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 Trade deal in doubt?
U.S. President Donald Trump said he opposed renegotiating the "Phase
1" trade deal on Monday after Chinese-run state newspaper The Global
Times reported some government advisers in Beijing were urging fresh
talks.
Rising U.S.-China tensions over the coronavirus outbreak have cast
the trade deal between the two countries, and proposed talks on a
Phase 2 deal, into doubt.
The Global Times said that malicious attacks by the United States
have ignited a "tsunami of anger" among Chinese trade insiders after
China made compromises in the Phase 1 pact.
Dangerous calculation
WHO officials urged "extreme vigilance" on Monday as countries began
to exit from lockdowns, stressing that early studies point to
lower-than-expected antibody levels against the COVID-19 disease
within the general population, meaning that most people remain
susceptible.
Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHO's emergencies programme warned
countries that have "lax measures" in place to be wary of counting
on herd immunity to halt the spread of COVID-19, saying: "This is a
really dangerous, dangerous calculation."
Economic boost
Once Australia removes most social distancing restrictions by July,
its GDP will rise by $6.5 bln each month, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg
was expected to tell lawmakers on Tuesday in a speech updating them
on his budget planning.
Britain's finance minister Rishi Sunak is similarly due to answer
questions about the economic response to COVID-19 in parliament on
Tuesday afternoon.
There, the focus is how Britain plans to continue the Coronavirus
Job Retention Scheme, which is paying employers 80% of the wages of
more than 6 million workers who are on temporary leave from
businesses affected by the coronavirus. The scheme is due to run
until the end of June.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that coronavirus infections had
peaked, and that people who could not work from home should return to their
workplaces if possible.
Testing 11 million in 10 days
The Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of China's coronavirus outbreak, plans
to conduct nucleic acid testing over a period of 10 days, an internal document
seen by Reuters showed and two sources familiar with the situation said, with
every district told to submit a detailed testing plan by Tuesday.
The city of 11 million people reported its first cluster of new infections over
the weekend, after a months-long lockdown was lifted on April 8.
These plans come as global alarm was sounded on Monday over a potential second
wave of coronavirus infections after Germany reported that the reproduction rate
of the pathogen had risen above 1.
Cancelled Cannes
"It breaks my heart," said Joseph Morpelli, leading member of the so-called
'stepladder gang' of ardent autograph-hunters and amateur paparazzi, as he stood
across the street from the venue of the cancelled Cannes Festival on Monday.
Usually a hive of activity, the location where Morpelli and his fellow diehard
fans could get a glimpse of celebrities walking down the red carpet is now
deserted, as the film festival which was meant to start on Tuesday has been
called off.
It was only the third time in its history that the festival has failed to take
place. The two previous occasions were the outbreak of World War Two and 1968,
when France was roiled by violent protests.
(Compiled by Karishma Singh)
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