Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews take to internet in coronavirus lockdown
Israel’s religiously devout Jews, who traditionally shun the use of internet or smartphones, are increasingly going online to shop, study and video chat as the coronavirus outbreak forces them to stay largely home.
Face masks to strawberries: Abu Dhabi hospital keeps tabs on resources
(This April 23 story clarifies that masks are disinfected, not sterilized, in paragraph 2)
Scotland’s Sturgeon says life will not return to normal in the near future
Life is unlikely to return to normal even when the tightest coronavirus restrictions are lifted, and social distancing measures could be in place for the rest of this year and beyond, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Thursday.
U.N. concerned over ‘grave immediate risk’ to Rohingya refugees on boats
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR voiced mounting concern on Thursday over a “grave immediate risk” to Rohingya refugees aboard boats in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, urging Southeast Asian nations not to close avenues to asylum.
U.S. economic aid to Greenland draws criticism in Denmark
An economic aid package being prepared by the U.S. government to Greenland is drawing criticism in Denmark less than a year after it rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to buy the vast Arctic island.
Lombardy becomes latest Italian region to start own coronavirus tests
The northern Italian region of Lombardy, at the epicentre of Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak, began an antibody testing programme on Thursday as it prepared to start opening up its economy following weeks of lockdown.
Indonesia to ban all domestic air, sea travel to early June: officials
Indonesia will temporarily ban domestic air and sea travel starting Friday, barring a few exceptions, to prevent further spread of coronavirus, Transport Ministry officials said on Thursday.
On the margins of Paris, the food bank queues grow longer
The queue for the food bank snaked for hundreds of metres, out of the shuttered marketplace bordered by tower blocks and down the side of a four-lane highway on the outskirts of one of Europe’s wealthiest cities.
There was no China cover-up of coronavirus, Chinese envoy says
China did not cover up the novel coronavirus outbreak and so the United States should not seek to bully the People’s Republic in a manner reminiscent of the 19th century European colonial wars, the Chinese ambassador to London said on Thursday.
Banksy’s ‘Girl with a Pierced Eardrum’ gains a coronavirus face mask
Banksy’s “Girl with a Pierced Eardrum” has been updated for the coronavirus era with the addition of a blue surgical face mask.
