UK - Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital for tests, 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus, Downing Street has said.

He was taken to a London hospital on Sunday evening with "persistent symptoms".

It is said to be a "precautionary step" taken on the advice of his doctor.

USA - High-end stores across the country have been boarding up their stores in anticipation of civil unrest due to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. In Beverly Hills, the Pottery Barn and West Elm stores near Rodeo Drive were spotted with boards across the windows according to TMZ. The “Magnificent Mile” in Chicago today looks like Chile in November. All fancy stores boarded up. Are they afraid of #Covid19 or of something else? San Francisco looks like a town expecting a hurricane, with storefronts boarded up, and people lining up at stores, while others wander around without any apparent destination or plan, as if propelled by Brownian motion. Everyone is waiting for Hurricane Covid-19 to crest.

EUROPE - The coronavirus pandemic, with its simultaneous health and economic crises, is deepening fault lines within Europe in a way some leaders fear could prove to be a final reckoning. The cohesion of the European Union had been battered by Brexit, bruised by the political fallout from the 2015 migration surge and the 2008 financial crisis, and challenged by rising autocracy in the east that runs contrary to the professed ideals of the European project. Now, if Europe’s leaders cannot chart a more united course, the project lies in what one of its architects described this week as “mortal danger.”

AFRICA - Coronavirus-linked flight restrictions are hampering efforts to wipe out locust swarms on the verge of devastating crops in eastern Africa, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. The curbs have delayed deliveries of pesticides and, at the current rate of spraying, stocks in Kenya will run out within four days, Cyril Ferrand, FAO's head of resilience for Eastern Africa, told Reuters on Thursday. "If we fail in the current (regional) control operations, because of lack of pesticides, then we could see 4 million more people struggle to feed their families," Ferrand said.

USA - Total Cost of Coronavirus Shutdowns and Lockdowns Estimated at $34 Trillion - More than the US GDP!

Stock market loss in valuation: $10.5 TRILLION

Direct Losses to US Economy (GDP) $2.39 TRILLION

Losses in wages to unemployed workers: $5.264 TRILLION...

VATICAN - Pope Francis must be careful and stop Pope Benedict's traditionalist moves if he wants to protect the future of the Catholic church, an expert has grimly warned. Francis and Benedict have endured a difficult relationship during their time at the Vatican, with observers claiming the more liberal views of Francis have been stifled by the traditional sensibilities of Benedict. In the past, many have felt that Francis would have pushed a more progressive agenda to make the church more accessible to modern day worshippers. The recent relaxing of confession laws as Italy is gripped by the coronavirus were seen by some as a move that showed Francis’ liberalism and many had hoped aspects of Catholicism such as celibacy and contraception could be next on his agenda.

USA - As the US economy collapses, authorities warn that the unthinkable may soon become reality. With each passing day, it seems like the forecasts for the rest of 2020 are just getting worse. Initially, most of the “economic experts” on television were warning that the coronavirus pandemic may push our country into a recession, but now we are being warned that we could soon see economic numbers that we haven’t seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

USA - Gasoline prices at some Cleveland gas stations have dipped below one dollar per gallon over the past 24 hours, reaching as low as 67.9 cents Monday night at one station on Cleveland’s West Side. The Gas USA station at West 117th Street and Bellaire Road, at the Cleveland-Linndale border, had raised prices to 99.9 cents per gallon for the Tuesday morning commute, said Malika Dayani, a cook who was tending Gas USA’s food counter on Tuesday morning.

UK - Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for coronavirus and is self-isolating in Downing Street. He said he had experienced mild symptoms over the past 24 hours, including a temperature and cough, but would continue to lead the government.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he had also tested positive while England's Chief Medical Officer, Prof Chris Whitty, has shown symptoms.

UK - The Prince of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus, Clarence House has announced. Prince Charles, 71, is displaying mild symptoms "but otherwise remains in good health", a spokesman said, adding that the Duchess of Cornwall, 72, has been tested but does not have the virus.

UK - Lombardy, Italy, replaced Wuhan in China, as the most badly impacted region in the world, with authorities in the European country announcing that 743 more people had died in the country on Tuesday, bringing the total dead to 6,820. The trajectory of the rapidly spreading virus shows that Madrid and London could become the next hotspots of the disease, with deaths now doubling every two days in the respective capital cities.

USA - The new coronavirus is shaping up to be an enormous stress test for globalization. As critical supply chains break down, and nations hoard medical supplies and rush to limit travel, the crisis is forcing a major reevaluation of the interconnected global economy. Not only has globalization allowed for the rapid spread of contagious disease but it has fostered deep interdependence between firms and nations that makes them more vulnerable to unexpected shocks. Now, firms and nations alike are discovering just how vulnerable they are.

USA - The coronavirus pandemic has exposed some uncomfortable truths about the state of America today. First and foremost is the fragility of the American economy. After years of outsourcing manufacturing, the United States has constructed an economy where services industries comprise some 55 percent of overall economic activity. In the age of globalization, with interconnectivity functioning seamlessly, this model has been able to generate the appearance of prosperity, with a booming stock market and increased GDP.

USA - With hundreds of millions of people now isolating themselves around the world, the novel coronavirus pandemic has become a truly global event. And while its geopolitical implications should be considered secondary to matters of health and safety, those implications may, in the long term, prove just as consequential — especially when it comes to the United States’ global position.

UK - Strict new curbs on life in the UK to tackle the spread of Coronavirus have been announced by the Prime Minister. From this evening people must stay at home except for shopping for basic necessities, daily exercise, any medical need and travelling to and from essential work.

Shops selling non-essential goods are being told to shut and gatherings in public of more than two people who do not live together are to be prohibited.