Middle East Experience

Saudi Arabia is home to over 5,300 mineral locations, Professor Abdulaziz bin Labon, Chairman of the Saudi Geologists Cooperative Association, said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).The statement was made as Riyadh hosts the inaugural Ministerial Roundtable on Sustainable Future Minerals as part of the Future Minerals Forum.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Previous mineral exploration processes showed that the 5,300 locations include diverse metal and non-metal rocks, building materials, decorative rocks and gemstones.The professor noted that the rocks can be found in the Arabian Shield region whose total area stands at approximately 630,000 square kilometers.While a comprehensive mineral survey of the Arabian Shield will explore more mineral resources, almost one third of the total area of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia boasts metal minerals, such as gold, silver, copper, foil and iron and other rare and radioactive elements.He highlighted minerals as the “third economic pillar for the national economy,” after oil and petrochemicals.Read more:World gov't officials attend meetings on sustainable future minerals held in RiyadhGCC leaders in Beijing to meet with Chinese officials
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Over 5,300 mineral locations in Saudi Arabia to aid economic growth: Expert

Lebanon’s currency has lost more than 15 percent of its value since the start of the year, piling further pressure on the population more than two years into a crisis that has plunged many into poverty and fueled demonstrations.Protesters took to the streets in several areas of the country on Monday night, burning tires and voicing anger at the dire economic situation amid political deadlock. Cars queued at fuel stations to fill up before another expected rise in prices.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“You would like to believe that you can be hopeful, but there is no hope,” said Abdel-Rahman Shaar, who runs a computer shop in central Beirut.“People are dying of hunger... , the state is in a coma and the dollar (exchange rate) is crashing.”The Lebanese pound, which has lost more than 90 percent of its value since 2019, was trading at a new low of more than 33,000 to the dollar on Tuesday from 27,400 on Dec. 31. It had traded at 1,500 before the economy was crushed by a mountain of debt.Public frustration has been fueled by political sclerosis among Lebanon’s sectarian leaders.A new cabinet, appointed in September as a step towards reviving talks with the International Monetary Fund, has not met for nearly three months amid a dispute over the conduct of an investigation into the devastating 2020 Beirut port explosion.President Michel Aoun held a series of meetings on Monday and Tuesday to win support for a national dialogue conference to discuss the economic crisis among other issues, but he has so far only secured backing from his close allies.“At the best of times, the call for dialogue is normal and necessary. At a time of hardship, pressure and bickering, it is more than necessary not to stop dialogue,” Mohamed Raad, a lawmaker from Hezbollah, a powerful Shia Muslim group that has an alliance with Aoun’s Christian party, said after meeting the president.Others, including rivals from Aoun’s Christian community, have rejected the proposal. Some have said talks must wait until a parliamentary election in May, while others have said the cabinet needs to meet first.Aoun’s six-year term as president, a post reserved for a Christian under Lebanon’s sectarian system, ends later this year adding further uncertainty to the political outlook.Read more: End Hezbollah’s terrorist hegemony, Saudi envoy tells Lebanon’s politicians
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lebanon’s currency plummets again amid financial crisis and political deadlock

The leading pharmaceutical’s Covid-19 oral treatment had earlier been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval under an emergency use authorisation (EUA) in December 2021. Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla announced on Monday that a new vaccine targeting the fast-spreading Omicron variant will be ready in March this year adding that the leading ..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Pfizer CEO says Omicron vaccine will be ready in March

Maccabi and the Social Workers Union have marked a rise in mental illnesses among teens and in waiting times for treatment.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Mental illnesses among teens at a crisis since COVID-19

The High Court hinted it would support the IDF closing the case regarding their mistaken killing of four innocent Palestinian minors on Gaza beach during the 2014 Gaza War.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: High Court leans toward closing case of IDF killing 4 Palestinian minors on Gaza beach

Taking Shabwa would enable government forces to cut major supply lines for the Houthis, who have been attacking the key city of Marib..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Yemen pro-government troops seize full control of oil-rich Shabwa

The terrorist, 29-year-old Muhammad Nazmi Yassin, was caught by IDF forces and will be interrogated.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: IDF soldier injured in West Bank car-ramming attack

"Shaked must decide if she is accountable to the Islamic Movement or the citizens of Israel," Smotrich said.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: High court rules Shaked breaking the law

Suicide has remained the leading cause of IDF deaths in 2021, with a third of Israeli soldiers who committed suicide in the past year being Ethiopian.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Rise in IDF fatalities to 31 fallen soldiers, suicide remains leading cause

The construction of a new airport is in line with studies and proposals in the fourth structural plan for Kuwait, Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Kuwait to build a new airport in the northern area