Middle East Experience

The English-language Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star has told its staff they will all be laid off, joining a list of Lebanese media outlets that have been forced to close or scale back due to financial pressures..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon’s The Daily Star is latest newspaper to close amid crisis

The award is part of a $200 million program to advance the development of vaccines that provide broad protection against COVID-19 variants or future coronaviruses.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israel’s MigVax oral vaccine scores .4m. to fast-track development

Eric Zemmour is of Jewish Algerian heritage and has defended Nazi-collaborators and embraced far-right conspiracy theories on Muslim immigration.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Meet the far-right Jew who’s set to seek the French presidency - analysis

Ex-Mossad official: Talks may be tactic for Tehran to buy time to advance its nuclear program.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Ex-IDF intel chief: New Iran nuke deal will be worse, but worthwhile

US lawmakers have reintroduced a bill calling on the State Department to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.“It’s high time we join our allies in the Arab world in formally recognizing the Muslim Brotherhood for what they truly are—a terrorist organization,” Senator Ted Cruz said in a statement.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Cruz and Congressman Mario Diaz Balart introduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act.Cruz said he was proud to reintroduce the bill urging the Biden administration to make the move, and to “advance our nation’s fight against radical Islamic terrorism.”“We have a duty to hold the Muslim Brotherhood accountable for their role in financing and promoting terrorism across the Middle East,” Cruz said.Diaz-Balart said the Muslim Brotherhood continued to “instigate acts of terrorism and supports other terrorist organizations responsible for horrific acts of violence around the world.”
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US lawmakers call on Biden admin. to designate Muslim Brotherhood as terror group

The United Arab Emirates Analog Mission#1 – which aims to mimic the isolation of a space mission – has begun in Russia’s Moscow.Emirati astronaut Saleh al-Ameri is part of an international crew of six who will spend eight months in near isolation as part of the Scientific International Research in Unique Terrestrial Station (SIRIUS-21).For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The crew has entered the NEK ground-based analog facility in Moscow, Russia, with al-Ameri being joined by Oleg Blinov, Ekaterina Karyakina and Victoria Kirichenko from Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBMP) along with Ashley Kowalski and William Brown from the US space agency, NASA.The mission is “integral to understanding the effects of isolation and confinement on human psychology, physiology and team dynamics to help prepare for long-duration space exploration,” state news agency WAM has reported.The six-man crew will be observed by scientists who will measure the psychological and physician effects on human-beings living in extreme environments that astronauts face during space missions.The UAE’s MBR Space Center said Al-Ameri had to undergo rigorous training for the event, including space simulations and participating in sports, medical, psychological & Russian language tests.The country has already marked many milestones in space with the UAE’s Hope Probe reaching the Red Planet in February - becoming only the fifth nation in history to do so.The UAE has also recently announced that the country is setting a course for Venus and the main asteroid belt. The new interplanetary mission will launch in 2028 and will see the spacecraft go on a five-year expedition, orbiting Venus and Earth before reaching the main asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter in 2040.Read more:UAE a ‘close ally’ for collaboration on space innovation: Israel aerospace chiefUAE ministers say space is a key sector for the future, launches new tech challengeUAE announces new space mission to explore Venus
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE's space psychology project Analog Mission#1 begins in Moscow

The UAE’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations Committee announced that the official ceremony celebrating the 50th UAE National Day on December 2, will take place in Dubai’s Hatta.People around the UAE will be able to watch the show live on December 2 at 5.30pm on the UAE National Day official website and on all local TV channels.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The spectacular theatrical show will take viewers on a journey through the land’s history and is open to the public, starting from December 4 to 12, according to state news agency WAM.Hatta has witnessed several development projects in recent years and six new ones this year alone.Earlier last month, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum revealed a comprehensive development plan in Hatta, which includes the construction of a beach and a new lake, and transport systems for the mountain slopes – a funicular and the longest mountain walk in the Emirates.The projects were unveiled as part of a 20-year Hatta Master Development Plan.The 3000-year-old town is a strategic center that was once a trading route and a crossing for caravans and travelers connecting people from all around. Hatta represents part of the rich history of the UAE and the story of its people, serving as an optimal location for a show set against a captivating natural canvas.Shaikha al-Ketbi, Head of Creative Strategy of the Year of the 50th, said: “The Official 50th UAE National Day celebration will feature a spectacular show highlighting the deep connections between people, nature and technology.”“Staged in Hatta Dam and surrounded by the Hajar mountains, the floating theatrical experience will take viewers on a journey through the land’s history in the lead up to the inception of the union and across the 50 years that followed.""Through unparalleled creative and artistic storytelling, the show will also shed light on the achievements of today and offer a unique glimpse into the promising future that awaits everyone who calls the UAE home.”Earlier last month, celebrations of the National Day kicked off 50 days before the UAE National Day to mark the country’s Golden Jubilee milestone. The Official 50th National Day celebration will take place on December 2, and continue until December 12. Tickets for the shows running from December 4 until December 12 are now live on www.UAENationalDay.ae.Limited tickets are now live on www.UAENationalDay.ae.Celebrations for the National Day is expected to be bigger than ever this year as the UAE marks it ‘Year of the 50th’; marking 50 years since the nation’s founding in 1971.Read more:UAE announces new COVID-19 safety rules for National Day celebrationsEmiratis and expatriates celebrate UAE's 49th National DayUAE officials laud public for low COVID-19 cases, continues to monitor new strains
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Official UAE 50th National Day celebration to take place, be livestreamed in Hatta

The most recent rape and murder of a girl in Pakistan caused a huge public outcry. Though similar cases in neighbouring India have tended to attract fewer headlines, sexual violence in both countries is an ongoing problem, says Esther Felden..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Rape in India and Pakistan: Endemic misogyny

Tunisian director Abdelhamid Bouchnak continues to surprise his fans with his unbridled cinematic imagination..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Bouchnak’s ‘Golden Butterfly’ takes viewers on a magical journey

At the most fundamental level, Bennett needed to maintain Israel’s freedom of action in Syria.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: What was achieved when Naftali Bennett met Vladimir Putin? - opinion