Global headlines - 25 April, 2020

News Links, April 25, 2020

## Global Ponzi meltdown/House of Cards/global cooling/deflationary collapse ##
Hertz taps debt restructuring advisers as car rental demand evaporates, sources say

COVID-Chaos Triggers Record Losses For Swiss National Bank

Here's a peek into our post-pandemic world — currency wars, higher taxes and need for a new Marshall Plan
The world is going back to gold

Since Inception the Euro Has Devalued by 85% Against Gold

## Cut, baby, cut! ##
Boeing plans to cut 787 Dreamliner output, jobs

## Airline death spiral ##
United mandates masks for flight attendants, unions want passengers included

Flight attendants union: Halt leisure travel until virus is contained

Air France-KLM wins aid deal, flags likely share issue
Boeing pushes back target date for fixing 737 Max as coronavirus hinders progress

## Fault lines/flashpoints/powder kegs/military/war drums ##
Battle For The Arctic: Russia Plans Nuke Icebreaker, US Counters China In Greenland
US official: "We can expect the rapidly changing Arctic system to create greater incentives for the Kremlin and the PRC to pursue agendas that clash with the interests of the United States."

Public health emergency declared for US troops stationed across Djibouti base cluster

China could soon sink US in South China Sea

Hypersonics: DoD Wants 'Hundreds of Weapons' ASAP

The Pentagon will have to live with limits on F-35's supersonic flights

U.S. warship heads to port after coronavirus outbreak

Exceptionalistic Claptrap

## Migrants/refugees ##
Dinghies carrying 76 migrants intercepted in Channel

Two migrants injured after shots fired into refugee camp on Greek island of Lesbos

Bosnian security minister wants thousands of migrants deported

## Global unrest/mob rule/angry people/torches and pitchforks ##
CHP bans protests at California Capitol after rally against Newsom's stay-at-home order

COVID-19: Brazil's Bolsonaro Trumps Trump
The main objective of the Brazilian president's expanded authority is expected to be the prevention  and possible repressions of a social explosion.

## Energy/resources ##
U.S. Oil And Gas Industry Enduring Devastating Job Losses On Supply Glut, Low Crude Prices

Mexico's Pemex Suspends Fuel Imports From U.S. As Demand Tanks

## Got food? ##

U.S. food banks run short on staples as hunger soars
How Africa risks reeling from a health crisis to a food crisis

USDA let poultry plants put workers close together even as they got sick from coronavirus

## Environment/health ##
'Silent Spring Is Already Here': Global Study Shows Nearly 25% Drop in Insect Population Over 30 Years

Fight against malaria could be set back 20 years, WHO warns

Global warming is undoing decades of progress in marine reserves
• Coronavirus

World leaders launch plan to speed COVID-19 drugs, vaccine; U.S. stays away
World leaders pledged on Friday to accelerate work on tests, drugs and vaccines against COVID-19 and to share them around the globe, but the United States did not take part in the launch of the World Health Organization (WHO) initiative.

Sanctioned Countries Are Now Leading the World in the Fight Against Coronavirus
Countries currently facing US sanctions, around a quarter of the world's population, are faring far better than the United States and leading the global fight against COVID-19.

Coronavirus: Tokyo hospitals trying to stay ahead

Trial of Gilead's potential coronavirus treatment running ahead of schedule, researcher says

## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##
Our 'Greatest Generation' Men Weaponized Viruses, Too
How often the sword of righteousness was used to justify dark ops and human experimentation.
Space Force surveillance telescope achieves first light in Australia

## Propaganda/censorship/fake news/alternative facts ##
COVID-19: In NYT, US Intelligence Portray Veteran DC Columnist's Report as Chinese Disinformation Meant to Sow Panic

## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##

Consuming the "Planet of the Humans:" The Most Important Documentary of the Century

COVID-19: How to Destroy America from the Top Down
This crisis is offering us a striking demonstration of how an economy oriented around the whims of the rich brings death and destruction in its wake.
The Pandemic Isn't a Black Swan but a Portent of a More Fragile Global System

## Japan ##
Okinawa's plane spotters chase data on flights U.S. won't reveal

The U.S. military's refusal to reveal the number of aircraft active in Okinawa's airspace has forced the Japanese government to hire plane spotters to stake out bases to obtain data they deem vital to ensure safety.

With no passengers, ANA fills every seat on plane with masks and medical supplies

Coronavirus tally rises to 91 on cruise ship in Nagasaki

Coronavirus stigma driving Tokyo's front-line hospitals to edge of collapse

Coronavirus now responsible for more than 300 deaths in Japan

## China ##
China's rust belt struggles to revive virus-hit economies as brain drain continues

China injects US$7.9 billion into banking system in latest bid to shore up liquidity

Wuhan's Lockdown Is Over. Its Economic Pain Is Just Beginning.

China to prosecute Belize national for 'interference' in protest-wracked Hong Kong

Are Hong Kong's pink dolphins about to disappear?

20% of children on lockdown in China suffer depression, anxiety, study finds

## UK ##
Coronavirus: Virus tests now available to millions of workers

UK retail sales plunge at record rate as lockdown hits

'Less than 10th' of PPE order arrives in UK, despite downpayment

Thousands of firms may fail if rescue schemes not expanded, says CBI

UK coronavirus death toll in hospital rises to 19,506
Transport for London to furlough 7,000 staff, access UK job retention scheme

## US ##

CBO says deficit to reach $3.7 trillion in economic decline
A recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a burst of government spending on testing, health care and aid to businesses and households will nearly quadruple the government's budget deficit to $3.7 trillion
Trump, Pentagon Offer Contradictory Statements on Attacking Iranian Boats
70+ Groups Demand Trump Immediately End US Sanctions Against Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and Others During Covid-19 Crisis

No, This Is Not Another 1929, 1973, 1987, 2000, or 2008

Nearly one-third of Americans believe a coronavirus vaccine exists and is being withheld, survey finds

How Pepsi and Coke make millions bottling tap water, as residents face shutoffs
The drinks giants were allowed to keep bottling in Detroit, despite substantial uncollected water bills, a Consumer Reports investigation finds

• Coronavirus

'We disagree': Medical professionals counter coronavirus lockdown protesters

'It's irresponsible and it's dangerous': Experts rip Trump's idea of injecting disinfectant to treat COVID-19

"It's a common method that people utilize when they want to kill themselves."

As U.S. coronavirus death toll tops 50,000, a handful of states edge toward reopening

Trump says he may extend coronavirus social distancing guidelines to early summer