Middle East Experience

There has been a slight decline in the number of daily UAE coronavirus cases – a day after recording a six month high in new infections.The Ministry of Health reported 1,732 new COVID-19 cases, 608 recoveries and one virus-related death on Monday.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.This is down from 1,803 cases of COVID-19 infections, 618 recoveries and two deaths on Sunday.Cases in the Gulf nation have been steadily rising at slow rates in recent months, but the last time the number of daily infections was this high was 2,184 cases on June 29.To date, there have been 753,065 COVID-19 individual infections in the country, and 2,159 deaths.The country has not specified whether any of the new cases where of the omicron variant, though it announced that it reported its first case of the new, highly transmissible variant on December 1.The UAE remains one of the top jurisdictions in the world when it comes to vaccination rates and has managed to report low numbers of cases and deaths in recent months while remaining open to business.The UAE announced in November that 100 percent of the population has received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 90.3 percent have been fully vaccinated.The Gulf state also made COVID-19 vaccine booster shots available for everyone over the age of 18 amid rising concerns over omicron.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Read more:UAE reports over 1,800 COVID-19 cases, highest daily infections since JulyExpo 2020 Dubai suspends some activities as precaution amid COVID-19 surge concernsEmirates, Hosn offer new solution to ease COVID travel requirements to EU countries
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE reports decline in daily COVID-19 cases, after six-month high in infections

Iran plans to announce the appointment of a new ambassador in Yemen after the death of previous envoy Hasan Irlu, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday.Tehran said on December 21 that Irlu, its envoy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa that is controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi group, died of COVID-19 after being repatriated in mid-December. Iran accused Saudi Arabia of having delaying his departure from Sanaa, a charge the Saudi government has strongly denied.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We are in the process of announcing a new ambassador” in Sanaa, Khatibzadeh told a news conference.An Arab-led coalition that has been battling Houthi forces in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government for more than six years has imposed a sea and air blockade on Houthi-controlled areas.The coalition intervened in Yemen against the Houthis after they ousted the Yemeni government from Sanaa in north Yemen. The government is now based in the southern Yemeni port of Aden.Read more:Arab Coalition slams Iran’s ‘defamatory’ claim over Irlu’s evacuation from YemenIran confirms the death of its envoy to Yemen’s Houthis after COVID-19 infectionIran envoy to Houthis leaves Yemen for COVID-19 treatment: Ministry
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran to announce new ambassador in Yemen after Irlu's death of COVID-19

After more than a year of war, the prospect of peace is fading and the risk of wider war or disintegration looms..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: How Ethiopia’s Conflict Deepened in 2021

Iraq’s Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals lodged by Iran-backed Shiite factions against the results of a parliamentary election, the chief judge said, derailing their attempt to overturn the vote in which they performed poorly. The Iran-backed factions, including powerful armed groups, had alleged irregularities in the Oct. 10 ballot.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The ratification, following a delay of more than two months, clears the way for a new parliament to hold its inaugural session within two weeks, under Iraqi law.“The Federal Supreme Court has ratified the results of the legislative elections,” its media officer announced in a brief statement.On Monday, the court rejected a motion filed by the Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU) militia alliance (Hashed al-Shaabi) contesting its defeat in the parliamentary election.“The Federal Court has decided to reject the complaint... and to make the plaintiffs bear the costs,” Judge Jassem Mohamed Aboud said, reading out the verdict.The court “rejects the request of the plaintiffs... not to ratify the final results of the election,” he said. “The verdict is binding on all authorities.”Reading Monday’s ruling, Chief judge Jassim Mohammed said that objections to the result, regardless of their basis, were undermining the value of the vote, weakening voters' confidence, and derailing the political process. The ruling was final and binding on all authorities, he said.In multi-confessional and multi-ethnic Iraq, the formation of governments has involved complex negotiations ever since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein.Shiite firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr was declared on November 30 as the biggest winner of the election.Sadr’s movement won nearly a fifth of the seats -- 73 out of the assembly’s total 329, well ahead of the 17 seats of the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance, the political arm of the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Unit.Popular Mobilization Unit leaders rejected the result -- sharply down from their 48 seats in the outgoing assembly -- as a “fraud.”The PMU organized protests and appealed the results hoping to have them annulled, claiming “serious violations.”The Fatah Alliance alleged the electronic voting system had failed to recognize the finger print identification of many voters.It also protested at what is claimed were the alleged failings of a new electronic machine used for the election.Shiite groups have dominated Iraqi politics since the US-led invasion of 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein.Sadr has said he will ally himself with whoever puts Iraq’s national interests, such as providing services for the population, first. That is an indication, Iraqi officials and Western diplomats say, that he may exclude some Iran-backed groups in favor of Kurdish and Sunni parties.Once parliament holds its inaugural session, lawmakers will elect a president, who will in turn appoint a prime minister to be approved by the legislature.With Reuters, AFPRead more: ‘Fraud’ case in Iraqi court against election results by PMU adjourned
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iraq supreme court ratifies October election results, rejects appeals

PM Naftali Bennett's daughter tested positive for COVID-19, and there is a good chance she has the Omicron variant.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Bennett to address Knesset from isolation

AID Genomics will help test and sequence in a coronavirus hotspot.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israel’s largest COVID testing company heads to Africa

Following the release of three Cameroonian students sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in jail for sharing a sarcastic text message that referenced Boko Haram, Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Director, said: “The release of Fomusoh Ivo Feh, Afuh Nivelle Nfor, and Azah Levis Gob, three young men who were absurdly punished ..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Cameroon: Release of students sentenced for 10 years for sharing joke on Boko Haram is a great relief

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee recently approved IDF soldiers in prisons and the police.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Knesset oks IDF soldiers in Mossad, Shin Bet, education

Israel is prepared to act alone against Iran in case it becomes necessary, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid warned on Monday as the eighth round of talks in Vienna to revive the abandoned 2015 nuclear accord are set to begin but concern remains that they are not going anywhere.“Of course, we prefer to act in international cooperation, but if necessary - we will act alone. We defend ourselves by ourselves,” Lapid told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, according to the Jerusalem Post.“We have presented to our allies with quite a bit of firm intelligence [on Iran's nuclear program]. [It was not] opinions and positions, [but] intelligence that proves Iran is deceiving the world in a completely systematic way,” he added.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Lapid said all Iran cared about was for the US to lift the sanctions and Tehran can pour billions of dollars into its nuclear program and into funding its proxy of Shia militias in the region.Currently, tensions are high over whether or not the Vienna talks to revive the abandoned 2015 Iran nuclear deal will succeed.The US has long been saying that if diplomacy failed with Iran, it was willing to turn to “plan B”, without specifying details.Meanwhile, Washington ally Israel has grown impatient and has repeatedly announced it is preparing for a military strike on Iranian nuclear targets.Read more:Israel can strike Iran ‘tomorrow’, Hezbollah might hit back: New Air Force chiefIsrael might take greater action against Iran, Tehran is now weak: Defense MinisterAs nuclear talks resume, Israel PM says worried US is readying to lift Iran sanctions
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Israel will act alone against Iran if needed: Foreign Minister

A Canadian couple were the first to marry under a new law on the personal status of non-Muslims in Abu Dhabi..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: UAE issues first civil marriage license for non-Muslim couple