Russia records more than 8,000 new Covid-19 cases
Russia recorded 8,849 new Covid-19 cases and 127 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to a statement from the country’s coronavirus response headquarters. That raises the national total to 317,554 cases and 3,099 deaths. Russia is the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus cases, behind the United States, according to Johns...
Denmark loosens border restrictions and reopens recreational spaces
Denmark is accelerating its reopening by loosening border restrictions, allowing some schools to resume classes, and reopening other public spaces ahead of schedule. The move was announced by the Danish government in a news release overnight, following hours of negotiations with parliamentary leaders. Denmark is...
It’s just past 9 a.m. in London and 2 p.m. in Dhaka. Here’s the latest on the pandemic
If you’re just joining us, here are the latest headlines: Global cases: There have now been more than 5 million cases of Covid-19 reported worldwide, according to the tally by Johns Hopkins University. The global death toll has passed 328,000. Cyclone devastation: Thousands of people...
Is New Zealand’s government spending a window into Europe’s financial future?
New Zealand announced on Thursday that its public debt will more than double over the next three years as it unveiled a massive investment plan to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The island nation will invest 50 billion New Zealand dollars (€27.7...
Record 106,000 new COVID-19 cases reported in a day: WHO
A record 106,000 new COVID-19 infections were reported across the world on Tuesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced, with two-thirds of new cases observed in just four countries. “In the last 24 hours, there have been 106,000 cases reported to WHO – the...
Zuckerberg: Facebook in ‘arms race’ against electoral interference
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has told the BBC that preventing electoral interference is an “arms race” against countries such as Russia, Iran and China. He admitted that the firm was “behind” in the 2016 US presidential election. In his first UK broadcast interview in five...
Boris Johnson promises contact tracing system will be up and running in the UK by June 1
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged that the UK’s contact tracing program will be in place by June 1, seemingly contradicting one of his ministers who had earlier said the scheme wouldn’t be as widespread “as we would like” by that date. Johnson told...
Ukrainian president says the country’s lockdown may be eased earlier than planned
Ukraine may move its plans to ease lockdown forward, citing positive trends in the rate of new coronavirus cases, its President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday. In a news conference marking his first year in office, Zelensky said the country might allow some measures to gradually...
The pandemic could push 60 million people into extreme poverty, World Bank warns
The global coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic shutdown could push 60 million people into “extreme poverty,” warned David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, in a press release Tuesday. The World Bank defines “extreme poverty” as living on less than $1.90 per person...
Russia surges past 300,000 coronavirus cases
Russia reported 8,764 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the country’s total to 308,705, according to the Russian coronavirus response headquarters. It also recorded 135 deaths in the past day — the highest daily increase so far. The national death toll stands at 2,972....
Spain makes face masks mandatory in public spaces where people can’t social distance
People in Spain are now required to wear face masks in public spaces when a minimum two-meter (about 6.5 feet) distance can’t be guaranteed, the Health Ministry announced in a decree today. The rule applies to all people over the age of six, in both...
Toy and vegetable costs rise as fuel price drops
The UK’s inflation rate fell in April to its lowest since August 2016 as the economic fallout of the first month of the lockdown hit prices. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell to 0.8% from 1.5% in March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said....
Coronavirus: Rolls-Royce to cut 9,000 jobs amid virus crisis
Rolls-Royce has said it will cut 9,000 jobs and warned it will take “several years” for the airline industry to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The Derby-based firm, which makes plane engines, said the reduction of nearly a fifth of its workforce would mainly affect...
WHO chief affirms commitment to “transparency, accountability and continuous improvement”
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus affirmed his commitment to “transparency, accountability and continuous improvement,” as he addressed the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA). Speaking on Tuesday at the virtual summit, Tedros said, “WHO’s focus now is fighting the pandemic, with every tool...
More than 42,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the UK
More than 42,000 people have died from coronavirus in the United Kingdom, according to data released by England’s office of national statistics and numbers published by NHS England. According to the provisional data, at least 42,402 people have died from the disease since the outbreak...
Germany says over 20,000 health care workers contracted coronavirus
More than 20,400 health care workers in Germany have contracted coronavirus since the beginning of the outbreak, the country’s center for disease control said Tuesday. Out of the infected workers, 61 have died and an estimated 19,100 have recovered from it, according to the Robert...
Germany and neighbors agree to gradually remove border restrictions
German chancellor Angela Merkel and the central European leaders on Tuesday agreed on gradually reopening border crossings and lifting controls as soon as the coronavirus pandemic allows. The announcement came after Merkel and the Prime Ministers of the Visegrad nations — Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic...
Nearly 10,000 people with coronavirus died in care homes in England and Wales
Almost 10,000 people with Covid-19 died in care homes in England and Wales in the week ending May 8, the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Tuesday in a report. A total of 37,375 deaths involving Covid-19 were registered in England and Wales between...
70 schools in France closed due to spike in suspected coronavirus cases
Seventy schools in France have closed after a spike in suspected coronavirus infections, the French Education Ministry told CNN Tuesday, adding that there have not been any confirmed cases in schools since they re-opened. The schools “had to close their doors” after suspected Covid-19 cases...
Russia’s Prime Minister released from hospital after coronavirus treatment, state media reports
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who had stepped away from his post after being diagnosed with coronavirus, has been discharged from hospital and resumed his official duties, Russian state news agencies reported Tuesday. Mishustin had held an online meeting and was preparing for a meeting...
European Union backs WHO after Trump’s latest funding threat
The European Union has spoken out in support of the World Health Organization, after US President Donald Trump threatened to permanently pull funding to the agency. “The European Union backs the WHO in its efforts to contain and mitigate the Covid-19 outbreak and has already...
Germany’s coronavirus death toll surpasses 8,000
More than 8,000 people have now died of Covid-19 in Germany, according to the country’s center for disease control. Data released Tuesday showed 72 new coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 8,007, according to the Robert Koch Institute. The institute also recorded an...
Merkel and Macron unveil coronavirus recovery plan for EU
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron announced a new Franco-German fund worth 500 billion euros as part of the European Union’s coronavirus recovery plan. Speaking during a joint video conference today, Merkel confirmed that the European Commission will borrow money to boost...
Italy records lowest daily increase in coronavirus deaths since beginning of lockdown
A total of 99 people died in Italy due to coronavirus in the past day – the lowest daily increase recorded since the beginning of the nationwide lockdown on March 9, the national Civil Protection Agency said Monday. At least 32,007 coronavirus patients have died in the...
UK adds 160 new coronavirus deaths
The UK recorded 160 new coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total deaths to 34,796 as of Sunday evening local time, the British government announced Monday. More than 246,000 have tested positive so far, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Twitter. Meanwhile, loss of...
Italian PM Conte says next few months will be “very hard” as the country starts to reopen
The next few months will be “very hard” but “we will do everything we can to help everyone”, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in a letter to Italians published Monday in the daily newspaper Leggo. On Monday, in most Italian regions bars, restaurants, retail...
Refugee accommodation in Germany hit by coronavirus outbreak
A home housing refugees in western Germany has been hit by a coronavirus outbreak, a Cologne district government press officer told CNN. The refugee accommodation in Sankt Augustin, Germany recorded its first case last Friday, Vanessa Nolte said. Since then 120 refugees, out of a...
World health official: “If this virus is teaching us anything, it’s humility”
The world has “been humbled by this very small microbe,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said to the 73rd World Health Assembly on Monday. World Health Assembly on Monday. “If this virus is teaching us anything, it’s humility,” he said. “Six months ago,...
Pope Francis celebrates first public mass in two months as churches reopen in Italy
Pope Francis offered the first public mass at St Peter’s Basilica in two months on Monday morning, where he celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of St John Paul II. The Pope was joined by a limited number of worshipers. Masses and religious ceremonies...
France’s President Macron says human health “cannot be bought and sold”
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed support for the World Health Organization and called for equal access to any vaccine for coronavirus, while speaking in a pre-recorded statement played out at the World Health Organisation’s 73rd World Health Assembly. “If we do discover a vaccine against Covid-19, it...
