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The Philippines protested on Thursday China’s designation of a disputed South China Sea reef, which it has turned into a heavily fortified island base, as a Chinese “administrative center.” The Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement objecting to what it called China’s “illegal designation” of Fiery Cross Reef as a regional administrative center in the hotly contested Spratly archipelago. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China last week of taking advantage of widespread distraction over the pandemic to advance its territorial claims. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered beaches in Orange County in the southern part of the state to close, after crowds defied public health guidelines to throng the popular shoreline last weekend. The move came after Newsom complained that beachgoers could hasten the spread of the coronavirus in California, delaying the state's ability to ease public health restrictions even as millions of people in the most-populous U.S. state obey the stay-at-home rules imposed in March. Newsom's decision to close the Orange County beaches, announced at his daily coronavirus briefing, stood in contrast to media reports, including by Reuters, that the Democratic governor planned to close all parks and beaches in the state. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Stone, a longtime friend to Donald Trump, ran a sprawling network of fake Facebook accounts starting in 2016, according to newly unsealed FBI records. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Up to 80,000 crew members are stuck on 120 cruise ships on US waters, and it's unclear when they'll touch land again. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

A US Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed through waters near the Paracel islands in the South China Sea challenging China's claim to the area, the Navy said Wednesday. The USS Barry undertook the so-called "freedom of navigation operation" on Tuesday, a week after Beijing upped its claims to the region by designating an official administrative district for the islands. "Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose an unprecedented threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight and the right of innocent passage of all ships," it said. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Governor Gavin Newsom said the state is issuing a "hard close" of beaches in Orange County during the coronavirus pandemic. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attacked coronavirus-pandemic shelter-in-place orders, demanding a restoration of "freedom." from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

President Trump suggested Wednesday that the United State surpassing one million coronavirus cases is a statistic that sounds worse than it is, because it's really a reflection of the country's "superior" testing efforts, despite experts arguing testing needs to ramp up significantly.> On US reaching 1 million cases of COVID, Trump says the big number is "because of testing." > "So it's a number that, in one way, sounds bad, but in another way is really actually an indication that our testing is so superior."> > -- Jordyn Phelps (@JordynPhelps) April 29, 2020He also claims he received some outside validation about the U.S.'s performance from none other than South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Seoul has been heralded as the gold standard for handling the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to its intense and efficient testing program that helped the country keep infections and deaths relatively low, while also avoiding a full-scale economic...

Presumptive Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden for the first time on Friday is set to personally address a former Senate aide's accusation that he sexually assaulted her in 1993 - a claim that his campaign has denied. Biden is scheduled to be interviewed about the matter on the MSNBC program "Morning Joe," the cable TV network said on Twitter on Thursday. Biden's campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the interview. from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

The Australian government will meet on Friday to discuss how sport can restart as the number of new coronavirus cases dwindles and states begin to relax restrictions on social gatherings, two sources familiar with the details told Reuters. from Reuters: World News

As White House economic reopening guidance expired on Thursday after two weeks in place, half of all U.S. states forged ahead with easing restrictions on restaurants, retail and other businesses in hopes of reviving coronavirus-stricken commerce. from Reuters: U.S.

A growing number of families are struggling to put food on the table during the coronavirus lockdown. from BBC News - Home

How fasting in lockdown and isolation has changed Ramadan for young Muslims this year. from BBC News - Home

How closely have you been paying attention to what's been going on during the past seven days? from BBC News - Home

Grace, 26, doesn't look it but she's deemed extremely vulnerable - here's how she's dealing with having to shield. from BBC News - Home

The breathtaking landscapes of Iceland, Greenland, Norway and the Faroe Islands. from BBC News - Home

Two mothers tell the BBC about their experiences as their young children battled the virus. from BBC News - Home

The stories of people who died on one day, from an exile who returned home to a disaster survivor. from BBC News - Home

Dr Nigel Kennea describes his role supporting bereaved families at one London hospital during the coronavirus pandemic. from BBC News - Home

The movie which has roots in the exposure of power and abuse in the film industry after #MeToo. from BBC News - Home

Scientists are working on better solar cells that will turn more of the sun's rays into electricity. from BBC News - Home

Remembering the maverick blind campaigners who walked to London a century ago to demand equality. from BBC News - Home

Parents have been turning to Google to help them teach the things they’ve forgotten. from BBC News - Home

Half of the world's workers could lose their jobs because of Covid-19, we meet four who are struggling with lockdown. from BBC News - Home

Images from 40 years ago, when six gunmen took over the Iranian embassy in Kensington. from BBC News - Home

How poverty and economic inequality are threatening an entire generation of African Americans. from BBC News - Home

Millions in the UK will soon be asked to download an app that helps to limit coronavirus spreading. from BBC News - Home

Baby Johnson joins Leo Blair and Florence Cameron to become a member of a very exclusive club. from BBC News - Home

Families want to know why so many of their elderly relatives have died. from BBC News - Home

Japan's relatively low rate of virus testing raises questions about how it has tackled the pandemic. from BBC News - Home

When passenger planes start flying again, the world of air travel will be very different. from BBC News - Home

"No-one wants to buy clothes to sit at home in," as Next's chief executive Simon Wolfson puts it. from BBC News - Home

China "resolutely opposes" any international inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic that presumes its guilt, said Yue Yucheng, a vice-foreign minister, in comments published on Thursday. from Reuters: World News

A coronavirus outbreak in Australia's remote southern island state of Tasmania likely originated from the Ruby Princess cruise ship, a government report published on Thursday concluded, as the national death toll rose to 91. from Reuters: World News

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra on Wednesday rejected a bill approved by Congress earlier this month that would have let people withdraw up to 25% of their holdings in private pension funds and vowed to send a full pension reform plan to lawmakers. from Reuters: World News

The leader of one of the parties negotiating to form a new Irish government raised the prospect on Wednesday of talks drifting well into June, extending a months-long deadlock that has been overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. from Reuters: World News

Doctors caring for COVID-19 patients at hospitals across the United States have taken up temporary residence in donated recreational vehicles, parked outside their homes, as a way to keep them near to their families yet isolated. from Reuters: U.S.

Officials are investigating if residents received proper medical care at the Massachusetts home. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2ybbegh

Irrfan Khan's biographer, Aseem Chhabra, writes about the life of one of Bollywood's biggest stars. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3eWGqQS

Families want to know why so many of their elderly relatives have died. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2yZZBZt

Japan's relatively low rate of virus testing raises questions about how it has tackled the pandemic. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2KKoxXB

How African researchers are using the continent's languages to help spur innovation in Artificial Intelligence. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2xkftpr

Inside the Nicaraguan boxing event that caught the world's attention during the pandemic. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3d3ojqW

"No-one wants to buy clothes to sit at home in," as Next's chief executive Simon Wolfson puts it. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2Wc9YBC

At a time when many healthcare workers are risking their lives, some face pay cuts and job loss. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2VMxYMs

When passenger planes start flying again, the world of air travel will be very different. from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3cXyT2s

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France's oldest doctor continues to support patients during the pandemic, despite being at high risk of getting coronavirus. from BBC News - Home

An image of children at a Rohingya refugee camp wins Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2020. from BBC News - Home

How one Australian couple ended up isolated in paradise on Fraser Island. from BBC News - Home

How a message of hope and peace is being spread by trees from BBC News - Home

Barber shops, tattoo parlours, beaches and restaurants reopen in Georgia. from BBC News - Home

A car factory worker turned cafe owner explains how coronavirus is affecting his business dream. from BBC News - Home

Lockdowns give parts of the natural world an opportunity to experience life with fewer humans around. from BBC News - Home

Shelley Klein lived in a modernist masterpiece - but envied her friends' more traditional homes. from BBC News - Home

Half of the four million garment industry jobs in Bangladesh could be lost as orders dry up. from BBC News - Home

Why were 29 snakes left in pillowcases in a Sunderland dustbin the day before and the day after Valentine's Day? from BBC News - Home

Abdul Malabari has taken on the task of burying those who died with the virus in one Indian city. from BBC News - Home

Rights groups say coronavirus restrictions are leaving vulnerable trans people even more exposed. from BBC News - Home

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Nine of the 22 victims killed in Canada's Nova Scotia province earlier this month in a weekend shooting rampage died in house fires set by the gunman, Canadian police told reporters on Tuesday. from Reuters: World News

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday Washington was 'concerned' over the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separatist group, declaring self-rule in Yemen's south, warning such actions threatened efforts to revive talks between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels. from Reuters: World News