Read more on https://www.fxstreet.com
Reported by FXstreet.com 4 days ago.
↧
Italy Consumer Price Index (EU Norm) (MoM) in line with expectations (2.2%) in March
↧
Italy Consumer Price Index (MoM) meets expectations (0.1%) in March
Read more on https://www.fxstreet.com
Reported by FXstreet.com 4 days ago.
↧
↧
Italy Consumer Price Index (YoY) meets forecasts (0.1%) in March
Read more on https://www.fxstreet.com
Reported by FXstreet.com 4 days ago.
↧
EU to unveil virus exit plan, hoping to avoid more chaos
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union moved Wednesday to head off a chaotic and potentially disastrous easing of restrictions that are limiting the spread of the coronavirus, warning its 27 nations to move very cautiously as they return to normal life and base their actions on scientific advice.
With Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark already lifting some lockdown measures, the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, was rushing out its roadmap for members of the world’s biggest trade bloc to coordinate an exit from the lockdowns, which they expect should take several months.
Some 80,000 people have now died in Europe from the disease — about two-thirds of the global toll — according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The commission said those scientists should be relied upon to guide national exit strategies in the weeks and months to come.
Brussels is deeply concerned about the damage that could be done if each EU nation charts its own course, given the panic that reined after the pandemic first spread in Italy, with unannounced border closures that sparked massive traffic jams and export bans that deprived hard-hit countries of medical equipment.
And the EU is very much split in its approach. France this week renewed its locksown until May 11, and Belgium appears headed in a similar direction. Spain also recently renewed its state of emergency for the second time for an additional two weeks.
In a draft of its roadmap, seen by The Associated Press, the EU commission says easing restrictions will “unavoidably lead to a corresponding increase in new cases.” It warns that this should only happen when the spread of the disease has dropped for some time and when hospitals can cope with more patients.
While the commission, which proposes EU laws and ensures that they are... Reported by SeattlePI.com 4 days ago.
With Austria, the Czech Republic and Denmark already lifting some lockdown measures, the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, was rushing out its roadmap for members of the world’s biggest trade bloc to coordinate an exit from the lockdowns, which they expect should take several months.
Some 80,000 people have now died in Europe from the disease — about two-thirds of the global toll — according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The commission said those scientists should be relied upon to guide national exit strategies in the weeks and months to come.
Brussels is deeply concerned about the damage that could be done if each EU nation charts its own course, given the panic that reined after the pandemic first spread in Italy, with unannounced border closures that sparked massive traffic jams and export bans that deprived hard-hit countries of medical equipment.
And the EU is very much split in its approach. France this week renewed its locksown until May 11, and Belgium appears headed in a similar direction. Spain also recently renewed its state of emergency for the second time for an additional two weeks.
In a draft of its roadmap, seen by The Associated Press, the EU commission says easing restrictions will “unavoidably lead to a corresponding increase in new cases.” It warns that this should only happen when the spread of the disease has dropped for some time and when hospitals can cope with more patients.
While the commission, which proposes EU laws and ensures that they are... Reported by SeattlePI.com 4 days ago.
↧
A Son Grapples With Guilt: Did He Give His Father the Coronavirus?
Gianni Zampino was caring for his elderly father, Antonio, in Turin, Italy, when they both contracted the virus. Only Gianni survived.
Reported by NYTimes.com 4 days ago.
↧
↧
The Latest: Novak Djokovic praised for donation in Italy
The Latest: Novak Djokovic praised for donation in Italy
Reported by FOX Sports 4 days ago.
↧
Italian virus hospital offers Fauci work if Trump fires him
ROME (AP) — The scientific director of Italy’s leading infectious disease hospital says he'd like to hire Dr. Anthony Fauci should President Donald Trump remove him from the White House coronavirus task force.
Dr. Giuseppe Ippolito of Rome’s Lazzaro Spallanzani hospital wrote a letter released Wednesday to the Italian president and other officials, saying Italy should welcome Fauci with open arms. The country is the European epicenter of the pandemic, and Spallanzani treated Italy's first patients.
Ippolito praised Fauci’s expertise, experience, leadership and “generous and selfless help” to Spallanzani and other hospitals around the world -- “a generosity that we like to associate (with) his Italian heritage, always remembered with pride.”
He said removing Fauci from the U.S. task force “would be disastrous news not only for the United States, but for the whole international community.”
Speculation about Fauci’s fate swirled over the weekend after he told CNN that the U.S. would have “obviously” saved lives if virus mitigation efforts had begun earlier. Trump responded by reposting a tweet that included the line: “Time to #FireFauci.”
On Monday, Trump insisted Fauci’s job was safe, but Republicans close to the White House say the president has complained about Fauci's positive media attention and has sought to leave him out of task force briefings.
Ippolito said Italy would gladly welcome Fauci's expertise. He cited his work on the SARS, HIV, Ebola and Zika outbreaks, and praised his training of a generation of doctors and nurses. Fauci's work, Ippolito wrote, “has saved the lives of millions of women, men and children in the United States and all over the world."
“We need Anthony Fauci’s leadership, in the US or elsewhere, to... Reported by SeattlePI.com 4 days ago.
Dr. Giuseppe Ippolito of Rome’s Lazzaro Spallanzani hospital wrote a letter released Wednesday to the Italian president and other officials, saying Italy should welcome Fauci with open arms. The country is the European epicenter of the pandemic, and Spallanzani treated Italy's first patients.
Ippolito praised Fauci’s expertise, experience, leadership and “generous and selfless help” to Spallanzani and other hospitals around the world -- “a generosity that we like to associate (with) his Italian heritage, always remembered with pride.”
He said removing Fauci from the U.S. task force “would be disastrous news not only for the United States, but for the whole international community.”
Speculation about Fauci’s fate swirled over the weekend after he told CNN that the U.S. would have “obviously” saved lives if virus mitigation efforts had begun earlier. Trump responded by reposting a tweet that included the line: “Time to #FireFauci.”
On Monday, Trump insisted Fauci’s job was safe, but Republicans close to the White House say the president has complained about Fauci's positive media attention and has sought to leave him out of task force briefings.
Ippolito said Italy would gladly welcome Fauci's expertise. He cited his work on the SARS, HIV, Ebola and Zika outbreaks, and praised his training of a generation of doctors and nurses. Fauci's work, Ippolito wrote, “has saved the lives of millions of women, men and children in the United States and all over the world."
“We need Anthony Fauci’s leadership, in the US or elsewhere, to... Reported by SeattlePI.com 4 days ago.
↧
Exclusive app-tracking data for Netflix reveals the countries where usage spiked in March and suggests strong viewership heading into Q1 earnings (NFLX)
· Traffic to Netflix's US registration website soared during the month of March, and Netflix app usage lifted in other parts of the world, data from analytics firm SimilarWeb that was share exclusively with Business Insider suggests.· Data from SimilarWeb, which tracks activity on websites and apps, has helped analyze Netflix's subscriber growth trends in recent quarters.
· Visitors to Netflix's US sign-up page steadily ramped up year-over-year during the last three weeks of March, the firm found.
· The data also showed a spike in daily active users on the Netflix app during March in countries including Italy, India, and the Philippines, and helped drive a solid quarter for usage overall.
· Previously, Business Insider reported on data from subscription-measurement firm Antenna that showed the pace of US cancellations of Netflix fell during February and March.
· *Click here for more BI Prime stories**.*
Traffic to Netflix's US registration website spiked during the month of March, as app usage lifted in other parts of the world, according to data from analytics firm SimilarWeb that was shared exclusively with Business Insider.
SimilarWeb, which tracks activity on websites and apps, tracked a steady ramp up in visits to the registration page on the Netflix.com US desktop site, where users can sign up for subscriptions.
By week ending, visits to Netflix's US sign-up page rose year over year by:
· March 8: 3%
· March 15: 39%
· March 22: 123%
· March 29: 123%
· April 5: 115%
Of course, people can visit Netflix's sign-up page without subscribing to its service. But the SimilarWeb data suggests that more people are at least entertained signing up for Netflix subscriptions, ahead of the company's first-quarter earnings announcement on April 21.
Another third-party measurement firm, Antenna, found that the pace of cancellations of Netflix subscriptions slowed in the US in February and March, Business Insider reported earlier this week. In mature markets for Netflix like the US, reducing churn can be crucial for subscriber growth.
Wall Street, for the most part, has been bullish on Netflix's prospects during the coronavirus outbreak. Netflix stock rose about 27% this year, while the S&P 500 index fell roughly 14%. Investors are optimistic about Netflix despite the broader economic downturn because people who are spending more time at home could boost streaming viewership.
Not all investors share this view. Analysts at Needham wrote in mid-March that Netflix could also become viewed as a luxury some people can't afford, as unemployment rises around the world. That could drive more cancellations and reduce revenue growth.
Netflix, for its part, forecasted in January that it would add 7 million paid subscribers globally during its first quarter, down from 9.6 million paid subscribers a year earlier. It has not updated that forecast.
Analysts at Wall Street firm Cowen raised on Wednesday their forecast for Netflix's first-quarter subscriber additions to 7.1 million, based on higher expectations subscriber growth for the US and Canada. Chief content officer Ted Sarandos told CNN on March 22 that viewing on Netflix was up, and Cowen's own surveys and analysis of Google Search Trends data suggested that interest in Netflix was growing and the service was the top streaming choice among viewers using TV sets.
*Netflix app usage also spiked during the month of March in places like Italy, India, and the Philippines, the SimilarWeb data found*
SimilarWeb also estimates average daily active users and other activity on apps and websites, through a panel of hundreds of millions of Android phones and tablets globally.
It tracks mobile usage of the Netflix app in 30 international regions including India, Brazil, the UK, and Malaysia, where it has a sample size that makes up a statistically significant portion of the local device population. It also tracks usage of the Netflix app in the US, but Android devices are the minority there and the data capture a snapshot of overall usage.
The data showed a spike in usage of the Netflix app during the month of March in some markets around the world and was strong through the first quarter of 2020.
Overall, daily active users on the Netflix app climbed nearly 9% quarter over quarter during three-month period, and rose about 7% year over year, SimilarWeb found. Outside of the US, where Netflix's largest growth targets are, Netflix's daily active users rose about 11% quarter over quarter, and 9% year over year.
Part of the first quarter increase was driven by an increase in daily active users outside of the US during the month of March. In countries including Greece, Italy, the Philippines, Portugal, Taiwan, and India daily active users spiked 8% or more during the month. The lift came as more parts of the world went into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"For the majority of Q1, growth globally was fairly steady," Ed Lavery, the director of investor solutions at SimilarWeb, wrote in an email. "However, in the last two weeks of March we have seen a steep growth, which will make end of quarter subs look attractive, but may be misleading when looking at the quarter as whole."
SimilarWeb's data has helped analyze Netflix's subscriber trends in recent quarters. It projected Netflix usage was waning in key international markets during the second quarter of 2019, before Netflix missed its subscriber growth targets for that period. It also indicated that international usage rebounded during the third quarter, when Netflix beat subscriber-growth estimates internationally.
In other key markets for Netflix, such as Brazil, Mexico, the US, and the UK, daily active users were highest in January, and remained relatively steady throughout the quarter. Overall, Netflix saw only a 1.5% lift in March outside the US, partially because of the strong January in many markets.
The first quarter has historically been a strong one for Netflix. Netflix marked an all-time high in paid subscriber growth during the first quarter of 2019. Its content slate this past first quarter didn't disappoint, either. The service put out global hits like "Tiger King,""The Circle," and "Love Is Blind," and released new seasons of fan favorites like "Elite,""Narcos: Mexico," and "Ozark."
Here's the full breakdown from SimilarWeb on the 14 markets where Netflix's daily active users in March:
· Greece: 23% increase in daily active users in March 2020, compared with the average from January and February
· Philippines: 17%
· Italy: 13%
· Portugal: 12.5%
· Taiwan: 10%
· India: 8%
· Thailand: 7%
· Argentina: 6%
· South Africa: 4%
· France: 3%
· Spain: 3%
· Indonesia: 2%
· Japan: 1.5%
· Canada: 1.3%
· Mexico: 1%
--------------------
*For more about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting media, see our coverage on BI Prime:*
· *Exclusive data suggests Netflix was hurt by the launch of Disney Plus, but has rebounded in recent weeks*: The pace of Netflix's US churn, or cancellations, fell in both February and March, suggested data from subscription-measurement firm Antenna.*
*
· *The winners and losers among 11 Disney businesses, as analysts slash the projected value of the media giant's parks and raise expectations for Disney Plus*: Wells Fargo analysts are valuing Disney's businesses at 26% less than they were before the coronavirus outbreak, according to a report.
· *40 advertising execs who manage $90 billion in spending describe how they're shifting their 2020 budgets in a new report. Here are 4 key takeaways for the TV industry*: Connected-TV platforms like Roku and Hulu are expected to see the biggest gains in TV advertising, and Disney is the best-positioned cable-network group.*
*
· *The key factors analysts are watching at 5 major media companies including Disney and Fox to help determine whether their stock will keep falling or rebound*: Combined, Disney, Fox, ViacomCBS, Discovery, and AMC Networks lost $92 billion in market value since the last market high on February 19, largely thanks to Disney.
· *Disney has closed its US parks 'until further notice' and risks losing $1.5 billion in revenue per month they are shut, analysts say*: Disney is extending "until further notice" its closures of its US theme parks, Disney World and Disneyland, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced on March 27.
· *Analysts lay out the financial damage each of Disney's businesses could face, as it closes parks 'until further notice' and delays films*: Disney is one of the media companies most exposed the impact of the coronavirus because of its large theme-park and theatrical businesses.
· *Why analysts say Disney and Discovery are the media giants most threatened by the coronavirus, but Comcast could fare better*: Companies that generate significant shares of their revenue from theme parks, films, and advertising are most sensitive to the pandemic and the economic downturn it could ignite.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship Reported by Business Insider 4 days ago.
↧
New director named for Vatican financial watchdog authority
Vatican City, Apr 15, 2020 / 09:05 am (CNA).- The Vatican has named a new director for its internal financial watchdog.
In a statement April 15, the Holy See press office said that the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin had appointed Giuseppe Schlitzer as director of the Financial Intelligence Authority (AIF). He succeeds Tommaso Di Ruzza, who completed his five-year term of office January 20, according to the Vatican.
Cardinal Parolin also named a new vice-director, Federico Antellini Russo.
The two men will run the watchdog, which combats money laundering, along with AIF President Carmelo Barbagallo, who was appointed after the departure of René Brülhart in Nov. 2019. A Vatican statement at the time said that Brülhart was leaving at the end of his five-year term, but the Swiss lawyer told Reuters that he had resigned from the post.
Schlitzer has held positions at Banca d’Italia, Italy’s central bank, the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., and the General Confederation of Italian Industry. He has served as managing director of AITEC, an association of cement producers, and vice-president of the Jacques Maritain International Institute.
Antellini Russo has worked at the AIF since 2015. He served as an economist in the research and development section of the joint-stock company Consip from 2008 to 2013. He then moved to the research department of the Italian investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, before joining the AIF.
Pope Benedict XVI founded the AIF in 2010 to oversee Vatican financial transactions. It is charged with ensuring that internal banking policies comply with international financial standards.
In 2013 the AIF became a full member of the Egmont Group, a global network of financial intelligence units. But the Egmont Group suspended the AIF on Nov. 13, 2019, after Vatican gendarmes raided the offices of the Secretariat of State and the AIF. It reinstated the AIF on Jan. 22 this year.
After the raid on the AIF on Oct. 1, 2019, a total of five employees and officials were suspended and blocked from entering the Vatican, including AIF director Tommaso Di Ruzza.
On Oct. 23, the AIF’s board of directors issued a statement expressing “full faith and trust in the professional competence and honorability” of Di Ruzza, but no announcement was ever made by Vatican authorities regarding the results of any investigation into Di Ruzza or his return to work.
During an in-flight press conference after his trip to Japan on Nov. 26, Pope Francis said that Di Ruzza had been suspended “because there were suspicions of poor administration”.
“Let’s hope he is innocent,” he said, “I would like it to be so because it’s a good thing that a person be innocent and not guilty, I hope so."
Following the raids, the Egmont Group suspension and the exit of René Brülhart, two high-profile figures, Marc Odendall and Juan Zarate, resigned from the AIF’s board of directors. Odendall said at the time that the AIF had been effectively rendered “an empty shell” and that there was “no point” in remaining involved in its work.
Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering watchdog, is expected to carry out an inspection of the Vatican this spring.
ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian-language partner agency, quoted outgoing director Di Ruzza as saying: "I thank the Holy Father for the opportunity he has granted me to serve the Holy See. I am confident that in these years AIF has done its best to build a solid and credible anti-money laundering system at the international level.” Reported by CNA 3 days ago.
In a statement April 15, the Holy See press office said that the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin had appointed Giuseppe Schlitzer as director of the Financial Intelligence Authority (AIF). He succeeds Tommaso Di Ruzza, who completed his five-year term of office January 20, according to the Vatican.
Cardinal Parolin also named a new vice-director, Federico Antellini Russo.
The two men will run the watchdog, which combats money laundering, along with AIF President Carmelo Barbagallo, who was appointed after the departure of René Brülhart in Nov. 2019. A Vatican statement at the time said that Brülhart was leaving at the end of his five-year term, but the Swiss lawyer told Reuters that he had resigned from the post.
Schlitzer has held positions at Banca d’Italia, Italy’s central bank, the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., and the General Confederation of Italian Industry. He has served as managing director of AITEC, an association of cement producers, and vice-president of the Jacques Maritain International Institute.
Antellini Russo has worked at the AIF since 2015. He served as an economist in the research and development section of the joint-stock company Consip from 2008 to 2013. He then moved to the research department of the Italian investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, before joining the AIF.
Pope Benedict XVI founded the AIF in 2010 to oversee Vatican financial transactions. It is charged with ensuring that internal banking policies comply with international financial standards.
In 2013 the AIF became a full member of the Egmont Group, a global network of financial intelligence units. But the Egmont Group suspended the AIF on Nov. 13, 2019, after Vatican gendarmes raided the offices of the Secretariat of State and the AIF. It reinstated the AIF on Jan. 22 this year.
After the raid on the AIF on Oct. 1, 2019, a total of five employees and officials were suspended and blocked from entering the Vatican, including AIF director Tommaso Di Ruzza.
On Oct. 23, the AIF’s board of directors issued a statement expressing “full faith and trust in the professional competence and honorability” of Di Ruzza, but no announcement was ever made by Vatican authorities regarding the results of any investigation into Di Ruzza or his return to work.
During an in-flight press conference after his trip to Japan on Nov. 26, Pope Francis said that Di Ruzza had been suspended “because there were suspicions of poor administration”.
“Let’s hope he is innocent,” he said, “I would like it to be so because it’s a good thing that a person be innocent and not guilty, I hope so."
Following the raids, the Egmont Group suspension and the exit of René Brülhart, two high-profile figures, Marc Odendall and Juan Zarate, resigned from the AIF’s board of directors. Odendall said at the time that the AIF had been effectively rendered “an empty shell” and that there was “no point” in remaining involved in its work.
Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering watchdog, is expected to carry out an inspection of the Vatican this spring.
ACI Stampa, CNA's Italian-language partner agency, quoted outgoing director Di Ruzza as saying: "I thank the Holy Father for the opportunity he has granted me to serve the Holy See. I am confident that in these years AIF has done its best to build a solid and credible anti-money laundering system at the international level.” Reported by CNA 3 days ago.
↧
↧
Report: Jennifer Lopez And Alex Rodriguez Plan To Wed In Italy After Coronavirus Outbreak Is Over
Here's what we know
Reported by Daily Caller 3 days ago.
↧
US group calls Pakistan blocking of aid to Christians, Hindus 'reprehensible'
CNA Staff, Apr 15, 2020 / 03:30 pm (CNA).- The U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom has called on the Pakistani government to ensure aid for the COVID-19 pandemic is being justly distributed to religious minorities, after receiving reports that aid organizations were barring Christians and Hindus from receiving food assistance.
“These actions are simply reprehensible,” USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava said in an April 13 statement. “As COVID-19 continues to spread, vulnerable communities within Pakistan are fighting hunger and to keep their families safe and healthy. Food aid must not be denied because of one’s faith. We urge the Pakistani government to ensure that food aid from distributing organizations is shared equally with Hindus, Christians, and other religions minorities,” she said.
According to the commission, recent reports have shown that in Karachi a non-government aid organization, the Saylani Welfare International Trust, has been denying food assistance to Christians and Hindus, telling them that the aid was reserved for Muslims. Pakistan’s state religion is Islam, and around 97 percent of the population is Muslim.
The authorities of Pakistan have consistently failed to implement safeguards on behalf of religious minorities, despite numerous policies in favor of economic and physical protections for members of non-Muslim religions.
For example, the country has promised to provide quotas for employment to ensure that religious minorities are granted equal access to jobs, but so far it has not done so.
Additionally, strict blasphemy laws in the country are reportedly used to settle scores or to persecute religious minorities. While non-Muslims constitute only 3 percent of the Pakistani population, 14 percent of blasphemy cases have been levied against them.
In a recent highly publicized case, Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, spent eight years on death row on blasphemy charges after being accused of making disparaging remarks about Muhammad after an argument stemming from a cup of water. Amid strong international pressure, the Pakistan Supreme Court acquitted her in late 2018.
A 2019 report from USCIRF found that Christians and Hindus “face continued threats to their security and are subject to various forms of harassment and social exclusion,” the USCIRF statement said.
The country was also designated by the US Department of State as a “Country of Particular Concern” in December 2018 for its poor religious freedom record.
USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore noted in the April 13 statement that in a recent address to the international community, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that governments in developing countries must work to save people from starvation during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pakistan’s health ministry has reported nearly 6,000 cases of coronavirus in the country of 212 million people as of April 15.
“This is a monumental task laying before many countries. Prime Minister Khan’s government has the opportunity to lead the way but they must not leave religious minorities behind,” he said. “Otherwise, they may add on top of it all one more crisis, created by religious discrimination and inter-communal strife.”
A March 2020 report from USCIRF noted other countries who have had religious freedom problems in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, including in China, where the virus originated.
According to USCIRF, reports indicated that Chinese authorities forced Uighurs, a Muslim minority that has been forced into concentration camps since 2017, to work in factories to make up for the lack of workers during the country’s coronavirus quarantine. Reports also indicated that some Uighur residents in the city of Ghulja had “limited access to food and local officials have demanded payments in order to bring supplies,” USCIRF noted.
In South Korea, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a fringe Christian group that reported already facing “hostility” from mainline Protestants before the pandemic, faced additional pressures and harassment from the government and citizens after a 61-year-old female member of the church - known as Patient 31 - attended a church service with a fever before being diagnosed with coronavirus, and thus spreading the infection to thousands of others.
“The Shincheonji church has faced considerable criticism and even harassment from the South Korean government and society. Although some government measures appeared to be driven by legitimate public health concerns, others appeared to exaggerate the church’s role in the outbreak,” USCIRF reported, adding that members of the church have faced “discrimination at work and spousal abuse because of their affiliation with the church.”
Other countries in which coronavirus is reportedly impacting religious freedoms include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Italy and the Vatican (for government-mandated cancellation of religious services), the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, and Tajikistan. Reported by CNA 3 days ago.
“These actions are simply reprehensible,” USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava said in an April 13 statement. “As COVID-19 continues to spread, vulnerable communities within Pakistan are fighting hunger and to keep their families safe and healthy. Food aid must not be denied because of one’s faith. We urge the Pakistani government to ensure that food aid from distributing organizations is shared equally with Hindus, Christians, and other religions minorities,” she said.
According to the commission, recent reports have shown that in Karachi a non-government aid organization, the Saylani Welfare International Trust, has been denying food assistance to Christians and Hindus, telling them that the aid was reserved for Muslims. Pakistan’s state religion is Islam, and around 97 percent of the population is Muslim.
The authorities of Pakistan have consistently failed to implement safeguards on behalf of religious minorities, despite numerous policies in favor of economic and physical protections for members of non-Muslim religions.
For example, the country has promised to provide quotas for employment to ensure that religious minorities are granted equal access to jobs, but so far it has not done so.
Additionally, strict blasphemy laws in the country are reportedly used to settle scores or to persecute religious minorities. While non-Muslims constitute only 3 percent of the Pakistani population, 14 percent of blasphemy cases have been levied against them.
In a recent highly publicized case, Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, spent eight years on death row on blasphemy charges after being accused of making disparaging remarks about Muhammad after an argument stemming from a cup of water. Amid strong international pressure, the Pakistan Supreme Court acquitted her in late 2018.
A 2019 report from USCIRF found that Christians and Hindus “face continued threats to their security and are subject to various forms of harassment and social exclusion,” the USCIRF statement said.
The country was also designated by the US Department of State as a “Country of Particular Concern” in December 2018 for its poor religious freedom record.
USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore noted in the April 13 statement that in a recent address to the international community, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that governments in developing countries must work to save people from starvation during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pakistan’s health ministry has reported nearly 6,000 cases of coronavirus in the country of 212 million people as of April 15.
“This is a monumental task laying before many countries. Prime Minister Khan’s government has the opportunity to lead the way but they must not leave religious minorities behind,” he said. “Otherwise, they may add on top of it all one more crisis, created by religious discrimination and inter-communal strife.”
A March 2020 report from USCIRF noted other countries who have had religious freedom problems in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, including in China, where the virus originated.
According to USCIRF, reports indicated that Chinese authorities forced Uighurs, a Muslim minority that has been forced into concentration camps since 2017, to work in factories to make up for the lack of workers during the country’s coronavirus quarantine. Reports also indicated that some Uighur residents in the city of Ghulja had “limited access to food and local officials have demanded payments in order to bring supplies,” USCIRF noted.
In South Korea, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a fringe Christian group that reported already facing “hostility” from mainline Protestants before the pandemic, faced additional pressures and harassment from the government and citizens after a 61-year-old female member of the church - known as Patient 31 - attended a church service with a fever before being diagnosed with coronavirus, and thus spreading the infection to thousands of others.
“The Shincheonji church has faced considerable criticism and even harassment from the South Korean government and society. Although some government measures appeared to be driven by legitimate public health concerns, others appeared to exaggerate the church’s role in the outbreak,” USCIRF reported, adding that members of the church have faced “discrimination at work and spousal abuse because of their affiliation with the church.”
Other countries in which coronavirus is reportedly impacting religious freedoms include Iran, Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Italy and the Vatican (for government-mandated cancellation of religious services), the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, and Tajikistan. Reported by CNA 3 days ago.
↧
Italy looks to antibody tests to pull itself out of coronavirus lockdown
With the country's economy under threat of collapse, the government says it's working on solutions to getting people back to work.
Reported by CBS News 3 days ago.
↧
Antibody tests could be the key to reopening Italy's economy
With the country's economy under threat of collapse, the government says it's working on solutions to getting people back to work.
Reported by CBS News 3 days ago.
↧
↧
Antibody testing could be key to reopening Italy's economy
With Italy's economy under threat of collapse, the government says it's working on solutions to getting people back to work. In CBS News' latest installment of "Racing To a Cure," Chris Livesay shows us how they are using antibody tests to get things back to normal.
Reported by CBS News 3 days ago.
↧
`Am I going now to my execution?’ One doctor’s very long day
PARMA, Italy (AP) — It was March 7, in the afternoon. Dr. Giovanni Passeri had just returned home from Maggiore Hospital, where he is an internist, when he was urgently called back to work. His ward at the hospital was about to admit its first COVID-19 case. Driving back to the hospital, down the tree-lined […]
Reported by Seattle Times 3 days ago.
↧
‘Anyone who loves Italy’ invited to fast Wednesday by Latter-day Saint leader as COVID-19 spreads
Reported by Deseret News 1 day ago.
↧
The Latest: 13 countries unite to demand global cooperation
A group of thirteen countries including Britain, Italy and Germany has called for global cooperation to lessen the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic
Reported by Newsday 17 hours ago.
↧
↧
AP PHOTOS: For Milan nurse, virus patients enter the soul
MILAN (AP) — The coronavirus brings with it forced isolation: Family members can't visit hospitalized patients. Nursing homes bar their doors to outsiders. People with mild cases or who have been in contact with infected persons must stay in quarantine.
Cristina Settembrese spends her days caring for COVID-19 patients in a hospital ward, and when she goes home, her personal isolation begins by her own choice.
The 54-year-old has been a nurse since she was 18. Two months ago, the infectious disease ward where she works at San Paolo Hospital in Milan started treating only COVID-19 patients. Suddenly, she had to learn how to operate machines she likens to “helmets” to help patients breathe. She studied the operating instructions at home in a kind of self-taught cram course.
While patients with coronavirus often experience mild or moderate symptoms, possible complications like pneumonia can put their lives at risk.
Two days after Italy’s first confirmed case in late February, Settembrese sent her 24-year-old daughter, Rebecca, from their home in the Milan suburb of Basiglio to live with her sister. The nurse was worried she might inadvertently infect her daughter.
She chats with Rebecca, who leans over a first-floor balcony, whenever Settembrese can pass by. A single parent, her only companion now in her apartment is her chihuahua, Pepe, who gets bundled in a faux leopard-skin coat for a walk.
On her way to the hospital eight kilometers (five miles) away, Settembrese stops at her parents’ bakery. From the sidewalk, Settembrese waves to her mother with a rubber-gloved hand. Her mother makes treats for her co-workers, among them a casatiello, a kind of braided bread studded with eggs and salami that’s a specialty of her parents’ native Naples.
Walking Pepe... Reported by SeattlePI.com 12 hours ago.
Cristina Settembrese spends her days caring for COVID-19 patients in a hospital ward, and when she goes home, her personal isolation begins by her own choice.
The 54-year-old has been a nurse since she was 18. Two months ago, the infectious disease ward where she works at San Paolo Hospital in Milan started treating only COVID-19 patients. Suddenly, she had to learn how to operate machines she likens to “helmets” to help patients breathe. She studied the operating instructions at home in a kind of self-taught cram course.
While patients with coronavirus often experience mild or moderate symptoms, possible complications like pneumonia can put their lives at risk.
Two days after Italy’s first confirmed case in late February, Settembrese sent her 24-year-old daughter, Rebecca, from their home in the Milan suburb of Basiglio to live with her sister. The nurse was worried she might inadvertently infect her daughter.
She chats with Rebecca, who leans over a first-floor balcony, whenever Settembrese can pass by. A single parent, her only companion now in her apartment is her chihuahua, Pepe, who gets bundled in a faux leopard-skin coat for a walk.
On her way to the hospital eight kilometers (five miles) away, Settembrese stops at her parents’ bakery. From the sidewalk, Settembrese waves to her mother with a rubber-gloved hand. Her mother makes treats for her co-workers, among them a casatiello, a kind of braided bread studded with eggs and salami that’s a specialty of her parents’ native Naples.
Walking Pepe... Reported by SeattlePI.com 12 hours ago.
↧
St. Camillus de Lellis: Patron saint of hospitals, nurses, and the sick
Denver, Colo., Apr 18, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- St. Camillus de Lellis turned from a life as a soldier and gambler to become a priest and the founder of an order dedicated to caring for the sick. He is the patron saint of hospitals, nurses, and the sick.
The order he founded in 1585 continues to minister to the sick to this day, operating large hospitals in major cities, mobile clinics in some of the most remote and inhospitable places on earth, and ministering to those affected by man-made and natural disasters worldwide.
St. Camillus was born during 1550 in the Abruzzo region of Naples in present-day Italy.
His mother died when he was 13, and following in the footsteps of his father Giovanni de Lellis, an army captain, Camillus joined the army and fought in various wars throughout the Italian peninsula until 1574. He distinguished himself with his violent temper and reckless habits.
Camillus contracted a wound in his leg that would define him for the rest of his life.
Sources disagree on exactly how and when he was wounded: the Camillans say he was hurt during a military engagement, and the wound became infected. Other sources say it was caused by an illness.
Regardless, the injury— which never fully healed— would change the course of his life. He entered St. Giacomo hospital for treatment, but was eventually turned out of the hospital because of his quarrelsome attitude- he picked fights often, and with anyone.
After his father died, Camillus’ gambling problem worsened. By the time he was 24, he had gambled away everything he had.
Humbled and penniless, he took a job working as a laborer at a Capuchin friary. It was there, in 1575, that he heard one day a sermon preached by one of the Franciscans— possibly along with a one-on-one spiritual conversation with the priest— that moved him to conversion.
He tried to enter the Capuchin novitiate three times, but each time the wound in his leg, coupled with his lack of education, forced him to leave.
He went to Rome and entered the hospital of St. Giacomo, and met St. Phillip Neri, who would become his confessor. Camillus had no way to pay for his hospital stay, so he began ministering to the sick and dying. Through his persistent work, Camillus eventually became superintendent of the hospital.
While at the hospital, he was studying with the Jesuits, and though he still occasionally gambled and fought, he eventually completed his studies for the priesthood and was ordained at age 34, in 1584.
Motivated by his work in the hospital, Father Camillus assembled a group of Catholic religious and lay followers to help tend to the needs of suffering patients, calling his group the “Servants of the Sick.”
The Servants would be summoned to hospitals, and to prisons and private houses, to tend to the needs of the sick and dying.
In 1586, Pope Sixtus V approved Camillus’ group, and in 1591 Pope Gregory XIV confirmed the Servants of the Sick— with the name changed to the ‘Order of the Ministers of the Infirm’— as a religious order. Members of the order wear a red cross on their black cassocks and capes, which Camillus reportedly said was to “frighten the devil.”
In addition to the traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, members of the order take a vow of unfailing service to the sick, even at risk to their own lives. The order, today made up of priests and brothers, is often known simply as the “Camillans.”
Two congregations of the Camillans for women were created in the 19th century, and secular institutes were established in the 20th century.
Camillus himself was totally devoted to the poor and sick, and though he himself was very ill, he would spend time with the sick even while unable to walk, by crawling from bed to bed to see if the other patients needed help. Upon learning that he himself was incurably ill, Camillus responded: “I rejoice in what has been told me. We shall go into the house of the Lord.”
Upon receiving the Eucharist one last time, he said: “O Lord, I confess that I am the most wretched of sinners, most undeserving of thy favor; but save me by thy infinite goodness. My hope is placed in thy divine mercy by thy precious blood.”
Camillus died on July 14, 1614. Benedict XIV canonized him in 1746, and in 1886, Leo XIII proclaimed him patron of all hospitals and of the sick.
Pius XI later named him— along with Saint John of God— one of the two main co-patrons of nurses and nursing associations in 1930.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint, is celebrated on July 14 in the United States, thus St. Camillus’ feast day is celebrated on July 18 in the US.
Pope Francis met with men and women religious from the Camillian Charismatic Family in March 2019. He praised those present for their work of “loving and generous donation to the sick, carrying out a precious mission, in the Church and in society, alongside the suffering.”
Through fidelity to their founder, and by listening to and accompanying those experiencing poverty and suffering today, the pope said, the Camillians “will know how to make light shine, always new, on the gift received; and many young people the world over will be able to feel attracted by and to join with you, to continue to bear witness to God’s tenderness.”
Reported by CNA 8 hours ago.
The order he founded in 1585 continues to minister to the sick to this day, operating large hospitals in major cities, mobile clinics in some of the most remote and inhospitable places on earth, and ministering to those affected by man-made and natural disasters worldwide.
St. Camillus was born during 1550 in the Abruzzo region of Naples in present-day Italy.
His mother died when he was 13, and following in the footsteps of his father Giovanni de Lellis, an army captain, Camillus joined the army and fought in various wars throughout the Italian peninsula until 1574. He distinguished himself with his violent temper and reckless habits.
Camillus contracted a wound in his leg that would define him for the rest of his life.
Sources disagree on exactly how and when he was wounded: the Camillans say he was hurt during a military engagement, and the wound became infected. Other sources say it was caused by an illness.
Regardless, the injury— which never fully healed— would change the course of his life. He entered St. Giacomo hospital for treatment, but was eventually turned out of the hospital because of his quarrelsome attitude- he picked fights often, and with anyone.
After his father died, Camillus’ gambling problem worsened. By the time he was 24, he had gambled away everything he had.
Humbled and penniless, he took a job working as a laborer at a Capuchin friary. It was there, in 1575, that he heard one day a sermon preached by one of the Franciscans— possibly along with a one-on-one spiritual conversation with the priest— that moved him to conversion.
He tried to enter the Capuchin novitiate three times, but each time the wound in his leg, coupled with his lack of education, forced him to leave.
He went to Rome and entered the hospital of St. Giacomo, and met St. Phillip Neri, who would become his confessor. Camillus had no way to pay for his hospital stay, so he began ministering to the sick and dying. Through his persistent work, Camillus eventually became superintendent of the hospital.
While at the hospital, he was studying with the Jesuits, and though he still occasionally gambled and fought, he eventually completed his studies for the priesthood and was ordained at age 34, in 1584.
Motivated by his work in the hospital, Father Camillus assembled a group of Catholic religious and lay followers to help tend to the needs of suffering patients, calling his group the “Servants of the Sick.”
The Servants would be summoned to hospitals, and to prisons and private houses, to tend to the needs of the sick and dying.
In 1586, Pope Sixtus V approved Camillus’ group, and in 1591 Pope Gregory XIV confirmed the Servants of the Sick— with the name changed to the ‘Order of the Ministers of the Infirm’— as a religious order. Members of the order wear a red cross on their black cassocks and capes, which Camillus reportedly said was to “frighten the devil.”
In addition to the traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, members of the order take a vow of unfailing service to the sick, even at risk to their own lives. The order, today made up of priests and brothers, is often known simply as the “Camillans.”
Two congregations of the Camillans for women were created in the 19th century, and secular institutes were established in the 20th century.
Camillus himself was totally devoted to the poor and sick, and though he himself was very ill, he would spend time with the sick even while unable to walk, by crawling from bed to bed to see if the other patients needed help. Upon learning that he himself was incurably ill, Camillus responded: “I rejoice in what has been told me. We shall go into the house of the Lord.”
Upon receiving the Eucharist one last time, he said: “O Lord, I confess that I am the most wretched of sinners, most undeserving of thy favor; but save me by thy infinite goodness. My hope is placed in thy divine mercy by thy precious blood.”
Camillus died on July 14, 1614. Benedict XIV canonized him in 1746, and in 1886, Leo XIII proclaimed him patron of all hospitals and of the sick.
Pius XI later named him— along with Saint John of God— one of the two main co-patrons of nurses and nursing associations in 1930.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint, is celebrated on July 14 in the United States, thus St. Camillus’ feast day is celebrated on July 18 in the US.
Pope Francis met with men and women religious from the Camillian Charismatic Family in March 2019. He praised those present for their work of “loving and generous donation to the sick, carrying out a precious mission, in the Church and in society, alongside the suffering.”
Through fidelity to their founder, and by listening to and accompanying those experiencing poverty and suffering today, the pope said, the Camillians “will know how to make light shine, always new, on the gift received; and many young people the world over will be able to feel attracted by and to join with you, to continue to bear witness to God’s tenderness.”
Reported by CNA 8 hours ago.
↧
World cruise, begun before pandemic, nears end of odyssey
ROME (AP) — Passengers on a luxury liner's around-the-world cruise, begun before the globe was gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, are finally approaching the end of their odyssey after 15 weeks at sea.
Their ship, the Costa Deliziosa, heads to ports in Spain and Italy, two of the countries most devastated by the coronavirus outbreak.
Costa Crociere, an Italian cruise company, said Saturday that the Deliziosa, which set sail from Venice in early January with 1,831 passengers, has reached the western Mediterranean, with no cases of COVID-19 aboard.
The Deliziosa, a nearly 300-meter (1,000-foot) vessel, will disembark 168 Spanish passengers early next week at the port of Barcelona, Spain, the company said. Then the Deliziosa will head to its final destination, Genoa, Italy, where it is expected to disembark the remaining passengers, Italians and those of other nationalities, on Wednesday.
A company spokesman said a passenger left the ship earlier in the week in Marsala, Sicily, for health issues and had a COVID-19 test, which was negative.
Being on the liner for weeks during the pandemic “was not surreal, it was incredible,'' said passenger Carlos Paya', who lives in Valencia, Spain, and is sailing with his wife. He added that they have family members in Spain.
“The news that was arriving from home was causing us all a lot of worry and grief,,” he told The Associated Press by text message Saturday evening. “For us it was a stroke of good luck to be where we were.”
“From Perth (Australia) given the growth of the pandemic, and of course for those of us who have children in Spain, we would have preferred to return," he added. “Other passengers, on the other hand, given their old age, wanted to stay on board knowing that the boat was safe and secure.”
.
.. Reported by SeattlePI.com 6 hours ago.
Their ship, the Costa Deliziosa, heads to ports in Spain and Italy, two of the countries most devastated by the coronavirus outbreak.
Costa Crociere, an Italian cruise company, said Saturday that the Deliziosa, which set sail from Venice in early January with 1,831 passengers, has reached the western Mediterranean, with no cases of COVID-19 aboard.
The Deliziosa, a nearly 300-meter (1,000-foot) vessel, will disembark 168 Spanish passengers early next week at the port of Barcelona, Spain, the company said. Then the Deliziosa will head to its final destination, Genoa, Italy, where it is expected to disembark the remaining passengers, Italians and those of other nationalities, on Wednesday.
A company spokesman said a passenger left the ship earlier in the week in Marsala, Sicily, for health issues and had a COVID-19 test, which was negative.
Being on the liner for weeks during the pandemic “was not surreal, it was incredible,'' said passenger Carlos Paya', who lives in Valencia, Spain, and is sailing with his wife. He added that they have family members in Spain.
“The news that was arriving from home was causing us all a lot of worry and grief,,” he told The Associated Press by text message Saturday evening. “For us it was a stroke of good luck to be where we were.”
“From Perth (Australia) given the growth of the pandemic, and of course for those of us who have children in Spain, we would have preferred to return," he added. “Other passengers, on the other hand, given their old age, wanted to stay on board knowing that the boat was safe and secure.”
.
.. Reported by SeattlePI.com 6 hours ago.
↧