World

BEIJING (Reuters) – The number of new coronavirus cases imported into mainland China from overseas surpassed the number of locally transmitted new infections for the first time on Friday, data released by the National Health Commission showed on Saturday. A closed entrance of a residential community is seen following an outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), at

WASHINGTON/GENEVA (Reuters) – President Donald Trump declared a U.S. national emergency over the quickly spreading coronavirus on Friday, opening the door to more government aid to combat a pathogen that has infected more than 138,000 people worldwide and left over 5,000 dead. The impact of the coronavirus on everyday life deepened around the world. It

FILE PHOTO: Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic arrives for the second day of the European Union leaders summit, held to discuss the EU’s long-term budget for 2021-2027, in Brussels, Belgium, February 21, 2020. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause ZAGREB (Reuters) – Croatia has decided to close schools and universities for two weeks, starting from Monday, to fight the

SANTOS, Brazil (Reuters) – Years of rooting out drugs at the Brazilian seaport of Santos had given customs inspector Oswaldo Dias a good nose for suspicious cargo. A shipment of second-hand backhoes, bound for Europe late last year, seemed fishy. FILE PHOTO: A worker observes a container being placed on top of a truck at

FILE PHOTO: European Trade Commissioner-designate Phil Hogan of Ireland speaks as he attends his hearing before the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium September 30, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The European Union’s top trade official has canceled his plans to visit Canada and the United States next week amid escalating concerns about the

German Chancellor Angela Merkel address a news conference on coronavirus in Berlin, Germany, March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt BERLIN (Reuters) – Up to 70% of the population is likely to be infected with the coronavirus that is currently spreading around the world, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, adding that since there was currently no cure

MARACAIBO/SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (Reuters) – In a hospital in Venezuela’s western city of Maracaibo, chronic water shortages have left staff using paint buckets as toilets. With medical gloves in short supply, workers use the same pair on multiple patients. FILE PHOTO: People walk at a hospital, whose power is supplied by generators, during a blackout

FILE PHOTO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gives a policy speech at the start of the regular session of parliament in Tokyo, Japan, January 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday the government would carry out whatever measures are needed without hesitation to respond to the coronavirus

ROME (Reuters) – All of Italy under lockdown, reeling financial markets and rioting prisoners made clear on Monday how the global coronavirus epidemic was extending its reach into all aspects of social and economic life. Police officers wearing protective masks make checks on people at Milan’s main train station following a government decree that has

FILE PHOTO: A member of the medical team wears a protective face mask, following the coronavirus outbreak, as he sprays disinfectant liquid to sanitise a taxi station in Tehran, Iran March 05, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran has released approximately 70,000 prisoners because of the coronavirus outbreak

DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia imposed a temporary lockdown on Sunday on the eastern oil-producing province of Qatif, home to all 11 people in the kingdom who have tested positive for the coronavirus, and suspended all schools and universities nationwide. FILE PHOTO – General view of Kaaba at the Grand Mosque which is almost empty

FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A321 with the description “IranAir” is pictured on the tarmac in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau DUBAI (Reuters) – IranAir has stopped all flights to European destinations, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday, citing a statement from the Civil Aviation Organization. “With attention to the

BEIT JALAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Thirteen Americans suspected of being exposed to coronavirus during a trip to the Holy Land are in quarantine near Bethlehem and are coordinating with U.S. and Palestinian authorities to try to get home. “It was going to be the trip of a lifetime,” Chris Bell, 42, lead pastor of

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s president sells himself as lifelong champion of the rights of women, who he calls “more honest” than men. To stress the point, he made history upon taking office in December 2018 by putting women in half his cabinet posts. FILE PHOTO: Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during a

FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective mask uses a smartphone as she travels on a bus during rush hour, after Indonesia confirmed its first cases of COVID-19, in Jakarta, Indonesia, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia confirmed on Friday that two more people had tested positive for the coronavirus, taking the

LONDON (Reuters) – Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum ordered the abduction of two of his daughters and orchestrated a campaign of intimidation against his former wife, a British judge has ruled. FILE PHOTO: Jordanian Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein and her husband, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (C), walk to the parade