The Financial Times reports that oil prices fell 12 per cent on Sunday after Saudi Arabia and Russia traded barbs over the weekend, casting doubt on their ability to reach a deal to cut oil supply to shore up prices devastated by their month-long price war. Reuters reports the US President Trump said on Sunday he could slap “very substantial tariffs” on oil imports if prices stay low, but does not expect he will need to, since neither Russia nor Saudi Arabia, which are locked in an oil price war, would benefit from continued low prices.

The Guardian reports that calls to seal off ultra-Orthodox areas of Israel have added to coronavirus tensions, as rules enforcement has highlighted the problem of getting message across to minority communities. The Associated Press reports that Israel is scaling back Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem this weekend.

The Financial Times reports that Lebanon’s Hizbollah has vowed to do “battle” against coronavirus, as the paramilitary and political group seeks to burnish its legitimacy by helping the country’s battered economy. The Associated Press reports that a gunmen fatally shot and stabbed a member of the militant Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon and an investigation was launched, Lebanese security officials said Sunday.

The Financial Times reports that the United Arab Emirates’ central bank has doubled its banking stimulus package to Dh256bn ($70bn) as a business sentiment deteriorated in the Gulf’s commercial centre to fight the economic effects of the coronavirus.

Reuters reports the US President Trump said on Sunday he could slap “very substantial tariffs” on oil imports if prices stay low, but does not expect he will need to, since neither Russia nor Saudi Arabia, which are locked in an oil price war, would benefit from continued low prices.

The Times reports that the US is developing a new generation of drones to be the true silent killers by overcoming terrorists’ familiarity with the “buzz” of the present models.

Reuters reports that Yemen’s warring factions have accused each other of attacking an oil pipeline pumping station in the central province of Marib, where clashes have raged for weeks and displaced tens of thousands of civilians.

The Times report that three high-flying City of London lawyers conspired to abuse and torture a “political prisoner” in the Gulf, it has been alleged in the High Court.

The Times reports that dealers are using auction houses in Germany — one of the largest markets for illegally exported Middle Eastern antiquities — to “whitewash” objects for resale around the world, a leading art investigator has said.

The Telegraph reports that US forces have pulled back from the K-1 airbase at Kirkuk to defensible bases in Iraq, as Iranian-backed militias loom whilst Tehran considers whether to escalate regional tensions.

The Associated Press reports that at least 17 medics in Egypt’s main cancer hospital have been quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus, officials said Saturday, raising fears the pandemic could prey on the country’s key health facilities.

In The Guardian, Mayor of Tehran, Pirouz Hanachi, writes that sanctions are crippling Iran’s fight against coronavirus, asserting he himself has seen innocent lives lost due to shortages in medical supplies.

In The Independent, Fikr Shalltoot asks “what could happen in Gaza” given modern, developed and well-equipped healthcare systems are being “crushed” by the coronavirus pandemic.

In The Independent, Sebnem Arsu assesses whether Turkey is acting as “a home or a stepping stone” for Syrian refugees, in light of Greece taking brutal measures to limit migrant flows into Europe since January.

All the Israeli media report that Blue and White leader and Knesset Speaker Benny Gantz told President Rivlin that he is unlikely to be able to form a Government before Passover on Wednesday and is expected to ask for a two week extension. Netanyahu and Gantz met in Jerusalem for talks last week but were unable to finalise a coalition deal. Yediot Ahronot reports that the parties have not yet found a way to bridge disagreements over applying Israeli sovereignty to Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the appointment of senior judges. Maariv reports that the Knesset arrangements committee will convene today and discuss a request for the Labour party and Meretz to break up their electoral alliance allowing the Labour party to join a unity government.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Hezbollah commander, Ali Mohammed Younis, was killed by unknown assassins in southern Lebanon on Saturday. Iranian media said he was “responsible for pursuing spies and collaborators.” The London based Al-Quds Al-Araby said Hezbollah indicated his death was connected to this work, adding that the death may have also been due to differences between Younis and another group over financial issues. The Lebanese Janoubia website blamed Mossad for his death as Younis was a “close associate” of former IGRC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani

Israel Hayom reports that Israel is working with Orthodox Christian leaders to ensure that the Holy Fire ceremony – is not extinguished by the coronavirus. The paper says: “Each year, thousands of worshippers flock to Jerusalem’s Old City and pack into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – built on the site where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, buried and resurrected. Top Eastern Orthodox clerics enter the Edicule, the small chamber marking the site of Jesus’ tomb, and exit with candles said to be miraculously lit with “holy fire” as a message to the faithful. During the ceremony, worshippers crowd closely together around the Edicule and use candles to pass the flame from person to person. The flame is then transferred into special containers to be dispatched to Orthodox Christian communities around the world.  Israeli officials say the April 18 ceremony will now be limited to 10 religious leaders from various Orthodox denominations. They have also developed a creative way to deliver the flame to overseas communities. Because anyone entering Israel must go into quarantine, foreign dignitaries coming to pick up the flame will receive it on their plane and immediately return home.”