Austria plans heavy virus testing of hotel staff to reassure tourists
Austria plans a hefty expansion of its coronavirus testing just to screen hotel staff, in the hope of luring Germans and other tourists this summer and banishing the uncomfortable memory of a massive outbreak at a fashionable ski resort.
Hungary tightens asylum rules as it ends migrant detention zones
Hungary shut so-called migrant transit zones on its borders on Thursday, freeing some 300 refugees from prison-like conditions while at the same time hardening rules which will effectively bar future asylum applicants.
U.S. returns migrant children despite risks worsened by coronavirus: UNICEF
The United States has returned at least 1,000 unaccompanied migrant children to Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras since early March despite risks of violence and discrimination that have worsened because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Unite…
China parliament’s annual session to last seven days, end May 28
The annual session of China’s parliament will last for seven days and end on May 28, Zhang Yesui, the spokesman for the legislature, said on Thursday.
Egyptians rush to buy treats before Eid al-Fitr curfew
Families rushed to buy sweets and biscuits in Cairo as they prepared to celebrate the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan under a tightened coronavirus curfew and lockdown.
China to propose national security legislation for Hong Kong
China’s annual meeting of parliament will propose national security legislation for Hong Kong at its annual session, state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday.
China plans national security laws for Hong Kong after last year’s unrest: sources
China will propose national security laws for Hong Kong in response to last year’s often violent pro-democracy protests that plunged the city into its deepest turmoil since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, three people with direct knowledge of the …
Crossing points on divided Cyprus will gradually open from June 8
Crossings used by thousands of Cypriots daily between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides of the divided island and sealed shut by the coronavirus lockdown will gradually start reopening from June 8, an official said on Thursday.
Tourist trade in annexed Crimea on brink as coronavirus bites
Crimean hostel owner Natalia Kirichenko has given up hope of hosting guests this summer as the coronavirus outbreak threatens to ruin the economy of the tourism-dependent region that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Lebanon at risk of a major food crisis: PM sounds alarm
Lebanon’s financial meltdown could tip the country into a full-blown food crisis, as people hit by soaring prices and the fallout of COVID-19 become unable to afford even basics like bread, the prime minister warned.
