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| - Duty Editor: James Hossack Tel: +852 2829 6211 -- TOP STORIES -- + Italy reports highest one-day virus toll of any nation + ECB unveils huge bond package to counter virus + Sanders mulls next step after drubbing by Biden + Qantas suspends all international flights + 'Do bogart that joint', cannabis industry says Health-virus,WRAP ROME Italy reports nearly 500 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, the highest one-day official toll of any nation, as Donald Trump orders sweeping new action against the pandemic and declares himself a war president. 800 words 0330 GMT by Dmitry Zaks. Pictures. Video. Graphic. Videographic Health-virus-ECB-bank,2ndlead FRANKFURT The European Central Bank unexpectedly says it will spend 750 billion euros on "emergency" bond purchases, as it joins other central banks in stepping up efforts to contain the economic damage from the coronavirus. 600 words moved by Michelle Fitzpatrick. File picture US-politics-vote-health-virus,WRAP WASHINGTON Bernie Sanders is talking to advisers as pressure mounts on the leftist senator to end his White House campaign following a drubbing by Joe Biden in the latest Democratic primaries. 750 words moved by Chirs Lefkow and Paul Handley. Picture. Video Health-virus-travel-Australia-aviation,2ndlead SYDNEY Australia's biggest airline Qantas says it will halt all international flights and suspend 20,000 staff in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 500 words 0300 GMT Health-virus-US-cannabis WASHINGTON To avoid spreading the novel coronavirus, marijuana smokers should avoid sharing joints and should favor edible products, US cannabis industry figures says. 250 words moved -- ASIA -- Health-virus-transport-aviation,FOCUS HONG KONG With commercial airlines engulfed by the maelstrom of the coronavirus pandemic, one sector of the industry favoured by the wealthy is thriving: private jets. 650 words 0330 GMT by Rose Troup Buchanan Health-virus-Philippines-poverty,FOCUS TONDO, Philippines Mary Grace Aves is terrified of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, but the best weapons to protect her family -- isolation and sanitation -- are unreachable luxuries in the Manila shantytown they call home. 650 words 0300 GMT by Joshua Melvin and Ron Lopez. Picture. Video -- AMERICAS -- US-social-lifestyle-technology-dating,FOCUS NEW YORK With governments clamping down on social interactions to contain the coronavirus spread, dating sites are discouraging dates and asking users to get to know each other virtually instead. 550 words 0130 GMT by Thomas Urbain Health-virus-US-retail-Amazon,FOCUS SAN FRANCISCO Amazon is finding itself in a new role in the coronavirus crisis as hunkered-down consumers increasingly turn to the tech giant for anything from toilet tissue to streaming television. 750 words moved by Glenn Chapman US-health-virus-Florida-students,FOCUS MIAMI BEACH They crowd beaches and cram nightclubs: They are students with more affinity for Corona beer than coronavirus, and for days they have ignored recommendations to keep their distance from each other. 600 words 0300 GMT by Leila Macor. Picture. video Also moving: Health-virus-US-music-economy,FOCUS Health-virus-US NEW YORK The United States is to deploy military hospital ships to fight the coronavirus, Donald Trump says, as he likens himself to a "wartime president" and invokes a Korean War-era law. 700 words moved by Peter Hutchison with Sebastian Smith in Washington. Picture. Video US-China-media-politics-health-virus,2ndlead WASHINGTON President Donald Trump criticizes China's unprecedented decision to expel American journalists from three major US newspapers, as media advocates fear that tensions between the two powers provided cover for Beijing to target the press. 700 words moved by Shaun Tandon Health-virus-US-politics-vote-Trump,FOCUS WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is increasingly sure Joe Biden will be his Democratic challenger, but coronavirus is already the more dangerous opponent -- sending his campaign reeling and throwing the entire contest into uncertainty. 700 words moved by Sebastian Smith. Picture. Video Colombia-drugs-military,FOCUS TUMACO, Colombia For years, they were referred to in hushed tones simply as "Bigfoot" -- a mythical creature rumored but never seen -- but these days, the narco-submarines used by Colombia's drug cartels have become almost commonplace. And the navy is fighting back. 900 words 0300 GMT by Florence Panoussian. Picture. Video -- EUROPE -- Health-virus-Britain,WRAP LONDON Britain announces it will be closing schools in the coming days and placing 20,000 troops on standby in efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus, as the death toll tops 100. 750 words moved by Alice Ritchie, Joe Jackson, Phil Hazlewood. Picture. Video Health-virus-Germany-Merkel,3rdlead BERLIN Germany is facing its biggest challenge "since the Second World War" in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Chancellor Angela Merkel says in a television address urging citizens to heed sweeping confinement measures. 700 words moved by Michelle Fitzpatrick and Tom Barfield. Picture. Video -- MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA -- Health-virus-Israel-Palestinians-tourism-economy,FOCUS JERUSALEM Munib Abu Assab, a tour operator in Jerusalem's Old City, has seen deserted streets before, but he says not even past conflicts over the contested land compare to the impact of coronavirus. 700 words 0230 GMT by Claire Gounon. Picture. Video Iraq-oil-economy-crisis-politics,FOCUS BAGHDAD Between plummeting oil prices, political deadlock and reduced global appetite for a bail-out, Iraq is on the cusp of financial calamity that could force austerity measures and renew anti-government protests. 800 words 0300 GMT by Maya Gebeily Health-virus-Iran,lead TEHRAN Iran says its novel coronavirus death toll has surpassed 1,000 as President Hassan Rouhani defends the response of his administration, which has yet to impose a lockdown. 700 words moved by Amir Havasi. Picture. Video -- AFRICA -- Health-virus-Africa-Burkina,WRAP OUAGADOUGOU Sub-Saharan Africa records its first COVID-19 death, a high-ranking politician in Burkina Faso, as the head of the World Health Organisation urges the continent to "prepare for the worst". 750 words 0230 GMT by Armel Baily with David Esnault in Abidjan. Picture -- ENTERTAINMENT -- SKorea-music-social-people,INTERVIEW SEOUL Thirty years ago, his floppy hair, make-up, and flamboyant fashion sense outraged audiences, who threw stones at him as he performed on stage and threatened to beat him at shows. Today, 50-year-old Korean-American singer Yang Joon-il is enjoying an unlikely comeback. 800 words 0330 GMT by Claire Lee. Picture. Video -- SPORTS -- Oly-2020-surfing-JPN-Igarashi-Japan-health-virus,INTERVIEW TOKYO Japan's top surfer Kanoa Igarashi is already seeing his training for the Tokyo 2020 games hit by the coronavirus outbreak, but he's still hoping a 'heartbreaking' Olympic cancellation can be avoided. 550 words 0300 GMT by Shingo Ito. File picture afp
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