In a surprising turn of events, the coronavirus death toll in France again took a sharp tick upwards on the second day of relaxed measures known as deconfinement, said the Health Ministry.  On Tuesday there were 359 fatalities, and also a steep rise in cases of 96 over Monday. Deaths...

Saudi Arabia will enforce a 24-hour curfew across the kingdom during a 5-day holiday to celebrate Muslim Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, the interior ministry said in a statement Tuesday, to stem the spread of coronavirus. Until then economic activities will...

Yemen's Saudi-backed government reported outbreaks of the new coronavirus in three more southern provinces Tuesday, taking the total number of cases in areas under its control to 65, with 10 deaths. The Aden-based government's coronavirus committee said nine new COVID-19 cases had been...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a more than $3 trillion coronavirus aid package Tuesday, encouraging Congress to "go big" with aid to cash-strapped states and struggling Americans. The Heroes Act provides nearly $1 trillion for states, cities and tribal governments to avert layoffs and...

The US government's top infectious disease expert warned Congress Tuesday that ending lockdowns too quickly could bring severe consequences including new outbreaks of coronavirus just as the country tries to overcome the pandemic. Anthony Fauci told a Senate panel the federal government had...

While walking in Beirut during the coronavirus lockdown recently, Omar Frangieh was struck by the number of face masks and gloves littering the Lebanese capital. The photographer, concerned that contaminated waste could itself transmit the disease, took 200 photos of discarded personal...

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled Tuesday a $270 billion stimulus package for labourers and small businesses to boost flagging growth as the country grapples with the impact of the coronavirus and weeks-long lockdown. The package -- worth about 10 percent of India's GDP -- came...

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, boosted by an unexpected commitment from Saudi Arabia to deepen production cuts in June to help drain a supply glut built up during the coronavirus crisis. Brent crude LCOc1 advanced 78 cents, or 2.6%, to $30.41 at 1216 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate...

 Lebanon’s government agreed on a “full closure” of the country for four days, the presidency said as the cabinet met on Tuesday to try to ward off a second wave of coronavirus infections. The closure starts on Wednesday night. Authorities have warned of a resurgence in recent days...

All mosques in Iran will reopen temporarily on Tuesday, a further step in the government’s plans to ease restrictions that aimed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, the official IRIB news agency reported. The decision to reopen the mosques was made in consultation with the...

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that some treatments appear to be limiting the severity or length of the COVID-19 disease and said it was focusing on learning more about four or five of the most promising ones. The Geneva-based WHO is leading a global initiative to develop safe...

 Lebanon will begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund in the next two days, the finance minister said Tuesday, after Beirut officially requested IMF assistance this month. "There is contact with the IMF and in the coming two days we will start the negotiation...

The world's tallest building, Dubai's 828-meter Burj Khalifa, has become a glowing charity donation box, raising money for food for United Arab Emirates residents suffering the economic impact of the new coronavirus pandemic. Each of the tower's 1.2 million external lights was 'sold' for 10...

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was receiving treatment at hospital, Russian news agencies reported. "Yes, I am sick. I am receiving treatment," Peskov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news...

The Israeli army suffered its first fatality this year on Tuesday when a Palestinian stonethrower killed a soldier in the occupied West Bank, a day before US-Israeli talks on annexation. The army said the 21-year-old soldier was hit in the head "during operational activity" in the village...

 Energy giant Saudi Aramco Tuesday reported a 25 percent slump in first-quarter net profits due to low oil prices, saying the coronavirus crisis will dampen demand and full-year earnings. The world's largest listed firm posted a net profit of 62.5 billion riyals ($16.66 billion) in the...

 Gunmen attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Tuesday where the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders runs a maternity clinic, officials said. There was no immediate information about any casualties in the attack on the Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital, or...

 Yemen's government forces will confront an "armed rebellion" by separatists in the south, the government said Tuesday, adding that the group had refused to de-escalate the situation after declaring self-rule last month. On April 25, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared...

The US Supreme Court takes up Tuesday the most politically charged case of the year -- President Donald Trump's refusal to turn over his tax returns and financial records to Congress and a New York prosecutor, a case that may define the limits of presidential immunity. The high court's nine...

New Zealand's Electoral Commission unveiled safety measures Tuesday designed to allow a national election to proceed as planned in September despite the coronavirus threat. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the September 19 election date in January, before the global scale of the...