Tuesday 21 April
BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
Tuesday 21 April 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.
The breaking story this Tuesday morning is Virgin Australia collapses under coronavirus strain. Richard Branson has offered up Necker Island to secure a bailout.
Global COVID-19 UPDATE
Coronavirus Cases: 2,482,215
Deaths: 170,471
Recovered: 652,170
- Global cases top 2.4 million.
- Virgin Australia collapses under the virus strain.
- Japan tries a more open approach to tracking the virus.
- NHS supplies at risk if the government starts telling the public to wear masks.
- UK: 140,000 companies apply for coronavirus job furlough scheme on its first-day operation.
- US crude plunges to 1 cent a barrel!
Coronavirus: Live updates
CNN says the novel coronavirus has now infected nearly 2.5 million people and killed at least 170,000 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 42,000 people have died in the US.
President Trump said he will sign an executive order that temporarily suspends immigration to the US — whilst the nation is battling Covid-19. Meanwhile, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and other states say some businesses could reopen soon with loosened social distancing rules.
Read the full story on CNN
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Virgin Australia collapses under coronavirus strain
France24 says Virgin Australia collapses under coronavirus strain. Cash-strapped Virgin Australia collapsed on Tuesday, making it the largest carrier to buckle under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic, which has ravaged the global airline industry.
In an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Virgin said it planned to keep operating flights despite handing over the keys to administrators. “Our decision today is about securing the future of the Virgin Australia Group and emerging on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis,” CEO Paul Scurrah said in the statement.
Read the full story on France24
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Strength in numbers: A more open approach to tracking the virus in Japan
Japan Times says like many foreign residents of Japan during the early days of the country’s Covid-19 outbreak, Shane Reustle and Jiahui Zhou recall pouring over government websites to get a clear understanding of how infections were spreading in the world’s third-largest economy.
But their attempts to quickly grasp the situation was hampered by infrequent updates, a shortage of multilingual information and overly granular statistics.
Read the full story on Japan Times
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Masks for public ‘could put NHS supplies at risk’
BBC News says NHS supplies of face masks could be put at risk if the government starts telling the public to wear them, hospital bosses have warned.
The government’s scientific advisers are to meet later to discuss whether the public should be urged to wear masks in a bid to combat the virus. But the chief executive of NHS providers warned there should be “clear evidence” to justify their use.
Read the full story on BBC News
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140,000 UK companies apply for coronavirus job furlough scheme
The Guardian says more than 140,000 companies employing a total of about a million workers have applied to the government’s job furlough scheme on its first day of operation, the chancellor has announced.
It is understood the price tag attached to the requests is about £1bn, a figure that is likely to rise significantly as more companies make their application for help over the coming days and weeks.
Read the full story on The Guardian
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Too much oil, nowhere to put it: US crude plunges to 1 cent a barrel
Arab News reports US crude faced wipeout on Monday as US traders confronted the reality of a world awash with oil and nowhere to put it.
West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, sank like a stone for most of the day, hitting, then crashing through, historic lows. From a start about $18, at one point is was trading a symbolic 1 cent barrel – effectively worthless.
Read the full story on Arab News
- Israeli’s PM Netanyahu and rival Gantz to form ‘unity’ government to avoid another election.
- Domestic abuse against Palestinian women soars as coronavirus lockdown keeps them trapped with their abusers.
- North Korea’s Kim Jong Un possibly in poor health following surgery.
Israeli PM Netanyahu and rival Gantz agree to form ‘unity’ government to avoid another election
RT News says Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has reached an agreement with rival Benny Gantz to form a ‘unity government’ which would finally break a year of political deadlock, Israeli media reported.
In a statement, their parties said they had agreed on a unity deal following elections in September and March which saw neither side winning a large enough majority to form a government.
Read the full story on RT News
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Domestic abuse against Palestinian women soars
Aljazeera says banging pots and pans and waving homemade banners, scores of Palestinians have expressed their solidarity with women enduring various forms of domestic violence during a lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The initiative on Monday, which saw both men and women stood on their balconies and at windows across occupied Palestinian territories and historic Palestine, was aimed at shedding light on the plight of women who are locked down with their abusers.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un possibly in poor health after surgery, reports say
HuffPost says North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un is possibly in poor health following surgery, according to US and South Korean media.
South Korea’s Daily NK website reported Monday that Kim was receiving treatment after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month, Reuters said.
Citing a US official with “direct knowledge” of Kim’s situation, CNN reported that Kim was in “grave danger” after a surgery.
Read the full story on HuffPost
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