News archive of March 2020

Montenegrin MP discussion about COVID-19.Photo: Montenegrin government

Democratic Front MP Branka Bosnjak warned that, in a situation in which Montenegro has not declared a state of emergency, parliament must decide on all government measures.

The Turkish Cypriot government has taken additional measures to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus on the island.

As part of those actions, the government has declared a curfew between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting March 31.

The curfew will be effective until April 5.

A journalist was ambushed and shot dead in Mexico's eastern Veracruz state, local officials said on March 30, the latest murder of a media worker in a country notoriously dangerous for reporters.

Ambassador Tacan İldem, a senior Turkish diplomat currently serving as NATO's assistant secretary-general for public diplomacy, has been appointed to a group of experts tasked to help the alliance chart out the future of NATO.

The U.N. Security Council on March 30 for the first time approved resolutions remotely after painstaking negotiations among diplomats who are teleworking due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Greek Coast Guard on March 31 forced 18 asylum seekers into Turkish territorial waters off the southeastern coast, where they were rescued by Turkey.

A Turkish Coast Guard team rescued the asylum seekers off the Datça district, in the Aegean, in the Muğla province, said the coast guard command.

US President Donald Trump has announced he has promised Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte medical aid worth $ 100 million to fight the coronavirus.

Turkish parliament extended an entry ban on foreign nationals into the country to help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, the speaker's office announced on March 31.

"The ban on visitors has been extended to cover the period between April 1 and April 30," the office said in a statement.

The Head of State has initiated a national solidarity campaign

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he is donating 7 monthly salaries to help fight COVID-19.

In doing so, the Head of State became the initiator of a national solidarity campaign, which he addressed to the nation.

Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said the national quarantine imposed in order to limit the spread of the coronavirus would be extended until at least Easter, DPA and France Press reports.

This year Easter falls on April 12, and the current restrictive measures expire on April 3.