Key Saudi Islamic body recommends home prayers during Ramzan

Riyadh (IANS) Saudi Arabias top Islamic authority has called on all Muslims around the world to perform prayers at home during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan in accordance with health guidelines to fend off the spread of the novel coronavirus.

China slams India's new FDI norms, says change violates WTO rules

New Delhi (IANS) Just days after the Centre amended the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy to check opportunistic takeovers of Indian companies amid the Covid-19 pandemic, China on Monday criticised the move and said that it violates the World…

Millions to claim as UK furlough scheme goes live

London (IANS) A UK government pay scheme to keep staff on the payroll despite not working due to the coronavirus pandemic went live on Monday.

Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the government will cover 80 per cent of workers'…

Spain PM to seek 'state of alarm' extension until May 9

Madrid (IANS) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that he would ask Parliament to extend the current 'State of Alarm' for a further 15 days until May 9 as coronavirus cases and deaths continued to surge.

Sanchez's announcement…

Iran closer to COVID-19 containment, Turkey may become worst-hit in M-E

Tehran/Ankara (IANS) Iranian authorities have said that they were closer to the contain the COVID-19 pandemic in most of the country, while, Turkey was poised to overtake Iran as the hardest-hit country in the Middle East due to rapid growth of new…

14 HK democracy activists held over 2019 protests

Hong Kong (IANS) Police in Hong Kong on Saturday arrested 14 pro-democracy activists for allegedly organizing unauthorized protests last year, local media and political sources said.

The League of Social Democrats political party said on social…

Netanyahu announces plan to ease restrictions, revive economy

Jerusalem (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a "cautious and gradual" plan to resume business activity and ease closure restrictions amid COVID-19.

The plan is based on principles suggested by Israel's National…

Over 100 nations seek IMF help amid COVID-19 crisis

Washington (IANS) More than 100 countries have turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial support to cope with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the institution's managing Director has said.

"We…

Wuhan revises number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, deaths

Wuhan (IANS) Wuhan city, the capital of China's Hubei province where the global coronavirus pandemic originated last December, on Friday revised the numbers of its confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19…

Trudeau announces expanded eligibility for emergency benefit

Ottawa (IANS) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announce expanded eligibility rules for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) so that part-time and seasonal workers can claim the CERB.

Part-time and seasonal workers, who are…