Corona in the world: the Spanish government imposes an emergency – politics

In Spain, the dispute between the government and the capital, Madrid, over the policy of the crown is intensifying. According to the public television network, the central government, led by Social Democrats, has declared a state of emergency for Madrid in order to enforce a partial blockade. The Madrid City Council, led by conservatives, rejects the restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Health as illegal, excessive and harmful to the local economy.

The declaration of the state of emergency was preceded by a dispute in the courts. The Madrid government had demanded the confinement imposed by the Ministry of Health and it was won. The order of the Ministry of Health illegally restricts fundamental rights and freedoms, has decided the higher regional court of the Community of Madrid. The two-week cordon of the Spanish capital and nine other municipalities in the Madrid metropolitan area came into force on Friday night of last week. Regional President Isabel Díaz Ayuso bowed to the order, but appealed.

Almost 4.8 of the 6.6 million inhabitants of the “Autonomous Community” were affected by the barriers. They are only allowed to leave their community of residence for a valid reason, for example to drive to work or to see a doctor. Visitors from abroad could only enter the cities in exceptional cases.

Ayuso had complained that the Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was waging a “political war” against his conservative government and illegally interfering with the powers of the regions. Before the mandatory closure, the crown numbers in their region had improved significantly, not least due to the closure of smaller districts. In fact, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants decreased from more than 800 to the current 591 in 14 days.

According to the ministerial order, there should always be barriers in Spain if the incidence of 14 days is greater than 500 in a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, at least ten percent of all the tests are positive and more than 35 percent of the intensive care beds are Covid -Patients are busy. By this order, the provincial capitals León and Palencia in Castilla y León north of Madrid had also been cordoned off on Wednesday.

Despite the high number of victims, Rio again allows samba events

In the midst of the Crown crisis, samba events may take place again in the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro. The news portal informs G1 citing the city administration. Consequently, “previously approved cultural events and activities” are allowed again in the future, for example, “Roda de Samba”, where musicians meet and play. Part of the stipulation is that hygiene concepts are met at events.

At the famous Pedra do Sal (salt rock), a rock-cut staircase in the Rio port area, which is a popular spot for samba parties, the rules have not been followed in recent days. Hundreds of people were G1 According to the site, many without a mask.

Much of life in Rio takes place outdoors. Especially on weekends it is difficult to get the “cariocas”, as the residents of the city are called, to stay at home. This is when the beaches and bars tend to get crowded. Samba groups were largely silent recently. The world famous carnival that was supposed to take place in February has been postponed.

After the US and India, Brazil has the highest number of coronavirus infections. More than five million people have tested positive since the pandemic began. This comes from data from the Ministry of Health in Brasilia on Wednesday (local time). A total of 148 228 people have died in relation to Covid-19 in Brazil.

Actual numbers in Brazil are likely to be much higher, also because the country conducts so little testing. Scientific studies suggest that at least seven times more people were infected than previously known, and twice as many died. Brazil has 210 million inhabitants and is 24 times the size of Germany in terms of area.

On February 26, Brazil was the first country in South America and Latin America to test positive for the pathogen Sars-CoV-2. Many Brazilians now consider that the corona pandemic is over and restrictions on public life have been dropped. Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who, like other members of his family, became infected himself, had described the Covid-19 disease as “mild flu,” caused confusion in the population about the severity of the disease and rejected measures to contain the pandemic.

Ultra-Orthodox clash with the police in Israel

In Israel, hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews clashed with police on Wednesday night. The footage showed a large crowd in Jerusalem throwing stones and metal bars at police who wanted to enforce restrictions imposed due to the crown pandemic. According to the police, 17 people were arrested.

Clashes also broke out in the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Modiʿin Illit in the West Bank. Police said they had asked the believers to leave a synagogue and they had been attacked with stones and fireworks. Four policemen were injured and seven people were arrested. The Israeli government has imposed a curfew across the country due to the increasing number of infections, and now it has been decided to extend the special coronavirus emergency until October 13.

However, parts of the ultra-Orthodox community (Charedim) do not qualify for religious assemblies. The police recently agreed with the followers of a popular rabbi who had died from Covid-19 that only a small funeral should be held. Thousands came, security clearances were not maintained, and there were clashes with the police who tried to dissolve the crowd.

But opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also criticize the ban on demonstrations as an attempt to silence critics of the government. They met for small protests.

Trump halts negotiations on crown aid package

US President Donald Trump canceled negotiations with opposition Democrats on a new Corona aid package until after the November 3 presidential election. “I have instructed my representatives to stop the negotiations,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday, the day after he left the hospital and returned to the White House. “Right after he wins, we will have a great stimulus package that will focus on hard-working Americans and small businesses.”

Trump accused Democrat Nancy Pelosi, a spokeswoman for the House of Representatives, of failing to negotiate aid in good faith. In a tweet Late Tuesday night, Trump provocatively turned directly to the Democrat: If he were presented with a bill for another round of stimulus checks for $ 1,200 each, Trump said he would be ready to sign immediately. “Are you listening, Nancy?”

Trump was referring to direct payments to most Americans before the election. Such payments were a central part of negotiations between Pelosi and the White House, but the Democrat had declined to gradually offer the aid.

It was unclear whether the president wanted to restrict his earlier statement to the end of the negotiations with his tweet. In an initial reaction to Trump’s decision, the economy reacted with alarm, with price losses on US stock exchanges. Pelosi immediately denied Trump’s criticism and said Trump would lose the election anyway.

Democrats have proposed spending about $ 2.2 trillion. The Trump administration has called this “doubtful” but recently increased its offer to nearly $ 1.6 trillion. Among other things, a weekly unemployment benefit of $ 400 is envisaged. Democrats want to make $ 600 a week.

After his decision, Trump must also receive criticism from within his own ranks. Republican Sen. Susan Collins called the decision to end the talks a “big mistake.” The president, however, received the support of the Senate Majority Leader, Republican Mitch McConnell.

Millions of people in the United States were unemployed during the pandemic. Congress and the White House approved more than $ 3 trillion in aid earlier this year. However, no new programs have been adopted since March.