The United Nations, which had urged a global ceasefire in the face of the coronavirus crisis, on Thursday hailed armed groups in Cameroon, the Philippines and Yemen for heeding the call. The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffith, said he was "heartened" to see positive responses from...

The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad congratulated Afghan political and civil society leaders on Friday on forming a negotiating team for talks with Taliban. “This consensus is a meaningful step that moves the parties significantly closer to intra-Afghan negotiations,” he...

World Bank President David Malpass on Friday said poorer countries will need debt relief or restructuring so they can fund their fights against the coronavirus pandemic, and said the World Bank would present a debt-relief approach in April. “Poorer countries will take the hardest hit,...

The Red Cross called Friday for increased psychological support to health workers and others fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, warning of rising suicides as a result of pressure and isolation. Countries around the world have taken dramatic measures to try to halt the spread of the virus,...

Indonesia's most active volcano Mount Merapi erupted Friday, shooting a column of ash some 5,000 metres (16,000 feet) into the air in its second major eruption this month. Ash and sand covered areas several kilometres (miles) away from the peak of the rumbling crater near Indonesia's...

Support for the demands of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong has grown even as rallies have paused due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a survey conducted for Reuters that also showed a widespread lack of confidence in the government's ability to manage the COVID-19 crisis....

They have been hailed as India's coronavirus "heroes", but doctors, nurses, delivery drivers and other frontline workers have been attacked and in some cases evicted from their homes by panicked residents. Some e-commerce giants have even halted deliveries partly due to the harassment of...

Chinese President Xi Jinping told U.S. President Donald Trump during a phone call on Friday that he hopes the United States will take substantive action to improve bilateral ties, China’s foreign ministry said. Xi also told Trump that cooperation between their countries was the only correct...

Afghanistan will release at least 10,000 prisoners over the age of 55 in an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, officials said Thursday. "The president has issued a decree that several thousand prisoners will be released soon due to coronavirus," an official in President...

Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week – more than quadruple the previous record set in 1982 – amid a widespread economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus. The surge in weekly applications was a stunning reflection of the damage the viral outbreak is...

The International Monetary Fund Thursday asked G20 leaders to back a doubling of its emergency financing capacity to strengthen its response to the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic that is set to cause a global recession in 2020. IMG Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, in a...

The lockdown in the Chinese outbreak city of Wuhan brought the COVID-19 epidemic crashing to a halt, giving health systems crucial breathing room to deal with serious cases, new research showed Thursday. Chinese authorities ordered schools, universities and businesses shut following a...

The novel coronavirus pandemic that has forced billions of people across the globe to stay home is making parents skip routine immunisations for their kids, the United Nations children's agency UNICEF warned Thursday. The phenomenon is being aggravated by overburdened health services where...

The US Senate unanimously passed the nation's largest-ever rescue package late Wednesday, a $2 trillion lifeline to suffering Americans, critically depleted hospitals and an economy ravaged by a rapidly spreading coronavirus crisis. The measure cleared the Senate 96-0 after days of...

Countries which have locked down their populations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus need to use the time to find and attack the virus, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. “Asking people to stay at home and shutting down population movement is buying time, and reducing...

Robots are expected to demonstrate their value for "dirty and dangerous" medical tasks in the fight to quell the coronavirus pandemic, researchers said Wednesday. An editorial in Science Robotics noted that robots can help with telemedicine, decontamination, handling of hazardous waste and...

The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 20,000 people worldwide, most of them in Europe, according to an AFP tally at 1700 GMT Wednesday using official figures. A total of 20,334 deaths were reported, of which 13,581 were in Europe. With 7,503 deaths, Italy is the most affected...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Group of Seven foreign ministers agreed with him in talks Wednesday that China was waging a "disinformation" campaign about the coronavirus pandemic. The top diplomats from the major industrialized nations held a previously scheduled meeting by...

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Wednesday called for governments to put a hold on debt payments from the world's poorest nations so they can battle the coronavirus pandemic. "The World Bank Group and the IMF believe it is imperative at this moment to provide a global sense...

The coronavirus pandemic is threatening the entire human race, the United Nations warned Wednesday as it launched a humanitarian response plan featuring an appeal for $2 billion to help the world's poorest and most vulnerable people. "COVID-19 is threatening the whole of humanity -– and the...