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Added on the 04/03/2020 15:27:38 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
"Global growth in 2020 will dip below its last year's levels," says International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva, "but how far it will fall and how long the impact will be, is still difficult to predict." Georgieva was speaking after all 189 members of the IMF said they were united in addressing the challenges posed by COVID-19. SOUNDBITE
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls a flood that killed thousands in Derna, Libya a symbol of the world's ills as he openS the annual General Assembly. "Even as we speak now, bodies are washing ashore from the same Mediterranean Sea where billionaires sunbathe on their super yachts," Guterres says, adding, "Derna is a sad snapshot of the state of our world -- the flood of inequity, of injustice, of inability to confront the challenges in our midst." SOUNDBITE
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warns the global recession risks are rising and urges policy action "to regroup and to rethink how can we adopt a more proactive precautionary mindset that we had in the past." SOUNDBITE
President Donald Trump's fourth Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, is not winning any popularity contests among the president's aides. In a jaw-dropping exchange Sunday with CNN's Jake Tapper, Meadows said bluntly, 'We are not going to control the pandemic.' A Trump campaign adviser said there is widespread frustration over Meadows' comments, as well as his leadership more broadly. Sources say Trump remains displeased with how Meadows handled the crisis surrounding his own bout with coronavirus. Early in the crisis, Meadows came to view the White House coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, as largely irrelevant. He has not intervened as Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist with no experience in public health, undermines health experts and poo-poos mask-wearing. Besides downplaying the pandemic, Meadows has encouraged Trump to carry on his large-scale rallies, despite a nationwide surge in cases.
Infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Syra Madad says that disease outbreaks are often accompanied by infodemic, where unreliable information spreads quickly. Having previously battled outbreaks of Ebola, Zika, and measles,Dr. Madad says that she always has to fight the 'contagion of misinformation.' However, Business Insider reports there are ways for people to vet their sources. Use the 5 W's: whose, what, why, when, and where. Whose information is being presented? A government, or a company? Do they have a track record of providing credible information? What are they offering? A product? When was the information written, and by whom? Also, why are they offering this information? Why does this source exist? Finally, where is it coming from? What is the agenda of the source? Is its information based on credible evidence that can be cross-checked?