U.N. chief urges halt to fighting in Syria’s Idlib
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for an immediate ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib region “to end the humanitarian catastrophe and now also to avoid an uncontrollable escalation.”
Putin, Erdogan agree by phone to intensify talks on Syria: Kremlin
The Kremlin said on Friday President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan had agreed in a phone call to intensify talks on Syria’s Idlib region to reduce tensions and implement a ceasefire.
Libya ceasefire talks going in ‘right direction’, U.N. envoy says
Ceasefire talks between Libya’s warring sides are going in the “right direction” while hitting hurdles over violations of an arms embargo and a truce declared last month, the United Nations envoy for Libya said on Friday.
U.S., Taliban plan to sign accord after planned week-long ‘reduction in violence’
The United States and the Taliban will sign an agreement on Feb. 29 at the end of a planned week-long “reduction in violence” in Afghanistan, U.S. officials and the Taliban said on Friday, stirring fresh hopes for an end to the protracted conflict.
Only three U.S. states can test for coronavirus: public lab group
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still handling the bulk of testing for the coronavirus as it works out issues with test kits sent to states, and the federal agency is taking steps to prepare for local spread of the virus, agency …
Bulgaria names Russians charged with poisoning linked to Skripal case
Bulgarian prosecutors on Friday named the three Russians they have charged with the attempted murder of three Bulgarians whose poisoning is being investigated for possible links with the 2018 nerve-agent attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal.
Coronavirus breaks into China prisons as global markets, U.S. business take hit
The coronavirus has infected hundreds of people in Chinese prisons, authorities said on Friday, contributing to a jump in reported cases beyond the epicentre in Hubei province, including 100 more in South Korea.
Coronavirus outbreak grows in northern Italy, 16 cases reported in one day
An outbreak of coronavirus in northern Italy worsened on Friday, with officials announcing 14 confirmed cases in the wealthy region of Lombardy, while two cases were reported in the adjacent region of Veneto.
World must act fast to contain coronavirus, says WHO’s Tedros
The window of opportunity to contain wider international spread of the epidemic of the new coronavirus disease is closing, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday, after cases were reported in Iran and Lebanon.
U.N. says it fears ‘bloodbath’ in northwest Syria fighting
The United Nations warned on Friday that fighting in northwest Syria could “end in a bloodbath” and called again for a ceasefire, while Moscow denied reports of a mass flight of civilians from a Russian-led Syrian government offensive.
