Tag: COVID-19

• Monday, May 18th 2020 - 08:15 UTC

  Fed chief forecasts US economy could easily contract 20 to 30% this quarter

  

  The business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic could “easily” cause the US economy to collapse by 20 to 30% this quarter, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Sunday. Data show more than 30 million jobs were destroyed in the world's top economy, as businesses were shuttered nationwide amid the efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.

• Monday, May 18th 2020 - 07:22 UTC

  Critical World Health Organization assembly: US-China clash anticipated

  

  At the first meeting of the World Health Organization's (WHO) governing body since Covid-19 stormed the globe, China is set to be challenged on two of its most sensitive issues: The Communist Party's initial handling of the virus and the status of Taiwan's participation.

• Monday, May 18th 2020 - 07:08 UTC

  Two Chilean ministers and 23 lawmakers under quarantine

  

  Two of Chile´s top Cabinet ministers said on Sunday they would quarantine after coming in close contact with Chilean lawmakers who tested positive for the coronavirus during negotiations in Congress.

• Saturday, May 16th 2020 - 07:58 UTC

  Brazil's second Health minister in a month resigns: “incompatibility” with Bolsonaro

  

  Brazilian Health Minister Nelson Teich resigned on Friday after less than a month on the job over what an official said was “incompatibility” with President Jair Bolsonaro's approach to fighting the country's spiraling coronavirus crisis.

• Saturday, May 16th 2020 - 07:56 UTC

  Brazilian indigenous groups at risk of decimation because of the coronavirus

  

  The coronavirus pandemic has hit 38 indigenous groups in Brazil, raising fears for populations that have a history of being decimated by outside diseases, the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples' Association (APIB) said on Friday.

• Saturday, May 16th 2020 - 07:44 UTC

  An icon of US retail industry, J.C. Penney filed for bankruptcy protection

  

  J.C. Penney Co Inc filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday with plans to permanently close some stores and also explore a possible sale, making it the latest brick-and-mortar retailer to crumble as prolonged store closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic drive a final stake through long-troubled businesses.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Chile digging thousands of fresh graves amid a spike in Covid-19 cases

  

  Thousands of fresh graves are being dug in Santiago's main cemetery amid a spike in Chile's COVID-19 cases, authorities said on Thursday. Chile's infection rate soared this week, prompting the government to declare a mandatory lockdown of Santiago's seven million people from Friday.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:54 UTC

  Strict measures among essential personnel even in virus free Antarctica bases

  

  As the planet battles the seemingly inexorable spread of the coronavirus, Antarctica remains the only Covid-19-free continent - thanks in the main to strict security and not a little luck. The natural isolation of the frozen and desolate expanse has been taken to new extremes since the WHO declared a pandemic on March 11.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:53 UTC

  Latin America's two main economies with daily record virus cases, but also desperate to reopen activity

  

  Brazil and Mexico on Thursday reported a record one-day rise in new coronavirus cases, just as leaders of both countries intensified attempts to reopen their economies even as the spread of the virus in Latin America is seemingly gathering pace.

• Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:13 UTC

  OPEC slashes 2020 global oil demand because of the virus recession

  

  OPEC again slashed its forecast for global oil demand this year as the coronavirus outbreak causes a global recession, although it said record supply cuts by the group and other producers were already helping rebalance the market.