World News

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it had received assurances from North Korea that it continues testing for the new coronavirus and has more than 500 people in quarantine. The leadership of North Korea, one of the world’s most repressive states, has so far claimed there are no confirmed cases of the virus, known as COVID-19.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday declared a state of emergency to fight coronavirus infections in major population centers and rolled out a nearly $1 trillion stimulus package to soften the economic blow.

The Brexit trade deal will face greater challenges ahead as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now in intensive care because of the coronavirus, while other key negotiators have either been infected or are in self-isolation.

Americans are going to transit stations, retail and recreation locations and workplaces much less frequently now than they were just a month ago, according to a new mobility project from Google that traces human movements worldwide.

Cyclone Harold tore through the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu for the second day on Tuesday. Buildings collapsed and communications were cut off in some parts of the island. As of Tuesday afternoon, no casualties had been reported.

A spectacular Super Moon is set to appear in the night skies on April 7th and 8th. The best time to see it is anywhere in the world will be after sunset, when the moon rises over the eastern horizon, VOA reports. Those without an east-facing view should be able to see an equally spectacular moonset on April 8.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was rushed to the intensive care unit at a London hospital after his condition worsened in a battle with the new coronavirus, COVID-19. “Over the course of this afternoon, the condition of the Prime Minister has worsened, and, on the advice of his medical team, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital,” said his Downing Street office in a statement. “The PM has asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is the First Secretary of State, to deputize for him where necessary.”

The United States and Britain braced Monday for what officials viewed as one of their darkest weeks in post-war memory as the social and financial toll of the coronavirus pandemic mounted and the British prime minister was in the hospital with the virus. Monday’s glooming scenario came as Italy, Spain, and France saw signs that they were flattening the pandemic curve, despite many people still dying there.

Efforts to combat the spread of locust swarms in East Africa are facing serious challenges as a result of border closures, flight shutdowns, and increased shipping prices, with the current swarms expected to grow 500 times by June.

African leaders are warning of an economic collapse if financial assistance isn’t provided to the millions of people out of work because of the novel coronavirus.

China has been appointed to a panel on the controversial U.N. Human Rights Council, where it will help vet candidates for important posts — despite its decades-long record of systematic human rights abuse that the U.S. has said fueled the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 100 civil society groups urged governments Thursday not to use the global coronavirus pandemic as cover for future pervasive electronic snooping but instead make sure data is erased once the health crisis is over.

Queen Elizabeth II says Britons will overcome the new coronavirus pandemic if they confront the crisis with the same resolve that carried the nation through other trials and tragedies. Invoking the spirit of World War Two, the British monarch urged Britain in televised remarks to demonstrate the determination as generations of the past.

As countries struggle to contain the new coronavirus outbreak, a global fight has emerged over dwindling medical supplies. The tensions even led to growing competition for medical goods between the United States and its traditional European allies. Take Germany. The local government in the German state and capital, Berlin, claims that 200,000 U.S.-made protective masks bound for Germany never arrived. Authorities say the shipment was ‘confiscated’ in Bangkok, Thailand.

A former European Commission president has said the coronavirus crisis may result in the break-up of the European Union. In a rare statement last weekend, Jacques Delors said the lack of European solidarity in dealing with the crisis presented “a mortal danger” to the EU. Others have expressed similar concerns.

Thirteen European Union nations say they fear that emergency measures to contain the new coronavirus pandemic could threaten “democracy and fundamental rights.” Their statement came after EU-member Hungary introduced coronavirus legislation that allows the increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to rule by decree without parliamentary approval.

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 1 million on Thursday with more than 52,000 deaths as the pandemic further exploded in the United States and the death toll climbed in Spain and Italy, according to a Reuters tally of official data.

The U.S. military said Thursday that air defense systems are ‘moving’ into Iraq following attacks on American and coalition forces in recent weeks.

Nearly all of the people in Europe who have died from the coronavirus were more than 60 years old, the World Health Organization announced Thursday.

Saudi Arabia and Russia signaled on Thursday they were ready to cooperate to help stabilize the oil market after calls with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the slump in prices triggered by the end of a deal to curb output and a collapse in demand.