The coronavirus pandemic hit grim new milestones Thursday, with cases topping four million in the United States and three million in Europe as fresh spikes from Belgium to Tokyo to Melbourne forced new restrictions on citizens.
World leaders will not gather in New York for the UN General Assembly in September after the United Nations decided on Wednesday to allow video statements to be submitted in advance for the general debate amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Jihadists have killed five aid workers abducted last month in restive northeast Nigeria, humanitarian group Action Against Hunger said on Wednesday.
The United States on Wednesday recorded 63,967 new coronavirus cases in the previous 24 hours, Johns Hopkins University reported in its real-time tally.
Inter-Korean relations should move forward regardless of progress in denuclearisation talks between North Korea and the United States, unification minister nominee Lee In-young said on Thursday.
The migrant rescue ship Ocean Viking was detained on Wednesday over technical irregularities, Italy's coastguard said, a move blasted as "harassment" by the charity that runs the vessel.
EU leaders emerged from a marathon four-day and four-night summit on Tuesday to celebrate what they boasted was a historic rescue plan for economies left shattered by the coronavirus epidemic.
Syria's ruling Baath party and its allies have won a majority in parliamentary elections held across government-held areas of the war-torn country, results announced on Tuesday showed.
Ethiopia said on Tuesday that its first-year target has been reached for filling a mega-dam on the Blue Nile River that has stoked tensions with downstream neighbours Egypt and Sudan.
Mexico on Tuesday passed 40,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus pandemic as the country, which has the fourth-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, struggles to contain the disease.
The World Health Organisation voiced alarm on Monday at the spread of COVID-19 in Africa, warning that South Africa's surging numbers could be a "precursor" for outbreaks across the continent.
European leaders have reached a summit compromise on the question of whether EU funds can be withheld from a member state that breaches legal norms, officials and diplomats said on Tuesday.
Brazil will begin advanced clinical testing of a Chinese-made vaccine against the new coronavirus on Tuesday, issuing the first doses to around 900 volunteers, officials said.
Argentinian president Alberto Fernandez on Monday dismissed a counter-offer from three groups of creditors who said they had rejected the country's proposal to restructure $66 billion of debt.
Squabbling EU leaders battled on into the early hours of Monday to try and break the deadlock as their summit on a huge coronavirus rescue package stretched into a fourth day.
The United Nations is seeking an additional US$3.6 billion for its Global Humanitarian Response Plan to battle the pandemic, warning developed countries on Thursday of "the price of inaction" if poorer nations don't receive help.
The leaders of the European Union hold their first face-to-face summit in five months on Friday, but the reunion seems unlikely to bridge their divide over a post-virus economic rescue plan.
The United States on Thursday set yet another record for new coronavirus cases with 68,428 infections recorded in 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
