World Health Organization describes coronavirus outbreak as pandemic
The World Health Organization is describing the new coronavirus as a pandemic, it said on Wednesday, adding that Italy and Iran were now in the frontline of the disease and other countries would soon join them.
Slovenia closes some Italy border crossings, performs coronavirus checks at others
Slovenia closed some border crossings with Italy on Wednesday afternoon and started making health checks at those remaining open in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the health minister said.
‘Come home,’ Chinese tell relatives in Spain as coronavirus cases jump
In a usually bustling Madrid street popular with the city’s growing Chinese community, 14 of 17 Chinese-owned shops were closed on Wednesday, their shutters pulled down or notes stuck to window fronts saying the owners were away.
Qatar and Bahrain record jump in coronavirus cases, Kuwait bans flights
Qatar reported 238 more coronavirus infections among individuals under quarantine in a residential compound on Wednesday, the latest Gulf state to record new cases in a regional outbreak that prompted Kuwait to cancel all commercial passenger flights.
Ten Katyusha rockets fall inside Iraq’s Taji camp: statement
Iraq’s Taji military camp north of Baghdad was targeted by Katyusha rockets on Wednesday, with no casualties reported, an Iraqi military statement said.
In change, U.S. describes East Jerusalem Palestinians as ‘Arab residents’
The U.S. State Department changed its standard description of East Jerusalem Palestinians from “Palestinian residents” of the city to “Arab residents” or “non-Israeli citizens” in an annual global human rights report released on Wednesday.
U.N. court delays Mladic appeals hearing for health reasons
The U.N. court for the former Yugoslavia said on Wednesday the appeals hearing of former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic had been delayed on health grounds.
India cancels all tourist visas, closes Myanmar border as regional coronavirus cases rise
India said on Wednesday it will suspend all tourist visas to the country in a wide-reaching attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as cases across the region continued to rise.
Italian daily coronavirus deaths jump 31% to 827
The death toll from an outbreak of coronavirus in Italy has jumped in the last 24 hours by 196 to 827, a rise of 31%, the Civil Protection Agency said on Wednesday, the largest rise in absolute numbers since the contagion came to light on Feb. 21.
Sixteen more years? Russian parliament backs move to keep Putin in power
Constitutional changes allowing Vladimir Putin to run for president again in 2024 sailed through both houses of Russia’s parliament on Wednesday, raising the prospect he could clock up over three decades in the Kremlin.
