Middle East Experience

Jordan's government has decided to carve out a third of the country's largest nature reserve to mine it for copper, though past studies had found the project unfeasible.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Environmentalists object to copper mine in Jordanian nature reserve

An explosion outside the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport in Afghanistan’s capital resulted in multiple deaths, the US Pentagon’s Press Secretary John Kirby said on Thursday.“We can confirm that the explosion near the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport has resulted in an unknown number of casualties. We will continue to update,” he added in another tweet.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Graphic videos from the scene showed multiple bodies piled up on top of one another where hundreds of people who had hoped to get on evacuation flights out of the country had been standing earlier.Initial reports indicate that the blast was the result of a suicide bombing, Al Arabiya reported.Pictures and videos circulating online from the scene also showed several people covered in blood around the airport premises, while ambulances rushed to tend to the injured.A US official told Reuters the blast resulted in multiple casualties, but it was yet to be determined how many people had died or what their nationalities were. Up to three US troops were injured in the attack, the official said.The US and its allies had earlier on Thursday warned their citizens and Afghan civilians that the airport was under threat of an ISIS terrorist attack.The news came as Western countries hurried to wrap up the evacuation of thousands of foreigners and Afghans who had helped the US and allied forces during the 20-year war against the Taliban ahead of the August 31 withdrawal deadline.While Western troops inside the airport rapidly worked to keep the evacuation moving as fast as possible, Taliban fighters said they would be guarding the perimeter outside where thousands of people had thronged daily since the extremist group took control of the country on August 15, hoping to get on the flights.Read more:Kabul airport ‘incredibly crowded’ despite looming ISIS threat: OfficialTaliban guards will continue to protect civilians outside Kabul airport: OfficialVery credible threat of imminent Kabul airport attack: UK armed forces minister
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Pentagon confirms multiple casualties after explosion hits outside Kabul airport

Arsenal fans have been left to speculate a potential takeover after Qatar's Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al Thani tweeted cryptically about the Gunners..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatari royal's tweet sparks speculation over Arsenal takeover – Doha News | Qatar

Several staff honoured for their contribution to excellence and global leadership..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Dewa honours female staff on Emirati Women’s Day

As state power continues to be almost nonexistent and generators only provide a few hours of electricity a day, cases of food poisoning have risen due to poor refrigeration..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Food poisoning on the rise due to power cuts

A US official says the complex attack outside Kabul airport is “definitely believed” to have been carried out by ISIS.The official says members of the US military were wounded in Thursday’s attack, which involved two suicide bombers and gunmen.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations. The Islamic State group is more radical than the Taliban and has carried out a wave of attacks targeting civilians.The official says evacuation flights have continued to take off from Kabul airport in the waning days of an airlift to help people flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.Read more: Pentagon confirms multiple casualties after explosion hits outside Kabul airport
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US official: ISIS believed to be behind Afghanistan’s Kabul attack

At least five deaths and more than a dozen wounded were reported on Thursday after two blasts occurred outside of Kabul airport, an AFP photographer at the Afghan capital's hospital said.“There were many bodies and injured - at least five dead,” the photographer said at the emergency hospital.Graphic footage of the bloody aftermath of the blast at the airport flooded social media platforms and local media outlets shared videos and pictures of the wounded being transported to emergency care as ambulances rushed to keep up with the flow of the injured.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.An emergency hospital in Kabul said it received at least 60 wounded from the airport blast.US Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said: “We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US and civilian casualties,” Kirby wrote on Twitter.“We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate,” he added.The Baron Hotel, about 200 meters from the Abbey Gate, had been used by some western nations as a staging point for evacuations since the airlift began on August 14.The US State Department said there were also reports of gunfire: “US citizens should avoid traveling to the airport and avoid airport gates. Those at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately.”Thousands of people have massed over the past 12 days near the Abbey Gate and other entrances to the Hamid Karzai International Airport, hoping to be evacuated after the Taliban took control of the country.US officials say the Taliban has cooperated with the evacuation efforts.But US and allied officials said in the past day that they had intelligence that suicide bombers tied to the Afghan arm of the ISIS group – the ISIS-Khorasan (IS-K) – were threatening to attack the airport ahead of Washington's August 31 deadline to finalize the evacuation.The group is known to be at odds with the Taliban.With the Associated PressRead more:Pentagon confirms multiple casualties after explosion hits outside Kabul airportKabul airport ‘incredibly crowded’ despite looming ISIS threat: OfficialTaliban guards will continue to protect civilians outside Kabul airport: Official
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Warning: Graphic footage of Kabul airport blast aftermath, five dead, dozens wounded

Deadly blasts at Kabul airport on Thursday caused “total panic” among Afghans who had thronged outside in the hope of fleeing to safety, away from the country's new Taliban rulers.Wounded men in blood-soaked clothes were ferried away from the scene in wheelbarrows, while a boy clutched the arm of a man with a head injury, in images posted on social media.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Bodies, flesh and people were thrown into a canal nearby,” Milad, who was at the scene of the first blast, told AFP.“When people heard the explosion there was total panic. The Taliban then started firing in the air to disperse the crowd at the gate,” a second witness said.“I saw a man rushing with an injured baby in his hands.”In the confusion, he said he dropped the documents he hoped would help him board a flight with his wife and three children.“I will never ever want to go (to the airport) again. Death to America, its evacuation and visas.”Western intelligence agencies had warned Thursday of an imminent attack, with US President Joe Biden citing a terrorist threat from the regional chapter of the ISIS group.There are just five days until the deadline set by the United States to end the airlifts.The two devices were detonated as the sun started to set, killing at least six people and wounding many more, according to the Emergency Hospital in Kabul.Thick smoke billowed into the sky as men, women and children rushed away from the scene.The Pentagon said one explosion was at the Abbey Gate of Kabul airport, and at least one more blast hit the nearby Baron Hotel.Shortly after, an AFP photographer saw several bodies arriving at a Kabul hospital, and more than a dozen injured.Women with blood-stained faces and clothes wept as the wounded were taken into the clinic on stretchers.Another witness, 26-year-old Akram Lubega, who works for a catering firm, said he heard the explosion and did not know what was happening.“Of course we are all scared,” the Ugandan national said.“Everyone is tense and the army is taking positions around the airport.”Read more:Warning: Graphic footage of Kabul airport blast aftermath, five dead, dozens woundedUS official: ISIS believed to be behind Afghanistan’s Kabul attackPentagon confirms multiple casualties after explosion hits outside Kabul airport
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: ‘Total panic’ and fear as deadly blasts rock Kabul airport

The rhythmic biological cycle influences our mental, physical and emotional activities..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: The physical and emotional benefits of syncing your life with your biological cycles

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati Thursday held a new round of talks with President Michel Aoun on the formation of a new government that ended on a negative note, a clear indication that differences persisted over proposed candidates for key ministries..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Aoun-Mikati talks fail to break Cabinet impasse