Middle East Experience

Newmark, the founder of the legendary classified ad website Craigslist, spoke with the 10th annual Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference on Tuesday about his personal history creating the site.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Craigslist founder: Rising antisemitism keeps me up at night

The former US secretary of state also spoke on a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem, a Saudi addition to the Abraham Accords and the "lie of occupation."
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Mike Pompeo: Israel might need to attack Iran due to US 'appeasement'

The Arab Coalition destroys two explosive-laden boats used by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, the Coalition announced in a statement on Wednesday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“The Houthis continue to threaten shipping lines and international trade in the Bab al-Mandab strait and the southern Red Sea,” the Coalition said.It added that the Houthis violated the Stockholm Agreement “by launching attacks from the Hodeidah Governorate.”The channel did not give indications about the target of the attempted attack.The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to try to restore an internationally-recognized government toppled by the Houthis in 2014. The war has caused what the United Nations describes as the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.With ReutersRead more:Arab Coalition intercepts Houthi drone headed for Saudi Arabia’s Khamis MushaitSaudi Arabia calls on UN to monitor distribution of humanitarian aidAt least 134 Houthis killed in strikes south of Marib: Arab Coalition
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Arab coalition destroys two explosive-laden boats used by Houthis

A massive fire broke out in the main hall of the El Gouna Film Festival site in Egypt on Wednesday, one day ahead of the opening ceremony of the fifth edition, according to social media videos and local media reports.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The festival will go on as scheduled on Thursday, organizers said in a tweet. Awards and winners are expected to be announced on October 22.According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Orascom Development Holding Samih Swarez, the fire broke out in the area where the reception was to be held. He also said the stage for tonight’s scheduled press conference was not affected.“Tonight, everything will be back to normal. Tomorrow people will arrive and say they only saw the fire on tv,” he said in a video statement shared on the festival’s official twitter account.First responders immediately headed to the scene and firefighters put out the fire shortly after, according to reports.The cause of the fire has not been revealed and no injuries have been reported.No further details have been provided on the incident.El Gouna Film FestivalEgypt’s El Gouna Film Festival last year was held in October under the supervision of Egypt’s Ministry of Health, amid the coronavirus pandemic.More than 40 films participated in the festival, from feature narratives and documentaries to short films.Despite global fears regarding the coronavirus pandemic, the festival intended to aid in boosting the country’s tourism sector.“There are many opinions, but the main thing we are doing is saying that we are defying this disease and that life must go on,” festival founder and business tycoon, Naguib Sawiris, said, according to Reuters.He also stressed that the festival would be held with all necessary health precautions.Last year’s event was the country’s first large-scale event to take place since March 2020, when the government closed airports to international flights, shut down historical sites and placed restrictions on public gatherings in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.Read more: Egypt plane crash: Two dead at Gouna Airport near Red SeaForest Whitaker and Arab stars crown closing ceremony of El Gouna Film FestivalSearching for the Mideast’s Hollywood: Where is the Arab film industry heading?
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Massive fire breaks out in El Gouna Film Festival site in Egypt

Lebanon on Wednesday postponed a cabinet session that was scheduled to discuss a row over the lead judge investigating last year’s catastrophic Beirut port blast, an official source said.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.There was no immediate new date for the session announced, the source said.Growing tension over a judicial probe into last year’s Beirut port blast threatens to push Lebanon into yet another political crisis, testing Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s new government as it struggles to dig the country out of economic collapse.More than a year since the explosion ripped through Beirut, killing more than 200 people, Judge Tarek Bitar’s efforts to hold senior officials to account for suspected negligence are facing mounting political pushback.Ministers aligned with the politicians Bitar has sought to question were expected to press the demand for his removal at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday,Read more: Tension over Beirut blast probe nudges Lebanon into new crisis
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lebanon postpones cabinet session to reach agreement on Beirut blast probe judge 

A baby boy who was born 17 weeks early weighing just 600 grams (1.3lbs) – less than a small bag of sugar – has been discharged from a hospital in the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi after 160 days in intensive care.Adel was born on March 20 by what the doctors at Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women & Children in Abu Dhabi described as a spontaneous delivery. He was immediately admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where he stayed for five months.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.During his stay, Adel received underwent two surgical procedures.At discharge from hospital, the baby weighed 3.88 kilograms and was in good health.Dr. Duaa al-Masri, neonatology consultant and one of the neonatologists who provided care for Adel, described it as a “very rare case,” saying the survival rates for children born at week 23 of pregnancy is between 10-30 percent.“However, we held on to hope,” the doctor said. “He was admitted to the NICU right away and we’ve conducted a series of urgent medical procedures to preserve his life, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and he was placed on a mechanical ventilator and fed with intravenous nutrition.”However, the parents would be faced with further distress. Just 11 days after his birth, Adel needed surgical intervention because there was a hole in his small intestine, and his condition wasn’t improving despite treatment with antibiotics and medication.A surgery was performed to remove parts of the damaged intestine, and to create an opening at the beginning of the small intestine to change the path of food to the outside to give time for the rest of intestine to heal and at the same time to prepare Adel for the second corrective surgery.Two months later, the pediatric surgical team performed the second surgery to close the hole and correct the position of the intestines to normal.Al-Masri indicated that the child’s condition began to gradually improve.“He stayed with us for 160 days and was recently allowed to leave the hospital,” the doctor said.“He visited us with his family few days ago. We were so happy to see him well and healthy, thanks to Allah. As per our protocols at Danat Al Emarat, preemies are discharged from the NICU after receiving the necessary treatment, only if the child weighs at least 1.8 kilograms, and had completed 35 weeks in terms of the number of weeks of pregnancy."We also ensure that the baby is able to breastfeed or drink milk, and that all his vital signs are stable. In terms of how long the baby stays in NICU, it also depends on the health condition of the baby after birth.""The earlier the baby is born, the longer the period of his stay in NICU, which can extend from one month to six months in some cases and sometimes longer.”Samer Abu Snaineh, the father of baby Adel, expressed his gratitude upon the discharge of his child from the hospital and taking him home after 160 days.“We are so happy to be back home with Adel. Seeing my wife hold him is truly the best reward ever. The past period wasn’t easy on us both.”“We used to visit the NICU on daily basis few times. We were unable to be apart from Adel, and we built a special bond with the NICU team. They all were family to us. They know what parents go through in cases as such.”“We are thankful to everyone, particularly the medical and nursing team at the NICU, the pediatric surgeons, the physiotherapists, the ophthalmologists, and everyone who cared for our son and drew a smile on our faces. We were extremely lucky to have chosen Danat Al Emarat for his birth and through his stay at the NICU.”Dr. Mohaymen Abdelghany, CEO of Danat Al Emarat Hospital, said the medical unit has only dealt with about 130 premature babies that were born before completing 27 weeks of gestation in the past five.Adel was the youngest.Since the hospital opening in October 2015, over 26,000 babies were born at the hospital.With the complexity of cases we see, having obstetrics, fetal medicine, neonatology, pediatric surgery, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, ophthalmology and pediatric cardiology all under one roof makes us a regional referral center for high-risk pregnancies including rare cases, sick newborns, premature babies and those needing pediatric surgical intervention.According to the hospital statistics, 10 - 15 percent of the hospital’s deliveries require admission to the NICU either because of different illnesses or because they were born premature before the 35th week of pregnancy.Abdelghany added. “These babies are extremely small, fragile, and their skin is too delicate, seeing them discharged all grown up and healthy is truly rewarding.”Read more:UAE resident who tested positive for COVID-19 twice gives birth to healthy twinsLebanese woman gives birth to quintupletsVideo: 21-year-old Gaza woman mothers 11
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Baby born weighing less than a bag of sugar released from UAE NICU after five months

As the shipping industry goes through an unprecedented situation that started in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, things will get worse before they get better, Vice President of global ecommerce at DHL, Nabil Malouli, told Al Arabiya in an interview.An “imbalance between supply and demand started to create shipping rates to go higher... and then we saw a sequence of events that has created even a higher situation in terms of like backlog and congestion,” he said.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Labor shortage, capacity increase in terms of demand, and also the fact that we have a much lower airfreight capacity across the globe due to the fact that many of the airlines are not operating yet internationally at the level they were operating to pre-pandemic,” leading to a combination of factors creating an imbalance, Malouli told Al Arabiya.According to the VP, this had led to a much higher demand and supply in the marketplace, which is consequently increasing the rates.ExpectationsQ4 is the “peak season in shipping,” Malouli said, as it has the highest demand in terms of volume and consumption across the globe.People should expect shipping lines and airlines to increase their prices during the month of October, however he expects things to balance out by February or March of 2022.“I don’t think everything is going to be resolved by February or March. But at least we would have passed the peak of demand, which is now really... We are I think at the worst stage,” Malouli told Al Arabiya.The Middle East is a region that depends a lot on import, according to Malouli.“The Suez Canal situation has created… a challenge in the planning of vessels. And there is still congestion,” he said, adding that he expects more delays going into the Middle East, and prices going up for the trading.E-commerce activityMalouli said consumer spending towards material things is going to slow down, compared to last year when people were stuck at home during the COVID-19 lockdown.“But every number we see from any organization that has been one of the winners of the [COVID-19] pandemic has seen an increase in e-commerce and even in the markets where the pandemic has been under control and where stores are open already for a couple of months, we still see very strong demand in e-commerce, and that is going to be even more evident going to the holiday season,” he added.Malouli also said, however, there won’t be a slowdown of e-commerce adoption.“I think we are going to see actually an acceleration; I think the convenience of online purchase is one of the primary reasons behind this,” Malouli said, adding that people got used to the convenience speed of e-commerce.Read more:Dubai’s port giant DP World sees no quick end to global shipping bottlenecksWhite House: Port of Los Angeles going 24/7 to ease shipping backlogDubai’s DP World says long time until shipping supply chain disruptions end
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Global shipping situation to get worse before getting better: DHL ecommerce VP

Artwork on display in several areas, including Al Wasl, Business Bay, 2nd December Street, Al Ras, Rigga..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Dubai: Have you seen these works of art on parking meters?

The October sun warms the sands of Hammamet beach on Tunisia’s east coast, but the coronavirus pandemic still casts a shadow and visitor numbers are yet to bounce back..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Tunisia, Morocco hoteliers hope for better days after COVID downturn

Union: ‘Foreign Ministry workers shouldn’t have to fight to educate their children.’
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Foreign Ministry workers union to fight Finance Ministry on budget