Climate change: Polar bears could be lost by 2100
By Helen Briggs and Victoria GillScience correspondents, BBC News

20 July 2020

KATHARINA M MILLER

Sea ice is declining in the Arctic in both thickness and extent

Polar bears will be wiped out by the end of the century unless more is done to tackle climate change, a study predicts.

Scientists say some populations have already reached their survival limits as the Arctic sea ice shrinks.

The carnivores rely on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean to hunt for seals.

As the ice breaks up, the animals are forced to roam for long distances or on to shore, where they struggle to find food and feed their cubs.

The bear has become the "poster child of climate change", said Dr Peter Molnar of the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada.

"Polar bears are already sitting at the top of the world; if the ice goes, they have no place to go," he said.

Polar bears are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with climate change a key factor in their decline.

POLAR BEAR INTERNATIONAL

Female polar bears need to store sufficient fat to feed their cubs

Studies show that declining sea ice is likely to decrease polar bear numbers, perhaps substantially. The new study, published in Nature Climate Change, puts a timeline on when that might happen.

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Polar bears fail to adapt to lack of food in warmer Arctic

By modelling the energy use of polar bears, the researchers were able to calculate their endurance limits.

Dr Steven Amstrup, chief scientist of Polar Bears International, who was also involved in the study, told BBC News: "What we've shown is that, first, we'll lose the survival of cubs, so cubs will be born but the females won't have enough body fat to produce milk to bring them along through the ice-free season.

"Any of us know that we can only go without food for so long," he added, "that's a biological reality for all species".

BJ KIRSCHHOFFER

POLAR BEARS INTERNATIONALPolar bears rely on sea ice to catch their prey

The researchers were also able to predict when these thresholds will be reached in different parts of the Arctic. This may have already happened in some areas where polar bears live, they said.

"Showing how imminent the threat is for different polar bear populations is another reminder that we must act now to head off the worst of future problems faced by us all," said Dr Amstrup.

"The trajectory we're on now is not a good one, but if society gets its act together, we have time to save polar bears. And if we do, we will benefit the rest of life on Earth, including ourselves."

Under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, it's likely that all but a few polar bear populations will collapse by 2100, the study found. And even if moderate emissions reduction targets are achieved, several populations will disappear.

The findings match previous projections that polar bears are likely to persist to 2100 only in a few populations very far north if climate change continues unabated.

Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats on the ocean surface, forming and melting with the polar seasons. Some persists year after year in the Arctic, providing vital habitat for wildlife such as polar bears, seals, and walruses.

Sea ice that stays in the Arctic for longer than a year has been declining at a rate of about 13% per decade since satellite records began in the late 1970s.

Canada’s forgotten universal basic income experiment

IT WAS A SUCCESS

By David Cox BBC 24th June 2020

Amid wide unemployment during Covid-19, basic income schemes have gained fresh relevance. A successful Canadian scheme that's over four decades old could provide a road map for others.


Evelyn Forget was a psychology student in Toronto in 1974 when she first heard about a ground-breaking social experiment that had just begun in the rural Canadian community of Dauphin, Manitoba.

“I found myself in an economics class which I wasn’t looking forward to,” she remembers. “But in the second week, the professor came in, and spoke about this wonderful study which was going to revolutionise the way we delivered social programmes in Canada. To me, it was a fascinating concept, because until then I’d never really realised you could use economics in any kind of positive way.”

The experiment was called ‘Mincome’, and it had been designed by a group of economists who wanted to do something to address rural poverty. Once it was implemented in the area, it had real results: over the four years that the program ended up running in the 1970s, an average family in Dauphin was guaranteed an annual income of 16,000 Canadian dollars ($11,700, £9,400).

With unemployment likely to mount in the wake of Covid-19, the concept of introducing a basic income is once again back in vogue on both sides of the Atlantic.

Why did these economists start Mincome those four decades ago? They wanted to see whether a guaranteed basic income for those below the poverty line could improve quality of life – a grand economic idea that had been around since the Enlightenment, but had barely been tested in practise.

As one of just a handful of real-life basic income trials that has taken place over the past half century, little did they know that more than 40 years later, this experiment would be at the centre of the discussion regarding the merits of introducing basic income on a larger scale.




Unemployment numbers have soared in many countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, causing some to reapproach the topic of universal basic income (Credit: Getty Images)


Back in 1974, Canadian policy makers were inspired by a wave of social reforms, which had been rolled out throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, including the introduction of universal health insurance across Canada in 1972. So, having garnered the support of Canada’s federal and provincial governments, University of Manitoba economist Derek Hum, along with Manitoba civil servants Ron Hikel and Michael Loeb, created a scheme in which Dauphin’s poorest residents could apply to receive monthly cheques to boost their existing income. At the time it was the most ambitious social science experiment ever to take place in Canada, and saw rates of hospitalisations fall, improvements in mental health, and a rise in the number of children completing high school.

“It wasn’t a case of getting money to live and do nothing,” says Sharon Wallace-Storm, who grew up in Dauphin and was 15 when the experiment began. “They set a level for how much a family of three or four needed to get by. You applied showing how much you were making, and if you didn’t meet that threshold they would give you a top up.”

‘100 miles too far from anywhere’

The experiment intrigued Forget, especially because of the sheer remoteness of Dauphin. Located in the middle of a vast plain, a five-hour drive from the capital of Winnipeg, Dauphin comprised little more than farming, and a small factory producing trainers. Even the town’s own inhabitants would jokingly refer to it as being “100 miles too far from anywhere”.

But choosing Dauphin wasn’t random – it was simply a case of pragmatism. The economists needed a town of approximately 10,000 people – any smaller, and they would lack sufficient data to draw conclusions, while any bigger and it would cost too much – which they could drive to and from in a day. They drew a big circle around Winnipeg and happened upon Dauphin.

In total, the scheme ran for more than four years, with the primary goal of investigating whether a basic income reduced the incentive to work, one of the main public concerns at the time regarding such schemes.


At the time it was the most ambitious social science experiment ever to take place in Canada, and saw rates of hospitalisations fall, improvements in mental health, and a rise in the number of children completing high school


However, it was abruptly stopped in 1979, a casualty of the political and economic turmoil of the mid-to late-1970s. A series of oil price shocks had led to rampant inflation and increasing levels of unemployment. This meant that by 1979, far more families in Dauphin were seeking assistance than the experiment had budgeted for, while the scheme’s payouts were rising with the inflation rate.

Soon, both the federal and provincial governments decided that supporting it was no longer viable, and so the experiment was scrapped. The many files of data were packed away in cardboard boxes, stored in a warehouse, and there they languished, unused and forgotten for nearly three decades.

Uncovering the truth

Forget had long wondered what had happened to the social experiment that so captivated her in 1974. Merely hearing about it even changed her own career direction: she switched fields from psychology, andlater became a health economist.

So, in 2008, she finallydecided to find out what had become of it.

“As a health economist, you become aware very quickly that we use the healthcare system to treat the consequences of poverty, and we do it in an inefficient and expensive way,” she says. “We wait until people live horrible lives for many years, get sick as a consequence, and then we go in all guns blazing to make things better.”

Forget discovered that the data had fallen under the jurisdiction of the Winnipeg regional office of Canada’s National Library and Archives. After gaining permission to analyse it, she was confronted with 1,800 dusty boxes packed full of tables, surveys and assessment forms, all of which needed to be digitalised.

After several years of painstaking work, she was finally able to publish the results, many of which were eye-opening. In particular, Forget was struck by the improvements in health outcomes over the four years. There was an 8.5% decline in hospitalisations – primarily because there were fewer alcohol-related accidents and hospitalisations due to mental health issues – and a reduction in visits to family physicians.

Forget believes this was a direct result of the added security in people’s lives provided by the basic income. “I wanted to see whether doing something about poverty has an impact on people’s health and these results are really interesting,” she says. “An 8.5% reduction over four years is pretty dramatic.”


The small city of Dauphin, Manitoba in Canada was the site of a successful universal basic income experiment in the 1970s. Can it be replicated elsewhere? (Credit: Alamy)

Joy Taylor, who was 18 and newly married when the scheme began, remembers that people had much less to worry about financially during the course of the experiment, which improved their wellbeing. Her husband was suddenly able to get a loan to open a local record store, with banks being more willing to lend money to small businesses because of the guaranteed payments.

There was also an increase in the number of adolescents completing high school. Before and after the experiment, Dauphin students – like many in rural towns across Manitoba – were less likely to finish school than those in the city of Winnipeg, with boys often leaving at 16 and getting jobs on farms or in factories. However, over the course of those four years, they were actually more likely to graduate than Winnipeg students. In 1976, 100% of Dauphin students enrolled for their final year of school.

“Very often these people were the first in their family who’d ever finished high school,” says Forget. “When Mincome came along, families decided they could support their sons in school just a little bit longer, and, in some ways, I think that’s the most exciting result because we saw that investment in human capital.”

Other families who were on the programme at the time remember that certain things were suddenly more affordable. For Eric Richardson, the youngest of six children who was aged 10 when the experiment began, the introduction of basic income meant a trip to the dentist for the first time. “Normally, you didn’t get to go until you were old enough to pay for it yourself,” he says. “I remember it very well because I had 10 cavities and our dentist would drill your teeth without freezing.”


For Eric Richardson, the youngest of six children who was aged 10 when the experiment began, the introduction of basic income meant a trip to the dentist for the first time


But when the experiment ended in 1979, the improvements which had been seen in health and education soon returned to how things had been in 1974. Taylor remembers how many of the small businesses that had sprung up over the preceding four years began to vanish. Her husband was forced to close their shop, and the couple soon left Dauphin for good.

“After the programme ended, we moved to Ontario in 1980 because there was nothing to stay for anymore,” she says. “It just wasn’t doing very well.”

And, so, Dauphin faded back into anonymity – until now. Forget’s persistence in bringing the findings of Mincome to light has led both policy makers and academics around the world to revisit this long-forgotten experiment, as they ponder whether such a scheme could ever be viable on a much larger scale.

Can basic income work across a whole country?

Proponents of a nationwide basic income scheme have argued that a system similar to Mincome, in which those earning less than a certain threshold receive top-up payments, are a necessary complement to the existing benefits system in order to reduce poverty. They feel that the stringent requirements attached to welfare programmes means that on their own, they provide insufficient support.

However, critics point to the huge administrative costs associated with providing a population-wide basic income, potentially supporting several million individuals. After all, just 2,128 people in total were involved in the Mincome experiment.

In 2017, Luke Martinelli, an economist at the University of Bath, attempted to model how much such a scheme may cost the UK, with the cheapest estimate coming to £140 billion per year – on top of the existing welfare state costs. Critics have stated that no trial conducted so far has provided any indication of whether governments could afford such a large-scale programme, nor whether citizens would be willing to accept the higher levels of taxation needed to fund it.

One of the things we do know from the Mincome experiment is that basic income does not appear to discourage the recipients from working – one of the major concerns politicians have always held about such schemes. Forget found that employment rates in Dauphin stayed the same throughout the four years of Mincome, while a recent trial in Finland – which provided more than 2,000 unemployment people with a monthly basic income of 560 euros ($630, £596) from 2017 to 2019 – found that this helped many of them to find work which provided greater economic security.

“They recently released the final results, which showed the nature of the jobs that people got once they received a basic income was changing,” says Forget. “So instead of taking on precarious part-time work, they were much more likely to be moving into full-time jobs that would make them more independent. I see that as a great success.”


Critics have stated that no trial conducted so far has provided any indication of whether governments could afford such a large-scale programme, nor whether citizens would be willing to accept the higher levels of taxation needed to fund it


But to understand some of the broader implications of how a basic income scheme may work across a larger population, some experts believe it may be necessary to first try it on a state-wide or regional level, before rolling it out on a nationwide scale can be considered.

This could provide governments with a better idea of what it could cost in practise, as well as analyse critical social factors such as what Greg Mason, an economist at the University of Manitoba, calls the ‘politics of envy’.

“All the experiments so far have only considered whether basic income affects the willingness to work of those receiving the extra payments,” Mason says. “But they haven’t looked at the people who are just above the threshold for receiving basic income. Those people could well become very resentful of anyone who isn’t working, and yet only earn slightly less than them.”

Mason believes that for basic income to work on a larger scale, governments would need to find an eligibility income threshold that is reasonable enough to cover necessities, while not allowing people to live “the good life”. He predicts that such a threshold is likely to lie in the region of CAD$15,000 ($11,000, £8,800) – very similar to the equivalent sum which families in Dauphin received during Mincome.

Although many questions do need to be answered surrounding the affordability of basic income on a larger scale, Forget believes that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic could render it necessary to consider taking radical measures to plug gaps within existing welfare programmes.

“When Covid-19 came along and people started to lose jobs in Canada, we discovered that the suite of social programmes in place was really not up to the task,” she says. “You have this mismatch of inconsistent programmes, and you’ve got people falling through the gaps so they’re not getting the support they need. That’s only going to continue as many of the firms suffering now because of the pandemic are probably finished. With so much employment, I think basic income needs to be considered as it provides a much more coherent solution.”

For the residents of Dauphin who lived through the Mincome project during the 1970s, there are no doubts of its merits. “I’m a huge advocate of basic income to this day,” says Taylor. “Knowing that extra money was coming in made life that bit easier. You no longer needed to be afraid of paying the bills or what you were spending on food. It gave you that piece of mind.”

Coronavirus: Why are Americans so angry about masks?

GETTY IMAGES

By Tara McKelvey BBC Leawood, Kansas
20 July 2020

Some Trump supporters have been vocal in criticising masks but not all agree

In the midst of the pandemic, a small piece of cloth has incited a nationwide feud about public health, civil liberties and personal freedom. Some Americans refuse to wear a facial covering out of principle. Others in this country are enraged by the way that people flout the mask mandates.

Bob Palmgren tried to be polite - at first. He told a customer he had to wear a mask inside his restaurant, RJ's Bob-Be-Que Shack in Mission, Kansas. The customer, a man in his forties in a Make America Great Again (MAGA) cap, had flashed a gun and said that he was exempt from a state-wide mask requirement. He said that he could explain the exemption in the law to Mr Palmgren.

Mr Palmgren, a former marine, told the customer that he was not interested in continuing the conversation. Mr Palmgren was not swayed by the customer's gun, either. "Coronavirus doesn't care if you have a gun or not," said Mr Palmgren, describing his conversation with the customer. "I said: 'Now get the hell out of here.'"

The argument in the restaurant reflected a deep divide over requirements to wear masks in this country. People in Kansas, along with those who live in more than half of the country, are now required to wear masks in public as part of an ongoing effort to slow down the spread of the virus. But some people have been fighting against the mandate.GETTY IMAGES

Bob Palmgren, the owner of RJ’s Bob-Be-Que Shack, tells a customer to put on a mask

The wearing of masks has become a catalyst for political conflict, an arena where scientific evidence is often viewed through a partisan lens. Most Democrats support the wearing of masks, according to a poll conducted by researchers at the Pew Research Center.

Most Republicans do not. The Republicans are following the lead of the president: Trump has been reluctant to wear a mask, saying that it did not seem right to wear one while he was receiving heads of state at the White House. He put a mask on in public for the first time during a visit to a military hospital earlier this month.

The battle over masks has escalated during the final weeks of the campaign season. The general election is in November, and activists in both parties, Republican and Democrat, are working feverishly to ensure victory at the polls. Some of them have faced off on the issue of masks: as Timothy Akers, a public-health professor at Morgan State University, a historically black college in Baltimore, says: "We're seeing politics and science literally crashing."

The dispute over masks embodies the political dynamics of the campaign. It also reflects a classic American struggle between those who defend public safety and those who believe just as deeply in personal liberty.

The conflict over masks is tense, volatile and deeply personal. Mr Palmgren, the owner of RJ's Bob-Be-Que Shack, was trying to follow the state mandate when he got into the argument with the gun-toting customer.

Other stories about the masks have unfolded across the country. When workers in a Michigan pizzeria told a customer that she had to wear a mask, she made an obscene gesture, kicked someone in the restaurant and, according to local authorities, fled the police.

A fight over masks led to gunfire outside a Los Angeles grocery store, according to authorities, and a rapper named Jerry Lewis was killed.

The fight over masks is playing out against a backdrop of a health crisis that has reached historic levels. More than 3,544,000 people in the US have tested positive for the virus, according to the World Health Organization, and at least 137,000 people have died.

The divide between those who wear masks and the anti-maskers, as they call themselves, has become increasingly sharp. In interviews in the Midwest and across the US, people dug in their heels and defended their position, whether for or against the wearing of masks. Many of those interviewed sounded deeply mistrustful of people on the other side and blamed them for the nation's economic and public-health crises.

GETTY IMAGES

Anti-maskers at a rally in April to reopen Pennsylvania

Resentment was palpable in the voice of Susan Wiles, a retired sign-language interpreter, as she described what happened to her at her local supermarket, Publix in Vero Beach, Florida. Mrs Wiles, who has an autoimmune disorder, was riding in a motorised cart in the produce department when a worker "jumped back", she says, and gave her "a glaring look".

As she recalls: "He yelled: 'You're not wearing a mask.' It was quite a commotion. Another guy joined right in and said: 'She's a menace to society. Get her out of here.' Then he yells: 'Why don't you just go attend a Trump rally?'"

As it happens, Mrs Wiles has been to the president's rallies. A Trump supporter, she says that she does not wear a mask because she believes that the concerns about Covid-19 are overblown. "Sure, there's a virus," she says. "But people die of the flu every year." When it comes to the pandemic, she says: "I don't fall for this. It's not what they say it is."

GETTY IMAGES

Trump finally wore one publicly in July

Since her confrontation at Publix, the supermarket chain has introduced a formal policy requiring customers to wear masks. It goes into effect on Tuesday. Walmart, CVS and other retail stores across the US have already put a mask requirement in place. This makes it harder for Mrs Wiles and other anti-maskers to stand by their principles. Yet some persist.

Neil Melton is a construction-project manager who lives in Prairie Village, Kansas, and he admires Mr Trump. When it comes to masks, Mr Melton does not think they are effective: "There's really nothing you can do to hide from the virus." He also believes that the mask mandates in Kansas and other states are an example of "government over-reach". He explains: "There are people in power who want to see what people will submit to."

The disease has been spreading rapidly in recent weeks in Oklahoma, South Carolina, Georgia and other conservative, Republican-leaning states where economies opened up early and where people are less likely to wear masks.

The way that Americans in these states and other parts of the country chafe at the mask requirement evokes a time when people here were first told to wear seat belts and not to smoke in restaurants. Americans initially resisted those restrictions, too. But now they follow these safety guidelines. Many have not yet taken to wearing masks, however.

GETTY IMAGES

The advice from health experts is clear - masks work

One Trump supporter, Crystal Lynn, an administrative assistant in Fairfax, Virginia, says she does not like wearing masks because they make her skin break out. Besides that, she says that she does not think that masks work: "It's a false sense of security." She puts on her seat belt when driving because she knows they can save your life. But masks are not "in the same category", she says: "I don't think a mask protects you in any way."

The anti-maskers have expressed their views loud and clear. Yet overall people here accept the wearing of masks and have embraced them more readily than those who live in the UK. Nearly 60% of people in the US said they would always wear a face mask when they go outside, according to Covid-19 Behaviour Tracker. In the UK less than 20% said the same.

People who study infectious diseases have been struggling to make sense of the political divide over masks and understand the public reaction to the health guidelines. "Some people don't wear masks because they say that they don't 'work' - quote, unquote," says David Aronoff, the director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. "There are other people who see masks as a violation of their rights."

The views of anti-maskers are not shared by public-health experts. They say that wearing masks helps stop infected people from passing the virus on to others. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said recently in a webcast that if everyone in the US started wearing masks "right away", the epidemic would be brought under control within two months.

Their advice on masks has changed over the past several months, however, and at times it has been confusing. Earlier this year, public-health officials told people not to wear masks because they were concerned there would not be enough facial coverings for health-care workers. By late spring, scientific understanding of the virus and its transmission had changed, and so did the advice for the public.

This is what drives Democrats crazy. They believe that masks can help prevent the spread of infection and that if people covered their faces in public then the country could get back to normal faster.

For Matt DiGregory, a restauranteur who lives in Bernalillo, New Mexico, and his employees, the cost of the pandemic has been sharp. He closed down a number of restaurants because of the economic downturn. Of his 550 employees, only 60 are left.

GETTY IMAGES

Most Americans are happy to wear them

Masks, he says, are required for all those who visit the restaurants that remain open. If a customer does not have one, the workers have extra masks for them to wear while they are inside the building. "I think masks are the only way we are getting out from under this," Mr DiGregory says. "I'm incredibly sad that there's a political divide on this, and that there's people who think it's a hoax."

Some in Kansas and other states agree with Mr DiGregory even when they do not share his political views. Mr Palmgren, the owner of RJ's Bob-Be-Que Shack, likes the way that Mr Trump has been running the nation. But unlike the president, Mr Palmgren is not ambivalent about masks. Mr Palmgren insists that everyone in his restaurant has a face covering.

Several days after his encounter with the MAGA-cap-wearing, gun-toting customer, Mr Palmgren sounds more disappointed than angry about the incident. Mr Palmgren says the customer gave Trump supporters a bad name. Recalling the customer's demeanor, Mr Palmgren says: "That doesn't make MAGA look good."

Later that day, Mr Palmgren stood outside the restaurant. He called out to someone who was heading for the front door and told them that they needed a mask. For Mr Palmgren, the requirement is non-partisan and non-negotiable.

BLM  PORTLAND 
Black protesters say focus on feds hasn’t derailed message

In this July 22, 2020 file photo Black Lives Matter organizer Teal Lindseth, 21, leads protesters in Portland, Ore. Many Black protesters say the large crowds in response to the deployment of federal agents to the city have helped focus attention on their demonstrations against inequality and racism. (AP Photo/Noah Berger,File)

MORE PHOTOS https://apnews.com/847341576e44e4d9e717128db08faad4

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — After George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, people in Portland came out in droves to protest police brutality and racism, chanting that “Black lives matter.” As the weeks went by, the crowds dwindled to a few dozen and the protests increasingly turned violent.

Since President Donald Trump deployed militarized federal agents to the progressive city early this month, the numbers of protesters have swelled again into the thousands, including mothers wearing yellow shirts and dads armed with leaf blowers to drive away tear gas.

FILE - In this July 20, 2020 file photo protesters kneel in memory of George Floyd during a demonstration in Portland, Ore. From left to right are Rachelle Davis, 10, Charlie Westley and Karen Davis. Many Black protesters say the large crowds in response to the deployment of federal agents to the city have helped focus attention on their demonstrations against inequality and racism (AP Photo/Noah Berger,File)

Feds go home!” the mostly white demonstrators chant. But they also call for racial justice, often led by Black protesters with megaphones.

While the protests have taken on a new tone of opposition to federal intervention, Black leaders and protesters say the surge in activity — though often chaotic — hasn’t distracted from their anti-racist message. Instead, it’s shined a spotlight on it.

WALL OF MOMS PROTECTING BLM PROTESTERS FROM BARR'S BULLY BOYS

A Black Lives Matter protester, who declined to give her name, rallies at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Mary Hubert, part of a "wall of moms," holds a peace sign during a Black Lives Matter rally on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, the first Black woman elected to that office, rejected the idea that the Black Lives Matter protests are being hijacked by white people.

“We cannot afford not to respond to this attack on our democracy, this attack on our Constitution,” Hardesty said. “And we would be foolish to believe that we could stay focused just on Black lives and not address the physical assaults that are taking place.”

Federal agents have used tear gas, less-lethal ammunition and other force against protesters who have been targeting the U.S. courthouse with fires and other vandalism during two months of nightly demonstrations. Peaceful protesters have also been tear-gassed and hit by impact munitions. U.S. authorities say they must act to protect federal property and officers, while local leaders say their presence has made the situation more volatile and urge the agents to leave.


Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks with Black Lives Matter protesters on Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Portland, Ore. Late Wednesday Wheeler joined protesters at the front of the crowd and was hit with chemical irritants several times by federal officers dispersing demonstrators. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)




By being subjected to tear gas, nightsticks and pepper spray, “white people are stepping up and they’re seeing the brutality” that Black people normally experience, said white protester Carol Vogel Warner, who has an adopted Black son. “They’re feeling it.”

Portland police also have used tear gas and other force against protesters.

State Sen. Lew Frederick, a Black Democrat who’s dodged pepper balls fired by federal agents at the protests, said the Trump administration “miscalculated” if it thought it could end the demonstrations with a show of force.


FILE - In this Monday, July 20, 2020, file photo, Romeo Ceasar holds a sign during a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Ore. Many Black protesters say the large crowds in response to the deployment of federal agents to the city have helped focus attention on their demonstrations against inequality and racism. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

"It reignited the protest movement in Portland,” Frederick said, adding that he’s seen more Black people demonstrating now than in the early days.

Those attending the protests are overwhelmingly white, a reflection of Oregon’s makeup. Its population is only 2% Black, compared with 13% for the entire U.S., largely due to the state’s racist past. Its Constitution excluded Blacks from living in Oregon until the clause was repealed in 1927.

Even this week, with the nation focused on the deployment of the federal agents and their tactics, white protesters chanted the names of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans who have been killed by police.

Vogel Warner said thousands of people stopped marching Monday to remember them.

“We all raised a hand and we had some moments of silence, offering either prayers or chants or our silent love to those people who died,” she recalled.

The intervention in Oregon could be just the beginning of a clash between the Trump administration and Democratic leaders in cities nationwide. The White House announced this week that federal agents also will deploy to Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Albuquerque, New Mexico, to combat rising crime.

The Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 Black-led organizations across the U.S., said it remains “undeterred.”



“As we witness Portland becoming a war zone, we understand clearly that this is an attempt to intimidate not just protesters on the streets of Portland but to derail our movement in defense of Black lives,” said Chinyere Tutashinda, a coalition organizer. She called it “a failed strategy” designed to increase support for Trump’s re-election.

Some Black protesters, however, say that white people who have been throwing water bottles at law enforcement and causing vandalism are setting back the movement.

“When we ask people to stop, they don’t. I have been pushed tonight. I have been shoved tonight. I have been told to shut up,” Portland demonstrator Julianne Jackson said. “If white people want to help us, this is not helping us.”

The protests are just one prong of the move to end police violence and racial discrimination and serve underserved communities, Frederick said. Another is changing laws and providing assistance.

After Floyd’s death, Oregon lawmakers passed police accountability measures proposed by the People of Color Caucus, to which Frederick belongs.

And on July 14, 10 days after the federal deployment in Portland, lawmakers provided $62 million in federal coronavirus relief funding to Black people and businesses affected by the pandemic.

“That’s because of the People of Color Caucus and the kind of momentum that has been fostered,” Frederick said.

     TRUMP'S TROOPS


Associate Press reporters Aaron Morrison in New York and Aron Ranen and Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.
Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky

     TRUMP'S TROPES

The global march of face masks: A mirror on humanity
By JOHN LEICESTER

Nantaga Sanguannoi poses for photo during her evening walk at Lumpini park Bangkok, Thailand on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. Sanguannoi, works as a registered nurse in a hospital in Bangkok. "I want everyone to know it is easy to prevent spreading of COVID-19 by wearing a mask. Lot of resources have been utilized, and economies have been shattered because of the virus. If we can prevent spreading of the virus those resources can be utilized to help already affected poor people, think about it" said Sanguannoi. (AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe)

SAINT-GERMAIN-EN-LAYE, France (AP) — House keys, wallet or purse, mobile phone and .... oh, yes: face mask.

Reluctantly for many, but also inexorably in the face of a deadly invisible enemy, small rectangles of flimsy yet live-saving tissue have in mere months joined the list of don’t-leave-home-without-them items for billions around the world.

Not since humans invented shoes or underwear has a single item of dress caught on so widely and quickly from Melbourne to Mexico City, Beijing to Bordeaux, spanning borders, cultures, generations and sexes with almost the same Earth-shaking speed as the coronavirus that has killed more than 600,000 and infected more than 15 million.

Syrian Orthodox priest, Shimon Jan, 70, poses for a portrait wearing his protective face mask in the alleys of Jerusalem's Old City, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. Jan says "I'm advising to everyone to wear face masks not only because of the law also because life is the most important thing". (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

“There has, perhaps, never been such a rapid and dramatic change in global human behavior,” says Jeremy Howard, co-founder of #Masks4All, a pro-mask lobbying group. “Humanity should be patting itself on the back.”

But rarely, also maybe never, has anything else worn by humans sparked such furious discord and politicking, most notably in the United States. Did anyone on an American beach ever pull a gun on someone for wearing a bikini, as an unmasked man did on a masked shopper this month at a Florida Walmart?

As such, like other human habits, the mask has become a mirror on humanity. That so many people, with varying degrees of zeal, have adapted to the discomfort of masking their airways and facial expressions is powerful medicine for the belief that people are fundamentally caring, capable of sacrifice for the common good.

From Marsha Dita, a social media freelancer in Jakarta, Indonesia, comes a view succinctly put, and increasingly widely shared: “This is not the time to be selfish.”

Yet also apparent from outbreaks of fierce resistance to masks, especially in democracies, is this: Plenty of people don’t like being told what to do and distrust the scientific evidence that masks curb contamination.

Cries that masks muzzle freedom have been vociferously aired at rallies in the United States, Canada and, last Sunday, in London. There, a speaker at a protest against the introduction this Friday of mandatory mask-wearing in Britain’s stores argued: “People die every year. This is nothing new.”

62-year-old fruit vendor Peda Tuazon poses at her stall in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. Tuazon said she will convince the person to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Skepticism shared by, among others, Mohammed al-Burji, a 42-year-old civil servant in Lebanon. Walking to work without a mask, violating laxly enforced rules that they be worn everywhere outside the home, he said: “There is no coronavirus, brother. They’re just deceiving people.”

The country has reported over 3,100 infections and 43 deaths, and senior officials have made public appeals for people to stick to mask wearing and social distancing.

The same human reflexes that cause people to size up each other’s fashion choices, haircuts and alike on first meeting are now instinctively applied to masks, too.

In Mexico City, Estima Mendoza says she cannot help but recoil at people without masks. “I feel defenseless. On one hand I judge them and on the other I ask myself ’Why?” Mendoza said. ”As human beings, we always judge.”

As a Black Muslim woman in France, Maria Dabo knows that feeling all too well. For her, the adoption of masks has had an unexpected but welcome side effect: She no longer feels such a standout in the country that has legislated to prevent Muslim women from wearing face-covering veils. With masks required in all indoor public spaces, the French far-right’s long obsession with Islamic veils has been muted.

Pakistani Wasim Abbas poses for a photo after talking with the Associated Press in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Abbas lives in rural Pakistan where 20 per cent of people he says are still not convinced that coronavirus is a reality. "They think it is a rumor." Abbas says he doesn't wear a mask in the village. Why? He asks. If they are effective it is only when indoors and in a crowd, but in the countryside Abbas says rarely are they worn. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Tatyana Khrupina, speaks standing in Nikolskaya street near Red Square during her interview with the Associated Press in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. "It has its minimal usefulness, but it is definitely not what you should start with," Tatyana Khrupina told The Associated Press, adding that she doesn't "really believe" in the effectiveness of a mask. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Mohammad Karbalaei wearing no protective face mask speaks with The Associated Press at Tehran's Grand Bazaar, Iran, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. "There is no special reason I'm not wearing a mask. Ever since they said the (new) coronavirus has come to the country I didn't care and I never got infected." Mohammad Said. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

“I feel like we are a bit better understood,” Dabo said. “Everyone is obliged to do the same as us, which makes me believe that God is busy teaching people a lesson, that covering up isn’t religious or anything else. It’s about not being a fool and protecting oneself.”

Also muddying and fueling global debate has been mixed messaging from government leaders who flip-flopped on the utility of masks and advised against their public use when stocks were so lacking that health workers cared for the sick and dying without adequate protection.

Chief among the U-turners is U.S. President Donald Trump, who first wore a mask in public only after COVID-19 had killed at least 134,000 Americans and tweeted this week that mask-wearing is a patriotic act.

Months of resistance preceded that tweet — resistance that causes head-scratching in autocratic China, which has quashed debate about how the pandemic started and was handled there.

“People in other countries ask for freedom. But they are actually losing it, because they have seen a rapid increase in infected cases,” said Liu Yanhua, an insurance worker.

Even within households, masks divide. Yu Jungyul, a child-health worker in Seoul, South Korea, says she has to nag her husband to wear one, telling him: “‘We have to wear masks for other people now, rather than only for ourselves.’”

Estelle Fitz poses for a photo as she stands on Westminster Bridge in London, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. "You should wear a mask for the safety of everyone, i'm sure thats the biggest reason for it, you have to think about the other people" (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

In Australia, the introduction this week of mandatory face coverings in Melbourne came with a plea from the region’s premier, Daniel Andrews, for masks to be incorporated into life’s routines.

“Most of us wouldn’t leave home without our keys, we wouldn’t leave home without our mobile phone. You won’t be able to leave home without your mask,” he said.

Trend-setters are setting the tone, too. Fashion historian Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, author of “Worn On This Day: The Clothes That Made History,” notes that “fashions spread through emulation,” and can sprint around the globe in minutes on social media. She suggests that “seeing more prominent people — like actors, models, social media personalities, or politicians — wearing them on TV or in social media would have an immense impact.”

“The decision to wear a mask — or NOT wear one — also offers people the illusion of control at a time when everything seems wildly out of control,” she argues.

Then there are the practicalities. Masks are an unaffordable luxury for those in extreme poverty and are making painful dents in the budgets of modest families. Says Wasim Abbas, a villager in Pakistan: “Some people are poor. They have not been given masks.”

In heat, masks can be a torment. In Lagos, Nigeria, mask-less street trader Jibola Costello said he had to peel his off for a cool-down breather. “That’s why I removed it.”

And in France, fruit and vegetable seller Montassar Yoinis noticed that shoppers shun his stand if his face is uncovered. So he compensates by yelling loudly through his surgical mask: “Hello Monsieur, don’t hesitate to taste the cherries!”

“It’s a bit of a bother, but we have no choice,” he said. “People are wary when you don’t wear a mask. They don’t come.”

Fishmonger Sante De Luca wears a surgical mask as he poses in his stall at a market in Rome, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. "Masks need to be worn, full stop! It's not optional. It's a matter of respect for others. There might be no need to wear it while driving a car alone, but in public spaces, it must be used. While working I don't wear one at all times, but I always respect safe distancing." (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
Shopping with her young kids (she was masked, they weren’t), French museum worker Celine Brunet-Moret said she misses not being able to see faces and “all the emotions people have. You don’t see people smiling or if they are OK or not.”

“It’s not the same life and it’s not the normal life, so I’m thinking that we’ll never get used to it, really get used to it,” she said.

But across the street from the shop where Brunet-Moret was buying pungent cheese, fabric store worker Laure Estiez said venturing out without one of her growing collection of about 30 home-made masks now feels “almost unnatural.” She says her new morning routine of picking colors and patterns to match her mood and outfits has “become a pleasure.”

“We have a very strong capacity for adaptation,” she said. “You get used to everything.”

___

AP journalists around the globe contributed to this report. Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

STATEHOOD OR INDEPENDENCE Thousands in Puerto Rico still without housing since Maria

Wilfredo Negron stands on the rooftop of one of his properties securing the zinc roof in preparation for the current hurricane season, in Corozal, Puerto Rico, Monday, July 13, 2020. Nearly three years after Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico, tens of thousands of homes remain badly damaged, many people face a new hurricane season under fading blue tarp roofs and the latest program to solve the housing crisis hasn't yet finished a single home. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Nearly three years after Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico, tens of thousands of homes remain badly damaged, many people face a hurricane season under fading blue tarp roofs and the island’s first major program to repair and rebuild houses hasn’t completed a single one.

Maria hit more than 786,000 homes on Sept. 20, 2017, causing minor damage to some homes and sweeping others from their foundations. A federally funded program administered by local officials carried out relatively small repairs to some 108,000 homes the next year, while churches and nonprofits patched up thousands with private funds.

A Puerto Rican government program known as R3 is the first major effort by the U.S. territory to carry out major repairs and rebuilding of damaged and destroyed housing. Nearly 27,000 homeowners have applied. But nearly 1 1/2 years after federal funding was released to local officials, not a single repair or rebuilding job has been completed.

Puerto Rican officials say work is almost finished on the first 45 homes to benefit from the program, but it is not yet complete.

For many Puerto Ricans, the program’s slow progress has become a symbol of their government’s inability to address the long-term effects of the disaster.

“They talk about billions of dollars, but we’re not seeing it,” said Sergio Torres, mayor of the northern mountain town of Corozal. His municipality still has 60 homes with blue tarps as roofs and two families still living in school shelters. ”Ït’s a way of life here.”

Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico with 155 mph (249 kph) winds, and its center spent eight hours over the U.S. territory, obliterating the electricity grid and causing more than an estimated $100 billion in damage. An estimated 2,975 people died in the storm’s aftermath.

A Puerto Rican government-run program known as Your Home Reborn, which operated from January-December 2018, repaired 108,487 residences with funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Some had to be repaired again due to shoddy work. Churches and nonprofits launched smaller-scale efforts around the island.

But tens of thousands of homes in Puerto Rico remain uninhabitable by modern standards, with damage ranging from total destruction to missing roofs. In the central mountain town of Villalba alone, 43 families still live under blue tarps as roofs. Mayor Luis Javier Hernández said one family used theirs for so long that it wore out and he had to give them a new tarp.

R3, which stands for repair, rebuild or relocate, aimed to address the backlog by paying contractors to make repairs for households that earn less than 80% of the region’s median income.

The territory’s government submitted its plans for using federal block grant money for R3 in June 2018. The first $1.5 billion for the program became available in February 2019, with another $1.7 million approved in February this year.

Manuel Morales Ortíz explains what his home suffered during the 2017 hurricane season, in Corozal, Puerto Rico, Monday, July 13, 2020. Nearly three years after Hurricane Maria tore through Puerto Rico, tens of thousands of homes remain badly damaged. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

Nearly 27,000 households applied for help between R3′s start date, July 31, 2019 through early January, when Puerto Rico’s government stopped taking applications. Of the applications accepted, several hundred have been rejected and thousands remain in the preliminary stages. More than 900 people remain on a wait list.

“It’s becoming apparent that Puerto Rico delays are a lot longer than we’ve seen anywhere else,” said Carlos Martín, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute.

He said Puerto Rico’s housing department is understaffed, and that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development also has imposed an unusually large number of requirements on Puerto Rico’s government to prevent fraud or misspending.

Marian Colon, a single mother of two sons, inspects her hurricane-damaged house in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, July 14, 2020. Hurricane Maria tore off her roof and caused a nearby landslide that put her home in jeopardy, and nothing has been fixed or repaired for nearly three years. During that time, she has bounced from home to home thanks to the generosity of relatives, but she is anxious to settle down. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

Puerto Rico’s housing secretary, Luis Carlos Fernández, who took over the position recently, said officials have been trying to simplify the process of verifying and approving requests.

Fernández said he doesn’t know if the federal funds received so far will even be enough to help everyone already accepted into the program. He said elderly applicants, disabled people and those who have significant property damage are first in line.

“We’re not going to be finished for years,” Fernández said.

Fernandez said that more than 2,600 of the applicants are still using blue tarps instead of roofs. Former Housing Secretary Fernando Gil said in September 2019 that an overall estimated 20,000 to 25,000 so-called ”blue roofs″ remained across the island.

It’s a number that angers Ariadna Godreau, a human rights lawyer who runs a nonprofit legal organization.

“We never expected this panorama,” she said. “It’s horrible.”

Among those still waiting is 38-year-old Marián Colón, a single mother of two sons. The hurricane tore off her roof and caused a nearby landslide that put her home in jeopardy, and nothing has been fixed or repaired for nearly three years. During that time, she has bounced from home to home thanks to the generosity of relatives, but she is anxious to settle down.

Colón said she knows of several people who applied for the program and gave up after numerous failed tries. She noted some of them don’t have access to the internet or own a car, making the mission nearly impossible.

“It’s been a very exhausting and very overwhelming process,” she said.

Gov. Wanda Vázquez, who ascended to that position in August after the previous governor resigned following protests over corruption and other issues, has said she puts a priority on speeding up the reconstruction of hurricane-damaged homes.

“The excuses were plentiful, and they were unacceptable,” she said. “Our people have waited too long and can’t take it anymore.”

USA 
AP-NORC poll: Optimism fades jobs lost to virus will return
FILE - In this July 13, 2020, file photo a For Rent sign hangs on a closed shop during the coronavirus pandemic in Miami Beach, Fla. Nearly half of Americans whose families experienced layoffs during the pandemic now believe their lost jobs will not return, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows, as temporary layoffs give way to shuttered businesses, bankruptcies and lasting payroll cuts. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)


WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly half of Americans whose families experienced a layoff during the coronavirus pandemic now believe those jobs are lost forever, a new poll shows, as temporary cutbacks give way to shuttered businesses, bankruptcies and lasting payroll cuts.

It’s a sharp change after initial optimism the jobs would return. In April, 78% of those in households with a job loss thought they’d be temporary. Now, 47% think that lost job is definitely or probably not coming back, according to the latest poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
That translates into roughly 10 million workers who will need to find a new employer, if not a new occupation.

The poll is the latest sign the solid hiring of May and June, as some states lifted stay-at-home orders and the economy began to recover, may wane as the year goes on. Adding to the challenge: many students will begin the school-year online, making it harder for parents to take jobs outside their homes.

“Honestly, at this point, there’s not going to be a job to go back to,” said Tonica Daley, 35, who lives in Riverside, California, and has four children ranging from 3 to 18 years old. “The kids are going to do virtual school, and there is no day care.”

Daley was furloughed from her job as a manager at J.C. Penney, which has filed for bankruptcy protection. The extra $600 a week in jobless benefits Congress provided as part of the federal government’s coronavirus relief efforts let her family pay down its credit cards, she said, but the potential expiration or reduction of those benefits in August would force her to borrow money to get by.

The economy’s recovery has shown signs of stalling amid a resurgence of the coronavirus. The number of laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits rose last week for the first time since March, while the number of U.S. infections shot past 4 million — with many more cases undetected.

The poll shows that 72% of Americans would rather have restrictions in place in their communities to stop the spread of COVID-19 than remove them in an effort to help the economy. Just 27% want to prioritize the economy over efforts to stop the outbreak.

“The only real end to this pandemic problem is the successful application of vaccines,” said Fred Folkman, 82, a business professor from Long Island, in New York.

About 9 in 10 Democrats prioritize stopping the virus, while Republicans are more evenly divided — 46% focus on stopping the spread, while 53% say the economy is the bigger priority.

President Donald Trump and Congress have yet to agree to a new aid package. Democrats, who control the House, have championed an additional $3 trillion in help, including money for state and local governments. Republicans, who control the Senate, have proposed $1 trillion, decreasing the size of the expanded unemployment benefits.

Overall, about half of Americans say they or someone in their household has lost some kind of income over the course of the pandemic. That includes 27% who say someone has been laid off, 33% been scheduled for fewer hours, 24% taken unpaid time off and 29% had wages or salaries reduced.

Eighteen percent of those who lost a household job now say it has come back, while another 34% still expect it to return.

The poll continues to show the pandemic’s disparate impact. About 6 in 10 nonwhite Americans say they’ve lost a source of household income, compared with about half of white Americans. Forty-six percent of those with college degrees say they’ve lost some form of household income, compared with 56% of those without.

Trump’s approval rating on handling the economy stands at 48%, consistent with where it stood a month ago but down from January and March, when 56% said they approved. Still, the economy remains Trump’s strongest issue. Working to Trump’s advantage, 88% of Republicans — including 85% of those whose households have lost income during the pandemic — approve of his handling of the economy. Eighty-two percent of Democrats disapprove.

“A lot of people criticize our president, but he’s a cheerleader,” said Jim Russ, 74, a retired state worker from Austin, Texas. “As long we keep that, the American public will think positive and look positive.”

The poll finds that 38% of Americans think the national economy is good. That’s about the same as in June and up from 29% in May but far below the 67% who felt that way in January.

Sixty-four percent of Republicans think the economy is good, compared with 19% of Democrats. Likewise, 59% of Republicans expect the economy to improve in the next year, while Democrats are more likely to expect it to worsen than improve, 47% to 29%.

Sixty-five percent of Americans also call their personal financial situation good. That’s about the same as it’s been throughout the pandemic and before the crisis began. Still, Americans are slightly less likely than they were a month ago to expect their personal financial situation to improve in the next year. Thirty-three percent say that now, after 38% said so a month ago. Another 16% expect their finances to worsen, while 51% expect no changes.

So much of what happens in the economy will depend on the trajectory of the virus, said Danny Vaughn, 72, from Dade City, Florida.

“I don’t disagree with everything the president does, but his leadership on the coronavirus issue has been lacking,” Vaughn said. “And that’s the number one issue facing the American people right now.”

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,057 adults was conducted July 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

___

Online:

AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/.

Berlin bans rally by vegan chef and conspiracy theorist Attila Hildmann

Berlin authorities have banned a rally of the coronavirus conspiracy theorist Attila Hildmann. The vegan chef claims Adolf Hitler was a "blessing" compared to Angela Merkel, accusing her of preparing a global genocide.

A rally by the self-described "ultra-right-winger" Attila Hildmann was canceled by the city of Berlin's interior ministry on Thursday. The officials said several investigations had been launched over the statements made at the latest Hildmann rally on Saturday, including probes into suspected insults, threats as well as incitement to disorder and illegal acts.

The new rally, originally set for the coming weekend, would likely lead to the utterance of "[criminally] punishable statements once again," Berlin officials said.

  NON ANARCHIST VEGAN

The 39-year-old Hildmann had been making appearances in the German media as a vegan chef and cookbook author. In recent months, however, he drew attention for spreading conspiracy theories on the coronavirus pandemic, including allegations that a "genocide" was being prepared under the guise of vaccination. He also spoke at the "Hygiene Demonstrations" directed against social distancing.

Hildmann believes Chancellor Angela Merkel, the daughter of a protestant pastor, to be Jewish and a leader of a "Zionist regime" involved with "the new axis of evil." The chef, who has a Turkish background, denies being an anti-Semite but claims that certain Jewish families work to destroy Germany and the "German race.


Watch video
COVID-19 Special: Coronavirus conspiracies

https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-bans-rally-by-vegan-chef-and-conspiracy-theorist-attila-hildmann/a-54299794

He has recently called for a "blitzkrieg" against toy manufacturer Playmobil over an animated video where toys explain the pandemic and face masks.

'Slave masks'

At the Berlin rally last Saturday, he accused Merkel and US billionaire Bill Gates of using the coronavirus crisis to launch a genocide campaign.

"Hitler was a blessing compared to the communist Merkel, because she is planning a global genocide of 7 billion people with Gates," he told the crowd of some 200 supporters.

He has also described face masks as "slave masks" and decried his opponents as "leftist fascists."

Commenting on the Thursday ban, Berlin's Interior Minister Andreas Geisel said he was happy about the decision to "draw clear borders" on public behavior.

"The right of assembly and freedom of opinion is very highly valued in our democracy," Geisel said. "But the state will decisively stand up to anyone who takes advantage of it to make possibly illegal statements and trample on other people's dignity."

Watch video

https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-bans-rally-by-vegan-chef-and-conspiracy-theorist-attila-hildmann/a-54299794
Understanding conspiracy theories

dj/msh (dpa, epd, AFP)

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Opinion: Don't fear the coronavirus protests

Conspiracists worldwide are protesting government measures aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Politicians and media outlets should ignore them and offer assertive solutions instead, writes Hans Pfeifer.


Date 23.07.2020

Vietnam suspends wildlife trade as pandemic prods action
               
Issued on: 24/07/2020 -

It is a major victory for conservation groups who have in the past accused Vietnamese authorities of turning a blind eye to the rampant trade in endangered species - Vietnam News Agency/AFP/File


Hanoi (AFP)

Vietnam, one of Asia's biggest consumers of wildlife products, has suspended all imports of wild animal species "dead or alive" and vowed to "eliminate" illegal markets across the country.

The directive signed by the leader of the Communist country follows an international scandal over the sale of wildlife, which has been blamed as the origin of the coronavirus pandemic in neighbouring China.

It is a major victory for conservation groups who have in the past accused Vietnamese authorities of turning a blind eye to the rampant trade in endangered species inside and across its borders.

"The prime minister orders the suspension of imports of wildlife -- dead or alive -- their eggs... parts or derivatives," said the order released Thursday on the government website.

"All citizens, especially officials... must not participate in illegal poaching, buying, selling, transporting... of illegal wildlife."

Among the most frequently smuggled animal goods are tiger parts, rhino horn and pangolins used in traditional medicine.

Despite the high prices they command -- with ingredients trafficked from as far as Africa -- there is no scientific evidence of their health benefits in humans.

Vietnam locked down swiftly to dodge a major health crisis as COVID-19 emerged, but its economy has been hit hard.

The country will also "resolutely eliminate market and trading sites which trade wildlife illegally", the edict said -- warning of a crackdown on the poaching, trafficking, storing and advertising of animals, birds and reptiles.

Anti-trafficking group Freeland hailed the move as the most stringent to control the wildlife trade since the pandemic broke out.

"Vietnam is to be congratulated for recognising that COVID-19 and other pandemics are linked to the wildlife trade," said Steven Glaster, its chairman.

"This trade must be banned as a matter of international and public health security," he added.

China, the world's biggest market for illegal wildlife products, has enacted a similar ban. Vietnam has gone further by taking aim at online sales and imposing an indefinite ban on the trade.

While welcoming the move, conservationists warn enforcement will be a challenge across a country with long porous borders and poorly paid officials who can be bent by cash.

© 2020 AFP