Informing, engaging & connecting the people of the world. APRIL 6, 2020

To view this newsletter online, please click here .

Human connection is key for many in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, but stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic is proving a challenge for those wanting to stay clean and sober.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On April 6, 1808, German immigrant John Jacob Astor, responding to high demand in Europe, establishes the American Fur Company, an enterprise that eventually made him America’s first multi-millionaire. By the time he died in 1848, Astor was the wealthiest person in the United States, leaving behind an estate worth at least $20 million.

VIDEO: As the number of coronavirus infection cases rises in Cambodia, businesses that cannot afford to close have enacted strict hygiene standards. Still, they remain worried about the future. VOA reports from Phnom Penh.

The United States has linked international aid for Afghanistan to the settlement of a protracted political crisis, which has left the war-shattered country politically paralyzed. This threatens to derail a nascent peace-building deal with the Taliban insurgency.

With the African Union now predicting the continent’s economy will contract by 0.8 percent this year, African finance ministers are scheduled to meet via video conference on Thursday to discuss ways countries can mitigate a looming economic disaster.

Much publicized COVID-19 supplies donated by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and his Alibaba Group never made it to Eritrea, despite Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed saying the supplies had been delivered to the entire continent.