Yemen Wednesday reported the first three cases of the novel coronavirus in the southern province of Lahaj, one of whom has died, and another infection in the southern port of Aden. The emergency coronavirus committee of Yemen's Saudi-backed government also said one COVID-19 patient...

Shops and industrial enterprises in Bahrain can open from Thursday while restaurants will stay closed to in-house diners, the Health Ministry said, as the Gulf state eases restrictions designed to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. Bahrain shuttered non-essential shops and businesses...

Players at Barcelona and Real Madrid started to undergo coronavirus tests on Wednesday as La Liga clubs planned to return to restricted training ahead of the proposed resumption of the season next month. Barca captain Lionel Messi and France international Antoine Griezmann were among...

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Wednesday that financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund was "mandatory" for an economic recovery, as the country sinks deeper into financial turmoil. Lebanon is in the thick of its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war,...

Iran warned of a "rising trend" in its coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday as it said 1,680 new infections took its overall caseload beyond the 100,000 mark. The Islamic republic has struggled to contain the Middle East's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak since announcing its first cases in...

Israel's parliament was set to vote Wednesday on laws approving a coalition deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival-turned-ally Benny Gantz, ahead of a deadline to avoid yet another election. The alliance formed last month between the right-wing incumbent and his...

A cargo capsule that was part of a key test in China's space programme experienced an "anomaly" Wednesday during its return trip, the space authority said. The cargo capsule was launched Tuesday aboard a new type of carrier rocket along with a prototype spacecraft, and the latter is...

An investment commission connected to the leader of the illegal armed forces in eastern Libya, warlord commander Khalifa Haftar, is trading drugs with the Assad regime in Syria, Libya's Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha claimed Tuesday. Bashagha took to social media and alluded to 4...

Iraq has yet to inform its regular oil buyers of cuts to its exports, suggesting it is struggling to fully implement an OPEC deal with Russia and other producers on a record supply cut, traders and industry sources said.  Less than full compliance by Iraq, as well as by smaller...

Three Katyusha rockets landed in the perimeter of Baghdad International Airport on Wednesday but caused no damage or casualties, the Iraqi military said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Security officials said it was not immediately clear whether a military...

The European Union predicted Wednesday "a recession of historic proportions this year" due to the impact of the coronavirus as it released its first official estimates of the damage the pandemic is inflicting on the bloc’s economy. The 27-nation EU economy is predicted to contract by 7.5%...

Germany will take new steps towards normalisation in May, including reopening shops and schools after weeks of shutdown imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus, according to a draft agreement seen by AFP Wednesday. "Even after initial steps to open up were introduced from April 20,...

Iran's president said Wednesday the United States made a "stupid mistake" by abandoning a nuclear deal and warned of severe consequences if its allies agree to extend an arms embargo. The United States is waging a campaign to extend the ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran, which is...

The Libyan army has carried out 24 air operations as part of a massive offensive aimed at capturing al-Watiya air base, military sources said Wednesday.  Muhammed Kununu, the military spokesman for the government, said two grad rocket launch vehicles, various weapons and ammunition...

Positions of Palestinian resistance group Hamas in the Gaza Strip were targeted by Israeli shelling Wednesday, according to the military.   Three observation posts in northern and central Gaza belonging to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, were struck by the...

Egypt's economy had just started to recover after years of political turmoil and militant attacks when the coronavirus crisis hit, impacting especially its vital tourism sector. Now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government has loosened a strict curfew for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan...

President Donald Trump made his first major foray out of the White House since the coronavirus lockdown began in a push for economic reopening as the daily US death toll from the disease spiked. It came as Britain became the country with the second most deaths in the world at 32,000,...

The death toll in the US from the novel coronavirus has surpassed the 70,000 mark, according to data Tuesday compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The university in the state of Maryland running tally counted 70,115 deaths and 1,192,119 cases. The US continues to lead worldwide cases...

 Iran's state broadcaster has used hundreds of fake social media accounts to covertly spread pro-Iranian messaging online since at least 2011, targeting voters in countries including Britain and the United States, Facebook said Tuesday. In a monthly report of accounts suspended for...

Rafael Nadal has said he views the rest of this year as "practically lost" for tennis and would even be relieved if the sport returned as normal at the start of 2021. The men's and women's tours have been stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Wimbledon cancelled for the first time...