Middle East Experience

Organizers of the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival have carried out the biggest bust of Botox cheats in the event’s six-edition history, according to the official SPA news agency.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.At least 43 participants were found to have artificially tampered with the appearance of camels in various ways including injecting Botox into their lips.Other methods of manipulation included using rubber bands to distort body parts, and using gel implants.The stakes are high, as competition winners can take home a total of $66 million (250 million Saudi riyal) in prize money, and private sales can fetch millions of dollars.Saudi Arabia’s Camel Club, which organized the event, is using a host of high-tech methods to judge the competitors.Camels are inspected visually for desirable traits that include gait and physical proportions before undergoing x-rays, ultrasound tests, and genetic analysis.The Camel Club said that the high number of violators found is evidence of the “strength and strictness” of fighting tampering.A number of camel beauty pageants have sprung up in Gulf countries in recent years, including the Al Dhafra Festival in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.The contests pay tribute to the traditional Bedouin heritage of the Gulf, which placed a high level of importance on the desert-dwelling dromedaries.The King Abdulaziz Camel Festival is billed as the world’s largest and began on December 1.It is taking place on a 32 square kilometer area around 100 kilometers northeast of the Saudi capital Riyadh.Claims of Botox tampering have marred the festival since at least 2018.Read more: Camel beauty pageant to be held in Abu Dhabi from December 14-21Saudi Arabia gearing up for hosting world’s largest Camel FestivalClone your camel: Beauty pageants, races spur high demand
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi camel beauty pageant clamps down on Botox cheats

Shares in Saudi Tadawul Group, the owner and operator of the Kingdom’s bourse, opened almost 10 percent above its listing price in its Riyadh market debut on Wednesday. The bourse’s shares were priced at the top of the range last week, at 105 riyals ($27.99) per share. They opened at 115.4 riyals on Wednesday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Saudi Tadawul Group raised 3.78 billion riyals ($1.01 billion) via an initial public offering (IPO) that was 121 times oversubscribed.Read more: Saudi bourse operator Tadawul prices IPO at top of range, raises $1.01 bln
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Tadawul Group opens almost 10 pct above listing price in Riyadh market debut

A helicopter carrying India’s defense chief General Bipin Rawat crashed in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, the air force said.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The 63-year-old chief of defense staff was travelling in a Russian-made Mi-17V5 chopper that “met with an accident today near Coonoor, Tamil Nadu”, the Indian Air Force said on Twitter.Rawat is India’s first chief of defense staff, a position that the Indian government established in 2019, and is seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.He and his wife were on board along with other officers and were headed to the Defense Services Staff College, a senior army officer told AFP.Videos broadcast on Indian news channels showed a fiery wreck at the crash site in a dense forested area near the college in Nilgiris district.Media reports said the chopper took off from Sulur Air Force Station on Wednesday afternoon and that some passengers had been taken to hospitals for treatment.Rawat comes from a military family with several generations having served in the Indian armed forces.The general, who has four decades of service behind him, has commanded forces in Indian-administered Kashmir and along the Line of Actual Control bordering China.He is credited with reducing insurgency on India’s northeastern frontier and supervised a cross-border counter-insurgency operation into neighboring Myanmar.The air force said an inquiry was underway into the accident.Read more: Military helicopter crashes in Azerbaijan, 14 killedUS Navy helicopter crashes off San Diego coastFamilies of Kobe Bryant, helicopter crash victims reach settlement in suit
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Helicopter carrying Indian defense chief crashes

The UAE delegation visited the government-run Defence Industries Directorate (SSB) on Monday..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: In Turkey, UAE delegation discusses defence cooperation

Ties collapsed in October after Macron accused Algeria’s “political-military system” of rewriting history and fomenting “hatred towards France”..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: French FM attempts 'relaunch' of relationship with Algeria with visit

In the realm of Qatar and its human rights concerns, it's true that there are issues that need to be addressed, however it is also true that media coverage in Europe is often shrill and misaimed, writes David B Roberts..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: OPINION: Qatar 2022 and the ongoing western media blame

This week, from 2016: When the battered body of a Cambridge PhD student was found outside Cairo, Egyptian police claimed he had been hit by a car. Then they said he was the victim of a robbery. Then they blamed a conspiracy against Egypt. But in a digital age, it’s harder than ever to get away with murder..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: From the archive: Who murdered Giulio Regeni? – podcast

So far, only 21 individuals in Israel have been found infected with the new Omicron variant.

Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israel hits highest number of COVID cases in weeks

While on duty, a team of detectives from the Lev HaBira police station noticed three people in a car who drew their suspicion, so they searched the vehicle.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Dozens of artifacts, some from Bar Kochba era, found by police, 3 arrested

When hornets attack their hives, Asian honey bees produce special warning sounds that sound like screams.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Asian honey bees 'scream' when attacked by hornets