GLOBAL COVID-19 TODAY
CORONAVIRUS CASES: 12,170,840
DEATHS: 552,121
RECOVERED: 7,070,199
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Public spending on coronavirus soars to £190bn
BBC News says public spending on the battle against coronavirus has risen to nearly £190bn according to figures from the Treasury.
The total was reached after the chancellor announced a £30bn package to combat the crisis in his summer statement on Wednesday.
The reaction was mixed from business groups, several backed Rishi Sunak’s priority of saving jobs. But some industries in crisis say they had been “ignored.”
Read the full story on BBC News
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Boris Johnson refuses to apologise to care home staff at PMQ
The Guardian says Boris Johnson refused to apologise to care workers for claiming that some homes failed to follow “the correct procedures” during the early stages of the virus outbreak.
At prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, the Labour leader pressed Johnson to apologise for the remarks.
Johnson said: “The last thing I wanted to do is to blame care workers for anything that’s happened. When it comes to taking blame, I take full responsibility for what has happened.”
Read the full story on The Guardian
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Trump insists on reopening schools as US covid-19 cases top 3 million
France24 says the US topped three million confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday as President Trump pushed for schools to reopen amid Covid-19 resurgence in many southern hotspots.
The US remains by far the worst affected country, with over 132,000 deaths. But despite the figures, Trump called for students to return to their schools in the fall and bashed the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention for issuing guidance that he says it too restrictive.
Read the full story on France24
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Brazil’s president Bolsonaro vetoes Covid-19 aid for indigenous
Aljazeera News says Brazil’s president has vetoed provisions of a law that obligated the federal government to provide drinking water, disinfectants and a guarantee of hospital beds to Indigenous communities amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The president’s office on Wednesday said those provisions in the law, approved by Congress, were “against the public interest” and “unconstitutional”, by creating expenses for the federal government without new sources of revenue to cover them.
Read the full story on Aljazeera
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Tokyo confirms record-high 224 confirmed cases
Japan Times says Tokyo has confirmed 224 cases of covid-19 Thursday, a record high for single-day figures, topping 200 for the first time since April 17, local media reported.
The daily confirmed cases tally for the capital has been increasing during the past week, but the Tokyo government has said that is mainly due to more testing, especially testing people working at nightlife entertainment facilities, such as host clubs and hostess bars.
Read the full story on Japan Times
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Coronavirus was likely spreading widely across the US as early as February, model suggests
CNN says coronavirus was probably spreading widely across the US in February, new modelling data suggests, and it only took a few imported cases from other countries to set off rapid spread inside the borders.
While direct imports from China and other countries may have been responsible for the early introduction of Covid-19 to the US, most spread was state-to-state, researchers led by a team of Northeastern University in Boston reported.
Read the full story on CNN
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ARTS & ENT
Mike Skinner: Lockdown is an ‘absolute bloodbath’ for live music
Sky News says Mike Skinner has described the effect of lockdown on live music as “an absolute bloodbath.”
The musician, who this week releases The Streets’ sixth album None Of US Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive – their first record in more than nine years- spoke to Sky News about the ramifications of venues being closed due to the pandemic.
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SPORT
Rain restricts England and West Indies as cricket returns – highlights
BBC News says England endured a frustrating return to international cricket as the opening day of the first Test against West Indie was disrupted by rain.
Only 17.4 overs were possible in Southampton, in which time England battled to 35-1.
The series and the rest of England’s rejigged home summer is being played behind closed doors and in a bio-secure environment, with everyone on-site subject to coronavirus tests, temperature checks and adhering to strict safety measures.
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