The United States logged a second consecutive day of fewer than 900 coronavirus deaths, as the World Health Organization hailed global progress but warned of the need for "extreme vigilance" against a second wave. Optimism was tempered by the increasingly dire economic situation, with...

Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel on Tuesday said he would leave Ferrari at the end of the season, saying there was no "common desire" to work together any more. No replacement was named for Vettel, who dominated F1 with Red Bull before switching to the Italian marque in...

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday welcomed the slowing down of coronavirus, but urged vigilance to keep the hard-won gains that have come at a severe socio-economic cost. “The good news is that there has been a great deal of success in slowing the virus and ultimately saving...

The International Monetary Fund's executive board approved Egypt's request for $2.77 billion in emergency financing Monday to help the Egyptian government meet urgent budget needs related to the new coronavirus pandemic, the Fund said. The IMF said it remained closely engaged with the...

French prosecutors said Monday they are opening a probe against ex-president Valery Giscard d'Estaing over allegations by a German journalist that he sexually assaulted her after an interview in 2018. The investigation follows claims by reporter Ann-Kathrin Stracke that Giscard d'Estaing,...

President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would start gradually easing coronavirus-related lockdown measures from Tuesday, but that individual regions would need to tailor their approach to varying local conditions. In a televised address on Monday, Putin also announced new welfare payments...

Hundreds of people protested outside the Iranian consulate in western Afghanistan Monday over the deaths of several migrants who were allegedly forced into a river by Iranian border guards and drowned. Afghan officials claim the migrants died while they were illegally crossing into...

 President Donald Trump accused Democrats Monday of moving to reopen U.S. states from coronavirus lockdown measures too slowly for political advantage, without providing evidence to support his claim. The Republican president, who is running for re-election in November, is working to...

 Afghan security forces arrested three senior South Asia Daesh members including the group's regional leader, the government said Monday. The militant group's head of South Asia, Abu Omar Khorasani, was arrested in Kabul alongside the group's spy chief and public relations officer, the...

The British government performed an about-face on masks Monday, telling people to cover their mouth and nose in shops, buses and subway trains. The change came as part of a plan to gradually lift a nationwide lockdown imposed seven weeks ago to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. In a...

In the harshly-lit corridors of a Beirut hospital, a team of nurses has been snapping pictures with their mobile phones of life behind the scenes of the battle against the coronavirus. The images taken at the Hotel-Dieu de France Hospital and selected by AFP for a photo project offer a...

France tiptoed out of one of Europe's strictest coronavirus lockdowns Monday, allowing non-essential shops, factories and other businesses to reopen for the first time in eight weeks as the risks of a second wave of infections loomed large. With the world's fifth highest official death...

Hong Kong police arrested hundreds of people during weekend democracy protests - including a 12-year-old boy - officials said Monday, in the first major political unrest since the coronavirus outbreak began. The disclosure came as the financial hub's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam vowed to...

The swearing-in of Israel's new unity government has been postponed by one day due to the upcoming visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, officials said Monday. A parliament spokesman said the joint administration of incumbent premier Benjamin Netanyahu and former rival Benny Gantz...

Iraqi security forces arrested at least five men from a local political party's headquarters in the southern city of Basra Monday after a protester was shot dead outside the building. It was the first death since modest anti-government protests resumed Sunday, ending months of relative calm...

Saudi Arabia has directed national oil company Aramco to cut its crude oil production for June by an extra voluntary amount of 1 million barrels per day, on top of a reduction already committed by the kingdom under the OPEC+ cut deal, a Saudi energy ministry official said Monday. "This...

Yemeni authorities declared Aden, interim seat of the Saudi-backed government, an "infested" city Monday after the number of coronavirus cases there jumped to 35, with four deaths. A five-year war has shattered Yemen's health system, pushed millions to the brink of famine and divided the...

The Israeli military said Monday its forces demolished the home of a Palestinian accused of being behind a deadly blast in the West Bank last year. Israel says 22-year-old Qassem Barghouti carried out the attack in August, which killed 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb and wounded her father...

An Iranian warship was accidentally hit by a missile during exercises in the Gulf of Oman, killing at least one, state television said Monday, amid tensions with the US in the waterway. The friendly fire incident involving the Konarak vessel occurred on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask,...

New Zealand will phase out its coronavirus lockdown over the next 10 days after successfully containing the virus, although some restrictions will remain, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday. Ardern said that from Thursday shopping malls, restaurants, cinemas and playgrounds will...