Brazilian authorities had recaptured 586 inmates who escaped from their minimum-security prisons after their right to leave on temporary furloughs was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
But they estimated that 789 others remained on the run, after a series of riots Monday in four prisons in Sao Paulo state.
The riots broke out when authorities announced they were suspending the inmates’ right to leave for up to five week-long home visits per year.
They said they feared the returning prisoners would bring “heightened risk of spreading the new coronavirus among a vulnerable population” — their fellow inmates.
But that caused hundreds of prisoners to rebel against their guards, set fires and escape.
In all, at least 1,375 inmates fled, though authorities are still completing the count, the state penitentiary administration said.
The escapees were being held in “semi-open prisons,” which allow inmates to leave during the day for work and make extended home visits periodically.
The recaptured inmates “will lose the right to benefit from the semi-open system,” state prisons official Nivaldo Cesar Restivo told TV network Globo.
“They will now serve their sentences in normal prisons.”
Brazil has also suspended visits in its five federal maximum-security prisons over the coronavirus pandemic.
The country confirmed its first coronavirus-linked death on Tuesday.
Lol, we can't confirm how true this is, and ofcourse it had better be a lie. It had better just be. The F?
So a lady with the twitter handle -- @coolfrancess, says her uncle went to LUTH to have a coronavirus test and they allegedly asked him to pay N1.2m for the test. She then ended her tweet saying we are not ready.
“My dad’s cousin went to luth to get tested for corona virus Nd they told him he had to pay 1.2million naira ..lol..we are not ready,” she tweeted.
A cheating husband who caught coronavirus on a secret break to Italy with his mistress is now in isolation in the UK with his wife who has no idea how he caught it.
The woman has no idea how her partner caught Covid-19 but the man confessed to medical coordinators in the north of England.
He told them that he contracted the virus while he was on a secret holiday in the hotspot.
The 'well-heeled' male who The Sun reports works in a 'high-flying job' refused to name the mystery female he's been seeing.
A source told the paper: 'His case would be funny if it wasn't quite so serious. The man confessed what he'd been up to in Italy, and that his wife has no idea.
'She thinks he just picked up the disease on his business trip away. Although the patient admitted to medics what had happened, he said nothing would persuade him to name his mistress.'
It comes as the UK's total number of confirmed cases sits at 1,543. Fifty-six people are known to have died from the virus in Britain.
He is expected to make a full recovery from the infection but is said to be in a 'blind panic' at the thought of his wife finding out.
The Briton got out before Italy went into lockdown as the country - which is the hardest hit in Europe - saw 2,158 deaths.
Brazil confirmed its first COVID-19 death on Tuesday, as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro declared a state of emergency over the virus outbreak.
The South American country’s first victim was a 62-year-old man with underlying health conditions who died Monday in Sao Paulo, authorities said.
He was diabetic and had high blood pressure.
“Unfortunately, this shows how severe this pandemic is, despite what some would like to believe,” Sao Paulo mayor Bruno Covas told CBN radio.
That will likely be taken as a jab at Bolsonaro, who criticized how local governments are reacting to the pandemic, after the city of Sao Paulo and state of Rio de Janeiro declared states of emergency over the virus.
“People are acting like it’s the end of the world,” the far-right president said in an interview with Radio Tupi.
“Some governors are taking measures that are really going to hurt our economy…. It’s not like having groups of people here and there is the problem. What we need to do is reduce the hysteria.”
The measures in Rio included closing the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue and the cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain, two of the city’s most famous attractions.
Sao Paulo eased regulations on government purchases of all materials linked to containing the virus — including hand sanitizer, now mandatory on public transportation.
Rio ordered restaurants to reduce the number of tables by 70 percent to increase distance between patrons, closed stores in shopping malls and halved the number of public transport vehicles in circulation, calling on people to remain home when possible.
On Friday, the state had already closed schools, theaters and cinemas for at least 15 days.
Rio Governor Wilson Witzel has also ordered people off the city’s beaches, deploying firefighters with loudspeakers to encourage them to go home.
Saudi Arabia has suspended prayers inside all but the holiest two mosques in Islam as the kingdom steps up efforts to contain the new coronavirus.
Mosques will be temporarily shut for the five daily Islamic prayers as well as the weekly Friday prayers, the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing the council of senior scholars -- the kingdom’s highest religious body.
It said mosques would continue to issue the ritual call to prayer.
The decision seeks to direct worshipers to pray at home but does not affect prayers in Mecca’s Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, it added.
The announcement risks riling fringe hardliners for whom religion trumps health considerations.
Saudi Arabia has reported 171 coronavirus cases, but no deaths so far.
The Arab world’s biggest economy has shut down cinemas, malls and restaurants, halted flights and suspended the year-round umrah pilgrimage in a bid to contain the deadly virus.
More than 1,000 cases of the virus have been recorded so far across the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The Federal Government has inaugurated a special task force to take charge of the national response strategy and management of the COVID-19.
The task force will be headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, while Dr Sani Aliyu has been named as the National Coordinator.
They are also expected to advise the Government on the various containment measures.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Mustapha noted that the task force will give the President a daily brief on the situation.
Meanwhile, shortly after the inaugural meeting, the Federal Government declared that all government officials have been banned from embarking on foreign trips.
He also urged Nigerians coming in from outside the country to self-isolate themselves for 14 days to ensure they do not pose a threat to their immediate environment.
A fast rising Port Harcourt artist Bright Moses known by his stage name as Shine BM or Bright Music is currently fighting for his life.
It was learnt that the upcoming musician was attacked by yet to be identified cultists at his school -- Cross River State University of technology on 16th of March 2020.
He is currently unconscious at the hospital.
His friends have taken to Facebook to talk about the incident and pray he recovers.
Davido has finally shown the world the face of his son -- Ifeanyi. The singer showed him off in a video which has left many of his fans awwing.... They showed the almost 5 months old baby with praises talking about how really cute he is. Fine boy!
A young girl has committed suicide after failing JAMB. The girl simply identified as Zainab who dropped a note for her parents apologized before taking her own life and questioned why she had to fail JAMB again.
According to her friend, she was sent to go and give her aunt who is in the hospital food, when she branched to check her result, seeing she failed, she went to buy sniper, went to a mosque to pray before consuming the deadly liquid. Someone saw her in the process and rushed her to the hospital, but sadly she didn't make it.
Idris Elba was pictured with Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie less than two weeks before they both tested positive for coronavirus.
The Luther star and Hollywood actor has revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19 and had gone into immediate self-isolation.
Idris, 47, had no symptoms but got tested after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive. It's not known who that other person is.
But it's since been revealed that Idris had met with the Canadian Prime Minister's wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, less than two weeks before they both tested positive.
They both attended the We Day UK charity event at the SSE Arena in Wembley and posed for photographs with attendees and other celebrities, including Lewis Hamilton.
Idris was at the event to talk about social issues with 12,000 schoolchildren and teachers.
Sophie has been working alongside the charity.
Sharing a picture from the event at the time, she wrote on Instagram : "My heart is full after spending time working with my own family and the WE family. Our message in London: Show yourself love and offer that same love to the world."
Sophie announced last week that she had tested positive for the virus and had gone into self quarantine.
The National Youth Service Corps has asked corps members currently in orientation camps across the country to vacate the camps over coronavirus fears.
The virus has killed over 7000 persons globally and three cases have been confirmed in Nigeria, although no death has been recorded.
The Guardian learned that the corps members in Lagos camp were told on Wednesday morning to leave the camp immediately after receiving their letters to their places of primary assignment and transport allowance.
The camps opened last Tuesday and usually last for three weeks.
Facebook has committed thousands of dollars to helping its staff of 45,000 employees manage expenses during the coronavirus pandemic that is spreading across the globe.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced full-time workers will be given their six-month bonuses, along with an additional $1,000 to help those working remotely who do not have access to their usual catered meals, gyms and other services provided by the firm.
Contracted workers are not eligible for these funds, but will continued to be paid as they are also barred from entering the office, The Information reported.
'We recognize that many people are going to need more time away to care for children and their families,' Zuckerberg wrote in a memo, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News.
'We also know that many of you may have additional expenses as part of setting up your home to enable remote work and support your family.
'We're going to grant all employees an additional $1,000 to use for whatever you see fit to support yourself and your family in adapting during this period.'
Men with an older brother are more likely to be gay, a study suggests.
Researchers looked at almost 5,400 men across ten scientific studies and found those with an older brother were 38 per cent more likely to be gay – although it is not clear why.
Having a younger brother appeared not to impact sexuality.
The findings, from scientists led by the University of Toronto, follow previous evidence that each additional older brother increases a man's chances of homosexuality by around a third, while having three older brothers more than doubles the odds.
Dr Ray Blanchard, first author of the study, said only male siblings seemed to affect men's chances of being gay, stating: 'Much prior research has shown that females do not influence the sexual orientation of their younger siblings, and females' sexual orientation is not affected by their numbers of older siblings.'
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, compared the chances of the youngest brother in a two-son family being gay against the odds for the oldest son.
It is unclear why having an older brother might have an effect on someone's sexuality.
Some experts have controversially suggested something called the 'maternal immune hypothesis', where a mother who has an older son becomes exposed to 'male-specific substances' from male cells during pregnancy or birth.
The theory is that she then produces antibodies to those cells, which affect the brain cells of a second male child and make his brain work differently.
Professor David Spiegelhalter, a leading statistician from the University of Cambridge, who was not involved with the research, said: 'The fascinating study estimates that having an older brother increases the odds of being gay by 38 per cent, supporting the idea that a mother's immune response to having a male child influences subsequent boys.
'People have endlessly argued about the possible roles of genetics and upbringing, but this clear result fits in neither category.'
Idris Elba has suggested that he may have caught coronavirus from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife Sophie, 44, after the two met shortly before they both tested positive for COVID-19.
The actor, 47, revealed in a video shared to Twitter on Tuesday night that he was exposed to the deadly disease on 4 March, the same day he posed with Sophie at the We Day UK charity event, in Wembley.
Idris said: 'It's hard to say when I got the disease or when I contracted COVID-19, it's hard to say when. I will say that I know I've been exposed to it from March 4.
'That's when the person that came up positive, that was the time I got in contact with that person.
'So essentially, I could have been positive from March 4, but it's hard to say when I contracted someone with corona, you can contract it at anytime but my known exposure was March 4.'
Idris met Trudeau's wife Sophie, who has also been tested positive for COVID-19, on 4 March at a We Day UK charity event, in Wembley.
Posing for photos together at the event, the pair were in close proximity to each other, as well as other celebrities such as Lewis Hamilton, and attendees.
The actor also added in the video: 'On Friday, last week, I was told that someone I had been in contact with had tested positive.
'I am on location about to start filming. The news breaks that this person, who is also in the public eye, has tested positive.'
Idris then addressed backlash as to why he was tested for COVID-19 after he had 'no symptoms' and 'felt ok'.
He also explained why his wife Sabrina has stayed by his side after fans criticised the model for putting herself at risk of exposure.
Idris went on to reveal that wife Sabrina, who has stayed by his side since he was diagnosed, has been tested for coronavirus and is 'nervous' about the results.
The actor also insisted that the model 'wanted to be by my side' and support him throughout the disease diagnosis.
He said: 'Sabrina's good too. Sabrina today finally managed to get a test, and we're thankful for that. Generally, Sabrina's fine. Nervous of course. Worried.
'Just for clarification, Sabrina wanted to be by my side. I love her even more for it and I would do the same for her. When something like this is going on in the world, love is all you can get, who am I to turn down my wife's support?
'We presumed if I had it, she would have it too. As much as I want her to be safe, we calculated that risk and decided to be together. Hope you guys can understand that.
'I love Sabrina for standing by me and being in that video, it was the most important moment for me.'
Idris added that his wife woke up this morning 'a little bit sad' over the backlash, he said: 'She’s doing okay. We’re very lucky we managed to get her a test this morning. She woke up this morning a little bit sad as I did.
The first dog in the world to catch coronavirus has died in Hong Kong after it was declared disease-free and returned home to its owner.
The 17-year-old Pomeranian, whose owner contracted COVID-19 last month, had been quarantined at a government facility but returned home over the weekend.
A spokesman for Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) told the South China Morning Post: 'The department learned from the dog's owner that it had passed away on March 16. The owner said she was not willing to [allow] an autopsy to examine the cause of death.'
The canine had tested 'weak positive' in five nasal and oral analyses last month. However, in two tests taken on March 12 and 13 the pet tested negative and had been allowed to return home.
The dog's owner has been named locally as 60-year-old businesswoman Yvonne Chow Hau Yee. She was infected at the end of February and hospitalised. She recovered and returned home on March 8.
The AFCD previously stated that the genetic make-up of the virus found in Ms Chow Hau Yee and the dog was highly similar.
'The [gene] sequence results indicate that the virus likely spread from the infected persons and subsequently infected the dog,' the department said in a statement.
The World Health Organization said previously that the dog is the only known canine to have contracted the killer disease.
Some bandits suspected to be Fulani have killed popular twin brothers, Hassan and Husaini, in Birnin Tsaba village, in the Birnin Magaji Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The people of the town thereafter killed three Fulani people.
An eyewitness, Mohammed Sani, said the problem started when a group of bandits went to Birnin Magaji market and shot Hassan and Husaini dead.
He said, “Immediately the bandits killed the twin brothers, they left the market on their motorcycles.”
He added that when the people of the community got the information about the killing of the twin brothers by Fulani bandits, they mobilised and went in search of any Fulani man.
“As a result of this, three Fulani people have been killed by the angry mob, while others escaped with serious injuries,” Sani added.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Mohammed Shehu, said effort was ongoing in order to arrest “the perpetrators of this dastardly act.”
In a bizarre incident, a man brought home a human hand allegedly from a nearby crematorium and asked his wife to cook it for dinner in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor.
Upon seeing the chopped hand, the woman fell unconscious. To her horror, the woman woke up to find her husband, the accused, Sanjay, 32, making dinner preparations to cook the hand by himself, following which she locked him inside and rushed out of the house.
She first informed her neighbour and then called the cops. The man, said to be an alcoholic, has been arrested.
The shocking incident, which took place in Bijnor’s Tikkopur village on Monday, sent shock waves in the area.
According to initial probe, Sanjay went to the cremation ground and brought the flesh from there. Sanjay’s wife was horrified after seeing a human hand and fingers in the pan. She ran out of the house, alerted the neighbours and called the police.
The police also found that the man had even attacked his father a few days ago. However, the matter was not reported to the police.
Station house officer (SHO) RC Sharma said, “We visited the house of the man and found the human flesh. Police have detained the accused. Prima facie, he had brought it from the bank of Ganga where bodies are cremated.”
Meanwhile, Sanjay’s wife has refused to return home.
Eight suspected internet fraudsters have been arrested at different locations within Owerri, Imo State by the Abuja Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The suspects were rounded up by the operatives of the Advance Fee Fraud Section, AFF of the Zone following an intelligence report on the illegal activities of suspected cyber-criminals in and around Owerri city.
Several Smartphones of different models, laptop and two motor vehicles were recovered from the suspects during the operation.
They will soon be arraigned in court, the EFCC said in a statement.
The Nigerian government has banned its political appointees and civil servants from undertaking foreign trips because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, announced the measure on Tuesday night after the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Task Force on coronavirus.
However, the ban affects only 13 countries, where the virus is endemic.
The countries are China, Iran, South Korea, Germany, Italy, USA, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, France and Japan.
Mustapha said the committee after its meeting concluded that all officials in the Ministries, Department and Agencies, including parastatals to stop all forms of travels out of the country for whatever reasons.
“We have decided to advise that all officials in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies including parastals, that government has ban all forms of travels out of the country for whatever reasons.
“Whether for meetings, bilateral, multilateral, conferences, seminars, workshops and any form of other ceremonies.
“And this ban will remain in place until further notice and until the situation of pandemic nature of the COVID-19 stops.
“By this notice, any prior approval to travel abroad on official assignment during this period is accordingly rescinded”, he said.
