|  | | | | | | | | | | | | | World | | In an emotional show of solidarity, locked-down Britons all over the country took to their balconies and doorsteps on Thursday evening to applaud health workers who are battling the spread of coronavirus. Britain’s efforts to keep its economy afloat through the coronavirus crisis are likely to cause its budget deficit to more than triple to over $210 billion over the coming year, a think tank said. | | | | Support for the demands of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong has grown even as rallies have paused due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a survey conducted for Reuters that also showed a widespread lack of confidence in the government’s ability to manage the COVID-19 crisis. | | | | Getting within a meter of another person at a restaurant or a shopping queue in Singapore can now land you in prison under some of the toughest punishments seen worldwide to implement social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. | | | | A spike in coronavirus patients means hospitals in and around Paris will reach saturation point within 48 hours, the head of the French Hospital Federation said, with the peak not expected until April. Paris and its suburbs now account for over a quarter of the 29,000 confirmed coronavirus infections in French hospitals, with almost 1,300 now in intensive care. The death toll nationwide as of Thursday evening stood at 1,696. | | | | The fight against the coronavirus in Australia is being hampered by mixed messages from the national and state governments, leaving the public confused, as the prime minister’s incremental approach contrasts with a state push to ‘go hard, go fast’. | | | | | | | | | | | | | Business | | A new OPEC+ deal to balance oil markets might be possible if other countries join in, Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said, adding that countries should also cooperate to cushion the economic fallout from coronavirus. 3 min read | | | | U.S. airlines are preparing to tap the government for up to $25 billion in grants to cover payroll in a sharp travel downturn triggered by the coronavirus, even after the government warned it may take stakes in exchange for bailout funds, people familiar with the matter said. 4 min read | | | | Investors could be forgiven for doing a double-take: Wait, we’re back in a bull market? The Dow Jones' surge of over 20% from its coronavirus-induced recent low this week, by one definition used on Wall Street, suggests a new bull market. The surge came on hopes a $2 trillion stimulus measure would flood the country with cash in a bid to counter the economic impact of the intensifying pandemic. But that definition should be treated with a large piece of caution. 3 min read | | | | | | | | | | | | | Top Stories on Reuters TV | | | | | | | |
