Oil prices dropped more than 3% on Monday, as a fast-spreading new coronavirus strain that has shut down much of Britain and led to tighter restrictions in Europe fuelled worries about a slower recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude slid $1.74, or 3.3%, to $50.52 a barrel by 0745 GMT after...

Congressional leaders announced late Sunday a long-sought deal on a roughly $900 billion coronavirus relief package that would send Americans across the country badly-needed financial assistance.  In addition to direct payments, the legislation is also expected to include efforts to...

Turkey ended a countrywide weekend curfew early Monday as part of measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The curfew began on Friday at 9 p.m. and ended on Monday at 5 a.m. local time. In late November, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced new COVID-19 restrictions,...

Spyware sold by an Israeli private intelligence firm was allegedly used to hack the phones of dozens of Al Jazeera journalists in an unprecedented cyber-attack that is likely to have been ordered by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to leading researchers. In a...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Capitol Hill negotiators sealed a deal Sunday on an almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package, finally delivering long-overdue help to businesses and individuals and providing money to deliver vaccines to a nation eager for them. The agreement, announced by...

Manchester United demolished Leeds 6-2 in the first league meeting between the sides for 16 years to bolster their Premier League title aspirations on Sunday. Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes scored twice as United's counter-attacking threat tore apart Marcelo Bielsa's attacking approach...

Islamist militants kidnapped and beheaded a young shepherd in mountains in Tunisia near the border with Algeria on Sunday, security sources and residents said. Troops found the body of Okba Dhouibi after he had been seized by militants, the sources said. Tunisian forces are carrying out...

The Yellow Vests protestors took to the streets again on Saturday to demur French President Emmanuel Macron's policies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Gathering outside the Council of the State in the capital Paris, hundreds of protesters marched towards the Chatelet Square. Holding...

Turkey reported 20,316 more coronavirus infections, including 3,546 symptomatic patients, over the past 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data released Sunday. The total number of cases reached over 2 million with the latest additions. As many as 21,218 people also recovered over...

Initial shipments of the second COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S. left a distribution center Sunday, a desperately needed boost as the nation works to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control. The trucks left the factory in the Memphis area with the vaccine developed by Moderna...

Sudan’s prime minister met his Ethiopian counterpart Sunday, as Sudanese forces continued their advances to reclaim territories controlled by Ethiopian militias along the two countries' shared border. Abdalla Hamdok’s office said the meeting with Abiy Ahmed took place in the Horn of Africa...

Britain insisted on Sunday that the European Union should shift position to open the way for a breakthrough in post-Brexit trade talks, with health minister Matt Hancock saying on Sunday the bloc should drop its “unreasonable demands”. With less than two weeks before Britain leaves the EU’s...

Israel on Sunday began its coronavirus inoculation drive, aiming to vaccinate some 60,000 people a day in a bid to stamp out the illness that is once again surging among its population. The country will first immunize health workers, followed by the elderly, high-risk Israelis and those...

Germany has organized the return of three women and 12 children from camps in northeastern Syria for humanitarian reasons. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Sunday did not further identify the women or children, who were flown back to Germany on Saturday. However, the German weekly Bild am...

The coronavirus tally has kept rising in Latin America, with the countries reporting more than 1,800 new fatalities and 85,000 cases over the past day. Brazil A total of 706 people lost their lives due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 186,356,...

Brazil soccer great Pele has paid tribute to Lionel Messi for equalling his goal-scoring record for a single club after the Argentine forward netted his 643rd goal for Barcelona in Saturday's 2-2 home draw with Valencia. Messi, 33, hit the milestone goal with a diving header just before...

A car bombing in Kabul targeting an Afghan lawmaker killed at least nine people, officials said. Lawmaker Khan Mohammad Wardak survived the blast but is among 20 injured including women and children, Afghan Interior Minister Massoud Andarabi said. It is unclear whether the explosive was...

Oman will start reforming its expensive system of subsidies in January by shifting the focus of its electricity and water spending to its poorest citizens, the government said on Sunday. The plan, along with labour laws, privatisations and new taxation, is aimed at reducing a yawning fiscal...

The Dutch government on Sunday banned all passenger flights from Britain after finding the first case of a new, more infectious coronavirus strain that is circulating in the UK. The ban, from 6am (0500 GMT) on Sunday until January 1, came hours after Britain announced a stay at home order...

In Palestinian refugee camps in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, some residents are preparing weapons for a potential power struggle when president Mahmud Abbas finally leaves the stage. Abbas, 85, leader of the dominant Fatah movement and of the Palestinian Authority (PA), has promised...