San Francisco is using private donations to deliver alcohol, tobacco, and medical marijuana to a few dozen people dealing with addiction as they isolate or quarantine in city-leased hotel rooms during the pandemic, officials confirmed Wednesday. There are about 270 people, mostly homeless, staying in hotel rooms to recover from COVID-19 or to wait out […]

At least five people have been killed and 1,000 hospitalised after a gas leak at a chemicals plant on the Indian east coast, authorities said Thursday, warning the death toll would climb. The gas leaked out of two 5,000-tonne tanks that had been unattended due to India’s coronavirus lockdown in place since late March, according […]

A deadly giant insect known as the “murder hornet” has been spotted for the first time in the United States, prompting fears it could decimate the honeybee population and creating a buzz on social media. Two of the wasps — the world’s largest hornet species — were discovered late last year in the western state of Washington, and […]

China’s exports saw a shock 3.5 percent rise in April despite the global impact of the coronavirus pandemic, official figures showed Thursday, but analysts warned of weakness ahead as key markets suffer downturns. The brewing threat of a renewed trade war with the United States could also pose a problem, observers said. Imports fell 14.2 […]

The Philippine economy contracted for the first time in more than two decades during the first quarter, but officials warned Thursday that the worst was likely yet to come as the nation reels from the coronavirus pandemic. Gross domestic product shrank 0.2 percent in January-March, its worst performance since 1998 during the Asian financial crisis […]