While many of the world's markets have closed to curb the spread of coronavirus, in Yemen's capital Sanaa, downtown districts selling qat -- the ubiquitous mild narcotic -- still bustle with people. Flouting social distancing rules, Yemenis jostle to select bunches of the chewable leaf...

When Russia intervened in the Syrian conflict on Bashar al-Assad's side in September 2015, its involvement was seen as crucial for the survival of Syria's dictatorial president, whose army had been severely weakened by desertions and had suffered a string of defeats by rebel forces. Since...

At a quarantine centre in war-torn northern Syria, doctors near the Turkish frontier are providing a first line of defence to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading to one of the world’s most vulnerable populations. The centre was set up last month in the countryside of Jisr al...

The World Health Organization reiterated Friday that the new coronavirus was of natural origin after US President Donald Trump claimed he had seen evidence it originated in a Chinese lab. Scientists believe the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year,...