There have been precious few positives during the COVID pandemic but British academics may have unearthed one: people look more attractive in protective masks.Researchers at Cardiff University were surprised to find that both men and women were judged to look better with a face-covering obscuring the lower half of their faces.In what may be a blow for producers of fashionable coverings - and the environment - they also discovered that a face covered with a disposable-type surgical mask was li

Thailand reported its largest ever spike in coronavirus infections Thursday, with more than half coming from two Bangkok prisons where prominent democracy activists have been detained.The kingdom is battling a third wave of the virus that has forced the government to impose restrictions on movement, rules on mask-wearing and close public spaces.Alarm bells sounded this week when an activist at the forefront of Thailand's democracy movement announced she had tested positive for COVID-19 f

Face masks reduce the risk of spreading large COVID-linked droplets when speaking or coughing by up to 99.9 percent, according to a lab experiment with mechanical mannequins and human subjects, researchers said Wednesday.A woman standing two metres (yards) from a coughing man without a mask will be exposed to 10,000 times more such droplets than if he were wearing one, even if he is only 50 centimetres away, they reported in the journal Royal Society Open Science."There is no more doubt

German police Saturday halted a Berlin march by thousands opposed to coronavirus restrictions in the biggest of several European protests against anti-virus curbs and masks to halt the pandemic.With new COVID-19 cases on the rise, European nations are starting to tighten controls while trying to avoid the major lockdowns imposed earlier this year to contain the outbreak that has killed more than 800,000 worldwide.Across the globe, governments are struggling to revive economies already battere

Indonesia's capital opened mosques Friday for the first time in nearly three months, as the megacity loosens a partial lockdown despite coronavirus cases mounting in the world's biggest Muslim majority nation.Churches and other houses of worship also resumed service after Jakarta's governor Thursday announced an easing of restrictions, with shuttered offices, restaurants, shopping malls and tourist attractions slated to start operations in the coming weeks.Mosques have remained

Indonesian officials are forcing social distancing violators to recite Koran verses, stay in "haunted" houses and submit to public shaming on social media as the country battles to contain surging coronavirus infections.The Southeast Asian archipelago began deploying around 340,000 troops across two dozen cities to oversee enforcement of measures aimed at halting transmission of the disease, such as wearing facemasks in public.But provincial leaders are buttressing these efforts wit

Thailand's health minister lashed out at "Western" tourists on Friday for not wearing face masks and suggested they be expelled from the country for putting others at risk during the novel coronavirus outbreak.The outburst came as the kingdom faced steep losses over a drop in visitors from China, where the virus has killed more than 600 people and prompted sweeping travel restrictions.Tourism accounts for 18 percent of the country's gross domestic product and Chinese holid

Masked pro-democracy protesters marched through Hong Kong in defiance of a ban on face coverings as much of the city ground to a halt on Saturday, with the subway suspended and many shops shuttered following another night of violence.Thousands of protesters staged unsanctioned marches and flash mob protests at multiple locations, a day after the city's leader outlawed face coverings at protests, invoking colonial-era emergency powers not used for half a century.The latest acts of resista