China to keep coronavirus tests focused, stops short of wider testing
China will focus testing for COVID-19 on high-risk groups such as people from infected areas or with symptoms, the head of a top state research institute said on Monday, suggesting that authorities are not about to rush into large-scale testing.
Indonesia hopes for return to ‘normal lives’ by July
Indonesia hopes its citizens will be able to resume normal lives by July, as the Southeast Asian nation targets lowering new coronavirus infections by June, its COVID-19 task force chief Doni Monardo said on Monday.
Vietnam jails Facebook user over ‘anti-state’ posts
A court in Vietnam on Monday sentenced a man to 1-1/2 years in prison for uploading anti-state posts to Facebook, the security ministry said, days after Facebook sources told Reuters they had agreed to censor more content in the Southeast Asian country…
Italy bishops scold government for excluding Mass from lockdown easing
Italy’s Roman Catholic Church has reprimanded the government for not allowing the faithful to return to Masses at the start of a gradual staged end to Europe’s longest coronavirus lockdown.
Russia’s stranded migrants lose jobs, rely on handouts and peers for food
Even before Moscow’s coronavirus lockdown, Ibragim Artykov, a builder from Tajikistan, was down on his luck. Over two months, he had four jobs and in all of them his employers either underpaid him or disappeared without paying him at all.
Blow for China’s virus diplomacy as friendship song leaves Filipinos furious
A music video produced by China to promote its support for neighbours battling the coronavirus has backfired in the Philippines, attracting a flood of public criticism and an online petition that is fast attracting signatures.
Saudi-led alliance in Yemen urges end to escalation in south
The Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen on Monday urged a leading separatist group that declared self-rule in the south to rescind its move, saying it was an “escalatory action” at a time all parties should focus on confronting the novel coronavirus.
French police to investigate alleged racial slurs in arrest incident
France’s police watchdog is to investigate allegations that officers racially insulted a man after arresting him in a deprived Paris suburb where unrest broke out last week.
Burundi vote campaign begins in shadow of violence and COVID-19
Burundi’s political parties started campaigning for next month’s presidential elections on Monday despite opposition accusations of intimidation and the ongoing global coronavirus crisis.
Dutch Kingsday celebrations muted by coronavirus lockdown
Dutch King Willem-Alexander urged all people in the Netherlands to stay at home on Monday, instead of flocking onto the streets clad in orange as they normally do for the annual celebration of Kingsday.
