A man convicted of terrorism-related crimes, who served his sentence and was then detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been deported after a legal battle to hold him indefinitely stalled.

Federal immigration authorities held Adham Amin Hassoun until Tuesday at a detention facility in Batavia, New York, since his release from prison in 2018. Previously, they had argued in court that they had the authority to detain him indefinitely under the Patriot Act until they could find a country willing to accept him.

The small, neighboring sheikhdoms of Bahrain and Qatar have the world's highest per capita rates of coronavirus infections. In the two Mideast countries, COVID-19 epidemics initially swept undetected through camps housing healthy and young foreign laborers, studies now show.

In Qatar, a new study found that nearly 60% of those testing positive showed no symptoms at all, calling into question the usefulness of mass temperature checks meant to stop the infected from mingling with others. In Bahrain, authorities put the asymptomatic figure even higher, at 68%.

Iraq opened its airports to commercial flights following months of lockdown as part of the government's plan to ease restrictions despite record numbers of coronavirus cases expected to exceed 100,000 this week.

Airports were shut in March along with full-day curfews. Cases have risen exponentially since then and in particular following the Eid holiday in June.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Beirut and first held talks on Thursday with President Michel Aoun in Baabda to double down on a message that no international aid for Lebanon until the government carries out much-needed reforms.

Baabda sources told LBCI TV station that “Le Drian carried a message from President Emmanuel Macron affirming support for Lebanon and for bilateral relations between the two countries, and encouraging negotiations with the IMF.”

A powerful 7.8 earthquake has struck the Alaska Peninsula and a tsunami warning has been issued.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 7.8 magnitude quake struck Tuesday at about 11:12 p.m. PST. It had a depth of 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) and was centered 60 miles (96 kilometers) south-southeast of Perryville, Alaska.

One of the great mysteries of the coronavirus is how quickly it rocketed around the world.

It first flared in central China and, within three months, was on every continent but Antarctica, shutting down daily life for millions. Behind the rapid spread was something that initially caught scientists off guard, baffled health authorities and undermined early containment efforts — the virus could be spread by seemingly healthy people.

Lebanon's hospitals, long considered among the best in the Middle East, are cracking under the country's financial crisis, struggling to pay staff, keep equipment running or even stay open amid a surge in coronavirus cases.

Private hospitals, the engine of the health system, warn they may have to shut down. Chronically underfunded public hospitals, which have led the fight against the virus, fear they will be overrun.

Cabinet on Tuesday agreed to sign contracts with foreign firms in order to audit the accounts of the central bank.

The Presidency said it has been agreed to hire the Alvarez and Marsal firm for forensic audit and the KPMG and Oliver Wyman firms for accounts audit.

Health Minister Hamad Hasan says financially troubled Lebanon, which has so far managed to contain the coronavirus, is sliding toward a critical stage with a new surge in infections after lockdown restrictions were lifted and the airport reopened.

The recently recorded double and triple digits of new infections were coupled with an increase in untraceable cases, raising concerns that a dangerous spread in the community could follow, Hasan told The Associated Press.

The Syrian military said the country's air defenses responded on Monday to Israeli air raids in south Damascus that caused only material damage, and residents said loud explosions rocked the capital.

It was not clear what the targets were. The air raids, which came just before 10 p.m. (1900 GMT), continued for more than 15 minutes. Residents reported hearing at least four explosions in the capital.