Dielli | The Sun

Albanian American Newspaper Devoted to the Intellectual and Cultural Advancement of the Albanians in America | Since 1909

World Health Organization Declares Coronavirus Outbreak a ‘Pandemic’

by

The World Health Organization determined Wednesday that the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic and warned that the worst is likely yet to come.

“In the past two weeks, the number of of COVID-19 infections outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday.

Tedros said WHO is “deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.

“In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of COVID-19 cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries to climb even higher,” he said.

Governments around the world are trying to take steps to address the ever-changing outbreak of the new coronavirus, which, since December, has infected more than 118,000 people and killed about 4,300 in 114 countries.

Tedros said his organization has “rung the alarm bell loud and clear,” and that countries “can still change the course of this pandemic.”

He said 90% of all coronavirus cases are limited to only four countries, and that two of them, China and South Korea, “have significantly declining epidemics.”

The virus, known officially as COVID-19, first emerged in China, where health officials Wednesday reported 24 new cases.

While the increase represents a sustained decline from the height of the outbreak in China, the country where the government puts cities on lockdown to prevent inter-community spread is now dealing with an increase in the number of cases arriving from other nations.

That prompted officials in Beijing to order anyone arriving to go into a 14-day quarantine.

Italy follows China’s playbook

Italy has followed China’s playbook after becoming a secondary center of the outbreak with more than 10,000 reported cases so far and cases in numerous other countries linked to people who traveled from Italy.  Italians were under a second day of a nationwide lockdown Wednesday with people only able to move around for urgent health and work reasons.

The coronavirus threat prompted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to warn Wednesday that up to 70-percent of Germany’s population could eventually be infected if current conditions continue. Nearly 1,300 people have been infected so far in Germany and two others have died.

Officials in the United States are showing increased concern as the number of cases there surpassed 1,000.  

When asked at a congressional hearing Wednesday if the worst of the outbreak has yet to materialize, U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci responded, “I can say we will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now.”

The congressional hearing was cut short when President Donald Trump called an emergency meeting at the White House, Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney announced before opening the hearing.

US outbreak pockets

There are pockets of outbreaks in the western state of Washington, where the governor is expected to announce a ban on gatherings of more than 250 people, and across the country in New York where that state’s governor is instituting an isolation zone around a community with more than 100 reported cases.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Wednesday blamed China for squandering a chance to get ahead of the outbreak.

“I think we could have dramatically curtailed what happened both in China and what’s now happened across the world,” Robert O’Brien told an audience at an event in Washington.  “Unfortunately, rather than using best practices, this outbreak in Wuhan was covered up.” 

“It probably cost the world community two months to respond,” he added.

The U.S. Treasury Department is reportedly considering an extension to the April 15 tax filing deadline, as part of a broader proposed government plan to provide financial relief to taxpayers and businesses.

Most people who contract the new coronavirus experience mild or moderate symptoms, but some, mainly older people and those with existing health problems, are at risk for more serious illness.

The World Health Organization recommends people wash their hands, avoid touching their face, maintain distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing, and stay home if they feel ill.

Recommendations to avoid large gatherings of people have led to numerous event cancellations around the globe.

Vatican live-streams mass

Pope Francis gave a live-streamed mass from inside the Vatican on Wednesday, and the Vatican’s representative in East Timor said the pope would not be making an expected trip there later this year.

A Premier League match between British football clubs Manchester City and Arsenal set for Wednesday night was postponed after several Arsenal players and staff members went into self-quarantine linked to contact with the owner of another club who tested positive for the virus.

Popular Coachella festival canceled

In the United States, organizers of the Coachella music festival moved the April event to October.  And a Sunday debate between Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders will go on without anyone in attendance.

FONDI KOSOVAR-AMERIKAN, 106 TË ARSIMUAR

by

-Ministri Blerim Reka pret themeluesin e Fondit Arsimor Kosovar-Amerikan Dale Pfeiffer. Nga ky fond deri tani janë arsimuar 106 kosovarë/

PRISHTINË, 11 Mars 2020-Gazeta DIELLI/ Ministri i Integrimit Evropian, z. Blerim Reka priti në takim themeluesin e Fondit Arsimor Kosovar – Amerikan (KAEF), z. Dale Pfeiffer, me të cilin biseduan për kontributin e këtij fondi në krijimin e kuadrove të reja të Kosovës duke i’u mundësuar studime të avancuara universitare nëpër universitetet prestigjioze amerikane.

Nga ky fond deri tani janë arsimuar 106 kosovarë, të cilët kontribuojnë sot në nivel politik,  administratë publike, si dhe në sektorin privat të vendit.

Në takim u diskutua mbi modalitetet për zhvillimin e bashkëpunimit ndërmjet Fondit KAEF dhe kontributit të Qeverisë së Kosovës.Në vijim, palët u pajtuan për vazhdimin e bashkëpunimit dhe bashkërendimit të aktiviteteve me të gjithë akterët që janë pjesë e arsimit dhe përkrahjes në këtë proces, bën të ditur njoftimi i dërguar….

Homazhe, nderim për Familjen JASHARAJ

by

Komuna e Skenderajt nën udhëheqjen e  Kryetarit,  Bekim Jashari, se bashku me zyrtar komunal, asambleist, drejtorë, deputet, gjeneral e  veteran të UÇK-së, kanë bërë homazhe tek shtatorja e Komandantit Legjendar Adem Jashari në Skenderaj, me rastin e 22 vjetorit të epopesë së Ushtrisë Çlirimtare të Kosovës.

Duke vazhduar tutje, Kryetari Jashari se bashku me Kryetarin e Komunës së Drenasit, Ramiz Lladrovci kanë bërë homazhe tek Kompleksi Memorial “Adem Jashari”, në Prekaz, në kujtim të kontributit të jashtëzakonshëm të familjes Jashari.

Pas homazheve i pari i Komunës së Skenderajt, Bekim Jashari u shpreh krenar për kontributin e familjes se tij por edhe u zotua se do të ecin përpara në rrugën që ata e dëshiruan.

“Ndihemi krenar me veprat e tyre dhe marrim forcë e kurajo që së bashku të ecim përpara në rrugën e drejtë dhe të pastër në vendin tonë, ashtu siç dëshiruan ata”, është shprehur Kryetari Jashari.

Edhe Kryetari i Komunës së Drenasit, Ramiz Lladrovci ngriti lartë kontributin e Familjes Jashari si dhe të gjithë luftëtarëve dhe dëshmorëve të UÇK-së.

“Ne si dy komuna po mundohemi ta jetësojmë amanetin e heronjve, Komandantit Legjendar Adem Jashari dhe të familjes se tij si dhe të gjithë luftëtarëve e dëshmorëve të tjerë”, ka thënë nder të tjera Kryetari Lladrovci.

Pas Prekazit, homazhe nga të dy komunat u bënë edhe tek shtatorët e Shaban, Hamëz dhe Adem Jashari në Drenas  si dhe tek varrezat e dëshmorëve në Marinë.

Albania Prosecutors to Probe Panic-Mongering About Coronavirus

by

Prosecutors in Albania have warned that the malicious distribution of fake information about the coronavirus, with the purpose of spreading panic, will be treated as a criminal offence.

By Gjergj Erebara*

Prosecutors in Albania said they were opening an investigation into what they called “diffusion of fake information or announcements in any form aimed at creating a state of insecurity and panic among the people”, warning that causing panic in this manner is a crime.

Prosecutors said they suspected fearful messages were being spread mainly through WhattsApp.

The prosecutor’s announcement on Monday followed an eruption of coronavirus cases in nearby Italy, a country with which Albania has multiple links.

The scare over the virus prompted directors and teachers of a private school in Tirana to take a two-week holiday. Their announcement met harsh criticism from the Minister of Education, Besa Shahini, however, who warned she might annul the operating license for the school.

“The directors that are spreading panic by closing down their school in an illegal way, allegedly to prevent a viral situation that does NOT exist in Albania, should be investigated by the justice bodies,” she said.

The school defended its decision to close for a fortnight, however, retorting: “Between HEALTH and ANTI-PANIC the Ministry choose the later”.

The Socialist government of Prime Minister Edi Rama has been engaged for months in a battle against what it calls fake news, aiming to justify its attempt to impose a tough regulatory regime on the online media that has been criticized widely by both Albanian and international rights organisations.

After Albania was hit by a 6.3M earthquake ion November 26, Rama complained again about panic being spread on the online media. Police and prosecutors promptly arrested a 25-year-old Facebook user and charged two others with spreading panic, in what local rights groups said were disproportionate and unreasonable measures.

Meanwhile, in Italy, the government has approved an extraordinary law with immediate effect to fight the spread of the virus, by banning cultural events and protests in several towns in the north, where 219 cases of the virus and five deaths had been reported by Monday afternoon.

Worldwide, concerns about a global pandemic have grown, as countries fail to contain the spread of the virus through quarantine measures. Some 78,811 people have been infected and 2,462 people had died from the virus so far, according to the World Health Organization.*BIRN

THAÇI NE WASHINGTON:Shtetet e Bashkuara të Amerikës, Fati i Kosovës

by

Presidenti i Kosovës, Hashim Thaçi niset për në SHBA, do të ketë takime me Administratën Amerikane: Kosova është më fat që Shtetet e Bashkuara të Amerikës ruajnë përkushtimin për Kosovën, për paqen, stabilitetin dhe prosperitetin e Kosovës dhe tërë rajonit/

PRISHTINË, 23 Shkurt-Gazeta DIELLI/ Presidenti i Republikës së Kosovës, Hashim Thaçi, ka udhëtuar sot për në Shtetet e Bashkuara të Amerikës, ku do të takojë zyrtarë të lartë të administratës amerikane. Shtetet e Bashkuara të Amerikës kanë rikthyer vëmendjen në zhvillimet në Kosovë dhe në rajon, duke u angazhuar për arritjen e marrëveshjes përfundimtare të paqes në mes Kosovës dhe Serbisë, si dhe për t’i hapur rrugë investimeve nga jashtë dhe zhvillimit ekonomik.

Para nisjes për në SHBA, presidenti Thaçi u shpreh se “Kosova është më fat që Shtetet e Bashkuara të Amerikës ruajnë përkushtimin për Kosovën, për paqen, stabilitetin dhe prosperitetin e Kosovës dhe tërë rajonit”.

“Lidershipi i Presidentit Trump, përkrahja e Sekretarit Pompei dhe angazhimi i drejtpërdrejtë i të Dërguarit Special, ambasadorit Grenell, janë inkurajim për ne”, u shpreh presidenti Thaçi.

“Jemi të bekuar me miqësinë tonë të përhershme, me raportin tonë special me Shtetet e Bashkuara të Amerikës”, shtoi presidenti Thaçi.

Presidenti Thaçi në Washington do të ketë prezantime edhe në dy debate për zhvillimet në Kosovë dhe rajon, një në Brookings Institute dhe tjetrin në Atlantic Council, si dhe do të ketë takime në think-tanks me ndikim në politikën e jashtme të SHBA-së. Presidenti Thaçi do të flasë për të arriturat e deritashme, për prioritetet e Kosovës dhe për sfidat e mundësitë në rrugën e integrimit euroatlantik.