BEIRUT: The Syrian government ordered the seizure of assets belonging to President Bashar Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf, one of Syria’s richest men, as well as his wife and children, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters.
The document, stamped May 19 and signed by the Syrian finance minister, said the “precautionary seizure” aimed to guarantee payment of sums owned to the Syrian telecom regulatory authority.
Once at the heart of Assad’s inner circle, Makhlouf has quarrelled with the authorities over funds which the government says are owed by his mobile phone company Syriatel. The unprecedented public tussle has uncovered a rare rift in the ruling elite.
Makhlouf has addressed the dispute in three extraordinary online video messages in which he has appealed to Assad himself to help save his firm. In his last message, released on Sunday, Makhlouf said he had been told to quit as the head of Syriatel.
The government says Syriatel owes 134 billion pounds, around $77 million at the current exchange rate on the parallel market.
Makhlouf on Tuesday posted a letter dated May 18 denying allegations by the Ministry of Telecoms that Syriatel had rejected payment of amounts it was required to pay in a dispute over its license.
Makhlouf, a maternal cousin of Assad, played a big role in financing Assad’s war effort in the conflict under way since 2011, Western officials have said. He is under US and EU sanctions.
In addition to telecoms, his business empire spans real estate, construction and oil trading.
Syria experts say the row could mark the first major rift in decades within the family that has ruled the country since Assad’s father Hafez took power 50 years ago.

GAZA: In a wooden shack in the Gaza Strip, a 13-year-old girl holds classes for neighborhood children who have missed out on their studies since schools were closed in March due to the novel coronavirus crisis.
Only 20 people have tested positive for the virus in the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave, where cross-border traffic has long been limited by Israel and Egypt and those entering Gaza in recent months have gone into quarantine.
Fajr Hmaid, who hopes to become a professional teacher one day, provides English, Arabic and math lessons to a class that has grown from four pupils to 15.
“I wanted to bring them here and teach them, this is my talent,” Hmaid said, wearing a white head-covering in the religiously conservative enclave.
“I have one girl in first grade. If she is absent from school for a period of time, she will forget how to grab the pen and how to write.”
Gaza teachers have also been giving lessons online during the health crisis.
Fajr’s father, Bandar Hmaid, said he was fine with the role his daughter has taken on.
“I said okay — but don’t make noise,” he said.

DUBAI: The UAE will extend a nightly curfew by two hours starting this week after reporting an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
The curfew, which currently runs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., would start at 8 p.m. as of Wednesday until further notice, Saif Al-Dhaheri, spokesman for the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, said on Monday.
The renewed restrictions will also cover the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which is set to start on either May 22 or 23. 
Malls and shopping centers would be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. as part of the changes, Al-Daheri said.
Supermarkets can continue to operate 24 hours, as well as restaurants, which can continue to provide takeaway meals. 
Authorities urged people to avoid handing out “Eideya” money – a sum given to children in celebration of Eid – to avoid physical contact with money where possible. It is advised to use electronic transfer instead.
The UAE on Monday reported 832 new infections and four deaths from the virus to take its overall count to 24,190 cases with 224 deaths.

DUBAI: The Middle East media giant, MBC Group has condemned the attacks on its Iraq offices in Baghdad on Monday.
The attacks left considerable damage to the equipment and studios, and the group asked local authorities to investigate the matter.
There has been no official statement on the perpetrotrators of the attack yet.

MBC Group strongly condemns the deliberate attack that has targeted MBC IRAQ’s studios and offices in Baghdad today, which has resulted in severe damage to studio and office property.
In terms of immediate action, MBC Group places the matter in the hands of the Iraqi authorities, trusting in its security protocols, as well as judicial process, in order to protect MBC IRAQ’s employees and the organisation, which operates in Iraq in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country. 
MBC Group hopes to receive full details of the circumstances of the attack at the earliest, and work with the authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable, as well as bring them to justice, in order to prevent similar attacks in the future.

Iraq’s Ministry of Interior released a statement on their website, which stated that they will investigate the matter and find the perpetrators.

While we affirm and guarantee the right to peaceful protest by legitimate means, we reject any outlawed aggression or behavior against the media or private and public property and it will be dealt with in accordance with the laws in force.  Ensuring the freedom and security of the media is part of the responsibility of the security forces, and the regulation of the work of the media is the responsibility of the Communication and Media Commission, which started with legal measures to address what was issued earlier from the Middle East TV network (MBC)

Dozens of demonstrators were protesting in front of the channel’s headquarters in Baghdad as they considered the channel’s portrayal of slain Iraqi paramilitary commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis an “insult,” local media reported.
The Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi leader was killed alongside top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3.
MBC has aired a program – called Malek Beltawila – which discussed in one of the episodes how the wife of a famous Arab poet was killed in the 1981 attack on Iraq’s embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. The show said that Al-Muhandis was involved in the planning of the attack.

DUBAI: MBC Group condemned the attacks on its Iraq offices in Baghdad on Monday, a press release by the company said.
The attack has caused considerable damage to the equipment and studios, and the group asked local authorities to investigate the matter.

No official statement on the perpetrotrators of the attack yet.