Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Arsenal’s game at Manchester City was postponed on Wednesday after players from the London club were put into quarantine, making it the first Premier League fixture to be called off because of the new coronavirus. Arsenal said players and four staff had been isolated at …
Read More »Putin clears path to staying in power
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out a path Tuesday to staying in power beyond 2024, as lawmakers approved sweeping reforms to the constitution. In a surprise address to the lower house State Duma, Putin said there could be a presidential “reset” allowing him to …
Read More »Trump feels the heat as coronavirus stalks US
Washington, United States | AFP | Concern that President Donald Trump himself could be exposed to the coronavirus through contact with two Republican lawmakers loomed Monday as US stocks plummeted, feeding growing national anxiety. Trump, who flew back to Washington after a weekend golfing at his Florida resort and having dinner …
Read More »World oil prices claw back ground after crash
Singapore, Singapore | AFP | Oil prices surged more than six percent in Asian trade Tuesday following heavy losses a day earlier after top exporter Saudi Arabia began a price war with Russia. West Texas Intermediate was trading up 6.1 percent at more than $33 a barrel while Brent crude …
Read More »China’s Xi Jinping pays first visit to virus epicentre Wuhan
Beijing, China | AFP | Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Wuhan on Tuesday for his first visit to the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic since the crisis erupted in January — a major sign that officials believe the outbreak is under control. Xi’s unannounced visit comes as unprecedented quarantine …
Read More »COVID-19: Italy on lockdown
‘Stay at home’: Italy’s quarantine rules Rome, Italy | AFP | Italians have been told to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel as quarantine measures were extended to the whole country to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Here are the main points of a government decree signed …
Read More »US regulators will force Boeing to rewire 737 MAX jets: report
New York, United States | AFP | US aviation regulators plan to require Boeing to rewire all 737 MAX aircraft before allowing the troubled planes fly again, the Wall Street Journal has reported. The MAX has been grounded worldwide since an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed shortly after take-off last March, less than six months after …
Read More »Detained Ronaldinho ‘did not know’ passport was fake, lawyer says
Asuncion, Paraguay | AFP | Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho did not deliberately use a fake passport and should be released by authorities in Paraguay, his lawyer said. The two-time world player of the year and his brother Roberto, who was detained with him, spent their third night behind bars in the capital Asuncion on Sunday …
Read More »Quarter of Italian population put under virus lockdown
Rome, Italy | AFP | More than 15 million people were placed under forced quarantine in northern Italy early Sunday as the government approved drastic measures in an attempt to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus that is sweeping the globe. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Twitter he had …
Read More »Hospitality gives way to hostility for migrants to Greece
Athens, Greece | AFP | Five years ago, Greece offered hospitality to a huge wave of migrants at the height of the Syrian civil war — but today, hostility greets those seeking a new life. Experts put the about-turn largely down to a declining trajectory of global growth as well as …
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