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In surprise move, Trump fires FBI director

[email protected] (Agencies)
May 10, 2017

Washington, May 10: President Donald Trump today abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey who was leading an investigation into whether his election campaign had links to Russias alleged interference in the US polls, a surprise move that has created a political furore.

comey7In a letter, Trump told Comey, 56, that he was no longer effectively able to lead the bureau and it was necessary to restore "public trust and confidence" in it.

"You are hereby terminated and removed from the office, effective immediately," Trump said in the letter.

The shock move comes days after Comey testified on Capitol Hill about the FBIs investigation into Russias meddling into the US elections and a possible collusion between Trump campaign and Moscow.

In the letter, Trump acknowledged that Comey had informed him "on three separate occasions" that he was not under investigation. "I nevertheless concur with the judgement of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau," he added.

The White House said the search for a new FBI director would begin immediately.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters: "The president has accepted the recommendation of the Attorney General (Jeff Sessions) and the Deputy Attorney General (Rod Rosenstein) regarding the dismissal."

In a statement released by the White House, Trump said: "The FBI is one of our nations most cherished and respected institutions and today will mark a new beginning for our crown jewel of law enforcement."

Comey had courted controversy during the 2016 presidential polls when he revealed a renewed investigation into Hillary Clintons email use, which the Democrats claimed had hurt her chances of becoming president.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, in his letter to Trump, criticised Comeys handling of the Clinton probe, including the directors decision to hold a press conference announcing its findings and releasing "derogatory information" about her.

In a separate letter, Sessions said he has concluded that a fresh start is needed at the leadership of the FBI, based on his evaluation as well the reasons expressed by the Deputy Attorney General.

"It is essential that this Department of Justice clearly reaffirm its commitment to longstanding principles that ensure the integrity and fairness of federal investigations and prosecutions," Sessions said.

Comey was addressing FBI agents in Los Angeles when he was handed a note by one of his team informing him he had just been fired. He was four years into his 10-year term.

It wasn?t immediately clear how Comeys ouster will affect the Russia probe, but Democrats said they were concerned that his ouster could derail the investigation.

"I told the president, Mr President, with all due respect you are making a big mistake," Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, told reporters.

The Senate Minority Leader demanded that the Department of Justice appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Russias alleged influence on the 2016 elections.

"The firing of top officials like Sally Yates and Preet Bharara, and now Comey does not seem to be a coincidence," Schumer said.

Schumer also questioned the timing of the decision.

"If the administration had objections to the way Director Comey handled the Clinton investigation, they had those objections the minute the president got into office. But they didnt fire him then. Why did it happen today?" he asked.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley said Comeys dismissal is extremely troubling.

"President Trump fired the man investigating him and his cohorts. I strongly support calls for the appointment of a special prosecutor," he said.

Terming the move as "nearly unprecedented", Indian- American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said it was extremely disturbing that the Chief Executive is interfering with an ongoing investigation into his administration by firing the person charged with conducting it.

Republican Senator John McCain, the Chairman of Armed Services Committee, said he was disappointed by Trump?s decision to dismiss Comey.

"James Comey is a man of honour and integrity, and he has led the FBI well in extraordinary circumstances. I have long called for a special congressional committee to investigate Russias interference in the 2016 election," he said.

"The presidents decision to remove the FBI Director only confirms the need and the urgency of such a committee," McCain said.

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News Network
April 24,2020

Washington, Apr 24: President Donald Trump has favoured a phased reopening of the US economy, devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed nearly 50,000 lives and infected over eight lakh people in the country.

More than 95 per cent of the country's 330 million people are under stay-at-home order as a result of the social mitigation measures, including social distancing, being enforced till May 1.

Trump on Thursday indicated that the stay-at-home order might be extended beyond May 1, but vehemently advocated the need to gradually open up the economy.

In the past few weeks, more than 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits and the figure is soon likely to cross 40 million.

Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have projected a negative growth in the US in 2020.

To keep America gaining momentum, every citizen needs to maintain the vigilance, and we all understand that very well we've gone over it many, many times this includes practising good hygiene, maintaining social distance, and the voluntary use of face covering, Trump said.

Safe and phased reopening of our economy -- it's very exciting, but it does not mean that we are letting down our guard at all in any way; on the contrary, continued diligence is an essential part of our strategy to get our country back to work to take our country back, he told reporters at his daily White House news conference on coronavirus.

The data and facts on the ground suggest that the US is making great progress, he said.

In 23 states, new cases have declined. In the peak week, 40 per cent of the American counties have seen a rapid decline in new cases. As many as 46 states report a drop in patients showing coronavirus-like symptoms, he said.

Trump said the US is very close to finding a vaccine for COVID-19.

We are very close to testing... when testing starts it takes a period of time but we will get it done, he said.

According to Vice President Mike Pence, data continues to show promising signs of progress in the New York Metro area, New Jersey, Connecticut, Detroit and New Orleans. All appear to be passed their peak and we are seeing consistent declines in hospitalisation and cases in regions across the country, he said.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

Ninety per cent of a sample group of coronavirus-recovered patients from a prominent hospital in China's Wuhan city where the pandemic broke out have reported lung damage and five per cent of them are again in quarantine after testing positive for the virus, according to a media report on Wednesday.

A team at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University led by Peng Zhiyong, director of the hospital's Intensive Care Unit, has been conducting follow-up visits with '100 recovered patients' since April.

The first phase of this one-year programme finished in July. The average age of the patients in the study is 59.

According to the first phase results, 90 per cent of the patients' lungs are still in a damaged state, which means their lungs ventilation and gas exchange functions have not recovered to the level of healthy people, state-run Global Times reported.

Peng's team conducted a six-minute walking test with the patients. They found that the recovered patients could only walk 400 metres in six minutes while their healthy peers could walk 500 metres in the same period.

Some recovered patients have to rely on oxygen machines even three months after being discharged from the hospital, Liang Tengxiao, a doctor from the Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, was quoted as saying by the report.

Liang's team is also conducting follow-up visits with recovered patients aged above 65.

The results also showed that antibodies against the novel coronavirus in 10 per cent of the 100 patients have disappeared.

Five per cent of them received negative results in Covid-19 nucleic acid tests but positive results in Immunoglobulin M (IgM) tests, and thus have to be quarantined again, the report said.

IgM is usually the first antibody produced by the immune system when a virus attacks. A positive result in an IgM test usually means that a person has just been infected by the virus.

It is still unclear if this means these people have been infected again.

The 100 patients' immune systems have not fully recovered as they showed a low level of B cells -- - a primary force for killing viruses in the human body -- but a high level of T cells which only recognise viral antigens outside infected cells.

"The results revealed that the patients’ immune systems are still recovering," Peng said.

The patients also suffered from depression and a sense of stigma. Most of the recovered patients told the team that their families were not willing to have dinner with them at the same table, the report said.

Less than half of the recovered patients have returned to work, it said.

The findings are significant as the coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan city.

Hubei province for which Wuhan is the provincial capital has reported a total of 68,138 confirmed Covid-19 cases till now. The disease has claimed 4,512 lives in the province, according to the official data.

China reported 27 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, including 22 locally-transmitted cases, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Wednesday.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Minneapolis, Jun 2: An official autopsy released Monday ruled that George Floyd, the African-American man whose death at police hands set off unrest across the United States, died in a homicide involving "neck compression".

George, 46, died of "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression," and the manner of death was "homicide," the Hennepin County Medical Examiner in Minneapolis said in a statement.

Floyd's other significant health conditions were listed as "arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease; fentanyl intoxication; recent methamphetamine use."

The statement added that the "manner of death is not a legal determination of culpability or intent."

It emphasized that under Minnesota state law "the Medical Examiner is a neutral and independent office and is separate and distinct from any prosecutorial authority or law enforcement agency."

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