Stories for April 2020

Thursday, April 9th 2020 - 08:45 UTC
Germany diplomacy restricts use of video conferencing Zoom: security flaws

The German foreign ministry has restricted use of the video conferencing service Zoom, saying in an internal memo to employees that security and data protection weaknesses made it too risky to use, newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.
Wednesday, April 8th 2020 - 18:30 UTC
BAS ends Antarctic season and organizing the return: chartered ship will leave Falklands for UK 3 May

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has announced exceptional plans to repatriate scientists, support teams and construction workers as they complete their Antarctic summer field season work.
Wednesday, April 8th 2020 - 12:30 UTC
Sanitary aircraft on Thursday will fly “Greg Mortimer” cruise Australians to Melbourne

A charter flight is expected in Montevideo on Thursday, April 9 to pick up and fly home to Australia most of passengers and crew on the “Greg Mortimer”, the cruise vessel stranded off the coast of Uruguay for the last two weeks because 128 people on board have tested positive for Covid 19.
Wednesday, April 8th 2020 - 12:24 UTC
3M reaches agreement with Trump administration to export masks to Canada and Latin America

Manufacturing giant 3M said it has an agreement with the Trump administration that will allow the company to continue to export N95 protective masks to Canada and Latin America amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Wednesday, April 8th 2020 - 12:17 UTC
The 14,7 million Euro coronavirus masks order that never reached Germany

Authorities in Germany have fallen victim to a multi-million-euro fraud involving masks much needed in the coronavirus pandemic, prosecutors said on Tuesday. North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state and one of the hardest hit, paid 14.7 million euros for some 10 million masks in March only to discover they did not exist, according to prosecutors in Traunstein, Bavaria.
Wednesday, April 8th 2020 - 11:20 UTC
PAHO Director calls for protection of health workers of the Americas

Warning that cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have more than doubled in a week in the Region of the Americas, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Director Carissa F. Etienne urged countries to take measures that protect health care workers to ensure they have access to the personal protective equipment and supplies they need to care for patients affected by the disease.
Wednesday, April 8th 2020 - 11:16 UTC
Cardinal Pell acquitted: ex choir boy who accused him of sexual abuse accepts the court ruling

A former choirboy who accused Australian Cardinal George Pell of molesting him said on Wednesday he accepts the top Vatican acquittal, but urged survivors of child sex abuse to keep coming forward.
Wednesday, April 8th 2020 - 11:13 UTC
US Navy secretary resigns after ridiculing a commander of an aircraft carrier

Acting United States Navy Secretary Thomas Modly resigned on Tuesday after he faced mounting backlash for firing and ridiculing the commander of a US aircraft carrier who pleaded for the help stemming a coronavirus outbreak onboard.
Wednesday, April 8th 2020 - 10:40 UTC
Boris Johnson spent second night in intensive care: “stable and in good spirits”

Boris Johnson has spent a second night in intensive care as he continues to receive treatment for coronavirus. Mr Johnson is being kept in St Thomas' Hospital in London “for close monitoring”, Downing Street said. The PM is “comfortable, he's stable, he's in good spirits”, said health minister Edward Argar on Wednesday.
Wednesday, April 8th 2020 - 10:33 UTC
Gloria Stefan invites you to sing “Put on your mask”

Another COVID-19 parody song has appeared, this time by Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan. She posted a video of the song on her Instagram inspired by her 1989 hit Get On Your Feet. This time, however, instead of getting on one’s feet, Estefan is encouraging others to “Put On Your Mask”.