"Dear world, how is the lockdown? Gaza." A sly dig at the international community, this is just one among a torrent of social media posts that has emerged from the blockaded Gaza Strip in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The sight of a world locking itself down seems to have...

Restaurants are reopening, traffic and factories are stirring, and in one of the clearest signs yet that China is awakening from its coronavirus coma, the country's "dancing aunties" are once again gathering in parks and squares. As the rest of the world runs for cover, China -- where the...

Australia and Taiwan joined a growing list of countries offering financial aid to their ailing aviation sectors as global airlines announced deeper capacity cuts due to plummeting demand and stricter border controls associated with the coronavirus. With airlines halting plane deliveries and...

The United States for the first time Tuesday held Russia responsible for the deaths of dozens of Turkish troops in Syria as it vowed accountability. An airstrike last month in the Idlib region killed 34 Turkish soldiers, although Ankara blamed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and reached a...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday urged Canadians to hunker down for the long haul as business closures and people staying home to prevent spreading the COVID-19 virus could last weeks or months. His administration, he added, was preparing to roll out a new package of financial...

President Nicolas Maduro asked the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday for a $5 billion loan to help crisis-worn Venezuela cope with the onslaught of the coronavirus. In a letter to IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva, Maduro said a $5 billion loan from the IMF's Rapid Financing Instrument...

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration pushed lawmakers to send money directly to Americans to counter the economic toll of the coronavirus outbreak, as the Senate weighed a multibillion-dollar emergency bill passed by the House of Representatives. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin...

Western and Arab countries in a statement on Tuesday urged Libya’s warring factions to stop fighting to allow the country’s authorities to respond to the threat posed by the coronavirus. Although Libya has yet to record any confirmed cases, the World Health Organisation representative in...

 The rapid-fire selloff in stock markets and dire economic forecasts due to the coronavirus have rattled investors and spurred a dash for cash, a BofA fund manager survey showed on Tuesday. Cash holdings in March surged to an average 5.1%, just shy of the 5.5% seen during the 2008...

“The temporary shutdown of cross-border movement within the EU will inevitably impact when and how vulnerable children in Greece are relocated to Germany, Finland and other states,” Afshan Khan, Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant response in Europe, wrote in an email. She urged...

Tunisian police used tear gas to disperse dozens of youths at a traditional ram fight on Tuesday because it broke coronavirus rules against crowds, the local Mosaique FM radio reported. Ram fighting is a popular pastime in North Africa and the strongest animals with the most beautiful horns...

Iran is considering releasing some Americans it has detained, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday, as he urged the Islamic Republic to free them as a humanitarian gesture because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We are aware that they are thinking about whether to release them...

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed mainly the migrant crisis Tuesday as well as the situation in Syria's last rebel enclave of Idlib, with the leaders of France, Germany and Britain. The four-party video conference that involved French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor...

Saudi Arabia suspended prayers Tuesday inside all but the holiest two mosques in Islam as the kingdom steps up efforts to contain the new coronavirus, state media reported. Mosques will be temporarily shut for the five daily Islamic prayers as well as the weekly Friday prayers, the official...

Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus has increased to 988, with 135 new deaths in the past 24 hours, a health ministry spokesman told state TV on Tuesday. “The death toll is 988 ... with 1,178 new infected people in the past 24 hours, now the total number of infected cases is 16,169...

Turkey has identified 93 suspects who have made “unfounded and provocative” postings on social media about the coronavirus outbreak and has detained 19 of them, the Turkish Interior Ministry said. The move came as Turkey closed cafes, entertainment and sports venues, suspended mass prayers...

The impact of the coronavirus and falling oil prices may have damaged Lebanon’s chances of securing aid from foreign states, the economy minister said on Tuesday, adding that IMF aid should be considered as an option alongside others. Lebanon is suffering its worst financial crisis since...

The Israeli government began deploying cellphone-monitoring technology against the coronavirus on Tuesday, and issued directives urging people not to leave home. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved emergency regulations that will enable the Shin Bet internal security...

The large US internet platforms have pledged a joint effort to root out misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and to promote "authoritative content" about the crisis. A joint statement was issued late Monday by Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and Reddit along with Google-owned...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- At least six Shiite militants, 4 Iranians and 2 Iraqis, were tested positive for Coronavirus in the eastern Deir Ezzor province and now they are quarantined in an Iran-run hospital in the Mayadeen city, local news site said Tuesday. More COVID-19 cases have been...