Google parent company Alphabet Inc.’s research organization Verily has made great strides in an experimental program dedicated to wiping out disease-causing mosquitoes, according to a recently published paper.

The Taliban has walked away from a week’s worth of “fruitless” peace talks in Kabul after the Afghan government refused to abide by an earlier agreement and release 5,000 Taliban prisoners. The news comes just a day after the militant group blasted Washington for not respecting their peace agreement.

In the early stages of the outbreak on US soil, POTUS repeatedly refuted concerns regarding the potential dangers of the disease spreading throughout the country. Currently, the US leads the world for the number of registered infections and is third, behind Italy and Spain, in fatalities resulting from the deadly coronavirus.

Acting US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly reportedly submitted his resignation letter Tuesday, just one day after US President Donald Trump told reporters during a White House briefing that he would be willing to get involved in the matter of the COVID-19-infected USS Theodore Roosevelt.

The US Navy announced late Monday evening that a crew member aboard the USNS Comfort had tested positive for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, just hours after US President Donald Trump announced the near-empty Comfort would begin accepting infected patients to provide relief to New York City and New Jersey hospitals.

The statement comes as Iran is struggling with one of the worst coronavirus crises in Asia, with 62,589 total cases. The situation is exacerbated by the sanctions imposed by the United States, which Tehran views as significantly hindering its ability to combat the spread of COVID-19.

BERLIN (Sputnik) - German flag carrier Lufthansa expects the travel industry to take years to bounce back after taking a crushing blow from coronavirus-related restrictions.

The US has repeatedly criticised the World Health Organisation for its praise of Beijing's methods in fighting the coronavirus – which have so far proven to be effective – and for helping China in its alleged effort to cover up the pandemic’s real numbers.

Ecuadorian Attorney General Inigo Salvador pressed aggravated bribery charges against 24 people, including former President Rafael Correa, his vice president, and several ministers last November as part of an investigation into illegal donations to Correa’s political party.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden in a speech to trade unions on Tuesday criticized the way US President Donald Trump has handled the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for not moving very quickly and prioritising workers.

The prime minister was moved to intensive care in a London hospital after his coronavirus symptoms worsened.

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkey has started testing plasma therapy as a possible treatment for the coronavirus disease, Turkish Red Crescent Society President Kerem Kinik said on Tuesday.

New Delhi (Sputnik): India and China share nearly 2,400 miles of a loosely demarcated border. Both sides continually accuse each other of transgressing into the other’s territory. China has on several occasions opposed visits of India’s top leaders, including the prime minister, to the north-eastern Indian state Arunachal Pradesh.

New Delhi (Sputnik): A Silicon Valley-based remote conferencing services app, Zoom, has come under fire with regard to its privacy settings. Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the app is being widely used across the globe, even by government officials, to hold video conferences.

Many US states have been mulling delaying elections, especially during the Democratic primaries, because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Democratic Party has postponed their national convention from July to August.

In late March, US President Donald Trump signed the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. He also previously signed two other emergency relief bills, passed by Congress, totalling $113 billion.

Before his arrest in 2016, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was the head of one of the largest and most dangerous drug cartels in the world. Forbes magazine once included Guzman in its list of richest people. In 2017, he was extradited to the United States, where two years later he was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.

New Delhi (Sputnik): India went into a complete lockdown mode for 21 days on 25 March in a bid to the break the cycle of infection of COVID-19. The lockdown has brought all means of transport to a grinding halt, except for emergency services.

Last week, Prince Andrew’s lawyer argued that there is new evidence that may undermine the Duke of York’s earlier claim that he never met Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged teenage sex trafficking victim Virginia Roberts when she was 17.