Lawmakers are beginning to dig in to President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure proposal while Democrats consider going it alone. More testimony from experts in use of force as the murder trial of former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin continues.
And, some experts are worried that vaccine hesitancy and refusal could be high enough to prolong the pandemic.
Five stories to know for April 6: Minneapolis Police Chief testimony, Iran nuclear talks, Biden and COVID variant, vaccine passports and Alexei Navalny is sick.
1. Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo testified against Derek Chauvin, saying he violated policy on respecting the “sanctity of life” during the deadly arrest of George Floyd last May. “I agree that the defendant violated our policy, in terms of rendering aid,” Arrandondo said. Watch the Derk Chauvin trial live: https://youtu.be/oFmtjMMdc9Q
2. Iran and the U.S. begin indirect talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal in Vienna, Austria. Washington abandoned the deal three years ago.
3. President Joe Biden will deliver an update on COVID vaccinations as U.S. cases are rising in younger adults due to highly susceptible variants. Stay tuned for a White House COVID briefing.
4. The British government is assessing the ethical implications of vaccine passports. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed proof of vaccination will not be needed for shops or pubs. “And on Monday 12th, I will be going to the pub myself and cautiously, but irreversibly, raising a pint of beer to my lips,” Johnson said. In the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci said vaccine passports will not be mandated.
5. Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was moved to a sick ward. He has symptoms of a respiratory illness and has been tested for the coronavirus.
OTHER TOP STORIES: -Global COVID-19 death toll surpasses 3 million amid new infections resurgence -Biden to speed up eligibility for vaccine as U.S. hits milestone -Skeptical president invites Netanyahu to form next Israeli government http://www.reuters.com
Pressure on the king’s half-brother may represent a mere family feud, but Prince Hamzah’s complaints resonate with the country’s people. We ask what will happen next.
Study the fast-growing list of India’s billionaires: who has joined it and who has left are signs of the country’s shifting economy. And an indigenous group’s tall order in Vancouver’s property market.
Greece and Portugal are beginning to reopen parts of their countries and economies, even while other European countries enforce stricter lockdowns. Small retailers in most of #Greece reopened on Monday, with a limit of 20 people indoors at a time. Critics say it is a paradox to reopen shops while Covid-19 cases continue to rise and hospitals remain under pressure. Meanwhile in #Portugal, café terraces, gyms and secondary schools are opening.
The weekend’s biggest discussion topics. With Tyler Brûlé, Andrew Tuck, Gillian Dobias, Emma Nelson and Sophie Grove. Plus, Chandra Kurt’s wine tips for Easter.
Georgina Godwin sets the tone for the weekend with the day’s biggest news stories, a look at the newspapers, and our editor in chief Andrew Tuck’s column.
A.M. Edition for April 2. WSJ’s Paul Hannon on the impact the U.S.’s expected economic expansion may have on the global economy this year.
Gold futures have their worst quarter since 2016. Getting a Covid-19 shot is a celebration at some vaccination sites. Keith Collins hosts.
Five stories to know for April 1:
1. The fourth day of the Chauvin trial continues after prosecutors presented jurors with several pieces of video evidence on Wednesday detailing the minutes before and after George Floyd’s death.
2. Four people were killed, one of them a child, in a shooting at an office building in suburban Los Angeles before the suspect, wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police, was taken into custody, police reported.
3. President Joe Biden called for a sweeping use of government power to reshape the world’s largest economy and counter China’s rise in a $2 trillion-plus proposal that was met with swift Republican resistance.
4. Myanmar activists burned copies of a military-framed constitution two months after the junta seized power, as a U.N. special envoy warned of the risk of a bloodbath because of an intensified crackdown on anti-coup protesters.
5. President Emmanuel Macron ordered France into its third national lockdown and said schools would close for three weeks as he sought to push back a third wave of COVID-19 infections that threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
Case numbers are on the rise—at a more worrying rate even than the first wave. We ask why, and what is being done to slow the spread. As revenues at wildlife-tourism spots have dried up, so has security—and now poaching is even more rampant than before.
And scientists’ increasingly audacious bids to see around corners. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer
We discuss the UN’s report into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and hear about a new comprehensive agreement signed between Beijing and Tehran.
Plus: we head to Iceland as the countdown to Eurovision begins.
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