Middle East Experience

Bassil’s party has faced growing political pressure to distance itself from Hezbollah since the country’s 2019 financial meltdown..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement signals possible end of Hezbollah alliance

A military exercise launched earlier this week by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) was a warning to Israel, the head of the IRGC said on Friday, adding that if Israel takes military action against Tehran, “we will cut off their hands.”“The message of this exercise is a serious and real warning to the threats of the Zionist regime officials,” Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami said, referring to a five-day military exercise launched by the IRGC across Iran’s south on Monday in which the IRGC’s aerospace division and ground and naval forces participated.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“If they (Israel) make any mistakes, we will cut off their hands,” Salami warned.Salami’s comments come amid heightened tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.Israel has warned it would use force should diplomacy fail to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.Israel has the capability to carry out a successful strike on Iran’s nuclear sites as early as “tomorrow,” Israel’s incoming Air Force chief said earlier this week.Talks between the remaining signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – Iran, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain –resumed in Vienna in November after a five-month pause.The eighth round of the talks will resume on Monday, officials have said.The US is participating indirectly in the talks that aim to bring Iran back into compliance with the nuclear pact and facilitate a US return to the agreement.Under the deal, Iran limited its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, reimposing sweeping sanctions on Tehran.Iran has since started enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity – a big step closer to the 90 percent that is weapons-grade material.Read more:Lift sanctions to dispel concerns over Iran nuclear program, Tehran tells WestIsrael can strike Iran ‘tomorrow’, Hezbollah might hit back: New Air Force chiefIran nuclear talks to resume next week: EU chair
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran IRGC chief says military drill warning to Israel

The United Arab Emirates has recorded another steep incline of new COVID-19 cases for another consecutive day.The country’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced on Friday that it had recorded another 1,352 COVID-19 cases and one virus-related death in the last 24 hours.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.This is up from 1,002 COVID-19 cases on Thursday – a 35 percent increase – and up from 665 cases on Wednesday, 452 cases on Tuesday, and 301 cases on Monday.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.A total of 2,155 people have died from the virus in the UAE since the start of the pandemic.The country has not specified whether any of the new cases were of the omicron variant.Meanwhile, health officials in the UAE have reassured residents that more than half of hospitals and ICU beds across the country are vacant and COVID-19 beds occupancy is less than three per cent amid a spike in coronavirus cases.The announcement was made during this week’s UAE’s weekly COVID-19 briefing, held by the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) on Tuesday.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.NCEMA said in a statement: “In light of the surge in infection rates in the country compared to previous weeks and months, we stress the health and medical situations in hospitals are stable.”“The country is monitoring variants and adopting appropriate plans to address the, and harness all available resources.”Read more:UAE bans travelers from Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria over COVID-19 concernsUAE COVID-19 daily cases rise by 50 pct, soar past the 1,000 mark
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE COVID-19 daily cases continue to climb, numbers rise by 35 pct

This jaw-dropping discovery focuses, fittingly enough, on the jaw, specifically the masseter: a muscle in the lower jaw that is essential for chewing.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Scientists discover new part of the human body - study

The probe had initially been approved in May by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council body in the aftermath of the Gaza war.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: 125 countries back opened-ended UNHRC war crimes probe against Israel

They are frustrated that Christian pilgrims did not receive an exemption to enter the locked-down country for Christmas, while Jewish groups have been allowed in.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Church leaders in Jerusalem accuse Israel of anti-Christian bias

Iran fired multiple ballistic missiles Friday at the close of five days of military drills that generals said were a warning to arch-enemy Israel.“These exercises were designed to respond to threats made in recent days by the Zionist regime,” Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri told state television.“Sixteen missiles aimed and annihilated the chosen target. In this exercise, part of the hundreds of Iranian missiles capable of destroying a country that dared to attack Iran were deployed,” he added.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The military drills dubbed Payambar-e-Azadm, or “Great Prophet,” began Monday in Bushehr, Hormozgan and Khuzestan provinces, each of which touch the Gulf.“The military exercise... is a serious warning to Zionist regime officials,” said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Major General Hossein Salami.“Make the slightest mistake, we will cut off their hand.”The drills come after US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, amid Israel’s opposition to efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.Bennett has accused Iran of “nuclear blackmail” and charged that revenue it gained from sanctions relief would be used to acquire weapons to harm Israelis.Israeli leaders have also hinted at striking Iran.Iran says it only wants to develop a civil nuclear program, but Western powers say its stocks of enriched uranium could be used to develop a nuclear weapon.Read more:Iran IRGC chief says military drill warning to IsraelIsrael can strike Iran ‘tomorrow’, Hezbollah might hit back: New Air Force chief
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran fires 16 missiles during annual drills in warning to Israel

2021 saw a change in Iran’s government and on-again, off-again nuclear talks..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: The Iran Nuclear Deal’s Long Year of Negotiations and Uncertainty

Iraq hopes that the slice of budget previously allocated for reparations would now be directed to development projects..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Iraq pays final war reparations to Kuwait

At least three major airlines have reported canceling dozens of flights as illnesses largely tied to the omicron variant of COVID-19 take a toll on flight crew numbers during the busy holiday travel season.Germany-based Lufthansa said Friday that it was canceling a dozen long-haul transatlantic flights over the Christmas holiday period because of a “massive rise” in sick leave among pilots. The cancellations on flights to Houston, Boston and Washington come despite a “large buffer” of additional staff for the period.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.The airline says it couldn’t speculate on whether COVID-19 infections or quarantines were responsible because it was not informed about the sort of illness. Passengers were booked on other flights.Lufthansa said in a statement that “we planned a very large buffer for the vacation period. But this was not sufficient due to the high rate of people calling in sick.”For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.In the US, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said they had to cancel dozens of Christmas Eve flights because of staff shortages tied to omicron.“The nationwide spike in omicron cases this week has had a direct impact on our flight crews and the people who run our operation,” United said in a statement to several news outlets. “As a result, we’ve unfortunately had to cancel some flights and are notifying impacted customers in advance of them coming to the airport.”The airline said it was canceling over 100 flights and working to rebook as many people as possible.Delta said it canceled around 90 flights Friday because of the possibility of bad weather and the impact the omicron after it had “exhausted all options and resources — including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover scheduled flying.”It said in a statement to several outlets that it was trying to get passengers to their destinations quickly.The cancellations come as coronavirus cases driven by the new variant further squeeze staffing at hospitals, police departments, supermarkets and other critical operations struggling to maintain a full contingent of front-line workers.Countries including Spain and the UK have reduced the length of COVID-19 quarantines to ease staffing shortages by letting people return to work sooner after testing positive or being exposed to the virus.Delta CEO Ed Bastian was among those who have called on the Biden administration to take similar steps or risk further disruptions in air travel.Read more:Morocco extends commercial flight ban due to COVID-19France recommends COVID-19 booster jap three months after initial vaccines
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lufthansa, Delta, United cancel dozens of Christmas flights amid COVID-19 surge