COVID deaths surpass 500,000 worldwide

A Brazilian doctor checks a girl’s throat for coronavirus in Tabatinga, Brazil, in this file photo. The world surpassed two sobering coronavirus milestones on Sunday — 500,000 confirmed deaths, 10 million confirmed cases — and hit another high mark for daily new infections as governments that attempted reopenings continued to backtrack and warn that worse news could be yet to come.SD-Agencies

EU narrows down border list

European Union envoys are close to finalizing a list of countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter Europe again, possibly from late this week, EU diplomats confirmed on Saturday. Americans are almost certain to be excluded in the short term due to the number of U.S. coronavirus cases.

The number of cases in the United States has surged over the past week, with an all-time high of 45,300 confirmed new daily infections just reached. U.S. President Donald Trump also suspended the entry of all people from Europe’s ID check-free travel zone in a decree in March.

Opposition wins rerun of Malawi’s presidential vote

The opposition has won Malawi’s historic rerun of the presidential election, the first time a court-overturned vote in Africa has led to the defeat of an incumbent leader.

Lazarus Chakwera’s victory on Saturday was a result of months of determined street protests in the southern African nation, and of a unanimous decision by the Constitutional Court that widespread irregularities in the May 2019 election — including the use of correction fluid on ballots — could not stand.

President Peter Mutharika, who had sought a second five-year term, earlier on Saturday called the rerun of the election “the worst in Malawi’s history.” He alleged his party’s monitors had been beaten and intimidated during the election, but the Malawi Human Rights Commission, an observer, called the vote peaceful and transparent.

Russia stages grand WWII parade

Columns of tanks and troops paraded through Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over grand World War II commemorations to stir up patriotic fervor.

Troops from 13 foreign countries, including China, also marched across Red Square.

The parade culminated with an air show featuring 75 warplanes and helicopters, including strategic bombers and the latest fighter jets. The air show ended with six attack aircraft painting the sky over Red Square in the three colors of the Russian national flag.

Over 3,500 health-care workers infected in S. Africa

The coronavirus has infected 3,583 health-care workers in South Africa, and 34 of them have died, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.

“May the souls of these selfless warriors rest in eternal peace and we thank them for their unwavering service right until the end,” the minister said at the opening the first phase of a 3,300-bed field hospital in Uitenhage, the Eastern Cape province. Of the infected healthcare workers, 1,993 have recovered, the minister said.

Law student sues Harvard over tuition

A Harvard law student has filed a lawsuit against the university because tuition prices and fees have remained the same despite classes moving to remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I decided to sue Harvard because while they did make some effort ... the first semester we were online to mitigate things, they just have not lowered tuition,” said Abraham Barkhordar, 23.

“They’ve actually suggested that to mitigate the difficulties of online learning that we rent office space as students,” said Barkhordar. “I just felt overall disrespected and unheard by the administration.”

(SD-Agencies)