France has not yet reached the peak of its COVID-19 epidemic, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday. “We are still in a worsening phase of the epidemic,” Veran told broadcaster BFM TV. He also said that the country’s lockdown would last as long as necessary. France’s coronavirus...

 Australia’s lock-down measures have bought it time in its fight against the coronavirus and it must now decide its next course, its top medical officer said on Tuesday, as the prime minister warned against irreparable economic damage. Australia has seen a sharp drop in its rate of new...

Germany’s confirmed coronavirus infections rose by 3,834 in the past 24 hours to 99,225 on Tuesday, rising again after four consecutive days of drops, data from the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases showed. The reported death toll rose by 173 to 1,607. Tuesday’s number of...

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will on Tuesday declare a state of emergency in parts of the country, including Tokyo, over a spike in coronavirus infections. "I have decided that a situation gravely affecting people's life and the economy has occurred. This evening, I plan to call a...

The Taliban on Tuesday broke off talks with the Afghan government on a prisoner exchange, a main step in peace talks being brokered by the United States after it agreed on a troop withdrawal pact with the militants. Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgent group's political...

 The pace of new coronavirus deaths in Spain slowed for the fourth day on Monday, but overcrowded crematoria in Barcelona and the death of soccer coach Pep Guardiola’s mother showed the national agony was far from over. Spain has the second highest death toll in the world after Italy,...

The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced concern on Monday that the wearing of medical masks by the general public could exacerbate the shortage for health workers who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns in many places are proving effective in dampening spread of...

 Kuwait placed a full lockdown on two densely-populated districts and extended a public holiday by two weeks until April 26 as precautionary measures against the coronavirus, the cabinet said on Monday. It also extended its partial curfew by two hours in the morning to run from 5 p.m....

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday a national lockdown would begin on Tuesday and end on Friday to try to stem the spread of the new coronavirus during the Jewish holiday of Passover. In a televised address, he said travel restrictions would be tightened on...

The coronavirus is the European Union’s biggest ever challenge and member states must show greater solidarity so that the bloc can emerge stronger from the economic crisis unleashed by the pandemic, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday. Germany and the Netherlands have been...

At a Tehran mosque converted into a factory, women volunteers who would normally attend to visitors to the old battlefields of the Iran-Iraq war have joined the fight against coronavirus. Lined up like factory workers, around 15 women have taken up positions in front of table-top sewing...

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, citing the coronavirus outbreak, ordered Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary and other elections in the midwestern US state to be postponed until June. Evers said holding the elections as planned on Tuesday would expose poll workers and voters to...

Left with no income because of the coronavirus lockdown, Dmitry Volodin, the co-owner of several bars in Moscow, says he’s getting inadequate government support, and he has no idea how he can keep paying his staff and his rent. President Vladimir Putin last week gave many Russians the rest...

Authorities in northern Italy have begun testing health workers for antibodies that may help identify individuals with immunity to the coronavirus as they look for ways to ease the lockdown imposed a month ago to contain the epidemic. On Monday, the northeastern region of Veneto, which saw...

 Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved the withdrawal of one billion euros from the country’s sovereign wealth fund to help fight the coronavirus epidemic, President Hassan Rouhani’s official website said on Monday. Iran is the Middle Eastern country worst-affected...

Syria is dragging its feet on releasing prisoners under an amnesty declared by President Bashar al-Assad, raising fears of mass infections if the new coronavirus spreads through its overcrowded jails, rights groups said Monday. The Damascus government has confirmed only 19 cases of...

President Donald Trump and members of his administration are growing emphatic in promoting an anti-malaria drug not yet officially approved for fighting COVID-19, even though scientists say more testing is needed before it’s proven safe and effective against the virus. Trump trade adviser...

It is "highly probable" the government of Syria or its allies carried out attacks on three healthcare facilities, a school and a refuge for children in northwest Syria last year, according to a summary of an internal United Nations inquiry seen by Reuters Monday. The inquiry also found...

UAE carriers Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways have resumed limited passenger flights two weeks after authorities grounded airlines as part of wider shutdowns to combat coronavirus. The flights are open to foreign citizens who wish to leave the United Arab Emirates, but no incoming...

Williams became the second Formula One team to furlough some staff due to the coronavirus pandemic as drivers George Russell and Nicholas Latifi agreed to cut their wages by 20 percent on Monday. Formula One's 2020 season has been delayed because of the pandemic and British-based Williams...