United Nations World Tourism Organization predicts a 70% drop in global tourism this year
Global tourism is expected to plunge by 70% this year, compared to last year, the head of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said Wednesday. Previous global crisis situations have caused tourism to decline by 10% to 20%, but the Covid-19 pandemic has been worse,...
France halts use of hydroxychloroquine on Covid-19 patients
French doctors have been banned from prescribing hydroxychloroquine to Covid-19 patients, the government ruled Wednesday. The French Health Ministry revoked its authorization for the drug to be given to those with coronavirus, saying that the scientific data available at present does not provide sufficient “evidence...
It’s 1 p.m. in London and 8 a.m. in New York. Here’s the latest on the pandemic
The novel coronavirus has infected more than 5.6 million people globally. If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments: Global death toll passes 350,000: At least 350,876 people have died from the disease, according to data from John Hopkins University. The US remains...
Spain holds moment of silence for Covid-19 victims at start of 10 days of mourning
Spain held a moment of silence at noon on Wednesday (6aET) to honor those who have died of coronavirus. Live images broadcast on Spanish television channels showed businesses, markets, streets and the country’s parliament at a standstill. The silent tribute marked the start of 10...
Boris Johnson’s popularity falls after controversy over chief aide’s lockdown travel
Boris Johnson’s popularity has fallen dramatically in the aftermath of a political scandal involving his chief aide Dominic Cummings, according to British political polls. The UK government’s popularity has also fallen. Cummings has been heavily criticized after British newspapers revealed that he travelled 260 miles...
Germany reports 47 new deaths in the past day
Germany has reported 47 new deaths from coronavirus in the past 24 hours, said the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Wednesday. This raises the nationwide death toll to 8,349, according to the RKI, the national agency for disease control and prevention. The country also confirmed...
Antibody tests for Covid-19 are wrong half the time, CDC says
Antibody tests used to determine if people have been infected in the past with Covid-19 might be wrong up to half the time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance posted online. Antibody tests, often called serologic tests, look for...
How many people have coronavirus? Sometimes, it’s just a guess
The young man admitted to the Newton-Wellesley hospital in Massachusetts was clearly very ill — so ill that he needed the help of a ventilator to breathe. The doctors treating him were certain he was infected with the new coronavirus. It was mid-April — the...
Twitter tags Trump tweet with fact-checking warning
A post by US President Donald Trump has been given a fact-check label by Twitter for the first time. Mr Trump tweeted, without providing evidence: “There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent.” Twitter put a warning label...
Coronavirus: France announces €8bn rescue plan for car industry
The French government has announced an €8bn (£7.1bn) rescue plan for its car industry, which has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal includes €1bn to provide grants of up to €7,000 to encourage citizens to purchase electric vehicles. It also...
Record drop in energy investment, warns International Energy Agency
The coronavirus crisis is causing the biggest fall in global energy investment in history. Before the pandemic, funding was set to rise 2%, but now it’s predicted to plunge 20%, says the International Energy Agency (IEA). Fossil fuels are hit hardest, with a 30% funding...
It’s 1 p.m. in London and 8 a.m. in New York. Here’s the latest on the pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 5.5 million people globally. If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments: US approaches 100,000 deaths: At least 98,223 people have died of coronavirus across the United States, which has the highest number of cases globally....
The world sacrificed its elderly in the race to protect hospitals. The result was a catastrophe in care homes
Three months ago, as the novel coronavirus began to gain a foothold in countries across Europe, officials in the UK said they were still confident that the risk to the British public remained low. By February 25, the World Health Organization said the virus had...
France’s President Macron pledges “massive” support for country’s hard-hit auto industry
French President Emmanuel Macron has said on Twitter that his government will “massively” increase its support for the industry, in an attempt to mitigate the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. “The health crisis brought a massive and brutal halt to the French auto industry....
UK government minister resigns over lockdown controversy surrounding Boris Johnson’s aide
Junior UK minister Douglas Ross has resigned from the British government over the controversy surrounding Boris Johnson’s senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, who travelled more than 250 miles from his London home during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown in March. “I have just tendered my resignation from...
Coronavirus: Lufthansa agrees €9bn rescue deal with Germany
Lufthansa has agreed a rescue deal worth €9bn (£8bn) with the German government that saves it from collapse. The German airline has been severely affected by a decline in travel due to the coronavirus and closed its budget airline Germanwings in April. The German government...
Car rental company Hertz files for bankruptcy
The car rental company Hertz filed for bankruptcy on Friday, becoming the latest victim of the sudden economic downturn sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company had missed an April 27 payment due to a group of lenders that leases vehicles in Hertz’s day-to-day US...
It’s 10 p.m. in Washington, DC and 10 a.m. in Beijing. Here’s the latest on the pandemic
If you’re just joining us, here are some of the biggest headlines from today: UK quarantine rule: Travelers arriving in the United Kingdom will be required to self-isolate for 14 days starting June 8, the government announced on Friday. Situation in Italy improves: The number...
Coronavirus: Leading economist warns of 10 years of depression and debt
Economist Nouriel Roubini has warned of a prolonged downturn and sluggish recovery from the coronavirus. Nicknamed Dr Doom for his gloomy predictions, Professor Roubini said there are some jobs that simply will not come back after this crisis. Even if the global economy recovers this...
US instructs WHO to immediately begin work on coronavirus inquiry: “There is no time to waste”
The United States is calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to immediately begin work on an investigation into the source of the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent timeline of events. In a letter to the WHO’s executive board meeting in Geneva on Friday, US Assistant...
It’s just past 1 p.m. in London and 8 a.m. in New York. Here’s the latest on the pandemic
The Covid-19 virus has infected more than 5.1 million people and killed at least 333,000 worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest on the pandemic: Covid-19 threatens EU’s survival, says George Soros: The billionaire said the...
WHO chief says $800 million has been pledged for its Covid-19 response
The World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says almost $800 million has been pledged to help pay for its response to the coronavirus pandemic this year. That leaves a gap of just over $900 million to reach the agency’s funding target of $1.7...
Coronavirus pandemic threatens the survival of the European Union, says George Soros
Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros has said that coronavirus threatens the survival of the European Union (EU) unless the bloc takes action to raise its budget and provide financial relief to its hardest-hit nations. “Exceptional circumstances require exceptional measures,” Soros said in an interview...
London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral opens online book of remembrance for Covid-19 victims
London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral has opened an online book of remembrance for victims of the coronavirus outbreak, which it says will one day become a physical memorial in the building. Prince Charles recorded a video message to support the “Remember Me” project, saying the pandemic...
It’s just past 8:30 a.m. in London and 1 p.m. in Mumbai. Here’s what you may have missed
If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments on the global coronavirus pandemic. India spikes: The country recorded more than 6,000 new cases in 24 hours — its biggest single-day jump during the pandemic South Korea nightclub cluster: At least 215 cases have...
CDC estimates that 35% of coronavirus infections are asymptomatic
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new guidance on its website that estimates that about a third of coronavirus infections are asymptomatic. The agency also says its “best estimate” is that 0.4% of people who show symptoms and have Covid-19 will die,...
UK borrowing soars to cope with impact of virus
The government borrowed £62.1bn in April, the highest monthly figure on record, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It underlines the cost of coping with the coronavirus pandemic through jobs schemes and loans, and is higher than many economists forecast. The cost of...
Italy will open borders to EU countries in June without requiring quarantine
Italy will open its borders to all European Union countries with no mandatory quarantine required from June 3, as part of the efforts to “relaunch the economy,” Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told the country’s lower house of parliament on Thursday. On May 13 Conte...
British healthcare workers take part in global trial of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine
British healthcare workers are taking part in a global clinical trial to test the effectiveness of anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine against coronavirus. About 40,000 frontline workers and staff from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America who have close contact with Covid-19 patients will take...
Here’s how Covid-19 could change the way we fly
As the world slowly eases its way out of the Covid-19 lockdown, we’re on the verge of a new era in air travel. We could soon encounter armies of robotic cleaners patrolling airport concourses, disinfecting check-in counters and ticket kiosks. We might see passengers wafting...