FOX News Videos

Sen. Cotton on origins of COVID-19: All circumstantial evidence points to Wuhan labs

FOX News VideosApril 20, 2020, 7:01 AM PDT

 

 https://www.yahoo.com/news/sen-cotton-origins-covid-19-140131616.html

 

Quốc Hận 30/4 Năm Nay Nghĩ Gì về Ðất Nước Hoa Kỳ

Quốc Hận 30/4 Năm Nay Nghĩ Gì về Ðất Nước Hoa Kỳ

Năm nay 2020 có thể là năm căng thẳng nhất mà toàn nước Mỹ sẽ phải đối phó về mọi mặt y tế, kinh tế, quân sự, chính trị, và những mặt trận xa ngoài đất nước. Viễn cảnh một nước Mỹ phục hồi sau Wuhan virus thật khó lường. Trong thời gian tạm lắng đọng những đối đầu chính trị giữa hai đảng chính trị trước ngày bầu cử vào tháng 11/2020, đất nước như cuốn hút vào những rối ren mà chủ yếu do bối cảnh của Trung cộng và WHO, một tổ chức y tế thế giới đang bị chính phủ Mỹ ngừng cung cấp số tiền khoảng 900 triệu đô la cho nó với lý do những phát biểu của Tedros, người đứng đầu WHO đã không minh bạch và che dấu những nguy hiểm Wuhan virus có thể lây lan giữa người với người. Việc WHO che dấu sự thực này và có hành động ngã theo Trung cộng đã khiến nước Mỹ bị lâm vào thế thụ động trong việc ngăn chận sự tràn lan của Wuhan virus và dẫn đến hậu quả hôm nay tại Hoa Kỳ có hơn 37 ngàn người đã chết và 789.400 (theo Yahoo™) người lây nhiễm. Toàn thế giới đã có 169.794 người chết và hơn 2 triệu người lây nhiễm.

Chắc chắn tổ chức WHO, nếu tồn tại, cần phải cải tổ. Tedros phải từ chức hoặc cần phải bị điều tra sâu rộng và có thể bị xem là một tội phạm nếu xét thấy đủ bằng chứng buộc tội.

Trong thời gian khó khăn này của đất nước Hoa Kỳ, chúng ta cần cẩn thận khi lắng nghe các nguồn thông tin và tìm hiểu cặn kẻ để nhận ra sự thật chính xác mà không phải là sự sợ hãi. Chúng ta cần biết về những dữ kiện (fact) và hổ trợ chính quyền ngăn chận sự lây lan của bệnh Wuhan virus và đồng thời tuân thủ theo các quy định của các cấp chính quyền liȇn bang, tiểu bang, counties, và Trung Tâm phòng chống dịch bệnh (CDC).

Một số phương cách phòng chống dịch bệnh trong đó có việc nȇn tránh những tụ tập đông người, che mũi miệng và khi tiếp xúc cá nhân cần đứng xa tối thiểu 6 feet (khoảng 2m) để tránh hít thở không khí mang Wuhan virus từ người bệnh, hoặc nếu chúng ta có bệnh thì chúng ta sẽ không lây bệnh sang người khác. Hai bàn tay cần thường xuyȇn rửa sạch với xà bông trong ít nhất 20 giây sau khi đi ra ngoài, chợ, hoặc những nơi cần thiết. Khi về nhà quần áo không nȇn giũ, cần thay đổi và bỏ riȇng hoặc bỏ giặt vì virus có thể bám nơi quần áo khi chúng ta giũ nó sẽ bay ra, thư từ cần nȇn được lau bằng thuốc sát trùng sau khi nhận. Khi có việc đi chợ, chúng ta nȇn đi chợ sớm vì sẽ ít người có nhiều không khí và không đi gần nhau, có thể chúng ta mang găng (gloves) để cầm thức ăn, đồ dùng và nȇn giữ vệ sinh chung. Cần nȇn có ít thực phẩm đồ hộp dự trù trong 3 tuần, một tháng, phòng khi lười đi chợ, hoặc không đi chợ được. Nhìn chung đó là sự đề phòng thôi, nếu lỡ mắc bệnh thì phải đến các cơ quan y tế nhờ giúp đỡ.

Từ nay đến ngày Tổng bầu cử vào tháng 11/2020 còn chưa đầy 7 tháng, nhưng chúng ta chưa rõ cuộc bầu cử diễn ra sao, nhưng trước mắt, nếu tình hình dịch bệnh không giảm bớt thì cuộc bầu cử nếu diễn ra thì phương cách hay nhất là bầu cử bằng thư. Bầu cử bằng thư Mail Ballot sẽ ít tốn kém và an toàn về mặt y tế, nhưng quyết định bầu cử bằng thư hợp lý hơn là hoãn lại bầu cử. Do đó, cộng đồng người Việt tỵ nạn cộng sản cần nȇn học hỏi cách bầu bằng thư và không nȇn nhờ bất cứ ai điền thư cho mình, việc này quan trọng hơn đi với người lớn tuổi và không đọc được chữ Anh thì cần có Mail Ballot bằng tiếng Việt. Việc bầu cử vào tháng 11/2020  này rất quan trọng để chọn lựa những vị dân cử xứng đáng, nhất là vị Tổng Thống lãnh đạo đất nước vượt qua khó khăn.

Giữa khi tình hình căng thẳng và nhuốm đau buồn trȇn đất nước Hoa Kỳ, quȇ hương thứ hai của chúng ta, đã hết rồi thời gian khi chúng ta bật khóc vì buồn mà chỉ có một lòng quyết tâm hổ trợ cho quȇ hương này sớm vượt qua gian khó. Nhìn ngày Quốc Hận 30/4 đến gần lòng chúng ta không khỏi ngậm ngùi thương khóc một tổ quốc quȇ hương Việt Nam Cộng Hòa đã mất. Nếu tiếng khóc đau thương ấy là sự có thật, còn hiện hữu trong lòng chúng ta thì hãy biến tiếng khóc và nổi đau ấy thành hành động cương quyết thiết thực hổ trợ, tiết kiệm, hạn chế tiȇu xài, gìn giữ và phấn đấu cho quȇ hương thứ hai này mãi mãi xinh đẹp, tươi vui, cường thịnh thì từ đó chúng ta mới có cơ hội trở về quȇ hương xưa cũ của chúng ta treo lại lá cờ Vàng Ba Sọc Ðỏ tại Sài Gòn và Hà Nội và mang về tự do, ấm no cho dân chúng và gột sạch những nhơ bợn tàn dư mà chế độ cộng sản đã để lại sau bao nhiȇu năm tang tóc mà chúng đã đang thống trị.

Quan Ðiểm Việt Nam

20/4/2020

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/watch-live-coronavirus-task-force-114803611.html

Politics

Trump announces U.S. funding for WHO will be withheld

CBSNews

CBS News April 19, 2020, 1:17 PM PDT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Trump announces U.S. funding for WHO will be withheld

 

Highlights from President Trump's press conference:
President Trump said Tuesday that he is instructing his administration to halt funding to the World Health Organization pending an investigation into how the organization handled the pandemic.Mr. Trump said he will be speaking to all 50 governors about reopening the country.One day after saying he had "absolute" authority to reopen, Mr. Trump said Tuesday he would be acting in a "managerial role" and would not put any pressure on any governors to reopen.Mr. Trump announced a deal to help float airlines.
President Trump announced Tuesday that the U.S. will be withholding funding for the World Health Organization, pending a review. The president also claimed plans to reopen the nation are close to being finalized, and said he will soon speak with all 50 governors and authorize each governor to implement such a plan.
The president on Tuesday blamed the WHO for helping accelerate the coronavirus pandemic. Countries that listened to the WHO and didn't impose travel restrictions are experiencing terrible problems, the president said. Mr. Trump imposed travel restrictions from China in late January, but has struggled to explain what he did with the time he bought. Travel bans "work for the same reason quarantines work," he said.
"Today I'm instructing my administration to halt funding of the WHO while a review is conducted to assess the WHO's role in severely mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus."
The U.S. contributes more to the organization than any other nation. The president also accused the WHO of failing to earlier report the dangers of the virus, including that it could be spread by human-to-human contact. The WHO "pushed China's misinformation about the virus," the president said.
"So much death has been caused by their mistakes," he said.
When reporters pointed out that the president also praised China's transparency, the president claimed, "I don't talk about China's transparency." On January 24, the president tweeted that the United States "greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency."
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement Tuesday night after Mr. Trump spoke saying now is "not the time to reduce the resources for the operations of the World Health Organization or any other humanitarian organization in the fight against the virus."
The U.S. has the largest number of confirmed cases of any country in the world by far, according to Johns Hopkins University data, although it's unclear how accurate China's reporting is. The death toll from the coronavirus continues to climb and on Tuesday surpassed 25,000 in the U.S.
Mr. Trump, who has said he wants to leave the decision to shutter local economies to the states but has also said he has total authority over reopening them, said he will be keeping the states "accountable." Mr. Trump said he may make the recommendations to open in some places before May 1, the White House's current target.
No, Trump can't order states to reopen, constitutional scholars say
Asked what he will do to governors who don't follow his administration's guidance and if their funding will be taken away, Mr. Trump said, "I don't want to say that." Later in the briefing, the president said he wouldn't put pressure on states to act as he wants.
Mr. Trump said Monday his administration will soon release guidelines for how states can start reopening their economies. He told reporters that as president, he has "total" authority, and the decision on when to reboot the economy lies with him. But governors, who were responsible for issuing stay-at-home orders, and constitutional law experts disagree.
"The Constitution does not go out the window in an emergency," Cuomo told CNN in a phone interview. "We don't have a king. We have an elected president."
Governors of states from the East and West Coasts have formed regional coalitions to study when it's best to begin easing restrictions put in place to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.
"Sunday Morning" Matinee: "A Chorus Line in Quarantine"
Minnesota attorney general discusses pressure on state officials to reopen
Cuomo says New York will start aggressive antibody testing

Trump announces U.S. funding for WHO will be withheld

Reuters

Australia demands coronavirus enquiry, adding to pressure on China

By Lidia Kelly

ReutersApril 18, 2020, 11:04 PM PDT

 

 By Lidia Kelly
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia on Sunday added to growing pressure on China over its handling of the novel coronavirus, questioning its transparency and demanding an international investigation into the origins of the virus and how it spread.
The coronavirus is believed to have emerged in a market selling wildlife in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year. It has spread around the world infecting some 2.3 million people and killing nearly 160,000 of them, according to Reuters calculations.
Australia's foreign minister, Marise Payne, said her concern about China's transparency was at a "a very high point".
"The issues around the coronavirus are issues for independent review, and I think that it is important that we do that," Payne told ABC television.
"In fact, Australia will absolutely insist on that."
Australia has managed to get its epidemic under control before it strained its public health system, reporting 53 new cases on Sunday. They took its total to 6,586, according to the health ministry data.
There have been 71 deaths in Australia. The rate of increase in new cases has been below 1% for seven consecutive days - much lower than in many other countries.
Payne's call for an enquiry into the outbreak comes at time of tense ties between her country and its most important trading partner.
Relations have deteriorated amid Australian accusations of Chinese meddling in domestic affairs and concern about what Australia sees as China's growing, and undue, influence in the Pacific region.
"My trust in China is predicated in the long-term," Payne said. "My concern is around transparency and ensuring that we are able to engage openly."
Australia's call for an investigation comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has been stepping up his criticism of China.
Trump and his senior aides have also accused China of a lack of transparency after the coronavirus broke out. On Saturday, Trump said China should face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the pandemic.

World

Czech lawmakers call on government to look beyond China for coronavirus supplies

By Michael Kahn and Robert Muller

ReutersApril 17, 2020, 1:02 PM PDT

 

Source:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/czech-lawmakers-call-government-look-200256804.html

 

 

By Michael Kahn and Robert Muller
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech lawmakers took aim on Friday at the government's decision buy protective equipment from China to limit the coronavirus outbreak and called for the next batch of supplies to come domestically or from closer to home.
The Senate approved a resolution for the government to search for products made at home or within the European Union rather than further abroad.
"Self-sufficiency in medical supplies is the first step towards country security," chair of the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee Pavel Fischer told Reuters.
"And that means it is high time to call on the government not to rely on an air bridge to China but to create conditions for moving strategic production to the Czech Republic and more broadly to the EU."
The move will add pressure on the government to buy at home and is the latest by a European country to boost domestic industries as the pandemic cripples the global economy. Some countries have imposed export bans on medicines to avoid causing shortages in the bloc.
The resolution also underlines the debate over whether China has used the pandemic to rebuild influence in a country where it had until recently found a more hospitable reception than in western Europe, investing little and winning influence from Czech lawmakers, the president and the region's richest businessman.
Billionaire Petr Kellner's Home Credit is the only western consumer finance lender in China while President Milos Zeman has sought to curry favour with Beijing since taking office in 2013.
But fizzled investments, cybersecurity warnings over Huawei and a Prague mayor, who defied China by forming his own diplomatic path with moves such as signing a sister-city agreement with Taipei, have dented the relationship.
Facing an acute shortage of protective gear for medical staff in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, the government reached a deal to buy masks and other equipment from China, where the virus first emerged.
When the gear arrived, Prime Minister Andrej Babis credited in a speech the close ties of Zeman and former Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik -- a key figure in China's trade and diplomacy offensive in past years -- with China for sealing the agreement.
Tvrdik -- the former vice-chairman of Chinese group CEFC Europe -- is currently the only non-Chinese board member of CITIC Europe Holdings, which owns property in Prague and controls some companies.
The government must decide before May 5 whether to extend its deal to buy supplies from abroad, mainly from China, according to Interior Minister Jan Hamacek who has said that in the early stages of the crisis only China had the capacity to make the needed deliveries.
Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib said domestic companies may be able to fill the gap.
"It turns out we had a lot of manufacturing capabilities in the Czech Republic. The Czech underestimated the opportunity to solve the issue using internal capacities and preferred deliveries through China," he told Reuters.


(Reporting by Michael Kahn and Robert Muller; Editing by Josephine Mason)

FILE PHOTO: Mayor of Prague Zdenek Hrib and Taipei city Mayor Ko Wen-je sign a partnership agreement in Prague

Coronavirus response: How Ted Cruz wants to 'fundamentally' change our relationship with China

U.S.

Coronavirus response: How Ted Cruz wants to 'fundamentally' change our relationship with China

Ben WerschkulDC Producer

Yahoo FinanceApril 17, 2020, 10:20 AM PDT

 

 Source: https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/coronavirus-response-how-ted-cruz-wants-to-fundamentally-change-our-relationship-with-china-172049865.html

 The criticisms of China over its handling of the coronavirus have been ramping up for weeks.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance, influential Texas Senator Ted Cruz pushed for a series of investigations with an eye toward punishing China. At issue is its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that has now infected more than 2 million people around the world.
The former presidential contender says that “for months and years to come after this crisis” the U.S. is going to be “reassessing and fundamentally changing the United States’ relationship with China.”
Cruz’s remarks came before the news emerged that the city of Wuhan was raising its death toll from the novel coronavirus by 50%. The about-face will almost surely further embolden China’s critics around the world.

‘It may have been an accidental release’

Perhaps the most controversial point in the interview was when Cruz brought up the idea that the virus might have begun in a government lab in China.
“I'm not suggesting it was a deliberate release, but that it may have been an accidental release of the virus that they were studying in government labs,” Cruz said, adding, if it’s true, “there has to be real accountability if the Chinese government bears direct responsibility for the origin of this virus.”

(Read more)

 https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/coronavirus-response-how-ted-cruz-wants-to-fundamentally-change-our-relationship-with-china-172049865.html

Reuters

U.S. condemns arrests of Hong Kong democracy activists

ReutersApril 18, 2020, 7:49 PM PDT

 

 Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-condemns-arrests-hong-kong-024956422.html

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Saturday condemned Hong Kong's arrests of 15 activists, including veteran politicians, a publishing tycoon and senior barristers, describing them as "inconsistent" with China's international commitments.
The raids mark the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the beginning of anti-government protests across the former British colony in June last year.
"The United States condemns the arrest of pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
"Beijing and its representatives in Hong Kong continue to take actions inconsistent with commitments made under the Sino-British Joint Declaration that include transparency, the rule of law, and guarantees that Hong Kong will continue to 'enjoy a high degree of autonomy'," Pompeo said.
U.S. President Donald Trump last November signed into law legislation backing protesters in Hong Kong despite angry objections from Beijing.
The legislation requires the State Department to certify, at least annually, that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to justify favorable U.S. trading terms that have helped it maintain its position as a world financial center. The law also threatens sanctions for human rights violations.
In a separate statement, U.S. Attorney General William Barr called the arrests "the latest assault on the rule of law and the liberty of the people of Hong Kong."
"These events show how antithetical the values of the Chinese Communist Party are to those we share in Western liberal democracies," he added, saying the arrests and other actions "demonstrate once again that the Chinese Communist Party cannot be trusted."
Among those detained on charges of illegal assembly were Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, 81, publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, 71, and former lawmaker and barrister Margaret Ng, 72, according to media and political sources.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick and Sarah Lynch; Editing by Sam Holmes)

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Trump leads daily coronavirus response briefing at the White House in Washington

 

AFP

Trump warns China could face 'consequences' over pandemic

AFPApril 18, 2020, 11:24 PM UTC

Source:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-warns-china-could-face-consequences-over-pandemic-232449909.html

 

Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that China could face consequences if it was "knowingly responsible" for the coronavirus pandemic.
"It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn't," Trump told reporters at a White House briefing. "And now the whole world is suffering because of it."
Trump was asked whether China should suffer consequences over the pandemic which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December and has left more than 157,000 people dead around the world.
"If they were knowingly responsible, certainly," he said. "If it was a mistake, a mistake is a mistake.
"But if they were knowingly responsible, yeah, then there should be consequences," Trump said.
"Was it a mistake that got out of control or was it done deliberately?" he asked. "That's a big difference between those two.
"In either event they should have let us go in," he said. "We asked to go in early. And they didn't want us in. I think they knew it was something bad and they were embarrassed."
"They said they're doing an investigation," the president continued. "So let's see what happens with their investigation. But we're doing investigations also."
The Trump administration has said it doesn't rule out that the novel coronavirus was spread -- accidentally -- from a laboratory researching bats in Wuhan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian -- who previously alleged that the US military may have brought the virus into China -- has rejected US media reports on the subject and said there is "no scientific basis."
Trump also cast doubt on official Chinese figures showing the country has suffered just 0.33 deaths per 100,000 people.
"The number's impossible," he said. "It's an impossible number to hit."
The United States, according to a chart displayed at the briefing, has had 11.24 deaths per 100,000 people while France has had 27.92 and Spain 42.81.

US President Donald Trump points to China's mortality rate from coronavirus at a White House briefing, a number he described as "impossible" (AFP Photo/Sarah Silbiger)

Reuters

India toughens rules on investments from neighbours, seen aimed at China

By Aditya Kalra and Aftab Ahmed

ReutersApril 18, 2020, 5:57 AM PDT

 

 Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/india-toughens-rules-investments-neighbours-125759018.html

              https://www.yahoo.com/news/india-toughens-rules-investments-neighbours-125759018.html

By Aditya Kalra and Aftab Ahmed
 
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has stepped up scrutiny of investments from companies based in neighbouring countries, in what is widely seen as a move to stave off takeovers by Chinese firms during the coronavirus outbreak.
India's trade ministry said in a notification dated April 17 the changes to federal rules on investment were meant to curb "opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions". It did not mention China.
Investments from an entity in a country that shares a land border with India will require government approval, it said, meaning they can not go through a so-called automatic route.
"These times should not be used by other countries to take over our companies," a senior government official told Reuters.
Similar restrictions are already in place for Bangladesh and Pakistan. But up to now, they have not applied to China and India's other neighbours including Bhutan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Nepal.
"This will certainly impact sentiment among Chinese investors. However, greenfield investments will not be impacted," said Santosh Pai, a partner at Indian law firm Link Legal that advises several Chinese companies.
Australia has also said all foreign investment proposals will be assessed by a review board during the coronavirus crisis to prevent a fire sale of distressed corporate assets. Germany has taken similar measures.
A February report by research group Gateway House said Chinese foreign direct investment into India stood at $6.2 billion.
China's Bytedance has plans to invest $1 billion in India, while automakers including Great Wall Motor Co Ltd and MG Motor, a unit of China's SAIC, have said they intend to invest millions.
Delano Furtado, a partner with law firm Trilegal, said the notification may also impact Chinese companies with existing investments in the country.
"Any follow-on investments in those entities may now require approvals," he said.
India's notification also said government approval would also be needed to change the ownership of an Indian entity that had existing foreign investment.

(Editing by Euan Rocha and Andrew Heavens)

FILE PHOTO: Students wear masks of China's President Xi Jinping as other waves national flags of India and China, ahead of the informal summit with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a school in Chennai

World

To avoid hostile takeovers amid COVID-19, India mandates approvals on Chinese investments

Manish Singh

TechCrunchApril 18, 2020, 4:53 AM PDT

 

 Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/avoid-hostile-takeovers-amid-covid-115312357.html

 

 

 

 

Some of India's biggest startups including financial services firm Paytm, e-commerce giant Flipkart, social media operator ShareChat, and food delivery firm Zomato are backed by Chinese VCs.
HDFC, India's biggest bank, said earlier this month that Bank of China had raised its stake in the mortgage lender by over 1%.
Rahul Gandhi, the former head of political party Indian Nation Congress, urged the ruling government earlier this month to take measures to prevent "foreign interests from taking control of any Indian corporate at this time of national crisis."
The revision in policy comes at a time when major investors in India have cautioned local startups to prepare for a tough period ahead. Earlier this month, they told startup founders that raising fresh capital is likely be more challenging than ever for the next few months.
Recent data from research firm Tracxn showed that Indian startups have already started to face the pressure.
Local startups participated in 79 deals to raise $496 million in March, down from $2.86 billion that they raised across 104 deals in February and $1.24 billion they raised from 93 deals in January this year, according to Tracxn. In March last year, Indian startups had raised $2.1 billion across 153 deals, the firm said.
India ordered a nationwide lockdown last month in a bid to curtail the spread of the coronavirus disease. But the move, as in other markets, has come at a cost. Millions of businesses and startups are facing severe disruptions.
Late last month, more than 100 prominent startups, VC funds, and industry bodies requested New Delhi to provide them with a relief fund to combat the disruption.