GAZA CITY: Israel has started construction on a concrete wall to protect highways near the Gaza Strip from anti-tank missiles.

The country’s Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that the building of the 4.6-kilometer-long wall bordering the Gaza Strip aimed at protecting Israeli towns against attacks.

It added that work had begun on the security corridor project in the Gaza Strip, which aims to allow the movement of residents in times of emergency without fear of attack.

BEIRUT: A judicial delegation from France, Germany and Luxembourg will open its investigation into the activities of Lebanon’s central bank and its governor, Riad Salameh, in Beirut on Monday. It is expected to continue until Friday.

Salameh is facing prosecution in cases relating to money transfers from Lebanon to banks in those European countries, the sources of the funds and the extent to which they might be linked to corruption, money laundering and financial crimes in Europe.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s only functioning power plant has been shut down as a result of a worsening political dispute between caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the rival Free Patriotic Movement, which controls the country’s energy ministry.

The closure threatens to plunge Lebanon into almost complete darkness.

Electricite du Liban, known as EDL, urged the authorities to solve the issue by opening the necessary credits to unload fuel ships after a row over advanced payments led to a delay in gas oil shipments.

AL-MUKALLA, Yemen: The internationally recognized government of Yemen has flatly denied a statement by international oil company Zenith Netherlands regarding the acquisition of oil fields managed by OMV in Yemen’s southern province of Shabwa, saying that the company is ineligible to acquire oil assets in the country.

Yemen’s Oil Ministry said that it had not authorized the sale of OMV oil facilities in Yemen to the Dutch company, accusing both companies of releasing “misleading” information.

CAIRO: A deterioration in religious values was one of the main drivers of war and violence around the world, a prominent Egyptian faith leader has claimed.

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, made his comments during a recent meeting with Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Al-Tayyeb said: “The wars we are witnessing today are mainly caused by the deviation from the morals of religion, the spread of atheism, and disbelief in God.”