Gendarmerie operation sparks controversy in Petra, Jordan Petra’s tribal entrepreneurs react to a security operation carried out inside Jordan’s most-visited UNESCO World Heritage Site with criticism and concern for their livelihoods. Jordan
Despite war, thousands of Israeli Hasidim make pilgrimage to Ukraine Much like the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine won’t stop thousands of Hasidim from reaching the city of Uman and the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov just before the Jewish New Year. Israel
Middle East airlines to suffer losses again in 2022 The International Air Transport Association said that airlines in the region will fare somewhat better financially due to the return of long-haul flights. Gulf
Israel expects post-COVID tourism rebound this summer Israeli experts do not expect tourism to reach this summer the record level of 2019, but they certainly notice a trend of increase on both outbound and incoming tourism. Israel
Palestinians attend prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque amid Israeli virus restrictions Israeli officials controlling access to the mosque had limited the number of Palestinians able to worship on Friday, citing coronavirus concerns. Palestine
Surprising economic upside seen for Egypt, Morocco and Iran Reports this month by the IMF and the US intelligence community also underscore troubling trendlines. Egypt
Virus surge threatens northeast Syria camps, Save the Children warns Authorities this month have confirmed 46 coronavirus cases across three camps hosting displaced people in northeast Syria. Syria
Iran not backing down in Middle East, US intel report says The Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign did not stop Tehran's ambitions in the region, ODNI report suggests. Iran
Turkey tightens COVID-19 restrictions as Ramadan holy month begins Responding to a surge in new cases, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced tighter COVID-19 restrictions for the first two weeks of Ramadan, saying measures could be extended if current trends continue. Turkey
Northeast Syria imposes 'total lockdown' due to virus The new measures coincide with Ramadan and follow a relatively high number of new COVID-19 cases in the autonomous region. News Brief
Iraq, hard hit by COVID-19, sets new daily case record Iraq broke its record for most coronavirus cases in a day Wednesday and the country is far from having enough vaccine doses for its population of around 40 million. News Brief
Iraq's Kurdistan region sticks with AstraZeneca vaccine, reports no issues Kurdish authorities say they will continue administering the vaccine following the European Union's conclusion that blood clots should be listed among "rare side effects" of the British-Swedish vaccine. Iraq
Bitter blame game in Iran amid coronavirus ‘explosion’ Iranian authorities are pointing the finger of blame at one another over the chaotic management of the recent skyrocketing COVID-19 infection rates. Iran
Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq imposes partial lockdown amid rising virus cases The measure follows other anti-virus restrictions in recent days and the start of a vaccination campaign in the autonomous part of northern Iraq. Iraqi-Kurdistan
Iran shatters daily COVID-19 records A national vaccination campaign is still at least several weeks away as Iran records its highest-ever daily coronavirus infections. News Brief
Alarm in Iran as pandemic numbers shoot back up Iranian officials are talking about a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic with infections more than doubling since last week and hospitals in Tehran near capacity. Iran
