Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska said on Friday she had tested positive for the novel coronavirus amid a rise in infections. Zelenska, 42, added that her husband, President Volodymyr Zelensky, and their two children tested negative. “Today I’ve received a positive COVID-19 test result,” she said on Facebook. On Thursday, …

The United Nations will be forced to suspend three quarters of the medical aid programs it supports in war-torn Yemen unless emergency funding is secured soon, the spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned. Currently, 41 such programs are running in the Middle Eastern nation, where …

The number of people in extreme poverty around the world could rise beyond 1 billion as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, new analysis has suggested. Figures from the World Bank suggest that 736 million people currently live in destitution, surviving on less than $1.90 a day (£1.53). But in …

With the number of US coronavirus cases now topping 2 million, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday blasted a new President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic, saying Trump “still refuses to take the virus seriously.” Noting that the number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise in more than …

As the world races to produce an effective Covid-19 vaccine, some experts are turning their attention to a polio vaccine as a way to provide temporary protection against coronavirus. There is plenty of evidence that existing inoculations such as polio vaccines protect children against a wide range of infections and …

The latest data from the Treasury Department shows that the US gross national debt has exceeded $26 trillion for the first time, as the nation grapples with economic relief from the Covid-19 pandemic. The national debt is up from $23.5 trillion in March, with an increase of $1 trillion since …

“Our duty was to come back prepared for this moment. It was tough, but we’ve made it.” That is how La Liga president Javier Tebas describes the return of the top division of Spanish soccer. Spain has recorded a total of over 240,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including over 27,000 …

The US surpassed 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday night as new hotspots emerge and hospitalizations go up in some states. More than 112,000 people have died from Covid-19 nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. The spike in numbers highlights how complicated it is to stop the spread of the …

The UK’s economy is likely to be the worst affected among developed countries due to coronavirus, a major think tank has warned. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said Britain’s economy was likely to slump by 11.5% in 2020 – above the slumps expected for other developed nations …

First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hassan Karim Al-Kaabi called on Wednesday Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to dismiss the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, Taif Sami “for not respecting the parliament and affecting the rights of the Iraqi people negatively.” The Parliamentary Finance Committee held a meeting today to discuss …

First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hassan Karim Al-Kaabi called on Wednesday Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to dismiss the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, Taif Sami “for not respecting the parliament and affecting the rights of the Iraqi people negatively.” The Parliamentary Finance Committee held a meeting today to discuss …

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi slammed the newly-imposed sanctions against Iran, highlighting that the country will never give in to US’ unilateral measures. “Iran will not surrender with such sanctions and pressures,” he said on Wednesday in an interview with IRIB, refereeing to recent sanctions imposed by the US …

French police will abandon the chokehold method of arresting suspects, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner promised as George Floyd protests in the US inspired renewed outrage over police conduct in France. “It will no longer be taught in police and gendarmerie schools,” Castaner said on Monday, adding that the chokehold “has …

Asian stocks extended their winning streak for the ninth consecutive session on Tuesday and oil prices rose as the lifting of coronavirus lockdowns in many countries fed investor hopes of a relatively quick global economic recovery. European markets were set to follow that lead with pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 futures …

The general director of the Customs Department of Ilam Province (west Iran) announced that Iraqi trucks will enter Mehran border port for freight transport, as a part of a bilateral agreement. In a statement today, Monday, Ruhullah Gholami said that the process of loading 250 Iraqi trucks with Iranian cargo …

Lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 have saved millions of lives and easing them now carries high risks, according to two international studies published on Monday. “The risk of a second wave happening if all interventions and all precautions are abandoned is very real,” Samir Bhatt, who co-led …

The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries on Monday to press on with efforts to contain the novel coronovirus, noting the pandemic was worsening globally and had not peaked in central America. “More than six months into the pandemic this is not the time for any country to take its …

The summer’s festival of football looks set to conclude with a “blitz” of the European competition in Lisbon over the space of two weeks in August. Those are the latest plans for completing the 2019-20 Champions League and Europa League, and currently seen as the most workable. Uefa has set …

Japan has reportedly decided not to join the United States, the United Kingdom and some other countries in “condemning” China over a recently-passed law to safeguard national security in Hong Kong, the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. According to a report by Japan’s Kyodo news agency on Sunday, Tokyo refused to be …

After 78 days of coronavirus stay-at-home orders and a death toll larger than all but six countries, New York City begins to reopen Monday. Now, New York and cities across the country must reckon with a combination of coronavirus, vast unemployment and systemic racism — a toxic trifecta that most …