Middle East Experience

Pakistan on Saturday received a $3 billion loan from Saudi Arabia, the prime minister’s finance adviser said, as part of an economic support package.The South Asian country has faced growing economic challenges, with high inflation, sliding forex reserves, a widening current account deficit and a depreciating currency.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Shaukat Tarin, finance adviser to Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan, said in a tweet: “I want to thank His Excellency Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the kind gesture.”The loan from Saudi Arabia will be for one year at a 4 percent interest rate under the terms of the package, which was signed last month.“This is positive news ... and will help bolster both the foreign exchange reserves and sentiments in the forex market,” Saad Hashemy, executive director at BMA Capital said.The loan comes a week after the International Monetary Fund agreed with Pakistan on measures needed to revive a stalled $6 billion funding program.The completion of the review, pending since earlier this year, would make available 750 million in IMF special drawing rights, or around $1 billion, bringing total disbursements so far to about $3 billion.Pakistan’s central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points to 8.75 percent to counter inflationary pressures.Inflation had reached 11.5 percent in November, up from 9.2 percent a month earlier.The Pakistani rupee, which closed on Friday at 176.77 at inter-bank against a dollar, has depreciated more than 11 percent since the start of this year.Read more:Omicron variant could slow global growth, says IMF chief GeorgievaBitcoin plunges over 20 pct in another indication of global market nervesDidi shares plunge more than 20 pct on plan to delist from NYSE, months after debut
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Pakistan receives bln loan from Saudi Arabia, says PM’s finance adviser

This could be the first reported case in the species, according to zoo staff.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Two hippos in Belgian zoo test positive for COVID-19

The Arab Coalition said it has conducted 11 separate operations targeting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, killing 60 Houthis and destroying seven military vehicles in the past 24 hours.The commander of Yemen’s third military region in Marib responsible for combat operations on various fronts of the city said the Yemeni army has made several advances in recent days.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app."There have been great advances in the past two days in Bayhan, Usaylan and Harib," Major General Mansour Thawabeh told Al Arabiya noting that "the army forces cut the Houthi supply line between Bayhan and Harib."The Arab Coalition announced early on Saturday that it had destroyed a ballistic missile launcher in southern Sanaa, which led to the killing of a group of "experts" who assist the Houthis.Read more:More than 90 Houthis killed in last 24 hours in Yemen’s Marib: Arab CoalitionUS envoy Lenderking returns to Gulf for talks on Yemen, IranArab Coalition releases details on latest air strike on Yemen Houthi military camps
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Arab Coalition conducts 11 operations in Marib, 60 Houthis killed

Air traffic control told the passenger plane to lower its course by 500 meters (1,640 feet) when a spy plane crossed a civilian flight path.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israeli flight to Russia forced to reduce altitude due to spy plane

Student stabbed to death at Jenin university
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Anti-PA ‘intifada’ in Bethlehem threatens Christmas festivities

A video went viral on social media showing the terrorist bent over on the ground with Border Police officers aiming their guns at him.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israeli injured in Damascus Gate stabbing attack

After three months, Dimiter Tzantchev, the head of the European Union delegation in Israel, will present his credentials to the president, followed one day later by US ambassador designate Tom Nides.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Nides to present credentials Sunday, EU ambassador on Monday

The Lebanon-Gulf dispute has exacerbated an already dire situation in Lebanon, which is in the grip of a deep economic and financial crisis..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Macron pushes for Saudis to 'fully engage' in Lebanon but obstacles remain

The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up a snippet of genetic material from another virus - possibly one that causes the common cold - present in the same infected cells, according to researchers.This genetic sequence does not appear in any earlier versions of the coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, but is ubiquitous in many other viruses including those that cause the common cold, and also in the human genome, researchers said.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.By inserting this particular snippet into itself, Omicron might be making itself look “more human,” which would help it evade attack by the human immune system, said Venky Soundararajan of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based data analytics firm nference, who led the study posted on Thursday on the website OSF Preprints.This could mean the virus transmits more easily, while only causing mild or asymptomatic disease. Scientists do not yet know whether Omicron is more infectious than other variants, whether it causes more severe disease or whether it will overtake Delta as the most prevalent variant. It may take several weeks to get answers to these questions.Cells in the lungs and in the gastrointestinal system can harbor SARS-CoV-2 and common-cold coronaviruses simultaneously, according to earlier studies. Such co-infection sets the scene for viral recombination, a process in which two different viruses in the same host cell interact while making copies of themselves, generating new copies that have some genetic material from both “parents.”This new mutation could have first occurred in a person infected with both pathogens when a version of SARS-CoV-2 picked up the genetic sequence from the other virus, Soundararajan and colleagues said in the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.The same genetic sequence appears many times in one of the coronaviruses that causes colds in people - known as HCoV-229E - and in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, Soundararajan said.South Africa, where Omicron was first identified, has the world’s highest rate of HIV, which weakens the immune system and increases a person’s vulnerability to infections with common-cold viruses and other pathogens. In that part of the world, there are many people in whom the recombination that added this ubiquitous set of genes to Omicron might have occurred, Soundararajan said.“We probably missed many generations of recombinations” that occurred over time and that led to the emergence of Omicron, Soundararajan added.More research is needed to confirm the origins of Omicron’s mutations and their effects on function and transmissibility. There are competing hypotheses that the latest variant might have spent some time evolving in an animal host.In the meantime, Soundararajan said, the new findings underscore the importance of people getting the currently available COVID-19 vaccines.“You have to vaccinate to reduce the odds that other people, who are immunocompromised, will encounter the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” Soundararajan said.Read more:India reports highest COVID-19 fatalities since July as states update talliesOmicron variant could slow global growth, says IMF chief GeorgievaWHO says measures against delta work for omicron variant too
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Omicron variant may have picked up a piece of common-cold virus: Researchers

American official said that if the Iranian side does return to the table ready to deal,..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: US slams Iran's stalling at talks, hints at 'other tools'