Middle East Experience

Despite the surge, Turkey is not so far considering introducing new restrictions but is urging people to practice social distancing..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Turkey records more than 74,000 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

Responding to yesterday’s decision –announced today– by Egypt’s Court of Cassation to confirm its conviction against Amal Fathy, a women’s rights defender who criticised the Egyptian authorities’ failure to protect women from sexual harassment, and sentence her to one year in prison, Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Research and Advocacy Director, said: ..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Egypt: Hopes for justice crushed as court confirms prison term for women’s rights defender

The US has granted South Korea a license to pay damages owed to an Iranian company, possibly a gesture from the US to Iran to move nuclear talks forward.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: US grants Iran sanctions exemption to South Korea

Omar Asad reportedly died following his arrest by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Palestinian man, 80, found dead after Israeli raid in West Bank

Britain Prince Andrew has returned his military affiliations and royal patronages to Queen Elizabeth, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday, a day after his lawyers failed to persuade a US judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit against him which accuses the royal of sexual abuse.“With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”Earlier on Thursday, the legal team for Britain’s Prince Andrew said they would not be making any comment after his lawyers failed to persuade a US judge to dismiss Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.In a decision made public on Wednesday, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said Giuffre, 38, could pursue claims that Andrew battered her and intentionally caused her emotional distress while the late financier Jeffrey Epstein was trafficking her.“The legal team have advised me that there will be no comment,” a spokeswoman said.The 61-year-old prince, the second son of 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth, has denied Giuffre’s accusations that he forced her to have sex more than two decades ago at a London home of former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and abused her at two Epstein properties.The judge’s decision means Andrew could be forced to give evidence at a trial which could begin between September and December 2022 if no settlement were reached.The prince was forced to step down from public duties in 2019 because of his connections to Epstein and in the wake of a disastrous BBC TV interview which he had hoped would clear his name, but instead led to ridicule and further questions.Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday it would not comment on an ongoing legal matter.Read more: UK police won’t act against Prince Andrew over abuse claimBritain's Prince Andrew accepts he has been served in US sex casePrince Andrew's lawyers question service of legal documents of sexual assault lawsuit
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Britain’s Prince Andrew gives up military titles, patronages: Buckingham palace

As the number of new COVID-19 cases in the last week jumped by about 55 percent, a US-based researcher warned that more infections mean new variants as the older ones change through mutations, explaining the highly contagious omicron variant is a rapid multiplier.“Omicron multiplies 70 times faster than the delta variant, that means an infected person is carrying (a) great load of virus and shedding more and more virus in surroundings,” said researcher Pratibha Bhalla at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.In an interview with Al Arabiya English, Bhalla clarified that every human being infected is acting as a platform for the virus.“Spike protein on [the] virus enables its entry inside the cells, new mutations in spike protein allow the virus to evade antibodies generated by vaccines and enter human cells more effectively, hence favoring the spread of virus,” she warned.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Bhalla who cited studies published by Pubmed and CDC that detail the main reason for the skyrocketing infections was “due to omicron’s R value, which is four times higher than the delta variant. R value is a number that tells how many people can get infected from another person. An omicron positive person can infect three to five people at one time.”In its latest pandemic report published on January 12, the World Health Organization stated that there were about 15 million new COVID-19 cases last week and more than 43,000 deaths.Despite health specialists’ insistence that the omicron variant is just like flu or common cold in young adults, Bhalla warned against underestimating its impact.Omicron and vaccines’ effectivenessBhalla said unvaccinated omicron infections can experience symptoms, such as chest pain and shortness of breath, while infected vaccinated people who haven’t received the booster shot would experience symptoms, like headache, runny nose, watery eyes, cough with phlegm, scratchy throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, fever, and chills.Who are the most hit?COVID-19 has always been particularly impactful on elderly persons, immunocompromised individuals, people with underlying conditions and long-term illnesses. This is not only because of their lower immunity, but also their increased exposure to healthcare facilities overwhelmed with COVID-19 positive patients.“In [the] omicron wave, we see people with mild symptoms and many asymptomatic carriers who are refraining to isolate themselves and further contributing to spread. Making it [a] vicious circle,” Bhalla tells Al Arabiya English.The US reported 1.35 million new infections on January 10, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total for any country in the world.Read more:COVID-19 cases rose by more than 50 percent, deaths stable: WHOExplainer: Where are the COVID-19 tests that President Biden promised?Omicron has higher asymptomatic carriage: Study
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: More infections mean new COVID-19 variants, warns US based researcher

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas at thousands of protesters heading toward the presidential palace on Thursday to demonstrate against an October coup, witnesses said.The demonstrations which converged from several parts of Khartoum came only days after the United Nations launched a bid to facilitate talks between Sudanese factions.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The push was aimed at resolving the crisis since the October 25 military coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the resignation of the civilian prime minister Abdalla Hamdok earlier this month. Protesters chanted: “With all our power, we are heading to the palace” as they converged on the city center, witnesses said.Others hollered: “Burhan is dirty, brought to (power) by the Islamists,” who were dominant under the three-decade rule of general-turned-president Omar al-Bashir, ousted in April 2019 following months of mass protests.Security forces fired volleys of tear gas to disperse the protesters, according to witnesses.Pro-democracy activists have organized regular demonstrations against the military takeover, which derailed a transition to civilian rule following al-Bashir’s ouster.The protests have been met by a bloody crackdown that has left at least 63 people dead and hundreds wounded, according to medics.On Monday, UN special representative Volker Perthes said he was launching “consultations” with political and social actors along with armed and civil society groups.“We don’t accept this initiative at all,” 62-year-old protester Awad Saleh said.“It’s not clear what points it constitutes and so for us it is deficient.”The latest UN push received a mixed response from Sudanese factions.The Sudanese Professionals Association, an independent trade union confederation which has been instrumental in organizing the protests, said that it completely rejected the UN-facilitated talks.The mainstream faction of the Forces for Freedom and Change, the leading civilian pro-democracy group, said it will “discuss” the invitation internally and announce its vision.Spokesman Wagdy Saleh said the FFC rejected “any partnership” with the military.But the ruling Sovereign Council – formed by Burhan following the coup with himself as chairman – welcomed the talks.The UN push came a week after the resignation of the civilian premier, who had only been reinstated on November 21 after weeks of house arrest during the coup.In his resignation speech, Hamdok warned that Sudan was now at a “dangerous crossroads threatening its very survival.”Read more:Sudan’s medics shaken by attacks on hospitals treating anti-coup protestersOne demonstrator killed in Sudan protests against military, death toll at 62: MedicsTop US lawmakers condemn Sudan's military for use of violence
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Tear gas fired as Sudan anti-coup demonstrators keep up protests

Hundreds of teachers rallied in cities across Iran Thursday to protest against changes to their pay and pensions that come just as soaring prices hit their wallets, state media reported.In Gilan province on the Caspian Sea coast, around 150 teachers marched in the city of Rasht, while another 70 did so in Lahijan, the state broadcaster reported.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Protesters chanted slogans such as “if embezzlement is reduced, our problems will be solved,” and “we only heard promises, we didn’t see justice,” it said.In Iran’s third-largest city, Isfahan, around 300 teachers demonstrated, the Mehr news agency reported, adding that another protest was held in Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province in the southwest.Social media platforms showed similar protests in Neyshabur in the northeast, Kermanshah in the west and Khorramshahr in the southwest.The government wants to introduce a new grading system for teachers based on experience and performance.The protesters are opposed to the way it will be implemented. They are also demanding that the government move more quickly to align pensions with the salaries of working teachers.Hit by severe economic sanctions imposed since 2018 by the United States, Iran has seen inflation soar to close to 60 percent, exacting a heavy toll on the standard of living of public sector staff and others on fixed incomes.Civil servants in one of Iran’s most powerful sectors, the judiciary, held rare demonstrations on Sunday against the government’s refusal to increase their pay.On Monday, attorney general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri threatened to prosecute the protesters.Ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi, who assumed his post in August, had proposed a salary hike in the last weeks of his previous job as judicial chief.But the new government which he leads changed its mind.Read more:Iran judicial workers hold rare protests after promised wage hike refusedBaktash Abtin’s death part of Iran ‘systematic killing’ of jailed dissidents: InmatesPrinceton scholar under fire for boasting about Iran threat against US over Soleimaniwith AFP
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Hundreds of teachers in Iran protest against new pay scales as inflation bites

The protests continued on Thursday even though the planting by KKL-JNF was completed on Wednesday. Despite agreements between the gov't and Bedouin leaders dozens of saplings were uprooted.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Renewed protests, 2,000 Bedouin riot in Negev over tree planting

Two deadly accidents in less than a week mark an awful beginning to IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi’s last year in office.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: It is tragedy after tragedy for the IDF in 2022 - analysis