At the construction site in Tel Aviv, Jamal Salman and the other Palestinian workers wore gloves and masks, and their employer provided apartments for them to stay overnight. But his wife, alarmed by the news about the coronavirus outbreak in Israel, called him every night from the West...

European Union finance ministers failed to agree in all-night talks on more support for their coronavirus-hit economies and their chairman said on Wednesday morning he was suspending the discussions until Thursday. Diplomatic sources and officials said a feud between Italy and the...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday the International Monetary Fund would be guilty of "discriminatory behavior" unless it provides $5 billion in emergency funding to help Tehran fight the coronavirus outbreak. "I urge international organizations to fulfill their duties ... we...

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stepped up measures to stem rapidly growing coronavirus cases in Turkey but his refusal to impose a full lockdown to keep the economy afloat is drawing criticism. With gatherings banned, restrictions on intercity trips, and the obligation to wear masks...

Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho Gaucho will be released from jail into house arrest in Paraguay on Tuesday after he and his brother paid $1.6 million in bail, the judge in his case said. The former Barcelona, Paris St Germain and AC Milan midfielder, who won the World Cup with Brazil...

Human rights groups urged three Gulf Arab states Wednesday to lift bans on free internet calls to help their large migrant workforces stay in touch during the coronavirus pandemic. Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have long blocked many voice and video calling apps on the grounds of...

In its worst performance since 1945, the French economy shrank around six percent in the first quarter of this year as the coronavirus pandemic decimated business activity, the Bank of France said Wednesday. Official figures showed previously that the economy shrank 0.1 percent in the last...

The head of a top Russian research centre told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that his lab was ready to start human trials of experimental coronavirus vaccines in June. Rinat Maksyutov, head of the Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Centre, said his facility proposed first-phase...

The European Central Bank on Tuesday announced an "unprecedented" easing of collateral requirements in a bid to boost bank lending during the coronavirus crisis. The package of measures aims to "mitigate the tightening of financial conditions across the euro area" and includes the use of...

The European Commission will on Wednesday consider how to craft a plan to ease the bloc out of a virus lockdown that has dealt a body blow to the economies of EU members. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will hold an "orientation debate" with commissioners by videoconference, after...

The United States will hold talks with Iraq in June on the future of its troop presence in the country, whose parliament has voted to expel them, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday. With Iraq increasingly becoming a proxy battleground between Iran and the United States, President...

US President Donald Trump attacked the World Health Organization on Tuesday, saying it is "China centric" and issued bad advice at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. "The W.H.O. really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be...

The United Nations on Tuesday condemned the heavy shelling of Tripoli's Al Khadra General Hospital at a time when people need "functioning medical facilities," saying it was a "clear violation of international law." Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of...

Squatting with other day labourers under a bridge in Cairo, 48-year-old Yasser Nagi says he has waited in vain for two weeks for work on a construction site so he can feed his family. Egypt, like other countries, has been hit hard by the spread of the coronavirus, which has wiped out its...

The United States should stop preventing Iran from selling oil, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Tuesday. “What we want is for (U.S. President Donald Trump) to STOP preventing Iran from selling oil & other products, buying its needs & making & receiving...

Turkey’s parliament discussed a prisoner release law on Tuesday which aims to ease overcrowding in jails and protect detainees from the coronavirus, but which critics slam for excluding people jailed on terrorism charges in a post-coup crackdown. The bill, proposed by President Tayyip...

The UN Security Council made its now video-conference-only meetings public Tuesday for the first time in nearly a month, after criticism of what was called a lack of transparency during the coronavirus pandemic. The part of the meeting made public online was short -- just 10 minutes -- and...

Saudi Arabia will host a virtual meeting Friday of energy ministers from the Group of 20 major economies in a bid to ensure "market stability" amid a coronavirus-led slump in crude prices. The video call will follow an emergency meeting on Thursday of OPEC and other oil producers to address...

 Israel called Tuesday for the immediate resumption of talks on the return of four Israelis held for years in the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers said they might be willing to move forward on the issue. Last week, Israel linked any future coronavirus aid to...

New York City’s death toll from the coronavirus officially eclipsed the number of those killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11, health officials said Tuesday while in Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care with the virus. At least 3,202 people have died in New...