The IMF Monday urged Middle East and North African countries to accelerate reforms and diversification efforts as the energy-rich region faces unprecedented challenges due to the coronavirus and low oil prices. In its latest regional economic outlook report, the International Monetary Fund...

The leaders of Lebanon’s Maronite and Orthodox Christian churches urged Lebanese leaders on Sunday to stop delaying talks on forming a government in scathing sermons in which they blamed them for the country’s financial crisis and political deadlock. Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai,...

Syria needs to import between 180,000 tonnes and 200,000 tonnes of wheat a month, the economy minister was cited as saying on Sunday, blaming a shortfall on “militias” preventing farmers from selling their wheat to the state. Mohamed Samer al-Khalil was quoted in al-Watan newspaper as...

Lebanon’s largest Christian political party said on Saturday it would not back the nomination of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to lead a government to tackle a deep economic crisis, further complicating efforts to agree a new premier. Hariri, who quit as prime minister last October...