Dr. Ahmed el-Rabii spent years treating Palestinians wounded by Israeli fire during wars and clashes in the Gaza Strip. Now that the coronavirus has reached the blockaded territory, the 37-year-old physician finds himself in the unfamiliar role of patient. El-Rabii is the first Gaza doctor...

France's economy, which like those of other countries was pushed into a bruising recession by the coronavirus, will bounce back now that lockdown measures are lifted but will still contract over the year as a whole, official data showed Tuesday. France's gross domestic product, which had...

China has passed "an extraordinary and historic test" with its handling of the coronavirus, President Xi Jinping said Tuesday at a triumphant awards ceremony for medical professionals decorated with bugle calls and applause. The nation's propaganda machine has churned out praise for China's...

China and India accused each other of firing shots first across a flashpoint Himalayan border, intensifying a months-long standoff between the nuclear-armed neighbours that has already claimed at least 20 lives. China said Tuesday its soldiers took "countermeasures" after Indian soldiers...

Tucked away in the rolling hills of Iraqi Kurdistan is a hidden treasure: tens of thousands of olive trees, thriving in a new homeland after being smuggled from neighbouring Syria. Their branches are heaving with bright purple-black olives ready to be picked. Their caretaker, Syrian...

Assid returned to his village in Jabal Zawiya region in northern Hama province after months of displacement as the rest of his family are still in a camp near the Syrian-Turkish border, in anticipation of any possible attacks by the regime forces to control what remains of a large pocket south...

Rising Nile floodwaters are threatening to swamp an ancient archaeological site in Sudan, after some of the highest ever recorded river levels, archaeologists said Monday. Teams have set up sandbag walls and are pumping out water to prevent damage at the ruins of Al-Bajrawiya, once a royal...

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Monday for a knife attack in Tunisia which killed one National Guard officer and wounded another, as security forces rounded up more suspects. The attack on Sunday morning in a tourist district of the coastal city of Sousse saw a group of...

New coronavirus cases surged over the weekend in Spain, with the Ministry of Health reporting 26,560 more infections on Monday. The three-day total brings the total number of infections to 525,549 – by far the highest number in Europe. Two months ago, the total case number was 252,130,...

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he had enjoyed a "very good exchange" with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on various topics including Brexit. "Very good exchange with @BorisJohnson," tweeted Macron. "We are going to strengthen our co-operation against migrant...

President Bashar al Assad said on Monday he wanted to expand business ties with Russia to help Syria cope with new U.S. sanctions on its already crippled economy that threaten to undermine military gains Damascus achieved with Moscow’s help. Assad spoke during a meeting in Damascus with...

The number of novel coronavirus cases in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip have risen tenfold over the past two weeks, bringing the total to over 1,000, Palestinian officials said Monday. In the past 24 hours, 182 infections were registered in the coastal enclave, bringing the number of...

Oman will restart international flights Oct. 1, state news agency ONA said on Twitter, after they were suspended in March as part of coronavirus precautions. "Flights will be scheduled according to health data for specific destinations and according to bilateral agreements with other...

A Saudi court Monday overturned five death sentences over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder in a final ruling that jailed eight defendants to between seven and 20 years, state media reported. "Five of the convicts were given 20 years in prison and another three were jailed for 7-10...

The European Union warned Serbia and Kosovo Monday that they could undermine their EU membership hopes by moving their Israeli embassies to Occupied Jerusalem, as US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement about the change left officials in Belgrade and Pristina scrambling to limit the...

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi reported for training Monday for the first time since requesting to leave the club last month. Messi had failed to turn up to the club's tests for COVID-19 eight days ago and been absent from all subsequent sessions ahead of the new campaign after giving the...

The Syrian Electricity Company has so far fixed 107 power transmission centers in Syria's Aleppo province in 2020, state news agency SANA reported on Sunday. Another 1,250 centers had been fixed in Aleppo between 2016 and 2019, said the report. Citing Muhammad Saleh, the chief...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Damascus on Monday for talks with President Bashar al-Assad and Syria’s foreign minister, the RIA news agency reported. Russia is a close ally of Assad.

The total number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 27.1 million on Monday, according to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University. The university's data showed the global tally of fatalities reached 883,590, while the number of recoveries topped 18.14...

Saudi Arabia's ruler King Salman bin Abdulaziz told President Donald Trump there would be no normalization with Israel without Palestinian statehood, the kingdom's state news agency reported Monday. The leaders spoke by phone following a historic US brokered accord last month under which...