Politics

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 08:15 UTC

  Brazil US$ 30bn fiscal boost to prop the economy and soften Covid-19 impact

  

  Brazil’s government on Monday announced emergency measures to inject nearly 150 billion reais (US$ 30 billion) into the economy to soften the blow from the coronavirus pandemic.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 08:15 UTC

  Trump urges to halt social activities for 15 days and not congregate in groups larger than ten people

  

  President Donald Trump urged Americans on Monday to halt most social activities for 15 days and not congregate in groups larger than 10 people in a newly aggressive effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in the United States.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 08:10 UTC

  Dispatch from Uruguay: “Democracy or Bureaucracy & Mediocrity”

  

  By David P. Michaels (*) - Luis-Alberto Lacalle Pou, Uruguay’s recently inaugurated President, faces one of the most significant challenges in Uruguay’s recent history.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 08:02 UTC

  British supermarkets appeal to consumers to be more considerate after shelves were plundered: “we have adequate supplies”

  

  British supermarkets have called on consumers to be more considerate and reiterated they have adequate supplies, as the coronavirus saw shelves plundered and a surge in online orders. The country's leading grocery retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Waitrose, penned a joint letter to customers, which ran in newspapers on Sunday and Monday appealing for calm.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 07:58 UTC

  Hundreds flee in a major break out of four Sao Paulo jails

  

  Hundreds of prisoners broke out of four Brazilian jails on Monday, the day before their day-release privileges were due to be suspended over the coronavirus outbreak, Sao Paulo state prison authorities and local media reported.

• Tuesday, March 17th 2020 - 07:53 UTC

  Boris asks UK industry to manufacture health equipment, and considers using hotels as hospitals if needed for the pandemic

  

  Britain has asked manufacturers including Ford, Honda and Rolls Royce to help make health equipment including ventilators to cope with the coronavirus outbreak and will look at using hotels as hospitals.

• Monday, March 16th 2020 - 11:20 UTC

  Coronavirus: Argentina closes borders for 15 days and suspends classes until March 31

  

  Argentina will close its borders for 15 days to non-residents in order to combat the spread of coronavirus, President Alberto Fernandez announced on Sunday. Public and private school classes would also be suspended until March 31, Fernandez said. National parks would also be closed.

• Monday, March 16th 2020 - 11:19 UTC

  G7 global rescue: Fed cuts rates to almost zero and launches US$ 700bn stimulus program

  

  The US has cut interest rates to almost zero and launched a US$ 700bn stimulus program in a bid to protect the economy from the effect of coronavirus. It is part of a coordinated action announced on Sunday in the UK, Japan, the Eurozone, Canada, and Switzerland.

• Monday, March 16th 2020 - 11:18 UTC

  France, Spain join Italy in imposing lockdowns for the next two weeks

  

  France and Spain joined Italy in imposing lockdowns on tens of millions of people, Australia ordered self-isolation of arriving foreigners and other countries extended entry bans as the world sought to contain the spreading coronavirus.

• Monday, March 16th 2020 - 11:16 UTC

  Spanish King Felipe VI takes further distance from his scandal-hit father and even cuts his annual grant

  

  Spain's King Felipe VI has renounced the inheritance of his scandal-hit father Juan Carlos. In a statement, the palace said that Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, would also stop receiving an annual grant of €194,000 (US$ 217,100).