News from the Middle East and North Africa | The Arab Weekly

News & Analysis

Troops of the Malian army patrol the ancient town of Djenne in central Mali. (AFP)

Extremists see global chaos from virus as an opportunity

UAE

Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is illuminated during festivities marking the one-year countdown to Expo 2020, on October 20, 2019. (AFP)

Expo 2020 Dubai likely postponed due to coronavirus

Mohammed Alkhereiji

News & Analysis

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a news conference at the State Department, in Washington, March 31. (Reuters)

US accuses Tehran of being ‘directly involved’ in the killing of Iranian dissident in Turkey

Iraq

On Suleimani’s foot steps. A 2017 file photo shows General Esmail Ghaani speaking in Tehran, Iran.(AP)

New Quds Force chief continues Suleimani’s legacy of interference in Iraqi affairs

Economy

A 2019 file picture shows Bank Al-Maghrib Governor Abdellatif Jouahri speaking during a news conference in Rabat. (Reuters)

Morocco adopts measures to contain economic fallout of COVID-19

Mohamed al-Alawi

Turkey

A Turkish military convoy drives on the highway, between Bab al-Hawa crossing on the border with Turkey and the rebel-held town of Ariha, in the Syrian province of Idlib. (AFP)

Former top diplomat urges Turkey to use ‘corona diplomacy’ to repair ties with Syria

Latest Issue

Issue: 250 | Sun, March 29, 2020

Top Stories

Lockdowns do not come easy but Arab governments have few options

Saudi-led G20 summit marks global turning point in tackling pandemic fallout

Egypt’s terror fight not over after killing ISIS emir

After oil price crash, Russia looks for OPEC deal

Mohammed Alkhereiji

Opinion

China, Russia push for lifting of sanctions on Syria over pandemic

No substitute for cooperation in confronting the pandemic

Religion should help contain the virus not spread it

Is Lebanon’s cabinet on the verge of a deadlock?

No evidence pandemic is boosting xenophobia in Europe

Rashmee Roshan Lall

It is already the day after in Paris suburbs

Amer Fakhoury, Austin Tice and the Iranian-Syrian hostage game

Editorial

The socio-economic cost of the pandemic

MENA

A girl and a boy use a giant interactive display screen at the Qatar National Library in the capital Doha on May 19, 2019. (AFP)

Dealing with school disruptions in MENA

Egypt

Public health crisis. Egyptian Ministry of Health in Cairo. (REUTERS)

Poor working conditions hamper Egypt’s medical professionals’ effort to stop spread of virus

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh speaks during a press conference about new procedures for the coronavirus. (dpa)

Israeli-Palestinian pandemic cooperation tested by rising cases

Top Stories

A man passes in front of a billboard displays tips to help people know how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (AP)

Lebanese Health Minister says coronavirus outbreak under control but "risky"

UAE

A medical professional carries out a swab test for the COVID-19 virus at a drive-thru testing centre in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on March 30. (Reuters)

UAE fights coronavirus with largest detection lab outside China

News & Analysis

A file picture of a US Patriot missile system at a Turkish military base in Gaziantep, Turkey. (AFP)

Tehran assails US deployment of Patriot missiles in Iraq, claims to speak for Baghdad

Tunisia

Needy Tunisian citizens gather with their identification cards in Mnihla district outside of Tunis on March 30, clamouring for financial aid promised by the government. (AFP)

Tunisia extends nationwide lockdown against coronavirus outbreak, faces social unrest risk

Yemen

Threa al Montaser (Twitter)

Yemeni-American poet Threa Almontaser wins Walt Whitman Award

Algeria

An Algerian protester marches with a sign calling to set free politician Karim Tabbou during a demonstration against the ruling class in the capital Algiers, last September. (AFP)

Algeria extends jailing of protest figure, prompts outcry

News & Analysis

A 2017 file picture shows a Salafist protester talking to a police officer during a demonstration against the ban on the sale and manufacturing of the burqa in Rabat. (Reuters)

Moroccans reject Salafists’ ‘irresponsible’ attempt at assailing closure of mosques

Top Stories

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud (L) and Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak at the beginning of an OPEC+ meeting in Vienna, last December. (Reuters)

After oil price crash, Russia looks for OPEC deal

Mohammed Alkhereiji

News & Analysis

Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh speaks during a news conference in Carthage, last February. (AFP)

Tunisia’s leaders jostle for power amid coronavirus crisis

Top Stories

Egyptian military forces in North Sinai, Egypt. (Reuters)

Egypt’s terror fight not over after killing ISIS emir

Travel

A general view of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum in Abu Dhabi.(Reuters)

UAE museums offer virtual voyages in history and civilisation of Arabian Peninsula

Society

A scene from the Grand Night ballet show aired on the Egyptian Ministry of Culture Youtube channel. (Ahmed Megahid)

Egypt cultural production goes online to circumvent virus constraints

Society

A Tunisian woman wearing a protective face mask walks through an alley in the souk of the Medina, on the first day of a general confinement imposed by the authorities in order to stem the spread of the novel cononavirus. (AFP)

My days of COVID-19 quarantine in Tunis

Economy

A man wearing a protective face mask shops at Exception Market before the start of night-time curfew to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19 in Cairo, Egypt March 26. (REUTERS)

COVID-19 comes with a high cost to Egyptian economy

News & Analysis

A fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces gives bread to children near the village of Baghouz, Deir ez-Zor province, Syria. (Reuters)

Radicalisation threatens Syria’s children of war

Simon Speakman Cordall

Society

A protester outside a tent in Tahrir Square in Baghdad. (Oumayma Omar)

COVID-19 empties Iraq’s protest squares as government imposes lockdown, travel bans