World at a glance

New finding
A PATIENT diagnosed with pneumonia near Paris on Dec 27, actually had the Covid-19, his doctor said. Dr Yves Cohen told French media that a swab taken at the time was recently tested and came back positive for the Covid-19. The patient, a man in his 50s who has since fully recovered, said he had no idea where he caught the virus.

Salary concerns
MANY high-profile chief executives who have announced salary cuts during the Covid-19 downturn may not lose out. Salaries are typically only a fraction of an executive’s overall pay package with bonuses. Critics said such announcements were often publicity stunts to earn goodwill among the public.

Woman charged
A WOMAN has been charged along with her husband and son with killing a security guard who refused her daughter entry to a shop because she was not wearing a face covering. Calvin Munerlyn, 43, was shot in the back of the head last Friday, at the Family Dollar store in Flint, Michigan, in the US.

Advantage seen
THE Middle East has many reasons to fear the Covid-19 pandemic, but it has one big advantage when it comes to resisting it. Most people in the region are young. A rough average is that 60 per cent are under the age of 30. That makes them less susceptible to developing the Covid-19.

One million lost jobs
ALMOST one million Australians have lost their jobs since social-distancing measures to limit the spread of the Covid-19 ramped up, new official Australian bureau of statistics data suggests. Analysing payroll data from the tax office, the ABS, found the number of jobs slumped by 7.5 per cent. (See story p37)

No open borders
NEW Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern says the country will not have open borders with the rest of the world for “a long time to come”. Ardern was speaking after attending part of Australia’s cabinet meeting via video link.

Plane crashes
SOMALI authorities say a plane carrying Covid-19 aid supplies has crashed, killing six people.