South Korean city recoils as coronavirus cases double overnight
The malls and restaurants in Daegu were empty and streets eerily quiet on Friday after the number of cases of coronavirus in South Korea doubled overnight to 204, almost all of them in and around the fourth largest city.
Turning point of coronavirus outbreak in China has not come: politburo
The turning point of coronavirus outbreak in China has not come yet and the situation in Hubei province remained severe and complex, the state television quoted a politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping as saying on Friday.
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.
