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Oil producers reached an unprecedented agreement. Nearly two dozen countries committed to collectively withholding 9.7 million barrels a day from global markets. Plunging demand due to the pandemic, as well as a Russia-Saudi feud, have devastated prices. Saudi Aramco is set to announce pricing for its May crude exports.
Spain eases some restrictions. Some factory and construction workers will return to work, as the two-week “extreme economic hibernation period” enacted at the end of March comes to an end. Though the number of new coronavirus cases has continued to fall, some critics, including Catalan president Quim Torra, said the re-opening was reckless.
Emmanuel Macron addresses the nation. In his third televised speech since the pandemic began, the French president will likely announce an extension of the lockdown beyond the current April 15 expiration and possibly into mid-May. He may also address the issue of extending testing and screening.
Anthony Fauci said social distancing advice was rejected. Speaking on CNN, the US government’s top infectious diseases expert appeared to confirm a New York Times report that Donald Trump’s administration rebuffed calls for tougher restrictions to combat the coronavirus for almost a month before enacting measures in mid-March.
Boris Johnson emerged from the hospital. The British prime minister spent three nights in intensive care last week as he struggled with Covid-19. Upon being discharged, he said it “could have gone either way,” and praised the courage of frontline medical staff. Separately, finance minister Rishi Sunak projected the country’s GDP could shrink up to 30%, according to the Times.
The EU’s competition chief warned against Chinese takeovers. Margrethe Vestager, also executive vice-president of the European Commission, told the Financial Times that EU nations should buy stakes in companies vulnerable to foreign bids.
Racial tensions flared between China and Africa. Following reports of black migrants being mistreated in Guangzhou after months of lockdown, Chinese ambassadors were summoned in Nigeria, Ghana, and elsewhere. The US advised African-Americans to steer clear of the city.
Apple and Google are partnering on contact-tracing. They’ll enable third-party smartphone apps from health authorities that can notify opt-in users of potential Covid-19 exposures. The apps will use Bluetooth rather than GPS, which will allay some but not all privacy concerns.
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There’s a hidden cost to medical crowdfunding. Millions of online fundraising campaigns have been launched over the last decade, making it a normalized way of paying for healthcare treatment. But the ease of this kind of crowdfunding ignores, and even exacerbates, the inequality of access to healthcare.
Matter of debate
Altruism is morally complex. The act of giving is rarely ever purely altruistic, and is instead motivated by a range of factors: feeling good about yourself, for example, or having a building named after you. Understanding the causes and effects of generosity can make us better and more thoughtful charitable actors.
Surprising discoveries
China banned Animal Crossing. The hit video game was pulled after Hong Kong activists started turning customizable islands into virtual sites of protest.
A Taiwanese baseball team unveiled robotic mannequins. The mechanical figures are replacing real-life fans as a new baseball season kicks off.
Digital hoarders are stockpiling terabytes of obscure content. From Hong Kong protest tweets to ’60s British television shows, there’s someone archiving everything.
Neanderthals were into knitting. A scrap of yarn over 40,000 years old confirms that our extinct evolutionary cousins were smarter than we thought.
Investigators busted an alleged face-mask dealer in New York City. They claim the pharmacist hoarded N95 masks that retail for $1.50 each and sold them for up to $22.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, protest islands, and robotic baseball fans to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our app on iOS or Android and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written by Mary Hui and edited by Isabella Steger.