Middle East Experience

For two years we’ve heard news of COVID-19, but the RSV virus causes more than double the amount of hospitalizations. Here's what you need to know about it.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: This virus causes more hospitalizations in children than COVID-19

Dubai shuttered Expo 2020 with a colorful closing ceremony punctuated by fireworks on Thursday, leaving a multi-billion dollar mini city in the desert and heightened expectations for future hosts.Six months after the opening of the $7 billion, purpose-built site, Christina Aguilera, Nora Jones and cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed at the LCD-lit al-Wasl Dome, Expo’s centerpiece, as pyrotechnics lit up the sprawling site.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Millions of people have flocked to Expo’s 192 country pavilions in its final days, pushing visit numbers over 23 million - not far off the 25 million targeted, despite the ongoing pandemic.In 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) heat, long queues have formed at the most popular attractions, including the falcon-themed United Arab Emirates pavilion and the Saudi Arabia building, a slanted slab that appears to hover in the air.“It’s been a huge experience, it’s been really, really great,” said Abbas Masud, 66, a retired banker originally from Pakistan.“I’ve done about 172 countries. I wanted to do all 192 but I don’t think I will be able to because it’s the last day. I feel a bit sad.”Expo, housed on a circular site twice the size of Monaco, has been a point of pride for Dubai’s rulers and one of a number of projects aimed at showcasing Dubai to the world.Dubai, the commercial heart of the United Arab Emirates, is famously home to the world’s tallest building, the 830-metre (2,723 feet) Burj Khalifa.In February, it opened a Museum of the Future - in the shape of a silver ellipse decorated with Arabic calligraphy - that was advertised as “the most beautiful building on earth.”New beginningsExpo, which started with the 1851 Great Exhibition in London and has since showcased innovations such as the telephone and microwave, now moves to Osaka in Japan for the 2025 edition on a man-made island.“It’s clear that we have set a new bar here - it’s something I believe (Osaka) will look to aspire to,” said Dimitri Kerkentzes, secretary-general of the Bureau International des Expositions, according to a UAE newspaper.The event started with a year’s pandemic delay.Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Novak Djokovic were among the sports stars to visit, along with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the leaders of France, Brazil, Turkey and Morocco.The site, with its canopied walkways and speakers playing soothing music, is now envisaged as a car-free “15-minute city,” with all parts accessible by foot or bicycle within a quarter of an hour.Eighty percent of the structures will remain, including the self-powering ‘Sustainability’ pavilion and a giant water feature that gives the impression of water flowing upwards.Read more:One million visitors in three days as Expo 2020 Dubai final curtain nearsScams, ransomware incidence on the rise in Middle East, cybersecurity experts warnSaudi Arabia launches global campaign to host EXPO 2030
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Dubai’s EXPO 2020 concludes with concerts, fireworks after successful six-month event

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have concluded negotiations for a free trade agreement, Israel’s Economy Ministry and the UAE foreign trade minister said on Friday, after formally establishing ties in 2020.The trade agreement includes 95 percent of traded products, which will be customs free, immediately or gradually, including food, agriculture and cosmetic products, as well as medical equipment and medicine, the Israeli Economy Ministry said in a statement.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The agreement included regulation, customs, services, government procurement and electronic trade and will come into effect when signed by the countries’ economy ministers and ratified, the statement said, though no timetable was given.The UAE and Israel formally established relations in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords that also included Bahrain and Morocco.“This milestone deal will build on the historic Abraham Accords and cement one of the world’s most important and promising emerging trading relationships,” United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani al-Zeyoudi said on Twitter.Read more:UAE, Israel to recognize local drivers licenses in new MoUIsraeli president to visit Jordan in latest sign of closer ties: OfficialsUS, Middle East allies show unity during meet in Israel amid Iran worries
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Israel says UAE free trade deal reached

Ruble payments that Russia is insisting on for its gas exports will affect settlements due in late April and May, and Russia will not turn off gas supplies to Europe on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.President Vladimir Putin signed an order on Thursday stipulating the change of currency, which European governments have called an unacceptable breach of contract.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Does this mean that if there is no confirmation in rubles, then gas supplies will be cut off from April 1? No, it doesn’t, and it doesn’t follow from the decree,” Peskov told reporters.He said it would affect payments from the second half of April, and Gazprom would work with its customers to implement the new rules.Peskov said that Russia could at some point abandon the ruble order if conditions changed, but “in the current conditions, rubles are the most preferable and reliable option for us.”Asked about German media reports on the possibility of Germany nationalizing some Gazprom subsidiaries, Peskov said it would be a serious violation of international law.He said Russia was witnessing “gangster actions” in relation to the seizure of its property.Read more:Russia’s Lavrov lobbies India after Western emissaries make case for sanctionsRussia eases some curbs on transferring money abroadUkraine strikes fuel depot in Russia’s Belgorod: Regional governor
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Russia will not turn off gas supplies to Europe from Friday: Kremlin

The fate of 100 children who had been detained in a Syrian prison is unknown more than two months after extremists attacked the facility, United Nations experts said on Friday.International rights groups, including Save the Children and Human Rights Watch, have previously said 700 boys had been in the Kurdish-run jail in northeastern Hasaka province before it was attacked by ISIS.“We are extremely concerned that since the January 2022 attack, the fate and whereabouts of at least 100 of those boys remain unaccounted for, which raises serious concerns,” the UN human rights experts said in a statement.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Some of these cases might amount to enforced disappearance,” they added.Aged 12-18, the detainees included many who had adult relatives inside Ghwayran prison and were transferred from nearby displacement camps housing thousands of children of extremist fighters.The independent experts called on the de facto authorities to allow all humanitarian actors to have full and unimpeded access to children still held at Ghwayran.“Harm to these children must be identified, and those responsible must be held accountable to prevent impunity,” the UN experts said.The ISIS prison break attempt from Ghwayran triggered a week of clashes inside and around the Kurdish-run facility, leaving hundreds dead, before Kurdish-led forces recaptured the jail.“Many of the boys detained in the prisons were seriously injured during the jailbreak and their wounds are not receiving critical medical treatment,” the UN experts said.Kurdish authorities maintain that no one escaped but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said several extremists had fled.Read more:Kurdish-led forces say they have regained control of prison in Syria's HasakaSyria camp clashes with ISIS leave three dead: MonitorIraq building Syria wall to keep out ISIS fighters
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UN says 100 children missing from Syria jail attacked by ISIS

Russia and Ukraine on Friday resumed peace talks by video conference, after Moscow reported a Ukrainian strike on a fuel depot in western Russia, a negotiator said.“We are continuing talks by video conference,” Moscow’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on Telegram. “Our positions on Crimea and Donbass have not changed.”For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held face-to-face talks in Istanbul on Tuesday. The talks provided a spark of hope for an end to the more than a month of fighting in Ukraine but there are few signs of attacks abating on the ground. Earlier Friday a Russian governor accused Ukrainian helicopters of bombing a fuel storage depot in the western Russian city of Belgorod sparking a huge fire.The incident marked the first time Russia has reported a Ukrainian air strike on its territory since President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24.The Kremlin said the reported Ukrainian air strike will hinder new rounds of peace talks. Read more:Red Cross teams on way to Mariupol, but without aidRussia will not turn off gas supplies to Europe from Friday: KremlinRussia’s Lavrov lobbies India after Western emissaries make case for sanctions
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Russia-Ukraine talks resume via video: Negotiator

Responding to the news that Bahraini human rights defender, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, wrongfully imprisoned for the past 11 years, is being denied medical care, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said: “We are very concerned about the health of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, whom his daughter says is being denied ..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Bahrain: Human rights defender at risk of blindness due to denial of medical care

In addition to the deluxe apartments, Port TLV will also include a five-star, 44-room boutique hotel on the first and second floors of the building. 
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Port TLV Residence starring at Jerusalem Post Conference in London

Dr. Haim Amir: “We all had to re-invent ourselves in order to survive.”
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Essence Group founder: Israeli innovation driven by necessity

The Turkish president phoned Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog to offer his condemnation of the latest Palestinian terror attacks.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Turkey's Erdoğan 'strongly condemns' terror attacks in Israel