Blog archive all
6th June 2020
Iraq reported 1,006 new Covid-19 cases on Friday – by far the highest number since the epidemic began.
Throughout March and April Iraq's official figures showed the virus spreading surprisingly slowly and it wasn't until mid-May that the daily count of new cases rose above 100.
Towards the end… Read more
5th June 2020
Life in Jordan will look much more normal from Saturday. Cafes, restaurants, hotels, mosques and churches previously closed to due coronavirus will be allowed to reopen along with sports clubs, nurseries and tourist sites.
Shops will be permitted to stay open until 11pm and the night curfew will… Read more
4th June 2020
During the past week confirmed Covid-19 cases in Oman have risen by 62% and now total more than 13,000. On Wednesday alone, the Gulf state recorded 738 new infections.
Health minister Ahmed al-Saidi blames the increase on people socialising during the Islamic month of Ramadan (24 April-23 May)… Read more
3rd June 2020
Iran's health ministry reported 3,117 new Covid-10 cases on Tuesday. This is the highest daily figure since the end of March – and a clear sign that a second wave of the epidemic is now under way.
The Iranian government's figures show an initial wave of infections which peaked at the end of… Read more
2nd June 2020
By world standards, Morocco's Covid-19 epidemic was never very large and it's steadily getting smaller.
At the peak in April, new cases were averaging more than 200 a day but the average during the past week has been only 43 a day.
Between May 10 and the beginning of June, the number of active… Read more
1st June 2020
The health minister in one of Yemen's two rival governments has defended its policy of concealing information about the Covid-19 epidemic in the areas it controls.
The virus appears to be spreading rapidly throughout the country – many deaths have been reported in the south – but the Houthi… Read more
31st May 2020
There was good news from Qatar yesterday ... well, sort of. The Gulf state announced that 5,235 people with Covid-19 infections had recovered during the previous 24 hours.
This was the highest number of recoveries so far in a single day, far outstripping the number of new cases in the same period… Read more
30th May 2020
Until Thursday, Israel's coronavirus epidemic – which has so far infected more than 16,000 people – seemed to be fizzling out. For most of this month new cases were averaging only 25 a day as the country began emerging from its lockdown but now there has been a sudden rise.
Over the last two days… Read more
29th May 2020
Egypt's official tally of new Covid-19 infections rose above 1,000 for the first time on Thursday as President Sisi warned that his regime's handling of the crisis must not be questioned. According to Sisi, hostile campaigns by “lurking enemies of the homeland” are seeking to discredit the regime… Read more
28th May 2020
Health authorities in Algeria and Morocco say they intend to continue treating Covid-19 patients with anti-malaria drugs despite safety concerns raised by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Algeria claims to have had "great success" using hydroxychloroquine in combination with antibiotics and… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
