State-owned Kuwait Airways said Thursday it will lay off 1,500 expatriate employees due to "significant difficulties" caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The loss-making national carrier, which has a total of some 6,925 employees, has struggled amid the regional and worldwide downturn in...

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned the United States Thursday against its naval presence in the Gulf as they received 110 new combat vessels. The vessels included Ashura-class speedboats, Zolfaghar coastal patrol boats and Taregh submarines, state television reported. "We announce today...

The US coronavirus death toll passed 100,000, as some countries reimposed social distancing rules following a resurgence of cases that raised the specter of a dreaded second wave of infections. The economic fallout from the pandemic was again laid bare Thursday as airlines reported fresh...

Russia on Thursday reported the highest-ever number of fatalities caused by the novel coronavirus infection, with 174 people claimed over the past day, raising the death toll to 4,142. But recoveries also outnumbered new cases for the third day in a row, as over the last 24 hours 8,785...

China on Thursday passed a new national security law for Hong Kong set to rein in the semi-autonomous region after months of protests last year. At the concluding session of the National People's Congress, China’s top legislative body, the draft of the Hong Kong national security...

Turkish and Russian military elements performed the 13th joint patrol along a key highway in Idlib, northwestern Syria, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Thursday. “Within the framework of TUR-RF Agreement/Protocol, the 13th TUR-RF Combined Land Patrol on M-4 Highway in Idlib...

Italian police said Thursday they had dismantled a major organised crime ring involving public works tenders valued at over 100 million euros ($110 million), including EU funds. Eleven public officials were identified among the 63 people targeted in the operation codenamed "Waterfront"...

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Thursday after threatening to shutter social media platforms following Twitter's move to label two of his tweets misleading. After long resisting calls to censure Trump over his truth-defying posts, Twitter Tuesday accused...

Tehran on Thursday dismissed the impact of what it called Washington's "desperate attempt" to end sanction waivers for nations that remain in the Iran nuclear accord. The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran said the United States had made the move in a bid "to distract public opinion from...

As if the coronavirus wasn't enough, India grappled with scorching temperatures and the worst locust invasion in decades as authorities prepared for the end of a monthslong lockdown despite recording thousands of new infections every day. This triple disaster drew biblical comparisons and...

Iran's parliament elected a former mayor of Tehran tied to the Revolutionary Guard as its next speaker Thursday, solidifying hard-line control of the body as tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic remain high over its collapsed nuclear deal. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf's assumption...

In Iraq, a national lockdown to halt the coronavirus pandemic has found some unexpected fans: local businesses who no longer have to compete with Turkish, Iranian or Chinese imports. Those countries, as well as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait, typically flood Iraqi markets with inexpensive...

When Turkey had the highest number of coronavirus cases outside of Europe and the US in April, there were fears its health system could be overwhelmed and its death rate could rocket. But more than a month later, Turkey is proclaiming that the pandemic has been contained, trumpeting a...

The French government is expected to announce Thursday new measures to ease the coronavirus lockdown, allowing restaurants in areas where the outbreak remains contained to open as soon as next week. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will unveil the second phase of his plan to get the country...

Seven members of the Afghan security forces were killed Thursday in an attack officials blamed on the Taliban, the first deadly assault since a three-day ceasefire ended. The militants attacked a checkpoint in Parwan, north of the capital, said Waheeda Shahkar, spokeswoman to the provincial...

The International Monetary Fund is having constructive, ongoing discussions with Lebanon about the details of the government’s economic reform plan, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. “The discussions are constructive and cover many areas including capital controls, financial sector...

The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation board plans to hold next month’s quarterly meeting a week later than originally planned and mainly by video link because of the coronavirus pandemic, the board’s chairwoman told member states on Wednesday. The Board of Governors of the International...

The United States has decided to end sanctions waivers allowing Russian, Chinese and European firms to continue work at certain Iranian nuclear sites, a U.S. official and another source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The decision, first reported by the Washington Post, seemed...

A Turkish soldier was killed in the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib on Wednesday after an explosion along the M4 highway, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said in a statement. Earlier, Turkey’s private Demiroren news agency had reported that the explosion was caused by a roadside bomb but the...

The number of coronavirus cases in the six Gulf Arab states doubled in less than a month to surpass 200,000 Wednesday, according to a Reuters' tally, at a time the region's two biggest economies move to resume activity. Coronavirus infections in the energy producing region, which crossed...