World News Roundup: Germany fights virus uptick with mandatory testing for travellers; China threatens countermeasures as Taiwan prepares for U.S. visit and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Lockdown sees Turkish women bear brunt of unpaid work: research

Turkish women did four times as many households and care work as men during lockdowns aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, research supported by the United Nations Development Programme showed on Thursday. A survey conducted in May of more than 2,400 people showed women shouldered most of the unpaid work during lockdown even though men spent substantially more time working in the home.

Macron promises to help mobilize aid for Lebanon after a massive blast

French President Emmanuel Macron called for urgent support for Lebanon where he arrived on Thursday, two days after a devastating blast ripped through Beirut, killing 145 people and generating a seismic shock that was felt across the region. Dozens are still missing after Tuesday's blast at the port that injured 5,000 people and left up to a quarter of a million without homes fit to live in, hammering a nation already reeling from the economic meltdown and a surge in coronavirus cases.

Belarus says it has detained U.S. nationals: Belta

President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that Belarus had detained a number of people who possessed U.S. passports and were married to U.S. women ahead of its Aug. 9 presidential elections, the Belta news agency reported. Lukashenko provided no further details of the detainees and it was not clear who he was referring to.

Facebook rejects request to release Myanmar officials’ data for genocide case

Facebook has objected to a request from the Gambia, which has accused Myanmar at the World Court of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, to release posts and communications by members of Myanmar's military and police. The social media giant urged the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday to reject the demand, which it said would violate a U.S. law that bars electronic communication services from disclosing users' communications.

Standoff with China will be long, India warns in a pulled statement

India's defence ministry has warned, in a statement since removed from its website, that a military standoff with China that began with border fighting in June is likely to be a long one, despite multiple rounds of talks between the nuclear-armed rivals to defuse the tension. The ministry said in an update for June - which has now been removed - that Chinese forces had breached the border in the Kugrang Nala and Gogra areas and the north shore of Pangong Tso lake in the northern Indian territory of Ladakh on May 17-18.

China threatens countermeasures as Taiwan prepares for U.S. visit

China on Thursday threatened to take countermeasures over a trip to Taiwan by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, as the Chinese-claimed island geared up for its highest-level U.S. official visit in four decades. The visit, which begins on Sunday, adds to tensions between Beijing and Washington over everything from trade and human rights to the novel coronavirus pandemic. China calls Taiwan the most sensitive and important issue in its bilateral ties with the United States.

Germany fights virus uptick with mandatory testing for travellers

Germany announced mandatory tests for travellers returning from high-risk regions after new coronavirus cases breached the 1,000-a-day threshold for the first time since May, fuelling fears of a return to an economically disruptive lockdown. Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Thursday free compulsory testing would be in force from Saturday after the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's public health agency, reported 1,045 new cases in a single day.

'Revolution': Angry crowds in Beirut urge Macron to help bring change

French President Emmanuel Macron toured Beirut's shattered streets on Thursday, two days after a giant explosion, with crowds demanding the end to a "regime" of politicians they blame for corruption and dragging Lebanon into disaster. "I see the emotion on your face, the sadness, the pain. This is why I’m here," he told one group, shaking their hands on roads strewn with rubble and flanked by shops with windows blown out after Tuesday's blast that killed 145 and injured 5,000.

Australia making wage subsidies easier as COVID-19 surges, PM to say

Australia will make it easier to qualify for wage subsidies, the centrepiece of its response to the coronavirus crisis, following a surge in infections that has forced Melbourne into strict lockdown, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will say on Friday. The capital of Victoria state, and the country's second largest city, began a six-week total lockdown on Thursday, requiring its five million people to stay home and shuttering shops and businesses.

10 countries account for 80% of Africa COVID-19 testing - Africa CDC

Ten countries account for 80% of the new coronavirus testing taking place across Africa, a regional body said on Thursday, indicating that little testing is taking place in many countries around the vast continent. COVID-19 confirmed cases across Africa have accelerated and are close to hitting a million this week, and experts say low levels of testing in many countries means infection rates are likely to be higher than reported.

(With inputs from agencies.)