The contrast could hardly have been starker -- an octogenarian Palestinian president giving a brief pre-recorded speech, and a prime minister talking in-depth and fielding questions about the coronavirus response. As the Palestinian government seeks to combat the spread of COVID-19, its...

The total number of Japanese novel coronavirus infections hit more than 5,300 on Thursday, NHK public broadcaster said, showing no signs of slowing despite a state of emergency being imposed this week on Tokyo and six other areas. Tokyo’s nightlife districts of Shibuya, Akasaka and Ginza...

Russian President Putin has no plans as of Thursday to discuss oil markets with U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s leadership, a Kremlin spokesman told Reuters. “There are no such plans for today,” the Kremlin spokesman said when asked about such a possibility.

Forces of Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) bombed a convoy of militias affiliated with renegade commander Khalifa Haftar on Thursday.  The GNA’s air force targeted the convoy, which included two armored vehicles belonging to the United Arab Emirates, after...

Iraq's president named intelligence chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi as prime minister-designate on Thursday, the third person tapped to lead the country in just 10 weeks as it struggles to replace a government that fell last year after months of deadly protests. Kadhimi was nominated by President...

Iran's health ministry said Thursday 117 new deaths from the novel coronavirus took the total to 4,110 in one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic. But ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the latest figures showed there was a downward trend in the number of new coronavirus...

Spain's daily death toll from the coronavirus fell to 683 on Thursday, after rising for two days, the authorities said. The country, one of the worst hit by the pandemic, has now recorded 15,238 deaths from COVID-19. The daily toll was down from 757 on Wednesday. However, there has...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday began a fourth day in intensive care "improving" in his battle with coronavirus, as his government prepared to extend a nationwide lockdown introduced last month. Johnson is the most high-profile world leader to become infected with COVID-19...

Staring into a smartphone camera in an empty classroom in rebel-held northwest Syria, geography teacher Danielle Dbeis addresses students confined at home away from the novel coronavirus. "Even if we are now doing distance learning... you can still talk to me online," says the 42-year-old,...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- At least 57 forces from Bashar al-Assad's coastal region were killed in March mostly by opposition forces in northern Syria, according to pro-regime accounts. The death toll has included 28 officers, 18 from Tartus province and 10 from Latakia province.  Two of...

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the very future of the European Union was at stake over its response to the coronavirus as Germany expressed hope EU finance ministers would agree on a 500 billion euro economic rescue package on Thursday. In a 16-hour videoconference that...

Political and physical divisions between Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have induced two very different responses to the coronavirus pandemic, with a strict lockdown in the first and crowds milling about freely in the second. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has 250 recorded...

The U.S. surpassed Spain early Thursday to record the second-highest death toll in the world from the novel coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University. The university's running tally counted 14,817 deaths and 432,132 cases as the U.S. struggles to curb the outbreak. A total of...

Iran’s supreme leader suggested Thursday that mass gatherings in the Islamic Republic may be barred through the holy Muslim fasting month Ramadan amid the coronavirus pandemic. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the comment in a televised address as Iran tries to restart its...

Five rockets hit a major U.S. air base in Afghanistan Thursday but there were no casualties, Afghanistan's NATO-led force said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State militant group. The attack comes weeks after Taliban militants and the United States reached a deal on the withdrawal of...

The Arab-led military coalition fighting Yemen's Huthi rebels has declared a two-week ceasefire in the country starting Thursday in a bid to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The unilateral ceasefire follows an escalation in fighting between the warring parties despite a call by...

Top oil producers meeting later Thursday intend to cut production by between 10 and 15 million barrels per day, Kuwait's Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel reportedly said. The talks between OPEC and other major producers come as oil languishes at near-two decade lows, with Russia and Saudi...

With his rickshaw sitting idle outside his one-room shack, Sailesh Kumar is one of the hundreds of millions of poor Indians hit the hardest by the world's biggest coronavirus lockdown. His family of six are stuck in their slum home outside New Delhi earning nothing and waiting desperately...

After weeks of disagreement -- especially between the United States and China -- the UN Security Council will meet Thursday to discuss the coronavirus pandemic for the first time. Led by Germany, nine of the council's 10 non-permanent members requested the closed-door meeting -- a video...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Health Minister in the opposition's Interim Government said 14 suspected Coronavirus cases in Idlib province were tested negative on Wednesday, such good news as the World Health organization warns of the limited capacity to deal with a rapid spread of the...