TEL AVIV, 17 March 2020, TON: Israel's ex-military chief Benny Gantz, who won recommendations  by 61 lawmakers, a razor thin majority in the 120-member parliament,  was nominated to form a government but further talks were expected with his rival, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on alliance to fight coronavirus.

Gantz, who heads the centrist Blue and White party, called for unity and urged Netanyahu to join him as Israel seeks to end a crippling political stalemate after three inconclusive elections in less than a year.

Gantz formally nominated by President Reuven Rivlin to attempt to form an administration.

"I will do everything to form in as few days as possible a national, patriotic and broad government."

 Rivlin later addressed the new Knesset, with lawmakers having their temperatures taken before being brought into the chamber in twos and threes, to reduce risk of virus transmission.

In remarks to a chamber empty but for Netanyahu and Gantz, he implored all lawmakers to end the impasse.

The vote saw Likud secure the most seats but, along with its religious party allies, it fell three seats short of a majority. Gantz made calls to Netanyahu's religious allies on Monday, but was rebuffed for now. The head of the religious, nationalist Yemina party, Defence Minister Naftali Bennett, urged Gantz to let Netanyahu lead a short-term emergency government.

Netanyahu denies wrongdoing. The trial had been due to open on Tuesday, but Jerusalem's District Court postponed it to May 24, blaming the virus outbreak. The prime minister's rivals cried foul, accusing him of using the public health crisis to push back his long-anticipated day in court.

BEIJING, 15 March 2020, TON:  China is pushing a new theory about the origins of the coronavirus: It is an American disease that might have been introduced by members of the US Army who visited Wuhan in October.

There is not a shred of evidence to support that, but the notion received an official endorsement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose spokesman accused American officials of not coming clean about what they know about the disease.

The United States on Friday summoned China's ambassador after a senior official in Beijing tweeted the "ridiculous" suggestion that the US military started the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Department said.

David Stilwell, the top US diplomat for Asia, gave a "stern representation" to Ambassador Cui Tiankai a day after foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted the conspiracy theory.

The intentional spreading of an unfounded conspiracy theory - which recirculated on China’s tightly controlled internet on Friday - punctuated a downward spiral in relations between the two countries that has been fuelled by the basest instincts of officials on both sides.

The insinuation came in a series of posts on Twitter by Zhao Lijian, a ministry spokesman who has made good use of the platform, which is blocked in China, to push a newly aggressive, and hawkish, diplomatic strategy. It is most likely intended to deflect attention from China’s own missteps in the early weeks of the epidemic by sowing confusion or, at least, uncertainty at home and abroad.

Zhao’s posts appeared to be a retort to similarly unsubstantiated theories about the origins of the outbreak that have spread in the United States. Senior officials there have called the epidemic the “Wuhan virus”, and at least one senator hinted darkly that the epidemic began with the leak of a Chinese biological weapon.

Conspiracy theory

“The conspiracy theories are a new, low front in what they clearly perceive as a global competition over the narrative of this crisis,” said Julian B. Gewirtz, a scholar at the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs at Harvard.

“There are a few Chinese officials who appear to have gone to the Donald J. Trump School of Diplomacy,” added Gewirtz, who recently published a paper on China’s handling of the Aids epidemic, after a similar disinformation campaign. “This small cadre of high-volume Chinese officials don’t seem to realise that peddling conspiracy theories is totally self-defeating for China, at a moment when it wants to be seen as a positive contributor around the world.”

The circulation of disinformation is not a new tactic for the Communist Party state. The United States, in particular, is often a foil of Chinese propaganda efforts. Last year, Beijing explicitly accused the US government of supporting public protests in Hong Kong in an effort to weaken the party’s rule.

Combative diplomacy

The old tactic has been amplified by more combative public diplomacy and a new embrace of a social media platform that is blocked in China to spread a message abroad.

Victor Shih, an associate professor at the University of California at San Diego who studies Chinese politics, said that while the campaign was very likely an attempt to distract and deflect blame, a more worrisome possibility was that some officials fabricated the idea and persuaded top leaders to believe it.

“If the leadership really believes in the culpability of the US government,” he warned, “it may behave in a way that dramatically worsens the bilateral relationship.”

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has faced sharp criticism for the government’s initial handling of the outbreak, even at home. Public anger erupted in February when a doctor who was punished for warning his colleagues about the coronavirus died, prompting censors to redouble their efforts to stifle public criticism.

Chinese officials have repeatedly urged officials in other countries not to politicise what is a public health emergency. Conservatives in the United States, in particular, have latched on to loaded terms that have been criticized for stigmatizing the Chinese people. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo referred to the “Wuhan virus,” while Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Republican, California, called it the “Chinese coronavirus.”

Criticisms

In response, Chinese officials and state news media have stepped up their criticism of American officials’ comments.

The coronavirus, according to all evidence, emanated from Wuhan, China, in late December. Scientists have not yet identified a “patient zero” or a precise source of the virus, though preliminary studies have linked it to a virus in bats that passed through another mammal before infecting humans.

A senior official of China’s National Health Commission, Liang Wannian, said at a briefing in Beijing last month that the likely carrier was a pangolin, an endangered species that is trafficked almost exclusively to China for its meat and for its scales, which are prized for use in traditional medicine.

The first cluster of patients was reported at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, and studies have since suggested that the virus could have been introduced there by someone already infected. Wuhan and the surrounding province of Hubei account for the overwhelming amount of cases and deaths, so there is no scientific reason to believe the virus began elsewhere.

Zhao’s assertion began with a post linking to a video of the director of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert R. Redfield, testifying before the House on Wednesday and suggesting that some flu deaths might have been caused by the coronavirus.

“When did patient zero begin in US?” Zhao wrote on Twitter, first in English and separately in Chinese. “How many people are infected. What are the names of the hospitals? It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your date! US owe us an explanation.”

Military World Games

Zhao appeared to refer to the Military World Games, which were held in Wuhan in October. The Pentagon sent 17 teams with more than 280 athletes and other staff members to the event, well before any reported outbreaks. The Pentagon has had confirmed cases in South Korea and Italy and is bracing for more to emerge, but no illnesses have been tied to American service members from October.

RIYADH: 15 March, 2020, TON:  Saudi Arabia will suspend international flights for two weeks from Sunday, 15 March 2020 to show solidarity with international community to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. 

It was reported by media on Friday that 24 new cases of Coronavirus infections were reported in the Kingdom, raising the total to 86.

Following are the updates so far:

• During the two-week period, some flights would only be allowed in "exceptional cases". 
• For residents who cannot come back during this period, it will be considered as an official holiday.
• Arrangements will be made regarding health procedures such as examination and isolation according to the preventive measures approved for all arrivals.
• For Saudi citizens who wish to return, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior, the Civil Aviation Authority and other relevant parties, will arrange for their arrival, and the relevant procedures will be soon announced.

The Kingdom has suspended travel to and from the entire European Union and 12 other countries in Asia and Africa.

ANKARA,15 March 2020, TON:  The first Turkish-Russian joint land patrol was carried out on M4 highway in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, Turkish National Defense Ministry announced Sunday.

The ministry said on Twitter that the joint land patrol was carried out with participation of land and air elements as part of the agreement reached in Moscow between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

On Friday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced the date of the first joint patrol of Turkey and Russia, adding that the two countries will establish joint coordination centers in the region.

Erdogan and Putin on March 5 agreed on a new cease-fire for Idlib.

Under the deal, all military activities are to end in Idlib with the establishment of a security corridor 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) to the north and south of the key M 4 highway.

ISLAMABAD: 15 March, 2020, TON:  Terming Pakistan’s measures against novel coronavirus  threat as ‘timely’ and the ‘best national response’ World Health Organisation (WHO) has suggested the government to continue to keep a vigilant eye on new cases and expand testing facilities to various public sector hospitals.

Country Head of the WHO Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, while talking to media in Karachi during his visit to various hospitals and testing labs, said: “At a time when other countries were reporting cases, Pakistan was keeping the virus at bay, which is something quite praiseworthy.”

He also said that adopting coughing etiquette was also very important as it would prevent spreading the virus to others.

The WHO Chief was in the city to assess the provincial government’s response to the virus and to inspect isolation units set up in various hospitals.

During his visit to the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Ojha Campus, he inspected the diagnostic lab of the health facility as well as their isolation facility, and termed them ‘world class diagnostic and treatment facility’.

Dr Mahipala also met provincial health minister Dr Azra Pechuho and inquired about the status of diagnostic kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) and offered WHO’s support in the provision of diagnostic kits for testing suspected Covid-19 patients in Sindh.

Later talking to media, Dr Mahipala said the federal and provincial governments had arranged around 2,000 isolation beds in the country to keep the suspected patients of Covid-19 while extraordinary screening arrangements had been made at the points of entry by the authorities, which were quite helpful to keeping the virus away from the country to a large extent.

“At the moment, Pakistan has seven diagnostic labs which are capable of conducting 15,000 tests, but there is a need for more diagnostic facilities in case the number of suspected patients go up,” he said and added that authorities had even established a mobile diagnostic facility that had been dispatched to Taftan to test and diagnose suspected people coming from Iran.

Highlighting the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said even countries with well-advanced health systems like South Korea and Italy had failed to contain Covid-19. He added that Pakistani authorities timely responded to the threat and took measures which resulted in keeping the virus at bay for a longer time when other counties were reporting its cases.

ISTANBUL, 15 March, 2020, TON: Turkish President Rejab Tayyib Erdogan will have a video conference call with France leader and German chancellor for a summit on March 17 over the fears of coronavirus, presidential sources said on Friday.

Erdogan will meet with Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel to discuss Idlib, a Syrian province where a new cease-fire announced last week, refugee crisis and Turkey-EU relations.

The summit, which was planned to be held in Istanbul, will be held via video conference call as part of measures taken to stem the spread of fatal coronavirus.

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Europe has become the "new epicenter" of the coronavirus pandemic.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, the virus, officially known as coronavirus has spread to at least 123 countries and territories.

The global death toll is now nearly 5,000, with more than 132,500 confirmed cases, according to the WHO, which declared the outbreak a pandemic.

BEIJING, 15 March 2020, TON: China has been assisting Pakistan in cultivating local talents and technical force, building infrastructure, and utilizing its own resources, in order to help Pakistan to independent development, Cheng Xizhong, a Chinese scholar said on Sunday

“In my opinion, to achieve domestic production, three basic conditions need to be created,” he said in his article published by China Economic Net.

Giving the detail, Cheng Xichong, special commentator of China Economic Net, visiting professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law said that the one condition is the market localization.

The core of market localization is the market share. To increase market share, localization features should be strengthened in corporate culture, management mode and sales channels.

The second one is the localization of production and technology. In terms of hardware, it includes localization of complete mobile phone and parts production. In terms of software, it is necessary to integrate international advanced technology with local cultural and economic background.

The last one is the talent localization. Not only should the majority of ordinary workers be local people, but also there should be as many locals as possible involved in management and technical work.

In terms of mobile phone manufacturing, Pakistan may learn from Huawei’s practices and experiences.

Nowadays, “Made in China” is well known in the international market. However, it used to be a byword for poor quality and low price.

In the field of mobile phone manufacturing, Huawei has gradually changed the low-end image of “made in China” with its pure business operation, high-quality products and services. Huawei’s approach has three main points.

Huawei focuses on the core technology. As for mobile phone manufacturing, Huawei’s main success is in the aspect of chips, which gives it a huge advantage in the most competitive field of smart phones.

Huawei attaches great importance to skilled talents and give them good reward. It’s employees enjoy high salary, which is linked with good performance. Besides high salary, Huawei takes many measures to keep the talents, such as distributing a large number of shares of the enterprise, so that every employee has a sense of ownership.

In addition, the CEO system is in turn, so that all outstanding talents have the opportunity to display their ability.

Huawei also looks towards management. Management is a way to the maintenance and development of enterprises. Better management help to the team to work better and the company run more smoothly.

WASHINGTON, 15 March 2020, TON: :Airports across the United States were thrown into chaos Saturday as workers tried to enforce the Trump administration’s new health screenings for people returning from Europe, as part of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus, according to American media reports.

Travelers faced hours of delays, long lines and jam-packed hallways as workers questioned them about their medical history and checked them for symptoms.

The administration announced the “enhanced entry screenings” Friday.
Passengers on flights from 26 countries in Europe are being routed through 13 U.S. airports, where workers check their medical histories, examine them for symptoms and instruct them to self-quarantine for 14 days.

But just hours after taking effect, the measures designed to prevent new infections in the United States had created the exact conditions that facilitate the spread of the highly contagious virus, with throngs of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder in hours-long bottlenecks, according to experts.

As confusion and anxiety spread, the debacle threatened to deepen the coronavirus crisis for the Trump administration, which has struggled to mount a coherent response to the pandemic or convey a consistent message to the public about what the federal government is doing to mitigate the outbreak.

The scenes at the airports — captured in an outpouring of angry social media posts — bore a striking resemblance to the botched implementation in early 2017 of President Donald Trump’s travel ban targeting citizens from predominantly Muslim countries, which triggered chaos and protests at United States airports as travelers from the Middle East were detained or sent home with almost no warning.

Saturday’s confusion came as concern spread about the coronavirus pandemic, which has now been identified in more than 2,700 people in the United States and has prompted Trump to declare a national emergency.

Earlier, Spain announced a nationwide lockdown as France moved to close all nonessential businesses — including cafes, restaurants and movie theaters — in the latest testament to the coronavirus pandemic’s profound impact on daily life around the globe.

Upheaval continued in the United States, as well, on Saturday as Georgia followed Louisiana’s lead in delaying its presidential primary and three states reported their first coronavirus-related deaths.

The United States will be banning travel from the United Kingdom and Ireland beginning Monday at midnight, officials said.

“At this time, we are working quickly with our partners to operationalize a plan which will outline where these travelers will be routed and what the screening process will be,” Marcus Hubbard, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was quoted as saying.

President Trump also said his administration was considering domestic travel restrictions for some hot spots.

A surge in coronavirus patients is threatening to swamp U.S. hospitals, as Oregon, Virginia, Louisiana and New York all reported their first coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday.

Ten U.S. service members have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, along with one Defence Department civilian and two contractors, military officials said.

King in waiting: Queen ‘prepares for William to be King’ with new appointment

Expressnews: Prince William will be made Her Majesty’s Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland this year.” Daily Express royal correspondent Richard Palmer said it was largely an “honorary appointment” but with important undertones. He said on Twitter: “An honorary appointment but further preparations for a future King: the Queen has approved the appointment of the Duke of Cambridge as Her Majesty’s Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2020.”

Kensington Palace took to Twitter to share the news.

The Palace said: “The Queen has appointed Prince William as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the @churchscotland this year.”

Each year, The Queen appoints a Lord High Commissioner to represent the Sovereign at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Macron pleads with Trump not to cut off U.S. support for French forces in Africa

Nbcnews: France is appealing to President Donald Trump not to cut off U.S. military support to French forces fighting Islamist militants in Africa, warning that it could undermine efforts to counter a growing terrorist threat in the Sahel region.

Trump administration officials, however, are skeptical of the French counterterrorism mission's value and have refused so far to promise continued logistical and intelligence support that French forces rely on in their fight against al Qaeda and ISIS-linked groups, according to one current and one former U.S. official.

"We're spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a French force that has not been able to turn the tide," said a senior administration official, who was not authorized to speak on the record.

"It's not even a case of whack a mole. For all that we're spending, we're not getting much out of it," the official told NBC News.