Tuesday 28 April
BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
Tuesday 28 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 top story this Tuesday morning: World should have listened carefully to the WHO back in January, says the director-general.
Global COVID-19 UPDATE
Coronavirus Cases: 3,065,090
Deaths: 211,620
Recovered: 922,844
- Coronavirus: Global cases top 3 million.
- WHO director-general says the world should have listened carefully to the WHO’s advice back in January.
- Corona-divorce – Tokyo firm offers rooms for people who want space from their spouse during lockdown.
- New Zealand begins phased exit from lockdown.
- France will reveal its plans on how their lockdown will be eased today.
- More than 1 million people have benefitted from mass covid-19 testing in Saudi Arabia.
Coronavirus: Live updates
CNN says covid-19 has infected more than 3 million people and killed at least 210,000 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
In the US, more than 56,000 people have died – representing more than a quarter of all deaths worldwide. Meanwhile, New York’s first phase of reopening could begin after May 15 in some areas, the governor said. Other states are already taking their first steps towards reopening.
Read the full story on CNN
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The world should have ‘listened carefully’ to WHO advice back in January, says the director-general
RT News says countries that ignored the WHO’s advice at the end of January have been less successful in tackling the pandemic, its director warned. The message comes as both the organisation and world leaders face criticism for mishandling the crisis.
“On January 30 we declared the highest level of global emergency on Covid-19 […] During that time, as you may remember, there were only 82 cases outside of China. No cases in Latin America or Africa, only 10 cases in Europe. No cases in the rest of the world. So the world should have listened to the WHO then carefully,” WHO director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
Read the full story on RT News
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‘Corona divorce’ Tokyo firm offers rooms to give people a break from their spouses
Japan Times says with the spread of the coronavirus changing the lifestyle of people across Japan, some couples are being forced to address underlying issues in their relationships that have largely gone ignored until now, pushing them to the brink of divorce.
But one service is stepping in to help save marriages. Offering couples a break from each other as they obey the stay-at-home requests.
Read the full story on Japan Times
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Live updates: New Zealand begins phased exit from lockdown
BBC News says New Zealand is now in a less severe phase of lockdown, with some non-essential activity able to resume. Prime Minister Jacinda Arden says the virus is under control but the country is “not out of the woods yet.”
In Australia, only one case of community transmission of the virus has been reported in the past day.
Read the full story on BBC News
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France to reveal plans on how Covid-19 lockdown will be eased
France24 says France will on Tuesday reveal how it plans on May 11 to lift its six-week lockdown to combat the coronavirus. Cafes are set to stay shut but schools controversially will begin to reopen.
The prime minister will unveil the measures in an address to parliament from 13:00 GMT, with the government seeking to tread a fine course between the need to restart the economy while preserving public health.
Read the full story on France24
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More than a million people benefit from mass Covid-19 testing in Saudi Arabia
Arab News says more than a million people in Saudi Arabia have benefited from mass coronavirus testing since the initiative was launched more than two weeks ago, a Ministry of Health spokesman said on Monday.
Field trips are being carried out to enforce control over the spread of the virus in the Kingdom – which has a total of 18,811 cases. Of the 1,289 new cases recorded on Monday, 16 per cent were Saudi and 84 per cent were ex-pats.
Read the full story on Arab News
- NASA gives the world a ‘heads up’ on two potentially hazardous asteroids heading Earths way next month!
- The sale of almost 400,000 homes has been put on hold since lockdown says property website Zoopla.
- An FT reporter has been suspended after allegedly eavesdropping on Zoom chats!
‘Potentially hazardous’: NASA warns of 2 asteroids heading this way in May
RT News says adding to humanity’s ever-growing list of woes in 2020, Nasa has given a global ‘heads up’ about not one but two potentially hazardous asteroids due to come our way next month.
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UK: Sales of almost 400,000 homes stalled due to lockdown, says Zoopla
The Guardian says almost 400,000 home sales worth a total of £82bn have been put on hold as a result of the housing market lockdown, according to Zoopla. The property website said that sales had stalled since the end of March when ministers told people to delay their home moves if possible, and social distancing made valuations and viewings impossible.
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FT journalist suspended over claims of Zoom eavesdropping
Aljazeera says a reporter for the Financial Times newspaper has been suspended from his job after allegedly eavesdropping on rival newsrooms’ Zoom video conference meetings and publishing stories based on what he overheard.
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