Workers of the world scaled back their traditional May Day demos Friday with coronavirus lockdowns forcing many to rally online while a determined few hit the streets in face masks.There were arrests in the Philippines, Russia and Turkey, a riot in Indonesia and pepper spray in Hong Kong as some broke confinement rules to hold public assemblies.Most gatherings on this unusual Labour Day, however, were small and without incident.The traditional festival of the workers' movement attracts m

Donald Trump has said he has seen evidence the new coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab, an assertion that threatened on Friday to turn a global health emergency into a diplomatic crisis.The United States (US) president's statement was immediately undermined by intelligence officials and top diplomat Mike Pompeo, who said: "We don't know precisely where it began."But the claim – already denied by Beijing – could stir tensions even as the World Health Organization (WHO)

Dismissed as useless, now apparently indispensable - wearing a face mask as protection from the new coronavirus is becoming commonplace around the world as countries begin to emerge from lockdowns.Here is a snapshot of the global measures on masks - mandatory, recommended or optional.Obligatory NationwideOver 50 countries now require people to cover their faces when they leave home, especially on public transport and in shops.In Africa, Cameroon imposed masks on 9 April.Angola, Benin, Burkina

As the month of April draws to an end, over 3.2 million people have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, taking with it more than 200,000 lives. In order to flatten the coronavirus curve, governments across the globe have imposed strict measures such as nationwide lockdowns and travel curbs. Fortunately, these measures seem to be working for numerous countries. To date, more than a million people have recovered from the deadly new virus.

Myanmar's military must be investigated for possible "war crimes and crimes against humanity" as a conflict with rebels in the country's northwest ramps up, a United Nations (UN) rights expert said Wednesday.The military is locked in an increasingly bloody civil war against the Arakan Army (AA), an insurgent group fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.Scores have been killed, hundreds wounded and some 150,000 people have fled their homes since the fightin

From shirtless soldiers to teens suntanning on their parents' driveways, Indonesians are soaking up rays like never before in the hope that plentiful sunshine will ward off coronavirus.The rush to take up a practice usually associated with Bali-bound foreigners has been driven by unfounded claims on social media that sunlight - and the vitamin D it supplies - can slow or kill the virus.That hope got a boost last week when a senior United States (US) official said new research showed sunl

Xenophobic sentiments on social media against “the most discriminated people in the world” – the Rohingya of Myanmar – is on the rise in Malaysia.A few weeks ago, it was reported that Malaysia denied entry to a boat carrying around 200 Rohingya refugees which was spotted by an air force jet off the north-western island of Langkawi.

The daily count of fatalities of the COVID-19 pandemic, whose official toll has now passed 210,000, is a sensitive business, with data often incomplete and differing methods between countries.Hospitals, Care HomesGermany, Luxembourg, South Korea and Spain count all deaths of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, whether they take place in hospital or elsewhere.In Belgium, where care homes have officially accounted for more than half the deaths, the figures include even people who have

The king of the Konyak tribe sleeps in Myanmar, but eats in India - his house, village and people divided by a mountain border which serves as a vulnerable lifeline now severed by a coronavirus lockdown.The Konyak are just one of dozens of Naga tribes, a people yearning to reunite the 3 million living in India with their 400,000 estranged - and much poorer - cousins in Myanmar’s isolated far north.Many from Myanmar cross the border to attend school, sell vegetables or visit a hospital, as it

Governments have imposed drastic measures to contain the deadly COVID-19 outbreak. To date, over three million people have been infected, killing more than 200,000 worldwide. Although reports claim that some countries are gradually flattening the coronavirus curve, half of humanity are still currently under some form of lockdown or restricted movement.