Keeping you up to date on the latest novel coronavirus (Covid-19) news from around the world.

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A global condom shortage is looming as the coronavirus pandemic shutters factories and disrupts supply chains, the world's top maker of the contraceptives said, with the United Nations warning of "devastating" consequences.

Over half of humanity has been confined to their homes as the highly contagious virus marches round the planet, while governments worldwide have ordered the closure of businesses deemed non-essential.

Malaysia - one of the world's top rubber producers and a major source of condoms - imposed a nationwide lockdown last month as infections surged to the highest level in Southeast Asia.

But restrictions on the operations of Malaysian contraceptive giant Karex, which makes one in every five condoms globally, mean the firm expects to produce 200 million fewer condoms than usual from mid-March to mid-April.

- AFP

This is TikTok's time. The social video platform which was already a favourite of teens is increasingly being used by adults looking for ways to pass the time during coronavirus lockdowns.

Users post short videos - no longer than 60 seconds but often as short as 15 - to showcase their bite-size dance skills or share relatable experiences with a humorous twist.

The application, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, saw 65 million worldwide downloads in March, according to analytics site SensorTower.

In addition to the existing 800 million reported in January by DataReportal, the app is nearing a billion users - though TikTok itself does not publish such data.

And though teens have been posting on the platform for months, it seems adults with more free time - as much of the world is encouraged to stay at home to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus - are finally catching on.

- AFP

EU finance ministers were mired in marathon talks on Wednesday unable to bridge differences on how to rebuild their economies after the coronavirus, with a North versus South split on burden-sharing for hard-hit countries.

The European economy has been battered by the pandemic as national governments impose strict lockdowns that have closed businesses and put normal life on hold.

The ministers' video conference dragged on for over 15 hours from Tuesday into Wednesday, with Italy and Spain pleading for a solidarity fund that would be paid for by European partners jointly borrowing money on the financial markets.

Sometimes called "coronabonds", this proposal is being firmly resisted by Germany, the Netherlands and other rich countries who see it as an attempt by the indebted south to unfairly take advantage of the north's fiscal discipline.

- AFP

Haggard and dishevelled from the stress of making ends meet, day labourers line up in Cairo for food parcels after losing their jobs to the sharp downturn caused by the coronavirus.

Sayed Shaaban, 42, who used to work in a café, said for him the pandemic is not just a health scare but a crushing blow to his already precarious livelihood.

Wearing a mask and gloves, he waited in line outside a charity centre affiliated with the Egyptian Food Bank (EFB) in Salam City, a poor neighbourhood of eastern Cairo.

"You see how I have only one functioning arm - I used to serve drinks and get paid," he said.

"But now there's not even one piastre coming in."

EFB, a large Cairo-based charity, has been at the forefront of a public relief effort in the most populous Arab country.

One third of Egypt's population of more than 100 million lives in poverty, surviving on about $1.50 or less a day.

For many who were already struggling, meagre incomes have vanished since a curfew was imposed on 24 March to stem the spread of the virus.

Egypt has so far recorded 85 deaths out of 1 322 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 respiratory disease.

- AFP