MIDDLE EAST

US to hit all of Iran's financial sector with sanctions

Iran lets some Tehran businesses reopen after virus lockdown

3:27 pm April 18, 2020

Tehran: Iran allowed some businesses in the capital and nearby towns to re-open Saturday after weeks of lockdown aimed at containing the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. Iran was slow to respond to the pandemic and held off on imposing widespread restrictions even after other countries in the region with far fewer cases […]

Iran says 89 virus deaths take total to 4,958

9:58 pm April 17, 2020

Tehran: Iran said on Friday 89 more people have died from the novel coronavirus, as the country’s official fatalities remained in double figures for a fourth day. Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told a news conference that the latest deaths brought the overall toll to 4,958. It was the sixth day that the official fatality […]

Tanker's impossible voyage signals new sanction evasion ploy

Saudi says total oil curbs could reach 19.5 mn barrels

10:34 pm April 14, 2020

Riyadh: Oil output cuts by OPEC and its allies, together with pledges from other G20 nations and purchases by strategic reserves, could remove 19.5 million barrels per day from the market, the Saudi energy minister said. US President Donald Trump said Monday that the actual output cuts may be deeper than the headline figure of […]

19 Indians stuck in Dubai airport for 3 weeks desperate to return home

7:15 pm April 13, 2020

Dubai: Nineteen Indians are stuck at the Dubai International Airport for the last 21 days after India announced its COVID-19 lockdown, leaving them tired, homesick and desperate to return home, according to a media report. Most of these stranded persons were in transit when India stopped inbound flights in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the […]

Virus ‘disaster in the making’ in war-torn Syria

3:26 pm April 13, 2020

Paris: As Europe and the United States struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic, experts warn that disaster looms in war-torn Syria, where hospitals are unable to meet existing needs and hygiene conditions are dire. The outbreak has infected more than 1.8 million people and killed more than 112,000 around the world since emerging in China […]