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HEALTH-VIRUS-WORLD FACTS
Coronavirus: latest global developments
PARIS, June 12, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Here are the latest developments
in the coronavirus crisis.
– Latin America tops 1.5 million cases –
The total number of cases in Latin America surpasses 1.5 million,
according to an AFP count.
Latin America has become the epicentre of the pandemic with more
than 73,600 deaths, over half of which have been in Brazil.
– More than 421,000 deaths –
The pandemic has killed at least 421,691 people worldwide since it
surfaced in China late last year, according to an AFP tally at 1100
GMT on Friday, based on official sources.
There have been 7,529,910 cases registered in 196 countries and territories.
The United States has the most deaths, with 113,820, followed by
Britain with 41,279, Brazil with 40,919, Italy with 34,167 and France
with 29,346 fatalities.
– Stock exchanges reverse losses –
After sharp losses overnight on Wall Street, on fears over the
coronavirus economic fallout and the likelihood of a second wave of
the pandemic, Asian exchanges fall sharply but then steady before
Europe reverses early losses to post gains.
– Airlines sue British government –
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair say they have launched legal
action against the UK government over its “flawed” 14-day quarantine
introduced earlier this week in response to the coronavirus.
They say it will “have a devastating effect on British tourism and
the wider economy and destroy thousands of jobs”.
– Britain’s economy nosedives –
Britain’s economy shrank by a fifth, or 20.4 percent during April
due to the coronavirus lockdown, stoking concerns over a recession.
Taken together, the slump over March and April was three times worse
than during the global financial crisis of more than a decade ago, the
Office for National Statistics says.
– $8 billion of Saudi investment –
Saudi Arabia, facing the twin shocks of the pandemic and a plunge in
oil prices, has invested around $8 billion worth in global giants
through its sovereign wealth fund.
The spending spree comes against the backdrop of deeply unpopular
austerity measures as it seeks to tame a ballooning budget deficit.
– Beijing on alert –
Beijing says it will delay primary school students returning to
class after three fresh coronavirus cases emerge in the capital — the
first after two months of no infections in the city.
– Easing restrictions –
Italy will Monday enter a new deconfinement phase, including the
reopening of cinemas.
Thailand will open its borders to regional countries with similar
levels of the virus — including China, Vietnam, South Korea,
Australia and New Zealand, as it tries to claw back money for its
battered tourism sector.
– London fashion week opens, digitally –
London Fashion Week opens, but without catwalk shows, with a 100
percent digital format.
BSS/AFP/MRU/1918hrs