Yemen's war shows no signs of abating, one week after the Saudi-led military coalition declared a unilateral truce due to the coronavirus threat looming over the impoverished nation. Yemen announced its first case of the COVID-19 respiratory disease last Friday, as aid organisations warn...

Rafael Nadal thinks the global nature of tennis means there is little chance tournaments will go ahead any time soon as sport continues to be paralysed by the coronavirus pandemic. Novak Djokovic also anticipates a lengthy delay before tennis can be played even behind closed doors, with the...

Eleven vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came dangerously close to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, the U.S. military said Wednesday, calling the moves "dangerous and provocative." While such interactions had occurred occasionally a few years...

As the rising sun gently begins to illuminate Jerusalem's golden Dome of the Rock and the city slowly awakens, Firas al-Qazzaz's hypnotic voice echoes softly through the Old City. He is the latest member of his family in 500 years to lead prayers from the minaret at the cherished Al-Aqsa...

President Donald Trump vowed to unveil plans Thursday to reopen the world's top economy, following cautious moves in Europe, claiming the US had "passed the peak" of new coronavirus cases, even as the country logged a record number of deaths from the disease. Since emerging in China late...

Israel's president on Thursday tasked parliament with forming a government after its centrist speaker Benny Gantz failed to reach a unity deal with right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Following a March 2 election, Israel's third stalemate vote in less than a year, Gantz was given...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called for coronavirus cooperation in talks with a top Chinese official, signaling a bid to keep a lid on renewing tensions. President Donald Trump's administration has berated China for not sharing data more quickly and said Tuesday it was...

Italian Prime Minster Giuseppe Conte said Wednesday he had still not decided whether to tap an EU economic rescue package designed to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. EU member states ended weeks of wrangling and agreed the 500-billion-euro ($545-billion) emergency plan last Thursday....

The head of Libya’s UN-recognized government said he won’t resume negotiations with warlord Khalifa Haftar, accusing him of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to launch a new offensive against the government. In an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica published on Wednesday, Fayez...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday announced first steps in undoing coronavirus restrictions that have plunged the economy into a recession, with most shops allowed to open although schools must stay closed until May 4. Shops up to 800 square metres (8,600 feet) are allowed to...

Libyan officials Wednesday allowed 51 migrants to disembark in the capital after spending hours on a coast guard vessel off Tripoli, the U.N. migration agency said. The U.N. mission in Libya, meanwhile, voiced concerns about the escalation of fighting between rival forces over Tripoli in...

People infected with the new coronavirus may start spreading the virus several days before they have any noticeable symptoms, according to a new modelling study published Wednesday. The study comes as nations have broadened restrictions aimed at curbing the epidemic, amid concerns over...

With the global economy plunged into the worst recession in a century, the Group of 20 nations on Wednesday announced a one-year debt standstill for the world's poorest nations as they struggle to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The G20, which brings together the world's largest...

Jordan's Prime Minister Omar al Razzaz said Wednesday the government would soon ease a tight lockdown imposed to stem the spread of coronavirus by allowing more businesses and industries to return to work. However, it will not yet lift a curfew imposed nearly a month ago that restricts the...

A team of robot-designing girls in Afghanistan is trying to build a low-cost medical ventilator from car parts, as health authorities look to boost critical-care capabilities for coronavirus patients in the impoverished country. If the teenagers succeed and can get government approval for...

Iran said Wednesday the world is learning that the United States "kills people", after President Donald Trump suspended U.S. funding for the World Health Organization amid the coronavirus pandemic. Trump has accused the U.N. body of covering up the seriousness of the COVID-19 outbreak in...

As the EU's economy reels from virus lockdowns, Brussels unveiled a proposed roadmap Wednesday to ease restrictions on life and businesses, relying in large part on smartphone tracking apps. That technology aims to spot localized COVID-19 outbreaks in real-time. Already many individual...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and parliament speaker Benny Gantz faced a midnight deadline Wednesday to form a unity government or risk prolonging the country's unprecedented political crisis. The right-wing premier Netanyahu and centrist Gantz, Israel's former army chief, have...

In a hospital in the Yemeni city of Taiz, medics scarred by five years of war are marshaling scant resources to face a new enemy. The coronavirus epidemic has yet to make clear inroads in Yemen, with the little testing that has been done uncovering just one confirmed case. But aid groups...

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has approved an additional package of measures to help the private sector deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus, state news agency (SPA) reported Wednesday. The package aims to provide liquidity to the private sector and will include exemptions, relief...