Author: CensorBiz

Pakistan said Friday thousands of its nationals remain stranded in neighboring Iran, which also is battling the deadly coronavirus, and called for the lifting of international sanctions against Tehran to help stem the spread of the pandemic in the region. Iranian officials say the virus has killed nearly 1,300 people in the country and infected more than 18,000 others in the past month.  Iranian Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur tweeted Thursday that “50 new cases of infection are detected every hour and one death recorded every 10 minutes” in Iran, making it the third most affected country after Italy and China.  “I will insist on the international community to remove sanctions from Iran,” Prime Minister Imran Khan told reporters in Islamabad. “It is extremely cruel that they [Iranians] are dealing with an outbreak at this massive scale and remain under International sanctions at the same time.”  Cars drive in Vali-e-Asr St., which usually has congested traffic, in northern Tehran, Iran, March 20, 2020.Earlier, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in a statement Friday, described the situation in Iran as “dire.”  “Sanctions must be lifted against Iran in this moment of peril so that it can use its resources to save precious human lives,” Qureshi said. “We must, as leaders at time of such great challenge and difficulty, show utmost compassion.” Pakistan says the majority of its roughly 450 confirmed cases are Shi’ite Muslim nationals who returned home after traveling to religious sites in Iran. Officials in Islamabad anticipate the number of COVID-19 cases increasing as hundreds of returnees from Iran remain in quarantine camps for suspected infections. About 5,000 people, including students, are due to return to Pakistan in the next few days. A soldier wearing a face mask stands guard as buses carry pilgrims returning from Iran via the Pakistan-Iran border town of Taftan, leading to a quarantine facility zone to prevent the spread the COVID-19, in Sukkur in Sindh province, March 18, 2020.”Thousands of Pakistanis are also stranded in Iran who need to be brought back home. So, we are requesting for the sanctions to be urgently lifted,” Qureshi noted.   Pakistan has sealed its roughly 900-kilometer border with Iran for all human and trade movements.  Officials say Iranian authorities have ignored calls for holding back visiting Pakistani pilgrims, citing capacity issues in tackling the pandemic. Critics note that crippling U.S. sanctions have hit hard an already fragile health care system in Iran, which suffers from shortages of medications and medical equipment. The Trump administration has rejected calls to remove sanctions during the pandemic.  Pakistan reopens Afghan border Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has instructed authorities to reopen a major southwestern border crossing with landlocked Afghanistan for trucks transporting food and other essential commodities.  “Despite global pandemic of COVID-19, we remain committed to supporting our Afghan brothers & sisters … In time of crisis, we remain steadfast with Afghanistan,” Khan tweeted Friday. Workers clean a street near the closed Pakistan-Afghanistan border amid concerns over the spread of COVID-19, in Torkham some 54 kms from Peshawar, March 16, 2020.Pakistan also has closed all crossings at its nearly 2,600-kilometer border with Afghanistan, saying it would help prevent the coronavirus from spreading in the region.  Pakistani officials have reported three deaths from the coronavirus, but Afghans have reported none. Afghan officials say they have detected roughly two dozen infections in the country, blaming them on returnees from Iran, host to hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees and economic migrants.  Kabul says thousands of Afghans have returned home from Iran in recent days, raising fears the number of cases could spike.  
 
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Vietnamese officials are preparing for a limited economic revival as their coronavirus caseload stays low.Despite its land border and close trade relationship with China, Vietnam reports only 85 widely dispersed coronavirus cases, and it sometimes goes for days with no new cases.The government is rolling out incentives now to revive companies including export manufacturers, a backbone of the economy that has grown around 6% per year since 2012, although the borders are largely sealed to inbound travelers.“Materials are starting to come in and [factories] picked up a little bit, but the real concern they have is tourism and foreign flow, so they’re really tightening that up,” said Mike Lynch, managing director with SSI Institutional Brokerage in Ho Chi Minh City.As with countries elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is offering tax breaks, extending tax due dates and allowing delayed land-use fee payments to companies affected by the outbreak, business consultancy Dezan Shira & Associates said in an online briefing Tuesday.The central bank cut its benchmark refinance 1 percentage point Tuesday to stimulate business activity.“This is all they can do in response to the virus outbreak of trying to mitigate the impact of the outbreak on their economy,” said Song Seng Wun, a Southeast Asia regional economist in the private banking unit of CIMB in Singapore. “It’s about helping to minimize disruption and saving jobs.”A health worker sprays disinfectants to protect against the coronavirus on a beach in Hoi An, Vietnam, March 10, 2020.Epidemic controlVietnamese officials reacted to the virus early on by banning arrivals from China. People ordered into quarantine normally comply, at the risk of being scorned otherwise on social media, two authors from the Ho Chi Minh City-based University of Economics School of Government wrote in a March 17 article in The Diplomat online.The country discloses its caseload openly and doesn’t silence public discussion, the scholars said, suggesting it had tried to avoid repeating China’s response.Vietnam quit issuing visas to almost all foreign nationals for 30 days, starting March 18.  Ho Chi Minh City authorities plan to curb meetings geared for more than 1,000 people. Bars and cinemas are closed through March 31.The halt to visas will hurt hotels, airlines and travel agencies, analysts in Vietnam said. Inbound tourism had grown from 5 million to 15 million between 2010 and 2018. China and South Korea are the top two sources.People in Vietnam are staying home more often than usual, in some cases working there instead of in offices. Restaurants still operate, though sometimes for fewer hours per week than before, residents of the two biggest cities said this week.When the government declares an end to local coronavirus spread, the domestic economy is likely to bounce back as far as it can without foreign visitors including tourists, said Adam McCarty, chief economist with Mekong Economics in Hanoi.“When that point happens, the government will say OK, it’s clear, restaurants are on and everyone can go out,” McCarty said “The domestic economy could revive and all the masks could come off, so that would be a big stimulus and that could happen in less than a month from now.”FILE – Laborers work at a garment assembly line of Thanh Cong textile, garment, investment and trading company in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, July 9, 2019.Factories are operating – for nowThe country’s economy is doing relatively well, for the moment.Factories are still operating on local labor, and export growth from January 1 through March 15 grew 6.8% over the same period of 2019.“Even with the first quarter quickly drawing to a close, the data [are] way better than what the doom and gloom crowd would have had you believe,” SSI Research said in market update note Thursday. “The Vietnamese economy actually performed to a degree that other national economies nowadays would give an arm and a leg to have.”However, demand for factory goods is expected to slump in Western countries as consumers stay home. The disease outbreak appears to be a “potent direct hit on confidence,” the Harvard Business Review said March 3.About 55% of Vietnam’s economy, more than the global average, has relied on export manufacturing from 1986 through 2018.
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Asian stock indexes were mostly up Friday after Thursday’s modest gains on Wall Street. Investor hopes that governments and central banks would provide help for the world economy in order to avert a global recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic seemed responsible for at least temporarily halting the plunge. In South Korea, stocks opened 3.44% higher than Thursday, with the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index 50.19 points up. In Taiwan the main stock index rose 5.46% or 474.03 points to 9,155.37. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index began trading up 438 points, as news of no new coronavirus transmitted cases came from China for the second day in a row but fell 900 points in in the middle of the session.  In China Shanghai Composite Index was only less than half a percent higher. In Japan, the Tokyo stock exchange was closed for a public holiday. 
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Twenty thousand years ago, humans lived in grassy tundras near the Arctic Circle. Trees were scare in these cold, dry regions, so Ice Age hunters could not build campfires using wood.  Instead, these hardy humans made campfires by burning the bones of the big animals they hunted.  Few modern people know how to make a bone fire.  Recently, a Colorado archeologist and some volunteers gave it a try.  From Longmont, Colorado, Shelley Schlender reports.
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The president of Argentina says the South American nation is going into a mandatory quarantine for 11 days, in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.Speaking to the nation in a televised address Thursday, President Alberto Fernández said everyone must stay home, starting at midnight Friday, local time, until midnight March 31. Fernández said people making trips to buy groceries, and other necessities are exempt.The president said those who are unable to explain why they are on the street will face reprimands provided by the penal code.“It is time for us to understand that we are caring for the health of Argentines. We have now dictated this measure trying to make the effects on the economy as least harmful as possible,” Fernández said, explaining the new directive.Ahead of Friday’s lockdown, long lines of people converged on supermarkets and pharmacies to stock up on supplies.So far, Argentina has at least 128 confirmed infections, and three people have died with the virus. Argentina had previously closed its borders to non-residents, suspended flights and shut down schools, all in an effort to stop the spread of virus.
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U.S. markets closed higher Thursday after days of record losses driven by fear and uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic. It looked like another rough day at first, with the Dow Jones industrial average down 3% at one point. The index recovered to finish the day 188 points, or 1%, higher — and back over the 20,000 mark. The Nasdaq Composite Index was 2% higher, driven by gains in the technology market, while the S&P 500 was up less than 1%. Thursday’s rise in the Dow was propelled by a 24% gain in oil futures after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would get involved in the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia “at the appropriate time.” Trump said he was looking for a “middle ground.” The feud between the Saudis and Russia was sparked by disagreements over supplies. The Saudis want to cut supplies to drive up prices because the coronavirus means less worldwide travel and less demand. Prices are at a near 20-year low. Russia would like to see world prices remain low to punish the U.S. The U.S. has overtaken both countries as the world’s largest oil producer. 
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Doctors are warning that any outbreak of the coronavirus in refugee communities would have a devastating impact. The United Nations estimates there are more than 30 million refugees worldwide, many living in conditions that are ideal for transmission of the coronavirus. 
 
As even rich nations struggle to cope with the pandemic, health experts say it’s vital the international community is prepared for any outbreak among the world’s most vulnerable groups.  
 
People across the world are being told to stay home, to practice “social distancing” and keep away from other people, and to make hygiene a priority. Such actions are next to impossible in a refugee camp, says professor Richard Sullivan, co-director of the Conflict and Health Research Group at Kings College London. 
 
“Many of these refugees are often packed very tightly into camps. And that makes a big difference to transmission,” Sullivan told VOA. “The access, of course, to water, sanitation and hygiene makes a big difference. And also, just their general nutritional state. They’re in a huge state of stress, anyway, which suppresses their immune systems, but nutrition makes a big difference to how strong our immune systems are.”  FILE – Rohingya refugees gather at a market inside a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, March 7, 2019.Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh is home to 900,000 mainly Rohingya refugees spread across 34 camps, most of whom have fled violence in Myanmar. When VOA visited the camp earlier this month, knowledge of the COVID-19 virus appeared varied. “I forgot the name of the virus,” one male refugee said. “I heard that disease has occurred in different countries, people are dying. So, we should clean our hands.” 
 
Forty-year-old Azim Ullah said aid agencies have been giving advice on preventing transmission. “They tell us to use soap after using toilet, washing hand and feet. Do not eat any fruits without washing, and also do not consume any food from outside that was not covered.” 
 
This good advice, though, is mixed with rumor and conspiracy theories. One refugee said the virus had been created to destroy Muslim nations. Another spoke of misconceptions about coronavirus symptoms. “I heard that if you are attacked by the new disease, the hands and feet are disabled. Saliva falls from the mouth. The injured person barks like a dog.” Doctors say the main symptoms are a dry cough and fever. 
 
The deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar, Dr. Kamal Hossain, says camp authorities are doing all they can to keep the virus out. “We have instructed the foreign aid workers to scan their health condition themselves, and to not bring any new workers from abroad. And awareness programs are continuing for the Rohingya,” Hossain said. 
 
Any outbreak would spread quickly, with devastating consequences, says Sullivan. “If COVID gets into a camp, for example, you’re going to see quite a spike in the death rate, because there’s simply going to be no way of keeping them alive until they recover. But of course, many refugees and particularly internally displaced populations live in makeshift camps very far away from any sort of external official help. And those are the ones that are really very, very vulnerable.” FILE – A makeshift refugee camp in Maaret Tamsrin, north of Idlib city, Syria, Feb. 19, 2020.That includes the hundreds of thousands escaping conflict in Syria’s Idlib province and those stuck in makeshift camps on the Turkish-Greek border, hoping to reach Europe. Meanwhile, about 42,000 asylum seekers live in overcrowded camps on the Greek islands. Aid group Doctors Without Borders has warned that Europe must evacuate them urgently, describing the conditions as “the perfect storm for a COVID-19 outbreak.” 
 
“In some parts of Moria camp [on Lesbos Island], there is just one water tap for every 1,300 people and no soap available. Families of five or six have to sleep in spaces of no more than 3 meters squared,” said Dr. Hilde Vochten of Doctors Without Borders. Kakuma in Kenya is home to almost 200,000 refugees — among them is Burundian national and former nurse Renovat Manirageza. “Nothing has been yet done in terms of awareness,” Manirageza told VOA in a recent phone call.  FILE – A Turkana woman washes her face at a water point within Kalobeyei Settlement outside the Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana county, northwest of Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 1, 2018.”The health officials I spoke to told me they are waiting for guidance and directions from the Kenyan health ministry. Those who have access to the internet, they use their smartphones to read news on the internet about the coronavirus, others listen to local and international radio to get more information about the spreading of the virus in other countries,” Manirageza said. 
 
Many camps are in countries with stretched or under-resourced health systems, such as Kenya, Bangladesh, Iraq and Lebanon. 
 
“They’re already operating at a very high capacity, and so the question is: Will they be able to redeploy to accommodate people who live in camps?” asked Kalipso Chalkidou, professor in global health at Imperial College London. 
 
Even wealthy nations are struggling to cope with the coronavirus. Any outbreak among refugee communities could have catastrophic consequences. 
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Two former close allies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have formed new political parties, a move that could threaten his hold on power.  The two parties are calling for a more democratic Turkey but, as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, they are likely to face formidable challenges.
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The African continent, so far, has the world’s lowest burden of coronavirus cases, with just hundreds compared to the global total of 200,000. But health officials say the pandemic has special considerations on this continent, which already struggles with overburdened public health systems. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Johannesburg.
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U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen said Thursday that Lebanese authorities released an American citizen who had been detained there since September on murder and torture charges.    Shaheen had been working with U.S. administration officials for months to secure the release of Amer Fakhoury, who remained in custody after being diagnosed with Stage IV Lymphoma.     “Any time a U.S. citizen is wrongfully detained by a foreign government, we must use every tool at our disposal to free them,” the Democratic lawmaker said in a statement.  U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that “We’ve been working very hard to get him freed and he’s finally able to have his entire family at his side. So I’m very grateful to the Lebanese government. They worked with us.”   Lebanese officials maintain that Fakhoury was responsible for the murders and torture of prisoners in Lebanon two decades ago while he was allegedly working for an Israeli-backed militia.  Fakhoury was released because it had been more than 10 years since he allegedly committed crimes for which he was charged while imprisoned.   Fakhoury’s case further strained U.S.-Lebanese relations. U.S. lawmakers threatened to withhold aid to Lebanon and place sanctions on the Lebanese military, which the U.S. views as a safeguard against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement.    The 57-year-old Fakhoury is a resident of the northeastern state of New Hampshire, which Shaheen represents.   
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Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has suspended her presidential campaign, ending a long-shot effort that saw her feuding with Hillary Clinton and raising fears among Democrats that she would mount a third-party 2020 bid.In an email and video posted to Twitter on Thursday, Gabbard offered her full support to former Vice President Joe Biden, saying “it’s clear that Democratic primary voters have chosen” him to take on President Donald Trump in November.  Noting their political differences, Gabbard said she respected Biden and had confidence in the motivations of his campaign effort.”Although I may not agree with the vice president on every issue, I know that he has a good heart, and he’s motivated by his love for our country and the American people,” Gabbard said. “I’m confident that he will lead our country, guided by the spirit of aloha respect and compassion, and thus help heal the divisiveness that has been tearing our country apart.”As the coronavirus outbreak continues, Gabbard, a military veteran and a major in the Army National Guard, said she would focus on her continued service, including military experience, should it be needed.”I feel that the best way I can be of service at this time is to continue to work for the health and wellbeing of the people of Hawaii and our country in Congress, and to stand ready to serve in uniform should the Hawaii National Guard be activated,” said Gabbard, who served two tours of duty in the Middle East.During her candidacy, Gabbard appeared often on Fox News Channel and angered fellow Democrats by voting “present” on the articles of impeachment against Trump.Gabbard attracted a sizable following in New Hampshire, where she frequently campaigned ahead of the state’s February primary. Some past supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the state warmed to her campaign over time, and she espoused a similar outsider approach to Sanders’ 2016 run, which Gabbard supported.She was also part of what once was a historically diverse Democratic field. The 38-year-old American Samoan’s campaign website described her as “the first Hindu to run for president and first practicing Hindu in Congress.” And as one of the youngest candidates in the field, Gabbard outlasted senators and governors who came into the large Democratic primary race with higher profiles.  Although she failed to qualify for any stage past the fifth debate, in November, Gabbard was awarded two delegates once voting began, according to The Associated Press’ count, both in the March 2 contest in her native American Samoa.Yet Gabbard’s 2020 campaign was also quick to attract questions from voters. The Hawaii congresswoman has faced backlash for her 2017 meeting in Syria with Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose government has been accused of chemical weapons attacks against its own citizens.  And with a primary challenge looming, she announced in October she would not run for reelection to her Hawaii congressional seat. Gabbard’s decision became public shortly after a public feud with Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. In a podcast interview, Clinton appeared to call her “the favorite of the Russians” and said she believed Republicans have “got their eye on somebody who’s currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate.”Gabbard responded by calling Clinton the “personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long.” In January, she filed a defamation lawsuit against Clinton, saying Clinton’s comments were based on either her own imagination or “extremely dubious conspiracy theories” that any reasonable person would know to be “inherently and objectively unreliable.”Asked to comment on the lawsuit, Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said, “That’s ridiculous.”As most of her Democratic House colleagues voted to impeach Trump in December, Gabbard chose to vote present on the two articles of impeachment. Former Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie called for Gabbard to resign over the vote and said she wasn’t doing her job representing Hawaii.  “Look, I did not take the easy vote,” Gabbard said after returning to the campaign trail. “I took the vote that I felt was in the best interest of our country and standing in the center to be able to bring the country together, to be able to begin this reconciliation that I think is so necessary in this terribly divided moment in our country.”  Questions over whether Gabbard would mount a third-party run in November’s general election continued following her feud with Clinton. Even as she was questioned for her present vote on the impeachment articles, Gabbard maintained that a third-party campaign was not something she was considering.  “Absolutely not,” Gabbard said in December 2019. “It’s not going to change. My decision won’t change, no matter how many times people say it, no matter how many times I get asked the question, it’s not changing. I’m running to be the Democratic nominee.” 
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The Olympic flame is set to arrive in Japan from Greece even as the opening of the Tokyo Games in four months is in doubt with more voices calling for the event to be postponed or canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The flame will touch down Friday aboard a white aircraft painted with the inscription “Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay” along its side, and “Hope Lights Our Way” stenciled near the tail section. Staff members of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways and runway crew wave as they see off the ‘Tokyo 2020 Go’ aircraft, before it departs for Greece, at Haneda international airport in Tokyo, Japan, March 18, 2020.Everything about the arrival ceremony at the Matsushima air base in northern Japan will be subdued. The flame is to be greeted by a few dignitaries, saluted by a flyover from an aerial acrobatic team — if weather permits — and then used to ignite a cauldron. The burning vessel will be displayed in three northern prefectures before the official relay begins on March 26 from Fukushima prefecture, which was devastated nine years ago by an earthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors. Thousands of people from the region are still in temporary housing and life has not returned to normal for many. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes to use the Olympics  to crown his run as Japan’s longest serving premier, and many suggest he may not be around if the games are put off and the economy slumps. Taro Aso, the Japanese finance minister and former prime minister, characterized the Tokyo Games as the “cursed Olympics” when speaking on Wednesday in a parliamentary committee. Aso was born in 1940, the year Tokyo was to hold its first Olympics, which were called off because of World War II. FILE – Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso speaks during a news conference in the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Washington, Oct. 18, 2019.”This isn’t a phrase that the press could like to hear, but it’s true,” said Aso, who was a member of Japan’s shooting team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Aso pointed out that even as the situation in Japan and Asia improves, it’s worse globally. “We certainly hope to have a situation where everyone can at least come to Japan feeling safe and happy.” Aso said. “But the question is how we do that. It is something that Japan alone cannot achieve, and I don’t have an answer to this.” Getting the flame to Japan represents a small victory for the International Olympic Committee and local organizers, who maintain the Olympics will open as scheduled on July 24 and be followed by the Paralympics on Aug. 25. Even if they don’t, the burning flame could be used as a symbol — particularly if the games are eventually delayed — and a rallying point for the Japanese public. In a conference call on Wednesday, IOC president Thomas Bach got support for holding course, but is also getting push back from athletes who can’t train, are confused about the qualification process, and worry about their health. Critics are also complaining about the unfairness of qualifying, which might give some athletes advantages over others. An IOC member, four-time Olympic hockey gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser, has broken publicly with Bach. “I think the IOC insisting this will move ahead, with such conviction, is insensitive and irresponsible given the state of humanity,” said Wickenheiser, who is training to be a physician. “Keep them safe. Call it off,” Matthew Pinsent, a four-time Olympic champion rower and former IOC member, wrote on Twitter. The four-month torch relay could be fraught with problems, particularly for sponsors Coca-Cola and Toyota, which have invested millions for the publicity.  The torch relay tradition dates from Adolph Hitler’s 1936 Berlin Olympics. Greek actress Xanthi Georgiou, center, lights the torch of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, held by Greek shooting Olympic champion Anna Korakaki, left, during the flame lighting ceremony at the closed Ancient Olympia site in southern Greece.The torch relay in Greece, following the symbolic lighting on March 12, was stopped during the second day and did not resume because of large crowds. The flame was handed over, by proxy, to Tokyo organizers in Athens on Thursday in a bare-bones version of the usual elaborate ceremony in the stadium where the first modern games were staged in 1896. The 80,000-seat marble stadium was empty apart from a handful of officials and participants. The Japanese delegation was absent because of travel restrictions and Tokyo organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori delivered a speech by video from Japan. But his message was upbeat. “Tokyo 2020 commits to be in readiness for the games as planned,” Mori said. “I hereby pledge that on 24 July this flame will be lit at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.” Tokyo organizers have stripped most of the festivities from the relay, and have asked roadside crowds to be “restrained” and keep their distance from others. If that does not happen, organizers say they could stop the relay, or delay it.   
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First lady Melania Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci will take part in public service messages aimed at informing Americans about how to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus. The White House said Wednesday it’s joining with major media companies, digital platforms and the Ad Council to share “accurate and timely information directly to the American people” about social distancing, hygiene and mental health. The announcements, known as PSAs, will direct people to coronavirus.gov, which a centralized source of updated information on the crisis, according to a White House statement. Media outlets are donating air time, with all content coordinated through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services. Fauci is the government’s top infectious disease expert. Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams and other administration officials also will take part in the PSAs. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover. Among the companies involved in the information campaign and the steps they’re taking: — NBCUniversal will create English- and Spanish-language videos and graphics aimed at helping inform high-risk groups. — A PSA campaign labeled #AloneTogether and developed by ViacomCBS in partnership with the Ad Council will focus on the importance of social distancing. The English- and Spanish-language campaign will be led by ViacomCBS brands including MTV, Comedy Central and CMT, and supported by Nickelodeon, BET and others. A CBS campaign will include essential public health messages.  — Walt Disney Television and its ABC network will reach out with messages for parent and families across the company’s channels and platforms. — iHeartMedia’s network of radio stations will help get word out about virus-related topics, including social distancing.  
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School closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic mean many parents are trying to come up with ways to educate and entertain their children at home. While there are many online options, some parents worry about too much screen time. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details on a couple of applications that combine the physical and digital so students learning at home get the best of both worlds.
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In Chinese communities across New York City, the local economy has also been hit hard by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Business leaders in Chinatown in New York have called on the government to introduce emergency rescue measures to help Chinese businessmen survive the difficult times. Zhang Zhen reports from New York. 
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is scaling back the aggressive operations it launched under President Donald Trump as the country contends with the new coronavirus outbreak.ICE said that starting Wednesday, it was focusing its efforts on tracking down people in the U.S. without legal authorization who pose a risk to public safety or would be subject to mandatory detention on criminal grounds. The agency had been aggressively detaining anyone in the country without authorization as part of stepped-up enforcement under the Trump administration.The agency said in a statement that its investigations unit would focus on public safety and national security. That would include drug and human trafficking as well as anti-gang operations and child exploitation cases.ICE said the change was temporary and intended to ensure the welfare and safety of the public and its agents.
It will not carry out enforcement operations at or near health care facilities except in “the most extraordinary circumstances” during the crisis.
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A year after eastern Zimbabwe was hit by Cyclone Idai, one of the worst tropical storms for Africa on record, some survivors are still recovering.  The cyclone killed hundreds of people in Zimbabwe and left thousands homeless.  Authorities have been rebuilding but many are still living in temporary housing, as Columbus Mavhunga reports from Chimanimani District, on the border with Mozambique.
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