Evacuating millions ahead of cyclone

A potentially devastating cyclone is expected to hit South Asia on Wednesday, leading India and Bangladesh to evacuate up to 3 million people from the storm's path. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( A powerful cyclone is headed toward India and Bangladesh, prompting millions to evacuate and compounding fears over the novel coronavirus. US President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization as the body urges global cooperation. And, one study is crowdsourcing the growing list of COVID-19 symptoms. Also, major global events often inspire iconic art and cultural shifts. One byproduct of the 1918 flu pandemic? Zombies. --------------------------------------------------------------- Are you planning to fly more or less once the pandemic starts easing? Has it changed the way you feel about flying? Email a voice memo to [climate@theworld.org](mailto:climate@theworld.org?subject=Flying%20once%20the%20pandemic%20eases%20up)answering these questions, and The World might feature you on air! Follow us @TheWorld --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today Powerful cyclone prompts millions to evacuate in South Asia [A scientist at India Meteorological Department Earth System Science Organisation, points to a section of the screen showing the position of the Cyclone Amphan to media people inside his office in Kolkata, India, May 19, 2020.]( Credit: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters A potentially devastating cyclone is expected to hit South Asia on Wednesday, leading India and Bangladesh to [evacuate up to 3 million people]( from the storm's path. Cyclone Amphan had been classified as the most powerful type of cyclone and the second such storm to be tracked in the region since 1999. Though it has been [weakening slightly](, it is still likely to bring dangerous wind, rain and flooding. Cyclone Amphan is coming in the midst of a pandemic, in which India and Bangladesh together have more than 125,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. Some evacuees fear catching the virus in emergency shelters with no room to maintain social distance. A recent study shows that [major tropical cyclones]( have become more likely over the past 40 years. [According to researchers](: "A warming planet may be fueling the increase" in stronger, sustained winds. Trump threatens WHO funding, US membership US President Donald Trump has redoubled his criticism of the World Health Organization, threatening to permanently withdraw funding and reconsider US membership if the UN agency does not commit to "[major substantive improvements](" within the next 30 days. The ultimatum comes after the first day of a WHO global summit urging international cooperation. The Trump administration already put a 60-day hold on WHO funds in April. Withdrawing support and membership would weaken the agency in the middle of a worldwide fight to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic. It would also leave the [US with little influence over the body]( and less access to WHO resources. And: [China accuses US of coronavirus smear campaign]( Also: [Trump says he's taking hydroxychloroquine, prompting warning from health experts]( [Tune in: Lessons from the pandemic to avert a future crisis]( What has been the response to the current pandemic and how it is tied to strengthening and building a better public health system? As part of our [weekly series]( taking your questions to the experts, The World's Elana Gordon will moderate a discussion with Dr. Howard Koh from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Kennedy School, and former assistant secretary for health in the US Department of Health and Human Services. [Tune in here today at noon ET.]( Email your questions for Koh to [myworld@theworld.org](mailto:myworld@theworld.org?subject=Coronavirus%20Discussions) or post them to our [Facebook page](. [Colombian airlines face controversy over pandemic loans]( Governments worldwide — from Singapore to the Netherlands and the US — have devoted more than $85 billion to prop up airlines during the coronavirus pandemic. But airlines' requests for aid are controversial in less rich Latin American economies, where millions live in poverty and public health systems are ill-equipped to respond to a large-scale health crisis. Many leaders in Latin America likely see air travel as a luxury and may be [reluctant to extend help to airlines]( during the crisis. And: [Britain is at risk of 'returning to 80s levels of unemployment']( [Tracking the growing list of COVID-19 symptoms]( When the novel coronavirus first emerged in China, the world was warned to watch out for two main symptoms: fever or a persistent cough. A lot has changed since then. Researchers are learning that [symptoms of the coronavirus can vary]( depending on myriad factors, such as age and health status. The [COVID Symptom Study]( is pulling together this growing list of the coronavirus symptoms. Since its app launched in March, it has crowdsourced symptoms from more than 3.5 million people in the UK, US and Sweden. From The World: [World faces risk of 'vaccine nationalism' in COVID-19 fight, says CEPI chair]( And: [Trump’s use of malaria drug likely to be welcomed in India]( The Number in the News: 30 The World’s [Every 30 Seconds]( series is tracking the stories of young Latino voters. One of those voters is Michelle Ramirez. She’s a 17-year-old high school junior in Seattle, Washington. The pandemic has changed how she views the world around her — including politics and the 2020 election. [The Number in the News]( is The World’s daily smart speaker show. You’ll learn one number you won’t forget and why it’s in the news today. [Click here]( to add The Number in the News to your Amazon or Google flash briefing and hear a new episode seven days a week. Also: [¿Podrá Biden lograr que los latinos voten? Los defensores de la migración no están seguros.]( [Mosques in Kenya offer virtual prayers for Ramadan]( On a normal Friday during Ramadan, Ahmed Ali Mohamed would head to the mosque with his family and friends to break the fast. But with the pandemic, this year's Ramadan experience is anything but normal for Muslims in Nairobi, Kenya. Eastleigh, a predominantly Muslim neighborhood in Nairobi where Mohamed’s mother and grandmother live, is currently under lockdown, and most mosques have closed. Instead, some mosques are [offering virtual prayers via YouTube.]( And: [Eid al-Fitr 2020: Everything you need to know]( [Art, poetry and ... zombies? Cultural legacies of the 1918 pandemic]( [Norwegian artist Edvard Munch's "Self-Portrait with the Spanish Flu," circa 1919.]( Credit: Public domain/Wikimedia Commons There seem to be few great works of art that keep the 1918 flu pandemic alive in cultural memory. But Elizabeth Outka, author of "[Viral Modernism: The Influenza Pandemic and Interwar Literature](," says the 1918 pandemic's influence is an undercurrent that runs through many works of the period. For example, the pandemic and World War I led to a renewed interest in spiritualism, a belief that humans could communicate with the dead through seances, mediums and objects like Ouija boards. [Another surprising cultural byproduct of the pandemic? Zombies.]( Also: [Polish hit song on grieving 'censored', sparking protests]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Morning meme After searching for 32 years, a Chinese couple has finally been [reunited with their son](, who was abducted from a Xi'an hotel when he was just two years old. [A screengrab from Twitter showing parents embracing their adult son.]( [Credit: Screenshot from Twitter]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it on The World - [Stay out of my ‘moist breath zone’]( - [No more tourists in Venice]( - [Trump firing of inspector general a new blow to State Department morale]( - [Vaccine nationalism vs. access for all]( - [Keeping Brazil’s Indigenous people informed]( - [Politics at play as Brazil navigates pandemic]( - [The daily life of an Italian doctor]( - [Canadian activists say they’re being harassed by China]( - [Suspect in Rwandan genocide arrested in France]( - [Al-Qaeda link to Florida military base shooting]( - [World Health Assembly goes virtual]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. 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