Bomb blast kills 40 people in Syrian town of Afrin, Turkey says

Published On: April 29, 2020 03:02 PM NPT By: Reuters

ANKARA, April 29: At least 40 civilians were killed, including 11 children, when a bomb detonated in the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Tuesday, the Turkish Defence Ministry said, blaming the attack on the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.

NEW YORK, April 28: U.S. cases of the novel coronavirus were approaching 1 million on Tuesday, having doubled in 18 days, and made up one-third of all infections in the world, according to a Reuters tally.

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD, April 28: India was nearing 30,000 coronavirus infections on Tuesday, second only to China in Asia, a steady rise that would make it difficult to lift a nearly six-week lockdown that ends this weekend, health officials and some government leaders said.

NEW DELHI, April 28: China has criticized India’s decision to stop using Chinese testing kits for the novel coronavirus because of quality issues as unfair and irresponsible in the latest strain in their ties.

PARIS, April 28: France and Spain, two of the worst-hit countries in the coronavirus pandemic, were laying out separate roadmaps Tuesday for lifting their lockdowns, while signs emerged the virus has been all but vanquished in New Zealand and Australia.

SHANGHAI, April 28: Claims that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan have no basis in fact, the head of the lab told Reuters, adding that there were still no conclusive answers as to where the disease started.

UNITED NATIONS, New York, April 28: The U.N. humanitarian chief said Monday that $90 billion could provide income support, food and a health response to the coronavirus pandemic for 700 million of the world’s most vulnerable people — a price tag just 1 percent of the $8 trillion stimulus package the 20 richest countries put in place to safeguard the global economy.

MELBOURNE, April 28: Oil fell on Tuesday, adding to huge declines in the previous session, on worries about limited capacity to store crude worldwide and expectations that fuel demand may only recover slowly as coronavirus pandemic restrictions are gradually eased.

NEW DELHI/DHAKA, April 27: More than 500 garment factories in Bangladesh that supply to global brands reopened on Monday after a month-long shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, while in India calls grew for an easing of its lockdown which has caused deep economic pain.

SEOUL, April 27: South Korean officials are calling for caution amid reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be ill or is being isolated because of coronavirus concerns, emphasising that they have detected no unusual movements in North Korea.