North America

NEW YORK (AP) — Schools shut down across much of Europe. Gatherings were canceled or banned from California to Germany. And the coronavirus reached directly into the world’s centers of power Thursday, with politicians in Canada, Brazil, Spain and elsewhere either testing positive for the new virus or putting themselves in quarantine as fallout from the pandemic further upended daily life.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 12 (APP): Children from linguistic minorities should be taught in their own mother tongue, the UN expert on minority issues said, while presenting his latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

According to Fernand de Varennes, the expert, this is not only necessary for inclusive, quality education but also to respect the human rights of all children.

WASHINGTON, March 12 (NNN-ALLAFRICA) — One of the US military’s largest exercises in Africa has been significantly scaled down due to the threat of the coronavirus.

The massive, US-led African Lion exercises in Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal were supposed to involve 9,300 troops from eight nations. The troops would use the exercises to improve military readiness and integration, while preparing to combat transregional threats. But there was one threat African Lion organizers weren’t prepared for: the coronavirus.

WASHINGTON, March 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Oil prices plunged about six percent Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced a 30-day ban on all travel from Europe to the United States over the coronavirus pandemic.

West Texas Intermediate slipped 6.2 percent to $31 a barrel while Brent crude was off 5.8 percent at under $34 a barrel.

Both contracts extended heavy losses from a day earlier, which came after Saudi Arabia and Gulf partner the UAE stepped up a price war by vowing to pump millions more barrels of crude.

WASHINGTON, March 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Democrats in the US House of Representatives unveiled a broad package of proposals to help Americans affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The legislation would grant workers 14 days of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave, a summary of the Bill shows.

12 March 2020; AFP: Bernie Sanders on Wednesday shrugged off a string of primary defeats and pressure to drop out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying he remains in the fight against centrist frontrunner Joe Biden.

In his first remarks since losing to Biden in Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi and Idaho on Tuesday, the leftist senator from Vermont said his main priority was defeating "dangerous" President Donald Trump.

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Three police officers in El Salvador will be tried for the murder of a transgender woman who was deported from the United States two years ago after failing to prove her life was at risk in the violent Central American country.

The unidentified police officers face prison sentences of up to 30 years. They all deny the charges.

Camila Diaz, a 29-year-old sex worker who fled from El Salvador following repeated threats on her life from a gang, was killed in early February after she was kidnapped and beaten.

ACAPULCO, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico will soon invite private firms to invest in oil and gas projects to help a flagging economy hit by the fallout of coronavirus, Finance Minister Arturo Herrera said on Wednesday, but cautioned energy auctions were not on the cards for now.

Herrera said a long-awaited energy plan will be unveiled soon that will detail where and how much private firms can invest.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Washington state’s House of Representatives passed a measure on Wednesday night that removes a key tax break for Boeing Co (BA.N) and other aerospace firms, in a bid to head off possible European tariffs on U.S. goods and ease a transatlantic trade dispute over aircraft subsidies.

“This measure is important to protect our state’s economy,” House Democratic Majority Leader Pat Sullivan said by phone. “We don’t want tariffs levied by the European Union on the aerospace industry but also on other key industries in the state like wine and agricultural products.”

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The Trump administration is considering postponing the April 15 tax filing deadline for individual taxpayers and small businesses to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday.

"We are looking at providing substantial relief to certain taxpayers and small businesses who will be able to get extensions on their taxes," Mnuchin said at a hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.