While the Coronavirus continues to ravage almost every nation on earth, Arab countries remain unable, or unwilling, to formulate a collective strategy to help the poorest and most vulnerable Arabs survive the deadly virus and its economic fallout. Worse, amid growing international solidarity, we are yet to see a...

The US-led international coalition tasked with fighting Daesh yesterday withdrew from the Abu Ghraib base, west of the capital Baghdad, Anadolu reported. The agency quoted an unnamed security source as saying that the coalition forces has handed control of the military camp back to Iraqi Security Forces. A military source, who...

The United Nations condemned the heavy shelling of Tripoli’s Al Khadra General Hospital at a time when people need “functioning medical facilities,” saying it was a “clear violation of international law”, Anadolu Agency reports. Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told...

Health authorities in several Arab countries confirmed new cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus today, Anadolu Agency reports. In Qatar, the Health Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, the number of infections rose to 1,832 after 228 new cases were confirmed while 131 patients recovered. In Tunisia, the...

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A Bronze Age cemetery has been discovered in the occupied West Bank village of Hindaza near Bethlehem, the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced. A statement from the ministry explained that a local resident found the site while he was digging foundations for his home. When the...

Turkey has started to distribute free face masks to citizens in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus Covid-19 in the country. Every citizen, except those aged 20 or under and 65 or older — for whom there is currently a curfew in Turkey — can apply for...

As Gaza tries to impede the spread of coronavirus, humanitarian aid, albeit necessary, is yet another reminder of how the international community continues to deny Palestinians their political rights and, as a result, the opportunity for autonomous decision-making. In March, Qatar announced it will provide $150 million to help Palestinians thrive during the pandemic....

India has dropped Saudi Arabia from an investigation into the dumping of chemical products into the Indian market but will continue its probe into the UAE, Kuwait and Oman. The latter three are the other Middle East subjects of the inquiry. The probe follows a petition from one of...

Turkey’s Interior Ministry has issued a circular regarding the welfare and feeding of stray animals affected by social distancing policies in place to stem the spread of coronavirus. On Sunday the ministry urged local councils to leave food at designated locations on a regular basis so that the animals...

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US prosecutors concluded yesterday that officials of world football’s governing body were bribed before voting in favour of awarding Qatar and Russia the right to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 and 2018 respectively. The conclusion was reached after a lengthy investigation. A 70-page document contains details of...

Palestinians caught smuggling workers from Israel into the occupied West Bank will be held legally accountable, the Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministry of Labour warned. According to the Jerusalem Post, several Palestinians who were caught attempting to smuggle workers from Israel in their vehicles were arrested by the PA security forces over the past...

The Syrian regime is hesitating in its action to release prisoners under an amnesty declared by President Bashar Al-Assad, raising fears of mass infections if the new coronavirus spreads through its overcrowded jails, rights groups said yesterday. “The Syrian regime seeks to circumvent the pressures it is facing from...

“Stay at home” is the global command to curb the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19. It has a very different meaning for the people of occupied Palestine. How, for example, can self-isolation and social distancing work in the Palestinian refugee camps that are crowded with people who are deprived...

The pro-Houthi Yemeni army yesterday recaptured the strategic Al-Khanjar camp in the northern Al-Jawf province, along the Saudi-Yemeni border. Yemen Press Agency, who described the area as the “largest coalition camp” near the border, quoted a local source saying: “The army and the popular committees fought fierce battles...

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An officer in the US army and two fighters from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been killed in an ambush in Syria’s eastern province of Deir Ez-Zor. The gunmen are reported to have been from the Daesh terrorist group. The ambush took place in the town of...

UNICEF announced yesterday that it had provided medical supplies to 194 Primary Health Care centres across Lebanon, to help combat the spread of coronavirus. According to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA), UNICEF delivered medical supplies including 650,000 pairs of gloves, 830,000 surgical masks, 34,000 N95 respirator masks, 26,750 gowns and...

Official estimates have put the number of tourist workers set to suffer from the COVID-19 shutdown as three million, reports Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. Tourism in Egypt is one of the main factors affected by the global shutdown since tourism constitutes around 20 per cent of the country’s GDP and in 2018/19...

Chairman of Middle East Airlines (MEA) Mohammad Hout defended the company’s position to charge returning expats for their flights in a press conference yesterday. The airline is accused of charging returnees exorbitant prices to be repatriated during the coronavirus crisis. Hout said, “ priority is the continuity of the company”, adding that MEA...

Investment bonds issued by Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Aramco, recorded an 8.2 per cent fall in value last month, the worst monthly performance ever after crude oil prices also fell by more than 50 per cent since the beginning of this year, Bloomberg has reported. The news agency...

Palestinians in Gaza have launched a new sterilisation process for fresh fruit and vegetables in an effort to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. The new system allows all fresh produce to be vacuum packed and sealed in a sterilised environment without human intervention. The few staff members...

The head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, called on the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah on Sunday to put political differences aside and unite in the efforts to confront the coronavirus pandemic. Haniyeh made the call during a telephone conversation with PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh to discuss...

The Egyptian government is under continued pressure from the medical community to reform its COVID-19 response after a series of blunders by the authorities. A letter smuggled out of an Egyptian prison on Sunday by medical staff detained by the regime outlines their offer to work in hospitals for...

Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Adnan Al-Zurfi announced on Saturday that he has formed his government ahead of the constitutional deadline of 17 April. He also presented his proposed government programme to the Iraqi parliament. According to Al-Zurfi, his cabinet is made up of “intellectuals from inside Iraq.” He added that...

Israel is expected to incur nearly 45 billion shekels ($12.9 billion) in direct and indirect losses due to the coronavirus outbreak, Israel’s Channel 12 reported. The channel quoted economic experts as saying that the recent measures announced by the government to combat the virus including declaring a state of emergency...

The World Food Program (WFP) warned on Sunday that food aid to the Houthi controlled governorate of Hajjah could be suspended due to the “unacceptable” obstacles imposed by the Houthis. A senior official said that suspending the program’s operations “is on the table” if the interventions and obstruction of...

At least three Katyusha missiles hit an area near a US oil service company in the Burjesia area in the oil-rich Basra province yesterday, the Iraqi army aid. In a statement the army said the attack did not cause damage or casualties, adding that the security forces are searching...

Egyptian Working Group yesterday said it would provide the “necessary support for the country’s fight against the coronavirus.” “The Working Group will do whatever we can to save the country from collapsing after the regime’s wrong policies led to the escalation of the crisis,” the organisation announced. “Egypt is...

Two years ago on this day, a chemical weapons attack was carried out on the people of Douma, south-western Syria, killing around 85 people and injuring hundreds more, as well as provoking airstrikes by the West against the Syrian regime. Controversy remains over who the perpetrators of the attack...

Egyptian authorities have refused to receive a Qatar-chartered Spanish airplane transporting stranded Egyptians from Doha, a source at the Qatari Foreign Ministry said today. The source told Al Jazeera that the Qatari authorities had hired a Spanish plane on Friday, adding that Egyptian authorities had refused “to receive the carrier before...

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi today called on the world’s nations not to abide by the sanctions imposed on his country by the United States. Mousavi highlighted the “contradictory and arbitrary statements made by US officials”.  He added: “We have conveyed the message to all the countries worldwide...

The Yemeni army today announced that it had regained control of important sites in Al-Bayda Governorate, in the centre of the country, in a military operation against the Houthis. A military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu that “three military brigades in the army have carried out...

The forces of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) announced today that Emirati drones, backing the militias of retired Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, targeted a post office in Al-Washka area in the vicinity of Sirte. Mustafa Al–Mujie, spokesman for Operation Volcano of Anger, told Anadolu Agency: “Emirati drones supporting Haftar’s militia raided the area...

Lebanese President Michel Aoun announced today that his country has entered an unprecedented crisis characterised by an economic recession, a severe shortage of foreign currencies, high unemployment and poverty rates and inflation. Aoun’s remarks came in a speech he delivered before members of the International Support Group for Lebanon...

The two most prominent political parties in Israel today continued marathon negotiations to reach an agreement to form a coalition government before the Jewish Passover holiday, which lasts for a week, starting from Wednesday evening. “Everybody feels anxious to reach an agreement as soon as possible, preferably before the...

One of the latest survivors of the novel coronavirus in Turkey is a 95-year-old man, who was released from the hospital with applauds in western Izmir city on Monday. Ismail Kirdar, who was staying at a nursing home, was taken to the hospital due to high fever on March 25....

A university in eastern Turkey has begun using blood plasma for the passive immunisation of novel coronavirus patients. “Treatment started yesterday by collecting plasma from a patient who has recovered from the novel coronavirus and subsequently tested negative,” said Ahmet Kizilay the rector of Inonu University in Malataya province. Pointing...

Lebanon will audit its central bank’s accounts in a bid to show transparency after launching debt restructuring talks with creditors, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Monday. A crippling financial crisis that has gripped Lebanon for months saw it default on its hefty foreign-currency debt for the first time...

Rockets landed near a district in Iraq that houses workers for foreign oil companies on Monday, including US oil service company Halliburton, but caused no damage or casualties, oil and police sources said. Police said three Katyusha rockets were launched around 3 am local time and hit the Burjesia...

More than 20,000 Pakistani workers stuck in the United Arab Emirates are seeking to return home, as the Gulf Arab state tightens restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak. As the virus has spread, the UAE has gradually increased curbs, including imposing a nationwide curfew, suspending passenger flights and putting...

Oil prices fell today after Saudi Arabia and Russia postponed a meeting to discuss production cuts that might help reduce oversupply in global markets. This comes at a time of declining demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier, Brent crude fell to nearly $30 a barrel, but it reduced its...

It is “highly probable” the government of Syria or its allies carried out attacks on three healthcare facilities, a school, and a refuge for children in northwest Syria last year, according to a summary of an internal United Nations inquiry seen by Reuters on Monday. The inquiry also found...

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved the withdrawal of one billion euros from the country’s sovereign wealth fund to help fight the coronavirus epidemic, President Hassan Rouhani’s official website said on Monday. Iran is the Middle Eastern country worst-affected so far by the coronavirus, with 3,739 deaths...

US President Donald Trump yesterday said he would be willing to impose a tax on foreign oil should Saudi Arabia and Russia fail to reach a settlement in their dispute in cutting oil production which has contributed to the global collapse in energy prices. Referring to the two countries, Trump...

Norway has called for more aid to support the struggling economy of the occupied Palestinian territories in the face of the coronavirus crisis, Haaretz has reported. The Palestinian Authority estimates that it needs $120 million to respond to the pandemic, but Norway’s Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide expects the...

Israeli settlers have been accused of trying to spread the coronavirus in Palestinian neighbourhoods by spitting on cars in a West Bank village. Residents of the village of Beit Iksa, northwest of occupied Jerusalem, reported the shocking incident last week of Israeli settlers spitting on vehicles travelling into and...

The Israel Defence Forces on Saturday ordered soldiers at its largest base not to leave their rooms amid reports of a coronavirus outbreak there, Israel’s Kan news channel has reported. Soldiers at Camp Sharon in the Negev Desert have been told to stay there until further notice. Although it...

Michael Gove is facing a backlash after he praised the Jewish contribution to the fight against coronavirus, but failed to acknowledge the efforts of Muslims and other religions to combat the disease. In an address during a virtual Shabbaton at 5:30pm on Friday, Gove addressed members of 50 Jewish congregations...