Why the ‘devil’ coronavirus has hit European stocks hard
The coronavirus scare has wiped $1.2 trillion from global stock markets in the last two weeks as new cases of the deadly virus multiplied, stoking fears of an economic slowdown spreading from its Chinese epicenter to the rest of the world.
Court orders safeguards for Kenyan digital IDs, bans DNA collecting
Kenya’s high court said the government could go ahead with a new digital ID scheme, as long as it brought in stronger regulations and did not use it to collect citizens’ DNA and geo-location data.
Russia says it will begin bringing citizens out of China from February 1
Russia said on Friday it would begin moving its citizens out of China via its Far Eastern region on Feb. 1, in response to the coronavirus outbreak, regional authorities said.
Chinese city of Wuhan says it should have acted sooner to contain virus
Wuhan, the epicenter of a coronavirus that has quickly spread beyond China’s borders in recent days, should have taken measures sooner to contain it, the city’s Communist Party chief said on Friday.
Britain reports two cases of coronavirus, evacuation flight from China lands
Two patients from the same family in England have tested positive for coronavirus, the first such cases in Britain, health chiefs said on Friday as an evacuation flight brought Britons home from the centre of the outbreak in China.
Explainer: Through the Brexit looking glass – What changes and what stays the same?
Brexit is the United Kingdom’s biggest geopolitical move in decades. What will change and what will stay the same when Britain officially leaves the European Union on Friday at 2300 GMT?
Pope Francis promises to help Argentina in debt crisis, president says
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said Pope Francis had promised him in a meeting to do everything he could to help with his homeland’s debt crisis.
Egypt’s population nears 100 million, putting pressure on resources and jobs
Sitting in her sister’s apartment on a noisy Cairo street, Rania Sayed one day hopes to leave a city that is becoming more congested as Egypt’s population ticks up to 100 million, a milestone it will pass next month.
Iraq top cleric condemns use of force against protest camps, urges early election
Iraq’s leading Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, on Friday condemned the use of force to disperse protest camps across the country, as security forces stepped up a crackdown against demonstrators.
U.S. and others tighten curbs on travel to China, virus toll hits 213
The United States and other countries tightened travel curbs on Friday and businesses said they were facing supply problems because of the coronavirus in China, a day after the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency.
