The United States has been ‘enormously disappointed’ with the Iraqi government’s performance in fulfilling its obligation to protect U.S.-led coalition forces inside the country, a senior State Department official said on Friday. The Iraqi government has told the United States that Baghdad...

Iran and France have agreed to release a French citizen held in Iran, and an Iranian detained in France on charges linked to violating U.S. sanctions against Tehran, the Iranian judiciary said on its website on Friday. France has released Jalal Ruhollahnejad, an Iranian engineer wanted by...

Coronavirus can sicken or kill young people, who must also avoid mingling and spreading it to older and more vulnerable people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told a virtual press conference: “Today I have a message for...

Christian and Muslim religious leaders reached out Friday across the divided island of Cyprus in a rare show of unity for prayers to overcome the novel coronavirus pandemic. Archbishop Chrysostomos II, head of the Cyprus Orthodox Church, Turkish Cypriot Mufti Talip Atalay and the Armenian...

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in Italy leapt by 627 on Friday to 4,032, officials said, an increase of 18.4 percent, which is the largest daily rise in absolute terms since the contagion emerged a month ago. On Thursday, Italy, a country with 60 million citizens, recorded...

Syria, already shattered by nine years of war, has banned entry for foreigners arriving from many countries hit by the coronavirus as part of widening measures to combat the epidemic. Although the government says it has yet to document any infections, Syria is seen at high risk from the...

Since Lebanon was placed in lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, cash-strapped banks have cut access to dollars for depositors already separated from much of their savings by months of tightening controls. The health ministry has recorded 163 infections from coronavirus so far and...

Tunisian President Kais Saied ordered Friday a general lockdown, restricting public movement to counter the spread of the coronavirus. Speaking in a televised broadcast, Saied said he was asking the majority of people to stay at home and stopping movement between Tunisian cities.

Lebanon's foreign minister summoned the US ambassador Friday over the return of a naturalised American former militiaman accused of torture to the United States despite a travel ban, state media said. Amer al-Fakhoury, a former member of the South Lebanon Army (SLA), went into exile more...

The United States and China on Friday took their growing clash over the coronavirus pandemic to social media, with Beijing telling Secretary of State Mike Pompeo he was "lying through (his) teeth." In an interview on Fox News, Pompeo said Beijing "wasted valuable days" after identifying the...

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan called Friday for the lifting of "unjust" US-led sanctions on neighbouring Iran, so Tehran can better deal with the novel coronavirus crisis. Khan's comments came after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote to him asking for help in dealing with the...

The mayors of Paris and the southern French city of Nice on Friday said they would be closing parks, promenades and walkways in their cities to limit the spread of the coronavirus outbreak as the number of confirmed cases in France passed the 10,000 mark. The French capital was shutting...

For the first time in over a year, the streets of the Algerian capital were quiet and almost empty on Friday, the day of weekly anti-government rallies. The coronavirus threat put paid to what would have been the 57th straight Friday of "Hirak" anti-regime protests since February 22, 2019,...

Planned deployment and distribution of troops in Idlib de-escalation zone of northwestern Syria is continuing, and there are no withdrawals of troops from the region, Turkish Defense Ministry announced on Friday. To stop the bloodshed and humanitarian crisis, and ensure security of...

Opponents of Vladimir Putin’s plans to amend the constitution so that he can run for president again in 2024 said on Friday they had been forced to scale back protests this weekend due to coronavirus, but would press ahead with some demonstrations. Putin’s changes, which have already been...

China’s imported coronavirus cases have risen to a record 228, data showed on Friday, as infected travellers spread to ever more provinces, adding pressure on authorities to toughen entry rules and health protocols. For a second day in a row, China found no domestically transmitted cases of...

Saudi Arabia announced new emergency stimulus measures Friday that took its support for the economy to more than $32 billion as it battles the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and lower oil prices. The Saudi central bank said last week it had prepared a 50-billion riyal ($13.32 billion)...

Jordan will impose a curfew early Saturday to prevent people from moving except for emergencies to combat coronavirus, the government said. The curfew across the country would start from 0700 local time Saturday until further notice said Amjad Al Adailah, government spokesman. King...

At least 25 police and army personnel were killed in an apparent insider attack at a joint military and police base early Friday, Afghan officials said. The attack took place in southern Zabul province, a Taliban stronghold. Assadullah Kakar, a provincial council member, said the Taliban...

The United States sent Iran a blunt message this week: the spread of the coronavirus will not save it from U.S. sanctions that are choking off its oil revenues and isolating its economy. Iran is the Middle Eastern nation worst hit by coronavirus, with its death toll climbing to 1,284 and...