Covid-19: Spain to open pools, malls from Monday

MADRID, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain said it will further relax confinement measures from next week, allowing 70 percent of the population to go to restaurants, swimming pools and shopping centres. “The way the figures are evolving have been very good,” said Fernando Simon, the head of the Coordination Centre…

Covid-19: US records 1,297 deaths in 24 hours – Johns Hopkins

WASHINGTON, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States recorded 1,297 coronavirus deaths on Thursday, bringing its total to 101,573 since the global pandemic began, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. The country has also officially logged 1,720,613 cases of the virus, far more than any other nation,…

US indicts NKoreans, Chinese over $2.5 bn network to dodge sanctions

WASHINGTON, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US Justice Department indicted 28 North Koreans and five Chinese for operating a money laundering ring that moved billions of dollars through global banks to avoid nuclear sanctions on Pyongyang. The network processed more than $2.5 billion through over 250 front companies across Thailand,…

US approves sale of 84 Patriot missiles to Kuwait

WASHINGTON, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States said it has approved the sale of 84 of the most recent generation of Patriot missiles to Kuwait, plus equipment to modernize the country’s antimissile program, for a total of $1.425 billion. The State Department said in a statement that sale benefits…

Covid-19: South Korea coronavirus spike stirs second wave concern, social distancing crackdown

Passengers with protective masks walking through the subway station in Seoul SEOUL, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — South Korea reported 79 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the most in nearly eight weeks, triggering the return of tougher social distancing curbs amid the spectre of a second wave of disease in a…

Covid-19: Sudan says 3 jailed members of ousted Bashir regime have coronavirus

Members of South Sudanese Ministry of Health’s Rapid Response Team take a sample from a man KHARTOUM, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least three jailed senior members of the toppled regime of former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir have the coronavirus, the country’s public prosecution service said. The Arab African country,…

Covid-19: Moscow more than doubles city’s death toll

 MOSCOW, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) —Moscow’s authorities have more than doubled the official death toll from Covid-19 in the Russian capital for the month of April. The city’s health department now says 1,561 people died from the disease – not 639 as initially announced. The department stressed that the new tally included even…

Update: US Pres Trump signs executive order targeting Twitter after fact-checking row

WASHINGTON, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at removing some of the legal protections given to social media platforms. It gives regulators the power to pursue legal actions against firms such as Facebook and Twitter for the way they police content on…

Covid-19: Lebanon’s woes worsen as country pushed to the brink

Lebanon has been rocked by anti-government protests for months BEIRUT, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — For the past two months, Khaldoon Rifaa has not been able to work as a driver because of Lebanon’s lockdown. He is now back on the road, operating a minivan along the coastal motorway from his home…

Hong Kong: US and allies defend ‘bastion of freedom’

The law has sparked a new wave of anti-mainland protest  WASHINGTON/HONG KONG, May 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) —The US, UK, Australia and Canada have issued fresh condemnation of Beijing’s new security law for Hong Kong, which they say has “flourished as a bastion of freedom”. They say the international community has a “significant…