USA

(AP) --- The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments on Friday related to the global economy, the work place and the spread of the virus.

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COSTS MOUNT: The pandemic will cost the global economy as much as $4.1 trillion, or nearly 5% of all economic activity, according to new estimates from the Asian Development Bank.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced new federal guidelines Friday recommending that Americans wear face coverings when in public to help fight the spread of the new coronavirus. The president immediately said he had no intention of following that advice himself, saying, “I’m choosing not to do it.”

The new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages people, especially in areas hit hard by the spread of the coronavirus, to use rudimentary coverings like T-shirts, bandannas and non-medical masks to cover their faces while outdoors.

(AP) --- More than a million people could swamp the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces in the coming months as employers lay off staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

The health insurance markets are a backbone of the Obama-era law that President Donald Trump has tried to demolish. They are now seen as a key option to help protect people from devastating medical bills while they search for another job and new coverage.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s attempt to conduct an election in the midst of a coronavirus crisis lurched forward Friday, with a Democratic governor pushing for an all-mail election to replace in-person voting and Republican leaders refusing to budge.

Just three days before Tuesday’s spring primary — which features the Democratic presidential contest plus a high-stakes state Supreme Court race — a federal judge had extended absentee voting through April 13 but refused requests to postpone the election.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration urged Americans to cover their faces in public and limited exports of medical supplies Friday as New York’s governor took his own dramatic step to fight the coronavirus — vowing to seize unused ventilators from private hospitals and companies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has fired Michael Atkinson, the inspector general for the intelligence community who handled the whistleblower complaint that triggered Trump’s impeachment.

Trump informed the Senate intelligence committee Friday of his decision to fire Atkinson, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

Trump said in the letter that it is “vital” that he has confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general, and “that is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general.”

03 April 2020; MEMO: American shale oil companies are calling for a number of measure to reprimand Saudi Arabia including denying the kingdom access to its oil refinery in the US, as part of an aggressive lobbying campaign against Riyadh.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 03 (APP): The United Nations stands against death penalty, the world body’s spokesman said when asked about the overturning by a Pakistani court of the murder convictions of four men accused in the 2002 killing of US journalist Daniel Pearl.

03 April 2020; MEMO: Twitter yesterday removed 7,800 fake accounts linked to the governments of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE for violating its policies and being a “targeted attempt to undermine the public conversation”.

The company explained that 5,350 accounts received directions from governments “amplifying content praising Saudi leadership, and critical of Qatar and Turkish activity in Yemen”.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 03 (APP): The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution Thursday calling for increased global solidarity and international cooperation to “contain, mitigate and defeat” the deadly coronavirus infection.

The resolution, drafted by Singapore and co-sponsored by Pakistan and over 180 other countries, passed using a new mechanism called “silence procedure,” which does not require a resolution to be voted upon, but rather will pass automatically after a set time if no member state objects.