The U.N. migration agency says the Libyan coast guard rescued 280 migrants in distress in the Mediterranean Sea and diverted them to the shores of the North African country where intense bombardment prevented them from disembarking

European finance ministers have agreed on more than a half-trillion euros, or $550 billion, of support programs to cushion the recession caused by the virus outbreak

The Adelaide Zoo had been closed to the public since the end of March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Passover curfew ended in the morning, but the country remained on lockdown as the coronavirus death toll increased.

South Africa's president has extended the country’s strict lockdown to combat the coronavirus until the end of April

Pope Francis has described priests and medical personnel who tend to the needs of COVID-19 patients as “the saints next door.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved out of intensive care where he was being treated for the new coronavirus, as his government told Britons to prepare for several more weeks in lockdown

In celebration of World Health Day, the band also dedicated their performance to health care workers fighting against COVID-19.

Iran’s supreme leader is suggesting that mass gatherings in the Islamic Republic may be barred through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid the coronavirus pandemic

A cease-fire proposed by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen has gone into effect, potentially paving the way for peace talks to end the more than 5-year-old conflict

African officials are objecting to the global jostling to obtain medical equipment to combat the coronavirus

He will continue to be closely monitored in the hospital.

Japan reported more than 500 new positive cases for the first time Thursday.

Pope Francis has described priests and medical personnel who tend to the needs of COVID-10 patients as “the saints next door.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved out of intensive care as condition improves

Two planeloads of Eastern European farm workers have arrived in Germany amid strict precautions to protect the seasonal laborers and the country from the new coronavirus

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians will need to stay at home and practice physical distancing for months as the first wave of COVID-19 cases in the country won’t end until the summer

This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by Associated Press photographers in the Middle East, Afghanistan & Pakistan Region between April 2-8, 2020

A look at the top photos from around the globe.

Syria has denounced as misleading the first report from the global chemical weapons watchdog blaming its air force for a series of attacks using sarin and chlorine on a rebel-held town in 2017

Seventeen temporary hospitals are being planned or constructed with help from the military.

Residents who were under more than two months of lockdown in Wuhan, China, lined up at the city's Hankou Railway Station as travel restrictions were lifted.

Hamas-run security forces have arrested several peace activists in the Gaza Strip on treason charges after they took part in a web conference with Israeli activists

Iraq’s intelligence chief has been appointed the country’s third prime minister-designate in just over a month

A heavily armed squad of men has stolen an unspecified number of gold-silver alloy bars from a desert mine in northern Mexico, escaping into the remote mountains in a small plane

A report by aid group Oxfam says that around half a billion people could be pushed into poverty as a result of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic unless richer countries help them

A fire in a retirement home in Moscow has killed four people and injured 16 others but emergency officials say firefighters managed to rescue 50 people from the burning building

Australian police wearing protective gear have boarded a cruise ship to seize evidence and question crew members after the vessel was linked to hundreds of COVID-19 cases and more than a dozen deaths

Iran’s supreme leader suggests mass gatherings may be barred through the holy Muslim fasting month Ramadan amid pandemic

The typically frenetic streets of Iran’s capital, Tehran, have fallen silent and empty due to the new coronavirus outbreak that’s gripped the Islamic Republic

Pakistan’s military says it has shot down an Indian spy drone after it violated the country’s airspace in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir

Some people couldn't wait to leave town. Others just wanted to get outside and feel free again. All of them wore face masks against the virus that had forced them to stay in their homes for more than two months. Chinese authorities ended the lockdown of Wuhan on Wednesday, allowing people to move about and leave the city for the first time in 76 days. Thousands boarded trains, planes and long-distance buses, finally able to return to their homes and jobs. Many had come to visit relatives during the Lunar New Year holiday in late January and were trapped when the coronavirus lockdown was announced with no advance warning. The outbreak started in Wuhan, an industrial city of 11 million people on the Yangtze River. Authorities cut off and shut down the city in a desperate bid to stop the disease from spreading. It still killed more than 2,500 people in Wuhan, by far the highest death toll in China, and grew into a pandemic. Once the lockdown was lifted, drivers took to the roads...

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen has announced that its forces will begin a cease-fire starting Thursday

Lack of resources and stigma from the virus has left many families struggling to bury the dead.

A Mexican government body is calling on authorities to investigate nightclubs that are advertising home delivery of table dances and other services amid the crackdown on large public gatherings and nonessential services during the coronavirus pandemic

Mexico's Labor Department says the country has lost 346,748 jobs since mid-March due to the economic impact of coronavirus and distancing measures imposed to fights its spread

More than half of the Thai Muslims returning home from a mass religious gathering in Indonesia were infected with the coronavirus

Other samba schools in Rio de Janeiro are expected to join the effort.

A mariachi band performed in front of a Mexico City hospital to pay tribute to medical personnel battling COVID-19.

The Guatemalan government says it will resume receiving deportation flights from the United States next week

With coronavirus prevention measures shuttering houses of worship, pastors across the country are using that ultimate tool of social distancing — cars — to safely bring their communities closer together

Emergency officials say two people have died in a fire at a Moscow home for the elderly and at least 10 have been injured

Burying the dead from the coronavirus is proving to be an agonizing odyssey in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil, a sweltering metropolis of 2.6 million people and one of Latin America's most infected population centers

The U.K. doesn't have a clear emergency succession plan for prime ministers.

Saudi officials announce Yemen cease-fire starting Thursday in response to U.N. calls to halt hostilities amid pandemic

The Saudi king has ordered the suspension of rulings and judicial orders regarding visitation rights of children of separated parents

European plane maker Airbus says it is reducing production by about a third as demand for aircraft and travel plummets due to the coronavirus pandemic

Russia’s defense minister called on law enforcement officials to consider filing criminal charges against representatives of other countries where World War II memorials commemorating the actions of the Soviet Union are demolished

Inspectors were sent to the bridge last year to investigate a crack, but the section was cleared for further use, according to an Italian news agency.

More than 1,700 people were evacuated to 69 centers across Fiji and emergency teams cleared blocked roads after the cyclone.