At least five women and children died on Saturday in a stampede when cash and clothes were handed out to thousands of displaced people in northeastern Nigeria, militia and local people told AFP. A large crowd surged forward for the government aid distribution and people were trampled underfoot in the …
Read More »Philippine President threatens to impose martial law after 120,000 arrested for violating lockdown
Filipinos have been threatened with martial law-style enforcement if they do not comply with a month-long coronavirus lockdown, as police said 120,000 people have been arrested or warned for flouting rules. Over two weeks after he ordered law enforcement to shoot those who violate the lockdown, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte …
Read More »Swedish princess joins health crews to combat coronavirus
Swedish Princess Sofia joined the ranks of health care crews in Sweden after three days of intense training in the midst of the new Corona Virus crisis, according to the royal palace. The 35-year-old princess, the wife of King Gustav’s son, has since Thursday been a volunteer healthcare assistant at …
Read More »Egypt court adds 13 Brotherhood members, associates to terrorist list
A court in Egypt has added a former lawmaker and a dozen others, all either members or associates of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement, to terrorist lists for five years. The Fifth Terrorism Judicial District in the capital Cairo announced the news in a statement on Saturday, saying former legislator …
Read More »32 thousand cases of corona within 24 hours
Johns Hopkins University announced that it infected approximately 32,000 cases of corona virus within one day, bringing the total to more than 700,000 cases. According to the latest data from the university, the number of confirmed cases of HIV infection in the United States was 700 thousand and 282 cases, …
Read More »New York governor hits back at Trump over disparaging comments
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has hit back at a series of presidential tweets accusing him of dramatizing the coronavirus pandemic and not being appreciative of the president’s efforts in providing help. Following Cuomo’s complaints about the medical shortage in the US, President Donald Trump had tweeted that Cuomo “should …
Read More »Holy Fire Descends in Jerusalem’s Church of Holy Sepulcher
The Holy Fire has descended in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III bestowed it to the priests of the Greek Church and representatives of other faiths who also own the Church of the …
Read More »US may scale back CIA presence in Afghanistan to save peace deal
The United States is considering the withdrawal of CIA operatives from bases in Afghanistan, as part of an effort to further reduce violence in the war-ravaged Asian country, according to The New York Times. The paper reported on Friday that the discussions over CIA’s presence in Afghanistan are part of …
Read More »Queen Elizabeth cancels birthday plans as coronavirus hits Britain
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will not celebrate her 94th birthday in any special way and has asked that there be no gun salutes to mark the occasion because it would not be appropriate while the country battles a deadly coronavirus outbreak. Britain is at or near the peak of an outbreak …
Read More »Michigan Conservatives ‘Not Concerned’ About COVID-19 Block Ambulance During Protest Against Social Distancing
Hundreds of opponents of Michigan’s social distancing measures rallied in their cars in the state capital on Wednesday, snarling traffic and even blocking a hospital entrance in a protest against an executive order intended to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state. “The cars were blocking one …
Read More »Saudi Arabia executes dance troupe attacker
A man who stabbed at least three Spanish dancers in Saudi Arabia during a live performance has been executed. The assault on the theatre group took place during a festival in the capital Riyadh in November. State media linked the attacker, named as Imad al-Mansouri, 33, from terrorist group Al-Qaeda. …
Read More »Israel ‘heading towards record fourth election’
Israel is facing the growing prospect of an unprecedented fourth election in just over a year after a deadline to form a government expired. Its president passed the mandate to parliament after center-left bloc leader Benny Gantz failed to seal talks to form a unity government in time. If no-one …
Read More »Tourist spending across Europe fell by 68%, with Italy seeing a massive 96% fall.
Unsurprisingly, yet soberingly, the European tourism sector is reeling. According to a recent UBS analysts’ note – which cited data from Planet, the VAT refund provider – tourist spending across Europe in March fell 68.4% year-on-year. “Chinese spend in Europe was down -84.6% y/y, with all other nationalities also declining …
Read More »Video: Smoke from Chernobyl & dust turning Kiev sky into gray
Apocalyptic-looking scenes were aplenty on Friday in the Ukrainian capital when smoke from wildfires and dust borne by strong winds briefly lent Kiev the label of the world’s most polluted city. Kiev’s skies remained grey in the morning, and residents had to shut their windows to keep out the nauseous …
Read More »UK | Police slammed for watching as dozens breach social distancing rules during #ClapForCarers (VIDEO)
The weekly tradition of applauding Britain’s National Health Service workers who are fighting the coronavirus outbreak has brought the nation closer together – though perhaps too close, as eyewitness video shows. Firefighters and police gathered on Westminster Bridge to send well wishes to their colleagues on the frontline in a …
Read More »China’s coronavirus death toll revised up sharply after review
Nearly 1,300 people who died of the coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan, or half the total, were not counted in death tolls because of lapses, state media said on Friday, but Beijing dismissed claims that there had been any kind of cover-up. The central city where the outbreak …
Read More »Europe begins easing coronavirus lockdowns
Some European countries have announced plans to ease restrictions on social life, transport and cross-border travel imposed since mid-March to battle the spread of the novel coronavirus. AUSTRIA Austria allowed thousands of shops to reopen on April 14, becoming one of the first countries in Europe to loosen the lockdown. …
Read More »At least 300,000 Africans expected to die in pandemic: UN agency
The COVID-19 pandemic will likely kill at least 300,000 Africans and risks pushing 29 million into extreme poverty, the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) said on Friday, calling for a $100 billion safety net for the continent. Africa’s 54 countries have so far reported fewer than 20,000 confirmed cases …
Read More »China denies US claims of holding secret nuclear tests
China says it shouldn’t have to bother denying a report from the US State Department that suggests the Chinese government may have triggered secret nuclear blasts at an underground test site last year. The report, which was released on Wednesday and first revealed by the Wall Street Journal, raises concerns …
Read More »Iran celebrates Army Day, cancels military parades
Iran has marked its annual National Army day by replacing usual parades with a COVID-19 aid march of military vehicles designed and packed with supplies to help assist the country’s battle with the coronavirus. The parades, which took place across the country on Friday, showcased some of the Army’s equipment …
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