Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Vienna Airport to offer coronavirus tests to avoid quarantine
Vienna Airport will offer onsite coronavirus testing from Monday to enable passengers entering Austria to avoid having to be quarantined for 14 days. Passengers arriving at the airport have been required to present a health certificate showing a negative COVID-19 result which is no older than four days, or go into quarantine.
Pope says coronavirus vaccine must be shared worldwide
Pope Francis called on Sunday for international scientific cooperation to discover a vaccine for the coronavirus and said any successful vaccine should be made available around the world. Francis, who has been delivering his Sunday address from the papal library instead of St. Peter's Square because of the lockdown in Italy, thanked all those around the world who were providing essential services.
Mosques and schools to reopen in Iran's low-risk areas
Iran plans to reopen mosques and schools in areas that have been consistently free of the coronavirus as President Hassan Rouhani's government starts to ease restrictions that were aimed at containing the outbreak. With mosques closed and religious gatherings banned since mid-March as the outbreak spread in the Middle East's worst-hit country, ordinary Iranians have turned to drive-ins for ceremonies during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
South Korea to relax social distancing rules further, starting May 6
South Korea will further relax social distancing rules from May 6, allowing a phased re-opening of businesses, as the nation has largely managed to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Sunday. Widespread testing, intensive contact tracing and tracking apps have enabled South Korea to limit the spread of the virus rather than rely on the lengthy lockdowns seen elsewhere.
Israel's Supreme Court discusses Netanyahu's fate as prime minister
Israel's Supreme Court began a two-day hearing on Sunday to determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been indicted for corruption, will be allowed to form a new government. A ruling against Netanyahu would likely trigger a snap election, the fourth since April 2019, as the country grapples with the coronavirus crisis and its economic fallout.
North Korea's Kim did not have surgery, South says, as shots fired at DMZ
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not undergo surgery during almost three weeks of absence from public life, a South Korean official said on Sunday, as the two Koreas exchanged gunfire at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two sides. The government official declined to provide reasons, but said speculative reports that Kim had had an operation, citing some differences in his leg movements, were untrue.
Hope and havoc as some Israeli schools reopen under coronavirus curbs
Israel reopened some schools on Sunday but the bid to edge back to normality as coronavirus concerns ease was boycotted by several municipalities and many parents who cited poor government preparation. Kitted with masks and hand-cleaners, the first three grades of elementary school and the last two grades of high school were allowed back, redistributed in classes capped at 15 pupils to enforce social-distancing. If the move does not unleash fresh contagions, other grades and kindergartens may soon follow suit.
Afghanistan probes report Iranian border guards forced migrants into river, many drowned
Afghan officials on Sunday launched a hunt to retrieve bodies of Afghan migrants from a river in a western province after reports that Iranian border guards tortured and threw Afghans into the river to prevent their entry into Iran. Afghanistan's foreign ministry in a statement on Saturday said an inquiry had been launched and a senior official in the presidential palace in Kabul said initial assessments suggested at least 70 Afghans who were trying to enter Iran from bordering Herat province were beaten and pushed into the Harirud river.
Spaniards head outdoors for first time in 7 weeks as coronavirus deaths fall
Spaniards revelled in their new-found freedom this weekend after coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased to allow healthy adults out to play sports and take walks for the first time in seven weeks. Sigrid Cervera, 44, was heading for the sea on Sunday with her surfboard in Gavà, a town outside Barcelona whose council has permitted access to the beach.
Dutch coronavirus cases rise 335 to 40,571 with 69 new deaths: health authorities
The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the Netherlands has increased by 335 to 40,471, Dutch health authorities said on Sunday. The National Institute for Public Health reported 69 new deaths, taking total COVID-19 fatalities to 5,056. The authorities stress that the actual number of infections is likely higher because not all suspected COVID-19 patients are being tested.
