News archive of April 2020

Three Turkish volunteer organizers decided to organize an online chess tournament amid coronavirus lockdown.

Seçkin Serpil, a member of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), international chess player Handenur Sahin and FIDE trainer Ali Polatel organized an online chess tournament in Turkey, and they already plan another one at an international level.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is not expected to take additional measures and could implement a "wait-and-see" policy amid the coronavirus crisis, according to economists.

Turkey on April 29 set up a digital ecosystem for the agriculture sector to establish a direct link between the cultivator and the consumer.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has informed that at the Government meeting on Thursday they will approve a donation to the Republic of Moldova, of equipment, medicines and substances needed in fighting COVID.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Thursday urged the public to obey the lockdown rules on May 1 holiday, as they did on Easter, when everything was seen in order because there was no increase in the number of infections with the novel coronavirus.

Germany has banned Hezbollah entirely, the Interior Ministry announced on April 30.
Interior Ministry spokesman Steve Alter described Hezbollah a "Shia terrorist organization" in a statement he posted on Twitter, and said Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has ordered a ban Thursday on the activities of the group in Germany.

More than 224,000 people around the world have lost their lives from the novel coronavirus as of April 29, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The university's study found 224,562 fatalities caused by COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, as well as more than 3.16 million infections.

Forces loyal to Libya's renegade commander Khalifa Haftar on April 30 announced a unilateral ceasefire during the holy month of Ramadan.

Ahmed Al-Mismari, a spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA), said all military operations have been paused during the Muslim fasting month.

Turkey on April 29 commemorated the 104th anniversary of the historic Ottoman military victory over British forces during World War I.

In March 2020, the unemployment rate increased by 0.7 percentage points compared to the one registered in the previous month, reaching 4.6 percent from 3.9 percent, according to the data published by National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Thursday.