Middle East & North Africa

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Jerusalem district court announced on Sunday that it was postponing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial for two months because of restrictions arising from the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Netanyahu was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday to face charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in connection to a series of scandals.

But following the emergency health measures the government enacted restricting the gathering of people in public places, the court announced that it was pushing back the hearing until May 24.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil giant Saudi Aramco said Sunday its net income dropped by $22.9 billion in 2019 to $88.2 billion, a sharp decrease coming as the kingdom stands ready to flood an already-weakened global energy market amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

BEIRUT (AP) — In a world gripped by a pandemic, global unrest and a fast-moving news cycle, it can be difficult to remember that the war in Syria is still happening.

Even before the coronavirus outbreak took over daily lives around the globe, the conflict, which began in early 2011, had largely fallen off the world’s collective radars — reduced to a never-ending fight involving an ever-more complex web of players and refugees that few remember once lived in a country they called home.

BAGHDAD (AP) — At the once bustling hub of the largest anti-government protest movement in Iraq’s modern history, crowds have dwindled, and donation boxes have sprouted up. Loudspeakers resound with calls by activists for funds to keep their hard-fought revolution alive.

The six-month-old movement has faced one setback after another, from the shifting positions of a mercurial Shiite cleric to an apathetic political class and, now, fears over an outbreak of the coronavirus that Iraq’s decrepit health system has struggled to contain, with nearly 93 confirmed cases and nine deaths.

14 Mar 2020; MEMO: The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in Iran rose to 611, state TV reported on Friday, Reuters reports.

Authorities said 97 people died in the last 24 hours, while 1,365 new cases emerged, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 12,729, Iran’s state TV quoted Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour as saying.

A total of 4,339 people have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus, Jahanpour added.

Jerusalem, Mar 14 (PTI) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested Narendra Modi to approve and allow the export of masks and pharmaceutical raw materials to Israel during his telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart this week, according to a media report.

Israel's Channel 13 on Friday reported that Netanyahu made the request after India decided to stop the export of these items to meet its own domestic requirements in view of the rapid spread of coronavirus.

Tehran, Mar 13 (AFP/PTI) Iran on Friday warned US President Donald Trump against taking "dangerous actions" after American forces launched air strikes that they said targeted a pro-Iranian armed group in neighbouring Iraq.

"The United States cannot blame others... for the consequences of its illegal presence in Iraq and the nation's reaction to the assassination and killing of Iraqi commanders and fighters," foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said.

RIYADH, Mar 14 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia will suspend international travel for two weeks from tomorrow, Sunday, in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the safety of Saudis and residents.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said, the ban that starts at 11 am is to be considered an exceptional official holiday for citizens and residents, who will be unable to return to the kingdom due to suspension.

RAMALLAH, Mar 14 (NNN-WAFA) – Spokesman for the Palestinian government, Ibrahim Milhem, said that, the health of the 35 patients of COVID-19 in Palestine, remain in good health, so far.

Speaking at a press conference in Ramallah, the occupied West Bank, Milhem said, in addition to the 35 confirmed cases of COVID-19, another 35 samples are currently under laboratory examination, and whose results will be announced later in the upcoming night.

14 March 2020; AFP: Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement, which has strongly opposed foreign interference in the country's crisis-hit economy, said Friday it could accept Beirut receiving an International Monetary Fund financial rescue package under "reasonable conditions".

"Any help within reasonable conditions, there's no problem with it in principle," the Shiite movement's chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address.