Thursday 1 October
- Growth in Covid-19 cases may be slowing.
- Spain to lockdown Covid-19 hotspot, Madrid, angering regional government.
- Victoria death toll reaches 800.
- UN calls for more support for ‘people’s vaccine’ plan.
- Japan to allow entry for all nontourist new visa applications from October.
- United Airlines to furlough more than 13,000 employees starting Thursday.
Growth in Covid-19 cases may be slowing
BBC News says the growth in cases of coronavirus may be slowing down, the largest study of the infection in England suggests.
A team at Imperial College London analysed samples from 84,000 people chosen at random from across the country.
They said the R number, the virus’s reproduction number, appears to have fallen since measures including the “rule of six” were introduced.
Read the full story on BBC News
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Spain to lockdown Covid-19 hotspot, Madrid, angering regional government
France24 says residents of infection hotspot Madrid are to be barred from leaving except on essential trips under new rules to fight the coronavirus resurgence, Spain’s government said on Wednesday.
But regional authorities said the decision had no legal basis, setting the stage for a political showdown in an area accounting for more than a third of Spain’s 133,604 new cases in the past two weeks.
Read the full story on France24
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Victoria death toll reaches 800
The Guardian says in Australia, the state of Victoria has recorded 15 new cases of coronavirus and two more fatalities, bringing the state’s death toll to 800 and the national figure to 888, AAP reports.
Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday confirmed the latest victims are women aged in their 70s and 90s. Both are linked to aged care.
Read the full story on The Guardian
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UN calls for more support for ‘people’s vaccine’ plan
Aljazeera says the secretary-general of the United Nations, has again called for a “quantum leap in support” for a global vaccine plan to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
The UK, Canada, Germany and Sweden promised nearly $1bn in funds to support developing nations secure access to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
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Japan to allow entry for all nontourist new visa applications from October
Japan Times says Japan plans to start easing a travel advisory currently in place for 159 countries and regions in October, starting with those where the pace of new coronavirus infections is slow, including Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam, sources close to the matter said.
The Foreign Ministry’s travel advisory for the 159 countries and regions currently stands at Level 3, warning against all travel. If it lowers the advisory for some countries to Level 2, it means that nonessential travel should be avoided.
Read the full story on Japan Times
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United Airlines to furlough more than 13,000 employees starting Thursday
CNN says United Airlines said it will begin to furlough more than 13,000 employees Thursday.
Like American Airlines, which announced earlier this evening that it too will begin furloughing workers tomorrow, United said it would recall furloughed employees if Congress reached a stimulus deal soon.
Read the full story on CNN
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A quick look at the other top stories
UK mulls using retired cruise ship to process asylum seekers offshore
Euronews says the UK government is considering plans to move arriving asylum seekers offshore to small islands or disused ferries moored of the British coast while their claims are processed, officials have said.
French court rules to transfer Felicien Kabuga trial to UN court
Africanews says a top French appeals court ruled today to transfer the trial of alleged Rwandan genocide financier Felicien Kabuga to a UN tribunal in Tanzania.
Kabuga, who is 84 but claims to be 87, was arrested in May at his home outside Paris after 25 years on the run.
Putin , Macron call for Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire as deaths mount
Aljazeera says Russia’s Vladimir Putin and France’s Emmanuel Macron have called for an immediate ceasefire between ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, as the official death toll passed 100 and the two sides said they would continue fighting.
