Middle East Experience

Ned Price, the State Department spokesperson, said the US 'will be a strong partner in fighting' efforts that 'seek to delegitimize Israel'
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: State Department: We reject the BDS movement, which singles out Israel

Israel will recognize European standards for fruits and vegetables • regulation of products imported from Europe will be reduced
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israelis to enjoy more, cheaper produce with new agriculture reform

The phone numbers for Princess Latifa and some of her friends appeared on a leaked database of surveillance targets reportedly selected by customers of the Israel-based NSO Group.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Dubai princess' number on Pegasus spyware list

Democratic and Republican senators voiced heavy criticism of the Turkish government to a State Department official during a Wednesday hearing. The lawmakers accused Ankara of abusing the international police system, being an “aggressor” toward Greece, and much more.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US senator says Turkish actions against pro-Kurdish party like ‘if Biden banned the Republican Party’

Syria's air defenses early on Thursday intercepted an Israeli attack on the al Qusair area in Homs, Syrian state media reported.A Syrian military source said in a statement there was some material damage from the strike and no casualties.The Israeli military said it had no comment.On Monday, Syria said it had intercepted an attack on Aleppo.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Homs province adjoins Lebanon, where the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shia Hezbollah group holds sway along the rugged border area.Western intelligence sources have said Israel's stepped-up strikes on Syria since last year are part of a shadow war approved by the United States.The strikes are also part of an anti-Iran policy that in the past two years has undermined Iran's extensive military power without starting a major increase in hostilities.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Syria confronts Israeli air strikes over Homs: SANA

The White House has maintained the previous administration's demands that Ankara dispose of the Russian missile defense system.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US reaffirms stance on Turkey’s S-400, support for Syria’s Kurds

Protesters angry about water shortages took to the streets of southwest Iran for a sixth night in a row on Tuesday, with mounting violence, while Tehran residents chanted anti-government slogans, according to videos posted on social media on Wednesday and Iranian news outlets.Videos uploaded by social media users showed security forces using teargas to disperse protesters. The semi-official Fars news agency said “rioters” shot dead one policeman and injured another in the port city of Mahshahr in oil-rich Khuzestan province.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.In the town of Izeh, demonstrators chanted “Reza Shah, bless your soul” in a video, referring to the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty which was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.Activists called for demonstrations to support the Khuzestan protesters and videos surfaced late Tuesday and early Wednesday showing women chanting “Down with the Islamic Republic” at a Tehran metro station.Reuters could not independently authenticate the videos.At least two young men have been shot dead in the protests. Officials have blamed armed protesters, but activists said on social media they were killed by security forces.Iran’s ethnic Arab minority, who mostly live in Khuzestan, have long said they face discrimination. An Arab woman protester could be heard shouting at security forces in one video: “Sir! Sir! The demonstration is peaceful. Why do you shoot? No one took your land and water.”Iran’s worst drought in 50 years has triggered power blackouts.Iran’s economy has been blighted by sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, and the COVID-19 pandemic.Workers, including thousands in the key energy sector, and pensioners have protested for months amid discontent over mismanagement, unemployment and inflation.In Washington, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was closely following the protests, including reports that security forces had fired on protesters.“We support the rights of Iranians to peacefully assemble and to express themselves. Iranians ... should enjoy those rights without fear of violence, without fear of arbitrary detention by security forces,” he told reporters.At least 31 protests took place across Iran on Monday and Tuesday, including rallies by workers and farmers, according to the dissident Human Rights Activists News Agency.Read more:
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Water crisis protests persist in Iran, with chants in Tehran: Reports

A team of scientists in the United Arab Emirates have created a COVID-19 antibody test for animals which can check dozens of different species to see if they have been exposed to the deadly virus.The antibody test is now being used on hundreds of blood samples collated from different breeds of animals to see which species have contracted COVID-19 – and which ones later developed antibodies to the virus, Dr Ulrich Wernery, a veterinary microbiologist in Dubai and head of the emirate’s Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, told Al Arabiya English.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Dr Wernery said the study is part of his ongoing research to find more answers to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, how it spreads across both human and animal kingdoms, and hopefully provide vital answers into how to tackle the global pandemic and treat infected patients.He said little information exists on which animals are hosts for the virus.COVID-19 have been found among some animals, including gorillas in a San Diego Zoo, a tiger at Bronx Zoo, lions at a Barcelona Zoo, a snow leopard at Kentucky, and among Danish minks, among others.“Nobody really knows how many animal species are sensitive to COVID-19,” said Dr Wernery. “We know humans can get it, we know minks can get it, we know cats can get it, some ferrets can get and some other animals.”“But we do not know about sheep, goats, horses, monkeys and other animal species and so on.”“So, we have now produced an antibody test to check the antibodies of many – about 18 - different animal species if they have antibodies against COVID-19.”If the team finds antibodies in samples of the animals, the scientists know they have, at one point, been exposed to the virus.“We want to find this out with this new test,” said Dr Wernery.“This is a very, very sophisticated test and it can be used on many animal species as well as humans. We can find out which animal species had contact to the virus and which then developed antibodies.”Dr Wernery said over the years at his lab, he and his team of scientists have stored thousands of samples of blood serum from the tissues of different animals.The team have selected 500 samples which they are now in the process of testing for COVID-19 antibodies.“Serum – or sera- is a part of the blood in which red blood cells and white blood cells are removed. In this liquid and fluid, you can find all the antibodies which are produced against foreign bodies coming from outside.”“Most probably your blood, my blood has hundreds of thousands of different antibodies against many, many foreign bodies – or viruses – which have hit us during our lifetime.”The same, he said, is true for COVID-19.“When the coronavirus hits you, your body produces antibodies to fight the virus and to neutralize the virus so you get healthier after a while.”“The same is done when you get vaccinated. So you are injected with a dead virus and your body produces antibodies against this virus to protect you.”“We want to check the serum from many different animals which we do not yet know about their vulnerability to COVID19 and check if they have antibodies; that would be very interesting indeed.”More knowledge about which species are both receptors and hosts for the virus could provide further answers in tackling the global pandemic, said Dr Wernery.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.While the exact source of COVID-19 is unknown, WHO scientists believe it likely came from a bat.More than 191 million people worldwide have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic.Read more:UAE scientists injecting ‘immune’ camels with COVID-19 to study virus antibodiesBig cats, bears, ferrets get COVID-19 vaccine at Oakland ZooNew type of coronavirus originating in dogs found: Study
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE scientists create COVID-19 antibody test for animals

The Egyptian Ministry of Culture’s National Center for Cinema has launched a project to digitize information about major players in the Egyptian film industry over the decades.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt to document cinematic heritage

Two passenger jets from low-cost carrier FlyDubai and Bahrain-based Gulf Air collided with each other on the taxiway at Dubai International Airport early Thursday morning, though authorities reported no injuries in the incident.FlyDubai said one of its Boeing 737-800s heading to Kyrgyzstan found itself affected by “a minor incident” and forced to return to the stand. It said passengers took a later flight, which departed six hours later.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“FlyDubai will work with the authorities to investigate the incident,” the airline said, adding that the collision damaged a wingtip on one of the aircraft.Gulf Air said one its aircraft “was impacted on the tail by an aircraft of another airline.” Gulf Air did not identify the aircraft involved, but said it was “working to reconnect all the passengers to their final destinations.” Gulf Air flies passengers from Dubai International Airport onto its hub at Bahrain International Airport in Manama.Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international travel before the coronavirus pandemic, said the collision forced them to shut down one of its two runways for two hours. It said operations were not affected by the closure.Read more:At least 16 killed, 123 hurt as Air India plane from Dubai skids off runway in IndiaReport cites pilot error in 2016 Flydubai plane crash in RussiaFour killed in small plane crash close to Dubai airport
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Two airplanes collide at Dubai’s main airport