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…
Polish opposition demands minister’s dismissal over election ’embarrassment’
Polish opposition lawmakers on Friday called for the dismissal of a government minister tasked with organising Sunday’s presidential election, after the ruling coalition unexpectedly said the vote could not take place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Britain facing no ‘dramatic overnight change’ in lockdown rules
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not announce any dramatic changes to Britain’s coronavirus lockdown on Sunday, adopting a cautious approach to try to ensure there is no second deadly peak of infections, his environment minister said.
Five wounded in shootout on Kyrgyz-Tajik border
Three Kyrgyz border guards and two Tajik citizens were wounded in a shootout on Friday in a disputed border area between the two former Soviet republic, authorities on both sides said, blaming each other for the violence.
Anarchy in Venezuela’s jails laid bare by massacre over food
Three weeks before he was shot dead, Miguel Calderon, an inmate in the lawless Los Llanos jail on Venezuela’s central plains, sent a voice message to his father.
Ukraine must drain corruption swamp, Saakashvili says in latest comeback
Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia, vowed on Friday to help his new boss, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, clean out a political “swamp” of oligarchs’ interests that he said were preventing Ukraine prospering.
Moderate Iran quake kills two, draws many into Tehran streets
Two people died after a 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck northern Iran in the early hours of Friday, sending people in and around the capital Tehran fleeing from their homes in panic, state television reported.
Merkel, Trump agree in phone call to keep memory of WW2 horrors alive
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump during a phone call on Friday marked the end of World War Two in Europe 75 years ago, a German government spokesman said.
No warning, no escape as deadly gas swept through an Indian village
When gas began leaking from a nearby chemical factory and drifting towards his house in southern India, there were no warnings and no alarms, welder Elamanchili Venkatesh said.
Police clash with crowds in Indian city after stricter lockdown
Some residents frustrated over a strict coronavirus lockdown in Ahmedabad, the largest city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, hurled stones and were met with teargas in clashes with paramilitary forces on Friday.
