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A28 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 14 May 2020
Lesotho becomes

last African nation to

confirm a virus case

By HERBERT MOYO Associated Press
MASERU, Lesotho (AP) — Southern Africa’s tiny
mountain kingdom of Lesotho on Wednesday
confirmed its first case of COVID-19, making it the
last African country to report the disease. With the
announcement, all 54 countries in Africa have now
reported cases. Lesotho’s health ministry said one
person who recently arrived in the country had
tested positive but was not showing signs of being
ill. The patient was being isolated. The country of 2
million people is surrounded by South Africa, which
has the highest number of confirmed cases in Africa
with 11,350. The coronavirus has been slow to spread
in Africa but cases are rising across the continent.
More than 69,500 cases have been confirmed with
more than 2,400 deaths, according to the Africa
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.q In this April 29, 2020 file photo, social worker Michelle Valentín, a former teacher, brings food to
Angel Ruiz and Ivelisse Rios, a couple who are having a hard time feeding their two children while
schools are closed to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
French lawmakers Associated Press

adopt bill on removing Puerto Rico closes public school
hate content online cafeterias amid food crisis

By The Associated Press undefined By DÁNICA COTO The closures hit places in- officials initially refused to
France’s parliament has approved a bill aimed at Associated Press cluding Caguas and Maya- open the department's 854
fighting hate online that obliges platforms and search SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico guez, two of the largest cit- school cafeterias during
engines to remove prohibited content within 24 hours (AP) — Puerto Rico officials ies in a U.S. territory where the lockdown that began
starting July 1. Lawmakers adopted the proposed announced Wednesday nearly 70% of public school in mid-March, citing health
legislation on Wednesday. Submitted by French that they are closing more students are poor. "Under concerns, noting that 64%
President Emmanuel Macron’s LREM party, the law than 30 public school caf- no circumstance do we of workers are elderly. In-
allows for fines of up to 1.25 million euros ($1.1 million.) eterias and several food want employees, munici- stead, they offloaded the
It targets texts, pictures, videos and web pages that warehouses after dozens pal workers who are help- food to nonprofits and a
incite hatred or violence, or that carry insults of a of workers tested positive ing us and, least of all, our food bank, but it soon ran
racist or religious nature. The bill faced vociferous for the new coronavirus — children, to catch this virus," out. Two weeks ago, of-
opposition in France and beyond from critics who a blow for students who he said. Several mothers ficials abruptly changed
said it would curtail the democratic right to freedom activists say are often go- and nonprofit organiza- their stance and have
of expression. The Computer & Communications ing hungry during the pan- tions have sued the island's since reopened more than
Industry Association, an advocacy group with offices demic lockdown. Department of Education, 100 school cafeterias, but
in Washington and Brussels, said it was concerned Education Secretary Eligio accusing it of dodging its crews are distributing only
the French legislation “could lead to excessive Hernández said the tem- responsibility to feed the one meal instead of the
takedowns of content as companies, especially porary closures come after island's nearly 300,000 pub- two that were previously
startups, would err on the side of caution.”q 50 employees tested posi- lic schoolchildren. A judge served, and activists say
tive and another 278 were was expected to rule in the the food is not reaching all
placed under quarantine. case on Friday. Education those in need.q
Mexico finds 15,000

turtles in crates Cuba blames Trump’s hostility

bound for China for gunman’s embassy attack

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities said HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's
Tuesday they have seized a shipment of 158 wooden foreign minister on Tuesday
crates bound for China containing about 15,000 accused the Trump ad-
fresh-water turtles, some of them endangered. The ministration of inspiring the
environmental prosecutors’office said the crates gunman who attacked the
were found at a freight facility on the outskirts of Cuban Embassy in Wash-
Mexico City. The turtles included white-lipped mud ington last month. Foreign
turtles, Mexican giant musk turtles, narrow-bridged Minister Bruno Rodriguez
musk turtles and the common red-eared slider. About also criticized Trump of-
260 of the creatures had died in the crates. The office ficials for remaining silent A bullet hole is visible in the front door of the Cuban Embassy in
said the turtles were not properly marked, nor did the about the April 30 attack, Washington, Friday, May 1, 2020, after a man opened fire with
shipment’s paperwork accurately reflect the species which he called a sign of an assault rifle on Thursday morning.
of turtles involved. The trade in other kinds of wildlife U.S. government "complic- Associated Press
has been implicated in the transmission of threats like ity." The U.S. Embassy in Ha-
the novel coronavirus to humans.q vana said in a statement bassies, and it described prudence and much infor-
that U.S. officials are dedi- the U.S. legal process as mation about cases avail-
cated to protecting em- "transparent, with strict juris- able to the public."'q