Middle East Experience

The Wagner group was behind two of the three attempts.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Ukraine's Zelensky nearly assassinated three times this week - report

China has discussed diverting international flights away from Shanghai to other cities, as the financial center’s growing omicron outbreak puts pressure on quarantine hotels and isolation facilities, according to people familiar with the matter.The country’s aviation authority asked airlines to nominate alternative ports of arrival for Shanghai flights, the people said, asking not to be named as the discussions were confidential. Passenger routes from Hong Kong won’t be affected, they said. One of the people said flights from Macau and Taiwan would also be exempted.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Officials cited stretched capacity at the quarantine hotels all travelers into China are required to isolate in, and concerns that space may be needed if the outbreak in Shanghai worsens. China isolates all virus cases, including those in the community, as part of its COVID-19 Zero policy.The diversion may last for as long as six weeks, and could come into force as soon as mid-March, though it is still under consideration, according to one of the people. One airline is looking to add flights to Chengdu and maintain a service to Shanghai, just with fewer flights planned.The move won’t affect cargo flights, another person said.The Civil Aviation Administration of China didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Flights into Shanghai from Hong Kong had already been capped at 50 percent of usual capacity as the route saw increased demand from people trying to flee the city’s explosive outbreak. Shanghai, home to China’s main stock exchange and many company headquarters, is experiencing its most significant flareup of the pandemic, with the country’s strict border curbs largely keeping COVID-19 out until more transmissible variants like delta and omicron emerged.The city reported 75 new cases on Friday, and said it would close most schools to in-person learning.China’s mandatory quarantine policy and border curbs have severely reduced the number of international flights into the country, with some carriers not flying there at all since the pandemic. Some foreign airlines are still operating despite punitive policies that have seen bans meted out to airlines that bring in COVID-19 cases. China blocked some flights from the US as a precaution, rankling carriers and Washington.United Airlines Holdings, American Airlines, Finnair Oyj and Etihad Airways PJSC are among the foreign airlines still flying into Shanghai.Hong Kong’s outbreak, which went from a few hundred cases to the highest death rate among major economies in a matter of weeks, has triggered an outflow of people, with many seeking to get into the mainland where authorities are still deploying a zero-tolerance approach to the virus and trying to find and eliminate cases.Read more: Travel to 15 countries from Saudi Arabia remains suspended due to COVID-19
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: China looking to divert flights from Shanghai as COVID-19 surges

Here are seven changes you should make as a parent to accommodate your child growing up in a worldwide pandemic.

Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: COVID-19: How to parent kids who grew up in a pandemic

VFI volunteer program that was temporarily shut down due to COVID-19 will resume operations on March 27.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: American VFI volunteers to return to Israeli military bases

The loss of trade adds to strains on Turkey’s economy, with officials estimating that more than $1 billion is directly at risk to the textile industry alone if the conflict in Ukraine continues..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Turkish textile industry to lose billion from Ukraine war

Russia is blocking Meta Platforms Inc’s Facebook, the country’s communications regulator said on Friday, in response to what it said were restrictions of access to Russian media on the platform.The regulator, Roskomnadzor, said there had been 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media by Facebook since October 2020, including restrictions in recent days on state-backed channels like RT and the RIA news agency.The move is a major escalation in an ongoing confrontation between big tech companies and Russia, which has in recent years issued a slew of fines and hobbled services through slowdowns. The tensions have ramped up amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special operation.”For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Tass news agency reported on Friday that Russia has restricted access to Twitter. Interfax news agency earlier said the service had been blocked.Twitter Inc did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Meta’s head of global affairs Nick Clegg said the company would continue to do everything it could to restore its services.“Soon millions of ordinary Russian will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and friends and silenced from speaking out,” he said, in a statement posted on Twitter.Meta in a blog said it was working to keep its services available “to the greatest extent possible” but it had stopped showing ads to users in Russia and barred Russian advertisers from running ads anywhere in the world “due to the difficulties of operating in Russia at this time.”Tech companies such as Alphabet Inc’s Google have also paused advertising in Russia amid growing censorship demands.Last week, Moscow said it was partially limiting access to Facebook, a move the company said came after it refused a government request to stop the independent fact-checking of several Russian state media outlets. On Saturday, Twitter also said its service was being restricted for some Russian users.Major tech companies have faced pressure to respond to the February 24 invasion, which has led to economic sanctions against Moscow by governments around the world. Russian state-run media has emerged as a key flashpoint between Moscow and social media platforms during the conflict.Meta this week said it had restricted access to RT and Sputnik across the European Union and was globally demoting content from Russian state-controlled outlets’ Facebook pages and Instagram accounts, as well as posts containing links to those outlets on Facebook.Russia has made several moves to crack down on foreign news media in recent days. It cut access to several news organizations’ websites, including the BBC, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty for spreading what it says is false information about its actions in Ukraine.Ukraine’s government had called on Meta and other platforms during the conflict to withdraw their services from Russia. Online speech experts and rights advocates have raised concerns about the impact of blocking online services for Russian citizens trying to organize or get information.Meta had about 7.5 million users on Facebook in Russia as of last year and 122.2 million users across its other services, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, according to estimates from Insider Intelligence. The leading Russia-based social network VK had 63 million users, the researcher estimated.Popular VPN apps have been downloaded more than 1.3 million times in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine began, according to data from researcher AppFigures, which described the figure as a major surge.Meta was also one of several tech companies facing possible punitive measures in Russia after they failed to open local offices and take other measures required by a communications law passed this summer.Tech companies globally have pulled out of Russia in response to requests from governments or to signal support for Ukraine. US internet provider Cogent Communications said on Friday it was cutting internet service to Russian clients.Earlier this week, business software giant Oracle Corp said it was suspending all operations in Russia, while rival SAP SE said it would pause all sales in the country. A Ukraine government official had tweeted at both companies asking for support.Roskomnadzor said in its statement that Meta had restricted access to the accounts of state-backed news outlets in recent days, listing RT, Sputnik, the RIA news agency, the defense ministry’s Zvezda TV and websites gazeta.ru and lenta.ru.It said such restrictions violated the key principles of freedom of information and Russian internet users’ unimpeded access to Russian media.Read more:Russian police search offices of banned rights group Memorial, sparking outcryRussia restricts access to BBC Russian service, Radio Liberty: RIA‘I feel empty, scared’: Dubai-based Ukrainian expats share their ordeal amid invasion
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Russia blocks Facebook, accusing it of restricting access to Russian media

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan encouraged Russia to “strengthen dialogue” with Ukraine during a call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.The two ministers reportedly “discussed the latest developments related to the crisis in Ukraine,” according to the statement.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Additionally, the duo explored ways to strengthen bilateral ties, primarily “security and stability in the Middle East,” according to the ministry’s report.Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, with Reuters reporting at least 9,100 deaths and one million displaced as of March 5. It marks the biggest attack on a European state since World War 2.This has resulted in drastic measures from NATO and other world powers, including sanctions that sever logistics, market access, and dealings powerful individuals with ties to Kremlin.While these sanctions are expected to halt Russia’s economic growth and sustenance, no direct impact has been recorded on the war front.In contrast, Moscow continues to maintain that the invasion is a “special operation” to capture individuals it regards as dangerous nationalists and has denied targeting civilians.However, media reports and verified government findings refute the claim. On March 4, the Ukrainian authorities reported that 47 people were killed in air strikes conducted on a residential district of the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.The town of Chernihiv lies 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of Kyiv, which the Russian forces have been trying to invade from the north.But more recently, Russia seized Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in a violent take over which resulted in a fire in the vicinity of the reactors.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is constantly monitoring the safety of the plant, with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog offering to travel to Chernobyl to negotiate with Ukraine and Russia on ensuring the security of Ukraine’s nuclear sites.With agenciesRead more:Russia blocks Facebook, accusing it of restricting access to Russian mediaUkraine to join NATO cyber defense center as ‘contributing participant’US Embassy in Ukraine calls nuclear power plant attack ‘war crime’
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia, Russia foreign ministers review Ukraine invasion, Middle East security

Elon Musk says more fossil fuel production is needed now, even if it’s bad for his electric car company, Tesla Inc.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Hate to say it, but we need to increase oil & gas output immediately,” the billionaire tweeted Saturday, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine chokes off fuel supplies and drives up gas prices.Musk signaled that the adoption of electric models and a wider shift to renewable energy couldn’t be accelerated fast enough to shield consumers from higher prices in the short-term.“Obviously, this would negatively affect Tesla, but sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil & gas exports,” said Musk.His tweets come with the Biden administration now weighing a ban on US imports of Russian crude oil, after earlier rebuffing the idea, according to people familiar with the matter. Oil industry leaders in the US are also calling for support to boost production.Oil capped its biggest weekly gain on record Friday, while commodities from crops and metals to gas have also surged on the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Read more:Russians rush to shop amid fast-weakening rouble, fears for futureRussia to allow humanitarian corridors in Ukraine: Defense ministryRussia blocks Facebook, accusing it of restricting access to Russian media
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Musk says Russia-Ukraine war means more oil production needed now

Payments company PayPal Holdings Inc shut down its services early on Saturday in Russia, citing “the current circumstances,” joining many financial and tech companies in suspending operations there after the invasion of Ukraine.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Under the current circumstances, we are suspending PayPal services in Russia,” President and Chief Executive Dan Schulman said in a statement.He added that the company “stands with the international community in condemning Russia’s violent military aggression in Ukraine.”A company spokesperson said PayPal will support withdrawals “for a period of time, ensuring that account balances are dispersed in line with applicable laws and regulations.”PayPal, which had only allowed cross-border transactions by users in Russia, stopped accepting new users in the country on Wednesday.Ukrainian government officials had been calling on PayPal to quit Russia and help them with fundraising.PayPal said on Friday that “since the beginning of the invasion, PayPal has helped raise over $150 million for charities supporting response efforts in Ukraine, one of the largest efforts we've seen in such a short period of time.”PayPal’s suspension in Russia also applies to its money transfer tool Xoom. Rivals Wise and Remitly earlier suspended some services in Russia.Read more:Airbnb suspends operations in Belarus, Russia amid Ukraine warEnergy supplies from Russia still reaching UK ports, shipping data showsBinance, Coinbase say no plans to ban Russians from crypto platforms
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: PayPal shuts down its services in Russia citing invasion of Ukraine

Ethiopia can end its civil war by upholding its constitution..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: There Is a Path to Peace in Tigray