Education



Dépêches en anglaisUS leads huge economic fightback against virus, EU shuts bordersThe United States and Britain led a multi-billion-dollar global fightback against economic havoc wreaked by the coronavirus as the European Union shut its borders to travellers from outside for 30 days to stem the pandemic's ferocious spread.The sweeping measures, never before seen in peacetime, have upended society worldwide and roiled financial markets on fears of a global recession.Following criticism that they were mismanaging their crisis response, London and Washington on Tuesday announced massive economic stimulus packages. President Donald Trump said the White House was discussing a "substantial" spending bill with Congress that would include immediate cash payments to Americans.Britain stepped up its own measures following scientific advice that infections and deaths would spiral without drastic action.Citizens were told to avoid all non-essential overseas travel and large social gatherings, with more stringent restrictions expected in the coming days.?In Ireland, Anthony Whyte, 49, looked out onto the cobbled streets of Dublin from a bar and likened the scene to "a ghost town"."It's like armageddon," he said.Usually joyful -- and alcohol-fuelled -- Saint Patrick's Day celebrations were cancelled in Dublin, New York and Boston.UEFA postpones Euro 2020 by a year due to coronavirusThe European Championship, due to be played in June and July this year, has been postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, European football's governing body UEFA said on Tuesday.UEFA announced that the new proposed dates for the tournament were June 11 to July 11 next year, as Euro 2020 becomes Euro 2021.It said the postponement "will help all domestic competitions, currently on hold due to the COVID-19 emergency, to be completed" as it made a "commitment" to finishing club seasons by June 30.The announcement came after UEFA held crisis talks with national associations as well as clubs and players bodies via videoconference, as the continent fights to deal with the health crisis.Facebook and Google in talks with Washington to track infections: US mediaFacebook and Google are in talks with Washington over potentially using individuals' personal data to track and combat the coronavirus outbreak, US media reported.The project would involve collecting location information from Americans' smartphones and using it anonymously to map the spread of the disease and predict urgent medical needs, for example.In a statement to the Washington Post, Google spokesman Johnny Luu confirmed they were "exploring ways that aggregated anonymized location information could help in the fight against COVID-19."The two tech giants did not respond to AFP requests for comment.The use of personal data in the US is highly sensitive after several scandals -- such as in 2011 when the National Security Agency was found to be collecting phone records without permission.But pressure has mounted for Silicon Valley to use their expertize to fight the deadly virus, after roughly 50 scientists signed an open letter last week calling on them to act."It is clear that large-scale efforts by technology platforms could tip the scales on the right side to contain the pandemic and save thousands if not millions of lives," the doctors, epidemiologists and researchers wrote.As for Apple and Google, "they should integrate into the operating system of the phones a tracking tool, which users could choose to activate, anonymously, to find out if they have been in the presence of identified cases."People could quarantine themselves if necessary and monitor the appearance of any symptoms.Tokyo 2020 Olympic flame in Japan, but Olympics on holdThe Olympic flame arrived Friday in Japan, where the planned festive welcome was reduced to its simplest expression due to the coronavirus pandemic, which casts doubt on the very hosting of the Tokyo Games this summer.It landed at Matsushima Air Force Base (Miyagi Prefecture) in the northeast of the country. Some 200 local children who were to brighten up the event had to stay at home to limit the risk of spreading the new coronavirus. The epidemic has killed nearly 10,000 people worldwide.- Avoid crowds -The route of the relay across all the regions of the country has been maintained, but the festivities that surround it have been drastically reduced. "Avoid forming crowds" beg the organizers in Japan, where 950 cases have been recorded with 33 deaths.- "Premature" to postpone -The torch must end its journey on July 24, the date scheduled for the opening in Tokyo of the most important sporting event in the world, with enormous financial stakes.On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) deemed "no need to make radical decisions", triggering a sling among many athletes."I think the IOC's insistence on maintaining its line, with such conviction, is insensitive and irresponsible," said former Canadian hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser, four-time Olympic gold medalist and IOC member, on Wednesday.Bolsonaro denounces "hysteria" facing COVID-19The new coronavirus made its first death in Brazil and urged the government to request that a state of "public calamity" be declared in order to allocate more resources to its fight, although the president insisted on the fact of avoid "hysteria" around the pandemic.Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have declared a state of emergency and Bolsonaro has announced that it will restrict the movement of people (but not goods) at the border with Venezuela. "Some [governors] are taking positive steps, but others, in my opinion, are going too far," Bolsonaro told reporters outside his official home.With more than 200 million inhabitants, Brazil records nearly 300 confirmed cases of new coronavirus (the vast majority in the states of Sao Paulo and Rio), and the authorities expect an intensification of the pandemic in the coming weeks.- Bolsonaro among his sympathizers -Bolsonaro had previously called global responses to the pandemic "hysterical". Even on Sunday, he met dozens of supporters and took selfies, despite the fact that several members of the delegation who accompanied him to the United States from March 7 to 10 were diagnosed with the virus. The Minister of Health, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, had recommended isolation in Bolsonaro, pending the completion of the three planned tests. After a first negative test, another test released Tuesday confirmed that Bolsonaro had not contracted the virus. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download