Syria’s northeast confirms first death from coronavirus: statement
The Kurdish-led administration that runs much of northeastern Syria said it had recorded its first death from the new coronavirus, according to a statement on Friday in which it cited the World Health Organisation.
‘No one is prepared for this’ – Italian doctors fight to keep home patients alive
For doctors in northern Italy, fighting what is still Europe’s worst outbreak of COVID-19, the frontlines have moved beyond hospitals as special teams try to keep patients alive at home, away from the saturated wards where thousands have died.
Serbia sends Kosovo 1,000 test kits in solidarity against coronavirus
Serbia delivered 1,000 coronavirus test kits to Kosovo on Friday, a health official said, in a sign of solidarity despite trade frictions, violent recent history and Kosovo’s failure to gain acceptance by Serbia as an independent country.
In lockdown Britain, ‘Mancunian Motivator’ brings fun and fitness to neighbours
In a suburban enclave on the northeastern fringes of London residents are having their heart rates – and their spirits – lifted by the “Mancunian Motivator.”
Dubai extends 24-hour coronavirus curfew by a week
Dubai, the United Arab Emirates business hub, has extended by one week a 24-hour-a-day curfew imposed as part of a sterilisation drive to control the spread of the coronavirus, the government said in a Twitter post on Friday.
UK govt science adviser confident health service capacity will not be breached
The British government’s top science adviser on Friday said he was confident that the capacity of the National Health Service (NHS) would not be breached during the coronavirus outbreak thanks to measures taken to stem the pace of transmission.
Russia files protest after accusing Norway of detaining trawler near Svalbard
Russia on Friday accused Norway’s coastguards of detaining a Russian fishing trawler near a remote chain of islands in the Arctic earlier this month and said it had filed a protest to Oslo over the incident.
France says no evidence COVID-19 linked to Wuhan research lab
France said on Friday there was no evidence so far of a link between the new coronavirus and the work of the P4 research laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the current pandemic started.
Pompeo tells Russian counterpart any new arms control talks must include China: State Department
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday told his Russian counterpart that any future arms control talks must focus on a U.S. proposal for a new arms control accord that includes Russia and China, the State Department said in a statement.
Marchons? Coronavirus could stall France’s Bastille Day celebrations
France will decide whether to go ahead with the annual Bastille Day military celebrations marking its national day when clear indications emerge on the state of the coronavirus epidemic, the junior armed forces minister said on Friday.
