Middle East Experience

Many piled on the weight during coronavirus lockdowns, but for the VP of a Saudi Arabian company the pandemic presented the opportunity for him to shed 25kg of his body weight.Julian Panter has now competed in a charity triathlon to raise $20,000 for organ transplant charities in memory of his late brother-in-law.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Heading business development at International Maritime Industries, Panter told Al Arabiya English that as the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, on his 40th birthday he tipped the scales at 123kg.The British expatriate said he decided to use the lockdowns as a bid to transform his health.“I normally live in Dubai, however work in Saudi during the week,” he said. “After flying into Saudi as per normal on a Sunday morning early in March 2020, I found out that there would be travel restrictions imposed from the Monday that week and I was therefore going to have to spend more time in Saudi then I normally would.”“I felt that in order to make the most of the situation I had to focus on something within my control. I thought I would turn my life around get betting fit and exercising every day, whether that be a run, a walk or a swim – anything. And so the journey began.”Panter began by promising himself he would run for at least 30 minutes every morning and walk for one hour every evening.He also decided to overhaul his diet.“On top of the exercise, I cut out chocolate and fizzy drinks and tried not to eat a heavy meal in the evening. I started running five kilometers in the morning and probably walked the same distance in the evening.”“I bought a set of scales from the chemists and made a log of my weight. I was clinically obese, although I carried the weight well as I am 6ft 5inches tall.”Panter said the weight began to drop off quickly with 7kg lost within two months.“As the year went and my time in Saudi got extended, I got more hooked on the exercise – it helped me to pass the time whilst I couldn’t get back to the UAE, along with keeping my mind fresh and staying positive.”“I noticed that my fitness levels were improving dramatically after about four months and I started to buy better running shoes, clothing and downloaded a running application for my phone, so I became more aware of my distances and times.“This coincided with my weight dropping to below 105kg - the lightest I had been since I was 30-years-old.”It was in November that Panter got a phone call which told his brother-in-law Tim Jenkins has been taken to hospital with severe stomach pains. Five weeks later he died of an aggressive form of stomach cancer.“Tim’s passing was absolutely devastating for my sister and our family, he left behind his wife (my sister) and two children, Zoe, aged four, and William, aged seven,” he said.“Tim at the time was a very good athlete, he was a top-level cyclist and competed in various events, including triathlons. Ten years previous to his passing, he had a kidney transplant and was therefore eligible to compete for Great Britain in the Transplant Games. He was very successful and won silver medals and the World Championships.”Panter then decided to turn his personal fitness challenge into a mission to raise money for others waiting for life-saving transplants.“Following his passing my sister decided to set up a charity called “Tri4Tim” which would essentially raise money that would be donated to Transplant Sport, a charity that aids anyone who has had a transplant to compete in sporting events.”“It is an organization that Tim was so passionate about. The organization operates purely because of funding from charities and because people volunteer their time. The “Tri4Tim” charity (of which I am a patron of) enables us to raise money in Tim’s memory for this amazing organization.”A year after his fitness challenge began, Panter has completed his first Olympic triathlon in memory of his brother-in-law, after reaching 25kg weight loss.“I just completed my first triathlon in England just over a year after deciding to get fit. My sister, niece and nephew were there to cheer me on which was extremely emotional.”“I finished 48th out of nearly 140 competitors - most of which were seasoned triathletes - and 15th in my over-40s age group. Not bad for someone who couldn’t even run 10 kilometers a year previously.”Tri4Tim has now raised more than $20,000, and Panter is now stepping up his fitness challenge and fundraising efforts.“The next Olympic distance triathlon is in London in July and the hardest event I have entered will be in October in Malta which is the Xterra Off-Road Triathlon - a brutal off-road event which involves a two kilometer sea swim, 30 kilometer mountain bike ride and a ten kilometer off-road run.”“The ultimate goal to race in a triathlon called the Norseman in Norway, which is nearly a four kilometer swim in an icy cold Fjord, a 180 kilometer mountainous bike ride and a 42 kilometer run up into the mountains in Norway.”Read more:Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, Crown Prince enroll in organ donation programCutting the fat: More than 30,000 gastric sleeve surgeries in Saudi Arabia in 2020Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, Crown Prince donate total of $7.9 mln to charity
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi VP shed 25kg in lockdown, does charity triathlon in memory of brother-in-law

Dubai expects to attract over 5.5 million overseas visitors this year, hopeful that new markets can help make up for the loss of visitors from key places where travel is restricted.Dubai had 5.5 million overseas visitors last year, when the tourism sector was pummel by the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, 16.7 million tourists visited.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Visitors from India, traditionally Dubai’s top source market, are largely banned from the United Arab Emirates due to the latest outbreak in the South Asian nation.Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, Dubai’s third biggest source market in 2019, has barred direct flights and requires travelers from the UAE to hotel quarantine.But Dubai Tourism Chief Executive Issam Kazim said visitor numbers from newer markets in Europe, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were performing well.“All of these markets will start to add up and hopefully fill the gaps and give us a much stronger foundation to build a confident rebound going forward,” he told Reuters at the Arabian Travel Market in DubaiThe Middle East city reopened its borders to international visitors last July and was a popular holiday spot over New Years despite the pandemic with many other global destinations remaining shut off.But the influx of foreign tourists coincided with a second wave of coronavirus infections across the UAE and led Dubai to tighten capacity restrictions on hotels and restaurants.Many of those restrictions were eased this week.Kazim cited a high rate of testing in UAE as the reason behind the rise in case numbers, arguing that the more people are tested the more infections will be uncovered.The number of infections in the country have now fallen from a daily peak of 3,977 in February to roughly 1,300. Figures for each emirate are not disclosed by authorities.Dubai is also expecting Expo 2020, which runs from October to March after being delayed by the pandemic last year, to be a draw for many tourists who have never visited before.Expo organizers said before the coronavirus outbreak the event could attract 11 million foreign visitors, though Kazim said on Tuesday that the pandemic now made it difficult to predict numbers.Read more:Residential demand drives Dubai property prices to rise for first time in six yearsUAE’s Dubai optimistic visitors will return but numbers unclear due to COVID-19Dubai Police warn public after large wildcat reportedly spotted
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Dubai targets over 5.5 mln overseas tourists this year

Lebanon’s caretaker foreign minister asked the president to be relieved of his duties on Wednesday, the presidency wrote on Twitter, after his comments in a television interview strained ties with his country’s traditional Gulf Arab allies and donors.Charbel Wehbe, who is a minister in Lebanon’s caretaker government, stoked tensions with remarks on Monday that suggested Gulf states had supported the rise of ISIS and other disparaging comments.Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain summoned Lebanon’s ambassadors and issued formal complaints.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.After meeting President Michel Aoun, Wehbe said he had submitted a request to step down “in light of the recent developments and the circumstances that accompanied the interview I gave to a television station."He also met caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, saying after that discussion he hoped his decision to step down would mean relations with Arab nations remained “friendly."“I wish success to the one who will be assigned this mission for the sake of Lebanon,” he said.It was not immediately clear who would step in to take up the role as caretaker foreign minister.Read more:Bahrain, Kuwait strongly condemn Lebanon’s FM statements on Saudi Arabia and GCCUAE expresses strong disapproval of ‘disgraceful, racist’ statements of Lebanese FMGCC asks Lebanese FM to issue formal apology for ‘unacceptable offenses’
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lebanon’s foreign minister asks to quit, after comments strained Gulf ties

The Syrian Democratic Forces continue to cut power in the areas under the control of the Turkish-backed opposition in northeast Syria, under the pretext that Turkey is responsible for the drop in water levels in the Euphrates River.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Turkey, Russia pressure SDF to restore electricity to northeast Syria

At least 42 Palestinians, including 10 children and 12 women, were killed in an Israeli airstrike that leveled three residential buildings in central Gaza City.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: These civilians died in Israeli raid on their homes in Gaza City

A special meeting of EU foreign ministers called upon Israel and Hamas to advance a cease-fire but the long debate reached no formal conclusions.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Europe sends Israel mixed signals on cease-fire with Hamas

Since his appointment in February, the US envoy to Yemen has striven to revive diplomatic efforts in a bid to stop the war; yet the situation in Yemen remains bleak, and violence has not ebbed away.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Yemenis lower expectations regarding US peace effort

The German government said Wednesday it is banning three groups close to Hezbollah, the Lebanese movement that opposes Israel, against the backdrop of the current military escalation in the Middle East.Interior Minister Horst Seehofer “has banned three groups that are financing the terrorist organization Hezbollah,” his spokesman wrote in a tweet.“Whoever supports terror will not be safe in Germany... They will find no refuge in our country.”For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The interior ministry said that searches were currently under way in a number of different regional states in Germany.According to German media reports, the operations had been carried in the states of Hamburg, Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein.Hezbollah is designated a terrorist group by Israel and much of the West.Founded in the 1980s to fight Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, it has grown into Iran’s main regional proxy with operatives in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.The only Lebanese faction to have kept its weapons after the 1975-90 civil war, Hezbollah now has a more powerful arsenal than the Lebanese national army.Israel’s deadly Gaza offensive has many eyes trained on the Lebanese border for a Hezbollah reaction, but observers argue the Iran-backed movement is unlikely to risk an all-out conflict. Incidents at the border in recent days have raised the temperature but, with Lebanon already on its knees amid a deep political and economic crisis, the Shia group seems intent on refraining from an escalation. In face of the renewed violence in the region, German authorities are concerned about a rise in anti-Semitism.A pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin resulted in clashes and arrests.Last week, Israeli flags were burned in front of synagogues in Bonn and Muenster.“Our democracy will not tolerate anti-Semitic demonstrations,” the spokesman for Angela Merkel had said at the time.Read more:Lebanon mourns protester killed by Israeli fire, Hezbollah declares him ‘martyr’ Bahrain, Kuwait strongly condemn Lebanon’s FM statements on Saudi Arabia and GCC Biden pressing Israel’s Netanyahu for end to military campaign on Palestine: SourcesNasrallah condemns Germany's ban on Hezbollah as bowing to US pressure
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Germany bans three groups close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah

As President Joe Biden appealed for calm, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday there was no timeframe for ending the conflict with Hamas.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US expects 'significant de-escalation today,' Biden tells Netanyahu

Rockets fired at Israel from south Lebanon: Lebanese security source..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Rockets fired at Israel from south Lebanon: Lebanese security source