Friday, March 6, 2020

Vice President Pence Visits Wash. State To Discuss Anti-Coronavirus Efforts

Vice President Mike Pence bumps elbows with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, left, during a news conference, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Camp Murray in Washington state. Pence was in Washington to discuss the state’s efforts to fight the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and officials have been avoiding shaking hands to prevent the spread of germs. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:08 AM PT — Friday, March 6, 2020
Vice President Mike Pence flew to Washington to gauge the state’s response to the coronavirus. He met with state officials on Thursday and toured emergency response facilities. The vice president has been put in charge of the federal response to the outbreak by President Trump.
Washington has been the state hardest hit by the spread of coronavirus with a majority of U.S. deaths reported in the state. It has since declared a state of emergency; a measure that allows states to activate crisis measures and access special emergency funds.
Pence arrived on Air Force Two and landed in the city of Tacoma, where he was greeted by Gov. Jay Inslee (D). The two exchanged an elbow bump, forgoing a traditional handshake as a safety measure against transmission. The vice president also elbow-bumped the various officials and emergency workers he met during his trip.
During his tour of the state’s Emergency Management Operations Center, he praised the work of emergency service personnel and reiterated the nation’s support for the state.
“‘But the response of the state of Washington, of your Health Department, the response by the city of Seattle, Madame Mayor, has really inspired the country,” he stated. “And the president wanted me to be to be here today just to make it crystal clear that we’re with you, we’re here to help.”
Pence and Inslee later discussed the availability of testing kits necessary to assess the extent of the virus’s spread. The vice president assured the governor that millions of testing kits, more than 5.2 million, would be rolled out to the state in the next week.
“To all of you who are standing with people in this state dealing with the virus and people in Washington state is we’re with you. “I’m here to ensure that the full resources of the federal government are being brought to bear in support of the state of Washington’s efforts,” said Pence.
The vice president echoed the advice of experts at the CDC who are asking people not to hoard masks and to leave them available to health workers. He emphasized the low risk the virus presents to most Americans.
“While the coronavirus has spread in the Seattle area and new cases are detected around the country every day, the good news is that the vast majority of all of those who have contracted the coronavirus are recovering and doing well,” stated the vice president. “The truth is that the risk of contracting the coronavirus to the average American remains low.’
The vice president went on to tout the bipartisan coronavirus response package passed by Congress and signed by President Trump this week, which allocated more than $8 billion to the efforts to fight the outbreak.

RELATED: South Korea suspends visas for Japanese in tit-for-tat coronavirus curbs

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Facebook drops Trump ads after Pelosi cites census confusion

MIKE SCHNEIDER and AMANDA SEITZ
 
 
Ad: video resumes in 30s
Facebook on Thursday began taking down ads for the reelection campaign of President Donald Trump that direct people to a survey labeled a “census,” hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said people would confuse it with the once-a-decade head count.
Facebook said in a statement that it was enforcing its policies to prevent confusion over the 2020 census, which begins next week for most people.
“There are policies in place to prevent confusion around the official U.S. Census and this is an example of those being enforced," the Facebook statement said.
Earlier in the day, Pelosi had called the survey sponsored by the Trump reelection campaign, “an absolute lie."
“A lie that is consistent with the misrepresentation policy of Facebook," Pelosi said. “But now they're messing with who we are as Americans. I know the profit motive is their business model, but it should not come at the cost of counting who is in our country."
The ad says, “President Trump needs you to take the Official 2020 Congressional District Census today." Clicking on a red button saying “Take the Survey” leads to a website with questions asking visitors about party affiliation, whether they intend to support Trump and which media organizations they get their information, among other questions.
Similar mailings have been distributed around the U.S.
On Thursday, four Democratic House members — Reps. Carolyn Maloney of New York, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Gerry Connolly of Virginia, and Katie Porter of California — demanded in a letter that the Republican National Committee stop any mailings or online ads that resemble Census Bureau documents.
In a statement, the Republican National Committee said it would add language to future mailings, making it clear what it is.
“This is a standard direct mail piece that has been utilized for decades. These mailers are fully compliant with the law, clearly marked as a fundraising solicitation from the Republican National Committee, and in no way resemble the official government census," the RNC statement said.

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Thursday, March 5, 2020

World

South Korea protests Japanese travel curbs as coronavirus ignites diplomatic row

By Hyonhee Shin
South Korean soldiers in protective gear sanitize a street at a shopping district in Seoul
By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea issued a strongly worded protest on Friday against Japan's decision to quarantine South Korean visitors for two weeks, as coronavirus containment measures ignited a fresh diplomatic row between the Asian nations.
Japan joined the list of almost 100 countries that have imposed restrictions on South Korean travelers, barring arrivals from highly affected areas starting on Saturday and ordering a two-week quarantine for those from other regions.
The South Korean foreign ministry said Japan's ambassador would be summoned to explain Tokyo's decision and receive a formal complaint. Seoul has previously summoned ambassadors from Vietnam and Singapore over similar travel restrictions.
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"It is extremely regrettable Japan took this unreasonable and excessive step without sufficient prior consultation with us, and we strongly urge immediate reconsideration," it said.
After a meeting at the presidential Blue House, the National Security Council (NSC) issued a statement saying Tokyo faced "mistrust from the international community due to its opaque, passive" response to the coronavirus outbreak.
"We will explore necessary countermeasures based on principles of reciprocity," it said.
Japan's chief government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, defended the travel restrictions which also apply to visitors from China.
"The decision was the result of a comprehensive review of the information available about the situation in other countries and the effects of other measures," he said.
"I think the timing is appropriate."
The row came as the number of new cases in South Korea, the country with the biggest outbreak of the flu-like virus outside China, fell to 196 from 760 the previous day, for a total of 6,284 infections. The death toll rose by seven to 42, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.
The U.S. Forces Korea reported a new case for a total of seven among soldiers, employees or people related to the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

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orld

Coronavirus has spread to nearly all Iran provinces: president

By Babak Dehghanpisheh
 
 
 
Iran says 92 dead as coronavirus reaches all but one province
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By Babak Dehghanpisheh
DUBAI (Reuters) - Coronavirus has spread to almost all of Iran's provinces but the country will get through the outbreak with a "minimum" number of deaths, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.
"This disease is a widespread disease," he said during a Cabinet meeting, according to the official presidency website.
"It has reached almost all our provinces and in one sense it's a global disease."
The health ministry said on Tuesday that 92 people had died so far from coronavirus, one of the highest death tolls outside China where the epidemic originated late last year. It said 2,922 people had been infected with the disease.
Among those infected is first vice president Eshaq Jahangiri, the IranWire news site reported, citing an "informed source". There was no immediate confirmation from officials.
Several Iranian officials have come down with coronavirus and one senior official died from an infection on Monday.
The Islamic Republic has canceled Friday prayers in all provincial capitals this week because of the coronavirus outbreak, state television reported on Wednesday.
Rouhani said Iran would get through the outbreak with a minimum number of deaths and in the shortest period of time thanks to the skills of its doctors and nurses.
He took a jab at an American offer to help with the outbreak without mentioning the United States directly.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States had offered to help Iran with the outbreak.
"They've appeared with a mask of sympathy that 'we also want to help the people of Iran'," Rouhani said. "If you are really telling the truth, then lift sanctions from medicine."
President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018 and reimposed sanctions which have hammered Iran's economy.
U.S. officials have said that the sanctions do not target medicine for Iran, a point Iranian officials dispute.

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Tuesday, December 25, 2018

News

IS-claimed attack on Libya foreign ministry kills at least three

Imed Lamloum
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A firetruck and security officers at the scene of an attack on the Libyan foreign ministry in Tripoli on December 25, 2018

A firetruck and security officers at the scene of an attack on the Libyan foreign ministry in Tripoli on December 25, 2018 (AFP Photo/Mahmud TURKIA)
Tripoli (AFP) - Suicide attackers stormed the Libyan foreign ministry in the capital Tripoli on Tuesday, killing at least three people including a senior civil servant in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.
Twenty-one other people were wounded in the attack, authorities said.
A car bomb exploded near the ministry, prompting security forces to rush to the scene, said special forces spokesman Tarak al-Dawass.
A suicide bomber then blew himself up on the second floor of the building while a second attacker died when a suitcase he was carrying exploded, he said.
A third assailant, who was unarmed and wearing a bulletproof vest, was killed by security forces outside, Dawass added.
At least three people were killed and 21 wounded, according to the health ministry.
Foreign Minister Tahar Siala said one of the dead was senior diplomat Ibrahim al-Shaibi who headed a department in his ministry.
Plumes of smoke were seen rising from the building as ambulances, paramedics and security forces gathered outside.
IS claimed the attack in a statement distributed on social media, saying that it was carried out by three "soldiers of the caliphate" who were armed with suicide belts and automatic weapons.
Interior Minister Fathi Bash Agha admitted during a news conference that "security chaos" reigned in Libya and was "out of our control".
He said this was creating a "fertile ground" for IS to operate in the North African country.
Torn apart by power struggles and undermined by chronic insecurity, Libya has become a haven for jihadists since the ouster and killing of Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
- Jihadist foothold -
Two competing administrations, rival militias, tribes and jihadists have been vying for control of territory and the country's vast oil wealth.
IS took advantage of the chaos to gain a foothold in the coastal city of Sirte in 2015.
Forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) regained control of Sirte in December 2016 after eight months of deadly fighting.
Since then, some jihadists have returned to the desert in an attempt to regroup and reorganise.
The interior minister said his department lacked the equipment necessary to restore law and order in Libya.
Bach Agha said he found "zero weapons and zero vehicles" in the ministry's warehouses when he took up his job in October.
"Weakness and a security breakdown" allowed assailants to attack the foreign ministry, he said.
The foreign minister said the UN should lift an arms embargo it has imposed on Libya since the 2011 uprising.
"Stability cannot be restored... without a partial lifting of the embargo. It is needed to guarantee security and combat terrorism," Siala told reporters.
- Envoys denounce attack -
The head of the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL) denounced the "cowardly terrorist attack" in a statement.
Ghassan Salame also pledged to work with Libyan people "to prevent terrorist groups from turning Libya into a haven... for their crimes".
Frank Baker, Britain's ambassador to Libya, also denounced an "appalling terrorist attack" and tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims.
Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi joined the chorus of condemnation in a statement reiterating Rome's "solidarity with the Libyan people and their just aspiration to real security".
In September, IS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on the headquarters of Libya's National Oil Company in the heart of Tripoli which left two dead and 10 wounded.
Four months earlier, it claimed an attack on the electoral commission's headquarters which left 14 dead.
In April, the GNA launched an operation to track down IS fighters operating in areas of western Libya under its control.
Last month IS claimed responsibility for an attack on militia forces in southeastern Libya in which at least nine people were killed.
The US military has regularly carried out strikes on jihadists in Libya, particularly south of Sirte.
The GNA was set up under a 2015 UN-brokered deal, but a rival administration based in the country's east aligned with military strongman Khalifa Haftar refuses to recognise its authority.
Rival Libyan leaders had agreed to a Paris-brokered deal in May to hold a nationwide election by the end of the year.
But instability, territorial disputes and divisions have delayed plans for elections.
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