India extended its almost two-month coronavirus lockdown until the end of May on Sunday, although the government's National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement that new guidelines may be issued to help restart economic activity, AP reports.
Why it matters: India's lockdown, which began in late March and affected 1.4 billion people, is the largest ever attempted.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech at the swearing-in ceremony of the new Israeli government Sunday that now is the time to annex the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Unlike in previous speeches, Netanyahu didn’t mention his intention to annex the Jordan Valley, which makes up 20% of the West Bank.
Why it matters: In the last several days since Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Jerusalem, Trump administration officials have signaled several times that they don’t want Israel to move forward on annexation at this moment. The State Department has said annexation should be part of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians on the White House peace plan.
The United Kingdom has hired 17,200 people to help track down individuals who have been in close contact with people who tested positive for the coronavirus, government minister Michael Gove told the BBC Sunday.
Why it matters: The government has almost reached its goal of recruiting 18,000 contact tracers for a testing and tracking program, which it hopes to deploy next month when some shops and schools may slowly begin to reopen.
Churches, mosques and temples around the world — including the Vatican — are continuing to livestream religious services amid the coronavirus pandemic, AP reports.
Zoom in: In the U.S., some pastors in Maryland and Virginia are hesitant to reopen their doors as states begin to relax stay-at-home orders, per the Washington Post.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship is traveling to Malaysia after being docked in Yokohama, Japan for three months, Japanese broadcaster NHK reports.
Why it matters: The Diamond Princess carried one of the first coronavirus outbreaks on a cruise ship, affecting 700 passengers from various countries, including the U.S., Japan, Australia and Canada in February. Several people died as a result.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity has surged amid the coronavirus pandemic, and he and the Bharatiya Janata Party could emerge even stronger after the coronavirus crisis, per recent opinion polls cited by The New York Times.
Why it matters: If India continues to successfully tackle the pandemic, Modi has the potential to emerge as a more powerful leader. Looking forward, he may try to push more Hindu-centric policies as "the deadly pandemic is bringing many Indians to his side despite lingering concerns about his agenda," the Times writes.
Félicien Kabuga, who faces seven indictments of genocide for his alleged role in the deaths of more than 800,000 people in Rwanda in 1994, was arrested on Saturday by French authorities, a prosecutor with the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal said.
The big picture: Kabuga is accused of financing a paramilitary group that purchased hundreds of thousands of machetes to massacre people — predominately Tutsis — in Rwanda's genocide.
