World Health Organization member states agreed Tuesday to an independent probe into the U.N. agency's coronavirus response as U.S. criticism mounted over its handling of the pandemic.

The number of coronavirus cases in Russia hit nearly 300,000 on Tuesday as authorities registered more than 9,000 new infections after saying the virus situation had stabilised.

British lawmakers on Tuesday heaped fresh pressure on the government for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, calling its testing regime "inadequate" in the early stages.

A Chinese laboratory has been developing a drug it believes has the power to bring the coronavirus pandemic to a halt.

The coronavirus pandemic should serve as a "wake-up call" to the world which must be more united in responding to the crisis, UN chief Antonio Guterres said Monday.

World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus pledged Monday to launch an independent probe to review the coronavirus pandemic response as soon as possible.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday the coronavirus situation in Dagestan required urgent attention after a top official said hundreds of people in the region might have died from the virus.

Green, spiky and with a strong, sweet smell, the bulky jackfruit has morphed from a backyard nuisance in India's south coast into the meat-substitute darling of vegans and vegetarians in the West.

Restaurants and cafes began reopening in parts of Europe and Central Asia on Monday after weeks of closures, eager to again welcome hungry patrons albeit under strict regulations, as schools also reopened in some countries.

U.S. biotech firm Moderna on Monday reported "positive interim" results in the first clinical tests of its vaccine against the new coronavirus performed on a small number of volunteers.