Coronavirus: travellers race home amid worldwide border closures and flight warnings
A growing number of nations are shutting airports as global Covid-19 infection cases near 200,000
Travellers across the world are scrambling to find flights home as governments urged their citizens to return and some nations announced the imminent closure of airports and borders.
As coronavirus cases near 200,000 globally, a growing number of countries have imposed lockdowns and barred entry to foreigners. As a result, passengers around the world are navigating rapidly changing travel advice, high fares and cancelled flights.
There have been 7,944 deaths worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
US coronavirus news – live: Trump uses ‘China Virus’ term again and calls himself ‘very good’ as it’s revealed outbreak could kill 2 million
Donald Trump has again referred to the coronavirus outbreak as “the China Virus” in an angry tweet attacking the “disgraceful & false” press for not giving his administration enough credit for its response, as a new report declares that inaction could cost 2m American deaths.
With the virus now hitting all 50 states, the president appears to have finally got the message on the severity of the crisis and is proposing an economic rescue package of $1trn (£831bn) as well as asking Congress to speed up emergency checks to Americans, enlisting the military for mobile hospitals and imploring ordinary citizens to stay at home.
Iran faces catastrophic death toll from coronavirus
Beyond China and Italy, Iran has been hardest hit by COVID-19 — but it could get a whole lot worse, thanks to a lack of international aid, government mismanagement and nobody knowing quite who's in charge.
Researchers at the respected Sharif University of Technology in Tehran have created a computer simulator to test different scenarios for the further spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, across Iran. They concluded that in a best-case scenario — in which the government quarantines all high-risk areas, people strictly obey quarantine rules, and access to sufficient medical supplies is guaranteed — the country would reach the peak of the epidemic in roughly one week, and the death toll would exceed 12,000.
Yet that scenario is unrealistic in all three instances: The government can't impose quarantine, people will not obey quarantine rules, and the medical supply situation is catastrophic thanks to US sanctions and chronic mismanagement.
UN to suspend refugee resettlement abroad due to coronavirus travel restrictions
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration will temporarily suspend sending refugees on to resettle in new permanent homes abroad because of travel disruptions caused by the coronavirus, the agency said Tuesday.
The agency said the suspension would begin to take effect within a few days, but also appealed to countries to "ensure that movements can continue for the most critical emergency cases wherever possible”.
"Refugee families are being directly impacted by these quickly evolving regulations in the course of their travel, with some experiencing extensive delays while others have been stranded or separated from family members," the agency said in a statement.
What kind of art is the Pakistani state afraid of?
Artists say they are increasingly facing censorship as films, a book and art exhibitions stalled by security agents.
by Aiman Rizvi
In the last six months, three Pakistani artists have had their work either stolen or blocked from public access in an apparent tightening on public expression and art by the Pakistani state.
A public art installation depicting extrajudicial killings targeting the marginalised Pashtun community in Pakistan was destroyed and stolen from a public space in the port city of Karachi.
Newly translated copies of an award-winning novel, A Case of Exploding Mangoes, were seized and confiscated by security agents from bookstores across the country. And a celebrated film director received death threats for making a film that asked questions about societal moral policing - his film, postponed indefinitely.
Facing 'impossible' situation, athletes criticize Olympic organizers
Updated 1114 GMT (1914 HKT) March 18, 2020
Dissent is growing among leading athletes as they voice concerns about preparing for the Olympics amid the novel coronavirus outbreak after organizers encouraged them to continue preparation as planned.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Tuesday that no "drastic decisions" will be made about the Games, which get underway in Tokyo in July, and that measures are being taken to guarantee the "safety and interests of athletes, coaches and support teams."
But athletes believe they have been forced into an impossible position given the virus, which has infected more that 198,000 people worldwide and killed at least 7,900.
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