100,000 Tourists Stuck in New Zealand to Leave as Rules Ease
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — About 100,000 tourists stuck in New Zealand since it began a lockdown last week were starting to fly to their home countries Friday. The initial problem for many tourists had been that they were banned from catching domestic flights during the strict monthlong lockdown, which is aimed at preventing more coronavirus infections. The domestic flight ban prevented tourists from reaching the country's main hub of Auckland Airport to catch international flights home. But Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced Thursday that tourists could catch internal flights, so long as they were leaving the country. He said charter flights organized by foreign countries would also be allowed alongside regular commercial flights.
Source:International New York Times
April 03, 2020 03:33 UTC
Centre Presse : ••• La moitié de l'humanité confinée
••• La moitié de l'humanité confinéeLa moitié de l'humanité est désormais appelée à se confiner pour se protéger faute de vaccin ou de traitement. Plus de 50.000 morts et un million de cas ont été comptabilisés dans le monde. Mais ce sont les États-Unis (235.900 cas et 5.316 morts) qui sont en train de devenir le nouvel épicentre de la pandémie. Selon les projections de la Maison-Blanche, le Covid-19 devrait faire entre 100.000 et 240.000 morts aux États-Unis. Les autorités iraniennes ont également annoncé 124 décès supplémentaires dus au virus, ce qui porte à 3.160 morts le bilan en Iran.
Source:L'Humanite
April 03, 2020 03:00 UTC
China-Backed AIIB Proposes $5 Billion Financing Line to Deal With Coronavirus Crisis
BEIJING — The Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said on Friday it was proposing to its board to form a $5 billion financing facility to help public and private sector entities amid the coronavirus pandemic. The proposed crisis recovery facility is in response to urgent economic, financial and public health pressures, and to support a quick recovery after the current crisis, AIIB said in a statement. It is also part of the coordinated international response to counter the pandemic, following the recent extraordinary summit of G20 leaders, the bank said. (Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Source:International New York Times
April 03, 2020 02:37 UTC
Canada: des vols de rapatriement organisés entre ministres par SMS
Cette opération s'inscrivait dans ce que le ministre a décrit, dans un entretien à l'AFP, comme «le plus important rapatriement de voyageurs canadiens à l'étranger dans l'histoire du Canada», en raison de la pandémie. M. Champagne a évoqué des obstacles «sans précédents»: fermeture de l'espace aérien, d'aéroports, restrictions de voyage ou d'entrée de sortie, restrictions de mouvement et quarantaines. «J'ai dû négocier les créneaux d'atterrissage de nos avions au Pérou. Je l'ai fait par textos, pour être honnête», a-t-il déclaré. «J'ai dit à mon homologue au Pérou que nous devions faire atterrir nos avions là-bas, alors nous avons commencé à échanger des messages.
Source:La Croix
April 03, 2020 01:30 UTC
Crowded in Camps, Rohingya Refugees Vulnerable to Virus
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Aid workers are bracing for a possible outbreak of the coronavirus in one of the world's largest refugee camps in Bangladesh, with officials warning that containing the disease among more than 1 million tightly packed Rohingya Muslims will be a daunting task. With about 40,000 people per square kilometer (103,600 per square mile) living in plastic shacks side by side, which is more than 40 times the average density of Bangladesh, the refugees are dangerously exposed to the virus. Each shack is barely 10 square meters (107 square feet) and many are overcrowded with up to 12 people. There have been no reported cases of infection in the camps yet, but officials remain concerned. The U.N. is not doing any testing for the virus but sends any suspected cases to a government hospital.
Source:International New York Times
April 03, 2020 01:18 UTC
Trump Sees Hope for Boosting Global Oil Prices and Helping U.S. Firms
Tass, a Russian state news agency, carried a more pointed exchange in which the Kremlin spokesman declined to say whether Mr. Trump might be manipulating markets. Asked if Mr. Trump had “intentionally mistaken” news about a phone call, Mr. Peskov said, “It’s difficult for me to answer.”Oil prices have been hammered in recent weeks as the coronavirus pandemic has all but eliminated travel and dampened demand for energy. The price war that broke out between Saudi Arabia and Russia last month intensified the decline. After failing to reach a deal on production cuts in March, Saudi Arabia and Russia began pumping huge amounts of oil, adding to a world glut. But as Saudi Arabia has been shipping new production, it has been having trouble finding buyers.
Source:International New York Times
April 03, 2020 00:35 UTC
UN Adopts Resolution Urging Global Cooperation on COVID-19
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution Thursday recognizing “the unprecedented effects” of the coronavirus pandemic and calling for “intensified international cooperation to contain, mitigate and defeat” the COVID-19 disease. It was the first resolution adopted by the 193-member world body on the pandemic that is sweeping the world and reflects global concern at the fast-rising death toll and number of cases. The assembly did not approve a rival resolution sponsored by Russia calling for U.N. solidarity in the face of the challenges posed by the new virus and urging an end to trade wars, protectionist practices and unilateral sanctions without U.N. Security Council approval. Under new voting rules instituted because the General Assembly isn’t holding meetings, a resolution is defeated if even a single country objects to it. Normally, assembly resolutions are adopted by majority votes or by consensus
Source:International New York Times
April 03, 2020 00:33 UTC
Airline Industry Braces for Prolonged Recovery From Coronavirus Crisis
SYDNEY/WASHINGTON — International seat capacity has dropped by almost 80% from a year ago and half the world's airplanes are in storage, new data shows, suggesting the aviation industry may take years to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Carriers including United Airlines Holdings Inc and Air New Zealand Ltd have warned they are likely to emerge from the crisis smaller, and there are fears others may not survive. "It is likely that when we get across to the other side of the pandemic, things won't return to the vibrant market conditions we had at the start of the year," said Olivier Ponti, vice president at data firm ForwardKeys. "It's also possible that a number of airlines will have gone bust and uneconomic discounts will be necessary to attract demand back," he said in a statement.
Source:International New York Times
April 02, 2020 23:15 UTC
American Airlines Slashes Flights but Has No Plans to Halt U.S. Service
WASHINGTON — American Airlines Co said on Thursday it is cutting additional flights this summer as travel demand has drastically shrunk amid the coronavirus pandemic. Vasu Raja, American Airlines' senior vice president of Network Strategy, told Reuters that the airline is cutting between 70% and 75% of flights in April and about 80% of flights in May. For this month and May it is cutting nearly 90% of its international flights. Still, the largest U.S. airline has no plans to halt U.S. flights entirely, noting medical workers and others who must travel, sometimes for urgent medical reasons. Across the industry, at some major airports overall U.S. flights are down 50% to 70%, officials say.
Source:International New York Times
April 02, 2020 22:52 UTC
Le Bayern Munich serait toujours intéressé par Leroy Sané (Manchester City) ?
Selon Bild, ce jeudi, le Bayern Munich est toujours très intéressé par l'ailier de 24 ans. Le quotidien allemand explique qu'un accord avec le joueur avait été trouvé en décembre, mais que le changement d'agent de celui-ci depuis oblige toutefois à renégocier. Mais la volonté de Sané et du Bayern n'a pas changé, et la possibilité pour un transfert cet été est réelle.
Source:L'Equipe
April 02, 2020 21:22 UTC
World Bank OKs First $1.9B for Poor Countries Battling Virus
WASHINGTON — The World Bank on Thursday approved its first funds to help some of the globe's poorer countries combat the coronavirus outbreak. It approved total aid of $1.9 billion for 25 countries. The largest amount of assistance was $1 billion for India followed by $200 million for Pakistan, $129 million for Sri Lanka, $100 million for Afghanistan and $83 million for Ethiopia. World Bank President David Malpass predicted the bank could provide up to $160 billion in assistance over the next 15 months. World Bank officials said the emergency resources would include money to purchase critical medical supplies such as masks and ventilators, with the World Bank lending its procurement expertise to help obtain these supplies on global markets.
Source:International New York Times
April 02, 2020 21:11 UTC
Arianne Caoili, Chess Master, Is Dead at 33
Arianne Caoili, a chess master and a prominent figure both in the chess world and in Armenia, where she lived, died on Monday in Yerevan, the country’s capital. 7 in the world, announced her death on Twitter. Ms. Caoili died two weeks after being seriously injured in a car crash. In the insular world of chess, Ms. Caoili (pronounced kay-OH-lee), who had done some modeling when she young, stood out — not only for her talents as a player but also for the glamour she brought to what is often thought of as an unglamorous game. After her death, condolences poured in from every top chess player in the world, including Magnus Carlsen, the world champion, and Garry Kasparov, the former world champion.
Source:International New York Times
April 02, 2020 21:00 UTC
Youssoufa Moukoko pourra jouer en Bundesliga dès la saison prochaine - Foot - ALL - Dortmund
La Ligue allemande de football (DFL) a abaissé ce jeudi à 16 ans l'âge minimum pour jouer dans ses Championnats professionnels, alors que la limite était jusqu'ici de 18 ans révolus (ou d'être né dans la dernière année de la catégorie des moins de 19 ans en cours). Cette règle devrait largement bénéficier au Borussia Dortmund, habitué à briller en Youth League avec ses jeunes talents.
Source:L'Equipe
April 02, 2020 20:56 UTC
Chilean Telescopes That Explore Galaxies Brought Down to Earth by Coronavirus
SANTIAGO — Chilean telescopes that comb the skies seeking answers about some of the universe´s most fundamental questions have confirmed they, too, have fallen victim to the mass disruption brought about by the new coronavirus. Observatories dotted above the coastal city of La Serena and in the Latin nation´s dry northern deserts have closed for the first time since some opened several decades ago, citing the risk of potential contagion among international visitors and scientific staff. Research teams who often work in shifts traveling to the observatories from their homes in nearby cities and the capital Santiago were also hampered by flights cancellations and quarantines and curfews around the country. The closures imply potential delays in significant research by international teams using material generated by the telescopes, their managers told Reuters.
Source:International New York Times
April 02, 2020 20:48 UTC
Covid-19 : ce qu'il fallait retenir du grand oral d'Édouard Philippe
''Le déconfinement, c'est pas pour demain matin'' : Le premier ministre n’a pas voulu se montrer trop optimiste, sur le plateau de la première chaîne. https://www.humanite.fr/risque-de-penurie-de-medicaments-quest-ce-que-le-gouvernement-attend-pour-requisitionner-687131Un baccalauréat inédit : c'est une évidence, actée par le premier ministre, les épreuves du bac ne se tiendront pas dans les circonstances habituelles. Pour les 5000 restantes, deux scénarios se dégagent, selon le premier ministre. Auquel cas le premier tour des villes concernées sera annulé, et une nouvelle élection à deux tours se tiendra. Les gagnants du premier tour, dans des villes comme Lille, Paris ou Montpellier, sont donc en sursis, suspendus à la décision du 23 mai.
Source:L'Humanite
April 02, 2020 20:48 UTC