#half the city is on evacuation alert. state of emergency declared

[verdemoth]

mm goin through the horrors. the horrors are bad i can’t recommend the horrors.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, December 27, 2020

Millions of Americans lose jobless benefits as Trump refuses to sign aid bill (Reuters) Millions of Americans saw their jobless benefits expire on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to sign into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, protesting that it did not do enough to help everyday people. Trump stunned Republicans and Democrats alike when he said this week he was unhappy with the massive bill, which provides $892 billion in badly needed coronavirus relief, including extending special unemployment benefits expiring on Dec. 26, and $1.4 trillion for normal government spending. Without Trump’s signature, about 14 million people could lose those extra benefits, according to Labor Department data. A partial government shutdown will begin on Tuesday unless Congress can agree a stop-gap government funding bill before then.

Downtown Nashville explosion knocks some communications offline (AP) A recreational vehicle parked in the deserted streets of downtown Nashville exploded early Christmas morning, causing widespread communications outages that took down police emergency systems and grounded holiday travel at the city’s airport. Police were responding to a report of shots fired Friday when they encountered the RV blaring a recorded warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said. Police evacuated nearby buildings and called in the bomb squad. The RV exploded shortly afterward, Drake said. The blast sent black smoke and flames billowing from the heart of downtown Nashville’s tourist scene, an area packed with honky-tonks, restaurants and shops. Buildings shook and windows shattered streets away from the explosion near a building owned by AT&T that lies one block from the company’s office tower, a landmark in downtown. AT&T said the affected building is the central office of a telephone exchange, with network equipment in it. The blast interrupted service, but the company declined to say how widespread outages were.

Powerful mobile phone surveillance tool (The Intercept) UNTIL NOW, the Bartonville, Texas, company Hawk Analytics and its product CellHawk have largely escaped public scrutiny. CellHawk has been in wide use by law enforcement; the software is helping police departments, the FBI, and private investigators around the United States convert information collected by cellular providers into maps of people’s locations, movements, and relationships. Police records obtained by The Intercept reveal a troublingly powerful surveillance tool operated in obscurity, with scant oversight. CellHawk’s maker says it can process a year’s worth of cellphone records in 20 minutes, automating a process that used to require painstaking work by investigators, including hand-drawn paper plots. According to the company’s website, CellHawk uses GPS records in its “unique animation analysis tool,” which, according to company promotional materials, plots a target’s calls and locations over time. “Watch data come to life as it moves around town or the entire county,” the site states. The company has touted features that make CellHawk sound more like a tool for automated, continuous surveillance than for just processing the occasional spreadsheet from a cellular company. CellHawk’s website touts the ability to send email and text alerts “to surveillance teams” when a target moves, or enters or exits a particular “location or Geozone (e.g. your entire county border).”

In other white Christmas news, 74 pounds of cocaine found floating off the Florida Keys (Miami Herald) The Keys sheriff’s office came across some white stuff Christmas week. But it wasn’t the usual kind of snow. About 74 pounds of cocaine were spotted floating off the Lower Keys by a fisherman Wednesday afternoon. The packages were put in a Monroe County sheriff’s patrol boat and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol. Lost shipments are trending in South Florida and the Keys. In August and September, almost 150 pounds of marijuana were found floating off the island chain or washed up on the shore. In July, more than 50 pounds of cocaine washed up near Grassy Key. Earlier that month, 29 bricks of cocaine came ashore in the Middle Keys city of Marathon, according to federal agents.

Brexit Deal Done, Britain Now Scrambles to See How It Will Work (NYT) For weary Brexit negotiators on both sides of the English Channel, a Christmas Eve trade agreement sealed 11 months of painstaking deliberations over Britain’s departure from the European Union, encompassing details as arcane as what species of fish could be caught by each side’s boats in British waters. But for many others—among them bankers, traders, truckers, architects and millions of migrants—Christmas was only the beginning, Day 1 of a high-stakes and unpredictable experiment in how to unstitch a tight web of commercial relations across Europe. The deal, far from closing the book on Britain’s tumultuous partnership with Europe, has opened a new one, beginning on its first pages with what analysts say will be the biggest overnight change in modern commercial relations. Britain’s services sector—encompassing not only London’s powerful financial industry, but also lawyers, architects, consultants and others—was largely left out of the 1,246-page deal, despite the sector accounting for 80 percent of British economic activity. Negotiators have not formally published the voluminous trade deal, though both sides have offered summaries, leaving analysts and ordinary citizens uncertain about some details even as lawmakers in Britain and Europe prepare to vote on it in a matter of days.

Virus besets Belarus prisons filled with president’s critics (AP) A wave of COVID-19 has engulfed prisons in Belarus that are packed with people in custody for demonstrating against the nation’s authoritarian president, and some of the protesters who contracted the coronavirus while incarcerated accuse authorities of neglecting or even encouraging infections. Activists who spoke to The Associated Press after their release described massively overcrowded cells without proper ventilation or basic amenities and a lack of medical treatment. Kastus Lisetsky, 35, a musician who received a 15-day sentence for attending a protest, said that before he entered prison, he and three bandmates were held in a Minsk jail and had to sleep on the floor of a cell intended for only two people. All four have contracted the virus. Lisetsky must return to prison to serve the remaining seven days of his sentence after he’s discharged from the hospital. He accused the government of allowing the virus to run wild among those jailed for political reasons. “The guards say openly that they do it deliberately on orders,” Lisetsky said. More than 30,000 people have been detained for taking part in protests against the August reelection of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in a vote that opposition activists and some election workers say was rigged to give Lukashenko a sixth term.

Japan bans new entries of foreigners after virus variant arrives (Reuters) Japan on Saturday said it would temporarily ban non-resident foreign nationals from entering the country as it tightens its borders following the detection of a new, highly infectious variant of the coronavirus. The ban will take effect from Dec. 28 and will run through January, the government said in an emailed statement. Japanese citizens and foreign residents will be allowed to enter but must show proof of a negative coronavirus test 72 hours before departing for Japan and must quarantine for two weeks after arrival, the statement said.

As Virus Resurges in Africa, Doctors Fear the Worst Is Yet to Come (NYT) When the pandemic began, global public health officials raised grave concerns about the vulnerabilities of Africa. But its countries overall appeared to fare far better than those in Europe or the Americas, upending scientists’ expectations. Now, the coronavirus is on the rise again in swaths of the continent, posing a new, possibly deadlier threat. In South Africa, a crush of new cases that spread from Port Elizabeth is growing exponentially across the nation, with deaths mounting. Eight countries, including Nigeria, Uganda and Mali, recently recorded their highest daily case counts all year. “The second wave is here,” John N. Nkengasong, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has declared. In South Africa, the continent’s leader by far in coronavirus cases and deaths, the growing devastation in its medical system has led to the rationing of care for older adults. Last week, officials announced that a new variant of the virus that may be associated with faster transmission has become dominant. With stricter control measures lifted and many people no longer seeing the virus as a threat, public health officials fear that Africa’s second wave could be far worse than its first.

Syria’s bread lines are so long that children have to skip school to wait in them (Washington Post) Every morning, Abu Mohammed and his two eldest sons wake up for dawn prayer in Damascus, then take turns heading to the bakery. They wait for at least three hours, barely making it to work or school on time, he said. Often, the boys miss their first few classes. Sometimes they miss the whole day. Abu Mohammed, who declined to give his full name for fear of harassment by the security services, is among a rapidly growing number of Syrians languishing in seemingly endless lines. The bread crisis is perhaps the most visible and painful manifestation of Syria’s economic meltdown. It has seen the amount of subsidized bread most families can buy reduced by half or even more. Subsidized prices have doubled since October. Outside major cities, the deprivation may be even worse. “The poor man living in the village no longer has gas; he has wood. He’s out of bread; he makes his own,” said a resident of the coastal city Tartous, interviewed over Facebook.

Our Digital Lives Drive a Brick-and-Mortar Boom in Data Centers (NYT) The shift to digital work and play from home, hastened by the pandemic, has wreaked havoc on commercial real estate. But experts say it has also generated one surprising bright spot for the industry: data centers. The growing reliance on cloud-based technology—and the big, blocky buildings that house its hardware—has created greater opportunities for developers and investors as businesses and consumers gobble up more data in a world that has become increasingly connected. “Our houses are connected, our cars are connected, our streetlights and parking meters are connected, and every single one of those connections is passing data back and forth,” said Sean O’Hara, president of the exchange-traded funds division at Pacer Financial, an investment advisory firm in Malvern, Pa. And companies that provide data storage are preparing for even greater demand as new technologies like 5G and artificial intelligence become more widely used.

The Secret to Longevity? 4-Minute Bursts of Intense Exercise May Help (NYT) If you increase your heart rate, will your life span follow? That possibility is at the heart of an ambitious new study of exercise and mortality. The study, one of the largest and longest-term experimental examinations to date of exercise and mortality, shows that older men and women who exercise in almost any fashion are relatively unlikely to die prematurely. But if some of that exercise is intense, the study also finds, the risk of early mortality declines even more, and the quality of people’s lives climbs. In essence, says Dorthe Stensvold, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology who led the new study, intense training—which was part of the routines of both the interval and control groups—provided slightly better protection against premature death than moderate workouts alone.

[kansascityhappenings]

Hurricane Dorian strengthens to a Category 4 storm, National Hurricane Center says

https://embed-prod.vemba.io/vemba-embed.js

Hurricane Dorian became an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 hurricane late Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The center’s latest alert is based on reports from hurricane hunter aircraft flown by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Dorian currently has maximum sustained wind speeds of 130 mph. The storm’s status means it’s considered a “major” hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, capable of causing “catastrophic damage” to homes, uprooting trees, downing power lines and rendering areas uninhabitable for weeks or months.

As a result of Dorian’s power, all of Florida is under a state of emergency and authorities are urging residents to stockpile a week’s worth of food and supplies, with the governor warning that the storm could be a “multi-day” event.

“It’s going to impact the entirety of Florida, and residents need to be prepared,” Acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Pete Gaynor said Friday morning on CNN. “So, take the time now … to understand what your local risk is.”

“The clock is ticking right now,” he added. “Don’t waste time. Prepare yourself and your family.”

President Donald Trump said he will attend a briefing Sunday at FEMA headquarters in Washington at 12:30 p.m. ET. He said the briefing will be roughly 24 hours before storm is expected to hit, and they will likely make decisions about whether to evacuate parts of Florida then.

Trump said in a video posted to Twitter that Dorian looks like it “can be an absolute monster.”

“We’re ready, we have the best people in the world ready,” he said in the video. “All indications are it’s going to hit very hard and it’s going to be very big. Somebody said bigger, or at least as big, as (Hurricane) Andrew.”

Deborah Thomas, 69, was preparing for the storm Friday at a Home Depot in West Palm Beach when she broke down in tears with worry over how her dog and her pigs would survive the storm.

“I live in a mobile home, so I stand to be homeless,” she told CNN. “But that is not what worries me. I have animals. I can replace my home, but I can’t replace my animals.”

The storm is ‘extremely dangerous’

Dorian is due to slow its forward speed in the coming days, allowing it to gain intensity over warm Caribbean waters and fuel the heavy rains, damaging wind and storm surge it’s expected to deliver, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said.

A hurricane warning has been issued for the northwestern Bahamas — except for Andros Island, where a hurricane watch remains in effect — where Dorian is expected to hit Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected, whereas a watch means hurricane conditions are possible.

In the meantime, Dorian is expected to “remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane,” the center said, with potentially “life-threatening storm surge” as high as 10 to 15 feet above normal tide levels.

It is then forecast to roar toward the US mainland Monday evening into Tuesday morning at major-hurricane strength, though experts warn that forecasts are subject to change.

Regardless, residents across the state should be prepared, CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar said. “We’ve been saying ‘all of Florida’ for a reason.”

As of Friday afternoon, the storm’s track indicated a landfall could occur somewhere in the southern half of Florida, Chinchar said.

“But that could change,” she warned, “as well as the landfall time, which right now is still looking at late Monday night into early Tuesday morning.”

Another question is when the storm will deviate from its current northwest track and shift north, Chinchar said. That shift in direction could indicate what kind of impact, if any, will be seen along Florida’s west coast and in the Panhandle.

“There’s still a lot of questions there, but the fact remains — the potential is still there,” Chinchar said. “So, you need to plan accordingly.”

Florida residents are stocking up

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that President Trump had approved a federal emergency declaration for his state.

The governor had previously declared a state of emergency for all 67 Florida counties. The state has 819,000 gallons of water and 1.8 million meals ready for distribution, he said Thursday.

Local officials throughout the state are making decisions Friday about whether to issue evacuation orders, DeSantis said in a Friday morning news conference.

“We are just asking Floridians, please heed those directives from your local folks,” he said, adding, “Those decisions are not made lightly.”

Florida’s Highway Patrol will begin escorting fuel trucks to boost the volume that can be brought into the state, DeSantis said Friday. Service and truck rates for fuel trucks also have been waived.

About 2,000 National Guard troops will be mobilized Friday, Maj. Gen. James Eifert said in the news conference. That number could double by the end of Saturday, he said.

“We’re prepared to respond,” Eifert said. “We have 12,000 soldiers and airmen in the state and every one of them that is able and in the state, not deployed, will be ready to step up as needed.”

Florida residents have been stocking up on gas and food for a stormy weekend, and officials are urging everyone to be prepared.

“Get water, get gas, get cash out of the ATMs,” West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James said. “The more we hear about this storm, it sounds like a serious one.”

Thomas, who was fretting over her beloved pets, plans to hole up with her dog at her daughter’s home, where they’ve stocked plenty of water, she told CNN. Even if evacuation orders come down, Thomas doesn’t plan to leave, she said, even though Dorian has her mind on Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which left Homestead, Florida, looking like an atomic bomb had gone off.

With Dorian scheduled to arrive in time for Labor Day, major airlines have offered waivers for flights to Florida, Georgia and the Caribbean. Officials with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority announced that Orlando International Airport would cease operations Monday at 2 a.m.

Tourist areas were emptying out Thursday, CNN affiliate WFLA reported.

“We usually get hundreds of visitors every day, and it’s just been one of those days that drives everyone away. It’s a gorgeous day but the hurricane is just going to kill it all,” Jason Pun, owner of a Cocoa Beach restaurant, told the station.

“It is taking a little bit of a hindrance, especially when we’re supposed to be preparing for one of our busiest weekends of the year,” Frank Figueroa, owner of the neighboring Sandbar, said.

Big storm, big response

Dorian warrants a multibillion-dollar price tag, FEMA associate administrator Jeffrey Byard told reporters Thursday.

“This is going to be a big storm. We’re prepared for a big response,” he said.

Since Dorian had minimal impact on Puerto Rico, the agency is shifting staff from the island to Florida in preparation.

Dorian already has claimed the title of strongest storm so far of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.

If it reaches Florida, this will be the fourth year in a row a hurricane of any strength has hit the state. That would be the most years in a row since the 1940s.

Dorian is on track to be the strongest hurricane to strike Florida’s east coast since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said.

Military and NASA make adjustments

To avoid damage from Dorian, the US Navy is moving more than 40 planes from Jacksonville to bases in Michigan, Ohio and Texas.

The US Air Force is evacuating 16 aircraft from MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa to McConnell Air Force Base near Wichita, Kansas, an Air Force official said.

Florida State University had been scheduled to play its season-opening game off campus, in Jacksonville near the Atlantic coast. Because of Dorian, the game has been moved farther inland to FSU’s normal home field in Tallahassee.

Because Dorian could impact Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, NASA has said it will have a crawler-transporter move NASA’s mobile launcher Friday from launch pad 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building about 3.5 miles away. The launcher was being tested on the pad in anticipation of future Space Launch System missions.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/08/30/hurricane-dorian-strengthens-to-a-category-4-storm-national-hurricane-center-says/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/08/31/hurricane-dorian-strengthens-to-a-category-4-storm-national-hurricane-center-says/

[omgstupendousbouquetbasement]

Iran Says US Sanctions Impede Flood Rescue Operations

Iran’s foreign minister says sanctions imposed by the Trump administration last year have hampered rescue efforts in flood-stricken areas of the country, where nearly 60 people have died since mid-March, while the U.S. blamed the disaster on the Iranian government’s own “mismanagement.” Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted late Monday that America’s “maximum pressure” policy on Iran “is impeding aid efforts by #IranianRedCrescent to all communities devastated by unprecedented floods.” He said the sanctions have prevented Iran from acquiring badly needed equipment, including relief helicopters. “This isn’t just economic warfare; it’s economic TERRORISM,” he tweeted. U.S. President Donald Trump restored crippling sanctions on Iran last year after withdrawing from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The sanctions have worsened an economic crisis that has ignited sporadic anti-government protests over the past year. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday the floods show the “level of Iranian regime mismanagement in urban planning and in emergency preparedness.” “The regime blames outside entities when, in fact, it is their mismanagement that has led to this disaster,” he said. “The United States stands ready to assist and contribute to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which would then direct the money through the Iranian Red Crescent for relief.” Iran has seen major flooding for the past two weeks in hundreds of villages, towns and cities in the western half of the country, where in some places an emergency situation has been declared. The spokesman for the emergency department said 57 people have died in the flooding since mid-March. Mojtaba Khaledi was quoted by the state-run IRNA news agency on Tuesday as saying another 478 have been injured, with 19 still hospitalized. Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told IRNA that because of the U.S. sanctions, all foreign bank accounts of the Iranian Red Crescent are closed and no foreign-based entity is able to transfer funds for those suffering from the floods. Local authorities in the stricken areas have repeatedly asked for more helicopters to reach remote locations. Iranian state media said Tuesday that dozens of military and Iranian Red Crescent helicopters are taking part in the relief operation. Britain and Germany have offered to send help, including boats and safety equipment. Iranian media say the floods have cut off some 80 intercity roads, as well as roads to nearly 2,200 villages, and that electricity and communications with many places have been cut. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei held an emergency meeting Tuesday on the flood response with top officials and army commanders, state TV reported. Authorities have already issued evacuation warnings and ordered emergency discharges from reservoirs. Emergency services are advising people to postpone travel to western and southern Iran, including the oil-rich Khuzestan province, which is expecting heavy flooding in the coming days from overflowing rivers that flow down to the province. Provincial Gov. Gholamreza Shariati told the semi-official Tasnim news agency that at least three towns with nearly 140,000 residents are on evacuation alert. Last year, at least 30 people were killed by flash floods in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. from Blogger https://ift.tt/2WMPkGD via IFTTT

[ebenpink]

World News Briefs -- March 26, 2019 (Evening Edition) https://ift.tt/2FCnQ0L

Reuters: Israel-Hamas cross-border fighting renews after lull GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza into Israel on Tuesday, drawing retaliatory air strikes and breaking a day-long lull in cross-border fighting between Israel and Hamas that could impact an Israeli election two weeks away. The biggest Israeli-Palestinian escalation in months, which began on Monday with the longest-range Palestinian rocket attack to cause casualties in Israel in five years, had eased after Egyptian mediation. But even if the crisis subsides, it could shadow the impending Israeli election on April 9 in which right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has campaigned on a tough security platform. Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

Yemenis rally in Sanaa to support Houthis on conflict anniversary. Syrians protest as Hezbollah urges resistance over US Golan move. Gulf Arabs, Europeans, Iran reject U.S. recognition of Golan Heights as Israeli. Israel on alert after airstrikes on Gaza. Back in Israel, PM consults with military on Gaza violence. UN warns Gaza violence could turn catastrophic. 'It's not about the Benjamins,' Netanyahu says of U.S. support for Israel. US hits Iran Guard finance network with sanctions. Turkey court opens espionage trial of US consulate staffer. Death toll ticks up to 25 in widespread Iran flooding.

ASIA

Thailand parties manoeuvre for position amid election confusion. Thailand election: Evidence of ‘irregularities’ says ex-PM Thaksin. Russia, China sent home more than half of North Korean workers in 2018 - U.N. reports. Xi says cooperation is mainstream in China-Europe ties. Top Chinese leader backs crackdown on Uighurs. Pakistan orders custody for Hindu girls at center of quarrel with India. Australia threatens social media execs with jail over terror images.

AFRICA

Algeria army chief demands Bouteflika be declared unfit to rule. Algerian army chief wants president declared unfit to lead. Southern Africa leaders back Western Sahara at 'historic' talks. UN sends team to probe Mali massacre. UN to probe 'horrific' Mali attacks as death toll jumps to 160. Comoros awaits results of divisive poll. Nigeria voters 'threatened' in delayed poll. ‘Second disaster’ warned in Mozambique as cholera a concern. Kenya plans to close world's biggest refugee camp Dadaab: document.

EUROPE

Russia defends troops in Venezuela. Xi, Merkel, Macron and Juncker meet in Paris. EU leaders hold out olive branch to Chinese ‘rival’ by saying they want active role in Belt and Road Initiative. UK government defiant as Parliament takes control of Brexit. Tory rebels asked by No 10 if they would back Brexit deal if May quit. EU ignores US calls to ban Huawei in 5G cyber blueprint. Spain: FBI was offered stolen data from NKorea embassy raid. EU strengthens copyright laws for news publishers, content creators. Germany bomb threats: Officials evacuate buildings in at least 6 cities. EU Parliament votes to end daylight savings. Lithuania's 'trial of the century' implicates Soviet leader Gorbachev.

AMERICAS

House Dems fail to override Trump veto in fight over border emergency declaration. Barr plans to issue Mueller report details within weeks. Donald Trump and allies ready to turn tables on opponents and media after delivery of Mueller report. Mexico's 'El Chapo' seeks new trial, citing jury misconduct. Neighboring nations grapple with diplomatic fallout from Venezuela power struggle. Mexico demands apology from Spain and the Vatican over conquest. 'There is no life here': Venezuelans grapple with another massive blackout. As new blackout hits, Venezuelans brace for more hardship. Venezuela: call for calm amid blackouts and anti-Maduro protests. Stun-gun kidnapping of Chinese student alarms Canada. Canada grants asylum to family who sheltered Edward Snowden.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

IS jihadists kill 7 US-backed fighters in Syria. Islamic State group: Syria's Kurds call for international tribunal. U.S. Supreme Court backs Sudan in USS Cole bombing lawsuit.

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

Wall Street climbs as financials snap five days of losses. Airbus secures multi-billion dollar jet order from China. Southwest Boeing 737 Max makes emergency landing in Orlando; FAA cites engine issue unrelated to recent crashes. Google condemns new EU copyright laws which force tech giants such as YouTube and Facebook to compensate artists and musicians - and warns it will hurt Europe. Apple unveils TV streaming service, credit card and Apple News+. French Muslims sue Facebook, YouTube over Christchurch footage. Supply concerns drive oil prices up after four days of losses. from War News Updates https://ift.tt/2Wsz8ud via IFTTT

[jobsearchtips02]

Coronavirus live updates: COVID-19 deaths, spread, and symptoms

Beijing’s central railway station.

Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, has killed more than 3,400 people and infected more than 100,000.

The virus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 93 other countries.

More than 360 deaths have been reported outside mainland China, including 14 in the US. 

Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

More than 100,000 people around the world have been infected with the coronavirus, and more than 3,400 have died. Almost half of the people infected have since recovered.

China has seen a drop-off in its rate of new cases, but the virus has gained momentum in other parts of the globe.

As of Friday, the new coronavirus — which causes a disease known as COVID-19 — had spread to every province and region in China as well at least 93 other countries. More than 360 people have died outside mainland China.

The US has reported more than 240 cases, including 46 passengers who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan. The country has confirmed 14 coronavirus deaths: 13 in Washington state and one in California.

The World Health Organization considers the outbreak an international public-health emergency and has warned that the window of opportunity to contain it is narrowing.

Here’s everything we know.

The coronavirus has killed 3,411 people.

A man leaves a medical center in Wuhan.

Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images

“The people who are likely to die first will have other illnesses,” Adrian Hyzler, the chief medical officer at Healix International, which offers risk-management solutions for global travelers, told Business Insider. 

Indeed, most patients who have died were elderly or otherwise unwell, according to Chinese officials.

It had infected at least 100,647 people as of Friday.

A vendor in Hong Kong on January 11 giving out copies of a newspaper with headlines about the coronavirus outbreak.

Associated Press

The vast majority of cases, just over 80%, are in China.

This chart shows the rate at which the coronavirus has spread.

The virus’ global fatality rate has hovered near 3.4% for about a week.

A man near the Grand Palace at Bangkok on February 2.

Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters

The death rate based on recent official numbers of deaths and total cases is 3.4%, though health experts expect it to fall as more mild cases get reported and confirmed.

A previous study from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention found a fatality rate of 2.3%.

Cases have been confirmed in at least 93 countries beyond China.

Outside China, cases have been reported in:

Afghanistan

Algeria

Andorra

Argentina 

Armenia 

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Belarus

Belgium

Bhutan

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Brazil

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Chile

Costa Rica

Croatia

Czech Republic 

Denmark

Dominican Republic 

Ecuador

Egypt

England

Estonia

Faroe Islands

Finland

France

Gibraltar

Georgia

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia 

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Kuwait

Latvia 

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Lebanon

Luxembourg 

Malaysia

Mexico

Monaco

Morocco

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

North Macedonia

Nigeria

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Russia

Saint Barthelemy

Saint Martin

San Marino

Scotland

Senegal 

Serbia

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Africa 

South Korea

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sweden

Switzerland

Taiwan

Thailand

Togo

Tunisia

United Arab Emirates

Ukraine 

US

Vietnam

The US has reported more than 240 coronavirus cases, including 49 repatriated citizens.

“We are asking the American public to prepare for the expectation that this might be bad,” Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a recent press briefing. 

Fourteen deaths have been confirmed in the US — 13 in Washington state and one in California.

Seattle in 2018.

Ted S. Warren / AP

The first publicly confirmed death — a man in his 50s who had chronic underlying health issues — was reported in late February at EvergreenHealth, a hospital in King County.

Two deaths announced March 3 were actually patients who died February 26, but their coronavirus diagnoses weren’t confirmed until later. They are now the earliest known coronavirus fatalities in the US.

The California death, announced March 4, was a Placer County woman who traveled on a Grand Princess cruise ship in February that went from San Francisco to Mexico.

The ship is currently sitting off the California coast. Passengers who remained onboard after the last voyage — around 3,500 people — have been told to stay in their rooms until they’re cleared by medical staff. Many are showing symptoms.

Forty-six of the US patients were passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan.

A passenger on the balcony of a cabin of the cruise ship Diamond Princess on February 11.

Reuters/Issei Kato

On February 17, more than 300 Americans who had been quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan were brought back to the US. Fourteen sick people were flown on the same plane as healthy people (though they were kept isolated), and many others on the flight later tested positive. Everyone who was on the cruise was quarantined at US military bases for two weeks. Many were released Monday.

Health experts and US officials have criticized the decision to quarantine people on the ship, suggesting that the confined spaces and poor hygiene practices on board may have helped the virus spread.

Three US citizens who were evacuated from Wuhan and put under quarantine also tested positive for the virus.

The first case of the coronavirus was reported in Wuhan in December.

Ruobing Su/Business Insider

The central Chinese city has a population of 11 million.

The virus’ pneumonia-like symptoms include fever and difficulty breathing.

Samantha Lee/Business Insider

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person is at risk if they:

Experience fever, coughing, or shortness of breath within 14 days of traveling to China

Have come into close contact with someone who has shown these symptoms and recently traveled to China

The study from the Chinese CDC found that patients older than 80 had a 15% chance of dying.

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

The study looked at 44,000 confirmed patients in China. The data suggests that patients in their 50s were about three times as likely to die as patients in their 40s. 

Coronavirus patients with underlying health problems are also more likely to die than otherwise healthy people.

Ruobing Su/Business Insider

Patients with heart disease had a 10% chance of dying, according to the study. The fatality rate for patients who reported no preexisting conditions was less than 1%.

Chinese and US health officials say the incubation period for the virus ranges from one to 14 days.

A person in New York City’s Times Square on March 3.

Eduardo Munoz/VIEWpress/Getty Images

Many countries have formulated quarantine policies based on a 14-day incubation period — the amount of time that passes between when a patient gets infected and when their coronavirus test comes back positive.

But one recent study found that a patient’s incubation period was 19 days. Another study published early in February analyzed 1,099 coronavirus cases in China and reported that the incubation period could be as long as 24 days.

A female tour guide in Japan tested positive for the virus a second time last month — evidence that people could get the coronavirus multiple times.

A woman using a hand disinfectant at a shopping mall on February 11 in Tokyo.

David Mareuil/Anadolu Agency / Getty

The patient — as a woman in her 40s living in Osaka, Japan — first tested positive for the virus on January 29. She was discharged from the hospital on February 1 and declared virus-free on February 6.

Nearly two weeks later, she developed throat and chest pains. She tested positive again on February 26. China has also reported cases of people getting reinfected. 

Few children have gotten sick, but Chinese authorities reported that a baby received a diagnosis just 30 hours after being born.

A child at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines, on February 3.

Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

Other one-off cases of the virus in children include a 9-month-old girl in Beijing, a child in Germany whose father had the virus as well, and a child in Shenzhen who was infected but displayed no symptoms.

But the virus seems to affect mostly adults. A study published in late January speculated that “children might be less likely to become infected or, if infected, may show milder symptoms” than adults. 

Disease experts say it’s good that the virus hasn’t spread much among kids because children are less likely to wash their hands and cover their mouths — behaviors that can spread germs.

Nearly 3,400 Chinese healthcare workers have been infected. At least 13 have died.

Li Wenliang with a respirator mask on February 3. He died February 7.

LI WENLIANG/GAN EN FUND via REUTERS

Research published in February found that nearly a third of hospitalized patients studied at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University were healthcare workers. 

On February 7, Li Wenliang, a doctor in Wuhan who was censored after sounding the alarm about the coronavirus, died from COVID-19. The 34-year-old doctor alerted a group of alumni from his medical school about a worrisome pneumonia-like illness in December. But Li was silenced by the police in Wuhan and forced to sign a letter saying he was “making false comments.”

He later caught the coronavirus and died. In total, at least 13 healthcare workers have died from COVID-19. The neurosurgeon Liu Zhiming, a director at the Wuchang hospital in Wuhan, also died of the coronavirus, as did Peng Yinhua, a 29-year-old doctor who postponed his wedding to help treat patients.

The CDC has issued a warning to avoid all nonessential travel to China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran.

The virus has forced school closings in China, Japan, India, the US, Iran, and Italy. The UN warned on Wednesday that nearly 300 million kids have had their education disrupted.

A boy on a road in Tokyo’s Shibuya district on February 2 in Tokyo.

Getty

Japan has closed all elementary, junior high, and high schools until early April.

On Thursday, Iran announced it was closing schools and universities until at least March 20, and India announced closings of all primary schools up to fifth grade through March 31. A day earlier, Italy said it was closing all schools as well.

One coronavirus case in New York — a 50-year-old attorney who infected nine other close contacts — has prompted some school closings in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester. One of Washington state’s largest school districts, Northshore, moved its classes online for two weeks starting Thursday after a parent volunteer tested positive for the virus.

Tourist attractions around the world have been shuttered temporarily.

Bobby Yip/Reuters

Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland have all been shuttered, though the Tokyo park plans to reopen March 16. The Badaling section of the Great Wall is temporarily closed as well.

The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem closed Thursday for two weeks. The Louvre also closed for three days but reopened Wednesday. 

A senior member of the International Olympic Committee said the future of the Tokyo Games could be in jeopardy.

Jae C. Hong/AP Images

The International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told the Associated Press that a decision about the games would most likely come in May. For now, he added, athletes should continue training.

“As far as we all know, you’re going to be in Tokyo,” Pound said. “All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual. So keep focused on your sport and be sure that the IOC is not going to send you into a pandemic situation.”

The CEO of the Olympic organizing committee, Toshiro Muto, told CNN on Wednesday that that officials meant for the games to go on as planned.

South Korea’s total cases have surpassed 6,500.

Workers sanitizing a street in front of a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony where a woman known as “Patient 31” attended a service in Daegu, South Korea.

Reuters

South Korea had confirmed 6,593 infections and 42 deaths as of Friday.

The nation saw a spike in coronavirus cases after a 61-year-old woman transmitted the virus to other members of a fringe religious group, the controversial Shincheonji Church of Jesus.

On February 23, South Korean President Moon Jae-in warned that the country faced “a grave turning point” in its efforts to contain the outbreak.

Italy now has the highest number of coronavirus deaths outside China: 148.

A couple in the subway in the Duomo underground station in Milan on February 25.

REUTERS/Yara Nardi

The nation banned public events in 11 towns, closed public buildings, and restricted transport in the country’s northern region.

“We are asking basically that everyone who has come from areas stricken by the epidemic to remain under a mandatory house stay,” Italy’s health minister, Roberto Speranza, said at a press conference on February 22.

On Wednesday, the Italian government prohibited fans from attending sporting events until April 3.

Iran has reported 4,747 infections and 124 deaths.

Iranian women in Tehran.

Reuters

Sources from Iranian hospitals told the BBC that the death count in Iran could be even higher: about 210.

Multiple senior Iranian officials have contracted the virus. Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a 71-year-old adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died of COVID-19 on Monday. 

Iran’s parliament is now closed.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani signed an order last week that banned public gatherings like weddings, concerts, and sports games. The ban is scheduled to lift in time for the Persian New Year on March 20. 

Many nearby countries — including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kuwait, Pakistan, and Turkey — have restricted travel to and from Iran.

Switzerland, which has 214 infections so far, has banned all public and private events with more than 1,000 attendees until March 15.

AP

“The Federal Council is aware that this measure will have a significant impact on public life in Switzerland,” the Swiss government said in a statement on February 28. “However, the move is expected to provide effective protection to people in Switzerland and to public health. It should prevent or delay the spread of the disease in Switzerland, thus reducing its momentum.”

China has changed the way its cases are counted multiple times.

Medical workers waiting before taking over a large temporary hospital built in an exhibition center in Wuhan on February 5.

Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

On February 13, the Hubei province’s health commission added 14,800 people to its list of cases and reported 242 additional deaths — an enormous single-day jump. The commission said the spike was due to a change in the way cases were counted: The newer numbers included clinical diagnoses made via CT scans of patients’ lungs in addition to lab-test results.

On February 20, however, the commission went back to counting only lab-confirmed cases.

The true number of infected people worldwide is probably still higher than the official total, since people with very mild symptoms are not going in to hospitals or doctor’s offices.

Medical workers near the Jinyintan hospital in Wuhan, which housed patients with the coronavirus, on January 10.

Reuters

“There’s another whole cohort that is either asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic,” Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a February 6 briefing.

Once more mild cases are tallied and incorporated into models, he added, “we’re going to see a diminution in the overall death rate.”

The World Health Organization said last week that the virus had “pandemic potential.”

The World Health Organization assembly in Geneva in May 2008.

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a global public-health emergency on January 30. For now, the organization doesn’t recommend limiting the movement of travel or trade.

The global-health-emergency declaration has been used five times since it was created in 2005.

“They only do this for extraordinary illnesses that are of international concern,” Hyzler said. “Suddenly the world is alerted to a much greater extent and they’ll start pouring a lot more assistance and aid to airports, to transport hubs, and do their best to control this outbreak.”

The WHO has said the virus isn’t yet a pandemic.

“Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely, it has. Are we there yet? From our assessment, not yet,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. 

The Trump administration has imposed a travel ban on foreign nationals who have been in China within the past 14 days.

President Donald Trump with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on May 11, 2018.

Reuters

The ban went into effect February 2, with exceptions made for immediate family members of American citizens and permanent residents.

US citizens returning home who have been in China’s Hubei province — where Wuhan is located — within the past 14 days may be quarantined for up to two weeks. 

To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, all travelers should wash their hands frequently with soap and water, making sure to scrub for at least 20 seconds, the CDC says.

Travelers arriving on a flight from China at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Reuters

Travelers should also avoid touching their eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. Wearing a mask is unlikely to be your best defense, however.

Some experts think the coronavirus jumped from animals to people at a seafood market in Wuhan. But a recent study suggested the virus could have originated outside the market in late November or early December.

The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, which was sealed off after being identified as the likely origin point of the new coronavirus.

Photo by Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images

Since most of the early patients had links to one market where live animals were sold, scientists pinpointed it as the likely origin of the virus.

But a group of Chinese scientists recently published a study suggesting that the virus could have started somewhere else. Though the first 41 cases were reported December 31, the scientists determined that the virus could have started spreading from person to person as early as late November. The seafood market in Wuhan, they wrote, may have “boosted” the circulation of the virus.

The SARS virus also originated in bats. It jumped to humans from civet cats at a Chinese market that sold live animals. SARS killed 774 people from November 2002 to July 2003.

A doctor checking equipment at a SARS screening room at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia in 2003.

AHMAD YUSNI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD YUSNI/AFP via Getty Images

COVID-19 so far has been more contagious but less deadly than SARS. The viruses that cause the two diseases belong to the same coronavirus family.

The total number of cases and deaths have far surpassed those of the SARS outbreak.

Chinese officials have warned that the virus can mutate.

A quarantine officer monitoring a thermography during a quarantine inspection at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, on January 22.

Associated Press

A study of a Chinese family in the southern province of Guangdong found that the virus mutated several times as it spread from one family member to the next. 

But Michael Farzan, a biologist at Scripps Research, told STAT that the mutation rate for the virus was “much, much lower” than that of the flu.

“That lowers the chance that the virus will evolve in some catastrophic way to, say, become significantly more lethal,” Farzan said.

In late January, officials quarantined Wuhan and nearby cities by shutting down all transportation. They remain locked down.

Health officials in hazmat suits check body temperatures of passengers arriving from Wuhan on January 22 at the airport in Beijing.

Emily Wang/AP

All of the city’s public transportation — including buses, metros, and ferries — was halted January 23. Trains and airplanes coming into and out of the city were also shut down, and roadblocks were installed to keep taxis and private cars from exiting.

Wuhan’s 11 million residents were told not to leave the city, barring special circumstances.

China has imposed travel restrictions on the rest of the Hubei province as well. Huanggang, a city of about 7.5 million people, placed its urban core under lockdown on January 23, closing subway and train stations as well as theaters and internet cafés. Additional cities followed suit with their own travel restrictions.

A CNN analysis in February found that more than 780 million people in China — more than half the population — were under some sort of travel restriction.

As the outbreak grew in January and February, doctors in Wuhan reported that there were not enough resources to treat the large number of patients.

Medical staff members at the Zhongnan hospital in Wuhan.

STR/AFP via Getty Images

China has less than two physicians for every 1,000 residents, according to data from the WHO.

In Wuhan, patients have faced hours-long lines to receive medical care, the BBC reported. According to Reuters, some people with symptoms of the virus were denied full-time admission to local hospitals in Wuhan because there were no beds available.

The ban on transportation in Wuhan has also forced people to travel by foot to hospitals, The New York Times reported.

Initially, test kits were reportedly reserved for patients with the most severe symptoms.

Guards at the Hankou Railway Station on January 22 in Wuhan.

Xiaolu Chu/Getty Images)

The New York Times reported that doctors in Wuhan were running short on test kits early in February. After a person has been tested, it takes one to two days for the results to come back. Combined, these factors created a lag time between when people were infected and when cases were confirmed via blood tests.

At the height of the outbreak in China, Wuhan constructed 16 makeshift hospitals. One of those hospitals closed.

A nearly finished hospital in Wuhan.

AP

Two of the hospitals were constructed in just 10 days.

Construction on the first hospital, the Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, started January 23. The facility — which includes 1,000 beds — welcomed its first patients on February 3. By its 10th day of operation, the building was running at about full capacity, according to official figures reviewed by Business Insider.

The second hospital, the Leishenshan Hospital, is slightly larger: 1,600 beds. The site’s construction started January 27, and the building was completed February 6. 

China also turned an exhibition hall, gymnasium, and sports stadium into emergency medical sites. The stadium turned hospital closed at the beginning of March after discharging its last 34 patients. 

The Chinese government has barred citizens from booking overseas tours, flights, and hotel stays.

Health officers screening arriving passengers from China with thermal scanners at Singapore Changi Airport on January 22.

ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Many countries have evacuated citizens and employees from China.

Airports around the world have implemented screening protocols.

Public-health officials running thermal scans on passengers arriving from Wuhan at Suvarnabumi Airport on January 8 in Bangkok.

Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

Twenty US airports — including New York’s John F. Kennedy, Los Angeles International Airport, and Chicago’s O’Hare — are screening passengers for the virus. Airports in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and South Korea are also screening people.

US health officials do not recommend face masks for the general public.

Travelers at the LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal on February 2.

Getty Images

For healthy people, hand-washing and avoiding close contact with sick patients is a better way to prevent infection.

“Wearing masks, except in the situation of a healthcare provider, has never been shown to be a very effective way to protect yourself from infectious diseases,” Eric Toner, a scientist at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Business Insider.

Stocking up on face masks can also reduce the supply for medical workers who need them. 

At a hearing last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the US needed 300 million N95 masks — which filter out most airborne particles from the surrounding air — to protect healthcare workers during an outbreak. At present, it has only 30 million, he said.

The virus has weakened the tourism industry and disrupted supply chains in China, threatening to slow global economic growth to the lowest point since the financial crisis.

Trump at a news conference on the coronavirus outbreak.

Reuters

Bank of America predicted last week that global gross-domestic-product growth would slow to 2.8% for 2020. That would be the first reading under 3% since the financial crisis, and the lowest reading since 2009.

The Bank of America economist Aditya Bhave wrote in a note that growth momentum was already weak before the outbreak but added that the virus would most likely have “large spillover effects” on the global economy.

There are no vaccines to prevent humans from contracting the virus, but drugmakers are racing to develop one.

Medical staff members carrying a patient into the Jinyintan hospital, where patients infected by a coronavirus were being treated, in Wuhan on January 18.

STR/AFP via Getty Images

At least six drug companies — Johnson & Johnson, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Moderna, and Gilead Sciences — have announced plans to research and develop treatments for the new coronavirus.

Some are developing vaccines from scratch, while others are testing existing drugs. Moderna appears to be leading the race so far: The company on Monday said it had sent a vaccine candidate to US health officials.

Fauci has said he hopes to start testing vaccine candidates in people by mid-April.

On February 26, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declined to promise that a coronavirus vaccine would be affordable for all Americans. A day later, he backtracked, saying that any vaccine developed in conjunction with the US government would need to be financially accessible to the public. 

Rosie Perper and Aylin Woodward contributed to this report.

Read more:

We’re in an ‘age of epidemics,’ a scientist says. More diseases like the coronavirus will jump from animals to people.

The genetic code of the Wuhan coronavirus shows it’s 80% similar to SARS. New research suggests a potential way to neutralize the virus.

Scientists have published over 50 studies on Wuhan coronavirus in the last 3 weeks. They learned that 75,800 people in Wuhan could be infected.

The first patients have arrived at the hospital China panic-built to treat the Wuhan coronavirus. Here’s what it looks like inside.

More:

China Virus News UK BI Select

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[anestiefel]

Is It Safe to Visit Belize Right Now?

Belize Safety: Where Tourists Should Not Go in Belize

Pier at the Grand Caribe Belize/Oyster

As of 2019 (the latest update at time of publishing this article in 2020), Belize has a level-two travel advisory from the U.S. State Department. For some perspective, that’s on par with France, Italy, the Dominican Republic, and Denmark. What does level-two mean? Simply that the U.S. government urges tourists and state employees in Belize to exercise increased caution. Tourists should avoid Belize City, specifically on the south side, where the Belize government declared a state of emergency in 2018, due to gang violence and crime. In better news, that specific security threat has passed and most tourists don’t spend any time in Belize City. If they do, it’s to get to the highly patrolled Municipal Airport or ferry landing (for small flights and speed boats out to the cayes) in the north and eastern section of Belize City.

Outside of Belize City, violent crime does impact tourists and ex-pats throughout the country. Local police don’t have the training or resources to respond quickly to criminal reports. Most crimes remain unresolved.

Common Types of Crime in Belize

Belize has a population of almost 400,000, and its murder rate is extremely high at 44 homicides per 100,000 people. This consistently puts it in the top five (fourth in 2019) countries with the most murder cases per capita. Violent crime does occasionally impact tourists and ex-pats living in Belize. Sexual assault, home invasions, armed robberies, and murders do happen, though most of this activity is gang and drug trafficking related. More minor crimes include pickpocketing and sexual harassment. Cash theft and credit card fraud are prevalent around San Pedro.

LGBTQ travelers should note that the Belizean government decriminalized homosexuality in 2016, but there continues to be hostility towards individuals (especially men) who openly identify themselves as LGBTQ. Tourist-friendly areas, including San Pedro Town and Ambergris Caye remain relatively open and welcoming to the community. Outside of tourist areas, men have reported incidents of verbal or physical assault for openly displaying their sexuality.

Tips for Staying Safe in Belize

Beach at the Coco Beach Resort/Oyster

Most visitors to Belize leave the country without encountering any crime or safety incidents. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared. Practice common sense that you’d take with you everywhere in the world. Leave valuables at home (or in the hotel safe), don’t use ATMs after dark, and avoid drinking to the point of intoxication in public. The U.S. State Department offers the following tips for all Belize visitors:

Be aware of your surroundings.

Avoid walking or driving at night.

Do not physically resist any robbery attempt.

Be extra vigilant when visiting banks or ATMs.

Do not display signs of wealth, such as wearing expensive watches or jewelry.

Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.

Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.

Review the Crime and Safety Report for Belize.

U.S. citizens who travel abroad should always have a contingency plan for emergency situations.

Natural Disasters and Health Concerns in Belize

Belize’s hurricane season normally runs from June to November (though climate change is shifting weather patterns, and the season may arrive earlier or run longer). While in Belize, it’s smart to monitor local and international weather updates from the National Hurricane Centre. The last major hurricane to impact Belize was Hurricane Richard in 2010.

As a tropical destination, Belize is susceptible to malaria, Dengue fever, and Zika virus. These illnesses are spread by mosquito bites, so come prepared with travel-size insect repellent. Wear long-sleeves and pants during high mosquito activity times, such as at dusk, dawn, and after rainstorms.

Serious injuries or illnesses normally require evacuation to another country with larger hospital facilities, likely to Mexico or the United States. Travelers may want to purchase travel insurance that includes evacuation policies when visiting Belize.

Planning a Trip to Belize? Check Out These Hotels:

Portofino Beach Resort

Pool at the Portofino Beach Resort/Oyster

Owners Jan and Sandra run this romantic San Pedro hideaway. Portofino Beach Resort has 16 rooms (many are cabana-style units with thatched roofs) and one large mansion for families. Getting to the resort is half the fun, as you’ll arrive and depart by boat. The owners call the vibe “barefoot elegance” and the quiet property is surrounded by palms and ocean views. The lovely pool overlooks the sea, the restaurant and bar have both indoor and outdoor seating areas, and the beach features firmly packed white sand and a swimming pier. Active types can take advantage of the free kayaks and snorkel gear, or the professional dive shop. You gotta see it to Belize it.

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Turtle Inn

Pool at the Turtle Inn/Oyster

Francis Ford Coppola’s (yep, the famous director) Turtle Inn is up and running after a 2017 fire. It’s still an intimate luxury resort set alongside a beautiful stretch of the Caribbean Sea near Placencia. The resort offers a peaceful setting and Balinese-style private cottages and villas — each with a fabulous indoor/outdoor bathroom. Three restaurants, two bars, two outdoor pools, and a number of guided tours and excursions make the resort feel much bigger than it actually is. Most guests are here to unplug and unwind.

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The Lodge at Chaa Creek

Pool at The Lodge at Chaa Creek/Oyster

Though Belize is celebrated for its coast and island cayes, you shouldn’t sleep on the rain forest interior. The Lodge at Chaa Creek is one of Belize’s first eco-lodges. It combines luxury facilities and the option to book a charming budget cabin accommodation at Macal River Camp. Modern amenities include an infinity pool with rain forest views, a full-service spa, and riverside setting. Activities are the name of the game, with everything from horseback riding to nature walks to cacao classes. Oh, and there are treetop villas if you want to sleep among the birds in the canopy.

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You’ll Also Like:

8 Things You Need to Know Before Traveling to Belize

The Safest Destinations in Latin America and Why You Should Visit Them Now

The Best Time to Visit Belize

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[topworldhistory]

A who’s who of the important figures in the first American president's life and career.

Eulogized by Henry Lee as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,” George Washington stood preeminent among the pantheon of American Founding Fathers. At his home Mount Vernon, on the battlefield and in the presidency, Washington crossed paths with many others who shaped his life. This is the cast of characters—friend and foe alike—who influenced the development of Washington the man, Washington the general and Washington the president.

Washington the Man

MARTHA WASHINGTON

Following the sudden death of her wealthy husband, Daniel Custis, in 1757, 26-year-old Martha Dandridge Custis became perhaps Virginia’s richest and most eligible widow. Among the suitors who came calling at her mansion, dubbed the “White House,” was young Virginia militia officer George Washington. Washington biographer Ron Chernow writes that the future American president “courted Martha with the crisp efficiency of a military man laying down a well-planned siege.” The pair, who wed in January 1759, had no children together but raised Martha’s son and daughter (Jacky and Patsy) from her first marriage. While Martha’s initial appeal may have been more economic than romantic—Washington described her as “an agreeable partner” shortly after they wed—the union grew into one of the most admired marriages in American history. At Washington’s side in winter quarters for nearly half of the Revolutionary War and then as First Lady, Martha provided financial security, emotional support and much-needed stability amid a swirl of turbulent historical events.

READ MORE: Why Martha Washington Was the Ultimate Military Spouse

SALLY FAIRFAX

George Washington dancing the minuet with Sally Fairfax at the Carlyle House, 1755.

“The world has no business to know the object of my love, declared in this manner to you when I want to conceal it,” Washington wrote weeks before his wedding. The letter wasn’t sent to Martha Custis, however, but to Sally Fairfax, the wife of one of his best friends and patrons. Described as an intelligent, “dark-eyed beauty,” Fairfax lived in a neighboring estate four miles downstream of Mount Vernon and married into Virginia’s largest landowning family. It’s unknown if romance actually blossomed between the two—and Fairfax is said to have cut off correspondence with Washington after his engagement to Custis—but a friendship ultimately endured. Fairfax and her husband were frequent guests at Mount Vernon and even traveled with the Washingtons. In a 1798 letter to Fairfax shortly before his death, Washington called the moments spent with her “the happiest in my life.”

WILLIAM LEE

George Washington pictured with his slave William Lee on horseback behind him.

Among the dozens of slaves Washington purchased for Mount Vernon was his personal servant, William Lee, often referred to as “Billy.” Bought at auction from wealthy Virginia widow Mary Lee in 1768, Washington’s valet was an expert horseman and a constant presence at his master’s side throughout the Revolutionary War, undertaking tasks such as delivering messages, organizing papers and brushing his master’s hair and tying it with a silk ribbon every morning. According to Washington’s will, Lee was the only one of the Mount Vernon slaves to be freed after his death “as a testimony to my sense of his attachment to me, and for his faithful services during the Revolutionary War.” Provided with a $30 annual annuity, Lee lived in his own house at Mount Vernon until his death in 1810.

READ MORE: Did George Washington Really Free Mount Vernon's Slaves?

Washington the Soldier

EDWARD BRADDOCK

Wounded in the battle against French and Indian forces in Virginia, General Edward Braddock is carried away by his retreating troops.

During the French and Indian War, Washington served as aide-de-camp to British Major General Edward Braddock on a 1755 expedition to seize Fort Duquesne in western Pennsylvania from the French. Braddock’s 45 years of military experience proved useless in the American wilderness, and his forces were routed at the Battle of the Monongahela. In spite of having two horses shot out beneath him and four bullets pierce his jacket, Washington emerged unscathed to organize the retreat after Braddock suffered a fatal wound, earning the future American president the sobriquet “Hero of the Monongahela.”

HENRY KNOX

From Bunker Hill to Yorktown, bookworm Henry Knox served as one of Washington’s most trusted officers and the Continental Army’s chief artillery officer. The Boston bookseller devoured military tomes to become a self-taught expert on battlefield tactics and weaponry. Washington entrusted him with the plan to transport British cannons captured at Fort Ticonderoga, New York, over 300 miles of frozen rivers and snowy mountains on oxen-pulled sleds to Boston, where they forced the British evacuation of the city. Knox managed the logistics for Washington’s 1776 crossing of the Delaware River and, years later, served the first president as secretary of war.

READ MORE: 6 Unsung Heroes of the American Revolution

MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE

Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon, 1784.

Defying the orders of King Louis XVI, 19-year-old French nobleman Marquis de Lafayette joined the American Revolution in 1777. Although Lafayette lacked combat experience, Congress assigned the wealthy aristocrat to Washington’s staff. The teenager impressed Washington with his passion for the American cause and courage after being wounded at the Battle of Brandywine. “Treat him as if he were my son,” Washington ordered doctors, and the childless general indeed treated Lafayette, 26 years his junior, as a surrogate son. Washington’s “trust in me is deeper than I dare say,” Lafayette wrote during the harsh winter at Valley Forge. Lafayette became a top-ranking officer and played a critical role in the decisive 1781 siege of Yorktown. After the war, Lafayette named his only son after Washington and during the French Revolution sent him a key to the Bastille as a symbol of freedom and friendship.

READ MORE: 10 Things you May Not Know About the Marquis de Lafayette

HORATIO GATES

British-born Horatio Gates not only looked like Washington’s doppelganger at quick glance, he was his chief rival inside the Continental Army. Passed over as revolutionary commander in spite of a superior military résumé, Gates served in the British Army and was wounded in Braddock’s doomed expedition. After feigning sickness to avoid the crossing of the Delaware River, which he opposed, Gates further irked Washington by first alerting Congress of his triumph at the Battle of Saratoga. Washington grew even more furious after his spy network alerted him to the whisper campaign among the “Conway Cabal” to replace him as commander with Gates. Washington suspected Gates was involved in the plot, although it is still a matter of debate. Following a defeat in the 1780 Battle of Camden, Gates found his reputation in tatters after abandoning his army on the battlefield.

BENEDICT ARNOLD

While suspicious of Gates, Washington experienced true treachery from someone he had trusted completely. In the early years of the Revolutionary War, Benedict Arnold proved to be the Continental Army’s most daring general in capturing Fort Ticonderoga, stalling the British on Lake Champlain and assisting at Saratoga. Forced to walk with a pronounced limp after suffering two leg wounds in battle, Arnold grew increasingly bitter after being passed over for promotions and accused of corruption. Turning traitor, he offered to deliver to the British the strategic garrison at West Point in return for cash and an army commission. When the patriots discovered the plot at the last moment, Arnold fled to British-held New York City and left Washington blindsided.

READ MORE: Why Did Benedict Arnold Betray America?

Washington the President

ALEXANDER HAMILTON

Valued for his intelligence and ability to wield a pen, Alexander Hamilton served Washington as an aide-de-camp during the Revolutionary War even though he was just in his early twenties. “There are few men to be found of his age who has a more general knowledge than he possesses and none whose soul is more firmly engaged in the cause or who exceeds him in probity and sterling virtue,” Washington wrote of Hamilton. As with Lafayette, Hamilton had a filial relationship with Washington that endured even following an “open rupture” occurred in 1781 after Hamilton chafed at Washington’s temper and not being offered a field command, which he ultimately received at Yorktown. Recruited by Washington to be the country’s first secretary of the treasury, Hamilton served as chief architect of the American financial system and pressed for a powerful federal government. Even after leaving the cabinet in 1795, he remained a chief advisor and collaborated with Washington on his famous Farewell Address.

READ MORE: How Alexander Hamilton's Men Surprised the Enemy at the Battle of Yorktown

THOMAS JEFFERSON

A pair of tall, redheaded, Virginia plantation owners who married wealthy widows named Martha, Washington and Thomas Jefferson appeared to have much in common. A political rift formed between the two, however, while Jefferson served as Washington’s secretary of state. In contrast to the federalist Hamilton, Jefferson opposed the central Bank of United States, favored a weaker national government and sought closer ties with France than Great Britain. After resigning from the cabinet in 1793 over Washington’s support of Hamilton, Jefferson orchestrated Republican opposition and in private correspondence condemned Washington’s leadership, attacking him as a monarchist and senile devotee of Hamilton. Washington felt betrayed by the man who would be elected president in 1800 in what Martha Washington called the “greatest misfortune our nation has ever experienced.”

READ MORE: Thomas Jefferson—Facts, Presidency & Children

JOHN ADAMS

A Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress, John Adams actively pushed for Washington’s selection as Continental Army commander. “This appointment will have a great effect in cementing and securing the union of these colonies,” Adams wrote. The Harvard-educated lawyer served as the country’s first vice president, but Washington notably excluded him from his inner circle of advisors and cabinet meetings throughout his presidency. Adams had the unenviable task of succeeding the popular Washington as president and lost his re-election bid in 1800 to Jefferson.

READ MORE: John Adams—Presidency, Facts & Children

from Stories - HISTORY https://ift.tt/2LGtVMs December 10, 2019 at 11:40PM

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Headlines

More than 50% of parents expect to lose income when school starts: survey (Yahoo) With back-to-school season right around the corner, many parents are contemplating whether to send their children back to school or keep them at home due to the health risks of the coronavirus pandemic. And for parents who choose to keep their children at home over COVID-19 concerns, a staggering 54% say that they expect to lose up to half of their income, according to a new survey from Debt.com. Childcare has always been a major expense for parents of young children and is cited as the top-ranking unexpected cost by new parents, followed by diapers and formula, the Care.com survey found. Over half of American families spend at least $10,000 annually on childcare. Currently, it’s cheaper to pay for your teenage child to attend college than it is daycare—the average annual cost of in-state college tuition is $9,410, according to College Board. But there are also big financial implications to staying at home with their children. Over 50% of the parents surveyed by Debt.com expect to lose anywhere from 11% to 51% of their income once school begins.

House holding rare Saturday vote on postal changes, funds (AP) The House is convening for a rare Saturday session to address mail delivery disruptions, poised to pass legislation that would reverse recent changes in U.S. Postal Service operations and send $25 billion in emergency funds to shore up the agency ahead of the November election. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Postal Service will be “election central” as she recalled lawmakers to Washington in a highly unusual election year as millions of Americans are expected to opt for mail-in ballots to avoid polling places during the coronavirus pandemic. The daylong Saturday session comes as an uproar over mail interference puts the Postal Service at the center of the nation’s tumultuous election year, with Americans rallying around one of the nation’s oldest and more popular institutions.

Loss From Wildfires Grows in California (NYT) From the Southern California deserts to the Sierra Nevada to the vineyards and movie sets and architectural landmarks left by modern mortals, little of California has been left unscathed by wildfire. In the past several years, infernos have scorched the Yosemite National Park, blackened the Joshua Tree National Park’s palm-strewn Oasis of Mara, damaged the Paramount Ranch and eviscerated Malibu summer camps beloved for generations. Scars now pockmark the state, with more to come, according to fire officials. Burning across more than 771,000 acres, this week’s fires have largely stemmed from an extraordinary spate of dry lightning. As of Friday, there were some 560 blazes, about two dozen of them major. Smoke has worsened an already oppressive heat wave, the electrical grid has struggled to keep up with demand and the coronavirus has threatened illness in evacuation shelters. At least five deaths have been linked to the fires, which have forced more than 100,000 people out of their homes, filled the skies with thick smoke and consumed hundreds of dwellings.

2 tropical storms a potential double threat to US Gulf Coast (AP) Two tropical storms advanced across the Caribbean Saturday as potentially historic threats to the U.S. Gulf Coast, one dumping rain on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands while the other was pushing through the gap between Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba. Tropical Storms Laura and Marco were both projected to approach the U.S. Gulf Coast at or close to hurricane force. The current, uncertain track would take them to Texas or Louisiana. The projected track from the U.S. National Hurricane Center would put both storms together in the Gulf on Tuesday, with Marco hitting Texas and Laura making landfall a little less than a day later, though both tracks remain uncertain.

Lights dim on cafe life in Buenos Aires, as Argentina grapples with Covid-19 and a grim future (CNN) It’s a rather unusual sight. Felipe Evangelista is sitting down at the café he has owned for nearly four decades and all he can see are upside-down chairs stored atop empty tables. It is one of the hundreds of cafés, bars and restaurants in Buenos Aires that have been forced to close due to the coronavirus pandemic. Their demise is a troubling new chapter for Argentina’s battered economy, which was roiled by runaway inflation and stagnant growth even before Covid-19 slammed the door on businesses. The pandemic has been brutal for small and medium-size businesses around the capital Buenos Aires. According to the Commerce and Industry Federation of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (FECOBA, by its Spanish acronym), 24,200 of those businesses, roughly 22% of the total, had permanently shut their doors by mid-July. Jonatan Loidi, a financial analyst, author and economics professor, says the pandemic and the implementation of a lockdown aggravated an economy that was already in a recession. “Argentina hasn’t grown since 2011. In the last three years there has been not only lack of growth but also a fall in the country’s GDP.” Loidi pointed out the annualized inflation rate in Argentina, even before the pandemic, was 55%. “Uncertainty is the word that best describes life in Argentina nowadays,” Loidi said.

Turkish navy, air force drills in Aegean Sea amid tensions (AP) Turkish air and naval forces conducted joint training exercises in the Aegean Sea, the country’s Defense Ministry said Saturday, amid strains with neighbor Greece over hydrocarbon discoveries. The announcement came as NATO members Turkey and Greece are facing off in the eastern Mediterranean Sea over gas and oil exploration and a day after Turkey declared significant gas discoveries in the Black Sea. Two weeks ago, Turkey sent a warship-escorted research vessel to prospect in waters where Greece claims exclusive rights to the underlying seabed. Athens responded by sending its own warships to the area and placing its military on alert. France also sent warships and planes to join drills with Greek forces. Relations between Greece and Turkey have traditionally been tense. The two have come to the brink of war three times since the mid-1970s, including once over drilling exploration rights in the Aegean Sea that separates the two countries.

Belarus leader blames US for chaos, vows to end protests (AP) Authorities in Belarus detained a leader of striking factory workers and threatened demonstrators with criminal charges Friday in a bid to stop the massive post-election protests challenging the country’s authoritarian president, who accused the United States of fomenting the unrest. Protesters are demanding that Lukashenko resign, accusing him of stealing a sixth term in office by rigging the country’s Aug. 9 presidential election. Many are fed up with sinking living standards and the lack of opportunities under Lukashenko, and their disgust grew deeper as he dismissed the coronavirus pandemic and refused to order a lockdown. Unfazed by government threats, thousands of demonstrators on Friday formed “chains of solidarity” across the capital of Minsk before marching to the central Independence Square as post-election protests entered their 13th straight day. Motorists honked and slowed down to block traffic in a show of solidarity.

Xi Declares War on Food Waste, and China Races to Tighten Its Belt (NYT) Chinese regulators are calling out livestreamers who binge-eat for promoting excessive consumption. A school said it would bar students from applying for scholarships if their daily leftovers exceeded a set amount. A restaurant placed electronic scales at its entrance for customers to weigh themselves to avoid ordering too much. China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, has declared a war on the “shocking and distressing” squandering of food, and the nation is racing to respond, with some going to greater extremes than others. The ruling Communist Party has long sought to portray Mr. Xi as a fighter of excess and gluttony in officialdom, but this new call for gastronomic discipline is aimed at the public and carries a special urgency. When it comes to food security, Mr. Xi said, Chinese citizens should maintain a sense of crisis because of vulnerabilities exposed by the coronavirus pandemic. It’s part of a broader message from the leadership in recent weeks about the importance of self-reliance in a time of tensions with the United States and other economic partners. The concern is that import disruptions caused by the global geopolitical turmoil, the pandemic and trade tensions with the Trump administration, as well as some of China’s worst floods this year, could cut into food supplies.

S. Korea imposes strict measures to stem spread (AP) South Korea is banning large gatherings, closing beaches, shutting nightspots and churches and removing fans from professional sports in strict new measures announced Saturday as it battles the spread of the coronavirus. Health Minister Park Neung-hoo announced the steps shortly after the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 332 new cases—the ninth straight day of triple-digit increases. While most of the new cases came from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, which has been at the center of the viral surge in recent weeks, infections were also reported in practically every major city and town.

Antarctic winds trigger rare snowfall across southeast Australia (Reuters) Antarctic air reaching Australia’s south east triggered snowfall down to low altitudes across several states on Saturday, with many people out enjoying the rare event despite wild winds and heavy snow that closed some roads. Pictures of snowy towns and landscapes across New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, the Australia Capital Territory and the island state of Tasmania flooded social media as locals rushed to capture the surprise early spring snowfall. Over one metre (3.3 feet) of snow had fallen in a number of alpine regions, and the cold weather would likely remain for several days, the weather bureau said.

Beirut needs billions of dollars it doesn’t have to rebuild after massive blast (Washington Post) With reddened eyes, 90-year-old Henri Azar surveys what remains of his family home. The traditional wooden-frame windows have been ripped out. Plaster was cleaved from the walls. Sunlight shines through gaps in the bedroom ceiling. A team of engineers tell him he needs to make repairs before the winter rains. Beirut officials have estimated that the damage from the enormous blast that shook the city two weeks ago could reach $15 billion, though the true extent of the destruction remains unknown. At least 25,000 homes are so badly damaged that they are uninhabitable, according to the Beirut government. There are myriad hurdles for rebuilding, including a months-old financial crisis that has sent the value of the Lebanese currency plunging and prompted draconian banking restrictions that limit withdrawals even by those with money in their accounts. Only a few homeowners have insurance, and they are being told they can’t receive a payout until the cause of the explosion is established by the government’s investigation, since damage due to war or terrorism is not covered. They say they have little hope of ever being compensated. In the meantime, landlords and long-term tenants are fighting over who should pay for repairs. No one expects assistance from the bankrupt government, which has been largely absent from cleanup efforts. Private funding of repairs is hamstrung by the banking restrictions, put in place last year after it emerged that as much as $100 billion is missing from the banking system, a sign of the country’s chronic mismanagement and corruption.

Thousands in Mali’s capital welcome president’s downfall (AP) Thousands marched Friday in the streets of Mali’s capital to celebrate the overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, as the West African nation’s political opposition backed the military’s junta plan to eventually hand over power to a civilian transitional government. But as opponents of the former regime moved ahead with plans for the future, the international community continued to express alarm about the coup that deposed Mali’s democratically elected leader this week. There are concerns that the political upheaval will divert attention away from the more than seven-year international fight against Islamic extremists who have used previous power vacuums in Mali to expand their terrain.

[israel-jewish-news]

Hurricane Nate Makes 2nd Landfall Outside Biloxi, Mississippi

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2017/10/08/hurricane-nate-makes-2nd-landfall-outside-biloxi-mississippi/

Hurricane Nate Makes 2nd Landfall Outside Biloxi, Mississippi

A large truck drives through a flooded Water St. in downtown Mobile, Ala., during Hurricane Nate, Sunday, in Mobile, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Hurricane Nate brought flooding and power outages as it sloshed ashore outside Biloxi early Sunday, the first hurricane to make landfall in Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The storm hit the state with maximum sustained winds near 85 mph but weakened later to a tropical storm as it moved inland, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

As of 5 a.m. EDT, Nate was centered about 80 miles  north-northeast of Biloxi and moving north-northeast near 23 mph.

At one point, Nate’s eye move over Keesler Air Force Base, where the National Hurricane Center’s hurricane hunter planes are kept, the center said.

It was Nate’s second landfall. Saturday night, the storm came ashore along a sparsely populated area in southeast Louisiana.

Nate’s powerful winds pushed water onto roads and its winds knocked out power to homes and business. But Nate didn’t have the intensity other storms — Harvey, Irma and Jose — had during this busy hurricane season, and people didn’t seem as threatened by it. No deaths or injuries were immediately reported.

As the midnight high tide approached in Biloxi, Nate’s storm surge pushed over the beachfront highway of U.S. 90 onto the peninsula that makes up the city’s eastern edge.

Thousands were without power in southern Mississippi. Outages were mostly concentrated on the eastern half of the state’s narrow coastal strip, in Harrison, Jackson and George counties.

Hurricane Katrina made its final landfall on the Mississippi coast on Aug. 29, 2005, leveling many cities and buckling bridges.

Katrina was the last hurricane that made a landfall on the Mississippi coast, although both Hurricane Gustav in 2008 and Hurricane Isaac in 2012 affected parts of the coast.

Nate passed to the east of New Orleans, sparing the city its most ferocious winds and storm surge. Its quick speed lessened the likelihood of prolonged rain that would tax the city’s weakened drainage pump system. The city was placed under a curfew, effective at 7 p.m., but the mayor lifted it about an hour after it had begun when it appeared the storm would pass by and cause little problem for the city.

Still, the streets were not nearly as crowded as they typically are on weekends and Mayor Mitch Landrieu asked people to shelter in place.

Cities along the Mississippi coast such as Gulfport and Biloxi were on high alert. Forecasters called for 3 to 6 inches with as much as 10 inches in some isolated places.

Nate weakened slightly and was a Category 1 storm with maximum winds of 85 mph when it made its first landfall in a sparsely populated area of Plaquemines (PLAK’-uh-minz) Parish.

Governors in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama declared states of emergency. The three states have been mostly spared during this hectic hurricane season.

“This is the worst hurricane that has impacted Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina,” Mississippi Emergency Management Director Lee Smithson said. “Everyone needs to understand that, that this is a significantly dangerous situation.”

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards urged residents to make final preparations quickly.

“It’s going to hit and move through our area at a relatively fast rate, limiting the amount of time it’s going to drop rain,” Edwards said. “But this is a very dangerous storm nonetheless.”

Some people worried about New Orleans’ pumping system, which had problems during a heavy thunderstorm on Aug. 5. The deluge exposed system weaknesses – including the failure of some pumps and power-generating turbines – and caused homes and businesses to flood. Repairs have been made but the system remained below maximum pumping capacity.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned residents of the Panhandle to prepare for Nate’s impact.

“Hurricane Nate is expected to bring life-threatening storm surges, strong winds and tornadoes that could reach across the Panhandle,” Scott said. The evacuations affect roughly 100,000 residents in the western Panhandle.

Nate killed at least 21 people in Central America.

[wionews]

Deadly Hurricane Nate bears down on Mexico, US

Nate reached hurricane status as it bore down on popular Mexican beach resorts and headed for the US Gulf Coast early Saturday after dumping heavy rains on Central America and leaving at least 28 people dead.

New Orleans, which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, leaving hundreds dead, and other cities on the US Gulf coast were under a hurricane warning. 

Louisiana, the state home to New Orleans, said President Donald Trump had quickly approved the release of federal aid to help mitigate the impact of the storm.

With the storm's top winds swirling at 129 kilometers (80 miles) per hour some 240 miles northwest of the western tip of Cuba, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that in the United States, "the combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline."

The water was expected to peak at up to 2.5 meters (eight feet) above ground in some areas.

Luis Felipe Puente, the national coordinator of Civil Protection, recommended "avoiding aquatic, touristic and recreational activities" in Quintana Roo.

After moving across the Gulf of Mexico, the storm was set to make landfall along the central US Gulf Coast late Saturday, the NHC said.

Authorities cancelled school in seven Mexican coastal towns and declared an orange alert for the northern half of Quintana Roo state.

Swells expected to affect northwestern Caribbean land over the weekend "are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," according to the US forecasters.

New Orleans issued a mandatory curfew for Saturday from 6:00 pm (2300 GMT), and mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders were issued for certain low-lying areas.

"Our greatest threat... is not necessarily rain, but strong winds and storm surge," said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

Unlike Hurricane Harvey, which dumped record amounts of rain while hovering over neighbouring Texas for a week, fast-moving Nate was expected to quickly pass along a northerly path.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards warned that while Nate was forecast to be a weak hurricane, it could still cause unexpected damage.

"Anyone in low-lying areas... we are urging them to prepare now," he said.

In the neighbouring state of Mississippi, lines formed at gas stations in areas within the potential path of the storm.

Some offshore oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have evacuated ahead of the storm's advance.

Nate was still wreaking havoc in Central America, where heavy rains continued causing floods.

Authorities in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have declared a maximum or red alert.

On Thursday, intense rains forced thousands from their homes, uprooted trees, knocked out bridges and turned roads into rivers across a swath of Central America.

"We were drowning. Thank God (emergency workers) helped us. The river swelled so much it swept away our house, our pigs, our chickens -- it swept away everything," said Bonavide Velazquez, 60, who was evacuated from her home in southern Nicaragua.

Nicaragua bore 13 of the deaths, according to Vice President Rosario Murillo.

In Costa Rica, where a national emergency was declared, 10 people died, including a three-year-old girl, after they were hit by falling trees and mudslides. An alert was issued for people to be wary of crocodiles that might be roaming after rivers and estuaries flooded.

Three other people were killed in Honduras, and two in El Salvador.

More than 30 people are listed as missing across the region.

The United States is recovering from two major hurricanes: Harvey, which tore through Texas in August, and Irma in September.

Another powerful storm, Hurricane Maria, ripped through the Caribbean in late September, devastating several islands, including Dominica and Puerto Rico.

Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico and the southern United States suffer an Atlantic hurricane season every year that runs from June to November.

But 2017 is already one of the worst years on record.

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[kansascityhappenings]

Hurricane Maria packs a Category 5 punch toward Dominica

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A “potentially catastrophic” Hurricane Maria is now a Category 5 storm, packing 160 miles per hour winds — with even higher gusts — as it nears Dominica and takes aim at the US territory of Puerto Rico.

“The extremely dangerous core of Maria is expected to pass over Dominica within the next hour or two,” the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. ET advisory. “Maria is likely to affect Puerto Rico as an extremely dangerous major hurricane, and a hurricane warning has been issued for that island.”

A US Air Force Reserve C-130 Hurricane Hunter data measured the intense storm, which heightens the chance of life-threatening storm surge and “hitting the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.”

For the first time in 85 years, Puerto Rico is expected to suffer a direct landfall from such a strong hurricane. Puerto Rico’s governor has declared a state of emergency ahead of that landfall, which will likely happen Wednesday.

The hurricane center statement said Maria was centered about 15 miles east-southeast of Dominica and 40 miles north of Martinique. The mammoth storm was moving west-northwest at 9 mph.

President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico for federal assistance to augment the territory’s storm-response initiatives.

Track the storm here

Bracing for impact in Dominica

Dominica is a small island with a population of nearly 74,000 about halfway between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago, according to the CIA World Factbook. It’s nearly 290 square miles (751 square kilometers) and “slightly more than four times the size of Washington DC.”

“The Dominican economy has been dependent on agriculture — primarily bananas — in years past, but increasingly has been driven by tourism as the government seeks to promote Dominica as an ‘ecotourism�� destination,” the factbook said.

Hours before Maria’s expected landfall on Dominica — and just over week after the island was brushed by Irma — Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit urged residents to take any belongings that could become dangerous projectiles indoors.

“The next few hours should be placed on cleaning up around the house and on your properties rather than stockpiling weeks of foods and other supplies,” Skerrit said in a televised speech.

“This is not a system that will linger very long. Therefore, the goal must not be on stockpiling supplies but on mitigating damage caused by flying objects.”

Puerto Rico on alert

Puerto Rico sheltered many of the evacuees who fled Hurricane Irma’s wrath in other Caribbean islands. Now those evacuees and native Puerto Ricans are bracing for another powerful hurricane.

The governor ordered evacuations ahead of deteriorating conditions.

“We want to alert the people of Puerto Rico that this is not an event like we’ve ever seen before,” Gov. Ricardo Rosselló told reporters.

Puerto Rico housing authorities said there are 450 shelters able to take in 62,714 evacuees, and up to 125,428 in an emergency situation. But there are six fewer shelters available post-Irma, since some schools still have no electricity.

“We expect to feel storm winds, tropical storm winds, since Tuesday up until late on Thursday. That’s about two-and-a-half days of tropical storm winds, and on Wednesday we will feel the brunt — all of the island will feel the brunt of sustained category four or five winds, Rosselló said.

“This is an event that will be damaging to the infrastructure, that will be catastrophic, and our main focus — our only focus right now — should be to make sure we save lives.”

Rosselló said that Maria’s size means all of Puerto Rico will experience hurricane conditions.

“It is time to seek refuge with a family member, friend, or move to a state shelter because rescuers will not go out and risk their lives once winds reach 50 miles per hour.”

If Maria strikes the island as forecast, it will be “more dangerous than Hugo and Georges,” he said.

Hurricane Hugo killed five people in Puerto Rico in 1989, and Hurricane Georges caused more than $1.7 billion in damage to the island in 1998.

Hurricane and tropical storm warnings

The storm will affect parts of the Leeward Islands and the British and US Virgin Islands for next couple of days, the center said.

Other Leeward Islands are now under hurricane warnings, including Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Kitts, Nevis and Montserrat. The US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands are under warnings.

Trump issued an emergency declaration for the US Virgin Islands.

There are tropical storm warnings in effect for Antigua and Barbuda, Saba and St. Eustatius, St. Martin, Anguilla and St. Lucia.

The government of the Dominican Republic has issued a hurricane watch from Isla Saona to Puerto Plata, and a tropical storm watch west of Puerto Plata to the northern Dominican Republic-Haiti border.

The British Foreign Office said more than 1,300 troops are in the region, on affected islands or nearby locations, ready to help after Maria goes by. One military team has been deployed to the British Virgin Islands.

A British military reconaissance team is on standby to go to Montserrat and assess needs, the office said. The HMS Ocean is set to arrive in the area at week’s end with 60 tons of government supplies.

Another hurricane, Jose, is also churning in the Atlantic and has spawned tropical storm warnings for part of the US East Coast.

While forecasters don’t anticipate Jose making landfall in the US, it’s still expected to cause “dangerous surf and rip currents” along the East Coast in the next few days, the hurricane center said.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports http://fox4kc.com/2017/09/18/1012053/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/hurricane-maria-packs-a-category-5-punch-toward-dominica/

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Rare minerals (WSJ) The U.S. government is ramping up efforts to secure minerals critical to modern technology but whose supply is dominated by China—a stranglehold that miners warn could take years to break. In recent years, the U.S. and other Western nations have invested in projects and approved licenses to mine these resources—essential for the production of electric vehicles, cellphones and wind turbines—an effort these countries are now accelerating given how far they still trail China. Last week President Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency and authorizing the use of the Defense Production Act to speed the development of mines.

Military leaders quarantined after official tests positive (AP) The nation’s top military leaders were under self-quarantine Tuesday after a senior Coast Guard official tested positive for the coronavirus, the Pentagon said. Military leaders who were in contact with Adm. Charles W. Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, were told Monday evening that he had tested positive. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, and the vice chairman, Gen. John Hyten, were among those affected, U.S. officials said. Multiple U.S. officials said that besides Milley, those affected included the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard, as well as the head of U.S. Cyber Command, Gen. Paul Nakasone.

Delta grows into hurricane in Caribbean (AP) Delta rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph (225 kmh) winds Tuesday on a course to hammer southeastern Mexico and then continue on to the U.S. Gulf coast this week. The worst of the immediate impact was expected along the resort-studded northeastern tip of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, where hurricane conditions were expected Tuesday night and landfall early Wednesday. In Cancun Tuesday, long lines stretched at supermarkets, lumber yards and gas stations as residents scrambled for provisions under mostly sunny skies. Officials warned that residents should have several days of water and food on hand. Boat owners lined up at public ramps to pull their boats out of the water. Mexico began evacuating tourists and residents from coastal areas along its Riviera Maya Tuesday. Delta is expected to arrive with an extremely dangerous storm surge raising water levels by as much as 7 to 11 feet (2.1 to 3.3 meters) in the Yucatan, accompanied by large and dangerous waves, and flash flooding inland. Once it moves on from Mexico, it’s expected to regain Category 4 status over the Gulf as it approaches the U.S. coast, where landfall around Friday would be followed by heavy rainfall across the southeastern United States.

In Colombia, a death in police custody follows a history of brutality (Washington Post) For years, Jeimmy Tique Medina, a high school security guard, held fast to her belief that the Colombian police existed to protect and serve. Then they shot her 19-year old son. Now she has joined the critics of police brutality in this South American nation. Colombia is having its own version of a George Floyd moment, an eruption of anti-police sentiment in response to the deadly beating last month of a 46-year old father of two during an altercation with officers in Bogotá. Video of their initial interaction, shared widely on social media, shows Javier Ordóñez begging “please, no more” as officers repeatedly shocked him with a stun gun. He died later of head injuries allegedly inflicted while in police custody. The Colombian National Police, which reports directly to the Ministry of Defense, have long stood accused of excessive force, particularly during the half-century civil war that ended in 2016 against the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC. But Ordóñez’s death, and the official response to it, is sparking a far larger national debate over police violence. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Bogotá in the aftermath of Ordóñez’s death last month, leading to clashes with security forces that left 13 people dead and more than 400 injured. But instead of fizzling out, as protests here have tended to do, the incident has fueled a continuing string of demonstrations and social media agitation. Union members, student groups and human rights activists are now putting police brutality at the top of their list of grievances ahead of a national strike called for Oct. 21.

Iceland, an early coronavirus role model, closes bars and gyms as cases rise (Washington Post) Iceland announced new coronavirus-related restrictions this weekend, following a spike in cases in recent weeks despite the island’s early success in limiting the spread of the virus. The government ordered bars, gyms and some other businesses to close and is limiting most group gatherings to a maximum of 20 people, down from prior restrictions that capped events at 200. The country, home to about 360,000 people, has recorded fewer than 3,000 cases of the novel coronavirus. Ten people have died on the island after contracting the virus. But in the past two weeks, it has seen around 156 domestic cases per 100,000 residents, and officials worry the number of new infections will continue to rise.

Europe nears lockdown (Foreign Policy) European countries are slowly implementing new restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus as cases across the continent continue to surge. On Monday, the Irish government rejected advice from a top government health team recommending that the country return to full lockdown, but chose instead to reintroduce a series of measures that will restrict movement and limit restaurant and pub capacity. The decision follows a move by France on Sunday to place Paris under maximum coronavirus alert, closing all bars and placing certain restrictions on restaurants. Spain also announced partial lockdowns in Madrid and two other cities.

North Cyprus to reopen beach abandoned in no-man's land since 1974 conflict (Reuters) Northern Cyprus said on Tuesday it will reopen the beach area of an abandoned resort in no-man’s land, a move condemned by Greek Cypriots and likely to conjure up memories of the 1974 Turkish invasion that partitioned the island. Ersin Tatar, premier of the breakaway state of Northern Cyprus, made the announcement in Ankara alongside Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who said he backed the decision on Varosha, sealed off within barbed wire for decades. The move could weigh on Turkey’s dispute with European Union members Cyprus and Greece over territorial rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. Tensions had eased after Ankara and Athens agreed to resume talks, but Cyprus, a close ally of the Greece, promptly condemned the move to partially reopen the abandoned resort. Greece also criticised the move. Sources in Cyprus said the plan was to open up about 1.5 km (1 mile) of beachfront to the public and not the approximately 6 square km (2.3 sq miles) inland that includes abandoned hotels and residences which its population of 39,000 people fled in 1974 during a Turkish invasion following a Greek inspired coup.

Opposition in Kyrgyzstan claims power after storming government buildings (Reuters) Opposition groups said they had seized power in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday after taking control of government buildings during post-election protests in the strategically important Central Asian state. President Sooronbai Jeenbekov said his country, a close ally of Russia, was facing an attempted coup d’etat. Two presidents have been toppled by revolts in Kyrgyzstan in the past 15 years. Jeenbekov called for calm and ordered security forces not to open fire on protesters after overnight unrest in which the government said one person had been killed and 686 wounded by Tuesday afternoon, according to the health ministry. Officials said Sunday’s parliamentary election would be rerun, but with protesters still on the streets and both president and opposition claiming to be in charge, it was not clear who would organise a future vote or govern until then. Kyrgyzstan, which borders China, has long been a platform for geopolitical competition between Moscow, Washington and Beijing. It houses a Russian military base and its leaders and main opposition groups have traditionally backed close ties with Russia.

China Ramps Up a War of Words, Warning the U.S. of Its Red Lines (NYT) The soldiers run through the forest, through the surf, through smoke and flames, ready to die for the motherland. The video, one of a series that has recently appeared online in China, climaxes with the launch of nine ballistic missiles and a fiery barrage of explosions. “If war breaks out,” a chorus sings, “this is my answer.” Chinese propaganda is rarely subtle or particularly persuasive, but the torrent of bombast online and in state media in recent weeks is striking and potentially ominous. The targets are China’s main adversaries: the United States and Taiwan, which are moving closer and closer together. The propaganda has accompanied a series of military drills in recent weeks, including the test-firing of ballistic missiles and the buzzing of Taiwan’s airspace. Together, they are intended to draw stark red lines for the United States, signaling that China would not shrink from a military clash. While the prospect of war remains remote, the militaristic tone reflects the hawkishness of the country’s leader, Xi Jinping. The risk is that the propaganda could translate into more provocative actions, at a time when the relationship with the United States has sharply deteriorated. The recent military moves in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait raise the possibility of actual clashes, intended or not.

Negative views of China rise sharply in advanced countries (AP) Negative perceptions of China have increased sharply in many of the world’s advanced countries, especially in Australia and Britain, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center released Tuesday. The poll comes as China is engaged in multiple trade and diplomatic disputes with its neighbors and other countries around the world, driven in part by a more aggressive diplomatic approach. The survey conducted across 14 countries showed a majority of people had an unfavorable view of China. In Australia, 81% said they have an unfavorable view of China, according to the survey, a rise of 24 percentage points from last year. The rise corresponds with higher tensions in the bilateral relationship after Australia led the call for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. China responded on the trade front, suspending imports of Australian beef, putting high tariffs on barley from the country and starting an anti-dumping probe into imports of Australian wine.

The Pressure to Be Perfect Turns Deadly for Celebrities in Japan (NYT) From the outside, Yuko Takeuchi seemed to have a golden life. She had won Japan’s top acting award three times and had recently given birth to her second child. Ms. Takeuchi, 40, died late last month, apparently in a suicide. No one can fully know what private torment might have lurked beneath the surface, but in a Japanese society that values “gaman”—endurance or self-denial—many feel pressure to hide their personal struggles. The burden is compounded for celebrities whose professional success depends on projecting a flawless ideal. Ms. Takeuchi is the latest in a succession of Japanese film and television stars who have taken their own lives this year. Her death came less than two weeks after the suicide of another actress, Sei Ashina, 36, and two months after Haruma Miura, 30, a popular television actor, was found dead in his home, leaving a suicide note. Their deaths have been echoed by an alarming rise in suicides within Japan’s general public during the coronavirus pandemic, after a decade of hard-won decline from some of the highest rates in the world. The authorities reported a nearly 16 percent increase in suicides in August compared with a year earlier, with the number spiking by 74 percent among teenage girls and women in their 20s and 30s. “As a society, we feel like we cannot show our weaknesses, that we must hold all of it in,” said Yasuyuki Shimizu, director of the Japan Suicide Countermeasures Promotion Center. “It’s not just that people feel like they can’t go to a counselor or a therapist, but many feel like they cannot even show their weaknesses to the people they are close to.”

Amid rising infections, Israeli ultra-Orthodox defy lockdown (AP) After a revered ultra-Orthodox rabbi died this week, Israeli police thought they had worked out an arrangement with his followers to allow a small, dignified funeral that would conform with public health guidelines under the current coronavirus lockdown. But when it was time to bury the rabbi on Monday, thousands of people showed up—ignoring social distancing rules and clashing with police who tried to disperse the mass gathering. Such violations of lockdown rules by segments of the ultra-Orthodox population have angered a broader Israeli public that is largely complying with the restrictions imposed to halt a raging coronavirus outbreak. The defiance on display has confounded public health experts, tested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s longstanding political alliance with religious leaders and triggered a new wave of resentment from secular Israelis who fear for their health and livelihoods. “We’ve been asked to go into this lockdown, with its insane economic cost, that is causing people to go insane, because of the increase in coronavirus which is mostly occurring in the ultra-Orthodox sector and in large part because of criminal negligence,” wrote media personality Judy Shalom Nir Mozes on the Ynet news site. “There are two sets of laws here. One for us and one for them.” A deep chasm has long divided religious and secular Israelis, wrought by years of seemingly preferential treatment for the ultra-Orthodox who are granted government stipends to study full-time. Ultra-Orthodox support is the lifeblood of Netanyahu’s coalition and has helped crown him Israel’s longest-serving leader.

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A Line of Fire South of Portland and a Yearslong Recovery Ahead (NYT) A 36-mile-wide line of flames edged into the towns around Portland, Ore., and cities along the West Coast were smothered in acrid smoke and ash on Friday as history-making wildfires remained unchecked, killing at least 17 and leaving dozens of people missing. Portland’s mayor, fearing the possibility that fires could start and spread in the city, has declared a state of emergency. “We are preparing for a mass fatality incident based on what we know and the numbers of structures that have been lost,” Andrew Phelps, director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, said as firefighters struggled to contain blazes that have spread across millions of acres of the Pacific Northwest. Combined, the states have seen nearly five million acres consumed by fire—a land mass approaching the size of New Jersey. The flames also left a humanitarian disaster in their wake, including three more deaths in Oregon that were confirmed on Friday. Hundreds, if not thousands, of homes have been lost, most of them in Oregon, where an estimated 40,000 people have been evacuated and as many as 500,000 live in evacuation alert zones, poised to flee with a change in the winds. As residents flee fire-ravaged communities, officials have struggled to manage a series of migrations reminiscent of a war zone, with distraught families showing up with little in hand beyond an overwhelming fear that their homes have been lost for good. “The long-term recovery is going to last years,” said emergency management director Andrew Phelps.

US budget deficit hits record $3 trillion through 11 months (AP) The U.S. budget deficit hit an all-time high of $3 trillion for the first 11 months of this budget year, the Treasury Department said Friday. The ocean of red ink is a product of the government’s massive spending to try to cushion the impact of a coronavirus-fueled recession that has cost millions of jobs. The deficit from October through August is more than double the previous 11-month record of $1.37 trillion set in 2009. At that time the government was spending large sums to get out of the Great Recession triggered by the 2008 financial crisis. With one month to go in the 2020 budget year, which ends Sept. 30, the deficit could go even higher. The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting the deficit this year will hit a record $3.3 trillion.

Mexican water wars (Los Angeles Times) Mexico’s water wars have turned deadly. A long-simmering dispute about shared water rights between Mexico and the United States has erupted into open clashes pitting Mexican National Guard troops against farmers, ranchers and others who seized a dam in northern Chihuahua state. A 35-year-old mother of three was shot dead and her husband seriously wounded in what the Chihuahua state government labeled unprovoked National Guard gunfire. La Boquilla dam remained in protesters’ custody as of Friday amid rumors that the federal troops were readying to mount an assault to recapture the strategic facility. The conflict has escalated into a national crisis in which both sides allege rampant corruption and the meddling of shadowy provocateurs and hidden political interests in a complex scenario reminiscent of “Chinatown,” the iconic film about early 20th-century water battles in Southern California.

Latin America, unable to flatten its curve, struggles to cope with pandemic (Washington Post) Seven months after Latin America diagnosed its first case of covid-19, the region continues to rack up some of the worst numbers in the world—failing to flatten its curve as it reels from persistently high infection levels and devastating mortality rates. Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Colombia and now Argentina make up half the global top 10 in total coronavirus cases. Add Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador, and Latin America accounts for eight of the 12 countries suffering the most deaths per capita. (The United States leads the world in coronavirus cases and deaths.) The region suffers from a range of preexisting conditions. The population is more urbanized than in Europe, Oceania, Asia or Africa. Covid-19 has scythed its way through the urban slums of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Lima in Peru, Buenos Aires and Mexico City. Close quarters and multigenerational households have undermined attempts at social distancing. Inequality is high, health care uneven and safety nets limited. The region’s many poor people must work to live, and they have routinely violated lockdowns to eat. Porous borders have made it difficult to quarantine infected travelers.

Antarctica is still free of COVID-19 (AP) At this very moment a vast world exists that’s free of the coronavirus, where people can mingle without masks and watch the pandemic unfold from thousands of miles away. From the U.K.’s Rothera Research Station off the Antarctic peninsula that curls toward the tip of South America, field guide Rob Taylor described what it’s like in “our safe little bubble.” “In general, the freedoms afforded to us are more extensive than those in the U.K. at the height of lockdown,” said Taylor, who arrived in October and has missed the pandemic entirely. “We can ski, socialize normally, run, use the gym, all within reason.” Like teams across Antarctica, including at the South Pole, Taylor and his 26 colleagues must be proficient in all sorts of tasks in a remote, communal environment with little room for error. They take turns cooking, make weather observations and “do a lot of sewing,” he said. Good internet connections mean they’ve watched closely as the pandemic circled the rest of the planet. At New Zealand’s Scott Base, rounds of mini-golf and a filmmaking competition with other Antarctic bases have been highlights of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, which ended for the Scott team when they spotted the sun last Friday. It had been away since April. “I think there’s a little bit of dissociation,” Rory O’Connor, a doctor and the team’s winter leader, said of watching the pandemic from afar. “You acknowledge it cerebrally, but I don’t think we have fully factored in the emotional turmoil it must be causing.”

Boris Johnson’s ‘Operation Moonshot’ envisions weekly coronavirus tests for every person in Britain (Washington Post) No masks. No distancing. The ability to go to work or school, the theater or a soccer match, as if living in a virus-free world. That’s the vision British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pitched this past week, as he unveiled “Operation Moonshot”—a plan to test 10 million Brits every single day, or everyone in the country every week, at a cost of $130 billion. The prospect of a return to normal has wide appeal, especially at a moment Britain is about to implement a new round of social distancing measures, prompted by rising coronavirus infections. But many public health experts are dubious. Some say the plan is not a moonshot, but a Jules Verne fantasy. Such massive population-wide testing for disease would be unprecedented. Though some countries have deployed mass screening during this pandemic, “Operation Moonshot” would go where no public health campaign has gone before—and yet Britain doesn’t have the best track record on coronavirus testing. Skeptics add that the sort of rapid, cheap tests the project would need are in still in development, or have not yet been approved for mass screening in Britain, and could produce so many false positives and negatives as to create chaos.

French police fire tear gas as ‘yellow vest’ protests return to Paris (Reuters) French police fired tear gas and arrested more than 200 people in Paris on Saturday as “yellow vest” protesters returned to the capital’s streets in force for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown. The “yellow vests” movement, named after motorists’ high-visibility jackets, began in late 2018 in protest against fuel taxes and economic reform, posing a major challenge to President Emmanuel Macron as demonstrations spread across France.

Belarus police detain dozens of protesters at anti-government rally (Reuters) Police detained at least 46 protesters on Saturday as thousands of people gathered in the Belarus capital Minsk demanding the release of a jailed opposition leader, the latest in a wave of mass protests following a disputed election. Maria Kolesnikova, 38, has emerged as a key opposition figure after others were either jailed or forced out of the country, including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who challenged President Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential election. Protesters say the Aug. 9 election was rigged to hand Lukashenko a phoney landslide win and that Tsikhanouskaya—who has since fled to Lithuania—was the real winner. Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, denies this and has said foreign powers are behind the protests.

Police fire teargas as migrants demand to leave Greek island after fire (Reuters) Greek police fired teargas on Saturday during a protest by angry migrants left homeless by a blaze at Europe’s largest refugee centre, who demanded to leave the island of Lesbos as authorities started building a new encampment for them. More than 12,000 people, most from Africa and Afghanistan, have been sleeping rough since flames swept through the notoriously overcrowded Moria camp earlier this week. Some residents had COVID-19, raising fears the outbreak could spread. Under a hot sun on Saturday, hundreds of migrants, many chanting “Freedom” and “No Camp”, gathered as bulldozers cleared ground in preparation for tents to be put up. Police fired rounds of teargas when some of the protesters attempted to march down a road leading to the island’s port of Mytilene, which police had blocked while work on the new tent settlement continued nearby.

Greek and Turkish ships are playing chicken at sea (Washington Post) Last weekend, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan demanded that Greece engage in talks over escalating tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, warning that “They’re either going to understand the language of politics and diplomacy, or in the field with painful experiences.” The Greek government, meanwhile, announced further steps this week to bolster the country’s defenses. New tensions between the two longtime rivals flared up in mid-August, when Turkey deployed the research vessel Oruç Reis, flanked by two warships, to explore for oil and gas in contested waters between the islands of Crete and Cyprus. Greece accused Turkey of violating its sovereign rights—and dispatched warships of its own, precipitating a collision between a Greek frigate and a Turkish warship. In principle, Greece and Turkey could resolve their dispute short of war by dividing up maritime space or jointly developing oil resources. However, as they double down on legal claims that support their exclusive jurisdiction and control over coastal resources, both governments nurture domestic political grievances and international antipathies that may make it harder to back down and accept compromise.

How China Brought Nearly 200 Million Students Back to School (NYT) Under bright blue skies, nearly 2,000 students gathered this month for the start of school at Hanyang No. 1 High School in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus first emerged. Medical staff stood guard at school entrances, taking temperatures. Administrative officials reviewed the students’ travel histories and coronavirus test results. Local Communist Party cadres kept watch, making sure teachers followed detailed instructions on hygiene and showed an “anti-epidemic spirit.” As countries around the world struggle to safely reopen schools this fall, China is harnessing the power of its authoritarian system to offer in-person learning for about 195 million students in kindergarten through 12th grade at public schools. While the Communist Party has adopted many of the same sanitation and distancing procedures used elsewhere, it has rolled them out with a characteristic all-out, command-and-control approach that brooks no dissent. It has mobilized battalions of local officials and party cadres to inspect classrooms, deployed apps and other technology to monitor students and staff, and restricted their movements. It has even told parents to stay away for fear of spreading germs. China’s top-down, state-led political system allows the party to drive its vast bureaucracy in pursuit of a single target—an approach that would be nearly impossible anywhere else in the world.

Afghanistan Peace Talks Open in Qatar, Seeking End to Decades of War (NYT) The Taliban and the Afghan government began historic peace talks in Qatar on Saturday, aimed at shaping a power-sharing government that would end decades of war that have consumed Afghanistan and left millions dead and displaced. If realized, a peace deal would be the first time in generations that a new form of Afghan government was not being established at the point of a gun: The current model was ushered in by the American invasion that toppled the Taliban’s harsh Islamic regime in 2001, and each previous one back to the 1979 Soviet invasion was set off by coup, collapse or conquest. But as the Qatar talks begin, against the backdrop of an American troop pullout and grievous violence against Afghan officials and civilians, some critics of the process argued that the Taliban insurgency was still, in fact, holding a gun to the government’s head. Still, the fact that delegations from the two sides are finally coming to the table, after repeated delays, offers the nation a rare opportunity in its recent history: finding a formula of lasting coexistence before the withdrawal of another foreign military creates a vacuum, potentially repeating the country’s cycle of misfortune.