A former British government minister on Wednesday called for parliament to be suspended after an MP was infected with coronavirus. Rory Stewart, a former Conservative MP who is now running to be mayor of London, said the lower House of Commons “should cease to meet in person” to avoid any further spread. His comments came […]

The Iranian government’s strategy to counter the spread of the coronavirus will be led by the president, Hassan Rouhani, according to the news agency ISNA. The suggestion came from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Wednesday report said. Up until now, the Health Ministry has taken the lead in the fight against the virus. […]

British officials said Monday they had opened a probe into an illegal website claiming to sell a cure for the novel coronavirus, which came to light during an AFP fact-checking investigation. AFP reporters in Lagos discovered the UK-registered site while examining a WhatsApp message spreading around Nigeria with the claim that an anti-malaria drug could heal COVID-19 — […]

Some key industries in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, were told they can resume work on Wednesday, a day after President Xi Jinping visited the city for the first time since the outbreak began. The city of 11 million has been in lockdown since late January, but Xi’s visit […]

Energy giant Saudi Aramco said Wednesday it plans to raise its crude production capacity by one million barrels per day to 13 million bpd as a price war with Russia intensifies. The decision came a day after Saudi Arabia, the world’s top exporter, decided to hike production by at least 2.5 million bpd to a […]

Frustrated after a string of break-ups, Dwita Astari Pujiartati quit the casual romance circuit and turned to a growing trend among Indonesian singles — marriage without dating. The 27-year-old professor exchanged resumes with prospective suitors — helped by a Muslim cleric-cum-matchmaker — until she was contacted by a long-lost acquaintance who also wanted to give […]

Britain unveils its first post-Brexit budget on Wednesday, with all eyes on emergency government measures to ease the economic pain from the coronavirus outbreak. It comes the day after a minister in the health department, Nadine Dorries, tested positive for COVID-19, raising concern about whether she has spread the infection. Finance minister Rishi Sunak will […]

The number of novel coronavirus cases in the US surged past 1,000 on Tuesday, after public health experts criticized authorities for downplaying the epidemic and lagging behind in testing efforts. At least 28 people have died and 1,025 people have been infected, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University — nearly double the […]

Harvey Weinstein faces up to 29 years in prison when he is sentenced by a New York judge Wednesday, two weeks after he was convicted of rape and sexual assault. The ex-Hollywood titan will be taken from the notorious Rikers Island jail to the Manhattan criminal court to learn his fate at a hearing starting […]

Former Brazilian international Ronaldinho Gaucho was ordered to remain in jail in Paraguay on Saturday after a judge ruled him a flight risk. The ex-FC Barcelona forward was arrested on Friday for attempting to enter Paraguay with a false passport two days earlier. He spent Friday night in a police cell along with his brother […]