In Brazil, health care workers are on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic in more ways than one, treating patients but also volunteering to test some of the most promising experimental vaccines. Brazil is the country with the second-highest number of infections and deaths in the...

The number of infections from the new coronavirus in Iran has reached 301,530, according to official Health Ministry figures announced on state TV Thursday. Iran has the Middle East’s highest number of recorded COVID-19 cases and infections and deaths have risen sharply since restrictions...

China's Huawei has overtaken Samsung to become the number-one smartphone seller worldwide in the second quarter, industry tracker Canalys said Thursday. Canalys said the embattled firm, which is facing US sanctions, shipped 55.8 million devices -- overtaking Samsung for the first time,...

A second wave of coronavirus infections sweeping the Israeli-occupied West Bank is fuelling fears of a surge in overcrowded Palestinian refugee camps where social distancing is next to impossible. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the Palestinian Authority quickly imposed a...

Thirty years have passed since Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein invaded neighbouring Kuwait, but despite hints of a diplomatic rapprochement, people in both countries say the wounds have yet to heal. On August 2, 1990, Saddam sent his military, already exhausted by an eight-year conflict with...

Many hospitals need urgent reconstruction, but sanctions are preventing them from importing critical equipment It has been a month since US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Caesar Act sanctions coming into play as policy on 17 June.  There has been a clear mismatch in US...

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has approved legal amendments that restrict retired army officers from running in elections without permission from the military, according to an announcement in the official gazette on Wednesday. Critics of Sisi, a former army chief who was...

Lebanon on Wednesday reported 182 new coronavirus cases, its highest single-day infection tally since the country's outbreak began in February, ahead of fresh lockdown measures that go into effect at midnight. The new cases bring the total number of COVID-19 infections in Lebanon to 4,202,...

Iraq’s government agreed to sign a contract with JGC Corp to build a 55,000 barrels per day refinery in the southern region of Basra, the oil ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The refinery will produce fuels including liquified petroleum gas, gasoline and gasoil, it said,...

 Stigmatised gay, bisexual and transgender Syrian refugees who survived sexual violence in war are struggling to get medical or mental health care, human rights groups said on Wednesday. More than 40 LGBT+ survivors in Lebanon told Human Rights Watch that they were raped, sexually...

Efforts to bring stability to Sudan’s conflict-ridden Darfur region have failed to reassure residents fearful of rising violence which has cast a shadow over peace negotiations. The fall of President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 raised hopes that Arab militias he supported, which have been...

President Donald Trump's administration announced Wednesday it is expanding a controversial deployment of federal agents to three more US cities - Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee - to tackle a spike in crime. In a statement announcing the move, Attorney General Bill Barr said all three...

The United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions on the son of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, extending efforts to block funds for the war-torn country's regime. Hafez al-Assad, 18, named after his grandfather, will not be allowed to travel or maintain assets in the United States, the...

Coronavirus cases reached 871,970 in Africa on Wednesday, according to a daily update by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). At least 18,475 people have died of the virus across 54 countries on the continent, the latest figures showed, while 523,475 patients...

A researcher claimed Tuesday to have discovered the exact spot where Vincent Van Gogh painted his last canvas before his mysterious death from a gunshot wound. The tortured Dutch artist had been working on "Tree Roots", a jumble of brightly-colored tree trunks, roots and stumps near...

Afghans welcomed a three-day ceasefire Wednesday but demanded it be made permanent, after the government and the Taliban said they would observe a truce that could kickstart peace talks as soon as next week. The foes announced a temporary stoppage in Afghanistan's war Tuesday, marking only...

President Donald Trump is painting a dystopian portrait of what Joe Biden’s America might look like, asserting crime and chaos would ravage communities should the former vice president win the White House in November. Left unsaid: A recent surge in violent crime in several American cities...

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they launched ballistic missiles from "the depths of the Earth" on Wednesday during the last day of military exercises near sensitive Gulf waters. The launches came a day after the Guards struck a mock-up of a US aircraft carrier with volleys of missiles...

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories, but demand concerns amid record increases in COVID-19 infections in some U.S. states capped gains. Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 54 cents, or 1.3%, to $43.76 a barrel by 0923 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate...

Jordan’s King Abdullah issued a royal decree to hold a parliamentary election, with the date to be set within the next 10 days by an independent election commission, state media said. Jordan’s electoral law marginalises representation of political parties. Constitutionally, most powers rest...