Tuesday, May 5, 2020

German court to rule on ECB QE scheme legality

A German court will today decide whether the quantitive easing programme launched by the European Central Bank is legal. 

The ECB announced in March it would buy 750 billion euros in euro zone government bonds this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, expanding a scheme launched in 2015. 

If the court decides with the plaintiffs, it could stop Germany's central bank from executing the policy. 

Lucy Hough is our Europe Correspondent. 

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French patient who had the coronavirus last year speaks out

A patient in France who had the coronavirus last year has been speaking to the French media.

Amirouche Hammar says that he was told at the time that what he had was "very serious".

It comes after a doctor revealed that retrospective samples show the coronavirus was already present in France in late December 2019.

Ross Cullen has more from Paris.

Russia braces for surge in cases

Russia is bracing itself for a surge in cases of coronavirus, after daily rises of more than 10,000 for two days in a row. The government puts the rise down to increased testing, but there are reports of hospitals and ambulance crews becoming overwhelmed. 


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UK STARTS CONTACT TRACING APP TRIALS

The UK is starting a trial of a tracing app it hopes will be a key part of its future strategy against coronavirus.

Council and healthcare workers on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, are the first to try the app.

It'll be rolled out to the rest of the island later in the week, and could be available across the UK in weeks.

The government insists privacy concerns have been addressed.

Isle of Wight reporter Nick Codling explains how the app works.

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India observes highest ever rise in COVID 19 cases; government maintains no community transmission

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With over 3900 new cases in 24 hours, India saw its highest-ever spike in infections.

This comes just 2 days after the government relaxed the country-wide lockdown.

Ishan Garg has more from New Delhi.

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Ishan Garg
Correspondent, New Delhi
+919319659030
Tweet @ishangarg93

AUSTRALIA: NZ PM Jacinda Ardern won't open Kiwi borders except perhaps to Australia

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her nation won't have
open borders with the rest of the world for a long time to come.
Ms Ardern was involved in Australia's cabinet meeting via video link.
Arthur Stevens has more

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Abe admits Japan's coronavirus testing is insufficient

Japan has extended its state of emergency until the end of May, though businesses and residents have become increasingly restless. The government is already planning to relax some of its measures, but a full exit from its stay-at-home request will be difficult because of one key problem: the lack of testing. Grace Lee reports from Tokyo.


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Korean baseball coming to U.S. audiences on ESPN

South Korea's professional baseball organization has announced its games will be broadcast on ESPN to an American audience. The Korean Baseball Organization or KBO is one of few professional leagues globally to restart amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Bruce Harrison reports from Seoul.

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Monday, May 4, 2020

White House's favoured model increases covid-19 death toll projections

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington is projecting nearly 135 thousand deaths in the US through the beginning of August.

This is an increase from its previous forecast of 72 thousand.

Our Washington Correspondent Jagruti Dave reports.

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California easing restrictions this week

California will begin the first phase of re-opening the economy this week after more than a month of lockdown.

The Governor says that some retail stores across the state can reopen with modifications amid growing pressure to ease the stay-at-home order.

Danielle Robertson has more from Los Angeles.

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TANZANIAN PRESIDENT SKEPTICAL ABOUT ACCURACY OF TESTING KITS

Coronavirus test kits used in Tanzania were labeled as faulty by President John Magufuli on Sunday because he said they had returned positive results on samples taken from a goat, pawpaw, and a jackfruit.


Daniel Kijo reports


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Mixed close on Wall Street as airline stocks nosedive

The major U.S. indexes closed the day in positive territory despite a
rough day for the airline sector.

The major U.S. airlines all posted heavy losses Monday after
billionaire investor Warren Buffet sold all his stakes in those
companies.

William Denselow reports from New York.

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UK TRIALLING COVID-19 CONTACT TRACING APP

SUGGESTED INTRO 

The UK is beginning trials of a contact-tracing app to track Covid-19 infection.

The government said it is expecting to roll out the app nationwide in the coming weeks as restrictions on movement ease. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to detail how the lockdown will be lifted on Sunday. 

Holly Hudson has more. 

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Ethiopia Wants Firearms Registration

Intro 

Ethiopia is calling for registration of firearms in the country in the next two years .
The country hopes this will enable the security apparatus to identify illegal firearms that are reportedly in the hands of civilians .

Coletta Wanjohi reports from Ethiopia.


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US Treasury Borrowing Trillions


The US Treasury Department reportedly plans to borrow nearly 3 trillion dollars to cover the federal government's response the coronavirus pandemic. 

And the state of California is borrowing money from the federal government so it can pay unemployment benefits to millions of people out of work because of COVID-19. 

Rachel Silverman has this report from San Francisco. 


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US projects daily deaths will almost double in next month

An internal report from the Trump administration predicts the daily
number of deaths from Covid-19 will almost double by the end of the
month.

It comes as the White House pushes for states to reopen businesses.

Nick Harper reports from Washington.

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European Commission holds 7.5billion euro COVID19 fundraiser

The EU has co-hosted a COVID-19 pledging conference with the aim to raise 8.2billion US dollars to fund COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research.  

EU leaders said these funds would only be the start of what is needed to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Lucy Hough is in Brussels: 

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EU President Ursula von der Leyen said this marked the start of unprecented global cooperation.

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COVID-19: Nigeria to evacuate over 700 citizens from US


The Nigerian government says it is set to evacuate hundreds of its citizens who have been stranded in the United States, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Phil Ihaza reports from Abuja.


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China calls Pompeo "insane" over Covid-19 lab claims

China has called US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "insane" after he
claimed Covid-19 was created in a Chinese laboratory.

Pompeo, echoing President Trump, said there was "enormous evidence" it
was a manmade virus, despite offering nothing to back up the claims.

Nick Harper reports from Washington.

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J. Crew files for bankruptcy

U.S. apparel brand J. Crew has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

It's the first major U.S. retailer to do so since the Covid-19
pandemic forced stores to close across the country.

William Denselow reports from New York.

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