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Trump will take the turn of the victory pandemic on television’s “town hall”
Donald Trump will wrap himself in the mantle of possibly the greatest president of the United States with a television extravaganza on Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial aimed at leaving the coronavirus crisis behind and relaunching his election campaign.
The Republican businessman is doing poorly in most polls ahead of the November presidential race with his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, who remains locked up in his Delaware home.
Trump faces criticism for his divisive and blunt style during a time of national calamity, with some accusing him of having marred the early response to the Covid-19 virus.
Worse still, the booming American economy, which was considered a golden ticket for his second term, is now in dire straits due to the national blockade.
But with authorities saying the viral spread has started to slow, Trump is eager to declare victory and return to the campaign.
– AFP
South Korea to facilitate the rules of social distancing
South Korea said on Sunday it will loosen social distancing rules this week to allow meetings and events to take place after the number of new coronavirus cases has decreased significantly in recent days.
The country suffered one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside of China, and strict social distancing has been observed since March.
Dozens of events, from K-pop concerts to sports seasons, had been delayed or canceled, while museums and galleries were closed and religious services suspended.
But the South appears to have controlled its outbreak thanks to an extensive “trace, test and treat” program that has received high praise.
Their reported death toll is around 250, much lower than that of Italy, Britain, Spain and France, which have recorded at least 24,000 deaths.
– AFP
Swiss soldiers fight Covid-19 armed with the Bluetooth application
Swiss army recruits are battling the coronavirus pandemic by field testing a Bluetooth-based smartphone application intended to stop the Covid-19 resurgence.
The quickly created application tracks people who have inadvertently come across someone infected with the virus.
It uses wireless technology with each phone recording the others with which it has been approached for an extended period of time.
For the field test, the infantry recruits spent a normal day: physical training, theory study, and shooting at targets 300 meters away.
“What we did before were laboratory tests. Now we are collecting data on how this application works in real life,” said Simon Rosch, a software engineer with the smartphone application developers Ubique.
The military base is a good testing ground because, unlike civilians, soldiers are still allowed to congregate in close numbers.
Furthermore, they are isolated from the rest of the population within their barracks in Chamblon, overlooking Lake Neuchatel in western Switzerland.
– AFP
European leaders push vaccine financing campaign
European leaders support a Brussels initiative to raise € 7.5 billion ($ 8.3 billion) to tackle the global coronavirus pandemic.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the fundraising plan for an international effort to find a vaccine and treatment for Covid-19 on Friday.
An online pledge conference will be held on Monday to close the gaps in research funding.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave their support in an open letter published in weekend newspapers.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, also signed and all supported the World Health Organization in the face of criticism from the United States about its handling of the crisis.
The funds raised “will fuel unprecedented global cooperation between scientists and regulators, industry and governments, international organizations, foundations and health professionals,” the leaders said.
– AFP
Indian Army salutes virus workers with rose petals, flying flies
The helicopters showered masked health workers with rose petals and jets roared through the skies on Sunday as the Indian Army paid tribute to frontline workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
In one of Sunday’s first gestures, petals fell on the faces of medical personnel wearing protective clothing as an army band played patriotic songs including “Jai Ho” (May victory prevails) from the popular movie “Slumdog Millionaire ” .
In several states and territories of the vast nation of 1.3 billion people, fighter jets and formation transport planes participated in low-flying air salutes to thank the country’s so-called “crown warriors.”
“The entire nation is united in these difficult times,” Defense Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted Sunday, praising the “commendable work” of “front-line warriors,” including the police, who have been enforcing virus blocking throughout the country since the end of March.
The marina will light up its ships off the subcontinent’s coast when night falls as part of the tributes.
The performances were the third public display of gratitude to health and other frontline workers, after Indians participated in national applause and lamp-lighting efforts led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the previous Sunday.
The government extended the blockade for another two weeks on Friday, although some restrictions were lifted in regions that have fewer virus cases.
India has recorded almost 40,000 cases of coronavirus, including 1,301 deaths.
– AFP
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