Smokers seem less likely than non-smokers to fall ill with covid-19
May 2nd 2020A QUARTER OF French adults smoke. Many people were surprised, therefore, when researchers reported late in April that only 5% of 482 covid-19 patients who came to the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris between February 28th and April 9th were daily smokers. The ratios of smokers to non-smokers in earlier tallies at hospitals in…
Leaving lockdown means understanding immune responses to the virus
May 2nd 2020OF THE VARIOUS ideas being touted to ease the world out of viral lockdown, one of the most striking is that of giving “immunity passports” to those who test positive for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes covid-19. These passes would let people move around and return to work—based on the assumption…
America’s large firms can count on generous government support
May 2nd 2020BAIL-OUTS ARE often a source of public ire. Americans still seethe over the rescue of banks during the crisis of 2007-09 even as homeowners went bust. The latest group in the spotlight are big firms masquerading as small ones. Companies including Shake Shack, a listed burger franchise, and Potbelly, a meaty sandwich chain,…
Why the unemployed in America could face a lost decade
May 2nd 2020THE FIGURES are staggering, even to those hardened by the experience of the global financial crisis. Disney will furlough 100,000 of its hotel and theme-park workers. Uber may slash its staff by a fifth. Fully 26m new claims for unemployment insurance have been filed in America since late March. By April 18th more…
The reflexive sexism of Malaysia’s bureaucrats
May 2nd 2020“MAYBE SOME men think it’s cute, lah, but…” Rather than finish her sentence, Chelsia Ng, a Malaysian musician, simply giggles. Other Malaysian women, however, were not as amused by the government’s recent advice to wives spending more time than usual with their husbands during the country’s coronavirus lockdown. The dutiful spouses should dress…
Many of Asia’s Muslims are celebrating Ramadan in the normal way
May 2nd 2020Editor’s note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hubIN NORMAL TIMES, Chawkbazar in the heart of old Dhaka, the capital…
Khalifa Haftar is losing ground and lashing out in Libya
May 2nd 2020KHALIFA HAFTAR’S self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) says it will cease fire for what remains of the holy month of Ramadan. But friends of General Haftar say he is doubling down on the civil war he started six years ago. His year-long siege of Tripoli, seat of the UN-backed Government of National Accord…
Saudi Arabia stops flogging
May 2nd 2020“THE FORNICATRESS and the fornicator—flog each of them with a hundred stripes; and do not let pity for them hold you back from carrying out God’s law.” So says the Koran, which dates back to the seventh century. Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is trying to drag…
The pieces of the puzzle of covid-19’s origin are coming to light
Apr 29th 2020Editor’s note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hubAURIC GOLDFINGER, villain of the novel which bears his name, quotes a…
Treasury Wants Stimulus Payments to Deceased People Repaid
According to the Treasury Department, economic stimulus payments erroneously sent to dead people ought to be returned. A Treasury spokesperson revealed the department is formulating a plan to recover the COVID-19 related payments but didn’t furnish details. Steven Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary, stated “heirs should be returning that money,” in an interview on Wednesday. He explained…