Nadia, a 4-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus after developing a dry cough, in what is believed to be the first known case of an animal infected with COVID-19 in the US, raising new questions about human-to-animal transmission of the deadly virus.
The tigress, along with six other big cats, is thought to have been infected by an asymptomatic zoo keeper, the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the zoo, said in a statement on Sunday.
Nadia, her sister Azul, two Amur tigers and three African lions had developed a dry cough and decrease in appetite, it said, adding that all the cats are expected to recover.
"Though they have experienced some decrease in appetite, the cats at the Bronx Zoo are otherwise doing well under veterinary care and are bright, alert, and interactive with their keepers," the CNN quoted the zoo as saying.
"It is not known how this disease will develop in big cats since different species ..

COVID-19: Female tiger tests positive for coronavirus in US' zoo

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Singapore will suspend operations of Changi Airport's terminal 2 for 18 months from the beginning of next month following a sharp drop in passenger traffic due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Changi Airport is Singapore's main civilian airport and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. It has four terminals.
"We will save on running costs for the airport operator, retail tenants, airlines and ground handlers," Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan told Parliament on Monday, after announcing plans to halt operations at the airport's terminal 2 from May 1.
One terminal is enough to handle the current traffic at the airport, he said.
"While full recovery this year is unlikely, partial recovery next year is probable. We must be ready to lead and to ride the recovery when it happens," said the minister.
Air travel demand has plunged with the coronavirus spreading across the world, severely affecting Changi Airport.
"Importantly, it also allows us to speed up the current upgrading 

Coronavirus: Singapore to close Changi Airport's terminal 2 for 18 months following fall in demand

More than 215,000 people have signed a petition urging French officials to let more doctors prescribe the anti-malaria drug chloroquine for coronavirus patients, a controversial proposal that has divided health experts worldwide.
Support for the treatment has gained ground as doctors try to keep the COVID-19 outbreak from overwhelming hospitals, with some saying early use of chloroquine and similar treatments could keep symptoms from worsening to the point that intensive care is needed.
The French petition on the Change.org website was launched Friday by a group of doctors including Philippe Douste-Blazy, a cardiologist and former French health minister.
On Monday, three of France's most respected doctors penned an open letter backing chloroquine use despite the absence of randomised and peer-reviewed studies on its efficiency.
In the absence of anti-virals for the new coronavirus, "we think it is legitimate, given preliminary results, to implement a new strategy," the doctors wrote ..

Thousands sign French call for chloroquine in virus fight

France could see its deepest recession this year since the end of World War II, due to the coronavirus crisis, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned Monday.
"The worst growth figure in France since 1945 was -2.2 percent in 2009, after the financial crisis of 2008. We will probably be very far beyond -2.2 percent" this year, Le Maire told a Senate panel.

France heading for worst recession since WWII: minister

A cruise ship that has accounted for a quarter of all COVID-19 deaths in Australia was allowed to dock near Sydney on Monday after 200 crew members began exhibiting coronavirus symptoms.
The Ruby Princess berthed at Port Kembla, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Sydney, after weeks stranded at sea to allow doctors to assess sick crew members and take the most serious cases ashore for medical treatment.
The government last month allowed 2,700 passengers to walk off the Carnival Australia-owned vessel and return to their homes around the country -- despite a ban on cruise ships docking in Australia being announced just days earlier.
Hundreds of passengers were later diagnosed with coronavirus and at least 10 have died, accounting for a quarter of Australia's death toll of 40. The country has recorded almost 6,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
New South Wales police said the ship could remain at the port for up to 10 days to restock and refuel before departing Australian waters, but .

Virus-stricken cruise ship docks near Sydney

Singapore has placed nearly 20,000 foreign workers under quarantine in their dormitories after an increasing number in the community were found to be infected with COVID-19.
The country has gazetted two foreign dormitories as isolation areas, which means that the thousands of workers living on both sites will not be able to leave their rooms for 14 days, according to a press release by Singapore's ministry of health on April 5.
Combined, the two dormitories have so far seen over 90 cases of COVID-19 infections.
The move comes as Singapore sees a spike in local cases of COVID-19, with a record 116 such cases on Sunday.
Singapore will also effectively enter a lockdown from Tuesday, closing schools and workplaces deemed to provide nonessential services for a month.
Workers under quarantine will continue to be paid salaries, the ministry said.
It is also working with all dormitory operators in Singapore to reduce the density of their residents by transferring some workers to alternative ..

Singapore quarantines almost 20K foreign workers

A 7-year-old boy who was shot in the face died from his injuries, police in Pennsylvania said.
Chester police officers responding to a report of a shooting found Sinsir Parker lying in the middle of the street Sunday night, a statement from the department said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police asked anyone with information to contact the department. The release did not indicate any arrests and the circumstances of the shooting were still unclear.
The location provided by police corresponds to a residential neighbourhood in Chester, Delaware County's largest city that's not far from the Delaware state line and is just across the Delaware River from New Jersey.
The child's death is the 14th homicide in Chester in 2020, police said. Further details weren't immediately released.

Police: 7-year-old boy shot in face dies in Pennsylvania

Some 20 Malian soldiers were killed in an apparent jihadist attack Monday, local politicians and a military official said, in the latest bout of violence in the war-torn West African state.
Militants attacked a military base in the northern town of Bamba early on Monday morning, according to a local government official, who called the assailants "terrorists" and said at least 20 soldiers had died.
Another local official gave a similar account, but suggested the death toll was likely higher than 20, while a leading army official also confirmed an attack had taken place, with losses on both sides.

20 Mali soldiers killed in jihadist attack

Austria could start loosening its coronavirus lockdown measures from next week, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced at a press conference Monday, but warned this depended on citizens abiding by social distancing rules.
"The aim is that from 14 April... smaller shops up to a size of 400 square metres, as well as hardware and garden stores can open again, under strict security conditions of course," Kurz said.

Austria could start loosening lockdown from April 14: chancellor

At least four children were killed and one injured after a part of the boundary wall collapsed due to torrential rains in northwest Pakistan, police said.
The incident happened in low Orakzai tribal district when the boundary wall of the house, badly damaged due to recent torrential rains suddenly collapsed, killing four children on the spot, the police said.

4 killed in wall collapse in Pak

Scientists have used data from atomic bomb tests conducted during the Cold War to correctly determine the age of whale sharks for the first time.
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, will help ensure the survival of the species which is classified as endangered.
Measuring the age of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) has been difficult because, like all sharks and rays, they lack bony structures called otoliths that are used to assess the age of other fish.
Whale shark vertebrae feature distinct bands -- a little like the rings of a tree trunk -- and it was known that these increased in number as the animal grew older.
However, some studies suggested that a new ring was formed every year, while others concluded that it happened every six months.
The researchers, including Mark Meekan from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, turned to the radioactive legacy of the Cold War's nuclear arms race.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the US, Soviet Union, Great ...

'Cold War nuclear bomb tests help reveal true age of whale sharks'

The European Union gave the go ahead on Monday to a British scheme to provide a 50-billion-pound (57-billion-euro) "umbrella" to shield private businesses from the coronavirus epidemic.
The United Kingdom left the bloc at the end of January, but EU law still applies until the end of a post-Brexit transition period, and would normally restrict state subsidies.
But Brussels has promised to show "full flexibility" in its rules as capitals scramble to shore up employers pummelled by the virus and the associated national lockdowns.
Britain has set aside a fund to provide direct grants and subsidised public loans to key businesses and to encourage research into preventing, treating or curing the virus.
In a statement published on Monday, the European Commission confirmed that it would give the package the green light, as it done two smaller British schemes announced last month.
On March 23 Britain ordered a three-week shutdown of non-essential shops and services to limit transmission of the 

EU approves UK 50 bn pound scheme for virus-hit firms

Singapore on Monday announced an additional budget of SGD 5.1 billion (USD 3.5 billion) to support jobs and mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the country's economy, days after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the closure of most workplaces as part of his "decisive move" to contain the spread of the deadly disease.
The third tranche of COVID-19 support measures includes wage subsidies for every local worker, cash payouts for all adult citizens and more help for the self-employed.
This will cost the city-state government SGD 5.1 billion ((USD 3.5 billion), including SGD 4 billion (USD 2.7 billion) that would be drawn from the country's reserves.
With this, the government's combined COVID-19 support package comes to SGD 59.9 billion (USD 41.7 billion), Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said in parliament, announcing the latest increases in state spending dubbed as solidarity budget.
This is an unprecedented budget, for extraordinary times. The situation ...

Singapore announces additional budget to support coronavirus-hit economy

Seven people were killed when two suicide bombers, suspected to be members of Nigeria's Boko Haram jihadist group, attacked a village in northern Cameroon on Sunday, police and a local official said on Monday.
"Two Boko Haram bombers blew themselves up at around 8pm" in the attack on Amchide, on the border with Nigeria, a policeman said, while a local official said a village chief and two teenagers were among the dead.

Boko Haram bombers kill seven in Cameroon

Actors Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer are coming back for the sequel of "Call Me by Your Name", director Luca Guadagnino has confirmed.
The filmmaker said Michael Stuhlbarg and Esther Garrel, who played parents to Chalamet's Elio in the 2017 romance, will also return for the second part.
"It was a great pleasure to work with Timothee Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Esther Garrel and the other actors. Everyone will be in the new movie," Guadagnino told Italian newspaper La Repubblica, as quoted by Variety.
While not much is known about the new movie, but Andre Aciman's novel on which the original film was based has a sequel, titled "Find Me". It takes place 10 years after the original story.
Like most of the films in the works, Guadagnino added, work on the sequel was put on hold in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Before coronavirus, I made a trip to the United States to meet a screenwriter I love very much, whose name I don't want to say, to talk about the second 

Timothee Chalamet, Armie Hammer to return for 'Call Me...' sequel, says director

Japan's government began preparing Monday for the declaration of a state of emergency over the outbreak of the new coronavirus, as infections spike in the capital Tokyo and elsewhere.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was expected to meet late Monday with a panel of experts advising the government on the global pandemic, with widespread reports that he would announce a state of emergency as soon as Tuesday.
The move comes as infections grow steadily -- though in far smaller numbers than in Europe or the United States.
Tokyo announced a record 148 new cases on Sunday, and pressure has increased on the government to take fresh action.
Tokyo's Governor Yuriko Koike has already urged residents of the capital to avoid non-essential outings on weekends and to work from home during the week.
"We've not received anything formal but we are preparing various things assuming Tokyo will be designated," she told reporters Monday, when asked about a possible declaration.
Koike is expected to outline how ...

Japan prepares for state of emergency over virus

A Pakistani court has declared that overcrowding in jails is unconstitutional and ruled that a prisoner can sue the government and prison authorities for inhuman treatment during imprisonment, media reports said on Monday.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC), after hearing the petitions filed by Adiala jail inmates, issued directives to the federal government and Islamabad's commissioner for observance of provisions in jail manual as well as in the international conventions and treaties related to the well-being of inmates, Dawn news reported.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, in the 38-page verdict, observed that the "intolerable and shockingly inhuman and degrading treatment highlighted in the proceedings in hand meets the threshold of the hypothetical illustration in the above judgement.
"It is, therefore, obvious that the incarcerated prisoners, subjected to the unimaginable degrading and inhuman treatment highlighted in these proceedings, may have become entitled to seek damages ...

Pak court declares overcrowding in jails as unconstitutional, empowers inmates to sue govt

British boxing great Nigel Benn revealed on Instagram one of his brother's Mark has died of coronavirus.
The 56-year-old -- former world champion at two weights -- said Mark had been the "Joker" of the family.
It came as the number of UK coronavirus-related deaths climbed by 621 to 4,934 and infections rose by 5,903 to 47,806.
"My brother Mark passed Away 2day (Covid 19), as we all were growing up Mark was the Joker of the Benn house hold," he wrote.
"May he Rest In Peace love u Mark.'"
Benn -- whose 23-year-old son Conor is a promising pugilist with an unblemished record -- was one of seven boys but lost his older brother Andy when he fell out of a window aged just eight.
Benn was dubbed the 'Dark Destroyer' for his aggressive style and enjoyed a fierce rivalry with compatriots Chris Eubank and Michael Watson.
Benn was WBO middleweight title in 1990 and then went on to become WBC super-middleweight champion holding the belt between 1992 and 1996 -- losing his crown to South African ..

British boxing great Benn reveals coronavirus heartbreak

Veteran actor Forrest Compton, best known for playing the role of district attorney Mike Karr in the long-running soap opera "The Edge of Night", has passed away due to coronavirus complications at the age of 94.
According to the Shelter Island Reporter, close friends of Compton confirmed he died on Sunday.
Born in 1925 in Pennsylvania's Reading, the actor served with the 103rd Infantry Division in France during World War II.
He then went on to enrol in Swarthmore College where he studied pre-law and political science before switching to English.
From there on, Compton started acting in school theatre productions before he graduated and made his way to study acting at the Yale Drama School alongside his classmate, cinema legend Paul Newman.
Besides "The Edge of Night", Compton appeared on the CBS series "Gomer Pyle: USMC" as the no-nonsense Lieutenant Colonel Edward Gray. The show also starred Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton.
The actor also has a few popular soap operas to his credit such 

'The Edge Of Night' actor Forrest Compton dies of COVID-19 complications

Hand grip strength can help doctors perform time-efficient screening tool for type-2 diabetes, and improve diagnosis and outcomes, according to a study.
Muscular weakness is known to be associated with type-2 diabetes (T2DM) in otherwise seemingly healthy adults, however previous research had not found a way to assess this reliably.
The latest study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, identified consistent grip strength cut points relative to body weight, gender, and age group in a large nationally representative sample of participants pre-screened for comorbid conditions such as hypertension.
"Our study identifies the levels of handgrip strength/weakness that correlate with T2DM in otherwise healthy men and women, according to their body weights and ages," explained Elise C Brown, from Oakland University in the US.
"Healthcare providers now have a reliable test to detect it early before such complications set in," Brown said.
T2DM is linked to increased ...

Hand grip strength can reveal diabetes risk: Study

The UK government on Monday said Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "doing well" after staying overnight in hospital for some "routine tests" related to his COVID-19 diagnosis.
UK housing and communities secretary Robert Jenrick said Johnson remains in charge of the UK's response to the coronavirus pandemic and is expected back at No.10 Downing Street soon.
"This wasn't an emergency admission. It was a planned admission to undergo some routine tests. He is doing well, I am told, and we look forward to him being back at No. 10 soon," the Cabinet minister told the BBC on Monday morning.
The update on the 55-year-old prime minister's health came following his admission to a National Health Service (NHS) hospital in London on Sunday evening for tests after he showed "persistent symptoms of coronavirus", including a temperature, even 10 days after testing positive for the disease.
His hospitalisation was described as a "precautionary step" taken on the advice of his doctor, a Downing Street ..

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