Politicians urge government to act as EU states are accused of abandoning boats in distress
Italian parliamentarians have urged the government to rescue people at sea amid fears that many migrants may have drowned over the weekend as they tried to make their way to Europe from Libya.
EU member states have been accused of abandoning people at sea after failing to respond to information provided by NGOs that four boats, carrying 258 migrants between them, were in distress.
Continue reading...Saudi Arabia and Russia reach truce after collapse in demand caused by coronavirus
The world’s largest oil producers have agreed a historic deal to cut global oil production by almost 10% to protect the market against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of the Opec oil cartel and its allies have agreed to withhold almost 10m barrels a day from next month after the outbreak of Covid-19 wiped out demand for fossil fuels and triggered a collapse in global oil prices.
Continue reading...Rejection of request from Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz may plunge country into fourth election in just over a year
Israel’s president has turned down a request from Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz for a two-week extension to form a new coalition government.
The announcement by Reuven Rivlin means that Gantz and the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have a midnight deadline on Monday to reach a power-sharing deal. If they fail, the country could be forced into a fourth consecutive election in just over a year.
Continue reading...For the first time, the world’s chemical weapons watchdog has directly accused Syria’s leadership of ordering illegal attacks on its people
There is a temptation, to which some European governments and politicians are prey, to imagine that Syria’s civil war is over. It would, after all, be politically convenient if the millions of refugees languishing in Turkey and Jordan were to go home, rather than serve as a constant reminder of the EU’s chronic fear of migrants.
An end to the war would remove a prime cause of instability in the Levant and eastern Mediterranean region. Russia and Iran would have less excuse to play games of geopolitical chance with civilian lives. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s irascible president, would have less to complain about.
Continue reading...Talks to join forces and end the deadlock have broken down at the last minute, with each side blaming the other
A proposed unity government deal involving Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and opposition leader, Benny Gantz, appears to be in jeopardy as initial progress stalls and a deadline this week looks set to be missed.
The pair – who have battled for more than a year in three inconclusive elections – had both expressed a desire to come to an understanding as the country faces the coronavirus pandemic. Talks to join forces and end the crippling political deadlock appeared to be in the final stages. One power-sharing deal would see them rotate the role of leader over a four-year term.
Continue reading...Court run by Houthi rebels orders release of six other journalists after time served
A court run by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has sentenced four journalists to death after their conviction on spying charges, their defence lawyer has said.
The four were among a group of 10 journalists who were detained by the Iran-backed rebels and accused of “collaborating with the enemy”, in reference to the Saudi-led coalition that has been at war with the Houthis since 2015, Abdel-Majeed Sabra said.
Continue reading...Collapse of economy leaves country unable to cope with prospect of a major outbreak
Kareem Zukari has endured a lot during the nine years of Syria’s war. There have been missiles and bullets, loved ones killed, and the fear of being conscripted into the army or tortured in Bashar al-Assad’s prisons. But no matter how bad things got, there was always food.
“Now there is so much poverty,” the 25-year-old from the Damascus neighbourhood of Barzeh said. “There are families living on $200 [£160] a month, but I don’t call that living. It’s barely managing to eat. And now with the coronavirus some businessmen are capitalising on the panic and raising prices.” He asked that his real name not be used for fear of repercussions.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson leaves intensive care; cases worldwide top 1.6m; UN chief says virus threatens global security
Oman’s capital, Muscat, went under full lockdown this morning as number of confirmed coronavirus cases reach 484 in the sultanate with 27 recorded in last 24 hours, writes Akhtar Mohammad Makoii.
The government announced that the isolation procedure will be implemented until April 22. The plan started 10 am this morning by “activating control and checkpoints”.
The Decision to Lockdown Muscat Governorate
comes into effect.#عمان_تواجه_كورونا pic.twitter.com/F6evI3u2Zv
Singapore has suspended the use of video-conferencing tool Zoom by teachers, its education ministry said on Friday, after “very serious incidents” occurred in the first week of a coronavirus lockdown that has seen schools move to home-based learning, Reuters reports.
One of the incidents involved obscene images appearing on screens and strange men making lewd comments during the streaming of a geography lesson with teenage girls, according to local media reports.
These are very serious incidents. MOE (Ministry of Education) is currently investigating both breaches and will lodge a police report if warranted. As a precautionary measure, our teachers will suspend their use of Zoom until these security issues are ironed out.
Continue reading...Italy extends lockdown; death rate in Spain begins falling again; cases worldwide top 1.6m
Here’s a summary of the most recent news:
The US has approved 661,000 loans to small businesses totalling $168bn (£134bn) under a programme to address the pandemic’s fallout, the White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow says.
A $2.3tn economic stimulus enacted last month allocated $349bn to loans to small businesses hurt by the crisis that can be turned into grants if they meet certain conditions.
Continue reading...Rami Aman and others held for ‘establishing normalisation activities ... via the internet’
Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip have arrested local peace campaigners for treason after they held a Zoom virtual conference with Israeli activists.
Eyad al-Bozom, a spokesperson from the Hamas-run interior ministry, said the prominent Palestinian figure Rami Aman and others had been detained on charges of “establishing normalisation activities with the Israeli occupation via the internet”.
Continue reading...Aid agencies welcome move amid fears virus outbreak could devastate war-torn country
Saudi Arabia has started a two-week unilateral ceasefire in Yemen, in a move designed to show its awareness of the threat the coronavirus poses to a war-torn country with only rudimentary health services.
So far no Covid-19 cases have been reported in the country. However, Saudi Arabia, with which Yemen shares a border, has suffered more than 40 deaths and is projecting many more. Yemen has closed its borders.
Continue reading...Italy’s curve flattening but deaths rise by 610; UK’s PM improves in hospital; virus could push 500m people into poverty
The UK’s housing secretary Robert Jenrick has responded on Twitter to The Guardian’s story about him visiting his parents.
For clarity - my parents asked me to deliver some essentials - including medicines.
They are both self-isolating due to age and my father's medical condition and I respected social distancing rules.https://t.co/XlRujT8S5Y
Egypt reported 139 new cases of coronavirus, bringing its total since the start of the outbreak to 1,699, according to a health ministry statement.
The Arab world’s most populous country also recorded 15 new deaths, raising the total number to 118.
Continue reading...Authorities have announced measures ranging from the draconian to the quixotic
Authorities around the world are preparing to use curfews, roadblocks, travel bans, surveillance technology and threats of fines and arrests to deter people from travelling and congregating over Easter.
Many governments have already announced tighter restrictions and increased police enforcement in an effort to sustain lockdowns during a holiday period traditionally associated with trips and socialising.
Continue reading...Report by UN-aligned body that oversees chemical weapons use is hailed by rights groups
The UN-aligned body that oversees chemical weapons use has for the first time blamed the Syrian regime for using sarin gas on the battlefield in a report hailed by rights groups as a landmark moment with implications for war crimes investigations.
The report, released on Wednesday by the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), accuses the Syrian Air Force of twice using sarin to attack the town of Ltamenah in late March 2017. It also found that regime aircraft had bombed the same town with chlorine gas in the same week.
Continue reading...Scientists predict UK will be worst-hit country in Europe; Trump threatens to stop WHO funding; Global cases pass 1.4 million
Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:
Kenya has reported seven new confirmed cases of coronavirus.
The country’s ministry of health has provided all the information about the latest developments on Twitter.
In the last 24 hours, we have tested a total of 305 samples, out of which seven people have tested positive for the Coronavirus disease. All the seven are Kenyans.#KomeshaCorona pic.twitter.com/nUQJY8nOND
Four of confirmed cases have a history of travel; (1) from Congo, (1) UK and (2) USA.
Five are from Nairobi county, one Mombasa and one Uasin Gishu.#KomeshaCorona
✅With regard to contacts tracing, a total of 2,004 persons have been monitored. Out of these, 1,426 have been discharged and 578 are currently on follow up. To date, we have managed to test 5,278 samples from individuals. #KomeshaCorona pic.twitter.com/eoRg1wHdeP
✅In terms of severity breakdown of the 179 cases, 1 case is under critical care, while the rest- 178- are moderate & mild cases. A patient who was in critical care is moving to the ward today. 2 additional cases have been discharged in the last 24 hours. #KomeshaCorona pic.twitter.com/cLEtYIgCa7
✅Of the 7 people have tested positive for the #COVID-19. All the 7 are Kenyans. 4 of them have a history of travel; 1 from Congo, UK 1 & USA 2. In terms of distribution per their counties of residence, Nairobi has 5, Mombasa 1 & Uasin Gishu 1.#KomeshaCorona pic.twitter.com/FnLrZn3c8Q
Continue reading...Report says ‘government of Syria and/or its allies’ carried out strikes on hospitals and school
A UN investigation has stopped short of directly calling Russia a perpetrator in attacks on hospitals and other humanitarian infrastructure in rebel-held areas of Syria, a move greeted with disappointment from rights groups.
A summary of a 185-page internal report submitted to the UN security council on Monday said that in five of seven cases studied – among them four medical sites, a school and a children’s centre – “the government of Syria and/or its allies had carried out the airstrike”, but it did not explicitly name Russia, Bashar al-Assad’s most important military and political ally.
Continue reading...Comments from Kianoush Jahanpour draw reproach from Chinese ambassador
Iran’s health ministry spokesman has backtracked after he described China’s official figures on the coronavirus outbreak as a “joke”.
Kianoush Jahanpour made the remarks at a press conference and a tweet on Sunday, adding that China had given the impression that coronavirus was like influenza but with fewer deaths.
Continue reading...Watchdog to release first report blaming president for attacks during the conflict
The UN’s chemical weapons watchdog is expected to release its first report explicitly blaming Bashar al-Assad for sarin and chlorine gas attacks on civilians in Syria as efforts to establish accountability for the use of chemical agents in the nine-year-old conflict gain momentum.
Observers anticipate that public and classified versions of a report by a new unit at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will be published on Wednesday, close to the anniversaries of a major chlorine attack on the then rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma that killed at least 85 people in 2018 as well as a deadly sarin attack on Khan Sheikhun in 2017 which killed at least 89. The report is believed to focus on 2017 attacks on the village of al-Lataminah.
Continue reading...Group of former diplomats and ministers says shifting rules on medical trade could save hundreds of thousands of lives
A group of 24 senior diplomats and defence officials, including four former Nato secretary generals, have urged Donald Trump to save “potentially hundreds of thousands of lives” across the Middle East by easing medical and humanitarian sanctions on Iran.
Related: US ignores calls to suspend Venezuela and Iran sanctions amid coronavirus pandemic
Continue reading...Rules enforcement highlights problem of getting message across to minority community
It wasn’t a typical police operation. Two Israeli officers were to go undercover, although not posing as drug dealers or arms traffickers. For this particular assignment, they were to disguise themselves as ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Their mission on Friday was to bust an illegal gathering in a synagogue. People were praying together, a practice that is now against the law in the era of the coronavirus. Once the officers got inside to confirm the crowd, more units barged in and dispersed people.
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