Middle East Experience

KKL-JNF’s climate scholarship program will promote Israeli researchers and entrepreneurs and will encourage climate research.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: KKL-JNF creates academic team to fight the climate crisis

QUOTE Responding to the arbitrary arrest of YouTuber Ajmal Haqiqi and his colleagues yesterday on charges of “insulting Islamic sacred values” after they posted a video in which they allegedly used Quranic verses in a humorous manner, Samira Hamidi, Amnesty International’s South Asia Campaigner, said: “Arbitrarily detaining YouTuber Haqiqi and his colleagues and coercing them ..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Afghanistan: The Taliban must immediately release YouTuber Ajmal Haqiqi and his colleagues

"Saudi Arabia’s refusal to stabilize global energy markets is helping bankroll Vladimir Putin’s war crimes in Ukraine," A group of senior House Democrats wrote.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Biden must 'recalibrate' US ties with Saudi Arabia, House Democrats say

"The Department of Interior's single-use plastic ban will curb millions of pounds of unnecessary disposable plastic in US national parks and other public lands," Christy Leavitt said.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: US to phase out single-use plastic on public lands, national parks by 2032

Saudi Arabia has launched a training program to develop skills in the tourism and hospitality industry, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday.Titled ‘Tourism Pioneers,’ the program seeks to attract 100,000 young Saudis in preparation for the “booming tourism sector in the Kingdom,” according to SPA.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s tourism minister told AFP that the Kingdom is aiming to triple foreign tourism this year as COVID-19 restrictions ease, Hajj pilgrims return, and the first elements of the crown prince’s signature projects open.An uptick in domestic travel in 2020 and 2021 - authorities tallied a record 64 million “domestic visits” last year - helped save the nascent Saudi tourism sector from collapse. Now Saudi officials want to seize more of the international market, Ahmed al-Khateeb said in the AFP interviewAhmed bin Aqeel al-Khateeb, the minister of tourism, said the program demonstrated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to empowering young people by providing them with the necessary skills and opportunities to pave the way for the future of the tourism sector.Some of the world’s highest-rated educational institutions have been selected to offer their services for the program, including Les Roches Marbella from Spain, the European School of Economics, Business and Hotel Management School from Switzerland, and Montreal Institute.He added that the program aligns with the country’s Vision 2030 in terms of job creation and supporting the tourism sector.Saudi Arabia has raised eyebrows with its goal of attracting 100 million visitors by 2030, an element of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform plan intended to diversify the oil-dependent economy and open up to the world.The Kingdom has in recent years relaxed rules barring cinemas, gender-mixed concerts, and sporting extravaganzas.Another high-profile feature of the tourism push is the giga-projects spearheaded by the Crown Prince, including the $500 billion futuristic megacity known as NEOM, and Diriyah, which is being redeveloped as a heritage and entertainment destination.In light of these developments, the new training program is open to Saudi nationals who speak English fluently and are interested in working in the Kingdom’s tourism sector.Registration for the program is now open on the ministry’s website.With AFPRead more:Saudi Arabia, UAE COVID-19 cases spike as global numbers riseWhite House lauds Saudi Arabia as ‘strategic partner’Nobel Laureates gather at Saudi’s AlUla to discuss world’s most pressing issues
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: New national training program in Saudi Arabia seeks to support booming tourism sector

The US said on Wednesday that it was co-sponsoring a resolution with European partners calling on Iran to take action on an “urgent basis” to fulfill its legal obligations toward the UN nuclear watchdog agency but stressed it was not looking for any escalation.“It is essential that Iran provide the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] with all information and documents deemed necessary by the IAEA in order to clarify and resolve its questions,” US Ambassador to the IAEA Laura Holgate said at the board of governors meeting.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We are not taking this action to escalate a confrontation for political purposes. We seek no such escalation,” she added.The US has been holding off on pushing to censure Iran at the IAEA with the hopes that it would be able to convince Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which the US withdrew from under former US President Donald Trump.But recent reports from the IAEA over the unexplained presence of uranium particles at three different sites in Iran have raised fears in Washington that Tehran is inching closer to being able to acquire a nuclear weapon.Turquzabad, Varamin, and Marivan are the three different sites that the IAEA has raised questions over.And in recent days, Iran has threatened to respond to any attempts to criticize it at the IAEA board of governors meeting. Now Iran says it will remove IAEA surveillance cameras inside Iran.Holgate warned that if Iran reduced transparency in response to the latest resolution, it would be counterproductive to the diplomatic outcome the US was looking for. “Restricting IAEA access and attempts to paint the IAEA as politicized for simply doing its job will serve no purpose,” she said.“Iran must cooperate with the IAEA to allow it to fulfill its verification and monitoring mandate without further delay,” Holgate said. “Again, we do not seek escalation. Instead, we seek credible explanations, consistent with Iran’s safeguards obligations, that can finally put these issues behind us.”Read more: Lebanon-based hackers linked to Iran’s government targeted Israeli groups: Microsoft
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US warns Iran against turning off IAEA cameras, but ‘seeks no escalation’

Greenpeace sounded the alarm about the derelict oil tanker FSO Safer floating offshore of Yemen’s Hodeida governorate and urged the Arab League to convene an urgent meeting to avert the humanitarian and environmental threats it poses.In a letter addressed to Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Greenpeace called on Arab foreign ministers to meet to fund a UN plan to address the threats posed by the decaying tanker.With an estimate of 1.1 million barrels of oil onboard, there is a risk of a serious environmental and humanitarian disaster should the tanker explode or large amounts of oil spill into the sea.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Executive Director at Greenpeace MENA Ghiwa Nakat said the organization called on Aboul Gheit to hold an urgent meeting of the Arab League member states to work on funding the plan to salvage the tanker “before it is too late.”“It is deplorable that the Safer crisis has yet to be resolved due to the lack of financial support. Tragically, only one Arab state has so far contributed to the funding of the plan which has amounted so far to only half of the money needed,” Nakat said.She also warned that if the threats posed by Safer are not resolved, the consequences of a possible disaster will be harsh as they will not only impact the environment but also people’s livelihoods and health.The Iran-backed Houthi militia controls Yemen’s western Red Sea ports, including Ras Issa, 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from where the Safer tanker has been moored since the 1980s.According to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press in June 2020, seawater had entered the engine compartment of the tanker, which has not been maintained for more than six years, causing damage to the pipelines and increasing the risk of sinking.According to the AP report, experts said maintenance is no longer possible because the damage to the ship is irreversible.Nakat noted that the amount needed to fund the plan, which is $80 million, is a “drop in the ocean” compared to the cost which Arab countries will bear in case of an oil spill and which is estimated at $20 billion.In May, the United Nations said $144 million is needed to fund the salvage operation of Safer. This amount includes $80 million to transfer the crude oil from the tanker.With The Associated PressRead more:US, Netherlands urge funding to rescue sinking oil ship off Yemen coast: StatementUS Navy says new task force to patrol Red Sea amid Yemen warUN praises ‘positive’ talks with Yemen sides on aging oil tanker
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Greenpeace urges Arab League to act before it’s too late on Yemen’s FSO Safer

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday and will meet its president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Israeli statement said.Bennett's Abu Dhabi visit had not previously been announced.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The statement said the two leaders, whose countries opened relations two years ago, would discuss “various regional issues” but provided no detail. “Today, together, we will take to the special bond that has been woven between our countries to the next level,” it quoted Bennett as saying.In the statement, Bennett also commended the International Atomic Energy Agency's criticism of Iran for failing to explain uranium traces found at three undeclared sites.Read more:Business leaders hail ‘unprecedented’ Israel-UAE free trade dealIsrael’s OurCrowd to open AI R&D center in UAE’s Abu Dhabi
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Israeli PM Bennett visits Abu Dhabi, to meet UAE president

Iran is removing 27 surveillance cameras at nuclear facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi said Thursday, calling it a “serious challenge” to the UN watchdog’s work in the country.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“What we have been informed is that 27 cameras... are being removed in Iran,” he told reporters.“So this of course poses a serious challenge to our ability to continue working there.”Grossi said if a solution was not found within three to four weeks to this issue, this would be “a fatal blow”.Iran announced this week it was disconnecting some IAEA cameras monitoring its nuclear sites in anticipation of the watchdog’s adoption of the Western-drafted censure motion on Wednesday.Tehran on Thursday condemned the motion as “unconstructive” in a new spat that clouds efforts to revive a deal limiting its nuclear activities.Grossi said about 40 cameras remained in the Islamic republic.“I invite Iran to engage with me immediately... We are in a very tense situation,” Grossi said.“Does this mean it’s the end of the line? I think this shouldn’t be the case. Not yet... Let’s hope that emotions go down a little bit.”The motion submitted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany was the first to criticise Iran since June 2020.The motion was approved by 30 of the 35 members of the IAEA board of governors, with only Russia and China voting against it.Read more: US warns Tehran against turning off IAEA cameras as resolution to censure Iran passes
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran plans to disconnect 27 cameras in ‘fatal blow’ to nuclear deal: Grossi

Saudi Arabia has provided a grant worth $30 million to support the Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.The grant to the fund, which works under the umbrella of the Islamic Development Bank in coordination with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), falls within the context of the Kingdom’s humanitarian and relief efforts to brotherly and friendly nations.It aims to help mitigate the suffering of the people of Afghanistan, limit any further deterioration of the humanitarian situation, and prevent any possible economic collapse – a collapse that could potentially impact regional and international stability and peace.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The Kingdom’s support to various humanitarian, healthcare educational, and food security projects in Afghanistan during past decades exceeded $266.5 million (1 billion SAR), according to SPA.Tariq Ali Bakheet, the OIC’s envoy on Afghanistan, told Al Arabiya that the support provided by Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan is the largest so far to the fund.Bakheet also said that the OIC has an office in Afghanistan, adding that the organization will work in coordination with the Islamic Development Bank through this office to implement humanitarian projects, particularly healthcare and education ones.Read more:Taliban detain Afghan fashion model, three colleagues, on religious chargesGreece jails Afghan teenagers for refugee camp fireIran carries out mass execution of 12 prisoners, including woman: NGO
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia provides million grant to Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund