The Times, the Financial Times, BBC News and Sky News report that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been temporarily released from prison in Iran because of the coronavirus outbreak, her husband says. The British-Iranian charity worker will be required to wear an ankle tag and remain within 300m (984ft) of her parents’ home in Tehran. The Telegraph reports that Israel has adopted stringent new measures against the coronavirus that will use mobile phones to track those infected with the illness and enforce quarantine rules, raising privacy concerns.The Associated Press reports that Israel braced for its first fatalities as the number of coronavirus cases spiked by 25% on Wednesday while Iraqis in Baghdad hunkered down as a week-long government-imposed curfew took effect and Iran pressed on with its struggle to control the Mideast’s worst outbreak. Reutersreports that Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that mosques would no longer be open for the customary five daily prayers or Friday congregations, an exceptional move to limit the spread of the coronavirus which has infected 171 people in the kingdom.

The Associated Press reports that Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank surged ahead in 2019, a watchdog group said in a report on Tuesday, maintaining a rapid pace that has drawn strength from the friendly policies of the Trump administration.

The Guardian reports that hospitals and doctors in Yemen have been targeted at least 120 times by the conflict’s warring parties, according to a report that gives the most comprehensive analysis to date of the devastating effect of war on the country’s healthcare system.

The Financial Times reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia continue to dig their heels in over oil prices, as the battle between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin threatens to upend markets and damage economies.

Reuters reports that Iraq’s president named little-known former regional governor Adnan al-Zurfi as prime minister-designate on Tuesday in another bid to overcome months of unrest and deadlock, but powerful Shi’ite blocs quickly lined up to reject his nomination.

The Guardian reports that a five-year time limit on bringing prosecutions against soldiers and veterans who have served abroad – except in “exceptional circumstances” – is to be imposed under legislation introduced by the UK Government.

The Guardian reports that a military tribunal in Beirut has ordered the release of an American citizen accused of running a southern Lebanese prison notorious for torture during Israel’s occupation of the region.

The Times reports that a prominent Saudi Arabian activist who campaigned for her right to drive a car and was tortured and threatened with rape while awaiting trial is due to appear in court today.

In The Independent, Borzou Daragahi asks whether Istanbul’s new mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, can save democracy from the authoritarian right, as Imamoglu seeks to transform the politics of Turkey into a model for democratic reform.

In the Associated Press, Isabel Debre writes that after being ravaged by war for years, Middle Eastern states are facing a ‘new scourge’ in the form of the novel coronavirus.

In The Times, Hannah Lucinda Smith argues Britain cannot ‘ignore Turkey’s war on free speech’, as President Erdogan continues to jail thousands of critics, including a British-educated campaigner.

Yediot Ahronot reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz have begun negotiations to form a unity government, but in the Knesset the two parties have been unable to reach an agreement to form Knesset committees. The most important committee is the Arrangements Committee, which operates while a transitional government is in power. The paper says the Likud are demanding complete parity with the Blue and White party on the committee. While Blue and White argue that as they have a parliamentary majority, the committees should reflect that division of power. Yair Lapid said: “Binyamin Netanyahu and Yuli Edelstein have shut down Israeli democracy. Currently, the only institution that is operating in the country is an unelected transitional government with a Prime Minister who lost the election. Since he doesn’t have a majority in the Knesset—he has shut down the Knesset. Since he was about to stand trial—he shut down the courts. Citizens of Israel, as of March 17, 2020, you no longer live in a democracy.” While Likud MK Miki Zohar responded: “Blue and White is trying once again to break the Knesset’s rules. They are acting brutally and in a manner that is out of touch with reality, as part of their hate campaign against the Prime Minister who is preoccupied from morning till night with the health of the citizens of Israel.”

Channel 12 news examines the use of the Shin Bet security service technology to track infected people. They explain that surveillance data will retroactively trace those infected and identify anyone that was in close contact for more than 10 minutes by tracking their location on their mobile phones. The report stresses that the system will be run by the police who will oversee quarantines, and monitor and enforce those orders. Civil liberties groups are deeply concerned about the measures. Nadav Argaman the head of the Shin Bet said: “This measure is necessary to save lives… I want to emphasise that the Shin Bet will not, in any phase, deal with enforcement or supervision of those required to quarantine.” The measure was approved by the Attorney General who will continue to oversee the use of the technology.”

All the Israeli media report that four senior politicians are now in home quarantine. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri from Shas, Agriculture Minister Tzahi Hanegbi from Likud along with MKs Alon Schuster and Ram Ben Barak from Blue and White. They all attended a meeting with the head of the Merhavim Regional Council who has since been diagnosed with the virus.