| Trump vetoes measure limiting his war powers in Iran Posted: 06 May 2020 06:16 PM PDT  US President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed what he called a "very insulting" congressional resolution seeking to limit his war powers in Iran. In a statement, Trump said he had used his veto because the resolution -- a rare bipartisan rebuke to the president approved in March -- was based on "misunderstandings of facts and law." The measure stemmed from fears among both Trump's Republicans and Democrats that the White House was stumbling into war with the Islamic republic.
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| Germany Releases Plan to Slowly Reopen Posted: 06 May 2020 06:13 PM PDT  German Chancellor Angela Merkel released a plan Wednesday that eases national lockdown restrictions. Under the plan, Germany's 16 federal states will take on more responsibility and ultimately decide when to further loosen restrictions. In addition, people from different households will be allowed to meet in public, but social distancing of about 5 feet will remain in place until June 5.
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| Germany Releases Plan To Ease Restrictions, Gradually Reopen Posted: 06 May 2020 06:13 PM PDT German Chancellor Angela Merkel released a plan Wednesday that eases national lockdown restrictions. Under the plan, Germany's 16 federal states will take on more responsibility and ultimately decide when to further loosen restrictions. In addition, people from different households will be allowed to meet in public, but social distancing of about 5 feet will remain in place until June 5.
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| President Trump Vetoes Iran War Powers Resolution Posted: 06 May 2020 04:45 PM PDT  President Donald Trump has vetoed a resolution that would have prevented him from taking military action in Iran without congressional authorization. The president announced the veto in a statement Wednesday. The Senate passed the resolution in February.
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| Mustafa al-Kadhimi chosen as Iraq's new prime minister Posted: 06 May 2020 04:45 PM PDT  Early Thursday, Iraq's Parliament selected Mustafa al-Kadhimi to serve as the country's new prime minister.Iraqi officials have said the 53-year-old former intelligence chief is acceptable to both the United States and Iran, The New York Times reports. The country has been without a prime minister since late last year, when Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned amid anti-government protests; he has been leading a caretaker government.Kadhimi has already met with protesters, taking a different approach from the previous government, which at times used the military against demonstrators. In addition to social unrest, Kadhimi will also have to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, which has locked down Iraq, as well as historically low oil and gas revenues. The government is Iraq's largest employer, the Times reports, and it's likely that within a few weeks, there will have to be pay cuts or mass layoffs.More stories from theweek.com American individualism is a suicide pact Why even mask skeptics should want to wear them Trump is reportedly back to obsessing over the color of his border wall
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| President Trump Vetoes Iran War Powers Resolution Posted: 06 May 2020 04:45 PM PDT President Donald Trump has vetoed a resolution that would have prevented him from taking military action in Iran without congressional authorization. The president announced the veto in a statement Wednesday. The Senate passed the resolution in February.
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| UN experts: Libya's Hifter got fighters from Russian company Posted: 06 May 2020 04:32 PM PDT |
| Coronavirus pandemic is pushing up the price of illegal drugs, U.N. says Posted: 06 May 2020 04:19 PM PDT |
| US eyes deal to free American in Iran, pushes back on swap Posted: 06 May 2020 04:18 PM PDT |
| Trump vetoes measure to restrain his actions against Iran, calls it 'insulting' to the presidency Posted: 06 May 2020 04:18 PM PDT  There was concern in Congress that Tehran and Washington were perilously close to all-out conflict, and some lawmakers wanted to restrain further actions the president might take against Iran.
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| Trump vetoes measure to restrain his actions against Iran, calls it 'insulting' to the presidency Posted: 06 May 2020 04:18 PM PDT  President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed a resolution that said he must get a nod from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Trump called it "insulting" to the presidency. The nonbinding congressional resolution was introduced first in the House after the U.S. launched an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
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| Coronavirus in Kenya: Fearing 'money heists' amid pandemic Posted: 06 May 2020 04:13 PM PDT  Kenyans are afraid that money set aside to tackle the virus is being misspent, writes Waihiga Mwaura.
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| Trump vetoes measure to restrain his actions against Iran Posted: 06 May 2020 03:55 PM PDT  President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed a resolution that said he must get a nod from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran. Trump called it "insulting" to the presidency. The nonbinding congressional resolution was introduced first in the House after the U.S. launched an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
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| Trump vetoes resolution limiting his ability to wage war against Iran as tensions remain high Posted: 06 May 2020 03:31 PM PDT  The bipartisan measure was largely a response to a drone strike Trump ordered in January that killed Iran's top general, which sparked fears of war.
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| Former Iraqi intelligence chief approved as new premier Posted: 06 May 2020 03:19 PM PDT |
| SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK: Chatty Thomas breaks with precedent Posted: 06 May 2020 02:27 PM PDT  A Supreme Court justice gets it in his mind to ask a question, and pretty soon, he's got questions for everyone. Before this week, the intervals between Thomas' questions during high court arguments were measured in years. Now he's been an active questioner for three straight days. He'll have the chance to continue his streak next week in six arguments over three days.
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| Coronavirus: Nigeria's death penalty by Zoom 'inhumane' Posted: 06 May 2020 02:17 PM PDT  A man is sentenced to hang for murder after a virtual court session amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Israeli Supreme Court: Netanyahu may form government Posted: 06 May 2020 01:22 PM PDT  Israel's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may form a new government while under indictment for corruption charges, clearing the way for him and his rival-turned-uneasy ally to join together in a controversial power-sharing deal. Netanyahu and his rival-turned-partner, Benny Gantz, said they expected their coalition to be sworn into office next week. After battling to three inconclusive elections over the past year, Netanyahu and Gantz, a former military chief, announced their "emergency" government last month, saying they would put aside their rivalry to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis.
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| Editorial Roundup: US Posted: 06 May 2020 01:14 PM PDT |
| Maduro airs video of American detained in Venezuela plot Posted: 06 May 2020 01:04 PM PDT  Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro touted a video showing a scruffy-looking American divulging details about a failed invasion as proof Wednesday that U.S. authorities backed an alleged attempt to forcibly remove him from power. Maduro aired a video of Luke Denman on state television in which the 34-year-old Texas native claims he signed a contract with a Florida-based company to train rebel troops and carry out the assault in exchange for up to $100,000. Denman and Airan Berry, both former U.S. special forces soldiers who served in Iraq, were detained Monday following what authorities described as a botched beach landing in the fishing village of Chuao.
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| Clashes between Arabs, non-Arabs in Sudan province kill 30 Posted: 06 May 2020 11:51 AM PDT  Tribal clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudan's South Darfur province left at least 30 people dead and a dozen wounded, authorities said Wednesday. The fighting poses a significant challenge to efforts by Sudan's transitional government to end decades-long rebellions in some areas of the country, including Darfur. Rebel groups from Darfur and other areas have for months engaged in talks with the transitional authorities to establish peace in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan.
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| Sources: US investigating ex-Green Beret for Venezuela raid Posted: 06 May 2020 11:38 AM PDT  A former Green Beret who has claimed responsibility for an ill-fated military incursion into Venezuela is under federal investigation for arms trafficking, according to current and former U.S. law enforcement officials. The investigation into Jordan Goudreau is in its initial stages and it's unclear if it will result in charges, according to a U.S. law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The probe stems from a frenzy of contradictory comments Goudreau has made since a small cadre of volunteer combatants he was advising on Sunday launched an impossible raid aimed at overthrowing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
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| 29 Photographers On Capturing The Current Moment Posted: 06 May 2020 11:35 AM PDT  /*! 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b=$(a.offsetDirection);b&&this.manager.emit(this.options.event+b,a),this.manager.emit(this.options.event,a)}}),i(ga,Y,{defaults:{event:"tap",pointers:1,taps:1,interval:300,time:250,threshold:9,posThreshold:10},getTouchAction:function(){return[ib]},process:function(a){var b=this.options,c=a.pointers.length===b.pointers,d=a.distance 3:00 P.M. This is a time of extreme dissonance. We've all been affected by this pandemic, but we're also all experiencing it differently. We asked 29 photographers around the world to tell us what their experience amid the pandemic looks like at a specific time of day — 3 p.m. — and their answers offered a revealing glimpse into the changing lives of artists.AUSTRALIA / BRAZIL / CALIFORNIA / CANADA / CHINA / COLOMBIA / FLORIDA / GERMANY / HAWAII / INDIA / IRAN / ITALY / JAPAN / LONDON / MEXICO / NORTH CAROLINA / NETHERLANDS / NEW YORK / NIGERIA / PALESTINE / PUERTO RICO / RUSSIA / SINGAPORE / SOUTH DAKOTA / SPAIN / TEXAS / U.K. / WASHINGTON / WISCONSINSEE THE PHOTOGRAPHERSLike what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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| Judicial nominee pledges open mind on health law he blasted Posted: 06 May 2020 11:21 AM PDT  A federal judge nominated to the nation's second-most powerful court said Wednesday that he was writing as an academic and commentator when he criticized as "indefensible" a Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act. Justin Walker, a 37-year-old protege of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said he will have an open mind on the Obama-era health care law if it comes before him as a district or appeals court judge. At a hearing on his nomination to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Walker declined a request by Senate Democrats to recuse himself on matters related to the health-care law if he's confirmed.
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| Georgia family demands arrests 2 months after son shot dead Posted: 06 May 2020 11:19 AM PDT  The parents of a black man slain in a pursuit by two white men armed with guns called for immediate arrests Wednesday as they faced the prospect of waiting a month or longer before a Georgia grand jury could consider bringing charges. A swelling outcry over the Feb. 23 shooting of Ahmaud Arbery intensified after a cellphone video that lawyers for his family say shows the killing surfaced online Tuesday. Following the video's release, a large crowd of demonstrators marched in the neighborhood where Arbery was killed, and the state opened its own investigation, which the governor and attorney general pledged to support.
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| Priti Patel seeks French backing for plan to return Channel migrants to France to end people trafficking Posted: 06 May 2020 11:08 AM PDT  Priti Patel yesterday urged the French to back a new crackdown to enable the UK to return Channel migrants to France even if they are caught in British waters. The Home Secretary is also seeking to renegotiate an international agreement that would enable Britain to return more asylum-seekers who land in the UK. In what were described as "positive" talks with her French counterpart, Ms Patel said it was in the interests of both countries to deter migrants from attempting the perilous crossing in the first place by having the threat of returning to France whether they were at sea or on land. "If people know that they can't get across the channel, they are less likely to congregate in the camps so it is a benefit to the French. It's not just in the interests of the UK, it's also in the French interests," said a source close to the Home Secretary. In the past 16 months, only some 155 migrants who crossed the Channel have been returned despite more than 2,500 having made the journey on small boats in the same period. There have already been more than 1,000 who have made the crossing to the UK this year, double the rate of last year. There have been cases of migrants deliberately sailing just beyond the halfway point to then call the UK coastguards or police to rescue them so they can come to the UK to claim asylum. In the talks with Christophe Castaner, France's interior minister, Ms Patel proposed a three-pronged plan to close the temporary camps in northern France, increase measures to prevent attempts and a new deal on returning migrants. "We have to let people know we mean business," she told him. A source added: "There are three asks. One is ensuring that there's no tolerated presence of illegal migrants in northern France, preventing migrants from attempting the crossings in small boats and intercepting at sea and returning immediately to France." "The call was very positive and Mr Castaner said he wanted to do whatever he could to help." The Home Secretary is also seeking to renegotiate the Dublin agreement under which the country in which any asylum seeker first applies for asylum is responsible for processing the claim. Home Office sources say this is "rigid and restrictive" as it prevents the UK returning migrants who have dodged fingerprint and identity checks as they have made their way across the EU, often through numerous countries where they should have been processed. Another source said the French are sympathetic as a means to end the trade which has now spread during the coronavirus pandemic to the coast of Belgium. Any reform of the agreement would be likely after Brexit once Britain has left the EU. "Returns to Europe are bound by the Dublin regulations which is restrictive and rigid legislation. We are in negotiations with the EU to put in place more favourable returns agreements with our European partners after the UK has left the transition period," said a source. Britain has already provided at least £50 million to help beef up security in France including drones and other detection equipment but this has still failed to stem the rise in migrants.
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| AP-NORC poll: Pandemic especially tough on people of color Posted: 06 May 2020 11:00 AM PDT  People of color have not only been hit harder by the deadly coronavirus than have Americans overall, but they're also bearing the brunt of the pandemic's financial impact, according to a recent survey from the The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The financial picture is especially grim for Hispanic Americans, while some African Americans face the dual burden of being disproportionately affected by the virus itself while also struggling to pay bills due to the economic fallout. The poll found that 61% of Hispanic Americans say they've experienced some kind of household income loss as a result of the outbreak, including job losses, unpaid leave, pay cuts and fewer scheduled hours.
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| Calls for global ceasefire delayed by China and the US Posted: 06 May 2020 10:59 AM PDT  China and the United States are delaying an international effort to end fighting in conflict zones around the world for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic as they jockey for dominance in a post-pandemic world. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres called for a global ceasefire or "humanitarian pause" to allow the world to concentrate on fighting the coronavirus pandemic in March. But a United Nations security council resolution drafted by France and Tunisia has been stuck in suspended animation due to what diplomatic sources described as a tussle between Washington and Beijing over dominance in the post-Pandemic world. A video summit between the leaders of the permanent members of the security council, China, France, Russian, the United Kingdom and the United States has also repeatedly been delayed. "It is very frustrating," said a European diplomat with knowledge of the talks. "The world is looking up to us, it is a global catastrophe, and the Security Council, the most important body of governments in the world, is not saying anything." Proposals were initially delayed when the United States insisted on stating that Covid-19 began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and later when Russia and the United States insisted on changing the text to allow them to continue "counter terrorist" operations.
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| US demands WHO invite Taiwan to meeting Posted: 06 May 2020 10:16 AM PDT  The United States on Wednesday urged the World Health Organization to defy Chinese pressure and invite Taiwan to its annual meeting, which will discuss the coronavirus pandemic. The United States itself has yet to confirm its participation in the May 18-19 talks of the World Health Assembly, which comes after President Donald Trump vowed to slash funding for the UN body. "I want to call on all nations, including those in Europe, to support Taiwan's participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly and other relevant United Nations venues," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters.
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| New campus sexual assault rules bolster rights of accused Posted: 06 May 2020 08:59 AM PDT  Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday issued a new policy that will reshape the way schools and universities respond to complaints of sexual misconduct, bolstering the rights of the accused and narrowing the scope of cases colleges are required to investigate. "We released a final rule that recognizes we can continue to combat sexual misconduct without abandoning our core values of fairness, presumption of innocence and due process," DeVos said in a call with reporters. In announcing the new policy, which carries the weight of law, DeVos condemned the Obama administration for adopting a "failed approach" that turned campus disciplinary panels into "kangaroo courts."
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| Germany accelerates return to normality Posted: 06 May 2020 08:43 AM PDT  Germany is planning an almost complete return to normality in May, with schools and shops reopening and the return of top-flight Bundesliga football matches, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday. All schools and shops will now be able to open as long as they observe hygiene and social distancing rules, with the Bundesliga resuming behind closed doors, Merkel said after a meeting with the leaders of Germany's 16 states. "I believe we can say today that we have the very first phase of the pandemic behind us," Merkel said, adding that Germany had "achieved the goal" of slowing the spread of the virus.
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| Italy is the soldier returning from war after battle with COVID-19: Reporter's notebook Posted: 06 May 2020 08:12 AM PDT  Italy is the soldier returning from war, not running from the train as fast as possible, but walking slowly and slightly unsteadily -- as though shell-shocked -- back into the light. When China's outbreak was kept a mystery, and Iran was slow to reveal the truth, it was Italy that lived its nightmare in the spotlight. COVID-19 struck at Italy's soul because it took aim at the family and specifically at the elderly; at the parents and grandparents around whom family life revolves, and define in many ways what it means to be Italian.
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| Russia debates lockdown withdrawal as virus cases reach new highs Posted: 06 May 2020 07:29 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday chaired a meeting to discuss a gradual withdrawal from lockdown as Russia registered the world's sixth highest total number of coronavirus cases. Russia recorded more than 10,000 new cases for the fourth day in a row, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 165,929, with 1,537 deaths. Russia has emerged as a new hotspot for the virus and in recent days has been recording the highest number of new infections in Europe.
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| Trump: COVID-19 task force not dismantling, just refocusing Posted: 06 May 2020 07:19 AM PDT  President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed course on plans to wind down his COVID-19 task force, attempting to balance his enthusiasm for "reopening" the country with rising infection rates in parts of the nation. Trump appears focused on persuading Americans to accept the price of some lives lost as restrictions are eased, concerned about skyrocketing unemployment and intent on encouraging an economic rebound ahead of the November election. Democrats criticized Trump's reopening strategy Wednesday, saying more federal support for testing and contact tracing is needed.
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| Chinese envoy airs backing for WHO amid criticism from Trump Posted: 06 May 2020 07:08 AM PDT |
| Coronavirus crisis exacts toll on people with disabilities Posted: 06 May 2020 07:02 AM PDT  Even before the coronavirus hit, cystic fibrosis meant a cold could put Jacob Hansen in the hospital for weeks. For millions of disabled people and their families, the coronavirus crisis has piled on new difficulties and ramped up those that already existed. Many are immunocompromised and therefore more vulnerable to infection, but terrified of new coronavirus-era hospital guidelines they fear could put them at risk.
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| What you need to know today about the virus outbreak Posted: 06 May 2020 06:50 AM PDT  From the marbled halls of Italy to the wheat fields of Kansas, health authorities are increasingly warning that the question isn't whether a second wave of coronavirus infections and deaths will hit, but when — and how badly. In India, which partly relaxed its lockdown this week, health authorities scrambled Wednesday to contain an outbreak at a huge market. Experts in Italy, where some restrictions are being eased, urged intensified efforts to identify victims, monitor their symptoms and trace their contacts.
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| Germany to ease lockdown as Merkel hails end of very first phase of pandemic Posted: 06 May 2020 06:50 AM PDT |
| Virus May Make Attitudes to Immigration Healthier Posted: 06 May 2020 06:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Bloomberg Opinion will be running a series of features by our columnists that consider the long-term consequences of the crisis. This column is part of a package on the impact that the spread of Covid-19 will have on immigration. For more, see Tracy Walsh on how to prevent coronavirus from decimating refugee camps, and the Bloomberg Editorial Board on the post-pandemic changes needed to fix U.S. immigration policy."It's hard to find the words to express my debt," the ordinarily garrulous British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he emerged from a close encounter with death last month. His main debt, Johnson significantly added, was to two nurses, "Jenny from New Zealand" and "Luis from Portugal," who stayed at his bedside for 48 hours in an intensive care unit.In recent weeks, doctors, nurses and care workers for the British National Health Service (NHS) have garnered the kind of heartfelt respect and gratitude that New York City firefighters elicited after 9/11. In particular, immigrants, who are disproportionately represented among Britain's caregivers, janitors, pharmacists, grocery employees, truck drivers, plumbers and electricians, mass transit operators, and teachers, are presently being hailed for their gritty sense of duty, for standing between many people and premature death.Johnson was clearly trying to connect to this public mood. His New Zealander and Portuguese nurses are two of the tens of thousands of immigrants who serve in the NHS and who are also most exposed to the virus: The first 10 NHS doctors to die from the virus originally came from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria and Sudan.At the same time, Johnson's own posture before the coronavirus outbreak — he promised to "take back control" of Britain's borders and to slash immigration — warns of potential dangers ahead. The pandemic is already encouraging far-right demagogues and movements to intensify their rhetoric against immigrants.Xenophobia is globally rampant — aimed at Europeans, Africans and Americans in China, as well as Asian immigrants and their descendants in the West. Tight travel restrictions have been imposed around the world; some will persist after the crisis abates. In the U.S., President Donald Trump has temporarily halted the issuance of green cards, linking immigration, against almost all available research and data, to joblessness in his country.There is no evidence either to connect the outbreak in Europe to the flow of asylum seekers across the Mediterranean or through Turkey. Yet Hungary's leader Viktor Orbán has loudly conflated the pandemic with general mobility. "We are fighting," he said recently, "a two-front war, one front is called migration, and the other one belongs to the coronavirus, there is a logical connection between the two, as both spread with movement."Such figures are clearly appealing to existing prejudices: Anti-immigration parties in Austria, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland — actually, most of Europe — have scored notable electoral successes in recent years.They are also building upon a long history. Immigration's role in making the modern world has rarely been contested in the U.S. — a country, at least since the late 19th century, of immigrants. America's economic and technological revolution and rise to global supremacy was powered by migrant workers from China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Russia. Asian immigration from the 1960s onward helped cement the U.S. lead in technological innovation.Parsis and Gujaratis in East Africa, Chinese in Malaysia and Indonesia, Indians in the Caribbean, Japanese in Peru and many other immigrant communities have long been active in the political and economic life of Asia, Africa and Latin America. In contrast, amnesia and marginalization mark the history of immigration in Europe. Laborers from Belgium, Poland and Italy toiled in the fields and factories of France and Germany as these countries started to become more prosperous in the late 19th century. Within living memory, immigrants helped Europe recover from the ruins of its two civil wars.West Germany, the former ground zero of racial supremacism, struck bilateral agreements with Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia to recruit "guest workers" after World War II. Both France and Germany encouraged their colonial subjects in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean to bolster their much-depleted domestic labor forces; Irish nurses were crucial to the establishment of the NHS in Britain.Neglected in national histories, these workers, savers, taxpayers and spenders made important economic contributions while enriching the continent's social and cultural life — despite the fact that most of them were paid poorly, had few career prospects and were perennially besieged by hardened racial prejudice and suspicion.Indeed, the centerpiece of Johnson's own campaign for Brexit included a bright-red billboard that proclaimed (falsely), "Turkey (population 76 million) is joining the EU," accompanied by an image of a trail of footsteps passing through a door resembling a British passport. The irony that the same rabble-rouser should now owe his life to immigrants is even more pungent considering that Johnson is the great-grandson of Ali Kemal, a minister in the Ottoman Empire.The question now, as the world suffers through its biggest crisis since 1945, is how to ensure that gratitude rather than fear dominates attitudes toward migrants.It's possible that crisis-management will monopolize almost all political energy and public attention, marginalizing those who deal exclusively in the politics of fear and loathing. The far right hasn't made much progress in either Italy or Germany during this crisis. Those demagogues who are actually in charge, such as Trump and Orbán, will have to work hard to relieve the strain on their country's economies; they won't be able to shift all blame to foreigners and outsiders.Moreover, immigrants will be needed, yet again, to rebuild shattered economies. In fact, in aging societies from Japan to Portugal, they were urgently required to fill job vacancies and to broaden the tax base for public spending well before the pandemic erupted. According to the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, Germany will need half a million immigrants annually for the next 35 years to maintain its current funding for pensions and social services. The U.S. has forestalled such a demographic crisis largely because of continuing immigration, which could be threatened if Trump succeeds in institutionalizing anti-migrant curbs. Even Japan, traditionally hostile to immigration, has been forced to accept a rising number of immigrants, in part so that they can take care of its old people. Almost all of Asia's other prosperous nations also suffer from low and often falling birth-rates. The existential challenge confronting them is unlikely to be met by a baby boom, even if one could be miraculously facilitated. Only new blood from elsewhere can keep their national economies fit as they cope with the fallout from the pandemic.But focusing on the economic value of immigrants would not only leave them, as before, vulnerable to prejudice. It will also most likely lead to the repetition of a grotesque pattern: using immigrants to build modern economies and then abusing them when the latter falter.The Gulf states look set to advance this ignoble tradition as they stigmatize their meagerly paid and ill-housed migrant workers. But Singapore offers a counterexample: There, by exposing the cruel living conditions of migrants, the virus has reshaped public opinion and shamed politicians into corrective action. As infections in worker dormitories surge, Singapore's notably tough-minded government has vowed to act compassionately toward the indispensable people who toil ceaselessly if largely invisibly to create much of the city-state's wealth.In Britain, simple reality promises to overturn Johnson's campaign promise to drastically restrict low-paid foreign workers. As it turns out, the country's most crucial sectors today, from the NHS and home care to farming and food processing, depend on precisely the kind of workers Johnson had hoped to stop at the U.K.'s borders.Shrinking public opposition to immigration in Britain, and Johnson's own remarks, suggest that a newfound appreciation for immigrants is developing. Faced with death and deprivation, perhaps even hardened nativists will be forced to recognize the net contribution — to cultural and economic, as well as physical health — that newcomers make to their societies.Fighting for re-election, Trump will no doubt do what he has always done: demonize immigrants and foreigners. Still, there is some hope to be drawn from banks and landlords that suspend debt and rent collections, prisons that release prisoners and other instances of a more caring world that have been manifest in recent weeks.Hopefully, the newborn feeling that we are all in this together can also quicken awareness that for too long workers in global markets have been reduced to commodities, to be traded on a market at the lowest possible price. What we have witnessed in recent years, without exploring in much detail, is a steady impoverishment of the working class in even the world's richest countries. The process has been facilitated by nation-states surrendering more and more sovereignty to transnational institutions, such as the European Union, and global markets, and adopting policies, such as privatization, financialization and austerity, that restrict their scope of action.The nation-state is now back, its rulers armed with greater power and authority and broader scope for political and economic experimentation than at any time since 1945. It remains to be seen if Johnson and his peers can eschew their cynical politics of the recent past and treat underpaid and undervalued workers — the class to which most immigrants belong — fairly and compassionately. Certainly, it is the only way to discharge the debt that he and society owe to those who save other lives by endangering their own. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Pankaj Mishra is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. His books include "Age of Anger: A History of the Present," "From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia," and "Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet and Beyond." For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Essential US workers often lack sick leave and health care – benefits taken for granted in most other countries Posted: 06 May 2020 05:21 AM PDT  The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the degree to which we depend on the work of others. This is particularly true of essential workers like truck drivers, grocery store employees and hospital nurses who are ensuring the rest of us stay safe and are able to get the supplies, food and health care we need.The pandemic has also drawn attention to the fact that these workers, like all Americans, do not receive many of the basic workplace benefits and protections – like paid sick leave and basic health care – that workers in almost every other developed country in the world receive as a matter of course. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed by Congress in March, provides two weeks of leave for workers who fall ill from COVID-19 but is riddled with exceptions and covers very few essential workers. Some lawmakers hope to remedy this with the "Essential Workers Bill of Rights," which would ensure that about 60 million workers receive 10 benefits during the crisis, including paid sick leave, hazard pay, no-cost health care coverage and collective bargaining protections.While the measure's odds of passage are low, even if it becomes law it would only temporarily address the problem for some workers. Once the pandemic ends, much of the American workforce will still be without basic benefits and protections taken for granted in virtually every other developed country.I'm a labor scholar who has been studying employment relations for 40 years. I believe there are three "rights" in the bill that are especially urgent. Paid sick leaveOver 33 million U.S. workers – almost a quarter of the workforce – do not have access to paid sick leave. The problem is especially bad for the lowest-paid employees, many of whom are essential workers. As a result, up to 90% of employees have reported that they sometimes go to work when ill to prevent losing a day's pay or being disciplined or fired. This is problematic for both employees and employers, particularly when workers are suffering from colds, flu or other viral illnesses that are easily spread by person-to-person contact. It's also been seen as a contributing factor to the current COVID-19 crisis.While 10 states do require paid sick leave, the U.S. is one of only a handful of countries – such as Somalia, Chad and North Korea – that do not mandate at least some paid sick leave.A study of 22 developed countries found that the average number of paid sick days required was 28. Excluding the U.S.'s zero days, policies ranged from a low of five in New Zealand to 50 in Norway. Access to health careThe pandemic has also drawn attention to just how many Americans, including essential workers, lack basic health care.Over 10% of non-elderly Americans – about 28 million individuals – didn't have health insurance in 2018. Another 29% of adults were underinsured, meaning they have high deductibles and out-of-pocket medical expenses relative to their income. Lower-paid workers generally pay higher deductibles than their higher-earning counterparts.This is not the situation for similar essential workers in most countries around the world. A recent analysis found that 112 countries provide universal health care for their citizens. The U.S. is the only member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – a group of 37 industrialized countries – without a national health care system. Right to collectively bargainOne of the key reasons so many American workers do not have paid sick leave or health care is that the U.S. differs from most developed nations in another crucial way: the low share of employees who belong to unions.Research has found unions provide many benefits to their members, such as 10% to 25% higher earnings – depending on factors like occupation – and a much greater likelihood of having health insurance. They also amplify worker voices, such as recently when a nurses' union led nationwide protests that helped raise awareness over their lack of protective gear. But in 2019, only 8.3% of nurse aides, housekeepers and other health care support workers in the U.S. were represented by a union. For registered nurses, therapists and physicians, that figure was 13.7%. By comparison, 38% of workers in the health care industry in the U.K. and 80% to 85% of health care workers in Sweden are represented by unions.Overall, just 10% of U.S. workers belonged to a union in 2018, ranking it 31st on a list of 36 developed countries. That compares with 92% in Iceland, 60% in Finland and 26% in Canada. A key reason the rates are lower in the U.S. is that weak labor laws have failed to protect workers from employer coercion or retaliation when they try to organize. And U.S. protections for those who try to organize a union are generally the weakest among developed nations. A study that rated countries' legal protections for workers on a 1-to-5 scale from best to worst gave the U.S. a 4 because employers were found to have "engaged in serious efforts to crush the collective voice of workers." The U.S. shared that category with Iran, Iraq, Haiti and Honduras.Giving essential workers these and other benefits would clearly help them worry less about what happens if they get sick and more about the important jobs they are doing for all of us during the pandemic. And doing the same for all U.S. workers on a permanent basis would make us more prepared for the next one. [Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter.]
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Paul F. Clark has worked with unions on member education programs in the past. Some of these programs are done pro bono and some involve a small honorarium. I do not believe this work constitutes a conflict of interest.
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| Mass arrests and overcrowded prisons in El Salvador spark fear of coronavirus crisis Posted: 06 May 2020 05:20 AM PDT  Governments around the world, from Brazil to the United States, are releasing some prisoners in an effort to reduce COVID-19 outbreaks in overcrowded prisons and jails. But not El Salvador. Over the past month, thousands have been arrested and jailed for allegedly violating quarantine orders in this small Central American country. El Salvador was one of the first countries in the Americas to declare a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, in mid-March. President Nayib Bukele announced a mandatory national quarantine with few exceptions. At first, his decisive action had broad support. But Bukele's use of police and soldiers to enforce coronavirus restrictions has led to criticism that the president is abusing his emergency powers to curtail civil liberties and undermine democracy. A tough response to coronavirusIn April, the Salvadoran Supreme Court ruled that the government lacked the legal authority to detain citizens indefinitely without suspicion of crime, despite the "extraordinary circumstances" presented by COVID-19. In open defiance of the court, the administration has continued to arrest thousands, allegedly for violating quarantine, and send them to ad hoc "containment centers."The mass detentions put further stress on the country's already overburdened penal system, creating conditions ripe for a public health crisis. In 2018, a special observer sent by the United Nations described the conditions of El Salvador's jails and prisons as "hellish."I used to visit MS-13 designated Salvadoran prisons on a weekly basis in the early 2000s, when I was in El Salvador and conducting research on the "war on gangs." Even then I found conditions in these cinderblock warehouses to be harsh, with overcrowding and poor food. Running water was hit or miss. Sometimes, inmates would go days without access to water, leaving them to drink only what they'd stored.Starting in 2016, the government banned almost all visitors to and observers in these kinds of prisons, claiming it was necessary for security. Since then incarcerated life has become even worse, from the little that outside groups like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights are able to document. Explicit photosRecently, though, amid the global pandemic, the world got an unexpected glimpse into El Salvador's prisons. On April 25, the Salvadoran government's official press secretary tweeted out disturbing images of shirtless prisoners packed together like sardines – no chance of social distancing – hands cuffed behind their backs. Some had white surgical masks flapping uselessly. Many were unmasked. The images were touting a government crackdown on incarcerated gang members intended as reprisal for a recent uptick in the murder rate. But the draconian treatment they revealed raised outcry among public health and human rights advocates. To these chilling images, the Salvadoran prisons director Osiris Luna Meza added that cells would be sealed "without a ray of sun," and promised to house members of rival gangs together in the same cells – a proposition almost certain to trigger violence. Public enemy No. 1Inflammatory rhetoric, punitive law enforcement and the public humiliation of gang members have become more common in El Salvador over my two decades of research on human rights and the rule of law in the country. So-called "mano dura" or "iron fist" policies are politically popular in El Salvador and other Central American countries grappling with gang violence. For much of the past decade, El Salvador's murder rate has ranked it among the world's most dangerous countries.But too often crime strategies allegedly meant to protect the public, like the recent mass arrests and the prison clampdown, create more problems than they solve. Research shows that hard-line policing has actually exacerbated violence in El Salvador. According to a 2019 U.S. State Department report, Salvadoran police and soldiers given free rein to repress gangs have committed assault, arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial executions. Bukele, a young leader who took office last year, promised to "turn the page" on the country's rough history. Instead, he has returned to these old authoritarian tactics. A brewing crisisDoing so during a global pandemic turns the country's overcrowded prisons into a public health hazard.El Salvador's national prison system is built for approximately 18,000 inmates, and currently holds over 38,000, according to the World Prison Brief, a database on prison populations worldwide. This number does not include those arrested for curfew violation, who are crammed into local facilities.Even before COVID-19, infectious disease spread rapidly among Salvadoran prisoners. According to a 2016 epidemiological study in El Salvador, infection rates for tuberculosis were at least five times greater in prisons than in the general population.That same year, the Salvadoran Supreme Court declared that prison overcrowding violated prisoners' basic human rights and ordered the government to release some people and build more facilities. Neither has happened. By 2017, journalist Sarah Maslin wrote in The Washington Post that one Salvadoran jail "had become a petri dish for outbreaks of scabies, pneumonia and tuberculosis." Human cost of an iron fistThe coronavirus outbreak makes infectious diseases in Salvadoran prisons an even more urgent concern. Stuffing more people into overcrowded, unsanitary jails and prisons radically increases the risks for COVID-19 outbreaks. The disease inevitably spreads into broader society through prison staff and inmates who are released, according to recent analysis by data scientists published on Law 360. Bukele says his government's harsh security measures are necessary to "defend the lives of Salvadorans." But now more than ever, such actions seem likelier to hurt the people they're meant to protect. [You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversation's newsletter.]
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Miranda Cady Hallett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| Exit from coronavirus lockdowns – lessons from 6 countries Posted: 06 May 2020 05:20 AM PDT  It has been less than two months since the world scrambled to go into the "Great Lockdown" to slow the spread of COVID-19. Now, many countries are considering their exit strategies. Some have already eased up.The push is largely economic. There is a lot scientists don't yet understand about the novel coronavirus, and there is no known cure or vaccine. Many countries are still experiencing a rise in infections. But the lockdowns have played havoc with people's livelihoods. Entire economies are in meltdown: The International Monetary Fund predicts the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.Just as each nation chose a different route into lockdown, each is likely to choose its own exit path. I have launched a research initiative, "Imagining a Digital Economy for All 2030," with a focus on the post-pandemic global economy. We have been studying the characteristics of 40 countries that help explain how governments and citizens have acted to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and their preparedness to take an economy online. Our analysis offers ways to gauge which countries are best prepared for a safe exit.It seems clear that the safest idea is to reopen slowly, in phases, while remaining ready to reenter lockdown in case of new outbreaks. By looking at how well a nation managed the first wave of the pandemic, and how ready it is to work remotely by falling back onto the online economy, we now understand how prepared nations are to restart economic activity without triggering fresh rounds of public health disasters. Public health and technologyNot every country is well equipped to ease itself out of a lockdown safely. A nation's ability to manage the outbreak relies on many factors: the willingness of governments to take decisive action; citizen compliance in staying home and social distancing; and capacity for adequate testing for the disease, including "contact tracing" – tracking down the people who have been in contact with those infected. Those characteristics are also key to managing future outbreaks. In parallel, not every country is ready to shift much of its economic activity online. Around the world, not everyone has affordable, reliable internet service; or the jobs, devices and digital apps that would let them work productively from home; or ways to make payments and get public services online. In some countries – though not all – workers who can't do their jobs remotely can reduce their in-person contact by using digital transactions, whether it is for carry-out food, e-commerce or receiving bailout checks and unemployment benefits.Countries such as Germany, New Zealand and South Korea are strong in both disease-fighting and digital-economy preparedness. Their economic activity isn't as dependent on in-person interactions, and authorities can respond quickly if loosened rules result in a spike in cases. In contrast, the U.S., Italy and Japan face different challenges before they can safely lift lockdowns. Difficulties ahead for the USCompared to countries worldwide, the U.S. is more prepared to operate parts of its economy online, but its response to the outbreak indicates there may be difficulties after reopening. States were inconsistent in issuing stay-at-home orders, and citizens' compliance with the rules has varied widely.Officials have been unable to test in large numbers, and only four states meet, or are on track to meet, the contact-tracing required to control future outbreaks.The results are evident in the mortality rates in the U.S. and other, better-prepared countries: On May 5, the key statistic shows the U.S. death rate was more than three times that of Germany, nearly 200 times those in New Zealand and South Korea. What made the difference?The countries that more efficiently managed this first outbreak and its consequences capitalized on their public health preparation to get a grip on the infection quickly. Germany has a high volume of infections but low mortality. The country only knows this because it had tested extensively – at a rate of 21 people per 1,000, as compared with 9.8 per 1,000 in the U.S.New Zealand's government proved willing to rapidly impose severe restrictions on movement and found the public largely supportive and ready to comply.South Korea, while among the earliest countries affected, kept its mortality among the lowest in the world through widespread testing and deploying technology for widespread contact tracing. Infected individuals' interactions were retraced using cellphone location data, surveillance camera footage and credit card records. Websites and apps offer details on infected people's travel and exposure risks.These approaches may prove hard for the U.S. to replicate. The country is far from having testing rates like Germany's. New Zealand has a much less polarized citizenry and far more trust in its national leadership than the U.S. The South Korean technology-intensive approach to contact tracing would be considered too intrusive on individual privacy for the U.S. Troubles for other nations, tooItaly initially underestimated the severity of its outbreak, but then imposed a strict lockdown with high citizen compliance and widespread testing and tracing. However, we found in our study that Italy is among the least prepared European Union members for a shift to a digital economy. Germany, New Zealand and South Korea all have higher levels of internet access and service, digital payments and public services, and employers ready to handle remote work. Japan's situation is particularly challenging because it eased up its restrictions too early and then had to impose an emergency to stem additional outbreaks. It is also relatively unprepared in digital terms because of a host of factors, ranging from peer pressure to come into the office, to security concerns, transactions that require a paper trail, often requiring official corporate seals, missing digital infrastructure and a continued aversion to digital payments.Each of these countries is a wealthy, developed nation, so the differences are not due to affordability. Our research has found that preparedness requires not just funding but also farsighted, credible and transparent leadership and citizens' trust in that leadership. The first leads to timely and firm decisions, and the second contributes to citizens' willingness to cooperate with those decisions.For instance, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's background as a trained scientist gave her powerful credibility when facing a scientific crisis. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern clearly explained her "go early, go hard" approach to lockdown restrictions, and her citizens agreed. In South Korea, authorities controlled the virus through "decisive and transparent leadership based on data, not emotion." As governments seek their own exit pathways, and aim to strengthen areas where they are weak, there's no way to be completely certain or fully prepared for what might happen next. In our research, we've found one principle that governments might find useful to guide them through the uncertainty. It's from a former New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark: "Economies can recover; the dead can't."[You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help. Read The Conversation's newsletter.]
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Bhaskar Chakravorti has founded and directs the Institute for Business in the Global Context at Fletcher/Tufts that has received funding from Mastercard, Microsoft, the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Onassis Foundation. He is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Brookings India and a Senior Advisor on Digital Inclusion at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.
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| AP Courtside: Who flushed? Phone arguments' unresolved issue Posted: 06 May 2020 05:01 AM PDT  The Supreme Court held Day Three of arguments by telephone with the audio available live to audiences around the world. The higher profile case of the two heard by the justices on Wednesday dealt with Trump administration rules that would allow more employers who cite a religious or moral objection to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women as required by the Affordable Care Act. It was the last day for arguments this week.
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| Astronomers find closest black hole to Earth, hints of more Posted: 06 May 2020 05:01 AM PDT  Meet your new but shy galactic neighbor: A black hole left over from the death of a fleeting young star. European astronomers have found the closest black hole to Earth yet, so near that the two stars dancing with it can be seen by the naked eye. This black hole is about 1,000 light-years away and each light-year is 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion kilometers).
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| Germany extends social distancing measures until June 5 - sources Posted: 06 May 2020 04:50 AM PDT |
| German govt, states agree people from two households can eat out together - Bild Posted: 06 May 2020 04:47 AM PDT |
| Iran warns of 'rising trend' as virus cases top 100,000 Posted: 06 May 2020 04:40 AM PDT  Iran warned of a "rising trend" in its coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday as it said 1,680 new infections took its overall caseload beyond the 100,000 mark. The Islamic republic has struggled to contain the Middle East's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak since announcing its first cases in mid-February. "We are witnessing a rising trend in the past three or four days, which is significant," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told a televised news conference.
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| Coronavirus: Most Africans 'will go hungry in 14-day lockdown' Posted: 06 May 2020 04:35 AM PDT  A survey finds that there is a risk of unrest and violence if coronavirus restrictions are too harsh.
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| Iran's president says an end to UN arms embargo is a 'right' Posted: 06 May 2020 02:37 AM PDT |
| Iran blasts 'stupid' US nuclear pullout, warns over arms ban Posted: 06 May 2020 02:21 AM PDT  Iran's president said Wednesday the United States made a "stupid mistake" by abandoning a nuclear deal and warned of severe consequences if its allies agree to extend an arms embargo. The United States is waging a campaign to extend the ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran, which is set to be progressively eased starting in October. The ban is to be lifted in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which blessed the landmark international agreement that placed limits on Iran's nuclear programme in 2015.
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