North America

NEW YORK (AP) — The coronavirus outbreak has thrown 10 million Americans out of work in just two weeks in the swiftest, most stunning collapse the U.S. job market has ever witnessed, and the public health crisis deepened in New York City, where a funeral home in a hard-hit neighborhood had 185 bodies stacked up Thursday — more than triple normal capacity.

Washington, Apr 2 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has proposed a massive USD 2 trillion infrastructure plan, along with several other measures like corporate deductibility for restaurants and entertainment facilities to stimulate the American economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump's proposal comes days after he passed a USD 2.2 trillion stimulus package that gives USD 3,200 on an average to an American family of four and massive financial assistance to small and medium enterprises, big corporations and the country's travel and tourism industry.

United Nations, Apr 2 (PTI) The global economy could shrink by up to one per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a reversal from the previous forecast of 2.5 per cent growth, the UN has said, warning that it may contract even further if restrictions on the economic activities are extended without adequate fiscal responses.

Washington, Apr 2 (PTI) A Russian cargo plane carrying 60 tonnes of medical supplies, including ventilators, masks and other protection gear, needed to treat the patients with COVID-19 landed in the US as the country wrestles with the coronavirus pandemic that the White House has warned could kill up to two lakh people during the next fortnight.

The Permanent Mission of Russia to NATO on Thursday tweeted a video of the Russian Ministry of Defence cargo aircraft Ruslan AN-124-100 arriving at the John F Kennedy airport in New York.

WASHINGTON, April 1. /TASS/: Criticism aimed at Russia's help to Italy in the fight against coronavirus is groundless, cynical and immoral, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday.

HAVANA, Apr 2 (NNN-XINHUA) – Cuba announced the decision to suspend the arrival of international passenger flights and withdraw all foreign boats from the Carribean island, as part of the measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19.

The decision came as the Cuban Ministry of Public Health reported 16 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 earlier in the day, bringing the total in the country to 186.

WASHINGTON, Apr 2 (NNN-XINHUA) – The United States has reported more than 210,000 COVID-19 cases Wednesday night (last night), hours after it became the first country with more than 200,000 infections, according to Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday night.

Death toll from the disease also exceeded 5,000 on Wednesday, jumping by 884 in 24 hours.

As of Wednesday night, a total of 215,417 confirmed cases have been reported in the United States, with 5,116 deaths, showed the tally, updated by the university’s Centre for Systems Science and Engineering.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday after U.S. crude inventories rose last week by the most since 2016, while gasoline demand suffered its biggest weekly drop ever due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Crude inventories USOILC=ECI rose by 13.8 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. That was the biggest one-week rise since 2016, and analysts expect similar data in coming weeks, as refineries curb output further and gasoline demand continues to decline.

UNITED NATIONS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The global economy could shrink by up to 1 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and may contract even further if restrictions on economic activities are extended without adequate fiscal responses, according to analysis released Wednesday by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA).

The UN-DESA briefing finds that millions of workers are at risk of losing their jobs as nearly 100 countries close their national borders.

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The United States has reported more than 210,000 COVID-19 cases Wednesday night, hours after it became the first country with more than 200,000 infections, according to Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday night.

Death toll from the disease also exceeded 5,000 on Wednesday, jumping by 884 in 24 hours.

As of Wednesday night, a total of 215,417 confirmed cases have been reported in the United States, with 5,116 deaths, showed the tally updated by the university's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.