Informing, engaging & connecting the people of the world. MARCH 12, 2020

To view this newsletter online, please click here .

While U.S. President Donald Trump announced sweeping measures to combat the spread of coronavirus during yesterday’s Oval Office address, he stopped short of declaring a national emergency. VOA looks at what a national emergency would mean.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On March 12, 1894, Coca-Cola is sold in a glass bottle for the first time. Vicksburg, Mississippi candy company owner Joseph A. Biedenharn decided to try bottling the carbonated drink in order to sell it nationwide. Until then, Coca-Cola could only be purchased from soda fountains in establishments that carried the soft drink.

The Italian government further tightened restrictions Thursday. All stores, including bars and restaurants, will remain closed. The latest decision came after the death toll from coronavirus in the country jumped to more than 800, with more than 12,000 infected.

VIDEO: There are about 150,000 American citizens who have immigrated to Israel, and many are closely following the U.S. Presidential race. As VOA reports from Jerusalem, Democrats living in the Jewish state are divided over whether to vote for Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders because of worries that American liberals want to reduce the Democratic Party’s traditionally strong support for Israel.

VIDEO: When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited three African countries recently, he brought a message that the U.S. sees the continent as a place of opportunity for American investors but also warned about the drawbacks of doing business with authoritarian nations. While not mentioning China directly, Pompeo’s meaning was clear, as VOA reports.

VIDEO: Ugandan poet Stella Nyanzi was released in February after spending over a year in prison for a post she made on Facebook that insulted President Yoweri Museveni. Nyanzi used her time behind bars to write a book and is inspiring others to use poetry to express their political opinions. But as VOA reports from Kampala, Uganda’s public prosecutor plans to appeal her acquittal.