Middle East Experience

“The arrest of NRK journalists in Qatar is unacceptable,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatar reporters’ arrest sparks diplomatic dispute with Norway

World Bank warns that “without action, water constraints will lead to large losses across multiple sectors of the economy.”..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Iraq risks 20 percent drop in water resources by 2050

Iran wants the lifting of all sanctions in a verifiable process, its foreign minister said on Friday, three days before nuclear talks resume in Vienna.Monday’s indirect talks between the United States and Iran, with the participation of major powers, aim at bringing the two countries into full compliance with a 2015 deal. Washington abandoned the accord in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“If the opposing sides are prepared to return to their full obligations and the lifting of sanctions, a good and even immediate agreement can be reached,” minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in a telephone conversation with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Joseph Borrell.“Iran wants a good and verifiable agreement,” Iranian media quoted Amirabdollahian as saying.International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday following a trip to Tehran this week that he had made no progress on several disputes, the most pressing of which was getting access to the workshop at the TESA Karaj complex two months after Iran promised to grant it.The workshop makes components for centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium, and was hit by apparent sabotage in June in which one of four IAEA cameras there was destroyed. Iran removed the cameras and the destroyed camera’s footage is missing. “We are close to the point where I would not be able to guarantee continuity of knowledge,” Grossi said.However, Amirabdollahian told Borrell that Iran would attend the Vienna talks in “good faith” - despite the US violation of the 2015 agreement.Read more:Negotiations on reviving 2015 Iran nuclear deal to resume Nov. 29Time shrinking for Iran nuclear deal, US envoy warnsTop US military general for Middle East warns Iran
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran’s FM calls for lifting of sanctions, days before Vienna nuclear talks

Security forces in Iran clashed on Friday with demonstrators who were protesting the government’s water management policies in the central city of Isfahan, videos shared on social media showed.Security forces attacked protesters with batons in the dry bed of the Zayandehrud River and fired tear gas to disperse them, some videos shared on social media showed.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Other videos showed security forces being chased away by protesters.Fars, a news agency affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, acknowledged the protests on Friday, saying security forces used tear gas to “ensure security and prevent violence and mobility of opportunists.”Farmers in Isfahan, who kick-started the latest round of protests in the city, ended a nearly weeks-long protest on Thursday after reaching an agreement with provincial authorities, Fars said, adding that Friday’s protesters “did not resemble the farmers of Isfahan due to their clothing and age.”Fars was insinuating that Friday’s protests were organized by anti-regime groups.Last Friday, thousands of people in Isfahan took to the dry bed of Zayandehrud River in support of the city’s farmers and to voice their anger at the state of the city’s once-famed Zayanderud River which has dried up due to drought and mismanagement.In July, deadly protests broke out in the southwestern province of Khuzestan over water shortages.Read more:Thousands of Iranians protest dried-up river in IsfahanFarmers in Iran’s Isfahan protest drought in dried-up river
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Demonstrations in Iran’s Isfahan turn violent as police forcibly disperse protesters

The Arab Coalition said on Friday that its forces have conducted 16 military operations targeting positions for the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen’s Marib in the last 24 hours.The Arab Coalition backing the legitimate government in Yemen said in a statement that the operations destroyed 12 military vehicles and killed more than 90 terrorists of the Houthi militia.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.On Thursday, the coalition said its forces conducted several airstrikes on Houthi military camps and targets in the Yemen’s capital Sanaa, according to a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).The operation in Sanaa targeted Houthi military camps at the presidential residence in Sanaa, according to the coalition.Read more:Arab coalition bombs drone sites in Yemen’s Sanaa: ReportUS envoy to Yemen heads to Saudi Arabia to discuss Houthi actions, concerns over IranIran-backed Houthis holding US Embassy staff in Yemen: State Department
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: More than 90 Houthis killed in last 24 hours in Yemen’s Marib: Arab Coalition

Global authorities reacted with alarm on Friday to a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the EU and Britain among those tightening border controls as researchers sought to find out if the mutation was vaccine-resistant.Hours after Britain banned flights from South Africa and neighboring countries and asked travelers returning from there to quarantine, the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned against hasty travel bans.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.The head of the UN World Tourism Organization called for a quick decision.“It depends on WHO recommendations, but my recommendation will be to take decisions today, not after one week, because if it continues to spread as we are expecting then it will be late and will make no sense to apply restrictions,” organization chief Zurab Pololikashvili told Reuters.One South African scientist expert labelled London’s ban a symptom of “vaccine apartheid,” though European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU also aimed to halt air travel from the region and several other countries including India, Japan and Israel toughened curbs.“It is now important that all of us in Europe act very swiftly, decisively and united,” von der Leyen said, calling for EU citizens to get vaccinated and improve their protection with booster jabs. “All air travel to these countries should be suspended until we have a clearer understanding about the danger posed by this new variant.”For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.In Washington, top US infectious disease official Anthony Fauci said no decision had been made on a possible US travel ban.There was no indication that the variant was in the United States, and it was unclear whether it was resistant to current vaccines, he told CNN.The WHO said it would take weeks to determine how effective vaccines were against the variant, which was first identified this week.The news pummeled global stocks and oil amid fears about what new bans would do to the global travel industry and already shaky economies across southern Africa.‘Most significant variant’The variant has a spike protein that is dramatically different to the one in the original coronavirus that vaccines are based on, the UK Health Security Agency said, raising fears about how current vaccines will fare.“As scientists have described, (this is) the most significant variant they’ve encountered to date,” British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News.In Geneva the WHO - whose experts on Friday discussed the risks that the variant, called B.1.1.529, presents - warned against travel curbs for now.“At this point, implementing travel measures is being cautioned against,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told a UN briefing.It would take several weeks to determine the variant’s transmissibility and the effectiveness of vaccines, Lindmeier said, noting that 100 sequences of it had been reported so far.British health minister Sajid Javid said the sequence of the variant was first uploaded by Hong Kong from someone travelling from South Africa.“It is highly likely that it has now spread to other countries,” Javid told lawmakers.South African scientists suspect the sudden spike in infections in the country is linked to the new variant, but it is not clear how far it has spread beyond its borders.South African sport began to shut down on Friday, with the imposition of travel bans forcing international rugby teams and golfers to scramble to leave.Belgium identified Europe’s first case, adding to those in Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong. Denmark has sequenced all COVID-19 cases and found no sign of the new mutation, Danish health authorities said on Thursday.Israel imposed a travel ban covering most of Africa.“We are currently on the verge of a state of emergency” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement. “Our main principle is to act fast, strong and now.”Too late for travel curbs?One epidemiologist in Hong Kong said it may be too late to tighten travel curbs.“Most likely this virus is already in other places. And so if we shut the door now, it’s going to be probably too late,” said Ben Cowling of the University of Hong Kong.European states had already been expanding booster vaccinations and tightening curbs as the continent battles a fourth COVID-19 wave, with many reporting record daily rises in cases.Discovery of the new variant comes as Europe and the United States enter winter, with more people gathering indoors in the run-up to Christmas, providing a breeding ground for infection.Italy imposed an entry ban on people who have visited southern African states in the last 14 days, while France suspended flights from southern Africa and Bahrain and Croatia will ban arrivals from some countries.India issued an advisory to all states to test and screen international travelers from South Africa and other “at risk” countries, while Japan tightened border controls.The coronavirus has swept the world in the two years since it was first identified in central China, infecting almost 260 million people and killing 5.4 million.Read more:Israeli PM warns of state of emergency due to new COVID-19 variantEU wants to stop flights from southern Africa over new COVID-19 variantSouth Africa says British travel ban over new COVID-19 variant seems ‘rushed’
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: New COVID-19 variant triggers global alarm as WHO urges caution

Families of victims rallied outside Lebanon top court as three judges handed in their resignations “to protest … political interference in the work of the judiciary.”..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon judges, protesters denounce interference in judiciary’s work

The illegal migrants were of various Arab, Asian and African nationalities and included 93 children and 13 women..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Tunisian navy rescues 487 migrants from overloaded boat

Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to and from seven southern African nations due to concerns related to the spread of the new variant of COVID-19.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.According to a statement carried by the state news agency (SPA), the seven countries are South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini.A senior official in the interior ministry said the decision includes suspending entry to the Kingdom for non-nationals, who come directly and indirectly from the mentioned African countries except for those who have spent a period of no less than 14 days in another country from which health procedures in the Kingdom allow entry to those coming from, in accordance with the approved health procedures, according to SPA.Provided that the entire approved institutional quarantine procedures for a period of (5) days are applied to all excluded groups coming from these countries, including citizens of the Kingdom, regardless of the status of immunization.The source explained that all procedures and measures are subject to continuous evaluation by the competent health authorities in the Kingdom, according to the developments in the epidemiological situation globally, while warning citizens and residents to avoid traveling to the seven African countries until further notice.On Friday, global authorities reacted with alarm to a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the EU and Britain among those tightening border controls as researchers sought to find out if the mutation was vaccine-resistant.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Hours after Britain banned flights from South Africa and neighboring countries and asked travelers returning from there to quarantine, the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned against hasty travel bans.On Thursday, Saudi authorities said they will allow direct entry to travelers from Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Vietnam, Egypt and India starting December 1, lifting a requirement that they first spend two weeks outside the six countries.Read more:Saudi Arabia allows direct entry from Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, India from Dec. 1New COVID-19 variant triggers global alarm as WHO urges cautionBahrain bans travelers from southern African states over COVID-19 concerns
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia suspends flights to and from seven southern African states over COVID

Volunteers placed the first 300 acacia, lemon tree and cypress saplings into the ground, hoping to green Mosul..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Hope takes root with tree planting in Iraq city of Mosul