June 06 (HT) India and few other Asian nations on Friday responded strongly to UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet, who had expressed “alarm” at “clampdown on freedom of expression” in some countries, saying the governments are focused on ensuring that precious lives are not lost due to the coronavirus pandemic and spread of “harmful misinformation” represents a clear danger to public health.
[Full Story]

June 06 (HT) President Jair Bolsonaro threatened on Friday to pull Brazil out of the World Health Organization after the UN agency warned governments about the risk of lifting lockdowns before slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus. A new Brazilian record for daily Covid-19 fatalities pushed Brazil’s death toll past that of Italy late on Thursday
[Full Story]

June 05 (BBC) Doctors in Pakistan are warning that the country’s already weak healthcare system could soon be overwhelmed by coronavirus patients. So far, with fewer than 2,000 deaths, the outbreak hasn’t been as deadly as some initially feared.
[Full Story]

June 06 (HT) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an impromptu appearance at an anti-racial discrimination rally in the country’s capital Ottawa, and proceeded to kneel along with protestors as they paid homage to African-American George Floyd who was killed by police in Minneapolis recently.
[Full Story]

June 04 (CP) Colombo- Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) Rating of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Limited (SLIC) at ‘B’. The Outlook is Negative. The agency has simultaneously affirmed SLIC’s National IFS Rating at ‘AAA(lka)’ with a Stable Outlook.
[Full Story]

June 05 (BBC) Indian is reopening shopping malls, places of worship, restaurants and offices from 8 June as it eases its lockdown restrictions. The guidelines include staggered work hours, no edible offering at temples and air conditioning at 24C (75.2F).
[Full Story]