U.S. NEWS A25
Wednesday 8 April 2020
Trump removes watchdog tapped for $2T virus rescue oversight Continued from Front
“President Trump is abusing the coronavirus pandemic to eliminate honest and independent public servants because they are willing to speak truth to power and because he is so clearly afraid of strong oversight,” Schumer said in a statement. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led Trump’s impeachment and subsequent Senate prosecution, told The Associated Press that Trump’s actions were “designed to neuter any kind of oversight of his actions and that of the administration during a time of national crisis, when trillions
of dollars are being allocated to help the American people.” Trump’s removal of Fine follows his late-night firing on Friday of Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general who forwarded to Congress a whistleblower complaint that ultimately led to the president’s impeachment in the House. On Monday, the president also publicly condemned the acting Health and Human Services watchdog over a survey of hospitals about the coronavirus response. Trump has bristled at the oversight of the coronavirus law, suggesting in a statement last month that some
of the mandates from Congress were unconstitutional. “I’ll be the oversight,” Trump declared as lawmakers were finalizing the rescue plan. He has also drawn criticism for naming a White House lawyer to a new Treasury Department position overseeing $500 billion in coronavirus aid to industry. Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general and chair of a council of watchdogs, had moved quickly last month to appoint Fine the head of the new coronavirus oversight board. But Fine will no longer be able to serve in the role
because Trump has nominated a replacement inspector general at the Pentagon and appointed an acting one to serve in Fine’s place, according to an email from an assistant Defense Department inspector general that was obtained by The Associated Press. The demotion disqualifies Fine from serving on the oversight board, which was created by Congress to be the nexus of oversight for coronavirus funding. He will instead revert to the position of principal deputy inspector general. Democrats immediately criticized the move. House Oversight and Reform
Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said Trump’s actions are a “direct insult” to American taxpayers. “President Trump has been engaged in an assault against independent Inspectors General since last Friday in order to undermine oversight of his chaotic and deficient response to the coronavirus crisis,” Maloney said. Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, a longtime whistleblower advocate, tweeted at Trump not to view inspectors general as critics, though he didn’t mention Fine by name. He said the officials hold the federal bureaucracy accountable. q
‘A lot of pain.’ NY has biggest 1-day jump in virus deaths By MARINA VILLENEUVE, KAREN MATTHEWS and MICHAEL HILL Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York state recorded 731 new coronavirus deaths, marking its biggest singleday jump, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday. The state's death toll since the beginning of the outbreak last month grew to 5,489. The alarming surge in deaths comes even as new hospital admissions have dropped on average over several days, a possible harbinger of the outbreak finally leveling off. Cuomo said the death tally is a "lagging indicator" that reflects the loss of critically ill people hospitalized earlier. "That's 731 people who we lost. Behind every one of those numbers is an individual. There's a family, there's a mother, there's a father, there's a sister, there's a brother. So a lot of pain again today for many New Yorkers," Cuomo said at a briefing at the state Capitol. The state has been recording more than 500 new deaths a day since late last week. The number of confirmed cases — which does not include infected people who have not been tested — is close to
A medical worker wearing personal protective equipment pauses after wheeling a body to a refrigerated trailer serving as a makeshift morgue at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Monday, April 6, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Associated Press.
139,000 statewide. While Cuomo said New York could be reaching a "plateau" in hospitalizations, he warned that gains are dependent on people continuing to practice social distancing. "This is a projection," he said. "It still depends on what we do, and what we do will affect those numbers." Here are other coronavirus developments in New York: SEPT. 11 ATTACKS More people have now
died from the coronavirus in New York City than perished in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. At least 3,202 people have been killed in the city by the virus, according to a new count released by city health officials Tuesday. The deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil killed 2,753 people in the city and 2,977 overall, when hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania,
on Sept. 11, 2001. The coronavirus has again made New York ground zero in a national tragedy and the center of a crisis that is reshaping Americans' lives, liberties and fears. The coronavirus death toll has mounted over the course of just a few weeks. The city recorded its first on March 13, less than two weeks after confirming its first infection. New York City is conducting its own count of fatalities, separate from the state's, and its tally was
announced prior to Cuomo's release of the new state fatality numbers. ___ HOSPITAL SHIP INFECTION A crew member of a Navy hospital ship sent to New York City for the coronavirus outbreak has tested positive for the disease. The USNS Comfort crew member tested positive Monday and was being isolated, the Navy said in a prepared statement. The positive test will not affect the hospital ship's mission to receive patients, according to the Navy. The Comfort has treated about 40 non-COVID-19 patients since arriving in the city last week, prompting complaints it was doing little to help overburdened hospitals in the area. President Donald Trump said Monday he agreed to take COVID-19 patients aboard the ship after speaking with Cuomo. Federal officials say emergency patients will now be seen on the ship, whether or not they have the virus, though the ship can isolate only a small number of patients. Though the Comfort has 1,000 beds, Cuomo said the transition to handling coronavirus patients will reduce the ship's capacity to 500 beds.q
A26 U.S.
Wednesday 8 April 2020
NEWS
Wisconsin voters wait hours at the few open polling stations By SCOTT BAUER and STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Thousands of Wisconsin voters waited hours in line to cast ballots and the National Guard staffed overcrowded polling stations on Tuesday, straining the state's ability to hold a presidential primary election under the lash of an escalating pandemic. At the same time, many voters said they did not receive their requested absentee ballots and, unwilling to violate a stay-athome order to vote in person, accepted their votes would not be counted. "We have moved forward with an election, but we have not moved forward with democracy in the state of Wisconsin," warned Neil Albrecht, executive director of the Milwaukee election commission. The state's largest city opened just five of its 180 traditional polling places, forced to downsize after hundreds of poll workers stepped down because of health risks. The resulting logjam forced voters to wait together in lines spanning several blocks in some cases. Many did not have facial coverings. The chaos in Wisconsin, a premiere general-election battleground, underscored the lengths to which the coronavirus outbreak has
Robert Wilson reviews his selections on his ballot while voting at the town’s highway garage building Tuesday, April 7, 2020 in Dunn, Wis. Associated Press.
upended politics as Democrats seek a nominee to take on President Donald Trump this fall. As the first state to hold a presidential primary contest in three weeks, Wisconsin becomes a test case for dozens of states struggling to balance public health concerns with voting rights in the turbulent 2020 election season. Joe Biden hopes the state will help deliver a knockout blow against Bernie Sanders in the nomination fight, but the winner of Tuesday's contest may be less significant than Wisconsin's deci-
sion to allow voting at all. Its ability to host an election during a growing pandemic could have significant implications for upcoming primaries and even the fall general election. Polls were scheduled to close at 8 p.m. CDT, although results were not expected Tuesday night. A court ruling appeared to prevent results from being made public earlier than next Monday. Democrats in and out of Wisconsin screamed for the contest to be postponed, yet Republicans — and the conservative-majority state
Supreme Court — would not give in. There were particular concerns that minority voters, who tend to live in the areas with the most significant wait times and the highest health risks, were disproportionately affected. The fight over whether to postpone the election, as more than a dozen states have done, was colored by a state Supreme Court election also being held Tuesday. A lower turnout was thought to benefit the conservative candidate. Lest there be any doubt about the GOP's motiva-
tion, Trump on Tuesday broke from health experts who have encouraged all Americans to stay home by calling on his supporters to show up for the conservative judicial candidate. "Wisconsin, get out and vote NOW for Justice Daniel Kelly. Protect your 2nd Amendment!" Trump tweeted. Sanders said that holding the election was "dangerous" and "may very well prove deadly." He did not encourage his supporters to vote in person. Biden has largely avoided discussion of the Wisconsin contest in recent days, instructing his supporters only to "follow the science." Wisconsin had reported nearly 2,500 coronavirus infections and 77 related deaths as of Monday night. The unprecedented challenge created a chaotic scenes across the state — and a variety of health risks for voters and the elected officials who fought to keep polls open. They included Robin Vos, the Republican speaker of the state Assembly, who joined more than 2,500 National Guard troops dispatched to help staff voting stations. While many voters stranded in lines for more than an hour did not have any protective equipment, Vos donned a face mask, safety glasses, gloves and a full protective gown.q
Earl Graves Sr., founder of Black Enterprise magazine, dies
This Aug. 17, 1997 file photo shows Earl G. Graves Sr. with his book "How To Succeed In Business Without Being White" in New York. Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Earl Graves Sr., who championed black businesses as the founder of the first African American-owned
magazine focusing on black entrepreneurs, has died. He was 85. Graves died Monday after a long battle with Alzheim-
er's disease, his son, Earl "Butch" Graves Jr, said in a post on Twitter. Graves launched his magazine, Black Enterprise, in 1970. He later said his aim was to educate, inspire and uplift his readers. "My goal was to show them how to thrive professionally, economically and as proactive, empowered citizens," Graves wrote in his 1997 book "How to Succeed in Business without Being White." According to an obituary published by Black Enterprise, Graves grew up in Brooklyn and gained an economics degree from
Morgan State University. He held jobs in law enforcement and real estate before working on Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's staff. After Kennedy's assassination in 1968, he moved to found the magazine, which is now headed by his son. He served on the boards of several major corporations, including American Airlines, Daimler Chrysler and Rohm & Hass and backed the presidential bids of Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama, Black Enterprise wrote. In addition to Black Enterprise, Graves also ran PepsiCola of Washington, D.C.,
one of the nation's largest soft-drink distributors owned by African Americans. He sold his stake in the bottler to PepsiCo in 1998. "As a little boy, I saw a magazine with something I'd never seen—a picture of a Black man as the owner: Black Enterprise Founder & Publisher Earl G. Graves," tweeted Rev. Cornell William Brooks, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School and former president and CEO of the NAACP. "Graves has died — after inspiring MILLIONS to succeed in business & beyond. Inspired kids & so many others mourn his passing."q
WORLD NEWS A27
Wednesday 8 April 2020
With prime minister in ICU, Britain asks: Who's in charge? By JILL LAWLESS and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — As British Prime Minister Boris Johnson fights the coronavirus in the intensive care unit of a London hospital, the people of his country are wishing him well — and asking who's in charge. The answer is ambiguous. Britain's unwritten constitution does not spell out what happens if a prime minister becomes unable to perform his or her job. There is no official role of acting or deputy prime minister, and heads of government only leave office through resignation or death, Alex Thomas, a program director at the Institute for Government, political think-tank, said. "Boris Johnson continues as prime minister for as long as neither of those things happens," he said. The U.K.'s leaders can appoint someone to fill in for them temporarily during illness or absences. When he was admitted to the hospital Sunday night, Johnson asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab -- who also holds the title first secretary of state -- to take over many of his duties "where appropriate." The wording has caused
A man reads a newspaper with the headline: 'PM in intensive care', outside St Thomas' Hospital in central London as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in intensive care fighting the coronavirus in London, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Associated Press.
some confusion about the limits of Raab's powers and whether he is authorized to make major policy decisions, or even take the country to war. Johnson's official spokesman, James Slack, said Tuesday that Raab would lead the government's response to the coronavirus outbreak, and would also be able to lead meetings of the National Security Council, though none is cur-
rently scheduled. But Raab can't fire Cabinet ministers or senior officials, and he won't hold the prime minister's weekly audience with Queen Elizabeth II. In the British political system, the prime minister's power lies less in the role's specific responsibilities — which are relatively few — than in the leader's political capital and authority as "first among equals" in the Cabinet.
That's especially true in Johnson's government, which is made up of relatively inexperienced ministers appointed by a prime minister with a big personality and a hefty personal mandate from a resounding election victory in December. "This was not a Cabinet of equals," said Jill Rutter, a former civil servant and senior research fellow at the U.K. in a Changing Europe
think tank. "This was Boris Johnson and his people." Raab's "lack of political authority" might become noticeable if it is time to make major decisions, like when to ease the country's coronavirus lockdown in an attempt to revive the economy. Restrictions on movement and economic activity were imposed March 23 in response to COVID-19, initially for three weeks. That means a review is needed next week. With the government's medical advisers saying infections have yet to peak in the U.K. and more than 6,100 deaths reported so far, it's unlikely the restrictions will be lifted that soon. British officials are hoping Johnson will be back at his desk by the time the decision has to be made. If Johnson did become unable to return to work, he could resign and pick a successor, whom the queen would be asked to appoint as prime minister. If Johnson couldn't make a preference known, the remaining Cabinet members would be expected to choose a replacement. "If they can't agree, then that puts us in very difficult constitutional territory," Thomas said.q
Court find ex-Ecuador president guilty of corruption By GONZALO SOLANO Associated Press QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — An Ecuadorian court found former President Rafael Correa guilty of corruption Tuesday and sentenced him to eight years in prison, further sullying the legacy of one of the nation's most enduring and polemic political leaders. Judge Iván León said prosecutors had successfully proved the existence of a "structure of corruption" led by Correa and 19 other high-profile politicians and business leaders accused of participating in the bribery scheme. The decision could effectively end any aspirations by Correa to return to politics, as the sentence bars
him from running for office for 25 years. "So much money can't be hidden easily," said León, who read the sentence in the closed door, two-hour long sentencing in which judges wore masks and protective gloves as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus. Correa has denied the charges against him, calling them a political witch hunt. "For sure we will win at the international level," he said on Twitter immediately after the sentencing. "Because this is all a monstrosity." The 57-year-old former head of state has been living in his wife's native Belgium since 2017. Though Ecuadorian authorities
have demanded his arrest and extradition previously, thus far he has been allowed to stay in Belgium. Ecuadorian officials are not expected to request his immediate extradition until the case has made its way through the anticipated appeals process. Prosecutors state the former president oversaw a plot in which foreign and local businesses made cash payments to his PAIS Alliance political party in exchange for lucrative public works contracts. The payments were allegedly made between 2012 and 2016, years that overlap with Correa's time in the presidency. Correa led the country until 2017, a period of economic stability and growth driven
In this July 5, 2018 file photo, Ecuador's former President Rafael Correa gives an interview at his family home near Brussels, Belgium. Associated Press.
by an oil boom and loans from China that allowed him to expand social pro-
grams, build roads, schools and other projects that transformed Ecuador. q
A28 WORLD
Wednesday 8 April 2020
NEWS
China’s virus pandemic epicenter Wuhan ends 76-day lockdown
Travelers with their luggage walk past the Hankou railway station on the eve of its resuming outbound traffic in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Associated Press
By SAM McNEIL Associated Press WUHAN, China (AP) — The lockdown that served as a model for countries battling the coronavirus around the world has ended after 11 weeks: Chinese authorities are allowing residents of Wuhan to once again travel in and out of the sprawling city where the pandemic began. As of just after midnight Wednesday, the city's 11 million residents are now permitted to leave without special authorization as long as a mandatory smartphone application powered by a mix of datatracking and government surveillance shows they are
healthy and have not been in recent contact with anyone confirmed to have the virus. The occasion was marked with a light show on either side of the broad Yangtze river, with skyscrapers and bridges radiating animated images of health workers aiding patients, along with one displaying the words "heroic city," a title bestowed on Wuhan by president and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. Along the embankments and bridges, citizens waved flags, chanted "Wuhan, let's go!" and sang a capella renditions of China's national anthem. Traffic moved swiftly
through the newly reopened bridges, tunnels and highway toll booths, while hundreds waited for the first trains and flights out of the city, many hoping to return to jobs elsewhere. Restrictions in the city where most of China's more than 82,000 virus cases and over 3,300 deaths were reported have been gradually relaxed in recent weeks as the number of new cases steadily declined. The latest government figures reported Tuesday listed no new cases. While there are questions about the veracity of China's count, the unprecedented lockdown of Wuhan and its surrounding
province of Hubei have been successful enough that countries around the world adopted similar measures. During the 76-day lockdown, Wuhan residents had been allowed out of their homes only to buy food or attend to other tasks deemed absolutely necessary. Some were allowed to leave the city, but only if they had paperwork showing they were not a health risk and a letter attesting to where they were going and why. Even then, authorities could turn them back on a technicality such as missing a stamp, preventing thousands from returning to their jobs outside the city. Residents of other parts of Hubei were allowed to leave the province starting about three weeks ago, as long as they could provide a clean bill of health. Prevention measures such as wearing masks, temperature checks and limiting access to residential communities will remain in place in Wuhan, which is the capital of Hubei. "This day that people have long been looking forward to and it is right to be excited. However, this day does not mark the final victory," the paper said. "At this moment, we still need to remind ourselves that as Wuhan is unblocked, we can be pleased, but we must not relax." In anticipation of the lock-
down's lifting, SWAT teams and staff in white hazmat suits had patrolled outside the city's Hankou railway station, while guards attended a security briefing under the marble arches of its entrance. Tickets for trains out of Wuhan to cities across China already were advertised on electronic billboards, with the first train leaving for Beijing at 6:25 a.m. A line designated for passengers headed to the capital was roped off, while loudspeakers blared announcements about pandemic control measures, such as keeping safe distances and wearing masks. Wuhan is a major center for heavy industry, particularly autos, and while many major plants have restarted production, the small and mediumsized businesses that provide the most employment are still hurting from both a lack of workers and demand. Measures are being instituted to get them back on their feet, including 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in preferential loans, according to the city government. China blocked people from leaving or entering Wuhan starting Jan. 23 in a surprise middle-of-thenight announcement and expanded the lockdown to most of the province in succeeding days. Train service and flights were canceled and checkpoints were set up on roads into the central province. q
Most people on Antarctica cruise ship have the coronavirus By GUILLERMO GARAT Associated Press MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Nearly 60 percent of 217 people — many from Australia, Europe and the United States — on board a cruise ship off the coast of Uruguay have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the ship's operator said Tuesday. "There are currently no fevers on board and all are asymptomatic," said Aurora Expeditions, the Australian operator of the Greg Mortimer ship that is working to disembark the crew and passengers and arrange flights to their home countries. The Greg Mortimer departed
March 15 on a voyage to Antarctica and South Georgia that was titled "In Shackleton's Footsteps," a reference to the polar explorer who led British expeditions to the region and died there in 1922. Of 217 people tested on the vessel, 128 were positive for the virus that causes the COVID-2019 disease and 89 tested negative, Aurora Expeditions said. Another six people who were evacuated from the ship are in stable condition and being treated in Montevideo. The people on the ship are calm but they are eager to go home, said Marcelo Girard, a doctor at a Uruguayan medical facility where two people from the
Greg Mortimer are being treated. Australian passengers, and possibly those from New Zealand, are likely to fly home on Thursday or Friday on an Airbus 340 that has been refitted, with people who have the virus and those who do not traveling in separate cabin areas, according to Aurora Expeditions. The cost per passenger is about $9,300 and the cruise ship operator has asked the Australian government for help with expenses. The plan would require the passengers to undergo a 14-day quarantine on arrival at a facility in Melbourne, the company said. U.S. and European passengers who tested negative will hopefully be
able to depart later in the week, following a second test and permission from the Uruguayan government, Aurora Expeditions said. Those who tested positive must wait until they test negative before flying home. In a separate case, a cruise ship anchored in Santos, on the coast of Brazil's Sao Paulo state, had its quarantine extended until at least April 19 after doctors found new suspected cases of the coronavirus, according to Brazilian officials. There are now 40 suspected cases aboard the Costa Fascinosa vessel, which is owned by Costa Cruises. Hundreds of people are on the ship.q
business A29
Wednesday 8 April 2020
ECB takes action to keep banks lending during virus crisis By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank took action Tuesday to support lending to companies across the 19-country eurozone by easing rules for banks that tap the central bank for ready money. The action comes amid widespread efforts by central banks such as the ECB and the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep the economy supplied with credit so that businesses can weather a devastating period of shutdowns, travel restrictions and social distancing. The Frankfurt-based central bank said it was temporarily easing collateral rules for lending to banks, meaning banks can now use a wider range of financial assets as collateral for short-term central bank credit and
A nearly full moon sets over the buildings of the banking district and the European Central Bank, right, in Frankfurt, Germany, early Tuesday, April 7, 2020. Associated Press
would get more money loaned for a given amount
of collateral. The impact is to make life
easier for banks so they can keep lending to com-
panies and have less reason to restrict credit by calling in or not making loans. Banks are key for the European economy because they provide most of the financing for companies, in contrast to the U.S., where borrowing on financial markets is more common. The ECB also restored Greek government bonds to the approved collateral list, opening up credit for banks in Greece that hold them. They had been excluded from the list after the Greek debt crisis because they were not rated investment grade. The bank has already announced an 870 billion-euro ($950 billion) program of bond purchases to support the economy through the end of the year, as well as easing requirements.q
Wall Street’s rally fizzles as oil prices suddenly plunge By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers NEW YORK (AP) — A big rally on Wall Street is losing steam in afternoon trading Tuesday, undercut in part by another plunge in the price of oil. The S&P 500 had been up as much as 3.5% early in the day, tacking more gains onto its 7% surge Monday following encouraging signs that the coronavirus pandemic may be close to leveling off in some of the hardest hit areas of the world. But the gains mostly evaporated in the afternoon after the price of U.S. crude oil slid more than 7%. Energy stocks in the S&P 500 were clinging onto a 2.9% gain after earlier being up nearly 8%. That weighed on the overall market, and the S&P 500 was up just 0.7%, as of 2:52 p.m. Eastern time. Earlier in the day, Wall Street had surged to big gains as markets around the world rallied for a second straight day following encouraging signs that the coronavirus pandemic may be close to leveling off in some of the hardest hit areas of the world.. Even though economists say a punish-
ing recession is inevitable, the stock market is looking ahead to when economies will reopen from their medically induced coma. A peak in new infections would offer some clarity about about how long the recession may last and how deep it will be. Investors could then, finally, envision the other side of the economic shutdown, after authorities forced businesses to halt in hopes of slowing the spread of the virus. In the meantime, governments around the world are approving or discussing trillions of dollars more of aid for the economy. Many professional investors say they're wary of the recent upsurge and expect more volatility ahead. But if Tuesday's slight gains hold, it would be one of the few times the market has mustered a back-to-back gain since the coronavirus outbreak caused it to start selling off in mid-February. "We are still in what you would call the relief rally off of the prior low," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. He noted that this kind of a rally is common within deep bear markets, Wall Street-speak
for when stocks decline 20% or more from a peak. "There's no guarantee that the worst is behind us, yet traders believe that at least there is some shortterm money to be made," Stovall said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 148 points, or 0.7%, to 23,828, and the Nasdaq was up 0.1%. Oil prices have been even more volatile than the stock market in recent weeks as demand dries up for energy amid a global economy weakened by the coronavirus outbreak. Russia and Saudi Arabia have also been locked in a price war, refusing to cut production even as the world is awash in excess oil. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell $1.98 to $24.11 per barrel. In China, the first country to lock down wide swaths of its economy to slow the spread of the virus, authorities reported no new deaths over the past 24 hours. Many experts, though, are skeptical of China's virus figures. Investors also see signals that the number of daily infections and deaths may be close to peaking or plateauing in Spain, Italy and
In this image taken from video provided by the New York Stock Exchange, Tommy Gannon, Assistant Supervisor, Facilities, rings the opening bell at the NYSE, and recognizes the Sodexo food services staff at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Tuesday, April 7, 2020, in New York. Associated Press.
New York. The number of daily deaths rose in New York, the center of the U.S. outbreak, but other statistics were more encouraging, including the average number of people hospitalized each day. Experts say more deaths are on the way due to COVID-19, which has already claimed at least 76,000 lives around the world. The U.S. leads the world in confirmed cases with more than 369,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. More economic misery is also on the horizon. Economists expect a report on Thursday to show that 5 mil-
lion Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs sweep the country. That would bring the total to nearly 15 million over the past three weeks. Analysts also expect big companies in upcoming weeks to report their worst quarter of profit declines in more than a decade. Massive aid from the Federal Reserve has helped smooth out snarled trading that had beset lending markets earlier in the sell-off. Companies are coming back to the bond market to borrow, even some with "junk" credit ratings, and investors are actually lending them money again. q
A30
Wednesday 8 April 2020
FEATURE
Virus crisis cuts off billions sent to poor around the world BY GISELA SALMON, SONIA PÉREZ D. and MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Until a month ago, Diana Leticia Hernández sold face cream door to door in Miami. Her husband painted houses. The money fed their family and at least six relatives in Honduras. Hernández has sold nothing since last month due to fear and social-distancing restrictions in South Florida. Her husband hasn't worked either. This month, for the first time since shortly after
In this April 3, 2020 photo, women wearing protective face masks stand at a safe distance to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus, as they wait for food assigned to their children outside a school in the largely indigenous Xesuj village, Guatemala, where many residents depend on remittances, almost all from the U.S. Associated Press.
their arrival in the United States 16 years ago, they weren't able to send home about $300 to help their families with food, rent, medicine and school bills. In the Honduran town of Villa Nueva Cortez, Hernández's mother Teonila Murillo is running out of money to buy insulin for her diabetes, and Hernández's brother doesn't know if he'll be able to make his $60 rent next month. "I'm doing really badly,'' Murillo told The Associated Press. "There's no money, and no work. If you get sick here, you die." The devastation wrought by COVID-19 across the developed world in cutting into the financial lifelines for people across Latin America, Africa and Asia. The World Bank estimates that a record $529 billion was transferred to developing countries through official channels in 2018, the latest year for which fig-
ures are available. Billions more moved unrecorded in cash. Many of those remittances are sent home by people who work in service jobs or occupations, like day labor, that have no monthly paycheck and are worst affected by the global downtown. Some also comes from illegal immigrants ineligible for part of the massive aid packages uncorked by advanced economies. With coronavirus shutting down industries, many earners in Miami, Las Vegas, London, and other economic centers can no longer afford to send their monthly $50, $100 or $200 to Honduras, Somalia or India. The shock waves are pushing their relatives to desperation. "I'm in anguish,'' said Hernández, 45. "They're counting on me. I'm trying to get anything I can send, $30, $50, whatever."
Across Africa, where remittances have grown to surpass foreign aid and direct foreign investment and some $82 billion flowed in during 2018 alone, untold millions of people are already feeling the pinch. One money-transfer company in Europe sending funds to Africa saw an 80 percent drop in volume in a single week, the Washington-based Center for Financial Inclusion said last month. In Somalia Abdalla Sabdow, a former security guard and a father of six, made his way through Mogadishu last week to check on the $200 he receives monthly from his cousin Yusuf Ahmed, a taxi driver in the U.S. But the money was late. His cousin, like many in the U.S., had been confined to his home for almost three weeks, unable to work. "I came back empty-handed," an anxious-looking Sabdow said, after peering under the partition as workers, one wearing a face mask and gloves, fanned through stacks of crisp $100 bills. "I asked the counter to double-check my name, but nothing has been forthcoming. Time is running out ... It is very distressing." With three of his small children piled onto his lap at home, he worried about
falling behind in rent, no small thing in a city where camps of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people are a constant reminder of the fragility of circumstances. "This month we had a big problem," his cousin, Ahmed, later explained by phone. He hoped to send the money the following week. Remittances make up more than 5% of GDP in at least 13 African nations, sometimes far more, the Brookings Institution said last month. Kenya's remittances are now its largest source of foreign exchange, its president said in December. More than a third of all remittances to Africa come from the European Union, and other significant sources are North America, Gulf nations and other African countries. Informal remittances, though not tracked in World Bank and other data, are estimated to be the source of billions of dollars more. "We're going to begin to see a contraction in the economy," said Olayinka David-West, a professor at the Lagos Business School in Nigeria, said in a recent seminar held by the Center for Financial Inclusion. Africa's top oil producer is also the biggest recipient of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa, with the money exceeding its revenues from petroleum. Central America, a region heavily dependent on remittances from the United States, could see a 20 percent drop, from $23.9 billion last year to $19.12 billion this year, said Jonathan Mencos, director of the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies. Across all of Latin American and the Caribbean, remittances from the U.S. could drop between 7% and 18% this year, from last year's $75 billion total, according to the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. "'It is a wide range, and the largest drop may be more accurate unfortunately," said Dr. Manuel Orozco, director of migration, remittances and development at the think tank. q
local A31
Wednesday 8 April 2020
Support foodbank by marines transferred to hospital ORANJESTAD — The kitchen crew from the Dutch marine base in Savaneta has prepared more than 1700 meals for our Food Bank last week. The marines were in a two-week quarantine after taking part in an international naval exercise and used their isolation time to help local community. Now they need their capacity again on the base, but the Food Bank is not left alone as the hospital is taking over the marine’s task. The Dr. Horacio E. Oduber Hospital will prepare 200 meals a day which will be donated to the Food Bank. They will do this from April 6 to April 12 and the marines will take care of the transport to the Food Bank. “In
port local authorities. In the case of a request of assistance by one of the islands, the military will support local police forces to maintain public order and safety. The marine base cannot stress enough for people to stay home and keep to the measures taken by the government. Only together we can fight against COVID-19.
these hard times we need to make the best of it. We do this for and with each other. It is fantastic to see that the initiative is carried on by our hospital. We can only hope that more companies are inspired to
do good, together we will make it,” says the marine’s communication representative. One of the tasks of the Dutch military defense in the Caribbean is to sup-
About the Food Bank Fundacion Pa Nos Comunidad (FPNC) is a foundation that supports vulnerable groups and voluntary initiatives in the Aruban community. There are more than 800 families registered at FPNC however we are well aware that there are more families on Aruba who
struggle to fully meet their basic needs. FPNC will try to bring all organizations and foundations together to focus on avoiding and fighting poverty, emotional distress and social exclusion in the largest sense of the word (independent of the nationality, religion and culture), to gather funds and financial means to finance these initiatives and to promote the poverty care and the complete welfare. FPNC's major project is the national Food Bank; storage for food products, clothing, furniture and other basic needs articles. At the same time they avoid waste of food and products .q
Put people before pandemic By Melissa Martin OHIO, U.S. — God bless us ten, Amen. God bless us four and no more. God bless us three and we agree. God bless us two and not you. Hoarding and hunkering is self-protection, but rooted in panic. Can’t we make our circle bigger and include all God’s children during these taxing and tiring times? Survival is a basic human instinct. Fear of illness and impending death crouches at the internal epicenter of the coronavirus crisis. Around the periphery is the fear of hunger, thirst, and lack of necessities. But courage and compassion to care for strangers is the crux of the Good Samaritan story. “Don’t forget about these tools people! They can be the most powerful drugs we have to use in this pandemic!” wrote Frank Gabrin,
MD, on Facebook before he died from symptoms consistent with COVID-19. His list of words: tolerance, kindness, empathy, compassion, love for no reason, patience, understanding, caring, sharing, giving, human dignity, selflessness, emotional connection, support, curiosity, innovation, resilience, endurance, steadiness, sufferance, altruism, benevolence, curtesy, decency, gentleness, sweetness, goodwill, peace, grace, service, tact, helpfulness, thoughtfulness, good intentions, charity, tenderness, open heart, mercy, consideration, condolence, smiles, reassurance, warmth, diligence, fortitude, perseverance, persistent, poise, humility, restraint, appreciation, friendship, passion, devotion, composure, calmness, generosity, softness, blessing, reciprocity, self-sacrifice, self-care, science, prayer, guidance,
flexibility, participation, allowing, influencing, leading, reverence. Lest We Forget When the pandemic has ended—and it will end, humans must learn lessons and better prepare for future microbe warfare on Earth. Leaders of all countries must practice humility and communicate with other citizens on our planet. “We have met the enemy and he is us,” said Pogo in a comic strip by author Walt Kelly. Humans are not the enemy—the coronavirus is the enemy. The humans in Wuhan, China are not the enemy. Viruses don’t have a nationality and they do not discriminate in whom they infect. American Pandemic: The Lost Worlds of the 1918 Influenza Epidemic (2017) by Nancy Bristow needs to be studied. Focused on
the primary players in this drama, patients and their families, friends, and community, public health experts, and health care professionals, historian Nancy K. Bristow draws on multiple perspectives to highlight the complex interplay between social identity, cultural norms, memory, and the epidemic. Bristow has combed a wealth of primary sources, including letters, diaries, oral histories, memoirs, novels, newspapers, magazines, photographs, government documents, and health care literature. She shows that though the pandemic caused massive disruption in the most basic patterns of American life, influenza did not create long-term social or cultural change, serving instead to reinforce the status quo and the differences and disparities that defined American life. No doubt, books about
Melissa Martin, Ph.D. is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in U.S.
the Pandemic of 2020 will be published. We will know what worked and what didn’t work. We will mourn the deceased. We will recover, reflect, and regroup. The human race will carry on. But people must come before political agendas, before products and productivity, and before a pandemic. “What we learn in times of pestilence: that there are more things to admire in men than to despise.”―Albert Camus (The Plague) q
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Wednesday 8 April 2020
local
Aruban born and bred Steve Francees has a passion for photography. Being a local photographer he knows the hidden gems of this island and captures them in an amazing way. As a Family and Landscape photographer Steve is ready to create your next ‘vacation memories’, morning and/or sunset shots. T: (297) 738-0777, M: stevefrancees@hotmail.com, www.instagram.com/stevefrancees and www.stevefrancees.com
The most romantic natural Pool in Aruba
This romantic natural pool is very unique and sure my preferred one. The shape is round and been nicely carved into the lava and coral stones. At the front side of the pool is a majestic peace of art of a giant fossilized coral. It can fit easily about 4 people and the water is like 18 inches deep so you will be fully under water. The area is on your left hand on the dirt road to the Natural Bridge.
My most liked frequent question
Aruba’s metamorphose
In the 18th century gold, Aloe and phosphate were very important next to fishing and farming. In the beginning of the 19th century many locals migrated to Cuba and Venezuela to work in the sugarcane industry. When LAGO transport and then Refinery started in 1924 our economy got the needed push and that was so for many years. The refinery employed almost 10.000 and many came to work and live here in Aruba. Tourism started in the late 40’s and kept growing till today that we don’t have any tourist left on my island. But I know that all we have learned over the last 100 years will get us back on track and with the Lord’s Blessing we will stand up back again.
This happened yesterday
I like when I get questions like how to take better photos or when they analyze one of my photos. Well the first and most powerful trick in photography is to change your angle to get a different perspective. Don’t shoot on the same eye level as all the others so. In this photo I lowered the camera so I can get another perspective and that give the extra touch to a photo. Same spot but with different angle will enhanced your photo.
My wife went running outside to take a shot of the sun halo and it was just amazing. The ring is caused by sunlight passing through ice crystals in cirrus clouds within the Earth’s atmosphere and this happened earlier this year in January I think. Pretty amazing and this is my shot from yesterday