Media Summary
Iran dismisses threats of US arms embargo as ‘illegitimate’
The Financial Times and The Independent report that opposition parties in Egypt have called for an investigation into the death of a young filmmaker in detention, who was jailed for two years without trial for directing a music video that mocked President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The Financial Times reports that a public fight between Lebanon’s new prime minister and its once untouchable central bank governor is jeopardising the state’s efforts to secure badly needed international financial support, as the country grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades. The Associated Press reports that Lebanon’s restaurants can open at 30 per cent capacity during the day, although many say they will not given the costs associated with re-opening.
All the Israeli media report on the steep drop in the number of new coronavirus cases. Kan Radio News reports this morning that there were only 29 new confirmed cases in Israel yesterday, the smallest number since the start of March. The number of people currently infected is 6,200, of whom 94 are in serious condition, of whom 76 patients are on ventilators. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, 16,200 have been infected, and nearly 10,000 have recovered. The number of people who have died of the coronavirus is 232.
Haaretz reports that schools reopened yesterday in grades one through three, and today this will be expanded to many other cities, including Tel Aviv. In Haifa, schools will reopen tomorrow. Israel’s Education Ministry said that 60 per cent of students were present at school on Sunday, and Education Minister Rafi Peretz said that 80 per cent of the schools had been opened. However, the report notes the official data only includes public Jewish elementary schools and shows that 23 per cent of first-through-third graders and students in 11th and 12th grade attended school, whilst only half of the country’s elementary schools opened, and only a few of the high schools were active.
Yediot Ahronoth reports that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) detained five Sudanese citizens on Sunday on the Israeli-Lebanese border suspected of trying to infiltrate Israel. Israeli media said the five were job seekers who were returned to Lebanon in coordination with the UN. A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said they are looking into the case with the parties without elaborating. The infiltration attempt comes after a tense few weeks on the border between the IDF and Hezbollah. Last month, foreign media reports claimed an Israeli drone fired two missiles near an SUV carrying Hezbollah members in Syria, close to the border with Lebanon. A few days later, Hezbollah broke the security fence along the border at three separate places.