Middle East & North Africa

Ramallah, May 19 (NNN-XINHUA) — Palestinian authorities have decided to relax part of the anti-coronavirus measures that have been been imposed in the West Bank since March 5.

The decision came as seven new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the Palestinian territories on Monday night, according to Health Minister Mai al-Kaila.

Al-Kaila said in a press statement that the number of the COVID-19 cases has reached 567, while 108 are still under medical treatment.

DOHA, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Qatar confirmed 12 cases of COVID-19 at a jail as campaign group Human Rights Watch warned other prisoners could be at risk of contracting the disease.

Two inmates were acutely ill but none had succumbed to the respiratory condition, the Government Communications Office said in a statement which denied there was a widespread outbreak among prisoners.

Human Rights Watch had said in a statement that six non-Qatari detainees “described a deterioration in prison conditions” at Doha’s Central Prison.

BEIRUT, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese shops and businesses re-opened on Monday following a decision by the cabinet to reduce general mobilization measures adopted in fight against COVID-19 given the dire economic conditions prevailing in Lebanon, Elnashra, local independent newspaper, reported.

Clothes shops, restaurants, cafes, beaches, hotels and other retail businesses and companies opened their doors after over a month of closure which caused heavy financial losses.

The economic losses due to COVID-19 outbreak were estimated at 120 million U.S. dollars daily.

ISTANBUL, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday announced a four-day lockdown on May 23-26 in the entire country to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The curfew will comprehend all the 81 provinces, Erdogan said, after attending a cabinet meeting via videoconference from Istanbul.

The lockdown would cover the Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim feast marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The travel restrictions for 15 cities, including Istanbul, were extended for another 15 days, the president also noted.

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli district court on Monday convicted a Jewish extremist of murder in a 2015 arson attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents, a case that had sent shock waves through Israel and helped fuel months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

18 May 2020; MEMO: Saudi’s national debt has increased 1,500% since King Salman came to power in 2015 according to data released by the World Bank.

At the end of 2019, the kingdom’s debt reached $183.7 billion, compared to $11.8 billion in 2014; a rise of over 1,560 per cent, according to data collected by Arabi21.

18 May 2020; MEMO: Libya’s internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has captured a strategic airbase from the rival forces of Brigadier General Khalifa Haftar today, in its latest strides to repel the offensive on Tripoli.

The Libyan government’s military spokesman Mohamed Qanunu confirmed the capture of the airbase in a Twitter post today.

18 May 2020; MEMO: An Israeli Jewish settler has this morning been found guilty of the fatal arson attack that killed a Palestinian couple and their baby and left their four-year-old son scarred for life.

The arson attack that took place in July 2015 saw Israeli settler Amiram Ben-Uliel set fire to the Dawabsheh family home in the occupied West Bank village of Duma.

18 May 2020; MEMO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented his new unity government to parliament on Sunday, ending more than a year of political deadlock but still facing a trial starting in a week for alleged corruption, Reuters reports.

18 May 2020; MEMO: A confidential United Nations report revealed that the UAE is operating an air bridge to supply weapons to Brigadier General Khalifa Haftar in Libya, violating the UN arms embargo imposed on the oil-rich country, according to US news agency Bloomberg.

The news agency pointed out that a United Nations expert committee tasked with monitoring compliance with the sanctions imposed on Libya had conducted an investigation into 37 flights.