While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, April 24
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A woman walks along the embankment near the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, on April 21, 2020.
PHOTO: AFP
UK economy crumbling under coronavirus strain
The United Kingdom's economy is crumbling under the strain of the coronavirus lockdown and government borrowing is soaring to the highest levels in peacetime history, increasing pressure on the government to set out an exit strategy.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, recuperating at his country residence after being seriously ill with Covid-19, is facing criticism from opposition politicians and some epidemiologists for reacting too slowly to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
With the number of deaths in hospitals hitting 18,738, ministers are working to roll out a mass testing and tracking programme to try to reduce the rate of transmission and possibly ease stringent measures that have all but shut the economy.
Ministers have been struggling to explain high death rates, limited testing and shortages of protective kit, and the reality of the damage to the world's fifth largest economy hit home on Thursday.
More than one in five New Yorkers infected with coronavirus, antibody test suggests
More than one in five New Yorkers may have already had the new coronavirus, a testing sample showed Thursday, suggesting infections are much higher than confirmed cases suggest.
Widespread testing - including for antibodies - is viewed as key to American states being able to lift stay-at-home orders and reopen their shuttered economies.
A total of 3,000 customers at supermarkets across the state of New York were randomly tested for coronavirus antibodies this week, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.
EU lays out trillion-euro escape route from coronavirus pandemic
European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to build a trillion euro emergency fund to help recover from the coronavirus pandemic, avoiding another all-night bust-up but leaving divisive details until the summer.
With the EU's Brussels headquarters under lockdown - along with most of Europe - the 27 leaders held a four-hour video conference to consider proposals, rallying around a bigger common budget for 2021-27 with a recovery programme.
At around 1% of the EU's economic output, the multi-year common budget has long been one of the most contentious subjects of debate for its members. Expanding it will not be easy, even if Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hailed "great progress" after the summit ended.
Bezos, Musk among billionaires gaining net worth in coronavirus pandemic
The combined wealth of America's billionaires, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla chief Elon Musk, increased nearly 10 per cent during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report published by the Institute for Policy Studies.
The wealth surge of America's richest men happened during a period that saw as many as 22 million Americans file for unemployment.
Even as the broader economy faced a recession, tech and stay-at-home stocks like Zoom have rallied in recent weeks, due to a surge in usage of video conferencing and remote work technology, thus boosting the net worth of billionaire founders with holdings in those companies.
Zoom users top 300 million despite growing ban list, shares hit record
Zoom video conferencing app's user base grew by another 50% to 300 million in the last three weeks, as the company fought to quell a backlash around security and safety that has seen a number of governments and firms ban its applications.
Shares of Zoom, which have surged nearly five-fold since the company went public in March last year, rose 12% to a record high of US$168.24 on Thursday.
Chief Executive Eric Yuan gave the numbers late on Wednesday in an update on the platform's 90-day security plan, while also outlining the rollout next week of a new version of the app with more encryption features.
