Iraq has signed a preliminary deal to receive 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in early 2021, the health ministry said. The country has been among the hardest-hit in the Middle East, with more than 580,000 reported cases although numbers have dropped dramatically...

Syrian activists circulated on social media news of a HIV case, a first in the rebel-held northern Aleppo countryside. Our correspondent in Aleppo said that the HIV infection was discovered by chance during the process of analyzing a sample of blood given by (H. A.) in order to donate...

The coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Olympics will cost at least 1.64 trillion yen ($15.9 billion), organisers said Tuesday, unveiling a final budget swollen by the unprecedented postponement and a raft of pandemic measures. The extra costs -- up 294 billion yen ($2.8 billion) from figures...

Often injured in high-risk jumps over obstacles in cemeteries and abandoned buildings, Gaza's parkour enthusiasts can now practice their niche sport on safer ground. The Palestinian territory's first parkour gym - equipped with wooden boxes over which youngsters can soar in twists and...