The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 30,000 lives around the globe, according to the calculations by AFP news agency. Some 20,000 of the victims were in Europe where Italy and Spain remain the hardest-hit countries. John Hopkins University in Maryland, which also keeps track of the Covid-19 death toll, has also updated its count to just above 30,000 deaths. In AFP’s home country, France, […]
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European Union leaders have agreed that the bloc’s coronavirus economic recovery plan should take heed of its aim to fight climate change. Following a six-hour video conference, the 27 EU leaders agreed late on Thursday to coordinate a coronavirus economic recovery plan. The leaders agreed that it should be consistent with the “green transition,” the phrase the EU uses to describe the aim of reducing emissions […]
The Swedish government has decided to ban all public gatherings of more than 50 people to stop the spread of the coronavirus. “Our resilience is being tested. The aim of the government is of course to limit the spread as much as possible,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told reporters on Friday. The new rule will come into force on Sunday and those who break it risk […]
Pakistan has requested an emergency loan disbursement from the International Monetary Fund to help fight the coronavirus under the fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument program. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva did not identify the size of the loan in a statement on Friday. However, under the program, Pakistan would be able to borrow up to its full quota – about $2.76 billion – over two years, or $1.43 billion […]
Ankara has sent some 6,000 migrants waiting at the Turkish-Greek border to cross into the European Union to cities inside the country, Reuters reported on Friday, citing the Interior Ministry. The move was part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Migrants waiting at the border crossing in Edirne province were transported in buses to state guest houses where they would be quarantined, Anadolu news […]
British and EU negotiators will hold the first meeting of a joint committee as planned on Monday, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. The statement came after trade talks were put on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported. The spokesman said the meeting would be co-chaired by senior British Minister Michael Gove and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic and would take place […]
Battles raged on several fronts in Libya on Friday after a night of heavy bombardment in Tripoli, Reuters reported, citing combatants and residents. After a comparative lull, serious warfare resumed this week despite international calls for calm to allow Libya’s fragmented health system to prepare for any spread of the coronavirus. Libya confirmed its first case of the infectious disease on Monday. The Libyan National Army […]
Hungary is imposing a two-week lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus epidemic. It is expected to peak in the country in June or July, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. Citizens will be allowed to go to work, shop and take limited exercise outside during the lockdown, which starts on Saturday. However, they should keep distance from each other, Orban said on public […]
Indonesia’s most active volcano Mount Merapi erupted Friday, shooting a column of ash some 5,000 meters (16,000 feet) into the air in its second major eruption this month. Ash and sand covered areas several kilometers away from the peak of the rumbling crater near Indonesia’s cultural capital Yogyakarta. Authorities did not raise Merapi’s alert level. “There has been no reports of damage from the eruption. We […]
Vietnam is aiming to keep the number of coronavirus cases in the country under 1,000, the government said. The statement came as the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country passed 150 on Friday. “We have been able to contain epicenters, and even potential epicenters… and we are determined to keep the number of COVID-19 cases from reaching 1,000,” Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc […]
The US military has cancelled a large-scale exercise involving thousands of troops in the Philippines because of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to scrap Balikatan 2020 was taken “in light of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding COVID-19 pandemic and in the best interest of the health and safety of both countries’ forces,” AFP quoted US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Phil Davidson as saying. The war games, scheduled […]
Japan’s Tokyo prefecture reported 40 more coronavirus infections on Friday. Its governor appealed to people to wait until next year for traditional spring parties to view the flowering of cherry blossoms. Preventing a regional outbreak was a prerequisite for holding a successful Olympic Games, after the event was delayed until next year, Yuriko Koike told reporters. Should the Games be held next spring, she expressed the […]
France is still trying to repatriate 30,000 of its citizens from overseas due to the coronavirus, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday. Over the last week France has brought home some 100,000 people, the minister told Europe 1 radio. Malaysia and France have organized chartered flights to fly out hundreds of their citizens stranded in Cambodia after Southeast Asian nation sealed borders and cancelled […]
The European Union will launch a new Mediterranean naval and air mission in April to stop more arms reach warring factions in Libya, Reuters quoted EU diplomats as saying on Thursday. They added that Greece agreed to take in any migrants rescued at sea. The decision had been delayed by divisions over migrants. It followed warnings by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell that the bloc […]
Vietnam has sent tens of thousands of people to quarantine camps as waves of overseas citizens return home to escape a coronavirus pandemic spreading in Europe and the US. Vietnam’s Health Ministry has reported 148 infections, with no deaths. Its proven infection rate is lower than any regional nations except Myanmar and Laos, where testing has been very limited. By Thursday, those quarantined in military-run centers […]
The United Arab Emirates will impose overnight curfews as a temporary measure this weekend to carry out a nationwide disinfection campaign starting Thursday to curb the spread of the new coronavirus. The regional business hub, which has confirmed 333 cases of the virus with two deaths, has not announced an official curfew or work suspension but has increasingly clamped down on movement, Reuters said. Authorities said […]
The Afghan government has said that it would free 100 Taliban detainees on humanitarian grounds at the end of March. The move raises uncertainty about the fate of a prisoner release deal with the insurgents, who have demanded that 5,000 detainees be freed. That number announced on Wednesday is also far less than the 1,500 prisoners that Ashraf Ghani recently agreed to release. The Taliban have […]
Israel’s ex-military chief Benny Gantz submitted himself Thursday as a candidate for speaker of parliament. Gantz is PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rival, and the move could lead to an emergency alliance between the two, AFP reports. The parliament announced that Gantz was the only candidate to succeed Netanyahu ally Yuli Edelstein, who resigned as speaker on Wednesday. Israel’s Supreme Court arranged for a vote for a […]
Spain extended its coronavirus lockdown on Thursday to at least April 12. Europe’s second-worst hit country has fought “a real war” procuring medical supplies in an overheated Chinese market that officials said was rife with fraud and speculative deals. The death toll rose by 655 overnight to 4,089. That was down from 738 deaths the previous day when Spain overtook China by the total number of […]
Tokyo set up on Thursday a new task force to fight the spread of coronavirus, but the economy minister said a state of emergency would not be declared for now. The new task force is a necessary step towards declaring an emergency. The announcement comes amid worries of spread in the community after the surge in Tokyo, where more than 45 new cases were reported overnight. […]
Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies will speak by video link on Thursday about combating the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts. Global infections top 471,000 with more than 21,000 dead, according to Reuters. G20 finance ministers and central bankers agreed this week to develop an “action plan” to respond to the outbreak, which the International Monetary Fund expects will trigger a global recession. […]
A Russian Su-27 multirole fighter jet crashed into the Black Sea late on Wednesday, the country’s defense ministry said. The accident occurred during a routine flight amid bad weather conditions. While the fate of the aircraft’s pilot remains unknown, the military has detected a signal from his emergency beacon. Despite the bad weather, a search and rescue operation has been launched immediately. Several aircraft, including an […]
Pakistan is seeking another $1.4 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it deal with the economic slowdown from the coronavirus, according to government finance adviser Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. Pakistan will also be seeking more support from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Shaikh said on Wednesday. “This 1.4 billion we are asking will be a low cost fast disbursing loan,” […]
Russian authorities lifted a tsunami warning in the Pacific far east on Wednesday after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Kuril Islands, RIA Novosti reported, citing a representative of the Sakhalin Tsunami Center. Residents in the town of Severo-Kurilsk in Russia’s Sakhalin region had earlier been evacuated to a safe zone on higher ground, emergency services said, adding that a wave of […]