The biggest threat to Brazil's ability to successfully combat the spread of the coronavirus and tackle the unfolding public health crisis is the country's president, Jair Bolsonaro, according to the British medical journal The Lancet.
A cat belonging to a family in the Spanish region of Catalonia tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the professor who conducted an autopsy on the pet said on Friday. It did not die from the virus, however, but from a pre-existing respiratory condition fairly common among cats, said Professor Joaquim Segales of Catalonia's Animal Health Research Centre.
The United States issued a new rule on Friday tightening visa guidelines for Chinese journalists, saying it was in response to the treatment of US journalists in China, a shift that comes amid tensions between the two nations over the coronavirus global pandemic.
Argentina's Economy Minister Martin Guzman has given the country's biggest bondholders until this Friday to accept the offer he has put on the table to suspend payments until 2023 and reduce interest rates thereafter. One of the largest of those creditors, the investment management firm BlackRock, rejected Guzman's proposal and immediately presented a counteroffer.
Brazil could face economic collapse in a month's time due to stay-at-home measures to stem the coronavirus outbreak, with food shortages and social disorder, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes warned on Thursday.
The number of international tourist arrivals could plunge by 60 to 80% in 2020 owing to the coronavirus, the World Tourism Organisation, WTO, said on Thursday, revising its previous forecast sharply lower.
Lawmaker MLA Teslyn Barkman confirmed that work continues in London to ensure that any future Brexit agreement (UK leaving the EU) has input from the Falkland Islands.
The World Bank Board of Directors approved a flexible US$500 million loan to help cover Ecuador's budget needs during the Covid-19 emergency and to promote economic recovery. The loan is the second in a series of three Development Policy Financing (DPF) operations. The first loan of this series was disbursed in June 2019. The operation has been adapted to the current context and to the country’s needs during the pandemic.
The Falkland Islands' Nigel Phillips, CBE, this week praised the response of the Public Service to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 and associated restrictions. Speaking at the daily Covid-19 update on Wednesday, Mr. Phillips said, “lockdown, as it has become known, can be difficult and the government has introduced a range of measures that are targeted to support individuals and businesses in these unprecedented times.
Madrid's top health official stepped down on Thursday after a reported disagreement with regional government requests to ease virus lockdown measures. Yolanda Fuentes resigned as Madrid's head of public health as the local authorities asked the central government to relax measures from Monday, a regional spokesman said.