One officer and five soldiers of Pakistan’s Frontier Corps (FC) were killed as their vehicle was targeted with remote-controlled IED near Pak-Iran border in southwestern Balochistan province, a military statement said. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the security forces were returning after conducting a …
Read More »Ireland says Brexit trade talks timeline ‘virtually impossible’
The coronavirus pandemic has made an already difficult timeline for a British-European Union trade deal “virtually impossible”, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said, cautioning that he did not wish to raise expectations of London seeking more time. Tortuous Brexit talks, now focused on setting new trading terms from 2021 when …
Read More »Japan, faced with criticism, scrambles to do more coronavirus testing
The Japanese government, under fire for a limited number of coronavirus tests conducted, eased access to such tests on Friday and indicated that a new test supplementing the currently dominant polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test could be approved next week. The Health Ministry said it now wants people experiencing difficulty …
Read More »5.1 Magnitude Quake in Iran Kills 2, Injures 38
Two people died and 38 were injured when a 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck northern Iran in the early hours of Friday and people fled their homes in panic, state television reported. There were at least 40 milder aftershocks, but no serious damage from the quake that struck after midnight on …
Read More »Troops deployed in Indian state as coronavirus cases surge
Hundreds of paramilitary forces have been deployed in coronavirus-hotspot Gujarat state as India on Friday faced a surge in the number of deaths and infections from the outbreak. Official data show the deadly disease is taking a growing toll in the country of 1.3 billion people even as it begins …
Read More »French police break up medical smuggling networks, seize 440,000 face masks
Police in France has dismantled smuggling networks trying to take advantage of a rush to buy medical supplies –including face masks– to tackle the coronavirus epidemic. By the end of April, police had dismantled a number of such smuggling networks, stopped scams and attempted scams to the value of more …
Read More »Second White House staffer tests positive for coronavirus
A member of United States Vice President Mike Pence’s staff has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, briefly delaying his Friday flight to Iowa and prompting some fellow passengers on Air Force Two to disembark, according to a White House official. Pence’s flight was delayed more than an hour on …
Read More »Iran daily coronavirus death toll hits lowest level in over 11 weeks: Health Ministry
Iran’s Health Ministry says the coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of 55 people in the country over the past 24 hours with the death toll standing at 6,541, the lowest daily increase since the outbreak of the disease over 11 weeks ago. Kianoush Jahanpour, the head of the public …
Read More »British coastguards rescue more than 120 migrants on 7 boats in Channel
British coastguards rescued more than 120 migrants trying to cross the English Channel on seven small boats, French maritime authorities said on Friday. The rescue took place in the night from Thursday to Friday, according to a spokesman for the Maritime Prefecture for the Channel and the North Sea. Border …
Read More »Father, son charged with murder of Ahmaud Arbery
A white former police officer and his son were arrested in Georgia on Thursday and charged with murder in the death of an unarmed black man, an incident that has sparked a furor in the community and among civil rights activists across the United States.
Read More »Iran urges US to end its ‘abject unilateralism’
Iran says the United States must stop seeking to secure its short-term interests at the cost of other nations’ long-term prosperity. “JCPOA is neither the first nor the last of the multilateral achievements Trump withdrew from,” said Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi in a tweet on Friday, referring by …
Read More »Kuwait imposes 20-day ‘total curfew’ from May 10 to curb coronavirus
Kuwait will enact a “total curfew” from 4 pm (1300 GMT) on Sunday through to May 30 to help to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, the Information Ministry said on Twitter on Friday. Further details of the curfew will be announced soon, it said. Kuwait on April 20 …
Read More »South Africa to parole 19,000 prisoners to curb coronavirus
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday thousands of low-risk prisoners would be granted parole to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in correctional facilities. Around 19,000 people would be freed in response to a U.N. call on all countries to reduce their prison populations so that social …
Read More »Pandemic sends US jobless rate to 14.7%
The US unemployment rate has risen to 14.7%, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April, as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy. The rise means the jobless rate is now worse than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Since the pandemic began, the US has suffered …
Read More »Turkey charges seven over Ghosn escape from Japan
Prosecutors in Turkey have charged seven people in connection with ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan in December. Four pilots, two other flight attendants, and an airline executive are accused of helping him flee to Lebanon via Istanbul. The pilots and executives are charged with “migrant smuggling” and the …
Read More »Europe marks 75th VE Day anniversary amid coronavirus lockdown
Leaders across Europe are marking the 75th anniversary of VE Day with low-key ceremonies, as much of the continent remains under coronavirus lockdown. The UK has held a two-minute silence to honor the war dead, and later an address by the Queen will be broadcast. The leaders of France and …
Read More »Trump, Pence test negative for COVID-19 after worker tests positive
US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were tested for Covid-19 and found to be negative after a member of the U.S. military who works on the White House campus contracted the virus, Bloomberg has reported. The president and vice president “remain in great health,” White House spokesman …
Read More »Daesh terrorists kill 11 govt. forces in eastern Syria: Report
Members of the Daesh terrorist group have killed 11 Syrian government soldiers and their allied fighters, a monitor says. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that the government and pro-government forces were killed when their vehicle came under an attack by Daesh terrorists between al-Sokhna and …
Read More »WHO: “Deep concern” of increasing domestic violence in Europe during quarantine
The director of the European branch of the World Health Organization, Hans Klug, said today, Thursday, that the organization expresses “deep concern” over reports of the increase in family violence in the continent recently. Clog added that some countries indicated that 60 percent of women had experienced domestic violence, while …
Read More »The United Nations reveals the impact of the Corona pandemic on drug prices
A UN report said that tighter border controls, public isolation measures and fewer flights due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus led to an increase in drug prices and made it difficult to obtain them worldwide. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in a report published today, …
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