North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite White House claims, the U.S. still lacks a comprehensive battle plan against the coronavirus in critical areas including masks, testing, treatments and vaccines, whistleblower Rick Bright warned Thursday in testimony before a House committee. “Our window of opportunity is closing,” he declared.

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — From a hospital on the edge of the Navajo Nation to the suburbs of the nation’s capital, front-line medical workers in coronavirus hot spots are struggling to keep up with a crushing load of patients while lockdown restrictions are lifting in many other parts of the U.S.

14 May 2020; MEMO: Some 51 anti-war groups, including a think tank backed by George Soros and Charles Koch, have urged US presidential hopeful Joe Biden to leverage America’s annual $3.8 billion aid to Israel to pressure the Zionist state to abide by UN Security Resolutions and international law, in a letter calling on the Presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee to commit to a “principled foreign policy”.

United Nations, May 14 (PTI) The coronavirus pandemic has led to a three per cent drop in global trade in the first quarter of 2020 and this downturn is expected to accelerate in the next quarter to project a whopping quarter-on-quarter decline of 27 per cent, the UN trade body has warned.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report that the drop in global trade was accompanied by marked decreases in commodity prices, which have fallen precipitously since December last year.

MEXICO CITY, May 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 100 people in Mexico have died from drinking adulterated alcohol over the past two weeks, according to a tally by Mexican daily newspaper Reforma on Wednesday, as measures to halt the coronavirus’ spread have crimped beer production.

The potentially fatal bootleg alcohol contains dangerous substances such as methanol in some cases, and is being distributed as brewers such as Heineken and Grupo Modelo have suspended production in line with government directives to halt non-essential activity.

14 May 2020; AFP: Boeing has been awarded two contracts worth more than $2 billion for the delivery of more than 1,000 air-to-surface and anti-ship missiles to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

A first contract, worth $1.97 billion, is for the modernization of SLAM ER cruise missiles as well as delivery of 650 new missiles "in support of the government of Saudi Arabia," it said.

14 May 2020; AFP: Chinese hackers are trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine research, US authorities said Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions between the superpowers as markets slumped on warnings from the US Federal Reserve that prolonged shutdowns could cause "lasting damage."

Europe, meanwhile, pushed ahead with plans to gradually reopen for summer tourism, even as fears persist of a second wave of infections in the pandemic that has forced more than half of humanity behind closed doors in recent months.

(Reuters) - U.S. Senator Richard Burr has had his cellphone seized by federal agents as part of the Justice Department’s probe of stock transactions made by the lawmaker ahead of the sharp market downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year, a media report said late on Wednesday.

Burr has denied any wrongdoing and said he relied solely on news reports to guide decisions on stock sales, amid reports that he and other senators sold off shares after being briefed on the risks of the coronavirus crisis.

UNITED NATIONS, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Against the backdrop of a devastating pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by 3.2 percent this year, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) mid-2020 report published on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is expected to vote on whether to extend three surveillance authorities as senators of both parties express concerns that the laws infringe on Americans’ rights.

The surveillance provisions expired in March, the month lawmakers fled Washington because of the coronavirus pandemic. House lawmakers passed a bipartisan compromise bill just before leaving town, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not yet been able to push the legislation through the Senate. And it’s unclear if he will be able to do so as he tries again on Thursday.