UNITED STATES
Trump fires Atkinson
President Donald Trump on Friday fired inspector general of the intelligence community Michael Atkinson. Atkinson handled the whistleblower complaint that triggered Trump’s impeachment last year. Trump said in the letter that it is “vital” that he has confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general, and “that is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general.” He added: “It is extremely important that we promote the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs and activities,” and that inspectors general are critical to those goals.
UNITED STATES
Singer Bill Withers dies
Bill Withers, the performer who delivered hits such as Ain’t No Sunshine with silky yet funkified vocals and came to define 1970s soul, has died. He was 81 years old. The Grammy-winning artist behind the beloved Lean on Me succumbed to heart complications, according to his family, which said they were “devastated” over the loss. “A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other,” they said. “In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones.”
PANAMA
Transgender people worry
Members of the transgender community have reacted with “dread” to the implemention of gender-based social distancing regulations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities said this week that men could only leave home to go shopping on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with women allowed to do so on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. No one is allowed out on Sundays. The measure has left transgender people worried they will be the targets of discrimination. Ali, a 25-year-old illustrator who identifies as a man has an identity card that has “female” in the sex field. “My biggest fear, obviously, is the police, who aren’t trained or sensitized to this subject and I don’t know what attitude they will take with me,” Ali said. “I’m 100 percent sure I’ll be stopped in the street and seeing as I don’t fit the mold ... I don’t know if they’ll be aggressive. That’s what scares me.”
FALKLAND ISLANDS
First virus case reported
The government has confirmed the territory’s first case of COVID-19 after a patient was admitted to hospital with symptoms on March 31, a statement released on Friday said. They were in isolation and in “stable condition,” it said. The British overseas territory had been among a dwindling number of remote places that had reported no cases. The disparate group of places to officially remain untouched by the pandemic include Samoa, Turkmenistan, North Korea and bases in Antarctica.
INDIA
Twins named for pandemic
A couple in Chhattisgarh state have named their newborn twins Corona and Covid. The twins — a boy and a girl — were born during an ongoing 21-day long nationwide lockdown that began on Tuesday last week. “The delivery happened after facing several difficulties and therefore my husband and I wanted to make the day memorable,” Preeti Verma, the 27-old mother of the twins, told the Press Trust of India. The couple said the names would remind them about the hardships they faced during the lockdown and ahead of the successful delivery last week.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese