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.
Turkey warns against attacks on its presence in Libya
Turkey warned on Thursday that attacks on its interests in Libya by Khalifa Haftar’s forces will have “very grave consequences”, after advances by the country’s Turkish-backed government.
Vietnam jails ex-deputy defence minister over land scandal
A military court in Vietnam on Thursday sentenced a former deputy defence minister accused of allowing three plots of land in Ho Chi Minh City to be illegally transferred to private investors from the navy to four years in prison.
Chafing under lockdown, Palestinians long for Eid celebrations
Bethlehem is struggling back to life just in time for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, nearly three months after it became the first town in the West Bank to be sealed off because of a coronavirus outbreak.
