Sep 11, 2018

EU weighs stripping Hungary of voting privileges

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Photo: Emanuele Cremaschi via Getty Images

The European Parliament will debate Tuesday whether to sanction Hungary and its authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán for consistently undermining democracy and the rule of law, a move that could lead to a suspension of the country's voting rights, reports Reuters.

The big picture: Orbán represents the extreme end of Europe's immigration hardliners, having ordered a physical border barrier in 2015 to prevent asylum seekers from entering Hungary at the height of the migrant crisis. The vote will be a test of whether the EU's center-right establishment, which is aligned with Orbán's party in parliament, will take a stand against the rising tide of far-right populists in Europe.

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Rebecca Falconer

Trump administration asks Congress for $2.5 billion to fight coronavirus

President Trump with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at the White House in September. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Trump administration sent a letter to Congress Monday requesting a funding commitment of at least $2.5 billion to help combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Details: The request for a lump sum account for the Department of Health and Human Services includes $1.25 billion in new funds to fight COVID-19 and $535 would come from untouched funds for the Ebola virus.

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Axios

WHO won't call coronavirus a pandemic as cases spread

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The World Health Organization will not yet call the coronavirus a pandemic, claiming that needs across affected countries are too varied and the classification would increase fear, per a briefing Monday.

The big picture: As South Korea and Italy stepped up emergency measures in efforts to thwart the spread of the virus, WHO expressed concern about infections with no clear link to China. COVID-19 has killed at least 2,620 people and infected almost 80,000 others, with all but 27 deaths occurring in mainland China.

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Dave Lawler

The global scramble to contain the coronavirus

Taking precaution, in the Philippines. Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

The coronavirus is spreading quickly in cities nowhere near Wuhan, China, and the window to prevent a global pandemic is narrowing.

Zoom in: Here's a look at what comes with a coronavirus outbreak in communities outside China that have been hardest hit so far.

Go deeper4 hours ago - World