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Saudi king orders closure of 3 cities to prevent COVID-19 spread

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered on Wednesday a complete closure of three cities to curb COVID-19 spread, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The cities are Riyadh, Mecca and Medina, and

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Militants attack temple in Kabul, casualties feared

Casualties are feared after militants attacked a temple in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Wednesday.According to the official, the armed militants sneaked into the temp

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Urgent: Earthquake of 7.5 magnitude hits Kuril Islands, Russia -- USGS

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 jolted 219 km southeast of the town of Severo-Kurilsk on the Kuril Islands, Russia around 13:49 local time (0249 GMT) on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey sa

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FDA takes action to increase U.S. COVID-19 protective supplies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took action on Tuesday to increase COVID-19 protective supplies by providing instructions to manufacturers importing personal protective equipment (PPE)

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U.S. confirmed COVID-19 cases top 50,000: Johns Hopkins University

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 50,000 as of 3 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Tuesday (1900 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hop

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EU agrees to suspend its strict spending rules

02:31 The European Union's finance ministers have agreed to suspend their tough rules covering countries running deficits, because of the impact of COVID-19 on member states' economies

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French neighborhood stuck in 1940s amid lockdown

01:00 A Paris neighborhood is stuck in the 1940s after a film crew left its set behind when France went into COVID-19 lockdown.Adieu Monsieur Haffmann, a World War II film about a man,

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Time to fight COVID-19 together, not to throw blames: WHO official

A senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) commented Monday on calling COVID-19 the "Chinese virus", saying now is the time to fight the pandemic together instead of throwing blames.

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Georgia declares state of emergency to stem coronavirus spread

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on Saturday announced a state of emergency across the country, which will last until April 21, in an effort to counter the coronavirus pandemic. The president

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First federal inmate tests positive for coronavirus in U.S.: AP

An inmate at a federal jail in New York City has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first confirmed case in the U.S. federal prison system, according to AP on Saturday.The inmate

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Colombia street vendors struggle with social distancing

01:42 Working from home and paid-time off are 'social distancing' options for some office workers. But, street vendors need face-to-face contact, or they lose their daily incomes. In C

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Pakistan suspends int'l flight operations amid COVID-19 pandemic

ISLAMABAD, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has decided to suspend international flight operations for two weeks starting from 8:00 p.m. local time on Saturday in a bid to control the spread of coronavi

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DPRK fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea -- Yonhap

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea from North Pyongan province on Saturday local time, Yonhap

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COVID-19 cases in U.S. top 16,000: Johns Hopkins University

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 16,000 by 3:30 p.m. local time Friday (1930 GMT), according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins Univers

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DPRK fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea from North Pyongan province on Saturday local time, Yonhap n

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20 COVID-19 testing kits approved by China: expert

A total of 12 types of nucleic acid testing kits and eight types of antibody testing kits for COVID-19 have gained approval for clinical use, a health expert said Friday. At present, the nucleic a

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Beijing reports 6 imported COVID-19 cases from 12 a.m.-12 p.m. March 20

Beijing reported six newly confirmed cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from other countries from 12 a.m.-12 p.m. March 20, the municipal health commission said. Among the imported cases,