The Higher Defense Council on Friday recommended a five-phase plan to reopen the country and end the coronavirus lockdown. The first phase would begin on April 27, the second on May 4, the third on May 11, the fourth on May 25 and the fifth on June 8, the Council ...

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday the coronavirus could give some countries an excuse to adopt repressive measures for reasons unrelated to the pandemic as he warned that the outbreak risks becoming a human rights crisis. Guterres released a U.N. report highlighting how human rights should guide the response ...

Euro zone business activity hit another record low during April in another sign that the coronavirus pandemic is causing severe economic damage across the region. The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index, which measures both the services industry and manufacturing, dropped to 13.5 in April, according to the preliminary data. In March, the ...

Minister of Public Health, Hamad Hassan, welcomed at his office this Thursday representatives of international organizations operating in Lebanon, among whom the UNRWA’S Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Claudio Cordone, World Health Organization representative in Lebanon, Iman Shankiti, and UNHCR representative, Mireille Girard. Minister Hassan indicated that “it was agreed to ...

On Feb. 21, Lebanon reported its first coronavirus infection. Eight days later, the schools were closed, followed quickly by bars, restaurants and the airport. By the time the government declared a total lockdown on March 15, the entire country had already shut down, in a state of self-induced panic as ...

Once thought a relatively straightforward respiratory virus, covid-19 is proving to be much more frightening Craig Coopersmith was up early that morning as usual and typed his daily inquiry into his phone. “Good morning, Team Covid,” he wrote, asking for updates from the ICU team leaders working across 10 hospitals ...

Oil jumped 40% at the high on Wednesday, reversing steep losses after a volatile overnight trading session which saw international benchmark Brent crude fall to its lowest level in more than 20 years. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, rose $2.95, or 25.5%, to trade at $14.52 per barrel. Earlier ...

The World Health Organization warned world leaders Wednesday that they will need to manage around the coronavirus for the foreseeable future as cases level off or decline in some countries, while peaking in others and resurging in areas where the Covid-19 pandemic appeared to be under control. “Make no mistake, ...

North Korean state media on Wednesday made no mention of leader Kim Jong Un’s health or whereabouts, a day after intense international speculation over his health was sparked by media reports he was gravely ill after a cardiovascular procedure. North Korean media presented a business as usual image, carrying routine ...

US say they fear long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads Iran claimed on Wednesday that it had successfully launched its first-ever military satellite into orbit in a move that experts described as a significant but not game-changing achievement. Iran’s Revolutionary ...