Reuters World News Summary
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
France closes shops, restaurants, tells people to stay home
France will shut shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities from Sunday with its 67 million people told to stay home to help fight the rapid acceleration of the coronavirus in a country where the number of cases has doubled in 72 hours. The government had no other option, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told a news conference after the public health authority said 91 people had died in France and almost 4,500 were now infected.
Berlin joins Cologne in closing bars, clubs as Germany toughens coronavirus response
Berlin and Cologne are to close all bars, clubs, cinemas, theaters and concert halls with immediate effect as Germany ramps up its efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. "The Berlin Senate decided today that from now on all public and non-public events in Berlin with 50 or more participants are forbidden," the capital's city state government said in a statement.
Italians defy coronavirus with mass singing, applause for doctors
Italians came out on Saturday to sing together from windows and balconies and applaud their hard-pressed doctors and nurses as the death toll from Europe's worst coronavirus outbreak kept climbing. The government has imposed an unprecedented series of controls since the virus emerged in northern Italy on Feb. 21, banning public gatherings, forbidding all but essential travel and telling people to stay at home.
Spain goes under lockdown to fight coronavirus
Spain put its 47 million inhabitants under partial lockdown on Saturday as part of a 15-day state of emergency to combat the coronavirus epidemic in Europe's second worst-affected country by the disease after Italy. Effective immediately, all Spaniards must stay home except to buy food, medicines, go to work or to the hospital or for emergencies.
Putin asks court if he can amend constitution to run again for president
Russian President Vladimir Putin has formally asked the country's constitutional court if it is legal for him to change the constitution, the Kremlin said on Saturday, a move that could allow him to remain in power until 2036. Putin in January unveiled a major shake-up of Russian politics and a constitutional overhaul, which the Kremlin billed as a redistribution of power from the presidency to parliament.
Corona absence? French voters set to shun local elections amid virus fears
France heads to the polls on Sunday for local elections, but the rapid acceleration of the coronavirus across the country has led to officials fearing the vote could see mass abstentions with some politicians demanding a last minute postponement. Voters are set to choose mayors for 35,000 town halls and almost half a million councillors in a vote overshadowed by the coronavirus outbreak and by growing public scepticism about traditional politics in France.
Communist-run Cuba releases dissident artist after uproar
Cuba released dissident artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara from jail overnight after dozens of prominent artists, including those traditionally supportive of the Communist government, as well as international rights groups criticized his arrest 13 days ago. The 32-year-old, known for his provocative performances criticizing authorities, had been put in "preventive prison" awaiting trial on various charges, according to his partner and art curator Claudia Genlui.
World closes borders, restricts travel to contain coronavirus spread
Countries around the world on Saturday continued to close borders, impose strict entry and quarantine requirements and restrict large gatherings in efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Apple Inc said it will close all its retail stores worldwide, outside Greater China, until March 27. Apple reopened all 42 of its branded stores in China on Friday as the spread of the virus on mainland China slowed dramatically.
Canada's hardest hit province limits virus testing as demand grows for swabs
Canada's most populous province of Ontario, which has reported more than 100 new coronavirus cases, on Saturday said it would limit testing for the respiratory illness until it can guarantee a more steady supply of swabs. "There is in an increased global demand for viral nasopharyngeal swabs due to COVID-19," Public Health Ontario said on its Web site. "In an effort to ensure swabs are available where most needed, the Public Health Laboratory is limiting the volume of swabs supplied."
Three U.S. troops wounded in renewed rocket attacks on Iraq's Taji base
Three American troops and several Iraqi forces were wounded on Saturday in the second major rocket attack in the past week on an Iraqi base north of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi officials said, raising the stakes in an escalating cycle of attacks and reprisals. Iraq's Joint Operations Command said 33 Katyusha rockets were launched near a section of the Taji base which houses U.S.-led coalition troops. It said the military found seven rocket launchers and 24 unused rockets in the nearby Abu Izam area.
