The World Health Organization has launched a global initiative to find ways of preventing and curing the new coronavirus. The head of the WHO said the pandemic threat to humanity required a common approach. But the United States has declined to participate.
Brazil's justice minister has resigned in protest after President Jair Bolsonaro sacked the chief of the federal police. Sergio Moro said he could not accept what he called political interference in force. Correspondents say President Bolsonaro is adopting a more authoritarian government style.
Saudi Arabia is to abolish flogging as a form of punishment. According to a legal document seen by media outlets there, it says flogging will be replaced by imprisonment or fines.
The number of people who've died of Covid-19 in the United States has passed 50,000, the highest figure for an individual country. Some southern U.S states began easing lockdowns, as president Trump introduced another multi-billion-dollar relief bill. He told reporters he was being sarcastic when he suggested coronavirus could be treated with disinfectant injections.
Suspected ethnic Hutu militiamen in the Democratic Republic of Congo have killed 16 people, including 12 rangers during an ambush at the Virunga National Park. The area is home to most of the world's mountain gorillas.
The authorities in Mozambique have said for the first time that attacks in the north of the country are being carried out by the Islamic State group. The attacks include the recent killing of more than 50 people.
The French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to support the pandemic-hit hospitality and tourism industries. He said they were part of what he called "The art of being French". Key players including a group of celebrity chefs asked him to allow restaurants to reopen.
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