thetorontostar--2020-03-07--The Latest:  Kansas confirms first case of coronavirus

BEIJING - The Latest on the coronavirus outbreak ( all times local ) : Nebraska officials are asking dozens of people who attended a Special Olympics basketball tournament last week in Fremont to self-quarantine after learning a woman infected with COVID-19 also attended the event .
The woman spent most of the day Feb. 29 at the Fremont Family YMCA , where the tournament was held , according to a news release Saturday from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services .
Health officials have urged the tournament ’ s players , coaches and team staff members to self-quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ symptoms of the virus , including fever , cough and shortness of breath .
They ’ re also asked to self-report to the Nebraska public health online system or call their local health departments for next steps .
About 500 people attended the event from Fremont , Omaha , Lincoln and other areas in eastern Nebraska , officials said .
Spectators and other people who were in the YMCA building that same day are at much lower risk than the direct participants of the tournament .
Several institutions in Fremont , including Fremont @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trinity Lutheran School , Midland University and the YMCA , cancelled or postponed all activities effective immediately .
The District of Columbia says it has recorded its first case of coronavirus .
In a tweet , Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser says testing at the public health lab of the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences on Saturday yielded its first presumptive positive coronavirus case .
The mayor scheduled a Saturday evening news conference .
The D.C. case comes as New Jersey reports a person with coronavirus had attended last week ’ s Conservative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maryland , a suburb of Washington .
On Friday , the group AIPAC said two people who attended its Washington conference this past week had tested positive for coronavirus U.S. officials say they ’ ve distributed enough kits to public health labs to test 75,000 people around the country for the coronavirus .
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn released the information on Saturday .
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Saturday that most people don ’ t need to drastically change their daily lives , but should “ stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he reiterated that older people and those with underlying health conditions should avoid large groups , especially in tight spaces .
Officials in the U.S. state of Washington have raised the death toll from the coronavirus to 16 .
The Washington state Department of Health announced the two additional deaths on Saturday .
They say the number of people diagnosed with the virus has risen to 102 .
At least 10 of those who died had been linked to a nursing home in the Seattle area .
The death toll in the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have died in Florida and one has died in California .
Greece ’ s National Public Health Organization says the total cases of coronavirus in Greece have risen to 66 .
The organization announced the new numbers Saturday .
Of those , 47 were in a group that travelled to Israel and Egypt in late February .
One of the travellers is a 66-year-old man who is in intensive care .
No fatalities have been reported in Greece .
A total of 21 new cases were confirmed Saturday .
The government is expected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public spaces on Sunday or Monday .
The number of people in France diagnosed with the new coronavirus jumped by 336 to 949 on Saturday .
That ’ s the biggest daily increase France has recorded .
French health authorities said another seven people have died , taking the total to 16 .
Most have been over 70 years of age .
The virus has reached every region of France and three overseas territories in the Caribbean and South America .
The head of the national health agency said that French hospitals are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in retired doctors and students to help with growing demand if needed .
Health authorities on the small Mediterranean island nation of Malta have raised the number of people with coronavirus to three , after the parents of the girl first infected tested positive too .
Officials said ‘ ’ there is no need for alarm , ’ ’ and urged people to take preventative measures , like frequent hand-washing .
Earlier , Malta confirmed its first coronavirus case , a 12-year-old girl of Italian origin who lives in Malta with her family @ @ @ @ @ @ @ girl and her family had visited northern Italy in late February and early March , returning to Malta via Rome .
Italy has seen its biggest daily increase in coronavirus cases since the outbreak broke out in the north of the country on Feb. 21 .
In its daily update , Italy ’ s civil protection agency said the number of people with the coronavirus rose by 1,247 in the last 24 hours , taking the total to 5,883 .
Another 36 people also died as a result of the virus , taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people in intensive care with ailments other than coronavirus in the hardest-hit region of Lombardy would be transferred to neighbouring regions , all of which have greater availability .
The president of the national health service , Silvio Brusaferro , urged people to abide by guidelines to limit contact as the only way to contain the virus .
Spain has deployed police in a northern town to help enforce a home quarantine placed on a neighbourhood with a high number of residents infected by the coronavirus .
The regional government of La Rioja @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been taken to contain the outbreak in Haro , a town of 11,000 residents , where the majority of the 39 cases in the region are located .
Regional authorities warn that breaking the quarantine is punishable by fines of 3,000-600,000 euros ( $ 3,380- $ 677,000 ) .
Fernando Simón , the director of Spain ’ s centre of health emergencies and alerts , confirmed reports that medical experts suspect that a recent funeral led to the outbreak in Spain ’ s north .
Besides the around 30 people infected in Haro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 70 infected in the neighbouring Basque Country region are also linked to the funeral held in the Basque city of Vitoria .
The virus has caused eight deaths in Spain and infected over 400 .
Thirty people have recovered from the virus .
An elderly man has become the second person in the U.K. to die from the coronavirus .
The man , in his early 80s , tested positive for the virus and had underlying health conditions .
He died Thursday while being treated at Milton Keynes University Hospital .
Chief Medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working to find out who the man had come into contact with .
The U.K. has confirmed 164 cases of the new virus — 147 in England , 11 in Scotland , four in Northern Ireland and two in Wales .
Pope Francis will deliver his next two public blessings via video to prevent crowds from gathering as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus .
The Vatican said in a statement Saturday that the pope will not hold his traditional Sunday noon blessing from a window over St. Peter ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that it will be streamed from the library in the Apostolic Palace .
The Wednesday audience will be handled in the same way .
Francis has also stopped celebrating morning Mass before invited guests at the chapel in the Vatican hotel where he lives , indicating his contact has been extremely limited in an apparent effort to prevent his infection .
At 83 , recovering from a cold and with part of one lung removed from a respiratory infection when he was a young man , Francis would be at risk of serious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus .
Italy has recommended that elderly people remain at home .
The measures come after the Vatican confirmed its first case of the virus on Friday .
The pope appeared from a window high above St. Peter ’ s Square for last Sunday ’ s blessing , pausing twice for short bouts of coughing .
He similarly was seen coughing and blowing his nose during Ash Wednesday Mass just days earlier .
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging older adults and people with severe medical conditions such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ stay home as much as possible ” and avoid crowds to avoid contracting the coronavirus .
The CDC updated the guidance on its COVID-19 website on Friday .
The agency said older people are more likely to have serious illness and that underlying health conditions make it harder for people to fight off the illness .
The agency also suggested older adults and people with severe conditions should stay away from those who are sick and wash their hands often when they do go out .
It also suggested such people have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home .
For most people , the flu-like viral illness causes only mild or moderate symptoms , such as fever and cough .
The U.S. military ’ s European Command says an American sailor has tested positive for the coronavirus , the first U.S. service member in Europe to be infected .
EUCOM said in an email Saturday that the sailor was stationed in Naples , Italy , but gave no other details about the person or where he or she may have been infected .
The military says the sailor is “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supportive and medical care in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention host nation guidelines.
” An investigation is underway to determine whether any other personnel may have been exposed , and those already identified as having been in close contact have been notified and isolated at their residences .
EUCOM says “ we remain in close co-ordination with Italian authorities , U.S. embassy , and public health authorities to ensure the well-being of our personnel and local population.
” The governor of Italy ’ s Lazio region is the latest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the country .
Nicola Zingaretti , who is also head of the Democratic Party , announced his diagnosis on Facebook on Saturday , saying , ‘ ’ I am well , so it was decided I will be isolated at home.
’ ’ He said his family was also under isolation and that he was continuing to work from home .
At least three government prefects — in Bergamo , Brescia and Matera — have tested positive for the virus , along with three Milan prosecutors , according to media reports .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the courts on a two-week holiday footing from Monday to allow them to better reorganize cases as the virus continues to spread throughout Italy .
The number of cases in the country jumped by 778 on Friday , to 4,636 .
So far , 148 people infected with the virus have died in Italy .
Iran says 21 more people have died from the coronavirus , raising the country ’ s death toll to 145 .
More than 1,000 infections were also confirmed overnight , bringing the country ’ s total to 5,823 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of cases in the Mideast .
The capital , Tehran , has the most infections , with more than 1,500 cases , followed by the Shiite holy city of Qom with 668 and the northern province of Mazandaran with 606 .
South Korea — the hardest-hit country after China — reported 448 new cases on Saturday for a total of 7,041 .
South Korea also reported four more deaths , raising the death toll to 48 .
Malta has confirmed its first coronavirus case , a 12-year-old girl of Italian origin who lives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family .
Health Minister Chris Fearne says the girl and her family had visited northern Italy in late February and early March , returning to Malta via Rome .
The family self-quarantined as instructed but the girl started to experience symptoms .
She was tested Friday and results came back positive on Saturday morning .
The girl is being held in an isolated section of Malta ’ s main public hospital , together with her sister and parents .
Iran ’ s state-run IRNA news agency is reporting that a newly elected lawmaker @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus .
The lawmaker , 55-year-old Fatemeh Rahabar , was recently elected to serve in the incoming parliament that begins work in May .
Earlier this week , Iranian lawmaker Abdolreza Mesri told state television that 23 members of the current parliament had the coronavirus and he urged all lawmakers to avoid the public .
A Nile cruise boat carrying over 150 tourists and Egyptian crew is under quarantine in the southern city of Luxor after 12 people tested positive for the coronavirus .
Egyptian health authorities say a Taiwanese-American tourist on board @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus upon returning to Taiwan late in February .
Local officials said there are Americans , French and Indians among the passengers .
A health official said that the 12 are isolated inside the boat while the rest are awaiting test results .
The new infections bring the total number of cases in Egypt to 15 .
Malaysia has turned away a cruise ship carrying around 2,000 passengers and crew from a port in northern Penang state , becoming the second country to bar the ship from docking after Thailand .
The Costa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resort island of Phuket in southern Thailand on Friday due to the presence of 64 Italians on board .
Thai health authorities have officially designated Italy a dangerous communicable disease area because it has been hit hard by the coronavirus .
Phee Boon Poh , a Penang executive councillor , said he was informed by the Penang port that it had turned away the cruise liner Saturday morning following a directive from the transport ministry .
He said the ship was now making its way to Singapore .
The Associated Press receives support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Howard Hughes Medical Institute ’ s Department of Science Education .
The AP is solely responsible for all content .


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--Kansas confirms 1st coronavirus case, Kansas City-area woman

TOPEKA , Kan. - A Kansas City-area woman who recently travelled to the Northeast is the first case of coronavirus in Kansas , officials confirmed Saturday .
Gov .
Laura Kelly and health officials said the woman , who ’ s under 50 , is isolating herself at home after seeing her doctor over the common symptoms of the new coronavirus , including a cough , slight fever and shortness of breath .
She lives in Johnson County , the state ’ s most populous county .
“ The patient ’ s doing very well , ” said Lee Norman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Health and Environment .
The Kansas announcement came as Florida reported two coronavirus deaths , the first outside the West Coast .
The total U.S. death toll reached 19 .
The number of U.S. coronavirus cases swelled to 400 , with cases in about half of the states .
Indiana , Minnesota , Nebraska and Pennsylvania also recently reported their first cases .
The confirmation of the first Kansas case came four days after the state ’ s health department launched an online resource centre on coronavirus and three days after Kelly and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state was prepared for an outbreak .
Norman had said the state was monitoring up to a dozen people a day as possible coronavirus cases .
The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute ’ s Department of Science Education .
The AP is solely responsible for all content .
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thetorontostar--2020-03-07--Pot entrepreneurs flocking to the Bible Belt for low taxes

OKLAHOMA CITY - From their keen taste for sun-ripened pot to their first meeting at a pro-marijuana rally in college in the 1990s , everything about Chip and Jessica Baker fits the stereotype of cannabis country in Northern California , where they lived for 20 years .
Jessica , with wavy hair that falls halfway down her back , is a practicing herbalist , acupuncturist and aromatherapist who teaches classes on the health benefits of cannabis .
Scruffy-bearded Chip wears a jacket with a prominent “ grower “ patch and hosts a marijuana podcast called “ The Real Dirt.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Humboldt County when it was the thriving epicenter of marijuana cultivation .
But the couple bid goodbye to the weed-friendly West and moved somewhere that might seem like the last place they would end up — Oklahoma .
They ’ re part of a green rush into the Bible Belt that no one anticipated when Oklahoma voters approved medical marijuana less than two years ago .
Since then , a combination of factors — including a remarkably open-ended law and a red state ’ s aversion to government regulation — have created such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entrepreneurs are pouring in from states where legal weed has been established for years .
Though 11 states have fully legalized marijuana for recreational use , Oklahoma ’ s medical law is the closest thing to it : Anyone with any ailment , real or imagined , who can get a doctor ’ s approval can get a license to buy .
It ’ s not hard to do .
Already , nearly 6 % of the state ’ s 4 million residents have obtained their prescription cards .
And people who want @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easily as opening a taco stand .
“ Oklahoma is really allowing for normal people to get into the cannabis industry , as opposed to other places where you need $ 20 million up front , ” said Jessica Baker .
The Bakers have a marijuana farm about 40 miles ( 65 kilometres ) from Oklahoma City , along with a dispensary , nursery and gardening shop in a working-class part of town where virtually every vacant shop and building has been snapped up by weed entrepreneurs in the last year .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been vacant for 10 years , Chip Baker said , “ to celebrate , the owner went to Hawaii for a month.
“ Unlike other states , Oklahoma did not limit the number of business licenses for dispensaries , growers or processors .
In less than two years , Oklahoma has more than 2,300 pot stores , or the second most per capita in the U.S. behind only Oregon , which has had recreational marijuana sales for five years .
Oklahoma has four times more retail outlets than more populous Colorado , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these states are regulating cannabis like plutonium , ” said Morgan Fox , a spokesman for the National Cannabis Industry Association , the national trade group for marijuana businesses .
“ And the financial burdens that are placed on licensed businesses are so onerous , that not only is it very difficult to stay in business , but it ’ s also very difficult for the legal , state-regulated systems to compete with the illicit market.
” Marijuana taxes approach 50 % in some California communities and are a factor in some business @ @ @ @ @ @ @ application fee , a $ 5,000 surety bond and an annual license fee ranging from $ 2,500 to $ 96,000 , depending on a dispensary ’ s projected revenue , along with a lengthy application process .
Licenses can cost $ 300,000 annually .
In Oklahoma , a dispensary license costs $ 2,500 , can be filled out online and is approved within two weeks .
Arkansas , next door to Oklahoma , also has medical marijuana , but like most such states , it allows purchase only for treatment of certain diseases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disorder .
It also requires a $ 100,000 surety bond .
Louisiana , which also tightly restricts prescriptions , has only nine licensed dispensaries .
Ford Austin and his sister opened the APCO Medical Marijuana Dispensary in a gentrifying part of Oklahoma City after he gave up on plans for a California weed store .
“ There ’ s way more opportunity here , “ he said .
Sarah Lee Gossett Parrish , an Oklahoma attorney specializing in cannabis law , said about 15 % of her cannabis clients are coming from out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calls from people in the cannabis industry in California , “ Gossett Parrish said .
People in some rural towns are worried about the Wild West atmosphere of the boom , particularly where shops with funny weed-pun names , waving banners and blinking signs have opened near schools and churches .
A Republican state legislator , Jim Olsen , has proposed a bill banning dispensaries within 1000 feet ( 305 metres ) of a church .
“ While I recognize that some people do find pain relief from medical marijuana , with children @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to think that when they reach problems in life , that marijuana is a good answer to that.
“ But Republican Gov .
Kevin Stitt and the GOP-controlled Legislature have shown no interest in reining in the industry since the ballot measure authorizing it passed overwhelmingly .
The industry has mostly fought off local attempts at zoning .
Many communities are welcoming cannabis shops because of the sales tax revenue .
In college-town Norman and in Oklahoma City , at least a half dozen businesses have joined the chambers of commerce .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ businesses view them as equals , “ said Scott Martin , president of the Norman Chamber of Commerce .
“ We ’ ve even had a handful of ribbon cutting ceremonies.
” Marijuana sales generated $ 54 million in tax revenue last year , accounted for the sharpest ever annual decline in empty mid-sized industrial properties in Oklahoma City , and booked up electricians around Tulsa outfitting new grow rooms with lights and temperature controls .
Even some longtime opponents of marijuana legalization have softened their tone .
Sheriff Chris West in Canadian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officers who decried the 2018 legalization ballot measure , says a number of farmers he knows have decided to switch crops .
“ I ’ ve had them call me and tell me , ‘ Sheriff , we ’ re going to venture into this business and we ’ d like for you to come out and see our facility , because we want you to know what we ’ re doing.
’ And these are longtime , good , godly , Christian families that see it as an income opportunity.
“


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--Coronavirus concerns strand cruise passengers off California

SAN FRANCISCO - Thousands of anxious people were confined Saturday to a cruise ship circling in international waters off the San Francisco Bay Area , after 21 passengers and crew members tested positive for the new coronavirus .
The Grand Princess was forbidden to dock in San Francisco amid evidence that the vessel had been the breeding ground for a cluster of nearly 20 cases that resulted in at least one death after its previous voyage .
People on social media pleaded Saturday with elected officials to let the ship dock .
In an interview with The Associated Press , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jersey , agreed that she should be tested for coronavirus but wants officials to let her go if her results come back negative .
“ Fourteen more days on this ship , I think by the end I will need a mental health visit , ” she said with a laugh .
“ I ’ m an American .
I should be able to come home.
“ Meanwhile , Florida reported two coronavirus deaths — the first in the U.S. outside the West Coast .
Health officials said the people in their 70 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida ’ s Panhandle and in the Fort Myers area after travelling overseas .
Florida also raised the number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 — the disease caused by the coronavirus — from four to seven .
The U.S. death toll from the virus climbed to 19 , with all but three of the victims in Washington state .
The number of infections swelled to 400 , scattered across about half of the U.S. states .
Pennsylvania , Indiana , Minnesota and Nebraska reported their first cases .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal officials to bring the Grand Princess cruise ship to a non-commercial port over the weekend and test the 3,500 people aboard for the virus .
There was no immediate word on where the vessel will dock .
Vice-President Mike Pence said at a Saturday meeting with cruise line executives in Florida that officials were still working on a plan .
“ All passengers and crew will be tested for the coronavirus and quarantined as necessary , ” Pence said .
Princess said in an email the ship is currently about 50 miles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of San Francisco .
It said a critically ill passenger was taken from the ship to a medical facility for treatment unrelated to the virus .
The Coast Guard used a helicopter to drop gloves and face masks to the ship , and the captain was awaiting “ specific directives ” on what to do next , the statement says .
While health officials said about 1,100 crew members will remain aboard , passengers could be disembarked to face quarantine , possibly at U.S. military bases or other sites .
That ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were exposed to the virus on another cruise ship in January .
The uncertainty was wearing on passengers — and their families on land — as they passed a second full day confined to their rooms .
Santa Cruz County resident Rex Lawson , 86 , said he and his wife were lucky because they have a balcony and fresh air and feel healthy , but he feels for travellers confined to interior rooms .
“ It ’ s quite anxious because we don ’ t know what ’ s going on .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ going on , ” he said .
“ It looks like we get information from the television first and then the captain.
“ Several passengers expressed frustration that they had to learn from the news Friday that 21 people on the cruise had tested positive .
Some worried their chances of infection increased the longer they stay on board .
President Donald Trump , speaking Friday at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta , said he would prefer not to allow the passengers onto American soil but will defer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I don ’ t need to have the numbers ( of U.S. cases ) double because of one ship that wasn ’ t our fault , ” Trump said while touring the CDC in Atlanta .
“ And it wasn ’ t the fault of the people on the ship either .
OK ?
It wasn ’ t their fault either .
And they are mostly American , so I can live either way with it.
” The ship was heading from Hawaii to San Francisco when it was held off the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible coronavirus symptoms could be tested .
On Thursday , a military helicopter crew lowered test kits onto the 951-foot ( 290-meter ) ship by rope and later flew them for analysis at a state lab .
Health officials undertook the testing after reporting that a 71-year-old man who had been on a February voyage of the same ship to Mexico contracted the virus and died at a hospital in Placer County in Northern California .
Others who were on that voyage also have tested positive in Northern California , Minnesota , Illinois @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A “ presumed positive ” patient was self-isolating at home in Nevada , health officials said .
Health officials in Madera and Santa Cruz counties on Saturday confirmed two more cases in California .
Ventura County said Friday it had tested five residents who had been on the earlier cruise ; one person was positive .
Some passengers who had been on the Mexico trip stayed aboard for the current voyage — increasing crew members ’ exposure to the virus .
Another Princess ship , the Diamond Princess , was quarantined for two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month because of the virus .
Ultimately , about 700 of the 3,700 people aboard became infected in what experts pronounced a public-health failure , with the vessel essentially becoming a floating germ factory .
Hundreds of Americans aboard that ship were flown to military bases in California and other states for two-week quarantines .
Some were later hospitalized with symptoms .
An epidemiologist who studies the spread of virus particles said recirculated air from a cruise ship ’ s ventilation system , plus the close quarters and communal settings , make passengers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ They ’ re not designed as quarantine facilities , to put it mildly , ” said Don Milton of the University of Maryland .
Worldwide , the virus has infected more than 100,000 people and killed over 3,400 , the vast majority of them in China .
Most cases have been mild , and more than half of those infected have recovered .
A previous version of this story incorrectly reported President Trump made his comments about the cruise ship in an interview with Fox News .
He said it during a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Associated Press writers Olga Rodriguez in San Francisco ; Julie Walker in New York City ; Tom Strong in Washington , D.C. ; Gene Johnson , Martha Bellisle and Carla K. Johnson in Seattle ; Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami ; and Rachel La Corte in Olympia , Washington , contributed to this report .
The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute ’ s Department of Science Education .
The AP is solely responsible for all content .
Follow AP coverage of the virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : //apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

Daisy Nguyen And Janie Har - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--Saudis’ arrest of 2 princes called a warning to royal family

DUBAI , United Arab Emirates - Two senior princes in Saudi Arabia are under arrest for not supporting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman , who has consolidated control of all major levers of power with the support of his father , King Salman , two people close to the royal family said Saturday .
The arrests on Friday of the king ’ s younger and beloved brother , Prince Ahmed bin Abdelaziz , and the king ’ s nephew and former counterterrorism czar , Prince Mohammed bin Nayef , came after an accumulation of behaviour that was provocative to leadership @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knowledge of the arrests said .
Both princes had served previously in the post of interior minister , overseeing security and surveillance inside the kingdom .
The move came as a surprise , given that Prince Mohammed bin Nayef , 60 , was widely known to be under close surveillance since he was shunted out of the line of succession by the king ’ s son in mid-2017 , a person close to the royal court said .
The arrest of Prince Ahmed , 78 , was also unexpected since he is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also a senior member of the ruling Al Saud family .
Prince Ahmed , however , has long held unfavourable views of the 34-year-old crown prince and was one of just a few senior princes to abstain from pledging allegiance to him when the young royal sidelined more senior princes to become first in line to the throne .
The Wall Street Journal first reported the arrests , quoting unidentified sources allied with the royal court as saying the princes were plotting a palace coup that would halt the rise of the crown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the sweep broadened to include dozens of Interior Ministry officials , senior army officers and others suspected of supporting a coup attempt .
The two people who talked to The Associated Press declined to characterize actions by the two princes as a coup attempt .
They agreed to discuss the highly sensitive matter related to security only if granted anonymity .
One added that the arrests were a message to all those in the royal family feeling disenfranchised to stop grumbling and toe the line , saying that if Prince Ahmed can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be .
Prince Ahmed was seen as a person that royals vexed with the crown prince ’ s grip on power could look to , the person said .
There has been no official comment from Saudi authorities on the arrests .
The crown prince has succeeded in a few short years at sweeping aside any competition from royals older and more experienced than him .
He has also overhauled the most powerful security bodies to report to him .
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is well-known and liked by U.S. intelligence officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against al-Qaida .
As head of the interior ministry , he was a feared and towering figure who oversaw the long arm of the government that both prosecuted and closely monitored and jailed dissidents and critics of the kingdom .
After being removed from the role of crown prince and replaced by the king ’ s son , he was stripped of his power and closely monitored .
Prince Ahmed has been seen as critical of the crown prince , including telling protesters who were accosting him in London to ask the king @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sparked by the war in Yemen .
Religiously conservative , the prince also recently grumbled over the decision to close Islam ’ s holiest site in Mecca to stymie the spread of the new coronavirus , according to one of the people familiar with the arrests .
The arrest of the two senior princes is most likely a preemptive move to manage risks to a transition from King Salman to his son , according to an analysis by Eurasia Group .
Both princes were seen as possible alternatives to Prince Mohammed bin Salman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senior royals who could pose a threat to the 34-year-old crown prince ’ s ascension to the throne sparked speculation once again about the 84-year-old monarch ’ s health and ability to rule .
A U.S. official said King Salman appeared healthy and lucid in his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Feb. 20 in Riyadh .
The two discussed the Saudi-led war in Yemen , efforts to counter Iran , the war in Syria and human rights issues .
As recently as Thursday , the king met with British @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The crown prince has succeeded in consolidating power and cementing his place as the day-to-day ruler , in part through far-reaching crackdowns on perceived critics or competitors .
The October 2018 killing of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi by agents close to the crown prince inside the kingdom ’ s consulate in Istanbul , however , damaged the prince ’ s reputation globally .
Foreign investors were also rattled by an anti-corruption operation overseen by the prince in late 2017 that saw top royals , officials and senior businessmen rounded up and detained for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh and forced to sign over billions of dollars in assets in exchange for their freedom in secretive agreements .
The crown prince is popular among many in Saudi Arabia for pushing through bold reforms that have transformed life in the kingdom for many , including loosening severe restrictions on women and allowing concerts to be performed and movie theatres to open .
Still , his economic transformation plans have struggled to take off .
The kingdom continues to rely heavily on oil for revenue , despite efforts to diversify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disruptions caused by the new coronavirus , signalling trouble for producers like Saudi Arabia .
Foreign investors have been rattled by the prince ’ s unpredictability .
Associated Press diplomatic writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report .


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--Hundreds attend service for NASA pioneer Katherine Johnson

HAMPTON , Va. - Three black astronauts joined hundreds of other mourners Saturday at a memorial service for pioneering African American mathematician and NASA researcher Katherine Johnson .
Johnson , who calculated rocket trajectories and Earth orbits for NASA ’ s early space missions and was later portrayed in the 2016 film “ Hidden Figures , ” about pioneering black female aerospace workers , died Feb. 24 at the age of 101 .
More than 700 people turned out for Saturday ’ s memorial service at the Hampton University Convocation Center .
“ I think about the journey that she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ astronaut Leland Melvin said .
“ We can ’ t calculate the speed that she ’ s travelling to get to heaven.
” Melvin was joined by fellow astronauts Yvonne Cagle and Mae Jemison , the first black woman in space .
Johnson was remembered not just as a pioneering researcher , but as a faithful church leader and family matriarch .
“ Grandma , because of you , our world will forever be unlimited , ” grandson Michael Moore said .
“ And because of you , I have no bounds.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some of which were read during the service .
Former President Barack Obama , who awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 , called her a “ hero to millions ” in a letter to her family .
First Lady Melania Trump said she “ took our nation to remarkable heights.
” Clayton Turner , director of NASA ’ s Langley Research Center , spoke at the service and presented Johnson ’ s family with the flag that was flying over the centre when she died .
U.S. Rep. Bobby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ceremony that he knew Johnson and her second husband , James Johnson , for years before he ever read Margot Lee Shetterly ’ s book “ Hidden Figures ” about Johnson and her colleagues ’ work as “ human computers.
” “ There are few people who fought as good a fight , finished as difficult a course and all along kept the faith as Katherine Johnson , ” Scott said .


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--Sanders, Biden up attacks as head-to-head race takes shape

DEARBORN , Mich. - The Democratic presidential primary is down to two major candidates , and it shows .
Former Vice-President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are spending their first weekend as their party ’ s last top White House contenders increasingly taking aim at one another .
Each wants to show he ’ s the best choice before six more states — Idaho , Michigan , Mississippi , Missouri , North Dakota and Washington — vote on Tuesday .
It reflects the new contours of a race that once featured 20-plus Democrats .
An increasingly bitter matchup @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanders compete for the right to face President Donald Trump in November .
“ We have a two-person race , “ Sanders said Saturday in Dearborn , a Detroit suburb with one of the nation ’ s largest Arab American populations .
” And all over this country , people are asking themselves which candidate can best defeat Trump .
I have zero doubt in my mind that , together , we are the campaign that can beat Trump.
” Campaigning in St. Louis , Biden said he was the one to unite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he would do that by promoting an upbeat message .
“ If you want a nominee who ’ ll bring the party together , who will run on a positive progressive vision for the future , not turn this primary into a campaign of negative attacks — because that will only reelect Donald Trump if we go that route — if you want that , join us , ’ ’ Biden said .
Winning , he added , `` means uniting America , not sowing more division and anger.
’ ’ But Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggestions that he is the candidate who can prompt record voter turnout in November and defeat Trump , saying that actually “ we ’ re the the campaign that ’ s gong to do that.
” Sanders is clearer in drawing contrasts , arguing that no Democrat will win the presidency “ with the same-old , same-old politics of yesteryear.
” That ’ s ironic given that the 78-year-old Sanders is actually a year older than Biden .
But the avowed democratic socialist , who has served in Congress since 1991 , says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both parties with decades with unpopular stands that now give him the credibility to lead a political revolution “ from the bottom up.
” Sanders is pledging to increase Democratic turnout by drawing younger voters , minorities and working class people to the polls even though they tend to vote in lower concentrations than many other Americans .
Strong support among Hispanics lifted Sanders to victories in Nevada and California , but Biden trounced him in South Carolina and throughout much of the Deep South that voted during last week ’ s Super @ @ @ @ @ @ @ score with African Americans .
Some activists are disappointed that a once diverse field of women and minorities has dwindled to two white men in their late 70s .
But in Dearborn , Sanders , who is Jewish , said he was inspired by so many Arab Americans backing him .
“ I see people coming together from so many different backgrounds .
It is beautiful , ” he said .
He also joked about his age , saying , “ Sometimes people say , ‘ Bernie , you ’ re 33 years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going ?
’ “ Top advisers expect Sanders to finish strong in Washington .
Still , he cancelled a trip to Mississippi to focus on Michigan , Tuesday ’ s largest prize .
He made a stop in Chicago ’ s Grant Park on Saturday afternoon , and declared that he has a different vision than Biden , “ And the American people are going to hear about it.
” Sanders will spend the rest of the weekend in Michigan , while Biden is in Missouri and Mississippi .
Sanders said repeatedly that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if he ’ s not the nominee , he will support Biden against Trump .
But , he added , “ In the remaining months , I intend to make it clear what my views are and what Joe Biden ’ s are.
” Sanders has used many of his Michigan events to hammer Biden ’ s past support for the North American Free Trade Agreement , arguing that it moved high-paying U.S. jobs to Mexico and China while devastating manufacturing in a state dominated by the auto industry .
He ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Senate , when Biden backed not only trade agreements and the U.S.-led war in Iraq , but also a ban on using federal funds to pay for abortions .
Biden announced this summer that he was reversing his position on that , but Sanders said that wasn ’ t enough .
“ I think we need a candidate that can be trusted on this issue .
I am proud to tell you that I am 100 % pro choice , ” Sanders said Friday night in Detroit .
The pair are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Biden saw a surge of donor support after South Carolina and Super Tuesday , and his campaign announced that it was spending $ 12 million on a six-state ad buy in places voting Tuesday and the following week .
It was his largest single advertising effort of the 2020 campaign .
He is using two television and digital ads , one promoting his relationship with President Barack Obama , the other a new effort to counter a Sanders attack on Biden ’ s past record on Social Security .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And though he hasn ’ t mentioned it as frequently while campaigning in Michigan , he has released his own ad airing in states voting Tuesday and the following week dinging Biden on Social Security .
It features a past clip of the former vice-president saying , “ When I argued if we should freeze federal spending , I meant Social Security.
” Biden ’ s counter spot has a narrator saying , “ Biden will increase Social Security benefits and protect it for generations to come.
“ Jaffe reported from St. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Chicago contributed to this report .
Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly `` Ground Game ’ ’ politics podcast .

Will Weissert And Alexandra Jaffe - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--Some Afghans view U.S.-Taliban peace deal with mix of disbelief and anger

KABUL—As U.S. and Taliban negotiators celebrated the signing of a peace deal in Doha , for many in Kabul the agreement felt like a betrayal .
After more than 18 years of a U.S.-led war in Afghanistan , the document seeking to end it made no mention of any of the ideals once touted by the conflict ’ s supporters and architects .
The deal , signed Feb. 29 in Qatar ’ s capital , also leaves the Afghan government in a weakened position as it prepares for its own round of talks with the Taliban , according to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ included a commitment to a controversial prisoner swap that robs the government of key leverage before the talks , which had been scheduled to begin by Tuesday .
And a reference to the Taliban as the “ Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ” is seen as giving the group greater legitimacy despite language that the United States does not recognize any such political standing .
“ We were thrown under the bus for a photo op and a handshake , ” said a senior Afghan government official .
He complained that the deal didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Taliban , and instead made controversial pledges on behalf of the Afghan government .
The result , he said , is the Taliban will likely enter talks with the Afghan government from a stronger negotiating position .
Many Afghan who see themselves most closely allied with American values — and most dependent on U.S. support — fear they have the most to lose from the peace deal .
Supporters of women ’ s rights , civil society and some sectors of the country ’ s political and security establishment described reading the deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
His sentiment was echoed by two other Afghan officials .
All spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media .
Violence across Afghanistan has risen since the deal was signed .
On Friday , Kabul saw its deadliest attack in months .
Islamic State gunmen shooting down on a religious gathering from a nearby multistory building killed at least 32 people and wounded 81 .
Some civilians at the site of the attack blamed the peace talks for the carnage .
“ With the talks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elements .
.
.
who want to disrupt that process , ” said Mohammad Jawad , a primary schoolteacher who lives near the site of the attack .
The Taliban quickly issued a statement Friday saying it was not behind the shooting .
Under the peace deal , the Taliban made several commitments to fight terrorist groups like the Islamic State in exchange for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 14 months .
But what the deal did not include were Taliban commitments concerning what a future Afghan government would look like .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ideals described as central to the U.S. mission in Afghanistan following the launch of the war after the Sept. 11 , 2001 , terrorists attacks .
For years , the Taliban had given haven to Osama bin Laden and other top leaders of al-Qaida .
In his State of the Union address the following year , President George W. Bush cited advances in women ’ s rights .
“ The last time we met in this chamber , the mothers and daughters of Afghanistan were captives in their own homes , forbidden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Today women are free , ” he said in 2002 .
More than 18 years later , Shogofa Danish is one of many Afghan women who say they have seen the benefits of the freedoms brought with the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan .
But the peace deal signed in Doha filled her with dread .
“ This is my dream job , ” she said , speaking from the slick studios of Tolo broadcasting in Kabul where she presents the news in Dari .
“ I don ’ t want to go back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said she fears the deal signed by the U.S. and the Taliban will bring the extremists back to power and allow them to curtail her freedom .
Even without the Taliban in a position of formal power , Danish ’ s work is dangerous .
Her employer has been attacked and repeatedly threatened by the militants .
A maze of blast walls and checkpoints surround the modern office buildings where she works .
“ I ’ m worried , but I will not accept [ returning to Taliban rule ] .
I will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Fawzia Koofi ’ s adult life has straddled both Taliban rule and the United States ’ war in Afghanistan .
The 45-year-old former parliamentarian and prominent women ’ s rights activist said she was saddened by the text of the peace deal , but not surprised .
She has participated in several rounds of informal meetings with the Taliban and U.S. negotiators over the past few years , and said she ’ s noticed a shift in U.S. policy in Afghanistan : away from Democratic ideals to focus almost entirely to drawing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told that if everything else is going well in Afghanistan , we are not going to keep letting our soldiers get killed for Afghan women , ” she said , recounting a briefing she had with a senior U.S. official in the last year .
She refused to name the official due to the sensitivity of the matter .
On the outskirts of Kabul , at a military base shared by U.S. and Afghan special operations forces , Lt. Gen. Mohammad Farid Ahmadi ’ s office is dotted with plaques , coins and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ come and gone .
Ahmadi , now the commander of Afghanistan ’ s elite commandos unit , has had his military career defined by the presence of American troops in Afghanistan .
As a young man , he served alongside U.S. Marines in Kunar and Kandahar before being one of the first to join the elite commandos unit when it was established in early 2007 .
He said despite what the peace deal may say , he doesn ’ t believe the U.S. will completely leave anytime soon .
“ I fought alongside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beside me .
We spilled blood together .
You can not describe that high level of trust , ” he said .
He can not image U.S. forces would draw down to zero in the 14 months prescribed by the peace deal .
“ I trust they will withdraw in a more accountable and responsible way , ” he said .
Ahmadi said he is most concerned with the lack of a provision in the deal to leave behind a small U.S. counterterrorism force in Afghanistan .
He said Afghan troops are still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operations .
“ We will have some type of insurgency or terrorism in this part of the world forever , ” he said .
“ Leaving counterterrorism [ forces in Afghanistan ] helps us and it helps them , ” he said referring to the United States and other NATO members .
Without assistance in that area , he said he fears much higher levels of violence .
Like many of the other Afghan officials and civilians interviewed for this story , Ahmadi said a quick complete American withdrawal would be a move @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after which Afghanistan collapsed into years of bloody civil war .
“ I think that Americans are wiser than this and won ’ t make the same mistake , ” he said .
Koofi , the prominent women ’ s rights activist , also hit tones of optimism despite her concerns for the future .
Initially , she said the peace deal made her so angry she almost released a statement condemning it .
“ But we decided this is just the first step , ” she said .
When the Afghan government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she is hopeful they will manage to extract more concessions from the Taliban regarding women ’ s rights and Democratic values .


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--The mission to hunt Nazis has become a race against time

OAK RIDGE , TENN. — It is perhaps fitting that the decades-long search for Nazi collaborators living on U.S. soil may have reached its conclusion — or something close to it — in a small city , in an unremarkable ranch house on an equally unremarkable cul-de-sac .
By many accounts , the man living inside that house was also seemingly unremarkable — not unlike the dozens of other under-the-radar Nazi collaborators who have been found and prosecuted over the last half-century .
The man , 94-year-old Friedrich Karl Berger , was ordered by a federal judge this week to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a citizen and where he had served as a guard in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II .
Like in so many cases before his , the revelation that the friendly old man — a thoughtful father and husband who had raised his children in that house and had cared for his ailing wife until her death — came as a stunning surprise to his neighbours .
The revelations about his past , he said , “ has not been circulated here.
” But , he added , “ It would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he had been involved in such things.
” Since 1979 , the Justice Department has made a special point of hunting down collaborators in Nazi war crimes , with the intention of deporting them back to their home countries .
But from the beginning , it has been a race against their natural life spans .
“ We were told at that time to work as fast as you responsibly can because these people are old , and they ’ re dying , ” said Eli Rosenbaum , recalling his mandate toward the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hunter in 1980 , soon after federal officials started their targeted hunt for such men .
Rosenbaum , a top official at the department ’ s Human Rights and Special Prosecution unit , was among those who tried the case against Berger .
After a two-day trial in Memphis , Tennessee , an immigration judge issued the removal order against Berger , which officials announced Thursday .
“ Mr .
Berger made his choice to enlist in 1943 in the German military , ” Rosenbaum said in an interview Friday .
Berger then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to not request a transfer when he was assigned to a subcamp overseeing prisoners in the Neuengamme concentration camp system near Meppen , Germany .
In a statement , another federal prosecutor , Brian Benczkowski , said that Berger was “ part of the SS machinery of oppression that kept concentration camp prisoners in atrocious conditions of confinement.
” While Berger ’ s story is not quite over — he has 30 days to appeal the deportation order — federal prosecutors are “ just about finished ” with such Nazi-era cases , given @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rosenbaum said .
And that means the likely end of a specific kind of high-stakes detective drama , heavy with the weight of history and horror — cases that played out over the years in the long shadow of World War II and the Holocaust as collaborators were discovered and rooted out from often-cozy American existences that had normalized them and scrubbed them of their complicity .
The federal government has brought forward 133 such cases over the last four decades and won 109 of them .
In most of the others , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became medically incapacitated and were unable to stand trial before their cases were resolved .
The federal target list included well-known men like Valerian Trifa , the Romanian Orthodox archbishop accused of being a Nazi sympathizer , who left the United States in 1982 to avoid deportation .
Arthur Rudolph , a developer of the Saturn 5 rocket for the federal space program , left the country in 1984 after the Justice Department accused him of “ working thousands of slave labourers to death ” in a German rocket factory during the war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ led much quieter lives , but for the accusations levelled against them , such as John Demjanjuk , a Cleveland autoworker who was accused of killing Jewish prisoners in three death camps .
He was deported to Israel after being stripped of his citizenship in 1981 .
And Jakiw Palij , a former Nazi guard turned New York resident , was deported in 2018 at age 95 .
Authorities used a stretcher to wheel Palij out of his home in Queens and onto an air ambulance bound for Düsseldorf , Germany .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Canada before later settling in the United States , Rosenbaum said .
Neither Berger nor his lawyer could be reached for comment this week .
But in a phone interview with The Washington Post , Berger , who had been a member of the German navy , said he was ordered to work in the camp .
He described himself as a widower with two grandchildren who spent a career building wire-stripping machines .
“ After 75 years , this is ridiculous .
I can not believe it , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this can happen in a country like this .
You ’ re forcing me out of my home.
” A photograph of Berger in a local newspaper , published in 2012 , shows him in a Tyrolean hat and khaki pants , smiling and dancing with a woman during a concert at a public market .
In interviews Friday , some neighbours said they were surprised and saddened to learn that Berger was being deported .
He had been a friendly presence who was “ proud to live in the United States , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across the street from Berger for nearly 30 years and came to know him and his wife fairly well .
The woman declined to be identified , afraid of drawing attention to herself and concerned about saying anything that might hurt any effort to keep Berger in the country , but she said she understood that “ what he did was not good.
” “ I know bits and pieces , ” she added , noting she had some limited conversations with Berger .
“ He didn ’ t realize the extent of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she said of his time stationed at the camp , adding that he had told her that he quickly sought to be reassigned elsewhere .
Prosecutors have no evidence of Berger lying about his work in the concentration camp .
And when he arrived in 1959 , Rosenbaum said , the United States had allowed postwar rules banning the entrance of participants in Nazi-sponsored persecution to sunset as the nation grew more concerned about the infiltration of communists .
But with the 1970s came stories in the news media about Nazi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 1978 Holtzman Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act , which deemed “ deportable ” anyone who participated in Nazi-sponsored persecution .
The judge , in her opinion , found Berger removable under the act for his “ willing service as an armed guard of prisoners at a concentration camp where persecution took place.
” Her decision was the culmination of a multi-year investigation that was aided by a kind of miracle : a set of SS cards that identified guards in the Neuengamme camps , discovered in 1950 in a German @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Allies five years earlier .
One of the cards identified Berger .
“ What are the odds of this one card surviving intact after being in the Baltic Sea after five years ?
” Rosenbaum said .
Oak Ridge , Tennessee , where Berger has lived for decades , was almost entirely constructed around the U.S. ’ bomb-building efforts during World War II , becoming the administrative and military headquarters for the Manhattan Project , the effort to build the first nuclear weapons .
It remains home to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But even here , the living links to the World War II era are fading .
Mira Ryczke Kimmelman , a Holocaust survivor who lived in Oak Ridge and became well known in the area , died almost a year ago .
She spoke at schools , churches and local gatherings , letting students see and touch the blue number that had been tattooed on her arm .
“ There ’ s never a question I won ’ t answer , ” Kimmelman said , according to The Knoxville News Sentinel .
Devora @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tennessee Holocaust Commission , said prosecutions like those of Berger help ensure that the sins of the past will not be forgotten .
“ Every time that somebody is brought to justice , even from 50 years ago or longer , that is a message to the world , ” Fish said .
“ Because we are not going to stop until everybody is brought to justice .
Even if it ’ s something you did years ago , it will catch up to you .
”

Rick Rojas - The New York Times,Richard Fausset


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--UBS Bank won’t fund new offshore Arctic oil, gas projects

KENAI , Alaska - A multinational investment bank has ended support for offshore drilling in the Arctic amid efforts to tackle climate change , a move that could affect future funding for oil and gas projects in Alaska , a newspaper said .
Switzerland-based UBS Bank joined several other investment companies in pulling funding and support for new offshore projects in the region , the Anchorage Daily News reported Friday .
The firm has “ committed to no longer provide financing where the stated use of proceeds is for new offshore oil projects in the Arctic , “ the bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ banks including Wells Fargo & Company , Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have also announced similar policy shifts stating they were no longer supporting new projects in the region .
More company investors have pulled support since the world ’ s largest asset manager BlackRock urged companies in January to emphasize steps they are taking to combat climate change , the newspaper said .
An analysis of banks conducted by environmental group Rainforest Action Network revealed that UBS Bank invested about $ 300 million in Arctic oil and gas projects between 2016 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consider the affects the projects have on the environment amid concerns from Alaska Native groups and conservation organizations .
But some have argued these new policies could hurt projects that Alaska relies on for future revenue .
Major oil companies in Alaska are not dependent on banks for their projects because they often use their own cash flow or sell assets , but the announcements could make it difficult for smaller operators to receive loans to borrow money for future plans , said Larry Persily , former federal co-ordinator for Alaska gas line @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil prices could also threaten projects in Alaska , he said .
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thetorontostar--2020-03-07--AP Explains: Mexican women to march against gender violence

MEXICO CITY - Protests against gender violence in Mexico have intensified in recent years amid an increase in killings of women and girls .
The killings are often accompanied by sexual assault and sometimes grisly mutilations .
Women are expected to express their outrage in a march in Mexico City on Sunday , International Women ’ s Day .
Smaller demonstrations will be held across the country .
Women and girls also plan to hold protests on Monday .
Mexican women are being urged to skip school , shun housework and stay home from work to show the country what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day without them .
WHY ARE THEY MARCHING ?
Government statistics show that more than 10 females are slain on average every day in Mexico , making it one of the most dangerous countries in the world for girls and women .
As recently as 2017 an average of seven women were killed each day in Mexico .
“ The context of violence against women and against girls in Mexico is especially grave , “ said Nira Cárdenas , co-ordinator of the gender unit at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ addition to half the population being at high risk of violence , impunity is a major problem .
Few reported crimes in Mexico result in convictions .
Participation in the annual march on Sunday is expected to be higher than during previous marches as a broader swath of society joins the families of the killed and missing who frequently take to the streets , accompanied by feminists and activists .
WHO ARE THE VICTIMS ?
A series of recent , highly publicized murders in Mexico has led to more debate and calls for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of an influential technology entrepreneur was shot to death in November after testifying in a child custody case .
A young woman was skinned and disemboweled , allegedly by her boyfriend , in February .
Days later , a seven-year-old was kidnapped outside her elementary school and sexually abused — the child ’ s lifeless body disposed of in a plastic bag found in an empty lot .
The victims shared a history of abuse in their households , and failings by Mexican authorities .
A contingent of mothers of victims will march @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and tears .
“ We want to give a hug not just to those who are no longer physically here with us , but also to each and all of those women who will soon become part of our family ( of victims ) , “ said Araceli Osorio , mother of Lesvy Berlín , who was strangled to death by a boyfriend on the campus of Latin America ’ s largest university in 2017 .
WHAT IS MEXICO DOING ABOUT THE PROBLEM ?
Mexico has aggressive legislation for punishing violent crimes against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ application of the law .
“ Mexico is the country of rights on paper , ” says Ana Pecova , director of advocacy group EQUIS Justice for Women .
Since 2011 , murders of Mexican women that carry signs of hatred for the gender , such as mutilation , have come with a stiffer minimum sentence than regular homicides .
Congress increased the femicide sentence once again in February , to 65 years , and passed a constitutional amendment last year that allows for preventive detention for those accused of domestic violence for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women killed in Mexico are targeted by their own partners .
Authorities often lack the tools , motivation and capability to investigate crimes , leading family members of victims to pursue the cases themselves .
Several mothers complain that their missing girls were initially dismissed as runaways and their killings wrongly ruled suicides .
SOME PROTESTS BECOME ROWDY .
WHY ?
A women ’ s protest in February became rowdy , following a pattern of street outrage in the past .
A masked protester tried to set fire to a wooden door of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with red paint .
Destruction of public property has become a mainstay of feminist protests in Mexico City since a small group trashed a bus station , police precinct and a major monument in August in disgust over the city ’ s bungling of an alleged rape by police of a teenager .
The vandalism drew heavy criticism .
The vandals argue that women are more important than statues or broken windows , which can be repaired .
A woman whose life is cut short by violence never returns , they say .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ : What else can we do ?
“ said Cárdenas .
The grass roots movement for a nationwide strike by women on Monday was inspired in part by similar actions in countries such as Argentina and Chile .
“ We have to say : Enough already , ” said María de la Luz Estrada , co-ordinator of the National Citizen ’ s Observatory of Femicide .
“ We ’ re calling for the rule of law to work .
They have to guarantee the integrity of the lives of every male and female.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ law firms have joined the call for women to become “ invisible ” for a day .
The Coparmex business group encouraged its more than 36,000 members across the country to take part , estimating the one-day work stoppage will cost the economy hundreds of thousands of dollars .
The Education Ministry issued a last-minute endorsement for the initiative , cognizant that schools depend heavily on female personnel .
Participants hope the national dialogue will spur change .
Households where men share the chores , they note , have lower incidences of domestic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so are consequences .
Authorities need more funding to investigate cases , and instruction on how to do so in a timely and empathetic manner .


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--UN chief: Gender inequality biggest human rights challenge

TANZANIA , Tanzania - Calling himself “ a proud feminist , ” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lashed out at men who abuse power and declared before Sunday ’ s observances of International Women ’ s Day that the fight for gender equality is “ the biggest human rights challenge we face.
” Twenty-five years after 189 countries adopted a 150-page road map for achieving equality for women , a new report by UN Women says the reality is that millions of women still face poverty , discrimination and violence .
It notes over 70 % of lawmakers and parliamentarians and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and girls over the age of 15 are illiterate .
The U.N. Development Program ’ s new Gender Social Norms Index also had some bad news for women .
It found that close to 90 % of both men and women hold some sort of bias against women .
According to the index , about half the world ’ s men and women believe men make better political leaders and over 40 % think men make better business executives and have greater rights to a job .
Further , 28 % feel it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his wife .
Guterres told the U.N. ’ s International Women ’ s Day observance Friday that “ gender inequality is the overwhelming injustice of our day.
” “ Deep-rooted patriarchy and misogyny have created a yawning gender power gap in our economies , our political systems , our corporations , our societies and our culture , ” he said .
“ Women are still very frequently denied a voice ; their opinions are ignored and their experience discounted.
” The secretary-general cited examples in recent months , including high-profile peace agreements being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and emergency health care meetings on the new coronavirus held with few or no women participating .
International Women ’ s Day is taking place a day before the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women holds a drastically scaled down one-day event so delegations in New York can adopt a draft political declaration commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1995 U.N. conference in Beijing that adopted the wide-ranging plan to achieve gender equality .
The commission had been expecting up to 12,000 people from its 193 member nations to be at its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ postpone the major event until a later date because of the spread of the COVID-19 virus .
The Beijing platform called for bold action in 12 areas for women and girls , including combating poverty and violence , ensuring all girls get an education , and having women at the top levels of business and government as well as at the table in peace negotiations .
It also said for the first time in a U.N. document that women ’ s human rights include the right to control and decide “ on matters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sexual and reproductive health , free of discrimination , coercion and violence.
” The draft declaration expected to be adopted Monday reaffirms the Beijing platform for action and expresses concern “ that overall , progress has not been fast or deep enough.
“ It pledges to take “ concrete action to ensure the full , effective and accelerated implementation ” of the road map .
Olof Skoog , the European Union ’ s top diplomat at the U.N. , said the EU wasn ’ t happy with the initial draft but “ we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s fair to say , “ to produce ” the most detailed and action-oriented political declaration ever adopted “ by the commission .
He said there are advances in some areas and the declaration avoids “ backtracking on some of the issues where there was huge push back.
” Among those issues was the definition of the family , with traditionalists insisting on a mother , father and children and progressive countries wanting to include LGBT families as well , he said .
Another was on how to mention sexual and reproductive health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end , Skoog said , direct references to both issues were dropped in the declaration .
But since the declaration affirms the Beijing platform , what that document says about the family and women ’ s rights and health will stand .
Francoise Girard , president of the International Women ’ s Health Coalition , said it was critical that governments recommit fully to the Beijing platform and called it heartening that they did so .
She said governments also recommitted to achieving U.N. goals for 2030 that include sexual and reproductive rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that that is an extremely positive sign.
” What could really change the trajectory to achieve gender equality , Girard said , is ensuring that young girls can control their bodies , and there is still a long way to go .
“ Controlling your body — sexual and reproduction and free of violence — is critical to everything else , ” she told The Associated Press .
“ It ’ s critical to education , to employment , to political participation , to sitting on boards of companies .
All these things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your body.
” On Friday , Guterres urged young women to keep up activism , and “ please hold the world to account.
” “ Twenty-five years after the Beijing conference , progress on women ’ s rights has stalled and even reversed , ” he said .
“ We must push back against the push back .
...
It is more important than ever for men to stand up for women ’ s rights and gender equality .
”


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--A blind man failed the U.S. citizenship test after it wasn’t offered in Braille

Lucio Delgado was excited when he went to the post office last month to pick up an envelope from U.S .
Citizenship and Immigration Services .
Enclosed were the results of a citizenship test that Delgado , a 23-year-old green card holder from Mexico , thought he had aced .
He and his sister , who accompanied him , opened the envelope in the post office .
The letter inside said he had failed the reading portion of the test and was ineligible for naturalization .
Delgado , who is blind , was crushed .
When he took his test @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not been available in Braille .
At an appointment with federal agents months later , he explained the problem and thought they were prepared to help him .
He decided to share his story publicly .
“ I thought , ‘ Well , I doubt I am the only blind immigrant or immigrant with disabilities who has been denied his or her naturalization request due to a mistake , ’ ” he said Friday .
The exposure seemed to work : Immigration authorities scheduled an appointment with Delgado for next week .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ publicity might not work for everyone trying to navigate the daunting bureaucracy that is often associated with immigration .
Citizenship and Immigration Services has acknowledged its challenges in the past .
The results of a self-evaluation in 2018 showed that individual employees had a “ strong commitment ” to accessibility for people with disabilities .
“ Despite this commitment , USCIS identified gaps and barriers , many of them systemic or procedural in nature , ” the report said .
It said there had been problems with accommodating requests efficiently and a lack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has policies in place to ensure accommodations are provided for people with disabilities when requested and we make every effort to ensure that these policies are followed at all times , ” the agency said in a statement Friday .
“ If USCIS becomes aware of an error in adhering to these policies , we make every effort to ensure corrections are made.
” The agency said it would provide Braille English tests for any blind or visually impaired citizenship applicant who requested them .


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--McCoy Tyner, iconic and influential jazz pianist, dies

NEW YORK - McCoy Tyner , the groundbreaking and influential jazz pianist and the last surviving member of the John Coltrane Quartet , has died .
He was 81 .
Tyner ’ s family confirmed the death in a statement released on social media Friday .
No more details were provided .
“ It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of jazz legend , Alfred “ McCoy ” Tyner .
McCoy was an inspired musician who devoted his life to his art , his family and his spirituality , ” the statement read .
“ McCoy Tyner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to inspire fans and future talent for generations to come.
” Tyner was born in Philadelphia on Dec. 11 , 1938 .
He eventually met Coltrane and joined him for the 1961 album “ My Favorite Things , ” a major commercial success that highlighted the remarkable chemistry of the John Coltrane Quartet .
The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 .
The quartet would go on to release more revered projects , becoming an international renowned group and one of the seminal acts in jazz history .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Coltrane Quartet , releasing more than 70 albums .
He also won five Grammy Awards .
In 2002 , he was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts .
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thetorontostar--2020-03-07--Gantz denies Netanyahu win, vows to form government after Israeli election stalemate

TEL AVIV , ISRAEL—Former Israeli military chief Benny Gantz on Saturday denied that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won last week ’ s parliamentary election and vowed to form a government .
“ In three rounds of elections , the people have shown Netanyahu the door , ” Gantz said in a televised speech .
“ The majority of the people do not want Netanyahu , and this the people will receive , ” said the 60-year-old founder of the centrist Blue and White party .
Israel ’ s March 2 election was held after two earlier rounds in September and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s conservative Likud emerged as the largest party in Israel ’ s Knesset , winning 36 seats — three more than Gantz ’ s Blue and White .
On election night , Netanyahu declared a “ huge victory ” based on exit polls .
The prime minister ’ s right-wing and religious bloc has 58 mandates , while the left-wing bloc ’ s tally stands at 55 — both short of the 61 seats necessary to have a majority in Parliament .
The leader of the strongest party in Parliament — in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with forming a government coalition — unless the Supreme Court rules that an indicted party leader is unfit to form a government .
An Israeli non-governmental organization filed a petition to the high court this week arguing that Netanyahu should not be allowed to form a government due to his indictment .
Netanyahu has been charged with bribery , fraud and breach of trust for allegedly accepting expensive gifts from wealthy businessmen and trying to get sympathetic press coverage in return for favours .
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thetorontostar--2020-03-07--Fourth Saudi prince detained by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

The scope of a new roundup of Saudi royals widened Saturday with word that a fourth senior prince has been detained under orders from the crown prince , according to two people close to the royal family , the latest step by the kingdom ’ s de facto ruler to consolidate power .
The wave of arrests has now ensnared a former head of army intelligence , Prince Nayef bin Ahmed , as well as at least three other senior princes , all detained on Friday .
The full extent of the roundup is still not clear .
The detentions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bin Salman , 34 , would soon seek to take formal power from his aging father , King Salman , 84 .
They could also indicate that the crown prince was worried about discontent within the royal family as plummeting oil prices strained the country ’ s budget and economy , according to analysts who follow the royals .
The arrests fuelled speculation about the status of the king , three people close to the family said Saturday .
But the monarch was photographed in recent days meeting with the visiting British foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Saudi hospital that treats many royals said it had received no word that the king was ill .
The crown prince has cracked down before on the privilege and clout of his own sprawling royal family in order to tighten his own grip on power .
But the number and prominence of the princes detained this time around sent ripples of fear through the royal family , several people close to the family said .
Family members were trying to discern whether the crown prince ordered the arrests out of fear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was perhaps seeking to eliminate potential obstacles to his succession to the throne .
One of those arrested was Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz , the king ’ s only surviving full brother .
On Saturday , it became clear for the first time that Prince Ahmed ’ s son , the former head of army intelligence , Prince Nayef , had also been detained .
“ It is surprising he would move on Prince Ahmed with the king ’ s authority still there , ” said Kristin Smith Diwan , a scholar at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The crown prince has established a track record of bold and ruthless moves with little precedent in the kingdom ’ s modern history .
In 2017 , he detained hundreds of wealthy princes and businessmen in a Ritz-Carlton hotel that he repurposed as a prison .
He demanded that they turn over large sums of their wealth as part of what he portrayed as a crackdown on corruption .
He also has led a five-year military intervention in Yemen that has created one of the world ’ s worst humanitarian disasters without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arabia , the prince is best known for his association with the killing of Jamal Khashoggi , a dissident and newspaper columnist , by Saudi agents in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018 .
Prince Nayef , whose arrest was the latest to be reported , has held positions in the interior ministry and military and once headed army intelligence , according to a Saudi military website .
But he did not appear to have any position in the government at the time of his detention .
His father , Prince Ahmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the fall of 2018 to be a potential rival to the crown prince .
But Prince Ahmed swiftly disavowed such ideas and his status as a full brother of the king had appeared until now to provide him a certain degree of immunity from the wrath of his nephew , Crown Prince Mohammed .
He was nonetheless detained on Friday , days after he had returned from a falcon hunting trip abroad .
His son , Prince Nayef bin Ahmed , was with him at the time , a person close to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bin Nayef , a former crown prince and former interior minister who had close ties to U.S. intelligence agencies , was also detained on Friday .
He had effectively been under house arrest since being forced out of his previous posts by the current crown prince in 2017 .
His younger brother , Prince Nawaf bin Nayef , was also taken by security officers .
“ It looks like MBS is just taking out all rivals , ” said Michael Stephens , a scholar at the Royal United Services Institute , using the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is either the case that the king is on his death bed or MBS just thinks this is a good time to bury the bad news , ” he added .
“ But the problem is that after the Khashoggi murder , trust in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is very low and no one will believe the official narrative .
”

David D. Kirkpatrick - The New York Times,Ben Hubbard


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--China may be beating the coronavirus, at a painful cost

BEIJING—As the new coronavirus races around the world , tanking markets , cutting off global travel and suspending school for hundreds of millions of children , governments are desperate for ways to contain it .
China , the place where it first appeared , says it has the answers .
To the surprise of some , the country that concealed and mismanaged the initial outbreak appears to be bringing it under control , at least by its own official figures .
The number of new cases reported has fallen dramatically in recent days even as infections are surging in other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ praised Beijing ’ s response .
Officials reported only 99 new cases on Saturday , down from around 2,000 a day just weeks ago , and for the second day in a row , none were detected in Hubei province outside of its capital , Wuhan , the center of the outbreak .
China says the trend proves that its containment measures — which include a lockdown on nearly 60 million people in Hubei and strict quarantine and travel restrictions for hundreds of millions of citizens and foreigners — are working .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts as successful in propaganda at home and abroad .
The rest of the world , much of it fearfully confronting its first cases , has taken note .
But there is also concern that China ’ s numbers may be flawed and incomplete .
The real test will be whether the virus flares again when children return to classrooms and workers to factories , and commuters start taking buses and subways .
China ’ s blunt force strategy poses deeper questions for other countries .
Its campaign has come at great cost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberties .
Even countries that could copy China still have to ask whether the cure is worse than the disease .
“ I think they did an amazing job of knocking the virus down , ” said Michael Osterholm , director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota .
“ But I don ’ t know if it ’ s sustainable .
What have the Chinese really accomplished ?
Have they really contained the virus ?
Or have they just suppressed it ?
” Elsewhere , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggling to control the spread of the virus .
In the United States , where there are now more than 300 confirmed cases , the government has been criticized for fumbling its rollout of test kits and allowing the virus to spread in vulnerable communities like a nursing home in Seattle .
The outbreak now threatens global growth and is intensifying a backlash against immigration and globalization .
Countries studying China ’ s approach would need to consider how it has upended nearly every corner of Chinese society .
The economy has ground @ @ @ @ @ @ @ small businesses say they may soon run out of cash .
Patients with critical illnesses are struggling to find timely care , and some have died .
Hundreds of millions of people have been placed in some form of isolation .
As of Friday , about 827,000 people remained under quarantine in Beijing , according to the state-run China Daily newspaper .
“ I have been worried about all the focus on just controlling the virus , ” said Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo , a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response , such as that taken by the governments in Hong Kong and Singapore .
Officials there enacted targeted quarantines but did not shut down workplaces altogether , allowing their respective economies to continue operating while so far successfully containing the virus .
“ We have to take a broad view of the impact on society , ” Nuzzo said , “ and do a better accounting for the social tolls of these measures that is not just focused on the numbers.
” For China , the numbers are key .
The number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ substantial decline from 2 1/2 weeks ago , when China was recording around 2,000 new infections and as many as 100 deaths a day .
Twenty-eight new deaths were reported on Saturday , all in Hubei .
By comparison , Italy reported 49 deaths from the virus on Friday .
Outside of Wuhan , the spread has effectively stopped , according to the official figures .
All but one of the 99 new cases reported on Saturday were in Wuhan or were people who had traveled to China from abroad .
The World @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measures may have saved hundreds of thousands of people from infection .
Its efforts show that uncontrolled spread of the virus “ is not a one-way street , ” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , the group ’ s director general , said on Thursday .
“ This epidemic can be pushed back , ” Tedros said , “ but only with a collective , coordinated and comprehensive approach that engages the entire machinery of government.
” WHO experts sent to China have also highlighted clinics that could diagnose hundreds of cases a day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the mass isolation centers in stadiums in Wuhan that separated people who had mild infections from their families .
“ There ’ s no question that China ’ s bold approach to the rapid spread of this new respiratory pathogen has changed the course of what was a rapidly escalating and continues to be a deadly epidemic , ” Dr. Bruce Aylward , the leader of the WHO team that visited China , told reporters in Beijing late last month .
The numbers suggest that aggressive quarantine measures , when fully enforced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virus , said Dr. William Schaffner , an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University .
“ This is the largest public health experiment in the history of humankind , ” Schaffner said .
“ They can ’ t turn it off , but they did turn it down .
And it did provide the rest of the world with some extra time.
” Still , the total number of infections in China , at more than 80,000 , is staggering .
And there are reasons to doubt the official figures .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shortage of test kits and hospital beds meant that many were not able to get tested .
Many mild infections are likely going undetected .
The government has changed how it counts cases several times in recent weeks , prompting large fluctuations in the reported figures , though experts say such adjustments are not unusual .
Medical experts say that there have been few signs that the government has aggressively tested for the coronavirus outside of medical facilities in Hubei .
Until they broaden the scope of testing , experts say , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extent of the epidemic because those who have mild infections might not see a doctor .
“ At the moment we are focused on the tip of the iceberg , ” said David Hui , director of the Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Chinese University of Hong Kong .
The ruling Communist Party hails the slowdown of the outbreak as a sign of the superiority of its authoritarian , top-down political system that gives officials nearly unchecked power .
But its heavy-handed measures are testing the patience of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a clampdown could have been avoided if officials had not first hid the scale of the outbreak and silenced whistleblowers .
The impact of the restrictions has been felt most acutely in Hubei , where 56 million people have been effectively penned in since January .
For more than five weeks , the typically bustling hub of universities , commerce and transportation has been transformed into a collection of ghost towns as the virus has ravaged communities , ensnared entire families and infected thousands of medical workers .
China ’ s experience combating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of family transmission if hospitals run out of beds and testing kits , as they did in Wuhan , where for weeks , many who were sick were sent home and infected their relatives .
Roadblocks have sealed off cities , public transportation has been shut down and private cars have been mostly banned from the roads .
In Wuhan , restrictions on individual movement have been stepped up in recent weeks , with residents now mostly barred from leaving their homes .
Among residents in Hubei , there are signs that anger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media sites are flooded with posts from residents saying they have lost their jobs because of the extended lockdown , making it difficult to make payments on mortgages and loans .
Others have described food shortages in their communities .
On Thursday , in a rare public rebuke of the government , disgruntled people in a residential community in Wuhan heckled high-level officials as they walked through the neighborhood on an inspection .
“ Fake !
Everything is fake !
” shouted one resident at the delegation , which included Sun Chunlan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s response to the outbreak .
The state-run People ’ s Daily newspaper later said that the accusations were aimed at local neighborhood officials who had “ faked ” delivery of vegetables and meat to residents .
Sun ordered an immediate investigation into the issue .
Wang Zhonglin , the party secretary of Wuhan , announced plans on Friday to teach the city ’ s residents to be grateful to the party , a move that was quickly met with derision and anger on Chinese social media .
Relationships are also fraying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extended periods in confined spaces .
Guo Jing , a feminist activist in Wuhan , said she and other volunteers had fielded a number of requests for help from residents reporting physical abuse by their family members at home .
“ Under these circumstances , it ’ s really difficult for them to find help during the epidemic , ” said Guo .
“ It ’ s so difficult to leave the house.
” Fang Fang , a writer who has been keeping a widely read — and often-censored — online journal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lockdown was exacting a psychological toll on residents .
“ Ordinary people have no source of income and lack a sense of certainty even about when they ’ ll be able to go out , ” she wrote in a recent entry .
“ When you can ’ t feel the ground or you lose control over a situation , it ’ s easy to lose the most basic sense of security.
” Outside of Hubei , China wants to fire up its economy , but local officials are also under immense pressure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reduce the number of infections .
Even as provinces have lowered their alert levels for the virus , many companies are choosing to err on the side of caution .
Some have even faked electricity consumption rates in order to hit stringent back-to-work targets , according to a recent report by Caixin , an influential Chinese magazine .
Some experts are increasingly wondering if China ’ s lockdown will become pointless the more widespread the virus becomes .
Given the global spread of the virus and the difficulty of spotting mild cases , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it will ever be completely eliminated — even in China .
“ I do think the declining case numbers likely mean that all these incredible measures that have been taken are probably having an effect , ” said Marc Lipsitch , an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H .
Chan School of Public Health .
“ But I don ’ t think zero is zero .
”


thetorontostar--2020-03-07--State of emergency declared in New York as number of coronavirus patients climbs

NEW YORK—Gov .
Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency Saturday as the New Rochelle coronavirus virus cluster continued to expand , with 23 new cases bringing Westchester County ’ s infected population to 57 people — the most in New York state .
Cuomo announced the number of people testing positive statewide has now reached 76 , climbing steadily over the last few days .
There were also new cases in the Rockaways and in Saratoga County , he said , and a pair of Rockland County positive tests were also linked to the same New Rochelle lawyer who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases of the virus .
“ We have a situation in New Rochelle , ” the governor said at his daily update on the virus .
“ You ’ re seeing those numbers in New Rochelle expand as you have seen in other clusters .
One becomes two , two becomes four , four becomes 10 , then 12 .
And then 12 people go out and touch 200 , and 400 , and 800 .
Sen. James Sanders Jr. has confirmed that there is now a coronavirus case in Far Rockaway .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ had more than doubled from 5 to 11 , the governor said .
The numbers include two people who were diagnosed after exiting a cruise ship , said Cuomo .
The state of emergency allows the state to hire more staff as local health departments become stressed by the growing number of victims , the governor added .
The New Rochelle man at the centre of the cluster in the city ’ s northern suburbs was hospitalized Feb. 27 in critical condition , with nearly five dozen cases now linked to the man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the man ’ s condition was improving .
But the virus spread from the father of four to his wife and two of their kids , to neighbours and friends , and even to his local rabbi .
“ Westchester County is an obvious problem for us , ” said Cuomo .
“ The clusters tend to infect more and more people.
” The infected person in the Rockaways is a male Uber driver hospitalized in stable condition , with officials unsure how he contracted the coronavirus , according to a source .


thetorontostar--2020-03-08--Cruise ship hit by virus to dock in Oakland, California

SAN FRANCISCO - A cruise ship hit by the new coronavirus is headed to the port of Oakland , California , the captain told passengers , though they were destined to stay aboard the ship for at least another day .
Grand Princess Capt .
John Smith , in a recording provided by passenger Laurie Miller of San Jose , told guests the ship will dock in Oakland .
Princess Cruises says it ’ s expected to arrive on Monday .
The ship is carrying more than 3,500 people from 54 countries .
“ An agreement has been reached to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oakland , ” he told passengers Saturday night .
“ After docking , we will then begin a disembarkation process specified by federal authorities that will take several days.
“ Smith said passengers who need medical treatment or hospitalization will go to health care facilities in California , while state residents who don ’ t require acute medical care “ will go to a federally operated isolation facility within California for testing and isolation.
” U.S. guests from other states will be transported by the federal government to facilities in other states .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ aboard the ship .
Smith said the information he was given did not include any details about what would happen to passengers from other countries .
“ We are working to obtain more details overnight .
...
I ’ m sorry I can ’ t provide you more details right now , ” he said .
The Grand Princess had been forbidden to dock in San Francisco amid evidence that the vessel was the breeding ground for a cluster of nearly 20 cases that resulted in at least one death after a previous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ toll from the virus climbed to 19 , with all but three victims in Washington state .
The number of infections swelled to more than 400 , scattered across the U.S. , as passengers aboard the ship holed up in their rooms .
Steven Smith and his wife , Michele , of Paradise , California , went on the cruise to celebrate their wedding anniversary .
The Smiths said they were a bit worried but felt safe in their room , which they had left just once since Thursday to video chat with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and gloves delivered trays with their food in covered plates , delivered outside their door .
They ’ ve occupied themselves by watching TV , reading and looking out the window .
“ Thank God , we have a window !
” Steven Smith said .
The ship was heading from Hawaii to San Francisco when it was held off the California coast Wednesday so people with symptoms could be tested for the virus .
Cruise officials on Saturday disclosed more information about how they think the outbreak occurred .
Grant Tarling , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said it ’ s believed a 71-year-old Northern California man who later died of the virus was probably sick when he boarded the ship for a Feb. 11 cruise to Mexico .
The passenger visited the medical centre the day before disembarking with symptoms of respiratory illness , he said .
Others in several states and Canada who were on that voyage also have tested positive .
The passenger likely infected his dining room server , who also tested positive for the virus , Tarling said , as did two people travelling with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ship who have the virus were not on the previous cruise , he said .
Some passengers who had been on the Mexico trip stayed aboard for the current voyage — increasing crew members ’ exposure to the virus .
Another Princess ship , the Diamond Princess , was quarantined for two weeks in Yokohama , Japan , last month because of the virus .
Ultimately , about 700 of the 3,700 people aboard became infected in what experts pronounced a public-health failure , with the vessel essentially becoming a floating germ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ship were flown to military bases in California and other states for two-week quarantines .
Some later were hospitalized with symptoms .
An epidemiologist who studies the spread of virus particles said the recirculated air from a cruise ship ’ s ventilation system , plus the close quarters and communal settings , make passengers and crew vulnerable to infectious diseases .
“ They ’ re not designed as quarantine facilities , to put it mildly , ” said Don Milton of the University of Maryland .
Worldwide , the virus has infected more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3,400 , the vast majority of them in China .
Most cases have been mild , and more than half of those infected have recovered .
Associated Press writers Olga R. Rodriguez and Juliet Williams in San Francisco ; Gene Johnson , Martha Bellisle and Carla K. Johnson in Seattle ; Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami ; Rachel La Corte in Olympia , Washington ; and AP researcher Monika Mathur in Washington , D.C. , contributed to this report .
The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Science Education .
The AP is solely responsible for all content .
Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https : //apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https : //apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak