France’s Macron says now not the time for pandemic probe
French President Emmanuel Macron told the Australian prime minister now was not the time for an international investigation into the coronavirus pandemic and that the urgency was to act in unison before looking for who was at fault, an official said.
Vietnam to ease nationwide coronavirus lockdown
Vietnam, which has reported under 300 cases of coronavirus and no deaths since the first infections were detected in January, said on Wednesday it would start lifting tough movement restrictions as most of Southeast Asia remained in lockdown.
Indonesia reports 283 new coronavirus infections, 19 deaths
Indonesia reported 283 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 7,418, a health ministry official said.
French government: remaining vigilant over troubles in Paris suburbs
The French government will be “extremely vigilant” over this week’s violence in suburbs around Paris, even though it believes the unrest to be of a relatively low level, government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye told a news briefing on Wednesday.
Emboldened by closures, foxes prowl an ancient port city in Israel
Red foxes have been making appearances in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, drawn out from the seclusion of the desert dunes by the coronavirus lockdown that has kept people off the streets.
Tackle coronavirus and climate crisis together, says activist Greta Thunberg
People need to tackle both the coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis together, Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg told an Earth Day event on Wednesday.
Moscow residents open homes to psychiatric patients, disabled children during lockdown
Moscow resident Arina Muratova knew something was wrong when the messages she received from Nina, a patient at Psychiatric Hospital No.22 who has become a friend during her voluntary work there, suddenly lost their usual, optimistic ring.
Iran’s Guards say launched first military satellite into orbit
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Wednesday it had successfully launched the country’s first military satellite into orbit, at a time of heightened tensions with the United States over Tehran’s nuclear and missile programmes.
UAE, Pakistan working on more repatriation flights for Pakistanis
The United Arab Emirates and Pakistan are working to add more flights to repatriate Pakistani citizens from the Gulf Arab state, a Dubai government source said on Wednesday.
Coronavirus outbreak in Philippines jail sees 123 inmates infected
A prison in the Philippines is suffering from a major outbreak of the new coronavirus with 123 infected inmates, officials said on Wednesday, adding to concerns among activists about contagion risks in some of the world’s most overcrowded jails.
