Saudi Arabia on Sunday partially eased a 24-hour curfew in place to combat the coronavirus pandemic, except for in hotspots including the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment, the supreme court announced, hailing the latest in a series of "human rights advances" made by the king and his powerful son.

The COVID-19 outbreak has “translated into a major education crisis” and while many countries, including Lebanon, switched to distance teaching and learning to mitigate the effects of such disruption, challenges related to preparedness, infrastructure and capacity, as well as the digital gaps, have put additional strains on students, parents, teachers, principals and the educational authorities, the U.N. said Friday.

Muslims around the world began marking Ramadan under coronavirus lockdown on Friday with unprecedented bans on family gatherings and mass prayers, while a pushback in some countries has sparked fears of a surge in infections.

In line with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and on the occasion of the 8th annual ‘National Day of Students with Learning Difficulties,' the British Council and the SKILD Center in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) organized a unique e-Conference that joined over 900 participants from 17 different countries to address “Inclusion in Times of Distancing”.

Across Asia, home to about half of the world's Muslims, the coming Islamic holy month of Ramadan is on a collision course with the coronavirus pandemic as clerics call on the faithful to cram into mosques.

More than 260 million Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter Sunday, with church leaders asking worshipers to stay at home to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus.

From world leaders and royals to sports stars and artists, the coronavirus has hit millions around the world, including the rich and famous. 

Pope Francis prayed Monday for the growing number of women subjected to domestic abuse while living under coronavirus lockdown.

Pope Francis will break with centuries of tradition and livestream Easter Sunday mass to allow the world's 1.3 billion Catholics to celebrate their holiest holiday under a coronavirus lockdown.