
Zara owner Inditex said it is permanently closing as many as 1,200 stores - 16% of its outlets worldwide - as the world's largest fashion retailer moves to boost online sales after posting its first-ever loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chile registered its worst daily figures for coronavirus fatalities on Friday, with 222 deaths and more than 6,700 new infections in the previous 24-hours, authorities said.

The Americas are bearing the brunt of the global coronavirus pandemic at present, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, with North and South America currently having four of the 10 worst hit countries in the world.

Brazil's COVID-19 death toll overtook Britain's on Friday to become the second-highest in the world with 41,828 dead, but the World Health Organization said the nation's health system was standing up to the pressure.

British Airways (BA) was labeled a national disgrace by lawmakers for its treatment of employees on Saturday, adding to pressure on the airline as it juggles job cuts and new quarantine rules.

Brazil has surpassed 40,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus and 800,000 cases, according to the latest figures from the health ministry on Thursday. The news came as the number of Latin American cases of the virus broke through the 1.5 million barrier.

The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could plunge an extra 395 million people into extreme poverty and swell the total number of those living on less than US$1.90 a day worldwide to more than 1 billion, researchers said in a report on Friday.

Gibraltar confirmed hat following direct contact between the Chief Minister and the Spanish Minister of the Interior, residents of Gibraltar and EU residents of Gibraltar are now able to cross the frontier into Spain.

UK sales of beer have slumped to the lowest level on the record because of the coronavirus outbreak, trade industry body the British Beer and Pub Association said on Thursday.

The UK economy shrank by 20.4% in April, according to figures outlined by the Office for National Statistics on Friday morning.