by Richard Pullin)

5/25/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 344 fresh COVID-19 cases
FILE PHOTO: Migrant workers sit at a designated outdoor area onboard the SuperStar Gemini cruise ship
which is being used as a temporary accommodation facility for migrant workers who had recovered
from COVID-19, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 23, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Singapore’s health ministry on Monday confirmed 344 more coronavirus cases, taking its tally of infections to 31,960.
    The lower number of cases on Monday is partly due to fewer tests being conducted, the ministry said in a statement.
    The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the ministry said, adding that four were Singaporeans or permanent residents.
(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

5/25/2020 Thai researchers advance vaccine development, aiming to provide inoculations to Southeast Asia by OAN Newsroom
A lab technician holds a bottle containing results for COVID-19 vaccine testing at the National Primate Research Center, run by
Chulalongkorn University in Saraburi Province, north of Bangkok, Saturday, May 23, 2020. Thai health officials said that scientists in Thailand
have had promising results in testing a COVID-19 vaccine candidate on mice, and have begun testing on monkeys. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
    Thai researchers working on a coronavirus vaccine are hoping to provide a viable solution for much of Southeast Asia.
    According to reports over the weekend, the vaccine was developed in part with the University of Pennsylvania and would help provide inoculation programs to low and medium income societies.
    Work on the vaccine began after the COVID-19 genome was sequenced.    Scientists began testing on monkeys over the weekend after seeing promising results in mice.
    Thai researchers reached an agreement to supply the vaccines to seven countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
    “The second bottleneck is, let’s say it proves that it works, how (can) the manufacturing facility make (a) million or billion of doses?    That’s a challenge.    So that’s why a country like us, a small country, we have to step up and then do our own work as well.” — Dr. Kiat Ruxrungtham, Chula Vaccine Research Center of Chulalongkorn University
A lab technician extracts a portion of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate during testing at the Chula Vaccine Research Center,
run by Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, May 25, 2020. Researchers in Thailand claim to have
promising results with the vaccination on mice, and have begun testing on monkeys. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
    The vaccine doesn’t contain any of the virus, but instead uses part of the virus’s genetic code to produce antibodies inside the inoculated person’s body.

5/25/2020 In Philippine slums, heat, hunger take a toll under lockdown by Eloisa Lopez
Residents of a small apartment building do house chores outside their units, amid the lockdown to contain the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in a slum area in Tondo, Manila, Philippines, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – One by one, Michelle Asinto’s six children take the plate of rice doused in soy sauce and eat their share before passing it on.
    This is what a meal can look like in the slums around the Philippine capital Manila.    Under lockdown since March 16, many families have lost regular incomes and forced to survive on government aid that can be sporadic and often not enough.
    “Every day we just wait for our ration but it only comes once or twice a week,” said Asinto, 42, whose plywood and tin house sits precariously on top of another, reachable only by ladder.
    They share a common area with dozens of other people, making social distancing almost impossible.    Face masks, though mandatory, are an expense few can afford.
    Because her family lives illegally along the trash-filled estuary, Estero de Magdalena, it did not qualify for two cash payments of 5,000-8,000 pesos ($99-$158) in aid the government handed out in April and May.
    At Aimelyn Robeno’s home, three generations are crammed into a tiny, sweltering space, including siblings and 10-month-old baby.
    “I actually think I’ll get sick inside this house because of the intense heat,” said Robeno, 29.
    “We may be saved from the virus but it doesn’t matter if we’re going to die of hunger anyway.”
    Some quarantine restrictions in place in Manila were eased 10 days ago, but many remain.    Transport curbs means no work for rickshaw driver Loreto Vergara who lives in Manila’s Tondo area and spends entire days at his 10 square meter (108 sq ft) home, with his six children, son-in-law and grandchild.
    “We’re already the most vulnerable, and yet we’re still the ones given the least,” said Vergara, 47, preparing for a meal of sweet potatoes donated by a neighbor.
    “It’s really hard to stay indoors in a place like this.    It’s too hot.    It’s as if you’re under a fire.”
    Maribel Ballena, 28, has four mouths to feed.    She earns some money selling garlic at the market.
    “Most days we just eat two meals, one of sardines, and instant noodles,” she said.
    The Philippines has 14,319 confirmed coronavirus cases overall, among those 873 deaths.
(Reporting by Eloisa Lopez; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

5/26/2020 Hong Kong’s leader says security laws will not affect city’s rights and freedoms by Clare Jim and Noah Sin
FILE PHOTO: Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks during a news conference, in Hong Kong, China February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that Beijing’s proposed national security laws would not trample on the city’s rights and freedoms and called on citizens to wait to see the details of the legislation.
    Lam added her voice to an unprecedented barrage of statements by Beijing and local officials, and former city leaders defending the legislation and seeking to reassure residents, investors and diplomats about Hong Kong freedoms.
    “There is no need for us to worry,” Lam told a regular weekly news conference.
    Like others supporting the legislation, she did not explain how the freedoms that Hong Kong enjoys will be upheld.
    “In the last 23 years, whenever people worried about Hong Kong’s freedom of speech and freedom of expression and protest, time and again, Hong Kong has proven that we uphold and preserve those values,” she said.
    “The best thing is to see the legislation in front of us and to understand why at this point in time Hong Kong needs this piece of legislation.”
    According to a draft proposal last week, the legislation aims to tackle secession, subversion and terrorist activities.    It could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in one of the world’s biggest financial hubs.
MORE PROTESTS
    Thousands poured onto the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday in a mass protest against the laws.    Police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd and arrested almost 200 people.
    It was the first major protest since pro-democracy demonstrations rocked Hong Kong last year over an unsuccessful plan to introduce an extradition law with China.    The unrest plunged the former British colony into its worst crisis since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
    More protests are expected in Hong Kong on Wednesday, against both national security laws and a bill due for a second reading in the city’s legislature that would criminalise abuse of China’s national anthem.
    As many Hong Kong people fret about national security laws, demand for virtual private networks surged six-fold last Thursday, the day the plans were unveiled.
    The United States, Britain, the European Union and others expressed concerns about the laws and Washington warned Hong Kong could lose the preferential treatment that makes it a vibrant interface between communist China and the West.
    Investors’ concerns were evidenced in a sell-off on the Hong Kong bourse on Friday, though stocks regained some ground this week, with analysts pointing to global factors rather than the flurry of recent statements.
    “Medium-to-long term it will still depend on U.S.-China relations and the political situation in Hong Kong,” said Steven Leung, executive director for institutional sales at brokerage UOB Kay Hian.
GARRISON SUPPORT
    The commander of China’s military Hong Kong garrison said in a rare interview that the garrison firmly supported the new legislation.    Chen Daoxiang told Chinese state television the garrison had the determination and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and the city’s long-term prosperity and security.
    The garrison did not confront protesters last year.
    Hong Kong is governed under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees it a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not seen in mainland China, including freedom of expression and the right to protest.
    Beijing and local officials have toughened their rhetoric recently, describing some of the acts in the protests as “terrorism” and attempts of “secessionism,” remarks echoed by Lam on Tuesday.
    Protests turned increasingly violent last year.
    While authorities scrapped the bill that sparked the unrest, they dug in their heels against calls for universal suffrage, amnesty for those arrested, an independent inquiry against police’s handling of the demonstrations and a request not to label the protests as riots.
    Opinion polls show only a minority of Hong Kong people support independence, which is anathema to Beijing.
(Reporting by Clare Jim, Noah Sin and Donny Kwok; Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Kim Coghill and Michael Perry)

5/26/2020 Japanese face ‘new normal’ after coronavirus emergency lifted by Akiko Okamoto and Chang-Ran Kim
People wearing protective masks make their way during rush hour at Shinagawa station on the first day after the
Japanese government lifted the state of emergency in Tokyo, Japan, May 26, 2020.REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
    TOKYO (Reuters) – A day after Japan ended its state of emergency, Tokyo residents took to the streets with a mixture of relief and trepidation as they prepared for a “new normal” of living with the coronavirus.
    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the state of emergency in the capital and four remaining prefectures on Monday, claiming victory for managing to keep total infections relatively low, at about 16,600 cases.
    “I want to go out drinking and attend concerts,” office worker Daisuke Tominaga told Reuters in Shibuya, one of Tokyo’s busiest neighbourhoods.
    Unlike strict lockdowns in other countries, Japan did not force businesses to close and some had reopened even before the emergency was lifted.
    Still, its official end after some seven weeks saw many people returning to work or heading out, while observing social-distancing and wearing masks.
    Naoto Furuki, 45, said his morning commute had been more crowded than usual, which was slightly unsettling.
    “I’m still a bit worried.    There maybe a second wave of the epidemic so we still need to be on alert,” he said.
    Many children are set to go back to school next week under precautionary measures such as staggered classes.
    Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has warned against complacency and said everyone had to get used to a “new normal” of teleworking and staggered commutes until a vaccine or treatment is developed.
    Many companies said they would let staff keep working from home, while railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway said it would release usage data to help passengers avoid crowded trains.
    Electronics giant Sony Corp said it would only let up to 30% of its workforce back to the office in June, while Hitachi Ltd said it would aim for half of its work to be done at home.
    “We won’t go back to our previous working style,” Hitachi Executive Officer Hidenobu Nakahata told reporters.    “We’ll accelerate new working practices, making working-from-home a new standard.”
    Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the coronavirus could change countries’ industrial structure and people’s behaviour.
    “It may be hard for things to return to the ways before the pandemic hit,” he told parliament.
(Reporting by Akiko Okamoto, Chang-Ran Kim, Makiko Yamazaki and Leika Kihara; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Robert Birsel)

5/26/2020 Soldiers, police enforce Indonesia’s ‘new normal’ coronavirus restrictions by Agustinus Beo Da Costa
People wearing face masks use their phones while sitting inside a shopping mall amid the outbreak of the coronavirus
disease (COVID-19), in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, May 26, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s military ordered the deployment of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and police on Tuesday to enforce rules on wearing masks and safe distancing after reports of people in the world’s fourth-most populous nation flouting them.
    Even as cases of the coronavirus have continued to spike in the Southeast Asian nation, now reaching nearly 23,000 infections and 1,391 deaths, people have often been seen ignoring measures to stop the spread of the pandemic.
    From Tuesday, about 340,000 officers will be deployed across four provinces to ensure the country’s transition to the “new normal,” Indonesian military chief Hadi Tjahjanto said Monday.
    “We will monitor people to ensure people are wearing masks, and are also maintaining a safe distance from others,” said Hadi.    “What we want is that people can do their activities, and at the same time stay safe from COVID-19.”
    Under the “new normal,” the capacity of malls and supermarkets will be halved in terms of customers permitted.
    Indonesian President Joko Widodo said the measures would help protect people’s health and the economy.
    “We want to remain productive while still safe from COVID-19,” he said, after inspecting a mall in the city of Bekasi.    “In the new normal the military and police will watch crowds to ensure people become more disciplined.”
    Officers will be deployed on streets, malls and other strategic locations in the provinces of Jakarta, West Java, Gorontalo and West Sumatra, in a joint operation between the Indonesian military, police and local government.
    The enforcement measures come days after people flocked to local markets in the capital and its surrounds, many unmasked, buying new clothes for Eid, the celebration at the end of the Islamic fasting month.
    Indonesia has come under fire from public health experts since March for its belated response to the infection, while in recent weeks a string of regulatory backflips around social curbs, work and travel has resulted in widespread confusion.
    As local governments prepare to ease social restrictions in the coming week, the government also announced on Tuesday its new “United Against COVID” mobile app, which allows users to identify areas of high coronavirus risk.
(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Stanley Widianto and Maikel Jefriando, Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, William Maclean)

5/26/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 383 more coronavirus cases
FILE PHOTO: Customers queue up to have their temperature taken outside a hairdressing salon as they reopen for
business amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s health ministry confirmed on Tuesday 383 more cases of the new coronavirus, taking the city-state’s tally to 32,343.
    The lower number of cases on Tuesday was partly due to fewer tests being conducted, it added.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Gareth Jones)

5/26/2020 Thailand reports three new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: General view of the almost empty Khaosan Road, which is usually crowded with tourists, during the outbreak
of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bangkok, Thailand, May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Tuesday reported three new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing its total to 3,045 confirmed cases and 57 fatalities.
    All three new cases were Thai nationals who recently returned from overseas and are currently in quarantine, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s coronavirus task force said.
    There are 2,929 patients who have recovered.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty)

5/26/2020 Australia borders to remain closed for the foreseeable future by OAN Newsroom
File – Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison is pictured.(AP Photo)
    Australia will keep its borders closed in an effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic.    During a press briefing Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country’s borders will not be opening “anytime soon.”
    Morrison said he and neighboring country New Zealand will continue talks for a “Trans-Tasman safe travel zone.”    Australia has been credited for having strong coronavirus border controls and restrictions.
    “Success in this current phase will certainly not be easy and it can’t be assumed as we go through this reopening process,” said Prime Minister Morrison.    “It will not be business as usual, opening up will be harder than closing down.”
    “We will have to, all to retrain, to live and work in a way that creates a sustainable COVID safe economy and society as you are indeed doing here today,” he continued.
    Australia has reported low numbers since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with around 7,000 confirmed virus cases in the country.

5/26/2020 Exclusive: Indonesia, major advocate of hydroxychloroquine, told by WHO to stop using it by Kate Lamb and Tom Allard
FILE PHOTO: A nurse shows a pill of hydroxychloroquine, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at
Nossa Senhora da Conceicao hospital in Porto Alegre, Brazil, April 23, 2020. REUTERS/Diego Vara
    (Reuters) – The World Health Organization has urged Indonesia, one of the world’s biggest advocates of two malaria drugs to treat the coronavirus, to suspend such treatment over safety concerns, a source familiar with the advice told Reuters on Tuesday.
    Any decision by Indonesia to halt use of the drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, in coronavirus patients would mark a major global shift away from a treatment which has been touted for months by U.S. President Donald Trump.
    Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, had told doctors to use the drugs to treat all COVID-19 patients with symptoms from mild to severe.    The country has ramped up production since March, granting two dozen licenses to local manufacturers who have churned out millions of doses.
    The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a recommendation not yet made public, said the WHO had sent a notice to Indonesia’s health ministry advising that use of the drugs should be suspended.
    Erlina Burhan, a doctor who helped draft coronavirus treatment guidelines as a member of the Indonesian Association of Pulmonologists, confirmed that the association had also received new advice from the WHO to suspend use of the drugs.
    “We discussed the issues and there are still some disputes.    We have no conclusion yet,” she told Reuters.
    A spokesperson for the WHO mission in Indonesia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.    Indonesia’s health ministry, Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) and the spokesman for Indonesia’s COVID-19 taskforce were not immediately available to comment.
    Last week, the Lancet medical journal published the most comprehensive study to date on the drugs, which found that coronavirus patients prescribed them were more likely to experience heart rhythm disturbances and more likely to die.
“GAMECHANGER”
    On Monday, the WHO announced it was suspending the use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients in a global clinical trial.    It has advised against using the malaria drugs for the coronavirus outside such trials.
    Trump has touted hydroxychloroquine for months as a potential cure or preventive treatment for the coronavirus, and has said he was taking it himself to prevent infection.
    On March 21, Trump described hydroxychloroquine as a “gamechanger.”    Days later, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said the drug, while not a cure, could help patients recover.
    According to a report from the ministry of health prepared for parliament, Indonesian companies were on course to produce 15.4 million doses of the two drugs between April and May.
    Indonesia’s food and drug agency published a COVID-19 “Informatorium” which included detailed dosage guidelines for the use of the drugs for adolescent and adult coronavirus patients suffering from moderate to severe symptoms.
    The guidelines, which include warnings about potential heart complications, recommend they be used in tandem with the antibiotic azithromycin, a combination some studies show elevates the risk of heart rhythm disturbances.
    Burhan said chloroquine and azithromycin have been routinely used.    Earlier this month she told Reuters it was “hard to tell” if chloroquine was increasing the death rate of coronavirus patients, as any links were yet to be investigated.
    Stephen Nissen, a cardiologist and chief academic officer of the Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, said he was surprised Indonesian authorities had ever recommended widespread use of the drugs.
    “We know these drugs produce a rare, but very serious and potentially lethal cardiovascular side effects, which is a heart rhythm disturbance that is very difficult to treat,” he said.
    “So the idea of giving them routinely on the basis of the flimsiest of evidence of benefit makes absolutely no sense.”
    Jane Quinn, a pharmacology researcher at Australia’s Charles Sturt University, said the anti-malaria drugs could be more dangerous for Indonesians than for other groups, because of the enzyme profile of Indonesia’s population.
    “The evidence from looking at those enzymes globally is that populations in Indonesia are actually much less effective at breaking chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine down,” she said, adding this could make the drugs less effective and more toxic.
(Writing by Kate Lamb and Tom Allard; Editing by Matthew Tostevin and Peter Graff)

5/26/2020 China’s Hong Kong law set to bar foreign judges from national security cases: sources by Yew Lun Tian
FILE PHOTO: Judges take part in a ceremony to mark the beginning of the legal year in Hong Kong, China January 8, 2018. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing’s planned national security legislation for Hong Kong is set to block its foreign judges from handling national security trials, people familiar with the matter said, which would exacerbate concerns about the city’s judicial independence.
    Having lost patience with Hong Kong’s failure to adopt national security legislation on its own, China announced on Thursday that it would directly enact laws to tackle secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in the city.
    The legislation, which the sources said remains subject to change, would also see both central and city government security agencies set up in Hong Kong, they said.
    The people familiar with the issue declined to be identified because they are not authorised to speak to the media.
    The Hong Kong government has said the legislation would not affect its judicial independence.
    The Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress could not immediately be reached for comment.    China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Beijing’s push for the legislation follows months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong last year, fuelled by fears among many in the city of the erosion by Beijing of its autonomy under a “one country, two systems” system set up when it was handed from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
    China blames the protests on anti-China “troublemakers,” aided at times by unspecified foreign and external forces.
    It has not said when the legislation would be completed but sources and delegates to China’s parliament said it was likely to be enacted before Hong Kong legislative elections in September.
    Hong Kong’s foreign judges stem from an arrangement established at its 1997 handover to help maintain its credibility as an international financial hub.
    Its highest court, the Court of Final Appeal, has 23 judges, of whom 15 are foreign, from places like Britain, Canada and Australia. All serve as non-permanent members of the court, which means they are called on periodically to sit on cases.
    While under the new law they would no longer be able to handle national security cases, they will not be excluded from civil, financial or other cases, the sources said.
    However, any move to limit the role of foreign judges is likely to alarm some Hong Kong lawyers and judges, who already fear the city’s vaunted judicial independence is under threat from Beijing’s Communist Party leadership.
    The Hong Kong Bar Association said China’s plan to impose the law without public consultation or local legislative scrutiny had caused “deep unease in the local and international community.”
JUDICIAL TRADITION
    Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, enshrines the independence of the judiciary and states that judges may come from other common law jurisdictions.
    Andy Tsang, a delegate to China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), said he was not aware of details in the yet-to-be-drafted legislation that could bar foreign judges from national security cases, but cited a similar set-up in nearby Macau.
    Macau, a semi-autonomous former Portuguese colony, barred foreign judges from hearing national security cases in 2018.
    “In Macau … only judges of Chinese nationality can hear cases relating to national security, and I believe that will be a very good reference,” Tsang, a former Hong Kong police commissioner, told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
    Another Hong Kong delegate to the largely rubber-stamp NPC, Maggie Chan, proposed a National Security Court where cases could only be heard by Chinese judges, Hong Kong media cited her as saying on the sidelines of the NPC.
INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES
    The new legislation is also expected to enable Beijing to establish intelligence agencies in Hong Kong.    Mainland security and intelligence services now have no enforcement powers in the city.
    The law could also clear the way for a domestic intelligence agency in Hong Kong similar to the colonial-era Special Branch, to deal with national security threats, the territory’s previous leader, Leung Chun-ying, told Reuters in an interview on Saturday.
    Tsang, now an officer with China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and deputy director of the National Narcotics Control Commission, said that either the MPS or the Ministry of State Security, China’s main intelligence agency, or both, could be involved in a new security unit in Hong Kong.
    “The bill actually says that, the city itself, and the country, will set up dedicated unit, to uphold national security,” he said.
    “I would expect the national security agencies will work with the local police in order for the national security of the country (to) be protected.”
    Hong Kong has a 700-officer Security Wing that serving and retired police say has been increasingly involved in monitoring some activists and counter-terrorism operations.
    Senior Security Wing officials liaise with mainland security services but Tsang said he expected the new agency to have the powers to investigate, arrest and detain.
    “We need this, because we need to act according to the law.    And so we would expect the new law to be passed will contain these elements,” he said.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing and Greg Torode in Hong Kong; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Robert Birsel)

5/26/2020 EU urges China to respect Hong Kong autonomy by Robin Emmott
European Council President Charles Michel speaks during a news conference following an EU-Japan videoconference summit
at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium May 26, 2020. Francisco Seco/Pool via REUTERS
    BRUSSELS (Reuters) – China must respect Hong Kong’s autonomy, the European Union said on Tuesday, amid controversy over Chinese plans to adopt a national security law for the city.
    “We attach great importance to the preservation of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy in line with the Basic Law and international commitments,” European Council President Charles Michel, who represents European governments, said.
    Speaking after a video conference with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he said Europe and Japan “share the same ideas” on China.    “We are not naive about Chinese behaviour,” Michel said.
    He said Europe supported the “one country, two systems” principle that governs Hong Kong’s autonomy.
    Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has proposed a security law that would reduce Hong Kong’s separate legal status and is expected to be discussed by China’s National People’s Congress and approved on Thursday.
    EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the issue at a regular meeting on Friday.    A spokeswoman for the EU’s executive Commission said it was too early to say if the bloc would consider sanctions against Beijing. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said on     Monday that the EU needs a “more robust strategy” for Beijing.
(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Peter Graff)

5/27/2020 Hong Kong police fire pepper pellets to disperse protests over security bill by Sarah Wu and Clare Jim
Riot police officers stand guard as a second reading of a controversial national anthem
law takes place in Hong Kong, China May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police fired pepper pellets to disperse protesters in the heart of the global financial centre on Wednesday and arrested about 240 people as national security legislation proposed by Beijing revived anti-government demonstrations.
    As tensions soared, riot police were deployed around Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, deterring protesters who had planned to gather there as a bill was due to be debated that would criminalise disrespect of the Chinese national anthem.
    Angry over perceived threats to the semi-autonomous city’s freedoms, people of all ages took to the streets, some dressed in black, some wearing office clothes and some hiding their faces beneath open umbrellas in scenes reminiscent of the unrest that shook Hong Kong last year.
    “Although you’re afraid inside your heart, you need to speak out,” said Chang, 29, a clerk and protester dressed in black with a helmet respirator and goggles in her backpack.
    Many shops, banks and offices closed early.    Police were seen rounding up dozens of people, making them sit on a sidewalk and then searching them.
    The latest protests in Hong Kong follow the Chinese government’s proposal for national security legislation aimed at tackling secession, subversion and terrorist activities in the city.    The planned laws could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in Hong Kong.
    The proposal, unveiled in Beijing last week, triggered the first big street unrest in Hong Kong in months on Sunday, with police firing tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters.
    The United States, Australia, Britain, Canada and others have expressed concern about the legislation, widely seen as a possible turning point for China’s freest city and one of the world’s main financial hubs.
    But Chinese authorities and the Beijing-backed government in Hong Kong say there is no threat to the city’s high degree of autonomy and the new security law would be tightly focused.
    “It’s for the long-term stability of Hong Kong and China, it won’t affect the freedom of assembly and speech and it won’t affect the city’s status as a financial centre,” Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung told reporters.
    “It would provide a stable environment for businesses.”
    U.S. President Donald Trump, already at odds with Beijing over trade and the novel coronavirus pandemic, said on Tuesday the United States would this week announce a strong response to the planned legislation.
    China responded by saying it would take necessary countermeasures to any foreign interference.
ARRESTS
    Protesters in a downtown shopping mall chanted “Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our times” and “Hong Kong independence, the only way out”
    One protester was seen with a placard reading “one country, two systems is a lie,” referring to a political system put in place at Britain’s 1997 handover of the city to China, which is meant to guarantee Hong Kong’s freedoms until at least 2047.
    “I’m scared … if you don’t come out today, you’ll never be able to come out.    This is legislation that directly affects us,” said Ryan Tsang, a hotel manager.
    As the protests in the financial district died down, hundreds of people gathered in the working class Mong Kok district on the Kowloon peninsula, where protests flared repeatedly last year.
    Police, acting much more quickly than before to nip protests in the bud, said they had arrested about 240 people in three districts, most for illegal assembly.
    Hong Kong’s most prominent tycoon, Li Ka-shing, said in a statement security laws were within every nation’s right, but Hong Kong had the “mission-critical task” to maintain trust in “one country, two systems.”
    Hong Kong media reported Beijing aimed to expand the scope of the legislation to include organisations as well as individuals.
SHARES SLIDE
    Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen pledged humanitarian relief for any Hong Kong people fleeing to the self-ruled island while Japan said it was “strongly concerned” about the situation.
    The U.S.-China Business Council urged “all leaders to take those steps necessary to de-escalate tensions, promote economic recovery and the rule of law, and preserve the ‘one country, two systems’ principle.”
    Asian shares slipped over the rising tension between the United States and China.    Hong Kong shares led declines with the Hang Seng <.HSI> falling 0.46%, though it kept a bit of distance from a two-month low touched on Monday. [MKTS/GLOB]
    Protesters and pro-democracy politicians say Hong Kong’s National Anthem Bill, which aims to govern the use and playing of the Chinese anthem, represents another sign of what they see as accelerating interference from Beijing.
    The bill carries penalties of up to three years jail and or fines of up to HK$50,000 ($6,450) for insulting the anthem.    It also orders that primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong be taught to sing the anthem, “March of the Volunteers,” and learn its history.
    The anthem bill is set for a second reading on Wednesday and is expected to become law next month.
(Reporting by Sarah Wu, Scott Murdoch, jessie pang; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree, Michael Perry and Robert Birsel; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Stephen Coates & Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/27/2020 New Iran parliament convenes under strict coronavirus curbs
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the opening ceremony of Iran's 11th parliament, as the spread of the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Tehran, Iran, May 27, 2020. Official Presidential website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s new parliament convened on Wednesday after the Feb. 21 elections under strict health protocols and social distancing rules to ward off the coronavirus in one of the hardest-hit Middle Eastern countries.
    Many lawmakers wore masks and their temperatures were taken before entering the parliament building in southern Tehran, Iranian media reported.
    Iran’s hardline watchdog body, the Guardian Council, which must approve parliamentary candidates, disqualified thousands of moderates and leading conservatives and permitted voters a choice mostly between hardline and low-key conservative candidates loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to contest the elections.
    Like hardliners, conservatives back the ruling theocracy, but unlike them support more engagement with the outside world.
    Iran’s 290-seat parliament has no major influence on foreign affairs or Iran’s nuclear policy, which are determined by Khamenei.    But it might bolster hardliners in the 2021 election for president and toughen Tehran’s foreign policy.
    Next week, lawmakers will choose a parliament speaker for a one-year term.
    Iran’s health ministry said on Wednesday that the death toll in Iran had reached 7,564 with 141,591 confirmed cases.    State TV said all 268 lawmakers who attended the opening ceremony had tested negative for the coronavirus.     “We are among the countries that have been successful in their fight against this dangerous virus,” President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech to parliament broadcast live on state TV.
    Because of the outbreak, the lawmakers postponed a traditional visit to the shrine of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.
    After 69 days, Iran reopened holy Shi’ite sites and shrines across the country.    Pilgrims have to respect social distancing regulations when entering.
    Dozens of Iranian officials have died of the coronavirus, including two lawmakers elected in February.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; additional reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; editing by Nick Macfie)

5/27/2020 Coronavirus outbreak at South Korea e-commerce warehouse drives spike in new cases by Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin
FILE PHOTO: File picture of a delivery man for Coupang wearing a mask to prevent contracting the coronavirus, loading packages
before leaving to deliver them in Incheon, South Korea, March 3, 2020. Picture taken on March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea reported the highest daily number of new coronavirus cases in 49 days on Wednesday, as one of the country’s largest e-commerce companies battled an outbreak linked to a now-shuttered logistics facility.
    The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 40 new cases as of midnight Tuesday, bringing the country’s total number to 11,265.    A day earlier the country recorded 19 new cases.
    So far, at least 36 cases have been linked to an outbreak at the logistics centre operated by SoftBank-backed e-commerce firm Coupang Corp in Bucheon, west of Seoul, the KCDC said.    It was not immediately clear how many of the cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
    About 3,600 people at the facility are being tested.    The company said it closed the centre on Monday and began the strongest disinfection measures recommended by authorities.
    Coupang benefited from the contactless trend driven by COVID-19 in South Korea, with orders surging for groceries and other products.    The logistics centre opened in early March and is in charge of deliveries to western Seoul, a spokeswoman said.
    The first case related to the centre was diagnosed on Saturday, and is suspected to be connected with a Seoul nightclub outbreak earlier this month.
    Health officials warned that cases linked to the centre could rise.
    “We are very nervous about community infections and we are keeping a close eye on the situation,” vice health minister Kim Kang-lip said at a briefing.
    Kim said authorities suspect the logistics centre did not comply with “basic” quarantine principles, adding that an investigation is under way.
    A spokeswoman for Coupang however said the centre went through daily disinfection and all employees wore masks and gloves and had temperatures checked.
    Despite the spike in new cases, more than 2 million children returned to class on Wednesday, the latest in a phased opening of schools.
    “What we are worried about now is that when kids go to school, they’re naturally physically close to their friends and they have to eat together so they may be infected with coronavirus,” said Chan Woong-jeon, the father of a 2nd grader who returned to Seryun Elementary School in Seoul on Wednesday.
    Park Hyeon-ji, a teacher at the school, said teachers had been trained on how to react to any outbreak.
    “We’ll be able to take immediate action,” she said.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin, Additional reporting by Josh Smith, Chaeyoun Won and Daewoung Kim; Edfiting by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

5/27/2020 Taiwan president pledges humanitarian relief for Hong Kongers by Yimou Lee
FILE PHOTO: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen delivers her inaugural address at the Taipei Guest House in
Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2020. Wang Yu Ching/Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday pledged to draw up a plan to give humanitarian relief to people involved in pro-democracy protests in Taiwan’s most concrete intervention since a renewal of unrest in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong.
    China’s proposed new security legislation for the former British colony has prompted protests in Hong Kong and condemnation from Western governments over perceived threats to freedoms.
    Hong Kong’s demonstrators have won widespread sympathy in democratic Taiwan, which China considers as its territory to be taken by force, if necessary.    Taiwan said it’s already an independent country and has shown no interest in being ruled by China.
    “We will propose an action plan of humanitarian relief for friends from Hong Kong,” Tsai told reporters in Taipei.    “We will continue to support Hong Kong people’s determination to strive for democracy and freedom.”
    She did not give full details or timing, but said Taiwan’s China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council, responsible for Taiwan’s ties with China, will lead the initiative, while a government task force will coordinate the budget needed and resources, including accommodation and employment.
    Earlier this week, Tsai said Taiwan may revoke the special status it extends to Hong Kong in a warning to Beijing.
    Beijing has yet to respond to the comments from Tsai, whom the Chinese government suspects of pushing for Taiwan’s formal independence.
    Addressing concerns that the revocation could make it harder for Hong Kongers to visit and invest in Taiwan, Tsai said her government will give “necessary help for them to stay, live and work in Taiwan.”
    Taiwan has no law on refugees that could be applied to protesters seeking asylum, but its laws promise to help Hong Kongers whose safety and liberty are threatened for political reasons.
    Tsai said the number of immigrants from Hong Kong had jumped in the last year and her government expects the trend to continue.
(Reporting By Yimou Lee; Editing by Toby Chopra and Barbara Lewis)

5/27/2020 Philippines reports 18 new coronavirus deaths, 380 more infections
FILE PHOTO: Police trainees wearing personal protective equipment maintain social distancing in a train
during a simulation exercise in preparation for the resumption of train operations, amid the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Manila, Philippines May 26, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ health ministry on Wednesday reported 18 new coronavirus deaths and 380 additional infections, the highest single-day increase in cases in more than seven weeks.
    In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths have reached 904, while confirmed cases have risen to 15,049.    It said 94 more patients have recovered, bringing total recoveries to 3,506.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Ed Davies)

5/27/2020 Thailand reports nine new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: General view of the almost empty Khaosan Road, which is usually crowded with tourists, during the outbreak
of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bangkok, Thailand, May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha -/File Photo
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Wednesday reported nine new coronavirus infections, bringing its total to 3,054 confirmed cases.    There were no new deaths reported.
    The cases were Thai nationals in quarantine who recently returned from overseas, including two from the United States, one from Qatar and six from Saudi Arabia, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s coronavirus task force.
    There are 2,931 patients who have recovered since the outbreak started.    The country has recorded 57 deaths.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Martin Petty)

5/27/2020 Hong Kong’s China national anthem bill aims to legislate ‘respect’ by Greg Torode
FILE PHOTO: Anti-government protesters march again Beijing's plans to impose national
security legislation in Hong Kong, China May 24, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s legislature is moving forward on a controversial bill that would criminalise abuse of China’s national anthem.
    A second reading of the bill is being held in the legislature on Wednesday.    Protests outside the legislature are expected.
WHAT IS IT?
    Hong Kong’s National Anthem Bill if passed into law by the legislature will govern the use and playing of the Chinese national anthem.
    This includes provisions that threaten to punish those who insult the anthem with up to three years jail and/or fines of up to HK$50,000 ($6,450).    The bill states that “all individuals and organisations” should respect and dignify the national anthem and play it and sing it on “appropriate occasions.”    It also orders that primary and secondary school students be taught to sing it, along with its history and etiquette.
WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL?
    Anti-government protests last year were primarily aimed at resisting further integration with mainland China.    The Chinese national anthem has been booed at several events, including football matches.
    Protesters and pro-democracy politicians say the bill represents the latest sign of what they see as accelerating interference from Beijing in the freewheeling former British colony.
    Britain handed Hong Kong back to Chinese rule in 1997 with guarantees that the city’s core freedoms and way of life would be protected under a “one country, two systems” formula, which Beijing says it respects.
    The freedoms of speech, press, association and demonstration are explicitly written into the Basic Law, the mini-constitution that guides Hong Kong’s relationship with its Chinese sovereign – freedoms that opponents of the bill now say are under threat.
    More technically, some senior lawyers fear the bill is highly unusual in that it, in part, reflects the ideological aspirations of China’s Communist Party that might prove difficult to enforce.
    “It is the first Hong Kong law I’ve seen that looks like it was written in Beijing,” one senior judge told Reuters recently, speaking privately.    “It will be a nightmare to rule on.”
    The Hong Kong Bar Association acknowledged the need for such laws but said parts of the bill “deviate from the good traditions” of Hong Kong’s common law system.
    It said there was a fundamental difference between that system and the “socialist legal system of mainland China which would include political ideology and conceptual guidance.”
WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
    For years, Chinese officials and their pro-Beijing allies in Hong Kong have wanted to instill a greater sense of patriotic pride across its freest – and most restive – city.
    Hong Kong’s government says its bill reflects the city’s own legal system and situation.
    “The main spirit of the … bill is ‘respect’, which bears absolutely no relations to ‘restricting freedom of speech’ as claimed by certain members of the community and definitely not a so-called ‘evil law’,” a spokesman said earlier this year.
WHAT’S NEXT?
    Further protests and intense legislative infighting over the bill are widely expected.
    The government, under pressure from Beijing, says the bill is now a priority to be passed into law before the end of this four-year legislative session in July.
    Having been mired in a log-jam of legislative procedural battles, the bill could face a third reading after Wednesday’s proceedings and possibly a vote early next month.
    If it misses the deadline, the government would then have to decide whether to re-introduce the bill in the next session or force it into law by promulgation, seen as a highly unusual and potentially explosive option. Deeper public consultation and a re-draft would be the alternative.
    Longer term, if the bill becomes law and is enforced, constitutional challenges can be expected in courts – both into the bill’s content, and the procedural battles through which it passed.
(Reporting By Greg Torode; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Michael Perry)

5/27/2020 Pompeo says Hong Kong no longer warrants special U.S. treatment by David Brunnstrom, Humeyra Pamuk and Sarah Wu
Riot police officers stand guard as a second reading of a controversial national anthem
law takes place in Hong Kong, China May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    WASHINGTON/HONG KONG (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday China had undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy so fundamentally that the territory no longer warranted special treatment under U.S. law, a potentially big blow to its status as a major financial hub.
    Pompeo’s certification to the U.S. Congress follows China’s announcement of a plan to impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong, which has triggered fresh unrest in the territory, with police firing tear gas and water cannon.
    It now falls to President Donald Trump to decide to end some, all, or none of the U.S. economic privileges which the territory enjoys.
    Pompeo made no recommendations in his statement.    But people familiar with the matter said the Trump administration was considering suspending Hong Kong’s preferential tariff rates for exports to the United States as part of its response to China’s plan.
    Trump could also opt for targeted sanctions against Chinese officials, government entities and businesses involved in enforcing the new legislation, according one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
    Trump, already at odds with Beijing over trade and China’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, had said on Tuesday Washington was working on a strong response that would be announced before the end of the week.
    He offered a muted response to democracy protests in Hong Kong last year while prioritizing a trade deal with China he saw as important for his November re-election bid.    But ties with Beijing have since soured considerably and bipartisan pressure has mounted for decisive action.
    Pompeo said China’s plan to impose the new legislation was “only the latest in a series of actions that fundamentally undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms."
    “No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,” he said.
    He said he certified that Hong Kong no longer warrants treatment under U.S. laws “in the same manner as U.S. laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1997,” when Britain ended its administration of the territory and returned it to China.
    “It is now clear that China is modeling Hong Kong after itself,” Pompeo said.
    The “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act” approved by the U.S. Congress and Trump last year requires the State Department to certify at least annually that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to justify the favorable U.S. trading terms that have helped it remain a world financial center.
    Under the act, officials responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong could be subject to sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes.
    China’s security proposal, unveiled last week, triggered the first large street protests in Hong Kong for months.
    The United States, European Union, Britain and others have expressed concern about the legislation, widely seen as a possible turning point for China’s freest city.
    Pompeo discussed the legislation with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday and “both agreed the international community must support the people of Hong Kong and respond to Beijing’s continued erosions of Hong Kong’s autonomy,” a State Department statement said.
    Specifics of the security bill remain unclear and will not be enacted until later.    It is meant to tackle secession, subversion and terrorism after major unrest last year and could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in Hong Kong.
MORE PROTESTS AND ARRESTS
    Chinese authorities and Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government say there is no threat to the city’s high degree of autonomy and the new security law will be tightly focused.
    Beijing has said it will take necessary countermeasures to any foreign interference.
    “It’s for the long-term stability of Hong Kong and China, it won’t affect the freedom of assembly and speech and it won’t affect the city’s status as a financial centre,” Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung told reporters.
    Hong Kong police fired pepper pellets and made 360 arrests on Wednesday as thousands of people protested against the bill.
    Late into the evening, protesters were still cramming sidewalks, chanting for full democracy and for Hong Kong to seek independence from China, saying this is now “the only way out.”
    A heavy police presence around the Legislative Council had earlier deterred protesters from disrupting a debate of a bill that would criminalise disrespect of the Chinese national anthem.    That is expected to become law next month.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Humeyra Pamuk, Matt Spetalnick, Sarah Wu, Scott Murdoch, Jessie Pang, Clare Jim, Pak Yiu, Joyce Zhou, Twinnie Siu, Donny Kwok and James Pomfret; Writing by David Brunnstrom, Anne Marie Roantree, Michael Perry and Robert Birsel, Marius Zaharia; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Stephen Coates, Mark Heinrich and Sonya Hepinstall)

5/27/2020 Exclusive: U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan down to close to 8,600 ahead of schedule – sources by Idrees Ali and Rupam Jain
FILE PHOTO: Afghan children celebrate in anticipation of the U.S-Taliban agreement to allow a U.S. troop reduction
and a permanent ceasefire, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Parwiz/File Photo
    WASHINGTON/MUMBAI (Reuters) – U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan is down to nearly 8,600, well ahead of a schedule agreed with Taliban militants in late February, in part because of concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, U.S. and NATO officials said.
    A key provision of the Feb. 29 agreement between the Taliban and the United States, to which the Afghan government was not a party, involved a U.S. commitment to reduce its military footprint in Afghanistan from about 13,000 to 8,600 by mid-July and, conditions permitting, to zero by May 2021.
    Two senior sources in Kabul said the 8,600 target was likely to be achieved by early June.     Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the United States was close to 8,600 troops and could reach that number in coming days.     “Due to COVID-19 concerns, we are moving towards that planned drawdown faster than anticipated,” one of the officials said.     The other U.S. official said the United States had focused on quickly removing non-essential personnel and those considered to be at high risk from the virus.     All four sources asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
    Last month CNN reported that the United States had less than 10,000 troops in Afghanistan, putting the Trump administration ahead of schedule.
    U.S. forces are in Afghanistan to conduct counter-insurgency operations.    A few thousand U.S. soldiers work with troops from 37 NATO partner countries to train, advise and assist Afghan forces.
    NATO’s mission in the country totalled 16,551 troops in February, according official data available on its website.
    On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump there were “7,000-some-odd” U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan but officials clarified that number was slightly over 8,600 troops.
    Trump renewed his desire for a full military withdrawal from Afghanistan but added that he had not set a target date, amid speculation he might make ending America’s longest war part of his re-election campaign.
NATO DILEMMA
    The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 before being ousted by U.S.-led troops in 2001, have sought to topple the Western-backed government in Kabul and reimpose Islamic rule.    They dismiss the Kabul government as a puppet of the United States.
    The faster-than-expected withdrawal has put NATO in a dilemma as to whether it should consider swiftly sending back some non-U.S. troops from Afghanistan as well, two NATO sources said.
    “The drawdown by the U.S. was expected to be done in 135 days but it’s clear that they have almost completed the process in just about 90 days,” said a senior Western official in Kabul on condition of anonymity.
    The official said that some other NATO soldiers would be withdrawn before schedule.
    The Taliban have recently increased attacks in a number of provinces, despite the Afghan government releasing prisoners as per the U.S.-Taliban agreement signed in Doha.
    In a statement, the Pentagon said it expected to be at 8,600 troops within 135 days of signing the agreement, but declined to say how many troops were currently in Afghanistan.
    “We are not providing updates on current troop levels primarily due to operational security concerns associated with the drawdown,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Campbell said.
    Officials are now looking at the pace of the drawdown beyond 8,600.
(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Euan Rocha and Nick Macfie)

5/27/2020 U.S. to end sanctions waivers allowing some work at Iran nuclear sites: sources by Arshad Mohammed and Humeyra Pamuk
FILE PHOTO: A staff member removes the Iranian flag from the stage after a group picture with foreign ministers
and representatives of the U.S., Iran, China, Russia, Britain, Germany, France and the European Union during the Iran nuclear
talks at the Vienna International Center in Vienna, Austria July 14, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has decided to end sanctions waivers allowing Russian, Chinese and European firms to continue work at certain Iranian nuclear sites, a U.S. official and another source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
    The decision, first reported by the Washington Post, seemed designed to tighten the “maximum pressure” policy Washington has applied since it pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal two years ago.    That deal had provided Tehran with relief from economic sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
    The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the move applied to waivers allowing international work at Iran’s Arak heavy water research reactor, the provision of enriched uranium for its Tehran Research Reactor and the transfer of spent and scrap reactor fuel abroad.
    Those activities were designed to make the Iranian nuclear program less capable of producing weapons.
    The sources said the United States would give the companies 60 days to wind down their activities.    They also said it would extend for 90 days a waiver allowing international support for the Russian-built nuclear reactor at Bushehr.
    Alex Vatanka, an Iran expert at the Washington-based Middle East Institute think tank, said the Trump administration may have two motives for ending the waivers: looking tough to force Tehran to agree to even tighter restrictions on its nuclear program than in the 2015 deal and making it harder for any new U.S. administration to revive that agreement.
    U.S. President Donald Trump is running for re-election in November.
    “The … point is to make (life) as hard as possible for whoever takes over from Trump, be that January 2021, or in four years time,” he added.
(Reporting By Arshad Mohammed and Humeyra Pamuk, Editing by Franklin Paul, Marguerita Choy and Sonya Hepinstall)

5/28/2020 China parliament approves Hong Kong security bill as tensions with U.S. rise by Jessie Pang and Yew Lun Tian
FILE PHOTO: Anti-government demonstrators scuffle with riot police during a lunch time protest as a second reading of a
controversial national anthem law takes place in Hong Kong, China May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
    HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s parliament approved a decision on Thursday to go forward with national security legislation for Hong Kong that democracy activists in the city and Western countries fear could jeopardise its special autonomy and freedoms.
    China says the legislation will be aimed at tackling secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in the city but the plan, unveiled in Beijing last week, triggered the first big protests in Hong Kong for months.
    Riot police were out in force in Hong Kong as its legislators debated another piece of legislation, a bill that would criminalise disrespect of China’s national anthem, while the United States piled on pressure aimed at preserving the city’s autonomy.
    Dozens of protesters gathered in a shopping mall to chant slogans but there was no repeat of disturbances the previous day when police made 360 arrests as thousands took to the streets in anger over the anthem bill and the national security legislation proposed by China.
    Last year, the city was rocked for months by often violent pro-democracy demonstrations over an unsuccessful bid to introduce an extradition law to China.
    The Chinese government’s security law for the city is fuelling fears in Hong Kong and beyond that Beijing is imposing its authority and eroding the high degree of autonomy the former British colony has enjoyed under a “one country, two systems” formula since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
    Members of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, in the Great Hall of the People to the west of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square burst into prolonged applause when the vote tally showed 2,878 to one in favour of the decision to move forward with legislation, with six abstentions.
    Details of the law are expected to be drawn up in coming weeks. It is expected to be enacted before September.
    Chinese authorities and the Beijing-backed government in Hong Kong say there is no threat to the city’s autonomy and the new law would be tightly focused.
    “The law will not affect the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents,” the city’s Beijing-backed leader Carrie Lam said in a statement welcoming the Chinese parliament’s vote.
.     The city government would fully cooperate with Beijing to “complete the relevant legislative work as early as possible,” she said.
    Despite the assurances, the United States, Britain and the European Union have expressed concern about the security legislation and its implications for China’s freest city and one of the world’s financial hubs.
‘SHOW TIME’
    U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday Hong Kong no longer qualified for special treatment under U.S. law, potentially dealing a crushing blow to its status as a major financial hub.
    The proposed security law was “only the latest in a series of actions” undermining Hong Kong freedoms, he told Congress.
    “No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,” he said.
    The security law could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in the city.
    Relations between the two superpowers have been tense over China’s claims in the South China Sea and trade.    The coronavirus pandemic has also become an issue of acrimony.
    “Already, international business is facing the pressure of increased tension between the U.S. and China, but the enactment of China’s security law for Hong Kong could take the tension to a whole new level,” said Tara Joseph, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
    “This is show time for Hong Kong,” Joseph said in a commentary in the South China Morning Post.
    U.S. President Donald Trump has promised action over Hong Kong, with an announcement at the end of the week.    More than 1,300 U.S. companies have offices in the city, providing about 100,000 jobs.
    China said it would take necessary countermeasures to any foreign interference into what it insists are its internal affairs.
    Hong Kong stocks underperformed most of Asia, closing 0.7% lower.
    Rich Chinese are expected to park fewer funds in Hong Kong on worries that the security law could allow mainland authorities to seize their wealth, bankers and other industry sources said.
    Trump’s possible response could include visa and economic sanctions, David Stilwell, the State Department’s assistant secretary for East Asia, told reporters.
    “Sanction is painful but necessary,” Agnes Chow from Hong Kong’s pro-democracy group Demosisto told reporters.
    Chinese-claimed Taiwan on Thursday promised to settle any Hong Kong people who flee for political reasons, offering help from employment to counselling.
    Earlier on Thursday, angry exchanges in the city’s assembly, the Legislative Council, during debate on the anthem bill saw some lawmakers removed in chaotic scenes and the session adjourned.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang, Anne Marie Roantree, Donny Kwok, Noah Sin, Clare Jim, Sarah Wu; Writing by Michael Perry and Marius Zaharia; Editing by Stephen Coates, Robert Birsel)

5/28/2020 Premier Li: China always opposes external interference on Taiwan
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is seen on screens at a media center during a news conference held via video link after the
closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC), in Beijing, China May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ryan Woo

5/28/2020 Indonesia reports 687 new coronavirus cases, 23 deaths
FILE PHOTO: Healthcare workers wearing protective face masks gesture for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients during
a briefing in the emergency room at Persahabatan Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
    JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported 687 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections in the Southeast Asian country to 24,538, a health ministry official said on Thursday.     Indonesia also confirmed 23 new deaths from the virus, bringing the total fatalities to 1,496, the official, Achmad Yurianto, told reporters.
    As of Thursday, Indonesia has tested 201,311 people and 6,240 patients have recovered.
(Reporting by Nilufar Rizki; Writing by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Martin Petty)

5/28/2020 Malaysia reports 10 new coronavirus cases with no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: A man reads a book outside a makeshift centre set up in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital parking lot, during the movement
control order due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian health authorities reported on Thursday 10 new coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative total to 7,629 cases.
    The health ministry reported no new deaths, keeping the total number of fatalities at 115.
(Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Gareth Jones)

5/28/2020 Philippines confirms 539 new coronavirus cases, largest single-day increase
FILE PHOTO: Repatriated Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs wait for provincial buses in a terminal after being allowed to go home following weeks of
quarantine amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Paranaque City, Metro Manila, Philippines May 26, 2020. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
    MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ health ministry on Thursday reported 17 more novel coronavirus deaths and 539 new infections, the largest number of cases reported in a single day since the virus was first detected in the country.
    In a bulletin, the ministry said total infections have risen to 15,588 and deaths have reached 921.    The number of recovered patients was 3,598.
    An inter-agency panel on coronavirus has recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte the easing of strict lockdown measures in the capital, which accounts for most of the coronavirus cases and deaths, to restart economic activity.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty)

5/28/2020 China’s parliament approves Hong Kong national security bill
Chinese President Xi Jinping casts his vote on the national security legislation for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the closing session
of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved directly imposing national security legislation on Hong Kong to tackle secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in a city roiled last year by months of anti-government protests.
    The National People’s Congress voted 2,878 to 1 in favour of the decision to empower its standing committee to draft the legislation, with six abstentions.    The legislators gathered in the Great Hall of the People burst into sustained applause when the vote tally was projected onto screens.
(Reporting by Tony Munroe and Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Gareth Jones)

5/28/2020 From settlement to counselling, Taiwan promises help for fleeing Hong Kongers by Yimou Lee
FILE PHOTO: Protesters holding banners in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrators
attend a rally against the Chinese government’s newly announced national security legislation for Hong Kong,
at Taipei main train station in Taiwan May 23, 2020. REUTERS/Ben Blanchard/File Photo
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan on Thursday promised to settle Hong Kongers who flee the Chinese-ruled city due to political reasons, offering help from employment to counselling as China pushes new security legislation that has triggered fresh protests.
    Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen this week became the first world leader to pledge specific measures to help people from Hong Kong who may leave the former British colony due to the new legislation, a move that is certain to sour already poor ties between Taipei and Beijing.
    Chen Ming-tong, head of Taiwan’s top China-policy maker, the Mainland Affairs Council, told parliament the government will establish an organisation to deliver “humanitarian relief” that includes settlement and employment in a joint effort with activists groups.
    He said counselling services will also be available for Hong Kongers, some of whom may take part in increasingly violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
    “Many Hong Kongers want to come to Taiwan.    Our goal is to give them settlement and care,” Chen said, urging the public not use the word “refugee” as it could be “emotionally harmful” for people from the city.
    Chen, however, did not give details such as scale, timing and qualification of the relief programme when pressed by lawmakers, saying the government is still working on the details.
    Hong Kong’s demonstrators have won widespread sympathy in democratic Taiwan, which China considers as its territory to be taken by force, if necessary.    Taiwan has shown no interest in being ruled by autocratic China.
    Help for Hong Kong has won rare bipartisan support in politically polarised Taiwan and three opposition parties have introduced bills to make it easier for Hong Kongers to live in Taiwan if they have to leave the city due to political reasons.
    Taiwan has no law on refugees that could be applied to protesters seeking asylum, but its laws promise to help Hong Kongers whose safety and liberty are threatened for political reasons.
    Some say Tsai’s government is not moving fast enough.
    “Please come up with details of the humanitarian relief at the soonest.    Don’t wait until people shed blood like water,” said Chen Yu-jen, a lawmaker from main opposition Kuomintang party.
    Ivan Tang, a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist, welcomed Tsai’s support but cautioned a sense of urgency among protesters in the city, some of whom had been barred from entering Taiwan due to travel restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.
    “They have nowhere to go… but the security law could be implemented soon,” he said.
    Taiwan has become a popular destination for Hong Kongers leaving the city, with the number of Hong Kong citizens granted Taiwan residency jumping 150% to 2,383 in the first four months of 2020 compared with a year ago, official data shows.
    University applications to Taiwan from Hong Kong also rose 62% in 2020 from a year ago, and island’s education ministry said this week it was planning to raise the quota for Hong Kong students.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

5/28/2020 Thailand reports 11 new coronavirus cases, no new deaths
FILE PHOTO: General view of the almost empty Khaosan Road, which is usually crowded with tourists, during the outbreak of
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bangkok, Thailand, May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha -/File Photo
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand on Thursday reported 11 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths, bringing its total to 3,065 confirmed cases and 57 fatalities since the outbreak started in January.
    The cases were Thai nationals in quarantine who recently returned from overseas, including four from Kuwait, six from Qatar, and one from India, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s coronavirus task force.
    There are 2,945 patients who have recovered since the outbreak started.
(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Ed Davies)

5/28/2020 Hong Kong no longer deserves special U.S. status, Pompeo says by David Brunnstrom, Humeyra Pamuk and Sarah Wu
Riot police officers stand guard as a second reading of a controversial national
anthem law takes place in Hong Kong, China May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    WASHINGTON/HONG KONG (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Congress on Wednesday that Hong Kong no longer qualifies for its special status under U.S. law, potentially dealing a crushing blow to its status as a major financial hub.
    China had undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy so fundamentally, Pompeo said, that he could not support its recertification for its special pre-1997 trading status.
    China’s plan for new security legislation triggered protests in the territory, and it now falls to President Donald Trump to decide to end some, all or none of the U.S. economic privileges the territory enjoys.
    While Pompeo made no recommendations in his statement, Trump has a long list of possible responses, including visa and economic sanctions, David Stilwell, the State Department’s assistant secretary for East Asia, told reporters.
    People familiar with the matter told Reuters the Trump administration was considering suspending Hong Kong’s preferential tariff rates for exports to the United States as part of its response to China’s plan.
    Trump could also opt for targeted sanctions against Chinese officials, government entities and businesses involved in enforcing the new legislation, according one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
    Trump, already at odds with Beijing over trade and the coronavirus pandemic, had said on Tuesday Washington was working on a strong response that would be announced before the end of the week.
    China’s security proposal, unveiled last week, sparked the first large street demonstrations in Hong Kong for months.    Firing tear gas, water cannon and pepper pellets, Hong Kong police made 360 arrests on Wednesday as thousands of people protested against the bill.
    Late into the evening, protesters were still cramming sidewalks, chanting for full democracy and for Hong Kong to seek independence from China, saying this is now “the only way out.”
    Pompeo said China’s plan to impose the new legislation was “only the latest in a series of actions that fundamentally undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms.
    “No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,” he said.
    He said he certified to Congress that Hong Kong no longer warrants treatment under U.S. laws “in the same manner as U.S. laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1997,” when Britain ended its administration of the territory and returned it to China.
    “It is now clear that China is modeling Hong Kong after itself,” Pompeo said.
    The “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act” approved by Trump last year requires the State Department to certify at least annually that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to justify the favorable U.S. trading terms that have helped it remain a world financial center.
    The United States, the European Union, Britain and others have expressed concern about the legislation, widely seen as a possible turning point for China’s freest city. CHINA SAYS NO THREAT TO HONG KONG AUTONOMY
    Specifics of Hong Kong’s security bill remain unclear and will not be enacted until later.    It is meant to tackle secession, subversion and terrorism after major unrest last year and could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in Hong Kong.
    Asked to comment on Pompeo’s statement, China’s embassy in Washington repeated past statements from Beijing and Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government that the security law is no threat to the city’s high degree of autonomy and will be tightly focused.
    “As for foreign meddling in Hong Kong affairs, we will take necessary countermeasures in response,” it said, echoing previous Chinese statements.
    A heavy police presence around Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on Wednesday deterred protesters from disrupting debate of a bill that would criminalise disrespect of the Chinese national anthem. That is expected to become law next month.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Humeyra Pamuk, Matt Spetalnick, Sarah Wu, Scott Murdoch, Jessie Pang, Clare Jim, Pak Yiu, Joyce Zhou, Twinnie Siu, Donny Kwok and James Pomfret; Writing by David Brunnstrom, Anne Marie Roantree, Michael Perry and Robert Birsel, Marius Zaharia; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Stephen Coates, Mark Heinrich, Sonya Hepinstall and Cynthia Osterman)

5/28/2020 Iran says nuclear work will not be hurt by end of U.S. sanctions waivers
FILE PHOTO: The Iranian flag flutters in front the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
headquarters in Vienna, Austria July 10, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
    (Reuters) – A U.S. decision to terminate sanctions waivers that have allowed foreign companies to do some work at Iranian nuclear sites will not affect Iran’s nuclear programme, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) said on Thursday.
    The United States said on Wednesday it will terminate the waivers, which had allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to carry out work at Iranian nuclear sites.
    The role of the foreign firms was agreed in Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, and was intended to help ensure Iran’s nuclear programme would not be used to make weapons.
    “The ending of waivers for nuclear cooperation under (the nuclear deal) will not in practice have any effect on Iran’s work,” AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said, in remarks reported by ISNA news agency.    “Of course America wants its actions to have an effect in line with pressure on Iran, but in practice nothing will happen.”
    Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.    U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and has since reimposed sanctions.    Iran has scaled back its commitments under the deal but says it still abides by its overall terms.
    The waivers, which officials said expire on July 27, covered the conversion of Iran’s Arak heavy water research reactor, the provision of enriched uranium for its Tehran Research Reactor and the transfer of spent and scrap reactor fuel abroad.
    Iran agreed to shut down the reactor at Arak – about 250 km southwest of Tehran – under the 2015 deal.    Iran was allowed to produce a limited amount of heavy water and Tehran has been working on redesigning the reactor. Tehran says it will make isotopes for medical and agricultural use.
    Work on redesigning the Arak reactor is continuing, albeit at a slow pace because of sanctions and problems with carrying out the nuclear deal, Kamalvandi said.
(Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Peter Graff)

5/28/2020 U.S. indicts North Koreans, accuses state-owned bank of evading sanctions
FILE PHOTO: The Department of Justice logo is seen on the podium during a news conference in New York January 23, 2013. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department accused North Korea’s state owned bank of evading U.S. sanctions laws and charged 28 North Korean and 5 Chinese citizens with committing money laundering, bank fraud and other crimes.
    In a grand jury indictment made public Thursday, U.S. prosecutors accused North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank of conspiring with the employees charged to cause other banks “to process at least $2.5 billion in illegal payments via over 250 front companies.”    The Washington Post said it is the largest ever North Korean sanctions violation case.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

5/29/2020 Hong Kong warns removing U.S. special status is a ‘double-edged sword’ by Sarah Wu and Marius Zaharia
FILE PHOTO: Anti-government demonstrators sit as they were detained during a lunch time protest as a second
reading of a controversial national anthem law takes place in Hong Kong, China May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong told the United States to keep out of the debate over national security legislation being imposed by China, and warned that withdrawal of the financial hub’s special status under U.S. law could backfire on the U.S. economy.
    President Donald Trump is due to announce later on Friday his response to the Chinese parliament’s advancement this week of security legislation for Hong Kong, which many lawyers, diplomats and investors fear could erode the city’s freedoms.
    The former British colony has been racked by civil unrest amid fears Beijing is curbing the high degree of autonomy it has enjoyed under a “one country, two systems” formula adopted when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
    “Any sanctions are a double-edged sword that will not only harm the interests of Hong Kong but also significantly those of the U.S.,” Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing government said late on Thursday.
    From 2009 to 2018, the U.S. trade surplus of $297 billion with Hong Kong was the biggest among all Washington’s trading partners, and 1,300 U.S. firms were based in the city, it said.
    Beijing says the new legislation, likely to come into force before September, will tackle secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign interference in the city.    It could see Chinese intelligence agencies set up bases in Hong Kong.
    China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said it would “direct and support Hong Kong police to stop violence and restore order.”     Hong Kong’s police have been independent from China and the MPS has no enforcement powers in the city.
    Riot police fired pepper pellets this week to disperse thousands of protesters in the city’s first major unrest since anti-government demonstrations paralysed it for months last year.    There had been a lull in the agitation partly as a result of the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year.
    Chinese authorities and Hong Kong’s government say the legislation poses no threat to the city’s autonomy and the interests of foreign investors would be preserved.
    Reacting to U.S. efforts to call a U.N. Security Council meeting over Hong Kong, China’s foreign ministry reiterated on Friday that Hong Kong was an internal affair and no country had the right to interfere.    It said China has lodged solemn representations to countries condemning its plans and was determined to take countermeasures against any U.S. actions.
LIKE CHINA?
    Trump’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, warned that Hong Kong, which has enjoyed special privileges under U.S. law on the basis of its high degree of autonomy from Beijing, may now need to be treated like China on trade and other financial matters.
    The State Department said it could “no longer certify that Hong Kong continues to warrant (differential) treatment” from Beijing.
    The Fitch ratings agency said it expected Hong Kong’s economy to contract by 5% this year, in large part because of the coronavirus, and the outlook for the operating environment for its banks was negative.
    Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index <.HSI>, which has lost about 3% after the news of the security legislation, was down 0.7% as worries over U.S.-China tensions unsettled markets globally.
    Many Hong Kong residents feel their city is on the cusp of historic change.
    “No matter how it turns out, I’ll always stand on the people’s side,” said Samantha Tam, 27.    The office worker said the uncertainty had made her put on hold plans to have a baby.
    “When Hong Kong really loses special status, China will see the consequences.    I just want to burn together,” she said, paraphrasing a protest slogan aimed at Beijing: “If we burn, you burn with us.”
‘JOIN HANDS’
    Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed leader, Carrie Lam, urged citizens to “join hands to pursue our dreams while putting aside our differences,” in a statement published in newspapers.
    The legislation was needed because of a “terrorist threat,” she said, adding that organisations advocating “independence and self-determination” had challenged the authority of mainland and local governments and pleaded for foreign interference.
    The five demands of last-year’s pro-democracy protest movement included universal suffrage and an independent inquiry into police handling of the protests, but not independence.    A minority of protesters waved “Hong Kong independence” flags.
    Independence is anathema for Beijing.
    Protesters see the security legislation, along with a bill to criminalise disrespect for China’s national anthem, as Beijing’s latest attempt to tighten its control of the city.
    Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States are among the countries that have condemned the proposed security legislation.    Japan said it was “seriously concerned.”
    Britain said it would give greater visa rights to British national overseas passport holders from Hong Kong unless China suspended its plans.
(Reporting by Sarah Wu and Marius Zaharia; Writing by Michael Perry and Robert Birsel; Editing by Stephen Coates, Clarence Fernandez & Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/29/2020 Attack on Taiwan an option to stop independence, top China general says by Yew Lun Tian
Li Zhanshu (R), chairman of National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, Xu Qiliang (C), vice chairman
of the Central Military Commission, and others attend an event marking the 15th anniversary of the implementation of
the Anti-Secession Law at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China May 29, 2020. REUTERS/Yew Lun Tian
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China will attack Taiwan if there is no other way of stopping it from becoming independent, one of the country’s most senior generals said on Friday, in a rhetorical escalation from China aimed at the democratic island Beijing claims as its own.
    Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the 15th anniversary of the Anti-Secession Law, Li Zuocheng, chief of the Joint Staff Department and member of the Central Military Commission, left the door open to using force.
    The 2005 law gives the country the legal basis for military action against Taiwan if it secedes or seems about to, making the narrow Taiwan Strait a potential military flashpoint.
    “If the possibility for peaceful reunification is lost, the people’s armed forces will, with the whole nation, including the people of Taiwan, take all necessary steps to resolutely smash any separatist plots or actions,” Li said.
    “We do not promise to abandon the use of force, and reserve the option to take all necessary measures, to stabilise and control the situation in the Taiwan Strait,” he added.
    Although China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, it is rare for a top, serving military officer to so explicitly make the threat in a public setting.    The comments are especially striking amid international opprobrium over China passing new national security legislation for Chinese-run Hong Kong.
    Taiwan’s government denounced the comments, saying that threats of war were a violation of international law and that Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China.
    “Taiwan’s people will never choose dictatorship nor bow to violence,” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said.    “Force and unilateral decisions are not the way to resolve problems.”
    Li is one of China’s few senior officers with combat experience, having taken part in China’s ill-fated invasion of Vietnam in 1979.
    Taiwan is China’s most sensitive territorial issue.    Beijing says it is a Chinese province, and has denounced the Trump administration’s support for the island.
    Li Zhanshu, the third-most-senior leader of China’s ruling Communist Party and head of China’s parliament, told the same event that non-peaceful means were an option of last resort.
    “As long as there is a slightest chance of a peaceful resolution, we will put in hundred times the effort,” Li said.
    However, he added: “We warn Taiwan’s pro-independence and separatist forces sternly, the path of Taiwan independence leads to a dead end; any challenge to this law will be severely punished.”
    Taiwan has shown no interest in being run by autocratic China.    It has denounced China’s repeated military drills near the island and rejected China’s offer of a “one country, two systems” model of a high degree of autonomy.
    Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party won presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide in January, vowing to stand up to Beijing.
    China is deeply suspicious of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, whom it accuses of being a separatist bent on declaring formal independence.    Tsai says Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name.
    The mood in Taiwan toward China has further soured since China’s parliament passed new national security legislation for Chinese-ruled Hong Kong on Thursday.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Additional reportig by Yimou Lee in Taipei; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Gerry Doyle and Hugh Lawson)

5/29/2020 China, responding to Trump, says no need for a third party in border dispute with India
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a news conference
in Beijing, China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China said there was no need for a third party to mediate between China and India in an ongoing border dispute, when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate.
    Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the comments a daily briefing Friday.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Toby Chopra)

5/29/2020 Go-go bars gone as coronavirus hits Bangkok’s sex district by Jiraporn Kuhakan and Matthew Tostevin
General view of the almost empty Patpong nightlife and sex trade district, which is usually crowded with tourists, during the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, May 26, 2020. Picture taken May 26, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – The black leather party masks that performers May and Som wear for their fetish shows in Bangkok are definitely not the sort to stop the coronavirus.
    Behind closed doors, they practise for the day when health restrictions are lifted and tourists return, but they have no idea when and worry that the city’s infamous Patpong red-light district could be very different by then.
    “This kind of place will be the last to reopen,” said May 31.    Like Som, she goes only by her Thai nickname.
    “Even when it does reopen, customers will be worried about their safety,” she said at the BarBar club on Patpong’s Soi 2 street.    BarBar and other clubs such as “Bada Bing” and “Fresh Boys” are shuttered and the nights are largely silent.
    Thailand shut bars and clubs in mid-March as coronavirus cases surged.    It halted international passenger flights, stopping the tourism that had made Bangkok the world’s most visited city for four years.
    Patpong went dark.
    But residents say the decline had already begun for a red-light district that flourished in the 1970s as a rest stop for U.S. forces in Indochina.
    “This COVID-19 is an accelerant of change,” said Michael Ernst, an Austrian 25-year veteran of the district and former bar owner who opened the Patpong Museum weeks before the new coronavirus reached Thailand.
    “The go-go bar and its very one-dimensional concept of a stage and ladies dancing on it with a number.    I think that’s already over, they just don’t know that yet.”
SHIFT
    The number of go-go bars in Patpong district has waned in recent years as business has moved to other parts of Bangkok or online and as sex tourism has become a smaller part of the overall tourism industry for Thailand.
    For decades, tourism figures were skewed towards men.    But the growing importance of Chinese visitors in particular changed that. In 2018, more than 53 percent of tourists were women.
    Nonetheless, Patpong’s nightlife district employed thousands of people, mostly young women.    Most are now among the 2 million Thais the state planning agency believes may be made unemployed this year because of the impact of the virus.
    BarBar is still paying some workers.    But the manager of at least one go-go bar on Soi 2 just abandoned the lease.
    Patpong had never known it as bad, said 70-year-old Pratoomporn Somritsuk, who for 35 years has run the Old Other Office drinking den.
    “A lot of ladies here working in nightlife are mostly from a poor family or upcountry,” she said.    “They have no chance to go work in a company.”
    The lockdown has meant the whole sex industry has collapsed.    Online escort service Smooci said activity in Bangkok fell to 10 percent in April.
    Thailand has now begun to lift some movement restrictions with infections at over 3,000 and deaths nearly 60, but neither rising rapidly.    There is talk of tourism resuming.
    But a health ministry spokesman said that nightlife venues would be among the last to reopen.
    “In the new normal, Patpong will have to adapt a lot.    It may end up looking different, but this change will be for the better,” Rungruang Kitpati said.
    Social distancing and the sex industry are hard to make compatible, however.
    “I can provide alcohol gel or temperature checks,” said 38-year-old Jittra Nawamawat, one of BarBar’s founders.    “But staying one metre apart is impossible.”
(Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Kay Johnson and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

5/29/2020 Tokyo to further relax coronavirus curbs on Monday, governor says
FILE PHOTO: Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike speaks to the media after a telephone conference with
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach (not in picture) in Tokyo, Japan
March 24, 2020, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
    TOKYO (Reuters) – Curbs in Japan’s capital of Tokyo to contain the coronavirus are to be eased further from Monday, Governor Yuriko Koike said, citing the recommendation of an advisory panel.
    Cram schools, gyms, and theatres are among the facilities that will be allowed to reopen in a phased relaxation process, Koike told a news conference on Friday.
    The city can “move to the next step of the phased easing of curbs, as long as Tokyo takes the necessary precautions to contain the spread of the virus,” she quoted the panel as having said.
    Koike later confirmed in a nightly live broadcast that 22 people in Tokyo had tested positive for the virus on Friday, the first time the number has gone above 20 for 15 days, and noted that the number of new cases had been rising slightly in recent days.
    “This is a little bit of a concern,” she said, adding that the virus hasn’t disappeared and people must remain vigilant.
    “I call on all those places that will be reopening to carry out thorough measures to prevent contagion.”
    Japan lifted its state of emergency for Tokyo this week, following a drop in daily infections.    The country has recorded about 17,000 infections and some 900 deaths from the virus.
(Reporting by Sakura Murakami and Elaine Lies; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

5/29/2020 Indonesia reports 678 new coronavirus cases, 24 deaths
FILE PHOTO: People on motorcycles wait in line for a test for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Surabaya, East Java
Province, Indonesia May 28, 2020, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Didik Suhartono via REUTERS
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported on Friday 678 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases in the Southeast Asian country to 25,216, said health ministry official Achmad Yurianto.
    Yurianto reported 24 new deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,520, while 6,492 people have recovered.
(Reporting by Nilufar Rizki and Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Ed Davies)

5/29/2020 China says opposes U.S. THAAD defence system in South Korea
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian speaks at a
news conference in Beijing, China April 8, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Friday it firmly opposes the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system in South Korea and urged the U.S. not to harm bilateral relations between Beijing and Seoul.
    American and South Korean troops brought replacement THAAD missiles to a base in South Korea overnight, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed officials who described it as a routine resupply operation.
    The missiles were to replace older ones and the number of weapons at the base did not increase, the report said.
    Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that Beijing and Seoul have reached a clear consensus on a phased resolution to the THAAD issue and said China hopes Seoul will adhere to that agreement.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; writing by Se Young Lee; editing by Jason Neely)
[GET OVER IT CHINA WE ARE SURE YOU HAVE NEW MISSILES AIMED AT SOUTH KOREA WHO DEFINITELY DOES NOT WANT TO BE CONTROLLED BY YOU.].

5/29/2020 South Korea seeks to import anti-viral remdesivir as new coronavirus cases emerge
FILE PHOTO: A delivery man for Coupang Jung Im-hong wearing a mask to prevent contracting the coronavirus, checks an
address as he works in Incheon, South Korea, March 3, 2020. Picture taken on March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
    SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean health authorities said on Friday they would request imports of Gilead Sciences Inc’s anti-viral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19, as new outbreaks of the disease flare as social distancing restrictions are eased.
    The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety must approve the import but a government panel concluded remdesivir showed positive results, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said.
    Foster City, California-based Gilead has said the drug has improved outcomes for people suffering from the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus and has provided data suggesting it works better when given in the early stages of infection.
    Preliminary results from a trial led by the U.S. Institutes of Health showed remdesivir cut hospital stays by 31% compared with a placebo treatment, although it did not significantly improve survival.
    Remdesivir, which failed as a treatment for Ebola, is designed to stop some viruses making copies of themselves inside infected cells.
    After mounting a campaign of tracing and testing to blunt an initial wave of coronavirus infections in February and March, South     Korea has seen smaller but persistent outbreaks as it has lifted some social distancing restrictions in recent weeks.
    The latest spike in cases has been linked to a logistics facility near Seoul operated by e-commerce giant Coupang.
    The company is under scrutiny after health officials said some basic safety measures were not followed as workers rushed to fulfil a huge increase in orders driven by more online shopping.
    As of midnight on Thursday, the KCDC reported 58 new cases, bringing the country’s total to 11,402, with 269 deaths.
    Nearly 90 percent of new cases this week have been clustered in Seoul and surrounding areas, raising concern that the densely populated capital could see a wider outbreak.
    Those concerns prompted officials to close most government-run facilities like museums and galleries.
    Education authorities, meanwhile, said they would press on with a phased reopening of schools, but limited the number of children allowed in some. Hundreds of schools across the country have been closed again as new cases spring up.
(Reporting by Josh Smith and Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Robert Birsel)

5/29/2020 Taiwan president visits bookshop to show solidarity with Hong Kongers
FILE PHOTO: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen delivers her inaugural address at the Taipei Guest House
in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2020. Wang Yu Ching/Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS
    TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday visited a bookshop that has become a symbol of resistance to perceived Chinese encroachments on Hong Kong’s liberties, vowing to give help to the city’s citizens fleeing to the democratic island.
    Tsai this week became the first world leader to pledge specific measures to help people from Hong Kong who may leave the former British colony because of new national security legislation that has triggered fresh anti-government protests.
    Hong Kong’s demonstrators have won widespread sympathy in democratic Taiwan, which China considers as its territory to be taken by force, if necessary.    Taiwan has shown no interest in being ruled by China.
    Sitting by a wall in front of banner reading “Free Hong Kong, revolution now” in the tiny shop in Taipei, Tsai expressed support for the city’s democracy movement and reiterated her pledge to assist fleeing Hong Kong citizens.
    “In no time we will finalize the work, doing whatever we can to provide help to Hong Kong friends,” Tsai told the shop’s owner, Lam Wing-kee, who fled to Taiwan last year after he was detained by Chinese agents for selling books critical of the Chinese leadership.
    Lam’s eight-month detention in 2015 triggered a huge controversy and raised fears of growing Chinese control in the financial hub.
    “We are here to experience in person the challenges Hong Kong people had been through,” Tsai told Lam.    “You left your native home and came to Taiwan.    On behalf of Taiwanese, I’d like to welcome you.”
    Last month, a man threw red paint at Lam, just days before the reopening of his “Causeway Bay Books” in central Taipei.
    China is deeply suspicious of Tsai, whom it accuses of being a separatist bent on declaring formal independence.    Tsai says Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China, its official name.
    “Free Taiwan supports freedom in Hong Kong,” Tsai wrote in a sticky note posted on a bookshelf.
(Reporting By Yimou Lee; Editing by Ben Blanchard & Simon Cameron-Moore)

5/29/2020 Thailand to further ease restrictions, shorten curfew hours
FILE PHOTO: A police officer stands near the Democracy monument as Thai government maintained its state of emergency amidst the
spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) until the end of June in Bangkok, Thailand, May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand will next week shorten curfew hours and ease restrictions on more businesses, the government said on Friday, in response to its low numbers of locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus.
    Starting from June 1, cinemas and theatres can reopen, but with no more than 200 people at a time and with strict social distancing measures, said Somsak Roongsita, secretary-general of the National Security Council.
    A curfew will be shortened by one hour to last from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. and shopping malls, which reopened earlier this month, will also be allowed to extend their operating hours, he added.
    “The reopening will help stimulate the economy and ease some financial burdens,” Somsak said.
    Zoos, beauty clinics, spas, and traditional Thai massages will be allowed to operate, with social distancing in place, as will soccer fields and volleyball and basketball courts, but only for training purposes and with limits on spectators.
    Fitness clubs can also reopen but with limited users at each time.
    Thailand’s planning agency on Thursday said the impacts of the coronavirus could cause the loss of up to 2 million jobs this year, particularly in the tourist industry.    It predicts the economy will shrink 5%-6% this year.
    Thailand confirmed 11 new coronavirus cases on Friday, an no new deaths.    All those cases were arrivals from Kuwait and were in state quarantine.     All but one of the cases reported this week were detected in quarantine.
    The government has previously said it planned to reopen all businesses within June, although passenger flights remain suspended.
    The Southeast Asian country has seen a slowdown in locally transmitted cases, and more recent cases have been found among those in state quarantine after returning from abroad.
    The coronavirus has infected 3,076 in Thailand since January and killed 57.
(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty)

5/29/2020 Japan air force pilots fly over Tokyo to salute medical workers
Medical workers react as they watch the 'Blue-Impulse' aerobatic team of Japan Air Self-Defense Force as
they fly over the Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital to salute the medical workers at the frontline
of the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tokyo, Japan May 29, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato
    TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese air force’s aerobatic demonstration squadron, Blue Impulse, flew over central Tokyo on Friday in a salute to medical workers on the frontline against the coronavirus pandemic.
    As a team of six T-4 training jets streaked across a clear blue sky shortly after noon, doctors and nurses on hospital rooftops waved and held up mobile phones to take photos of the passing planes.
    “We have been working under strain for the past four months … I heard them (medical workers) saying the demonstration lifted their spirits,” said Shuichi Mikami, a spokesman for Tokyo’s Ebara Hospital.
    Japan has managed to avoid an explosive surge in coronavirus infections, with 16,759 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 882 deaths, as of Friday morning, according to public broadcaster NHK.
    “A lot of people, including medical workers, are working hard to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.    We would like to pay our respect and express our appreciation,” Defence Minister Taro Kono said ahead of the flight.
    Comments on social media, however, suggested some people felt the effort should have been directed instead towards protecting the frontline workers.
    “Money for flying these planes would have been better used to buy masks and other protective equipment,” wrote one Twitter user.
(Reporting by Hideto Sakai, Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing by Richard Pullin)

5/29/2020 Inside a COVID-19 hospital in India, doctors see no end in sight by Danish Siddiqui and Zeba Siddiqui
Mortuary workers prepare to transport the body of a person who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19),
at Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi, India, May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
(This May 28 story, adds dropped word “Smart” in paragraph 4 and corrects designation in paragraph 12 to nurse, not doctor)
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – It was barely noon on Thursday when the metal doors of the mortuary at a hospital in south New Delhi swung open and staff in white coveralls rolled out a stretcher.    Mourning relatives looked on, as a body bag was loaded into an ambulance and taken away to a cemetery.
    It was yet another casualty from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed over 4,500 people and infected more than 150,000 across India.    While infection rates from the virus have begun to fall in many countries, in India they are still rising sharply, and epidemiologists warn peak is yet to come.
    Concerns are rising about how the country of 1.3 billion, with one of the world’s most overburdened healthcare systems, will handle the surge with roughly 6,000 new infections being detected daily this week.
    On Thursday, Reuters was given exclusive access inside Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital – currently the largest such private COVID-19 treatment site in New Delhi – where some 200 patients are being treated for the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
    While India is easing a more than two-month long nationwide lockdown that was aimed at reining in the spread of the disease, the battle against the virus rages within its strained hospital system.
    “We are getting more and more people daily both in numbers and in the severity of disease,” said Arun Dewan, the director of the hospital’s critical care section.    “We’re not seeing any end.”
    Around him, the eerie calm within the hospital was broken only by the sound of machines beeping and patients coughing – most of whom were separated only by white curtains. Staff in heavy protective gear move around softly, speaking in murmurs.
    Until a few months ago the cries of babies would often fill this section of the hospital, which was meant for neonatal care.    But with the number of cases surging, Max designated the entire building for COVID-19 patients.
    Now, posters of Winnie the Pooh and other cartoon characters meant to soothe children, beam down upon patients struggling to beat a deadly virus.
    It is the first time in his 35-year-career that Dewan is battling a pandemic of this scale, he said, and while each day has been as struggle, he fears the worst is yet to come.
    “Manpower will be the biggest challenge.    We have reached the limit,” he said, adding even as the toll rises, the wait list of patients is growing fast.
    But there are small victories that keep the staff going.    For Steena, a nurse working in the ICU who only gave her first name, one such moment was when a 70-year-old woman brought in dire condition recovered in recent weeks.
    “After seven or eight days, she was taken off a ventilator, and tested negative,” she said, sounding hopeful, before quickly turning to attend to yet another patient.
(Reporting by Danish Siddiqui and Zeba Siddiqui; Editing by Euan Rocha and Lisa Shumaker)

5/29/2020 China says wants ‘peaceful reunification’ with Taiwan
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi listens to remarks during a United Nations Security Council meeting
on North Korea at the United Nations in New York City, U.S. September 11, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith
    BEIJING (Reuters) – The head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Friday that “one country, two systems” and “peaceful reunification” is the best way to bring China and Taiwan together.
    Outside attempts by foreign forces to interfere in “reunification” will fail, Liu Jieyi told an event at the Great Hall of the People marking 15 years since China signed into law its Anti-Secession Law.
    Beijing passed the law in 2005 which authorises the use of force against Taiwan if China judges it to have seceded.
(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
[SAYS THE WOLF IN SHEEPS CLOTHING.].

5/29/2020 Trump says terminating U.S. relationship with World Health Organization over virus by Steve Holland and Michelle Nichols
U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement about U.S. trade relations with China and Hong Kong in
the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 29, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he is terminating the U.S. relationship with the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus, saying the WHO had essentially become a puppet organization of China.
    Appearing in the White House Rose Garden, Trump went ahead with repeated threats to eliminate American funding for the group, which amounts to several hundred million dollars a year.
    Trump said the WHO had failed to make reforms to the organization that the president had demanded in a May 18 letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.    That letter had given the WHO 30 days to commit to reforms.
        At his Rose Garden appearance, Trump tied the WHO closely with China, where the coronavirus originated.
    He said Chinese officials “ignored their reporting obligations” about the virus to the WHO and pressured the WHO to “mislead the world” when the virus was first discovered by Chinese authorities.
    “China has total control over the World Health Organization despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the United States has been paying which is approximately $450 million a year.    We have detailed the reforms that it must make and engaged with them directly but they have refused to act,” said Trump.
    “Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs,” he said.
    Cutting the U.S. contribution could have global implications as the WHO is involved in responding to the pandemic, which has hit dozens of countries.
    Trump has long questioned the value of the United Nations and scorned the importance of multilateralism as he focuses on an “America First” agenda.    Since taking office, Trump has quit the U.N. Human Rights Council, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO, a global accord to tackle climate change and the Iran nuclear deal.
    The World Health Organization is a U.N. specialized agency – an independent international body that works with the United Nations.    The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s decision.
    “We have consistently called for all states to support WHO,” said a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when asked about Trump’s decision.
(Reporting By Steve Holland and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
[CHINA YOU’RE W.H.O. BITCH IS ALL YOURS NOW SO ENJOY SUPPORTING ITS DESPERATE NEEDS AS TRUMP DUMPS ANOTHER WORLD GOVERNMENT ENTITY AND HE IS SINGING THE SONG "ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST" AND TRUMP WILL CREATE A NEW HEALTH AGENCY TO HELP THE WORLD AND WILL PROBABLY BRING THE PEOPLE FROM THE W.H.O. TO GET OUT OF IT TO THE NEW AGENCY TO LET CHINA KNOW THAT IT IS NOT IN CONTROL.].

5/29/2020 Chinese officials slam U.S. for interference in Hong Kong affairs by OAN Newsroom
Security personnel wearing face masks to protect against the new coronavirus stand guard during the closing session of China’s
National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, May 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
    Chinese officials recently slammed the U.S. for urging the United Nations to involve themselves in Hong Kong affairs.    On Friday, Chinese officials denounced the United States’ request for a UN Security Council meeting, which would focus on the new security law in Hong Kong, and threatened retaliation if they continue.
    According to China, the U.S. is undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy and shouldn’t be involving itself in their domestic affairs.
    The communist country recently passed a new security law in Hong Kong, which has threatened the freedoms of the democratic city.
    “The U.S. has asked the UN to discuss Hong Kong affairs, which is publicly interfering in China’s domestic affairs and damaging the principles of international relations.    China, of course, opposes this.    Their plan won’t succeed, the UN isn’t a tool that they can play.    China and other countries who uphold justice won’t allow the U.S. to blackmail the UN for its own purposes.” – Zhao Lijian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson
    Several nations have expressed concern over the new security law.    The UN has said it conflicts with international obligations under the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration.

5/30/2020 Hong Kong leaders say Trump ‘completely wrong’ for curbing ties by Jessie Pang and Greg Torode
U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement about U.S. trade relations with China and Hong Kong as
National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
listen in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 29, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Senior Hong Kong government officials lashed out on Saturday at moves by U.S. President Donald Trump to strip the city of its special status in a bid to punish China for imposing national security laws on the global financial hub.
    Speaking hours after Trump said the city no longer warranted economic privileges and some officials could face sanctions, security minister John Lee told reporters that Hong Kong’s government could not be threatened and would push ahead with the new laws.
    “I don’t think they will succeed in using any means to threaten the (Hong Kong) government, because we believe what we are doing is right,” Lee said.
    Justice minister Teresa Cheng said the basis for Trump’s actions was “completely false and wrong,” saying the need for national security laws were legal and necessary.
    In some of his toughest rhetoric yet, Trump said Beijing had broken its word over Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy from Beijing, by proposing the national security legislation and that the territory no longer warranted U.S. economic privileges.
    “We will take action to revoke Hong Kong’s preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China,” Trump said, adding that Washington would also impose sanctions on individuals seen as responsible for “smothering – absolutely smothering – Hong Kong’s freedom.”
    Trump told reporters at the White House that China’s move on Hong Kong was a tragedy for the world, but he gave no timetable for the moves, leaving Hong Kong residents, businesses and officials to ponder just how far his administration will go.
    The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said Saturday marked “a sad day” for China’s freest city.
    “This is an emotional moment for Americans in Hong Kong and it will take companies and families a while to digest the ramifications,” AmCham President Tara Joseph said in a statement.
    “Many of us … have deep ties to this city and with Hong Kong people.    We love Hong Kong and it’s a sad day,” she said, adding the chamber would continue to work with its members to maintain Hong Kong’s status as a vital business centre.
(For an explainer on how important Hong Kong is to China as a free finance hub, please click.)
    China’s parliament this week approved a decision to create laws for Hong Kong to curb sedition, secession, terrorism and foreign interference.    Mainland security and intelligence agents may be stationed in the city for the first time – moves critics say put the city’s extensive freedoms at risk.
    Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong insist the legislation will target only a small number of “troublemakers” who threaten China’s national security.    They say such action is urgently needed after months of sometimes violent anti-government protests rocked the city last year.
    Protests are simmering again as Hong Kong emerges from its coronavirus shutdown.    Demonstrators are expected to take to the streets on Sunday.
    Trump did not name any sanctions targets but said the announcement would “affect the full range of agreements we have with Hong Kong,” including the U.S.-Hong Kong extradition treaty to export controls on dual-use technologies and more “with few exceptions.”
    China’s Global Times, published by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, said Trump’s decision was a “recklessly arbitrary” step.
    The Hong Kong government has had a long history of working ties with U.S. counterparts, distinct from Beijing, with cooperation on counter-terrorism, trade and money laundering.
    More than 1,300 U.S. firms have offices in Hong Kong and provide about 100,000 jobs.    In the past decade, the U.S. trade surplus with Hong Kong has been the biggest among all its trading partners, totalling $297 billion from 2009 to 2018.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Greg Torode; Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Daniel Wallis and William Mallard)

5/30/2020 China’s ‘nervous’ Xi risks new Cold War, last Hong Kong governor says by Guy Faulconbridge
FILE PHOTO: Former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten in Hong Kong, China November 25, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo
    LONDON (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping is so nervous about the position of the Communist Party that he is risking a new Cold War and imperilling Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s pre-eminent financial hub, the last British governor of the territory told Reuters.
    Chris Patten said Xi’s ‘thuggish’ crackdown in Hong Kong risked triggering an outflow of capital and people from the city which funnels the bulk of foreign investment into mainland China.
    The West, he said, should stop being naive about Xi, who has served as General Secretary of the Communist Party since 2012.
    “We have long since passed the stage where, without wanting another Cold War, we have to react to the fact Xi seems to want one himself,” Patten said.
    Patten cast Xi as a dictator who was “nervous” about the position of the Communist Party in China after criticism of its early handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak and the economic impact of its trade disagreements with the United States.
    “One reason Xi Jinping is whipping up all this nationalist feeling about Hong Kong, about Taiwan and about other issues, is that he is more nervous than any official would allow about the position of the Communist Party in China,” he said.
    The Chinese embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Patten, now 76, watched as the British flag was lowered over Hong Kong when the colony was handed back to China in 1997 after more than 150 years of British rule.
    Hong Kong’s autonomy was guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” agreement enshrined in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.    But thousands of Hong Kong protesters have defied Beijing in recent months.
HONG KONG
    China’s parliament this week approved a decision to create laws for Hong Kong to curb sedition, secession, terrorism and foreign interference.
    “Xi Jinping hates the things which Hong Kong has been promised under the ‘one country, two systems’ treaty lodged at the United     Nations which he is wilfully breaking,” Patten said.    “What he hopes he can do is to bash Hong Kong into shape.”
    Patten said Xi’s actions had placed Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s premier international financial hub under question.
    “What does it mean? It means serious question marks not just about Hong Kong’s future as a free society but also about Hong Kong’s ability to continue as probably the premier international financial hub in Asia,” Patten said.
    “A lot of people will try to leave Hong Kong,” Patten said, adding that he feared capital would also flow out.    “It is going to be pretty rough over the next few months.”
    The autonomy of Hong Kong has, until now, given investors faith in the territory’s legal and governance systems. China’s legal system is accountable to the Communist Party.
    “What you have coming into conflict is a dictatorial idea of what the law is with the common law which is undoubtedly going to cause a constitutional clash,” Patten said.
    He added the West had been even more naive with Xi’s China than it had with post-Soviet Russia.
    “What Xi has demonstrated so far is that unless you stand up to bullies they go on bullying you,” he said.
    Patten said the West should stand together when allies – such as Australia – were targeted by Beijing and be cautious with companies such as Huawei which Britain has allowed to help build its 5G network.
    “Huawei is an agent of an unpleasant Chinese state,” Patten said.    Huawei has repeatedly denied claims that it is agent of the Chinese state.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Kirsten Donovan)

5/30/2020 India posts record jump in COVID-19 cases, Modi says ‘long battle’ ahead by Neha Arora and Rupam Jain
FILE PHOTO: People wait in a line to board a train that will take them to their home state of
Uttar Pradesh, during an extended lockdown to slow the spreading of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19),
in Mumbai, India, May 26, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
    NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India reported a record daily jump of 7,964 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, with a recent surge in cases as lockdown restrictions start to ease raising the possibility that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could extend curbs beyond May 31.
    In an open letter marking one year into his second term, Modi appealed to the country’s population of 1.3 billion to follow all lockdown rules to stop the spread of the pandemic.
    The prime minister said there was a “long battle” ahead against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
    “Our country (is) besieged with problems amidst a vast population and limited resources,” Modi said, adding that laborers and migrant workers had “undergone tremendous suffering” due to restrictions.
    The government could extend the lockdown beyond May 31, a home ministry official said on Saturday. The home ministry did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
    India has recorded a total of 173,763 COVID-19 cases and 4,971 deaths, making it the ninth most-affected country globally, Reuters data showed.
    While fatality rates in India have been lower than in worse-hit countries, experts warned that its peak has not been reached due to mounting cases of new infections.
    Officials are also nervous about the pandemic spreading through villages as millions of jobless migrant workers return home from cities.
    Rights activists and the opposition have criticized Modi’s handling of the pandemic, accusing him of announcing an abrupt lockdown that left the poor in the lurch and forced thousands to walk or jostle for space on buses and special trains to reach home amid the fear of getting infected.
    Over 100 migrant workers have died either in accidents or due to starvation as they desperately tried to head back to their villages, the home ministry official said.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Rupam Jain and Tom Hogue)

5/30/2020 Malaysia reports 30 new COVID-19 infections
FILE PHOTO: Medical workers wearing protective suits pass by barbed wire at the red zone under enhanced lockdown,
amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia reported 30 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, taking the cumulative total to 7,762.
    A senior Ministry of Health official told reporters the total number of deaths remained at 115.
(Reporting by Liz Lee; editing by Jane Wardell)

5/30/2020 Indonesia reports 557 new coronavirus infections
FILE PHOTO: Customers sit with plastic dividers at a cafe to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in
Makassar, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia May 29, 2020, in this photo taken by Antara Foto.Antara Foto/Arnas Padda/ via REUTERS
    (Reuters) – Indonesia reported on Saturday 557 new coronavirus infections, taking the Southeast Asian nation’s tally to 25,773, health ministry official Achmad Yurianto said.
    Yurianto reported 53 new deaths, taking the toll to 1,573, while 7,015 people have recovered.
(Reporting by Tabita Diela; Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

5/30/2020 Mosques in Iran to resume daily prayers, president says
FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the opening ceremony of Iran's 11th parliament, as the spread of
the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Tehran, Iran, May 27, 2020. Official Presidential website/Handout via REUTERS
    DUBAI (Reuters) – Government employees went back to work in Iran on Saturday and President Hassan Rouhani said mosques are to resume daily prayers throughout the country, even though some areas are seeing high levels of coronavirus infections.
    Rouhani also said on state television that the hours of shopping malls, which had been allowed to open only until 6 p.m., will be extended, a further step in the government’s plans to ease coronavirus restrictions.
    “Doors to mosques across the country will open to public for daily prayers,” Rouhani said, adding that social distancing and other health protocols should be observed.    He did not say when they are due to reopen.
    Authorities are taking tougher measures to ensure that health regulations are observed, including barring commuters not wearing masks from buses and metro trains, Iranian media reported.
    Alireza Zali, head of the government-led Coronavirus Taskforce of Tehran, told state TV the situation in the capital was “still not favorable,” adding that the easing of restrictions should be accompanied by “more serious observance” of regulations.
    As of Friday, Iran had recorded 146,668 infections, with 7,677 deaths.
    Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said Friday there had been no deaths in the previous 24 hours in 15 of the country’s provinces and one in each of five provinces.
    The provinces of Khuzestan in the southwest, and Baluchistan in the southeast of the country, have been declared “red” areas where there are still high levels of infection.
    The health ministry has divided the country into white, yellow and red areas based on the number of infections and deaths.
(Editing by Frances Kerry)

5/30/2020 Singapore’s health ministry confirms 506 more coronavirus cases
FILE PHOTO: A GrabFood delivery rider cycles across a street past migrant workers in essential services wearing safety
vests in Orchard Road, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore, May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su
    (Reuters) – Singapore’s health ministry said on Saturday it had confirmed 506 more coronavirus cases, making a total 34,366 infections.
    The vast majority of the newly infected people are migrant workers living in dormitories, the ministry said in a statement.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue)

5/30/2020 Thailand reports 1 new coronavirus case, no new deaths
A woman wearing a protective face mask sits in a mobile shop inside a shopping mall, after the Thai government eased
isolation measures, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand May 29, 2020. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand reported one new coronavirus case on Saturday and no new deaths, taking the total number of infections to 3,077 as local transmission of the new virus appears to wane.
    The new patient arrived in Thailand via a land border with Malaysia earlier this week and has been in quarantine, said Panprapa Yongtrakul, a spokeswoman for the government’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
    Local infections have significantly slowed and over the last two weeks, 43 of 52 new cases were Thais who had arrived from abroad, Panprapa added.
    The coronavirus has killed 57 people in Thailand since it was first detected in January.
(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat)

5/30/2020 China reports four new coronavirus cases for May 29
People wearing protective face masks are seen on a street following an outbreak of the novel
coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Shanghai, China May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song
    (Reuters) – China recorded four new confirmed cases of coronavirus as of the end of May 29, up from none the day before, data from the country’s health authority showed on Saturday.
    All of the cases were imported, the National Health Commission (NHC) reported on its website.
    The NHC also confirmed four new asymptomatic cases, compared to five the day before.
    With no new deaths reported, the death toll remained at 4,634.
(Reporting By Alexandra Harney; editing by Jane Wardell)
[CHINA YOU CAN CALL IT THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS UNTIL YOUR TONGUE TURNS RED BUT THE REST OF THE WORLD NOW KNOWS IT AS THE CHINA WUHAN VIRUS WHICH IS WHERE IT CAME FROM WHICH IS A TAG YOU WILL HAVE FROM THIS TIME UNTIL ETERNITY.].

5/30/2020 North Korea supports China’s new security law in Hong Kong by OAN Newsroom
In this undated photo provided on Sunday, May 24, 2020, by the North Korean government, North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a meeting of the Seventh Central Military Commission of the
Workers’ Party of Korea, in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
    North Korea has voiced its support for China’s controversial new national security law, which was imposed on Hong Kong this week.
    The country’s state media released a video on Saturday, saying their government fully backs the new measures.    They went on to call the move a “legitimate step” towards safeguarding the region and its citizens.
    A government official suggested other nations should stop trying to get involved.
    “Since the Hong Kong issue is an issue pertaining thoroughly to the internal affairs of China, any country or force has no rights to say this or that about the issue,” stated the spokesperson.    “We categorically reject the outside interference detrimental to the security and the social, economic development of Hong Kong.”
    North Korea has repeatedly supported China in the past, embracing the ‘one country, two systems’ policy.
[Looks like rocket man woke up and showed the U.S. where their real alliance is with China and Russia and other than this article there was no news coming out of either Russia or any far east countries today, but could be the U.S. news services are too busy covering what is going down in the United States.].

6/1/2020 Iran’s Ayatollah regime stages ‘protest’ of Floyd’s death, blame U.S. ‘imperialism’, ‘racism’ for disorder by OAN Newsroom
A protester sprinkles petrol to burn representations of Israeli and US flags during al-Quds Day,
Arabic for Jerusalem, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, May 22, 2020. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
    Iran’s Ayatollah regime is taking advantage of apparent racial divisions in the U.S. in the wake of the George Floyd protests.
    Iranians staged protests across the nation Sunday, where they denounced U.S. police officers in the wake of Floyd’s death.    Protesters carried signs reading “Iranians with blacks” and “black lives matter.”
    In recent years, the regime has embraced a flurry of far-left activists in America and have blamed — what they call — “American imperialism” for the latest tensions.
    “Like all people around the world I was upset because he (George Floyd) was treated really unfairly while he was begging and saying he couldn’t breathe, but the policemen didn’t care at all.    I think it was really brutal.” — Ehsan Ezzati, resident – Tehran, Iran
    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded to Iranian accusations of racism by calling out the Ayatollah regime for trying to exterminate the Jewish people as well as for the oppression of homosexuals and woman in the country.
[The persons who are attacking the cities of the United States are no better than the Iranian leadership and if they think that what they are doing is right then Trump needs to round them all up and ship them to Iran so they will be in company with their heroes until they realize they will be treated like the Iranian people and they will be crying like babies to come back to the U.S.].

6/3/2020 Trump bans flights from China to the US - Executive order slated to take effect in mid-June by Curtis Tate and Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY
    The Trump administration ordered a suspension of flights on Wednesday from China to the United States as tensions escalate between the two countries over the coronavirus and Hong Kong.    The order, which takes effect June 16, stems from Beijing’s refusal to allow U.S. carriers to resume flying to China. Four Chinese airlines currently fly to China from the U.S.: Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and Xiamen.
    President Donald Trump imposed travel restrictions on China on Jan. 31 as the coronavirus began to spread early this year.    His decision came after Delta, American and United and other major international carriers had stopped flying to China because of the outbreak.
    In early January, U.S. and Chinese carriers operated 325 scheduled flights a week between the two countries.    By mid-February, four Chinese airlines operated 20 flights per week.    In mid-March, the Chinese carriers increased their weekly flights to 34.
    In a March 26 decision, China’s civil aviation agency limited foreign airlines to one weekly flight into China, aiming to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
    Two major American carriers, Delta and United, have been pressing Chinese officials to allow them to resume service, to no avail.    The carriers had intended to restart China service in early June.
    “We look forward to resuming passenger service between the United States and China when the regulatory environment allows us to do so,” said Leslie Scott, a United spokesperson.
    “We support and appreciate the U.S. government’s actions to enforce our rights and ensure fairness,” said Lisa Hanna, a Delta spokesperson.
    Commercial aviation between the two countries is governed by a 1980 agreement that guarantees an equal opportunity to operate scheduled flights on specific routes.    The Trump administration’s latest move comes amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and China, which some have warned amount to a new “cold war” between the world’s two largest economies.
    “This move comes at a time when the diplomatic relationship between the two countries continues to crater amid disputes on nearly every bilateral and global issue – from Hong Kong to the South China Sea to arms control,” said Jacob Stokes, a senior China policy analyst with the U.S. Institute of Peace, a nonpartisan institute.
    Trump has accused China of a coronavirus cover-up, suggested the government may have allowed the disease to spread and threatened to extract a “substantial” price from Beijing for the pandemic.    And last week, Trump blasted China for President Xi Jinping’s move to impose sweeping new restrictions on Hong Kong, aimed at stifling the territory’s pro-democracy movement.
    Chinese officials have charged the Trump administration with willful ignorance, dangerous mismanagement and even attempted blackmail.
    Some experts fear the spiraling tensions could jeopardize the much-touted trade deal that Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Lui He signed at the White House in January – a “phase one” agreement White House officials said would be followed by a broader pact dealing with more contentious issues.    It’s unclear if China will be willing or able to follow through on its commitments.
Riot police enter a shopping mall to disperse protesters in Hong Kong on May 1. President
Donald Trump has called out China for its restrictions. KIN CHEUNG/AP

6/4/2020 Hong Kong outlaws insulting China’s national anthem by Zen Soo, Associated Press
A university student walks past the "Pillar of Shame" statue, a memorial for those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, at the University
of Hong Kong, Thursday, June 4, 2020. China is tightening controls over dissidents while pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and elsewhere
try to mark the 31st anniversary of the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. (Photo: Kin Cheung, AP)
    HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s legislature approved a contentious bill Thursday that makes it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem.
    The legislation was approved after pro-democracy opposition lawmakers tried to disrupt the vote.    The bill was passed with 41 lawmakers voting for it and just one voting against.    Most of the pro-democracy lawmakers boycotted the vote out of protest.
    The pro-democracy camp sees the anthem bill as an infringement of freedom of expression and the greater rights that residents of the semi-autonomous city have compared to mainland China.
    The pro-Beijing majority said the law was necessary for Hong Kong citizens to show appropriate respect for the anthem.
    Those found guilty of intentionally abusing the “March of the Volunteers” face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 50,000 Hong Kong dollars ($6,450).
    The legislative debate was earlier suspended after pro-democracy lawmakers staged a protest, with one dropping a pot of pungent liquid in the chamber.
    Raising a sign that said “A murderous regime stinks for ten thousand years,” lawmaker Ray Chan walked to the front with the pot hidden inside a Chinese paper lantern.    When security guards tried to stop him, he dropped the lantern and the pot, and was ejected from the meeting.    Another lawmaker who accompanied him was also ejected.
    The chamber was evacuated and police and firemen were called in to investigate the incident.
    When the meeting resumed, pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui again splashed some liquid at the front of the meeting room and was escorted out.    Legislative Council President Andrew Leung called such behavior irresponsible and childish, before calling for the vote.
    The contentious debate over the bill comes after China’s ceremonial national legislature formally approved a decision last week to enact a national security law for Hong Kong that could see Chinese security agents posted in the city.
    The national security law is aimed at curbing subversive activity, with Beijing pushing for it after a monthslong pro-democracy protest movement at times saw violent clashes between police and protesters.
    While experts have warned that the law could imperil Hong Kong’s status as one of the world’s best places to do business, at least two banks with a strong Asian presence have publicly backed the decision.
    HSBC said in a Chinese social media post that it “respects and supports all laws that stabilize Hong Kong’s social order,” while Standard Chartered said it believed the national security law would “help maintain the long-term economic and social stability of Hong Kong.”
    Opponents of the anthem bill and the national security law see them as signs of Beijing’s tightening control over the territory.
    Beijing began pushing for the anthem law after Hong Kong soccer fans jeered the national anthem at international matches in 2015.    As anti-government protests engulfed Hong Kong last year, thousands of fans booed loudly and turned their backs when the anthem was played at a World Cup qualifier match against Iran in September.    FIFA later fined the Hong Kong Football Association over the incident.
    The legislative session on Thursday coincided with the 31st anniversary of China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
    Before debate began, pro-democracy lawmakers stood in silence to mark the anniversary and put up signs on their desks that said “Do not forget June 4, the hearts of the people will not die.”

6/4/2020 Hong Kong officials pass controversial national anthem law by OAN Newsroom
Pan-democratic legislators observe one minute of silence for the 31st anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown before a Legislative Council
meeting to debate national anthem bill in Hong Kong, Thursday, June 4, 2020. On the anniversary of Tiananmen crackdown, Hong Kong
continued debating a contentious law that makes it illegal to insult or abuse the Chinese national anthem. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
    Officials in Hong Kong officially passed a controversial new national anthem law, which criminalizes any disrespect toward the song.
    The passage of the law Thursday coincides with the commemoration of the 31st year since the Tiananmen Square massacre.    Residents have said the new law is a major blow to the region’s struggling autonomy.
    Two lawmakers even went so far as to throw liquid at the chamber during its passage of the legislation in condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party and its ban on any ceremonies acknowledging the Tiananmen Square protests.
    “A murderous state stinks forever and what we did today is to remind the world that we should never forgive the Chinese Communist Party for killing its own people 31 years ago,” stated Eddie Chu, a Hong Kong opposition legislator.
    Despite the ban, candlelight vigils have been taking place all across the region.

6/4/2020 Police pepper spray Hong Kongers defying ban to mark Tiananmen by James Pomfret and Scott Murdoch
Protesters take part in a candlelight vigil to mark the 31st anniversary of the crackdown of pro-democracy
protests at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, after police rejected a mass annual vigil
on public health grounds, at Victoria Park, in Hong Kong, China June 4, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Police pepper-sprayed some Hong Kong protesters on Thursday who defied a ban to stage candlelight rallies in memory of China’s bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy crackdown, accusing Beijing of stifling their freedoms too.
    Scuffles broke out briefly in the working-class Mong Kok area where hundreds had gathered and some demonstrators tried to set up roadblocks with metal barriers, prompting officers to use spray to disperse them, according to Reuters witnesses.
    It was the first time there had been unrest during the annual Tiananmen vigil in Hong Kong, which police had prohibited this year citing the coronavirus crisis.
    Several protesters were arrested, police said.
    Earlier, a few thousand people joined a peaceful main rally in Victoria Park, many wearing masks and chanting slogans such as “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our time” and “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”
    “We are just remembering those who died on June 4, the students who were killed.    What have we done wrong?    For 30 years we have come here peacefully and reasonably, once it’s over it’s ‘sayonara’ (goodbye),” said Kitty, a 70-year-old housewife.
    The anniversary has struck an especially sensitive nerve in the former British-ruled city this year after China’s move last month to impose national security legislation and the passage of a bill outlawing disrespect of China’s national anthem.
    It also comes as Chinese media and some Beijing officials voice support for protests in the United States against police brutality.
    In Beijing, security around Tiananmen Square, a popular tourist attraction in the heart of the city, appeared to be tightened, with more police visible than on ordinary days.
    June 4 commemorations are banned in mainland China.
    In Hong Kong, which just reported its first locally transmitted coronavirus cases in weeks, police had said a mass gathering would undermine public health.
    But many took to the streets to light candles and stand for a minute’s silence.    Seven Catholic churches opened their doors.    Some people held photos of the 1989 events, including a famous one of a man standing in front of a tank convoy.
    Millionaire publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai and Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, who were both arrested in April over protests last year, left a church service together.
    “We are afraid this will be the last time we can have a ceremony but Hong Kongers will always remember what happened on June 4,” said Brenda Hui, 24, in Mong Kok, with a white battery-illuminated umbrella that read “Never Forget June 4.”
WESTERN SOLIDARITY
    The European Union and United States both expressed solidarity with the Hong Kong demonstrators’ desire to mark the Tiananmen anniversary.
    Democratically-ruled and Beijing-claimed Taiwan, where more than 500 people gathered in Liberty Square, asked China to apologise, which the mainland called “nonsense.”
    “In China, every year has only 364 days; one day is forgotten,” Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on her Facebook page.    “I hope that in every corner of the earth there won’t be any days that are disappeared again. And I wish Hong Kong well.”
    China has never provided a full account of the 1989 violence.    The death toll given by officials days later was about 300, most of them soldiers, but rights groups and witnesses say thousands of people may have perished.
    There was no mention of the anniversary in Chinese state media.    But Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily, tweeted a screenshot of the U.S. statement with his own commentary.
    “The Tiananmen incident gave Chinese society a political vaccine shot, which has enabled us to be immune to any colour revolution.    31 years later, riots emerged and spread in the U.S. They only think of exporting it, but forget to prepare vaccine for themselves.”
    Hu did not elaborate.    The term colour revolution is often used to describe peaceful uprisings in former Soviet states but has also been used to describe other popular movements.
    In Hong Kong, officials have repeatedly said a ban on groups larger than eight is a public health measure with no political motivation.
    Earlier on Thursday, some students in Hong Kong followed the annual tradition of repainting a Tiananmen memorial message on a university campus bridge: “Souls of martyrs shall forever linger despite the brutal massacre.    Spark of democracy shall forever glow for the demise of evil.”
(Reporting by Marius Zaharia, Jessie Pang, Pak Yiu, Sarah Wu, and Carol Mang in Hong Kong, Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Writing by Marius Zaharia and Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Jane Wardell and Andrew Cawthorne)

6/4/2020 Explainer: Hong Kong’s China national anthem bill aims to enforce ‘respect’ by by Greg Torode
People wearing face masks take part in a protest against the second reading of a controversial
national anthem law in Hong Kong, China May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
    HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed a bill on Thursday that would criminalise disrespect of China’s national anthem, a move critics see as the latest sign of Beijing’s tightening grip on the city.
WHAT IS IT?
    Now it has been passed into law, Hong Kong’s National Anthem legislation governs the use and playing of the Chinese national anthem.
    The bill included provisions that threaten to punish those who insult the anthem with up to three years jail and/or fines of up to HK$50,000 ($6,450).    The bill stated that “all individuals and organisations” should respect and dignify the national anthem and play it and sing it on “appropriate occasions.”    It also orders that primary and secondary school students be taught to sing it, along with its history and etiquette.
WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL?
    Anti-government protests last year were primarily aimed at resisting further integration with mainland China. The Chinese national anthem has been booed at several events, including football matches.
    Protesters and pro-democracy politicians say the bill represents the latest sign of accelerating interference from Beijing in the freewheeling former British colony.
    Britain handed Hong Kong back to Chinese rule in 1997 with guarantees that the city’s core freedoms and way of life would be protected under a “one country, two systems” formula, which Beijing says it respects.
    The freedoms of speech, press, association and demonstration are explicitly written into the Basic Law, the mini-constitution that guides Hong Kong’s relationship with China, its sovereign power. Opponents of the bill say those freedoms are now under threat.
    More technically, some senior lawyers fear the bill is highly unusual in that it, in part, reflects the ideological aspirations of China’s Communist Party that might prove difficult to enforce.
    “It is the first Hong Kong law I’ve seen that looks like it was written in Beijing,” one senior judge told Reuters recently, speaking privately.    “It will be a nightmare to rule on.”
    The Hong Kong Bar Association acknowledged the need for such laws but said parts of the bill “deviate from the good traditions” of Hong Kong’s common law system.
    It said there was a fundamental difference between that system and the “socialist legal system of mainland China which would include political ideology and conceptual guidance.”
WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
    For years, Chinese officials and their pro-Beijing allies in Hong Kong have wanted to instil a greater sense of patriotic pride across its freest, and most restive, city.
    Hong Kong’s government says the bill reflects the city’s own legal system and situation.
    “The main spirit of the … bill is ‘respect’, which bears absolutely no relations to ‘restricting freedom of speech’ as claimed by certain members of the community and definitely not a so-called ‘evil law’,” a spokesman said earlier this year.
WHAT’S NEXT?
    Protests over the bill are widely expected amid wider anti-government demonstrations as the city braces for new national security laws imposed by Beijing.     The government, under pressure from Beijing, prioritised passing the delayed bill into law before the end of this four-year legislative session in July.    Its passage through the council sparked months of intense procedural battles between pro-Beijing and pro-democratic forces.
    Once it takes effect and is enforced, constitutional challenges can be expected in courts.
($1 = 7.7502 Hong Kong dollars)
(Reporting By Greg Torode; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Michael Perry and Andrew Cawthorne)

6/4/2020 China eases flight curbs after United States targets its carriers by Stella Qiu and Se Young Lee
FILE PHOTO - A ground staff worker walks across the tarmac at Beijing Capital International Airport as the
country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, China, March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
    BEIJING (Reuters) – China will ease coronavirus restrictions to allow more foreign carriers to fly to the mainland, shortly after Washington vowed to bar Chinese airlines from flying to the United States due to Beijing’s curbs on U.S. airlines.
    Qualifying foreign carriers, about 95 of them currently barred from operating flights to China, will be allowed once-a-week flights into a city of their choosing starting on June 8, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on Thursday.
    But considering some countries are still banning international flights, it estimated the number of international flights would increase by 50 to 150 per week while the average of passengers arriving per day would rise to 4,700, up from around 3,000 now.
    The CAAC said all airlines will be allowed to increase the number of international flights involving China to two per week i