Simple English News Daily

Simple English News Daily in 7 minutes.World news in easy, clear language, for English learners and people with English as a second language.Thursday 30th April 2020. Transcript- Note: The transcript may not be complete, because of a lack of space. Also, it may contain errors, and does not include external audio. -The IMF has predicted that the world’s economy will contract by 3% in 2020, the biggest drop since The Great Depression of the 1930s.US economy has fallen 4.8% in the first quarter of this year. However, during most of that quarter, life was relateively normal in the US. In the next quarter, from April to June, the US economy is expected to fall around 40%, the worst economic hit since World War 2. Over 20 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last 2 months.Germany is also expected to suffer its worst recession since world war 2, with the economy falling 6.6% in the first quarter of this year. in Sub-saharan Africa , the World Bank has predicted economic growth of -5%, the first recession in 25 years.The International Labour Organization say that 1.6 billion people who work in the informal economy are at risk. They say that the average informal worker could lose 60% of their normal salary…How has the pandemic affected you? Send your whatsapp audio message to +44 7307 872 842, with your name and locationAfrica In Senegal, the government is giving out emergency food aid. One million families will receive a supply sugar, oil, soap and 100kg of rice.In Sierra Leone there has been a prison riot in the capital Freetown. Inmates rioted after one case of coronavirus was confirmed in the prison. Similar stories, of prison riots because of coronavirus, have been reported in the last month in Peru, Colombia and Argentina.The high court of Kenya has ruled that the ban on the 2018 film Rafiki will continue. The Kenyan film was praised around the world, but is illegal inside Kenya, because of its coverage of homosexuality. Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya.  In Libya at least one person has been killed after an attack on a medical facility. Reports suggest that the forces of Khalifa Haftar are behind the attack. There are 36000 confirmed cases of COVID19 in Africa, less than in most parts of the world, however testing rates are low. --The United Nations top envoy to Myanmar has stepped down. Yanghee Lee believes that Rohingya Muslims were deliberately targeted by the state. Speaking to AlJazeera yesterday, Lee said that the actions of the Burmese military had the ‘hallmarks of genecide’…In The Philippines 100’000 people have been arrested for ignoring lockdown rules this month. The Luzon area has been under quarantine since mid March, and president Rodrigo Duterte has told police to ‘shoot to kill’. Since being president, Duterte has been criticised by human rights groups for encouraging the extrajudicial killing of supposed drug dealers. In South Korea a fire has killed at least 36 people. The fire in a construction site is expected to have started with an explosion.-The global Airline industry has suffered greatly because of the coronavirus pandemic.  In the UK Total flights are down 93%. British Airways has reported losses of $500 million and will make 10,000 people redundant. Norwegian airways will not fly at all for twelve months. Airbus, the aeroplane producing company reported a 49% drop in its profits this year. Boeing, the other major aeroplane manufacturer, has announced 16,000 job losses.--In Italy, it is reported that the mafia is taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic. Orgnaized crime groups have been accused of controlling food and medical supplies. Reports suggest that Mafia groups often use disasters as opportunities to extend their power

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