Opening schools is moral duty: Boris
London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the government has a moral duty to ensure children return to school next month.
Most pupils have been out of the classroom since the UK went into lockdown in March, though some primary-age children have returned.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, Johnson said: keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible.
Britain’s official death toll from the coronavirus is more than 46,500, the highest in Europe. (AP)
9 killed in Egypt car crash
Cairo: A car crash on Sunday left at least nine people dead and seven others injured north of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, the state-run news agency said. The MENA news agency said the crash took place when a microbus collided with a small truck on a highway in the Nile Delta town of Banha, around 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Cairo.
The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, MENA said. The report blamed speeding for the crash.
Deadly traffic crashes claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. (AP)
Belarus prez faces poll challenge
Minsk: Belarusians are voting on whether to grant their authoritarian president a sixth term in office, following a campaign marked by unusually strong demonstrations by opposition supporters frustrated with the country’s stumbling economy, political repression and weak response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko, in office for 26 years, has made it clear he won’t hesitate to quash any attempt by his opponents to protest the results of Sunday’s election.
As polls opened on Sunday, the country’s central elections commission said more than 40 per cent of the electorate had cast ballots in early voting, a figure likely to heighten concerns about the results’ legitimacy because of the potential for manipulation. (AP)