With COVID-19 cases surpassing 2,000, South Korea has become the biggest cluster to have the infections outside China. A total of 13 people have died of the virus in the country
Subtle and sharp, sarcastic and self-deprecating. And sometimes just downright rude. There are wife jokes, husband jokes, boss barbs, Modi jibes, weight gain worries and the inevitable China insults. Humour in all forms is the panacea it seems for people around the world who are united in their need to laugh or at least crack a smile in these troubled times.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by
"We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations -- one that is killing people, spreading human suffering, and upending people's lives. But this is much more than a health crisis. It is a human crisis," Guterres said.
'Our only request to the Indian government is that they should act fast and send a plane to evacuate us as people around us are dying'
The trial began at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle as the first participant received the investigational vaccine.
Vice President Mike Pence said Trump had authorised a ban on entry of foreign nationals who travelled to Iran in the last 14 days. The United States also advised its citizens not to travel to parts of South Korea and Italy, from where reports of coronavirus have appeared.
On Sunday, India airlifted a second batch of 323 stranded Indians and seven Maldivian citizens from coronavirus-hit Wuhan city, taking the total number of people evacuated to 654.
Endearing moments of family time, impromptu singing sessions, ping-pong games on dinner tables and a constant stream of online humour provide a much-needed salve of hope and sanity in this time of distress.
Meanwhile, India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.
The Surat diamond industry is likely to face a loss of around Rs 8,000 crores in next two months as Hong Kong, which is a major export destination, has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak in China, say experts. Hong Kong is a major business hub for the Surat diamond industry, but schools and colleges have been closed there till the first week of March and even businesses are seeing a dip in view of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
The annual list, released on Wednesday by Geneva-based World Economic Forum, comes at a time when the new Indian government has completed 100 days in power and has promised further steps to revive its economy and the ease of doing business in the country.
Why did the Chinese military take over the lab in Wuhan in end January? Did something go wrong? Claude Arpi glances at the mystery surrounding the origin of the coronavirus.
The prayer, Sarvejana Sukhinobhavantu, or let the whole universe of living beings be well, helps. So do profound and relevant Ancient Wise Words and aphorisms: Vasudaiva Kutumbakam, or the whole world is one big family, interconnected, interdependent. And a sense of humour, jokes, pranks, writing, conversations. And, last but definitely not least, the rippling waves of inner realisation on the background mind-track -- about the insignificance of ego, the importance of humility, the wasted opportunities in life, the wrong moves, the strokes of luck, the past 'sins', the what-ifs.
From DIY submarines to diets of 20,000 calories is part of this week's collection of weird, true and funny news.
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