Suspended by coronavirus, UK parliament plans virtual return
Britain’s parliament plans to restart some proceedings next week, the Speaker of the House of Commons said on Tuesday, adapting a centuries-old institution for the coronavirus outbreak by going largely virtual.
Czechs to lift coronavirus lockdown on shops, restaurants over next two months
The Czech government will allow stores and restaurants to reopen gradually over the next two months to reawaken an economy paralysed by the coronavirus lockdown, officials said on Tuesday.
Moscow’s lockdown permit system fuels surveillance fears
Moscow authorities said on Tuesday they had revoked 900,000 travel permits for use during the coronavirus lockdown because they contained false data, fuelling fears that the state was using the epidemic to tighten its surveillance of citizens.
Zimbabwe president threatens 20 years jail over fake lockdown statement
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday threatened 20 years in jail to the author of a statement purporting to bear his signature that said the lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak had been extended.
Ship boarded by armed men in Gulf of Oman is released: UKMTO
Armed men boarded a vessel at anchor in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday but the ship was later released, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
UK economy could shrink by the most in 300 years in 2020
Britain’s economy could shrink by 13% this year due to the government’s coronavirus shutdown, its deepest recession in three centuries, and public borrowing is set to surge to a post-World War Two high, the country’s budget forecasters said.
Pakistan clerics call for lifting of congregational prayer limits
Prominent clerics are demanding the lifting of restrictions on congregational prayers at mosques in Pakistan, which has recorded 5,837 coronavirus cases and 96 related deaths.
Chile to let some prisoners out of jail, but not Pinochet-era human rights violators
Some Chilean criminals are set to be released from crowded jails vulnerable to coronavirus after right-wing lawmakers withdrew a controversial lawsuit that sought to also commute the sentences of those convicted of human rights abuses under dictator Au…
Time for a haircut? Iceland to begin lifting lockdown in May
Iceland plans to ease some of its coronavirus lockdown restrictions by allowing hair salons, museums and schools to reopen in early May, but its government said night clubs, gyms, bars and swimming pools will remain closed.
‘Isolated within isolation’: keeping out coronavirus in the frozen Antarctic
In the frozen and desolate expanse of Antarctica, Alejandro Valenzuela Pena is used to a feeling of isolation. Now, however, that has taken on a new meaning as the only continent still free from the coronavirus looks to keep the pandemic out.
