Macron’s candidate for Paris mayor quits over sexting row
French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a setback on Friday when one of his closest lieutenants, Benjamin Griveaux, pulled out of the race to become mayor of Paris after it was alleged he sent sexual images to a woman who is not his wife.
Vietnam says monitoring over 5,000 Chinese workers for coronavirus
Vietnam is monitoring more than 5,000 workers who returned to the Southeast Asian country after the Lunar New Year holiday for signs of coronavirus, state media reported on Friday.
Is he Britain’s Thomas Cromwell? Dominic Cummings chuckles
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, chuckled on Friday when asked by reporters if he was the Thomas Cromwell of British politics.
In China’s coronavirus epicenter, volunteers keep stricken city moving
A day after the city government of Wuhan locked down all of its public transportation to keep the coronavirus outbreak that began in the city from spreading further, three nurses found themselves stranded outside Hankou train station.
Russia asks Canada to hand over files on ex-Nazi death squad member
Russia said on Friday it had asked Canada to hand over case files on a 95-year-old former Nazi death squad member living in Canada to help Moscow with an investigation into the mass murder of children at a Soviet orphanage in 1942.
British PM Johnson welcomes new cabinet
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson greeted his new cabinet of senior ministers on Friday, vowing to repay the trust of voters by improving infrastructure, cutting crime and building more hospitals.
Leader of Merkel’s conservatives to propose a successor on February 24: report
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer will suggest a successor for her role as leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) on Feb. 24, German magazine Focus said on its website.
Turkey says to export fast-results coronavirus detection kit
Turkey will in coming days export to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan locally-produced coronavirus detection kits that can get results in about two hours, its health minister said on Friday.
Solo lunches and masks: Chinese returning to work grapple with coronavirus
Chinese government employee Jin Yang returned to work in Beijing this week to find his usual workplace rules upended as China battles a coronavirus epidemic.
Russia hints at Belarus joining it in a unified state in exchange for oil deal: Lukashenko
Moscow has hinted at giving Minsk a deal on energy prices in exchange for Belarus joining Russia in a unified state, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday, the state news agency Belta reported.




