The number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia topped 50,000 on Saturday, the Health Ministry said. A ministry official reported 2,840 new cases, taking the cumulative total to 51,980. That was up from an average of around 1,500 new cases a day over the past week. The death toll in the kingdom increased by 10 to 302, the official said on state TV. Saudi Arabia recorded its first COVID-19 infection on March 2, several weeks...
The Brazilian state of Sao Paulo has overtaken China when it comes to the number of deaths from the novel coronavirus. According to data released by Brazil’s health ministry on Saturday, there have been 4,688 coronavirus-related deaths in the country’s most populous state, which is home to more than 40 million people. Official figures from China, which has a population of more than a billion, show the country has had 4,637 deaths. In the country...
Iran has sentenced French-Iranian academic, Fariba Adelkhah, to six years in prison on national security charges, her lawyer said on Saturday. “The court has sentenced her to six years. “We have appealed and if accepted, the sentence will drop to five years,’’ Adelkhah’s lawyer, Saeed Dehghan, told Reuters. Iran dropped spying charges against Adelkhah but she remained in jail on other security-related charges, Dehghan said in March. Iran has rejected France’s call to release Adelkhah,...
Global economic losses from the coronavirus pandemic could reach up to 8.8 trillion dollars, or nearly 10 per cent of the world economy’s output, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Friday. The Manila-based bank said the forecast for the pandemic’s impact under a long containment period of six months was more than double its assessments in March and April, as well as the projections by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Under...
Global coronavirus deaths passed 300,000 on Thursday as infections approached 4.5 million, according to a Reuters tally, with the U.S. responsible for more than a quarter of all fatalities. The UK and Italy accounted for another 10-11 per cent each, while France and Spain accounted for 9 per cent each. The number of deaths linked to COVID-19 in just four months is now equal to about three-quarters of the number of people who die annually...
Colombia’s air force on Thursday bombed a camp of the National Liberation Army (ELN), a guerrilla group, killing one of its most wanted leaders, Defence Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo announced. Regional official Carlos Feliz put the number of guerrillas killed at 22, but Holmes Trujillo only mentioned the deaths of the leader known as Mocho Tierra and three other “terrorists”. The attack occurred in a rural area in Montecristo in the country’s north. It targeted...
The UN Human Rights High Commissioner, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, has called for caution as more countries move to lift COVID-19 lockdowns imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Bachelet, a former medical doctor, Minister of Health, and President of Chile, gave the advice while speaking to newsmen from Geneva on Thursday. She warned of potential risks, including the “danger of a second wave” that could cost many more lives if countries lift restrictions without adequate...
Malaysian authorities will allow 88 mosques to hold Islamic Friday prayers this week in a relaxation of curbs imposed on places of worship due to the coronavirus pandemic. Up to 30 people will be allowed enter the mosques to pray as long as they “observe social distancing, practice sanitizing and get details [of those who enter] for record purposes,” said Zulkifli Mohamad, Malaysia’s Minister for Islamic Affairs. The reopening of some mosques comes ahead of the end of the...
In a surprise last-minute move, the long-awaited swearing-in of Israel’s new government has been postponed until Sunday, as caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he needed more time to distribute portfolios to future ministers. The decision came just as the parliament, or Knesset, was set to begin Thursday’s ceremony. Netanyahu and his former rival Benny Gantz made the decision jointly, according to a statement. “Netanyahu approached Gantz with a request to postpone the swearing-in until...
Passenger flights in and out of Lithuania have resumed after a break of more than a month and a half during the coronavirus pandemic. German airline Lufthansa had a flight from Frankfurt to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Wednesday afternoon with more than 150 passengers. A similar number of passengers flew the other way from Vilnius to Frankfurt later in the evening, local media reported. The passengers had to undergo a medical check after landing...
