A senior Australian politician tested positive for the new coronavirus and was quarantined in hospital on Friday, days after returning from Washington where he met Ivanka Trump and US Attorney General William Barr. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton was in the United States last week for a meeting with members of the FiveEyes intelligence alliance […]

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday urged people not to gather in groups of more than 500 but said he would still go to a weekend rugby game, as health officials warned millions of residents will contract coronavirus within months. Australia has recorded 156 infections and three deaths from the flu-like disease, figures that […]

Greece on Friday prepared to swear in the first woman president in its history as the country grapples with over a hundred coronavirus cases. Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, a 63-year-old senior judge, will become the new Greek head of state for a five-year term. She will take her oath in parliament, lay a wreath at the Tomb […]

A Chinese official has suggested that the US army may have brought the deadly coronavirus into China, without providing any evidence for his eyebrow-raising claim. Zhao Lijian, a foreign ministry spokesman, made the assertion on Twitter late Thursday, echoing similar conspiracy theories proliferating on Chinese social media that blame the US for the pandemic. The […]

Oil prices fell, on Thursday fell more than five per cent after Donald Trump unexpectedly announced restrictions on travel from Europe, an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus after WHO described the outbreak as pandemic. The slump in oil is being compounded by the threat of a flood of cheap supply after Saudi Arabia […]

Americans returning from Europe will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, the nation’s Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday. Pence mentioned the measures as he spoke on Fox News and CNN hours after President Donald Trump late Wednesday announced restrictions on travel from much of Europe. […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved legislation allowing him to stay in power beyond 2024 due to global instability and threats against Russia, including the new coronavirus, the Kremlin said on Thursday. During a rare and unscheduled appearance in parliament on Tuesday, Putin stunned both the general public and the establishment by agreeing to a […]

The Sri Lankan Government on Thursday brought forward the school holidays and shut all schools with immediate effect as a precaution to prevent the spread of coronavirus, an official said. School holidays due to commence on April 3 were advanced by two weeks and all schools will remain closed until April 20, Education Minister Dullas […]

Ireland on Thursday announced the closure of all schools and colleges and recommended the cancellation of mass gatherings as part of measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said “schools, colleges and childcare facilities will close from tomorrow (Friday)”, as would state-run cultural institutions. Indoor events of more than 100 […]

European Union leaders on Thursday rebuked the United States for imposing a unilateral travel ban on arrivals from countries in the Schengen passport-free zone without consulting them. “The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent, and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action,” EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel […]