From Asia to Africa, London to Berlin, Chinese envoys have set off diplomatic firestorms with a combative defense whenever their country is accused of not acting quickly enough to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. They belong to a new generation of "Wolf Warrior" diplomats, named...

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has predicted that U.S. President Donald Trump will try to postpone the country's November election in an attempt to win. "Mark my words, I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't...

Muslims around the world began marking Ramadan under coronavirus lockdown on Friday with unprecedented bans on family gatherings and mass prayers, while a pushback in some countries has sparked fears of a surge in infections. This year, the holy daytime fasting month will be a sombre affair...

Venezuela has received refining materials via plane shipment from Iran to help it start the catalytic cracking unit at the 310,000 barrels-per-day Cardon refinery, which is necessary to produce gasoline, an official said on Thursday. Erling Rojas, vice minister for refining and...

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador played down on Thursday his counterpart Donald Trump's decision to temporarily halt immigration to the United States, saying it wouldn't affect business between the neighboring countries. "We need each other. As it is, the border can never be...

Diverting the scarce healthcare resources of developing countries to the rapidly expanding COVID-19 pandemic could see a 45 percent jump in child and maternal mortality before the end of the year, an international health consortium warned Thursday. Unless poorer nations in Africa, Asia and...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Thursday a screening of 3,000 people found nearly 14 percent tested positive for antibodies for the novel coronavirus, suggesting that 2.7 million residents across the state may have been infected with the disease. Cuomo noted that the survey was...

More than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down, the government said Thursday. Roughly 26 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the five weeks since the coronavirus...

China announced Thursday it will give another $30 million to the World Health Organization to help in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, days after Washington said it would freeze funding. The US, which is the WHO's biggest contributor, accused the organisation last week of...

Air Force One is mostly grounded. Fundraisers are canceled. And the closest thing to a campaign rally is President Donald Trump’s nightly coronavirus briefing. The president's reelection campaign has been thoroughly upended by the coronavirus. But Trump's team has revived a plan to quickly...

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that the coronavirus pandemic is “a human crisis that is fast becoming a human rights crisis.” The U.N. chief said in a video message that there is discrimination in the delivery of public services to tackle COVID-19 and there are...

Clashes between Afghan forces and Taliban militants killed dozens nationwide in the past 24 hours, officials said Wednesday, even as the United States tries to broker peace talks between the warring sides. Abdul Qadeer Mutfi, spokesman for the Mine and Petroleum Ministry, said in a tweet...

North Korean state media on Wednesday made no mention of leader Kim Jong Un’s health or whereabouts, a day after intense international speculation over his health was sparked by media reports he was gravely ill after a cardiovascular procedure. North Korean media presented a business as...

President Donald Trump confirmed he would sign Wednesday an order partially blocking immigration to the United States, in a move he argues would protect workers from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Immigration is a key issue for Trump's conservative base, which he is keen...

The United States is still battling coronavirus, but with six months to go before he faces re-election, President Donald Trump has shifted gears to put immigration -- a bread-and-butter issue for his supporters -- atop the agenda. His surprising announcement late Monday that he would move...

The global coronavirus cases surpassed 2.5 million on Tuesday, according to a running tally by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. The university's data showed that the global number of deaths reached 171,718, while the number of people who recovered stands at 659,732. A total of...

Mexico raised its health emergency level following a rapid increase in novel coronavirus cases and fears the health system could collapse, the government said on Tuesday. Health Undersecretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell said the country was moving to "phase three" of its response to the deadly...

The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that any lifting of lockdowns to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus must be gradual, and if restrictions were to be relaxed too soon, there would be a resurgence of infections. Lockdown measures have proved effective, and people must...

A northwestern province on the frontline of China’s coronavirus battle reported on Tuesday its first cases in nearly three weeks, all involving travellers from overseas, as imported infections started to level off elsewhere. The province of Shaanxi reported 21 new infections from abroad, as...

The number of deaths worldwide from the novel coronavirus surpassed 170,000 late Monday, according to a running tally by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.  The university’s data counted 170,042 fatalities while the number of cases and recoveries stood at 2,473,209 and 646,012,...