Author: CensorBiz

Neiman Marcus Group is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week, becoming the first major U.S. department store operator to succumb to the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, people familiar with the matter said.The debt-laden Dallas-based company has been left with few options after the pandemic forced it to temporarily shut all 43 of its Neiman Marcus locations, roughly two dozen Last Call stores and its two Bergdorf Goodman stores in New York.  Neiman Marcus is in the final stages of negotiating a loan with its creditors totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, which would sustain some of its operations during bankruptcy proceedings, according to the sources. It has also furloughed many of its roughly 14,000 employees.  The bankruptcy filing could come within days, though the timing could slip, the sources said. Neiman Marcus skipped millions of dollars in debt payments last week, including one that only gave the company a few days to avoid a default.  Neiman Marcus’ borrowings total about $4.8 billion, according to credit ratings firm Standard & Poor’s. Some of this debt is the legacy of its $6 billion leveraged buyout in 2013 by its owners, private equity firm Ares Management Corp and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).  The sources requested anonymity because the bankruptcy preparations are confidential. Neiman Marcus and Ares declined to comment, while CPPIB representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.  Other department store operators that have also had to close their stores are battling to avoid Neiman Marcus’ fate. Macy’s Inc and Nordstrom Inc have been rushing to secure new financing, such as by borrowing against some of their real estate. J.C. Penney Co Inc is contemplating a bankruptcy filing as a way to rework its unsustainable finances and save money on looming debt payments, Reuters reported last week.  A bankruptcy filing would be a grim milestone that Neiman Marcus has spent the last few years trying to avoid. It pushed out due dates on its financial obligations last year in a restructuring deal with some creditors, though the transactions added to Neiman Marcus’ interest expenses.  A trustee for some of the company’s bondholders sued Neiman Marcus last year, claiming the firm and its owners robbed investors of the value of its luxury e-commerce site MyTheresa by moving the business beyond the reach of creditors in a corporate reshuffling. Neiman maintains its actions were proper.  “In light of the significant headwinds stemming from the coronavirus pandemic and our expectation for a U.S. recession this year, we believe the company’s prospects for a turnaround are increasingly low,” Standard & Poor’s analysts wrote in a note last week. 
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Parliamentary elections went on as planned in Mali Sunday, despite threats of Jihadist violence and fears of spreading the novel coronavirus. Low voter turnout was expected Sunday for the run-off legislative elections. The first round of elections, held on March 29th after repeated delays, was marred by intimidation and jihadist attacks — including the kidnapping of opposition leader Soumaila Cisse. Voter turnout in the first round of elections was just over 12% in the capital city of Bamako, according to government officials. Many are expected to stay inside, heeding guidelines to avoid large gatherings and keep distance between people. Mali has reported over 200 cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. These are the first elections to fill Mali’s 147-seat parliament since 2013. Elections were initially scheduled to take place in late 2018 but were delayed due to security concerns, which has left many Malians questioning why Sunday’s vote was not delayed as well. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was elected in 2013, addressed the nation last week wearing a face mask, saying that the decision to continue with the vote as scheduled was not made by his government, but instead determined by an independent commission in the country. Thousands of Malians have died as the country suffered sporadic attacks by jihadists as well as cases of inter-ethnic violence since unrest began in 2012. 
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U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sparred Sunday on the shortfall in testing people for coronavirus in the United States, but said they were close to a deal on more funding for small businesses shut by the pandemic to pay their workers and eventually reopen. Pence, the leader of the White House coronavirus task force, told “Fox News Sunday” he believes there are a “sufficient” number of test kits available throughout the country “for any state” to move into the first phase of new government guidelines to slowly return the country to work and a sense of normalcy. The U.S. is currently performing 150,000 coronavirus tests a day, but some experts say that 500,000 are needed. Pence said he thinks the government can reach 300,000 a day, which he said was a big enough number to give Americans “the confidence and tools to go back to work.” FILE – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speaks outside her office on Capitol Hill, March 23, 2020.However, Pelosi, the leader of the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives, attacked President Donald Trump’s performance in handling the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. and the government’s slow response in testing. “We’re already very late” on testing in the U.S, she told Fox News. “We’re way late on that. The president gets an F.” Two governors also assailed the national government’s lax testing, including Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in the eastern state of Maryland, who is also chair of the National Governors Association. “The administration I think is trying to ramp up testing, they are doing some things with respect to private labs,” Hogan told CNN. “But to try to push this off, to say the governors have plenty of testing and they should just get to work on testing, somehow we aren’t doing our jobs, is absolutely false.” Democratic Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia told CNN that claims by Trump and Pence that states have plenty of tests were “just delusional.” But both Pence and Pelosi said the White House and Democratic lawmakers are close to a deal to add another $250 billion to the fund to help thousands of small businesses in the U.S. that have been forced to close their operations in the face of stay-at-home orders issued by 43 of the 50 U.S. state governors to curb the spread of the virus.  FILE – President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, April 16, 2020, in Washington.Trump and Congress initially approved a $350 billion small business fund, but with thousands of businesses applying for the money, the fund ran out of money last week and the government stopped taking more applications for the cash.  If businesses spend the money on paying workers over the next eight weeks, the government says it will foot the bill for the payments and the businesses will not have to repay it. Otherwise, if the money is not spent on salaries for workers in the next two months, it turns in to a loan and must be repaid.  “We’re very close,” Pence said of a new deal on small business aid. Pelosi told ABC’s “This Week,” “We’re close, we have common ground,” with billions more added to the small business aid to assist hospitals that have been inundated with coronavirus patients. “The businesses will have the money in a timely fashion,” she said.  Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told CNN, “I’m very hopeful we could come to an agreement (Sunday night) or early tomorrow morning.” Republicans had initially sought new aid only for small businesses, defined as those with 500 or fewer employees, while Democrats insisted on also adding hospital aid. Democrats also sought new money for financially hard-pressed local governments, but the new deal will likely exclude that funding. Pelosi defined the Democrats’ sentiment in the negotiations as: “Let’s get as much as we can for those who are helping to fight this fight so we can soon open our economy.” Some workers in several states have taken to the streets to protest their governors’ stay-at-home edicts, which were extensions of Trump’s national guidelines to Americans to maintain social distancing of two meters or more through the end of April. Vehicles sit in gridlock during a protest in Lansing, Mich., April 15, 2020. Flag-waving, honking protesters drove past the Michigan Capitol on Wednesday to show their displeasure with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s orders to keep people at home.But Trump, after last week issuing a three-phase plan for governors to follow to reopen their state economies, called on protesters to “liberate” the states of Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia, all states led by Democratic governors who had imposed stay-at-home orders. Protesters, defying social distancing recommendations, have also taken to the streets in states led by Republican governors to protest their restrictions, but Trump did not single them out. In Texas, the protesters chanted “Fire Fauci,” attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert on the White House task force who has cautioned against reopening the country’s economy too quickly for fear of a renewed surge of the pandemic. “I think some of the governors have gotten carried away,” Trump said at one of his daily coronavirus news briefings in critiquing their orders. Pence declined to criticize the street protests, saying the demonstrators wanted their governors to adopt the White House’s “phased framework” for reopening workplaces as quickly as possible. A total of 22 million workers — more than an eighth of the country’s labor force — have been laid off because of the pandemic. The U.S. death toll now totals more than 39,000, with more than 740,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.            
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In line with Chinese government and Communist Party officials, the director of Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory has aggressively dismissed claims that it could be the source of the coronavirus outbreak, calling it “impossible” and labeling them as “conspiracy theory.”In an interview Saturday with the English-language state broadcaster CGTN, Yuan Zhiming said “there’s no way” the virus spread from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, specifically its P4 laboratory, which handles dangerous viruses.”From my personal understanding of virology, there is no evidence to prove that the virus has trace of artificial or synthetic origins,” Yuan said. “Besides, some scientists believe that to synthesize a virus requires extraordinary intelligence and workload, which exceed the intelligence of normal humans and exceed what the current human society can handle. So, I have never believed that we humans now have the capability at this time to synthesize such a virus.”None of the institute’s staff had been infected, Yuan said, adding the “whole institute is carrying out research in different areas related to the coronavirus.”Beijing has been criticized for lack of transparency in its handling of the pandemic, with the United States investigating whether the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a high-security biosafety laboratory, where Yuan is also a researcher.The official tally of infections in Wuhan has been questionable from the very beginning, with the government frequently changing its counting criteria at the peak of the outbreak. Finally, last week, Wuhan authorities admitted mistakes about counting the death toll and raised the figure by 50 percent.Although the origin of COVID-19 is yet to be determined, some scientists suspect the virus was transmitted to humans from animals at a wet market in Wuhan.   
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Australia is demanding transparency from China in a proposed international investigation into the origins and spread of COVID-19.Chinese authorities have been under pressure over their handling of the coronavirus outbreak.  U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that China should face consequences if it was “knowingly responsible” for the pandemic.Beijing has dismissed this criticism and has insisted it has been open about the contagion and did take responsible steps to warn the world about the dangers of COVID-19.  The virus is thought to have originated at an animal market in Wuhan.However, Australia has now joined calls for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and how it spread around the world with such devastating speed.Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that China’s actions should be thoroughly investigated.“The key to going forward in the context of these issues is transparency, transparency from China most certainly, transparency from all of the key countries across the world who will be part of any review that takes place,” said Payne. “I think it is fundamental that we identify, we determine an independent review mechanism to examine the development of this epidemic, its development into a pandemic, the crisis that is occurring internationally.”The government in Canberra is adamant that any global review should not be undertaken by the World Health Organization.Australian officials have said some of its response to the coronavirus outbreak “was not helpful.”Australia went against WHO’s advice in early February when it banned travelers arriving from mainland China.  Canberra later closed Australia’s borders and imposed strict lockdown measures.  Health Minister Greg Hunt said Australia was winning in its campaign against COVID-19 but the battle was far from over.WHO has called for countries to work together to fight the pandemic.There are now more than 6,600 cases of the new coronavirus in Australia and 70 people have died from the virus. 
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The U.S. government encouraged American companies to send masks and personal protection equipment, or PPE, worth millions of dollars to China earlier this year, according to a Washington Post report Saturday.The newspaper’s report said the White House was oblivious to the danger the coronavirus posed to the U.S. and the rest of the world.The move, the newspaper said, “underscores the Trump administration’s failure to recognize and prepare for the growing pandemic threat.”The Post said its findings are based on a “review of economic data and internal government documents.”The newspaper said an analysis of the value of the masks and other items sent to China in January and February showed it grew by more than 1,000 percent in comparison to the same time last year, jumping from $1.4 million to approximately $17.6 million. There was also three-digit inflation for the shipments of ventilators and protective garments.“People right now, as we speak, are dying because there have been inadequate supplies of PPE,” Representative Lloyd Doggett, a Democrat from Texas, told the Post.In early February, the U.S. State Department announced it had shipped more than 17 tons of donated medical supplies to China that front-line U.S. medical workers are now requesting as they battle COVID-19 disease, including masks, gowns, respirators and more, the Post reported.In late February, when the Chinese death toll had reached nearly 3,000, the U.S. Commerce Department published a flyer telling U.S. companies how to sell “critical medical products” to China and Hong Kong. The quick selling process was shut down March 4 as the pandemic continued to grow, according to the Post.The newspaper account said “some White House officials” believe China deliberately played down the seriousness of the outbreak because it wanted to “corner the market” on masks and PPE.The Post report says, however, that the U.S. is facing “severe shortages” of testing kits and PPE, forcing doctors and nurses “to resort to makeshift gear” that increases their odds of exposure to the virus.China has denied hoarding equipment.  The Post reports that China “has provided 120 countries and four international organizations with surgical masks and other forms of equipment.”
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Australian researchers are developing a new sewage test that could help identify coronavirus hot spots.They believe the sewage test could be a reliable early warning system to detect cases of COVID-19, highlighting not just specific areas where the disease is present, but the approximate number of people infected.Samples of raw effluent at two wastewater plants in the state of Queensland were found to contain genetic fragments of the disease.It’s hoped the study will help officials when they start to wind back restrictions on public movement by highlighting coronavirus hot spots.Australia has closed restaurants, bars and many shops, while imposing fines on those who flout rules on public gatherings of more than two people.Professor Kevin Thomas, an environmental health scientist at the University of Queensland, says the test would give a broad indication of how well the pandemic is being contained.“We think some of the advantages and benefits of also using wastewater testing alongside conventional testing is that it can tell us whether COVID (19) has infected a community at a very early stage, and at the same time it can tell us when a community is relatively free of COVID-19,” he said.  “Then we can, of course, monitor changes over time to evaluate whether the measures that we are all placed under at the moment to try to flatten the curve.”Research published by the journal Nature Medicine recently found people excrete traces of COVID-19 two to three days before they show symptoms.  The analysis of sewage could potentially allow the authorities to identify clusters of the new coronavirus before those infected have even realized they are unwell.Federal health minister Greg Hunt says the sewage surveillance scheme is “extremely encouraging” and has the potential to further strengthen Australia’s response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.The sewage test study is a collaboration between the University of Queensland and the government’s science agency, the CSIRO, and builds on research in the Netherlands and the United States.Widespread testing could begin within weeks.There are more than 6,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, and so far 69 people have died with the virus.   
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Lady Gaga urged people weathering the coronavirus pandemic to find a way to smile through the pain, while Stevie Wonder encouraged viewers to lean on one another as the superstars kicked off Saturday’s all-star event aimed at fighting the coronavirus and celebrating health care workers on the front lines.The two-hour TV special “One World: Together At Home,” curated by Gaga, was the second part of an eight-hour event supporting the World Health Organization alongside advocacy organization Global Citizen.“I care so much about the medical workers that are putting their lives at risk for us,” said Gaga, who performed Nat King Cole’s version of the song “Smile.”Wonder performed “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers — who died on March 30 — while playing piano. He told viewers: “During hardships like this we have to lean on each other for help.”Paul McCartney sang the Beatles’ “Lady Madonna” and talked about the work his mother did as a nurse, while photos of health care workers were shown on the screen.“One World: Together At Home,” airing simultaneously on ABC, NBC, CBS, iHeartMedia and Bell Media networks, is being hosted by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel. It featured stars appearing in intimate settings, beamed virtually to the world.Colbert told viewers to “take out their wallets and put them away.” Kimmel added that over $50 million had already been raised to help those during the worldly crisis.Earlier in the day, a six-hour streaming event featuring Andra Day, Niall Horan, Kesha, Matthew McConaughey, Jack Black, Heidi Klum and Jason Segel aired on digital platforms as part of the “One World: Together At Home” event.“It’s Kesha from quarantine day 500. I miss my fans so much,” Kesha said, sitting in front of her fireplace as her cat made noises in the background. “I know that there’s so many people working and not sleeping and sacrificing so much to help figure this out for everyone and I just think the vulnerability of us all as human beings right now is really showing a really beautiful side to humanity.”After thanking those working on the front lines, she said: “I’m going to do the main thing I know how to do, which is play some music and hopefully this will just brighten your day, maybe just a little bit. That’s my goal.”The event will also include performances and appearances by The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Lopez, David and Victoria Beckham, Alicia Keys, Ellen DeGeneres, Pharrell Williams, Eddie Vedder, Kerry Washington, Celine Dion, Lizzo, J Balvin and Andrea Bocelli.World renowned pianist Lang Lang, country singer Maren Morris, rock performer Hozier, British star Rita Ora and Emirati singer Hussain Al Jassmi also performed during the early part of the special, which included videos focused on health care workers on the front lines fighting the spreading coronavirus. It also aired a package of people getting married — some in front of their homes, others inside — during the pandemic. 
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Gene Shay, a folk DJ who spent a half-century on the Philadelphia airwaves and helped promote the careers of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and countless others, has died of complications of the coronavirus.Shay, 85, who had been hospitalized in recent weeks, died Friday, according to WXPN-FM station manager Roger LaMay. His weekly “Folk Show” ran on various stations in the city from 1968-2015, the last 20 of them at WXPN.”He was a giant in terms of his impact on artists and the music. And to do it for close to 60 years is extraordinary,” LaMay said.Shay, being introduced into the Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame by David Bromberg in 2013, said he put unknown talent on the air in the hope they could find an audience and perhaps a record deal.”I play people who have a glint of something, some spark . . . (and) just let them play good music where other people can hear them,” Shay said. “That is one of the great joys of my life.”Shay also helped start the popular Philadelphia Folk Festival, where he long served as emcee, and the organization that runs it, the Philadelphia Folksong Society.Shay’s daughter, Rachel Vaughn, told The Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturday that Shay died at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood.Shay, born Ivan Shaner, joined WRTI at Temple University in 1962 and later worked at many of the city’s top stations. He also worked a day job much of his life as an ad man, and according to the Music Alliance wrote the original radio commercials for Woodstock.He famously brought Dylan to town for a show at the Philadelphia Ethical Society in May 1963, before the release of Dylan’s second album. About 45 people turned out and Dylan made $150, Shay often recalled.Shay’s wife, Gloria Shaner, died in 2018. He lived in Lower Merion and is also survived by another daughter. His WXPN colleagues did not know if he had ever legally changed his name.”He was so generous in spirit,” LaMay said. “I loved the guy.”
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Zimbabwe on Saturday marked the 40th anniversary of its independence from Britain, but unlike years past, there were no celebrations. Zimbabwe is on lockdown and battling the spread of COVID-19 amid shortages of resources.Some citizens say that even if there were no coronavirus pandemic, they would be in no mood to party. Their reasons vary.President Emmerson Mnangagwa delivered a televised address Saturday from the State House instead of the traditional way – in person in a football stadium.“This year, we had planned to celebrate this grand occasion, in Bulawayo province,” he said. “However, the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic is seeing us endure a necessary lockdown in our homes. Although we are physically separated, we are united in spirit.”The time to celebrate together shall come. … Today, our task, in relation to COVID-19, is to stay at home, keep our distance and wash our hands. We celebrate our milestone 40th independence anniversary in the context of unprecedented times, that of the threat brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.”UncertaintyTo date, Zimbabwe has recorded 24 cases and three deaths. Some citizens, like computer science student Raphael Maramba, 23, say the pandemic has led to uncertainty about the future.“I am feeling independent but just stressed over the corona[virus] thing,” he said. “We do know what happens after Independence [Day]. We will go back to school or lockdown extension. If there was no corona[virus] I would be happy. This corona[virus] thing is affecting my studies. If I do not go back to school this year, it means I will have a year extension. So, it will not [be] good for me.”A 33-year-old woman who wished to be identified only as Rutendo cited financial challenges and a lack of upward mobility for not wanting to celebrate the anniversary.“Personally, I am not independent and I am not happy, because it has been a struggle since my adulthood until now,” she said. “We talk about financial freedom, but it is happening to a few elite. Most of us are still struggling. So, independence is just a word. If you are not connected, then you continue with the struggle. Hard work does not matter if you are not connected.”FILE – Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa speaks in Minsk, Belarus, Jan. 17, 2019.Mnangagwa took power in November 2017, succeeding the late, long-serving leader Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa promised to address corruption, human rights abuses and economic problems that his predecessor had been accused of ignoring. Some critics say Mnangagwa has failed to deliver on his promises.Tabani Moyo, head of the Media Institute of Southern Africa in Zimbabwe, says the Mnangagwa government, like the previous one, has not respected press freedoms.Too much ‘entitlement’“We have gone for a good decade without alternative means of expression,” Moyo said. “Even if there was no lockdown, chances are that we were going to be mourning as we commemorate this day. Unfortunately, and sadly, there is too much level of entitlement among the generation that brought independence. That sense of entitlement erodes the cornerstones of the freedom of expression and access to information that the country yearns for.”Ahead of the anniversary, police told the High Court that the state broadcaster was the only news medium to be considered an essential service during the lockdown, which ends Sunday after 21 days.
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The U.N. human rights office is calling for an end to escalating clashes between Myanmar’s army and the ethnic armed group known as the Arakan Army in Rakhine and Chin states as civilian casualties rise.The conflict is playing out against the backdrop of the recent deaths of dozens of Rohingya refugees and hundreds of others stranded at sea for two months after fleeing persecution in Myanmar.The fatalities at sea are not specifically related to the fighting between the Myanmar army and Arakan Army armed group. But observers say it is symptomatic of the persecution and discrimination against ethnic minorities that have provoked armed rebellion against the government for years.U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said Friday that the current spike in violence between the government and rebels was affecting civilians of all ethnic groups living in Rakhine and neighboring Chin state, including Rohingya, Chin, Mro, Daignet and others.“Myanmar’s military has been carrying out almost daily airstrikes and shelling in populated areas resulting in at least 32 deaths and 71 injuries since the 23rd of March, and the majority of those were women and children,” he said. “They have also been destroying and burning schools and homes.”Colville said the warring parties had ignored U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a global cease-fire during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the current dire situation was further complicated by the government’s internet blackout since June 2019, the longest in the world, in nine townships across Rakhine and Chin states.”This blackout has greatly hampered the availability of reliable public information on hygiene, physical distancing precautions and other preventative measures,” Colville said. “Internet restrictions have also been applied by the Bangladesh authorities to the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.”The U.N. human rights office is calling on the Myanmar government to immediately lift the internet ban and grant humanitarian access to all conflict-affected areas. U.N. officials warn failure to do so will worsen the suffering of civilians and hamper efforts to fight the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
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For the first time, an animal shelter in the U.S. state of Florida has seen every dog in one of its kennels adopted.  The shelter credits extra time people have to take care of pets because of the coronavirus pandemic.Employees and volunteers could be seen cheering and clapping in a video shared at the sight of the empty kennel at Friends of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control in the city of West Palm Beach.Empty KennelAn incredible and joyful thing happened today….For the first time in the history of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, we have completely emptied one of our three dog kennels!

This amazing milestone was made possible by the help and support of our entire community! Thank you to the shelter staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to care for, find homes for, and advocate for the pets who come through these doors; thank you to our incredible foster parents who open their heart and homes to thousands of pets each year; thank you to everyone who has opted to adopt a shelter pet – whether it be here or from any of the other amazing organizations out there; thank you to our placement partner organizations far and wide – without them, this would not be possible.

Let’s keep the momentum going and good vibes flowing! We still have dogs available for adoption or foster in our main kennel, along with a few adoptable cats, two adoptable horses, and Charlotte the adoptable pig. If you are interested in fostering or adopting, please visit our website to view our available pets and submit an application online: www.pbcgov.com/snap.

Pictured in this video: Shelter staff celebrating in Kennel Two, the shelter’s stray housing kennel and adoption overflow kennel. There are 48 double-sided in runs in each of the three kennel buildings at the shelter.

#C2Z #shelterdogs #adopt #foster #PBCACC #RescueProud #GetYourRescueOnPosted by Friends of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control on Tuesday, April 14, 2020The shelter’s community outreach manager, Elizabeth Harfmann, told CNN the kennel, which often holds around 100 dogs, was emptied through collaborative community efforts.“It’s definitely been a combined effort from the community. The animals went to foster homes, adopters and to our partner rescue organizations,” she said.  While many shelters throughout the U.S. are receiving more adoption applications, experts warn the pandemic could also force people to surrender their pets — as is typical during national crises.  The Humane Society is addressing that issue with the establishment of a fund to support shelters nationwide that become overcrowded due to the abandonment of pets. 
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A growing number of protests are being staged across the U.S. to oppose stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic. In places like Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, small-government groups, supporters of President Donald Trump, anti-vaccine advocates and others have united behind a deep suspicion of efforts to shut down daily life to slow the spread of the coronavirus. As their frustration grows, they’ve started to openly defy the social distancing rules to put pressure on governors to ease them. Some of the protests have been small events, promoted via recently created Facebook groups. Others are backed by groups with ties to Trump.While many Americans are filled with fear, Melissa Ackison says the coronavirus pandemic has filled her with anger. The stay-at home orders are government overreach, the conservative Ohio state Senate candidate says, and the labeling of some workers as “essential” arbitrary.“It enrages something inside of you,” said Ackison, who was among those who protested Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s orders at the statehouse in Columbus with her 10-year-old son. She has “no fear whatsoever” of contracting the virus, she said Thursday, dismissing it as hype.The Ohio protest was among a growing number staged outside governors’ mansions and state Capitols across the country. In places like Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia, small-government groups, supporters of President Donald Trump, anti-vaccine advocates, gun rights backers and supporters of right-wing causes have united behind a deep suspicion of efforts to shut down daily life to slow the spread of the coronavirus. As their frustration with life under lockdown grows, they’ve started to openly defy the social distancing rules in an effort to put pressure on governors to ease them.Some of the protests have been small events, promoted via Facebook groups that have popped up in recent days and whose organizers are sometimes difficult to identify. Others are backed by groups funded by prominent Republicans donors, some with ties to Trump. The largest so far, a rally of thousands that jammed the streets of Lansing, Michigan, on Wednesday, looked much like one of the president’s rallies — complete with MAGA hats or Trump flags — or one of the tea party rallies from a decade ago.A truck supporting protesters demanding Florida businesses and government reopen, honks at a gathering in downtown Orlando, Florida, April 17, 2020.The signs of frustration come as Trump has pushed for easing stay-at-home orders and tried to look ahead to restarting the economy. He unveiled a  framework for governors to follow on Thursday, but acknowledged the governors will have the final say on when their state is ready. Health experts have warned that lifting restrictions too quickly could result in a surge of new cases of the virus.But the president and some of his supporters are impatient. Thousands of people in their cars packed the streets of Lansing to protest Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order and other restrictions. Outside the Capitol, some chanted “Lock her up,” a throwback to Trump’s calls during the 2016 election about his rival Hillary Clinton. One woman held a sign reading “Heil Whitmer.”Asked about the protesters, Trump on Thursday expressed sympathy with their frustration — “They’re suffering … they want to get back” — and dismissed concerns about the health risks of ignoring state orders and potentially exposing themselves to the virus.“I think they’re listening. I think they listen to me,” he said. “They seem to be protesters that like me and respect this opinion, and my opinion’s the same as just about all of the governors. Nobody wants to stay shut.”Polls show the protesters’ views are not widely held. An AP-NORC survey earlier this month found large majorities of Americans support a long list of government restrictions, including closing schools, limiting gatherings and shuttering bars and restaurants. Three-quarters of Americans backed requiring people to stay in their homes. And majorities of both Democrats and Republicans gave high marks for the state and city governments.But the protests expose resilient partisan divisions, particularly in battleground Michigan. The protest there was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition, a group founded by a pro-Trump state representative and his wife, Meshawn Maddock, who is on the advisory board for an official Trump campaign group called “Women for Trump” and is also the co-founder of Michigan Trump Republicans. Their daughter is a field organizer for the Michigan Republican Party.Another group that promoted the event, the Michigan Freedom Fund, is run by Greg McNeilly, a longtime political adviser to the DeVos family, who are prolific Republican donors and have funded conservative causes across the state for decades. McNeilly was campaign manager for Dick DeVos, the husband of current U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, during his failed bid for governor in 2006. The group, which does not have to disclose its donors, raised over $4 million in 2018, according to its most recent tax statements.Protesters demonstrate against stay-at-home orders that were put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in Huntington Beach, California, April 17, 2020.Whitmer was among the governors who expressed concern about the gatherings, saying it put people at risk and could have prolonged the shutdown. Michigan had recorded over 2,000 deaths from COVID-19 as of Thursday, and close to 30,000 confirmed cases of people infected with the virus. Roughly one-quarter of the state’s workforce  has filed for unemployment.But it’s not just Democratic governors feeling the heat. A procession of cars swarmed around the Republican-dominated statehouse in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, with messages written on windows or signs that said “stop killing our economy,” “we need our church” and “time 2 work.”The event was promoted by the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee, though the group’s president, Bob Linn, said prominent conservative activist Carol Hefner was a major organizer of the event. Hefner, whose husband is part of the Hefner Energy empire and currently operates a company that makes Argentinian meat sauce, previously served as an Oklahoma co-chair of Trump’s 2016 campaign.In a Facebook post, Hefner boasted of thousands of people who turned out to deliver a message to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt “to open this state up for business.” She did not respond to a request for comment.Other gatherings have links to fringe groups. A protest Thursday in the Texas capital of Austin, where protesters chanted “Free Texas” and “Make America Free Again,” was broadcast live by InfoWars TV, part of a company owned by conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones.The Ohio event earlier this week brought together a collection of anti-vaccine advocates, Second Amendment supporters, tea party activists and other anti-government activists. A Columbus Dispatch photo of Ackison and other protesters yelling through glass doors of the statehouse rocketed around the internet.Ackison said that while she views DeWine’s efforts as constitutional overreach, she would be fine if Trump were to act with similar authority to force governors to bring the states back on line.“As patriots, we put President Trump in office for a reason,” she said. “If he’s not able to give a convincing enough argument to these governors that they need to open up, then he needs to do something to take action.”The protests were advertised on Facebook by groups such as Reopen Virginia and End the Lockdown PA. A protest in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday grew out of a conversation in the Facebook group Virginians for Medical Freedom, organizer Gary Golden said. The group often turns out at the Capitol in Richmond to oppose vaccine-related measures.Kelly Mullin, who stood near a “don’t tread on me” flag spread on the grass near the governor’s mansion, said she brought her sons to the event to teach them a lesson about liberty.Mullin said that she thought the risk posed by the coronavirus depends on an individual’s health and that people can take basic steps to protect themselves, including getting enough sleep, eating organic produce and getting outside.“I mean, that’s where our tax dollars should be going. Eat broccoli,” she said.Infectious-disease specialists say there is no evidence that eating specific foods can prevent or kill the virus. Most people with the coronavirus experience mild or moderate symptoms, and people with health issues such as asthma and older people are at greater risk of death from COVID-19. 
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China’s top representative office in Hong Kong said Friday it is entitled to get involved in Hong Kong affairs and is not subject to the semi-autonomous city’s constitutional restrictions that bar the Chinese government from interfering in local affairs.The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration promised Hong Kong “a high degree of autonomy” under the “one country, two systems” principle for at least 50 years after China resumed sovereignty in 1997.  The Basic Law, the city’s post-handover mini-constitution, mandates that the mainland Chinese government cannot interfere in its affairs.However, the China liaison office said in a strongly worded statement issued late Friday that “a high degree of autonomy is not complete autonomy.” It said Hong Kong’s right to self-govern is “authorized by the central government” and “the authorizer has supervisory powers over the authorized.”Both the liaison office and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office — China’s top bodies overseeing the city’s affairs — are “authorized by the central authorities to handle Hong Kong affairs,” it said.  It added that it is entitled to supervise affairs in Hong Kong and make statements on issues on Hong Kong’s relationship with Beijing, ranging from the “correct” implementation of the Basic Law to matters pertaining to the overall interests of society.“This is not just responsibilities but authority granted by the [Chinese] constitution and Basic Law,” the statement said. “How else can these two bodies promote the implementation of ‘one country two systems’ in Hong Kong? The legitimacy and legality are beyond doubts.”“They are not what is referred to in Article 22 of the Basic Law, or what is commonly understood to be ‘departments under the Central People’s Government,’” the statement said.Article 22 states that “no department” of the Chinese central and local governments “may interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region administers on its own in accordance with this Law.”The statement from the liaison office came a couple of days after its new chief, Luo Huining, appointed in January, told Hong Kong to urgently enact national security legislation to tackle what he called radical violence, foreign interference and pro-independence forces in the city, apparently referring to the monthslong, sometimes violent anti-government demonstrations sparked by a controversial extradition bill in June last year.FILE – Newly-appointed head of China’s liaison office in Hong Kong, Luo Huining, right, waves as he arrives for a media briefing at China’s liaison office in Hong Kong, Jan. 6, 2020.Both the liaison office and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office had changed heads early this year, with political analysts saying the gesture indicated China’s tighter control over Hong Kong.This week, pro-democracy lawmakers accused the Chinese government of “blatant intervention” and violation of Article 22 of the Basic Law after the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said some of them committed “misconduct in public office” for delaying bills, failing to appoint a House committee chairman and paralyzing the legislature by filibustering.The lawmakers who made such allegations were “deliberately distorting the Basic Law” and “intentionally misleading public opinion,” the liaison office said.The office said lawmakers pledged allegiance to the Chinese and Hong Kong governments when they took their oaths of office, so their “loyalty to the country is a necessary requirement.”China law expert Professor Jerome Cohen at New York University said China’s statement is “astounding and incendiary” and “collapses the whole one country two systems edifice that was constructed over so many years since the Joint Declaration.”Alvin Cheung, a legal scholar specializing in Hong Kong issues at New York University’s U.S.-Asia Law Institute, said the move shows that “Beijing sees itself being in a position of such strength that it can abandon even the pretense of abiding by the Basic Law,” even though China has already been interfering with Hong Kong affairs for years.“It suggests repression will intensify further — expect a concerted attempt to railroad national security legislation through the legislature before the [September legislative] elections, as well as continued systematic attempts to remove politicians and activists from civic life,” he said.Michael Davis, a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center and former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said, “This sort of aggressive language is totally inappropriate and will just result in further pushback from civil society in Hong Kong.”He said “it is not news” that the liaison office comments on Hong Kong politics, and it is widely known that they work behind the scenes to promote pro-China politicians they want to win in legislative and local council elections and also try to direct the Hong Kong leadership on critical decisions, as well as influence the courts.“This fear that Hong Kong’s autonomy will be lost, along with it the rule of law, is what has driven the many protests in Hong Kong and international concern,” he said.
 
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Media and rights groups are calling on Mozambican authorities to locate and immediately release a community radio journalist missing since April 7.Ibraimo Abu Mbaruco, a reporter of Rádio Comunitária de Palma, or Palma Community Radio, disappeared while on his way home shortly after he left the radio station. His family and his colleagues have not heard from him since.“The information gathered so far indicates that soldiers witnessed this journalist’s disappearance and may have been involved,” Arnaud Froger, the head of the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Africa desk, said in a statement Friday.The government of Mozambique has not commented on the disappearance of Mbaruco.“The silence coming from the highest authorities is extremely worrying and we fear that he could suffer the same fate as other journalists, who were held incommunicado for months last year for covering the violence in northern Mozambique,” the statement said, adding “turning this violence-torn province into a black hole for news and information will not help to end the insurrection.”In a text message, sent to a colleague on April 7, Mbaruco said he was “surrounded by military,” according to RSF, which said it has contacted the person.“Mozambican authorities must be thorough and transparent in their investigation into Ibraimo Abú Mbaruco’s whereabouts and ensure accountability, given that Cabo Delgado has become a no-go area for the press and human rights defenders,” said Africa program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists Angela Quintal in a statement.  “It is unacceptable that 10 days after he disappeared, his family and colleagues remain in the dark about his whereabouts.”“Ibraimo Mbaruco’s apparent forced disappearance is of grave concern, particularly given the Mozambican security forces’ alarming record of wrongfully detaining journalists,” said southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch Dewa Mavhinga.  “The Mozambican government should urgently take all necessary steps to locate Mbaruco and ensure his safe release.”Amnesty International also called on Mozambique government, if Mbaruco is in state custody, to ensure his safety and release him immediately.The organization demanded that the practice of enforced disappearances in Mozambique come to an end and that the government ensure that the right to freedom of expression and media freedom are “fully respected, protected, promoted and fulfilled and that journalists are able to freely carry out their work without fear of attacks, intimidation, harassment and censorship.”Mbaruco’s disappearance comes as evidence is growing that Mozambican security forces have continued to harass, intimidate, and arbitrarily detain journalists covering fighting between government forces and Islamist militants seeking to establish a caliphate in the country’s northern region.  
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Iranian dissidents say the government’s refusal to temporarily release detained activists exposed to the coronavirus in crowded jails has anguished relatives seeking to visit those prisoners.Two male dissidents who previously were jailed for criticizing Iran’s Islamist rulers and whose activist wives remain behind bars at Tehran’s Evin prison shared their concerns about the plight of prisoners’ families in comments to VOA and posted on social media in recent days.Speaking to VOA Persian in a Wednesday phone interview, Iranian blogger Behfar Lalehzari said prisoners’ relatives have been facing “tremendous” hardships.Iran, with the region’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, has seen the virus spread through its crowded and unsanitary prison compounds since early March, according to activists.Tehran has not released data on the number of prison infections in the country. It announced the temporary release of up to 100,000 inmates last month, in part to protect them from the virus. But authorities refused to extend the furloughs to dissidents with more than five-year prison sentences for engaging in activities designated as security offenses.“On one hand, relatives are worried about the well-being of the prisoners, and on the other hand, they know that any visit to those prisoners carries a huge amount of health risk,” Lalehzari said. “Some family members drive long hours to get to a prison, and usually there is a crowd of visitors at the entrance or in the visiting rooms. This means the risk of virus contagion is high in prisons — even for the visitors.”Lalehzari was released in February 2019 after serving a prison sentence for insulting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and insulting Islamic sacraments. His wife, Rezvaneh Ahmad Khanbeigi, was detained in January 2019 for writing slogans on walls and later sentenced in February 2020 to six years in prison for subversion.Women’s rights activist Reza Khandan has been campaigning for the release of his wife, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, since her detention in June 2018. Authorities have sentenced Sotoudeh to more than 30 years in prison, according to Khandan, for security offenses related to her legal work in defending Iranian women arrested for removing their compulsory hijabs or headscarves in acts of public protest against Iran’s Islamist rulers.قوه قضائیه همچنان جلو آزادی زندانیان سیاسی را گرفته و خانواده‌های زیادی درگیر ویروس و زندان‌اند. سرگردان بین سالن ملاقات…Posted by Reza Khandan on Sunday, April 12, 2020On his Facebook profile, Khandan posted a photo Sunday showing himself, his son Nima and two unidentified women standing outside Evin prison that day, following a visit with Sotoudeh. Khandan and his son were wearing face masks.In a message accompanying the photo, Khandan said many families of detainees were taking a great risk of contracting the coronavirus by going back and forth between a prison’s visiting room and the prosecutor’s office. “But families cannot leave (those places) without seeing their loved ones,” Khandan wrote.Khandan was detained in September 2018 and charged with subversion for his public campaigning for the release of his wife, who had been arrested three months earlier. He was released in December 2018 and sentenced the following month to six years in prison but has remained free pending an appeal.In his VOA interview, Lalehzari said coronavirus outbreaks in prisons also have reduced prisoners’ access to food and medicine. “They either have no access to health products, or the access is minuscule,” he said.Iran’s Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) reported in February that Lalehzari’s wife, Ahmad Khanbeigi, has been suffering from epilepsy while in custody at Evin prison and lacked needed medications for her condition. VOA could not independently verify that account of Ahmad Khanbeigi’s health status.Last week, London-based rights group Amnesty International said it received credible reports that Iranian security forces had cracked down on prisoners protesting in anger at not being furloughed at three prisons since late March. It said the security personnel used live ammunition, tear gas and beatings to kill several dozen prisoners and wound hundreds more. Iran had no immediate comment on the report.This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service.
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The World Health Organization reported Friday that COVID-19 cases in Africa have increased 51 percent and deaths have jumped 60 percent.Speaking at a conference in Geneva, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, said the figures could be even higher if testing were adequate.As of Friday, according to official figures, Algeria, with more than 360 deaths so far, is the African country with the highest number of fatalities. Egypt comes in second with more than 200.  Morocco has reported 135 deaths and South Africa 50.African countries have confirmed a total of 19,334 infections since the virus emerged in China in late December.Although, so far, Africa has suffered less than other regions from COVID-19, health officials fear the situation is deteriorating.Tedros also addressed the issue of reopening so-called wet markets, open-air marketplaces almost everywhere in the world where vendors sell fresh meat, fish, produce and other perishable goods.”Wet markets, as you know, are an important source of affordable food and livelihood for millions of people all over the world,” he said. “But in many places, they have been poorly regulated and poorly maintained. WHO’s position is that when these markets are allowed to reopen, it should only be on the condition that they conform to stringent food safety and hygiene standards. Governments must rigorously enforce bans on the sale and trade of wildlife for food.”Although the origin of COVID-19 is yet to be determined, some scientists suspect the virus was transmitted to humans from animals at a wet market in Wuhan, China.
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