Blogroll

Mainland China, outside Hubei province, reported no new locally transmitted coronavirus cases for the second day on Monday, as a top Communist Party official warned against reducing vigilance and of the risk the epidemic poses for social stability.

Japan is set this week to revise a law allowing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a formal state of emergency over the coronavirus, if needed, as Abe faces persistent criticism for his handling of the outbreak ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

China's business and travel activities are steadily recovering after being disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, but rapidly rising infections globally will pose a challenge to the country's broader economic resumption.

Walt Disney Co's Shanghai Disneyland said on Monday it will resume a limited number of resort operations as the first step of a phased reopening, although the main theme park will remain shut amid worries about the coronavirus outbreak.

Foreigners in China's capital of Beijing should refrain from unnecessary travel during the coronavirus outbreak, a local government official said on Monday, adding that the city faces mounting pressure due to a rising number of imported cases from abroad.

Canada has secured a plane to repatriate its citizens onboard the Grand Princess cruise ship that is due to dock in California after cases of the new coronavirus were discovered on the vessel, the Canadian government said in a statement on Sunday.

Iran has released approximately 70,000 prisoners because of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, Iranian judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday, according to Mizan, the news site of the judiciary.

President Donald Trump loves numbers, and the ones he believes illustrate his accomplishments - an unemployment rate at a 50-year-low and stock markets at record highs - have become touchstones in his speeches, rallies and Twitter missives.

Qatar announced on Monday it was suspending schools and universities from Tuesday, March 10 to control the coronavirus outbreak, according to the state news agency.

A man in his 90s living in Tokyo has died from the coronavirus on Monday, Kyodo news agency reported, citing the Tokyo government.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in expressed guarded hope for the country's fight against the coronavirus on Monday, saying a downward trend in new infections could lead to a phase of stability, but he warned that it was too early to be optimistic.

The Australian privacy regulator filed a lawsuit against Facebook Inc , accusing the social media giant of sharing the personal details of more than 300,000 people with political consultant Cambridge Analytica without their knowledge.

Twitter Inc on Sunday used its new "manipulated media" label for the first time on a video clip of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden that was retweeted by President Donald Trump.

Older Americans, especially those with chronic medical concerns, should probably avoid big social gatherings and airline flights, given the rapid spread of coronavirus, a top U.S. health official said on Sunday, as investors braced for another volatile week in financial markets.

The BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells has been canceled over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in Southern California, organizers announced on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia imposed on Sunday a temporary lockdown on its eastern oil-producing province of Qatif, home to most of its 15 coronavirus infections, and suspended schools and universities nationwide.

Costa Rica raised to nine the tally of people infected with coronavirus in its territory, up from five a day earlier, the government said Sunday.

Mainland China, outside Hubei province the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, reported no new locally transmitted cases on Sunday for the second straight day, as authorities remained on alert for infections arriving from abroad.

Smoking or vaping makes people more vulnerable to suffering severe illness once infected by coronavirus, a spokeswoman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday.

South Korea reported 69 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the country's total infections to 7,382, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.