President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied that he was rushed to a White House bunker during anti-racism protests last week out of concern for his safety, claiming he had merely dropped by the underground shelter to inspect it.
“I was there for a tiny, little short period of time,†Trump said during a radio interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. “And it was much more for an inspection.â€
He continued: “I’ve gone down two or three times ― all for inspection. And you go there, some day you may need it. … I went down, I looked at it.â€
Secret Service reportedly rushed Trump to the bunker, known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, on Friday night as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the White House during nationwide demonstrations sparked by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
Trump spent nearly an hour in the bunker, which was designed for use in emergencies like terrorist attacks, a Republican close to the White House told The Associated Press.
Then-President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were brought to the bunker in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The structure has been reinforced to withstand the force of a passenger jet crashing into the executive mansion above.
Trump and his family were rattled by their experience Friday night, The New York Times reported, citing multiple advisers.
Kilmeade asked Trump about whether he was brought to the bunker on Sunday. It’s unclear whether Kilmeade meant to ask about Friday, which is when Trump was reported to have been escorted to the bunker.
Either way, Trump denied going there at any time during the night.
“It was during the day,†he told Kilmeade. “It was not a problem. … We never had a problem. Nobody came close to giving us a problem.â€
Asked if Secret Service wanted to bring him down there for safety reasons, Trump said no.
“They didn’t tell me that at all,†the president said. “But they said it would be a good time to go down, take a look because maybe sometime you’re going to need it.â€
Protests outside the White House intensified over the weekend, with some demonstrators throwing rocks and trying to break through barricades.
In a dramatic speech Monday from the White House Rose Garden, Trump vowed a violent crackdown by the military on civil unrest in U.S. cities amid the anti-racism protests. He then walked with a group of aides to nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo-op.
Trump wanted to be seen outside, in part, because he was angered by coverage that depicted him as hiding in a bunker during the protests, CNN reported.
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“Winning begets winning and the progressives have turned into a progressive machine that’s completely different from the old Philly machine,†she said. As if to illustrate her point, the powerful union led by Ms. Dicker’s other 2008 opponent, Mr. Dougherty, recently endorsed Mr. Saval’s campaign and contributed $25,000 to his campaign.
“​We were kind of holding our fire,†said Frank Keel, a spokesman for the union, who confirmed the endorsement. “In the last ten days or two weeks it really started to coalesce around Nikil.â€
Asked about the union’s endorsement, Mr. Farnese’s campaign manager, Rajah Sandor, said: “Nikil Saval likes to hold himself up as some bastion of integrity, but when it comes down to it, he’s just a typical politician who will toss his moral code out the window for a chance at $25,000 from a political boss.â€
Mr. Saval, in response, said that he was a labor candidate and the contribution represented union members’ dues. (Mr. Farnese has also been endorsed by a number of labor unions, including the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.)
Some endorsements have arrived after the campaign dynamics may already have been scrambled by remote voting. Ben Waxman, a former spokesman for the Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner who is friendly with both candidates, said that in normal circumstances, many voters would know little about down-ballot races. But those voting from home might have taken a moment to Google them.
If they did, they might find that earlier this month, Mr. Saval also received an endorsement from Bernie Sanders, giving his campaign new momentum. It’s an indication that Mr. Saval is seen by his allies as working on behalf of a national democratic socialist movement — one formed from a series of groundswells, including Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter — that will push to tax the rich, focus on workers and address climate change, among other priorities.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday he doesn’t support invoking the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that would allow President Donald Trump to send U.S. armed forces into states for the purpose of domestic law enforcement.
“I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act,†Esper said at a news conference at the Pentagon. “The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort and only in the most … dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now.â€
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The Trump administration on Wednesday said it planned to block Chinese airlines from flying into or out of the United States starting on June 16, after the Chinese government effectively prevented U.S. airlines from resuming service between the countries.
The dispute stems from a March 26 decision by China’s aviation regulators that limited foreign carriers to one flight per week based on the flight schedules they had in place earlier that month. But all three American airlines that fly between China and the United States had stopped service to the country by then because of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the Chinese government had effectively banned them from flying there at all, even though airlines from that country continue to fly to American cities.
As ground zero of the pandemic, China was the first country to see aviation grind to a halt this year. In January, American and Chinese carriers operated about 325 weekly flights between the two countries. By mid-Feburary, only 20 remained, all of them run by Chinese airlines.
The March decisionbecame a problem only in recent weeks, as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines had hoped to resume flights to China starting this month. Both carriers appealed to the Civil Aviation Authority of China, but did not receive a response. The U.S. also pressed Chinese officials to change their position during a call on May 14, arguing that the country was in violation of a 1980 agreement that governs flights between the two countries and aims to ensure that rules “equally apply to all domestic and foreign carriers†in both countries.
China’s aviation authority told American officials that it was considering amending its rule, but it has not said “definitively†when that might happen, the Transportation Department said in a statement. “In light of these facts, which present a situation in which the Chinese aviation authorities have authorized no U.S. carrier scheduled passenger operations between the United States and China, we conclude that these circumstances require the department’s action to restore a competitive balance.â€
Tensions between the United States and China have escalated sharply in recent weeks as the countries scuffle over the origin of the pandemic and China’s recent move to tighten its authority over Hong Kong, a semiautonomous city. With the presidential election just five months away, President Trump and his campaign have taken a much tougher stand against China, blaming its government for allowing coronavirus to turn into a pandemic and wreck the American economy.
In mid-May, the Trump administration expanded restrictions on Huawei, the Chinese telecom firm, and blocked a government pension fund from investing in China. Last Friday, Mr. Trump announced that he was beginning the process of ending the American government’s special relationship with Hong Kong, and that his administration would place sanctions on officials responsible for Beijing’s rollback of liberties in the territory.
Updated June 2, 2020
Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?
Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
How do we start exercising again without hurting ourselves after months of lockdown?
Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,†says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.†Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.
My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?
States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
How can I protect myself while flying?
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?
More than 40 million people — the equivalent of 1 in 4 U.S. workers — have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic took hold. One in five who were working in February reported losing a job or being furloughed in March or the beginning of April, data from a Federal Reserve survey released on May 14 showed, and that pain was highly concentrated among low earners. Fully 39 percent of former workers living in a household earning $40,000 or less lost work, compared with 13 percent in those making more than $100,000, a Fed official said.
Should I wear a mask?
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
What should I do if I feel sick?
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
“The Chinese government has continually violated its promises to us and so many other nations,†the president said at the time. “The world is now suffering as a result of the malfeasance of the Chinese government.â€
George Floyd’s 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, has a message for everyone: “Daddy changed the world!â€
The video, shared on Instagram Tuesday by NBA veteran Stephen Jackson, a longtime friend of the late Floyd, shows Gianna sitting on Jackson’s shoulders.
“That’s right GiGi, ‘Daddy changed the world,’†Jackson wrote in the caption. “George Floyd, the name of change.â€
“Love to all who have love for all,†he continued, adding multiple raised-fist emojis in different skin tones.
Gianna’s father was killed by police last month when Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest over an allegedly counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin has since been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter while the three other officers present during the incident have yet to be charged.
Floyd’s death has sparked nationwide daily protests against police brutality and racism that have drawn a violent response from law enforcement, which has attacked peaceful demonstrators with tear gas, rubber bullets and even vehicles, citing looters and rioters as justification. The Trump administration also deployed military police this week in a show of excessive force.
The video of Gianna on Jackson’s shoulders was reposted on Twitter on Tuesday and immediately went viral.
George Floyd’s daughter saying “DADDY CHANGED THE WORLD†is the sweetest heartbreaking thing on the internet. 💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/sIwUFxpcSV
Jackson, who called Floyd his “twin†in another Instagram post, spoke at Minneapolis City Hall in a press conference on Tuesday. Alongside him were Gianna and Gianna’s mother, Roxie Washington, who said she wanted everyone to know “what those officers took.â€
“At the end of the day, they get to go home and be with their families. Gianna does not have a father,†said Washington. “He will never see her grow up, graduate, he will never walk her down the aisle. If there’s a problem she’s having and she needs her dad, she does not have that anymore.â€
In response to Washington’s emotional statement, Jackson said: “There’s a lot of stuff you said that he’s gonna miss — that I’m gonna be there for.â€
“I’m gonna walk her down the aisle. I’m gonna be there for her. I’m gonna be here to wipe your tears. I’m gonna be here for you and Gigi. Floyd might not be here, but I’m here for her, I’m here to get justice, and we’re gonna get justice for my brother,†he said.
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For most Americans, 2020 has already been a rough year — and it’s not even half over. A pandemic, natural disasters, economic decline, and, for many, the loss of a job have taken a toll on their mental health.
“Stress is particularly acute when you’re experiencing a situation that is outside of your control,†says Dr. Kerry Ressler, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “You may feel stuck, frozen, or helpless.†After a traumatic period, even when things settle down, it can be difficult to move on and regain a sense of normalcy.
Reducing stress and regaining your footing
So, how can you reduce your stress and regain your footing after going through a bad time, whether that’s the result of a large-scale national emergency or even just a personal patch of bad luck?
Step back. When traumatic events are occurring, whether it’s a natural disaster, pandemic, or mass shooting, you need to stay abreast of the news, but at the same time avoid retraumatizing yourself by becoming immersed in round-the-clock coverage, says Dr. Ressler. Limit the time you spend in front of screens or reading about the events of the day. The goal is to stay informed without increasing your anxiety level. Turn off the notifications on your phone, and be particularly wary of spending too much time on social media. “People have the tendency to amplify each other’s panic,†says Dr. Ressler. “Instead, limit your exposure to checking in on the news a couple of times a day, and then turn it off. Listen to an unrelated podcast, or go for a run.â€
Take action. “What we do know from research is that one of the biggest precipitators of anxiety is a feeling of helplessness, when everything seems out of your control,†says Dr. Ressler. To take back some control, get involved in activities that can help others or address the situation. Volunteer, or help with food drives. Even helping a friend or a neighbor with a problem can make you feel like you are in an active, not passive, role in the face of uncertainty. Taking on a hobby or self-improvement project can also help you move forward. If you lose your job, use some of the unexpected time to take a class or learn a new skill you’ve always wanted to master. For example, there are a lot of great apps you can use to learn a new language.
Reach out. Social connections are crucial in difficult situations. If you can’t see people in person, then connect with apps and technology, such as videoconferencing or even a simple phone call.
Get rose-colored glasses. While advice to look on the bright side in the face of hard times may seem trite and unhelpful, don’t scoff. Evidence shows that positive thinking and having the ability to reframe a situation in more positive terms can help people become more resilient in the face of problems, says Dr. Ressler. Look for silver linings whenever you can. A job loss, for example, may lead to new opportunities.
Be patient. Moving on from a traumatic event takes time. Give yourself permission to grieve. Grief doesn’t just occur when you experience a death; rather, people experience grief in many situations, says Dr. Ressler. This may include the loss of an opportunity or missing out on something you were looking forward to doing. Allow yourself time to grieve, but eventually try to ready yourself to move past it. “You can get into the habit of grief,†says Dr. Ressler. So, set small goals. Use behavioral rewards, and strategies such as deep breathing, mindfulness, aromatherapy, and physical activity to reduce your anxiety and start pushing yourself to move forward.
Seek help for depression
Get help. Make sure that sadness and stress don’t cross over into depression. “The symptoms of depression overlap with normal symptoms of stress and grief,†says Dr. Ressler. But if you start to experience significant alterations in appetite, energy, or motivation, or if you begin to get sad or tearful without knowing why — and these symptoms last for more than a week or two — these may be warning signs that you are experiencing depression and need to seek medical help.
“If you have a period of sadness that goes on for more than a couple of weeks and it’s really getting in the way of you moving on or functioning at work or home, it may be wise to reach out,†says Dr. Ressler.
Call your doctor, or healthcare plan, to learn about options. Additionally, in the US, the Disaster Distress Helpline (800-985-5990, or text “TalkWithUs†to 66746) offers emotional support and resources to people struggling in the wake of disaster, and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800-273-8255) offers free support for people who are in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis.
Good morning. Concentration is hard to come by these days, amid the nation’s strife. We are living through a tough and chaotic and wrenching time, filled with fury and an abiding sadness. We’re unsettled. We’re tense. We’re divided. The emotions arrange themselves in combinations that make it hard to work, to read, to watch, to listen, much less to think.
Cooking can help. The act of preparing food is a deliberate and caring one, even if you’re just making yourself a bowl of oatmeal at the end of a long night of worry. The way you sprinkle raisins over the top is an intentional act of kindness to yourself. So what I’m doing now, amid my restless skimming of nonfiction and news, thrillers and literature, poems that don’t bring solace: I read recipes, think about who in my family they might please, and I cook.
Here’s Samantha Seneviratne with a fresh strawberry pie, and Colu Henry with linguine and clam sauce, and Kim Severson with the congrà she learned to make from Yolanda Horruitiner during a reporting trip to Cuba. One of those may bring you comfort, or provide a point of connection for you with someone else, or with the wider world.
Thousands and thousands of actual recipes are waiting for you on NYT Cooking. (I love these sweet potatoes with tahini butter, from Samin Nosrat.) A lot more of them than usual are free to use even if you aren’t yet a subscriber to our site and apps. (But I’ll ask you anyway: Would you think about subscribing? Your subscription allows our work to continue.)
And if something goes wrong along the way, either with your cooking or our technology, please get in touch: cookingcare@nytimes.com. We will get back to you.
For Outside, Carrie Battan visited Serenbe, a wellness community south of Atlanta, and it’s a surreal thing to read right now, like a dispatch from another time.
Finally, here’s Latria Graham in Garden & Gun, “A Dream Uprooted,†an essay about her fight to save her family’s farm. I’ll return on Friday.
Watch Anansi the Spider Re-Spun, episode one – video
Anansi the Spider Re-Spun
The Guardian has partnered with the Unicorn to present a digital theatre series inspired by its 2019 production Anansi the Spider. Three tales about the mischievous folkloric webspinner, for audiences aged three to eight, will be streamed on Saturday mornings on the Guardian website and the Unicorn’s YouTube channel. The 15-minute episodes, available on demand for three weeks, reunite the original cast of the production, Afia Abusham, Juliet Okotie and Sapphire Joy, who filmed themselves performing at home. The next one is on 6 June.
Toast
It’s not often a play comes with its own recipe card. But that’s what audiences get with this new online adaptation of Nigel Slater’s food-filled memoir, available as an audio drama and an animated film online from 1–31July. Lawrence Batley theatre in Huddersfield reunites the West End cast of the play, with Giles Cooper in the lead role as the popular cook and columnist.
In 1995, the actor Mark Lockyer was appearing in the RSC’s Romeo and Juliet when he was overcome with anxiety, fear and paranoia. At one point he thought he was possessed by the devil. He was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and turned his experience into a solo touring show. Lockyer has now created a lockdown version, filmed on his mobile, for the Scottish Mental Health Arts festival. Available 8-15 June.
This intriguing interactive blend of theatre and gaming is spread across a whole week, with participants spending half an hour each night on an online chat app, sifting the evidence of a murky case involving an MP and big Pharma. Created by Dan Barnard, Rachel Briscoe and Joe McAlister for the company Fast Familiar, Smoking Gun is next available from 24-29 June. Read the full review.
National Theatre at Home
The National has risen to the occasion by unveiling a mighty lineup of some of its greatest NT Live hits, to be streamed online on Thursdays at 7pm and then available for seven days. Its production of the political comedy This House by James Graham is available until 4 June. The Donmar Warehouse’s 2013 staging of Coriolanus, starring Tom Hiddleston in the title role and directed by Josie Rourke, is then online until 11 June.
The Old Vic
Claire Foy and Matt Smith in Lungs. Photograph: Helen Maybanks
The Old Vic is pioneering “socially distanced performances†starting with a revival of Duncan Macmillan’s two-hander Lungs, starring Matt Smith and Claire Foy. It will be performed on the Old Vic’s stage, to an empty auditorium, and virtual theatregoers can buy tickets to watch from home. Dates will be announced soon, along with rehearsed readings that will also be live-streamed. The theatre kicks off its series of archive production streams with A Monster Calls, based on Patrick Ness’s popular novel and directed by Sally Cookson. Available 5-11 June.
Love Letters at Home
The theatre company Uninvited Guests promise a show that is specifically tailored to each audience as they incorporate viewers’ requests for songs and declarations of love into the show. Presented by Fuel, it’s performed live via Zoom to an audience of up to 90 and is going on a “digital international tour†until 26 June, with performances hosted by venues from Inverness to Arizona.Â
Unprecedented
Alison Steadman and Katherine Parkinson in Grounded by Duncan Macmillan, directed by Jeremy Herrin for Unprecedented. Photograph: Headlong/Century Films
How’s this for a lineup? The cast includes Gemma Arterton, Katherine Parkinson, Paterson Joseph and Denise Gough. The writers include James Graham, Jasmine Lee-Jones, Prasanna Puwanarajah and April De Angelis. And Ned Bennett, Blanche McIntyre, Ola Ince and Tinuke Craig are among the directors. Headlong and Century Films have assembled an extraordinarily talented gang for their 14 short films about lockdown life. On BBC iPlayer. Read the review.
Twelfth Night – Live!
St Albans’ Maltings theatre relocates Shakespeare’s play to a luxury cruise liner in the roaring 20s, with Zoom as their stage and bangers from Rihanna and Britney Spears on the soundtrack. Originally staged at the Maltings and the Rose Playhouse in London, this reconfigured interactive version is performed by 10 actors and lasts 75 minutes. Available for three nights only, from 12-14 June, it includes a post-show discussion with some of the actors.
Reasons to Be Cheerful
The fantastic Graeae theatre company’s programme of digital shorts, Crips Without Constraints, has already provided plenty of reasons to be cheerful during lockdown. Now the disabled-led organisation is sharing a 2017 recording of their riotous musical tribute to Ian Dury and the Blockheads, staged at Theatre Royal Stratford East and directed by Jenny Sealey. The production blends British Sign Language and creative captioning. A separate audio-described version will also be available. Online until 3 August.
Mum and Dad
This haunting pair of monologues by Gary Owen is presented by Cardiff’s Sherman theatre. In the four-minute Dad, Michael Sheen’s character recalls an eerie encounter on a country lane while his father is in hospital. In the more expansive Mum, Lynn Hunter’s character remembers the feeling of life being upended when you are young, her father’s struggle to feel settled on his farm and her bond with her first pony. The actors are superb; the words both entrancing and devastating. The films are on YouTube. The Sherman suggests a donation of £5.
Kes Reimagined
In 2014, choreographer Jonathan Watkins won acclaim for a soaring dance-theatre adaptation of the Barry Hines novel, A Kestrel for a Knave, at Sheffield’s Crucible. Like Hines, Watkins grew up in Barnsley. The book’s hero, Billy Casper, finds escape through aviculture; Watkins found it through ballet. “I feel dance is really great at painting that picture, where someone goes from being restricted by their environment to opening up through an emotional, physical journey,†he told the Guardian. A film version by director Ross MacGibbon, with Chester Hayes as Casper and puppetry design by Rachael Canning, has been made available by The Space for free online until 18 June.
“She had us, both of us, absolutely round her finger…†From that first line, Andrew Scott will have you hooked in this half-hour monologue by Simon Stephens that captures truths about family life, art, nature and much else besides. Scott performed the play at the Bush in 2008 and it was a hot ticket when he reprised it at the Old Vic 10 years later. This version was shot in a single take in 2011. Directed by Stephens and Andrew Porter, it is available to rent online. Brace yourself.
I Wish I Was a Mountain
With wonder, wit and sophisticated storytelling, performance poet Toby Thompson creates a beautiful show for over-sevens. Thompson steps in and out of his version of Hermann Hesse’s fairytale Faldum, riffing with the young audience and spinning a handful of jazz LPs. I Wish I Was a Mountain embraces big questions about time and contentment. This is a short but profound show, directed by Lee Lyford, hatched by the Egg theatre’s Incubator development programme and cleverly designed by Anisha Fields. Read the full review.
Hamilton
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s phenomenal, Pulitzer prize-winning musical about the “10-dollar founding father without a father†was filmed in New York back in 2016 with the original Broadway cast. It was slated for a 2021 cinema release but has now been fast-tracked for release on the Disney+ streaming service on 3 July. It’s directed by Thomas Kail, who staged the musical, and according to Miranda gives “everyone the best seat in the house†for a show that has been one of the most wanted on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Unknown Island
Thalissa Teixera in The Unknown Island. Photograph: Cameron Slater
The Royal Court, like all UK theatres, is closed due to the lockdown. But you can visit it virtually in this intriguing installation by Hester Chillingworth. The stage is still set for EV Crowe’s play Shoe Lady, as seen from Chillingworth’s static camera in the balcony. Occasionally it is cloaked in darkness and occasionally we hear messages of hope. Principally, the installation becomes a space to savour the importance of theatregoing until the Court invites audiences back to sit on those comfy leather chairs again.
Spymonkey
The anarchic physical theatre and comedy company are unlocking their vault of inventive, irreverent shows with many becoming available each Sunday to be streamed for free. Highlights include, from 21 June, the Feydeau farce Every Last Trick.
So It Goes
How do we talk about bereavement? It can be hard to find the words –, as encapsulated in this bittersweet, dialogue-free fringe hit by the theatre company On the Run. Hannah Moss uses a mixture of mime, doodling and scribbling – performing with David Ralfe – to express her relationship with her father, Mike, and her grief following his death. It’s available to stream for a suggested donation of £3 with 50% of all proceeds donated to Marie Curie Hospice Hampstead, which cared for Mike. Online until 12 June.
Lyric Theatre in Belfast
Belfast’s Lyric had to cancel its co-production of 1984 with Bruiser theatre company but instead launched the initiative New Speak: Re-imagined, in which Northern Irish talents including Amadan Ensemble, Dominic Montague and Katie Richardson respond to the lockdown crisis. They are being released in episodes on YouTube. The Lyric is also collaborating on six new five-minute drama commissions for the series Splendid Isolation: Lockdown Drama, to be broadcast on BBC Two Northern Ireland in June and made available afterwards on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer.
Mountview Live – Giles Terera Meets …
This isn’t live drama, but should be essential viewing for theatre lovers and students as the Olivier award-winning actor Giles Terera talks to top names from the industry. The hour-long conversations on YouTube include questions from Mountview Academy of Theatre students. Guests include the fabulous Noma Dumezweni, who is a Mountview honorary doctorate, Judi Dench and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Expect some nuanced questions for that last one: Terera is best known for his knockout performance as Aaron Burr in Hamilton.
Sadler’s Wells
The London dance powerhouse is presenting an online programme, Digital Stage, offering Friday night performances on Facebook that remain available for a week. From 29 May you can see fashion designer Hussein Chalayan’s first theatrical work, Gravity Fatigue.
The Place
Spin on Dickens … Fagin’s Twist. Photograph: Eric Richmond
London’s essential contemporary dance hub is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. Just as some of its dance classes have gone online, so has its performance programme. On Thursday nights, the Place is streaming past productions, which remain available until the following Monday night. From 4 June you can see The Headwrap Diaries, Uchenna Dance’s show set in a hair salon, and from 11 June it’s Fagin’s Twist, Avant Garde Dance’s spin on Dickens.
Southwark Playhouse
The London theatre has launched a Southwark Stayhouse streaming programme, available free until it reopens its doors. Offerings include the “fantastically witty†Wasted, a rock musical about the Brontës, directed by Adam Lenson with music by Christopher Ash and book and lyrics by Carl Miller. There’s also a Twelfth Night relocated to a music festival, directed by Anna Girvan, and Jesse Briton’s Bound, about a maritime tragedy.
English National Ballet
Tamara Rojo’s brilliant company have a schedule of weekly streams from their archive on Wednesdays, available free for 48 hours afterwards. These are never-before-seen full-length recordings of company performances. Coming up next, on 17 June, is Kenneth MacMillan’s Song of the Earth, set to Mahler’s song cycle Das Lied von der Erde, and filmed at the Palace theatre in Manchester in 2017. MacMillan’s Manon is on 24 June, recorded at the Manchester Opera House in 2018, with Jules Massenet’s music performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic.
Royal Shakespeare Company
Our revels have temporarily ended in theatres but you can watch a groundbreaking effects-laden version of The Tempest, with Simon Russell Beale as Prospero, with a subscription (or 14-day free trial) to the online service Marquee TV. Antony and Cleopatra with Josette Simon and Richard II with David Tennant are two of the other gems in the selection of Royal Shakespeare Company plays available. But there are also six RSC productions available to watch free on BBC iPlayer: Hamlet starring Paapa Essiedu, Macbeth with Christopher Eccleston, Much Ado About Nothing with Edward Bennett and Michelle Terry, Othello with Hugh Quarshie and Lucian Msamati, Romeo and Juliet with Bally Gill and Karen Fishwick, and The Merchant of Venice with Makram J Khoury.
It Is Easy to Be Dead
Five-star tribute … It Is Easy to Be Dead. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian
The Finborough’s tribute to the first world war poet Charles Hamilton Sorley was nominated for an Olivier award, transferred to the West End and toured, and received a five-star review in the Guardian. Neil McPherson’s script draws on Sorley’s letters and poems, and there is music from from composers of the period including George Butterworth and Ralph Vaughan Williams. It’s available until 7 July for free although the theatre welcomes donations as “we fall between the cracks of government and local authority supportâ€. Read the full review.
Dear Ireland
The Abbey, Ireland’s national theatre, assembled an extraordinary lineup of 50 actors and 50 writers for this series of rapid-response monologues about the coronavirus crisis, self-taped by the performers from isolation. The writers include Frank McGuinness, Iseult Golden, Stacey Gregg, Sarah Hanly, Nancy Harris, Enda Walsh and David Ireland; the cast includes Nicola Coughlan, Caoilfhionn Dunne, Denise Gough, BrÃd Nà Neachtain and Brendan Gleeson.
to a simple, rock’n’roll … song
to a simple, rock ‘n’ roll…song by Michael Clark Company. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/the Guardian
It may hail the alligator and watusi dance crazes of the 60s but music from Patti Smith’s blistering 1975 album, Horses, drives some of Michael Clark’s most deliriously thrilling modern choreography in the first act of this 2017 Barbican production now on BBC iPlayer. These moves are as arresting as any guitar riff, matching Smith’s cantering repetition and a blizzard of trippy visuals from Charles Atlas. The second act celebrates Erik Satie and the third pays tribute to David Bowie.
Schaubühne
The Berlin powerhouse, run by Thomas Ostermeier, is streaming a selection of archive productions, many with English subtitles, and often for one night only. It’s a rare opportunity for UK audiences to see works directed by Luc Bondy, Peter Falk and Ostermeier himself. This month’s lineup.
What Once Was Ours
A co-production by Zest Theatre and Half Moon, the two-hander What Once Was Ours follows the relationship between a pair of half-siblings and draws on real conversations with Britain’s young people in the wake of the Brexit vote. Their voices can be heard amid the conversations between Callum (Jaz Hutchins) and Katie (Pippa Beckwith). Available free online. Read the full review.
Performance Live
Omid Djalili and BláithÃn Mac Gabhann in Performance Live: The Way Out. Photograph: Arts Council England, BBC Arts, Battersea Arts Centre
The Way Out, a single-take, 40-minute variety film, invites viewers to follow Omid Djalili through the mysterious, majestic and mundane corners of the phoenix-like Battersea Arts Centre. There are performances en route from Lucy McCormick, Le Gateau Chocolat and the hula-hooping Amazà from The Cocoa Butter Club. The film is part of the BBC’s Performance Live strand on iPlayer which includes Clowns by Hofesh Shechter; Winged Bull in the Elephant Case, in which dancers take over the National Gallery; Alexander Zeldin’s devastating Love, about Christmas in temporary accommodation; a poetry night hosted by Kate Tempest; Eggs Collective’s raucous Get a Round; and I Told My Mum I Was Going on an RE Trip, based on real stories about abortion. Full lineup for Performance Live. Read our review of The Way Out.
Alexander Ekman
Five works by the Swedish choreographer are on Marquee TV, including a new work for the Royal Swedish Ballet, Eskapist, which gets a five-star review from Lyndsey Winship. On a vast stage, “Ekman offers a bombardment of fantastical images, realised with the help of Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov, who does a Mad Hatter’s couture party of eccentrically structured silhouettes.†Ekman’s other works to rent include Swan Lake and Midsummer Night’s Dream. Read the full review.
Deafinitely Theatre
The groundbreaking company Deafinitely Theatre have launched a season of their work, performed in British Sign Language and spoken English. A version of Mike Bartlett’s Contractions, about workplace fear, is available in June. On YouTube.
The Phantom of the Opera
Obsession! Haunting ballads! A shattered chandelier! And musical theatre’s most famous mask … Enjoy one of the world’s most successful shows, presented at the Royal Albert Hall in 2011, with Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine, to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The film is available to rent on Amazon. It was also streamed as part of The Shows Must Go On, a series offering a different Andrew Lloyd Webber musical each week.
Told By An Idiot
The questing British theatre have, as they put it, been “creating the unexpected†since they launched in 1993. As their current tour of The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel has been cut short, they are sharing shows from their vast archive which is stuffed with gems. Each is available for a week only – keep an eye on their site to see what’s currently on offer.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The groundbreaking dance company, formed more than 60 years ago by Alvin Ailey, is streaming full-length performances, many with accompanying behind-the-scenes videos, talks and workshops. Videos include Robert Battle’s The Hunt (until 4 June).
Wise Children
Oman Douglas and Melissa James in Wise Children. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian
Former Kneehigh and Shakespeare’s Globe artistic director Emma Rice chose an adaptation of Angela Carter’s carnivalesque final novel Wise Children as her first production for her new theatre company, which shares the same name as the book. Filmed at York Theatre Royal, it’s available to stream on BBC iPlayer until 10 June as part of the Culture in Quarantine programme. Expect twins, cartwheels, puppets and a palpable passion for theatre itself. Read the full review.
What the Butler Saw
Joe Orton’s final farce, completed in the summer of 1967 just before the playwright’s death, is a subversive satire about an irrational world, set in a psychiatrist’s consulting room. Rufus Hound dons the white coat as the philandering Dr Prentice in Nikolai Foster’s 2017 production for Leicester Curve and Theatre Royal Bath. The cast includes Dakota Blue Richards and Jasper Britton. Curve’s productions of Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual and The Importance of Being Earnest are also online.
Little Red Riding Hood
The big bad wolf is soppy rather than scary in Northern Ballet’s sweet retelling of the fairytale. He wouldn’t dream of eating gran and ends up invited to a jolly tea party instead. A spring tour of the production has been cancelled but there is a version adapted for CBeebies online. An attractive introduction to ballet’s magic. Read the full review.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge on stage in Fleabag. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/the Guardian
You’ve watched both TV series. You’ve read the scripts. Maybe you’ve even seen the stage show more than once. But you’ll probably still be streaming Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s performance of her wildly successful monologue, recorded at Wyndham’s theatre in London where it sold out last summer. Fleabag is available to stream on Soho theatre’s On Demand site and on Amazon Prime. All proceeds will go towards charities including the National Emergencies Trust, NHS Charities Together and Acting for Others, which provides support to all theatre workers in times of need.
Shakespeare’s Globe
Itching to get back into that wooden O on the South Bank? Happily, the Globe Player has heaps of full productions to rent, including international productions from the 2012 Globe to Globe festival such as a Lithuanian Hamlet, a Turkish Antony and Cleopatra, a Japanese Coriolanus and an Armenian King John. There is also the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse’s opening production, The Duchess of Malfi, starring Gemma Arterton. On the Globe’s YouTube channel, a series of free streams, each available for a fortnight, continues with The Winter’s Tale (2018) and The Merry Wives of Windsor (2019).
Mushy: Lyrically Speaking
Mushy : Lyrically Speaking. Photograph: Richard Davenport/The Other Richard
Musharaf Asghar became a reality TV star in 2013 when the schoolboy appeared on Educating Yorkshire, which documented how a teacher helped him with his lifelong speech impediment. Asghar’s tale is now the subject of a new British musical, co-produced by Rifco theatre company and Watford Palace theatre and staged last year. It’s online and free to view for the entire isolation period. Read the full review.
Imitating the Dog
The groundbreaking theatre company Imitating the Dog were midway through touring Night of the Living Dead – Remix when theatres shut down. Now, they are streaming this ambitious show in which a cast of actors remake George Romero’s classic horror film shot by shot in real time. The company have also opened up their archive to stream a selection of creations from the last 20 years. Works will be released every fortnight and are available to watch on a pay-what-you-like basis.
The Beast Will Rise
Philip Ridley’s new play The Beast of Blue Yonder was due to open at the Southwark Playhouse in London in April. It has now been postponed but a series of new monologues by Ridley responding to the current crisis have been performed online by members of the cast, starting with Gators, starring Rachel Bright. Read the full review.
Belarus Free Theatre
The internet has been vital to the success of Belarus Free Theatre, one of Europe’s most essential theatre companies, which is forced to operate underground in its restrictive home country after the government banned it on political grounds. The company – which turns 15 this year – is streaming archive shows throughout June. Each show will be available online for 24 hours. A School for Fools, its adaptation of Sasha Sokolov’s experimental novella, is performed live on Thursdays until 9 July. Read the full review.
Now I’m Fine
What better time is there to watch a “grand-scale experimental pop opera about keeping it together� Ahamefule J Oluo’s innovative show, staged at Seattle’s Moore theatre in 2014, mixes standup-style routines with a mesmerising musical accompaniment and explores his experience of a rare autoimmune disease. It is one of many films, including Americana Kamikaze, that are available to stream from On the Boards. Read the full review.
Five Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist
With the help of a carrot, a sponge, the Miracles and some game audience members, Sam is going to tell you about five hook-ups he had through the casual encounters section of online classified-ads board Craigslist. Filmed at the Push festival in Home, Manchester, YESYESNONO’s production is an open, affecting and troubling look at searching for intimacy and connection. This hour will leave you reencountering your own life.
I, Cinna
The outbreak of homeschooling caused by the coronavirus has found many of us playing the role of teacher while still in our dressing gowns. And here’s one unexpected tutor who really commands your attention: Jude Owusu, clad in a dirty bathrobe, with a pen behind his ear and a notepad dangling around his neck. Owusu is Cinna, the poet from Julius Caesar, in this spellbinding film of Tim Crouch’s monologue, part of his series magnifying the experiences of minor characters from Shakespeare. Read the full review.
Cyprus Avenue
On Friday 27 March, to mark World Theatre Day, the Royal Court released an online version of David Ireland’s blistering play Cyprus Avenue, starring Stephen Rea as a Belfast loyalist who is convinced his baby granddaughter is Gerry Adams. The film mixes the drama shot at the Royal Court with location scenes of Belfast.
Alonzo King Lines Ballet
A handful of productions by San Francisco-based choreographer Alonzo King and his marvellous company Lines Ballet are available to rent on Marquee.tv. Dust and Light, Triangle of the Squinches and Scheherazade, all filmed in 2012, showcase the elegant nature of his work, which pushes beyond classical ballet. There’s also a short documentary dipping into his background as the son of a prominent civil rights activist. Read the full review.
Boys Don’t
The Cure’s Robert Smith tried to laugh about it, cover it all up with lies, because – all together now – boys don’t cry. A powerful piece of rhyme-packed storytelling for the over-eights, Boys Don’t is delivered by four compelling performers and based on real-life experiences of the expectations placed on “little men†throughout the generations before they even get to the playground. Presented by Half Moon theatre, it’s a Papertale production in association with Apples and Snakes, staged at Brighton festival in 2018.
Funny Girl
Showtunes don’t get much more defiant or rousing than Don’t Rain on My Parade. Sheridan Smith wards off the clouds with a gritty rendition as Fanny Bryce in this production of the classic musical at Manchester’s Palace theatre in 2017. It’s one of the many productions available from Digital Theatre, whose offerings also include The Crucible starring Richard Armitage at the Old Vic in London, and Maxine Peake’s Hamlet at the Royal Exchange in Manchester.
Fragments (Beckett by Brook)
Is there a more fitting playwright for our current moment of isolation, uncertainty and endurance than Beckett? In this production, filmed at the marvellously atmospheric Bouffes du Nord in Paris in 2015, Peter Brook directs five Beckett shorts with a cast of three (Jos Houben, Marcello Magni and Kathryn Hunter). The production comprises Rough for Theatre I, Rockaby, Neither, Come and Go and Act Without Words II. Feel the rising panic and despair in Rockaby as the solitary, wide-eyed Hunter recounts a descent through long, lonely days.
Palermo Palermo
Even by Pina Bausch’s standards it’s an arresting opening: a huge wall collapses on stage and across the rubble comes Julie Shanahan, in high heels and a floral frock. After desperately commanding hugs from two suitors, she takes a seat and is pelted with rotten tomatoes. And so begins an epic patchwork of masochistic rituals, nightmares and games, blending the quotidian with the phenomenal, all inspired by the choreographer’s trip to Sicily. A rare chance to watch one of Bausch’s creations in full and for free online.
Smashed
At first sight they could be Pina Bausch’s dancers: a procession of performers wearing smart suits and enigmatic smiles, gliding across a stage filled with apples. Bausch’s company memorably balanced apples on their heads in Palermo Palermo, but as Smashed is created by those juggling supremos Gandini, the fruit is mostly in motion here. Their Bausch homage has the same childlike games, adult fantasy and bruised humour of the German choreographer’s work. Smashed is crisp, fresh and full of flavour. You may never look at an apple in the same way again …
Oscar Wilde season
All four productions in Classic Spring’s starry Oscar Wilde season in the West End can be watched on the online service Marquee TV, which is offering a 14-day free trial. Edward and Freddie Fox play father and son in An Ideal Husband; Eve Best is a memorable Mrs Arbuthnot in A Woman of No Importance; Kathy Burke directs Lady Windermere’s Fan; and Sophie Thompson is horrified by theatre’s most famous handbag in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Original Theatre Company
This touring company had to cut short its productions of Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art, about WH Auden and Benjamin Britten, and Ali Milles’s The Croft, which intertwines the lives of women over time on a Scottish Highland outpost. Both were filmed on their final performances to empty auditoriums and are available to rent online. Gwen Taylor stars in The Croft and Matthew Kelly is in The Habit of Art.
Ghost Quartet
If you missed its run at Soho’s new Boulevard theatre, here’s a chance to savour Dave Malloy’s song cycle, filmed in New York in 2015. Alternately rousing and yearning, this is a gorgeous hymn to barflies, precious memories and the joys of being a ghost, told with a dash of Edgar Allan Poe and Thelonious Monk. It’s a glorious get-together of a show, as warming as the whiskey handed out to the audience – but you’ll have to pour your own.
Key Change
Open Clasp is a women’s theatre company aiming to “change the world, one play at a timeâ€. Key Change, now available to stream online, is a fantastic introduction to their consistently impressive work with women who are on the margins of society; in this case, prisoners at HM Prison Low Newton, who devised the 2015 show with the theatre group over several months in order to break down stigma and enlighten audiences. It was filmed in partnership with The Space.
Crossings
Rural touring company Pentabus are releasing shows from their archive every Friday over a period of three months. Deirdre Kinahan’s play Crossings is, according to our critic Arifa Akbar, “an unexpected and touching drama about unlikely friendships, postwar homosexuality and the cost of war for womenâ€. Read the full review.
Snow Mouse
You have to hunt to find full theatre productions for very young audiences online, so here’s a little treat. To mark World Day of Theatre for Children on 20 March the lovely Egg in Bath released their wintry 40-minute tale for the under-fours.
The Show Must Go Online
The actor Robert Myles has set up a live-streamed reading group for professional and amateur actors to perform Shakespeare’s complete plays in the order they’re believed to have been written. The Guardian’s very own Stephen Moss took on the role of the Duke of Burgundy in Henry VI Part I.
Peeping Tom trilogy
The brilliant Belgian dance-theatre company turned 20 this year and are best known in the UK for performing at London international mime festival and for their trilogy comprising Mother, Father and Child. Their brand of domestic terror, hope and ennui will strike a chord at this troubling time. Watch their first trilogy (Le Jardin, Le Salon and Le Sous Sol) online.
After more than 1,000 productions, the Showstoppers improv crew are some of the quickest wits in the biz. So it’s no surprise that when they were faced with a West End closure they live-streamed a performance. Watch their custom-made, never-to-be-repeated impro musical on Facebook.
Rosie Kay’s extraordinary 5 Soldiers: The Body Is the Frontline was staged in army drill halls around the UK, but, since its livestream is still available online, you can watch it from the comfort of your own sofa. Performing in close quarters to a score that mixes punk and opera, Kay’s phenomenal company bring home the horror of combat and disarm audiences.
The Wind in the Willows
Julian Fellowes, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe teamed up to deliver a merry new version of Kenneth Grahame’s classic, staged at the London Palladium in 2017, with Rufus Hound wearing 50 shades of green as Mr Toad. It’s available to rent online, with the option to donate to help provide financial and emotional support to theatre workers.
Girls Like That
London’s Unicorn theatre has a world-class reputation for theatre for young audiences and its production of Evan Placey’s Girls Like That gripped the roomful of teenagers I watched it with in 2014. It’s online in full and offers a raw account of adolescent anxiety, slut-shaming and self-belief. In-your-face theatre that stays in your mind.
Le Patin Libre
Think dance on ice and you’d imagine sequins and staggering TV celebrities, but the Canadian troupe, Le Patin Libre, has taken the art form into a new dimension. In their double bill, Vertical Influences, the skaters turned the rink into a mesmerising stage slowly decorated by the patterns cut by their blades.
John Leguizamo’s Latin History for Morons
Self-isolation may mean that many of us will use living rooms to both teach children and watch theatre. An opportunity to combine the two can be found courtesy of the super-charismatic John Leguizamo – an inspirational tutor if ever there was – whose one-man Broadway show, Latin History for Morons, is on Netflix.
Woke
Apphia Campbell in Woke. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/the Guardian
LIVR is a subscription service that enables you to catch up on theatre in 360-degree virtual reality. Pop your smartphone into the headset they send you and experience a range of shows including Apphia Campbell’s show Woke, which interweaves the stories of Black Panther Assata Shakur and the 2014 Ferguson riots. The award-winning Patricia Gets Ready, written by Martha Watson Allpress, is also available from LIVR.
Timpson: The Musical
Two households, both alike in dignity … well, sort of. Our narrator, a talking portrait, lays our scene in Victorian London, and this musical comedy imagines the founding of the popular shoe-repair chain as a union between two companies, the Montashoes and the Keypulets. Watch Gigglemug Theatre’s show on YouTube.
My Left Nut
This is cheating as it’s a TV series, but BBC Three’s superb comedy drama is based on one of the most uproarious and affecting fringe theatre shows of recent years. It’s based on Michael Patrick’s own teenage experience of a medical condition that left his testicle “so big you could play it like a bongoâ€. Wince.
Rosas Danst Rosas
Love dance? Need to exercise at home? Then join the queen of Belgian avant-garde performance Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker as she talks you through how to perform her 1983 classic, Rosas Danst Rosas. All you need is a chair, a bit of legroom and enough space to swing your hair.
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The Trump administration plans to block Chinese airlines from flying to the United States.
The Trump administration on Wednesday said that it planned to block Chinese airlines from flying into or out of the United States starting on June 16 after the Chinese government effectively prevented U.S. airlines from resuming service between the countries.
The dispute stems from a March 26 decision by China’s aviation regulators that limited foreign carriers to one flight per week based on the flight schedules they had in place earlier that month. But all three U.S. airlines that fly between China and the United States had stopped all service to the country by then because of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the Chinese government had effectively banned them from flying between the two countries. Chinese airlines, by contrast, have been flying to American cities.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines had hoped to resume flights to China this month.
Both companies appealed to the Civil Aviation Authority of China but did not receive a response. The U.S. Transportation Department also pressed Chinese officials to allow flights by American companies during a call on May 14, arguing that China was violating a 1980 agreement that governs flights between the countries and aims to ensure that rules “equally apply to all domestic and foreign carriers†in both countries.
Tensions between the United States and China have escalated to heights not seen in the trade war as the countries scuffle over the origin of the pandemic and China’s recent move to tighten its authority over Hong Kong. With the presidential election just five months away, President Trump and his campaign team have taken a much tougher stand against the country, blaming China for allowing coronavirus to turn into a pandemic and wreck the American economy.
Joblessness in Europe ticked up slightly in April, the second month after most countries implemented coronavirus quarantines, as government-backed furlough programs designed to limit mass unemployment cushioned the blow of a devastating economic downturn.
But many national financial support programs are set to run out soon, making it likely that joblessness will continue to march higher in Europe over the coming months, economists said.
The eurozone unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent from 7.1 percent in March, although it was down from 7.6 percent a year ago. Around 12 million people in the 19 countries that use the euro were registered as unemployed, a relatively low number compared with the United States, where more than 40 million people have filed claims for jobless benefits since the start of the pandemic.
European governments have vowed to spend trillions of euros to keep people partially employed and support businesses amid the coronavirus crisis. Since March, France, Germany, Denmark and other countries have effectively been paying businesses not to lay people off and to keep them on standby when their economies reopened. Around one-third of all employees in Europe participated in short-time work schemes at the end of April, according to a study by the European Trade Union Institute.
“As the recovery is likely going to last for quite some time, unemployment is set to rise significantly, although short-time work will help output to recover more quickly once demand returns,†Bert Colijn, the senior eurozone economist at ING bank, wrote in a note to clients.
Wall Street continues to rally along with global markets.
Stocks rose again Wednesday, Wall Street’s third-day of gains this week, as investors continued to zero in on prospects for the economy as they looked past other risks.
The S&P 500 rose nearly 1 percent, bringing its gains for the week to more than 3 percent. Stocks in Europe were sharply higher.
On Wednesday, a private report on payrolls that showed job cuts may be slowing helped lift shares in the United States. Business payrolls fell by 2.76 million last month, the ADP Research Institute said. The government will release official payroll figures for May at the end of this week.
Investors have looked past a number of risks — from economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, to rising tension between the United States and China, to the growing unrest in the United States — to bid stocks higher for weeks, as they cheered steps from the Federal Reserve and fiscal spending by Washington meant to help minimize damage from the pandemic.
Since March 23, when the Federal Reserve signaled its willingness to do whatever it took to stabilize financial markets, the S&P has soared more than 37 percent. It is now less than 10 percent below its pre-pandemic high.
Before the pandemic shut down businesses, a robust economy had powered a building boom, sending office towers skyward in urban areas across the United States. The coronavirus outbreak, though, has scrambled plans and sent jitters through the real estate industry.
Skyscrapers scheduled to open this year will remake skylines in cities like Milwaukee, Nashville and Salt Lake City. Office vacancy rates, following a decade-long trend, had shrunk to 9.7 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2019, compared with 13 percent in the third quarter of 2010, according to Deloitte.
Developers were confident that the demand would remain strong. But the pandemic darkened the picture.
“There is a pause occurring as companies more broadly consider their real estate needs,†said Jim Berry, Deloitte’s U.S. real estate sector leader.
If the economic pain drags on, there could be long-lasting changes to the way people work and how tenants want offices to be reimagined, said Joseph L. Pagliari Jr., clinical professor of real estate at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Catch up: Here’s what else is happening.
Toyota Motor said it sold 165,000 cars in May, a 26 percent decline from a year ago. But the total was higher than its revised sales target, which called for May sales of 125,000 cars and light trucks. “Retail is recovering quicker than anticipated,†the automaker said in a statement.
Lyft told investors that its business was beginning to recover from a steep downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The ride-hailing company said in a regulatory filing that rides on its platform had increased 26 percent in May from the previous month. Despite the modest recovery, rides were still down 70 percent when compared with the same month a year ago, Lyft said. It added that it expected to lose no more than $325 million in the second quarter of the year.
Zoom, the videoconferencing company that has surged in popularity during the pandemic, said that its revenue soared to $328.2 million in the quarter that ended April 30, a 169 percent jump over the same period last year. Zoom said it had about 265,400 customers with more than 10 employees at the end of the quarter, a year-over-year increase of 354 percent. “The Covid-19 crisis has driven higher demand for distributed, face-to-face interactions and collaboration using Zoom,†said Eric S. Yuan, the founder and chief executive of Zoom.
Reporting was contributed by Niraj Chokshi, Liz Alderman, Mohammed Hadi, Kevin Williams, Neal E. Boudette, Kate Conger and Gregory Schmidt.
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