World

TOKYO (Reuters) – People in greater Tokyo and the Osaka area in western Japan hunkered down on Saturday as officials urged citizens to stay indoors to prevent a potential emergency, but some were carrying on as normal. FILE PHOTO: Passersby wearing protective face masks, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), walk past notices

FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Chancellor Rishi Sunak holds a digital coronavirus disease (COVID-19) news conference with Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jenny Harries (not pictured) at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain March 26, 2020. Pippa Fowles/10 Downing Street/Handout via REUTERS LONDON (Reuters) – British finance minister Rishi Sunak is not self-isolating after Prime Minister Boris

HONG KONG (Reuters) – As thousands of Hong Kong citizens and expatriates return to the city, many are seeking refuge in hotels, fearful that cramped apartments in one of the world’s most expensive property markets could put families or flatmates at risk. Guests are seen through the windows of a hotel, following the coronavirus disease

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will set up a new coronavirus taskforce, the government said on Thursday, as it warned of a high risk of a wide spread of the virus but the economy minister said the government was not thinking of declaring a state of emergency now. People wearing protective face masks following an outbreak

PARIS (Reuters) – Outside a Paris retirement home on Wednesday, a director rushed out and told the man delivering a coffin to use a side entrance, away from prying eyes. An elderly woman wearing a protective face mask stands next to a stretcher in front of the entrance of the Fondation Rothschild retirement home (Ehpad) in

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indians crowded grocery stores and chemists on Wednesday in a struggle for essential items after Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a total lockdown for three weeks to fight a coronavirus pandemic, one of the toughest such measures worldwide. India’s tally of 536 cases and 10 deaths is dwarfed by China, Italy

GENEVA/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The United States could become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, as India announced a full 24-hour, nationwide lockdown in the world’s second-most populous country. India joined the ranks of Britain and other countries clamping down to hold back the virus as business

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Shaikh Bahaduresha, 31, lived on Mumbai’s streets for two months last year, unable to make ends meet on his meager taxi-driving profits of roughly $5 a day. After he got married in December, his wife put some money towards renting a small apartment, and they moved in together. People carrying their luggage

MILAN (Reuters) – From insults for dog walkers to furious local officials telling residents to stay home and people from other regions to stay out, Italians’ forbearance is fraying as their coronavirus epidemic enters its second month. Coffins of people who have died from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are seen in a crematorium in the town

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Mainland China saw a drop in its daily tally of new coronavirus cases, reversing four straight days of gains, as the capital Beijing ramped up measures to contain the number of infections arriving from abroad. Workers wearing face masks remove barriers on a street in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Hundreds of millions of Indians stayed at home on Sunday, heeding the prime minister’s appeal for people to self-isolate to contain the coronavirus as confirmed cases in South Asia surged to 1,144 with 10 deaths reported. General view shows a deserted national highway during a 14-hour long curfew to limit the spreading

FILE PHOTO: Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez looks on durring the session of the 138th legislative term at the National Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina March 1, 2020. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – In Argentina’s nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus, one magical being has been handed a presidential exemption: the tooth fairy.

COLOMBO/ISLAMABAD, March 21 (Reuters) – One prisoner died and three others were injured when fighting broke out on Saturday in a Sri Lankan jail over rumors of coronavirus, as governments across South Asia tightened restrictions on movement to try to stem infections. A worker cleans the hand railings at an empty shopping mall amid concerns

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired two projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, calling the action “highly inappropriate” given the global coronavirus pandemic. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guides artillery fire competition in this image released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March

A woman wears a protective face mask inside a Carrefour hypermarket while Egypt ramps up its efforts to slow the spread the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cairo, Egypt March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt said on Thursday it would shut all cafes, shopping malls, sports clubs and nightclubs from 7 p.m.