Middle East Experience

The visit included meetings with leaders of the Druze and Bedouin communities and was held in honor of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: IDF Chief of Staff Kohavi visits Druze leaders in northern Israel

General Mark Milley warned against carrying out a military action against Iran, despite countless others urging Donald Trump to strike.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Netanyahu urged Trump to strike Iran after election loss - New Yorker

The Moshe Mirilashvili Center for Food Security in the Desert was named after the father of one of the partners, Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, CEO of Watergen and Vertical Field.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Ben-Gurion University establishes center for food security

Kurdish politicians in Syria split over Russia’s invitation to hold a dialogue with the Syrian government, with some accepting the invitation based on conditions, while others were skeptical about such a move.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Kurdish parties split over Russian invitation for dialogue with Syrian government

Almost four in 10 consumers in the United Arab Emirates experienced online fraud attempts in the past year, a new study finds, despite a rise in digital trust and payments confidence, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Monday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Fraud attempts The findings, which were revealed in a joint statement released on Monday by Dubai Police, Dubai Economy (DED) and Visa from the 2021 Stay Secure survey, indicated that 39 percent of UAE consumers had experienced online fraud attempts. Around 27 percent of them experienced phishing, less than 19 percent were subject to credit card fraud and 17 percent received counterfeit goods.In a testament of trust to the country’s law enforcement, half of the survey’s respondents said that they would contact local authorities in the event of a fraud attempt.“As people spend more and more time online, including many for the first time, fraudsters are using this as an opportunity to exploit consumers’ fears and lack of knowledge,” said Dubai Police’s Director of Criminal Investigation Department Brigadier Jamal Salem al-Jalaf.“We strongly believe that government authorities, the private sector and local communities all have an important role to play in raising awareness among UAE residents,” he added.Digital trust in cashless payments The survey also found that digital payments both in-store and online will continue to rise due to improved technology and security measures.The use of cash among UAE consumers continues to decline, the report found. Ecommerce and contactless payments continued to gain traction, accounting for 98 percent, while Cash on Delivery was found to have declined by 75 percent.“Shopping in Dubai presents a remarkable opportunity fir retail innovations as it involves a vast and varied customer demographics and businesses,” said Dubai Economy’s Director of Consumer Protection Ahmad al-Zaabi.Around 63 percent of consumers expressed a high level of confidence in digital payments, including the use of contactless card and mobile wallets, indicating an increase since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.“At Dubai Economy, we focus on making shopping in the city a pleasant experience and we have leveraged every opportunity, including the increase in online shopping in the aftermath of COVID-19, to encourage consumers to enjoy the benefits of cashless and contactless shopping,” al-Zaabi added.The respondents’ trust in contactless payments cited convenience (60 percent), speed (59 percent), a greater sense of control (46 percent), and avoiding human contact (56 percent).Biometric-verified payments (mobile wallets) scored high with 67 percent of the respondents stating that they believed it was secure and 60 percent saying it gave them a sense of complete control as it eliminated the hassle of having to remember passwords and that their phone never leaves their hands.Among the respondents who expressed trust in digital payments, 52 percent said that having knowledge of the underlying security technologies that protected digital payments (such as tokenization) helped build their confidence in cashless transactions.However, those who lacked knowledge in technology had lagging doubt about safety, with 47 percent fearing misuse of lost of stolen contactless debit cards.Visa’s Head of Risk for the Middle East and North Africa said, “As our survey results indicate, consumers have fully embraced digital payments in the COVID-19 era but that does not come without risks. As consumers shift online, fraudsters have sought opportunities to exploit these changes in how people pay for goods and services. This is why constant consumer education is so much more important than ever before.”Read more:More than half of UAE population gained weight during pandemic: SurveyUAE grants Golden Visas to 100,000 resident, non-resident codersDubai launches with big tech companies a national program for coders
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Four in 10 UAE consumers experienced online fraud attempts amid pandemic: Report

Palestinian leaders are hoping for a political breakthrough with the United States to help restore their domestic credibility.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Palestinians look to Biden for international points

The UAE has dispatched an aircraft carrying 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Tunisia to curb the spread of the virus, state news agency WAM reported on Tuesday.This urgent response comes in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to enhance the health conditions of the Tunisian people during the pandemic, WAM reported.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Rashid Mohammed Al Mansouri, UAE Ambassador to Tunisia, stated that the leadership’s directives to send the COVID-19 vaccine doses are in line with the UAE’s support for the Tunisian people during the difficult circumstances Tunisia is facing now as a result of the pandemic.He added that in November 2020, the UAE sent a plane to Tunisia carrying 11 tons of medical diagnostic equipment, ventilators, mobile breathing units and PPE (personal protective equipment) to enhance the efforts of frontline workers.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Earlier this week, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed received a phone call from President Kais Saied of Tunisia, wherein they discussed the latest developments of COVID-19 and its health, humanitarian and social impacts.On Monday, it was announced that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued directives to provide Tunisia with one million doses of the coronavirus vaccine and other medical assistance and aid upon the request from Tunisian President Kais Saied.Read more:Saudi Arabia’s King Salman directs 1 million COVID vaccine doses for TunisiaSaudi Arabia pledges aid as Tunisia struggles with COVID-19 pandemicTunisia says health care system collapsing due to rapid outbreak of COVID-19
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: UAE sends 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Tunisia

Moscow has officially lifted the ban on flights to Egyptian resorts six years after a devastating air incident.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Russia resumes flights to Egyptian resorts after six-year halt

Israel refused to let a prominent jailed Palestinian lawmaker attend her daughter’s funeral on Tuesday, despite a campaign by activists and human rights groups for her to be released on humanitarian grounds.Khalida Jarrar, 58, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has been in and out of Israeli prison in recent years. A military court sentenced her to two years in March for being a member of an outlawed group. With time served, she is set to be released in October.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The PFLP has an armed wing and is considered a terrorist group by Israel and Western countries, but Jarrar has not been implicated in attacks. The Israeli military acknowledged in March that she “did not deal with organizational or military aspects of the organization.”Jarrar was sentenced to 15 months in 2015 on charges of incitement and membership in the PFLP. She has also been held for months at a time in what’s known as administrative detention, under which Israel detains Palestinian suspects for lengthy periods without charge.Her 30-year-old daughter Suha, who worked on issues related to gender and climate change for the Al-Haq human rights group, was found dead on Sunday in her home in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, the group said. It did not give a cause of death.Al-Haq launched a campaign calling for Jarrar’s “immediate and unconditional release on humanitarian grounds,” and said it had appealed to other countries as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross.Entreaties poured in from other activists and rights groups in an online campaign under the hashtag #freekhalidajarrar. An online petition drew more than 11,500 signatures.Natan Dublin, a spokesman for Israel’s public security minister, said the request could not be approved by the prison service because Jarrar is considered a security prisoner. The daughter’s funeral was held without her.The New York-based Human Rights Watch said Jarrar’s repeated arrests are part of Israel’s wider crackdown on non-violent political opposition to its half-century military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state.“Detaining Khalida over her political activism violates her freedom of association,” said Omar Shakir, the group’s director for Israel and the Palestinian territories. “Having repeatedly detained Khalida in violation of her rights, Israeli authorities should at minimum allow her to say goodbye to her daughter.”Read more: Palestinian prisoner freed, claims victory after two-month hunger strike
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Israel refuses to let jailed Palestinian lawmaker attend daughter’s funeral

A French firm has begun sifting through the rubble from Beirut’s destroyed grain silo to collect the remnants of thousands of tons of wheat that is rotting and attracting rats almost a year after a chemical blast ripped through the port.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The impact of the Aug. 4 blast, which killed more than 200 people and devastated swathes of Lebanon’s capital, can still be seen everywhere, with a half sunken ship, mangled cars and the remains of once-stored clothing strewn among the wreckage.One of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history scattered an estimated 20,000 tons of wheat throughout the blast zone. Some remains inaccessible inside the jagged shell of what is left of the silo, just minutes from the city center.The wheat is no longer fit for human or animal consumption and now Recygroup and its local partner Man Enterprise are working out how best it can be put to good use.One idea is that it could be turned into fertilizer, or maybe use it as building material as a landfill layer as the companies embark on one of the first large scale clean-up operations after the blast.“We are doing all the lab tests to see how best we can utilize them,” Marwan Rizkalla, director of Mondis, a subsidiary of Man Enterprise, said.“The wheat causes smells and insects and rats, we can’t keep it like that it has to be treated the right way,” he said.Christophe DeBoffe, vice president of Recygroup, said work to separate the grain from the other debris would take to three to four months while the lab work is ongoing.The contract for Recygroup, which specializes in dealing with waste to help create circular economies, is worth 1.3 million euros ($1.5 million).“When the blast happened ... I thought we have something to do here,” DeBoffe said.Read more: Lebanon government raises bread price for seventh time in one yearUS, French ambassadors to Lebanon in rare joint visit to Saudi ArabiaLebanon’s economic crisis leaves women struggling to afford menstrual products
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: French firm seeks new use for tons of grain blown up in Beirut blast