Mar 16, 2019

Australia bans Milo Yiannopoulos after Christchurch attacks comments

Photo: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Australia canceled the visa of controversial right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos Saturday, ahead of his planned tour there over comments he made concerning the Christchurch terrorist attacks.

Mr Yiannopoulos' comments on social media regarding the Christchurch terror attack are appalling and foment hatred and division."

The details: Australia's Immigration Minister David Coleman had personally approved Yiannopoulos' visa last week, despite a Department of Home Affairs letter stating he should not be allowed into the country, citing concerns that he might not pass the character test that prevented WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning from entering the country, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

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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.

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