Pungent durian stack up in Malaysia as coronavirus freezes China demand
A shortage of labour and electrical power outlets in backed-up Chinese ports as a result of the coronavirus outbreak is disrupting shipments of frozen durian from Malaysia to its biggest market for the pungent fruit.
Germany’s SPD eyes state vote win after Merkel party crisis
A leadership crisis in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party could help her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners and the Greens in a state vote on Sunday, the first electoral test since her protegee gave up ambitions for the top job.
U.N. says Libya ceasefire talks back on track in Geneva
The United Nations said on Friday ceasefire talks were back on track between the forces fighting over Libya’s capital, days after the internationally recognized government pulled out of the negotiations as its foes shelled Tripoli’s port.
Israeli on coronavirus-hit cruise ship tested positive upon return to Israel: officials
An Israeli woman who returned to Israel from a coronavirus-hit cruise ship near Tokyo tested positive upon return to her home country, Israel’s health ministry confirmed on Friday.
U.S.’s Pompeo to visit Oman, meet new sultan
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Oman on Friday and will meet with Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq al-Said, the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
Germany reopens hate speech, gun law debates after shisha bar killings
Germany faced calls to toughen gun ownership laws and step up efforts to track far-right sympathizers after the suspect in one of its worst mass shootings since World War Two was found to have published a racist manifesto.
Iran confirms 13 more coronavirus cases, two new deaths, mostly in Qom holy city
Iran confirmed 13 new coronavirus cases on Friday, two of whom have died, with the outbreak there coming just as the country votes in a parliamentary election.
Saudi Arabia intercepts missiles fired from Yemen as G20 ministers gather
Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted several ballistic missiles fired from Yemen towards Saudi cities on Friday as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 major economies gathered for a meeting in Riyadh.
South Africa’s lobster catchers suffer in coronavirus fallout
The lobster catchers of South Africa’s Western Cape have become an unexpected casualty of the coronavirus after China halted imports of the West Coast rock lobster last month as part of measures to contain the outbreak.
Three new coronavirus cases discovered in northern Italy
Three people have tested positive in Italy for coronavirus, the northern Lombardy region said on Friday, the first known cases of local transmission of the potentially deadly illness in Italy.
