The Shanghai Composite index fell nearly 9% before recovering slightly, while commodity prices also slumped. Manufacturing, materials, and consumer goods companies are among the hardest hit, as healthcare shares soar. The fall came despite China’s central bank announcing new measures to ease the impact of the outbreak. The People’s Bank ... Read More »
Japan sends warship to Gulf to protect oil tankers as US-Iran tensions simmer
A Japanese warship has departed for the Middle East to ensure the safety of the country’s oil tankers in waters where tensions between the US and Iran are high The destroyer Takanami with some 200 sailors left Japan’s main naval base in Yokosuka, near Tokyo. Its main task is primarily to ... Read More »
State of emergency declared as bushfire threatens Australian capital
Australian officials declared a state of emergency for the capital city of Canberra and surrounding regions on Friday, as soaring temperatures and strong winds threatened to propel a large bushfire beyond the control of firefighters. Andrew Barr, Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), said the decision to declare ... Read More »
Global fears spread over coronavirus
The World Health Organization has declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, after an emergency meeting on Thursday. The decision came after cases of human-to-human transmissions were confirmed outside China, where the outbreak started. A first such case was confirmed in the United States on ... Read More »
Diab: Several ways out of ongoing crisis
Lebanon’s new prime minister said Wednesday that there were ways out of the economic and financial crisis that the country was facing after he held a number of meetings with ministers and senior World Bank officials. Prime Minister Hassan Diab headed a number of meetings in Beirut Wednesday where he ... Read More »
Brexit: MEPs ratify UK withdrawal agreement
Britain’s departure from the EU on 31 January was set in stone in a historic moment for the nation as MEPs in Brussels ratified the withdrawal agreement before breaking out in a rendition of Auld Lang Syne. As the president of the European parliament, David Sassoli, announced the result of ... Read More »
Minister of Information discusses means to revamp Ministry with heads of divisions
Discussions featured high on a plan to revitalize the ministry’s work in its different departments, as well as on the importance of cooperation and positive interaction so as to bolster media creativity in line with future challenges — most particularly in the field of digital media. The meeting also reviewed ... Read More »
Iran missile strike: 50 US troops now diagnosed with brain injuries
The Pentagon said on Tuesday 50 US service members were now diagnosed with traumatic brain injury after missile strikes by Iran on a base in Iraq earlier this month, 16 more than the military had previously announced. Donald Trump and other top officials initially said Iran’s 8 January attack had ... Read More »
‘Slap of the century’: Palestinian leaders vehemently reject Trump’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan
The Palestinian leadership has roundly rejected Donald Trump’s long-awaited peace plan for the Middle East calling it “the slap of the century”. The deal, released with a flourish on Tuesday, is widely seen to meet Israel’s key demands in the decades-old conflict while creating a Palestinian state with limited control ... Read More »
Iran prepares site for satellite launch that U.S. links to ballistic missiles
Iran is preparing a site for launching a satellite, a government minister said on Monday, highlighting a program the United States says is a cover for ballistic missile development. “Yes, a site is being prepared for placing the Zafar satellite into orbit,” Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad ... Read More »
Lebanese Ministry of Information