UK did not change criteria to hit 100,000 tests-per-day goal, adviser says
Britain did not change its criteria for recording coronavirus tests to meet its goal to carry out 100,000 tests per day by the end of April, the adviser in charge of the operation said on Friday.
Britain hits coronavirus testing target as death toll leaps again
Britain has hit its target of carrying out 100,000 COVID-19 tests a day, health minister Matt Hancock said on Friday, stressing that the programme was crucial to helping ease a national lockdown.
WHO says COVID-19 emergency declaration gave world ‘enough time’
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gave a robust defence on Friday of his and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “timely” actions in declaring the new coronavirus an international health emergency at the end of January.
Lebanon banking association rejects government rescue plan
Lebanon’s banking association said on Friday it can in “no way” endorse a government economic rescue plan it was not consulted on and which would destroy confidence in Lebanon, deter investment, and hurt any chance for recovery.
UK’s Hancock: Still too early to say when lockdown will be eased
British health minister Matt Hancock said on Friday it was too early to discuss when restrictions on daily life, imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, would end.
Taliban step up attacks on Afghan forces since signing U.S. deal: data
The Taliban have mounted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, marking a sharp escalation in violence, in the 45 days since signing a deal with the United States that paves the way for a U.S. troop drawdown, according to data seen by Reuters.
Coronavirus quarantine in Syria’s northwest looks to shield most vulnerable
At a quarantine centre in war-torn northern Syria, doctors near the Turkish frontier are providing a first line of defence to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading to one of the world’s most vulnerable populations.
Communist-run Cuba dedicates subdued May Day to ‘white coat army’ of doctors
With Communist-run Cuba on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Havana’s Revolution Square was eerily empty and gray on Friday for International Workers Day, bereft of the usual parade of thousands of flag-toting Cubans.
Russia drops plans for Putin mosaic in military church
A grandiose mosaic depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking officials will not be put on display in a new military church after objections from the Kremlin leader, a church official said on Friday.
Turkey’s coronavirus death toll rises to 3,258, new cases 2,188: ministry
The number of people who have died from COVID-19 in Turkey has risen by 84 in the last 24 hours to 3,258, with 2,188 new cases of the virus, Health Ministry data showed on Friday.
