Covid-19: 4.5 billion people confined

PARIS, April 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nearly six out of every 10 people around the world are currently forced or urged to stay at home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to an AFP count on Friday. This concerns at least 4.5 billion people, or around 58 percent of…

Fire kills 14 at refugee camp in northeast Nigeria

ABUJA, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 14 people were killed and dozens injured when a fire broke out Thursday at a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northeast Nigeria. The incident took place at a camp in Ngala, a small town close to the border with Cameroon, an…

Covid-19: Third Cabinet official in Japan tests positive amid expanded state of emergency

Commuters wearing masks make their way on a street in Tokyo TOKYO, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Japan’s Cabinet said on Friday that an official had tested positive for the coronavirus, making him the third case among officials at the Cabinet office. The case inside the Cabinet office comes as Japan…

Covid-19: No foreign worker cluster for now, but screening ongoing: Malaysian health ministry

PUTRAJAYA, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — While Malaysia has not detected any COVID-19 cluster among the foreign workers, there have been continuous efforts to screen them for the coronavirus. Health Ministry director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a daily press conference that the ministry would focus on high-risk areas with a huge population…

Israel MPs tasked with ending deadlock over unity govt

JERUSALEM, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Israel’s parliament was tasked with forming a government after speaker Benny Gantz and Prime Minister Benjamin missed a deadline to seal an alliance, but both sides said negotiations would continue. Israel’s deeply divided 120-member parliament has no clear path towards a stable governing coalition, so the…

Myanmar to free almost 25,000 prisoners in New Year amnesty: President

A man cycles along an empty street on the first day of Myanmar’s New Year in Yangon on April 12 YANGON, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Myanmar will release almost 25,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the traditional New Year, the president’s office said on Friday. President Win Myint said…

Covid-19: Philippine President Duterte threatens martial law-like crackdown

MANILA, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened a martial law-like crackdown to stop people flouting a virus lockdown in the nation’s capital. Duterte spoke a day after authorities reported an upsurge of cars on Manila’s roads, which have been nearly deserted since a sweeping lockdown was…

Covid-19: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping slam attempts to blame China for late coronavirus response

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping MOSCOW, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday rejected as counterproductive attempts to blame Beijing for delaying informing the world about the coronavirus, the Kremlin said. Putin and Xi spoke after US President Donald Trump’s administration berated…

Covid-19: Singapore reports record 728 new cases, mostly from foreign worker dormitories

Workers wearing face masks SINGAPORE, April 17 (NNN-CNA) — Singapore reported a record 728 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 4,427.  Of the new cases, 81 per cent are linked to previously identified clusters while the rest are pending contact…

Update: US coronavirus death toll passes 32,000 – tracker

WASHINGTON, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The confirmed coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 32,917, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The toll as of 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Friday) marked an increase of 4,491 deaths in the past 24 hours, by far the highest daily toll…