Brazil’s President Bolsonaro tests positive for coronavirus
July 7th, 20200 SAO PAULO (REUTERS) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday he tested positive for the novel coronavirus, adding in a television interview that he was in good health despite running a fever. The right-wing populist, who has played down the severity of the virus, which he has called a “little flu”, took the test on...
Vatican summons U.S., Israeli envoys over West Bank annexation moves
July 4th, 20200 ROME/LONDON/PARIS – The Vatican, in a highly unusual move, summoned both the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to express the Holy See’s concern about Israel’s moves to extend its sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank. A Vatican statement on Wednesday said meetings with Cardinal Pietro...
Coronavirus cases are rising in 40 of 50 U.S. states
July 3rd, 20200 FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA – The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. climbed to an all-time high of more than 50,000 per day on Thursday, with the infection curve rising in 40 out of 50 states in a reversal that has largely spared only the Northeast. In yet another alarming indicator, 36 states are seeing a rise in the...
Tearing down the idols of colonialism: Why Tunisia, Africa must demand French apology
July 1st, 20200 The visit by newly-elected Tunisian President Kais Saied to France on June 22 was intended to discuss bilateral relations, trade, etc. But it was also a missed opportunity, where Tunisia could have formally demanded an apology from France for the decades of French colonialism, which has shattered the social and political fabric of this...
Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez and others sign letter amid calls on Israel to cease annexation of West Bank
June 29th, 20203 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and eleven others have signed on to a letter expressing deep concerns over the Israeli government’s plans to annex occupied Palestinian territory. Former presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has also signed on to the...
PA political circus: Why Abbas must hand the keys over to the PLO
June 29th, 20200 The painful truth is that the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas has already ceased to exist as a political body that holds much sway or relevance, either to the Palestinian people or to Abbas’ former benefactors, namely the Israeli and the American governments. So, when the Palestinian Authority prime minister,...
Lebanon’s president sees ‘civil war’ climate as critics boycott meeting
June 28th, 20200 BEIRUT — President Michel Aoun warned on Thursday of an “atmosphere of civil war” during recent unrest in Lebanon and what he described as attempts to stir up sectarian tensions as a financial crisis sweeps the country. Aoun, a Maronite Christian, was speaking at a meeting that he said was called to protect civil peace, but...
U.N. chief, European and U.S. lawmakers call on Israel to ditch West Bank annexation plan
June 28th, 20200 NEW YORK — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel on Wednesday to abandon plans to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank, warning this threatened prospects for peace with the Palestinians. “If implemented, annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law, grievously harm the...
China to run human coronavirus vaccine trial in UAE
June 23rd, 20200 BEIJING (REUTERS) — The China National Biotec Group (CNBG) has won approval to run a large-scale “Phase Three” clinical trial of its novel coronavirus vaccine candidate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the company said on Tuesday. China is seeking to trial potential vaccines overseas because of a lack of new patients at...
Lebanon adviser in IMF talks quits, citing ‘no genuine will’ for reforms
June 19th, 20200 BEIRUT — A financial adviser working with Lebanon’s government in talks with the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that he had resigned, citing “no genuine will” to reform and attempts to dismiss the size of losses in the financial system. Lebanon began IMF talks in May, aiming to secure aid to steer its way out of...
U.S. hits Syria with toughest sanctions yet to push Assad to end war
June 17th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. imposed its toughest sanctions ever on Wednesday, targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to choke off revenue for his government in a bid to force it back to U.N.-led negotiations and broker an end to the country’s nearly decade-long war. The fresh round of...
Saudi-led coalition no longer on U.N. blacklist for killing children in Yemen
June 15th, 20200 NEW YORK — On Monday U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres removed a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition from a U.N. blacklist. The coalition was condemned and was on the list for several years for killing and injuring children in Yemen. Reuters reports that Guterres wrote in his annual report to the U.N. Security Council on...
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......
