Society's Child

As coronavirus cases surge in Italy, EU states take measures to prevent disease from crossing the Alps

Lillo Montalto Monella
Euronews
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 17:02 UTC

As Italy deals with a surge of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus, other European Union member states are considering what measures to take to prevent the disease from crossing the Alps.

Italian authorities confirmed on Monday that a fifth person had died on its soil from the novel coronavirus and that the number of cases had risen to more than 200.

The governments of Slovenia and Croatia, where no cases have been reported, convened emergency meetings on Monday. Zagreb has since announced that all travellers arriving from Italy would be monitored and that all scheduled school trips to Italy over the coming weeks would be cancelled.

The Croatian Foreign Affairs ministry also updated its travel advisory, advising its nationals to avoid visiting the northern Italian regions of Veneto and Lombardy because of the "risk of coronavirus infection".

Further east in Romania, authorities have announced that all Italian nationals from Italian regions where cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed will be quarantined for 14 days. The AP news agency reported however that people at the border are only required to fill a form.

Comment: See also:

Panic mode on: Dow plunges 1000+ points on mounting fears over coronavirus spreading

Fred Imbert and Eustance Huang
CNBC
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 22:27 UTC

Stocks fell sharply on Monday as the number of coronavirus cases outside China surged, stoking fears of a prolonged global economic slowdown from the virus spreading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,031.61 points lower, or 3.56%, at 27,960.80. The S&P 500 slid 3.35% to 3,225.89 while the Nasdaq Composite closed 3.71% lower at 9,221.28. It was the Dow's biggest point and percentage-point drop since February 2018. The Dow also gave up its gain for 2020 and is now down 2% for the year. The S&P 500 also had its worst day in two years and wiped out its year-to-date gain as well.

"The second-largest economy in the world is completely shut down. People aren't totally pricing that in," said Larry Benedict, CEO of The Opportunistic Trader, adding a 10% to 15% correction in stocks may be starting. He also said some parts of the market, particularly large-cap tech stocks, appear to be over-owned. "It seems like there's much more to come."

Don't buy China's story: Clues that coronavirus may have leaked from a lab

Steven W. Mosher
New York Post
Sat, 22 Feb 2020 11:18 UTC

© AFP via Getty Images
Members of a police sanitation team spray disinfectant as a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus.

At an emergency meeting in Beijing held last Friday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke about the need to contain the coronavirus and set up a system to prevent similar epidemics in the future.

A national system to control biosecurity risks must be put in place "to protect the people's health," Xi said, because lab safety is a "national security" issue.

Xi didn't actually admit that the coronavirus now devastating large swaths of China had escaped from one of the country's bioresearch labs. But the very next day, evidence emerged suggesting that this is exactly what happened, as the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology released a new directive titled: "Instructions on strengthening biosecurity management in microbiology labs that handle advanced viruses like the novel coronavirus."

Comment: The media, it seems, is finally cottoning on to China's mistake. As we published last month: Did Coronavirus outbreak originate in a lab? Novel sequence in 2019-nCoV Virus genome suggests man-made cause

'The markets' are freaking out about the Coronavirus outbreak, but this is largely due to the manner in which it has been handled by the Chinese government, the WHO and other governments following their lead. At this point it seems pretty clear to us that the Coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan, central China - location of that country's ONLY Level 4 biolab - because of an accidental release during vaccine trials, at which point it may have mutated further, leaving the Chinese authorities worried that it's only another mutation or two away from becoming truly pandemic.

As things stand, this outbreak is NOT pandemic, and the chances of it doing so are low. A death toll of 2,600 globally after 2 months is NOT a 'return of the Black Death'. This doesn't mean such is not in the cards in the not-too-distant future, but CoVid-19 is probably not it. The Chinese authorities, by their actions, gave away their culpability in causing this, and have likely given us a glimpse into how authorities the world over will attempt to contain future outbreaks.

UAE makes massive new natural gas discovery: Gamechanger for both current regional relations and market futures

Vanand Meliksetian
OilPrice.com
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 21:13 UTC

The Jebel Ali area will host the gas reservoir project being developed by Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The venture brings together Adnoc and Dusup.

The Persian Gulf is, without doubt, the most prominent oil and gas production area in the world. After decades of intensive exploration and production, the region still amaze persistent explorers. Even well-explored countries such as the UAE still hold surprises. The Emirates are already one of the world's largest producer and exporter of oil. In 2019 on average 2.9 million barrels per day were extracted, which generates approximately 30 percent of the country's GDP.

Despite its impressive production capacity, the UAE remains strongly dependent on imported natural gas to meet domestic demand. A third of the country's gas is provided by neighboring Qatar. The majority is exported through the Dolphin pipeline. The fraught political relations between Qatar and the UAE due the latter's support of the Saudi-led blockade create an awkward commercial relationship.

Therefore, the discovery of a massive gas field on the border of Dubai and Abu Dhabi could become a significant game-changer. Becoming self-sufficient improves the country's energy security and potentially transforms the regional geopolitical environment.

US beats China to become India's top trading partner

Business Today
Sun, 23 Feb 2020 21:23 UTC

The US has surpassed China to become India's top trading partner, showing greater economic ties between the two countries. According to the data of the commerce ministry, in 2018-19, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 87.95 billion.

During the period, India's two-way commerce with China aggregated at USD 87.07 billion.

Similarly, during April-December 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 68 billion. It stood at USD 64.96 billion with China in the same period.

Trade experts believe that the trend will continue in the coming years also as New Delhi and Washington are engaged in further deepening the economic ties.

An expert said that if the countries will finalise a free trade agreement (FTA), then the bilateral trade would reach at different levels.

"FTA with US will be very beneficial for India as the US is the biggest market for domestic goods and services," Federation of Indian Export organisations Director General Ajay Sahai said.

Comment: Also in the news today:

Trump receives warm welcome in India, announces $3 billion defense deal

'Every journalist should feel a cold, icy hand running down their spine': Assange's extradition case examined in new RT doc

RT
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 21:04 UTC

With Julian Assange's US extradition hearing getting under way in London, RTD's new film sheds light on why the WikiLeaks founder's landmark case may lay the path for future prosecution of journalists.

"Every journalist in the United States should feel a cold, icy hand running down their spine at the charges that had been leveled against this publisher. Because they could be next," writer Suelette Dreyfus says about Assange whose project published leaked documents exposing possible US War crimes in Iraq and letters exposing shenanigans against Bernie Sanders in 2016 by bosses within the Democratic Party.

"If Julian Assange being a publisher is put in prison for being a publisher, for no other reason than being a publisher, then we have no rules," says a Swedish journalist Johannes Wahlstrom, who worked with WikiLeaks on the documentary 'Mediastan'.

'It was just a game': Estonian mother flees to Russia with 2 girls after court clears Norwegian ex-husband of pedophilia charges

RT
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 20:44 UTC

He bathed with his own daughters naked and made them kiss his crotch, an Estonian mom told RT of her ex-husband after escaping to Russia. But the Norwegian man's lawyers claim she's using pedophilia allegations to keep the kids.

It all started like a happy love story in 2009, but eventually turned into a nightmare.

Anna from the Estonian capital, Tallinn, arrived in Norway to work as a nurse at a senior home. It was there that she met Jostein Finseraasen, a male nurse whom the wards simply adored and courted her like a true gentleman. The couple got married three month later, with Anna already being pregnant.

But the domestic bliss turned out to be short-lived. "When we began living together I started noticing aggressive outbursts from him toward animals at the farm," the woman recalled.

Palestinian flag, Yellow Vests, Anonymous masks: Wide range of protester groups join demonstration in support of Assange

RT
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 20:28 UTC

Supporters of Julian Assange have staged quite a show outside Woolwich Court in London, throwing their artistic weight behind the embattled WikiLeaks co-founder.

Overlooked by a few policemen, dozens of protesters began amassing near the courthouse earlier on Monday, just as the judges began the closely-watched extradition hearing for Assange.

There was no shortage of conventional placards calling for Assange's release, but some activists showed unorthodox creativity. One protester, dressed as a biblical character, stole the show by carrying a yellowish cross, with the words "The truth will win" imprinted on it.

Car plows into crowd at Carnival parade in Volkmarsen, Germany - at least 30 people injured

Deutsche Welle
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 18:36 UTC

People have suffered life-threatening injuries after a vehicle drove into a parade in a town in central Germany. Children were also among those injured.

More than 30 people were injured on Monday after a man drove into a crowd at a Carnival parade in the German town of Volkmarsen, police said.

Police spokesman Henning Hinn said "there were several dozen injured, among them some seriously, and sadly also children." Some of the injuries were life-threatening, he added. The number of those seriously injured was put at seven by Frankfurt police.

Hinn continued: "We are working on the assumption that it was a deliberate act."

Here's what the lead Roger Stone juror wrote in her jury questionnaire

Chuck Ross
Daily Caller
Mon, 24 Feb 2020 11:05 UTC

The lead juror at Roger Stone's trial said in a written questionnaire for prospective jurors that she was "not sure" whether she posted online about the Russia investigation or Stone, and that she "may have shared an article" on social media on the topics, according to a portion of the document reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

But Tomeka Hart's Twitter feed shows that she indeed posted multiple times about the Russia probe and at least once about Stone, who was sentenced on Thursday to 40 months in prison in a case that stemmed from the special counsel's investigation.

Stone's lawyers filed a motion on Feb. 14 alleging that Hart's social media activity shows that she was biased against President Donald Trump and Stone. Trump also criticized Hart during a press conference after Stone was sentenced.

Trump called Hart an "anti-Trump activist," and suggested that she "tainted" Stone's jury.

Hart, who ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2012, commented negatively about Trump on Twitter and circulated news stories about the Russia probe. In one Aug. 2, 2019 post, she called all of Trump's supporters racist.

Stone, 67, has been one of Trump's most longstanding supporters, and is sometimes credited with convincing the real estate mogul to run for president.

Comment: See also: Stone sentencing ends Russia collusion, part I

Has everyone seen the documentary Century of the Self? It's about Bernays, PR BS, etc. and is REALLY well done. (I found it at an AA article.)...

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Their were saints in Catholic history who most have heard about and others not so much. Now you have Saint Francis of Assisi, but you also have...

Buffalo_Ken

I have a different definition for the "global commons". It is in the definition of "the commons" definition in the link provided below. Here is a...

Buffalo_Ken

Biden the child-killer. Think of the children, vaxxers, think of the children.

hobnyeba

Thanks, all, for great comments and links. Lots to think about.

ReRan

Society's Child

As coronavirus cases surge in Italy, EU states take measures to prevent disease from crossing the Alps

Panic mode on: Dow plunges 1000+ points on mounting fears over coronavirus spreading

Don't buy China's story: Clues that coronavirus may have leaked from a lab

UAE makes massive new natural gas discovery: Gamechanger for both current regional relations and market futures

US beats China to become India's top trading partner

'Every journalist should feel a cold, icy hand running down their spine': Assange's extradition case examined in new RT doc

'It was just a game': Estonian mother flees to Russia with 2 girls after court clears Norwegian ex-husband of pedophilia charges

Palestinian flag, Yellow Vests, Anonymous masks: Wide range of protester groups join demonstration in support of Assange

Car plows into crowd at Carnival parade in Volkmarsen, Germany - at least 30 people injured

Here's what the lead Roger Stone juror wrote in her jury questionnaire

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