World

Monaco's head of state Prince Albert II contracts new virus

PARIS - The palace of Monaco says its ruler, Prince Albert II, has tested positive for the new coronavirus but his health is not worrying. Albert, 62, appeared to be the first head of state who has pu...

Mar 19, 2020

Virus-shocked Hollywood gets break with streaming services

LOS ANGELES - Sports are on hold, theatres are closed and so are amusement parks, a disaster-movie scenario that has Hollywood reeling. But Americans held captive at home by the coronavirus can turn t...

Mar 19, 2020

In response to virus, Bank of England cuts main rate to 0.1%

LONDON - The Bank of England slashed its main interest rate to 0.1%, the lowest level since its founding in 1694, and reactivated a bond-buying stimulus program in response to the economic shock of th...

Mar 19, 2020

Iran furloughs imprisoned US Navy vet amid virus concerns

WASHINGTON - Iran has granted a medical furlough to a U.S. Navy veteran who has been imprisoned in Iran for more than a year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Thursday. Michael White of Imperi...

Mar 19, 2020

Gabbard ends long-shot 2020 bid, gives support to Biden

COLUMBA, S.C. - Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has suspended her presidential campaign, ending a long-shot effort that saw her feuding with Hillary Clinton and raising fears among Democrats that s...

Mar 19, 2020

U.S. man accused of human rights violations freed in Lebanon

WASHINGTON - A U.S. citizen who had faced decades-old murder and torture charges in Lebanon has been freed, a senator who had pushed for his release announced Thursday. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., sa...

Mar 19, 2020

Flame arrival faces calls for Tokyo Olympics be delayed

TOKYO - The Olympic flame is set to arrive in Japan from Greece even as the opening of the Tokyo Games in four months is in doubt with more voices calling for the event to be postponed or cancelled be...

Mar 19, 2020

Brazil's Bolsonaro strives to regain leadership amid virus

RIO DE JANEIRO - After questioning the seriousness of COVID-19, defying his own health ministry's recommendations and denouncing a "certain hysteria," Brazil's president is now projecting himself as l...

Mar 19, 2020

US pauses Afghanistan deployments, isolates arrivals there

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military says it is pausing the movement of any new troops into Afghanistan and is quarantining 1,500 troops and civilians who recently arrived in order to protect them from the ...

Mar 19, 2020

Asian shares tumble: SKorea's Kospi drops 7%, Tokyo 1%

BANGKOK - Shares in Asia tumbled further on Thursday after the Dow industrials plunged 6.3% despite more government help for economies reeling from virus outbreaks. Stocks fell in Tokyo and almost all...

Mar 18, 2020