Middle East

Jordan worried about possible unrest that could result from border activity. Human rights watchdog concerned that Assad forces being deployed to Daraa Province will start killing the activists.

Amman instated a nationwide curfew nearly 40 days ago that ordered the country's population of 10 million to stay at home. The relaxation in curbs on movement in the capital follows a similar move last week in southern Jordan, including the Red Sea port city of Aqaba.

IRGC chief says troops have been ordered "to target [US boats and forces] if they try to endanger the safety of our ships or boats of war," a day after US president warns Iran not to harass American vessels.

Move allows allowing hundreds of Palestinians stranded by the coronavirus pandemic to return home. But Hamas is struggling to keep the COVID-19 threat at bay in Gaza.

The envoys for Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stressed that solidarity is required to face the challenge of COVID-19 and this cannot happen "if the guns of war and conflict are not silenced."

Both the Islamic State group and al-Qaida view the coronavirus as a threat, but some of their fighters also see an opportunity to win over more supporters and strike harder than before.

Shiite terrorist group says it is turning the resources it once deployed to fight Israel or in the civil war in neighboring Syria to battle the pandemic in Lebanon, which has so far recorded 480 cases and 12 deaths.

Prison riots erupt in Iran and Syria while public health experts warn of catastrophic consequences if COVID-19 spreads to Yemen, region's poorest country. Egypt extends the closure of the country's famed museums and archaeological sites until at least April 15.

Islamic republic's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak currently stands at 2,517. Some 300 people die, over 1,000 sickened so far by ingesting methanol and other fake remedies touted across social media.