EU announces work scheme, aid for farmers, fishermen amid coronavirus pandemic
The European Commission proposed on Thursday a package of measures to soften the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the EU economy, including a short-time work scheme and easier access to funds for farmers and fishermen.
EU executive chief concerned Hungary emergency measures go too far
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed concern on Thursday that coronavirus restriction measures taken by Hungary went too far and insisted they should be limited in time and subject to scrutiny.
In about-turn, Catalonia seeks Spanish military help for coronavirus
The separatist government of Spain’s Catalonia region abandoned its initial reluctance and asked the national military on Thursday for assistance in tackling the coronavirus.
Singapore’s coronavirus struggle shows colossal task of global containment
Held up as a role model for its battle against coronavirus, city-state Singapore is struggling with an infection spread that disease experts say bodes ill for global containment efforts.
Williams F1 former engineering arm to help produce 5,000 ventilators for UK
The former engineering unit of the Williams F1 team said it will help produce an initial batch of 5,000 ventilators for Britain’s National Health Service as part of an engineering consortium which is scrambling to deliver 10,000 units.
India’s stranded migrant workers struggle under virus lockdown
India’s 21-day lockdown to fight the coronavirus has left hundreds of migrant workers stranded in Mumbai, with no money, little food and even fewer options of leaving their squalid makeshift accommodation soon.
Over half of Britons say government was too slow on coronavirus: poll
More than a half of Britons think Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was too slow to order a lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus, an opinion poll published on Thursday showed.
Indonesia virus death toll rises to highest in Asia outside China
Indonesia’s coronavirus death toll rose to 170 on Thursday as the world’s fourth most populous nation passed South Korea as the country with the highest number of recorded fatalities in Asia after China.
African governments team up with tech giants to fight coronavirus lies
Governments across Africa are teaming up with technology giants including Facebook and WhatsApp to fight misinformation about coronavirus on social media platforms that could propel the pandemic on a continent with shaky healthcare systems.
Packed with refugees, Palestinian camps face grave threat if coronavirus spreads
Malka Abu Aker has seen her crowded refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank swell year upon year since fleeing there over 70 years ago, with the arrival of new generations and those escaping successive Mideast conflicts.
