Author: News Desk

A Pakistani dies in Italy, he was a foreign national living in Brescia. He became the first foreigner to die of COVID-19 in Italy. The Pakistani was a coronavirus patient in the hospital but died earlier this week, according to a spokesperson of the Pakistani Foreign Office. The Pakistani national passed away in Brescia, about a 100 kilometres from Milan, the spokesperson added. The Pakistani Consulate in Milan was in touch with the concerned family, as well as the authorities in Italy, the spokesperson said. Italy’s lock-down is unprecedented in western Europe. It aims to stop people from moving around or…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are –  UK’s COVID-19 approach ‘concerning’ says Jeremy Hunt after the government failed to ban public gatherings, close schools. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has been told to self-isolate after his wife tested positive for COVID-19. A Chinese official said US military may have infected Wuhan with the virus and asks ‘where is your patient zero’?  In New Zealand, flowers and messages of support have been laid outside the Al-Noor mosque in tribute to the victims of the horrific shooting, ahead of the first anniversary.  Entertainment, Brad Pitt has signed…

Breaking News Rome: Lockdown in Italy, all shops & public places are closed. The health system is under pressure but a glimmer of hope as the first man recovers COVID-19. Italy is under a national week-long lockdown on Tuesday after the government extended a travel ban from Lombardy to the entire country in a drastic bid to halt the world’s second-biggest coronavirus outbreak. Italians that are moving around must sign a form self-certifying that they are travelling for “proven work needs,’’ situations of necessity, to buy drugs or to return home. “There won’t be just a red zone,” Prime Minister…

Could Rishi Sunak be Boris Johnson’s successor? After that performance, maybe.  It was his big moment, Rishi Sunak rose to his feet in the Commons yesterday and delivered his first Budget speech. Boris Johnson had every reason to be nervous.  https://twitter.com/hmtreasury/status/1237804629531992065 Sunak’s Budget report came less than a month after Sajid Javid quit the role after a fallout with the PM over special advisers.  Few had ever heard of Sunak when Johnson handed the reigns to him giving him the second most powerful job in government.  Despite having little time to prepare a budget,  Sunak found that last week he…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are – Coronavirus, President Trump has banned flights from Europe to the US in a bid to stop the spreading of the virus. The new travel restrictions do not include the UK. In the UK, two more people have died after testing positive for the virus. 2 Americans and 1 Brit have been killed after more than 18 rockets hit an Iraqi base housing American troops. In the US, Chelsea Manning is recovering in hospital after a reported suicide attempt.  Entertainment, actor Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson have tested…

French authorities and French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM) have advised all large Mosques to close in France for Friday (Jumma) prayers in France to combat Coronavirus Outbreak. As of next Friday, all large mosques in places such as Paris, Ivry, Argenteuil and Strasbourg which accommodate more than 1,000 people would be advised not to open for Friday prayers. The death toll in France has reached 30, and the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) has given instructions to the country’s 5 million Muslims to be followed in all Islamic places of worship. According to the spokesperson from the…

WHO declares coronavirus a pandemic, giving the virus the highest level classification the World Health Organisation can give.  https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1237777021742338049 WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “deeply concerned” by “alarming levels of inaction” over the virus. The new classification comes as UK cases reach 456 in the biggest one-day surge.  Dr Tedros said declaring the coronavirus as a pandemic did not change the advice given about what countries should do.  He has urged governments to take “urgent and aggressive action” in tackling the outbreak.  “Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled,” he said.  “The…

The former King of Hollywood, film producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.  Weinstein was found guilty in a New York trial last month and the 67-year-old appeared in court on Wednesday in a wheelchair.  https://twitter.com/ThePubliusUSA/status/1237769446883840006 Weinstein gets 23 years behind bars His lawyers had appealed for leniency, wanting the minimum sentence of five years, claiming it to be a “life sentence” for Weinstein.  But prosecutors argued Weinstein should be given the maximum sentence given his “lifetime of abuse” towards women and “lack of remorse” for his actions.  On Wednesday, Weinstein…

British supermodel Naomi Campbell has been pictured arriving at an airport wearing a hazmat suit amid the global panic surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.  https://twitter.com/theferocity/status/1237562119035314178 Campbell shared a series of pictures from LAX international airport showing off her white hazmat suit, blue face mask, purple gloves and safety goggles.  And a selfie shows Campbell was wearing the outfit on the plane. She captioned the pictures “safety First NEXT LEVEL” and thanked Canadian model Linda Evangelista. And promised to upload a video to her YouTube channel “soon.”  ……………………………….. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND SHARE WTX NEWS WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY:…

The US has called for Iran to release all American prisoners held in the country as the coronavirus outbreak is said to be spreading through their prison systems.  “The United States will hold the Iranian regime directly responsible for any American deaths. Our response will be decisive,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.  “Reports that COVID-19 has spread to Iranian prisons are deeply troubling and demand nothing less than the full and immediate release of all American citizens.  “Their detention amid increasingly deteriorating conditions defies basic human decency.”  https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1237513338072059907 Iran’s response to virus which included the…