Middle East & North Africa

TRIPOLI, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Thursday that the shutdown of oil exports in the country's eastern regions has caused losses of nearly 3.9 billion U.S. dollars so far.

"The forced and illegal restriction of production has resulted in financial losses exceeding 3,893,213,466 USD since January 17, 2020. This means the Libyan economy and financial reserves are getting weaker every day due to the blockade. Total oil production inside Libya is down to 92,731 barrels a day, as of April 1, 2020," the state oil company said in a statement.

TEHRAN, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran will respond severely if the United States does anything to undermine security of Iran, Chief of Staff of Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri said on Thursday.

"If (the U.S.) takes the smallest step against the security of our country, they will be faced with the most severe reaction," Baqeri was quoted as saying by Press TV.

Over the recent days, the U.S. military activities across Iraq and the Gulf have increased, he said.

BNEI BRAK, Israel (AP) — Early this week, the streets of the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak were bustling with shoppers as ultra-Orthodox residents, obeying their religious leaders, ignored pleas to stay home in the face of the coronavirus threat.

By Friday, Bnei Brak had become the country’ worst hot spot and now resembles a ghost town. One expert estimated that nearly 40% of the city’s population might already have been infected.

02 April 2020; MEMO: Philippines Ambassador to Lebanon Bernardita Catalla died early this morning of coronavirus in Beirut, according to local media reports.

Catalla, 62, was being treated in a hospital in Beirut for chronic respiratory problems after she contracted coronavirus.

02 April 2020; MEMO: Turkey’s armed forces in Syria’s north-west province of Idlib have hacked into Syrian army radio frequencies yesterday and issued a warning not to violate the de-escalation zone. Local sources reported the incident to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

02 April 2020; MEMO: Member of the Supreme Political Council, Mohammed Al-Houthi, has extended a new arbitration initiative to the Saudi-led coalition, urging it to “accept the arbitration of 12 countries”.

02 April 2020; MEMO: Israel’s shattered economy is showing further signs of slowing down with unemployment rate hitting 25 per cent due to the coronavirus outbreak. The new figure marks a near eight per cent increase in under a week, taking the number of jobless Israelis to over a million for the first time in the country’s history.

02 April 2020; MEMO: On Wednesday an Algerian court sentenced the former director-general of the Algerian police, Major General Abdelghani Hamel, to 15 years in prison on charges of corruption and illicit enrichment, along with members of his family.

TEHRAN, Apr 2 (NNN-IRNA) – The Iranians, on Wednesday, cancelled Nature Day celebrations, after the authorities advised people to avoid public gatherings over the COVID-19 spread.

People celebrate the 13th day of the Iranian New Year, officially called Nature Day, which falls on the first day of Apr this year.

On Wednesday, the parks and green lodges across the country were closed and the roads leading to these places were quiet.

DUBAI, Apr 2 (NNN-WAM) — Dubai Municipality withdrew six types of hand sanitizers that were non-compliant with the approved specifications, against the backdrop of an intensive inspection campaign, to verify the safety of antimicrobial products, including hand sanitizers circulating in the local market.