World News. 22nd March
Furlough is a good idea for millions of workers in the UK. In the pandemic, many companies cannot work. But the big question is who gets the money for the furlough? We know that companies pay 20% and we, the taxpayers pay the rest. But the people who own the companies are often people who are not from the UK. They are super-rich. We paid £500 thousand to the Ritz hotel and £2.5 million to Harrods – their owners are from Qatar. One billionaire who is British but lives abroad to avoid tax, was given £600 thousand. We have to protect the jobs but maybe these super rich people should pay more themselves.
Covid in Brazil is a disaster. The Government claim there is no problem. But 287 thousand people are dead. In all of the States in Brazil, the emergency unit are very nearly full. The doctors say that it is a desperate situation. Staff are exhausted and in despair. There are too many people waiting for treatment. They just cannot cope.
Well that was a good start! On Friday, the high- level officials of USA and China had a meeting in Alaska. Usually they try to be nice to each other. This time – no way. The Americans told China they were oppressing the Uighur people and Hong Kong and hacking the Internet. The Chinese then said it was the USA that had the problem of racism and complaints about the election. Reporters were shocked by these comments. Afterwards the talking became more like business and was more calm.
Spring Break in Miami breaks covid rules. Every year students from all over the USA go to Florida to party. Same again this year. Thousands young people many without mask and no social distancing are on Miami Beach. Police set a curfew to try to reduce the virus risks. Looks like chaos see the photo.
