El Salvador authorizes use of lethal force against gangs

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on Sunday authorized the use of "lethal force" by police and military against gang members to crack down on heightened violence amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Central American country reported 24 homicides on Friday, the worst one-day toll since Bukele took office in June, prompting him to order a 24-hour lockdown in prisons housing gang members. The government this weekend also ordered members of rival gangs into shared cells in a bid to break up lines of communication between members of the same group, and carried out searches in at least five prisons.

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Saudi Arabia abolishes flogging

Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment, the state human rights commission said Saturday, hailing a "major step forward" in the reform programme launched by the king and his powerful son. Court-ordered floggings in Saudi Arabia -- sometimes extending to hundreds of lashes -- have long drawn condemnation from human rights groups. The state human rights commission said that the latest reform, which was reported by Saudi media including the pro-government Okaz newspaper, would ensure that no more convicts were sentenced to flogging.

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Sturgeon Sees Chance to Reshape Scots Economy on Virus Outbreak

(Bloomberg) -- Scotland has the opportunity to reshape its economy as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, according to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, even as she reiterated her warning that Scots are likely to face an extended period of restrictions on movement and social contact.“When things come apart – when the kaleidoscope of our lives is shaken – there is an opportunity to see them put back together differently, and see a new way of doing things,” Sturgeon wrote in the Herald on Sunday newspaper. “We can start to think together, and work together, to decide the kind of Scotland we want to emerge from this crisis.”Reform of Scotland’s 170 billion-pound ($210 billion) economy could be accelerated as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, which like in the rest of the U.K., has led to tough restrictions on the movement of people and the ability of businesses to keep operating, Sturgeon wrote in the Glasgow-based newspaper. The country’s chief economist, Gary Gillespie, estimates that Scotland’s economy could shrink by 12% this year, and he has warned that not all businesses would be able to survive the lockdown.“Before this crisis, we were focused on our mission of making Scotland a greener, fairer and more prosperous country,” Sturgeon wrote. “That has not changed. But the place from where we are starting has.”Sturgeon, who leads Scotland’s pro-independence government, didn’t mention separation from the rest of the U.K. in her editorial in the Glasgow-based newspaper. There have been signs in recent weeks, however, that the Edinburgh-based government is starting to diverge from the rest of the U.K. in its handling of the crisis.The Scottish government last week published its 24-page strategy detailing how it intends to ease restrictions on people and reopen the economy. At the time, Sturgeon said Scotland would go its own way if it deems that to be appropriate. Plans could include lifting restrictions on a geographical basis or for different groups of the population, it said.The U.K. government, which has set out five tests for lifting the nationwide lockdown, hasn’t yet produced a detailed strategy because of concern doing so would encourage people to ignore the restrictions.“It is important to be clear at the outset that the current lockdown remains vital – it is only because of it, that we are now seeing some progress against the virus,” Sturgeon wrote. “These restrictions may need to continue in the current form beyond this three-week period.”More than 10,000 people have so far tested positive for Covid-19 in Scotland, with 1,230 confirmed as having died from the virus. Separate figures, which include deaths that are suspected of being related to the illness, show the number of fatalities at more than 1,600.“We still all face major challenges. Challenges in navigating the uncertainties that the virus has created, as well as rebuilding our economy and public services,” Sturgeon wrote. “But we can go further than rebuilding, and look seriously at social and economic reform.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Trump says briefings 'not worth the effort' amid fallout from disinfectant comments

The president remained behind closed doors after advisers reportedly warned him that the briefings were hurting his campaignAfter more than a month of near-daily White House coronavirus press briefings, Donald Trump stayed behind closed doors on Saturday after advisers reportedly warned the president that his appearances were hurting his campaign.Trump himself referenced his absence when he wrote on Twitter that the briefings are “not worth the time & effort”. The president wrote the tweet on Saturday evening, when he would usually be taking the podium to address journalists.> What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!> > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 25, 2020“What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately,” he wrote. “They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!”In recent weeks Trump has used the briefings to dole out unproven and debunked medical advice, suggesting that things like sunlight and an anti-malaria drug are cures to Covid-19, often causing his own medical experts to try to correct the record.But on Friday Trump surprised observers by taking no questions and stalking out of the room after an unusually short briefing of just 22 minutes. Some took the move as an acknowledgement from Trump himself that he may have taken things too far when he said on Thursday that disinfectant could be used to cure Covid-19.Those comments sparked shock and ridicule – and warnings from healthcare experts – and prompted Trump to make a ham-fisted attempt at a clawback when he later said he had made the remarks sarcastically – despite video proving he had not.While the press briefings are meant to give members of the coronavirus task force an opportunity to provide updates on the state of Covid-19 in the country, the attention around the briefings has been centered on Trump’s use of the podium as his bully pulpit.The president has used the briefings as uncensored airtime, praising his administration for its response to the crisis while criticizing the media and Democrats for any negative comeback.Advisers close to the president told him to stop making appearances at the briefings unless special announcements needed to be made, according to multiple reports published Saturday morning. The advice comes as Trump trails Joe Biden in polls from swing states. Perhaps, his advisers believe, because his appearances are overkill.“I told him it’s not helping him,” one adviser told Axios. “Seniors are scared. And the spectacle of him fighting with the press isn’t what people want to see.”Trump has reportedly been hesitant to end his briefing appearances, Axios reported, because he said they bring in good television ratings.The president has also used the briefings as an opportunity to rile up his base in a way that would typically be done at his rallies. Trump has criticized Democrats and attacked Biden, referring to him as “Sleepy Joe” during briefings, veering far away from the subject of Covid-19.It is unclear whether Trump can stay away from the podium, or whether his instincts as a reality television star will kick in and the show will go on.“He’s going to want to get media attention and control his message,” Sam Nunberg, a political consultant who briefly worked on Trump’s campaign in 2016, told Politico. “He is the only one who thinks he can do his message best, and that’s just the reality. That’s how he works.”

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Mnuchin predicts US economic 'bounce back' as pandemic spending rises

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin insisted Sunday the US economy will come roaring back even amid warnings from another White House adviser of longer-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic's unprecedented shock to the economy. Mnuchin's upbeat assessment came amid skyrocketing unemployment figures and forecasts predicting a deep contraction in economic activity this year. In an interview with "Fox News Sunday," Mnuchin defended the soaring deficit spending as key to reviving the economy, even amid rising signs of Republican pushback in Congress.

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In Albania, Ramadan under lockdown revives memories of communism

Stuck in their Tirana flat under a coronavirus lockdown, 81-year-old Osman Hoxha and his family quietly mark the start of Ramadan, recalling the communist era when practicing religion meant risking death. Like many parts of the world, mosques in Muslim-majority Albania are eerily empty while iftar supper tables have fewer chairs than normal as families shelter at home to curb the spread of the virus. For older generations, the intimate settings inevitably stir up memories of how they were forced to furtively keep their faith alive under the long and brutal reign of the late communist dictator Enver Hoxha, who outlawed religion.

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Mexico returns Central Americans, empties migrant centers

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Disinfectant makers steer consumers away from Trump's coronavirus comments

Reckitt Benckiser, the UK-based maker of Lysol and Dettol, issued the first warning, saying: "Under no circumstance should our disinfectant products be administered into the human body (through injection, ingestion or any other route)." "Bleach and other disinfectants are not suitable for consumption or injection under any circumstances," it said. The comments came after Trump said at a Thursday news briefing that scientists should explore whether inserting ultraviolet light or disinfectant into the bodies of people infected with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus would help.

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Michigan senator apologizes for wearing Confederate flag face mask

Dale Zorn initially defended his actions, saying it was part of ‘our history’, but eventually apologized after widespread outrageA Republican politician in Michigan has apologized after wearing a face mask that appeared to depict the Confederate flag, an image offensive to many Americans as a symbol of racism and slavery.Michigan state Senator Dale Zorn wore the mask during a Senate vote at the state capitol in Lansing on Friday. He initially defended his actions, saying his wife had made the mask and that it depicted the flag of Tennessee or Kentucky.“I told my wife it probably will raise some eyebrows, but it was not a Confederate flag,” Zorn told Lansing TV station WLNS on Friday.He went on to add: “Even if it was a Confederate flag, you know, we should be talking about teaching our national history in schools and that’s part of our national history and it’s something we can’t just throw away because it is part of our history.”When Zorn was asked what the meaning of the Confederate flag is, he replied “the Confederacy”.> This is Dale Zorn. He is an elected member of the Michigan Senate. He wore a Confederate Flag mask on the floor of the Michigan Senate. Then he tried to tell us he didn't. > > THIS IS MICHIGAN, NOT MISSISSIPPI! > > Get that trash outta here. pic.twitter.com/uTOaBzweTO> > — Bryan Newland (@RealBNewland) April 25, 2020In fact, displaying the Confederate flag, or other symbols of the slave-owning south during the American civil war, is usually seen as racist. While some advocates claim they are celebrating southern identity and heritage, it is widely seen as a racist symbol deeply offensive to black Americans. Nor is it just flags. There is an ongoing campaign to remove Confederate war statues from public display or rename streets and buildings which commemorate Confederate generals or politicians.After sparking widespread outrage, Zorn issued an apology on Saturday.“I’m sorry for my choice of pattern on the face mask I wore yesterday on the Senate floor. I did not intend to offend anyone; however, I realize that I did, and for that I am sorry. Those who know me best know that I do not support the things this pattern represents,” he wrote on Twitter. “My actions were an error in judgment for which there are no excuses and I will learn from this episode.”A spokesperson for Michigan’s senate majority leader, Republican Mike Shirkey, said that Shirkey “would not support or encourage any senator to display an insensitive symbol on the Senate floor”.The leader of the Democrats in the Michigan senate, Jim Ananich, said: “I’m just really disappointed to see him make a choice that is deeply hurtful to so many people. When he was called out for it, he didn’t seem to even understand or acknowledge what the problem was.”Zorn was in Lansing on Friday to vote on measures that would increase oversight of Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer’s powers during the Covid-19 pandemic.Michigan is one of a number of states that have attracted protests against stay-at-home orders during the pandemic. Zorn said he supported bipartisan oversight of Whitmer’s actions.

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Yemen crisis deepens as separatists declare self-governance

Yemeni separatists early Sunday declared self-rule of the country's south as a peace deal with the government crumbled, complicating a long and separate conflict with Huthi rebels who control much of the north. The Southern Transitional Council (STC) accused the government of failing to perform its duties and of "conspiring" against the southern cause, and said self-governance had begun at midnight. The government condemned the move and said the separatists -- who have long agitated for independence in the south -- would be responsible for the "catastrophic and dangerous" outcome.

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Governors, Facing Pressures on All Sides, Weigh Reopening Their States

By BY SHAILA DEWAN AND VANESSA SWALES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3aFs6J9

For Trump, Lying Is a Super Power

By BY CHARLES M. BLOW from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2yPNkGU

After sailing into New York less than a month ago, the USNS Comfort is set to discharge its last coronavirus patient

According to a report by ABC7, the USNS Comfort will be discharging its last coronavirus patient on Sunday, April 26 and returning to its homeport.

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El Paso Walmart shooting victim dies, death toll now 23

A hospital official said Guillermo ‘Memo’ Garcia died after a nine-month fight.

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Lebanon bank attacked with explosive amid economic crisis

Assailants lobbed an explosive device at a bank in Lebanon Saturday, in the latest attack on financial institutions in a country facing its worst economic crisis in decades. The official National News Agency said the night-time assault targeted a branch of Fransabank in the southern port city of Sidon, damaging its glass facade. The attack came a day after Prime Minister Hassan Diab said Lebanese bank deposits had plunged $5.7 billion in the first two months of the year, despite curbs on withdrawals and a ban on transfers abroad.

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Coronavirus: The different approaches to lockdowns in Africa

Countries have taken different routes in imposing restrictions - which ones are working against the virus?

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A top public health expert says US coronavirus pandemic is 'near the end of the beginning' as states are set to reopen

Despite promising indicators of new cases and deaths from the virus, Tom Inglesby said that the US is "not out of the woods by any means."

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Saudi Arabia bans flogging as a punishment after human rights activist dies in detention

Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment, the state human rights commission said on Saturday hailing a "major step forward" in the reform programme launched by the king and his powerful son, days after a human rights activist died in custody. Court-ordered floggings in Saudi Arabia - sometimes extending to hundreds of lashes - have long drawn condemnation from human rights groups. But they say the headline legal reforms overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have brought no let-up in the conservative Islamic kingdom's crushing of dissent, including through the use of the death penalty. The state human rights commission said that the latest reform, which was reported by Saudi media including the pro-government Okaz newspaper, would ensure that no more convicts were sentenced to flogging. "This decision guarantees that convicts who would previously have been sentenced to the lash will from now on receive fines or prison terms instead," its chairman, Awad al-Awad, said.

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Nearly 150 total coronavirus cases confirmed on cruise ship in Japan

Nearly 150 cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed among crew members of an Italian cruise ship docked in Japan after health authorities finished testing everyone on board, an official said on Saturday. The Nagasaki prefecture official said 57 more crew had tested positive, bringing the total infections on board the Costa Atlantica to 148, roughly one quarter of the vessel's 623 crew members. Authorities began testing after one crew member tested positive for the virus earlier this week.

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Governors say they'll ease virus restrictions, with an abundance of caution

The governors of Colorado and New York outlined plans to ease pandemic restrictions but stressed they were moving with caution.

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Why has Spain been hit so hard by the coronavirus pandemic?

In Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries in the pandemic, the coronavirus spread quickly and widely without being detected, especially among the elderly, experts told AFP. While they stressed it was too early to carry out a detailed analysis, the experts pointed to the country's sociable lifestyle and close ties between young and older family members as significant factors in the virus's spread. While Spain has the world's highest coronavirus death toll per capita after Belgium, its mortality rate -- the percentage of infected patients who die -- stands at 10.4 percent, below other hard-hit nations like Italy, France and Britain.

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The IRS is telling 10,000 'mission-critical' employees to bring their own face masks while calling them back to work this week

The Friday memo was published by two Democratic lawmakers who blasted the IRS' decision to tell employees to bring their own PPE.

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Trump Tweets That Virus Briefings Maybe ‘Not Worth the Time’

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump has been determined to talk his way through the coronavirus crisis, but frequent misstatements at his daily news conferences have caused a litany of public health and political headaches for the White House.On Friday, Trump sought to clean up his briefing room riff from the day before about the possibility of fighting coronavirus infection in patients with chemical disinfectant or sunlight -- a dangerous idea that doctors and a manufacturer of cleaning products felt obliged to publicly warn against.By Saturday, Trump suggested the briefings, which have become a televised daily substitute for his campaign rallies, were “not worth the time and effort,” a day after a report that he plans to scale back such appearances. Trump on Friday said he had “sarcastically” suggested Americans be injected with disinfectant. The president’s new spokeswoman also sought to clarify his remarks.“President Trump has repeatedly said that Americans should consult with medical doctors regarding coronavirus treatment, a point that he emphasized again during yesterday’s briefing,” the press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said in a statement. “Leave it to the media to irresponsibly take President Trump out of context and run with negative headlines.”Trump’s most public response to the U.S. coronavirus outbreak has been the extended news conferences he’s held almost every day, including most weekends, to talk about it. He pulled off his 2016 election upset and survived the Russia investigation and impeachment in part due to his ability to dominate media coverage. But the president has never been known as a detail-oriented leader and his off-the-cuff briefings have left many Americans distrustful of what he says.As questions mounted about Trump’s comments on disinfectant, Trump and his coronavirus task force on Friday evening held their shortest news conference yet, at just 22 minutes. He took no questions.There was no briefing on Saturday but instead, a series of Twitter messages that returned to familiar targets including the media and Democrats. Just 23% of Americans consider Trump a trustworthy source of information on the virus, while 52% trust their state and local leaders, according to poll published Thursday by the Associated Press and NORC at the University of Chicago.Trump’s QuestionsTrump’s remarks on Thursday followed a presentation by a Department of Homeland Security undersecretary, Bill Bryan, who showed White House reporters new research indicating the virus wouldn’t survive as long on nonporous surfaces in higher temperatures and humidity. The research suggested summer heat could help temper the U.S. outbreak, at least temporarily, although places in warm climates such as Singapore are still battling their own outbreaks.After Bryan’s presentation, Trump chimed in, off script.“So I asked Bill a question that probably some of you are thinking of, if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous -- whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light -- and I think you said that that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it,” Trump said. “And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that too. It sounds interesting.”Bryan responded: “We’ll get to the right folks who could.”“Right,” Trump continued. “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning. Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.”Two-Hour BriefingsEven some Republicans have said Trump would be better served by holding fewer news conferences or speaking less during the events, leaving his medical experts and others to convey the information. But the former reality TV star has until now shown no sign of surrendering the lectern and has repeatedly bragged about his television ratings.In the last month, the White House has held a coronavirus briefing on all but three days, and the last time Trump did not speak at one was late March, according to data compiled by C-SPAN. Of the 47 briefings held since the start of the pandemic response, Trump has spoken at 43 of them -- the most of any administration official, the data show.His marathon public remarks -- the news conferences have extended for as long as two hours and 23 minutes, according to C-SPAN -- have been peppered with false claims, exaggerations and misstatements, opening the president to criticism by Democrats seeking to defeat him in November. Trump’s claims that the virus would “disappear” and that “nobody could have ever seen something like this coming” have been included in political ads arguing he is ill-equipped to combat the pandemic.Even government health authorities have been forced to rebut the president. On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration cautioned against the use of two drugs Trump has promoted to treat coronavirus infection, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. The malaria medicine has not been shown to be effective against the virus. Nonetheless, the FDA issued an emergency order last month permitting the drug to be prescribed for hospitalized coronavirus patients, after Trump repeatedly recommended it and directed his administration to procure millions of doses.The medicines “can cause abnormal heart rhythms” as well as “a dangerously rapid heart rate called ventricular tachycardia,” the FDA said Friday. “These risks may increase when these medicines are combined with other medicines” including azithromycin, the FDA said.The U.S. Surgeon General, Jerome Adams, meanwhile tweeted on Friday an admonition against Americans self-medicating without their doctors’ advice.The state of Maryland’s Emergency Management Agency said in a tweet on Friday that it had “received several calls regarding questions about disinfectant use and Covid-10.”“This is a reminder that under no circumstances should any disinfectant product be administered into the body through injection, ingestion or any other route,” the agency said.And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a tweet Friday that household cleaners and disinfectants “can cause health problems when not used properly.”‘Something There’Trump views the daily White House briefings as an opportunity to share his optimistic view of the U.S. effort against the virus and battle critics, according to a person familiar with the matter. That has included insulting and arguing with individual reporters, particularly those from news organizations such as CNN that he considers unfair.The briefings also serve as an outlet for the president, who is no longer able to stage the boisterous political rallies that were the spine of both his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, the person said.But his frequent speaking appearances have also exposed his lack of preparedness. Trump rarely attends the White House coronavirus task force meetings that precede the briefings and does not typically rehearse his opening remarks, often reading them for the first time just minutes before he goes on air, the New York Times reported.After his remarks about light and disinfectant on Thursday, a litany of scientists and doctors called the president’s suggestions dangerous. The maker of Lysol, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, issued a statement saying that “under no circumstance” should its disinfectant products be administered into the human body. The company said it felt obliged to issue a statement because it has a “responsibility in providing consumers with access to accurate, up-to-date information as advised by leading public health experts.”In the Oval Office on Friday, Trump was invited to clarify his remarks. “I do think that disinfectant on the hands could have a very good effect,” he said, adding that he’d like the government to research the effect of sunlight, heat and humidity on infected patients.“Maybe there’s something that’s there,” Trump said. “They have to work with the doctors. I’m not a doctor.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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