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Bolsonaro fires Brazil's health minister
Mandetta wrote on Twitter that Bolsonaro told him of his dismissal. Bolsonaro and Mandetta have had numerous differences over the country's handling of COVID-19, including over social distancing measures that Bolsonaro opposed on the grounds that it hurt the economy. [Full Article...]
IMF Suggests Brexit Trade Talks Should be Extended
Despite the end of the Brexit transition period looming on 31 December and plenty of other pressing issues to occupy both sides, the FT said the call would not address the possibility of an extension of this date. The EU and the United Kingdom said on Wednesday they will seek "tangible progress" by June in negotiations over their future relationship after the coronavirus pandemic forced the tw... [Full Article...]
United Kingdom coronavirus lockdown extended by 3 weeks
Mr Raab , deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recovers from the virus, said the original three-month timeline set down by Mr Johnson to come through the peak of the virus was broadly "still the outline". Raab said: "The advice from Sage [the scientific advisory group for emergencies] is that relaxing any of the measures now in place would risk damage to both public health and our ec... [Full Article...]
Virgin and Qantas to launch limited network for Australian government
The bailout, first outlined at the weekend , comes after increasing reports emerged of Australians arriving back in the country, completing their 14-day hotel isolation , but then struggling to find flights across states to return home. Before the coronavirus pandemic, Virgin Australia employed about 10,000 people. The airline said reinstating the services would also allow important freight ... [Full Article...]
All New Yorkers must wear masks in public spaces, Cuomo orders
Cuomo, Murphy, and governors from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware, and MA formed a coalition Monday to work on a coordinated plan to reopen their economies as the coronavirus pandemic dies down. COVID-19 patients hospitalized in NY state dropped for the third straight day to under 17,300. Signs have popped up at stores throughout New Jersey warning customers that they will ... [Full Article...]
New Zealand prime minister, cabinet take pay cuts because of coronavirus
It had only six confirmed new infections on Thursday. "There are promising signs that our "go hard and go early elimination strategy" is working and the lockdown is breaking the chain of community transmission". People are required to stay at home unless they need to make essential trips including to the supermarket and pharmacy. "Businesses only accessed by the staff , and without a customer f... [Full Article...]
China dismisses claim new coronavirus originated at Wuhan lab
The Trump administration and other national security officials suspect one of the labs is the source of the outbreak. "What we do know is we know that this virus originated in Wuhan , China", Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News. [Full Article...]
Wuhan suddenly increases coronavirus death toll by 50 percent
Wuhan's total number of cases was revised up by 325, suggesting that some of the new deaths had been recorded as cases but not confirmed as fatalities, taking the total number of cases in the city of 11 million people to 50,333, or about 60% of mainland China's total. [Full Article...]