Media Summary
US threatens Iran with fresh sanctions
The Financial Times reports that the Trump administration has threatened to trigger fresh sanctions on Iran by using a provision in the international nuclear deal the US has reneged on since 2018.
The Guardian reports that a fuel truck bomb in a market in northern Syria killed at least 46 people including Turkish-backed rebel fighters, according to US officials and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Reuters reports that Iraqi leaders need to put aside a sectarian quota system and make compromises to help the formation of a government as well help the relationship between Washington and Baghdad, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday.
The Times and The Financial Times report that two nights of rioting during which protesters angry at Lebanon’s economic collapse burnt down banks and fought with police have shaken the country’s fractious elite. The Associated Press reports that Lebanon’s central bank governor defended himself against scathing criticism by the government, claiming there is a “systematic campaign” meant to hold him responsible for the recent financial crisis and the collapse of the national currency.
Reuters reports that Germany has banned all Iran-backed Hezbollah activity on its soil and designated it a terrorist organisation, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.
Reuters reports that aid groups working with the UN want the Security Council to urgently allow an Iraq border crossing into Syria to be used again for deliveries to help combat the coronavirus pandemic, according to a World Health Organization memo seen by the 15-member UN Security Council.
The Telegraph and The Independent reports that more than 700 Iranians have accidentally died drinking toxic alcohol in the mistaken belief that moonshine or even industrial alcohol could see off coronavirus, Iranian officials have said.
The Financial Times reports that Saudi Arabia central bank’s foreign assets fell last month by the most in 20 years as the Kingdom battled to manage the effects of plunging oil prices and the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Guardian reports that Saudi Aramco has withdrawn an advertising campaign that boasted it was “powering a more sustainable future”, after dozens of complaints to the Advertising Standards Agency.
The Telegraph reports that Libya’s renegade field marshal Khalifa Haftar was accused of carrying out a coup after he declared the agreement that created a post-Gaddafi government a “thing of the past” and said he was placing eastern parts of the country under direct military rule. The Guardian and Reuters reports that eastern Libyan forces laying siege to Tripoli have agreed on a humanitarian pause in fighting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The Financial Times reports that Dutch bailiffs have seized an Egyptian embassy building in The Hague, escalating a multimillion dollar dispute between an international businessman and the Arab state.
Reuters reports that Yemen has reported its first two deaths from the novel coronavirus, its health minister told Yemen TV late on Wednesday.
In The Telegraph, James Rothwell asks why Israeli hairdressers are open for business unlike in the UK, as Israel’s tough lockdown measures are gradually scaled back this week.
In The Independent, Bel Trew writes that “hunger and economic collapse” are driving Lebanon’s protesters back to the streets of Beirut, as deadly clashes continue to erupt despite a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.
In The Independent, Ahmed Aboudouh claims the Saudi and UAE ‘cold war’ in Yemen will only intensify despite the recent show of unity, given major disagreements over the future of the Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council.
In The Times, Richard Spencer assesses Saudi Arabia’s pledge to formally abolish the death penalty for crimes committed by minors, which points to “the battle for public opinion being waged by human rights groups and the Saudi royal family”.
Israeli media reports there are now 15,870 confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel, while 219 patient have died. However, the majority, 8,412 have now recovered. The number of people on ventilators has also dropped from 90 to 85 in the past 24 hours, but 117 patients remain in serious condition. With the number of active cases on the decline, Israel has begun lifting some of the strict social distancing measures implemented last month.
All the Israeli media report on the continuing debate inside the government about whether or not to reopen the school system. A ministerial committee will make a final decision tomorrow. The Education Ministry’s plan calls for kindergarten children to be divided into groups of 15-17 and for each group to attend class three times a week. In schools, the plan is for children from first through third grade to attend from Sunday to Thursday in groups of 15, with up to three regular teachers. Ever since the Education Ministry’s plan was made public, many parents have feared sending their children to school. Teachers fear that not wearing masks in the classroom will endanger them. Israel Hayom reports that the Gertner Institute will tell senior Health Ministry’s officials today that children of all ages can contract the coronavirus and infect other children and adults, suggesting that the Health Ministry will likely advise the government not to open up schools as early as next week because doing so could cause another outbreak of the coronavirus in Israel.
All the Israeli media report on the petitions to the Supreme Court against the legality of the coalition agreement signed last week between the Likud and Blue and White. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s response against tasking a person facing criminal charges with the mandate to form a government is due this morning. A special panel of 11 justices, with Supreme Court President Esther Hayut presiding, is scheduled to begin the proceedings next Sunday and will continue on Monday. Both the Likud and Blue and White have issued their responses to the court and said that it should not intervene in what they argue is a purely political matter. Ma’ariv points out that Blue and White’s response contradicts its position from consecutive election campaigns, when it opposed giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the mandate to form the next government due to the pending indictments against him.
Yedioth Ahronoth’s Ben Dror-Yemini warns against the Supreme Court intervening, saying that striking down the coalition agreement would damage Israeli democracy. “We are at a crossroads in the relationship between government and justice, and in the relationship between the rival blocs. The dilemma has been placed on the High Court of Justice’s doorstep. The fact that a panel of 11 judges was decided on is liable to indicate certain, very discouraging, intentions,” writes Yemini.
Kan Radio News reports that starting next week, Israel will permit up to 50,000 Palestinians workers into Israel for three weeks until Eid el-Fitr, the holiday that concludes the month of Ramadan. Israel had originally allowed the workers to remain within the Green Line after the closure of the border to the West Bank due to coronavirus, but the Palestinian Authority (PA) ordered them to return to their homes and quarantine. The Palestinian workers will mainly be employed in construction, and some in agriculture and industry. It is believed that between 15,000-20,000 Palestinians remained in Israel despite the PA’s order. Today, more than 1,000 Palestinian workers are due to return to the Atarot industrial zone in Jerusalem.