Japan's government prepared to extend its nationwide state of emergency to the end of May as it braced for a lengthy battle against the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared an ... ( read original story ...)
Saudi Arabia’s $500 Billion Megacity Dream Clashes With Reality
Saudi Arabia plans to build Neom, a futuristic megacity in the middle of the desert. But residents resisting evictions and a historic collapse in oil prices have raised new questions about the project ... ( read original story ...)
North Korea’s Kim Did Not Have Surgery, South Says, as Shots Fired at DMZ
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the completion of a fertiliser plant, in a region north of the capital, Pyongyang, in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on ... ( read original story ...)
Iran reopens mosques as virus deaths rise by 74
Iran on Monday reopened mosques in parts of the country deemed at low risk from the novel coronavirus as it announced another 74 deaths from the disease. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour ... ( read original story ...)
Iran death toll from coronavirus outbreak rises by 74 to 6,277 – health ministry official
Reuters/WANA NEWS AGENCY The spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tehran (Reuters) - The death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak in Iran rose by 74 in the past ... ( read original story ...)
How Turkey’s courts turned on Erdogan’s foes
Thousands of Turkey’s judges and prosecutors have been sacked or jailed as Erdogan’s government wields the judiciary against its opponents. They have been replaced by loyal and inexperienced newcomers ... ( read original story ...)
Coronavirus around the world: Turkey tea growers face worker shortage
Tea growers are facing a shortage of pickers due to curbs on travel.Up to 40,000 foreign workers usually travel to tea-growing regions on Turkey’s Black Sea coast for the harvest each summer, while a ... ( read original story ...)
Asia Today: Vietnam schools reopen, New Zealand hits zero
Students across Vietnam started returning to their classrooms Monday that had been closed to curb the coronavirus. “I am so excited to go back to school, to be with ... ( read original story ...)
Philippines has 16 new coronavirus deaths, 262 more infections
The Philippines' health ministry on Monday reported 16 new coronavirus deaths and 262 additional confirmed cases. ( read original story ...)
Philippines’ Duterte hikes tariffs on imported oil, refined petroleum
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed 10% additional duties on imported crude oil and refined petroleum products. Proceeds from higher tariffs would fund measures to address the outbreak, ... ( read original story ...)