USA

New York, Mar 19 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has renominated a prominent Indian-American law professor and legal expert to an agency whose mission is to ensure the federal government's efforts to prevent terrorism are balanced with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties.

The nomination of Aditya Bamzai of Virginia, to be reappointed a Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board for a term expiring January 29, 2026, was sent to the US Senate.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has named Swiss humanitarian relief expert Philippe Lazzarini as the next commissioner-general of UNRWA, the UN agency entrusted to care for Palestinian refugees, which has been in a financial crisis financial crisis following the cutoff of U.S. funding.

Guterres had recommended Lazzarini to lead the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) earlier this month.

The agency’s headquarters are divided between the Gaza Strip and Amman.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 19 (APP): The economic and labour crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic could destroy up to 25 million jobs around the world if governments do not act fast to shield workers from the impact, the International Labour Organization (ILO), a UN agency, said in a new assessment.

“However, if we see an internationally coordinated policy response, as happened in the global financial crisis of 2008-9, then the impact on global unemployment could be significantly lower,” ILO, which is based in Geneva, said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Describing himself as a “wartime president” fighting an invisible enemy, President Donald Trump invoked rarely used emergency powers to marshal critical medical supplies against the coronavirus pandemic. Trump also signed an aid package — which the Senate approved earlier Wednesday — that will guarantee sick leave to workers who fall ill.

WASHINGTON, March 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two US lawmakers including a Florida representative on Wednesday became the first members of Congress to announce they have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart’s office said in a statement that “just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19.”

The Republican who represents part of Miami follows that city’s Mayor Francis Suarez, who announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus last week.

LOS ANGELES, March 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A shallow 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Salt Lake City on Wednesday, rattling residents and causing power outages in the western US state of Utah, the US Geological Survey reported.

The USGS said the quake hit at 1309 GMT four kilometres north of Magna, a township in Salt Lake County, at a depth of 9.6 kilometres.

The quake was felt throughout the area, a map on the monitoring agency website showed, although there were no immediate reports of serious damage.

Washington (AP) — The Federal Reserve announced late Wednesday that it will establish an emergency lending facility to help unclog a short-term credit market that has been disrupted by the viral outbreak.

The Fed said it will lend money to banks that purchase financial assets from money market mutual funds, including short-term IOUs known as commercial paper.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon’s role in responding to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States began to rapidly expand Wednesday as officials announced that two Navy hospital ships and two Army field hospitals were preparing to deploy to help overburdened regions.

The latest moves are aimed at taking the pressure off local hospitals so that they can free up rooms and staff to deal with virus patients. Military hospital ships and field units are geared toward treating trauma cases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders isn’t leaving the presidential race. Instead, the Vermont senator and democratic socialist is back in a familiar place: on the outside looking in.

After being routed in Democratic primary contests for the third consecutive week by former Vice President Joe Biden, Sanders faced the grim calculation on Wednesday that he has virtually no chance of clinching the Democratic nomination. He would need to win a whopping 63% of the remaining delegates to do so.

WASHINGTON (AP) — By a sweeping bipartisan tally, the Senate on Wednesday approved a $100 billion-plus bill to boost testing for the coronavirus and guarantee paid sick leave for millions of workers hit by it — and President Donald Trump quickly signed it. But lawmakers and the White House had already turned their focus to the administration’s far bigger $1 trillion plan to stabilize the economy as the pandemic threatens financial ruin for individuals and businesses.