Middle East Experience

Saudi Arabia recorded 1,144 new COVID-19 cases, 1,253 recoveries and 16 deaths in 24 hours, the Kingdom’s health ministry announced on Saturday.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Most cases were recorded in Mecca and Riyadh, accounting for 374 and 271 cases. This indicated a slight drop from Friday’s 1,201 new cases.The Kingdom’s death toll mounted to 7,440 and recoveries increased to 439,459.There are currently 9,663 active cases in the country and the total number of diagnosed cases since the beginning of the pandemic rose to 456,562.As of Saturday, the Kingdom officially administered 14.7 million vaccine doses.Read more:Saudi Arabia records 1,201 new COVID-19 cases, 16 deathsUAE reports 2,188 new COVID-19 cases, five deaths in 24 hoursWorld Tourism Organization launches first-ever regional office in Riyadh
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia reports slight 24-hour drop in COVID-19 infections, 16 deaths

Lebanon on Friday urged the United Nations to urgently consider “alternative means” to fund a UN-backed court on its ex-premier Rafik Hariri’s murder that may close over a cash crunch..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon appeals to UN to keep Hariri murder court going

A Turkish airstrike killed at least three people and injured others on Saturday at a camp for displaced people in northern Iraq, said Rashad Kelani, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party official.The strike on the camp housing thousands of Kurdish refugees from Turkey took place three days after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan warned Iraq that Turkey would “clean up” a refugee camp which it says provides a haven for Kurdish militants.An Iraqi security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed an airstrike had killed and injured people in the camp but did not give details.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Turkish forces have stepped up attacks on bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside northern Iraq over the last year, focusing their firepower and incursions mainly on a strip of territory up to 30 km inside Iraq.Erdogan said on Thursday that Makhmour, a camp 180 km south of the Turkish border which has hosted thousands of Turkish refugees for more than two decades, was an “incubator” for militants and must be tackled.The camp was established in the 1990s when thousands of Kurds from Turkey crossed the border in a movement Ankara says was deliberately provoked by the PKK.The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union, has fought an insurgency against the state in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.Makhmour was targeted by Turkish airstrikes a year ago, although there were no reports of casualties at the time, but a senior Turkish official said it was now a priority for Ankara.In a separate incident on Saturday, five Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and four wounded in an ambush by the PKK in northern Iraq, the ministry of Peshmerga said in a statement early on Saturday.The clashes took place on Matina mountain in the town of Amedi in the northern Kurdistan Region, the statement said.The PKK did not immediately comment.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Turkish airstrike kills at least 3 in camp holding Kurdish refugees inside Iraq

The Lebanese pound fell for a fifth day in a row Saturday, trading at LL13,500 against the dollar on the black market..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Battered Lebanese pound drops for fifth straight day

Lebanon recorded 223 coronavirus cases and five deaths over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry reported Friday, as the Ministry announced a vaccination marathon to take place in north Lebanon Sunday..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon records 223 coronavirus cases, Pfizer vaccine 'marathon' announced

Prime Minister-Designate Saad Hariri asked the Lebanese government on Saturday to pay its dues to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and for the international community to shoulder its responsibility.The tribunal was set up to prosecute those behind the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It is 51 percent funded by voluntary contributions and 49 percent by the government, and could close after July if the funding shortage is not resolved.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.On Thursday, judges at the tribunal scrapped a new trial against the man convicted of the assassination because of the expectations that it will be shut down.Read more:Lebanon asks UN chief to find ways to fund special tribunal on Hariri assassinationHezbollah fugitive can't appeal over Hariri murder: Court
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: PM-designate Hariri asks Lebanon’s government to pay dues to Special Tribunal

Tunisian police intervened on Saturday to prevent demonstrators from joining a protest called by the head of Tunisia's Free Destourian Party (Free Constitutional Party) against the Muslim Brotherhood-led parliament led by Rached Ghannouchi.Thousands of Tunisians took part in the protest calling for the “liberation of the parliament” from the control of the pro-Muslim Brotherhood Ennahda party.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Photos and videos posted on social media showed protesters and security forces clashing after they prevented demonstrators from joining and participating in the march.Demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament headquarters in Bardo Square in the center of the capital, Tunis, raising slogans denouncing Ghannouchi’s control and his parliamentary. “Oh Ghannouchi, you thug, you fight souls,” “Down with the rule of the Leader,” were some of the slogans raised based on videos and photos posted online.Abir Moussi, the head of the Free Constitutional Party, has accused the ruling Ennahda party of having links with terrorism and called for an investigation into the party. She has also called for the Muslim Brotherhood to be designated as a terrorist organization in Tunisia, a petition she submitted to the Tunisian Parliament last year.“This party [Ennahda] exists in the political arena and enters the elections based on the fallacy that it leads, and this fallacy means that this party presents itself as a civil party, as a Tunisian party, as a party that has no relations with the Muslim Brotherhood, and all the organizations associated with it,” Moussi told Al Arabiya last year.The Muslim Brotherhood is a banned movement across several countries in the region and has been designated as a terrorist organization by countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.Read more:
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Thousands of Tunisians protest against Muslim Brotherhood, Ghannouchi

Omani officials, accompanied by senior Houthi figures, arrived Saturday in Sanaa to try to convince the Houthi militia who control the capital to accept a ceasefire, Houthi sources said.Yemen has been devastated by civil war between the government and the Iran-backed Houthi militia since 2014, pushing the country to the brink of famine.Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have intensified in recent weeks.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“An Omani delegation arrived (in Sanaa), accompanied by Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam and other (Houthi) officials,” a militant source told AFP on condition of anonymity.The Arab Coalition controls Yemen’s airspace and since 2016 had prevented Abdul Salam and other Houthi figures from returning to Sanaa.The delegation’s arrival demonstrates something of a step forward in negotiations.The Houthis have repeatedly demanded the re-opening of Sanaa airport before any ceasefire agreement.The source said the delegation was to meet with Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi and update him on talks held in Muscat.The aim of the Omani mediators seems to be “to convince the Houthis to accept a ceasefire and take part in peace negotiations,” the source added.Abdul Salam, in remarks carried by Houthi-run Al-Masirah television, said: “We are working to advance arrangements on the humanitarian question as well as the peace process.”The visit aims to “complement efforts” made in Oman, he added.The sultanate of Oman, which borders both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, is a close US ally but at the same time has good relations with Iran. It has regularly played the role of mediator in regional conflicts.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Omani mediators in Sanaa to meet with Houthis as Yemen ceasefire talks intensify

The report triggered protests and condemnations from some Palestinians who took to social media platforms to express outrage over the alleged meeting.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: PA envoy to Ireland denies meeting Israeli counterpart

The Zimmerman family was one of the 437,402 Hungarian Jews that were deported to Auschwitz during the Holocaust.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Rare bottles of wine crafted by Holocaust victims to be put on auction