Middle East Experience

the “Journey” exhibition is in line with the emirate's efforts aimed at preserving the Arab and Islamic heritage..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Hajj 'journey' inspires Dubai Culture exhibition

The Arab Coalition said on Saturday that Iran-back Houthi militia in Yemen deliberately targeted the civilian communications infrastructure in southern Saudi Arabia on Friday evening.According to an Al Arabiya/AlHadath correspondent, the Houthi militia tried for the third time to target civilian communications with explosive-laden drones.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The Houthis attempts coincide with strikes by the Arab Coalition that inflicted huge losses among the militia in Marib, in central Yemen, and Shabwa over the past few days.The coalition said its forces carried out several strikes that destroyed six storage and launch sites for drones in Hajja at dawn on Saturday in response to the Houthis’ attacks.Read more:Arab Coalition pushes against Houthis in Yemen’s Marib and ShabwaAround 125 Houthis killed in clashes near Yemen’s MaribArab Coalition receives distress signal from oil tanker off Yemen’s Hodeidah port
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran-backed Houthis target civilian infrastructures in Saudi Arabia: Arab Coalition

A new book details how South Sudan’s founders forcibly conscripted tens of thousands of children..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: The Lost Boys Weren’t Lost. They Were Stolen.

Regarding the premiership, the Sadrist movement is said to lean towards maintaining current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in his position..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Sunni, Kurdish blocs back Sadrist Movement ahead of parliament session but will Kadhimi be the PM?

The United Arab Emirates has registered 2,655 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) reported on Saturday.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.According to a statement carried by Emirates News Agency WAM, three deaths due to COVID-19 complications have been reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 2,173.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.MoHAP also noted that an additional 1,034 individuals had fully recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 752,120.Meanwhile, all government employees in the United Arab Emirates’ capital must have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and had their booster dose to be able to enter the workplace, the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee announced on Wednesday.The rules will come into effect January 10 and comes alongside previous mandates that workers in the public sector must take a free PCR test every seven days.The rules do not apply to those have medical reasons.Read more:UAE COVID-19 daily figures decrease, 2,627 new cases recorded in 24 hoursSinopharm protein booster stronger against omicron than earlier shot: Abu Dhabi studySaudi Arabia COVID-19 daily figures decrease, 3068 new cases recorded in 24 hours
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE announces 2,655 new COVID-19 cases, three deaths in last 24 hours

Five drones seized last year — including a small observation drone downed on Tuesday — belonged to Hezbollah..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: ‘Learning race’ drives Israel-Hezbollah war of drones

President Joe Biden announced last month that the federal government will buy half a billion COVID-19 rapid test kits and distribute them free to people to use at home. But despite high public demand for tests, it will still be several more weeks before these kits are available to be shipped, White House officials said.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Does the government have the tests?Not yet. This week marked the close of an initial bidding period for test manufacturers to apply to the departments of Defense and Health and Human Services for contracts to make the tests.The first contract, worth $51.6 million, was awarded Thursday and a second for 13.3 million tests was assigned Friday.Additional contracts will be signed in the coming weeks, officials said. All 500 million kits will not arrive at the same time. They will be delivered in batches over months.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.When will the test kits be delivered?The federal government is expected to get delivery of the first batch of tests “over the next week or so,” according to White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients. Americans will start receiving them “in the coming weeks” he added.My drugstore doesn’t have any tests. how can I get a free kit from the government?You’ll go to a new government website to request a kit, but the site won’t be operating until after the first batch of test kits has been delivered to the government. “We’re obviously not going to put the website up until there are tests available,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last month.The Postal Service will handle fulfillment and shipment of tests to Americans’ doorsteps, officials said.Which home test will I get?It’s unclear. But Psaki noted that the Food and Drug Administration has approved several different brands of rapid home tests that are currently on the market. While they are packaged differently and may use slightly different procedures, officials said, their mechanisms of detection and effectiveness are generally the same.Will I be limited to one test or can i request multiple?To be determined. Officials are also working on policies for how frequently people can request a free test. That’s expected to come with a new focus on educating Americans about best practices for when they should take a test.Why is Biden buying these test kits?It represents an acknowledgement by the president that the administration needs to do more to increase access to COVID-19 testing, which is an important tool to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.In cases where infected people show symptoms or not, testing is the only way to find out if they have the virus so they can avoid being out and about and potentially spreading disease.Demand for test kits soared as the holidays neared and people grew eager to test themselves and their families before traveling and as the easily transmissible omicron variant spread rapidly in just a few weeks to become dominant strain in the US.Biden’s promise of 500 million test kits is in addition to the administration’s earlier pledge to send 50 million rapid tests to community health centers across the country.How much will the program cost?The purchase will be paid for with money from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill Biden signed into law in March, the White House said. The exact cost will be known soon.Is there another way to get a test kit for freeStarting Jan. 15, private insurers will be required to cover the cost of at-home testing, the same way they cover the cost of PCR lab tests. People will have the option of buying tests at a store or online, then seeking reimbursement from their health insurance provider. Those with public health insurance through Medicare or Medicaid, or without insurance, will be directed to the forthcoming website to order tests or to community health centers in their area offering free testing.Will the government program make it harder for me to find a test at the drugstore?White House officials say the government tests are coming from new manufacturing capacity and should not interfere with existing supplies that drugstores, health clinics and state governments are relying on.“These are additional tests,” Zients said, made possible by the fact that the FDA has authorized many new ones in the last few months. “So, there’s a lot more capacity for rapid tests.”Read more:Republican governors to file lawsuit over Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandateSupreme Court to hold special session on vaccine requirementsHospitalizations skyrocket in kids too young for COVID-19 shots
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Explainer: Where are the COVID-19 tests that President Biden promised?

Protests broke out in two refugee camps in the Palestinian Authority after the violent arrest of the son of Zacharia Zubeidi, one of six Palestinian security prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Violent arrest sparks protests against Palestinian Authority in refugee camps

Nearly a third of companies in the UAE are worried about the impact of being out of sync with other countries in the region..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: In UAE, people adjust to working on Friday

The protesters were supporters of former Albanian president and prime minister Sali Berisha, who was thrown out of the party last year after being banned from the US due to alleged corruption.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Albanian police fire teargas as protesters storm party offices