CORONAVIRUS

There are now over 98,000 coronaviruses cases globally and more than 3,300 people have died, according to a Reuters tally. China’s central province of Hubei, excluding its provincial capital Wuhan, reported zero new cases over 24 hours for the first time during the outbreak.
Elsewhere in China, authorities are continuing efforts to contain imported infections. The U.S. Congress approved a $8.3 bln bill to battle coronavirus. The bill now goes to Trump’s office for final approval. Test kits were flown to the idled Grand Princess cruise ship off San Francisco, where at least 35 people have developed flu-like symptoms, after the vessel was linked to two other confirmed cases.
The death toll from an outbreak in Italy has risen by 41 over the past 24 hours to 148, the Civil Protection Agency said on Thursday, with the contagion in Europe’s worst-hit country showing no sign of slowing.

Where to put your money as global losses grow Companies in the healthcare, technology and financial services sectors could continue to gain market share regardless of any economic disruptions from the outbreak, fund managers from the winners of the U.S. Lipper Fund Awards say.
Global gross domestic product could be slashed by 0.1%-0.4%, with financial losses forecast to reach between $77 billion and $347 billion, the Asian Development Bank said.

Out of school, but still together: Parents, caretakers, medical experts and politicians were left gobsmacked when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a nationwide school closure on Feb. 27. The policy has been roundly criticized as counterintuitive, disruptive and risky given it has pushed tens of thousands of pupils into daycare centers instead, which now have to improvise measures to try to stop the children from contracting the illness.
“We have the children spend all day at the same seat, eating their snacks and lunches there too,” Stella Kids manager Ikuyo Kamimura said. “They face the same direction so they don’t get infected by droplets.”

Vatican reports first case of coronavirus in Vatican City. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said the discovery was made on Thursday and that outpatient services in Vatican clinics had been suspended to sanitize the areas.

China's Hubei reports no new coronavirus cases outside city of Wuhan over 24 hours for the first time in the outbreak, as authorities seek to stem imported infections in other areas.

Coronavirus wreaks financial havoc as infections near 100,000. Business districts around the world began to empty and stock markets tumbled on Friday as the number of coronavirus infections neared 100,000 and the economic damage wrought by the outbreak intensified.
See a selection of curated coronavirus coverage and interactive graphic

TOP STORIES

Migrants stuck on the Turkish side of the border with Greece tried to dodge tear gas canisters as a tense standoff between Greek and Turkish security forces entered a second week with no sign of abating. Tens of thousands of migrants are attempting to cross from Turkey into the European Union after Ankara said on Feb. 28 it would no longer try to keep them on its territory under the terms of a 2016 accord with Brussels in return for EU aid.

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney, the lone Republican to vote to convict President Donald Trump of abuse of power following his impeachment, said a Senate Republican investigation of Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden appeared politically motivated. Romney told reporters a probe of Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, would be better pursued by the FBI or another federal agency “if there’s something of significance that needs to be evaluated.”

Turkey and Russia agreed a ceasefire deal in Syria’s Idlib region, their two leaders said after talks in Moscow to contain a conflict which has displaced nearly a million people in three months. Russian President Vladimir Putin, standing next to his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, said he hoped their agreement would lead to a halt of military action in Syria’s last major rebel stronghold in the northwest of the country.