Month: April 2020

BRASILIA, April 15 (Reuters) – A senior Brazilian health official resigned on Wednesday as expectations mounted that President Jair Bolsonaro would soon fire his health minister over disagreements on how to handle the coronavirus outbreak spreading across the country.

The Health Ministry confirmed the resignation of Wanderson de Oliveira, secretary of health vigilance, who had been leading the fight against the epidemic. In a note to his team seen by Reuters, Oliveira said his boss, Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta would likely be fired “in coming hours or days.”

Source: Brazil health official quits, Bolsonaro expected to fire …

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro is in a class of his own. He is the only leader left in the world to reject the consensus of scientists and statisticians on the gravity of the coronavirus outbreak.

The far-right firebrand, who was elected in 2018 trading on conspiracy theories and half truths, has dismissed COVID-19 as a “little flu” and remarked that “we all die someday.” He has flouted his own health ministry’s guidance by going on walkabouts to greet supporters and has urged Brazilians to leave isolation and return to work, defying the advice of the World Health Organization.

 

Source: Brazil Governors Fight Jair Bolsonaro’s COVID-19 Skepticism | Time

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Residents fearful how their families will cope as food runs out and Jair Bolsonaro undermines lockdown message

Source: ‘We’re abandoned to our own fate’: coronavirus menaces Brazil’s favelas | Global development | The Guardian

Climate change has had a devastating impact on our planet, an alarming number of animal species have either gone extinct or are under the threat of extinction as a direct result of human activity.

In fact, scientists have now determined that humanity has killed 83 percent of all wild mammals, and half of all plants.

Statistics like these can be incredibly disheartening, however, scientists finally have some good news for us: they have found an astonishing amount of biodiversity in a previously unexplored area of the rainforest.

 

Source: Dozens of Creatures Thought to Be Extinct Found Alive in ‘Lost City’ in the Jungle | The Hearty Soul

From military bases to joint training exercises, Beijing is looking to establish a greater defense profile in Africa.

Source: China increases defense ties with Africa

President Trump recently described Frederick Douglass as “an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice.” The president’s muddled tense – it came out sounding as if the 19th-century abolitionist were alive with a galloping Twitter following – provoked some mirth on social media. But the spotlight on one of America’s great moral heroes is a welcome one.

Hunger was Douglass’ constant companion as a boy. As a young man, he escaped slavery and became a heroic abolitionist who revealed how food was a key tool in the immoral mechanics of slavery.

Source: Frederick Douglass On How Slave Owners Used Food As A Weapon Of Control : The Salt : NPR

Sandra Aguebor is Nigeria’s first woman mechanic. She is also the founder of The Lady Mechanic Initiative, which teaches women from diverse backgrounds how to fix cars and become financially independent.

Source: Meet the Black Woman Mechanic Teaching Other Women How to Fix Cars

Renowned conservationist Jane Goodall is hoping the coronavirus pandemic will be a wake-up call, warning the crisis is a result of human disregard for nature.

Source: Jane Goodall says global disregard for nature brought on coronavirus pandemic – ABC News