Lebanon Losing Control over Covid-19 Outbreak

A woman shops at a crowded market in Sabra, Beirut suburbs, Lebanon, May 13, 2020. (Reuters)
A woman shops at a crowded market in Sabra, Beirut suburbs, Lebanon, May 13, 2020. (Reuters)
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Lebanon Losing Control over Covid-19 Outbreak

A woman shops at a crowded market in Sabra, Beirut suburbs, Lebanon, May 13, 2020. (Reuters)
A woman shops at a crowded market in Sabra, Beirut suburbs, Lebanon, May 13, 2020. (Reuters)

Lebanese authorities have isolated several towns in light of a significant increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country.

The head of the parliamentary health committee, MP Assem Araji, said that Lebanon has lost control over the outbreak of the virus.

“It is very difficult to control it if we continue to proceed in the same way,” he said, adding: “There are procedures that have been put in place since the outbreak of the epidemic in February, including the need to wear a mask, adhere to social distancing rules and disinfection, but they are not applied properly.”

In a radio interview, Araji emphasized the need to implement preventive measures, in the absence of a vaccine at the present time.

“This is the most effective way to stop the spread,” he noted.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab held a meeting on Friday at the Grand Serail with the ministerial committee following up on the outbreak of the pandemic. The meeting discussed “the necessary measures to face the outbreak, especially in the regions that recorded the highest rates of infections.”

The crisis cell in Fneideq in Akkar, North Lebanon, in cooperation with the municipal police, took a decision to close all entrances to the town.

Also in the North, the municipal council of Al-Qobayat announced a general closure until Sunday Oct. 4.

Lebanon’s total number of COVID-19 cases increased on Friday by 1,143 to 33,962 while the death toll went up by four to 333, the Health Ministry said.

It is the highest single-day increase since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Lebanon on Feb. 21.



Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.