Canada to return irregular migrants crossing border to United States

OTTAWA, March 20 (Reuters) – Canada will no longer accept irregular migrants trying to cross the shared border with the United States and will instead return them to U.S. authorities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.

Trudeau told reporters the measure was a temporary one to protect the health of Canadians during the coronavirus outbreak. Earlier this week officials had said those crossing the border would be put into quarantine. (Reporting by David Ljunggren, Editing by Franklin Paul)

Evangeline Lilly dismisses coronavirus, says she won’t quarantine

While the global coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, it’s been recommended that people practise social distancing and stay at home as much as possible to avoid spreading COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Evangeline Lilly has decided to not practise self-isolation or social distancing and said things are still #BusinessAsUsual at her house.

Trump Lashes Out at Reporter After Challenge on Unapproved Drug

President Donald Trump again encouraged Americans to try a malaria drug to fight coronavirus that the FDA hasn’t approved for the disease, and assailed a reporter who suggested that pushing it might spark a false sense of hope.

“I think people will be surprised,” Trump said of the drug, chloroquine, at a White House news conference on Friday. “It will be a game changer.”

NBC correspondent Peter Alexander pointed out that Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, has said there is no “magic drug” for the virus and asked whether Trump was providing a “false sense of hope.”

Trump replied: “Such a lovely question. Maybe and maybe not. It may work and it may not work,” he said. “I feel good about it.”

When Alexander then asked what Trump had to say to Americans who are “scared” by the outbreak, Trump grew angry, calling Alexander a “terrible reporter” and saying his question sent “very bad signal.”

“You ought to get back to reporting instead of sensationalism,” he said, adding that “I’ve been right a lot.”

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” he added.

When another reporter followed up, asking again what Trump had to say to Americans worried about the virus, Trump said: “There is a very low incidence of death. You understand that,” adding that Americans who contract the disease are very likely to survive.

Italy suffers biggest daily coronavirus death toll with another 627 dead

The death toll from the outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has leapt by 627 to 4,032 – the largest daily rise since the disease emerged a month ago.

Officials confirmed the fatality rate shot up by 18.4% on Friday, a day after the death toll surpassed that of Wuhan, China, where the pandemic began.

Until Friday, Italy had never recorded more than 475 deaths in a single day, while China, where the contagion has slowed sharply, has never reported more than 150.

More to follow

Netflix, YouTube speeds throttled across Europe as millions stay home

Europeans looking to watch YouTube videos in 4K may be out of luck, the streaming service announced Friday.

The Google subsidiary will reduce its streaming quality in the European Union to reduce the strain it puts on the Internet as millions of Europeans are forced to stay inside due to the coronavirus pandemic.

YouTube’s announcement comes on the heels of Netflix’s commitment to reduce its web traffic on European networks by 25 percent after EU industry chief Thierry Breton asked streaming platforms to reduce the quality of their videos to prevent internet gridlock.

Several European telecom providers, including Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom, have reported a spike in data traffic in recent days. Countries like Spain and Italy have instituted nationwide lockdowns, forcing residents to stay indoors as much as possible to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Videos account for a large chunk of internet traffic data, with higher quality streams requiring more data than lower resolution videos.

YouTube’s move came after Breton spoke to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. It said so far it had only seen a few usage peaks but decided to act to minimize stress on the system.

“We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default,” the company said in a statement.

With Post wires

Trump Says He Wants Stock Buybacks Prohibited in Virus Stimulus

President Donald Trump said he wants a massive coronavirus stimulus bill under debate in Congress to ban stock buy-backs by companies that receive federal aid.

“I don’t want to have stock buybacks,” he said Friday at a White House news conference. “I don’t like buybacks. I didn’t like them the first time.”

A bill Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed Thursday would provide billions of dollars of loans to corporations and grants to small businesses. It would prohibit extra bonuses and raises for executives but doesn’t explicitly forbid stock buy-backs, a way of returning money to shareholders.

Government vows to pay 80% of wages to keep people in jobs during coronavirus

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a coronavirus job retention scheme to prevent people being laid off during the pandemic.

The Government has vowed to cover 80% of wages for at-risk workers for at least three months. They say there is ‘no limit’ on the amount of funding available.

More to follow.

Altria CEO Howard Willard gets coronavirus, takes temporary leave

Altria CEO Howard Willard has been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, the tobacco giant revealed this week.

Willard is taking a temporary medical leave to “ensure that the company is fully functioning at this critical time and to focus on his health,” the Marlboro maker said in a note to employees dated Thursday.

While Willard has been out of the office for several days, Altria said it notified people who were in close contact with him and asked them to self-quarantine for two weeks.

Chief financial officer Billy Gifford will fill in as CEO while Willard is away in addition to his regular duties, Altria said. The Virginia-based company said it briefed its board of directors on the situation Thursday afternoon.

“The Board respects Howard’s need to focus on recovery and expressed confidence that Billy will effectively lead the company through this challenging time,” Altria general counsel Murray Garnick wrote in the note.

Altria shares were down 6.2 percent at $34.79 as of 11:58 a.m. amid the news, compared to a 0.4 percent drop in the S&P 500.

Altria has had to grapple in recent months with its investment in Juul, the beleaguered e-cigarette company that has faced an onslaught of regulatory scrutiny. Altria has written down its 35 percent stake in Juul by more than $8 billion since October.