Kathy Durkin (2020-04-30). The jobless crisis and im/migrants. workers.org Farmworker wearing bandana during pandemic. It\'s not just COVID-19 that\'s racing like wildfire across the U.S. It\'s unemployment. The number of newly jobless workers has climbed to an astounding 26 million. That is due to coronavirus-related layoffs or furloughs caused by business closures or contractions. Added to the number of . . . |

Staff (2020-04-30). Trump\'s Immigration Suspension Doesn\'t Prevent Unemployment or COVID-19 Spread. truthout.org Late on the evening of April 20, President Trump tweeted that he was Government officials had to scramble to make sense of Trump\'s tweet, but by April 22, the White House staff had…

Staff (2020-04-30). Ryan Grim: Dems\' Coronavirus Response Repeats Past Blunders. therealnews.com Sanders is out of the race, but the fight over the future of the Democratic part continues, says Ryan Grim, author of We\'ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement.

Adriaan Alsema (2020-04-30). How to turn Colombia\'s prisons into coronavirus death camps and stay positive. colombiareports.com It took months of inaction, but Colombia\'s government finally turned Villavicencio\'s prison into the perfect coronavirus petri dish from where its prison chief infected at least three more prisons. The…

Anya Parampil (2020-04-30). Bolsonaro & COVID-19 push Brazil towards military dictatorship. thegrayzone.com Red Lines host Anya Parampil speaks with Brazilian journalist and researcher, Aline Piva, after Brazil\'s Justice Minister, Sergio Moro, caught…

Prof Michael Hudson (2020-04-30). Video: How the US Makes Countries Pay for Its Wars: Economics of American Imperialism with Michael Hudson. globalresearch.ca Economist Michael Hudson explains how American imperialism has created a global free lunch, where the US makes foreign countries pay for its wars, and even their own military occupation. | Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss the economics of Washington\'s empire, …

Prof Michael Hudson (2020-04-30). Video: US Coronavirus \'Bailout\' Scam Is $6 Trillion Giveaway to Wall St — Economist Michael Hudson Explains. globalresearch.ca Facing the Covid-19 pandemic, the US Congress rammed through the CARES Act — which economist Michael Hudson explains is not a \"bailout\" but a massive, $6 trillion giveaway to Wall Street, banks, large corporations, and stockholders. | Max Blumenthal and Ben …

Prof Michel Chossudovsky (2020-04-30). 45 Years Ago, End of Vietnam War: Neoliberalism and \"The Vietnam Model\". Who Won the Vietnam War? globalresearch.ca April 1975 marks the official end of the Vietnam War. Yet today, Vietnam is an impoverished countries. The Hanoi government is a US proxy regime. Vietnam has become a new cheap labor frontier of the global economy. Neoliberalism prevails.

Norman Solomon (2020-04-30). Joe Biden Needs an Intervention: An Open Letter to DNC Chair Tom Perez. indybay.org \"It takes two wings to fly.\"

Norman Solomon (2020-04-30). Joe Biden Needs an Intervention. zcomm.org An Open Letter to DNC Chair Tom Perez…

Chauncey K. Robinson (2020-04-30). Seeking justice during COVID-19: Black man killed while jogging in Georgia. peoplesworld.org A 25-year-old Black man was shot and killed while jogging after being pursued by two white men in Brunswick, Georgia. Over two months have passed since the incident, and still no one has been charged for his murder. Friends, family, and activists are looking for answers in Ahmaud Arbery\'s death, but they are afraid the …

RT (2020-04-30). Onto the next \'child-rights crisis\'? Greta Thunberg launches fundraiser to battle Covid-19 pandemic. rt.com Apparently not content to rescue mankind from only one doomsday scenario, teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg has sprung into action again, launching a fundraising campaign to help the children of the world survive Covid-19. | The project will see the young activist partner with Denmark\'s Human Act Foundation to pledge $100,000 each to the United Nations International Children\'s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), which brings humanitarian aid to children around the globe. | Though the Covid-19 outbreak has largely spared the young, Thunberg nonetheless branded the pandemic a \"child-rights crisis\" in a statement announcin…

Roger D. Harris (2020-04-30). Et tu? Progressive Boomers Are Now Preaching Pro-Biden Lesser-Evilism. mintpressnews.com At a time when an independent progressive movement is needed more than ever, the sheepdogs of a bygone era are trying to herd a new generation of activists into the Democratic Party.

(2020-04-30). On Mumia\'s birthday, global event honors political prisoners. workers.org By Mirinda Crissman and Judy Greenspan From behind prison walls nearly 39 years, Mumia Abu Jamal continues to educate, energize and unite prison abolitionists, former and current political prisoners, and the global activist community. On April 24, his 66th birthday, Abu-Jamal\'s story and legacy brought together a virtual gathering \"U.S. . . . |

Mark Ashwill (2020-04-30). A Letter From Viet Nam on the Occasion of the 45th Anniversary of the End of the War. counterpunch.org Dear Fellow Citizens, I am reaching out to you as current official friends and former enemies of Vietnam because I want you to know the truth about what could have been, an alternative and viable path of history that both countries could have trod together for mutual benefit and a more peaceful world. One milestone

Adriaan Alsema (2020-04-30). ELN ends coronavirus ceasefire weeks ahead of expected peak in infections. colombiareports.com Despite calls for an extension, Colombia\'s ELN rebels end their unilateral ceasefire on Thursday, claiming that military offensives demonstrated President Ivan Duque is not interested in peace or in combating…

en.mehrnews (2020-04-30). How to maintain peace in Persian Gulf region. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, May. 01 (MNA) — The presence of foreign forces in the Persian Gulf has caused regional security efforts to secure the interests of these powers.

Noam Chomsky (2020-04-30). COVID-19 Has Exposed the US Under Trump as a \"Failed State\" zcomm.org Interview on what\'s behind Trump\'s encouragement of the \"anti-lockdown\" protests, discusses the right-wing determination to destroy the U.S. Postal Service, and lays out his views on the electoral \"lesser of two evils\" principle…

Eds. (2020-04-30). Carnivals of the damned: the U.S. far-right fights the lockdown. mronline.org The wave of far-right anti-lockdown protests show how capitalist politics can create monsters. Worse might be on the way.

RT (2020-04-30). Democrats fume as armed protesters descend on Michigan Capitol to protest lockdown. rt.com Crowds of protesters, some carrying weapons, descended on the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan, as legislators considered extending Covid-19 lockdown measures. Democrats blamed President Donald Trump. | Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a stay-at-home order late last month, as the coronavirus epidemic took hold in her state. When the governor — a Democrat and fierce critic of Trump — extended the order by 15 days last week, a group of residents filed a lawsuit claiming Whitmer infringed on their Constitutional rights. | After the Michigan Court of Claims rejected the suit, the state legislature sat…

teleSUR (2020-04-30). Colombia: Hunger Protests Continue Amid Pandemic. telesurenglish.net Colombian protests continued due to the food crisis and lack of governmental help during COVID-19 outbreak across the South American country. | RELATED: | In Ibague, several families demonstrated demanding humanitarian aid from Tolima\'s Mayor Office, despite social isolation measures to prevent the virus from spreading. Furthermore, the Las Ferias neighborhood residents blocked a street entrance and burned tires…

MoveOn (2020-04-30). MoveOn Protest: Twitter Rally to Demand #RealReliefNow during COVID-19. indybay.org Protest online via Twitter…

WSWS (2020-04-30). Family members protest amid six more deaths at Australian aged care home. wsws.org The outbreak underscores the danger of a new wave of COVID-19 infections as governments and business chiefs step up their drive for a premature return to work.

RT (2020-04-30). \'Israeli helicopters\' fire missiles at Syrian military sites — state media. rt.com Israeli helicopters attacked a number of military positions in southern Syria with missiles, Syrian state media reported, noting the strikes inflicted \"limited material damage.\" | The aircraft bombed sites in the Quneitra and Daraa provinces early on Friday morning after approaching from the occupied Golan Heights, firing some five missiles,

RT (2020-04-30). China declares \'no interest\' in meddling in US vote after Trump accuses Beijing of doing \'anything\' to oust him. rt.com China has rejected any allegations it planned to meddle in the US election in November after the US president accused the Chinese of favouring his rival, Joe Biden, given Trump\'s rhetoric over Covid-19 origins and trade relations. | Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a daily briefing that \"the US presidential election is an internal affair, we have no interest in interfering in it,\" adding \"we hope the people of the US will not drag China into its election politics.\" | In an interview on Wednesday, President Trump claimed Beijing wanted his opponent, Joe Biden, to take the White House t…

Marko Marjanoviƒá (2020-04-30). It\'s No Coincidence That COVID-19 First Popped Up in Wuhan, But Not in the Way You Think. anti-empire.com The American/Western conspiracy theory is that COVID-19 is an \"escaped bio-weapon\" which found its way out Wuhan\'s biosafety level 4 laboratory which is only one of two such institutions in China. | The corresponding Chinese conspiracy theory is that COVID-19 is an American \"bio-weapon\" spread by the US delegation to the 2019 Wuhan Military Games. | Why someone would use a virus that is as good as spreading as the common cold, and equally unlikely to make a healthy person significantly ill as a \"weapon\" is unknown. | And yet it\'s not a coincidence that the virus seemingly first popped up in Wuhan as a German d…

Leela Anand (2020-04-30). Biden and Trump compete to produce most misleading, racist anti-China ad. liberationnews.org Both political parties in the U.S. seek to make a national enemy out of China. But the U.S. working class has more to gain from friendship, solidarity and exchange of knowledge with China and the Chinese people.

yenisafak (2020-04-30). Millions of Pakistani laborers struggle amid COVID-19 lockdown. yenisafak.com Hundreds of charged laborers, including women, gathered outside a garment factory in the eastern district of Pakistan\'s commercial capital Karachi to protest against their forced layoff only a week before the International Labor Day.They, in fact, came to receive their salaries but they were verbally informed that the factory no longer required their services due to the financial losses caused by a lingering lockdown imposed by the government to curb the raging coronavirus outbreak in the country.A few kilometers away, another demonstration was held outside a famous textile company, which also laid off hundreds o…

sputniknews (2020-04-30). Greta Thunberg Donates $100,000 Prize to UNICEF to Protect Children From COVID-19 Outbreak. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has donated a $100,000 prize awarded by the Danish non-governmental organisation Human Act to the United Nations Children\'s Fund (UNICEF) to help the organisation protect children from COVID-19, according to a UNICEF statement on Thursday.

sputniknews (2020-04-30). New COVID-19 Antiviral Drug Remdesivir Offers \'No Significant\' Benefit, More Research Needed-Study. sputniknews.com The first randomised trial for a promising new antiviral drug, lauded by many as a positive treatment for SARS-CoV-2 patients, suggested that there were no significant clinical benefits, with researchers urging further trials, a study released on late Wednesday revealed.

RT (2020-04-30). China declares \'no interest\' in meddling in US elections after Trump says Beijing is doing \'anything it can\' to oust him from WH. rt.com China has rejected any allegations it planned to meddle in the US election in November after the US president accused the Chinese of favouring his rival, Joe Biden, given Trump\'s rhetoric over Covid-19 origins and trade relations. | Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a daily briefing that \"the US presidential election is an internal affair, we have no interest in interfering in it,\" adding \"we hope the people of the US will not drag China into its election politics.\" | In an interview on Wednesday, President Trump claimed Beijing wanted his opponent, Joe Biden, to take the White House t…

RT (2020-04-30). \'I can do a lot\': Trump blames China for Covid-19 & seeking to \'undermine\' his re-election. rt.com US President Donald Trump believes China \"will do anything they can\" to make him lose his re-election bid, pointing to Beijing\'s handling of the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 60,000 Americans already. | Taking aim at Beijing, Trump told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday that the country would prefer to see his Democratic rival Joe Biden take the Oval Office in November, stating it would pull out all the stops to see him win — though the former VP would first need to secure his party\'s nomination. | China will do anything they can to have me lose this race. | Exclusive: Trump says China \'wil…

John Wojcik (2020-04-30). China calls for cooperation rather than blame on COVID-19. peoplesworld.org A leaked secret GOP memo to its 2020 Senatorial candidates exposes Donald Trump\'s \"blame China for the virus\" strategy as the core of the party\'s re-election campaign for November. The memo was leaked this week just after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made two false accusations against China, one that the Chinese were guilty of …

RT (2020-04-30). Trump says he has \'high confidence\' Covid-19 originated in Wuhan lab. rt.com US President Donald Trump told reporters he believed the novel coronavirus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, declining to elaborate why, after US intelligence said it believes the virus was natural in origin. | Asked on Thursday if he had a \"high degree of confidence\" that the coronavirus originated at the laboratory, Trump replied \"Yes, I have.\" | \"I can\'t tell you that. I\'m not allowed to tell you that,\" was his response to reporters who asked on what basis he was making that judgment. | President Trump is asked about the origins of the Coronavirus. | Q: \"Have you seen anything at this…

Mark Gruenberg (2020-04-30). May Day strike at Amazon, Walmart, FedEx, Target, Instacart, Whole Foods! peoplesworld.org Dangerous pandemic-caused working conditions at warehouses, in the \"gig economy,\" and at big box stores are forcing tens of thousands of workers at six large firms — Amazon, Walmart, FedEx, Target, Instacart, Shipt, and Whole Foods — into a walkout during their lunch breaks on May 1. Depending upon the final totals who walk out, …

RT (2020-04-30). \'One way to pay for headlines\': Backlash after UK govt gifts newspapers £35m Covid-19 advertising bump. rt.com The UK government is to hand newspapers an additional £35 million in ad revenue as part of its \"Covid-19 communications campaign,\" prompting accusations that Westminster is in the pocket of \"tax-dodging billionaire\" media owners. | The Treasury published details of the eyebrow-raising financial boost for Britain\'s print newspaper industry on Thursday, revealing that the millions will be spent over \"the next three months\" to communicate coronavirus guidance and advice to the public. | The sizable injection of taxpayers\' money into the mainstream print media — which is largely bankrolled by billionair…

Alan MacLeod (2020-04-30). America\'s super-rich see their wealth rise by $282 Billion in three weeks of pandemic. mronline.org America\'s billionaires have accrued more wealth in the past three weeks alone than they made in total prior to 1980.

RT (2020-04-30). Italy\'s PM Conte to ease lockdown based on \'differences in local contagion levels\'. rt.com Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday he would gradually relax Italy\'s coronavirus lockdown taking into account differences in contagion levels in various parts of the country. | Conte told the lower house of parliament that a new stimulus package to support the economy, due to be presented in a few days, would include €15 billion ($16.3 billion) for companies and €25 billion directly for payroll workers and the self-employed. | The lockdown imposed on March 9 will be gradually rolled back from May 4 and agreed with local authorities \"taking account of the regions where the epidemiological s…

RT (2020-04-30). Germany will extend social distancing until May 10 — Merkel\'s aide. rt.com Social distancing measures in Germany will be extended until May 10, Chancellor Angela Merkel\'s chief of staff, Helge Braun, said. The statement came ahead of a government meeting on Thursday to review lockdown restrictions. | Merkel and state leaders will discuss proposals on reopening schools and nurseries and resuming sporting events. However, they will wait until May 6 for data on the effect of first steps to ease the lockdown before enacting any further changes, Braun said. \"The contact restrictions will certainly now be extended until May 10 for the time being,\" the official told broadcaster n-tv. | Germ…

Jim Naureckas (2020-04-30). By \'as Successful as Most Other Nations,\' NYT Means Sweden Is 10th Worst in the World. fair.org The relaxed attitude of Swedes towards the spread of the coronavirus \"does not seem to have hurt them,\" reports the New York Times ( \"In Sweden…the government defied conventional wisdom and refused to order a wholesale lockdown to \'flatten the curve\' of the coronavirus epidemic,\" the New York Times (

RT (2020-04-30). German churches & museums to reopen subject to conditions — and Merkel to announce further easing on May 6. rt.com Churches, museums and playgrounds in Germany can reopen if they meet certain conditions, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said, adding that more measures to ease the lockdown would be announced on May 6. | Merkel held a video conference with governors of Germany\'s states on Thursday, at which she said the number of daily new infections needed to be reduced still further. Social-distancing rules would still have to be observed in public places to avoid a new spike in infections, the chancellor cautioned, according to Reuters. | \"We need to further slow the spread of the virus,\" Merkel said.

The Canary (2020-04-30). Boris Johnson to front first press conference since recovering from coronavirus. thecanary.co Boris Johnson will front his first daily press conference since recovering from coronavirus (Covid-19) on 30 April.The UK\'s coronavirus death toll is now the third highest in the world after the US and Italy, so Downing Street is playing down any expectations of an easing of restrictions.Number 10 said a cabinet meeting earlier in the day would look at the \"response in general\" but not make any decisions on lockdown measures.(PA Graphics)That response was facing further criticism as health secretary Matt Hancock\'s deadline arrived for carrying out 100,000 Covid-19 tests a day.With just over 52,000 tests carried o…

RT (2020-04-30). WHO says Russia could start 'gradually' easing partial lockdown in 2 weeks, amid a record daily spike in Covid-19 cases. rt.com A WHO representative suggested that Russia could start partially easing Covid-19 restrictions soon if the situation develops in the right way. However, new data in relation to infections adds more uncertainty to the situation. | One month on from Putin\'s announcement of a Russian partial lockdown, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. | Speaking at a coronavirus-focused roundtable hosted by Russian news agency TASS, Dr. Melita Vujnovic, the World Health Organization Representative in Russia, stated that measures could soon be eased if the country sees a downward trend within the next two weeks. \"I…

RT (2020-04-30). US unemployment set to soar to 30 MILLION as coronavirus pandemic wrecks economy. rt.com With the US Labor Department set to release weekly jobless claims figures on Thursday, economists project that another 3.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits during the week ending April 25. | That will add to the 4.427 million initial jobless claims in the previous week, bringing the total number to at least 30 million during the six-week period of the forced lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. | Economists expect the number of unemployed Americans in April to shatter…

Ted Rall (2020-04-30). Save America, Throw the Landlords Under the Bus. counterpunch.org We can save the economy. We have to throw the landlords under the bus to do it. At this writing, 26.5 million Americans have lost their jobs to the national lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Added to those who were unemployed before the coronavirus crisis, we will soon face jobless numbers equivalent to or greater than to

Marko Marjanović (2020-04-30). Italy to Speedily Abandon Mind Virus Lockdown, Bend the Knee to Sweden\'s Open Model. anti-empire.com

Fighting \"the invisible enemy\"

| Conte has announced a gradual reopening of Italy starting next Monday. However, reading the schedule it becomes apparent it\'s not very gradual at all, instead it is quite quick: | Italy has outlined plans to ease the restrictions it imposed seven weeks ago to curb the spread of the coronavirus. | Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the measures would be relaxed from 4 May, with people being allowed to visit their relatives in small numbers. | People will be allowed to move around their own regions – but not between different regions | Funerals are set to resume,…

RT (2020-04-30). \'Under control\': Denmark says coronavirus spread \'hasn\'t accelerated\' since reopening began. rt.com Denmark said on Thursday the spread of Covid-19 has not accelerated since its gradual loosening of restrictions began in mid-April. The first country outside Asia to ease its coronavirus lockdown, Denmark began reopening day care centers and schools for children in first to fifth grades two weeks ago followed by hairdressers and other small businesses on April 20, after seeing the number of infections and deaths decline. | \"There are no signs that the Covid-19 epidemic is accelerating,\" said the State Serum Institute, which is responsible for preparedness against infectious diseases. The \'R rate,\' which shows…

RT (2020-04-30). Boris Johnson says UK \'past the peak\' of Covid-19 outbreak at first briefing after his recovery (VIDEO). rt.com Recovering from his own bout with the coronavirus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Britain is \"past the peak\" in its battle with the virus. The PM added that he will set out a plan to ease lockdown measures next week.

RT (2020-04-30). Serbia eases lockdown this weekend despite health warnings. rt.com The Serbian government has decided to ease coronavirus lockdown measures this weekend despite warnings by doctors. The government reversed its decision to lock the entire country down during the coming May Day weekend and instead introduced a curfew from 6pm on Thursday until 5pm on Saturday despite calls by doctors not to relax restrictions. | Serbia\'s chief epidemiologist, Predrag Kon, a member of the government\'s crisis team, sees the decision as a compromise. He said a three-day lockdown would have been a better and safer decision to prevent the disease spreading. | Serbia has so far reported 8,724 coronav…

Jackie Salo (2020-04-30). Lockdowns-Boosting WHO Now Lauds Sweden as a \'Model\' for Other Countries to Copy Going Forward. anti-empire.com The World Health Organization lauded Sweden as a \"model\" for battling the coronavirus as countries lift lockdowns — after the nation Dr. Mike Ryan, the WHO\'s top emergencies expert, said Wednesday there are \"lessons to be learned\" from the Scandinavian nation, which has largely relied on citizens to self-regulate. [This would be the same Mike Ryan who argued authorities would need to enter people\'s homes and forcefully take away infected fami…