* Singapore reported 287 coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest single-day rise, taking the total number of positive cases to 1,910, as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned of tough action on people gathering in public places. The Prime Minister warned that the authorities will strictly enforce the “circuit breaker” measures from Thursday, noting there are still far too many public gatherings taking place
* The UN Security Council (UNSC) is set to hold a secret meeting on the Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday amid divisions on recognising its origin and international action. The Dominican Republic, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council, said that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will brief the meeting on his call for a global ceasefire, the pandemic’s impact on peacekeeping operations and the humanitarian response. China and Russia were reported to be opposed to the meeting, while the US wanted China be named as the source of the pandemic
* Amnesty International on Thursday said more than 30 prisoners are feared to have been killed by Iranian security forces during protests over novel coronavirus safety concerns. The UK-based organisation said in a statement that thousands of inmates in at least eight prisons in the Islamic republic had held demonstrations in recent days. Citing “credible sources”, Amnesty said authorities at several facilities responded with live ammunition and tear gas, killing some 35 inmates and wounding hundreds of others
* The French anti-competition watchdog on Thursday asked tech giant Google to negotiate with publishers and news agencies on paying them proper remuneration for re-using their content on its platforms. The French ‘Autorite de la Concurrence’ body in a ruling granted requests for urgent interim measures presented by press publishers and the news agency AFP. “It requires Google to negotiate with publishers and news agencies the remuneration due to them under the law relating to neighbouring rights for the re-use of their protected contents,’ the authority said in a statement
* The Nepal Government on Thursday went back on a reported decision to lift the ban imposed on the plying of vehicles on Friday and Saturday to allow people stranded here due to the coronavirus outbreak to return to their homes in other districts. Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokharel said no decision has been taken regarding lifting halt imposed on vehicles for Friday and Saturday to allow people to leave Kathmandu to return their homes during lockdown
* As coronavirus rapidly spreading in every corner of the globe, Chinese researchers have found that newborns infected with COVID-19 in China experienced mild symptoms, and the babies may be at risk of catching the virus from their mother during pregnancy. For the findings, published in the European Respiratory Journal, researchers studied a total of four cases of newborn babies with COVID-19 infection in China. In all cases, the babies experienced only mild symptoms with none requiring intensive care or mechanical ventilation
* Taiwan demanded an apology from the World Health Organisation chief after he accused the island’s Government of leading personal attacks against him and his agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called Wednesday for unity to fight the disease after US President Donald Trump criticised the global health body and threatened to cut its funding