Stories for May 5th 2020

Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 07:15 UTC
COVID-19 collapses Ecuador: 30,000 confirmed cases and no certainty on death toll

Ecuador on Monday exceeded 30,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, while the government launched a plan to start gradually relaxing quarantine measures that have been in place since mid-March. Ecuador has confirmed 31,881 cases of COVID-19, with 1,569 reported deaths and a further 1,336 deaths likely as a result of the virus.
Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 07:14 UTC
Argentine patrol arrests Chinese jigger illegally fishing in the county's EEZ

The Argentine Navy sighted and arrested early Monday a Chinese jigger which was illegally operating in the country's EEZ. The report says that the ocean patrol vessel ARA Bouchard detected the Hong Pu 16, fishing with its Automatic Identification System turned off, but full lights on to catch squid.
Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 07:13 UTC
Brazil indigenous leaders call on WHO to set an emergency fund to protect their communities

Indigenous leaders in Brazil have asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to set up an emergency fund to help protect their communities from the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 07:02 UTC
Half of the world's workers in danger of losing livelihoods, ILO report

Half of the world's workers are in danger of having their livelihoods destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic, a United Nations agency has warned. The International Labour Organisation's updated analysis emphasizes its severe impact on people in informal work.
Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 07:00 UTC
Surprise: Brazil's retailer industry finds a consolidated e-commerce sector as it gradually reopens

Brazil's battered retailers are starting to reopen after weeks of coronavirus lockdown but may exit the crisis transformed, with the e-commerce sector strengthened and brick-and-mortar chains facing an uphill path to normality.
Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 06:58 UTC
US prepared to borrow a record US$ 3 trillion in second quarter; national debt soared above 100% of GDP

United States has said it wants to borrow a record US$ 3 trillion in the second quarter, as coronavirus-related rescue packages blow up the budget. The sum is more than five times the previous quarterly record, set at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.
Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 06:55 UTC
China official media calls “Evil Pompeo” a lying clown

China's state broadcaster CCTV on Monday attacked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's “insane and evasive remarks” over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, further fuelling Sino-US tensions.
Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 06:46 UTC
Dramatic boom of flour sales by lockdown baking

A mill is producing a month's worth of flour every week to keep up with demand during the coronavirus pandemic. Supermarket shelves have been stripped of flour by shoppers either panic-buying or taking to lockdown baking.
Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 06:44 UTC
A quarter of UK employees furloughed, and companies claiming £8 billion to pay wages

Around a quarter of employees in Britain have been furloughed and companies have claimed £8 billion from the government to sustain their wage bills during the coronavirus lockdown, tax authorities said on Monday.
Tuesday, May 5th 2020 - 06:41 UTC
Australia and New Zealand considering a “travel bubble” between the two countries

New Zealand and Australia are discussing the potential creation of a “travel bubble” between the two countries, sources said on Monday, even as Australia reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in two weeks.