Italian Prime Minister threatens to leave the EU if tourism green corridors go ahead
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has criticized the European Union’s proposed tourism plan that could allow special so-called green corridors between countries within the bloc, and threatened this could cause Italy to leave the EU. The suggested tourism corridors would allow certain countries with low...
Moscow is launching a free mass antibody testing program
Russia’s capital is launching a large coronavirus screening program starting May 15th, the city’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced in a blog post. Sobyanin said the city currently performs 40,000 coronavirus tests a day, but in order to establish the real infection rate and determine when...
Moscow says “other causes” account for 60% of suspected coronavirus deaths
Moscow’s health department said authorities conducted autopsies on 100% of suspected coronavirus victims and confirmed that 639 people died directly of coronavirus complications in April, in a statement on Wednesday. In more than 60% of [suspected] cases deaths were caused by obvious alternative causes, such...
Only 5% of people in Spain have coronavirus antibodies, government study suggests
Only 5% of people in Spain have developed coronavirus antibodies so far, according to preliminary results of an epidemiological study by the government, which were announced on Wednesday evening. “These results are very far from us being able to say there is herd immunity. There...
Normal travel in Europe is “months not weeks” away, Irish prime minister says
It will be “months not weeks” before there is a return to normal travel within the European Union, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told parliament on Thursday. He said Ireland was committed to preserving the EU’s policy of allowing citizens to travel, study and work...
It’s just past 1 p.m. in London and 8 a.m. in New York. Here’s what you may have missed
Coronavirus has infected more than 4.3 million people worldwide, with its global death toll closing in on 300,000. Here are the latest headlines: UK reports 100% accurate antibody test: Britain has approved a coronavirus antibody test developed by pharmaceutical company Roche and is now working...
France warns pharmaceutical giant against giving US first doses of Covid-19 vaccine
The French government has said it would be unacceptable for global pharmaceutical company Sanofi to reserve the first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine for the US market. Sanofi is a France-based company. A month ago it signed a letter of intent with British multinational GSK...
Global oil demand forecast slightly improves as lockdowns ease, says International Energy Agency
Global oil demand is likely to increase slightly during 2020 as lockdowns are gradually eased around the world, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Better than expected mobility across the countries which form the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has also helped increase...
The UK’s 4 countries take a divided approach to coronavirus crisis
The UK’s coronavirus crisis has reignited one of the country’s most bitter political debates: Can the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland survive as a union of four nations? On Sunday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the country from 10 Downing Street...
Russia reports nearly 10,000 new cases of Covid-19
Russia recorded 9,974 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, the country’s coronavirus headquarters said in a statement today. That marks the first time in 12 days that the country has reported fewer than 10,000 new daily cases. Russia has officially reported 252,245...
It’s just past 10 p.m. in Mexico City and noon in Seoul. Here’s the latest on the pandemic
The novel coronavirus has infected more than 4.3 million people worldwide, bringing countries to a standstill. Here are the latest headlines: Global death toll edges toward 300,000: At least 297,197 people have been killed by Covid-19 around the world, according to a tally by Johns...
Italy has approved a $60 billion stimulus package to help battle the financial hit from coronavirus
The Italian government has approved a 55 million euros ($60 billion) stimulus package to help the country recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis. The plan will offer financial assistance directly to families and businesses, while also helping the construction, health care, education,...
Coronavirus may “never go away,” WHO official says
The novel coronavirus may never go away and may just join the mix of viruses that kill people around the world every year, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization health emergencies program, said Wednesday. “This virus just may become another endemic...
Children in Turkey allowed out for the first time in more than a month
Children under the age of 14 were allowed to go outside on the street on Wednesday for the first time since the Turkish government announced a lockdown for the age group in early April. The children were allowed out for four hours, between 11 a.m....
Belgium to open museums and some school classes on May 18
Belgium will move forward with the second phase of its reopening plan on May 18, when some school classes for primary and secondary students will resume and museums will be reopened under certain conditions, the prime minister announced Wednesday. “We have decided that by May...
Europe redeploys funding firepower to fight Covid-19
In this episode, Real Economy focuses on how the European Union is redeploying its cohesion policy funds to tackle Covid-19. At 355 billion euros, the EU’s structural and cohesion funds constitute a significant chunk of the bloc’s spending. Cohesion policy aims to reduce disparities in...
UK antibody test a ‘positive development’
A test to find out whether people have been infected with coronavirus in the past has been approved by health officials in England. Public Health England called the antibody test, developed by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, a “very positive development”. The blood test looks for...
Coronavirus: German contact-tracing app takes different path to NHS
Germany’s forthcoming coronavirus contact-tracing app will trigger alerts only if users test positive for Covid-19. That puts it at odds with the NHS app, which instead relies on users self-diagnosing via an on-screen questionnaire. UK health chiefs have said the questionnaire is a key reason...
We will have summer tourist season, promises EU
A gradual lifting of borders has been proposed by the EU’s executive in an attempt to kick-start a tourist industry hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. “Our message is we will have a tourist season this summer,” said economic affairs commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, “even if...
It’s just past 9:30 a.m. in London and 1:30 p.m. in Karachi. Here’s what you may have missed
More than 4.2 million people have been infected by Covid-19 worldwide, including at least 291,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments from around the globe: Virus hits British business: The UK economy shrank by 2%...
One of the world’s largest tourism businesses warns it may cut 8,000 jobs worldwide
TUI Group — one of the world’s largest tourism operators — is making significant cuts following a severe loss over the last few months, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Germany-headquartered travel group announced today that it will gradually resume its travel activities after suspending...
Austria’s border with Germany will reopen in 2 steps
The border between Austria and Germany will start to gradually reopen from Friday, the Austrian tourism ministry said today. A spokesman for the ministry said the chancellors of the two countries agreed to reopen the border for day-trippers and commuters in a first step towards...
CDC to alert doctors to look out for syndrome possibly related to Covid-19 in children
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to release an alert warning doctors to be on the lookout for a dangerous inflammatory syndrome in children that may be linked to coronavirus infection, a CDC spokesman said on Tuesday. The syndrome is marked...
It’s just past 7:30 a.m. in Moscow and 1:30 p.m. in Seoul. Here’s the latest on the pandemic
More than 4.2 million people have been infected by Covid-19 worldwide, including at least 291,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. If you’re just joining us, here are the latest developments from around the globe: South Korea nightclub cluster grows: Nearly 120 cases have been...
FEMA returns Russian ventilators after same models caught fire in St. Petersburg
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency returned a shipment of Russian ventilators after the same models reportedly caught fire in St. Petersburg, a FEMA spokesperson said. When asked about the ventilators the spokesperson said they had been sent at the beginning of April to the...
Transport for London expects to lose nearly $5 billion and calls for government to step in
London’s transport operator is in a “critical” financial situation and needs to reach an agreement with the government in the next 48 hours, London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport Heidi Alexander said Tuesday. Alexander told a Transport For London (TFL) finance committee that the local government...
Small rise in cases reported for a second day in Italy’s worst-hit region
The worst-hit Italian region of Lombardy has reported a small increase in the number of Covid-19 cases for the second day in a row. This comes after a few days where active case numbers were decreasing, according to the Italian Civil Protection Agency. On Tuesday,...
Czech media name Russian diplomat in ‘poison plot’ row
Russia’s embassy in Prague has asked for police protection for one of its diplomats, who has been named by Czech media amid allegations of a plot to poison Czech politicians. It said “false and unfounded” allegations had been made against one of its employees and...
Coronavirus: Germany not alarmed by infection rate rise
The scientific body advising the German government on coronavirus says it is not concerned that the virus reproduction rate – the R rate – has been above one for three straight days. Above R1.0 means that, statistically, one infected person is passing the virus to...
91 arrested in operation against mafia clans “ready to exploit coronavirus crisis” in Italy
An operation against mafia clans accused of being “ready to exploit the coronavirus crisis” has seen 91 people arrested in Sicily, Italy, on Tuesday, the Italian Financial Police and Prosecutor Salvatore De Luca said. The 91 people that were arrested were ready to exploit businesses...