Six In The Morning Thursday 15 April 2021

 

Derek Chauvin says he will not testify at trial as defense is set to rest

By Eric Levenson and Aaron Cooper, CNN

Updated 1449 GMT (2249 HKT) April 15, 2021

Derek Chauvin invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent on Thursday and said he will not testify in his own defense in the trial of George Floyd's death.

Chauvin, speaking into a microphone before the jury entered the court, said it was his decision and his decision alone not to testify. Questioning from his attorney Eric Nelson suggested a tense internal debate on the issue.

"I have advised you, and (to say that) we have gone back and forth on the matter would be kind of an understatement, wouldn't it?" Nelson asked.

"Yes it is," Chauvin said.

Scientists sound warning note over malaria drug resistance in Africa

Rwanda study raises fears erosion of efficacy may have begun, with children at greatest risk

Sarah Boseley, health correspondent

Thu 15 Apr 2021 10.19 BST

Resistance to malaria drugs in Africa may be starting to take hold, according to a study that maps changes similar to those seen a decade ago when drug resistance spread in south-east Asia.

In Cambodia and neighbouring countries, the artemisinin drug compounds widely used against malaria are no longer always effective. The falciparum malaria parasites have developed genetic mutations that allow them to evade the drugs. There has been great concern that drug resistance could spread to Africa, which has the highest burden of cases of this type of malaria – and the highest toll of child deaths from it.

A study in Rwanda, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal on Wednesday, shows that the feared erosion of efficacy of the malaria drugs may have begun. As happened in south-east Asia, researchers have found that giving a child a course of artemisinin compound drugs does not always clear the malaria parasites from their blood in three days, as it should.

France’s pandemic death toll to pass 100,000

‘It is a figure we thought would never be reached’

Eleanor Sly@eleanor_sly\

France’s death toll from Covid-19 is expected to pass 100,000 on Thursday, which would make the European country the eighth in the world to pass the symbolic mark.

Only the United Kingdom and Italy have so far reached 100,000 deaths from coronavirus in Europe. This number has been called “an important threshold” by Lionel Petitpas, president of the association “Victims of Covid-19,” the Associated Press reported.

On Wednesday evening the cumulative death toll in France had reached 99,777 and is expected to hit 100,000 deaths on Thursday. Indeed, French health authorities have been reporting around 300 new covid-related deaths daily.

Asthma drug brings hope for COVID-19 treatment

A steroid commonly used in asthma inhalers has the potential to prevent severe COVID-19 symptoms. It could treat the illness early on and help to reduce pressure on hospitals.

A common asthma medication that can be used at home might be an effective treatment for early COVID-19 in adults, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

University of Oxford researchers found that patients who took the drug budesonide when their first COVID-19 symptoms started were less likely to need urgent medical care or hospitalization, and had a shorter recovery time. It also reduced the chance of persistent symptoms and fever.

Is China really about to invade Taiwan?

Analysts say US military’s warnings about rising threat are more a reflection of the deterioration in the US-China relationship rather than any change on the ground.

By 

Erin Hale

14 Apr 2021

For the first time in more than half a century, the United States and Japan are expected this week to make a joint statement on the security of the Taiwan Strait following a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

While largely symbolic, the statement would be an indication of increasing concern about the security of the democratically-run island amid dire public warnings from senior US military officials about the threat of an invasion by Beijing, which claims the island as its own.

Tucker Carlson Is Giving ‘Red Pills’ To Millions. White Nationalists Are Thrilled.

After the Fox News host doubled down on the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, white nationalists were excited at what it could mean for their movement.

By Christopher Mathias

After Fox News host Tucker Carlson doubled down on his support of the white nationalist “great replacement” conspiracy theory this week, prominent white nationalists across America expressed glee at what they saw as a possible mass radicalization event.

“This week Tucker redpilled 4 million people and there’s nothing liberals can do about it,” Nick Fuentes, the Holocaust-denying leader of the “America First” movement tweeted Monday night. (Being “redpilled,” or “taking the red pill,” is far-right lingo for adopting a white nationalist worldview.)

VDare, a well-known white nationalist website, gushed over Carlson’s monologue like a proud parent.