Middle East Experience

Egypt’s railways chief was sacked Tuesday following a string of deadly train disasters, two days after the latest accident that cost 11 lives.“The goal of these decisions is not merely about leadership changes of the authority but are in line with the next stage which demands...a complete upgrade of the railway network,” the transport ministry said.The changes “underway aim to provide better services, working around the clock to serve commuters and to upgrade... this essential service which transports millions of passengers yearly”, it said in a statement.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Transport Minister Kamel el-Wazir’s shuffle of 10 top officials in Egypt’s embattled railways authority, including its head Ashraf Raslan, follows an uproar in the Arab world’s most populous country over mismanagement of dilapidated train lines.Calls on social media have urged the minister himself to step down but he has stood firm.Egyptian rail accidents are mostly blamed on poor infrastructure and maintenance.On Sunday, 11 people were killed and scores injured in a farming town in the fertile Nile Delta outside the capital when four train carriages came off the tracks.Last month, at least 20 people died and nearly 200 were injured in a crash in southern Egypt, according to the latest official toll, which authorities have revised several times.Fifteen people were also injured earlier this month when two train carriages derailed near Minya al-Qamh, north of Cairo.Wazir, a former general, was named transport minister after a 2019 train collision that was blamed on human error.“We have a problem with the human element,” he said last month on a television talk show, pledging to set up an automated network by 2024.President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has vowed to hold to account those responsible for the recurrent deadly accidents on Egypt’s railways in recent years.One of the deadliest came in 2002 when a fire ripped through a crowded train south of the capital, killing 373 people.Read more:Egypt prosecutor says driver was not at cabin controls during deadly train crashTwenty killed in road accident in EgyptMore than 30 people killed, 66 others injured after trains collide in Egypt
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Egypt fires rail authority chief after string of deadly accidents

Saudi Arabia has confirmed 1,070 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health announced on Tusday, marking the highest daily toll since August.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.The ministry also said 55 percent of the newly confirmed cases are female, adding that people should comply with wearing a mask, social distancing and getting vaccinated to help stop the spread.The majority of new cases were detected in the city of Riyadh with a total of 483, the city of Mecca had 209 while the Eastern region saw 157 new cases.An additional 940 people also recovered from the infection, taking the total number of recoveries to 390,538.Meanwhile, the death toll reached 6,846 after 12 people died due to COVID-19-related complications. Saudi Arabia has confirmed a total of 407,010 COVID-19 cases as of April 20.The Kingdom's interior ministry warned on Monday that it would re-impose preventative measures like lockdowns and closing off cities and neighborhoods if the public continues to ignore rules.“Despite the efforts made by our rational government, which made the public’s health a priority and the continuous warnings from the concerned authorities to adhere to the precautionary health measures that protect society from the pandemic and prevent its spread, we still see those who are lax in not adhering to them,” said Talal al-Shalhoub, a spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry.The Kingdom had seen daily infections fall to below 100 in January from a peak of more than 4,000 in June.Saudi Arabia in January postponed the end of a ban on travel for its citizens and full reopening of entry points to May 17. In February, it suspended entry for non-citizens from 20 states except for diplomats and medical practitioners.With ReutersRead more:Saudi interior ministry warns of reimposing quarantines on cities, neighborhoods‘Packed your bags?’: Saudia Airlines tweet sparks signs of travel returnSaudi female police officer supervises Ramadan pilgrims in Mecca
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia reports over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, first time since August

Months after a reconciliation agreement was signed, relations between Egypt and Qatar remain shy amid small steps at rapprochement.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt, Qatar rapprochement picks up momentum

China’s President Xi Jinping told Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday that Beijing was willing to push its strategic partnership with Riyadh “to a new level,” the official Chinese Xinhua news agency reported.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.In a phone call, the two leaders discussed boosting cooperation in energy, trade and technology, Xinhua added.China’s crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia, its top supplier, rose 8.8 percent in March from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data released earlier on Tuesday.Describing China as a “trusted brother,” the Crown Prince said Saudi Arabia was willing to promote a “strategic link-up” between its Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy away from oil and Xi’s signature Belt and Road trade and infrastructure initiative, according to Xinhua.Read more:Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince announces opening of Sakaka power plantSaudi Crown Prince meets with UK Special Envoy for the Gulf regionSaudi Arabia’s King Salman, Crown Prince donate total of $7.9 mln to charity
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, China’s Xi discuss cooperation in phone call

Negotiations over the Iran nuclear deal are “exacerbating” the country’s hostage-taking, husband of British-Iranian dual citizen Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe said in an Al Arabiya interview.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Richard Ratcliffe suggested that the release of British hostages should have been a precondition for the revival of the deal that was abandoned in 2015.He also said that the UK Foreign Office said they are close to securing Nazanin’s return to the UK, but that he is “not particularly positive” after five years of her detention.Talks between Iran and major powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal are currently taking place in Vienna.US President Donald Trump backed out of the deal in May 2018, imposing sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation.Iranian officials said on Monday that some progress had been made to revive the deal – saying that an interim deal might be on the table.Nazanin, who worked for the Thompson Reuters Foundation, was detained in 2016 on charges of plotting against the government.Her five-year prison term ended in March 2021 and she was released from house arrest.Richard told Al Arabiya that his wife had been able to visit relatives over the Persian new year Nowruz holiday, adding: “After five years of confinement that has been a big thing.”A new case was, however, brought against her soon after her release, preventing her from leaving the country.Nazanin’s detention has been linked to a historic $558 million debt owed by the UK to Iran for the non-delivery of weaponry to the Shah before the 1979 revolution.A court hearing over the debt was due to take place in London this week, but was postponed on Monday, the Guardian reports.“I think it has been clear for years, that all of Nazanin's court cases live in the shadow of the debt case in London,” Ratcliffe said.Read more: New charges against British-Iranian aid worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe ‘unacceptable’: UK‘No to Islamic Republic’: Iran opposition seeks to unify in anti-regime campaignEuropean Union will sanction Iran militia, police, three entities over 2019 protests
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Vienna talks ‘exacerbating’ Iran’s hostage-taking: Richard Ratcliffe

UN human rights consultants have expressed alarm over videos alleging the 35-year-old princess is being held against her will.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: UN experts urge UAE to release princess who claims she's hostage

The European Union’s drug regulatory agency said Tuesday that it found a “possible link” between Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine and extremely rare blood clots and that a warning should be added to the label.But experts at the agency reiterated that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.The European Medicines Agency made those determinations after a very small number of blood clot cases in people who had gotten the vaccine were reported in the United States. The agency said a warning about the blood clots should be added to labels for the Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine and that these rare blood disorders should be considered “very rare side effects of the vaccine.”For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The EMA also recommended a label change for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after finding a link between it and rare blood clots. In both cases, the agency said the benefits of being immunized against COVID-19 still outweighed the very small risks of recipients developing the unusual clots.Last week, Johnson & Johnson halted its European roll-out of the vaccine after US officials recommended a pause in the vaccine, when they detected six very rare blood clot cases among nearly 7 million people who had been vaccinated.European officials said they considered all currently available evidence from the US, which consisted of eight reports of serious cases of rare blood clots associated with low blood platelets, including one death. All of the cases occurred in people under age 60, but the EMA said that it hadn’t been able to identify any specific risk factors.Last week, J&J halted its European rollout of its one-dose vaccine after the US Food and Drug Administration recommended officials pause its use while the rare blood clot cases are examined. Officials identified six cases of the highly unusual blood clots among nearly 7 million people who were immunized with the shot in the US.Johnson & Johnson advised European governments to store their doses until the EU drug regulator issued guidance on their use; widespread use of the shot in Europe has not yet started.The delay was a further blow to vaccination efforts in the European Union, which have been plagued by supply shortages, logistical problems and concerns over unusual blood clots also in a small number of people who received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Experts worry the temporary halt on J&J’s shot could further shake vaccine confidence and complicate worldwide COVID-19 immunization efforts.Last week, South Africa suspended its use of the vaccine in the wake of the U.S. pause, and countries including Italy, Romania, the Netherlands, Denmark and Croatia put their J&J doses into storage.The blood clots linked to the J&J vaccine are occurring in unusual parts of the body, such as veins that drain blood from the brain. Those patients also have abnormally low levels of blood platelets, a condition normally linked to bleeding, not clotting.In its statement, the EMA said the cases it reviewed of unusual blood clots in people who received the J&J shot “were very similar to the cases that occurred with the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca.”With the AstraZeneca vaccine, scientists in Norway and Germany have suggested that some people are experiencing an abnormal immune system response, forming antibodies that attack their own platelets.It’s not yet clear if there might be a similar mechanism with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But both the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines, as well as a Russian COVID-19 vaccine and one from China, are made with the same technology. They train the immune system to recognize the spike protein that coats the coronavirus. To do that, they use a cold virus, called an adenovirus, to carry the spike gene into the body.“Suspicion is rising that these rare cases may be triggered by the adenovirus component of the AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines,” said Eleanor Riley, a professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh. She said that while more data was needed, “it remains the case that for the vast majority of adults in Europe and the USA, the risks associated with contracting COVID-19 far, far outweigh any risk of being vaccinated.”On Monday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 5 million new cororavirus cases were confirmed worldwide last week, the highest-ever number in a single week.He noted that cases and hospitalizations among younger people were “increasing at an alarming rate.”The European Medicines Agency, which regulates drugs used in European Union member nations, said last month there was a “possible link” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots but said the benefits of vaccination far outweighed the risks of COVID-19. It noted the risk is less than the blood clot risk that healthy women face from birth control pills.The European Union ordered 200 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson for 2021 and EU officials had hoped the one-shot vaccine could be used both to boost the continent’s lagging vaccination rates and to protect hard-to-reach populations, like migrant workers and the homeless.Last month, the African Union announced it signed a deal to buy up to 400 million doses of the J&J vaccine. Johnson & Johnson also has a deal to supply up to 500 million doses to the UN-backed COVAX initiative that helps get vaccines to the world’s poor.Any concerns about the J&J vaccine would be another unwelcome complication for COVAX and for the billions of people in developing countries depending on the program. COVAX recently was hit by supply issues after its biggest supplier, the Serum Institute of India, announced it would delay exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine for several months due to a surge of cases on the subcontinent.Read more:J&J exceeds expectations with $100 mln in vaccine salesSouth Africa regulator recommends lifting J&J vaccine pause after some conditions
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: EU agency finds ‘possible link’ between J&J shot to rare clots, says odds favor use

In a conference on Israel in American politics, former UN ambassador Danny Danon said he expected the US Jewish leadership to support Israel as the US progresses in reestablishing the Iran Deal.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: US Jewish leadership expected to support Israel in Iran talks -Danon

From 2pm to 8pm, Ahmed works as a section in charge at the West Zone Supermarket in Al Khail Gate..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Ramadan in UAE: Expat finds home and a family at supermarket

EU chief negotiator Enrique Mora hailed said 'ongoing challenges'….
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: EU diplomat warns of 'hard work' to save Iran nuclear deal