Sergio Rossi has died. The footwear brand icon passed away at the age of 84 in Cesena, Italy on Thursday (April 2) due to coronavirus after being hospitalized for a few days, according to WWD on Friday (April 3). “His is a story of unconditional love for shoes, which began in an Italy consumed by [...]
Reported by Just Jared 16 hours ago.
↧
Sergio Rossi Dead - Footwear Icon Dies at 84 Due to Coronavirus
↧
A Scottish airline is converting its tiny planes into 'flying ambulances' using sealed pods to transport COVID-19 patients — here's how it works
· Loganair is working with the Scottish Ambulance Service to convert its Twin Otter aircraft into a flying ambulance to transport coronavirus patients.· There will be EpiShuttle single-patient isolation pods aboard the "flying ambulance".
· EpiShuttles can be configured to either protect the patient in the pod, or protect the pod's surroundings from the patient.
· Multiple countries are now using EpiShuttles amid the coronavirus pandemic.
· Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Regional Scottish airline Loganair is working with the Scottish Ambulance Service to convert its Twin Otter aircraft into a flying ambulance with isolation pods to transport coronavirus patients.
The European Union-funded "EpiShuttle" single patient isolation pods were created by Norwegian-based EpiGuard to be used in emergency medical transporters like ambulances, helicopters, and airplanes, according to its maker. It can also be used with stretchers and attachments to secure the pod to a transporter, such as Loganair's converted aircraft.
The Twin Otter, based out of Scotland's Glasgow Airport, isn't the only Loganair plane that will be converted to transport patients amid the coronavirus pandemic. The airline is now working on a larger Saab 340 aircraft conversion — set to be completed early April — that can fly to all but one highlands and islands airport while carrying two isolation pods and a medical team, according to Loganair.
The Ambulance Service has purchased eight pods, two of which will be used during its first mission on April 3. The other six pods will all be delivered to Scotland by mid-May.
In total, the Scottish Ambulance Service has invested over £500,000, about $619,850, on what its chief executive Pauline Howie has called the "latest available technology."
*SEE ALSO: Inside the German military's Airbus A310 'flying hospital', which is transporting coronavirus patients from Italy to Germany*
-"Although the circumstances under which all of this work has been undertaken are ones that we'd never have wished to see, I'm heartened that the effort which has gone into this is truly admirable," Loganair's CEO Jonathan Hinkles said in a statement.-
"We will support the Scottish Ambulance Service, the NHS, and the island communities who rely on Loganair for their lifeline air services if and when our assistance is needed," Hinkles continued.-The EpiShuttle does not have to be disinfected after every use, saving time and money. And as long as the patient is contained in the isolation pod, medical teams do not need to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), according to EpiGuard.-
The EpiShuttle isolation pod has two configuration options: protect the patient in the pod, or protect the pod's surroundings from the patient.
The pod can be disinfected and assembled in under two hours. To compare, an entire ambulance or aircraft requires between two to four hours of disinfection between every patient transport, according to EpiGuard.-The EpiShuttle also has an air ventilation system that can generate both positive and negative air pressure. This means all of the air going in and out of the pod is filtered.-
In total, there can be over 15 air exchanges per hour inside the pod, which is around the same as some operating rooms, according to the Health Facilities Management Magazine.-A patient inside of the pod can be intubated, ventilated, and hooked onto IVs and monitoring equipment by using the locked ports around the pod. These ports also allow medical personnel to access the patient's body.-
Its see-through polycarbonate hardtop allows for communication between the medical team and the patient.
The ports can also connect to items like sluice bags — to allow medicine, equipment, and food to be channeled into the pod — or waste bags.
The EpiShuttle can hold a 6.5-foot patient that weighs up to 330 pounds. In total, the pod weighs 58 kilograms, or about 128 pounds, including the weight of its rechargeable 14.4-volt, 1.2-amp-hour lithium-ion battery.
The entire EpiShuttle unit costs around €40,000, about $43,438, according to the DRF Luftrettung.-Loganair and the Scottish Ambulance Service aren't the only ones to take advantage of the EpiGuard technology.-
The British Royal Air Force, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Royal Danish Air Force, and German Air Ambulance DRF are also using EpiShuttles now amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to EpiGuard.-Two DRF Luftrettung stations in Germany now have EpiShuttles, according to the DRF Luftrettung. Another eight stations will also soon follow. The Royal Norweigan Air Force has also purchased five pods from EpiGuard, TV2 reported.-
Meanwhile, Denmark has already used its two pods to make two patient transport flights, according to the Denmark Ministry of Defense.
Source: DRF Luftrettung, TV2 Reported by Business Insider 16 hours ago.
↧
↧
Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy, animals, ecology
Reported by SmartBrief 13 hours ago.
↧
Italy appears to be flattening its curve, data shows
Italy has started to see some success from its strict measures.
Reported by FOXNews.com 16 hours ago.
↧
Spain Briefly Passes Italy In COVID-19 Cases But Officials See Growth Rate Slowing
Despite the increase, Spain's figures suggest the rate of new infections has begun to slow, according to a spokeswoman for the government's health emergency center.
Reported by NPR 15 hours ago.
↧
↧
'In the risen Jesus, life conquered death,' Pope Francis says in Holy Week video
Vatican City, Apr 3, 2020 / 01:30 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis on Friday sent a video message to Catholics around the world, urging them amid the global coronavirus pandemic to hope, solidarity with those who suffer, and to prayer.
“In the risen Jesus, life conquered death,” Pope Francis said in an April 3 video, speaking about the upcoming Holy Week which will begin on Sunday, and culminate with Easter.
“We will celebrate Holy Week in a truly unusual way, which manifests and sums up the message of the Gospel, that of God’s boundless love,” the pope said.
“And in the silence of our cities, the Easter Gospel will resound,” Pope Francis said. “This paschal faith nourishes our hope.”
Christian hope, the pope said, is “the hope of a better time, in which we can be better, finally freed from evil and from this pandemic.”
“It is a hope: hope does not disappoint, it is not an illusion, it is a hope. Beside each other, in love and patience, we can prepare a better time in these days.”
The pope expressed solidarity with families, “especially those who have a loved one who is sick, or who have unfortunately experienced mourning due to the coronavirus or other causes.”
“These days I often think about people who are alone, and for whom it is more difficult to face these moments. Above all I think of the elderly, who are very dear to me. I cannot forget those who are sick with coronavirus, people who are in hospital.”
“I also remember how many are in financial straits, and are worried about work and the future, a thought also goes out to prison inmates, whose pain is compounded by fear of the epidemic, for themselves and their loved ones; I think of the homeless, who do not have a home to protect them.”
“It is a difficult time for everyone,” he added.
Amid that difficulty, the pope praised “the generosity of those who put themselves at risk for the treatment of this pandemic or to guarantee the essential services to society.”
“So many heroes, every day, at every hour!”
“Let's try, if we can, to make the best use of this time: let's be generous; let's help those in need in our neighborhood; let's look for the loneliest people, perhaps by telephone or social networks; let's pray to the Lord for those who are tried in Italy and in the world. Even if we are isolated, thought and spirit can go far with the creativity of love. This is what we need today: the creativity of love.”
More than one million people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus, and at least 60,000 have died. The pandemic has led to a global financial crash, in which tens of millions have lost jobs in recent weeks. While some parts of the world are now thought to be on the downslope of the viral spread, many nations have locked themselves down in the midst of the pandemic, or in the hope of quelling it early in its spread within their borders.
In Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the virus, more than 120,000 people have contracted it, and there have been almost 15,000 recorded deaths from the virus.
To conclude his video, the pope urged tenderness and prayer.
“Thank you for allowing me into your homes. Make a gesture of tenderness towards those who suffer, towards children, and towards the elderly,” Pope Francis said. “Tell them that the pope is close and pray, that the Lord will soon deliver us all from evil.”
“And you, pray for me. Have a good dinner.” Reported by CNA 14 hours ago.
“In the risen Jesus, life conquered death,” Pope Francis said in an April 3 video, speaking about the upcoming Holy Week which will begin on Sunday, and culminate with Easter.
“We will celebrate Holy Week in a truly unusual way, which manifests and sums up the message of the Gospel, that of God’s boundless love,” the pope said.
“And in the silence of our cities, the Easter Gospel will resound,” Pope Francis said. “This paschal faith nourishes our hope.”
Christian hope, the pope said, is “the hope of a better time, in which we can be better, finally freed from evil and from this pandemic.”
“It is a hope: hope does not disappoint, it is not an illusion, it is a hope. Beside each other, in love and patience, we can prepare a better time in these days.”
The pope expressed solidarity with families, “especially those who have a loved one who is sick, or who have unfortunately experienced mourning due to the coronavirus or other causes.”
“These days I often think about people who are alone, and for whom it is more difficult to face these moments. Above all I think of the elderly, who are very dear to me. I cannot forget those who are sick with coronavirus, people who are in hospital.”
“I also remember how many are in financial straits, and are worried about work and the future, a thought also goes out to prison inmates, whose pain is compounded by fear of the epidemic, for themselves and their loved ones; I think of the homeless, who do not have a home to protect them.”
“It is a difficult time for everyone,” he added.
Amid that difficulty, the pope praised “the generosity of those who put themselves at risk for the treatment of this pandemic or to guarantee the essential services to society.”
“So many heroes, every day, at every hour!”
“Let's try, if we can, to make the best use of this time: let's be generous; let's help those in need in our neighborhood; let's look for the loneliest people, perhaps by telephone or social networks; let's pray to the Lord for those who are tried in Italy and in the world. Even if we are isolated, thought and spirit can go far with the creativity of love. This is what we need today: the creativity of love.”
More than one million people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus, and at least 60,000 have died. The pandemic has led to a global financial crash, in which tens of millions have lost jobs in recent weeks. While some parts of the world are now thought to be on the downslope of the viral spread, many nations have locked themselves down in the midst of the pandemic, or in the hope of quelling it early in its spread within their borders.
In Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the virus, more than 120,000 people have contracted it, and there have been almost 15,000 recorded deaths from the virus.
To conclude his video, the pope urged tenderness and prayer.
“Thank you for allowing me into your homes. Make a gesture of tenderness towards those who suffer, towards children, and towards the elderly,” Pope Francis said. “Tell them that the pope is close and pray, that the Lord will soon deliver us all from evil.”
“And you, pray for me. Have a good dinner.” Reported by CNA 14 hours ago.
↧
Cardinal Turkson brings rosaries to Rome hospital treating coronavirus patients
Vatican City, Apr 3, 2020 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Peter Turkson visited Rome’s largest hospital on Friday, encouraging staff and handing out rosaries blessed by Pope Francis.
“I bring you the pope’s embrace. You are not alone in the fight against the coronavirus!” Turkson, who is prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, told hospital staff and chaplains April 3, according to a press release.
The cardinal, who was accompanied by the two undersecretaries of the dicastery, met with staff and told them he was bringing the greeting of Pope Francis to all of the coronavirus patients and their families.
The three Vatican officials also handed out rosaries blessed by Pope Francis and assured hospital personnel of “the prayer and support of the Church in this difficult moment of struggle against the pandemic and of physical and spiritual trial,” the release stated.
Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic is Rome’s largest general hospital and a teaching hospital for the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.
During the coronavirus outbreak, the Gemelli hospital is working in partnership with one of Rome’s dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, the nearby Columbus Hospital.
The hospital’s foundation started a COVID-19 research unit to help fight the virus and to coordinate the research efforts throughout Italy.
As of April 3, there are more than 3,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Rome’s region of Lazio, with nearly 1,400 of these patients being treated in the hospital. The reported number of deaths is 199.
A rosary for an end to the coronavirus was broadcast live on national Italian television from the St. Joseph Moscati chapel of the Gemelli hospital April 2. The rosary concluded with a prayer for the intercession of Pope St. John Paul II on the anniversary of his death. Reported by CNA 13 hours ago.
“I bring you the pope’s embrace. You are not alone in the fight against the coronavirus!” Turkson, who is prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, told hospital staff and chaplains April 3, according to a press release.
The cardinal, who was accompanied by the two undersecretaries of the dicastery, met with staff and told them he was bringing the greeting of Pope Francis to all of the coronavirus patients and their families.
The three Vatican officials also handed out rosaries blessed by Pope Francis and assured hospital personnel of “the prayer and support of the Church in this difficult moment of struggle against the pandemic and of physical and spiritual trial,” the release stated.
Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic is Rome’s largest general hospital and a teaching hospital for the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.
During the coronavirus outbreak, the Gemelli hospital is working in partnership with one of Rome’s dedicated COVID-19 hospitals, the nearby Columbus Hospital.
The hospital’s foundation started a COVID-19 research unit to help fight the virus and to coordinate the research efforts throughout Italy.
As of April 3, there are more than 3,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Rome’s region of Lazio, with nearly 1,400 of these patients being treated in the hospital. The reported number of deaths is 199.
A rosary for an end to the coronavirus was broadcast live on national Italian television from the St. Joseph Moscati chapel of the Gemelli hospital April 2. The rosary concluded with a prayer for the intercession of Pope St. John Paul II on the anniversary of his death. Reported by CNA 13 hours ago.
↧
Amazon could buy a company like Slack or Zoom to replace its own unpopular chat app Chime and get in on the flood of coronavirus-related customers, analysts say (AMZN)
· Amazon's videoconferencing and chat app, Chime, seems to be missing out on the surge of users flocking to Zoom and Slack amid the coronavirus crisis.· The cloud wars aren't just about cloud infrastructure. One analyst believes that software helped Microsoft win a $10 billion Pentagon cloud contract over Amazon Web Services.
· Analysts said Amazon could turn to acquisitions to bolster its efforts in the collaboration space.
· Buying something "turnkey" like Zoom or Slack would help Amazon do that while it focuses on infrastructure, but smaller acquisitions are more likely.
· Click here to read more BI Prime stories.
As the coronavirus crisis forces people to stay home, videoconferencing and chat apps like Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams are seeing a surge of users.
One company that appears to be missing out: Amazon.
Amazon has its own online meeting, videoconferencing, and chat app called Chime. While Chime's market share is unclear, it certainly doesn't have as much name recognition as Zoom or Slack and doesn't seem to be used as often, at least anecdotally. That's why analysts said an acquisition could help bolster Amazon's effort in the collaboration space.
"I cannot recall attending a Chime meeting that wasn't related to or hosted by Amazon," Futurum Research analyst Daniel Newman said. "Wouldn't AWS be interested in something so turnkey as Zoom or Slack? Putting them together would be pretty powerful."
*Buying Zoom or Slack would help AWS stay focused*
Part of the reason AWS has been so successful in the cloud market, Newman said, is that the company has focused on building out core cloud infrastructure instead of software.
"AWS dominates at the core," he said. Newman called it "the undisputed heavyweight" in cloud infrastructure but added that when it came to platforms and software, "other companies become more compelling."
Microsoft, he said, dominates in software, such as the Microsoft 365 suite of business applications. While Amazon's cloud infrastructure is strong, the cloud wars aren't all about infrastructure.
Jeb Su, an Atherton Technology Research analyst, believes that one reason Microsoft won the $10 billion Pentagon cloud-computing Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract was because of its strength in its office applications, in addition to its cloud. (Amazon is challenging the decision, alleging political intervention — and the Pentagon recently said it "wishes to reconsider" the decision in response to Amazon's lawsuit).
The current moment is highlighting Microsoft's strengths here. At the end of March, the company said Teams had seen a "very significant spike," including a 775% surge in one area of Italy that had implemented a lockdown, though the surge has caused capacity issues for Microsoft's cloud.
Amazon Web Services, meanwhile, has yet to respond to a request about Chime usage during the coronavirus crisis.
"AWS over the years has flirted with the idea of going up the stack," Newman said. "They've built platforms, but when it comes to [software], they've been nondescript."
Acquiring a company like Slack or Zoom would allow Amazon to immediately add millions of users while staying focused on what it does best: infrastructure.
*Smaller acquisitions are more likely*
While Amazon Web Services is likely considering acquisitions in the collaboration space, and Zoom and Slack are the hottest tools right now, Su said he thinks AWS is unlikely to buy those companies outright.
"The Salesforces of the world, the ServiceNows, even companies like Zoom — these are not the companies we think AWS will be interested in," Su said. While his firm believes AWS is thinking about cloud applications, it's not in Amazon's "DNA" to make that kind of costly acquisition of an established company.
AWS isn't typically as acquisitive as Microsoft or Google. Microsoft spent more than $9 billion during its last fiscal year on acquisitions and Google Cloud Platform is explicitly looking to acquisitions to catch up to AWS and Microsoft in the cloud space. Both have opened the purse strings for major purchases in the past few years: Google recently bought Looker for more than $2 billion, and Microsoft dropped $7.5 billion on GitHub in 2018. For comparison, Amazon's biggest cloud-related acquisition appears to be Annapurna Labs for $370 million in 2015.
For Amazon, smaller companies are likely more attractive, and this is a particularly ripe time to buy, Su said.
"The crisis opens a lot of opportunities because now it's getting cheaper," Su said. "That's where we can see them enter the cloud-apps market."
Newman, the Futurum Research analyst, said if AWS "decides to get on the M&A bandwagon," it could adopt the same approach as Apple, Microsoft, or Cisco, which is to make "a flurry or really interesting small acquisitions."
*Are you an Amazon Web Services employee?* Contact Ashley Stewart via email at astewart@businessinsider.com, message her on Twitter @ashannstew, or send her a secure message through Signal at 425-344-8242. Contact Rosalie Chan via email at rmchan@businessinsider.com, Signal at 646.376.6106, Telegram at @rosaliechan, or Twitter DM at @rosaliechan17. (PR pitches by email only, please.) Other types of secure messaging available upon request.
*SEE ALSO: Microsoft hits a milestone, beating out Amazon's cloud in a Morgan Stanley survey of tech execs*
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: A 45-year-long study discovered trends in successful hyper-intelligent children Reported by Business Insider 13 hours ago.
↧
Take a sneak peak at the NSO platform that dozens of countries are testing to track citizens infected with coronavirus — and that a privacy advocate warned us could lead to 'nefarious' uses
· Companies and countries alike are desperately trying to track the spread of the coronavirus.· Israeli technology firm NSO Group is piloting a platform with dozens of countries that could allow governments to get very granular views into the outbreak.
· But the software is raising concerns among privacy advocates, one of which says it could be used for "highly nefarious means."
· Follow all of Business Insider's latest updates on the coronavirus here.
· *Click here for more BI Prime stories.*
Governments and companies alike are desperately trying to learn what areas the coronavirus may spread to next and how it's already moving through hard-hit zones.
And different countries are taking varying approaches to that. China, for example, has mandated that its residents download an application that tracks their health status. And in the US, advertisers are supplying the federal government with information to allow it to monitor millions of individuals through their cell phones.
Now, one company is piloting a system in dozens of countries around the world that could allow officials to quickly monitor the growth of outbreaks and track individuals that have the virus, to learn who else may be at risk.
Such insight would give the government (or another client using the platform) the ability to put protective measures in place or potentially test someone who may not be aware they're at risk — ultimately slowing the progression of the virus.
NSO Group, the provider of the system, is an Israeli software firm that is perhaps best known for its Pegasus tool, a software that gives clients the ability to infiltrate cell phones and access information such as location or text messages.
The goal is to stop terrorists and other criminals, but the software has drawn scrutiny after revelations it was used to track journalists and activists. One lawsuit even linked the tool to the death of Jamal Khashoggi.
Criticism aside, NSO's products have been used in times of crisis. It helped Brazilian officials, for example, track 51 missing people who were trapped under a mudslide after the Brumadinho Dam collapsed.
The company is now selling governments on the new platform specific to the coronavirus outbreak. And Business Insider got a first-hand look at how the potentially game-changing system works.
**Tracking the virus **
To be sure, the technology firm has no access to any of the data used to power the application. It merely provides the software and clients are responsible for inputting information.
Government health care databases, for example, combined with location information via cell phones or mobile applications, can give users a granular view into who has the virus, where they are going or have been, if citizens are violating social distancing guidelines, or where the next outbreaks may occur.
While NSO declined to discuss the details of any of the pilot projects under way, such a system is very possible. Carriers in Italy, Germany, and other countries, for example, are already sharing location data with the governments.
The tool could be a powerful resource in helping to mitigate the deadly virus that has already claimed the lives of thousands and is estimated to lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths overall.
Health experts, for example, say individuals who visit locations like supermarkets are at risk if someone with the virus spent 15 minutes or longer there.
NSO's platform could, theoretically, filter down available data to track the people that were in that establishment at the same time or even hours after (since the virus can live on some surfaces for up to several days). That gives the government or health agency the chance to identify potential cases quickly to mitigate any further spread.
Or say a person infected with the virus routinely traveled to another area of town that currently has relatively few individuals that have tested positive. Using NSO's system, officials can pinpoint where the coronavirus may spread based on that tracking information.
It could also pull up a confirmed patient's close contacts — family members, coworkers, etc. — so health workers could proactively test them.
All those examples highlight how helpful the system can be in battling the outbreak. And the extent to which governments or other customers can use it is dependent on what information is inputted — and how often it is updated.
But privacy advocates are ringing the alarm over just how much data is being compiled and how difficult it could be to turn the dial back to stricter privacy measures once the pandemic subsidies.
"Even if the data is not held by the company, governments are equally able to misuse the data," Sam Woodhams, digital rights lead at research firm Top10VPN, told Business Insider. "This is particularly significant given that, even when aggregated and anonymised, location data could still be used by governments for highly nefarious means."
*SEE ALSO: A new platform lets employers estimate how many workers will contract or die from COVID-19, along with their overall medical costs. Here's how it works.*
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Taylor Swift is the world's highest-paid celebrity. Here's how she makes and spends her $360 million. Reported by Business Insider 13 hours ago.
↧
↧
'From Russia with love' mission comes with threat to Italian journalist
Russia has sent doctors, nurses and medical equipment to disease-stricken Italy in a goodwill operation that Moscow has dubbed "From Russia with love".
Reported by Brisbane Times 6 hours ago.
↧
China’s Medical Diplomacy: How To Turn A Black Swan White – Analysis
The global spread of COVID-19 exposes the strong nationalistic tendency in the European Union and the United States and – ironically – provides China with a unique opportunity to shine.
By Dr. Frederick Kliem*
On March 17, 2020, Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic said that his people lost belief in the existence of European solidarity, which he called “a fairy tale on paper”. Only his “friend Xi Jinping” and China could and would help to manage the COVID-19 crisis.
As ironic as this is – it was ostensibly China where the now global health crisis started – Beijing is supporting in particular Europe and Africa to manage the pandemic. As a result, the COVID-19 crisis may turn out to be one of those black swan moments that change international relations.
*A Friend in Need*
After the first wave of COVID-19 infections subsided in Asia, attention turned to Europe where the outbreak is currently hitting EU members harder than it has ever hit most Asian countries. Italy and Spain are suffering in particular and became the world’s second and third most affected countries after China.
While Italy went into lock-down, spontaneous public outbreaks of community solidarity was something to hold on to. Intra-societal solidarity, however, was not at all matched by European solidarity. To the contrary, as soon as the crisis hit, EU members switched into unilateral nationalist gear.
On EU-level, the otherwise non-negotiable “four freedoms” (of goods, capital, services and people) were jettisoned immediately, as the border-less Schengen area was de facto abandoned. And when Rome asked its European “friends” for help with medical equipment, other capitals went fully protectionist and decreed export bans on such goods, forsaking the EU single-market.
It is remarkable how quickly lofty EU ideals and institutions unravel as soon as a crisis strikes the continent. It seems that Beijing has identified the global COVID-19 emergency as a unique opportunity to rectify its poor reputation in the world.
Now that the situation appears to be under control domestically, Beijing is selling and donating medical supplies around the globe, in Europe, the US and Africa, and millions of facemasks and test-kits went to Italy alongside medical experts to support the devastated Italy.
It helps a great deal that Chinese experts have SARS-CoV2 experience and much of the global medical supplies now most desperately needed around the world are produced in China. Beijing can simply order its manufactures to ramp-up production far beyond domestic needs and pandemic relief efforts become fairly low-cost.
*Soft-Power and Global Leadership*
In contrast to hard-power, soft-power is the ability of a state to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction rather than to coerce them to do what they may not do otherwise.
While a risen China already has the largest economy in PPP terms and a growing military power, Beijing has lacked soft-power, especially in the West. The prominent professor Don Emmerson once said that we must invent an antonym to soft-power to describe China’s global influence beyond economics and military power; repulsion rather than attraction is what he meant.
The Chinese COVID-19 aid offensive is a chance for Beijing to reposition itself. And it can become a game-changer in the way China is perceived in this context: from the authoritarian regime that incubated a global epidemic to a responsible international stakeholder and provider of global goods at a moment of crisis.
Meanwhile, China’s peer-competitor in Washington is turning inward. Like many, President Trump has been caught off-guard and in the early stages of election-mode. Instead of assuming global leadership at a moment of crisis, Trump engaged in scapegoating, calling SARS-CoV2 the “China virus”, and tried to acquire a German company working on a vaccine, to ensure exclusive US rights to the product.
While President Trump is retreating into “America First”, China is attempting to fill this crisis-leadership vacuum. Only a few months ago, amidst public discontent and outrage over the authoritarian disadvantage in handling such crises, COVID-19 seemed to become Xi Jinping’s Watergate-moment.
Now, the utter failure in Europe and the US to prevent community spread provides the Chinese leadership with an opportunity to change the narrative for good, to consolidate at home and rise to leadership status abroad.
*Swing of the Pendulum*
The large export-based EU economies had long prioritised trade with China over anything else. Lately, however, it seemed that the EU was heeding calls by its transatlantic partner to challenge China more on trade and good governance issues. The EU Commission for the first time called China a “systemic rival” and vowed to take a more robust stance towards Beijing.
Beijing responded by seeking closer relations with EU members by, inter alia, including as many European countries as possible into Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Xi is also touting China’s governance and trade model in contrast to the protectionist nationalist in the White House.
Of course, a great majority of European leaders still prioritise their transatlantic over Eurasian relations. But China’s skilful exploitation of the COVID-19 black-swan will certainly impact the mood among many Europeans, perhaps even swing it in some communities.
While COVID-19 will not swing the political pendulum fully in China’s favour, increases in relative soft-power vis-à-vis Washington and Brussels go a long way. Especially in the G-7 country Italy, the mood will certainly turn more favourable towards China at the expense of continental and transatlantic relations.
Italy was the first major Western nation to sign up to the BRI and Beijing’s help in this crisis will strengthen those voices that advocate closer China relations despite American pressure.
*Dr. Frederick Kliem is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS) of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. This is part of a series.
The post China’s Medical Diplomacy: How To Turn A Black Swan White – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review. Reported by Eurasia Review 7 hours ago.
By Dr. Frederick Kliem*
On March 17, 2020, Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic said that his people lost belief in the existence of European solidarity, which he called “a fairy tale on paper”. Only his “friend Xi Jinping” and China could and would help to manage the COVID-19 crisis.
As ironic as this is – it was ostensibly China where the now global health crisis started – Beijing is supporting in particular Europe and Africa to manage the pandemic. As a result, the COVID-19 crisis may turn out to be one of those black swan moments that change international relations.
*A Friend in Need*
After the first wave of COVID-19 infections subsided in Asia, attention turned to Europe where the outbreak is currently hitting EU members harder than it has ever hit most Asian countries. Italy and Spain are suffering in particular and became the world’s second and third most affected countries after China.
While Italy went into lock-down, spontaneous public outbreaks of community solidarity was something to hold on to. Intra-societal solidarity, however, was not at all matched by European solidarity. To the contrary, as soon as the crisis hit, EU members switched into unilateral nationalist gear.
On EU-level, the otherwise non-negotiable “four freedoms” (of goods, capital, services and people) were jettisoned immediately, as the border-less Schengen area was de facto abandoned. And when Rome asked its European “friends” for help with medical equipment, other capitals went fully protectionist and decreed export bans on such goods, forsaking the EU single-market.
It is remarkable how quickly lofty EU ideals and institutions unravel as soon as a crisis strikes the continent. It seems that Beijing has identified the global COVID-19 emergency as a unique opportunity to rectify its poor reputation in the world.
Now that the situation appears to be under control domestically, Beijing is selling and donating medical supplies around the globe, in Europe, the US and Africa, and millions of facemasks and test-kits went to Italy alongside medical experts to support the devastated Italy.
It helps a great deal that Chinese experts have SARS-CoV2 experience and much of the global medical supplies now most desperately needed around the world are produced in China. Beijing can simply order its manufactures to ramp-up production far beyond domestic needs and pandemic relief efforts become fairly low-cost.
*Soft-Power and Global Leadership*
In contrast to hard-power, soft-power is the ability of a state to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction rather than to coerce them to do what they may not do otherwise.
While a risen China already has the largest economy in PPP terms and a growing military power, Beijing has lacked soft-power, especially in the West. The prominent professor Don Emmerson once said that we must invent an antonym to soft-power to describe China’s global influence beyond economics and military power; repulsion rather than attraction is what he meant.
The Chinese COVID-19 aid offensive is a chance for Beijing to reposition itself. And it can become a game-changer in the way China is perceived in this context: from the authoritarian regime that incubated a global epidemic to a responsible international stakeholder and provider of global goods at a moment of crisis.
Meanwhile, China’s peer-competitor in Washington is turning inward. Like many, President Trump has been caught off-guard and in the early stages of election-mode. Instead of assuming global leadership at a moment of crisis, Trump engaged in scapegoating, calling SARS-CoV2 the “China virus”, and tried to acquire a German company working on a vaccine, to ensure exclusive US rights to the product.
While President Trump is retreating into “America First”, China is attempting to fill this crisis-leadership vacuum. Only a few months ago, amidst public discontent and outrage over the authoritarian disadvantage in handling such crises, COVID-19 seemed to become Xi Jinping’s Watergate-moment.
Now, the utter failure in Europe and the US to prevent community spread provides the Chinese leadership with an opportunity to change the narrative for good, to consolidate at home and rise to leadership status abroad.
*Swing of the Pendulum*
The large export-based EU economies had long prioritised trade with China over anything else. Lately, however, it seemed that the EU was heeding calls by its transatlantic partner to challenge China more on trade and good governance issues. The EU Commission for the first time called China a “systemic rival” and vowed to take a more robust stance towards Beijing.
Beijing responded by seeking closer relations with EU members by, inter alia, including as many European countries as possible into Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Xi is also touting China’s governance and trade model in contrast to the protectionist nationalist in the White House.
Of course, a great majority of European leaders still prioritise their transatlantic over Eurasian relations. But China’s skilful exploitation of the COVID-19 black-swan will certainly impact the mood among many Europeans, perhaps even swing it in some communities.
While COVID-19 will not swing the political pendulum fully in China’s favour, increases in relative soft-power vis-à-vis Washington and Brussels go a long way. Especially in the G-7 country Italy, the mood will certainly turn more favourable towards China at the expense of continental and transatlantic relations.
Italy was the first major Western nation to sign up to the BRI and Beijing’s help in this crisis will strengthen those voices that advocate closer China relations despite American pressure.
*Dr. Frederick Kliem is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS) of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. This is part of a series.
The post China’s Medical Diplomacy: How To Turn A Black Swan White – Analysis appeared first on Eurasia Review. Reported by Eurasia Review 7 hours ago.
↧
The lockdown crimes in China and Italy police want to stop here
Gloucestershire police set up proactive vulnerability team to prevent rise in domestic abuse and child neglect and abuse
Reported by Gloucester Citizen 6 hours ago.
↧
Sport24.co.za | Serie A says no date for return to action
Serie A bosses say doubts remain over when football can return to Italy as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic.
Reported by News24 4 hours ago.
↧
↧
Covid 19 coronavirus: Italy's virus death toll jumps 766 to near 15K
The death toll from an outbreak of the coronavirus in Italy has climbed by 766 to 14,681, marginally higher than the daily tally registered a day earlier.Italian authorities have reported 766 new Covid-19 fatalities, bringing the...
Reported by New Zealand Herald 2 hours ago.
↧
How England blew their chances in Italy as Euro 80 turned ugly on and off the pitch
The tournament turned ugly for Ron Greenwood's England and their high hopes proved to have little substance. The consequences of what happened in Italy had long-lasting effects
Reported by Independent 40 minutes ago.
↧
Competition for supplies sharpening as pandemic worsens
NEW YORK (AP) — Scarce supplies of medical equipment are leading to growing competition within the U.S. and among nations, in what one French politician called a “worldwide treasure hunt.”
The governor of New York state, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, vowed to seize unused ventilators from private hospitals and companies, while President Donald Trump said he was preventing the export of N95 respirator masks and surgical gloves, a move he said was necessary to ensure that medical supplies are available in the U.S.
The number of people infected in the U.S. exceeded a quarter-million, and the death toll climbed past 7,000, with New York state alone accounting for more than 2,900 dead, an increase of over 560 in just one day. Most of the dead are in New York City, where hospitals are swamped with patients.
Worldwide, confirmed infections rose past 1 million and deaths topped 58,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Experts say both numbers are seriously undercounted because of the lack of testing, mild cases that were missed and governments that are underplaying the crisis.
Europe’s three worst-hit countries — Italy, Spain and France — accounted for more than 32,000 dead, or over half the global toll.
In China, where the novel coronavirus was first detected in December, flags flew at half mast and air raid sirens sounded for three minutes on a day of remembrance for the dead. China has cautiously lifted restrictions amid dropping numbers of infections and on Saturday, reported just one new confirmed case in the epicenter of Wuhan and 18 others among people arriving from abroad. There were four new deaths for an official total of 3,326.
Among those joining the observance in Wuhan, Sheng Xiaohang said that after experiencing the outbreak, “everyone has grown up.”
“I think... Reported by SeattlePI.com 2 hours ago.
The governor of New York state, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, vowed to seize unused ventilators from private hospitals and companies, while President Donald Trump said he was preventing the export of N95 respirator masks and surgical gloves, a move he said was necessary to ensure that medical supplies are available in the U.S.
The number of people infected in the U.S. exceeded a quarter-million, and the death toll climbed past 7,000, with New York state alone accounting for more than 2,900 dead, an increase of over 560 in just one day. Most of the dead are in New York City, where hospitals are swamped with patients.
Worldwide, confirmed infections rose past 1 million and deaths topped 58,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Experts say both numbers are seriously undercounted because of the lack of testing, mild cases that were missed and governments that are underplaying the crisis.
Europe’s three worst-hit countries — Italy, Spain and France — accounted for more than 32,000 dead, or over half the global toll.
In China, where the novel coronavirus was first detected in December, flags flew at half mast and air raid sirens sounded for three minutes on a day of remembrance for the dead. China has cautiously lifted restrictions amid dropping numbers of infections and on Saturday, reported just one new confirmed case in the epicenter of Wuhan and 18 others among people arriving from abroad. There were four new deaths for an official total of 3,326.
Among those joining the observance in Wuhan, Sheng Xiaohang said that after experiencing the outbreak, “everyone has grown up.”
“I think... Reported by SeattlePI.com 2 hours ago.
↧
In Italy, Going Back to Work May Depend on Having the Right Antibodies
Weighing an idea that might once have been relegated to science fiction, Italy once again finds itself in the unfortunate vanguard of Western democracies grappling with the coronavirus.
Reported by NYTimes.com 3 minutes ago.
↧
↧
Wuhan: China eases restrictions at original Coronavirus epicentre
Residents of Wuhan city in China were seen venturing out of their homes after months as the government eased restrictions. The city was the original epicentre of the Sars-Cov-2 virus which causes the..
Studio: HT Digital Content
↧
Italian engineering student 3D prints ventilator valves during COVID-19 pandemic
A heroic engineering student from northern Italy has helped the fight against COVID-19 by 3D printing valves for ventilators that are needed for patients suffering from coronavirus.
Studio: Newsflare STUDIO
↧
Italian engineering student 3D prints ventilator valves during COVID-19 pandemic
A heroic engineering student from northern Italy has helped the fight against COVID-19 by 3D printing valves for ventilators that are needed for patients suffering from coronavirus.
Footage captured..
Studio: Newsflare
↧