Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Six In The Morning Wednesday 29 July 2020

Coronavirus: Trump sticks by unproven hydroxychloroquine


US President Donald Trump has again defended the use of hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus, contradicting his own public health officials.
He said the malaria medication was only rejected as a Covid-19 treatment because he had recommended its use.
His remarks come after Twitter banned his eldest son for posting a clip promoting hydroxychloroquine.
There is no evidence the drug can fight the virus, and regulators warn it may cause heart problems.



Madonna's Instagram flagged for spreading coronavirus misinformation


The singer claimed a vaccine had been found but was being concealed to ‘let the rich get richer’

Published onWed 29 Jul 2020 11.52 BST

Instagram has censured a post by Madonna in which the pop star shared a coronavirus conspiracy theory with her 15 million followers.
She captioned the video with claims that a vaccine for Covid-19 has “been found and proven and has been available for months”. She continued: “They would rather let fear control the people and let the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

The video shows Dr Stella Immanuel, a primary care physician in Houston, Texas, claiming to have treated 350 coronavirus patients with hydroxychloroquine. She was speaking with a group called America’s Frontline Doctors outside the US Supreme Court building.

5 deadly countries for environmental defenders

A new report reveals a spike in the murder of global land defenders, especially in Latin America. The failure to combat climate change is forcing the most vulnerable to the frontlines, and to pay with their lives.
Environmental activists are being murdered in ever-increasing numbers. According to a new report by London-based NGO, Global Witness, 212 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2019 alone, a 30% rise from the 164 killed in 2018. Around 40% were indigenous people and traditional land owners.
More than two-thirds of killings took place in Latin America, with Colombia topping the list with 64 murders due to the failure to implement the 2016 peace agreement with FARC and protect farmers transitioning from coca to cocoa and coffee to reduce cocaine production. 

French police use 'legitimate violence', says new interior minister

France's recently installed interior minister dismissed on Tuesday the term "police violence" and told lawmakers the police exercise "legitimate violence".
"When I hear the term 'police violence', personally I choke," said GĂ©rard Darmanin, whose predecessor lost his job three weeks ago after becoming embroiled in a controversy over police use of a restraint method known as a chokehold.
Deaths in custody of two men of African origin in separate incidents sparked widespread fury and led Darmanin's predecessor Christophe Castaner to ban police use of the chokehold.

Yemen separatists abandon self-rule but peace deal doubts remain


Southern separatists rescind declaration of self-rule, pledge to implement power-sharing deal with Hadi's government.

Yemen's southern separatists have pledged to abandon their aspirations for self-rule and implement a Saudi-brokered power-sharing agreement with the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The Southern Transitional Council's (STC) announcement on Wednesday marked a big step towards closing a major front in Yemen's chaotic war, and came hours after Saudi Arabia presented a plan to "accelerate" the stalled peace deal's implementation.

Japan's air force faces a 'relentless' burden, imposed by China


Updated 0408 GMT (1208 HKT) July 29, 2020


Japanese fighter pilot Lt. Col. Takamichi Shirota says his country is under increasing pressure from the air. Analysts say it's a pressure faced by few other nations.
More than twice a day, Japanese fighter pilots hear a siren blare, bolt up from their ready-room seats, run to their jets, and scream aloft, ready to intercept a potentially unidentified incursion into Japanese airspace.
It happened to Japan's Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) 947 times in the last fiscal year ending in March. The culprit in most of those cases, warplanes from China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).

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