Author: News Desk

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared on Tuesday an end to all agreements signed with Israel and the United States. The president made the announcement during an emergency meeting in Ramallah to discuss Israel’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. He said the decision included security agreements with Israel, including those set out in the Oslo Accords signed in 1993. https://twitter.com/RandaHabib/status/1262987402475458560 The dramatic announcement comes as Israel prepares to annex parts of the occupied West Bank in a stance adopted by a new coalition government sworn on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised in his election campaign…

Egypt on Tuesday registered 720 new Coronavirus cases, the health ministry said in a statement, its the highest daily toll since detecting the first confirmed case in February. The new cases brought the total infections to 13,484 cases, the ministry added in a statement. The ministry also reported 14 deaths due to the novel virus, bringing the total number to 659. Nearly 3,740 people have recovered and been discharged from isolation hospitals. The test results of 4275 people turned from positive to negative, the ministry said, including 3742 people who totally recovered. It added that 302 patients left hospitals. The…

President Donald Trump has argued it is “a badge of honour” that the US has the world’s highest number of confirmed  COVID-19 infections. “I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better,” he said at the White House. The US has 1.5 million Coronavirus cases and nearly 92,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. He says the total is simply a reflection of a successful testing regime. In second place is Russia, with nearly 300,000 confirmed cases. Trump’s words about Covid_19 cases, 12.6 m coronavirus tests On Monday, Mr…

Wednesday 20 May coronavirus updates BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFINGWednesday 20 May 2020 News Briefing – Today’s headlines are dominated by the global Coronavirus Pandemic. As of 6:30 am (GMT), these are the global active numbers.Global COVID-19 UPDATECoronavirus Cases: 4,989,280Deaths: 324,970Recovered: 1,960,522 Japan to lift state of emergencyWHO member states agree to independent investigationCancer patients could die early due to coronavirusTwilight star found dead alongside girlfriend Previous Next Headlines: What the papers say? Coronavirus live updates: cases top 4.9 million.Japan may lift the State of Emergency this week.Ministers under pressure over schools return date.Thousands of cancer patients may die early…

Up to 60m people will be pushed into extreme poverty by the economic consequences of the Coronavirus crisis, and current recovery efforts are not enough, David Malpass, president of the World Bank, has warned. David Malpass said the bank expects global economic growth to shrink by 5% this year as nations deal with the pandemic. The World Bank defines “extreme poverty” This has already led to millions losing their jobs and businesses failing, with poorer countries feeling the brunt. “Millions of livelihoods have been destroyed and healthcare systems are under strain worldwide,” he said. “Our estimate is that up to 60 million…

President Trump says he’s taking unproven drug hydroxychloroquine, as Nancy Pelosi says she fears for the ‘morbidly obese’ president.President Trump has said he is taking hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus, but public health officials warn its unsafe. “I’m taking it for about a week and a half now and I’m still here, I’m still here,” said the president. There is no evidence that hydroxychloroquine -used for lupus and malaria – can fight Covid-19. And regulators warn the drug may cause heart problems. The surprise announcementThe president was hosting a meeting when he surprised reporters by revealing he was taking the…

Countries in the Gulf region will emerge “weaker, poorer and damaged” from the Coronavirus pandemic, according to the UAE’s Minister of State, Dr Anwar Gargash. He said the answer was for the whole region to try to de-escalate tensions and work towards economic prosperity. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), one of the wealthiest countries in the world, made early preparations for the coronavirus attack, buying in testing kits and setting up production lines for face masks. Out of a total population of nine million, it has so far registered 23,358 cases and 220 deaths. Iran, just across the waters of…

US President Donald Trump has sent a letter to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) threatening to pull US funding permanently over COVID19. The letter outlines a 30-day deadline for the body to commit to “substantive improvements” or risk losing millions and US membership altogether. Addressed to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, it criticises stages of the body’s response since December. Earlier in the day, Mr Trump called the UN’s health body a “puppet of China”. The president, who faces re-election this year and has himself been criticised for his handling of the pandemic, has blamed China for…

A Chinese laboratory has developed a drug that it believes has the power to end the Coronavirus pandemic. It will not only shorten the recovery period of coronavirus patients but will provide short-term immunity against the infection. Sunney Xie, director of the Beijing Center for Advanced Innovation in Genomics, told AFP that the drug had passed animal testing. “When we injected neutralizing antibodies into infected mice after five days, the viral load was reduced by a factor of 2,500,” said Xie. “This means that this potential drug has a therapeutic effect. “ Antibodies are needed for the new coronavirus pandemic…

UK unemployment rose by 50,000 to 1.35 million in the three months to March, as the effects of the coronavirus lockdown slam the economy.  The unemployment rate was estimated at 3.9%, slightly up on the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.  Before lockdown began, UK employment was at a record high. And the figures only cover the first week of the lockdown so the total is likely to worsen sharply in the coming months.  Jagjit Chadha, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, told the BBC: “We can reasonably expect unemployment to rise very quickly…