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Ex-official sues Trump administration for trivialising coronavirus
1:45 a.m.: The deposed director of a department of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Rick Bright, has filed a complaint against President Donald Trump’s administration. Bright accuses the U.S. government of not taking his warnings about the coronavirus seriously in January and that he was subjected to hostility from Health Secretary Alex Azar and other senior officials at the agency.
“Dr. Bright acted with urgency to deal with this pandemic, but met with resistance from HHS leadership, including Azar, who seemed intent on downplaying this catastrophic threat,” the lawsuit states.
Bright’s lawyers argued that his subsequent dismissal violated a federal law protecting government whistleblowers.
Rick Bright said in a statement two weeks ago that he had been transferred against his will to a less influential position in another agency. Bright was convinced that this had happened because he had resisted supporting hydroxychloroquine and the associated chloroquine as a cure for Covid-19. He said the US government had touted the drugs as a “miracle drug,” even though they had “clearly no scientific value.”
Un-Security Council blocked on Corona resolution
1:30 a.m.: The world has long been discussing the reopening of societies in the Corona pandemic – meanwhile, the UN Security Council is still struggling to hold a common position. According to diplomats, the 15 members of the most powerful United Nations body have so far been unable to agree on a resolution that supports Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a global ceasefire in March.
Behind closed doors, the blockade is seen as a potential diplomatic disaster in the face of the global crisis.
The background is a dispute between the US and China over the role of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the decision. The United States does not want to see the WHO, which accuses President Donald Trump of listening to China, mentioned in the text prepared by France and Tunisia. But at an informal Security Council meeting on Tuesday, China hinted, according to several diplomats, that it might veto a resolution without naming the WHO.
Faced with the blockade, France and Tunisia face the decision to vote on the risk of a veto or to hope that further negotiations will bring about a breakthrough. The division of the body is increasingly damaging its credibility. At the beginning of April, Germany’s UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen had already criticized the Council’s “deafening silence” in the Corona crisis.
Federal government apparently wants to allow professional football again
01.02: The ball is supposed to roll again – at least for the pros: This is clear from a federal draft resolution: However, an exact date for the first games of the Bundesliga is not yet available.
