UK coronavirus death toll grows by 917 to 9,875

LONDON (Reuters) – The latest death toll from the coronavirus in the United Kingdom has risen by 917 to 9,875 people, health officials said on Saturday.

The rise, which detailed the number of hospital deaths as of 1600 GMT on April 10, was lower than that reported on Friday.

The Department of Health also said 78,991 had tested positive for the virus as of 0800 GMT on Saturday. Britain is hoping the number of infections, hospital admissions and deaths are reaching a peak, allowing it to consider when it could ease a lockdown.

Coronavirus testing rate increasing in Cameroon

Cameroon launches nationwide testing as officials brace for a surge in confirmed cases.

Hundreds of cases have been confirmed in Cameroon but health officials fear there may be many more that are still unreported.

Now, it has launched nationwide testing. As healthcare workers in Cameroon race to contain the spread of COVID-19 infections, door-to-door testing is under way in several regions of the country.

Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris reports.

Priti Patel urges Britons to share ‘symbol of hope’ to support domestic abuse victims

Speaking at the No 10 press briefing today, Ms Patel launched a new campaign to tackle domestic abuse across the UK. 

Named the ‘You Are Not Alone’ campaign, she urged the public to display the logo of the campaign in their houses across the country. 

More to follow…

Denver weather: Get outside today because snow is on the way for Easter Sunday.

For anyone looking to spend some time in the garden or go for a nice social-distancing walk, Saturday is the day.

Because winter will return for Easter Sunday.

Highs in Denver are expected to hit 70 degrees Saturday with plenty of sunshine, before temperatures plummet overnight, with snow expected for Sunday and Monday.

The heaviest snow will be in the mountains and foothills, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder, with up to a foot of snow possible. The plains will likely see only a dusting and breezy conditions, with highs in the upper 20s.

Earthquake of magnitude 5.3 strikes central California

CALIFORNIA (REUTERS) – An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 struck central California on Saturday (April 11), the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.

The quake’s epicentre was 446km north of Los Angeles and was 10km below the Earth’s surface.

Paedophiles seeking to exploit children online in coronavirus crisis, UK says

LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) – Paedophiles are seeking to exploit the fact that children are increasingly going online to meet friends and do school lessons on their computers during the coronavirus crisis, Britain’s interior minister Priti Patel said on Saturday. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden)

Iran's virus response: Gov't weighs its options

Gov’t says it cannot play its part in fighting the pandemic because of ‘collective punishment’ imposed on it by US.

Iran, the Middle East’s worst-affected country, has been hit hard by COVID-19 with nearly 70,000 confirmed cases and more than 4,000 deaths.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said US sanctions on Iran have made it impossible for the government to even buy medicines.

By order of the president, business will begin to reopen in Iran now, as the country finds itself unable to sustain a lockdown.

Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi reports from Tehran, Iran.

Paedophiles seeking to exploit children online in coronavirus crisis, UK says

LONDON (Reuters) – Paedophiles are seeking to exploit the fact that children are increasingly going online to meet friends and do school lessons on their computers during the coronavirus crisis, Britain’s interior minister Priti Patel said on Saturday.

Two Prince Albert residents die in highway car crash

RCMP in Prince Albert, Sask., are investigating a crash southeast of the city that claimed the lives of two people on Friday.

Police say a car and truck collided on Highway 3 in the early afternoon near Muskoday First Nation.

The 22-year-old woman driving the car along with a 17-year-old passenger had died at the scene, police say. Both were from Prince Albert.

Sweden, Belgium Win EU Approval to Support Airlines, Airports

The European Commission approved measures from Belgium and Sweden to help the airline industry as it struggles to weather the economic fallout from the coronavirus.

It gave antitrust clearance to Sweden’s 455 million euro ($497 million) loan-guarantee scheme to support airlines that hold the nation’s commercial aviation license at least as of Jan. 1. It also welcomed a Belgian plan to defer payment of concession fees by airports in the Walloon region.

“The coronavirus outbreak is having an unprecedented impact on the aviation sector in Europe and worldwide,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s antitrust chief, said in a statement. The loan guarantee “aims at providing airlines operating in Sweden with liquidity in these difficult times.”

Earlier, the EU approved a 50 billion-euro Belgian loan-support plan for companies.

Elaborate underground doomsday bunker on sale for $18M in Las Vegas

Doomsday preppers are finally cashing in thanks to coronavirus fears.

A huge, elaborate underground house in Las Vegas has just hit the market for a cool $18 million.

“It’s not just a house, it’s a subterranean 15,000 sqft concrete & steel rectangular-shaped doomsday bunker,” the listing on redfin notes.

The bunker comes complete with a 5,000 square foot house with an underground “pool, spa, waterfall, trees, guest house, BBQ, fountain and 500 linear feet of floor to ceiling illuminated murals of landscapes of wide open spaces simulating day, dusk, dawn and night modes.”

Centrally located and just blocks away from the (above ground) Kindred Hospital, the compound, complete with four full bathrooms and two half baths, was built as a nuclear bunker in 1978 — and looks like it.

Acting as a time capsule, the furnishings are straight out of a movie set, with drapes that match the furniture in the living room, a pink-tiled kitchen with matching cabinets and patio furniture surrounding the grill, which is artfully hidden inside a large, fake, painted rock.

There is also a house above ground, on top of the underground dwelling. All furnishings and “one year of caretaker and upkeep are included.”