Saudi Arabia bans Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca over fears about coronavirus
Saudi Arabia has banned citizens and residents from performing the Muslim pilgrimage in Mecca over fears about the coronavirus.
World Headlines
US Strikes Taliban For Attacking Afghan Forces, After Trump Says Taliban Wants to ‘Cease the Violence’
President Trump said Tuesday he had ‘a good, long [phone] conversation’ with the leader of the Taliban and that the group wants to ‘cease the violence.’
Russia Sends 4th Warship to Syria Amid Turkey Tensions
The Russian Navy has dispatched a fourth warship to Syria’s Mediterranean coast as tensions over the northwestern province of Idlib spiral with Turkey, amateur ship spotters reported Monday.
Iranian supreme leader orders armed forces to combat new virus
Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday ordered the Islamic Republic’s armed forces to assist its Health Ministry in combating the spread of the new coronavirus.
Syrian government forces re-enter strategic town, Turkey vows to keep up strikes
Syrian government forces entered parts of a strategic rebel-held town on Monday, and Turkey said it would keep hitting President Bashar al-Assad’s troops after ramping up operations in its biggest intervention yet into the Syrian civil war.
Virus Kills Member of Council Advising Iran’s Supreme Leader
A member of a council that advises Iran’s supreme leader died Monday after falling sick from the new coronavirus, state radio reported, becoming the first top official to succumb to the illness that is affecting members of the Islamic Republic’s leadership.
China says North Korea is suffering ‘negatively’ from virus
China’s U.N. ambassador said Monday that North Korea is suffering ‘negatively’ from the coronavirus and called for greater flexibility from the United States and other countries on lifting sanctions against the country.
Russia: Putin seeks constitutional ban on gay marriage
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday submitted a proposal to establish a ban on same-sex marriage in the country’s constitution.
Thousands in Moscow protest constitutional changes seen as Putin power grab
Thousands of protesters marched through Moscow on Saturday against the Russian government’s proposed constitutional changes that are widely seen as an attempt by President Vladimir Putin to maintain his power beyond the end of his term in 2024.
Global stock markets have lost $6 trillion in value in six days
Global markets have lost $6 trillion in value over the past six days, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Egypt: We’ll use ‘all means’ to defend Nile interests
Egypt on Saturday said it would use ‘all available means’ to defend ‘the interests’ of its people after Ethiopia skipped the latest round of U.S.-brokered talks on a disputed Nile dam project with Egypt and Sudan.
Coronavirus threatens global economy as experts warn no country will be spared
All countries need to prepare to combat the coronavirus, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, as authorities raced to contain the epidemic’s rapid global spread and Wall Street looked set for its biggest weekly fall since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.
Coronavirus spreads to six continents
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus reached a new milestone after a man in Brazil tested positive for the contagion.
$425M in World Bank catastrophe bonds set to default if coronavirus declared a pandemic by June
Investors betting big against catastrophic diseases are watching the World Health Organization closely as insurance bonds tied to whether the organization labels COVID-19 a pandemic are set to mature in June.
U.S. Lists Leader Of Iran-Backed Shi’ite Militia In Iraq As ‘Global Terrorist’
The United States has declared the leader of the Iran-backed Kataib Hizbullah (KH) militant group in Iraq a terrorist following a number of recent rocket attacks on bases hosting U.S. and other foreign troops in Iraq.
East Africa’s Huge Locust Outbreak Now Spreads to Congo
The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization says a small group of desert locusts has entered Congo, marking the first time the voracious insects have been seen in the Central African country since 1944.
Trump Wraps Up Visit in India, World’s Largest Democracy and Noted for Persecution of Christians
President Trump is wrapping up a two-day visit to India, the world’s largest democracy.
Hundreds of Chinese Police Infected With Coronavirus as Regime Struggles to Contain Epidemic
At least 813 current or retired police officers in China’s Hubei Province—the epicenter of the deadly COVID-19 epidemic—and their close family members have been infected with the novel coronavirus, according to an internal government document obtained by The Epoch Times.
Coronavirus Containment Window Shrinking As Virus Spreads to More Countries
Canada’s border measures to guard the country against incoming cases of the novel coronavirus, or COVID−19, will likely become less effective as transmission of the virus spreads to more countries outside of Canada, the country’s chief medical officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Monday.
Iran’s government and media lied about coronavirus outbreak, riots erupt
Iranians are scared and angry. Their government has been lying to them and their media was instructed not to report on the coronavirus outbreak as it rapidly spread from the religious city of Qom to other cities. On Saturday, Tehran was awash with rumors and riots occurred in the city of Talesh on the Caspian sea due to a quarantine.