International

• Thursday, March 12th 2020 - 07:41 UTC

  Merkel warns that up to 70% of German population could contract coronavirus

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that up to 70% of the country's population - some 58 million people - could contract the coronavirus. Mrs Merkel made the stark prediction at a news conference on Wednesday alongside Health Minister Jens Spahn.

• Thursday, March 12th 2020 - 07:35 UTC

  Coronavirus: Bank of England cuts interest rate 50 basis points to 0.25%

  

  The Bank of England (BOE), the UK's central bank, cut interest rates by 0.5 percentage points on Wednesday morning as part of an emergency response to the coronavirus, or COVID-19.

• Thursday, March 12th 2020 - 07:31 UTC

  Brazilian lawmaker sponsors bill to punish corrupt politicians with amputation of both hands

  

  A lawmaker who says Brazil is not doing enough to fight rampant political corruption put forward a bill on Tuesday that would punish any politician convicted of the graft with amputation of both hands.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 10:00 UTC

  Falklands updates its Travel Advisory concerning COVID-19

  

  The Government of the Falklands updated its advice on travelling to the Islands, in response to a further change in the global COVID-19 situation. The Italian Government this week announced emergency measures across the entire country in response to the virus.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Brazil downplays the threat of coronavirus: “it is overstated”

  

  Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro minimized the threat of the new coronavirus - which has killed nearly 4,000 people in more than 60 countries and tanked global financial markets, saying its destructive power has been “overstated”.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 08:49 UTC

  Oil prices with slight recovery on Tuesday but market volatility remains

  

  Oil, which plunged about 25% on Monday, rebounded on Tuesday along with equities and other financial markets. Brent futures rose US$2.69, or 7.8%, to US$37.05 a barrel by 2:24 p.m. EDT (1824 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose US$2.73, or 8.8 percent, to US$33.86.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 08:45 UTC

  Corporate America rushes to borrow money in anticipation of a major economic downturn

  

  From Exxon Mobil Corp to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, companies rushed to borrow more money and boost their cash coffers on Tuesday, as the market turmoil fueled by a plunge in oil prices and the global coronavirus outbreak raised the prospect of an economic downturn.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 08:41 UTC

  Poachers in Kenya kill the only female white giraffe and her calf

  

  Kenya's only female white giraffe and her calf have been killed by poachers, conservationists said on Tuesday, in a major blow for the rare animals found nowhere else in the world.

• 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.