Hello, I'm Debbie Russ with the BBC News. Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Events have been curtailed by the coronavirus. Alan Johnston reports. Some countries battling the coronavirus, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, have ordered complete lockdowns. Other states have urged people to stay at home and save lives. Indonesia has banned journeys to see relatives and many of those staying at home will have their worries. They'll fear that the impact of the virus will sweep away their jobs. There will have been less money around to spend on feasts and gifts ahead of this difficult saddest of Eids. The Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has used his Eid message to the country to announce that the government is to speed up the release of Taliban prisoners. He made the comments as a 3-day ceasefire announced by the Taliban came into effect.
The French Health Minister Olivier Veran has ordered a review of the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients after a study suggested that it raised mortality rates. He wants a reevaluation of the drugs prescription within 48 hours. Lillian Adoh reports. Hydroxychloroquine gain traction worldwide as a possible coronavirus cure after a French doctor Didier Raoult began proclaiming his efficacy in March. The government allowed its limited use for COVID-19 patients despite it remaining unproven as a treatment. President Emmanuel Macron visited doctor Raoult's hospital in Marseilles, describing him as a great scientist. The rate of prescription for the drug has soared, so no wonder the Health Minister Olivier Veran is concerned by the study, which suggested the death rate increased for those taking hydroxychloroquine. He described the research published in the Lancet medical journal as alarming.
The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has chaired a military meeting in one of the few public appearances he's made during the pandemic. State media said Mr. Kim had discussed new policies to bolster what was described as the country's nuclear deterrence. Speculation had been rife about his health after he largely disappeared from the public eye in April. He resurfaced at the start of May.
A Polish man who wrestled with a bear in a Warsaw zoo while drunk has been fined and sentenced to community service after being found guilty of animal cruelty. In a video, the man is seen climbing into the enclosure and the animal, an elderly former circus bear named Sabina lumbers towards him. He then struggles with her in the water inside the compound. That's the latest BBC news.