Pinning down the source of the coronavirus pandemic should help in working out how COVID-19 has "invaded the human species" so quickly, a senior WHO official told AFP. The outbreak has triggered a fierce diplomatic spat between China and the United States -- with the World Health...

The Taliban warned Wednesday it was ready to fight back after Afghan forces were ordered to resume strikes in response to a series of deadly attacks, further unravelling a fragile peace process. A brazen daylight assault on a maternity hospital in Kabul on Tuesday -- which killed at least...

America's top infectious diseases official has warned that ending lockdowns too quickly could trigger uncontrollable new coronavirus outbreaks, as the global death toll closes in on 300,000. The stark words from Anthony Fauci came as much of the United States and Europe press ahead with...

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...

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...

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...

 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...

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...

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...

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...

 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...

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...

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...

Four roadside bombs detonated in less than 90 minutes Monday in a northern district of Afghanistan's capital, wounding four civilians including a child, police said. Militants have carried out several roadside bombings and rocket attacks in Kabul and other parts of the country in recent...

Global novel coronavirus-related fatalities exceeded the 280,000 mark on Sunday, according to a running tally by the US-based Johns Hopkins University. The figures counted 280,507 deaths, while the numbers of cases and recoveries stand at 4,055,863 and 1,386,631 respectively. The US is...

China has issued a lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 "preposterous allegations" by some leading U.S. politicians over its handling of the new coronavirus outbreak. The Chinese foreign ministry has dedicated most of its press briefings over the past week to rejecting accusations by...

Former President Barack Obama harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an “absolute chaotic disaster” during a conversation with ex-members of his administration, according to a recording obtained by Yahoo News. Obama also reacted to the Justice...