MANILA – Filipino teacher Raven Kate De Leon is in demand, spending up to 10 hours a day at her home computer surrounded by mini cars and stuffed toys that she uses as props to inject fun into her English classes for students far away in China.

Since the coronavirus took a hold in China at the start of this year and forced schools and offices to shut down, thousands of Filipino teachers are cashing on overtime as grade schoolers and professionals in China, Japan and beyond turn lockdowns into opportunities to better their English. (Reuters)…[+]

ENGLAND –  Mayor of London Sadiq Khan issued the alert after photos showed crowds in Tube carriages for a second morning running.

Mr Khan insisted the network was running for essential workers only.

A transport union called for police officers to be deployed at major stations to stop overcrowding.

More than 130 people have died in London from Covid-19 – a third of the whole of the UK.

But the trains were still crowded during rush hour despite Boris Johnson putting the UK on lockdown.

Mr Khan demanded employers enable their staff to work from home “unless it’s absolutely necessary”.

“Ignoring these rules means more lives lost,” he warned. (BBC)…[+]

BELGIUM – After visiting about 20 chronically ill patients in a day, Hajar Atila, a Belgian home nurse, leaves her clothes in her garage and takes a shower before stepping into her home and cuddling her children.

The precautions, which also include a high-temperature wash for her work outfit each day, are to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus to her family.

Belgium has reported nearly 4,300 infections and 122 deaths as the disease spreads around Europe.

With hospitals discharging patients who would normally be hospitalized to free up beds for coronavirus patients, the country’s 32,000 home nurses are coming under increasing pressure. (Reuters) …[+]

The world will take years to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned. Angel Gurría, OECD secretary general, said the economic shock was already bigger than the financial crisis.

He told the BBC it was “wishful thinking” to believe that countries would bounce back quickly. The OECD has called on governments to rip up spending rules to ensure speedy testing and treatment of the virus. Mr Gurría said a recent warning that a serious outbreak could halve global growth to 1.5% already looked too optimistic.

While the number of job losses and company failures remains uncertain, Mr Gurría said countries would be dealing with the economic fallout “for years to come”. He said many of the world’s biggest economies would fall into recession in the coming months – defined as two consecutive quarters of economic decline.(BBC)…[+]

Former Hollywood producer and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for coronavirus while in prison. He is now in isolation, according to Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.

Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assault last month and sentenced to 23 years in prison. His lawyers have vowed to appeal against his conviction.

Weinstein is being held at Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo in upstate New York. Two prisoners at the facility tested positive for the virus on Sunday, an officer who did not wish to give his name told Reuters news agency. Mr Powers told Reuters that several members of staff had been quarantined. He expressed concern for corrections officers who he claims lack proper protective equipment.(BBC)…[+]

Austria is investigating a bar at a popular ski resort for allegedly not reporting a case of coronavirus. The inquiry focuses on reports that a worker fell ill at the Ischgl resort, in the province of Tyrol, in February. The resort has been linked to hundreds of cases in Austria, Germany and Scandinavian countries. Despite this, the slopes and bars at the resort stayed open for weeks.

On Monday Austria said it had confirmed 3,611 cases, a 19% rise in one day. Europe is the current epicentre of the global coronavirus pandemic. More than 100,000 people are confirmed to have been infected across the Continent, with Italy the worst-affected country. The resort in Ischgl – a small town of about 1,500 people in the Austrian Alps – is known for its nightlife and annual concerts after the close of its ski season.

Reports suggest a worker at one popular bar, Kitzloch, fell ill at the end of February. This however has not been officially confirmed. Visitors from Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Germany and Austria all began testing positive for coronavirus after returning from the town early in March. Governments started listing the town as an at-risk area, although local authorities played down the concerns. Kitzloch was not shut until 10 March, and the town was finally closed on 13 March. Werner Kurz, the mayor of Ischgl, told German newspaper Der Spiegel the shut down was “a catastrophe” for the town, saying: “We implemented all regulations in a timely manner”.(BBC)…[+]

A man in Germany has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly loosening bolts on a high-speed railway track. The stretch of track affected was just before a bridge outside Frankfurt. A train driver noticed “something unusual” while crossing the bridge early on Friday. Several trains had already passed over the section before the issue was discovered. Rail operator Deutsche Bahn described the incident as “sabotage”. The 51-year-old man was arrested on Saturday.

In a statement, prosecutors said the man is “strongly suspected of having removed bolts on 80 metres (260 feet) of the rail on a bridge between Cologne and Frankfurt”. His motive remains unclear however police said on Friday they could not rule out “a possible attack attempt“. According to German news site Der Spiegel, the rails were five centimetres further apart than usual. This could have caused trains to derail and even send them plunging off the bridge. Police said it was lucky no harm had come to any trains or passengers.(BBC)…[+]

DNA evidence from a discarded cigarette has led Florida police to arrest a man on suspicion of murdering a woman 35 years ago. Daniel Wells, 57, was arrested and charged in Pensacola earlier this week for the murder of Tonya McKinley. Ms McKinley was found strangled and sexually assaulted on New Year’s Day in 1985, leaving behind a baby son. Her case has gone unsolved, but police say DNA from a public database linked Mr Wells to her murder in Pensacola. “I didn’t really know if this [arrest] would ever happen,” Ms McKinley’s sister, Renee, told NBC News. “I didn’t really think this would happen in my lifetime, not after 35 years.”

In a statement, Pensacola police said they interviewed her friends and family. Police also spoke with other people who were celebrating New Year’s Eve at a local restaurant where the 23-year-old was last seen.

But until this week, no suspect has been named. “Despite having a good bit of physical evidence and dozens of interviews, over time, the trail went cold,” police said. “In the meantime, a baby boy grew up without a mother, parents buried their daughter without knowing justice, and a killer was walking around free”.(BBC)…[+]

An earthquake has rocked Croatia’s capital Zagreb, damaging buildings and leaving cars crushed by falling chunks of masonry. A teenager is in a critical condition after a roof collapsed, local media say. The spire of the city’s cathedral also snapped off. After Sunday’s tremor, Zagreb’s mayor urged people to return to their homes given fears about the coronavirus.

The 5.3-magnitude quake is the largest to affect the city in 140 years. Panicked residents ran out into the streets when it struck around 06:00 local time and were initially told to stay out by authorities. “Keep your distance. Don’t gather together. We are facing two serious crises, the earthquake and the epidemic,” Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said.(BBC)…[+]

NASA is shutting down two of its space centres to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The US space agency said it will suspend work at its Michoud facility in New Orleans, where a Moon rocket, or Space Launch System, is being built. Its Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, where the rocket booster is being tested, will also temporarily close. This could delay NASA’s mission to send astronauts to the Moon in 2024.

The US now has more than 11,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, including one known case at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. “NASA will temporarily suspend production and testing of Space Launch System and Orion hardware,” said its administrator Jim Bridenstine. The only workers allowed onsite will be those dealing with security and critical infrastructure.

“We realise there will be impacts to NASA missions, but as our teams work to analyse the full picture and reduce risks we understand that our top priority is the health and safety of the NASA workforce,” Mr Bridenstine added. “There is no team better prepared for doing hard things.” The delays will affect manufacturing and testing of the Space Launch System and Orion, the crew capsule that will carry the astronauts to the Moon. NASA had set a goal of the next Moon landing to happen by the end of 2024.(BBC)…[+]