Six In The Morning Friday 17 April 2020

TRUMP’S OBSESSION WITH REOPENING THE ECONOMY IGNORES PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS

Nick Turse

ALMOST SINCE THE MOMENT he issued guidelines for combatting Covid-19 through social distancing, in mid-March, President Donald Trump has been pressing to reopen the country. This week, his push has reached a fever pitch as right-wing demonstrators took to the streets – from California to Kentucky, North Carolina, Wyoming, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio – in protest (and defiance) of stay-at-home orders.

On Wednesday, Trump, who had previously said that decisions about “rejuvenating the economy” will focus on protecting “health and life,” announced: “You already know we’ll be opening up states, some states much sooner than others, and we think some of the states can actually open up before the deadline of May 1.” (On Thursday afternoon, the president said that decisions about when to loosen social distancing restrictions would be left to individual states, contradicting statements he’d made earlier in the week.)

Lula: Bolsonaro leading Brazil 'to slaughterhouse' over Covid-19

Former president brands current leader a ‘troglodyte’ who should be removed from office

by Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro

Jair Bolsonaro is leading Brazilians “to the slaughterhouse” with his criminally irresponsible handling of coronavirus, the country’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has said.

In an impassioned interview with the Guardian – which came as Brazil’s Covid-19 death toll hit 1,924 – Lula said that by undermining social distancing and defenestrating his own health minister, Brazil’s “troglodyte” leader risked repeating the devastating scenes playing out in Ecuador where families have had to dump their loved ones’ corpses in the streets.

“Unfortunately I fear Brazil is going to suffer a great deal because of Bolsonaro’s recklessness … I fear that if this grows Brazil could see some cases like those horrific, monstrous images we saw in Guayaquil,” said the 74-year-old leftist.

Coronavirus in maps and charts: Tracking the outbreak around the world

Following data through maps and graphs can help public understand how spread of Covid-19 will impact their daily lives and influence government responses, Dr Joshua Moon says
Samuel Osborne @SamuelOsborne93

When the first coronavirus cases were diagnosed in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December and news of an outbreak began to trickle out of the country, few could have predicted the coming pandemic.

More than 2 million Covid-19 cases have since been identified around the world and the virus has killed more than 145,000 people.

The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak a pandemic and countries have told their citizens to stay at home to reduce the spread of the infection.

Food vouchers and overdrafts: Covid-19 puts France’s poorest students in a tight spot

A week before the end of term in French universities, France’s poorest students tell FRANCE 24 how their daily struggles have been exacerbated by the lockdown.  

If there was one thing Imane took away from French President Emmanuel Macron’s televised address on April 13, it was his promise to provide immediate help for “the most vulnerable students”.

For the past several weeks, the 21-year-old has only been able to eat thanks to the €50 Carrefour supermarket vouchers sent to by her social worker when her cupboards are empty.

“At the beginning of the lockdown it was very tricky, because the most basic foods (pasta, flour, etc.) were missing from the shelves. I had to buy expensive brand name products, but I ended up finding ways to get what I needed. I can buy vegetables, but for meat, it depends,” she said.

Saudi activists dispute official narrative on al-Hwaiti killing

Abdul Rahim al-Hwaiti was shot dead by security forces after refusing to give up his property for a mega-project.

Saudi activists and dissidents have disputed an official narrative alleging a Saudi citizen who refused government orders to give up his home to make way for a new mega-project was killed after he shot at security forces.

In a report published by Saudi TV on Wednesday, Saudi authorities said Abdul Rahim Ahmad al-Hwaiti from Tabuk province was a "wanted terrorist" who was killed in a shoot-out with security forces.

Climate change: US megadrought 'already under way'

By Matt McGrathEnvironment correspondent

A drought, equal to the worst to have hit the western US in recorded history, is already under way, say scientists.

Researchers say the megadrought is a naturally occurring event that started in the year 2000 and is still ongoing.

Climate change, though, is having a major impact with rising temperatures making the drought more severe.

Some researchers are more cautious, saying that it is too early to say if the region really is seeing a true megadrought.