BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING

In today’s briefing update, The headlines are – MH17 trial begins! Four men accused of downing the civilian aircraft MH17 are facing murder charges. 

Coronavirus, Boris Johnson is set to chair an emergency Cobra meeting and discuss introducing “social distancing” as a preventative measure. Iran has seen its highest COVID-19 death toll in 24 hours with 49 new deaths confirmed.

Turkey’s President has said Greece should copy Turkey in opening their borders for migrants and letting them go to other EU countries. President Erdogan says it will free Greece of the refugee “burden.”

In the US, a Cleveland shooting has killed one person and injured 12 others.

Entertainment, Spitting Image is set to return to TV after a 24-year hiatus.  

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Coronavirus: Boris to hold an emergency Cobra meeting

BBC News says the prime minister will chair an emergency Cobra meeting later to decide whether to bring in measures to delay the spread of the coronavirus in the UK.

The meeting is expected to consider introducing “social distancing” as a measure – this could include banning big events, closing schools and encouraging home working. 

It comes as a third UK man linked to Covid-19 dies. 

On Sunday the number of confirmed cases in the UK rose to 278, from 209 on Saturday – the biggest rise so far. 

Read the full story on BBC News

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Iran reported its largest coronavirus death toll within 24 hours

France24 says Iran’s health ministry has confirmed 49 new deaths from the COVID-19 outbreak. The 49 deaths are the highest toll within 24 hours for the country. 

“At least 194 of our compatriots who fell sick with the COVID-19 illness have passed away,” Iranian health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in a televised news conference. 

The outbreak of the new coronavirus, that causes COVID-19, in Iran is one of the deadliest beyond China, where it was first identified last year. 

There were a further 743 new infections confirmed with the past 24 hour period, bringing the number of cases to 6,566 spread across all of Iran’s 31 provinces.

Read the full story on France24

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‘Open Your Gates’: Erdogan tells Greece how to ‘fix’ migrant standoff

RT News says Greece should follow Turkeys suit and simply “open the gates” for migrants at the Turkish-Greek border, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, insisting that thousands of people would simply go to other EU countries. 

While speaking in Istanbul on Sunday, Erdogan shared his belief on how to free Athens from refugee “burden.”

“Hey, Greece! I appeal to you … open the gates as well and be free of this burden. Let them go to other European countries.” 

He also confirmed he will travel to Brussels on Monday to discuss the migrant situation with the head honchos of the EU, hoping he will return from the meeting “with different outcomes.”

Read the full story on RT News

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Cleveland shooting between motorcycle clubs leaves 1 dead, 12 injured

Fox News says a shooting that erupted outside a party with members from several motorcycle clubs in Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday night left one person dead and at least 17 others injured, officials said. 

Police responded to a party on Cleveland’s east side around 11:30 p.m Saturday. There they found a 48-year-old man suffering from several gunshot wounds unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said in a press conference.

Read the full story on Fox News

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MH17 trial to start with four accused facing murder charges

Aljazeera news the trial of four men suspected in the downing of MH17 is set to start in Amsterdam on Monday. It comes more than five years after the Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down as it flew over eastern Ukraine.

Prosecutors say the three Russian and one Ukrainian suspect helped organise the Russian missile system used to shoot down MH17, a civilian aircraft. The suspects are believed to be in Russia.

MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17 2014, when it was shot down by a missile fired from territory held by pro-Moscow rebels amid fighting in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on-board. Russia has denied any involvement.

Read the full story on Aljazeera News

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Spitting Image is set to return with new series after 24-year hiatus

ITV News says  Spitting Image is set to return to TV with a new series for the first time in more than two decades. The new series will launch this autumn.

The show will be available on BritBox, a global streaming platform produced in partnership between ITV and the BBC. 

ITV said producers will aspire to keep the new episodes close to the original ones. Scripts will be written and new puppets made close to delivery to ensure each week’s episode is as topical as possible. 

Spitting Image ran for a total of 18 series between 1984 and 1996, and proved no one was safe from ridicule in puppet form.

Read the full story on ITV News

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