Mosques, churches and businesses in the occupied West Bank will reopen Tuesday in an easing of coronavirus restrictions, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Monday. The Palestinian Authority declared a health emergency in March and imposed lockdowns after the first cases of...

Syria reported 20 new cases of the novel coronavirus Monday, the largest single-day increase to date, the health ministry said. The war-torn country has recorded 106 infections and four deaths so far, and new cases have increased in recent days. It brings the total recorded...

Beijing on Monday vowed to shield a Chinese government institute and eight companies sanctioned by the US over alleged human rights violations in the restive Xinjiang region, where China is accused of mass repression of mostly Muslim minorities. The US Department of Commerce announced the...

India on Monday posted its biggest single-day jump in cases of COVID-19, overtaking Iran to become one of the 10 worst-hit nations, even as the government allowed domestic air travel to restart. India reported another 6,977 cases, taking its total ot 138,845, according to government data,...

A surprise Taliban ceasefire appeared Monday to be holding for a second day, as authorities planned to release up to 2,000 insurgents held by security forces. The Taliban made the three-day truce offer that started Sunday to mark the Eid al-Fitr holiday -- a move swiftly welcomed by the...

The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel to Venezuela has moored at Venezuela's El Palito refinery, Iran's English-language Press TV reported on Monday. Iran is providing Venezuela with 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and components in a move criticized by U.S. authorities as both...

At a cemetery in Yemen’s largest southern city, dozens of fresh graves were a testament to a spike in deaths amid the coronavirus pandemic. The cemetery workers who bury them don’t know what killed the newly deceased. But there’s no denying that there's been an increasing number of people...

Hong Kong’s security and police chiefs said “terrorism” was growing in the city, as government departments rallied on Monday behind Beijing’s plans to introduce national security laws after thousands took to the streets to protest against the move. The security legislation, which could see...

Oil prices rose on Monday, erasing earlier losses, as countries around the world continued to ease lockdown measures imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic, boosting hopes for a recovery in fuel demand. Amid quiet trading, with financial centres Singapore, London and New York all closed...

Joe Biden worked out deals with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. He defended Vice President Mike Pence as a "decent guy" and eulogized Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's "fairness, honesty, dignity, respect." When he launched his presidential campaign, such overtures to...

Japan was poised to lift its nationwide state of emergency over the coronavirus on Monday, gradually reopening the world's third-biggest economy after new cases slowed to a crawl. Compared to hard-hit areas in Europe, the United States, Russia and Brazil, Japan has been spared the worst of...

China said Sunday that relations with the United States were "on the brink of a new Cold War", fueled in part by tensions over the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 350,000 people worldwide and pitched the global economy into a massive downturn. Fresh tensions between Beijing...

At least five people were killed and more than 20 injured Sunday in Somalia in a blast during festivities to mark the Eid al-Fitr festival. "The initial information we have received indicates the dead bodies of five people were collected from the scene of the blast and more than twenty...

The French government does not want its citizens to travel abroad this summer and recommends they take their holidays in France, Environment Minister Elisabeth Borne said Sunday. Earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron said it was unlikely that French people would be able to...

Food prices in Syria have risen to their highest levels since conflict erupted nine years ago, putting more than half the country’s population at risk of hunger, aid workers and economists have warned. The cost of a representative basket of staple foods has doubled in just over six...

Shiite Iranians in a rare event mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan this year on separate days -- Sunday or Monday -- depending on different religious authorities' edicts. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced Saturday evening on his official website that the Eid al-Fitr...

Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher reopened to visitors Sunday after a two-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. The church, situated in Occupied Jerusalem's Old City, is the site where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified, entombed, and resurrected. The Christian...

At least 16 Syrian people were tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon their return from Sudan, UAE, Russia and Kuwait, the  regime health ministry said Sunday . It brings the total recorded infections in Syria to 86 and four deaths. The war-torn nation has limited...

A British Muslim centenarian is being hailed as a hero for raising more than £200,000 (over $243,000) for the victims of the coronavirus pandemic.  Dabirul Islam Choudhury, 100, walked 100 laps in his 80-meter garden while also fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan....

Militias loyal to Libya’s renegade commander Khalifa Haftar Sunday hit the capital Tripoli with a rocket attack. The attack targeted Mitiga International Airport, according to a statement by the press center of the Libyan army-led Operation Volcano of Rage. The statement gave no...