Informing, engaging & connecting the people of the world. APRIL 16, 2020

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As China tries to reopen after the coronavirus shutdowns, African residents say they are being singled out for additional testing, quarantine and, in some cases, are being evicted from their homes. In a series of interviews, residents told VOA they are the victims of a racist campaign intended to scapegoat Africans for new cases of the virus in China.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech student Seung Hui Cho begins a shooting rampage against his fellow students and faculty members, killing 32 and then turning a gun on himself. The shooting, one of the worst of all time, started when Cho killed two in a dormitory and fled the scene. He later went to a classroom building and opened fire for 10 minutes before killing himself. Police believe Cho, who had a history of mental illness, did not specifically target his victims.

After the novel coronavirus burst out of China, experts have been fearing catastrophic impacts on developing nations with weak health care systems. So far, though, the highest death tolls have been reported in wealthier nations in Europe and in the United States.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not make his regular appearance in state media coverage of the country’s most important political holiday–celebrating his grandfather– Wednesday, a highly unusual absence given the country’s usually methodical reporting of official events.

Salvation Army food trucks parked in low-income neighborhoods in Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles are not selling food but bringing free meals to residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

All signs are pointing to a global economic crisis of proportions not seen in decades in the face of the coronavirus pandemic crisis.