Charlie Flores

The coronavirus pandemic has doubled this Saturday the threshold of three million deaths and 140 million infections worldwide since the declaration of the crisis, as confirmed by Johns Hopkins University in the latest update of its balance sheet of this Saturday.

The balance has exceeded the threshold around 9:00 this Saturday, with 3,001,068 registered deaths and 140,010,233 infections after registering 854,855 cases and 12,900 deaths in the last hours, both upward trends comparable to those registered at the beginning of the year . An approximate total of 79.7 million people have recovered from the disease

The pandemic took eight and a half months to reach one million deaths after the first confirmed death in China , and only three and a half months to exceed the second million, on January 15. This new threshold has been crossed only three months after the previous one.

The United States continues as the most affected country in total figures, with some 31.5 million cases and more than 566,000 deaths. Behind are India , with approximately 14.5 million cases and more than 175,000 deaths, and Brazil, with more than 13.8 million infections and more than 368,000 deaths.

For its part, Mexico is the third country in number of deaths , with more than 211,000 deaths, although it is in fourteenth place in number of infections globally.

France is the only country that currently has between five and six million cases , while Russia, the United Kingdom and Turkey are over four million cases. Likewise, Italy , Spain and Germany have confirmed between three and four million.

In the range between two and three million are Poland , Argentina , Colombia , Mexico and Iran and between one million and two million infections include Ukraine , Peru , Czech Republic , Indonesia , South Africa , the Netherlands , Canada , Chile and Romania .

For their part, Iraq , Belgium , the Philippines , Sweden , Israel , Portugal , Pakistan , Hungary , Bangladesh , Jordan , Serbia , Switzerland , Austria , Japan , Lebanon and Morocco are between half a million and a million cases .

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have confirmed between 400,000 and 500,000 infections , while Bulgaria , Slovakia , Malaysia , Panama , Ecuador , Belarus , Kazakhstan , Greece and Croatia have detected between 300,000 and 400,000 cases.

On the other hand, in the range between 200,000 and 300,000 cases are Azerbaijan , Georgia , Bolivia , Nepal , Tunisia , Occupied Palestinian Territories , Dominican Republic , Kuwait , Paraguay , Moldova, Ireland , Denmark , Ethiopia , Lithuania , Slovenia , Costa Rica , Egypt , Guatemala and Armenia .

Finally, in the group between 100,000 and 200,000 infections are Honduras , Qatar , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Venezuela , Oman, Libya , Nigeria , Bahrain , Uruguay , Kenya , North Macedonia , Burma , Albania , Algeria , Estonia , Korea of the South , Latvia , Norway , China and Kosovo .

China, the country where the pandemic originated, has 102,167 infected and 4,845 fatalities, as the university’s balance sheet concludes.

Once again, the United States woke up this Friday affected by a shooting, in this case in Indianapolis (Indiana), where eight people have died and five others have been injured after a 19-year-old armed man opened fire before taking his own life , in an event for which the reasons are still unknown.

Around 11:00 p.m. local time on Thursday (04:00 a.m. Spanish time this Friday) the attacker began firing at point-blank range at a warehouse of the postal services company FedEx, located near the Indianapolis airport.

Upon arrival at the scene, the police found four of the deceased outside the center and another four inside. “When the agents arrived they found a chaotic and active crime scene, they found several victims – wounded and several deceased victims – as well as the suspect apparently dead from a self-inflicted weapon wound, ” said the deputy director of Investigations of the Indianapolis Police Craig McCartt at a press conference this Friday.

Through interviews with witnesses, the authorities have found out that the suspect arrived at the scene in a vehicle and began shooting indiscriminately in the warehouse parking lot and later entered the premises before taking his own life.

At that time there were about 100 people in the place , many of them in full shift change or on their dinner break.

Motivations unknown
The assailant ” had no confrontation with anyone, no discussion , he just started shooting indiscriminately,” McCartt said.

At the moment, authorities consider it too “premature” to discuss the motives of the suspect, who has been identified as Brandon Hole, a 19-year-old former FedEx employee who worked at that warehouse until fall 2020.

The injured have been taken to hospital, one of them in a critical situation. On the other hand, four of the deceased are members of the Sikh religious community. Three women and a man whose families are calling for any possible hate bias in the crime to be investigated.

McCartt added that they do not know the reasons why the attacker stopped working for FedEx and stressed that the authorities have found “a couple of police reports”, one from last year and another “possibly” from 2018, in which Hole appears.

A statement from the FBI, quoted by CNN revealed that Hole was in the past detained temporarily in a detention center psychiatric and he seized a gun fire at the time.

His mother told the FBI in March 2020 that her son might attempt suicide by behaving in a threatening manner in order to have security forces shoot him down.

Hole was questioned a month later by the FBI, which did not see any “racially motivated violent extremism” in him or found him to have committed any crime, although the seized weapon was not returned to him.

The suspect was carrying an automatic rifle during the event on Friday, according to one of the witnesses, Levi Miller, who was inside the warehouse, told the NBC television network.

Miller, a FedEx employee, was eating with colleagues when he heard what appeared to be gunshots inside the building. At first he thought it was a damaged motor vehicle, but when he heard six shots and then another 10, he got up and saw the figure of a man who was firing “in arbitrary directions” , while shouting, although he did not understand what what did he say.

The Indianapolis Police have not provided details on the type of weapon used and McCartt has limited himself to indicating that the suspect used a rifle.

The debate on weapons reopens
This incident has reopened for the umpteenth time the debate on greater control of firearms in the United States and this Friday many Democrats raised their voices to urge the Senate to pass new legislation.

Specifically, they were referring to a proposal that has already received the green light from the Lower House and that would allow expanding the verification of the criminal records of buyers in transactions between individuals.

This was expressed by the president of the country, Joe Biden , who demanded that the Upper House in a statement strengthen the control of firearms and stop “accepting” a type of violence that “has become something too normal” and it causes 106 fatalities a day in the United States.

“Armed violence is an epidemic in the United States , but we must not accept it, we must act,” he urged.

And he recalled that last week he already asked Congress to pass “common sense laws to prevent armed violence , ” such as strengthening the background check system for gun buyers and “a ban on weapons of war and chargers. high capacity “.

The president has ordered that the flags of public buildings fly at half mast in memory of the victims in Indianapolis.

This incident is the nation’s fifth multi-casualty shooting in recent weeks . The one that occurred on March 22 in a Colorado supermarket, with 10 deaths, was the one that caused the most deaths.

Despite the pandemic that forced many Americans to stay home, the year 2020 was the most fatalities has accumulated by armed violence in the past two decades.

The NGO Amnesty International (AI) insisted this Friday on the need to reform with “common sense” the legislation in the US to restrict the use of firearms .

It is practically impossible that legislative measures for greater control of this type of weapon will go through in the Senate, where the Democrats – the president’s party – have such a narrow majority that they would need to convince at least 10 Republicans to pass them.

Minutes after 12 noon on Friday, London time, British television networks interrupted their programming to release a statement from Buckingham Palace. “With great regret, Her Majesty the Queen announces the death of her dear husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the longest-lived royal consort in British history.

His Royal Highness passed away serenely this morning at Windsor Castle. There will be more releases in due course. The royal family along with people around the world mourn his loss. “The BBC presenter in charge of the reading in a slightly emotional voice was dressed in rigorous mourning.

Then there was silence and ‘God save the Queen ‘, the national anthem. From that moment on, in the United Kingdom and in the Commonwealth countries the flags flew at half mast. In the gate of the palace, the announcement of the royal death was displayed, as is tradition, although it was removed shortly after to avoid the influx of the public. The Government called for people not to concentrate on the place, where very soon there were dozens of bouquets of flowers .

Philip of Edinburgh, the man who walked behind Elizabeth II for 70 years
The death of the Duke of Edinburgh was not a surprise. The deceased was 99 years old and health problems plagued him since 2017, when he abandoned the official obligations of the crown and public life. Since then he had suffered several hospitalizations. On February 16, he was admitted once more and spent 28 days in the hospital.

Little was reported about his ailments, or the severity of his condition. It was revealed that he was suffering from an infection. Later he was transferred to another hospital where he was operated on for a pre-existing heart problem. Prince charleshe was the only one who came to visit him during the first week of treatment.

Once discharged, he remained in Windsor Castle, where the sovereign currently resides and where death ended his days. His last public appearance , fragile and clearly deteriorated, was last July at a military ceremony in Windsor. During his retirement he had devoted himself to painting watercolors and writing letters.

Tributes and praises
The news of the death provoked a torrent of tributes and tributes . Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared in mourning at the door of the Downing Street residence to “thank as a nation and kingdom, for the extraordinary life of Prince Philip” who must be remembered “above all, for his support. to her majesty the queen. ”

The Bishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, praised the qualities of the deceased, from which “inspiration and example” must be taken. Presidents and personalities around the world sent messages of condolence.

The official version on the life and work of the duke places him as the figure in which the sovereign could trust, especially in the critical moments of the longest reign in the history of the country. In him he would have found support during the divorces of three of the four children of the marriage, especially that of the Princes of Wales, or when Princess Diana died. ”

Simply, he is and has been, my support and continues to be throughout all these years, ” Elizabeth II had declared, addressing her husband, at the banquet of his golden wedding anniversary in 1997.

“Damn reptiles”
His death was not the day or the time to remember the controversial and questioned character that was Philip of Edinburgh. Neither the husband so faithful nor the father so devoted to whom some glossed in their elegies.

A thick veil was always drawn on the marital tensions and scandals that spattered the duke. Of some of those adventures and misadventures, of his arrogant and lack of empathy, the general public has known thanks to the series ‘ The Crown ‘, which he apparently detested.

Well known were his off-key comments and tacky, apologetic jokes. He called the journalists who aired the rudeness ” damn reptiles .” “I have become a caricature. So are the things. I can only accept it, “he told conservative writer and politician Gyles Brandreth.

The last incident was in February 2019 when he had to ‘voluntarily’ surrender his driver’s license after hitting another vehicle in which two women were traveling. They were injured when they were dazzled by the sun, and a baby who was also in the car was unharmed.

Funeral in Windsor
The queen now begins eight days of mourning , during which she will not carry out official duties. Buckingham Palace staff have launched the so-called ‘ Operation Forth Bridge ‘ with preparations for the funeral , which will take place at Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor, on a date yet to be determined. It will not be a state ceremony, reserved only for monarchs, but there will possibly be a large group of members of European royalty.

The acts planned for years must be modified due to the restrictions of the covid-19. It is highly unlikely that the public will be able to parade before the coffin in Westminster Abbey, as happened when the Queen Mother died in 2002, although a military parade through the streets of London is not ruled out .

The duke was hospitalized during the interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle , in which they accused the royal family of racism . The ‘exiled’ grandson is present at the grandfather’s funeral, although it is doubtful whether his wife will accompany him. Meghan has the perfect excuse to avoid the thorny commitment, given her advanced stage of pregnancy.

New final stage
After the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, the reign of Elizabeth II entered a new final stage. About to turn 95, in apparent good health, royal experts consider the chances of her abdicating her son, Prince Charles, 72 years old, very slim.

It would be expected that he will relegate a greater part of his functions to the heir and the Dukes of Cambridge, something that he has already been doing, to reserve his presence to the most symbolic ceremonies and acts.

Erna Soldberg celebrated her birthday with her family by gathering more than 10 people. The police have considered that the leader should know better the rules.

The Norwegian police on Friday fined the country’s prime minister , Erna Solberg , 20,000 crowns (about 2,000 euros) for violating the restrictions set by the authorities to stop the coronavirus when celebrating her birthday .

Solberg’s family got together two nights in a row at the end of February to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the president: first in a restaurant and the next day in an apartment in the winter resort of Geilo (in the southeast of the country), in both cases more than ten people , contravening current regulations.

Solberg could not attend the restaurant because she had to travel to Oslo to be treated by an eye doctor, although she was present at the second celebration. Even so, the police have considered that it was she who organized both events and that as the head of government she deserves a fine , not her husband, who only receives a warning.

Know the measurements
“Solberg is the most prominent elected person in the country and the police believe that it is correct to react with a fine,” regional police chief Ole B. Sæverud said at a press conference .

The agent has stressed that although the law is the same for everyone , “not everyone is the same” and that the fact that Solberg is the visible head of the Government’s measures against the covid justifies the punishment. The police opened an investigation on March 19 after the case was uncovered by Norwegian public television NRK.

Following the revelation of the episode, the head of government publicly apologized and said she was willing to pay a possible fine.

“I, who every day talk to Norwegians about the rules, should know them better , but the truth is that I have not done well enough and I did not know that when a family goes out together and there are more than ten, then it must be considered an event, “he apologized . Solberg, who has served as prime minister since 2013, also apologized in her day on her Facebook page.