As Italy mourns thousands of coronavirus dead, and survivors brace for life in an economic wasteland, one rung of society looks to win big: organised crime. "The Italian mafia can turn threats into opportunities," top government anti-mafia investigator Giuseppe Governale told AFP. Over...

On a deserted street in the old city of Damascus, the new coronavirus has forced salesmen like Ahmad to close up shop indefinitely for the first time in Syria's war. "We've lived through some tough times during the war," says the 59-year-old, sitting on a chair on the pavement outside his...

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 United States and China on Friday took their growing clash over the coronavirus pandemic to social media, with Beijing telling Secretary of State Mike Pompeo he was "lying through (his) teeth." In an interview on Fox News, Pompeo said Beijing "wasted valuable days" after identifying the...