Russia frees U.S.-Israeli backpacker after Putin pardon
Russia freed a U.S.-Israeli woman on Thursday who had been jailed on drugs charges, after President Vladimir Putin granted her a pardon.
Three Japanese evacuees from Wuhan test positive for virus, 2 had no symptoms
Two of three Japanese people evacuated from China and found to be infected with a new coronavirus had not shown symptoms, the health ministry said on Thursday, adding to worries about the fast-spreading virus and its economic fallout.
South Korean officials face eggs, invective as quarantine plane takes off
Angry South Koreans volleyed eggs and expletives on Thursday at a minister and officials trying to defuse their ire over plans to quarantine hundreds of citizens set to be flown home from the epicentre of a new virus epidemic in China.
Immigration to Switzerland rises ahead of vote on EU free-movement deal
Net immigration to Switzerland rose again last year, official data showed on Thursday, ahead of a May referendum pushed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party on ending an accord with the European Union on the free movement of citizens.
College burned in militant attack in northern Mozambique
Militants torched a teacher training college run by a local charity in northern Mozambique, a director of the organization and a security analyst said on Thursday, although it appeared that no one had been wounded.
China tells firms to resume production of medical goods for virus control
China’s cabinet on Thursday told firms to resume production of key medical goods for virus controls, amid widespread shortages.
Spain’s PM postpones talks on Catalonia until after regional election
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has decided to postpone talks on resolving the political conflict in the restive region of Catalonia until after a planned regional election, the government said on Thursday.
U.S. sees Chinese communist party as ‘central threat of our times,’ Pompeo says
China is the central threat of our times and the United States and its allies must ensure they have the military and technological power to ensure that this century is governed by Western principles, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
UK pressing China to allow relatives of its citizens to leave: PM’s spokesman
Britain has asked the Chinese authorities to allow family members of its citizens who are trapped in the Coronavirus-hit city of Wuhan to leave, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Thursday.
Thousands kept on board Italian liner amid coronavirus scare
Some 6,000 people are being kept on board an Italian cruise ship as tests are carried out on two Chinese passengers suspected of having caught coronavirus, a spokesman for the Costa Crociere cruise company said on Thursday.
