Malawi has legalized the cultivation of cannabis as the country seeks an alternative to tobacco, its main earner of foreign exchange which is under pressure from anti-smoking campaigns. Parliament on Thursday passed the bill to allow cultivation for medicinal and industrial uses. “Legalization of this crop will contribute to economic growth as it will contribute […]

Schools across the United States are cancelling trips abroad, preparing online lessons and even rethinking “perfect attendance” awards as they brace for the possibility that the new coronavirus could begin spreading in their communities. Districts have been rushing to update emergency plans this week after federal officials warned that the virus, which started in China, […]

Turkey on Friday raised the death toll from a Syrian government airstrike on its forces in northwestern Syria the previous night to 33 Turkish troops, the highest number of Turkish soldiers killed in a single day since Ankara first intervened in the Syrian conflict in 2016. The deaths, which came in an attack late Thursday, […]

The World Bank moved Thursday to reestablish relations with Somalia after a 30-year break, paving the way for the country to have access to low-cost development aid. Contact was severed in 1991 as the country descended into conflict, but recently it has made efforts to rebuild, even as it faces violence from the Al-Shabaab jihadist […]

The UN Security Council on Thursday declared that it would adopt humanitarian exemptions to the heavy economic sanctions imposed on North Korea to help the impoverished country fight the novel coronavirus, Germany’s ambassador to the UN said. “The coronavirus issue was discussed and the committee immediately had given permission to export the equipment” used to […]

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday urged schools nationwide to close for several weeks to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, as authorities reported the country’s fourth death linked to the outbreak. The move comes as crew members from the Diamond Princess, a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship quarantined off Japan, began leaving the vessel […]

China reported 44 more deaths from the novel coronavirus epidemic on Friday and 327 fresh cases, the lowest daily figure for new infections in more than a month. The death toll now stands at 2,788 in mainland China, according to the National Health Commission. The number of fatalities — which is up from the 29 […]

The United Nations on Thursday called for urgent action in northwest Syria, warning that “the risk of greater escalation grows by the hour.” “The Secretary-General reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire and expresses particular concern about the risk to civilians from escalating military actions,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. “Without urgent action, […]

Sitting by a model of the Earth shaped like a pancake, Brazilian restaurant-owner Ricardo lets out an exaggerated laugh: “‘Hahaha!’ That’s how people react when you tell them the Earth is flat,” he says. Ricardo, who declines to give his full name for just that reason, is a 60-something man whose restaurant in Sao Paulo […]

United States health employees were sent to interact with repatriated Americans quarantined for exposure to the novel coronavirus without wearing protective gear or receiving training, a whistleblower complaint cited by US media said Thursday. The filing, which was seen by the Washington Post and New York Times, was submitted by a senior official in the […]