A Pakistani court has commuted the death sentence of the main person accused in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, and acquitted three other co-accused in the matter.

Confirmed coronavirus cases approached 1mn around the world yesterday as Europe reeled from the pandemic and the United States reported record numbers of people out of work.

Facing calls to declare a coronavirus state of emergency, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was derided on social media yesterday for instead offering people cloth masks, pointing to growing frustration with his handling of the crisis.

People heading out on the Philippines’ main island while it is under a month-long lockdown must wear face masks to halt the spread of the coronavirus, the government announced yesterday as the death toll from Covid-19 topped 100.

The health minister yesterday promised a tenfold increase in the number of daily tests for coronavirus by the end of the month after the government faced criticism for failing to roll out mass checks for health workers and the public.

India will pull out of a three-week lockdown in phases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday, as officials battle to contain the country’s biggest cluster of coronavirus infections in the capital, New Delhi.

The World Health Organisation on Thursday reiterated its warning that children can also be affected by the new coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of several young people.

Confirmed coronavirus cases approached one million around the world on Thursday as Europe reeled from the pandemic and the United States reported record numbers of people out of work.

Despite an acute shortfall in protective gear for its medical personnel to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak, India has exported 90 tonnes of medical equipment and safety gear to Serbia, prompting criticism.

Leading Malayalam actor Prithviraj, award-winning director Blessy and 56 others are stuck in Jordan after shooting of a movie was stopped there following restrictions in the wake of coronavirus crisis.

Pakistan yesterday began signing up young volunteers to deliver aid to millions of day labourers who have lost livelihoods due to a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has increased its Covid-19 testing capacity from 100 to 300 per day and it will be further increased to 500 tests per day during the coming days.