WASHINGTON: An IMF team has agreed on a one-year, $5.2 billion financing package for Egypt to help the country alleviate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fund announced Friday.
The IMF board must still approve the financing from the fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), which allows nations to circumvent the lengthy negotiations usually needed to secure a full economic assistance program – time most countries do not have as they struggle to cope with the coronavirus crisis.

LONDON: The Houthis are leaving thousands of Yemeni COVID-19 patients in Sanaa and other areas under their control to die of the disease, the country’s information minister said on Thursday.
With its health services decimated by years of conflict, experts have warned that Yemen could face one of the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus disease.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been accused of covering up the extent of the outbreak in the territory under its control and of hampering aid operations.
Yemeni citizens who have the virus or are suspected of having it are staying at home out of fear they will be killed in hospital by “lethal injections” administered by Houthis, Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani said. 
Meanwhile, the Houthis have set up a field hospital in Sanaa’s Movenpick Hotel for its leaders and members who have the coronavirus. The militia have equipped the facility with respirators and medical equipment. 
They are also monopolising graves for their members in Sanaa’s city center, Al-Eryani said.
Field reports obtained by the Yemeni authorities reveal that hundreds of citizens have died from the coronavirus and thousands have been infected with it, Al-Eryani said.
He called on the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the international community to condemn these crimes and pressure the Houthis to be transparent about the spread of the disease.

AMMAN: Syria state media said Thursday Israeli jets flying over Lebanon hit military targets in northwestern Hama province causing only material damage, in Israel’s latest escalation of raids in the last few months.
Earlier state media said Syrian army air defenses thwarted an unidentified missile attack on a city in northwestern Hama province, state media said on Thursday.
The news flash on state television said the missiles hit the outskirts of Misyaf city. Israel has in the last two months stepped up its strikes on suspected Iranian targets inside Syria.
Asked about the missile attack, an Israeli military spokeswoman declined comment.
Western intelligence sources said Israel had escalated raids in Syria at a time when world is distracted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Iranian-backed militias have long been entrenched near Misyaf where they have bases, part of a growing presence across government-controlled Syria, they added.
Israel has acknowledged it has conducted many raids inside Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011 where it views Iranian presence as a strategic threat.

CAIRO: Hotels in Egypt have implemented government safety regulations which include having an on-site clinic with resident doctor, regular temperature checks of guests and a quarantine area, as they try to attract domestic tourists, hotel officials said.
Egypt suspended international flights in March and shut down restaurants, hotels and cafes in order to combat the pandemic, which has cost its tourist sector an estimated $1 billion per month.
Tourism accounts for about 12%-15% of gross domestic product.
Although airports remain closed to all but domestic and repatriation flights, 99 hotels have been allowed to reopen at a quarter of their usual capacity if they met strict health and safety protocols.
Guests must be registered online and workers have to undergo rapid coronavirus tests when entering resorts, while a hotel floor or small building must be assigned as a quarantine area for positive or suspected coronavirus cases.
As of June, hotels certified as meeting regulations have been allowed to run at maximum 50% capacity.
“They have sanitized my bag. I have also done the key-less check in, which is the first time this has happened and the first time I see this,” said Hossam Ragaie, a guest at the Conrad luxury hotel in Cairo.
Large events and buffets have been banned, said Karim Helmy, general manager of the Hilton King’s Ranch hotel in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.
Nevine Hamdy, who used to be a regular guest at the hotel before the pandemic, returned with her family to spend a few nights.
“From the very start at the gate, the workers are wearing masks and gloves. There is no close interaction… They are taking the highest precautionary measures,” she said.
Egypt has reported 29,767 coronavirus cases as of Thursday including 1,126 deaths.

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Council of Ministers has extended the period of general mobilization in the country to July 5 following a recommendation by the Lebanese Supreme Council of Defense.
The decision comes two days before the demonstration planned by the civil movement on Saturday, resuming anti-government protests that erupted in the country on Oct. 17.
“We do not fear the demonstrators, rather we fear for their health, and we are keen to protect the demonstration so that it would achieve its goals,” said Minister of Information Manal Abdel Samad after a Cabinet session on Thursday.
In a statement, the Lebanese Supreme Council of Defense said: “The military and security services should be firm in deterring violations of the general mobilization in order to prevent the proliferation of the coronavirus, and to cooperate with civil society and local authorities to achieve this objective.”
General mobilization conditions include wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and avoiding overcrowding.
During the meeting of the Supreme Council of Defense, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said: “The risk remains high, considering that cases of COVID-19 are still being recorded.
“The precautionary and preventive measures are still necessary to avoid a second wave of the pandemic, which could be harder than the first wave.
“The government understands the suffering of the people due to the social situation, but there is fear that some groups might take advantage of this for their political objectives in cutting roads and dismantling the country, shutting down enterprises, and obstructing people’s businesses, that could result in employees losing their jobs,” he added.
“We respect the right to demonstrate, but it would become total chaos if roads were blocked and public and private property was sabotaged,” he said, adding: “Lebanese people cannot accept these practices as democratic practices.
“People will soon see a decline in food prices and a gradual return to the normal economic cycle after a large number of enterprises were allowed to reopen in order to save businesses, and people’s jobs and enterprises,” the Lebanese leader said.
Meanwhile, lawyers from the civil movement filed a case against outspoken parliamentarian Jamil Al-Sayyed for calling for the killing of protesters.
Al-Sayyed’s comments drew widespread condemnation on social media, even among his own supporters. In a press conference on Wednesday, he said: “If demonstrators come to the doorstep of an official who does not have guards, then this official has the right to shoot them from his own window, especially if the protesters verbally abuse the official.”
In a follow-up statement, he added: “My words yesterday were addressed to every bully who would dare come under my window to insult me or insult my family, I am serious when I say this and it is not a slip of the tongue.”
The Lebanese General Security declared that Lebanon will open its borders with Syria for two days per week to allow Lebanese citizens to return, while the government approved a fourth stage of repatriation of Lebanese people from abroad between June 11 and 19.
“We will take a decision to open the airport and start air travel with specific countries,” said Minister of Health Hamad Hassan.
Ethiopian workers

Dozens of Ethiopian workers gathered in front of the Ethiopian Embassy in Hazmieh in the eastern suburb of Beirut.
The Ministry of Labor said on Thursday that 35 Ethiopian workers had been transferred to a hotel in Beirut to provide them with shelter after they were dismissed by their employers.
The ministry said it provided health examinations for the workers, before transferring them from the hotel to the Caritas Foundation, adding that it is investigating claims of unfair dismissal.
The founding committee of the Domestic Workers Union and the National Federation of Employees’ and Workers’ Union in Lebanon said: “We condemn the racist behavior against migrant workers, especially domestic workers, in these economic conditions and during this health crisis.”
The Union of Owners of Recruitment Agencies of Domestic Workers hoped that the ministry would succeed in returning foreign workers to their countries.