Middle East and North Africa coverage from Reuters.
Top seed Simona Halep came back from a set down for the third time in the tournament to beat Kazakhstan's rising star Elena Rybakina 3-6 6-3 7-6(5) to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the second time on Saturday.
China reported a sharp decrease in new deaths and cases of the coronavirus on Saturday but a doubling of infections in South Korea and 10 new cases in Iran added to unease about its rapid spread and global reach.
China reported a sharp fall in new deaths and cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, but world health officials warned it was too early to make predictions about the outbreak as new infections continued to rise in other countries.
Authorities in Iran on Saturday announced the detection of at least 10 new cases of coronavirus and two more deaths, deepening a sense of public unease over the handling of the spread of the disease.
A Turkish soldier was killed in Syria's Idlib region in a bomb attack by Russian-backed government forces, the defence ministry said on Saturday, Turkey's 16th military death during a month in which talks between Ankara and Moscow have stalled.
Saudi Aramco said on Saturday it had received regulatory approval to develop Saudi Arabia's Jafurah non-associated gas field and expects production to start in early 2024.
The world's top economies called on Saturday for a coordinated response to the coronavirus outbreak, which the IMF predicted would lower China's growth this year to 5.6% and shave 0.1 percentage points from global growth.
Japan called on G20 countries with fiscal space to ramp up spending to help the global economy weather risks, including the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Saturday.
Ten new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Iran, one of whom has died, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on state TV on Saturday.
Israeli and Palestinian authorities sought to quell fears of a potential local outbreak of the coronavirus after learning that South Korean pilgrims who had toured some of the holy land's most popular sites were later found to be carrying the virus.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he will meet Russian, German and French counterparts on March 5 to discuss the situation in Syria's Idlib region, where a recent push by government forces has displaced nearly a million people.
The United Nations has suggested that the Tal Abiyad border crossing between Syria and Turkey could be used to deliver aid to civilians in northeast Syria after Russia and China blocked the world body from using a crossing point on the Iraqi border to provide help.
Candidates affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards looked on course to win a parliamentary majority on Saturday, reportedly leading in the race in Tehran and across the country after a vote stacked in favor of loyalists to the supreme leader.
Anti-Western hardliners are set to sweep Iran's parliamentary elections and appear favorites to clinch the presidency next year, but an economic crisis could force them to engage with the United States despite their tightening grip on power.
The United States is against mentioning climate change in the communique of the world's financial leaders, G20 diplomats said, after a new draft of the joint statement showed the G20 are considering including it as a risk factor to growth.
Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces clashed in parts of Afghanistan on Saturday, a day after a week-long "reduction in violence" was announced, but the incidents did not spark immediate alarm on either side.
Syria's transport ministry declared the main highway between Damascus and Aleppo open to the public on Saturday after troops recaptured the major artery in a Russian-backed offensive.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has discussed the situation in Syria's Idlib with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Saturday the yen's recent declines were largely driven by a strong dollar, shrugging off some market views that the widening coronavirus epidemic is triggering an outflow of funds from Asia.
The two sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were acquitted on Saturday of illicit share trading during the sale of a bank four years before the 2011 uprising that ended their father's 30-year autocratic rule.
Top seed Simona Halep came back from a set down for the third time in the tournament to beat Kazakhstan's rising star Elena Rybakina 3-6 6-3 7-6(5) to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the second time on Saturday.
China reported a sharp decrease in new deaths and cases of the coronavirus on Saturday but a doubling of infections in South Korea and 10 new cases in Iran added to unease about its rapid spread and global reach.
China reported a sharp fall in new deaths and cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, but world health officials warned it was too early to make predictions about the outbreak as new infections continued to rise in other countries.
Authorities in Iran on Saturday announced the detection of at least 10 new cases of coronavirus and two more deaths, deepening a sense of public unease over the handling of the spread of the disease.
A Turkish soldier was killed in Syria's Idlib region in a bomb attack by Russian-backed government forces, the defence ministry said on Saturday, Turkey's 16th military death during a month in which talks between Ankara and Moscow have stalled.
Saudi Aramco said on Saturday it had received regulatory approval to develop Saudi Arabia's Jafurah non-associated gas field and expects production to start in early 2024.
The world's top economies called on Saturday for a coordinated response to the coronavirus outbreak, which the IMF predicted would lower China's growth this year to 5.6% and shave 0.1 percentage points from global growth.
Japan called on G20 countries with fiscal space to ramp up spending to help the global economy weather risks, including the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Saturday.
Ten new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Iran, one of whom has died, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on state TV on Saturday.
Israeli and Palestinian authorities sought to quell fears of a potential local outbreak of the coronavirus after learning that South Korean pilgrims who had toured some of the holy land's most popular sites were later found to be carrying the virus.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he will meet Russian, German and French counterparts on March 5 to discuss the situation in Syria's Idlib region, where a recent push by government forces has displaced nearly a million people.
The United Nations has suggested that the Tal Abiyad border crossing between Syria and Turkey could be used to deliver aid to civilians in northeast Syria after Russia and China blocked the world body from using a crossing point on the Iraqi border to provide help.
Candidates affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards looked on course to win a parliamentary majority on Saturday, reportedly leading in the race in Tehran and across the country after a vote stacked in favor of loyalists to the supreme leader.
Anti-Western hardliners are set to sweep Iran's parliamentary elections and appear favorites to clinch the presidency next year, but an economic crisis could force them to engage with the United States despite their tightening grip on power.
The United States is against mentioning climate change in the communique of the world's financial leaders, G20 diplomats said, after a new draft of the joint statement showed the G20 are considering including it as a risk factor to growth.
Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces clashed in parts of Afghanistan on Saturday, a day after a week-long "reduction in violence" was announced, but the incidents did not spark immediate alarm on either side.
Syria's transport ministry declared the main highway between Damascus and Aleppo open to the public on Saturday after troops recaptured the major artery in a Russian-backed offensive.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has discussed the situation in Syria's Idlib with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Saturday the yen's recent declines were largely driven by a strong dollar, shrugging off some market views that the widening coronavirus epidemic is triggering an outflow of funds from Asia.
The two sons of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak were acquitted on Saturday of illicit share trading during the sale of a bank four years before the 2011 uprising that ended their father's 30-year autocratic rule.
