The World Health Organization will start testing for coronavirus in rebel-held northwest Syria later this week, the agency’s regional head said on Monday, adding that he was “very concerned” about the spread of the pandemic to a region where the health system has been wrecked by a long civil...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syria’s Defence Minister was taken to al-Shami hospital in Damascus over a heart attack, military sources told Zaman al-Wasl Tuesday. General Ali Ayyoub, 68, was suffering from myocardial infarction. No more details have been revealed over the possibility of...

A South Korean hospital has introduced phone booth-style coronavirus testing facilities that allow medical staff to examine patients from behind the safety of a plastic panel, the latest innovation in the country's drive to track down infections. The row of four booths -- which use negative...

(HRW) –  Syrian  government forces appear to have retaliated against civilians who chose to remain behind in areas retaken in Idlib, Human Rights Watch said today. Images provided to Human Rights Watch show that government forces may have shot at civilians and despoiled their bodies...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- While the Syrian regime continues denying the spread of Coronavirus pandemic in the Syrian coastal region, the shortage of protective equipment and the rise of prices say otherwise. Sources said that the doctor Imad Ismail, who worked in the Qardaha hospital, was killed...

European leaders plan to ban all non-essential travel into the continent on Tuesday, the latest drastic attempt to curb the coronavirus pandemic that has upended society, battered markets and killed thousands around the world. With French President Emmanuel Macron describing the battle...

The Jordanian army said on Tuesday it will deploy at entrances and exits of main cities in the kingdom in a move officials said was ahead of an imminent announcement of a state of emergency to combat the spread of coronavirus. The country, which has already announced a tight lockdown after...

Iraqi president Barham Saleh named Adnan Zurfi, the former governor of the Shiite holy city of Najaf, as the new prime minister Tuesday, the second attempt to find a head of government in recent months. Zurfi, a 54-year-old lawmaker, has 30 days to form his cabinet which he must then put to...

Hard-line Shiite faithful in Iran pushed their way into the courtyards of two major shrines just closed over fears of the new coronavirus, Iranian state media reported Tuesday, as the Islamic Republic pressed on with its struggle to control the Mideast's worst outbreak. Roughly nine out of...

Iran has temporarily freed about 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners, a spokesman for its judiciary said Tuesday, in response to the coronavirus epidemic. "Some 50 percent of those released are security-related prisoners ... Also in the jails we have taken precautionary measures...

Parisians thronged the city's rail stations and took to the highway early Tuesday to escape the French capital before a lockdown imposed to slow the rate of coronavirus contagion kicked in at midday. The Paris exodus drew dismay from provincial France, where many fear that city-dwellers...

Two rockets struck a training base south of Baghdad where U.S.-led coalition troops and NATO trainers are present, Iraq's military said Tuesday, the third such attack in the span of a week. The rockets hit the Basmaya base near the Iraqi capital on Monday evening, the army statement said....

Algeria will suspend all sea and air travel between it and Europe from Thursday over the coronavirus, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad said in a statement. Algeria will also suspend flights with African countries, including Senegal, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Coast Ivory and Burkina Faso from...

Oil rose more than $1 on Tuesday as bargain hunters emerged after recent sharp falls due to the coronavirus pandemic and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, but fears of a recession still dragged on the market. Brent crude LCOc1 was up by 1.8%, or 55 cents, to $30.60 a barrel by...

Tom Hanks has been released from the Australian hospital where he was in isolation since testing positive for the coronavirus last week, but his wife Rita Wilson remains hospitalised, health officials said Tuesday. The multiple Oscar-winning actor was on the Gold Coast near Brisbane to film...

Fears are growing that this year's Olympics may be postponed or axed because of the coronavirus pandemic but Japan has been here before -- the cancelled summer Games of 1940 were also due to be hosted in Tokyo. Japan's military aggression in Asia forced the annulment of what became known as...

Millions of anxious Americans troop to polling stations Tuesday in three states, but not Ohio, as the coronavirus pandemic roils the nation's Democratic primaries featuring frontrunner Joe Biden and his rival Bernie Sanders. Campaigning has shifted from rallies to online events, candidate...

Italy approved 25 billion euros ($28 billion) of spending measures on Monday to help the fragile economy survive the onslaught of coronavirus as the death toll in Europe’s worst-affected country jumped above 2,000. The decree throws a financial lifeline to families and firms who face...

State oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Monday it was likely to sustain higher oil output planned for April through into May, and that it was “very comfortable” with a price of $30 a barrel. Aramco said last week it would be raising its output in April to a record 12.3 million barrels per day...

China on Monday urged the United States to lift sanctions on Iran immediately amid the Middle Eastern country’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. The escalating outbreak in Iran - the worst-affected country in the Middle East - has killed 853 people and infected 14,991. "Continued...