For Lebanese families made poor by crisis, dinner means bread and no meat
At a street market in southern Beirut, Lebanese crowd around volunteers handing out free rations of bread and pasta, staples that have become a lifeline to families whose living standards have plunged during a financial crisis.
Taiwan pledges help for fleeing Hong Kongers, riles China
Taiwan promised on Thursday to settle Hong Kongers who flee the Chinese-ruled city for political reasons, offering help from employment to counselling, and prompting angry condemnation from Beijing as it pushes security legislation for Hong Kong.
UK police to take no action against PM’s adviser Cummings: Telegraph
British police said Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings did breach the coronavirus lockdown but that it was minor and so they will take no further action, the Telegraph reported.
Coronavirus patients flood hospitals in Indonesia’s second-largest city
Hospitals in Indonesia’s second largest city of Surabaya have been overwhelmed by a surge of new coronavirus cases, forcing them to turn patients away, the Indonesian Medical Association said on Thursday.
Russian village building LNG supply plant to get new hospital after COVID-19 outbreak
Russia’s Arctic region of Murmansk plans to build a new temporary hospital in a village where a vital liquefied natural gas supply plant is being built after an outbreak of the new coronavirus.
WHO official: European deaths spike since March linked to COVID-19
About 159,000 more people in 24 European countries have died since early March than would have ordinarily been expected, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Thursday, with a “significant proportion” of the spike linked to COVID-19.
Africa hit by sustained community spread of coronavirus: disease centre
Cases of community transmission of the new coronavirus are growing in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, and a new strategy for testing is needed to prevent this, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.
Opening schools in Denmark did not worsen outbreak, data shows
A partial reopening of Danish schools did not lead to an increase in coronavirus infections among young students, a doctor of infectious disease epidemiology and prevention at the Danish Serum Institute said on Thursday, citing new data.
Afghan government says ceasefire still in place even as skirmishes with Taliban resume
Skirmishes between Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces recommenced in Afghanistan in the day since a three-day ceasefire expired, but government officials said on Thursday that the incidents were minor and the truce could still hold.
U.S., European trade groups press China to allow foreign staff back into the country
U.S. and European trade groups are lobbying China to allow foreign workers back into the country after it shut its borders from late March to non-Chinese nationals to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
