Middle East

The Great Pyramids is lit up with blue light and projected with a laser message “Stay Home” on the Giza plateau outside the Egyptian capital of Cairo on the World Heritage Day, as the country fights against the spread of the COVID-19.

A court in Egypt has added a former lawmaker and a dozen others, all either members or associates of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement, to terrorist lists for five years. The Fifth Terrorism Judicial District in the capital Cairo announced the news in a statement on Saturday, saying former legislator …

The Holy Fire has descended in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III bestowed it to the priests of the Greek Church and representatives of other faiths who also own the Church of the …

A man who stabbed at least three Spanish dancers in Saudi Arabia during a live performance has been executed. The assault on the theatre group took place during a festival in the capital Riyadh in November. State media linked the attacker, named as Imad al-Mansouri, 33, from terrorist group Al-Qaeda. …

Israel is facing the growing prospect of an unprecedented fourth election in just over a year after a deadline to form a government expired. Its president passed the mandate to parliament after center-left bloc leader Benny Gantz failed to seal talks to form a unity government in time. If no-one …

Iran has marked its annual National Army day by replacing usual parades with a COVID-19 aid march of military vehicles designed and packed with supplies to help assist the country’s battle with the coronavirus. The parades, which took place across the country on Friday, showcased some of the Army’s equipment …

Iran’s Navy commander says the force plans to build nuclear-powered submarines capable of operating in international waters for long periods of time amid the growing threats facing the country from the sea. Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi on Thursday highlighted the capabilities of submarines powered by nuclear reactors compared to the …

Saudia Arabia has carried out 800 executions since King Salman bin Abdulaziz took power in 2015, according to a British-based human rights organization. Reprieve, which fights for victims of human rights abuses, says that the rate of executions in the Kingdom has almost doubled under his reign, which started on …

The chief commander of Iran’s Army says over 11,000 medical staff of the force have been on the front line in the country’s fight against the COVID-19 disease. “More than 11,000 medical staff of the army have been selflessly working on the front line against coronavirus,” Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi …

Saudi Arabia has blocked access to the online platforms of two Turkish state media outlets, as tensions continue to simmer between Riyadh and Ankara more than two years after the Saudi state-sponsored murder of a journalist in Turkey. Saudi authorities reportedly blocked the websites of Turkish Anadolu and TRT on …

A senior Iranian military commander says the Army’s Ground Forces are set to unveil five new healthcare-related achievements that will help with the diagnosis of COVID-19 and prevent the deadly coronavirus from spreading. Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari, commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces, said Tuesday that “two achievements in …

Iran says new cases of coronavirus infections and deaths from the viral outbreak have been declining across most of the country’s 31 provinces. “In six provinces, the trend of coronavirus infections has had an upward movement and in some provinces, including Isfahan, it has not increased or decreased significantly and …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iran has handled the novel coronavirus outbreak better than Europe and the United States, assuring that the country’s stocks of basic commodities are replenished better than ever. “We had a sanctions virus, to which the coronavirus was added, but you did not have the sanctions …

Palestinian health officials have been forced to halt COVID-19 novel coronavirus testing in the Gaza Strip after the area health ministry’s test kit stocks ran dry earlier this week. “Testing at our central laboratory has stopped, after coronavirus test kits completely ran out,” Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Hamas-run …

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has called on Iranians to respect health protocols aimed at containing the new coronavirus as “low-risk” economic activities resumed in most of the country. Rouhani made the plea in a meeting of senior officials in charge of the National Headquarters for Managing and Fighting the Coronavirus …

Yemen has reported its first case of infection with the novel coronavirus in a southern province under the control of Saudi-sponsored militiamen loyal to the country’s former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. This has raised fears of an outbreak in an impoverished country where five years of a bloody campaign …

Syrian forces have thwarted a major attack by Daesh terrorists against the central province of Homs, killing some 22 of the terrorists in fierce clashes. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces backed by Russian airstrikes were battling the Takfiri terrorists to prevent them from entering the …

The Saudi-led coalition, which had declared what it called a “ceasefire” in its devastating war against Yemen a few hours ago, targeted several Yemeni positions shortly after the announcement. On Wednesday night, the coalition claimed it was halting military operations in Yemen in support of UN efforts to end its …

Iranian authorities have called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to accelerate processing Tehran’s request for an emergency loan which requires fighting a pandemic. The governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati said on Thursday that the IMF is expected to consider Iran’s request for a $5 …

Egypt will extend a nationwide night-time curfew by 15 days until April 23 to counter the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Wednesday. Airports will also stay closed until the end of the month, he said in a televised news conference, adding that the curfew would …