NEWS SUMMARY-INTELLIGENCE REPORT WEDNESDAY 3/18/2020

(LIMITED SERVICE WHEN ABLE THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING AT 845 PM EASTERN TIME)

An earthquake measuring magnitude 5.7 hit Utah today just after 7 am local time (9 am Eastern US time).   

Gas leaks and building damage reported in the Salt Lake City area with aftershocks later in the day including a 4.6 magnitude on this afternoon.

More details on the quake from KSL........LINK

In Israel the tough bargaining to form a new government underway in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that will follow the end of the pandemic.      The Blue and White Party demanding control over the justice ministry and law enforcement in any new unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party.....ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS STORY

More fighting reported in Libya's capital Tripoli where the Government of National Accord recognized by the United Nations and backed by Turkey is fighting the United Arab Emirates backed Libyan National Army of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

No immediate information about casualties in the fighting......YENI SAFAK TURKISH NEWS REPORT

Iraq's president appointed a new prime minister designate Tuesday.    Adnan al-Zurfi, the former governor of the city of Najaf, will have 30 days to form a new government.    al-Zurfi promising early fair elections and a response to the demands of protesters who say they want reform in the country's political system.....DEUTSCHE WELLE NEWS STORY

An extremist group in Iraq threatening the US military there with more attacks.    A masked man from a group calling itself  "Usbat al-Tha'ireen" appears in a video threatening the "devil America" saying that recent attacks including one that killed two Americans and a Briton are the "least" that the group is capable of......SOUTHFRONT STORY

Meanwhile the Pentagon spokesman said today that the US military is still looking at how it will respond to Monday's attack on Camp Taji north of Baghdad that wounded three US soldiers.....REUTERS NEWS STORY

In New Zealand legislation legalizing abortion passing the country's parliament.   More on the story from "The Irish Independent"......LINK

In the United States Oregon moving to prepare to the worst in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Governor Kate Brown announced today that a 250-bed emergency hospital will be established at the state fairgrounds in Salem......OREGON LIVE NEWS STORY

The highest death toll for any single country in a single day in the coronavirus pandemic today.

Italy reporting 475 deaths to bring the total number of deaths to 2,978.      There are now 35,713 cases in Italy.     That would equal 835,684 cases in a nation with the population of China.

Neighboring Italy is Switzerland with some 3,028 cases and 28 deaths.   The government there has declared a state of emergency and imposed restrictions,

There are now more than 12,000 coronavirus cases in Germany and Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a televised speech:

"This is serious.  Take it seriously"

Cameras in Russia are identifying violators of self-isolation in the capital city of Moscow....TASS NEWS STORY

French police handing out fines to some 4,095 people today for not complying with the order from the government to stay home because of the coronavirus.    The fine is 135 euros (147 dollars and 15 cents US).

The coronavirus story around the world as reported by BBC News.......BBC NEWS CORONAVIRUS BLOG

And a blog that covered developments in the coronavirus story here in the USA today....TEGNA STATIONS-ASSOCIATED PRESS BLOG-WNEP TV

Also the latest numbers at 845 pm Eastern US time from the "Worldometers" site reports 9.269 cases of Covid-19 with 151 deaths in the United States.

At the close of trading the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1,338.46 today to 19.898.42, a drop of 6.30 percent.  The decline was even higher earlier in the day.

Crude oil prices tumbling today with Brent Crude falling some 11 percent to 25.62 a barrel by late afternoon.....INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES STORY

Convicted movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has a new home.      Its a New York state prison near Buffalo.     Weinstein, convicted of rape and sexual assault and sentenced to 23 years in prison, transferred today from the Rikers Island prison in New York to the Wende Correctional Facility......AFP NEWS STORY PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

That's the way it really is Wednesday March 18th, 2020.......