Only 4.4% of French population infected by coronavirus: Pasteur institute
A study led by the Pasteur Institute says a mere 4.4% of the French population – or 2.8 million people – have been infected by the novel coronavirus, much higher than the official count of cases but way too low to achieve so-called “herd immunity”.
UK says Belgium is worse on COVID-19 deaths per million
The United Kingdom is on a similar level to France, Italy and Spain on COVID-19 deaths per million but Belgium is worse, a junior British health minister said on Thursday.
Truck bomb in eastern Afghan city kills five, Taliban claim responsibility
A truck packed with explosives blew up near a court in the eastern Afghan city of Gardez on Thursday, killing at least five people in an attack claimed by Taliban insurgents.
Australians warned worse still to come after job losses hit record high
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned citizens to brace for more bad news as data released on Thursday showed the country’s monthly job losses rose to a record high because of coronavirus lockdown measures.
Malaysia drops 1MDB money laundering case against “Wolf of Wall Street” producer
Malaysian prosecutors on Thursday dropped a $248-million money laundering case against a producer of Hollywood film “The Wolf of Wall Street” and the stepson of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, citing a deal for an undisclosed amount of fun…
New Zealand leaps out of coronavirus lockdown with bungee jumps, midnight haircuts
After seven weeks trussed up with some of the world’s toughest coronavirus curbs, New Zealanders like Jim Boult leapt at the chance to cheer the end of the country’s lockdown on Thursday – literally in his case, with a bungee jump.
What you need to know about the coronavirus right now
Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus right now:
Coronavirus brings curtain down on Cambodia shadow puppet theatre
Cambodia’s shadow puppet tradition goes back to the 7th century and has survived the collapse of empires, wars and Khmer Rouge reign of terror that left some 1.7 million people dead.
‘We feel like guests’: Manila cruise flotilla offers crew confinement in comfort
(This May 11 story corrects paragraph 2 to show figure is interior volume, not weight)
Japan expected to lift emergency in most areas except Tokyo
Japan is expected to lift a state of emergency across a large part of the country on Thursday but the capital Tokyo will likely remain under restrictions until there is a convincing containment of the coronavirus.
