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San Francisco Declares State Of Emergency Over Covid-19; Germany Confirms 18th Case: Live Updates
San Francisco Declares State Of Emergency Over Covid-19; Germany Confirms 18th Case: Live Updates
Summary:
- WHO warns the rest of the world “is not ready for the virus to spread…”
- CDC warns Americans “should prepare for possible community spread” of virus.
- San Francisco Mayor declares state of emergency
- Later, CDC says pandemic not a question of it, but when
- Germany confirms 2nd case on Tuesday, brings total to 17
- Italy cases spike to 322; deaths hit 10
- Japan’s Shiseido tesll 8k employees to work from home
- Kudlow tries to jawbone markets higher
- HHS Sec. Azar warns US lacks stockpiles of masks
- Italy Hotel in Lockdown After First Coronavirus Case in Liguria
- Algeria confirms 1st case
- First case in Switzerland
- Kuwait halts all flights to Singapore and Japan
- Iran confirms 95 cases, 15 deaths
- First case in Austria
- First case in Spain
- Iran Deputy Health Minister infected with Covid-19
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Update (1750ET): Following reports just a few hours ago claiming Germany had reported its first case of the virus, Europe’s largest economy has just reported its second case, according to domestic media reports.
The first patient was reportedly a 25-year-old German who recently traveled to Milan. Patient No. 2 was confirmed near Germany’s border with the Netherlands. The man is in critical condition.
This brings Germany’s total cases to 18.
Germany’s neighbors Austria and Switzerland confirmed their first cases on Tuesday as the virus spread through Central Europe.
Over in Japan, Shiseido told 8,000 employees, roughly 30% of the personal-care company’s workforce, to telecommute in keeping with the Japanese government’s push for private employers to keep their workers out of offices and public places. Japanese companies started this more than a week ago, and have since expanded the number of employees affected.
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“Smoke Will Rise From Tel Aviv”: Iran Warns Israel Against Joining US Maritime Coalition
“Smoke Will Rise From Tel Aviv”: Iran Warns Israel Against Joining US Maritime Coalition
The same day that Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a formal statement warning that any Israeli involvement in the proposed US-led joint maritime coalition in the Gulf is a “clear threat” to Iran’s national security, a separate statement from a senior government official has threatened war would engulf Israel should it send boats into the Strait of Hormuz.
Senior Advisor to the Iranian Parliament, Speaker Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said Friday that “smoke will rise from Tel Aviv” should Israel joint the United States’ maritime patrol in the gulf.
“If Israel enters the Strait of Hormuz, it will be engulfed in the wrath of the region and its smoke will rise from Tel Aviv,” the senior official threatened in a statement posted on Twitter.
According to Reuters, Israeli media had quoted Foreign Minister Israel Katz early in the week as confirming discussions were underway among top defense officials over possibly joining a US maritime protection initiative in the Persian Gulf.
Israel’s role could come down to intelligence-sharing, however, given the explosive potential for conflict should its forces actually deploy in the region. Israeli officials have yet to confirm nor deny the reports.
Abdollahian’s statement explained further: “Iran has a vital role in the security of the Strait of Hormuz. Any US-led military coalition in the strait is a repetition of Iraq and Afghanistan occupation and escalation of insecurity in the region.”
Iran’s leaders have repeatedly warned that only its forces can secure the vital narrow oil shipping waterway, and have said stepped up western patrols will only destabilize the region.
The Foreign Ministry has warned this week that Iran’s military reserves the right to “counter this threat and defend its territory,” while referring to any hostile foreign powers on or near its territory.
Rhine River At Dangerously Low Water Levels Could Cause Production Hell For German Firms
Rhine River At Dangerously Low Water Levels Could Cause Production Hell For German Firms
A series of heatwaves across Central Europe this summer has brought record-breaking temperatures to Germany that sparked dangerously low water levels on the Rhine river, one of the continents most important shipping routes, which could decrease manufacturing and disrupt supply chains that might tip Germany into recession.
Water levels on the Rhine last summer made some parts of it unnavigable. This disrupted supply chains in Germany’s industrial heartland that use the river for shipping.
Reuters recently reported that the shortage of rainfall this summer and scorching hot temperatures across Germany and France had made some parts of the Rhine impassable for fully loaded cargo ships.
“Approximately 80% of all goods that are transported via domestic water transport go along the River Rhine. Thus, it is Germany’s most important waterway,” Robert Lehmann, an economist at Germany’s influential Ifo Institute research center, told CNBC Tuesday.
“Coal, oil, and gas or chemical products are transported with a much higher intensity: 10% to 30%. These are the main goods at the beginning of important value-added chains, thus, low water levels at the River Rhine can immediately lead to restrictions in industrial production.”
Low water levels on the river could have severe economic consequences for Germany’s economy that is already dealing with an industrial recession.
New economic data on Thursday showed Germany’s manufacturing sector plunged in July with factories producing goods at the slowest rate in seven years and export orders crashed to the lowest in more than a decade.
Germany’s automobile industry has been the most significant factor in the industrial slowdown, low water levels on the Rhine have also been seen as a factor.
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Russia Slams “Crude Provocation” Nuclear Testing Accusations By US
Russia Slams “Crude Provocation” Nuclear Testing Accusations By US
The Trump administration’s charge that Russia has restarted “very low-yield nuclear tests” in an intelligence finding revealed on Wednesday has been met with fierce push back from Moscow, with Russian officials slamming the allegation as a “crude provocation”.
This comes just as President Vladimir Putin has reportedly submitted a draft resolution to Russian parliament on Moscow’s pullout of the INF Treaty with the US following Washington’s initial withdrawal last year. Russia’s suspension of the INF will go into law immediately should the Duma approve the bill, and Putin will have the power to renew it as he sees fit.
Russian officials stressed they’ve continued to be in compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which the US is now accusing Moscow of violating. “Vladimir Monomakh” – One of Russia’s ballistic missile submarines of the Borey-class. Via the Independent Barents Observer
The new US intelligence assessment concluded that Russia has likely been secretly conducting “very low-yield nuclear tests to upgrade its nuclear arsenal,” marking the first time Washington has accused the Kremlin of failing to strictly observe its commitments under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, according to the Wall Street Journal onWednesday.
The reaction to US officials from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the US accusation “groundless” and a “crude provocation,” according to Reuters.
The ministry further said Russia was in “full compliance” with the CTBT, which Moscow ratified in 2000 – something which the statement noted the US itself has not ratified. According to Reuters:
Negotiated in the 1990s, the CTBT enjoys wide global support but must be ratified by eight more nuclear technology states, among them Israel, Iran, Egypt and the United States to come into force.
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US Accuses Russia Of Conducting Low-Yield Nuke Tests In Violation Of Treaty
US Accuses Russia Of Conducting Low-Yield Nuke Tests In Violation Of Treaty
A new US intelligence assessment has concluded that Russia has likely been secretly conducting “very low-yield nuclear tests to upgrade its nuclear arsenal,” marking the first time Washington has accused the Kremlin of failing to strictly observe its commitments under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, according to the Wall Street Journal.Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, speaks to aides and military personnel in Moscow in December. PHOTO: SPUTNIK/REUTERS
The alleged tests, conducted at the remote archipelago of Novaya Zemlya above the Arctic Circle, come as the agreed upon arms-control framework between the new nations has shown signs of deteriorating, as both sides pursue “ambitious programs” to develop new nuclear weapons.
Negotiations for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which bans test explosions of nuclear weapons of any size, concluded in 1996. The treaty hasn’t been ratified by enough countries to take effect, but the world’s major powers have agreed to abide by its terms.
The treaty allows a range of activities to assure the safety and reliability of nuclear weapons as long as they don’t produce a nuclear explosive yield, including experiments involving fissile material. –Wall Street Journal
“The United States believes that Russia probably is not adhering to its nuclear testing moratorium in a manner consistent with the ‘zero-yield’ standard,” Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency planned to say in a Wednesday speech at the Hudson Institute think tank, according to his prepared remarks.
Officials have declined to reveal the size of the alleged Russian tests, nor would they say if concerns over the tests have been raised directly with Moscow.
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Brink Of War: Pakistan On High Alert, Indian Military Ready To Strike
Brink Of War: Pakistan On High Alert, Indian Military Ready To Strike
The situation at the LoC (Line of Control) between India and Pakistan remains critical, as both countries are ready for an all-out conflict, reported Sputnik.
“There is a difficult situation with India. We wish for de-escalation and are taking steps for this. The situation like the prime minister [Imran Khan] said remains on alert”, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Dr. Muhammad Faisal said in a television report earlier this month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held meetings with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and military commanders, over its “readiness to initiate war against Pakistan,” India TV News reported.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) discussed war planning strategies against Pakistan, wherein Doval told PM Modi that the Army, Air Force, and Navy are now ready for battle against the neighboring country
PM Modi reportedly told military chiefs to minimize collateral damage, and only use surgical strikes in the upcoming fight.
Here are the four critical takeaways from the meeting:
- The attacks will be target-specific
- No non-military targets
- Not only Pak-occupied Kashmir, the targets can also be inside Pakistan
- The attacks will be pro-active, not reactive
Sputnik said besides India TV News, there was no direct confirmation of the war planning by the Modi government.
Tensions between the two countries soared when a deadly suicide bomb attack allegedly claimed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e Mohammad struck a convoy of Indian troops in Pulwama on February 14.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, however, maintained that Jaish is not associated with Islamabad.
In retaliation to the Pulwama attack, India launched an airstrike on Pakistan’s Balakot on February 26. Pakistan retaliated by bombing Indian military installations. The Indian Air Force thwarted the attempt.
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Russia Warns US Intervention In Venezuela Would Have “Catastrophic Consequences”
Russia Warns US Intervention In Venezuela Would Have “Catastrophic Consequences”
Russia has dismissed the political crisis engulfing Venezuela as an attempted coup while expressing concern over the role of external states and the potential for foreign military intervention, calling Juan Guaido’s move to declare himself president illegal.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday, “We are very concerned by statements that don’t rule out some kind of external intervention,” as cited by Bloomberg. “We consider such intervention unacceptable,” Peskov added while describing the internal unrest spilling into the streets after the catalyst of Monday’s failed military revolt of 27 officers in an opposition neighborhood of Caracas an “attempt to usurp power”.
This follows President Trump’s declaration that the US would only recognize the unelected head of the opposition-held National Assembly as “the President of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Juan Guaido, as the Interim President of Venezuela.” A senior Trump administration official followed by saying “all options are on the table”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said further in website statement that Washington’s joining a growing list of about a dozen other countries to recognize Guaido “is aimed at deepening the split in Venezuelan society, increasing the conflict on the streets, sharply destabilizing the internal political system and further escalation of the conflict.” And in words eerily similar to the brief international exchange of words over prior US action in places like Libya and Syria the ministry said that external armed intervention would be “fraught with catastrophic consequences.”
The foreign ministry further described that the situation “has reached a dangerous point” and called on the international community to engage in diplomacy and mediation between the Maduro government and opposition.
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