JERUSALEM (AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday (July 12) pledged immediate financial aid to Israelis whose livelihoods have been devastated by the coronavirus, as his government faces mounting anger over its pandemic response. Thousands of protesters turned out in Tel Aviv on Saturday to voice frustration at Mr Netanyahu, who won praise for […]

DUBAI (AFP) – An abandoned oil tanker lying off Yemen’s coast with 1.1 million barrels of crude on board is deteriorating badly and could rupture at any time, with disastrous results for Red Sea marine life, UN and other experts warn. The 45-year-old FSO Safer is anchored off the port of Hodeida under the control […]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defends move to reconvert iconic Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected international condemnation over the decision to change the status of Istanbul’s landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque, saying it represented his country’s will to use its “sovereign rights”. In […]

World Food Programme says it needs $737m to avert a famine in the war-torn country. Nearly 10 million people are facing acute food shortages in Yemen and urgent action is needed to avert a famine, the United Nations’s World Food Programme (WFP) has said. The WFP said on Friday it needed $737m to the end […]

TEHERAN (AFP) – Two people died and another three were injured Tuesday (July 7) when an pre-dawn explosion rocked a factory south of Teheran, Iran’s official Irna agency reported, blaming human error. The blast in “a completely industrial zone” of Baqershahr, 23km from the capital, was caused by “workers being negligent whilst filling oxygen tanks”, […]

CAIRO (REUTERS) – Saudi Arabia announced health protocols to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in the 2020 haj season, banning gatherings and meetings between pilgrims, the state news agency said on Monday (July 6). Saudi Arabia decided in June to limit the number of domestic pilgrims attending the haj to around 1,000 to […]

Government changes aimed at creating more flexible bureaucracy to tackle economic challenges as result of COVID-19. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced a broad government restructuring on Sunday for more “agile and swift” decision-making amid the coronavirus pandemic, merging government entities and appointing new economy and industry ministers. The head of Abu Dhabi’s national […]

DUBAI (REUTERS) – The United Arab Emirates announced a broad government restructuring on Sunday (July 5), merging government entities and appointing new economy and industry ministers, and giving it a year to achieve new targets. The head of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC, Sultan al-Jaber, was named the industry and advanced technology minister, and […]

Popular 81-year-old actress was in quarantine after testing positive for the new coronavirus, state media reported. Celebrated Egyptian actress Ragaa El-Gedawy has died in a quarantine hospital, weeks after testing positive for the new coronavirus, state media reported on Sunday. She was 81. “Ragaa al-Geddawy passed away this morning due to COVID-19,” the Egyptian actors’ […]

Move comes as Iran’s civil defence chief threatens to retaliate if proof of a foreign cyberattack is found. Iranian investigators have determined the cause of a fire at the Natanz nuclear plant, a spokesman for Iran’s top security body said on Friday, while declining to immediately release details of the findings over “security reasons”. The […]