The death toll from the coronavirus in mainland China passed 2,000 on Wednesday, although new cases fell for a second straight day, as authorities tightened containment measures in the worst-hit city of Wuhan. ** China’s National Health Commission reported 1,749 new cases, the lowest daily rise since Jan. 29, bringing ...

Reuters reports that Turkey’s lira weakened against the dollar on Tuesday to its lowest point in regular trading since last May, as a central bank policy decision loomed and investors fretted over tensions in Syria’s Idlib, where Ankara is bulking up its military. Turkey’s central bank, which has slashed its ...

Children in biggest carbon-emitting nations are healthiest, while those with tiny environmental footprints suffer twofold from poor health and living at the sharp end of the climate crisis     Every country in the world is failing to shield children’s health and their futures from intensifying ecological degradation, climate change ...

The waning crescent moon can be seen low in the pre-dawn sky passing the red planet and, from North America, blocking Mars from view   Early morning skywatchers should look south-east tomorrow to see the waning crescent moon pass close to Mars. The red planet is by no means at ...

Experiment revealed increased wind speeds reduced the efficiency of their foraging   A hardworking honey bee might feel aggrieved to be tricked into a garden shed to feed from a fake flower. Worse, she is blasted by a cheap household fan. And then timed to see how many fake flowers ...

Tourism industry set to take further hit from coronavirus, adding to impact of higher sales tax and damage from typhoon, experts warn   Japan’s economy is on the brink of recession after shrinking dramatically in the final three months of 2019. The world’s third-largest economy contracted 6.3 per cent in ...

Turkish prosecutors investigating the military and justice ministry on Tuesday ordered the arrest of 228 people over suspected links to the network that Ankara says was behind a 2016 coup attempt, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. There has been a sustained crackdown on alleged followers of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah ...

The risk of a military confrontation is higher in the Strait of Hormuz than anywhere else in the Gulf region, Oman’s foreign minister said, due in part to the growing number of military vessels from different countries that are guarding it. The waterway between Iran and Oman – 33 km ...

An arms embargo aimed at curbing fighting in Libya has become meaingless because of violations and it is imperative that those who breach it are held to account, Reuters reported a senior UN official as saying on Sunday. “The arms embargo has become a joke, we all really need to ...

Iran will never hold talks with the United States under pressure, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, adding that Tehran’s help was essential in establishing security in the Middle East. Relations between Tehran and Washington reached crisis point in 2018 after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned a 2015 pact between ...