Romanian 2020 parliament election might be delayed: president
A parliament election in Romania scheduled for late November or early December might not take place this year unless the new coronavirus spread is contained, President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday.
Ivory Coast presidential candidate Soro sentenced to 20 years in prison
Guillaume Soro, the former rebel leader running for president in Ivory Coast, was convicted in absentia on Tuesday of embezzlement and sentenced to 20 years in prison, a verdict likely to exclude him from October’s election.
Public suicide bid as millions of Thais wait for virus aid
A woman who took rat poison this week outside Thailand’s finance ministry over the slow rollout of aid during the coronavirus lockdown was promised on Tuesday she would get her money soon. For millions of other Thais, the waiting continues.
France plots gradual exit from lockdown from May 11, but cafes to stay closed
France will begin to ease its coronavirus lockdown from May 11 to avoid an economic meltdown, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday, but he warned that infections would spiral higher again if the country moved too swiftly.
Turkey aims to reopen economy starting late May: senior official
Turkey’s government aims to begin reviving the economy in late May after a sharp slowdown due to measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak, while minimising the risk of a second wave of infections, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Bomb blast kills 40 people in Syria’s Afrin: Turkey
At least 40 civilians were killed, including 11 children, when a bomb detonated on an oil tanker in the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Tuesday, the Turkish Defence Ministry said, blaming the attack on the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.
Protester killed as unrest rocks Lebanon’s Tripoli
Protests against growing economic hardship erupted in the Lebanese city of Tripoli on Tuesday, with banks set ablaze after a night of rioting that left one demonstrator dead, according to security and medical sources.
Coronavirus probably circulating in Yemen, U.N. says, amid funding shortage
There is a “very real probability” the new coronavirus is circulating in Yemen, the United Nations said on Tuesday, warning that an aid funding shortfall would compromise efforts to combat the virus in one of the most vulnerable countries.
Greece unveils plan to ease lockdown, hopes for tourism revival
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis unveiled on Tuesday the country’s plan to ease a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
Italy’s prime minister defends snail-paced end to lockdown
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte defended himself on Tuesday from widespread criticism of his highly cautious plans for a slow-placed end to Europe’s longest coronavirus lockdown.
