Author: CensorBiz

 President Donald Trump said on Friday morning that coronavirus testing in the United States will soon happen on a large scale, but did not provide any details on how that would be accomplished.”The changes have been made and testing will soon happen on a very large scale basis. All Red Tape has been cut, ready to
go!” he wrote in a tweet.
Trump also criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the U.S. organizations leading the fight
against the deadly infection, for having a testing system that he said would “always be inadequate and slow for a large scale
pandemic.”Trump did not elaborate on why the system was inadequate, but on Thursday, the top U.S. official on infectious diseases,
Anthony Fauci, said people cannot get tests easily and the U.S. testing system “is not really geared to what we need right now.”
U.S. officials and lawmakers are struggling to get a sense of how many people in the country have contracted the virus,
which they attribute to low testing rates.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />Copy 
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Greece’s first female president, a former high court judge, was formally sworn in to office Friday, nearly two months after the country’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to elect her.
    
The swearing-in ceremony for Katerina Sakellaropoulou took place in an almost empty parliament, as part of measures being taken to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. Only a handful of lawmakers and a limited number of journalists were present.
    
Greece has shut down schools, universities, cinemas, theaters, gyms and nightclubs, and authorities have warned people to stay home and avoid large gatherings in an effort to contain the virus outbreak. The country so far has 117 confirmed cases and one death. The presidential swearing-in ceremony was being covered live on state television.
    
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis nominated Sakellaropoulou as a non-partisan candidate who would enjoy broad support from across the political spectrum. All major parties voted in favor, with Sakellaropoulou being elected to the largely ceremonial post in a 261-33 vote in January, well above the 200 votes required. Six lawmakers were absent.
    
Greece has a low number of women in senior positions in politics, and Mitsotakis had been criticized for selecting a nearly all-male Cabinet after he won general elections in July 2019. In the current Greek Cabinet, all but one of the 18 senior positions are held by men.
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Asian markets plunged Friday, one day after Wall Street’s worst performance since the “Black Monday” crash of 1987.Stock indexes in Japan, Thailand and India dropped as much as 10% at one point Friday morning, triggering the circuit breaker rule, or the temporary halt of trading in Thailand and India.SET 100 in Bangkok was down 8.7% and the Sensex in Mumbai was down 9.4% after trading resumed.The drop wasn’t as severe in mainland China, where communities are recovering from the deadly coronavirus pandemic, with the Shanghai Composite index down 3%.Other Asian regional markets dropped between 4% and 6% by midday Friday.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks March 3, 2020. In a surprise move, the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a sizable half-percentage point in an effort to support the economy in the face of the spreading coronavirus.Fed rally short-livedIn the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,353 points Thursday — a 10% drop. The Standard & Poor’s-500 and NASDAQ were also off 10%.European markets were also hit hard. London was down 11% while major French and German indexes took a 12% hit.Brazil’s Ibovespa index closed 15% lower.Trading in New York was automatically stopped for 15 minutes when stock prices dropped like a stone shortly after the markets opened Thursday.The markets rallied briefly after the Federal Reserve said it would ease what it called “highly unusual disruptions” in the usually reliable U.S. treasuries. But the optimism quickly went away.Travel and airline stocks took the biggest hits and the price of oil dropped again, in part because less travel means less demand.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyRecession fearsAnalysts say the ever-growing list of closings, cancellations and restrictions because of the coronavirus means less consumer spending, a slower global economy, and investor fears of a recession.But many financial experts say fear is what is driving the new bear market — fear of where the coronavirus is going to go next and warnings from the World Health Organization and U.S. experts that the pandemic is going to get worse before it gets better.Advice from veteran investors include telling their clients to look for bargain-priced stocks and buy them — and consider investing in companies that can withstand global economic shocks, including insurance firms and manufacturers of consumer staples.
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As Haitian government officials intensify their efforts to inform and prepare the nation for the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world, residents of Petionville, a suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince, seemed woefully uninformed about the deadly disease.“Do you know how people get infected with coronavirus?” a woman who didn’t want to appear on camera asked VOA Creole’s reporter. “It’s the result of too many sins. That’s why the disease is spreading worldwide. This is God’s way of punishing us.”Louis Jeune François believes the coronavirus is a conspiracy. (Matiado Vilme/VOA)Louis Jeune Francois, a voodoo worshiper who had just attended a service believes the pandemic is a conspiracy.“There are 21 families which rule the world. Maybe they feel the population is too big, so they found a way to reduce it. They created a virus to kill a group of people,” he said. “They especially want the virus to kill people in the poorest countries.”This woman told VOA Creole she doesn’t believe the coronavirus only targets people who practice certain religions. (Matiado Vilme/VOA)Another voodoo worshiper told VOA she doesn’t believe coronavirus has anything to do with black magic.“Coronavirus isn’t just a hex on Haiti, don’t you see China is infected with the virus too?” she said. “People who are blaming it on religion are wrong, the virus targets both Protestants and Pagans. You just need to be cautious.”Another man who didn’t want to be identified seemed to understand the basics.“From what I understand, the coronavirus is a virus. It’s a virus that’s transmitted through the air,” he said.Asked what preventative measures they can take to avoid being infected, residents offered various solutions.“Don’t shake hands, fist bump instead,” one man suggested.This market vendor says hand-washing and avoiding touching your face can keep you healthy, March 12, 2020. (Matiado Vilme/VOA)“Wash your hands, don’t touch your mouth, don’t pick your nose, use a handkerchief,” a woman selling clothing at the local open air market advised.“I don’t buy this washing hands thing,” another man said. “Of course you have to wash your hands, because if your hand is dirty you won’t be able to use it. I was brought up to do that. But some people say you should eat limes, eat local fruits, because they are natural (and won’t harm your health).”Expanding on the homeopathic remedy idea, a man told VOA he heard there are vegetable leaves you can boil to protect yourself from the virus.“Boiling leaves is part of our culture,” he said.This man had accurate information about how the pandemic spreads but also believes consuming certain boiled plants can protect him from being infected. (Matiado Vilme/VOA)Most people VOA Creole spoke to said the government should act more responsibly to inform the nation about the virus.“Haiti is a free country, people do whatever they want here, but there are countries where planes are not allowed to land, transportation is restricted, but here there are no restrictions that I’m aware of,” a woman shopping at the open air market said. “We have no protections whatsoever. We’re in God’s hands.”“If the government forbids groups of 500 people or more to meet, I will know that if I see that happening I should not attend,” one man said. “But if the number they give is 1,000 or 2,000 then I’ll go ahead and attend because it’s hard to get that many people in one place around here.”Haiti’s Public Health Minister Marie Greta Roy Clement announced Wednesday that the government has stepped up efforts to keep coronavirus out. The measures include screening at the nation’s airports and official border crossings, training for health professionals and journalists, and public service announcements airing on radio and television.Renan Toussaint in Port-au-Prince contributed to this report.
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There are 134,000 coronavirus cases in 114 countries – a tiny number with a global population of 7 billion.But the pandemic is turning life upside down and inside out for nearly every man, woman, and child.Few in the United States has avoided being affected by the coronavirus outbreak in some way, including the president.Brazilian communication secretary Fabio Wajngarten tested positive for the virus, days after he met with U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The White House said the president has not been tested, and Trump said Thursday he is “not concerned” even though he sat next to Wajngarten for a some time.Brazilian officials say doctors there have tested and are keeping a close watch on President Jair Bolsonaro.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in isolation after his wife showed mild symptoms of the virus late Wednesday after returning from a speaking engagement in London.Commuters walk through the lobby of Grand Central Station in New York, March 12, 2020.The largest city in the United States declared a state of emergency Thursday over what its mayor calls “striking and troubling” developments in the coronavirus pandemic.New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said there were 95 confirmed cases in the city Thursday, but said there could be up to 1,000 next week.”Going to this level is not done lightly, but it has reached the point where it is necessary,” de Blasio said. He warned New Yorkers to be prepared for major job losses, evictions, business closings, and food shortages.The mayor said the state of emergency gives city authorities the power to close subways and buses, tell people to get off the streets, set curfews, and ration supplies.But de Blasio was annoyed by rumors flying across social media that he was planning to shut down New York City and order a quarantine.”If it’s not coming from my mouth, don’t believe it,” he stressed.Maryland and Ohio are the first states to close down all public schools, forcing parents to scramble to find day care or a way to work from home.California’s Disneyland calls itself “The Happiest Place on Earth.” It will soon look like the loneliest place on Earth. The theme park will be closed for the rest of the month starting Saturday.A smaller number of tourists visit the Capitol Visitors Center on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 12, 2020. Congress is shutting the Capitol to the public until April in reaction to the spread of the coronavirus, officials announced Thursday.Congress is closing the Capitol and all House and Senate offices to the public, at least until April.Every major league sport is canceling the rest of the season, frustrating millions of fans with tickets to the big games. Baseball is postponing its March 26 opening day for two weeks. The remainder of the spring training schedule has been called off.College basketball’s highly-anticipated annual tournament has also been cancelled with many campuses shutting down and students taking classes remotely.Belgium, France, Honduras, Ireland, Portugal, and Canada’s Ontario province are the latest federal governments to shut down all schools.India has ordered some of the toughest travel restrictions so far, suspending visas for all tourists and foreigners for one month starting Friday.El Salvador has banned entry to all foreigners, while neighboring Guatemala issued its own ban on those traveling from Europe, Iran, China, and the Koreas.U.S. ‪Vice President Mike Pence‬ takes questions during a news briefing on the administration response to the Coronavirus, at the White House in Washington, March 9, 2020.U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that Americans returning from Europe must self-quarantine for 14 days to help prevent more cases.Iran is asking for a $5 billion emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund. Officials report more than 10,000 confirmed cases with 429 deaths Thursday.Iranian global health scholar Kamair Alaei tells VOA Persian he believes the actual number is 40,000.Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has appealed to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres to demand international support for an end to U.S. sanctions, saying they are hurting Iranian efforts to fight the disease.Zarif calls the sanctions “economic terrorism.””We are stymied in our efforts to identify and treat our [patients in combating the spread of the virus and ultimately in defeating it,” Zarif wrote in a letter to Guterres. He called, Iranian doctors and nurses “among the very finest in the world.”As of late Thursday, there were 134,520 confirmed coronavirus cases in 114 countries. The death toll is close to 5,000.Margaret Bsheer in New York and VOA Persian’s Farhad Pouladi and Arian Risbaf contributed to this report. 
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The U.S. House of Representatives voted this week to change the way the FBI and National Security Agency use the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to conduct electronic surveillance of foreign nationals and agents in the United States. But President Donald Trump indicated Thursday that he might veto the bipartisan bill, saying he and his allies wanted more information about how the FBI’s investigation of alleged ties between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russia was launched. “Many Republican Senators want me to Veto the FISA Bill until we find out what led to, and happened with, the illegal attempted ‘coup’ of the duly elected President of the United States, and others!” Trump wrote on Twitter.The FBI investigation, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, has long been a lightning rod for criticism by Trump. The president frequently attacks it as an attempt to forestall his 2016 election and, later, to undo his presidency.FILE – U.S. Attorney General William Barr departs after speaking at a news conference to discuss special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential race, in Washington, April 18, 2019.Last year, Attorney General William Barr ordered an internal Justice Department probe into the origins of the Russia election investigation, saying intelligence agencies had conducted “spying” on the Trump campaign.  That investigation, led by U.S. Attorney John Durham, is ongoing.House members voted 278-138 on Wednesday to reauthorize three key intelligence-gathering provisions in the law while strengthening surveillance standards and enhancing privacy protections.Proponents say the bill, known as the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act, introduces major reforms.  Among the backers are Barr and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.  But opponents such as Republican Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee say the reforms don’t go far enough to prevent abuse.  Privacy advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union have also come out against the legislation.Here is what you need to know about FISA and the changes in the law.What is FISA?Enacted in 1978, FISA governs all electronic surveillance of foreign agents and nationals in the United States.   The law set up a secret 11-member court to approve or deny foreign surveillance applications.  To obtain an order, the NSA and FBI present the court with probable cause that a target is “a foreign power” or “an agent of a foreign power” inside the United States, and that the planned surveillance is for the purpose of gathering “foreign intelligence information.” More than 99% of applications are approved. What led to the changes?The reforms follow controversy over the FBI’s surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page in 2016 and 2017.   A damning December 2019 report by the Justice Department inspector general revealed 17 “significant errors or omissions” in the FBI’s four separate applications to surveil Page during its investigation of Russian election meddling.   FBI Director Christopher Wray ordered more than 40 “corrective steps” in response. FILE – Carter Page speaks at a news conference at RIA Novosti news agency in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 12, 2016.The FISA court later barred FBI agents involved in the Page surveillance applications from appearing in front of the court.  The revelations led to calls by Republicans as well as privacy advocates to overhaul FISA.What is in the new legislation?In addition to extending three intelligence-gathering authorities, the new legislation ends the NSA’s authority under a now-defunct program to collect phone records of Americans. Among key reforms:— It requires officials overseeing FISA applications to certify their accuracy prior to submitting them to the FISA court.  Making a false declaration to the FISA court may result in a prison sentence of eight years, up from five years.    The enhanced penalty also applies to unauthorized disclosures of FISA applications.— It prohibits the NSA from collecting cell site and GPS data.— It requires the attorney general to approve in writing an investigation if a target is an elected official or a candidate in a federal election.— It expands the authority of judges on the FISA court to appoint an amicus curiae, or an impartial friend of the court, in cases that raise “exceptional concerns” about the First Amendment rights of a U.S. national under investigation.  What reforms weren’t approved?The legislation does not enact other key reforms urged by civil libertarians and privacy advocates. Among them:— A requirement that individuals receive notice and access to their FISA applications if they’re prosecuted on the basis of information gathered through electronic surveillance.— A requirement that FISA court advisers be allowed to “raise any issue with the court anytime” and have access to all secret court documents and records.— An explicit ban on collecting Americans’ web browsing history without a warrant.— A limit on the types of information the government can obtain under a provision of the law known as Section 215. The provision allows the government to collect “any tangible thing,” and  privacy advocates say it could include tax returns, gun records, book sales and library records.
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Liberian journalists rallied in the capital Monrovia on Thursday, and some newspapers darkened their homepages, in protest at alleged harassment they face from security forces.The protest follows the death last month of Liberian broadcaster Zenu Koboi Miller, in circumstances which sparked outrage in the impoverished West African state.Miller was allegedly manhandled by President George Weah’s bodyguards while covering a football tournament, and was admitted to hospital not long afterwards.He died of hypertension and stroke, medical staff told Miller’s family, which has accepted the explanation.However, some Liberian journalists believe he succumbed to injuries sustained during the bodyguard incident.Liberian journalists protest in Monrovia on March 12, 2020, and some newspapers darkened their front pages, in protest at alleged harassment they face from security forces.On Thursday, scores of journalists marched through Monrovia toting placards bearing slogans such as “Stop beating me while I am doing my work” and “Journalists are not your drums.”In a show of solidarity, some smaller newspapers darkened their homepages and some radio stations suspended normal programming to interview journalists about violence and intimidation.”This constant aggression against journalists must stop. We are tired of it and can no longer bear it,” journalist Cyrus Harmon told AFP.Liberia’s Press Union also handed the government a statement in which it said “attacks, detention, intimidation and brutality meted against media practitioners have become unprecedented.”It added that it saw such behavior as “deliberate attempts to force journalists into self-censorship.”Pointing to 10 attacks on journalists over the last three months, including the one on Miller, the union demanded the government investigate abuse claims.FILE – Liberia’s President George Weah speaks at the Presidential palace during a visit to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, April 4, 2018.Liberia’s Presidential Affairs Minister Nathaniel McGill promised reporters on Thursday that the government would do so.”The government is nothing without the press,” he said.Weah, a former international footballer, has faced criticism about treatment of the media under his administration before.Liberia’s press union in December 2018 complained of “reinforced hostilities” from his ruling circle, for example.Earlier that year, Weah sought to allay concerns when he met the heads of the country’s media.”I want to promise you … 200 percent freedom of expression and press freedom under my government,” he said at the time.
 
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The escalating coronavirus emergency Thursday sent stocks to their worst losses since the Black Monday crash of 1987, extending a sell-off that has now wiped out most of Wall Street’s big run-up since President Donald Trump’s election.The S&P 500 plummeted 9.5%, for a total drop of 26.7% from its all-time high, set last month. That puts it way past the 20% threshold to make this a bear market, snapping an unprecedented, nearly 11-year bull-market run. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 10% for its worst day since a nearly 23% drop on October 19, 1987.European markets lost 12% in one of their worst days ever, even after the European Central Bank pledged to buy more bonds and offer more help for the economy.The heavy losses came amid a cascade of cancellations and shutdowns across the globe — including Trump’s suspension of most travel to the U.S. from Europe — and rising worries that the White House and other authorities around the world can’t or won’t counter the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic anytime soon.The news just continues to get worse, and the travel ban puts an exclamation point on the weakness we're going to see in global GDP and, in turn, the U.S., said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. We're starting to get a sense of how dire the impact on the economy is going to be. Each day the news doesn't get better, it gets worse. It's now has hit Main Street to a more significant degree.''A price screen display is seen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after the close of trading in New York, March 12, 2020.Automatic haltStocks fell so fast on Wall Street at the opening bell that they triggered an automatic, 15-minute trading halt for the second time this week. The so-called circuit breakers were first adopted after the 1987 crash, and until this week hadn't been tripped since 1997.The Dow briefly turned upward and halved its losses at one point in the afternoon after the Federal Reserve announced it would step in to easehighly unusual disruptions” in the Treasury market. But the burst of momentum quickly faded.Trump often points proudly to the big rise on Wall Street under his administration and warned a crowd at a rally last August that whether you love me or hate, you gotta vote for me, or else your 401(k) will go down the tubes.''
Just last month, the Dow was boasting a nearly 50% gain since Trump took the oath of office on January 20, 2017. By Thursday's close, the Dow was clinging to a 6.9% gain, though it was still up nearly 16% since just before Trump's election in November 2016.The combined health crisis and retreat on Wall Street heightened fears of a recession.This is bad. The worst and fastest stock market correction in our career,Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union, said in a research note overnight.The economy is doomed to recession if the country stops working and takes the next 30 days off. The stock market knows it.”The coronavirus has infected around 128,000 people worldwide and killed over 4,700. The death toll in the U.S. climbed to 39, with over 1,300 infections. For most people, the virus 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 illnesses, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the virus in a matter of weeks.Trump speechIn a somber prime-time address Wednesday night from the White House, Trump announced the new travel ban as well as measures to extend loans, payroll tax cuts and other financial relief to individuals and businesses hurt by the crisis.But the travel restrictions represented another heavy blow to the already battered airline and travel industries, and the other measures did not impress Wall Street.What markets are waiting for are efforts to contain the virus in a very aggressive way, ways we've seen in other countries, said Nela Richardson, investment strategist at Edward Jones. Short of that, nibbling around the edges, maybe doing something that can help a firm with a very short-term impact or help an employee, doesn't hurt, but it's not the bull's-eye, and it's not as targeted as the markets would like to see.''Michael McCarthy of CMC Markets said:The market judgment on that announcement is that it’s too little, too late.”The damage was worldwide and eye-popping. Among the big moves:—  Travel stocks again were among the hardest hit. Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises both lost roughly a quarter of their value. Another drop for United Airlines put its loss for the year at more than 50%.— Oil continued its brutal week, with benchmark U.S. at $31 per barrel.— In Asia, stocks in Thailand and the Philippines fell so fast that trading was temporarily halted. Japan’s Nikkei 225 sank 4.4% to its lowest close in four years, and South Korea’s market lost 3.9%.Perhaps more alarming were complaints in recent days by investors that trading in the Treasury market wasn’t working well. For reasons that weren’t immediately clear, traders said they were seeing surprisingly large gaps in prices being offered by buyers and sellers. That threatened to cause the market to seize up.In a surprise move, the Fed said it would pump in at least $1.5 trillion to help calm the market and facilitate trading.After earlier thinking that the virus could remain mostly in China and that any dip in the economy would be followed by a quick rebound, investors are seeing the damage and disruptions mount, with Italy locking itself down, the National Basketball Association suspending games, and authorities in the U.S. and beyond banning large gatherings and closing schools.
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The entertainment industry, a business predicated on drawing crowds in theaters, cinemas and concert venues, is bracing for possible shutdown in the coming weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic, potentially putting on pause the normal hum of TV productions, the bustle of red-carpet movie premieres and the applause of audiences. On Thursday, the upcoming release of “A Quiet Place 2” joined the many postponements.The virus’ spread, and dawning awareness of its reach, has already forced the cancellation or postponement of all major imminent events on the calendar, including the sprawling, multi-format South by Southwest conference and festival in Austin, Texas; Hollywood’s annual movie expo CinemaCon, in Las Vegas; this month’s Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles; the sunny California music festival Coachella, which was postponed to October;  and vital television events like the NBA season, which was put on hiatus Wednesday after a player tested positive for the virus.On Thursday, as California and some states were suggesting bans of not just the largest events but also gatherings of more than 250 to help stymie the virus’ spread, a new focus came on Broadway, multiplexes and smaller concert venues.For most people, the new 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 within a few week.As of Wednesday evening, 38 people had died in the U.S., while more than 1,300 people had tested positive for the new coronavirus. Tolls have been higher elsewhere. In Italy, where more than 12,000 people tested positive and 800 people have died, all stores except pharmacies and food markets were ordered closed.California Governor Gavin Newsom recommended the cancellation or postponement of gatherings of 250 or more people through at least the end of the month.Hollywood was to usher in several new movie releases to theaters beginning Thursday evening. North American’s largest chains, AMC and Regal, did not immediately respond to emails Thursday.John Krasinski, writer and director of “A Quiet Place 2,” announced Thursday that his film, a Paramount Pictures release, would not open next week as planned but be postponed.“One of the things I’m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see together,” Krasinksi said in a message on social media. “Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what’s going on in the world around us, now is clearly not the right time to do that.”Also Thursday, the TCM Classic Film festival scheduled next month in Los Angeles was canceled due to coronavirus concerns.A part-time usher and security guard who worked at two Broadway theaters in recent days tested positive for COVID-19 and is under quarantine. Broadway is particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus because its audience skews older, thousands of people are packed into small seats for every show and the industry is dependent on tourism. After extensive cleaning, Thursday nights show are to go on.The announcement Wednesday evening, while President Donald Trump addressed the nation, that Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson had tested positive for coronavirus sent shudders through the industry. Hanks was easily the most famous person yet to publicly announce that he had the virus. He was in Australia to shoot an Elvis Presley biopic that Warner Bros. said would halt production.“Not much more to it than a one-day-a-time approach, no?” Hanks said of their condition.“The Tonight Show” and other late-night talk shows in New York announced Wednesday they will tape without audiences, while CBS said that production on the next season of “Survivor” was being postponed. “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” have also halted tapings with audiences.The closures, postpones and hiatuses are likely to be enormously costly for the entertainment industry. The shuttering of Chinese movie theaters – the world’s second largest movie market has been closed for more than a month – has there already led to the loss of more than $1 billion in ticket revenue. Last year, global box office reached a new high of $42.2 billion. 
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Congress is shutting the Capitol to the public until April in reaction to the spread of the coronavirus, officials announced Thursday, a rare step that underscores the growing gravity with which the government is reacting to the viral outbreak.In a statement, the House and Senate sergeants at arms said congressional office buildings and the Congressional Visitor Center, through which tourists enter the Capitol, were also being shuttered.In an email to lawmakers’ offices, the sergeants at arms said the Capitol will be closed to all tours, including special ones led by House and Senate members and their aides. No tours will be permitted in the Capitol Visitor Center, the massive three-level underground structure, which opened in 2008 and had greeted more than 21 million visitors through 2018.Lawmakers’ offices will be required to meet any official visitors at building entrances, and they were asked to escort them out after the meetings.Only lawmakers, staff, journalists and visitors with official business will be permitted to enter the buildings. The closures begin at 5 p.m. EDT Thursday, and the buildings are scheduled to reopen on April 1.The officials said they were acting on the advice of District of Columbia health officials and of Congress’ own doctors.“We are taking this temporary action out of concern for the health and safety of congressional employees as well as the public,” they wrote. “We appreciate the understanding of those with planned visits interrupted by this necessary but prudent decision.”Congress is scheduled to be on recess next week.President Donald Trump’s administration and Congress have struggled over how to react to the virus and COVID-19, the disease it can cause that in some cases can be deadly. Congressional leaders have had to balance conflicting desires of protecting lawmakers and staffs from getting sick with keeping one of the country’s most visible public buildings open. At the White House, tours have been temporarily suspended.In the fall of 1918, the Capitol was closed briefly to visitors as the Spanish flu spread around the world, killing an estimated tens of millions of people. Around 1,000 people died in the Washington, D.C., region along with at least three members of the House, according to the chamber’s historians’ office.For most people, the new 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 from the new virus.According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.In mainland China, where the virus first exploded, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 62,000 have recovered. 
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Australia’s highest court on Thursday said it will deliver a verdict at a later date on whether to overturn the convictions of the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of child sex abuse.Cardinal George Pell’s lawyer, Bret Walker, told the High Court that if it found a lower court had made a mistake in upholding Pell’s convictions, he should be acquitted.Prosecutor Kerri Judd told the seven judges that if there were a mistake, they should send the case back to the Victoria state Court of Appeal to hear it again.Otherwise, the High Court should hear more evidence and decide itself whether the convictions against Pope Francis’ former finance minister should stand, Judd said.Pell is one year into a six-year sentence after being convicted of molesting two 13-year-old choirboys in Melbourne’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral while he was the city’s archbishop in the late 1990s.The 78-year-old cleric’s two-day hearing that ended on Thursday could be his last chance of clearing his name.Pell was largely convicted on the testimony of one of the choirboys, now in his 30s with a young family.He first went to police in 2015 after the second victim died of a heroin overdose at the age of 31. Neither can be identified under state law.Judd told the court on Thursday that the surviving victim’s detailed knowledge of the layout of the priests’ sacristy supported his accusation that the boys were molested there.
 
“Something has happened there in that room and it’s indelibly marked him,” Judd said. Something significant happened in that room."
Much of the two-day hearing focused on whether the jury should have had a reasonable doubt about Pell's guilt and whether he could have time to molest the boys in five or six minutes immediately after a Mass.
The appeals court found in a 2-1 majority in August that Pell had had enough time to abuse the boys and that the unanimous guilty verdicts were sound.Judd said the "two big points" raised against the prosecution case were evidence that Pell had been chatting with members of the congregation on the steps of the cathedral after the Masses when the abuses could have occurred and that he only had windows of five or six minutes to commit the abuses undetected.Other evidence included that Pell was almost always attended by another cleric while dressed in his archbishop's robes.Walker said all that the prosecution had to do at his trial and appeals court hearing was to prove that Pell being left alone while robed or not talking with congregants after Mass waspossible” to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
“That … is a grotesque version of the reversal of onus of proof, if all the Crown has to do is to prove the possibility of something,” Walker said.
Judd argued that the charges were proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Melbourne Law School Prof. Jeremy Gans, who attended the High Court hearing, said later, “It’s been a very good day for Pell.”
“What stood out is that the questions seemed to be mostly directed at arguments that support Pell’s argument for acquittal and were not particularly sympathetic to the prosecution, with the caveat that it’s always difficult to know why they ask these questions,” he said.
Pell is in a maximum-security Melbourne prison and was not allowed to travel to Canberra for the court hearing.  
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A spike in cases in the Gulf Arab states helped push infections in the Middle East for the new coronavirus past 10,000 cases on Thursday, with most infected people either in Iran or having recently traveled there.
    
Iran has asked for an emergency $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to combat the outbreak there, which has killed more than 360 people and infected some 9,000 people in the Islamic Republic. Iran’s Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati said Thursday he made the request last week in a letter to IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva. The international lender has said it stands ready to support countries through a Rapid Financial Instrument.
    
Iran’s economy has been battered by U.S. sanctions, which have choked Tehran’s ability to sell its oil. The recent outbreak of the virus there has compounded its economic woes, with all of Iran’s neighbors closing their borders to Iranians and multiple nations cutting travel links with Iran, including shipping in some cases, which is affecting imports, as well.
    
Countries in the region have imposed their own varying levels of travel restrictions, from wholesale halting of all commercial flights in Kuwait, to Saudi Arabia banning travel to 39 countries.
    
Regional stock markets were also down, reflecting investor concerns and nerves felt globally as  oil prices plunge and tourism revenue is eroded  by the virus. The World Health Organization on Wednesday officially designated the outbreak a “pandemic.”
    
For most people, the new 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 from the new virus and the COVID-19 illness it causes.
    
Because the there is still no vaccine for the infectious disease, countries are implementing tough measures to restrict its spread, as well as the impact an outbreak could have on emergency rooms and intensive care units.
    
Multiple top officials in Iran, from its senior vice president to Cabinet ministers, members of parliament, Revolutionary Guard members, health workers and health ministry officials, have contracted the virus. Some of those officials have died.
    
There are concerns that the number of infections across Iran is much higher than the confirmed cases reported by the government, which is struggling to contain or manage its spread. The rising casualty figures each day in Iran suggest the fight against the new coronavirus is far from over.
    
A third Lebanese man died from the coronavirus, state-run National News Agency said Thursday. It said the man’s immune system was impaired because he had cancer. Local media reported the man was 79 years old and that the virus was transmitted to him from the first man who had died in Lebanon earlier this week.
    
Outside of Iran, only Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon have recorded deaths from the virus in the Middle East. Iran has one of the world’s worst death tolls outside of China, the epicenter of the outbreak.
    
This week, Qatar reported a massive jump in cases of the new coronavirus late Wednesday with 262 now infected. The more than 200 new cases had been found in quarantine. In the Gulf Arab island nation of Bahrain, confirmed cases also rose by nearly 70% this week to 189 confirmed cases, after some 77 new cases were confirmed on a returning flight of Bahrainis from Iran.
    
Kuwait on Thursday closed all workplaces and non-essential business for two weeks, including restaurants, cafes and health clubs. Schools and universities have already been suspended. All commercial flights are being halted to Kuwait starting Friday. The country has over 70 confirmed cases of the new virus.
    
Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, reported seven more cases late Wednesday, bringing the country’s total number of cases to 67. In the southern tourist-driven city of Luxor, 70 Egyptian workers and guides remained in quarantine on a Nile cruise ship called the Asara. Earlier this week, 83 foreign tourists left quarantine on the ship and flew home week after testing negative for the virus.
    
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, announced a jump in cases from 21 to 45 late Wednesday, among them 12 Egyptians under quarantine in Mecca. The government has suspended pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest sites, barring entry of all pilgrims to Mecca and Medina to curb the virus’ spread. It has also cordoned off the eastern province of Qatif, where more than a dozen cases are confirmed among its mostly Shiite population from people who recently visited Iran.
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Stock markets continue to be rattled by the coronavirus outbreak and its economic fallout, with Asian markets falling sharply in Thursday trading.Japan’s Nikkei Index was down more than 5% in afternoon trading, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 3.7% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.3%.Those losses followed an ugly day Wednesday on Wall Street where the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 6%, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 both fell 5%.U.S. futures pointed to another harsh day when trading opens Thursday.European markets also pointed to losses ahead of their openings.Less demand for travel because of the virus is also helping drive down world oil prices. Airline stocks and cruise ship lines have also been taking a beating.The Dow is now officially in what financial experts call a bear market — when the price of stocks drop at least 20% from a 52-week high. This ends the record-long bull market, which started in March 2009.
 
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U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday night announced a 30-day ban on travel from Europe and other measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in an address to the nation. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this story.
 
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The United States is accusing China, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba of human rights violations, including forced disappearances, attacks on journalists and arbitrary detentions. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo reports on the State Department’s annual report on human rights around the world, issued Wednesday.
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The U.N. International Organization for Migration reports that over 83,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from Iran since January 1, a significant rise primarily caused by the fear of the quickly spreading coronavirus in Iran. VOA’s Khalil Noorzai files this report from Herat, Afghanistan, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
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A two-train subway collision in Mexico City killed a male passenger, injured 41 people and disrupted service Wednesday on the bustling metro system serving this megalopolis of over 20 million people.Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said via Twitter that one of the trains apparently reversed into the other by accident the previous night, shortly before midnight.Twenty-five of the injured were treated at the scene, and the other 16 were taken to hospitals, Sheinbaum said. All the injuries were “light to medium” and not life-threatening. Hours later, Sheimbaum’s chief of staff, Rosa Icela Rodriguez, said that only four of the 16 remained in hospitals.She said the cause of the crash was under investigation.Mexico City’s Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, center, leaves Tacubaya metro station, where two trains collided leaving one dead and 41 injured, in Mexico City, March 11, 2020.Metro authorities said the two drivers of the trains were among those hurt.Mexico City Metro director Florencia Serrania said at a news conference that the “black boxes” from both trains, which will provide a “second-by-second” record of what happened, were turned over to the city prosecutor’s office and their information appeared to be intact.Workers had separated the stacked metro cars and were working to clear the track. She said she expected the line to be ready for service Thursday morning.Serrania said the accident occurred 20 minutes before the end of service Tuesday night when one train was headed to the garage to prepare for Wednesday morning service.She added that an international expert had been hired to conduct an independent review of the incident.Images of the accident published in local media showed wrecked subway cars derailed in the Tacubaya underground station, and rescuers carrying people away.Diana Segura Canchola, who was selling sweets from her street stall outside the station on Wednesday, said she was packing up the previous night when she heard a loud bang “as if a transformer had exploded,” followed by a burned odor.Soon people began emerging from the station saying there had been a crash, and about 10 minutes later police, firefighters and ambulances started arriving.”A lot of people came out disoriented, in shock … very frightened by what had happened,” Segura said.Metro personnel remain at the entrance of the Tacubaya station, where two trains collided, in Mexico City, March 11, 2020.The Mexico City Metro system, one of the world’s largest and most transited, has seen at least two serious accidents previously since it opened five decades ago.In 2015, a train failed to brake in time and smashed into another at the Oceania station in the city’s north, injuring 12 people. Authorities later blamed “double human error.”In the most serious incident, two trains collided at the Viaducto station in 1975, killing at least 31 and injuring more than 70, according to the national newspaper El Universal.Tacubaya is a key station for the Metro system, with three of its 12 lines intersecting there, and there were disruptions during the Wednesday morning commute as people formed long lines outside Tacubaya station waiting to board buses.Metro authorities said service on Line 1 would be reduced throughout the day with Tacubaya and a neighboring station out of action and 45 buses deployed to bridge the gap of about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers).Serrania told Milenio television that about five cars on each train were damaged.Mexico City’s Metro system transported more than 1.6 billion passengers in 2018, according to official figures, or about 4.4 million per day.
 
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