Around the world...

LEBANON

Lebanon’s churches and mosques are now permitted to open for congregational prayers on Sundays and Fridays as long as capacities are limited and other safety guidelines are respected.

The country has registered 809 cases of the coronavirus with 26 deaths attributed to Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.

RUSSIA

Russia’s count of coronavirus infections has climbed above 200,000 after its highest daily tally of new cases.

Figures released yesterday recorded 11,012 new cases for a total of 209,688, with 1,915 deaths attributed to Covid-19.

More than half the infection cases and deaths are recorded in Moscow, which will remain under a lockdown for the rest of the month.

MALAYSIA

Movement restrictions are to be extended by four weeks until June 9 despite a sharp drop in infections in the country.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said restrictions that were due to end tomorrow must continue to prevent infections from flaring up in the absence of a vaccine.

Malaysia has recorded 6,589 cases with 108 deaths.

AFRICA

Africa has more than 60,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to a tally from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. South Africa has the most, with more than 9,400 registered.

The widespread shortage of testing capacity continues to be a challenge and means the true figures are likely to be much higher.

Some countries are easing lockdowns even as cases rise.

AUSTRALIA

Health Minister Greg Hunt says Australia’s government supports a EU motion for an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19 in China.

Australia has called for such an inquiry for some weeks to better understand how the coronavirus started in Wuhan, China, to be able counter such pandemics in the future.

INDIA

An Indian navy warship carrying Indians stranded in the Maldives because of the coronavirus lockdown has docked at a port in Kochi, the capital of the southernmost state of Kerala.

India is also using Air India to bring back thousands of stranded citizens from the Gulf, the UK and elsewhere in Asia. India has reported 60,829 cases, including 19,357 recovered, and 2,109 deaths.