Egypt will extend a nationwide night-time curfew by 15 days until April 23 to counter the coronavirus spread, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday. Airports will also stayed closed, he said in a televised news conference, adding that the curfew would now start one hour later at...

The Saudi king suspended final rulings and judicial orders on visitation rights of children of separated parents in the latest effort to try and curb the spread of the novel coronavirus among households, according to state media reports Wednesday. The state-run Saudi Press Agency said...

The Afghan government will release 100 Taliban prisoners on Wednesday, an official told AFP, a day after the insurgents said they were walking out of talks with Kabul. The two foes have been negotiating in Kabul since last week to try to finalise a prisoner swap that was originally supposed...

Around 73,000 Syrians have returned to the Syrian governorate of Idlib following the ceasefire agreement reached between Turkey and Russia in early March. The Director of the Syrian Response Coordinators, Muhammad Hallaj, said that some of the displaced civilians returned to their homes...

Commuters heading to work packed into trains in the Japanese capital on Wednesday, the first day of a state of emergency aimed at containing the coronavirus outbreak, with some expressing confusion over how best to restrict their movements. The scenes across central Tokyo contrasted with...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- On the third anniversary of the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun town in northern Idlib province and the second of its attack on Douma city, the Syrian Network for Human Rights said families of the victims are still waiting accountability. Despite the highly...

The number of coronavirus cases in Russia rose by more than 1,000 for the second day running, taking the total to 8,672, the crisis response centre said on Wednesday. The number of reported cases rose by 1,175, a record daily rise, while deaths increased by five to 63, the centre said.

A bridge on a normally busy road in northern Italy collapsed on Wednesday but only two drivers were caught up in the chaos, the fire brigade said, as the coronavirus lockdown has largely halted traffic. A spokesman for the fire brigade said the 260 metre bridge near the town of Aulla,...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spent a second night in intensive care and was in a stable condition on Wednesday after receiving oxygen support for COVID-19 complications, raising questions about how key decisions would be taken in his absence. Johnson, who tested positive nearly two...

Temperature checkpoints and posters telling workers to keep more than a metre apart at Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co’s reopened plant in the Chinese city of Wuhan show how the coronavirus has created a new normal on the factory floor. The plant, a Honda joint venture with Dongfeng Motor...

The German economy, Europe’s largest, probably shrank by 9.8% in the second quarter, its biggest decline since records began in 1970, due to measures imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Germany’s leading think tanks said on Wednesday. That would be more than double the drop seen...

The Turkish and Russian militaries have completed their third round of joint patrols on the M4 highway near northwestern Syria’s Idlib province and observed that the cease-fire in the area seems to be holding, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Wednesday. Akar noted that the patrols were...

Iran's new coronavirus death toll has climbed to 4,003 with 121 more deaths in the past 24 hours, a Health Ministry spokesman told state TV on Wednesday, adding that the total number of infections in the country has risen to 67,286. "We had 1,997 new infected cases in the past 24 hours .......

The number of daily coronavirus deaths rose in Spain for the second day Wednesday as 757 people died over the past 24 hours, though the pace of the proportional daily increase in the death toll slowed down slightly, the health ministry said. The number of total fatalities caused by the new...

Fresh doubts were hanging over the coronavirus-hit Cannes film festival Wednesday after its director said holding it online would go against its "soul". The world's biggest film festival has already been postponed until the end of June because of the virus. Thierry Fremaux said it would...

Doctors, researchers, even an army officer: the coronavirus pandemic has brought a diverse cast of experts into the media spotlight to guide the public through the crisis. Many were unknown before the crisis, now they are familiar faces in living rooms across the world, from New York to...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- Bashar Al-Assad has appointed Maj. Gen Akram Ahmed Hawija as the new commander of the 7th Mechanical Division, succeeding Maj. Gen Hikmat Suleiman who was referred to retirement . Hawija, originally from Qerdaha, Assad's hometown, was the head of the security...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Turkey is due to open a commercial border crossing with Ras Al-Ayn region northeastern Syria, seeking to supply the residents with basic products and goods, local activists told Zaman al-Wasl Wednesday. A source from the local governing council said that Turkish...

Republican U.S. senators who have introduced a bill that would remove U.S. defense systems and troops in Saudi Arabia unless it cuts oil output will hold a call with the kingdom's officials Saturday, a source familiar with the planning said Tuesday. Senators Kevin Cramer and Dan Sullivan...

Rockets rained down on Libya’s capital Tuesday, health authorities in the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli said, the second day of heavy bombardment by eastern-based forces that struck one of the city’s largest hospitals. The barrage of Grad rockets hit Al-Khadra Hospital, where over 300...