Fake news about the coronavirus can do real harm. Polygraph.info is spotlighting fact-checks from other reliable sources here​. Daily DebunkRobert Wilkie, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, holds a briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. November 8, 2019.Claim: U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie said the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine has worked in stopping the progression of COVID-19 in “middle-age and younger veterans” who have the disease.Verdict: FalseRead the full story: 
Taken together, the information presented here suggests that it is much more likely that SARS-CoV-2 was generated naturally and transmitted zoonotically, without any engineering or lab growth.
— Health Feedback, April 24​
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Уряд України має намір 29 квітня розглянути питання про відновлення роботи деяких продовольчих ринків, повідомив прем’єр-міністр Денис Шмигаль під час онлайн-наради з президентом України Володимиром Зеленським щодо питань боротьби з COVID-19.

За словами Шмигаля, це стало можливим завдяки тому, що Міністерство охорони здоров’я України та Міністерство розвитку економіки, торгівлі та сільського господарства України розробили чіткі критерії роботи та алгоритм контролю.

«Йдеться про відкриття 281 продовольчого ринку по всій території України, які зможуть функціонувати в режимі не гірше, ніж супермаркети. Тобто з дотриманням жорстких санітарних норм, порушення яких будуть суворо каратися, аж до закриття роботи ринків на певний період», – повідомив Денис Шмигаль.

Минулого тижня в кількох українських містах відбулися протести підприємців, які вимагали реалізації свого конституційного права на працю. Зокрема, Радіо Свобода пповідомляло про такі акції в Одесі та Запоріжжі. У Запоріжжі на ініціаторку протесту Лідію Кривенко співробітники поліції склали адміністративний протокол, який вона має намір оскаржити.

 
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Національний банк України опівдні 27 квітня оприлюднив довідкове значення курсу 27 гривень 13 копійок за долар. Це на одну копійку менше за офіційний курс на 27 квітня.

«Відбуваються операції по лотах до 1 мільйона доларів за невеликого перевищенні пропозиції над попитом», – відзначають експерти сайту «Мінфін».

За даними Finance.ua, станом на 13:05 торги відбуваються на рівні 27 гривень 6–9 копійок за долар. Зранку котирування становили 27 гривень 10–14 копійок за одиницю американської валюти.

Міністр фінансів України Сергій Марченко минулого тижня назвав доцільною «поступову девальвацію гривні». «Однак політика курсоутворення – це компетенція виключно НБУ», – сказав Марченко.
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As the Trump administration increases pressure on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, the socialist leader has turned to Iran for help jump starting an aging refinery to prevent the South American nation with the world’s largest oil reserves from running out of gasoline, The Associated Press has learned.
On Thursday, the second flight by Iranian airline Mahan Air arrived at a town in western Venezuela delivering key chemical components used for producing gasoline, two oil industry people familiar with the operation told The Associated Press. They insisted on speaking anonymously to discuss the rescue plan because they were not authorized to talk about it.
One said 14 more flights are expected in the coming days, some of them carrying Iranian technicians. The website FlightRadar24, which tracks international flights, showed the plane’s routes.  
Drivers in recent weeks have started lining up at gas stations for days even in the capital of Caracas, the nation’s political center that has long been immune to long waits, even as strict coronavirus quarantines have limited movement. 
Both antagonistic to the U.S., the governments of Venezuela and Iran have each been hit hard by U.S. sanctions aimed at ending what the White House considers repressive regimes.  
The Trump administration has recently led a “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at ousting Maduro, considering opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the nation’s legitimate leader. The U.S. and a coalition of nearly 60 nations say Maduro clings to power following a 2018 election that critics consider a sham because the most popular opposition politicians were banned from running.  
Venezuela’s Ministry of Communications didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request from AP seeking comment.
The U.S. sanctioned Mahan Air in 2011 for its work in ferrying fighters from the Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force, as well as Hezbollah, into Syria to support embattled President Bashar Assad.
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Mahan Air continued to fly passenger trips into China while other international carriers stopped, according to the State Department and FlightRadar24. Experts believe this offers Iran’s Shiite theocracy and the Guard hard currency amid the U.S. sanctions campaign targeting the country’s vital oil industry. Iran and Mahan Air have denied the flights took place.
Iran itself does not produce enough of the catalysts locally for its own demand, said Mohammad Rezaei, director for research and technology of Iran’s National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co. A January report by the Oil Ministry’s SHANA news agency quoted him as saying local catalyst production couldn’t cover for Iran’s nine active domestic refineries.
Iran likely receives the rest of its catalysts from China, which has maintained a business relationship with Tehran despite American sanctions.
Both Mahan and Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the flights to Venezuela. 
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Taiwanese people jammed the narrow aisles inside Lam Wing-kee’s Causeway Bay Books when it opened here on Saturday and a lot wanted to chat with the Hong Kong-born vendor who fled to Taiwan last year following an arrest at the hands of China over titles that offended the Communist leadership.The more than 1,000 people who packed his downtown Taipei store over the first hours of business support the idea of his reopening in Taiwan, which has full free speech, and resent China for killing his operation of Causeway Way Books in the Chinese territory Hong Kong. Lam was one of five Hong Kong sellers who disappeared in 2015 over book content.Lam was jailed in mainland China but allowed to return to Hong Kong and retrieve his computer as part of the case against his store.  He never went back to the mainland.But most Taiwanese are considered unlikely to buy books about Chinese politics and leaders – the type that incited government anger over the Hong Kong store – since they normally read other types of material and increasingly find it online rather than in bound volumes.“Actually, a lot of people who are coming here support Hong Kong,” said Paul Lin, a writer and friend of Lam who showed for the store’s opening day. “One thing is to show that Taiwan is the paragon of the ethnic Chinese world for freedom of speech and freedom of publication, which is tough in other places.”Lam runs his store now from a single-room 10th-floor office in a chic young people’s shopping district sprinkled with cafes, hair salons and other booksellers. Customers who showed Saturday said they wanted to support Lam after learning about the sometimes violent protests in Hong Kong last year against rule by China.Lam Wing-kee, center right, is congratulated by Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan Speaker Yu Shyi-kun, center left, on the opening day of his new book shop in Taipei, April 25, 2020.They will buy books to show that support, said Saturday book browser Ho Liang-xuan, a 22-year-old university student in Taiwan. “I believe most Taiwanese people care a lot about the Hong Kong protests and will think they must help Hong Kong,” Ho said. “Hong Kong’s entire existence isn’t so easy now.”China claims sovereignty over Taiwan as well, though the two are separately ruled. Most Taiwanese surveyed by the government in Taipei last year said they oppose unification with China, and officials in Taiwan spoke openly in favor of Hong Kong’s protesters.Taiwanese, particularly youth, probably won’t buy a lot of volumes on China, said Alexander Huang, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan.A Taiwan National Central Library study in 2018 showed only one China title among young people’s top 10 favorite political books and it was focused largely on travel.  Taiwanese look up to Japan and parts of the West, a possible reason for their choices of literature.  The popularity of  e-books had risen 30% in 2018, the library study noted.“Young people literally don’t read books anymore, “Huang said.Lam picked his Taipei store’s 10,000 titles with a variety of local readers in mind.“These books are written essentially from different viewpoints so you can’t say they’re all about mainland China,” Lam said Saturday.Prominent China-related titles being sold now include Chinese Nobel-prize winning dissident Liu Xiaobo’s book on the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and a release by Chinese dissident writer Yu Jie. Lam decided against selling a book on the private life of Chinese leaders, one that stirred trouble last year, for lack of “evidence” to back the author’s claims.Lam’s shelves now display a book on Stalin by Russian historian Oleg Khlevniuk and the post-Holocaust title Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil.The very youngest readers will find an illustrated volume of maps from ancient China, a math tutorial paperback and Where’s Spot, a picture book that follows a dog that hides in parts of its owner’s home.“I’m glad to see the people here today are young people since young people tend to rely on the internet,” Lin said. He planned to buy the Yu Jie book because it’s aligned with his own views on China.Reopening the store took perseverance. Lam raised the money for it through about $200,000 in crowdfunding. Days before the opening someone splashed him with red paint, Lam said. Police helped ensure safety on opening day, he said.Lam was jailed in mainland China but allowed to return to Hong Kong and retrieve his computer as part of the case against his store. He never went back. He felt compelled to leave Hong Kong last year as the territory’s government began considering an extradition law that could have forced his return to the mainland. The proposed law touched off Hong Kong’s mass protests. 
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Mexico has almost entirely cleared out government migrant centers over the past five weeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, returning most of the occupants to their countries of origin, official data showed on Sunday. In a statement, the National Migration Institute (INM) said that since March 21, in order to comply with health and safety guidelines, it had been removing migrants from its 65 migrant facilities, which held 3,759 people last month. In the intervening weeks, Mexico has returned 3,653 migrants to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador by road and air, with the result that only 106 people remain in the centers, it said. The institute’s migrant centers and shelters have a total capacity of 8,524 spaces, the INM said. Victor Clark Alfaro, a migration expert at San Diego State University, said the announcement went hand in hand with the Mexican government’s readiness to keep migrant numbers in check under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. “Today, Mexico’s policy is to contain and deport,” he said. There are dozens of other shelters run by a variety of religious and non-governmental organizations throughout the country that continue to harbor migrants. Among those who remained in the INM centers were migrants awaiting the outcome of asylum requests or judicial hearings, and others who had expressly sought permission to stay, a migration official said. The vast majority of those sent back were migrants detained by authorities because they were in Mexico illegally, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Some no longer wished to stay in centers because of the risk of coronavirus infection, the official added. Most of the migrants passing through Mexico to reach the U.S. border are from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. More than 80 Guatemalan migrants deported to their homeland from the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus.
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Котирування еталонного сорту нафти Brent зранку 27 квітня опустилися більш як на долар порівняно з показниками закриття торгів минулої п’ятниці. Станом на 8:55 за Києвом ціна бареля становить 20 доларів 70 центів.

Аналітики вказують, що для встановлення балансу на ринку нафти потрібне усунення надлишку пропозиції, який досяг екстремальних рівнів.

Світові нафтосховища будуть повністю заповнені в найближчі тижні, прогнозує експерт Goldman Sachs Джеффрі Каррі. Це створює ризики нових обвалів цін на нафту, які триватимуть доти, доки вимушене скорочення її видобутку не врівноважить попит і пропозицію.

Коли проблема надлишкової пропозиції буде вирішена, ціни на нафту можуть різко зрости, попереджає експерт. На його думку, процес ребалансування ринку вже розпочався, але може тривати ще від чотирьох до восьми тижнів, і лише після цього можна буде з упевненістю сказати про те, що дно пройдено.
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Перші котирування нового тижня на українському міжбанківському валютному ринку повторюють рівень закриття торгів минулої п’ятниці – 27 гривень 10–14 копійок за долар, свідчать показники Finance.ua.

Офіційний курс на 27 квітня становить 27 гривень 14 копійок за долар, такі дані наводить сайт Національного банку України.

Міністр фінансів України Сергій Марченко минулого тижня назвав доцільною «поступову девальвацію гривні». «Однак політика курсоутворення – це компетенція виключно НБУ», – сказав Марченко.
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The Saudi-led military coalition on Monday rejected Yemen separatists’ declaration of self-rule over the country’s south and demanded “an end to any escalatory actions.”   The separatists’ move complicates a long and separate conflict, fought by the coalition and the internationally recognized government, against Houthi rebels who control much of the north. Yemen’s separatists signed a power-sharing deal in Riyadh last November that quelled a battle — dubbed a “civil war within a civil war” — for the south that had in August seen them seize control of the second city of Aden. “Following the surprising announcement of a state of emergency by the Southern Transitional Council, we re-emphasize the need to promptly implement the Riyadh Agreement,” the coalition said according to tweets from the official Saudi Press Agency. “The Coalition demands an end to any escalatory actions and calls for return to the Agreement by the participating parties.” The STC, which is backed by key coalition partner the United Arab Emirates, on Sunday declared self-rule in southern Yemen, accusing the government of failing to perform its duties and of “conspiring” against the southern cause.   The government has condemned the move and said the separatists — who have long agitated for independence in the south — would be responsible for the “catastrophic and dangerous” outcome. The breakdown between the one-time allies comes as the coalition has extended a unilateral ceasefire aimed at fending off the coronavirus pandemic — an olive branch rejected by the Houthis. Compounding the country’s troubles, at least 21 people were killed in flash flooding this month, with Aden’s streets submerged and homes destroyed.   The United Nations said Sunday that more than 100,000 people across Yemen have been affected by the torrential rains which had damaged roads, bridges and the electricity grid, and contaminated water supplies. “Countless families have lost everything,” Lise Grande, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, said in statement.   “This tragedy comes on top of the COVID-19 crisis, which comes on top of the pre-famine last year, which came on top of the worst cholera outbreak in modern history,” she added.”The solution is clear. The parties to the conflict need to find the courage to stop fighting and start negotiating.”   ‘Return to the agreement’    The Riyadh pact on power-sharing for the south had been hailed as averting the complete break-up of the country, but with a lack of implementation, observers have said it is effectively defunct. Cracks emerged soon after it was signed, with complaints over food shortages in the south, a sharp depreciation of the currency and a lack of funds to pay public sector employees.   “We in (Saudi Arabia) and UAE strongly believe that the internationally backed Riyadh agreement has guaranteed an opportunity for the brotherly Yemeni people to live in peace,” Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said in a tweet.   “We reject any hostilities that will jeopardize the safety and stability of Yemen,” he said. While the government and the STC are technically allies in the long war against the Houthis, the secessionists believe the south should be an independent state — as it was before unification in 1990. On Sunday Aden residents reported heavy deployments of STC forces in the city and a separatist source told AFP they had set up checkpoints “at all government facilities, including the central bank and port of Aden.” Hussam Radman, a research fellow for the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies, said the separatists were already in control of the military and security in Aden, where they have popular support.  “But with this declaration, it will become responsible for the administrative side in the provisional capital that has witnessed an unprecedented decline lately” in the provision of services and economic performance, he told AFP. 
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Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the global coronavirus pandemic, will begin to ease its strict lockdown measures beginning May 4, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a televised address Sunday in which he outlined the new, relaxed guidelines. Conte said people would be allowed to visit relatives in smaller groups but while wearing face masks. Parks would open, but schools would remain closed until September.  Italy has been one of the most affected European countries, with almost 27,000 COVID-19 deaths. But the daily death toll has been steadily falling, with just 260 reported Sunday, the fewest in 40 days. Spain, which has the second-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, after the United States, also is easing its lockdown. Starting Sunday, children younger than 14 were allowed to leave their homes. The government reported its lowest daily death toll in more than a month, as 288 people died of the coronavirus, bringing the overall total to more than 23,000.  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the first world leader to test positive for COVID-19, is expected to return to work Monday after weeks of recovery following his time in an intensive care unit.A sign of support for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been in hospital since Monday as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Swynnerton, Britain, April 9, 2020.Germany has also announced its plans to open schools and businesses Monday, but with continued adherence to social distancing guidelines, such as wearing face masks in public.  Sweden, however, is going in the opposite direction. The government has not imposed lockdowns as neighboring Norway and Denmark have, but has urged residents to practice social distancing. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Sweden has grown to about 19,000 and nearly 2,200 people have died, compared to a few hundred deaths in both Norway and Denmark. Sweden’s government has imposed bans on gatherings of more than 50 people and visits to retirement homes. It also has urged people to work from home and advised people over age 70 to limit social contact.  Countries where the coronavirus epidemic started earlier are reporting a marked decline in the number of new cases. China reported Sunday that all COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospitals in Wuhan, where the outbreak originated late last year.  Wuhan, which saw roughly half of all of China’s coronavirus cases, was placed into a strict lockdown in January and sealed off from the rest of the country. Though many restrictions have been eased, residents are still being regularly tested for the virus.  Neighboring Vietnam has had only about 270 confirmed cases and no deaths reported from the coronavirus, which many ascribe to tough lockdown measures and control of the citizens’ movements. The country is beginning to reopen its economy.People walk by a poster reading in Vietnamese “Fighting COVID-19” in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday, Apr. 23, 2020. Business activities resume in Vietnam as the country lifts the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19.South Korea, which was one of the first countries to see an outbreak of the virus after China, reported the ninth straight day with fewer than 20 new confirmed infections.  In the United States, the number of infections is still growing, although at a slower rate, and many people are anxious for end of lockdowns contrary to the advice of health officials.  The states of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee have opened some businesses and eased stay-at-home orders. Several other states are planning to follow suit.  California and Florida have also eased restrictions for beach use.  New York, the epicenter of the global pandemic, will soon allow residents to go to their local pharmacies for COVID-19 testing.  Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that 5,000 pharmacies would be allowed to conduct the tests, with the goal of carrying out 40,000 tests a day.  Maryland Governor Larry Hogan also unveiled a plan to reopen businesses and gatherings, but said it was not clear when the pandemic will weaken enough for normal activities to resume. Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is keeping the nation’s capital under lockdown until at least May 15.  Confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide are approaching 3 million and fatalities have exceeded 206,000, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics.   
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Amazon.com Inc is piloting the use of video conference calls to verify the identity of merchants who wish to sell goods on its websites, in a new plan to counter fraud without in-person meetings in the pandemic, the company said on Sunday. The world’s largest online retailer has long faced scrutiny over how it polices counterfeits and allegedly unsafe products on its platform. Fakes have frustrated top labels like Apple Inc and Nike Inc and discouraged some from selling via Amazon at all. Amazon said its pilot began early this year and included in-person appointments with prospective sellers. However, it switched exclusively to video conferencing in February because of social distancing requirements related to the highly contagious coronavirus, which has infected more than 2.9 million people globally. The interview vetting, on top of other risk-screening performed by Amazon, has been piloted with more than 1,000 merchant applicants based in China, the United States, United Kingdom and Japan, Amazon said. The extra scrutiny by Amazon could make it harder for some China-based sellers, who have registered multiple accounts using private internet networks or fake utility bills. China-based merchants accounted for 40% of the top 10,000 Amazon sellers in Europe, according to 2019 research from firm Marketplace Pulse.
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