Middle East countries continue expat evacuations as global coronavirus death toll passes 70,000

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Medical personnel speak to a Lebanese national, residing in Saudi Arabia, in the lobby of a hotel, where they will be housed, in the capital Beirut. (AFP)
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Every number mentioned is a human life and every victim leaves behind them people who have to grieve in a complete lockdown. (File/Enrique Ortiz/AFP)
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Updated 08 April 2020
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Middle East countries continue expat evacuations as global coronavirus death toll passes 70,000

DUBAI: Governments across the Middle East began further expat repatriations as the coronavirus death toll reached 69,444 on Monday.
On Sunday a chartered Emirates Airline plane flew out 345 British citizens who were unable to return home after the closure of UAE airports to international traffic on March 24.
Abu Dhabi also sent a second plane carrying stranded Lebanese expats abroad due to the virus on Sunday afternoon. Lebanese Minister of Tourism and Social Affairs, Ramzi Moucharafieh, said those who returned will be quarantined in the Lancaster hotels chain in Beirut’s Raouche area.

Monday, April 6 (All times in GMT)

20:00 - Egypt announces 149 new cases, 7 more deaths and 259 recoveries from the coronavirus.

19:30 - in Rome reports on how as the national lockdown in Italy due to the coronavirus pandemic is set to go on at least until Easter, if not longer, Italians are no longer singing on their balconies. READ HIS FULL ACCOUNT HERE.

19:00 - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been moved to the intensive care unit of a London hospital after his coronavirus symptoms worsened. FULL STORY HERE.

16:54 - Turkey’s death toll from the new coronavirus rose by 75 to total 649, and new confirmed cases rose by 3,148 to bring the country’s total to 30,217, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.
He said 21,400 tests for the COVID-19 disease had been performed in Turkey in the last 24 hours.

16:20 - Kuwait placed a full lockdown on two areas and extended its partial curfew by two hours to run from 5 pm (1400 GMT) till 6 am effective Monday until further notice, a statement from the cabinet said.

It also extended a previously enacted suspension of work for all ministries and government institutions by two weeks until April 26 as precautionary measure against coronavirus.

16:25 - Qatar reports 228 new coronavirus cases, with 131 cases recovered.

16:20 - Deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy rose by 636 on Monday, more than 100 higher than the previous daily tally of 525, the Civil Protection Agency said, but the number of new cases fell sharply.

The total death toll since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21 came to 16,523, the highest in the world.

16:00 - 103 more coronavirus cases were recorded in Algeria on Monday, meaning the total in the country has risen to 1,423.

15:35 - More than 5,000 people who tested positive for coronavirus have now died in Britain, official figures showed Monday, with a latest daily toll of 439.

“As of 5pm on 5 April, of those hospitalized in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus 5,373 have died,” the health ministry said in a tweet.

15:00 - German chancellor Angela Merkel says the European Union faces its biggest test since its inception and any possible easing of restrictions will be done step by step to not overwhelm the health system.

She also said Europe must develop “self-sufficiency” in producing masks “as something that we learn out of this pandemic” of COVID-19.

14:15 - The mother of Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has died after contracting the coronavirus, according to a club tweet on Monday afternoon. FULL STORY.

13:40 - 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 Dubai in a lockdown.

13:25 – The UAE reported 277 new cases of coronavirus, 23 recoveries and one death, bringing the country’s tallies to 2,076 total cases, 167 recoveries and 11 deaths.

13:15 - England’s hospital death toll from the coronavirus rose by 403 to 4,897, the National Health Service said.

The health service said 15 of the 403 patients had no known underlying health conditions.

12:15 - Riot police wielding batons used force to break up a protest by Pakistani doctors and medical staff against a lack of gear to protect against coronavirus, arresting dozens of medics who say the government has failed to deliver promised supplies. Reuters journalists at the scene, in the southwestern city of Quetta, saw hundreds of doctors and paramedics, some in face masks and scrubs, chanting their demands. Some were dragged off by riot police in helmets, armed with rifles and batons.

10:25 – Lebanon confirmed 14 new coronavirus cases and one death, bringing totals to 541 infected, and 19 fatalities.

10:05 – Iran’s total number of coronavirus infections topped 60,500 and the death toll from the outbreak reached 3,739, the country’s health ministry said.

09:40 – Spain’s coronavirus cases rose to 135,032 from 130,759 on Sunday, while the death toll has reached to 13,055 from 12,418 a day earlier.

09:30 – Iraqi Kurdistan has reported 41 new coronavirus cases in Erbil.

09:15 – The Kuwait health ministry confirmed109 new cases of coronavirus, increasing the total to 665.




Above, a police man wearing a mask stands by flight information board at the Kuwait International Airport Terminal 4 on April 3, 2020. (AFP)

08:50 – Indonesia confirmed 218 new coronavirus cases, the biggest daily jump since the first cases were announced a month ago, taking the total number of infections to 2,491, a Health Ministry official said.

08:45 – Bahrain said that 19 people were released from quarantine.

08:40 – The Philippine health ministry reported 11 new coronavirus deaths, bringing total to 163, and 414 new coronavirus infections, bringing total to 3,660.

08:20 – Palestine said there were nine new coronavirus infections, with a total of 246.

07:45 – Saudi state TV reported that 176 Americans have left Dammam for Washington.

07:45 – Russia’s coronavirus case tally has risen to 6,343 in the past 24 hours, a record daily increase of 954, the country’s crisis response center said..

07:35 – Morocco recorded 92 new coronavirus infections, total has risen to 1,113 cases.

07:10 – Israel reported an increase in COVID-19 deaths, bringing toll to 51. There are currently 8,611 confirmed infections in the country.

07:05 – Singapore announced S$5.1 billion ($3.55 billion) in additional economic spending such as wage support, waiver of levies and one-off payments to combat the coronavirus pandemic. READ THE STORY

07:05 – Saudi Arabia has confirmed 61 new cases of coronaviurs, increasing toll to 2,463.




Above, the old town of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah looks deserted after a lockdown was implmented to stem the spread of coronavirus. (AFP)

06:30 – The Omani Ministry of Health reported 33 new cases of coronavirus infections, bringing the total number in the country to 331. 

06:00 - The chairman of the property developer Emaar, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, told staff he will take a 100% pay cut during the economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s part of what he called in an email to all 6,600 employees, a “new company-wide salary structure,” that will see most take a cut of varying amounts, until further notice.

04:55 – Thailand reported 51 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, according to a spokesman for the government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

00:15 – Morocco has recorded 31 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 1,021 with 70 deaths and 76 recoveries.

Sunday, April 5 (All times in GMT)

20:35 – Tunisia has confirmed 21 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 574.

19:40 – Saudi Arabia has detected 17 new coronavirus cases, increasing the total to 2,402 with 488 recoveries.

18:35 – Egypt has announced 103 new coronavirus cases, seven deaths and six recoveries. The country’s totals are currently at 1,173 infections, 247 recoveries and 78 deaths.

18:30 – The UAE government is freeing up more cash to boost the local economy after it cut by half the reserve requirement for demand deposits, giving local lenders a wider latitude in managing their money amid the coronavirus pandemic.

18:25 – Jordan has confirmed 21 new COVID-19 cases and 36 recoveries, increasing the total to 345 infected persons and 110 recovered.

17:25 – The Lebanese Embassy in Paris on Sunday said it was providing monetary support to students stuck in France after the country imposed a lockdown on March 17 curb the spread of coronavirus.


Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

Updated 15 November 2024
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Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”


Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Updated 15 November 2024
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Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

  • Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force. 

The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.” 

Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area. 

Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family. 

Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.  

In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.” 


Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Updated 14 November 2024
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Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

  • Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack

CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.


‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

Updated 14 November 2024
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‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

  • Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
  • Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017

High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.

Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.

On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.

“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul. 

“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.

She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.

“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.

The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din. 

After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.


US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

Updated 14 November 2024
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US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

  • The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.