Anxiety ratcheted up across New York, the epicenter of America's coronavirus pandemic, Monday with streets eerily quiet at the start of the working week as officials warn the crisis will worsen.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed Monday for an "immediate global ceasefire" to protect vulnerable civilians in conflict zones from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday accused Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of lying about the coronavirus pandemic as the Supreme Leader rejected U.S. assistance for his hard-hit country.

Greece has suspended flights from Britain and nearly all incoming travel from Turkey, an official said Monday as the official coronavirus death toll rose to 17.

An opposition leader claimed victory in disputed presidential elections in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, separatist officials said on Monday as the vote was rejected by the central government in Tbilisi and the EU. 

Aslan Bjania garnered 56.5 percent of the vote, against 35.42 percent for the former economics minister Adgur Ardzinba, the central election commission said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in the Afghan capital Monday amid an ongoing political crisis, a raging Taliban insurgency and rising coronavirus cases -- all of which further threaten an already-floundering peace process.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will quarantine herself at home after being treated by a doctor who has since tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a government spokesman said Sunday.

Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, on Saturday tightened restrictions in three states on places of worship, airports and bars to try and protect its population against the new coronavirus.

A 15-year-old boy was crushed to death by a 5.3-magnitude earthquake that rocked Croatia on Sunday, state media reported.

Syria, Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan, the Sahel... with the great powers focused intently on the COVID-19 virus, will armed conflicts across the world decrease in severity or intensify? Experts as well as diplomats at the United Nations say there is a serious risk of the latter.