The World Health Organization (WHO) said
on Thursday it was setting up an independent panel to review its
handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the response by
governments worldwide.
EUROPE
* The United Kingdom's death toll from confirmed cases of
Covid-19 rose to 44 602 on Thursday, up 85 on the previous day,
the government said.
* Twenty-six Irish pubs face possible prosecution and risk
losing their licences over potential Covid-19 public health
breaches, Irish police said.
* Hungary is going to review rules on cross-border travel to
neighbouring countries where coronavirus infections are on the
rise, the prime minister's chief of staff said.
AMERICAS
* The Trump administration will not cut federal education
spending but could allow families to use funds elsewhere if
their school does not open amid the coronavirus pandemic, the
US education secretary said.
* The pandemic has made it even harder for senior-care
centers in the United States to find or afford standard
liability insurance, with rates soaring by as much as 300%,
insurance brokers said.
* The booming rooftop solar panel industry nosedived
overnight when the coronavirus forced homeowners to cut spending
and keep their distance from would-be installers.
* Mexico posted a record for new coronavirus cases reported
on a single day, with 6 995 infections, overtaking Spain to
register the world's eighth highest case count.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Australia's second-most populous state will relax
restrictions on many of the 3 000 people locked down in nine
public-housing towers despite surging numbers of cases.
* There is no need to reintroduce a state of emergency,
Japan's top government spokesman said when asked about a record
one-day rise in Tokyo coronavirus cases.
* Beijing reported no new confirmed coronavirus cases for
July 8, the third straight day of no new cases.
* Just one person in a South Korean survey of more than
3 000 people showed neutralizing antibodies to the novel
coronavirus, indicating the virus has not spread widely.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* African countries must carry out more testing and make
people use masks, a regional disease control body said as cases
topped half a million in the continent.
* Nigeria has dropped a plan to allow some pupils to return
to school because of a continued increase in the number of
Covid-19 infections, its education minister said.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Moderna Inc said on Thursday it has signed an
agreement with Spain's Laboratorios Farmacéuticos Rovi SA
to provide vial filling and packaging capacity for its
potential COVID-19 vaccine to supply markets outside of the
Unites States.
* The European Union wants to fast-track funding to treat
Covid-19 patients with blood plasma collected from survivors, an
EU document seen by Reuters shows.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT
* European shares rose on Thursday after a two-day wobble,
as Chinese markets continued their charge, while investors
propelled gold to a nine-year high.
* Global powers should cooperate better on monetary and
fiscal policy to tackle the Covid-19 economic crisis, European
Union finance ministers and central bankers will tell their G20
counterparts at a meeting next week.
* Concerns about renewed coronavirus lockdowns in the United
States outweighed signs of a recovery in US gasoline demand on
Thursday to keep a lid on oil prices.