World

The 'Rathana Suthraya' prayers will be recited over the week as the country recorded 10 cases and 1,700 people were quarantined due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Robert O'Brien, the US national security adviser, said last week that China had reacted slowly to the coronavirus, probably costing the world two months when it could have been preparing, in remarks that angered China.

The first participant in the trial will receive the experimental vaccine on Monday, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the trial has not been publicly announced yet.

The government has yet to implement the kind of tough measures that continental Europe has adopted, but health minister Matt Hancock said it would announce emergency powers which are expected to include a ban on mass gatherings.

Earlier on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned that "all options are on the table" to respond to the death of the three soldiers in a rocket attack on the Taji air base on Wednesday.

Last week the 150,000-strong National Nurses United issued the result of a survey, which said that over a third of respondees did not have access to protective masks, and half had not received any information on the novel coronavirus from employers.

With about 1,000 cases detected, the Nordic countries have not been spared the epidemic that has locked down entire cities and countries, raising fears of an economic recession and sent financial markets into a tizzy.

If he wins the nomination, Biden faces questions over several issues including supporting the Iraq War, a controversial crime bill, and a measure that weakened longstanding banking regulations.

The national carrier had suspended flights to Europe on Sunday, citing European "restrictions" imposed for "unknown reasons", without mentioning the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Judges dismissed an investigation by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in which she accused Ramaphosa of misleading parliament over his campaign financing.

The latest assistance will be designed to ensure steady cashflow for small businesses feeling pressure from the virus's global spread.

Abdalla Hamdok was appointed Prime Minister last August, after pro-democracy protests forced the military to remove the autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April.

Saudi Arabia has opened the war by cutting its official selling prices for April for all crude grades to all destinations by between $6 and $8 a barrel.

Britain so far reported three deaths and 278 cases of the new coronavirus.

Monday's evacuation comes after reports that a special flight was being arranged to fly diplomats and other foreigners from Pyongyang to the Russian city of Vladivostok.

Biden, the 77-year-old former vice president, spoke to a large crowd of supporters in Missouri, one of six states that will hold Democratic primaries on Tuesday.