Kosovo prime minister tests positive for coronavirus
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti has tested positive for Covid-19, his press office told CNN on Tuesday. Hoti is in good health and will stay home for the next two weeks, following his doctor’s recommendation, his press office said. “Indeed, we have a difficult situation...
Cyclone Isaias reaches Canada after killing at least five in US
At least five people have been killed as Tropical Storm Isaias swept through US states on the Atlantic Coast. Two died when a tornado struck a mobile home park in North Carolina and at least three more were killed in New York, Delaware and Maryland....
Mexican journalist Pablo Morrugares shot dead in Iguala
A Mexican journalist has been killed by gunmen who stormed the restaurant where he was having dinner in the city of Iguala. Paulo Morrugares had been assigned a bodyguard after he and his wife survived a similar attack in 2016. His bodyguard was also shot...
Russian hackers targeted Liam Fox’s personal email
Documents on UK-US trade talks, leaked before the 2019 election, were stolen from the personal email account of Tory MP Liam Fox, the BBC understands. Sources revealed on Monday that the papers had come from the former minister’s account, but not which address the hackers...
Belarus ruler Lukashenko says Russia lying over ‘mercenaries’
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has accused Russia of lying about a “mercenary” group arrested in Belarus last week and says another such group has infiltrated his country. “Today we heard of another unit sent into the south,” he said in an address to the nation....
France’s champagne industry goes flat
It’s fair to say that, for many people, 2020 hasn’t been a year that lends itself to popping the champagne and celebrating. With weddings cancelled and restaurants closed, the sparkling luxury wine has taken something of a back seat. In fact, producers in France’s eastern...
Gold price rises above $2,000 for first time
Gold has topped $2,000 (£1,527) an ounce for the first time as traders look for havens amid the pandemic. Investors have moved cash into the precious metal as Covid-19 cases rise in the US and more money is pumped into the global economy. The record...
TikTok: Pompeo says Trump to crack down on Chinese software in coming days
US President Donald Trump will take action “in the coming days” against Chinese-owned software that he believes pose a national security risk, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Mr Pompeo said popular video app TikTok was among those “feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist...
Coronavirus: Russia plans mass vaccination campaign in October
Russian health authorities are preparing to start a mass vaccination campaign against coronavirus in October, the health minister has said. Russian media quoted Mikhail Murashko as saying that doctors and teachers would be the first to receive the vaccine. Reuters, citing anonymous sources, said Russia’s...
Coronavirus: Iran cover-up of deaths revealed by data leak
The number of deaths from coronavirus in Iran is nearly triple what Iran’s government claims, a BBC Persian service investigation has found. The government’s own records appear to show almost 42,000 people died with Covid-19 symptoms up to 20 July, versus 14,405 reported by its...
Mexico crime: Mexican police seize alleged oil theft crime boss The Sledgehammer
Mexican security forces have seized the head of a criminal gang specialising in stealing fuel from pipelines in the central state of Guanajuato. José Antonio Yépez, better-known as El Marro – or The Sledgehammer – was one of the most wanted men in the country....
A variety of responses by US states hurt the country’s ability to contain the coronavirus pandemic, Fauci says
The “diversity of response” by US states hampered the country’s ability to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a congressional hearing on Friday, as the number of cases in the US topped 4.5 million. When asked why Europe appears to...
Germany sees “alarming” rise in infections
Germany has on Friday recorded the highest number of new daily infections since early May, according to data published Saturday by Germany’s center for disease prevention, The Robert-Koch Institute. The country saw 955 new coronavirus cases. The last time Germany recorded a higher number was...
India reports highest 24-hour increase in coronavirus cases, with over 57,000 new infections
India reported 57,118 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, its highest daily increase to date, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. As of this morning, India had a total of 1,695,988 confirmed cases of Covid-19, of which more than 565,000...
GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi to partner on $2 billion coronavirus vaccine contract
Drug giants GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur said Friday they had won a commitment from the US federal government to pay up to $2.1 billion to help the two companies move forward with their proposed joint coronavirus vaccine as part of Operation Warp Speed. The companies...
German center for disease prevention lists three Spanish regions as “high-risk areas”
Germany’s center for disease prevention has designated three Spanish regions as “high-risk areas,” according to its most recent update to its global list of places believed to be hotbeds of the novel coronavirus. “The Autonomous Communities of Aragon, Catalonia and Navarre are currently considered high-risk...
Belarus accuses ‘Russian mercenaries’ of election plot
Authorities in Belarus say they have arrested 33 suspected Russian mercenaries believed to be plotting “terrorism” ahead of the country’s 9 August presidential election. The suspects are alleged to be part of a shadowy military group. Russia is seeking clarification on the arrests, Kremlin spokesman...
Belarus opposition rally attracts thousands despite crackdown
Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Belarus for a rally by the president’s election rival, despite an escalating crackdown on the opposition. More than 60,000 people demonstrated in the capital, Minsk, according to one human rights group, Viasna. The rally was organised by...
Vietnam records first Covid-19 death
Vietnam has recorded its first Covid-19 fatality, in a devastating blow for a country proud of its zero deaths. The 70-year-old man was from the central city of Hoi An, state media said on Friday. No new infections had been reported for more than three...
Herman Cain, US ex-presidential candidate, dies after contracting Covid
Herman Cain, the Republican pizza chain CEO who ran for president in 2012, has died after contracting Covid-19. Mr Cain, 74, was hospitalised after being diagnosed with the disease earlier this month. “Herman Cain – our boss, our friend, like a father to so many...
Afghanistan: At least 17 killed in Eid car blast
At least 17 people have been killed in Afghanistan in a powerful car bomb blast in Logar province. The explosion came on the eve of a ceasefire declared by the Taliban during the festival of Eid. The Taliban have denied responsibility for the attack, while...
India records more than 52,000 new Covid-19 cases
India recorded more than 52,000 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. As of Thursday, India has reported a total of 1.58 million cases, the third highest in the world after the United States and...
These 5 principles could stop coronavirus surges, Fauci says
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US’ top infectious disease expert, said on MSNBC Wednesday that adherence to five principles could help stop coronavirus surges happening in states. The principles are: Universal wearing of masks Avoiding crowds Physical distancing of at least 6 feet Typical hand hygiene Avoiding...
Iran reports 2,636 new cases of coronavirus in one day
Iran has recorded 2,636 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 298,909. Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari said Wednesday that among the cases,1,604 people have been hospitalized. Lari said there were 196 additional...
India’s coronavirus cases surpass 1.5 million
India’s total number of coronavirus cases surged past 1.5 million on Wednesday, according to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India hit a million cases of coronavirus on July 17, six months after its first infection was discovered on January 30. Since then,...
China reports more than 100 new coronavirus cases for first time since April
China recorded 101 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest single-day increase since early April, according to numbers released by the National Health Commission on Wednesday. Among the new cases, 98 were locally transmitted, including 89 in the far western region of Xinjiang where a...
Trump wonders why Fauci is so popular when he is so unpopular
US President Donald Trump says his relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci is “very good” but wonders why the doctor’s approval rating is so high when his is so low. Speaking a day after he retweeted a message claiming Fauci had misled the public, Trump chalked...
Coronavirus: German officials ‘very concerned’ by rising cases
The head of Germany’s public health agency has said he is “very concerned” by rising infections in the country. “We are in the middle of a rapidly developing pandemic,” Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), told reporters. Mr Wieler said Germans had...
Turkey’s MPs vote to tighten grip on social media
Turkey’s parliament has passed a law to control social media platforms, a move human rights groups say poses a severe threat to freedom of expression. The law requires social media firms with more than million Turkish users to set up local offices and comply with...
US election: Biden pledges billions to improve racial equality
Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden has promised to spend tens of billions of dollars to help people of colour overcome economic inequality, if he wins the election in November. In a speech in his home town of Wilmington, Mr Biden promised to boost opportunities for...