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Secretary General Antonio Guterres at a 10 March press briefing at UN headquarters in New York. He has urged world leaders to “forget political games” in a unified response to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: lev radin / Shutterstock 

Guterres calls pandemic biggest crisis since WWII

Unite Nations Secretary General António Guterres said on Tuesday that the coronavirus pandemic was the “most challenging crisis we have faced since the Second World War.” As the pandemic spreads and shut downs affect the economic output of more countries, Guterres warned of a recession unparalleled in the recent past and that there is “the risk that it contributes to enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict”. He called for a “stronger and more effective response” to the crisis, which he said was only possible “if we forget political games and understand that it is humankind that is at stake."  The BBC, France24, Daily Mail and Fox News have more.

Trump in sombre warning

In what The Guardian described as an “unusually sombre tone”, US president Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that the country should brace itself for a “very, very painful two weeks.” Reuters cites the president as urging people to follow social distancing guidelines for the next 30 days. “It’s a matter of life and death,” he said. White House officials are projecting between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths in the United States, says CNBC as Trump said that  “the kind of death that has been caused by this invisible enemy, it’s incredible.” The Washington Post has its takeaway from the two-hour briefing.

UK reports record deaths

A record 381 people in a 24-hour period in the UK have died after being infected with coronavirus. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said the news was “deeply shocking, disturbing, moving.” He added that the UK “must go further, faster” in its testing programme, the BBC and The Times report. But Stephen Powis, the medical director of NHS England, said there had been a “bit of a plateau” in the number of people testing positive and that while this showed “green shoots” he warned that the country must not be complacent. The Guardian claims that NHS staff are being “gagged” from talking about shortages of personal protective equipment, as highlighted by Dr Lilani Abeywickrama in an opinion piece for Delano on Tuesday.

Oversight agreed on US business fund

Following pressure from senior Democrat senators, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has agreed to install a Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery to oversee the $500 billion business bailout fund which is part of the $2 trillion stimulus bill to help combat the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. CNBC says senators have been wary of repeating the mistakes of the bank bailout after the 2008 financial crisis. But the White House has questioned the authority of any oversight appointee, and says it has the right to review the inspector general’s reports before they are sent to Congress, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Stock markets worst first quarter

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and London's FTSE 100 have experienced their most significant quarterly declines since 1987, the BBC says. The market indicators fell by 23% and 25% respectively. CNBC reports that the Dow was likely to open on Wednesday with a further loss of about 305 points. The S&P 500 fell 20% overall to record its worst first quarter ever and the Nasdaq fell more than 14% in the first quarter. 

Crackdowns around the world

The Guardian has compiled a report on some of the most stringent and violent enforcements of coronavirus confinement orders and curfews.

EU’s tepid response to Orbán

The European Union is taking a very subtle approach in its response to the most recent power grab by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. The New York Times says the EU is showing that it is “reluctant to pick a fight” as Ursula von der Leyen failed to mention Orbán or Hungary by name in a statement on Tuesday. Von der Leyen had stressed that “it’s of utmost importance that emergency measures are not at the expense of our fundamental principles and values.” Politico says that top officials in the European People's Party at the European Parliament, from which Orbán’s Fidesz party was suspended but not removed last year, have been conspicuously silent. Of course, Luxembourg’s foreign minister Jean Asselborn, who has long been Orbán’s most vociferous critic in the EU, was not so diplomatic. “Hungary immediately belongs into strict political quarantine,” he told German paper Die Welt, as reported by Bloomberg.

Doctor who met Putin tests positive

Reuters says that a doctor who gave Vladimir Putin a tour of Moscow’s Kommunarka hospital last week has tested positive for the virus. The report says TV footage shows that neither Dr Denis Protsenko nor the Russian president was wearing protective equipment during their conversation.

Thailand’s elephants in danger

The BBC reports that Thailand's 4,000 captive elephants are in danger as food becomes unaffordable because tourism revenue has plummeted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

If in Singapore, get easy access to top restaurant

CNBC says it is now relatively easy to get a walk-in table (placed one metre away from other tables) at Odette in Singapore, which has been voted Asia’s best restaurant for two years running. But travel restrictions mean you need to already be in Singapore to take advantage.

Markle has immunity DNA

In news that will infuriate Piers Morgan, researchers in California have found that the special structure of glycoprotein in Meghan Markle’s DNA means she has complete immunity to covid-19. The news was revealed in the early hours of Wednesday. Markle and Prince Harry had recently moved to the Los Angeles area from Canada. Media like The Mirror and The Daily Mail had linked the move to the couple fleeing the coronavirus. But the real reason was that Markle was undergoing tests at the California Center for Clinical Research in nearby Arcadia. Scientists close to achieving human cloning, led by Dr. April Fish, are now considering whether an army of “test tube” Markles could be used to harvest enough glycoprotein to create a global gene-based vaccination against covid-19. They claim that to be effective it would require just one Markle per 10 million inhabitants. That means the UK would get 6 or 7 Markles, while Luxembourg would have to form a special union with Belgium so that the two countries could get a combined 2 Markles. Even then, the grand duchy would be on some sort of Meghan time-share scheme with its neighbour.

Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts