Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on Tuesday issued a memo asking banks to allow depositors with foreign currency accounts exceeding $5,000 in value to withdraw their savings in Lebanese pounds at the “market rate,” likely to signify 2,600 pounds to the dollar. He had issued a similar memo in recent ...

While most countries are working on ways to contain the coronavirus, New Zealand has set itself a much more ambitious goal: eliminating it altogether. Experts believe the country could pull it off. The virus “doesn’t have superpowers,” said Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccine expert at the University of Auckland. “Once transmission ...

Report from UN World Food Programme and others warns 265m people are facing acute risk The coronavirus crisis will push more than a quarter of a billion people to the brink of starvation unless swift action is taken to provide food and humanitarian relief to the most at-risk regions, the ...

Several European countries took preliminary steps on Monday towards a return to normal pre-virus life, with some shops reopening in Germany and a resumption of school for pupils slotted to take place next month. Bookshops, florists, fashion stores, bike and car outlets and other shops smaller than 800 sq m ...

With Lebanese confined to their homes by the new coronavirus, migratory birds in the Mediterranean country are winging their way into the midst of quieter city life. From flocks of white pelicans and storks soaring over Beirut’s seafront to diminutive herons nesting in built-up neighbourhoods, Lebanese social media are capturing ...

Reported cases of the coronavirus have crossed 2.31 million globally and 158,384 people have died, according to a Reuters tally as of 0200 GMT on Sunday. AMERICAS * U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she believed lawmakers are very close to a deal on approving extra money to help small ...

In 1911, a deadly epidemic spread through China and threatened to become a pandemic. Its origins appeared to be related to the trade in wild animals, but at the time no one was sure. Lockdowns, quarantine measures, the wearing of masks, travel restrictions, the mass cremation of victims, and border ...

Public Health Minister, Hamad Hassan, disclosed Saturday that the test results are good today, noting that out of 1050 examinations conducted, only 5 came out positive. “We are proceeding according to the plan that was very carefully developed, provided that there is no excessive optimism, because we are committed to ...

In South Korea, health officials are trying to solve a mystery: why 163 people who recovered from coronavirus have retested positive, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The same has been recorded in China, where some coronavirus patients tested positive after seeming to recover, although ...

Donald Trump has doubled down on his tweets calling for supporters to “liberate” three Democrat-led states under lockdown measures intended to slow the spread of coronavirus. During a wild and at times incoherent press conference performance on Friday, the US president spouted a series of mistruths and false claims, including his ...