The Middle East at war with coronavirus: Top stories from 6 May

Egypt's economy had just started to recover after years of political turmoil and militant attacks when the coronavirus crisis hit, impacting especially its vital tourism sector.

Now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government has loosened a strict curfew for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in an effort to kick-start North Africa's largest economy.

Having shuttered shops and cafes in late March and forced millions of civil servants to stay home, Cairo is slowly reversing some of these measures, bringing back many state workers and extending the trading hours of shops and malls.

The blessing for the emerging economy of more than 100 million people, experts say, is that activity has kept ticking over in agriculture and construction, and especially in the vast informal sector.

Read more here.

Morocco has rapidly expanded its fleet of drones as it battles the coronavirus pandemic, deploying them for aerial surveillance, public service announcements and sanitisation.

"This is a real craze. In just weeks, demand has tripled in Morocco and other countries in the region," said Yassine Qamous, chief of Droneway Maroc, African distributor for leading Chinese drone company DJI.

Moroccan firms have been using drones for years and Qamous says it "is among the most advanced countries in Africa" for unmanned flight, with a dedicated industrial base, researchers and qualified pilots.

However, the increased surveillance and resulting arrests have drawn criticism from Georgette Gagnon, director of field operations at the United Nations' Human Rights Office.

Last week she listed Morocco among countries where repressive coronavirus measures have created a "toxic lockdown culture".

Read more here.

3. Quarantine quiet brings dolphins to Beirut coastline during coronavirus lockdown

Dolphins were seen close to the Lebanon's coastline this week, as coronavirus lockdowns bring wildlife back to the waters of the Middle East.