Middle East

Lebanon’s central bank governor defended himself Wednesday against scathing criticism by the government, claiming there is a “systematic campaign” meant to hold him responsible for the country’s recent financial crisis and the collapse of the national currency. Speaking in an hour-long video conference, Gov. Riad Salameh, who has held the …

The Kingdom, one of the world’s major crude producers, also suffered a dropped in oil revenues, as oil prices have been extremely volatile due to the new coronavirus pandemic. Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit has reached $9 billion in the first quarter of 2020, citing a performance report released by the …

The Syrian government said on Wednesday it extended a nationwide curfew to stem the spread of coronavirus but had eased a tight lockdown by allowing all businesses and public markets to go back to work. The government imposed the nationwide curfew just over a month ago after it announced its …

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ordered a three-month renewal for the long-running state of emergency in the country on Tuesday, citing health and security concerns. Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April 2017, when twin church bombings claimed by an Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) affiliate group …

More than 40 people have lost their lives when a powerful fuel truck bomb explosion rocked a northwestern Syrian city seized by Turkish military forces and their allied militants in the aftermath of a cross-border ground offensive against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants more than two years ago. …

Israeli military forces have shot and seriously injured a Palestinian teenager in the central part of the Israeli-occupied territories amid mounting anger over Washington’s announcement that it is ready to recognize Israel’s annexation of much of the West Bank. Israeli media outlets claimed the unidentified 19-year-old Palestinian, wearing a mask, …

More than 700 people in Iran have died after ingesting toxic methanol because false rumors it helps cure the coronavirus, officials have said. In a desperate search for a curative, many families have turned to fake remedies spread across social media – including a powerful form of bootleg alcohol banned …

Violent protests against growing economic hardship erupted again in the Lebanese city of Tripoli on Tuesday, with banks set ablaze after a night of rioting that left one demonstrator dead, according to security and medical sources. A collapse in the currency, soaring inflation, and spiraling unemployment are convulsing Lebanon, which …

Saudi authorities are reportedly seeking to produce a movie aimed at tarnishing the image of a dissident tribal activist, who was fatally shot earlier this month in the kingdom’s northwestern Tabuk region as he resisted leaving his home to allow construction of a controversial megacity project. Local sources told the …

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey will send medical gear including protective suits and masks to the United States on Tuesday to help its efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak. “At a time when even developed countries are asking for Turkey’s support, we have offered our support to …

A three-day curfew will be implemented in Turkey as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. The curfew from the 1st to the 4th of May will involve 31 cities. The curfew will follow a 4-day lockdown declared by the Turkish Interior Ministry in 31 cities due to …

The American naval coalition in the Gulf creates insecurity, the Iranian military said in a statement on Monday, according to the official IRNA news agency. “The false coalition from outside the region led by America disrupts regional order and security rather than help preserve stability and security in the region,” …

Iran’s Health Ministry says the country has recorded a two-digit rise in the number of new coronavirus cases for the first time in more than a month, which indicates the declining curve of the COVID-19 disease in the country. Kianoush Jahanpour, the head of the public relations and information center …

Syrian air defenses have thwarted an Israeli aggression, and shot down a number of “hostile” missiles in the skies over the capital, Damascus, before reaching their targets. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said the aggression took place in the early hours of Monday, which left three civilians dead. …

A new report reveals that Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry could sustain a substantial loss of up to 45 percent this year as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Even though the ultra-conservative kingdom opened its doors to international tourists for the first time last September as part of a …

An Israeli court has extended the detention of female Palestinian activist, Aya Khateeb, amid widening calls to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention centers at a time of the new coronavirus pandemic. The court in Israel’s port city of Haifa on Sunday rejected a request to place …

Donald Trump’s criticism of the WHO has turned all eyes on the entity’s alleged political biases. However, it appears the media spread it on thick when they lambasted the WHO for including Israel in the list of European nations in its COVID-19 situation reports. WHO and Israeli researchers have explained …

The Southern Transitional Council has stated it introduced self-governance and a state of emergency in Yemen’s south. The council has been accusing the Yemeni government of corruption, failure to fulfill its obligations, plotting against Yemeni people and failing to pay salaries to civilians and servicemen for months. Five provinces in …

Dozens of N95 protective face masks hang on a line in a room of an Abu Dhabi hospital to be decontaminated so they can be used again by medical staff should there be a shortage due to the new coronavirus pandemic. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi this month started disinfecting N95 …

Thousands in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv where ‘Black Flag’ protesters are gathering to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies amid the coronavirus pandemic, which they perceive as a consolidation of his power to avoid a corruption trial. The public protest comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the …