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Tokyo Olympics Ready Despite Virus Surge, India Record, World Stats

2021-05-19 FreeNews

(CNN) Less than 10 weeks out from the postponed start to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, organizers have promised athletes they are doing everything they can to ensure the Games take place safely.

Japan is struggling with a renewed outbreak of coronavirus, with only about 1% of the population vaccinated — renewing calls for the Olympics to be canceled.

Speaking at a meeting of the coordination committee Wednesday, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Japanese and Tokyo 2020 officials would make the right decision on managing the situation, and the risks had been managed well so far.

Bach and other officials — both from the IOC and Japanese sporting bodies — pushed back against critics, with the IOC President saying his organization has offered to provide additional medical personnel to help pull off strict anti-Covid measures alongside the Tokyo government.

He added that 75% of people who plan on being in the Olympic Village have already been vaccinated, while organizers hope the final number will be more than 80%.

Bach said the existing plans have been tested with foreign athletes in several test events — none of which turned into super spreader events.

Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto, also speaking at the opening of the meeting, said the purpose of Wednesday’s session was to focus on the protection of athletes and the public. She said the two main focuses would be the frequent testing of athletes and separating them from the Japanese public.

Earlier this month, an online petition calling for the Games to be canceled garnered 350,000 signatures in nine days, while the CEO of leading Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten has called plans to host the Games a “suicide mission.”

“Stop Tokyo Olympics” campaign organizer Kenji Utsunomiya said the event should take place only when Japan can welcome visitors and athletes wholeheartedly.

“We are not in that situation and therefore the Games should be canceled,” he told a news conference, according to Reuters. “Precious medical resources would need to be diverted to the Olympics if it’s held.”

Speaking to CNN this week, World Athletics president Seb Coe said he was confident the Games could be held safely.

“Should we have the Games? Yes, we should. Can we have them safely and secure? I believe we can,” Coe said. “I’m not cavalier about that. But I do think there are systems that are now tried and tested. We know so much more about these systems than we did a year ago.”

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Guardian: Coronavirus live news- India passes US for record daily deaths; 60% of all vaccines given in just three countries

China, United States and India have administered three-fifths of all vaccine doses given so far; India reports over 4,500 deaths for first time

Women mourn the death of a family members due to Covid-19 coronavirus disease outside the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital.

India Records World Record Daily Infections

India has suffered a world record one-day death toll, surpassing the previous highest toll, recorded in the US, of 4,475.

According to the health ministry, 4,529 people were confirmed dead in the last 24 hours. It is the highest daily toll of any country on earth over the course of the pandemic and the first time India has seen a figure over 4,500.

Ireland expects most adults to be fully vaccinated by end-September

Ireland hopes to have the vast majority of its adult population fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by the end of September, deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar has said.

The government’s current target is to administer one dose to at least 80% of the population by the end of June.

“We hope to have the vast majority of our adult population vaccinated at least once by the end of June and fully by the end of September,” Varadkar told a parliamentary committee, reports Conor Humphries for Reuters.

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Singapore

There’s been a diplomatic spat as Singapore has criticized an Indian politician for making unfounded claims on social media that a new Covid-19 variant in Singapore was particularly harmful to children and could cause a fresh surge of infections in India.

Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned India’s high commissioner over the comments made by Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi. Kejriwal called for a halt in air traffic between the two nations because of the new “Singapore variant.”

Associated Press rather dryly point out that it was unclear why he made such a call because Singapore has already banned flights from India over the high number of cases there.

Singapore’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was “disappointed that a prominent political figure had failed to ascertain the facts before making such claims.”

It noted that Singapore’s Health Ministry has said there was “no Singapore variant” and that the strain prevalent in many cases in the city-state in recent weeks was the one first detected in India.

Taiwan a ‘victim of its own success’ over lack of access to vaccines

Helen Davidson

Prof Chunhuei Chi, the director of Oregon State University’s center for global health, has said that Taiwan was “a victim of its own success”. Having locally eliminated the virus in early 2020 it did not get prioritised vaccination orders, and then failed to stay up to date with the changing science, such as the increased transmissibility and high asymptomatic rates of new variants like the UK one now spreading, he said.

“Taiwan is one of the few countries that never experienced a second, third, or fourth wave,” said Chi. “It basically resumed normal life so … most people including some government officials were lagging behind updated knowledge.”

The government in Taiwan remains opposed to mass testing on the grounds that false positives could waste resources. Chi said Taiwan did not have the capacity for mass testing because it never needed it before, and establishing it could take weeks. Rapid testing stations were established in Wanhua – where Taipei’s cases are concentrated – in order to encourage patrons of the hostess bars at the centre of infections to come forward alongside the rest of the community. But there have been reports of stations hitting capacity and turning people away.

Medical staff at one of the rapid test stations in Wanhua District. Photograph: Annabelle Chih/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock

On Wednesday, the CECC said further stations would be set up in other hotspots, but continued to discourage people from getting tested unless they had symptoms and case connection.

“The virus is really vicious,” said Prof Chen Chien-jen from Academia Sinica genomics research centre, who was Taiwan’s health minister during the 2003 Sars outbreak, and sometimes consults current authorities. “Just one day [after we thought we’d controlled the Yilan outbreak], we found, oh my God, the Wanhua teahouse outbreak. Then the cases surged rapidly.”

Several of the experts the Guardian spoke to said the government was largely relying on the community to restrict their own movements voluntarily rather than impose lockdowns.

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WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

164,935,494

view by country

Deaths:

3,420,194

Recovered:

143,920,995

#	Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	Active Cases	Serious, Critical	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests	Tests/ 1M pop	Population
	World	164,935,494	+50,871	3,420,194	+2,002	145,130,363	16,384,937	100,773	21,160	438.8
1	USA	33,774,945		601,330		27,253,327	5,920,288	7,747	101,516	1,807	468,068,102	1,406,849	332,706,730
2	India	25,496,330	+1,186	283,276		21,986,363	3,226,691	8,944	18,318	204	320,301,177	230,118	1,391,901,483
3	Brazil	15,735,485		439,379		14,247,609	1,048,497	8,318	73,570	2,054	47,073,060	220,085	213,885,462
4	France	5,898,347		108,040		5,181,486	608,821	4,015	90,188	1,652	81,932,887	1,252,788	65,400,451
5	Turkey	5,139,485		45,186		4,971,245	123,054	2,232	60,369	531	51,294,008	602,505	85,134,619
6	Russia	4,965,676	+7,920	116,965	+390	4,581,787	266,924	2,300	34,014	801	134,300,000	919,929	145,989,485
7	UK	4,450,392		127,691		4,281,947	40,754	125	65,256	1,872	171,398,433	2,513,205	68,199,148
8	Italy	4,167,025		124,497		3,727,220	315,308	1,689	69,009	2,062	63,284,455	1,048,040	60,383,611
9	Spain	3,619,848		79,502		3,342,024	198,322	1,774	77,396	1,700	48,928,535	1,046,136	46,770,702
10	Germany	3,615,896		87,148		3,340,400	188,348	3,879	43,036	1,037	58,093,759	691,433	84,019,328
11	Argentina	3,371,508		71,771		2,992,325	307,412	5,813	74,002	1,575	12,602,579	276,618	45,559,512
12	Colombia	3,144,547		82,291		2,947,661	114,595	6,582	61,228	1,602	15,998,997	311,517	51,358,330
13	Poland	2,859,261	+2,344	72,250	+329	2,610,932	176,079	1,377	75,622	1,911	15,184,082	401,587	37,810,148
14	Iran	2,779,415		77,532		2,258,046	443,837	5,173	32,724	913	18,285,393	215,288	84,934,743
15	Mexico	2,385,512	+2,767	220,746	+257	1,905,591	259,175	4,798	18,333	1,696	6,874,702	52,833	130,120,328
16	Ukraine	2,165,233	+5,138	48,696	+227	1,899,446	217,091	177	49,773	1,119	9,882,447	227,170	43,502,341
17	Peru	1,897,900		66,770		1,720,665	110,465	2,655	56,868	2,001	12,173,032	364,745	33,374,065
18	Indonesia	1,753,101	+4,871	48,669	+192	1,616,603	87,829		6,350	176	15,653,438	56,703	276,059,226
19	Czechia	1,655,414	+1,191	29,948	+6	1,602,118	23,348	224	154,330	2,792	22,005,586	2,051,527	10,726,444
20	South Africa	1,617,840		55,340		1,527,968	34,532	546	26,980	923	11,166,950	186,228	59,963,798
21	Netherlands	1,606,319		17,473		1,386,360	202,486	649	93,564	1,018	13,524,699	787,777	17,168,193
22	Canada	1,338,141		25,018		1,248,382	64,741	1,344	35,184	658	33,668,274	885,252	38,032,423
23	Chile	1,295,862		27,965		1,231,047	36,850	2,979	67,282	1,452	14,043,876	729,168	19,260,145
24	Philippines	1,159,071	+4,700	19,507	+136	1,089,613	49,951	1,819	10,455	176	12,694,238	114,508	110,858,550
25	Iraq	1,146,948		16,029		1,056,885	74,034	475	27,967	391	9,929,858	242,129	41,010,564
26	Romania	1,072,972		29,662		1,027,412	15,898	716	56,104	1,551	8,721,739	456,047	19,124,639
27	Sweden	1,047,143		14,301		899,728	133,114	306	103,121	1,408	9,481,745	933,744	10,154,546
28	Belgium	1,034,714	+1,819	24,749	+26	922,277	87,688	613	88,939	2,127	13,349,334	1,147,449	11,633,925
29	Pakistan	886,184	+3,256	19,856	+104	799,951	66,377	4,549	3,945	88	12,552,339	55,877	224,641,266
30	Portugal	842,767		17,011		803,759	21,997	66	82,864	1,673	11,233,120	1,104,476	10,170,543
31	Israel	839,167		6,392		832,144	631	60	91,238	695	14,487,253	1,575,114	9,197,590
32	Hungary	799,588	+633	29,329	+52	648,513	121,746	224	82,955	3,043	5,670,793	588,332	9,638,765
33	Bangladesh	782,129		12,211		724,209	45,709	1,156	4,708	74	5,734,918	34,521	166,128,060
34	Jordan	726,432		9,295		710,445	6,692	729	70,583	903	7,001,979	680,336	10,291,950
35	Serbia	707,719		6,710		681,248	19,761	86	81,287	771	4,030,710	462,960	8,706,388
36	Japan	687,825		11,591		602,356	73,878	1,235	5,453	92	13,220,299	104,810	126,135,695
37	Switzerland	683,400		10,751		621,695	50,954	174	78,460	1,234	7,360,542	845,052	8,710,164
38	Austria	638,155		10,499		618,798	8,858	275	70,503	1,160	36,840,818	4,070,127	9,051,516
39	UAE	548,681		1,637		528,769	18,275		54,895	164	47,264,038	4,728,716	9,995,110
40	Lebanon	536,554		7,641		502,762	26,151	305	78,922	1,124	4,224,382	621,367	6,798,534
41	Morocco	515,420		9,105		503,861	2,454	112	13,820	244	6,396,074	171,504	37,293,938
42	Malaysia	479,421		1,994		432,600	44,827	531	14,648	61	10,663,780	325,818	32,729,274
43	Nepal	472,354		5,411		352,414	114,529		15,961	183	2,812,959	95,048	29,595,087
44	Saudi Arabia	435,027		7,188		419,761	8,078	1,384	12,328	204	18,106,104	513,090	35,288,391
45	Bulgaria	415,326		17,379		367,464	30,483	485	60,172	2,518	2,698,506	390,954	6,902,357
46	Ecuador	411,466		19,877		354,499	37,090	599	23,016	1,112	1,374,244	76,870	17,877,562
47	Slovakia	388,138	+246	12,262	+14	372,069	3,807	171	71,062	2,245	2,778,680	508,732	5,461,967
48	Greece	381,266		11,534		340,612	29,120	639	36,737	1,111	8,950,025	862,385	10,378,224
49	Belarus	378,711		2,721		368,832	7,158		40,090	288	6,113,124	647,125	9,446,589
50	Panama	371,684		6,300		359,848	5,536	105	84,972	1,440	2,537,845	580,184	4,374,210
51	Kazakhstan	364,048	+2,018	4,124	+29	323,816	36,108	221	19,187	217	10,989,671	579,211	18,973,514
52	Croatia	350,997		7,765		338,361	4,871	166	85,966	1,902	1,937,595	474,556	4,082,968
53	Bolivia	337,441	+2,617	13,635	+69	275,069	48,737	200	28,567	1,154	1,330,406	112,627	11,812,471
54	Georgia	333,601	+1,160	4,519	+20	313,651	15,431		83,768	1,135	4,650,210	1,167,682	3,982,430
55	Azerbaijan	330,701		4,802		316,439	9,460		32,360	470	3,404,046	333,099	10,219,334
56	Tunisia	328,528		11,971		290,282	26,275	445	27,545	1,004	1,397,361	117,159	11,927,037
57	Paraguay	318,251		7,802		264,326	46,123	570	44,144	1,082	1,206,320	167,328	7,209,303
58	Palestine	304,074		3,437		293,808	6,829	66	58,420	660	1,793,407	344,559	5,204,927
59	Kuwait	293,574		1,701		279,924	11,949	182	67,865	393	2,477,308	572,674	4,325,862
60	Costa Rica	290,920		3,673		225,158	62,089	499	56,655	715	1,093,074	212,871	5,134,917
61	Dominican Republic	278,549		3,597		234,370	40,582	302	25,454	329	1,487,136	135,895	10,943,293
62	Denmark	268,255		2,503		252,686	13,066	23	46,170	431	47,951,266	8,253,057	5,810,122
63	Lithuania	267,769	+911	4,136	+9	243,126	20,507	184	99,588	1,538	3,151,738	1,172,187	2,688,768
64	Ethiopia	267,100		4,021		221,451	41,628	558	2,274	34	2,661,450	22,661	117,447,872
65	Ireland	256,390		4,941		238,567	12,882	39	51,421	991	4,729,538	948,539	4,986,131
66	Moldova	254,075		6,043		245,263	2,769	134	63,113	1,501	1,054,956	262,054	4,025,713
67	Slovenia	249,921		4,333		238,517	7,071	113	120,201	2,084	1,236,479	594,693	2,079,189
68	Egypt	248,078		14,441		182,693	50,944	90	2,385	139	2,715,258	26,103	104,021,758
69	Uruguay	246,026		3,578		214,578	27,870	498	70,610	1,027	2,030,566	582,775	3,484,307
70	Guatemala	242,784		7,913		223,244	11,627	5	13,336	435	1,353,442	74,343	18,205,327
71	Honduras	228,287	+771	6,019	+49	83,086	139,182	536	22,732	599	684,637	68,174	10,042,463
72	Armenia	221,368	+229	4,357	+11	209,508	7,503		74,582	1,468	1,046,412	352,552	2,968,111
73	Venezuela	217,603		2,428		201,646	13,529	316	7,672	86	3,359,014	118,421	28,365,033
74	Qatar	213,855		536		208,614	4,705	179	76,164	191	1,977,199	704,180	2,807,805
75	Oman	207,109		2,219		191,539	13,351	244	39,677	425	1,550,000	296,940	5,219,901
76	Bahrain	204,524		767	+2	186,961	16,796	187	116,672	438	4,393,681	2,506,395	1,752,988
77	Bosnia and Herzegovina	202,675		9,070		170,256	23,349		62,116	2,780	949,432	290,983	3,262,844
78	Libya	182,012		3,097		168,785	10,130		26,177	445	989,906	142,369	6,953,124
79	Kenya	166,006		3,021		113,917	49,068	108	3,029	55	1,752,693	31,980	54,805,598
80	Nigeria	165,778		2,067		156,415	7,296	11	787	10	2,002,653	9,509	210,596,796
81	North Macedonia	154,804		5,232		146,302	3,270	111	74,307	2,511	760,498	365,045	2,083,299
82	Sri Lanka	147,720		1,015		121,145	25,560		6,873	47	3,075,321	143,091	21,492,112
83	Myanmar	143,131		3,213		132,135	7,783		2,615	59	2,604,997	47,597	54,729,953
84	S. Korea	133,471	+653	1,912	+8	123,237	8,322	148	2,601	37	9,428,644	183,766	51,307,978
85	Albania	132,071		2,436		126,405	3,230	18	45,937	847	677,041	235,490	2,875,033
86	Latvia	129,297	+609	2,298	+18	118,219	8,780	79	69,224	1,230	2,527,839	1,353,372	1,867,808
87	Estonia	127,757	+257	1,232	+3	119,608	6,917	31	96,252	928	1,373,329	1,034,664	1,327,319
88	Cuba	126,755		826		119,161	6,768	130	11,197	73	4,037,878	356,686	11,320,535
89	Algeria	125,693		3,388		87,609	34,696	28	2,822	76	230,861	5,183	44,543,478
90	Norway	119,814		774		88,952	30,088	22	21,950	142	5,507,549	1,008,998	5,458,436
91	Thailand	116,949	+3,394	678	+29	74,368	41,903	1,228	1,672	10	8,124,896	116,146	69,953,897
92	Kyrgyzstan	101,219	+253	1,725	+7	94,483	5,011	86	15,294	261	1,071,001	161,822	6,618,372
93	Montenegro	98,971		1,564		96,097	1,310	60	157,563	2,490	397,322	632,541	628,136
94	Uzbekistan	97,280	+212	674	+2	92,840	3,766	23	2,870	20	1,377,915	40,654	33,893,889
95	Ghana	93,390		783		91,299	1,308	8	2,952	25	1,123,985	35,525	31,639,572
96	Zambia	92,520		1,263		90,892	365	40	4,913	67	1,479,497	78,560	18,832,593
97	China	90,908	+14	4,636		85,976	296	3	63	3	160,000,000	111,163	1,439,323,776
98	Finland	90,687	+289	929		46,000	43,758	25	16,345	167	4,810,224	866,975	5,548,286
99	Cameroon	77,429		1,189		70,497	5,743	385	2,855	44	1,518,411	55,984	27,122,305
100	El Salvador	71,479		2,199	+4	66,903	2,377	22	10,972	338	956,458	146,810	6,514,945
101	Cyprus	71,398		348		39,061	31,989	49	58,760	286	5,988,958	4,928,891	1,215,072
102	Mozambique	70,485		828		68,749	908	21	2,201	26	538,679	16,824	32,018,476
103	Luxembourg	69,239		808		66,619	1,812	30	109,057	1,273	2,787,646	4,390,761	634,889
104	Afghanistan	64,122		2,762		55,118	6,242	1,124	1,615	70	434,506	10,946	39,693,795
105	Singapore	61,689	+38	31		61,134	524	5	10,472	5	11,064,019	1,878,214	5,890,712
106	Namibia	51,636		733		48,445	2,458	56	20,005	284	413,177	160,075	2,581,143
107	Botswana	50,800		774		47,477	2,549	1	21,228	323	1,105,082	461,775	2,393,117
108	Mongolia	50,099	+575	227	+6	43,586	6,286	99	15,070	68	2,849,952	857,261	3,324,487
109	Jamaica	47,479		878		23,410	23,191	18	15,973	295	357,002	120,101	2,972,519
110	Maldives	47,421		105		29,086	18,230	90	86,398	191	802,394	1,461,902	548,870
111	Ivory Coast	46,708		298		46,176	234		1,733	11	619,741	22,998	26,948,125
112	Uganda	42,930		349		42,429	152	24	913	7	1,064,201	22,643	46,998,133
113	Senegal	40,896		1,128		39,614	154	9	2,388	66	500,044	29,193	17,128,644
114	Madagascar	40,326		774		38,166	1,386	245	1,424	27	196,451	6,939	28,311,848
115	Zimbabwe	38,595		1,583		36,371	641	12	2,564	105	449,945	29,892	15,052,353
116	Sudan	34,272		2,446		27,949	3,877		766	55	232,965	5,207	44,742,878
117	Malawi	34,231		1,153		32,246	832	11	1,750	59	239,715	12,255	19,561,032
118	Angola	31,045		685		26,013	4,347	19	920	20	531,492	15,745	33,756,143
119	DRC	30,620		776		26,603	3,241		333	8	155,600	1,693	91,931,986
120	Malta	30,486		417		29,941	128		68,883	942	900,491	2,034,658	442,576
121	Australia	29,992	+4	910		28,952	130	1	1,164	35	17,639,676	684,792	25,759,174
122	Cabo Verde	28,410		252		25,581	2,577	23	50,616	449	158,645	282,649	561,280
123	Rwanda	26,344		346		24,808	1,190	2	1,991	26	1,380,803	104,351	13,232,315
124	Gabon	23,909		145		20,556	3,208	16	10,525	64	772,653	340,141	2,271,570
125	Syria	23,830		1,710		21,360	760		1,333	96	103,566	5,795	17,871,604
126	Réunion	23,566		176		21,709	1,681	31	26,158	195	102,720	114,017	900,919
127	Cambodia	23,282	+393	159	+3	14,955	8,168		1,376	9	1,090,331	64,434	16,921,592
128	Guinea	22,853		153		20,476	2,224	24	1,700	11	446,006	33,177	13,443,299
129	French Guiana	22,115		110		9,995	12,010	26	72,405	360	240,988	789,004	305,433
130	Mayotte	20,176		171		2,964	17,041	6	72,430	614	176,919	635,122	278,559
131	Mauritania	18,905		457		18,163	285	14	3,975	96	251,750	52,931	4,756,222
132	French Polynesia	18,828		141		18,658	29	1	66,687	499	26,355	93,347	282,334
133	Eswatini	18,525		672		17,806	47	3	15,824	574	202,106	172,637	1,170,696
134	Trinidad and Tobago	17,150		317		10,515	6,318	15	12,220	226	159,982	113,990	1,403,470
135	Guadeloupe	16,017		221		2,242	13,554	33	40,024	552	195,404	488,285	400,184
136	Guyana	15,454		345		13,252	1,857	14	19,565	437	139,212	176,243	789,885
137	Somalia	14,575		762		6,579	7,234		895	47	123,568	7,590	16,279,614
138	Mali	14,207		511		9,309	4,387		684	25	285,361	13,746	20,758,950
139	Papua New Guinea	14,206		136		11,336	2,734		1,562	15	110,286	12,126	9,095,184
140	Andorra	13,569		127		13,234	208	12	175,369	1,641	193,595	2,502,068	77,374
141	Haiti	13,520		274		12,437	809		1,173	24	60,085	5,214	11,524,323
142	Burkina Faso	13,404		165		13,210	29		626	8	184,433	8,617	21,402,842
143	Tajikistan	13,308		90		13,218	0		1,368	9			9,724,685
144	Togo	13,286		125		11,950	1,211		1,573	15	324,533	38,415	8,448,075
145	Belize	12,745		323		12,342	80	1	31,552	800	126,706	313,675	403,940
146	Curaçao	12,257		120		12,077	60	18	74,428	729	104,714	635,856	164,682
147	Suriname	12,251		238		10,432	1,581	28	20,721	403	56,548	95,643	591,242
148	Martinique	11,866		93		98	11,675	10	31,642	248	174,717	465,901	375,009
149	Hong Kong	11,828	+1	210		11,535	83	2	1,567	28	14,841,321	1,965,648	7,550,344
150	Djibouti	11,455		151		11,280	24		11,448	151	154,702	154,612	1,000,579
151	Congo	11,343		148		8,208	2,987		2,012	26	141,948	25,183	5,636,584
152	Bahamas	11,278		221		10,121	936	8	28,441	557	93,155	234,920	396,539
153	Aruba	10,869		105		10,685	79	14	101,424	980	158,942	1,483,166	107,164
154	Lesotho	10,790		320		6,427	4,043		5,002	148	87,981	40,786	2,157,149
155	South Sudan	10,652		115		10,462	75		942	10	159,088	14,068	11,308,732
156	Seychelles	9,764		35		7,826	1,903		98,745	354	21,504	217,474	98,881
157	Benin	8,025		101		7,893	31	35	647	8	604,310	48,734	12,400,078
158	Equatorial Guinea	7,694		112		7,279	303	7	5,332	78	123,169	85,352	1,443,079
159	Nicaragua	7,193		185		4,225	2,783		1,075	28			6,693,619
160	CAR	7,010		96		5,112	1,802	2	1,430	20	40,907	8,343	4,903,216
161	Yemen	6,586		1,297		3,072	2,217	23	217	43	43,192	1,421	30,399,596
162	Iceland	6,549		29		6,462	58	55	19,083	85	633,116	1,844,813	343,187
163	Gambia	5,957		175		5,701	81	3	2,406	71	76,379	30,850	2,475,827
164	Niger	5,348		192		4,995	161	2	214	8	103,507	4,146	24,967,921
165	San Marino	5,087		90		4,974	23	4	149,644	2,648	64,241	1,889,775	33,994
166	Chad	4,905		173		4,704	28		291	10	117,126	6,957	16,836,478
167	Saint Lucia	4,871		77		4,577	217	2	26,421	418	43,436	235,599	184,364
168	Timor-Leste	4,765		10		2,517	2,238		3,555	7	85,558	63,830	1,340,397
169	Vietnam	4,579	+67	37		2,687	1,855		47	0.4	3,091,540	31,512	98,106,757
170	Burundi	4,353		6		773	3,574		357	0.5	279,132	22,881	12,199,179
171	Gibraltar	4,286		94		4,192	0		127,249	2,791	245,473	7,287,958	33,682
172	Sierra Leone	4,107		79		3,104	924		506	10	153,257	18,877	8,118,725
173	Channel Islands	4,059		86		3,956	17		23,159	491	454,413	2,592,675	175,268
174	Barbados	3,972		47		3,922	3		13,807	163	163,512	568,374	287,684
175	Eritrea	3,879		14		3,700	165		1,081	4	23,693	6,601	3,589,404
176	Comoros	3,864		146		3,708	10		4,362	165			885,781
177	Guinea-Bissau	3,746		67		3,438	241	9	1,865	33	65,627	32,673	2,008,596
178	Liechtenstein	2,992		58		2,905	29	3	78,275	1,517	39,109	1,023,153	38,224
179	New Zealand	2,658	+5	26		2,608	24		531	5	2,090,622	417,949	5,002,100
180	Taiwan	2,533	+275	14		1,133	1,386		106	0.6	610,865	25,608	23,854,665
181	Monaco	2,495		32		2,447	16	1	63,187	810	51,953	1,315,732	39,486
182	Bermuda	2,479		32		2,311	136	7	39,936	516	257,772	4,152,590	62,075
183	Turks and Caicos	2,404		17		2,365	22	2	61,364	434	65,926	1,682,816	39,176
184	Sao Tome and Principe	2,332		35		2,277	20		10,471	157	13,418	60,247	222,717
185	Sint Maarten	2,307		27		2,231	49	2	53,276	624	28,642	661,432	43,303
186	Liberia	2,131		85		2,016	30	2	413	16	101,625	19,689	5,161,433
187	St. Vincent Grenadines	1,949	+2	12		1,780	157	2	17,519	108	47,584	427,721	111,250
188	Saint Martin	1,773		12		1,399	362	7	45,180	306	27,588	703,004	39,243
189	Laos	1,737	+50	2		708	1,027		236	0.3	227,269	30,845	7,367,994
190	Caribbean Netherlands	1,604		17		1,569	18		60,673	643	8,550	323,410	26,437
191	Isle of Man	1,591		29		1,558	4	1	18,624	339	44,761	523,962	85,428
192	Bhutan	1,309		1		1,186	122		1,680	1	749,679	962,293	779,055
193	Mauritius	1,288		17		1,145	126		1,011	13	358,675	281,618	1,273,623
194	Antigua and Barbuda	1,251		42		1,182	27	4	12,682	426	16,700	169,303	98,640
195	St. Barth	974		1		462	511		98,354	101	26,385	2,664,344	9,903
196	Diamond Princess	712		13		699	0
197	Faeroe Islands	670		1		667	2		13,666	20	260,878	5,321,217	49,026
198	Cayman Islands	565		2		547	16		8,509	30	93,583	1,409,425	66,398
199	Tanzania	509		21		183	305	7	8	0.3			61,216,562
200	Wallis and Futuna	445		7		436	2	1	40,217	633	17,264	1,560,235	11,065
201	British Virgin Islands	248		1		209	38		8,156	33	39,777	1,308,110	30,408
202	Brunei	235		3		222	10		533	7	123,643	280,273	441,152
203	Dominica	184				176	8		2,550		16,134	223,639	72,143
204	Fiji	178		4		119	55		197	4	73,292	81,242	902,146
205	Grenada	161		1		160	0		1,425	9	28,684	253,883	112,981
206	New Caledonia	125				58	67		434		32,332	112,301	287,905
207	Anguilla	109				95	14		7,209		21,728	1,437,037	15,120
208	Falkland Islands	63				63	0		17,657		7,258	2,034,193	3,568
209	Macao	50				49	1		76		4,483	6,823	657,087
210	Saint Kitts and Nevis	45				45	0		841		14,008	261,690	53,529
211	Greenland	34	+3			32	2		598		23,980	421,760	56,857
212	Vatican City	27				27	0		33,624				803
213	Saint Pierre Miquelon	25				25	0		4,334		5,318	921,824	5,769
214	Montserrat	20		1		19	0		4,004	200	1,408	281,882	4,995
215	Solomon Islands	20				20	0		29		4,500	6,414	701,580
216	Western Sahara	10		1		8	1		16	2			610,152
217	MS Zaandam	9		2		7	0
218	Vanuatu	4		1		3	0		13	3	23,000	73,386	313,410
219	Marshall Islands	4				4	0		67				59,541
220	Samoa	3				3	0		15				199,571
221	Saint Helena	2				2	0		328				6,093
222	Micronesia	1				1	0		9				116,080
	Total:	164,935,494	+50,871	3,420,194	+2,002	145,130,363	16,384,937	100,773	21,159.7	438.8

Highlighted in green

= all cases have recovered from the infection

Highlighted in grey

= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

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Latest News

May 19 (GMT)

Updates

4,871 new cases and 192 new deaths in Indonesia [source]

1 new case in China, Hong Kong SAR [source]

246 new cases and 14 new deaths in Slovakia [source]

4 new deaths in El Salvador [source]

289 new cases in Finland [source]

609 new cases and 18 new deaths in Latvia [source]

38 new cases in Singapore [source]

50 new cases in Laos [source]

2,344 new cases and 329 new deaths in Poland [source]

4,700 new cases and 136 new deaths in the Philippines [source]

2 new deaths in Bahrain [source]

1,191 new cases and 6 new deaths in Czechia [source]

7,920 new cases and 390 new deaths in Russia [source]

257 new cases and 3 new deaths in Estonia [source]

633 new cases and 52 new deaths in Hungary [source]

67 new cases in Vietnam [source]

911 new cases and 9 new deaths in Lithuania [source]

229 new cases and 11 new deaths in Armenia [source]

1,160 new cases and 20 new deaths in Georgia [source]

2 new cases in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines [source]

3 new cases in Greenland [source]

275 new cases in Taiwan [source]

253 new cases and 7 new deaths in Kyrgyzstan [source]

212 new cases and 2 new deaths in Uzbekistan [source]

5,138 new cases and 227 new deaths in Ukraine [source]

2,018 new cases and 29 new deaths in Kazakhstan [source] [source]

393 new cases and 3 new deaths in Cambodia [source] [source]

1,186 new cases in India [source] [source]

2,617 new cases and 69 new deaths in Bolivia [source]

3,256 new cases and 104 new deaths in Pakistan [source]

3,394 new cases and 29 new deaths in Thailand [source]

1,819 new cases and 26 new deaths in Belgium [source]

771 new cases and 49 new deaths in Honduras [source]

575 new cases and 6 new deaths in Mongolia [source]

2,767 new cases and 257 new deaths in Mexico [source]

653 new cases and 8 new deaths in South Korea [source]

4 new cases in Australia [source] [source] [source] [source] [source]

5 new cases in New Zealand [source]

The post Tokyo Olympics Ready Despite Virus Surge, India Record, World Stats appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

New York Prosecutor: Trump Probe Now Criminal Investigation

2021-05-19 FreeNews

BBC- The New York attorney general’s office says it is investigating the Trump Organization “in a criminal capacity”.

A spokesman for the state’s top prosecutor, Letitia James, said the inquiry into Mr Trump’s property company was “no longer purely civil”.

Ms James has been scrutinising the ex-Republican president’s financial dealings before he took office.

The Trumps deny wrongdoing and say the inquiry by a Democratic prosecutor is a political vendetta.

Ms James’ spokesman, Fabien Levy, told the BBC on Tuesday: “We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the Organization is no longer purely civil in nature.

“We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA. We have no additional comment.”

The statement did not say what turned the inquiry from civil to criminal in nature, or whether the former president himself might be personally implicated in any allegations.

Civil cases usually have to do with injury to individuals or other private parties, including businesses; criminal law applies in cases where the damage is thought to affect society at large, including the state.

Six legal battles looming for Trump

Ms James launched a civil inquiry in March 2019 into claims that Mr Trump had inflated the value of his assets to banks when seeking loans, and understated them to lower his taxes.

Her office has also been seeking documents on four Trump Organization properties in Manhattan, upstate New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr said in court documents last August that his office was investigating alleged “protracted criminal conduct” at the Trump Organization.

Mr Vance’s legal filing cited newspaper articles about purported bank and insurance fraud at the company.

The Manhattan district attorney has also been investigating whether any of Mr Trump’s financial records were doctored to cover up hush-money payments to two women in 2016 who say they had affairs with him.

Mr Vance’s office said in February it had obtained Mr Trump’s tax returns as part of the investigation, after a long legal battle.

Throughout his presidency, Mr Trump resolutely refused to reveal his tax returns, despite coming under great pressure to do so.

A significant development

Will Grant, BBC News, Washington DC

Throughout his time in office, Donald Trump dismissed any probe into his financial dealings or those of his organisation as a politically-motivated “witch hunt” led by Democrats desperate to see him forced from power.

Yet now that he no longer enjoys protection from prosecution, this latest development will trouble him. That a former US president is facing not one but two criminal investigations is a significant development, one which could have repercussions for his political future.

The New York State Attorney General, Letitia James, clearly believes that there is enough at play to warrant moving the investigation from a civil to a criminal one. When combined with the ongoing examination of the former president’s tax returns by the Manhattan District Attorney, Cy Vance, Mr Trump is looking at a complex and tangled legal battle ahead — one which he remains adamant he shouldn’t have to face but which he now almost certainly cannot avoid.

The post New York Prosecutor: Trump Probe Now Criminal Investigation appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Ex-FARC leader Jesus Santrich Killed in Venezuela by Colombian Military

2021-05-19 FreeNews

Reuters- Jesus Santrich, one of the most prominent leaders of a group of Colombia’s former FARC rebels who reject a 2016 peace accord, has been killed in Venezuela in an operation by Colombia’s military, former FARC dissidents said late on Tuesday.

Santrich was traveling by a truck in Venezuela when it was attacked by Colombian commandos the dissident group, which calls itself the Segunda Marquetalia, said in a statement.

Santrich, who initially backed the 2016 peace deal, was wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges and had long been thought to be based in Venezuela.

“The truck carrying the commander (Santrich) was attacked with rifle fire and grenades,” the statement said, adding that the Colombian commandos left in a helicopter following the attack.

Colombia’s ministry of defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier on Tuesday Colombia’s Defense Minister Diego Molano said the government was working to confirm if Santrich had been killed in Venezuela.

“Intelligence information signals that alias Santrich and other criminals were killed in supposed confrontations which took place yesterday in Venezuela,” Molano said on Twitter. “Information being verified. If confirmed, it proves Venezuela harbors narco-criminals.”

The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In March Molano blamed fighting for control of drug trafficking between the Venezuelan military and illegal armed groups, including former FARC rebels, for violence which caused thousands of people to flee to Colombia. read more

Colombia’s government accuses Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of harboring dissidents, while Maduro has said his country is a victim of criminals.

About 13,000 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) demobilized under the peace deal, which ended the group’s part in more than 50 years of conflict.

The group’s former members have formed a legal political party and are participating in transitional justice proceedings, but about 1,500 former rebels refused to give up arms.

The United States said last year it was offering rewards of up to $10 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Santrich, whose birth name is Seuxis Hernandez, and Ivan Marquez.

Marquez, one of the negotiators of the peace accord, disappeared in 2018 after his nephew was arrested and bundled off to the United States.

Santrich had been set to serve in one of 10 congressional seats granted to former rebels, but he was indicted by the United States, sparking months of legal wrangling, before he too disappeared in mid-2019.

Both men reappeared in an August 2019 video announcing a new offensive against the government.

The post Ex-FARC leader Jesus Santrich Killed in Venezuela by Colombian Military appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Analysis: Tycoon Slim’s Business Probed after Mexico Train Collapse

2021-05-19 FreeNews

Daina Beth SolomonCassandra Garrison

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim’s construction arm Grupo Carso faces scrutiny from accident investigators for the possible role it played in the building of a metro railway line that collapsed this month, killing 26 people.

While no officials have blamed Carso or any of the other companies involved in the construction of the line for the accident, the Mexico City attorney general’s office said the probe it is leading would encompass everything from design and construction of the metro’s Line 12, the materials used, and cost overruns.

Inquiries will reach “wherever the investigation led” a spokesman for the attorney general’s office told Reuters, when asked if that included the builders.

The head of Mexico City’s public works department, Jesus Esteva, identified Carso as the contractor in charge of the section where the accident happened.

“The information we have is that it is Carso,” Esteva told Mexican radio station Grupo Formula earlier this month. “That’s the information provided to us by the Metro.”

Mexico City’s public works department declined a Reuters request for comment or an interview with Esteva, but said his comments to Grupo Formula were correct.

The city’s investigators said they will be accompanied by Norwegian external auditor DNV in determining what happened on Line 12, built by a consortium of Mexico’s ICA, Slim’s Grupo Carso and French trainmaker Alstom.

Carso declined to comment on whether it had erected the section that collapsed. It also declined to comment on the potential consequences of the investigation and has not publicly said which parts of the rail line it built.

A spokesman for Slim, Latin America’s wealthiest man, declined to comment on questions about Carso’s work on Line 12.

A Metro official shared with Reuters a screenshot of an undated Metro document titled “general characteristics of the line” that showed Carso built the section. The official declined to comment further.

ICA also shared another document with Reuters with a graphic showing it had built sections of Line 12 spanning 15 stations, and Carso five. Carso’s section included where the track fell by the Olivos station, according to the undated document.

Responding to questions from Reuters, Alstom said the consortium was “led by ICA” and that its role was “limited to power supply, signaling, monitoring and control systems and some depot equipment, as well as testing and commissioning of some electromechanical and track-work-sub-systems.”

Alstom did not address what Carso’s role had been.

Reuters could not establish how far the initial investigation into what caused the bridge to collapse has proceeded but Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters last week it would be completed in five weeks.

“I’m sure we’ll soon have the verdict on what went wrong, if the builder did a bad job…if it was due to lack of maintenance, if it was subsidence that caused the section, the steel girder, to fracture,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a news conference last Wednesday.

Equities analyst and consultant Carlos Hermosillo said the potential fallout from the investigation, such as possible fines for the builders of the line, would be unlikely to have a major impact on Carso given its size.

But he said there was a potential risk Carso and the other companies in the consortium could be kept out of future public projects if the probe found they carried blame for the accident, Mexico’s biggest train crash in years.

Carso (GCARSOA1.MX) shares have moved little since the incident.

Carso said in a statement the day after the incident it stood in solidarity with the crash victims, and would wait for expert opinion on the accident.

Line 12 had repeatedly been reviewed and declared safe by officials since it opened in 2012, but problems led to partial shutdowns from 2014 to 2015 for repairs. Audits from the city comptroller’s office resulted in sanctions for 38 officials over a range of irregularities including delivery of unfinished works.

In one report commissioned by the city, engineering consultancy Systra found planning, design, construction, operational and maintenance failures, and placed responsibility on the construction companies as well as the Metro.

The consortium of ICA, Carso and Alstom, in a statement shared with media in 2014, denied wrongdoing, saying the finished line met specifications set by the city government for the project.

Any companies found responsible for the collapse are likely to be asked to provide compensation to people injured in the accident, and to the families of those who died, said Sergio Alcocer, an engineering expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. An official from the federal judiciary council confirmed to Reuters that the investigation could lead to monetary damages paid to victims and relatives.

The media have also asked former Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebrard, the current foreign minister who oversaw the opening of Line 12 in 2012, and current mayor Sheinbaum, about what responsibility they might bear after the accident. Ebrard was in office during the project’s construction and inauguration, while Sheinbaum’s administration has carried out the most recent inspections and maintenance on the line.

Both have urged the public to await the outcome of the investigation. Both are allies of Lopez Obrador and seen as potential presidential candidates in 2024. read more

The post Analysis: Tycoon Slim’s Business Probed after Mexico Train Collapse appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

El Salvador Ratifies Cooperation Deal with China

2021-05-19 FreeNews

El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele speaks as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination started at a public health center in San Salvador, El Salvador, February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele speaks as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination started at a public health center in San Salvador, El Salvador, February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Cabezas

Sofia MenchuTed Hesson

Reuters

The release on Tuesday of a U.S. government list labeling 17 Central American politicians as corrupt prompted El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to praise China, and its congress to ratify a 2019 cooperation agreement with the country.

The office of U.S. Representative Norma Torres, who had requested the report, released the U.S. State Department document. The report named a close aide of Bukele and his former security minister among those “credibly alleged” to have engaged in corrupt acts. Bukele himself was not named.

The list also includes Honduran and Guatemalan legislators and former officials from all three nations. The report said the list is based on “media reporting, credible information or allegations” of corruption, drug trafficking and using proceeds of crime to finance political campaigns.

After the release, Bukele said on Twitter the list was about “geopolitics” not fighting corruption. And he praised China’s $500 million investment in public investments in El Salvador “without conditions,” an apparent contrast to aid from Washington and U.S.-backed lenders that is conditioned on good governance.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Tuesday night, El Salvador’s Congress ratified a cooperation agreement with China, which had been signed back in 2019. The agreement calls for 400 million Yuan – about $62 million – in investment in a water purification plant, a stadium, a library, and infrastructure along Salvador’s coast.

Neither China’s embassy in El Salvador nor El Salvador’s foreign ministry responded to questions about the discrepancy in investment dollars.

Bukele also praised the 500,000 doses of Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine due later on Tuesday and thanked China’s leader Xi Jinping for the help.

U.S. officials see corruption as a major contributor to a migrant exodus from the region – along with poverty, gang violence and natural disasters. Washington wants to make sure a $4 billion aid package under consideration does not fall prey to graft.

Central American leaders have pushed back on President Joe Biden’s anti-corruption strategy. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, targeted by a U.S. criminal investigation, has warned that U.S. probes jeopardize joint anti-narcotics efforts.

Bukele recently removed top judges and the attorney general, which Washington considered to be unconstitutional. Widely popular Bukele, 39, says the move was justified by his large congressional majority.

El Salvador, which has a dollarized economy closely tied to the United States by trade and a large migrant population, is currently negotiating an over $1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, where Washington has a dominant voice.

The loan is likely to include clauses aimed at committing Bukele to democratic standards.

In contrast to Washington’s activist posture, China’s embassy in El Salvador responded to Bukele’s control of the justice system by saying it would not interfere in sovereign matters.

China has in recent years made diplomatic inroads in Latin America, where it sources commodities and jostles for influence with the United States. During the pandemic, China has stepped into the gap left by Western countries and helped poorer nations obtain vaccines.

With Tuesday’s vaccine shipment El Salvador will have received some 2.15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from China for its 6.7 million people, according to the country’s embassy in San Salvador.

Neighboring Honduras, which does not have diplomatic ties with China, has asked Bukele to share Chinese vaccines in the absence of supplies from the United States.

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Woman Slapped with Money Laundering and Larceny Charges

2021-05-19 FreeNews

A female in St. Kitts and Nevis has been accused of two money-related offences that occurred in 2020 and 2019.

Thirty-three-year-old Latoya Rawlins of Buckley’s Estate was arrested and charged by the Police on two warrants, in the first instance, for the offence of Money Laundering (by possession of money that is the proceeds of an offence) and on two warrants, in the first instance, for the offence of Larceny by Servant.

The offences were committed between January 2019 and August 2020 in Basseterre. Rawlins is accused of stealing a total of just over E.C. $390,000 from her previous place of employment during that period.

She was charged on May 13, and released on bail on May 14, in the sum of $200,000 with two sureties.

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Brazil: First COVID, Now Floods Ravage the Amazon Region

2021-05-18 FreeNews

Rivers in the Brazilian Amazon region have risen to near record levels after heavy rains, flooding small towns and threatening areas hit hard by Covid-19 with another disaster.

In Amazonas state, 52 of the 62 towns and cities have areas under water, and 25 have declared a state of emergency including the capital, Manaus. About 410,000 people have been affected, according to the civil defence service.

In Manaus, the Negro river is at its third-highest level since records began in 1920, at 29.72m (97ft). Brazil’s geological service expects the waters to reach 30.35m, exceeding the record flooding seen in 2012.

Raised wooden walkways for pedestrians have been erected in parts of the city centre, and local officials say they will set up barricades with sand bags to try to contain the waters. The houses of 4,200 people have been flooded across the capital.

People walk over wooden walkways installed by the city hall over a street flooded by waters from the Negro river

A man carries a box with oranges as he walks over wooden walkways installed by the city hall over a street flooded by waters from the Negro river in Manaus

An aerial view of a street flooded by water from the Negro river, where people walk over wooden walkways installed by the city hall in Manaus

The increased precipitation in the region is linked to La Niña, a phenomenon where cooler-than-normal surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean lead to significant weather changes in different parts of the world.

The town of Anamã, with a population of 12,700, has been totally flooded by the Solimões river. Boats and canoes have become the only way to get around the so-called “Venice of Amazonas”.

An aerial view of the town of Anama, flooded by water from the Solimoes river

People pass on their boats through a street flooded by the rising Solimoes river

People are seen on a street flooded by the rising Solimoes river

Like most residents, Manoel de Oliveira Cardoso and his wife, Eliana dos Santos Madi, have built wooden structures so they can walk around the flooded rooms of their house.

“Look at the state of my house, half flooded, I’ve got nowhere to keep my things,” he told Reuters news agency. “I’m struggling to see if I can salvage at least half of my things.”

Manoel de Oliveira Cardoso and his wife Eliana dos Santos Madi clean up their flooded house by the rising Solimoes river

As Anamã experiences inundations almost every year, some of the houses have a second level where people move their belongings in case of severe flooding. Others are built on wooden poles to keep them above the river level, known locally as palafitas.

Residents take their belongings on a boat in a street flooded by the rising Solimoes river

A man prepares his canoe next to his dog on a street flooded by the rising Solimoes river

Residents play volleyball in a street flooded by the rising Solimoes river

The Solimões and Negro rivers are the main branches of the Amazon river, which has flooded the towns of Parintins and Itacoatiara. In Manacapuru, crops were destroyed.

Meanwhile, cases and deaths related to Covid-19 were rising again in the state amid a slow rollout of vaccines and lack of co-ordinated measures to curb the spread of the virus, according to the Fiocruz Amazonas institute.

By boat, Neuda Sousa, a local health worker, carried a box of Oxford-AstraZeneca jabs to vaccinate residents in flooded areas.

Municipal health worker Neuda Sousa is seen in a boat with a box of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease on a street a flooded by the rising Solimoes river

Marair Queiroz receives the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease

Manaus and nearby areas reported the first cases of a highly contagious variant of Covid-19 that has spread throughout Brazil, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. Earlier this year, the city’s health system collapsed, with hospitals running out of oxygen amid a steep rise in infections.

There are now fears Amazonas state could face a devastating third wave.

All pictures from Reuters and subject to copyright.

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ILO to Hold Its 1st Virtual Labor Conference

2021-05-18 FreeNews

GENEVA (ILO News) – The 109th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) will, for the first time in its history, be held virtually, reflecting changes imposed by the COVID-19 crisis.

In another special arrangement, the ILC will open on 20 May to elect its Officers and set the Conference in motion. The Conference will then proceed in two parts; the first in June 2021 and a second in November-December 2021.

The June sittings will start on 3 June, with meetings of the Conference committees that are expected to run for two and a half weeks.

Work in plenary will commence on 7 June and will be addressed by the President of the Swiss Confederation. The ILO’s Director-General, Guy Ryder and the Chairperson of the Governing Body will also present their reports, which will cover two years. This will be followed by the introductory statements of the Presidents of the ILC’s Employers and Workers groups.

The items on the June segment of the ILC agenda include a special outcome document on the ILO response to COVID-19 , the ILO’s programme and budget for 2022-23 , the recurrent discussion on social protection , and consideration of the reports on the application of labour standards during the pandemic and related country case discussions.

The World of Work Summit, entitled, International action for a human-centred COVID-19 response, will take place on 17 and 18 June, with sessions running for about 90 minutes each day. The Summit will include a high-level segment with heads of state and government and a panel discussion with tripartite representatives.

Other ILC events will include for World Day Against Child Labour, on 10 June (World Day falls on a Saturday this year), and the launch of a report on child labour.

The June part of the ILC will close on 19 June.

The ILC will resume its work in November, with an agenda that includes two thematic discussions in committees, one on inequalities and the world of work and the second on skills and life-long learning. The Director-General is expected to close the 109th ILC on 11 December.

The work of the ILC can be followed via the “ILC live” section of the ILO’s website, which will include live coverage of the plenary sessions. There will also be a live blog with rolling coverage. A 30-minute “Daily Show”, covering key moments and themes, will go live at 16.30 CEST each day on the ILO website, as well as YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.

All ILC coverage, as well as photos, videos and social media links will be available via the Conference webpages: https://www.ilo.org/ilc

The ILC, sometimes known as the world parliament of labour, is the largest international gathering dedicated to the world of work, attended by representatives of governments, employers and workers from the 187 ILO Member States. As well as discussing key world of work issues, delegates discuss, adopt and monitor International Labour Standards and set the ILO’s global agenda and budget.

The 109th session of the annual ILC was deferred from 2020 to this year by the ILO’s Governing Body, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ILO’s Governing Body will meet twice during this period, on May 21 and June 25.

For further information and to arrange print media interviews, please contact the ILO Department of Communication: ne******@*lo.org .

For broadcast coverage and interviews, please contact: mu********@*lo.org .

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Sir Ronald Disputes the OAS Chief Calling Hamas a Terrorist Group

2021-05-18 FreeNews

The Antiguan Ambassador to the Organisation of American States (OAS) has made it clear that yesterday’s declaration of Hamas as a terrorist group was the view of the Secretary-General and not member nations.

In a tweet on Monday, Sir Ronald Sanders said: “As far as I am aware the member states of the OAS were not consulted and did not authorise this statement. Therefore, the Secretary-General has expressed his personal opinion on a very complex matter that requires delicate diplomacy.”

Secretary-General Luis Almagro said the recent missile attacks launched by Hamas against the Israeli civilian population constituted attacks of a terrorist nature.

“Their violence and the objectives they pursue clearly have this characteristic,” Almagro said in a statement.

“Hamas’ terrorist aggression is unlimited and always seeks civilian victims, seeks to escalate conflict dynamics and armed actions, as well as sowing terror among innocent populations, be they Israeli or Palestinian.”

Almagro accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields as it militarises residential areas to carry out attacks on Israel.

The tension between Israel and Palestine intensified after Israeli police sought to prevent Muslims from gathering at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to mark to start of Ramadhan.

Israeli police violently broke up the gathering.

This led to Hamas threatening that Israel would pay a heavy price for the incident.

Belize and St Vincent and the Grenadines have called for the violence to stop.

In a statement, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said: “Saint Vincent and the Grenadines stands steadfastly against any attempts to alter the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, by force. The United Nations Security Council has ‘Affirm[ed] a vision of a region where two States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders.’ The international community, in consistently reaffirming the two-state solution, has emphasized that the status of Jerusalem is a “final status” issue to be negotiated by the parties.”

“This position has been reaffirmed in various agreements, including the Camp David Accords, the Oslo Accords, and the Roadmap for Peace proposed by the Quartet on the Middle East.”

Gonsalves said St Vincent and the Grenadines, as an elected member of the UN Security Council, would stand against any violations against UN resolutions.

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Greenland Arctic Ice Sheet Melting Fast, May Be Doomed

2021-05-18 FreeNews

The melting of part of an ice sheet in Greenland is nearing tipping point and further environmental damage could follow, researchers said.

Analysis of the Jakobshavn drainage basin revealed that the central-western Greenland ice sheet is reaching a stage from which it cannot recover.

Data indicated that a critical threshold has been reached after a century of accelerated melting.

“We might be seeing the beginning of a large-scale destabilisation, but at the moment we cannot tell, unfortunately,” said Dr Niklas Boers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, one of the two authors of the research.

“So far, the signals we see are only regional, but that might simply be due to the scarcity of accurate and long-term data for other parts of the ice sheet.”

Dr Boers and Martin Rypdal from the Arctic University of Norway concluded that this part of the Greenland ice sheet is losing stability, and is very close to tipping into a state of accelerated melting, PNAS said on Monday.

Should that scenario play out, it will not be possible to save the sheet even if the Arctic warming trend was halted in the coming decades.

An ice sheet can only maintain its size if the loss of mass from melting is replaced by snow falling on to its surface. The warming of the Arctic disrupts that cycle.

As the surface of the ice is exposed to higher temperatures, it leads to more melting, height reductions and accelerated loss of mass.

After a point, this process cannot be reversed because a much colder climate would be needed for the ice sheet to regain its original size.

“We need to monitor the other parts of the Greenland ice sheet more closely, and we urgently need to better understand how different positive and negative feedback might balance each other, to get a better idea of the future evolution of the ice sheet,” Dr Boers said.

The work is part of the Tipes project, co-ordinated and led by the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and the Potsdam institute in Germany

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