In ramping up diplomatic pressure, China is trying to control the narrative of the pandemic.

Unemployment and coronavirus: How do European countries protect jobs?

The highly distinctive and mostly endemic Australian land mammal fauna has suffered an extraordinary rate of extinction (>10% of the 273 endemic terrestrial species) over the last ∼200 y: in comparison, only one native land mammal from continental North America became extinct since European settlement. A further 21% of Australian...

You can view all of the articles from this issue individually in full here.

Dr Archana Nagarajan, a freelance scientist specialising in medical devices at Kolabtree, the online freelance platform for scientists, explains the changes made to the European medical device market in light of the pandemic.

Troy Robinson has been taken on as the new managing director of Chugai Pharma Europe. Mike Crosher will succeed him in his current role as managing director of Chugai Pharma UK.

Chugai Pharma Europe (CPE) has promoted Troy Robinson and Mike Crosher into the positions of managing director of CPE and managing director of the firm’s UK subsidiary, Chugai Pharma UK (CPU).

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The European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has confirmed that the risks from using Picato are too high to end its suspension.

English excess deaths from the coronavirus are comparable to the worst hit countries in Europe, according to a Sky News analysis.

Britain has become the first European nation to pass 30,000 deaths from the coronavirus, putting it only behind the US as the worst hit country in the world in terms of fatalities.

The European medicines regulator has OK’d a label update for AstraZeneca’s Lokelma (sodium zirconium…

Christopher Paul, a/k/a Abdul Malek, a/k/a Paul Kenyatta Laws, a 44-year-old U.S. citizen born in Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for conspiring with others to use a weapon of mass destruction, namely explosive devices, against targets in Europe and the United States.

Building upon the successes of earlier efforts, the Department today announced the opening in Bangkok of a regional conference of approximately 100 key law enforcement and industry officials from more than a dozen nations with the goal of strengthening international cooperation in fighting large-scale intellectual property crimes.

A federal court has barred a Chicago tax preparation firm, El Caminante, Inc. and its principal operator, Maria Colica, from preparing federal income tax returns claiming false tax credits. The company and Colica agreed to the injunction. The Government civil injunction complaint filed in the case alleged that Colica fraudulently claimed fuel tax credits for customers who were not entitled to them.

The Department announced this week that it has filed a lawsuit against TK Properties L.L.C., its officer, Scott Terveen, and two employees, Ann Wagner and Corey Anderson, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating on the basis of race.

After conducting a careful investigation of the proposed transaction between Oracle and Sun, the Department’s Antitrust Division concluded that the merger is unlikely to be anticompetitive.

The department filed a lawsuit today in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri alleging a pattern or practice of violations of the Fair Housing Act by the owner and managers of Forum Manor Apartments for refusing to rent to African-Americans and males, refusing to allow tenants to have African-American visitors, sexually harassing female tenants and retaliating against tenants who complained about such discrimination.

“The Antitrust Division commends the efforts of the European Commission and Microsoft Corporation, which have announced that they have reached a comprehensive settlement resolving their disputes under European competition law."

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the formation of a new Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property as part of a Department-wide initiative to confront the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property (IP) crimes.

Among other things, Zazi admitted that he brought TATP [Triacetone Triperoxide] explosives to New York on Sept. 10, 2009, as part of plan to attack the New York subway system.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that KBR knowingly included impermissible costs for private armed security in billings to the Army.

Learning Tree International Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $4.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act when it improperly invoiced federal agencies in advance for information technology training courses and kept federal funds for training courses that were never actually provided.

The United States has sued an Ohio man and his company, seeking to bar them from promoting a scheme that allegedly helps customers claim improper theft loss tax deductions.

As part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing initiative to confront intellectual property (IP) crimes, Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler announced today the appointment of 15 new Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) positions and 20 FBI Special Agents to be dedicated to combating domestic and international IP crimes.

As part of the Obama Administration’s launch of the first-ever Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, Attorney General Eric Holder today emphasized the Department of Justice’s ongoing commitment to protecting U.S. intellectual property as central to America’s economic prosperity and public safety.

"Today, we have a unique, and critically important, opportunity – the chance to identify and to advance some of the world’s most effective public safety and prisoner reentry strategies."

"As global criminal networks increasingly fund their illicit activities through intellectual property crimes, our challenge is not simply to keep up," said Attorney General Holder.

The Justice Department announced today that it has sued the owners and managers of Park Towers Apartments, a federally-subsidized apartment complex in Waterloo, Iowa, alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Senior U.S. District Judge Jack T. Camp Jr., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to possession of controlled substances and conversion of government property.

A former residential sales manager at a Florida property management company pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with housing repair contracts for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

A Florida man and two U.K. nationals pleaded guilty Dec.10, 2010, to immigration fraud charges for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently procure visas from the U.S. Embassy in London through a Florida property development company called Royal Development.

"This summit provides a unique and important opportunity to build on the progress that we have achieved over the last year in combating intellectual property crimes and protecting consumer health and safety."

The Justice Department today announced a $1.25 million agreement with Warren Properties Inc., Warren Village (Mobile) Limited Partnership, and Frank R. Warren, to settle allegations that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant a tenant’s requests for a reasonable accommodation.

Andrew Warren, 43, a former official with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), was sentenced today to 65 months in prison on charges of abusive sexual contact and unlawful use of cocaine while possessing a firearm.

A federal court in Detroit has ordered Ypsilanti, Mich., property owner and Washtenaw County Commissioner Ronnie Peterson, and his former manager Glen E. Johnson to pay a total of $82,500 in civil penalties in a sexual harassment case.

Richard A. Murdoch of Florida was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for immigration fraud and tax evasion charges related to his role in a scheme to fraudulently procure visas from the U.S. Embassy in London through a Florida property development company called Royal Development.

Former Senior U.S. District Court Judge Jack T. Camp Jr., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to one month in prison for unlawful possession of controlled substances charges and unlawful conversion of government property.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights today entered into a settlement agreement with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to ensure that Arizona’s English Language Learner (ELL) students receive the educational services that they need.

A Joint statement on behalf of the United States and the European Union:

A Santa Clarita, Calif., resident was convicted today of five environmental charges related to the improper renovation of a San Fernando Valley, Calif., apartment complex – work that caused asbestos to be released into the complex and the surrounding community.

A District of Columbia federal court has entered a permanent injunction order against Steven McClain and the Trust for Architectural Easements Inc. (formerly known as the National Architectural Trust).

Thomas W. Richardson of Mansfield, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft before the Honorable Jane J. Boyle in Dallas.

Veniamin Gonikman, 56, who became a fugitive in 2005, was apprehended in Ukraine in January 2011.

"Conferences like this one serve the important purpose of raising global awareness about the negative consequences of IP crime, and showing those who need convincing how critically important it is that we work together to stop IP crime, and punish those who commit it," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.

"Over the years, by working together – in common cause, in good faith, and with mutual respect and shared commitment to reciprocity – we have built a safer world," said Attorney General Holder.

"As surely as our values are shared – and our histories intertwined -- the future progress of our nations is clearly, and permanently, connected,"

The Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Commission today issued an updated set of “best practices” that they use to coordinate their merger reviews.

"As our country continues to recover from once-in-a-generation economic challenges, the need to safeguard intellectual property rights – and to protect Americans from IP crimes – has never been more urgent. But, in many ways, this work has also never been more difficult," said Attorney General Holder.

"The pillars of the division’s work are civil merger and non-merger enforcement, criminal enforcement, competition advocacy, and international activities and we have been active in all those areas," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Pozen.