Tag Archives: epidemic

Around 100 musicians in Turkey have committed suicide since the country introduced preventive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic in March, according to statistics released by the Turkish Musicians and Performers Union (Muzik-Sen) early this month. There are roughly 1 million registered musicians in Turkey, many of whom work without insurance …

Israeli lawmakers on Thursday empowered the government to order anti-coronavirus curbs with limited parliamentary oversight, stirring opposition fears for the country’s democratic health. After early success in clamping down on the pandemic, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been struggling with resurgent contagions. Sporadic closures of various sectors of the economy …

About 2,000 Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday as protests mounted against him over his handling of a worsening coronavirus crisis and alleged corruption. Wearing protective masks, the demonstrators marched from Netanyahu’s official residence to Israel’s parliament, holding up signs that read “Crime Minister” …

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated on Saturday in Tel Aviv, angered by what they say has been an inept government response to the economic hits they have taken during the coronavirus crisis. In keeping with restrictions on public gatherings, police limited the number of people allowed into Tel Aviv’s Rabin square …

Almost 30% of genome sequencing data from samples of the COVID-19 virus collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) have shown signs of mutation, but there is no evidence this has led to more severe disease, a top WHO official said on Friday. “I think it’s quite widespread,” Soumya Swaminathan, …

Two Israeli defense contractors said on Friday they were partnering with Abu Dhabi-based Group 42 to develop technologies that will help fight the new coronavirus. Israel has no diplomatic relations with Gulf Arab countries, but common concerns over Iran’s regional influence have led to a limited thaw in ties. Last …

Iran will reimpose restrictions to stem a surge in coronavirus cases if health regulations are not observed, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday. After gradually relaxing its lockdown since mid-April, Iran has seen a sharp rise of new daily infections in recent weeks. While compliance with health protocols was as …

Turkey has been swift to implement its own brand of diplomacy during the coronavirus pandemic, including deliveries of medical supplies and plans for long-term cooperation on medical equipment. This cooperative diplomacy goes hand in hand with an assertive foreign policy, illustrated by military interventions and challenges to the legal order …

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to permanently halt funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) if it did not commit to improvements within 30 days, and to reconsider the membership of the United States in the body. Trump suspended U.S. contributions to the WHO last month, accusing it …

By Hazem Samir | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2020-05-15 11:38 After China won its fierce battle with coronavirus epidemic, it joined other countries in fighting their own outbreaks of the deadly virus. Driven by moral commitment, China shipped a huge amount of medical aid to more than 80 countries around the …

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered meat processing plants to stay open to protect the nation’s food supply even as workers got sick and died. Yet the plants have increasingly been exporting to China while U.S. consumers face shortages, a Reuters analysis of government data showed. Trump, who is in an …

The group of 20 rich and emerging economies on Sunday launched an international initiative to accelerate access to health tools needed to fight the new coronavirus. The finance minister of Saudi Arabia, the current G20 chair, said the group is still working to bridge an estimated $8 billion funding gap …

The new coronavirus may be deepening dictatorship in parts of the Middle East already tightly controlled by authoritarian regimes. However, there is a subtle change at work as well—not in the degree of authoritarianism but in its nature. By Nathan J. Brown and Yasmine Farouk Close attention to the ways …

Egypt’s parliament approved on Wednesday amendments to the country’s emergency laws that give expanded powers to the presidency and the military prosecution as authorities try to counter the new coronavirus outbreak. The amendments allow the state to take and enforce a series of measures, some of which have already been …

Standing in colourful hula hoops carefully spaced to illustrate social distancing, young children in a camp in war-torn Syria give an enthusiastic welcome to a puppet show staged to teach them about the coronavirus. Volunteers visited the camp for displaced Syrians in the northwestern town of Maarat Masrin, where they …

On an eerie Good Friday in Jerusalem, a handful of Franciscan friars – some wearing face masks – commemorated Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection along a Via Dolorosa in lockdown and empty of pilgrims. They walked the Stations of the Cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the centrepiece of …

Yemen reported its first case of the novel coronavirus on Friday as aid groups try to prepare for an outbreak in a country where war has shattered the health system and spread hunger and disease. The news came after a nationwide ceasefire prompted by the virus pandemic began on Thursday. …

Egypt will ban any public religious gatherings during the holy Muslim fasting month Ramadan starting in around two weeks to counter the spread of the new coronavirus, a government statement said on Tuesday. Muslims usually break the fast at sunset together with their families, go to the mosque to pray …

The National Bureau for defending land and resisting settlements stated in its latest weekly report , that the commemoration of the Land Day in Palestine remains as important as ever, but this year, we couldn’t mark it neither in the occupied Palestinian territories nor in the Diaspora due to the …

The Group of 20 major economies said on Tuesday that they would present a coronavirus action plan in two weeks to address the debt vulnerabilities of the poorest countries and deliver financial aid to emerging economies. G20 finance ministers and central bank governors discussed in a videoconference how the International …

Trade ministers from the Group of 20 major economies on Monday agreed to step up cooperation and coordination to ensure the continued flow of vital medical supplies and equipment and other essentials in the face of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. In a joint statement, the ministers said they would take …

The heads of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on Friday underscored the need to provide debt relief to poorer countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and said official bilateral creditors would have to play a major role. The IMF and the World Bank have both launched emergency programs …

President Trump has turned to a French virologist with a history of criticizing climate science to offer the world hope amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Trump tweeted that the combination of two medicines could dramatically alter the often deadly course of COVID-19. “HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have …

The United States should lift sanctions if it wants to help Iran to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday, adding that Iran had no intention of accepting Washington’s offer of humanitarian assistance. Iran is the Middle Eastern nation worst hit by coronavirus, with over 1,800 …

The coronavirus has infected more than 100,000 people worldwide. With all of the news of event cancellations, empty flights and health precautions (wash your hands!), it’s natural that people may get a little anxious every time they feel a tickle in their throat or the beginnings of a bad cough. …

About a quarter of China’s new confirmed cases and almost all of those outside the epidemic’s epicenter in Wuhan originated outside the country on Friday, according to official data. Most of these cases, which include infections of Chinese nationals who caught the virus abroad, were in China’s northwestern Gansu province, …

The U.S. death toll from coronavirus infections rose to 11 on Wednesday as new cases emerged around New York City and Los Angeles, while Seattle-area health officials discouraged social gatherings amid the nation’s largest outbreak. The first California death from the virus was an elderly person in Placer County, near …

Iraq reported its first coronavirus death on Wednesday, an elderly man in the Kurdish province of Sulaimaniya, the local health department said. Iraq has so far has recorded 31 cases of the new coronavirus, one Iranian student who has since been sent home and 30 Iraqis who had all visited …

G7 finance officials will on Tuesday discuss ways to bolster their economies against the impact of the spreading coronavirus outbreak, but are not expected to specifically call for new spending or coordinated interest rate cuts, a G7 official said. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the group will hold …

Australia’s chief medical officer said on Monday it was no longer possible to completely prevent people with the coronavirus from entering the country, citing concerns about outbreaks in Japan and South Korea. Australia, one of the first countries to put restrictions on its borders in a bid to limit the …

Israel confirmed on Thursday that a man who had recently returned from Italy tested positive for coronavirus and said it was barring entry to non-Israelis who had visited Italy in the past two weeks. The man had flown back on an El Al Israel Airlines (ELAL.TA) flight from Milan on …

China’s experience in fighting the novel coronavirus could provide more practical experience in upgrading global cooperation in public health emergencies, according to a newly released report. The report, China’s Fight Against COVID-19 Epidemic, said that a full governmental and social mobilization across the country has made a great contribution to …