Scientists and technologists from eight European countries will join forces to develop a contact tracing app to warn those at risk of infection.
The Pan-European Privacy Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT) will monitor movement within countries and across borders, and will be crucial in containing future flare-ups of COVID-19, even after the curve has flattened.
"The PEPP-PT platform others can build on includes an anonymous and privacy-preserving digital proximity tracing approach, which is in full compliance with GDPR and can also be used when traveling between countries," said Hans-Christian Boos, founder of business automation company Arago and a member of a digital advisory council to the German government.
The UK is also poised to launch its own contact tracking app just before or after the lockdown is lifted, according to a report in SkyNews.
Meanwhile, Singapore's TraceTogether app tracks connections made between people's smartphones using Bluetooth has been quite successful in containing the spread.
Australia said on Saturday it would double the maximum penalty it can impose on tech firms found to have failed to uphold a ground-breaking social media ban for children, as evidence mounts that the ban has had little effect on teen use.
A strong earthquake struck Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region on Saturday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said, sending out tremors that could be felt from the capital Kabul across the border into neighbouring Pakistan.
Serbia's populist president Aleksandar Vucic, under pressure after months of anti-government protests, said on Saturday he will resign within weeks and the country will hold early presidential and parliamentary elections.
The death toll from Venezuela's devastating twin earthquakes rose above 1,400 on Saturday as foreign rescue teams poured into the country and authorities pressed on with the search for survivors in the hardest-hit coastal areas.
A light aircraft crash into Beijing's tallest building on Friday killed the pilot and injured 13 people who were not on board, the local government said following the unusual accident for the Chinese capital, where airspace is heavily restricted.
The UAE Ministry of Defence has announced the death of soldier Issa Ghuloom Al Baloushi, who passed away during a training mission in the country on Saturday.
The UAE has expressed deep concern over the continued military escalation by the two warring parties in several areas of Sudan, including El Obeid, and the impact on civilians and the worsening humanitarian situation.
Under the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE is sending humanitarian aid to people affected by the ongoing crisis in Lebanon through the UAE Aid Agency.