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Egypt Warns of Third COVID-19 Wave

Workers sterilizing al-Sayyida Nafisa mosque in Cairo (DPA)
Workers sterilizing al-Sayyida Nafisa mosque in Cairo (DPA)
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Egypt Warns of Third COVID-19 Wave

Workers sterilizing al-Sayyida Nafisa mosque in Cairo (DPA)
Workers sterilizing al-Sayyida Nafisa mosque in Cairo (DPA)

An Egyptian health official said the country is preparing for a third COVID-19 wave, citing a surge in virus infections.

Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tageldin revealed that it is highly probable for Egypt to enter the third wave, stressing the importance of receiving the vaccine to curb the spread of the virus.

In a statement on Saturday, Tageldin affirmed that the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines are “minor.”

He also said that it is not possible to determine if Egypt will start reporting a decline in infections before figures become stable.

The Health Ministry recorded on Friday 794 new cases and 39 deaths, raising the infection tally in the country to 208,876, including 158,454 recoveries and 12,362 deaths.

Meanwhile, the cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) said Egypt ranked 68 out of 215 world countries in terms of the number of people infected with the virus. It also ranked seventh in the rate of deaths among the people infected and 178 in the rate of recoveries.

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Arab World

Iraq Denies US Claims Deputy Oil Minister Helped Iran Evade Sanctions

A view of the Shuaiba oil refinery southwest of Basra, Iraq. (Reuters/File Photo)
A view of the Shuaiba oil refinery southwest of Basra, Iraq. (Reuters/File Photo)
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Iraq Denies US Claims Deputy Oil Minister Helped Iran Evade Sanctions

A view of the Shuaiba oil refinery southwest of Basra, Iraq. (Reuters/File Photo)
A view of the Shuaiba oil refinery southwest of Basra, Iraq. (Reuters/File Photo)

Iraq's oil ministry has denied US accusations against its deputy minister, who the United States hit with sanctions over alleged support to Iran as Washington escalates pressure on Baghdad to break with Iranian-linked groups.

The US State Department on Thursday announced sanctions on Ali Maarij al-Bahadli, saying he "abused his government position to divert Iraqi oil in support of the Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies."

It accused him of fraudulently mixing Iraqi and Iranian oil as part of a scheme to help Iran avoid sanctions.

His ministry said late Thursday that "it denies the accusations" against Bahadli and stressed "the importance of transparency in addressing all... accusations on the basis of evidence and facts," according to the INA state news agency.

The ministry said it was prepared to investigate the matter, but added that "crude oil export operations, marketing, loading onto tankers, and related procedures" were not part of Bahadli's job.

After entities run by an Iraqi businessman were sanctioned over the same accusations last year, Iraq's state oil marketing company SOMO denied that any oil mixing operations were taking place in the country's ports or territorial waters to help Iran.

The United States has unilateral sanctions against Iranian oil, seeking to punish any country or company that buys it.

Arab World

Emergency Declared in Libya's Zawiya Refinery amid Clashes Near Facility

Reuters file photo of Libya's Sharara oilfield
Reuters file photo of Libya's Sharara oilfield
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Emergency Declared in Libya's Zawiya Refinery amid Clashes Near Facility

Reuters file photo of Libya's Sharara oilfield
Reuters file photo of Libya's Sharara oilfield

An emergency was declared in Libya's Zawiya refinery, west of the capital Tripoli, amid clashes near the facility, ⁠two engineers told ⁠Reuters on Friday.

Zawiya, 40 km (25 miles) west ⁠of Tripoli, is home to Libya's biggest functioning refinery, with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day.

The refinery ⁠is ⁠connected to the country's 300,000 bpd Sharara oilfield.

Arab World

More than Half of Lebanon Population Depends on Aid, Says EU Official

European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman
European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman
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More than Half of Lebanon Population Depends on Aid, Says EU Official

European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman
European Union Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib arrives for a meeting of the College of European Commissioners in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman

More than half of Lebanon's population depends on humanitarian aid, a European Union official said on Friday, as Israel continues its attacks on the country despite a ceasefire in the two-month-long war with militant group Hezbollah.

"At present, more than three million people, meaning more than half of the population here in Lebanon, depend on humanitarian aid to survive," EU crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib told reporters after meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut.

Lahbib said that since the start of the war on March 2 the 27-member bloc has provided 100 million euros in aid and sent six planes carrying humanitarian aid, with a seventh expected on Saturday.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed more than 2,700 people and displaced over one million since early March, according to authorities.

The UN launched an emergency appeal in March for $308 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon, but in two months it has raised just $126 million, according to UN agencies.

Lahbib, who said that the ceasefire has opened "a narrow window of hope", called for Hezbollah "to cease its attacks and be disarmed" and said that "Israel must put an end to its bombardments".

"For a ceasefire to lead to peace, courage is needed -- political courage to address the root causes of this conflict."

Israel and Lebanon are set to hold a third round of talks in Washington next week to end the war, despite Hezbollah's opposition to direct negotiations.