VOA NEWS

May 21, 2020

This is VOA news. Via remote, I'm Diane Roberts.



More than 326,000 people around the world have died from the coronavirus, according to the numbers from Johns Hopkins University in the United States. There are nearly five million confirmed COVID-19 cases. The United States has the most infections, more than 1.5 million and the most deaths at more than 93,000.

France's health minister said Wednesday there is no sign yet their easing of a lockdown to combat the coronavirus has boosted the epidemic. The latest figures showed daily deaths trending lower.

France eased its almost two-month lockdown May 11 trying to revive an economy hit hard by the pandemic.

Spain's fragile left-wing coalition won backing from political foes to extend a state of emergency Wednesday as public protests simmered over economic damage and social restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sought to keep special powers for two more weeks to control the easing of restrictions. The country does see a slow down in deaths and hopes to mostly lift a strict lockdown by the end of June.



U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he's now considering hosting an in-person Group of Seven summit after canceling it because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Group of Seven summit.

The White House did not immediately provide information about how a summit of world leaders could be planned so quickly. The Trump administration still has travel restrictions in place for visitors from Europe, where four G-7 nations are located.

Mr. Trump initially scheduled the G-7 summit for June 10 through 12 at the Camp David, Maryland, the presidential retreat outside Washington D.C.



For more on these and other stories, visit us at voanews.com or download our easy-to-use app. This is VOA news.



An AP source says former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen will be released from prison Thursday. AP correspondent Mike Gracia reports.

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's longtime personal lawyer and self-described fixer, will be released from prison Thursday, the person familiar with the matter tells the Associated Press.

The person who spoke on condition of anonymity says Cohen, who has been serving a federal prison sentence at FCI Otisville in New York, is expected to serve the remainder of his sentence at home.

The 53-year-old Cohen pleaded guilty to numerous charges including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.

He began serving his sentence last May and was scheduled to be released from prison in November, 2021.

Mike Gracia, Washington.



The U.S. Supreme Court is temporarily preventing the House of Representatives from obtaining secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

The court order keeps previously undisclosed details from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election out of the hands of Democratic lawmakers at least until early summer.

The court will decide then whether to extend its hold.



An Israeli court has ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to appear for the opening of his criminal trial in Jerusalem Sunday. AP correspondent Charles De Ledesma reports.

Netanyahu's attorneys had asked the Jerusalem district court for an exemption from appearing for the opening of proceedings. They argued his presence was "not essential" for the arraignment because their client had read the indictment several times before, and that his bodyguards' presence in the room would violate Health Ministry social distancing requirements.

But the court rejected this, saying Netanyahu "must, like all other accused, appear and give his statement before the court," and that there were no grounds for granting him an exemption in this case.

I'm Charles De Ledesma.



Prime Minister Netanyahu warned arch-foe Iran Wednesday after supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted comments accusing Israel of "state terrorism" and calling for "eliminating the Zionist regime."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the comments, calling them "disgusting and hateful anti-Semitic remarks."



U.S. tech giants Apple and Google said Wednesday they were offering health authorities around the world their platform for coronavirus contact tracing, a key tool in trying to tame the pandemic.

The two companies said in a statement, "The work public health officials are doing around the world humbles us all," adding the move is not a panacea.



The European Union has plans for an environmentally-friendly economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. That will target building renovation, renewable energy and clean hydrogen fuel, this according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

The draft is due to be published May 27. It lays out how the European Commission plans to use low-carbon investments to battle the bloc's virus-induced economic downturn.



Via remote, Diane Roberts.