A survey by the world’s largest journalism group shows three in every four journalists have faced official restrictions, obstruction or intimidation in reporting on the new coronavirus disease COVID-19. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also noticed that most staff and freelance journalists have “suffered pay cuts, lost revenue, job losses, canceled commissions, or worsening working conditions.”
Urban experts have warned that over 100 million people in cities worldwide may suffer extreme poverty as a result of losing their jobs and income to the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reports. In addressing the issue, the World Bank and other experts have called for investment in slum areas around the world and for mapping strategies to identify vulnerable communities.
A senior World Health Organization (WHO) official has praised Sweden for its strategy in managing the coronavirus outbreak, the NY Post reported. Executive director of Emergencies Program Mike Ryan told reporters Wednesday: “I think in many ways Sweden represents a model if we wish to get back to a society in which we don’t have lockdowns.”
Apple and Google released a beta version of their coronavirus tracing software on Wednesday.
Germany has banned Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah’s activities on its soil and designated it a terrorist organization, a move welcomed by Tehran’s rivals the United States and Israel.
Explosive new internal FBI documents unsealed Wednesday show that top bureau officials discussed their motivations for interviewing then-national security adviser Michael Flynn in the White House in January 2017 — and openly questioned if their “goal” was “to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired.”
A nationwide curfew ended Wednesday evening as Israel’s 72nd Independence Day came to a close, with further restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus set to be eased in the coming days.
America’s top health official in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic dampened hopes of a full reopening of the U.S. economy as he expects many more cases of the virus disease COVID-19.
A principal United Nations agency warns that nearly half of the world’s working population may lose jobs and incomes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate lives and economies. The International Labour Organization (ILO) said some 1.6 billion people are in “immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed” by the economic impact of the virus outbreak and related measures.
The EU and Mexico agreed to a new free-trade deal Tuesday after four years of negotiations, the Financial Times reported. The deal provides that almost all trade between Mexico and the EU bloc will be duty-free.
The U.S. economy shrank at 4.8 percent in the first quarter of this year, the most significant decline since the Great Recession of the late 2000s, as the nation shivers of the coronavirus pandemic measures. With much of America in lockdown, figures released by the Commerce Department showed that the United States entered a recession that will end the longest expansion on record.
A U.S. government advisory panel wants India on a religious freedom blacklist over a “drastic” downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering an angry reaction from New Delhi. In addition to India, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also recommends the inclusion of four more – Nigeria, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined the opportunity Monday to issue a ruling that would either expand or restrict gun rights, Reuters reported. The Justices dismissed a National Rifle Association-backed lawsuit that challenged restrictions imposed on handgun owners by New York City. In an unsigned majority decision, the Justices said the case was moot as NYC had already lifted the restrictions that were objected to.
In ongoing vicious attacks by Muslim Fulani herdsmen against Christian communities in Nigeria, two more people were killed and two others were kidnapped on April 22-23, Morningstar News reports. The herdsmen also burned down 25 homes and a church building in the raids.
A Wuhan laboratory is the ‘most likely’ source of the COVID-19 outbreak now ravaging the globe, according to a U.S. government analysis that catalogs the evidence and concludes that other explanations for the origin of the coronavirus are less credible.
The United States has circulated a draft U.N. resolution that would indefinitely extend a U.N. arms embargo on Iran set to expire in October, a move almost certain to spark opposition from Russia, which has made no secret of its desire to resume conventional weapons sales to Tehran, U.S. officials and U.N. diplomats said Tuesday.
The federal debt has increased by more than $1 trillion so far in the month of April, according to data released by the U.S. Treasury.
The Independence Day celebrations, characterized by barbecues in local parks, have been banned by the Health Ministry. Most local municipalities also canceled the traditional firework shows, deeming it ‘inappropriate’ at the time of the epidemic.
Nearly nine out of every 10 Americans fear the imminent collapse of the U.S. economy during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll. The Axios-Ipsos CoronavirusIndex also showed that Americans fear the possible financial ruin of their nation more than the risk of reopening communities too early amid the virus outbreak.
Christians have launched a global letter-writing campaign demanding the release of an ethnic Korean believer who spent his 2000th day in a prison inside North Korea. Jang Moon Seok, a deacon, was kidnapped by suspected North Korean agents in November 2014 from China, according to aid workers familiar with the situation. He is currently serving a 15–year prison sentence on charges that friends link to his involvement providing aid to North Koreans and evangelism.