A decision was taken by the International Olympic Committee in agreement with the Japanese Government and Tokyo 2020 organizing committee to delay this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games until 2021 due to the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19, which has hampered athletes in their preparations and seen a number of competing …
Read More »Coronavirus latest: India’s 1.3bn people under 21-day lockdown
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces a “stringent and strict” curfew across the country from midnight tonight for the next 21 days to save the country from the coronavirus. “This 21 days’ time is needed to break the cycle of coronavirus transmission,” he says in a televised address.
Read More »US could become next coronavirus epicenter, WHO says
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that the United States could become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, which finally forced reluctant organizers to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. Britain joined the ranks of countries in lockdown to try to hold back the virus, and data showed …
Read More »Massive flooding kills at least 11 in Iran
Heavy downpours have caused flooding in several Iranian provinces, mainly in the southern parts of the country, killing at least 11 people and leaving two others missing. A spokesman for Iran’s emergency services Mojtaba Khaledi said on Monday that over 17 people have also been injured by the flooding in …
Read More »Trump axed US health expert job in China before coronavirus outbreak: Report
The administration of US President Donald Trump eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing tasked with detecting disease outbreaks in China several months before the coronavirus pandemic began, a report says. The US epidemiologist, Linda Quick, was embedded in China’s disease control agency but her position was eliminated …
Read More »Prison riots sparked by coronavirus fears leave 25 dead
Coordinated riots across Colombia’s prison system over the weekend left 23 inmates dead at one Bogota jail and two in a maximum security facility 100 miles northeast of the capital. Inmates started fires and protested violently against overcrowded and unsanitary conditions that leave them vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic. No …
Read More »Spain expects outbreak to peak this week
Spanish authorities expect the so-called “peak” of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country to happen as soon as Wednesday. Enrique Ruiz Escudero, a senior health official of Madrid’s Regional Government, told radio COPE on Monday that the number of cases in the country is expected to begin decreasing by the …
Read More »Rouhani: US offer of coronavirus aid ‘biggest lie in history’
Iran President Hassan Rouhani says the US offer to help Iran in its fight against the coronavirus is “one of the biggest lies in history” where American sanctions are hindering Tehran’s access to medical supplies. Rouhani on Monday noted that Washington’s “unjust, illegal and terrorist” sanctions against Iran as well …
Read More »Nigeria records chloroquine poisoning after Trump endorses it for coronavirus treatment
Health officials in Nigeria have issued a warning over chloroquine after they said three people in the country overdosed on the drug, in the wake of President Trump’s comments about using it to treat coronavirus. A Lagos state official said that three people were hospitalized in the city after taking …
Read More »Millions in India under coronavirus lockdown
Millions of people across India have been placed under lockdown until the end of the month as efforts to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country intensified. Residents living in 75 districts across the country, including in major cities such as the capital New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, …
Read More »Saudi imposes curfew to curb coronavirus spread, UAE suspends passengers flights
Saudi Arabia will impose a nationwide curfew starting on Monday after reporting a jump of almost a quarter in coronavirus cases, while the United Arab Emirates will suspend all passenger and transit flights to and from the country. Saudi King Salman ordered a curfew – from 7 pm to 6 …
Read More »Video: Germans sing from rooftops in solidarity with Italy during coronavirus lockdown
People in the Bavarian town of Bamberg stood on their rooftops and opened their windows to sing Bella Ciao, an Italian resistance song, in solidarity with Italy where the death toll from the Covid-19 outbreak continues to rise
Read More »Australian beaches locked down as virus cases pass 1,000
Sunbathers, surfers, and tourists were banned from Bondi Beach on Saturday in efforts to contain the coronavirus, which has now infected more than 1,000 people in Australia. Lifeguards emptied the sands of daytrippers and police taped off entrances to the beach in Sydney, before closing several more of the city’s …
Read More »North Korea fires two ‘ballistic missiles’ into the sea
North Korea fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Saturday, the latest in a series of such launches by Pyongyang as the world struggles with the coronavirus pandemic. The South Korean military condemned the launches as “extremely inappropriate given the difficult situation the …
Read More »Trump ignored warnings by intel agencies about Coronavirus: Report
US President Donald Trump ignored reports from American intelligence agencies in January and February that warned about the dangers posed by the coronavirus outbreak in China, according to a report. Trump and members of Congress underestimated the threat and failed to take action that might have slowed the spread of …
Read More »Virus slows down, social distancing continues: Rouhani
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says social distancing will continue for two or three weeks as the coronavirus pandemic in the country is expected to slow down by then. Social distancing measures to stop the outbreak of the coronavirus in the country would be needed for two or three weeks as …
Read More »Italy’s Prime Minister asks for help from EU crisis fund
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said in an interview that the European Union must use “the full firepower” of its 500 billion euro ($534.10 billion) rescue fund to confront Europe’s economic crisis during the coronavirus outbreak. The Italian Prime Minister told the Financial Times newspaper that monetary policy alone is …
Read More »72% of Americans say their lives upended by virus: Poll
More than half of US approve Trump’s management of coronavirus, reversing last week’s perception Roughly three in four Americans say their lives have been upended by the novel coronavirus as measures tighten in the U.S. to prevent the surge of cases, according to a poll released on Friday. The ABC …
Read More »Virus cases fall in 13 Iranian provinces but sanctions mar fight
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says US sanctions against Iran have hampered the country’s access to medicine and medical equipment amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. US sanctions are still the “main obstacle” to the country’s effective fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Zarif told his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Moteg …
Read More »Al-Aqsa Friday prayers see smaller crowds amid partial coronavirus lockdown
Palestinian worshippers scuffled with Israeli police in East Jerusalem on Friday as crowds headed to Al-Aqsa Mosque to pray, amid a partial lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Police in riot gear and wearing face masks put barricades up outside Damascus Gate and other entrances to the …
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