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from Asia Times
LEAST BIASED, HIGH; News & Media Website based in Hong Kong
China rights lawyer freed after 5 years in jail
A leading Chinese human rights lawyer has been released from prison after almost five years behind bars, his wife said Sunday. Wang Quanzhang, 44, was first detained in 2015 in a sweeping crackdown on more than 200 lawyers and government critics in China as President Xi Jinping tightened his grip on power. But Wang has yet to return home to his family in Beijing and was instead escorted Sunday to a property he owns in eastern Shandong province for 14 days in quarantine as a precaution against the coronavirus, according to wife Li Wenzu.
The great mask wearing U-turn
Having told their populations that wearing masks was all but useless against the coronavirus, several Western countries have performed dramatic U-turns in the last few days. The rapid rethink as the number of deaths has rocketed has stirred anger and confusion, with some accusing their leaders of lying to them. The most spectacular about-turn has been in the United States where President Donald Trump on Friday urged all Americans to wear a mask when they leave home. While mask wearing has been widespread in Asia since the beginning of the epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) and numerous governments have insisted that they should only be worn by carers. This stance was seen as way to protect the dwindling stocks of surgical and FFP2 masks — which offer the most protection. Seen from Asia, where wearing masks during the flu season is normal, Western reluctance seemed utterly baffling.
Covid-19 sows Islamic trouble in Maldives paradise
As tourism in Maldives plummets with the travel-restricting Covid-19 pandemic, forcing many in the globally-oriented industry into unemployment, the idyllic island nation could soon become more vulnerable than ever to extremist groups like the Islamic State. That rising risk was apparent on February 4, when three foreigners were stabbed on the outskirts of Male, the island nation’s capital. Muslim militants later took responsibility for the attacks, the first seen in years. Rising economic desperation, some suggest, could cause more.
Thai sex workers forced onto the street
A shutdown to contain the coronavirus has killed Thailand’s party scene and forced sex workers like Pim out of bars and onto desolate streets. She’s scared but desperately needs customers to pay her rent. Red-light districts from Bangkok to Pattaya have gone quiet with night clubs and massage parlours closed and tourists blocked from entering the country. That has left an estimated 300,000 sex workers out of a job, pressing some onto the streets where the risks are sharpened by the pandemic.
Global virus deaths exceed 60,000
US President Donald Trump has warned Americans to brace for a “very horrendous” number of coronavirus deaths in the coming days as the total number of global fatalities from the pandemic soared past 60,000. Confirmed Covid-19 cases in the United States on Saturday surpassed 300,000, but Europe continued to bear the brunt of the pandemic which has left roughly half the planet confined at home at a huge cost to the global economy. Over 45,000 of global deaths have been in Europe, with Britain reporting a new daily high in fatalities, taking the overall toll to 4,300 out of nearly 42,000 cases.
Applying coronavirus pain for geopolitical gain
As the coronavirus pandemic ravages the world, exacting a historic toll on economies and societies, it is time to start soul searching to correct the many mistakes made in the past few months. The United States saw and should have understood how China, Taiwan, and South Korea handled the infection, and even learned from Italy, where it blew up well before it arrived in the US. But it apparently chose to ignore the evidence and tried to support an economy that had been doomed to recession for months. This cost the US and world many lives, people who didn’t volunteer for a war, but were “drafted” into it, and thus more difficult to accept by Americans. It deeply dented America’s status and global leadership. With authorities now forecasting between 100,000 and 240,000 dead, the pandemic could produce the largest death toll on American soil since the country’s Civil War. History tells us an event of this scale could have grave consequences for American politics, possibly deciding the November presidential elections. Whatever happens, much will depend on determining what the US did right or wrong in this crisis.
Refugees in Lebanon camps brace for virus
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian and Syrian refugees living in overcrowded and rundown camps in Lebanon are bracing for the novel coronavirus as aid groups mobilise to help. Lebanon is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians in camps that over the decades have become bustling neighborhoods, and at least 1.5 million Syrians who have fled the war next door.
Impact of pandemic hits Middle East conflicts
The novel coronavirus has put global trade on hold, placed half of the world population in confinement and has the potential to topple governments and reshape diplomatic relations. The United Nations has appealed for ceasefires in all the major conflicts rocking the planet, with its chief Antonio Guterres on Friday warning “the worst is yet to come”. But it remains unclear what the pandemic’s impact will be on the multiple wars roiling the Middle East.
US aircraft carrier should never have been sent to Vietnam
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, arrived in Da Nang, Vietnam on March 4 for a five-day visit. Captain Bret Crozier was relieved of command after writing a “request for assistance” letter regarding Covid-19 cases aboard ship on March 30. The real story behind the dismissal of Captain Crozier is that the ship should never have been sent to Vietnam and its crew should never have mixed with the local Vietnamese population. The Navy was well aware it was putting carrier personnel at extreme risk and made faulty preparations in case of infection. A close reading of Captain Crozier’s March 30 letter makes it clear that the Navy did not equip the carrier with either proper testing capabilities or instructions on what to do if anyone got sick. The actual number of infected personnel on the Theodore Roosevelt is not known, but it is thought to be more than 100.
A leading Chinese human rights lawyer has been released from prison after almost five years behind bars, his wife said Sunday. Wang Quanzhang, 44, was first detained in 2015 in a sweeping crackdown on more than 200 lawyers and government critics in China as President Xi Jinping tightened his grip on power. But Wang has yet to return home to his family in Beijing and was instead escorted Sunday to a property he owns in eastern Shandong province for 14 days in quarantine as a precaution against the coronavirus, according to wife Li Wenzu.
Having told their populations that wearing masks was all but useless against the coronavirus, several Western countries have performed dramatic U-turns in the last few days. The rapid rethink as the number of deaths has rocketed has stirred anger and confusion, with some accusing their leaders of lying to them. The most spectacular about-turn has been in the United States where President Donald Trump on Friday urged all Americans to wear a mask when they leave home. While mask wearing has been widespread in Asia since the beginning of the epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) and numerous governments have insisted that they should only be worn by carers. This stance was seen as way to protect the dwindling stocks of surgical and FFP2 masks — which offer the most protection. Seen from Asia, where wearing masks during the flu season is normal, Western reluctance seemed utterly baffling.
As tourism in Maldives plummets with the travel-restricting Covid-19 pandemic, forcing many in the globally-oriented industry into unemployment, the idyllic island nation could soon become more vulnerable than ever to extremist groups like the Islamic State. That rising risk was apparent on February 4, when three foreigners were stabbed on the outskirts of Male, the island nation’s capital. Muslim militants later took responsibility for the attacks, the first seen in years. Rising economic desperation, some suggest, could cause more.
A shutdown to contain the coronavirus has killed Thailand’s party scene and forced sex workers like Pim out of bars and onto desolate streets. She’s scared but desperately needs customers to pay her rent. Red-light districts from Bangkok to Pattaya have gone quiet with night clubs and massage parlours closed and tourists blocked from entering the country. That has left an estimated 300,000 sex workers out of a job, pressing some onto the streets where the risks are sharpened by the pandemic.
US President Donald Trump has warned Americans to brace for a “very horrendous” number of coronavirus deaths in the coming days as the total number of global fatalities from the pandemic soared past 60,000. Confirmed Covid-19 cases in the United States on Saturday surpassed 300,000, but Europe continued to bear the brunt of the pandemic which has left roughly half the planet confined at home at a huge cost to the global economy. Over 45,000 of global deaths have been in Europe, with Britain reporting a new daily high in fatalities, taking the overall toll to 4,300 out of nearly 42,000 cases.
As the coronavirus pandemic ravages the world, exacting a historic toll on economies and societies, it is time to start soul searching to correct the many mistakes made in the past few months. The United States saw and should have understood how China, Taiwan, and South Korea handled the infection, and even learned from Italy, where it blew up well before it arrived in the US. But it apparently chose to ignore the evidence and tried to support an economy that had been doomed to recession for months. This cost the US and world many lives, people who didn’t volunteer for a war, but were “drafted” into it, and thus more difficult to accept by Americans. It deeply dented America’s status and global leadership. With authorities now forecasting between 100,000 and 240,000 dead, the pandemic could produce the largest death toll on American soil since the country’s Civil War. History tells us an event of this scale could have grave consequences for American politics, possibly deciding the November presidential elections. Whatever happens, much will depend on determining what the US did right or wrong in this crisis.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian and Syrian refugees living in overcrowded and rundown camps in Lebanon are bracing for the novel coronavirus as aid groups mobilise to help. Lebanon is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians in camps that over the decades have become bustling neighborhoods, and at least 1.5 million Syrians who have fled the war next door.
The novel coronavirus has put global trade on hold, placed half of the world population in confinement and has the potential to topple governments and reshape diplomatic relations. The United Nations has appealed for ceasefires in all the major conflicts rocking the planet, with its chief Antonio Guterres on Friday warning “the worst is yet to come”. But it remains unclear what the pandemic’s impact will be on the multiple wars roiling the Middle East.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, arrived in Da Nang, Vietnam on March 4 for a five-day visit. Captain Bret Crozier was relieved of command after writing a “request for assistance” letter regarding Covid-19 cases aboard ship on March 30. The real story behind the dismissal of Captain Crozier is that the ship should never have been sent to Vietnam and its crew should never have mixed with the local Vietnamese population. The Navy was well aware it was putting carrier personnel at extreme risk and made faulty preparations in case of infection. A close reading of Captain Crozier’s March 30 letter makes it clear that the Navy did not equip the carrier with either proper testing capabilities or instructions on what to do if anyone got sick. The actual number of infected personnel on the Theodore Roosevelt is not known, but it is thought to be more than 100.
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from Le Journal de Montreal
Despite their unprecedented scale, assistance programs for people who are unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic have left many people forgotten. Last week, the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives calculated that almost one-third of the 3.3 million unemployed workers today fall through the cracks and are therefore without a source of income. To testify to this reality, we launched an appeal to our readers placed in trying situations. Here's what you gave us. It should be noted that the Trudeau government has made changes to the Canadian Emergency Benefit (CAP) since the publication of this text. (Google Translate from French)
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
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