Xinhua Middle East news summary at 2200 GMT, July 17

JERUSALEM -- Israel's government imposed on Friday a new weekend lockdown in a bid to curb a resurgence of coronavirus outbreak.

The lockdown will be imposed only during weekends, from Friday at 5 p.m. until Sunday at 5 a.m., the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. Weekends in Israel begin on Friday afternoon and end on Saturday at nightfall, in observance with the Jewish Shabbat. (Israel-Lockdown)

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TEHRAN -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday strongly condemned recent deadly airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition on Yemen's provinces.

In a statement on Friday, the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi expressed sympathy with the families of victims in the airstrike. (Iran-Airstrikes-Yemen)

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RABAT -- Salem Ben Mohamed Al-Malik, director general of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Mao Jun, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Morocco, have explored ways to promote cooperation between ICESCO and China.

They held a meeting on Thursday at the headquarters of the Islamic organization in Morocco's capital Rabat, according to a press communique of ICESCO released on Friday. (ICESCO-China-Cooperation)

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CAIRO -- The China Cultural Center in Cairo held on Friday a video conference under the theme of trends in China-Arab literature exchange after the epidemic, highlighting the role of culture and literature in promoting the bilateral ties.

"Literary exchange that has been carrying on continuously at the official level between the Chinese Cultural Center and several Arab authorities contributes to developing and enriching the potentials of cultural ties," said Mohsen Fergani, an Egyptian researcher and translator of the Chinese literature. (Egypt-China-Literature)