Ukraine parliament at odds over bills needed to secure $8 billion IMF package
Ukrainian lawmakers on Monday failed at their first attempt to approve an emergency budget, appoint a finance minister or pass reform bills needed to unlock an $8 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund.
Ukrainian MPs approve banking law needed for IMF loans at first reading
Ukraine’s parliament on Monday approved at the first reading a banking law needed to qualify for new loans from the International Monetary Fund.
Glezos, Greek who tore swastika from Acropolis in WW2, dies aged 97
Manolis Glezos, a prominent Greek whose act of defiance against Nazi occupation during World War Two was a rallying cry for the country’s resistance movement, died on Monday, authorities said. He was 97.
Some ultra-Orthodox Israelis chafe at coronavirus restrictions
Israeli police have used a drone, helicopter and stun grenades in recent days to prevent people gathering in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem in defiance of Health Ministry measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Ukraine parliament approves new finance, health ministers at special session
Ukraine’s parliament on Monday approved the appointment of a new finance minister and health minister.
Saudi king offers to pay for coronavirus patients’ treatment
Saudi Arabia will finance treatment for anyone infected with the coronavirus in the country, the health minister said on Monday, while the agriculture ministry took steps to boost wheat and livestock supplies amid global fears of a food shortage.
Swiss may have to top up coronavirus aid package amid rush for loans
Switzerland may have to expand its emergency fund for companies hit by coronavirus disruption, a government official said on Monday, after banks loaned out 6.6 billion Swiss francs ($6.89 billion) in the first four days of the scheme.
England coronavirus death toll rises 159 to 1,284
A further 159 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in England, the National Health Service said on Monday, taking the total number of confirmed deaths in the country to 1,284.
EU urges countries to open borders to seasonal farm workers
EU countries should allow the hundreds of thousands of seasonal migrant workers who plant or harvest crops to cross borders despite national measures to contain the coronavirus, the European Commission said on Monday.
Spanish designer dresses last brides as coronavirus halts weddings
Wearing a surgical mask and latex gloves, Spanish wedding dress designer Inma Garcia cuts lengths of ivory satin and frothy net in her Barcelona workshop to make a bridal gown for a Mexican client.
