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Shares in the world’s largest generic drugmaker jumped nearly 20% in late Tel Aviv trade as the company also reaffirmed its 2020 outlook, despite disruption to the global economy from the coronavirus pandemic. Chief Executive Kare Schultz said all facilities remained open and no jobs had been cut due to …

Qatar Airways is in talks with banks for loans worth billions of dollars, three sources familiar with the matter said, as the state-owned airline readies to begin rebuilding its network that has been crushed by the coronavirus pandemic. The talks with banks are happening on a bilateral basis, the sources …

A member of the US Navy who serves as one of President Donald Trump’s personal valets has tested positive for coronavirus, raising concerns about the President’s possible exposure to the virus. The valets are members of an elite military unit dedicated to the White House and often work very close …

The UK economy is heading for its worst crash in more than 300 years because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new forecast from the Bank of England. The central bank said Thursday that the British economy could shrink by 14% this year. That would be the biggest annual …

Flooding as a result of recent heavy rains has killed more than 260 people across East Africa. Kenya has been the hardest hit with the government recording 194 deaths. In Rwanda, 55 people have died and floods have killed 16 in Somalia. In Uganda, high water levels have trapped an …

At least 13 people have been killed by a massive gas leak at a chemical plant in southern India, with 800 others taken to hospital. The leak from the LG Polymers plant in the city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state came as people slept. Doctors say patients have been …

Japan on Thursday approved Gilead Sciences Inc’s remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19, making it the country’s first officially authorized drug to tackle the coronavirus disease. Japan reached the decision just three days after the U.S. drugmaker filed for fast-track approval for the treatment. “There has so far been no …

Another 3.2 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the US as the coronavirus pandemic triggered one of the most expansive job losses in history, with 33 million people seeking aid since the outbreak began. The country has slipped into one of its worst economic downturns since the Great …

Donald Trump has said that he will continue trying to revoke all of the Affordable Care Act, even as some in his administration, including attorney general William Barr, have privately argued that parts of the law should be preserved amid a pandemic. “We want to terminate health care under Obamacare,” …

Turkey’s lira briefly fell to a record low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday as investors fretted about depleted currency reserves and the need for foreign financing as the coronavirus pandemic drains the economy. Thursday’s fall to near 7.27 pushed it beyond the record low hit during a 2018 currency …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned the United States that Iran will not accept any violation of the UN Security Council resolution that mandates the lifting of an arms embargo against the Islamic Republic, saying the country is absolutely entitled to the ban’s cancellation. “The United States and other countries …

Facebook has announced who will sit on an independent board, set up to have ultimate say over what controversial content should be taken down. Former Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt will co-chair the panel with three others. The panel said they will judge some of the “hardest cases out there.” …

The Trump administration is drafting a legal blueprint for mining on the moon under a new U.S.-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords, people familiar with the proposed pact told Reuters. The agreement would be the latest effort to cultivate allies around NASA’s plan to put humans and space stations …

A genetic study of samples from more than 7,500 people infected with COVID-19 suggests the new coronavirus spread quickly around the world after it emerged in China sometime between October and December last year, scientists said on Wednesday. Scientists at University College London’s Genetics Institute found almost 200 recurrent genetic …

Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi says his country would never allow outsiders to use the Arab country’s territory for any act of aggression against others. Kadhimi made the remarks while addressing a parliamentary session on Wednesday, when lawmakers approved his government and ended months of political deadlock. Kadhimi promised …

Iraq’s parliament has approved a new government, after six months without one, as parties squabbled until the last minute over cabinet seats in backroom deals. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraq’s intelligence chief and a former journalist, will head the government but will begin his term without a full cohort of …

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said today, Wednesday, that customs duties should not be used as a weapon, after US President Donald Trump threatened last week with new customs duties as a punitive measure in response to Beijing’s handling of the Corona virus crisis. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told …

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said Washington has “significant evidence” that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China. However, don’t expect to see proof any time soon. Speaking at the State Department in Washington on Wednesday, Pompeo opened up his press conference with a broadside against Beijing. …

Spain has extended the state of emergency imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic for two more weeks from Sunday, allowing the government to control people’s movements as it gradually relaxes a national lockdown. Parliament approved the measure on Wednesday after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who heads a fragile coalition government, …

Israel announced a plan for thousands of new Jewish settlement homes in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday as Washington voiced readiness to back de facto Israeli annexations there. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to visit Israel next week, a source said, a sign that he is weighing …