In Brazil, 620 people died of coronavirus in one day, as bars and restaurants reopen
On Monday, Brazil reported 620 new deaths from coronavirus, raising the country’s death toll to 65,487. Brazil’s health ministry also recorded 20,229 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s total to 1,623,284 cases. The new figures come as cities around the country...
Hisham al-Hashimi: Leading Iraqi security expert shot dead in Baghdad
A leading Iraqi expert on armed groups, who advised governments and appeared frequently in the media, has been shot dead in the capital, Baghdad. Hisham al-Hashimi was killed near his home in the Ziyouna district on Monday night by two gunmen riding a motorbike. No...
Colombia fuel tanker inferno kills seven and injures dozens
At least seven people have burned to death after an overturned petrol tanker exploded in northern Colombia, local police say. More than 40 people were injured in the incident on the road near the town of Pueblo Viejo on the Caribbean coast, the police said....
Russian space official Safronov arrested for treason
A spokesman for the head of the Russian space agency has been arrested for treason, the agency says. Roscosmos said in a statement (in Russian) that former journalist Ivan Safronov’s arrest was not linked to his current job there. Russia’s FSB security service said he...
Coronavirus in Australia: Melbourne returns to lockdown as cases surge
Five million residents of the Australian city of Melbourne have been told to stay at home for six weeks, amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews announced the lockdown after the state saw 191 new infections, its highest daily number since...
Peru surpasses 300,000 coronavirus cases
Peru’s Ministry of Health reported 3,635 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the country’s total to 302,718. More than half of Peru’s cases have been reported in the capital Lima, with 165,307 coronavirus cases to date. The Ministry of Health also confirmed 11,302 hospitalizations and 10,589 deaths across the country. Over the past week, Peru has...
The Taj Mahal will stay shut while monuments across India reopen
India’s iconic Taj Mahal will remain closed, even as other monuments reopen around the country, due to the high risk of coronavirus, announced the Agra city district magistrate on Sunday. All centrally protected monuments are reopening today, with new rules to prioritize “sanitation, social distancing...
India now has the third highest number of coronavirus cases in the world
On Monday, India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced 24,248 new coronavirus cases recorded in the past 24 hours, raising the national total to 697,413 cases. With the new figures, India surged past Russia’s 680,000 total cases to become the third worst-hit nation globally....
Brazil tops 1.6 million coronavirus cases, nears 65,000 deaths
Brazil’s health ministry recorded 26,051 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the country’s total to 1,603,055 confirmed cases. Brazil also reported 602 new related deaths, bringing the death toll to 64,867. The new figures come as Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, prepares to reopen bars,...
Ennio Morricone, Oscar-winning film composer, dies at 91
Ennio Morricone the Oscar-winning film composer, has died at the age of 91, his lawyer said. He died at dawn in a Rome hospital after falling and breaking his leg, his lawyer, Giorgio Assumma, said. Morricone is best known internationally as the composer behind the...
Change in Dominican Republic as opposition wins presidency
Early results in the presidential election in the Dominican Republic give the opposition candidate, Luis Abinader, an unassailable lead. His two main rivals have conceded defeat and the outgoing president has congratulated Mr Abinader on his win. His victory puts an end to 16 years...
Coronavirus: Louvre reopens with masks and one-way system
The Louvre museum has reopened in Paris after its closure nearly four months ago due to the coronavirus pandemic. Masks are compulsory, a one-way system is in place and numbers of visitors will be controlled. There will also be a spaced queue to view Leonardo...
Coronavirus: Australia to close Victoria-New South Wales border
The border between Australia’s two most populous states, Victoria and New South Wales (NSW), is to close after a spike in Covid-19 cases in Melbourne. The outbreak in Victoria’s capital has seen hundreds of cases in the past two weeks – more than 95% of...
Coronavirus: India overtakes Russia in Covid-19 cases
India has recorded more than 24,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking its total above that of Russia. The country now has the third-largest number of confirmed cases in the world, 697,413. There have been 19,693 deaths. The latest surge in...
Pakistan’s foreign minister tests positive for Covid-19
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi confirms he has tested positive for Covid-19 via his official Twitter account on Friday. According to the foreign minister, he felt a slight fever and immediately quarantined at home. He plans on carrying his duties from home. It’s not...
It’s 8 a.m. in New York and 1 p.m. in London. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.
There have been more than 10.8 million confirmed cases of coronavirus globally, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. Of these cases, more than 2.7 million are in the US, which saw more than 52,000 new Covid-19 cases Thursday, the highest daily jump in cases...
As it works to contain coronavirus, Singapore is on track to face its worst dengue outbreak in history
Singapore has just begun to get its second wave of coronavirus under control. Now, it’s on track to face its worst-ever outbreak of another viral infection: dengue. More than 14,000 dengue cases have been reported in the city-state since the start of the year, according...
Kim Jong Un calls North Korea’s handling of the coronavirus “a shining success”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called the country’s handling of the coronavirus “a shining success,” according to a report from the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). According to KCNA, Kim said the country had “thoroughly prevented the inroad of the malignant virus...
Brazil approaches 1.5 million coronavirus cases
Brazil’s health ministry reported 48,105 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, taking the country’s total to 1,496,858. Thursday’s figures represent the second-highest daily jump in new cases since the pandemic began. The highest was recorded on June 19, when 54,771 new cases were...
Colombia just had more coronavirus deaths than any day since the pandemic started
Colombia recorded 171 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, the highest one-day jump since the pandemic began. That brings the country’s death toll to 3,641, according to its health ministry. The ministry also reported 4,101 new cases, raising the nationwide total to 106,110.
More locally transmitted coronavirus cases in Chinese capital
China reported five new coronavirus cases Thursday, according to the country’s National Health Commission (NHC). Three were imported from abroad, and two were locally transmitted in Beijing. There were no new related deaths on Thursday. The NHC also reported four new asymptomatic cases, which are...
Mexico reports highest daily jump in new cases
Mexico’s health ministry reported 6,741 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday — its highest daily jump so far. The ministry also reported 678 more related deaths. The latest figures raise the nationwide total to 238,511 cases and 29,189 deaths, according to the ministry.
The US approves a new test that detects both flu and coronavirus
Earlier today, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized a new test that diagnoses both influenza and the novel coronavirus. The test, designed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is the first dual test to get emergency use authorization from the...
Khashoggi murder: Turkish absentia trial of 20 Saudis opens
Twenty Saudi nationals have gone on trial in absentia in Turkey over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. Those being tried include two former top aides to Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince...
France’s Macron picks Jean Castex as PM after Philippe resigns
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has tendered his resignation after heading President Emmanuel Macron’s government for three years. The president swiftly named centre-right mayor Jean Castex to lead a new team of ministers after a reshuffle. Although Mr Philippe was considered more popular than the...
Coronavirus in North Korea: Kim Jong-un claims ‘shining success’
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hailed his country’s “shining success” in dealing with Covid-19, according to state news agency KCNA. Speaking at a politburo meeting, Mr Kim said the country had “prevented the inroad of the malignant virus and maintained a stable situation”. North...
Zheng Yanxiong: China appoints hard-line Hong Kong security chief
China has appointed a hard-line figure as head of its new security agency in Hong Kong. Zheng Yanxiong is best known for his role in dealing with a protest over a land dispute in the southern Chinese village of Wukan. The new agency, answering directly...
Trump touts economy as the US reports a record number of new coronavirus cases
President Trump spoke from the White House briefing room this morning to tout a better-than-expected jobs report. The appearance came a day after the US set a record number of new coronavirus cases in a single day, with more than 50,000 cases reported. It took...
Fauci warns US lockdown restrictions were eased too soon as coronavirus cases surge
White House coronavirus task force member, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has warned that individual states across the US may have relaxed lockdown regulations too soon, adding that the country has so far been unsuccessful in gaining control over the national outbreak. “In the United States, even...
It’s 8 a.m. in Atlanta and 1 p.m. in London. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.
The United States saw a record number of new coronavirus cases in a single day, with 50,203 new infections reported on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. It took a little more than two months for the US to record its first 50,000 coronavirus cases....