International

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 08:39 UTC

  UK junior health minister tests positive for Covid 19, and is self isolated at home

  

  British Member of Parliament (MP) Nadine Dorries, a junior health minister, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, she said in a statement on Tuesday. “I can confirm I have tested positive for coronavirus ... and have been self-isolating at home,” said the Conservative MP.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 06:54 UTC

  Prince Andrew “shuts the door” on cooperating with FBI in Epstein investigation

  

  Britain's Prince Andrew has “completely shut the door” on cooperating with the FBI in its investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a US prosecutor said. Despite publicly offering his assistance, “Prince Andrew has now completely shut the door on voluntary cooperation,” said New York attorney Geoffrey Berman, who had already accused the prince in late January of failing to cooperate.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 06:39 UTC

  Airfreight in Asia skyrockets as Chinese industry restarts with passenger flights grounded

  

  Airfreight rates are skyrocketing after the grounding of many passenger flights in Asia has left shippers scrambling to book limited spots on cargo planes as Chinese industrial production restarts, according to industry insiders.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 06:30 UTC

  Coin to mark 250th anniversary of the launching of James Cook HMS Resolution

  

  Pobjoy Mint has issued the first 50-penny coin on behalf of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands government. The new coin features the HMS Resolution, the ship that was captained by James Cook.

• Tuesday, March 10th 2020 - 18:35 UTC

  LATAM offers Coronavirus waivers for International Flights

  

  People heading to Latin America with the LATAM group can now receive a coronavirus fare waiver on bookings until March 22 for travel to the end of 2020.

• Tuesday, March 10th 2020 - 18:05 UTC

  Madrid suspends classes at all schools and universities

  

  Madrid has announced that it will suspend classes at all schools and universities across the capital in an attempt to contain the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The measures come into effect this Wednesday 11th March, so parents have at least 24 hours to make alternative arrangements. It will affect well over a million students and one hundred thousand teachers across Madrid.

• Tuesday, March 10th 2020 - 08:15 UTC

  Black Monday cocktail: oil price war and coronavirus trigger market panic

  

  World oil prices crashed on Monday, fuelling a vicious selloff on stock markets that were already buckling from the spreading coronavirus outbreak. Stocks tanked as the global oil market nosedived 30% at one stage after top exporter Saudi Arabia slashed the prices it charges customers following a bust-up with Russia over crude production cuts.

• Tuesday, March 10th 2020 - 08:03 UTC

  Commonwealth 2020: “Delivering a common future”

  

  On Monday members of the royal family attended a service at Westminster Abbey to celebrate Commonwealth Day. As well as a message from Queen Elizabeth II, the service also featured speeches from heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua and performances by singers Craig David and Alexandra Burke.

• Tuesday, March 10th 2020 - 07:36 UTC

  Italy in self-imposed quarantine: highest coronavirus death toll in the world after China

  

  All of Italy under lockdown, reeling financial markets, and rioting prisoners made clear on Monday how the global coronavirus epidemic was extending its reach into all aspects of social and economic life.

• Tuesday, March 10th 2020 - 06:55 UTC

  Ireland has decided to cancel St Patrick's Day on March 17

  

  The Irish government will cancel this year's St Patrick's Day Parade because of the coronavirus outbreak, state broadcaster RTE and other media said on Monday. The annual parade celebrating the country's patron saint regularly attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the Irish capital and was to have been held on Mar 17.