WHO: Coronavirus patients most infectious when they first feel unwell
June 9th, 20200 GENEVA (Reuters) — Studies show people with the coronavirus are most infectious just at the point when they first begin to feel unwell, World Health Organization (WHO) experts said on Tuesday. This feature has made it so hard to control the spread of the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease,...
‘Wolf warrior diplomacy’: Israel’s China strategy in peril
June 6th, 20200 Israel’s balancing act that allowed it to reap America’s unconditional and, often, blind support, while slowly benefiting from China’s growing economic influence and political prestige, is already floundering. Thanks to the heated cold war between the U.S. and Chinese economic superpowers, the Israeli strategy of playing both...
WHO says governments should prepare for new infections that may follow reopening of the economy
May 12th, 20200 GENEVA — The World Health Organization’s Tedros Adhanom said on Monday that governments considering reopening their economies should have a plan to deal with a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. Adhanom, the director-general of the WHO, said that those countries gearing up to ease economic restrictions should consider whether the...
Ilhan Omar signs Israeli lobby AIPAC’s letter pushing for Iran arms embargo
May 6th, 20201 WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a disappointing and surprising move, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has signed her name to a letter backed by the Israeli lobby AIPAC that demands an extension of the U.N.’s arms embargo on Iran. Omar has joined 391 members of the House in signing the letter, which effectively bolsters the Trump...
Lebanon legalizes cannabis farming for medicinal use in bid to help ailing economy
May 2nd, 20202 BEIRUT — The Lebanese parliament has legalized cannabis farming for medicinal use, a potentially lucrative export for an economy in dire need of foreign currency as it struggles through a paralyzing financial crisis. Cannabis has consistently been farmed openly in the fertile Bekaa Valley, although growing it has long been illegal...
A Machiavellian fiasco: How ‘centrist’ Gantz resurrected Netanyahu, Israel’s right
April 22nd, 20200 It was intended to be a Machiavellian move, but the decision by Benny Gantz, leader of Israel’s Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) coalition, to join a Benjamin Netanyahu-led government is likely to destabilize the political fabric of Israeli society for years to come. In a surprising move, Gantz has entered into precarious political...
Trump says he will suspend all immigration into U.S. over coronavirus
April 21st, 20200 WASHINGTON,D.C. - President Trump said on Monday he will suspend all immigration into the United States temporarily through an executive order in response to the coronavirus outbreak and to protect U.S. jobs. The move, which Trump announced on Twitter, effectively achieves one of his long-term policy goals of curbing immigration,...
What you can do to take action for the health of Palestinians during COVID-19
April 14th, 20202 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The following is a message from Emgage Action: The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global health emergency, especially for vulnerable populations like the Palestinians. Cases are on the rise in the entire region and people on the ground have little to no resources to combat the outbreak. The U.S....
Under emergency law, Jordan seals capital to contain coronavirus
March 20th, 20200 AMMAN — Jordan’s army sealed off the capital from the rest of the country on Thursday as the country put its 10 million people on lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus, witnesses and officials said. Army checkpoints on main entrances to the sprawling capital of more than 3 million inhabitants began imposing a ban that...
Egypt to shut all cafes, malls, sports clubs in evenings until March 31
March 20th, 20200 CAIRO — Egypt said on Thursday it would shut all cafes, shopping malls, sports clubs and nightclubs from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. local time every night until March 31, strengthening measures introduced to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The government said supermarkets, pharmacies, bakeries and neighborhood corner stores were exempt...
Study: Coronavirus can persist in air for hours and on surfaces for days
March 20th, 20200 The highly contagious novel coronavirus that has exploded into a global pandemic can remain viable and infectious in droplets in the air for hours and on surfaces up to days, according to a new study that should offer guidance to help people avoid contracting the respiratory illness called COVID-19. Scientists from the National...
WHO: Mideast states must share more information on coronavirus cases
March 20th, 20200 CAIRO/GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that Middle East states need urgently to offer more information about coronavirus cases to help bolster the fight against the disease across the region. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said the regional approach to fighting...
Lebanese American Amer Fakhoury, accused of overseeing torture in south Lebanon, released from Beirut prison
March 20th, 20200 WASHINGTON/BEIRUT — Lebanese American Amer Fakhoury, who was detained in Lebanon in September, has been released and is on his way back to the U.S., President Trump said on Thursday. Fakhoury, a 57-year-old New Hampshire resident, was accused of overseeing the torture of Lebanese prisoners at a prison in south Lebanon in the 1980s...
Saudi Arabia suspends prayers in the arenas outside Mecca, Medina holy mosques
March 19th, 20200 RIYADH — On Thursday, Saudi Arabia suspended Muslims from conducting their five daily prayers and the weekly Friday prayer in the overflow area just outside the walls of the two holy mosques in Mecca and Medina to limit the spread of the coronavirus. On Tuesday, the Kingdom said it will no longer allow Muslims to conduct prayers...
France closes shops, restaurants, tells residents to stay home
March 14th, 20200 PARIS - France will shut shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities from Sunday with its 67 million people told to stay home to help fight the rapid acceleration of the coronavirus in a country where the number of cases has doubled in 72 hours. The government had no other option, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told a news......
What you need to know about coronavirus right now
March 9th, 20200 Here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus: The spread in figures The number of people infected with the coronavirus topped 107,000 globally, according to a Reuters tally of government announcements. Mainland China, outside the epicenter of Hubei province, reported no new locally transmitted cases for the second straight...
Saudi’s suspend pilgrimages, Coronavirus widespread in Iran
March 4th, 20200 RIYADH - Saudi Arabia has extended its suspension of travel to the holy sites of Mecca and Medina from foreigners to Saudi citizens and residents, after it reported its first case of the novel coronavirus in an individual who failed to disclose he had travelled to Iran before entering the country. “Based on the recommendations of......
Scientists have successfully cured diabetes in mice for the first time, giving hope to millions worldwide
February 29th, 20200 So far the disease, which is thought to affect over 400 million people worldwide, is understood to be incurable. But researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have just proved that it is possible to cure diabetes in mice in just a couple of weeks. IFL Science’s Alfredo Carpineti reports that the...
As coronavirus spreads to the Middle East, governments struggle to contain the outbreak
February 28th, 20200 DUBAI - Coronavirus cases have now been confirmed in at least nine countries in the Middle East, with the largest number of deaths in Iran, and six countries reporting first infections this past week. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the first country in the Middle East to report a confirmed case of the virus, officially known as...
Former long-time Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak dies in Cairo
February 25th, 20200 CAIRO - Egypt’s state-run television announced on Tuesday that the country’s former leader and autocrat Hosni Mubarak died at the age of 91. After a presidency that spanned three decades, long-time U.S. ally Mubarak was ousted by mass popular protests as part of the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011. Egypt’s State TV said Mubarak...
‘The Donald Trump I know’: Abbas’ U.N. speech and the breakdown of Palestinian politics
February 25th, 20200 A precious moment has been squandered, as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had the chance to right a historical wrong by reinstating Palestinian national priorities at the United Nations Security Council on February 11, through a political discourse that is completely independent from Washington and its allies. For a long......
Iraq’s PM Allawi seeks vote of confidence for new cabinet
February 21st, 20200 BAGHDAD — Iraq’s newly appointed Prime Minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi said on Wednesday that he has picked a cabinet of political independents and has called on the country’s parliament to hold an extraordinary session next week to give it its vote of confidence. Speaking to the nation in a televised speech, Allawi said that...
Syrian forces consolidate control of Aleppo, Russia and Turkey get pulled in to conflict
February 21st, 20200 ALEPPO — The Syrian army said on Monday it had taken full control of dozens of towns in Aleppo’s northwestern countryside and it would press on with its campaign to wipe out militant groups “wherever they are found." The advances were made after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces drove insurgents from the M5 highway linking......
Netanyahu’s political campaign in trouble as corruption trial looms
February 21st, 20200 TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will spend the last days of his election campaign under the shadow of serious and damaging corruption charges, as Israeli courts announced Tuesday that his criminal trial will begin March 17. Netanyahu is expected to attend the initial hearing just two weeks after the March 2...
Senate rebukes Trump, votes to limit Iran war making ability
February 20th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Thursday to limit President Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran, rebuking him weeks after a strike against an Iranian military commander and Tehran’s retaliation raised fears of broader regional conflict. Eight of Trump’s fellow Republicans joined Democrats to pass......
