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corOnavirus

Fed misfire? Others resist pressure to act. Central bankers from Tokyo to Frankfurt are under growing market pressure to follow the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 0.5 percentage point rate cut - even if the surprise move on Tuesday fell way short of its aim of shoring up confidence in the economy.

There are now over 93,000 cases globally according to a Reuters tally, with 13% or almost 12,700 cases in countries outside China. Countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland have reported a total of 223 deaths, including 43 in the past day with new fatalities in Italy, Iran, France, Spain and the United States. With China, there are a total of 3,204 fatalities.

Sources close to the European Central Bank say policymakers want to hold out until its scheduled meeting on March 12 and in the meantime are focusing on what bankers should do if panic-stricken euro zone citizens start to stockpile cash.

Italy’s health authorities are looking to set up a new quarantine red zone after a new tally showed 27 people died of the illness there in the preceding 24 hours, bringing the number of dead to 79. One of the fatalities was aged 55, the youngest patient so far to have succumbed in Italy.

Finally, Australia’s major grocers have put strict limits on purchases of toilet paper after shoppers stripped shelves in a rush of panic buying spurred by fears over the coronavirus. Despite having few sufferers compared to other countries - Australia has recorded 44 cases - social media has been awash in recent days with photographs and videos of people stockpiling goods, from staples to sanitizers.

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A resurgent Joe Biden rolled to victories across the South, Midwest and New England on the biggest day of voting in the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination campaign, setting up one-on-one battle against Bernie Sanders who was leading in California. Biden, the former vice president whose campaign was on life support just weeks ago, won nine of 14 states voting on “Super Tuesday”, including surprise wins in Texas and Massachusetts, in the race to face President Donald Trump in November.

Israel appeared headed into another political stalemate on Wednesday after nearly-complete results indicated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had failed to secure a clear majority for a right-wing bloc in parliament, despite his claim of victory. With 99% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party was seen taking 35 of parliament’s 120 seats, down from 36 initially projected.

Greek riot police and troops used water cannon and tear gas against hundreds of migrants as they made another attempt to cross the border from Turkey into Greece. Plumes of black smoke drifted above the Kastanies border crossing, and a fire engine raced by to put out smoldering blazes. Greek soldiers also fired warning shots into the air. Greece and the EU accuse Turkey of goading on the migrants in an effort to “blackmail” Brussels into offering more money or supporting Ankara’s geopolitical aims in the Syrian conflict.

British police said they had charged another man as part of their investigation into the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants found in the back of a truck near London last year. Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 27, was charged with an immigration offense and was due to appear later at Basildon Magistrates’ Court, east of London.

New Zealand police said they have stepped up patrols at two mosques ahead of the first anniversary of a shooting that killed 51 worshippers, after a distressing image linked to one of the mosques appeared on social media. A lone gunman used a semi-automatic gun to kill worshippers gathered for Friday prayers at two mosques in the city of Christchurch on March 15 last year in New Zealand’s worst peace-time shooting.