Germany yesterday unveiled a plan for reopening, as Europe’s largest economy tries to get the wheels turning after weeks of shutdown, while US President Donald Trump on Tuesday made his first major foray out of the White House since the COVID-19 lockdown began, pushing for the US economy to reopen.
“We can’t keep our country closed for the next five years,” Trump said on a trip to a mask factory in Arizona on Tuesday, as he conceded that some people would be “badly affected.”
In a sign that his administration no longer considers the pandemic its top priority, the White House is set to disband the emergency task force handling the country’s outbreak.
“I think we’re starting to look at the Memorial Day [May 25] window, early June window” for shutting it down, US Vice President Mike Pence said.
However, highlighting the challenges involved, New York’s subway system closed for the first time in its history on Tuesday night for disinfection, as authorities try to balance functionality with health and safety.
The US remains the worst-hit country with more than 71,000 deaths. It recorded 2,333 more fatalities in the 24 hours to Tuesday evening, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, twice as many as the day before.
The relentless march of the virus continued as Latin America logged its 15,000th death and Britain passed Italy as the country with the world’s second-highest number of deaths.
However, elsewhere in Europe, hard-hit Spain and France reported a leveling off of figures, offering hope of an end to a pandemic that has overwhelmed healthcare systems and shattered economies.
Germany is eyeing an almost complete return to normality this month, with plans to send all pupils back to school and restart top-flight soccer, a draft agreement seen by reporters said.
The Bundesliga would become the first of Europe’s top five leagues to restart, a prospect German Minister of Health Jens Spahn said could make the competition an “export hit.”
With about 165,000 cases and 7,000 deaths, Germany has so far been able to prevent the scenes of dire overcrowding in its hospitals that have been seen elsewhere in Europe.
The restrictions imposed globally to curb the spread of the virus have gutted national economies, with the EU yesterday forecasting that the eurozone economy would contract by a staggering 7.7 percent this year, and saying the wreckage from the COVID-19 outbreak could endanger the single currency.
Calling it a “recession of historic proportions,” the EU executive said that the 19-member single currency zone would rebound by 6.3 percent in 2021, but in a recovery that would be felt unevenly across the continent.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
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