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Floods and landslides caused by heavy rain in Kenya have killed nearly 200 people, displaced 100,000 and strained critical infrastructure, officials said on Wednesday. The heavy rain, which accelerated in mid-April, is expected to continue in already hard-hit areas in the coming weeks, the Kenya Meteorological Department said in its …

Western Union Co (WU. N), the world’s largest money transfer firm, expects the second quarter to be its weakest in 2020 in terms of revenue and profit margins and is confident of improvement as COVID-19-related lockdowns ease, its chief financial officer said on Tuesday. The firm generated revenue of $1.2 …

The Iraqi parliament will hold a session tonight to vote on granting confidence to the government of Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Al-Kazemi, and the parliament has a list of 20 ministers, amid expectations of voting on 16 ministers from the list. For the government to obtain the confidence of Parliament, an …

At least 90,000 health-care workers worldwide are believed to have been infected with COVID-19, and possibly twice that, amid reports of continuing shortages of protective equipment, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) said on Wednesday. The disease has killed more than 260 nurses, it said in a statement, urging authorities …

The merchandise trade deficit rose in the United States in March, in an indication that the Corona virus outbreak has upset the flow of goods and services in the world. It is expected that the American debt will rise to 27 trillion dollars, with the administration borrowing three trillion new …

Italian researchers claim to have developed a vaccine that can neutralize the coronavirus in human cells. Tests carried out at Rome’s Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital, which specializes in infectious diseases, generated antibodies in mice that work in human cells. “This is the most advanced stage of testing of a candidate vaccine …

The Iraqi military says three Katyusha rockets have landed in the perimeter of Baghdad International Airport. The army said on Wednesday that it had found a rocket launcher with a timer in a rural area in western Baghdad and that there were no reports of damage or casualties. There was …

The press office of the Russian Ministry of Culture announced today, Wednesday, that the Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lubimova was infected with the Coruna virus. “The Minister of Culture, Olga Lubyumova, is working remotely. The results of the analysis of Covid-19 are positive,” said a spokeswoman for the Russian …

The death toll from the emerging coronavirus in Spain has increased by 224 new cases during the past 24 hours, after health authorities recorded fewer than 200 deaths during three consecutive days. The Spanish Ministry of Health confirmed today, Wednesday, that the death toll of the epidemic in the country …

Iraq’s Parliament is set to convene on Wednesday to approve a new government proposed by prime minister-designate Mustafa Al Kadhimi, according to officials. For months political deadlock in Parliament has held up the selection of an interim prime minister after Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned in November but stayed on as …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has lashed out at the United States for intensifying its illegal sanctions against the Iranian nation at a time when the country is fighting a deadly coronavirus outbreak, saying Washington should first lift the bans to prove its sincerity in offering help to the Islamic Republic …

The following is a brief roundup of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. An antibody that “neutralizes” the novel coronavirus Researchers said they have produced a monoclonal antibody that can “neutralize” the new …

France accused Apple of undermining its effort to fight the coronavirus by refusing to help make its iPhones more compatible with a planned “StopCovid” contact-tracing app. Countries are rushing to develop smartphone apps, which are seen as a way to help keep the novel coronavirus epidemic in check while reopening …

President Donald Trump denied any involvement by the US government in what Venezuelan officials have called a failed armed incursion in the South American country that led to the capture of two American “mercenaries.” Trump made the comment to reporters at the White House after socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro …

US secretary of state said there was ‘enormous evidence’ the virus emerged from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan. China’s state broadcaster CCTV has attacked recent remarks from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, calling them “insane and evasive”. Pompeo, speaking …

congresswoman Ilhan Omar has renewed calls for the US to suspend sanctions against Iran, as the country’s crippled health-care system struggles to deal with the rapid spread of the coronavirus. “We need to suspend these sanctions before more lives are lost,” Omar said via Twitter on Friday, retweeting an earlier …

10 Downing Street has started devising schemes to ease coronavirus restrictions in order to slowly get the country back to work and avoid plunging the national economy into a full-fledged crisis. However, many believe that these efforts have been too swift. Trade unions slammed “incomplete” back-to-work guidelines drafted by the …

Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was reported by The New York Times as mulling plans to invoke a provision in the Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA), which the Trump administration pulled out of in 2018, to either seek the extension of an arms embargo on Iran or reimpose even …

If rumors about a coup in Qatar this week turn out to be true, who could benefit from it and what would the possible consequences for the region be? Social media users may have seen recent footage of an alleged attempted coup d’etat in Qatar – footage rife with shooting …

With the general election just six months away, and the global economy in shambles because of the coronavirus, there is increasing urgency inside the White House and among President Donald Trump’s Republican allies to blame China over its failure to stem the spread of the disease early on. Now, there’s …