Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s economy had just started to recover after years of political turmoil and militant attacks when the coronavirus crisis hit, impacting especially its vital tourism sector. Now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government has loosened a strict curfew for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in an …
Read More »Grim and getting worse: US set for historic unemployment surge
Washington, United States | AFP | Like a global tsunami, the coronavirus pandemic has caused a huge loss of life and taken a massive economic toll. In the US economy, skyrocketing unemployment is the most-visible sign of the devastation: almost overnight, at least 30 million workers lost their jobs. The April …
Read More »Can Italian infrastructure reboot post-virus economy?
Rome, Italy | AFP | A sleek new bridge in Genoa built in record time is being acclaimed in Italy as a model for rebuilding the economy by investing in major infrastructure projects. Such stimulus is sorely needed as the country slides towards its worst recession since World War II because …
Read More »The U.S.-China coronavirus blame game
Their conspiracies are getting dangerous when what the world needs today is cooperation not confrontation COMMENT | JOHN POMFRET | In early 1952, the three-year-old People’s Republic of China faced a public relations crisis in the middle of the Korean War. After agreeing to let prisoners of war (POWs) …
Read More »Morocco launches fleet of drones to tackle virus from the sky
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Morocco has rapidly expanded its fleet of drones as it battles the coronavirus pandemic, deploying them for aerial surveillance, public service announcements and sanitisation. “This is a real craze. In just weeks, demand has tripled in Morocco and other countries in the region,” said Yassine Qamous, …
Read More »Russia reports more than 10,000 new virus cases
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia cemented its place as the European country reporting the highest number of new coronavirus infections Tuesday as its total cases soared passed 155,000. Yevgeny Mikrin, chief designer at Energia, Russia’s top producer of spacecraft, has died from the coronavirus, becoming one of the infection’s highest-profile victims in the country, …
Read More »Kenya demands probe as plane crash kills 6 over Somalia
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s foreign ministry Tuesday called for a swift investigation after a humanitarian plane helping the fight against coronavirus crashed in Somalia in “unclear” circumstances, killing all six people onboard. The Kenyan private cargo plane was undertaking a humanitarian mission related to the pandemic when it crashed Monday afternoon in Bardale …
Read More »‘Promising’ virus-fighting antibody found: study
Paris, France | AFP | An antibody that can stop the new coronavirus infecting cells in laboratory tests has been identified by researchers in the Netherlands, in what scientists say could help the development of therapies for COVID-19. The antibody neutralised the new coronavirus, according to the research published in Nature Communications, and the authors …
Read More »MPs demand explanation on non-payment of security officers
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A section of Members of Parliament has demanded an explanation from the Internal Affairs Minister over the lack of payment of security officers at the frontline in the fight against coronavirus. The MPs expressed disappointment on Tuesday during a plenary session chaired by Speaker …
Read More »Top German judges to rule on massive ECB economic support
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | Germany’s top court will rule Tuesday on mass bond-buying by the European Central Bank, a tool the Frankfurt institution has deployed like never before to cushion the impact of the coronavirus. “Will Germany’s supreme court constrain the European Central Bank’s response to the worst …
Read More »