Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the Trump administration’s response to the spreading coronavirus and faced contentious questions from Democrats about an airstrike that killed Iran’s most powerful general.Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee expressed frustration that the panel was afforded only two hours to question Pompeo, who until Friday had gone months without a public appearance on Capitol Hill.Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, recalled Pompeo’s “thundering” while in Congress about the need for testimony from one of his Democratic predecessors, Hillary Clinton.But, “for you, sir, we had to move heaven and earth to get you here for just two hours,” Meeks said.Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, asked sarcastically whether Pompeo would return to Congress next week to detail the steps the administration was taking against the coronavirus or whether he would again wait months for his next public appearance.Democratic committee chairman Rep. Eliot Engel of New York called it an “embarrassment” that the panel had been given such a short time to question Pompeo. The secretary said he had briefed Congress more than 70 times on Iran, rejecting allegations that he had not been accessible.The hearing was meant to focus on the Trump administration’s dealings with Iran and Iraq, but many of the questions centered on the coronavirus. Pompeo said he was confident that the administration had taken action to reduce the threat.The COVID-19 illness caused by a new coronavirus that emerged in December in the Chinese city of Wuhan has stretched well beyond Asia. The global count of those infected as of Friday exceeds 83,000, with China still by far the hardest-hit country. Dozens of cases but no deaths have been confirmed in the United States.Pompeo’s testimony comes three weeks after the conclusion of the Senate impeachment trial against President Donald Trump, who was accused of abusing his office by withholding aid from Ukraine while he was seeking an investigation into Democratic rival Joe Biden. Trump, who denied doing anything wrong, was acquitted by the Republican-led Senate.The inquiry before House lawmakers featured the testimony of several foreign service officers, including some who’d been enlisted with trying to carry out the Republican president’s wishes and expressed concerns over it.Though Pompeo was not a central figure to the impeachment inquiry, he’s faced criticism for not doing more to stand up for a workforce that’s been attacked by the president – including Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who was ousted last spring after a push by the president’s allies.
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Світові ринки 28 лютого продовжують різке падіння на тлі поширення нового типу коронавірусу, зараження яким зафіксовано вже більше ніж в 50 країнах.

На азіатських біржах в п’ятницю котирування впали на 3-4 відсотки. Продовжується падіння котирувань на біржах в Європі.

Напередодні на Нью-йоркській біржі індекс Dow Jones впав більш ніж на 4 відсотки – це найсильніше падіння за кілька років. Всього за тиждень котирування акцій знизилися більш ніж на 10 відсотків.

Падає і ціна на нафту. Вартість бареля нафти Brent наближається до 50 доларів.

Аналітики вже називають нинішній тиждень найгіршим для світових фінансових ринків з часів світової кризи 2008 року.

Кількість випадків зараження новим коронавірусом станом на 28 лютого сягнула 83 386, понад 35,5 тисячі одужали. Число летальних випадків зросло до 2858.

Генеральний директор Всесвітньої організації охорони здоров’я Тедрос Адханом Гебреєсус 27 лютого заявив, що ситуація з поширенням коронавірусу в світі зараз перебуває на «вирішальному етапі». Він закликав уряди держав подвоїти зусилля зі стримування вірусу.

2019-nCov (COVID-19) належить до великої групи коронавірусів. У деяких випадках перебіг хвороби – легкий, в деяких – із симптомами застуди і грипу, зокрема з високою температурою і кашлем, у більш складних випадках спостерігається задишка. Це може перерости в пневмонію, яка може бути смертельною. Більшість хворих, однак, видужують.
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У компанії «Нафтогаз України» повідомили, що з український та словацький оператори газотранспортної системи з 1 березня запускають віртуальний реверс.

«ТОВ «Оператор ГТС України» та словацький оператор ГТС Eustream a.s. запускають віртуальний реверс через точку з’єднання «Вельке Капушани» – «Ужгород» з 1 березня 2020 року. На додаток до потужностей точки з’єднання «Будінце», що використовуються для імпорту природного газу в Україну з 2014 року, Eustream і ОГТСУ, відповідно до підписаної угоди про взаємодію, для точки з’єднання «Вельки Капушани» – «Ужгород» запускають віртуальний реверс (так званий backhaul), тим самим додатково розширюючи словацький коридор для поставок газу в Україну», – йдеться в повідомленні «Нафтогазу».

Повідомляється, що з 1 березня оператори щоденно пропонуватимуть ринку 10 мільйонів кубометрів газу.

«Потужність віртуального реверсу залежить від наявності фізичного потоку в напрямку Україна-Словаччина, а отже вона є переривчастою і може бути перервана у випадку відсутності потоку в напрямку від України до Словаччини. Оператори також підкреслюють, що можуть збільшити рівень віртуальних потужностей у випадку наявності інтересу з боку ринку», – зазначили в українській компанії.

Керівник компанії «Оператор ГТС України» Сергій Макогон пояснив, що через позицію російського «Газпрому», який «намагався обмежити можливості імпорту газу з ЄС», в 2014 році Україна не могла за допомогою віртуального реверсу імпортувати газ в Україну.

«Нам довелося побудувати новий фізичний інтерконнектор – трубопровід Вояни-Ужгород, щоб почати поставки газу зі Словаччини. Це дозволило нам встояти і не потрапити в повну залежність від Газпрому… Поки словацький оператор пропонує тільки потужність 10 мільйонів кубометрів в день, але «Оператор ГТС» працює над тим, щоб потужність була збільшена. Скоро запрацює віртуальний реверс і по Угорщині», – сказав Макогон.

24 січня Україна через газовимірювальну станцію «Дроздовичі» розпочала «віртуальний реверс» природного газу з Польщі. Повідомлялося, що Україна очікує і на відкриття віртуального реверсу Угорщини.

«Віртуальний реверс» передбачає обмін природним газом між операторами газотранспортних систем, коли фізично газ через кордон не переміщається, а сторони здійснюють взаємозалік.
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South African officials will soon begin to repatriate at least 132 South Africans from Wuhan, the epicenter of the global coronavirus epidemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced late Thursday.  
 
The decision contradicts official Chinese advice that foreigners in Wuhan will fare best if they remain in place. The move comes as global deaths begin to grow rapidly.  
 
Ramaphosa’s office stressed that none of the evacuees are ill.  
 
“None of the affected individuals has been diagnosed with the virus nor have they exhibited any symptoms thereof,” a statement read.”Upon arrival in South Africa, they will be placed in quarantine for 21 days as an additional precautionary measure. Government has been in constant communication with the families of all affected individuals and relevant departments have made the necessary arrangements to receive them,” it said.  
 
While Ramaphosa’s office did not answer numerous calls seeking comment, and did not say when people might begin to return, Health Ministry spokeswoman Dr. Lwazi Manzi told VOA that officials have one strong message for South Africans: Don’t panic.  
 
“People must absolutely not panic,” she said. “We’re not bringing back here people who have coronavirus. These are people who are very well, who are fine. Nobody has coronavirus. There are people who have requested to come home for various reasons. Some of them are students who have finished their studies. Some of them are people who finished whatever it is they’re doing in business or at leisure, and they really just need to get back home and get out of the lockdown conditions in Wuhan. And also just to sort of reiterate that we are bringing back citizens from Wuhan from that epicenter who are under lockdown. And we are bringing them back upon their request so that they can continue with their lives that they were living here in South Africa.”Virus reaches Nigeria
Africa has been largely spared since the virus began to surface late last year. Most of the cases are in China. Nigeria this week reported its first confirmed case.  
 
South Africa’s National Institute for Infectious Diseases applauded the move to repatriate South Africans and stressed that there have been no confirmed cases yet in South Africa. The institute’s Dr Kerrigan McCarthy said authorities continue to monitor the situation.”To date, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Africa and the NICD continues to test for possible cases,” she said, adding, “133 persons to date have been tested for SARS-COV, of whom 89 met the case definition for persons under investigation, as of the 28th of February. We continue to monitor trends of COVID-19 globally and in the African region to improve our knowledge of the disease and to continually enhance our surveillance and response.”
 
South Africa’s government has implemented temperature testing and health screening at Johannesburg’s Oliver Reginald Tambo Airport, the continent’s busiest, and Health Minister Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi has assured the population that the government has contingency plans in place, including designated treatment facilities and a 24-hour hotline.  
 
Manzi added that two South African nationals are being treated in Japan after testing positive for the virus on the Princess Diamond Cruise Ship. However, she added, neither patient is showing symptoms and both will be kept under medical care until they are fully recovered.   
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A prominent U.S. newspaper reports that a whistleblower claims personnel from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, lacking proper training and protective gear, interacted with American evacuees from Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in China.  The account in The Washington Post says the unidentified whistleblower is a senior HHS official who was “unfairly and improperly reassigned after raising concerns” about the possibility of the workers being exposed to the virus.  She was told, according to the report that she had to accept a new position by March 5th or she would be fired.The whistleblower’s complaint said the HHS workers found themselves working beside Centers for Disease Control staff who were in “full gown, gloves and hazmat attire.”The newspaper reported that the whistleblower said in her complaint that the HHS workers were not monitored or tested for the virus during or after their deployment.The evacuated Americans were quarantined on military bases in California and Texas.HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley told The Post, “We take all whistleblower complaints very seriously and are providing the complainant all appropriate protections under the Whistleblower Protection Act.”
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Turkey called on the international community Friday to impose a no-fly zone in Syria to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians from airstrikes by government forces in the Idlib region.Fahrettin Altun, communications director at the Turkish presidency, said via Twitter, that Russia and Iran, the backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, “will lose all their credibility if they fail on their commitment to reduce violence and hostilities in Idlib.“Millions of civilians are being bombarded by air for months now. Infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, is being targeted by the regime systematically. A genocide is happening slowly before our eyes. Those with conscious and dignity must speak up,” Altun said.The Syrian regime has been “pursuing demographic and ethnic cleansing in this region,” Altun said. “We cannot look the other way!”Smoke billows over the town of Saraqib in the eastern part of the Idlib province in northwestern Syria, following bombardment by Syrian government forces, Feb. 27, 2020.NATO talksMeanwhile, ambassadors from NATO countries are holding emergency talks at the request of Turkey, a member of the alliance.The U.S. Defense Department said Secretary Mark Esper spoke to his Turkish counterpart Thursday and they discussed Idlib and Libya.“We are exploring ways the United States can work together with Turkey and the international community,” the Pentagon said in reference to the call.On Thursday, 33 Turkish soldiers were killed and 32 wounded in an airstrike by Syrian government forces in the Idlib region.Fighting escalatesMeanwhile, as fighting in Syrian Idlib province is escalating, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is claiming rebels backed by Turkish troops have recaptured a strategic town from Damascus forces.“Developments in Idlib have turned to our advantage. We have three martyrs, let them rest in peace. But on the other hand, the regime’s losses are very big,” Erdogan said in a speech Thursday.Syrian rebels, reportedly backed by Turkish special forces and artillery, recaptured the town of Saraqeb on Thursday. The northwestern town is pivotal to both sides because of its location at the crossroads of two main highways.Turkey has deployed thousands of soldiers backed by hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles in Idlib in a bid to thwart an offensive by Damascus to seize control of the last rebel stronghold.Turkey-backed Syrian fighters celebrate in the town of Saraqib in the eastern part of the Idlib province in northwestern Syria, Feb. 27, 2020.Ankara ultimatumFighting in Idlib is set to escalate further, with Ankara’s ultimatum to Damascus to give up all of its recent Idlib military gains by the end of February.“When the time given to the regime to withdraw expires, the Turkish Armed Forces will carry out their duties based on the orders they receive, and nobody should doubt our determination about this,” said Omer Celik, spokesman of Turkey’s ruling AKP.Diplomatic talks between Turkey and Russia in Ankara to resolve the Idlib crisis ended in deadlock Thursday.  “To find a middle ground between Russia and Turkey seems difficult,” said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who is now an analyst and host for Medyascope, an online news channel.  “There is a narrow window of opportunity to find this middle ground,” he added. “But it’s difficult, if not impossible, for Erdogan to find this reverse gear and to pull out (militarily) of half if not more from this Idlib pocket. This is a really worrying point, because any little error can blow this to full-out war between Syria and Turkey,” Selcen said.While Ankara and Moscow back rival sides in the civil war, the two countries are cooperating to end the conflict. But Idlib is straining bilateral ties.In an apparent snub, Moscow rejected Erdogan’s call for Turkey to host a four-way summit March 5 with Russia, France and Germany.  The Kremlin is reportedly offering an alternative gathering involving only Russia, Iran and Turkey.  But whatever the format of any international gathering to resolve Idlib, analysts say there appears to be little common ground between Moscow and Ankara.The United Nations says nearly a million Syrians have been displaced by recent fighting in Idlib. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to the Turkish border.With Turkey hosting more than 3.5 million Syrians, Erdogan has repeatedly warned Turkey cannot take in any more refugees.
 
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The United States Navy says that a Chinese Navy destroyer targeted a U.S. patrol aircraft with a laser last week while it was flying over the Philippine Sea, about 600 kilometers west of Guam.The U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a statement that a Chinese ship trained the laser on the American P-8A Poseidon aircraft in an “unsafe” and “unprofessional manner,” while the P-8 was operation “in international airspace in accordance with international rules and regulations.”The U.S. Navy said the Chinese action was in violation of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), a multilateral agreement reached in 2014, and also inconsistent with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and China defense departments on safety of air and maritime encounters, the statement said.The laser was captured by a sensor onboard the P-8A and was not visible to the naked eye.“Weapons-grade lasers could potentially cause serious harm to aircrew and mariners, as well as ship and aircraft systems,” the Navy said.The P-8A Poseidon is deployed to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan and conducts routine operations, maritime patrol, and reconnaissance in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.
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U.S .lawmakers are working to quickly pass a bipartisan deal providing billions of dollars in emergency funding to address the worldwide spread of coronavirus. Congressional Democrats have criticized the Trump administration for a poorly coordinated response, calling the $2.5 billion White House proposal insufficient. But as VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, health officials assured lawmakers U.S. efforts are working.
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The novel coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has infected more than 81,000 people worldwide and killed nearly 3,000. Those numbers have been a critical gauge of the infection’s spread, but they do not reflect the entire problem. Scientists consider several key questions when assessing the danger posed by the outbreak.How many infected?Almost all of the confirmed cases so far have been in China, with about 3,000 scattered around the rest of the world. In China, Beijing changed the testing criteria multiple times, leading to fluctuating numbers that have made it difficult to determine the outbreak’s growth. Outside China, some countries have reported faulty test kits or long delays in getting results. One large study in China found that more than 80% of the cases are mild, and some infected people show no symptoms. This means the number of infected could be much higher than the official tally.How dangerous?In the study published by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, fewer than 14% of patients were considered “severe,” meaning people experienced shortness of breath, low oxygen or other lung problems. Fewer than 5% were “critical,” meaning patients experienced respiratory failure, multiple organ dysfunction or septic shock. Public health specialists said a significant source of risk during epidemics comes from overwhelmed health care systems that become unable to care for people who need other medical treatment.How deadly?The fatality rate in China has fluctuated, but now is about 2.3%. But scientists have pointed out that if the actual number of infected patients is much higher than the confirmed cases indicate, the percentage of people who die from infection is actually lower.What’s the risk?If the numbers hold up, the majority of people who become infected will experience mild cases, similar to a common cold or seasonal flu. China’s hardest hit provinces, which struggled to keep up with surging infections, had higher death rates than other areas of the country. Older people and people with preexisting health conditions are most at risk. Initial numbers indicate that children have contracted the coronavirus at lower rates than adults.
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