Middle East Experience

Women join live conversation to mark International Day of the Girl..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: UAE: Women have to be agents of change, hears panel on gender violence

This was not the first time Angrist was nominated for a Nobel Prize, having been among the frontrunners in 2019.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israeli-American economist Joshua Angrist wins 2021 Nobel Prize in Economics

The total blackout that Lebanon witnessed on Saturday revealed that Hezbollah’s deliveries of Iranian fuel in crisis-hit country were nothing but a public relations stunt to promote and justify Iran’s role in Lebanon and prepare the ground for the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian to Beirut..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon total blackout brings disgrace on Hezbollah PR stunt

Jared Kushner spoke at an event in honor of the one-year anniversary of the peace and normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Kushner in Knesset: We all have a role in advancing Abraham Accords

When asked why they sell ice cream in Georgia and Texas, Ben & Jerry could not answer. AOC did the same a few years ago.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Ben & Jerry suffered an AOC moment - comment

The sophisticated facility was probably able to produce as many as two million liters of wine per year.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Largest wine factory in the world from Byzantine period unearthed in Yavne

Israel may take great pride in the Nobel Prize winner's success, but the fact that he left Israel points to a deeper problem about immigration.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Nobel Prize winner Angrist left Israel because of his low salary - comment

Health authorities and charities in Gaza are stepping up efforts to persuade women to be tested for breast cancer, hoping to overcome social stigma over dealing with the disease.As part of a “There’s no shame in it” campaign launched by private charity Fares Al-Arab in conjunction with the health ministry, Muslim preachers have been promoting early detection and bakers have enclosed similar messages in bread packages.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.A mobile testing van has taken to the road, providing scans for some 150 women a day over the past week at the start of the annual international breast cancer awareness month in October.“‘There’s no shame in it’ is a message of hope and safety for every women, telling them to go ahead and check,” said Georgette Harb, the campaign’s leader.“There is a category in the community that deals with the issue as shameful, and they deal with breast removal and the word breast as if it was obscene or shameful,” said Harb.Breast cancer accounts for 32 percent of the cases of cancer among women in Gaza, the health ministry said.Cancer patients there face multiple problems ranging from poverty, the lack of medication in the territory’s hospitals and some difficulty going for treatment to Israel, the West Bank and beyond due to permit restrictions.During the campaign, Gaza’s main telecommunications company PalTel bathed its headquarters in pink lights, the color illustrating breast cancer awareness, with more institutions due to follow.Gaza, a narrow coastal strip that borders Egypt and Israel, is home to about two million Palestinians. Poverty and unemployment in the enclave run high.Read more:Dubai surgeon uses new, non-invasive tech to locate breast cancer growthBreast Cancer Awareness Month: UAE survivors say don’t delay medical helpCOVID-19 left women delaying vital breast cancer screening, treatment: UAE experts
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Health activists address stigma to raise breast cancer awareness in Gaza

While the world may be anxious to get back to pre-pandemic living, a new study warns that as soon as COVID-19 precautions end, the flu will make a big comeback.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Researchers from Columbia University in the US published a report which suggested that COVID-19 preventative safety measures – such as face masks and social distancing in public spaces - have been helping protect the public from the flu, meaning that the world’s overall flu immunity has waned since the rules were implemented.Throughout the first ten weeks of COVID-19 safety measures, influenza infection rates decreased by 60 percent. Researchers believe that once those rules are lifted, far more people will get infected than ever before.“In the short term, measures to control the spread of the coronavirus will likely continue to suppress the number of influenza infections, but after these measures are relaced, with greater population-wide immune susceptibility to influenza could lead to a large outbreak,” study author Sen Pei, PhD, assistant professor of environmental health sciences, was quoted as saying in a university release.“This year, it’s more important than ever to get your flu shot. While we’re rightly focused on protecting ourselves against COVID-19, we shouldn’t forget about the flu, which can be fatal,” Pei added.The scientists used a computer model of influenza A/H1 and B, which circulated in early 2020, to quantify the reduction of incidence and transmission after the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) – which include travel restrictions, face masks, social distancing, school closures and other prevention measures - in most US states on March 15, 2020.The scientists also projected influenza transmission at the national scale across the US over the next five years. The model used data from the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) FluView website.Large outbreak predicted followed by years of severe flu seasons According to their projections, a large-scale influenza outbreak will likely take place as soon as public health measures are relaxed.In following seasons, outbreaks are also expected to be elevated, gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels, according to the research.Over the last ten years, US influenza deaths ranged between 12,000 in 2011-12 to 61,000 in 2017-18.“Our projections show that the downstream, ripple-effects of pandemic public health measures could persist for a number of years,” said Pei.Severity of next flu outbreak Researchers explained that the next flu outbreak could be bad.“The longer the control measures are in place before they are lifted, the greater the number of individuals who will be susceptible to an influenza infection – a situation that could lead to a more severe outbreak in parts of the country that had high levels of adherence to masking and other public health measures during the pandemic,” the university release stated, citing the study.The scientists also anticipate that the global suppression of influenza activity during the pandemic could make it difficult to predict future strains, hence having a potentially adverse impact on the production of effective influenza vaccines.“… suppression of influenza during the pandemic could lead to a surge of multiple influenza strains, including the A/H3 strain which has a high mortality rate and hasn’t been widely circulating since the 2018-2019 season. All these factors would contribute to a more severe outbreak,” according to the statement issued by the university.Limitations Like many studies, it has its limitations as well.The statement said that the suppression of the flu during the ten-week study period could be “overstated” in the data due to peoples’ reluctance to seek medical help for non-emergencies throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.“Another question is whether or not antigenic escape (viral mutations that allow it to evade the immune system) rather than waning immunity is the predominant mechanism in the accumulation of population susceptibility to influenza.If so, influenza would have less opportunity to mutate while public health measures are in place. A more durable influenza immunity would also result in fewer people being susceptible to influenza when public health measures are lifted. All these possibilities would contribute to a less severe outbreak,” the statement read.Read more:UK waited too long for COVID-19 lockdown: ReportCOVID-19 reinfection likely for unvaccinated: StudyMore COVID-19 patients developing diabetes as pancreas cells being harmed: Experts
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Experts predict ‘severe’ flu season once COVID-19 restrictions relaxed

The Arab Coalition has intercepted and destroyed a booby-trapped drone launched by Iran-backed Houthis towards Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Since January, Yemen’s Houthis have increased their attacks on the Kingdom, launching several cross-border aerial attacks on Saudi Arabia.A previous drone attack launched by the Houthis on Friday injured ten people including six Saudis, three Bangladeshi nationals and one Sudanese. The explosive-laden drone struck King Abdullah airport in the Saudi city of Jazan, according to the Arab Coalition.The attack caused material damage to the airport and shattered windows due to the attack.The Arab Coalition said later that it intercepted and destroyed a second drone which was targeting the airport, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.Read more: Explosive-laden drone attack injures 10 at Saudi Arabia’s airport in Jazan
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Arab Coalition intercepts Houthi drone headed for Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait