MIDDLE EAST

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UAE launches online weddings amid coronavirus controls

7:36 pm April 12, 2020

Dubai: The United Arab Emirates has launched an online marriage service that allows couples to wed amid restrictions on movement and interaction imposed to counter the deadly coronavirus. The UAE has taken strict measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 respiratory disease, which has claimed the lives of well over 100,000 people worldwide. The […]

Israeli defense chief says West Bank annexation 'will wait'

Israel tightens quarantine in Jerusalem to halt virus spread

7:30 pm April 12, 2020

Jerusalem: The Israeli government approved a tight quarantine of several areas of Jerusalem on Sunday, including the historic Old City, in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the city’s most susceptible neighborhoods. A ministerial committee gave approved the shutting down of movement in and out of several predominantly ultra-Orthodox areas of […]

Muted Easter Sunday at Jerusalem’s Church of Holy Sepulchre

4:21 pm April 12, 2020

Jerusalem: A handful of priests celebrated Easter on Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and resurrected. In the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City, the church — which had not been closed over Easter for at least a century — has been shuttered to […]

UAE ready to fly stranded Indians if they test negative for coronavirus: Envoy

4:10 pm April 12, 2020

Dubai: The UAE has offered to fly stranded Indians and citizens of other countries, who wish to be repatriated, if they test negative for COVID-19, the country’s envoy to India told a Gulf daily. The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) had sent out a note verbale in this regard to all […]

Iran begins lifting restrictions after brief virus lockdown

7:33 pm April 11, 2020

Tehran: Iran began reopening government offices Saturday after a brief nationwide lockdown to help contain the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, which has killed more than 4,300 people in the country. Authorities had ordered most government agencies and all non-essential businesses to remain closed for a week after the Nowruz holiday ended on […]