The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 30,000 lives in Europe alone, a global tally showed Wednesday, in what the head of the United Nations has described as humanity's worst crisis since World War II. Italy and Spain bore the brunt of the crisis, accounting for three in every four...

The non-oil economies of the energy-rich Gulf states are likely going in reverse this year, shrinking in the case of Saudi Arabia for the first time in more than three decades. Once they shift into higher gear, the bounceback will generate so little momentum that a creeping recovery may...

A Russian military transport plane took off from an airfield outside Moscow early on Wednesday and headed for the United States with a load of medical equipment and masks to help Washington fight coronavirus, Russian state TV reported. President Vladimir Putin offered Russian help in a...

Italy will extend anti-coronavirus lockdown restrictions imposed last month to April 13, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Wednesday. “We must not confuse the first positive signals with an ‘all clear’ signal. Data shows that we are on the right path and that the drastic decisions...

Britain is aiming to increase the number of tests for coronavirus to 25,000 a day by the middle of the month from its present capacity of 12,750 a day, housing minister Robert Jenrick told Sky News on Wednesday. Britain is beginning to test medical staff in additional to patients in...

The number of people in the U.S. who have died from the novel coronavirus has surpassed the 4,000 mark, according to data released early Wednesday by Johns Hopkins University. The university's running tally counted 4,076 deaths and 189,618 cases as the U.S. struggles to curb the outbreak....

Queen Tex factory in Gaza used to specialise in manufacturing shirts and jeans, but with the novel coronavirus epidemic sweeping the globe it has pivoted into medicalwear. Now lines of men are using old sewing machines to stitch together masks while also wearing them, as the blockaded...

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was ready to help resolve an escalating oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia that has helped push crude benchmarks to 17-year lows. The threat of a global recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic had already hammered prices when...

China on Wednesday said it has more than 1,300 asymptomatic coronavirus cases, the first time it has released such data following public concern over people who have tested positive but are not showing symptoms. Health officials also reported the first imported case from abroad in Wuhan --...

Iran's president said on Wednesday the United States had missed a historic opportunity to lift sanctions on his country during the coronavirus outbreak, though he said the penalties had not hampered Tehran's fight against the infection. "It was a great opportunity for Americans to apologise...

 U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held out the possibility Tuesday that the United States may consider easing sanctions on Iran and other nations to help fight the coronavirus epidemic but gave no concrete sign it plans to do so. The comments reflected a shift in tone by the U.S....

Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in a federal court in Manhattan that it helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions, in a case that has strained relations between the United States and Turkey. The plea - to charges including conspiracy, bank fraud and...

Lebanon’s government agreed a procedure on Tuesday to allow citizens abroad to come back despite a coronavirus lockdown after its expat policy drew criticism from political leaders. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, one of the country’s most powerful figures, had threatened to withdraw...

A U.N. aid agency Tuesday began delivering food to the homes of impoverished Palestinians instead of making them pick up such parcels at crowded distribution centers - part of an attempt to prevent a mass outbreak of the new coronavirus in the densely populated Gaza Strip. As the virus...

Saudi Arabia is urging Muslims to wait before making plans to attend the annual haj pilgrimage until there is more clarity about the deadly coronavirus pandemic, the kingdom's minister for haj and umrah said Tuesday. Some 2.5 million pilgrims usually flock to the holiest sites of Islam in...

The United States on Tuesday called on Venezuela's Juan Guaido to renounce his claim to the presidency at least temporarily as it recalibrated its strategy to oust leader Nicolas Maduro. The shift came after more than a year of faltering US-led efforts to oust the leftist Maduro and as...

Saudi Aramco has asked key energy service companies to support the state oil giant’s plans to produce at its maximum oil output capacity of 12 million barrels per day “starting April 1 and for the foreseeable future”, a Saudi oil industry source told Reuters on Tuesday. Aramco has also told...

Afghan authorities have quarantined 16 health workers, including six doctors, officials said on Tuesday, as Afghans fleeing hard-hit Iran have helped spread the coronavirus in the western border province of Herat. Afghanistan, already battling a shortage of food and medicines amid a Taliban...

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied on Tuesday ordered the release on 1,420 prisoners in an amnesty to combat the spread of the coronavirus in prisons, a presidency statement said. Tunisia has declared a general lockdown to slow infection rates, and has confirmed 574 cases of the coronavirus and...

Cancelling Wimbledon is the only realistic option open to organisers as they grapple with the chaos caused by the coronavirus, says two-time Grand Slam men's doubles champion Jamie Murray. Tennis is at a standstill until June 7, with the entire European clay-court season already wiped out...