Middle East Experience

The UN's assistance mission to Libya expressed "grave concern" over the heaviest fighting in months.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Clashes in Libya’s capital raise concerns over stability ahead of elections

The United Nations will convene an international aid conference in Geneva on Sept. 13 to help avert what UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called a “looming humanitarian catastrophe.”For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We need the international community to stand together and support the Afghan people,” Guterres said in a post on Twitter announcing the conference that he said would seek a swift scale-up in funding for humanitarian relief.“We also appeal for full and unimpeded humanitarian access to make sure Afghans continue to get the essential services they need,” he said.Many Afghans were struggling to feed their families amid severe drought well before Taliban militants seized power last month and millions may now face starvation with the country isolated and the economy unraveling, aid agencies say.“The United Nations stands in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and is committed to staying and delivering for them,” Guterres said.Read more: Taliban say they have taken over Panjshir valley, resistance forces denyAl-Qaeda joined Taliban in Panjshir valley offensive: SourcesTaliban confirm Hibatullah Akhundzada will rule, president to run country under him
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UN to convene Afghanistan aid conference on September 13

Arab coalition forces intercepted an explosive-laden drone fired by the Iran-backed Houthi militia at the city of Khamis Mushait, SPA reported Saturday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The coalition continues to carry out operations to protect civilians, a spokesperson said.Houthis regularly carry out remote attacks on targets in southern Saudi Arabia.An Arab-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 after a civil war broke out between the Houthis and the internationally-recognized government.The attempted strike follows a battle in Yemen’s Marib in which 43 Houthis and 22 government forces personnel were killed.Read more: At least 65 dead in battle for Marib, Yemen: MilitaryEight people injured after explosive drone hits Abha airport in Saudi ArabiaSaudi foreign ministry condemns Houthi attack on Yemen airbase
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coalition forces intercept explosive-laden drone aimed at Khamis Mushait

Breast milk of mothers who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 contains antibodies that can protect babies from the virus, a new study finds.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The research which was conducted by scientists at the University of Florida (UF) and was published in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine suggested that vaccinated mothers breast-feeding are likely to pass on 100 times more antibodies to their children than unvaccinated mothers.“Our findings show that vaccination results in a significant increase in antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — in breast milk, suggesting that vaccinated mothers can pass on this immunity to their babies, something we are working to confirm in our ongoing research,” Joseph Larkin III, Ph.D, senior author of the study and an associate professor in the UF/IFAS department of microbiology and cell science, said in a statement released by the university.“Think of breast milk as a toolbox full of all the different tools that help prepare the infant for life. Vaccination adds another tool to the toolbox, one that has the potential to be especially good at preventing COVID-19 illness,” said the study’s co-author Dr. Josef Neu in a statement, who is also a researcher at the university’s College of Medicine’s department of pediatrics, division of neonatology.The study was conducted between December 2020 and March 2021, which was around the time when Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines first became available to healthcare workers.Twenty one lactating healthcare workers, who were never contracted with COVID-19 before, were recruited to take part in the study. Their breast milk and blood were sampled three times: before getting the vaccine, after the first vaccine dose and then after the second shot.As a result, doctoral student and co-author of the study Lauren Stafford, said that they had seen a “robust antibody response in blood and breast milk after the second dose- about a hundred-hold increase compared with levels before vaccination.”“Typically, expectant mothers are vaccinated against whooping cough and flu because these can be serious illnesses for infants. Babies can also catch COVID-19, so routine vaccination of mothers against the virus could be something we seen in the future,” another co-author of the report and resident in the university’s pediatrics department, division of neonatology Dr. Vivian Valcarce, noted.Newborns tend to have weaker immune systems, making them extra vulnerable to infections and illness because they are too young to respond to some vaccines types properly, the researchers told online news media StudyFinds.org. During this vulnerable period, babies rely on their mother’s breast milk to provide them with immunity because it contains different types of antibodies that help protect them against an array of diseases.In a blog post on the university’s website, the team stated that they will continue to explore how breast milk containing COVID-19 antibodies acquired indirectly from vaccination protects babies.“We would like to know if infants who consume breast milk containing these antibodies develop their own protection against COVID-19,” Larkin said.“In addition, we would also like to know more about the antibodies themselves, such as how long they are present in breast milk and how effective they are at neutralizing the virus,” he added.While there are still some unanswered questions, the team said that their initial findings have made them optimistic, encouraging them to continue their research.“We are also excited to see many other simultaneous studies conducted around the world that also show antibodies in the breastmilk of vaccinated mothers,” Neu said.“That means our study validates a growing body of evidence.”Read more:France may ease COVID-19 health pass restrictions in large shopping malls: MinisterTop US health officials plan narrower COVID-19 booster launch: SourceFDA pushes for data on Moderna booster shot as it weighs next stepsHuman infants laugh like chimps, new study finds
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Breast milk of vaccinated mothers contains COVID-fighting antibodies, study finds

Israel seems to have let go of its demand for a prisoner release in exchange for reconstruction, allowing the entry of some building materials into the Gaza Strip.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israel allows construction materials into Gaza without prisoner exchange

Taliban and opposition forces were fighting on Saturday for control of the Panjshir valley north of Kabul, the last province in Afghanistan holding out against the extremist group, according to reports.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Taliban sources had said on Friday the group had seized control of the valley, although the resistance denied it had fallen.The Taliban have so far issued no public declaration that they had taken the valley, which resisted their rule when they were last in power in Kabul in 1996-2001.A spokesman for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, which groups opposition forces loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, said Taliban forces reached the Darband heights on the border between Kapisa province and Panjshir but were pushed back.“The defense of the stronghold of Afghanistan is unbreakable,” Fahim Dashty said in a tweet.A Taliban source said fighting was continuing in Panjshir but the advance had been slowed by landmines placed on the road to the capital Bazarak and the provincial governor’s compound. “Demining and offensives are both going on at the same time,” the source said.It was not immediately possible to get independent confirmation of events in Panjshir, which is walled off by mountains except for a narrow entrance and had held out against Soviet occupation as well as the previous Taliban government.Celebratory gunfire resounded all over Kabul on Friday as reports spread of the Taliban’s takeover of Panjshir, and news agencies said at least 17 people were killed and 41 injured in the firing.Pakistan’s spy chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed flew into Kabul on Saturday, sources in both capitals said. It was not clear what his agenda was, but a senior official in Pakistan had said earlier in the week that Hameed, who heads the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, could help the Taliban reorganize the Afghan military.Washington has accused Pakistan and the ISI of backing the Taliban in the group’s two-decade fight against the US-backed government in Kabul, although Islamabad has denied the charges. After the group seized Kabul this month, analysts have said Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan will be much enhanced.Pakistan’s government has said that its influence over the movement has waned, particularly since the Taliban grew in confidence once Washington announced the date for the complete withdrawal of US and other foreign troops. Government next weekThe Taliban source also said the announcement of a new government would be pushed back to the next week.Earlier, other Taliban sources said the group’s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar would lead a new Afghan government set to be announced soon.Baradar would be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai in senior positions, three sources said.Meanwhile, there were some signs of normality creeping back in the Afghan capital.Qatar’s ambassador to Afghanistan said a technical team was able to reopen Kabul airport to receive aid, according to Qatar’s Al Jazeera news channel, which also cited its correspondent as saying domestic flights had restarted.The airport has been closed since the US completed operations on Aug. 30 to evacuate diplomats, foreigners and Afghans deemed at risk from the Taliban. However, tens of thousands of people could not be flown out.The Taliban’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, also said that one of the main foreign exchange dealers in the capital had reopened.Impoverished Afghanistan’s economy has been thrown into disarray by the takeover by the Taliban. Many banks are closed and cash is in short supply.The United Nations has said it will convene an international aid conference in Geneva on Sept. 13 to help avert what UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called a “looming humanitarian catastrophe”.Without the aid that has sustained the country for years, the Taliban will find it hard to avert economic collapse.Western powers say they are prepared to engage with the Taliban and send humanitarian aid, but that formal recognition of the government and broader economic assistance will depend on action - not just promises - to safeguard human rights.Read more: Taliban say they have taken over Panjshir valley, resistance forces denyAl-Qaeda joined Taliban in Panjshir valley offensive: SourcesMore burqas being sold in Afghanistan after Taliban takeover
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Taliban, opposition vie to control Panjshir; Pakistan spy chief flies to Kabul

New blood donor research suggests that more than 80 percent of American adults now have COVID-19 antibodies due to vaccinations or infections.Published in open-access medical journal JAMA on Thursday, the study estimated that more than 80 percent of Americans above 16 years of age had COVID-19 antibodies as of May 2021. The results were based on previously collected data from blood donors.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The authors of the study cautioned that while this was the case in the context of their study, the results might not be generalizable to the entire population of the US, online news media Gizmodo reported on Friday.The team of researchers has been analyzing samples of donated blood across the US every month since July 2020, searching for antibodies specific to the coronavirus.Taken from 50 states, areas that represented around 74 percent of the US’s population, the samples were used as a baseline for the estimate. In July 2020, they found that 3.5 percent of Americans over 16 had antibodies to the virus.This percentage seemed to increase by May 2021, according to their findings which indicated a rate of 20.2 percent.After the country’s vaccination campaign was rolled out in December 2020, the team added a second test to differentiate between antibodies gained through vaccination and infection. They collected almost 1.5 million blood specimens by May 2021.When combining both types of immunity, the scientists estimated that around 83 percent of adults had COVID-19 antibodies overall.“Based on a sample of blood donations in the US from July 2020 through May 2021, vaccine- and infection-induced SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence increased over time and varied by age, race and ethnicity, and geographic region,” the study’s authors wrote.However, the study’s findings come with important limitations to consider.“Despite weighting to adjust for demographic differences, these findings from a national sample of blood donors may not be representative of the entire US population,” they wrote.Those who were willing to donate blood might have been different from the general public in relevant ways. Their likelihood of getting infected or getting vaccinated might have differed.Also, it is important consider that millions of people have been vaccinated against or infected with COVID-19 since the end of May, indicating that the true current percentage of American adults with antibodies could be lower in reality.According to the US’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of September 3 over 175.5 million Americans have been fully vaccinated- around 53 percent of the population.The research is expected to continue until at least December 2021, the scientists said, adding that the results will then be published on the CDC’s website.Read more:Top US health officials plan narrower COVID-19 booster launch: SourceUAE records 984 new COVID-19 infections, one death in 24 hoursBreast milk of vaccinated mothers contains COVID-fighting antibodies, study finds
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Over 80 pct of American adults now have COVID-19 antibodies: Blood donor study 

A delegation of high-ranking Lebanese ministers visited Damascus Saturday for talks on importing energy via Syria, the first such official visit since its civil war broke out 10 years ago..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon turns to Syria for desperately-needed energy imports

Syria said on Saturday that it welcomed Lebanon's request to import Egyptian gas for energy generation via its territory after Lebanese ministers made the highest level visit to Damascus in years..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Syria says it welcomes Lebanon's request to import energy

Hamas and the Islamic Jihad commented on their intentions to do whatever it takes to get the blockade on Gaza lifted.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Hamas: we will continue to send over incendiary balloons