Stories for May 2020

Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:57 UTC
Brazil second only to US as coronavirus hotspot with 330,890 Covid-19 cases confirmed

Brazil became the world No 2 hotspot for coronavirus cases on Friday, second only to the United States, after it confirmed that 330,890 people had been infected by the virus, overtaking Russia, the Health Ministry said.
Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:57 UTC
Argentina in “technical default” while negotiations with sovereign bondholders continue

Argentina “technically” defaulted on Friday for the second time this century after failing to pay US$505 million of interest on its bond debt, but it continues to negotiate a restructuring with creditors. “We're not paying but the negotiations are continuing,” a government official said.
Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:56 UTC
Overwhelmed by Covid-19, Peru extends nationwide lockdown until end of June

Peru on Friday extended its state of emergency and a nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic until the end of June, marking one of the longest periods of mandatory isolation in the world.
Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:55 UTC
Bolsonaro increasingly cornered by his eccentric attitude and incompetence

President Jair Bolsonaro's government warned on Friday that Brazil's “national security” would be at risk if investigators granted a request to seize the far-right leader's cell phone in an obstruction of justice investigation.
Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:49 UTC
Restrictions on Chinese air carriers flying to US unless there is reciprocity

The US government on Friday accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for US airlines to resume service to China and ordered four Chinese air carriers to file flight schedules with the US government. The administration of President Donald Trump stopped short of imposing restrictions on Chinese air carriers but said talks with China had failed to produce an agreement.
Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:47 UTC
Hertz Global files for bankruptcy protection as Covid-19 vanishes business

The more than a century old car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday after its business all but vanished during the coronavirus pandemic and talks with creditors failed to result in needed relief.
Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:36 UTC
US airlines can temporarily halt service to 75 airports, because of coronavirus

The U.S. Transportation Department said late on Friday it had granted tentative approval to 15 airlines to temporarily halt service to 75 U.S. airports because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:25 UTC
Pakistani Airbus with 99 passengers crashes in Karachi district: at least 80 killed

A Pakistan International Airlines Airbus jet with 99 people aboard crashed into a crowded residential district of the city of Karachi on Friday afternoon after twice trying to land at the airport, a witness said.
Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:23 UTC
Peruvian city prays to the Virgin of Socorro, flown in a police helicopter, for the end of coronavirus

Every five years, a statue of the Virgin of Socorro is paraded through the streets of Peru’s third-largest city, Trujillo. But this year, the coronavirus lockdown meant the city’s patron saint could not make her rounds as usual.
Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:20 UTC
Soros warns EU survival threatened unless it issues perpetual bonds to prop weak members

George Soros, the billionaire financier, has cautioned that the European Union's survival was threatened by the novel coronavirus unless it could issue perpetual bonds or “consols” to help weak members such as Italy.