USA

12 April 2020; AFP: South Asia is on course for its worst economic performance in 40 years, with decades of progress in the battle against poverty at risk, because of coronavirus, the World Bank said Sunday.

India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other smaller nations, which have 1.8 billion people and some of the planet's most densely populated cities, have so far reported relatively few coronavirus cases but experts fear they could be the next hotspots.

LOS ANGELES, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Six persons were wounded by gunfire at a large party in Bakersfield, 170 km north of Los Angeles, local media reported on Saturday, saying around 400 people were at the party.

The incident occurred at about 12:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) on Saturday morning, Bakersfield's CW 12 news channel reported. When policemen arrived at the scene, they found a large party had been held at an apartment complex prior to the shooting.

WASHINGTON, April 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — President Donald Trump said the US government could impose visa sanctions on countries that refuse or unreasonably delay accepting people returned from the United States.

In a memorandum to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump cited the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the need to ensure “the repatriation of foreign nationals who violate the laws of the United States.”

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases on USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, has risen to 550, the U.S. Navy said on Saturday.

In an update, the U.S. Navy said 92 percent of the USS Theodore Roosevelt crew members have been tested for COVID-19, with 550 positive and 3,673 negative results, and that a total of 3,696 sailors have moved ashore.

The data came some two weeks after the ship's captain Brett Crozier sounded alarm over the outbreak when only dozens of sailors on the ship had tested positive for the virus.

NEW YORK, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 500,000 on Friday night, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The fresh figure reached 500,399 with 18,693 deaths as of 10:00 p.m. (0200 GMT on Saturday), according to the CSSE.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Melania Trump is having a moment in the midst of a pandemic.

After catching some criticism for not mentioning the coronavirus in a March speech to a parent-teacher group, the first lady has increased her engagement on the issue, mostly through social media since she is staying home like most Americans.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The threat of strong tornadoes and other damaging weather on Easter posed a double-edged safety dilemma for Deep South communities deciding how to protect residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms was likely Sunday from Louisiana through the Tennessee Valley, the National Weather Service said. More than 4.5 million people live in the area where dangerous weather was most likely, including Birmingham and Jackson, Mississippi, the Storm Prediction Center said on its website.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The woman was dying. New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital was about to call her husband and break the news that there was nothing left to try. Then Dr. Hooman Poor took a gamble.

With high-stress, high-stakes decisions, doctors around the world are frantically trying to figure out how COVID-19 is killing their patients so they can attempt new ways to fight back. One growing theory: In the sickest of the sick, little blood clots clog the lungs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For several months, President Donald Trump and his officials have cast a fog of promises meant to reassure a country in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump and his team haven’t delivered on critical ones.

They talk numbers. Bewildering numbers about masks on the way. About tests being taken. About ships sailing to the rescue, breathing machines being built and shipped, field hospitals popping up, aircraft laden with supplies from abroad, dollars flowing to crippled businesses.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Joe Biden has won the Alaska Democrats’ party-run presidential primary, beating Sen. Bernie Sanders days after Sanders suspended his campaign.

Biden beat Sanders Saturday 55.3% to 44.7%. A total of 19,759 votes were cast.