Middle East Experience

The $23.4 billion arms package includes F-35s, armed drones and other equipment.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US to move forward with B arms sale to UAE

The World Health Organization expressed concern Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic could worsen in the Middle East and North Africa during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.Detected cases of Covid infection in the region rose 22 percent last week, while deaths rose 17 percent, said Ahmed al-Mandhari, the Cairo-based chief of the WHO for the eastern Mediterranean.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Mandhari said the situation in the vast region reflects a “worrying trend”.“We are especially worried that the current situation may worsen during Ramadan if people don’t follow and adhere to the proven social measures that work,” he told an online news conference.Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam, began in most Muslim countries on Tuesday.Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening.“This year, like last year, people may feel that the spirit of Ramadan has changed because of social distancing and lockdowns,” said Mandhari.“But the actions that need to be maintained to help contain the pandemic are in line with the basic tenets of Islam: take care of your physical health and do no harm to others.”Dalia Samhouri, WHO’s regional head of emergency preparedness, said the international organization wanted “countries to do a risk assessment in order to prevent the dissemination of the infection”.She suggested measures that could be taken around mosques during Ramadan, including physical distancing, ventilation, and regular disinfection.People who felt sick were advised to stay at home, along with the elderly and sufferers of chronic disease, she said.Mandhari said all countries in the region had received vaccines, but that those with the most limited access were Yemen and Syria.“Although progress has been made with starting vaccination around the world, there remains a shocking imbalance in the distribution of vaccines,” he said.“This is especially true in our region.”In Yemen, where some 14 million doses were pledged through the Covax program that aims to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations, only 360,000 have been delivered.Read more:COVID-19 pandemic ‘a long way from over’: WHOTurkish people tense, frustrated as coronavirus infections soarUAE urges youths to take COVID-19 vaccine
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: WHO worries COVID-19 could worsen during Ramadan

Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday dismissed initial offers being made at talks in Vienna aimed at saving Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers. He described them as “not worth looking at” after an attack on an atomic site in his country.The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state in the Islamic Republic, come as informal talks in Vienna continue ahead of a planned formal round of negotiations.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The talks already have been thrown into disarray by a weekend attack on Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site suspected to have been carried out by Israel. Tehran retaliated by announcing it would enrich uranium up to 60 percent.“The offers they provide are usually arrogant and humiliating (and) are not worth looking at,” Khamenei said in an address marking the first day of Ramadan in Iran.While saying he remained positive about Iran’s negotiators, he criticized the US and warned time could be running out.“The talks shouldn’t become talks of attrition,” Khamenei said. “They shouldn’t be in a way that parties drag on and prolong the talks. This is harmful to the country.”Read more: Saudi Arabia says Iran uranium enrichment cannot be intended for ‘peaceful’ means
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran’s supreme leader says US offers on nuclear deal ‘not worth looking at’

Among these parties are two of the major front-runners: Hamas and Fatah.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Palestinian Election: Nearly a third of party logos erase Israel from map

The road accident near the Nile River follows deadly train and boat incidents in the North African country earlier this year.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Another crash in Egypt leaves 20 dead

A senior US State Department official Wednesday blasted Lebanese leaders, urging them to show flexibility toward forming a new government capable of enacting serious reforms and tackling mismanagement and corruption blamed for the country’s crippling economic crisis..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Hale urges Lebanese leaders to show flexibility to form new govt

Dreaming of a world in which the trauma of the Jewish past can be healed through psychedelic experiences, where chemically assisted mystical encounters are a normative part of Jewish spirituality.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Can psychedelic drugs be healing? This Jewish rabbi thinks so

A Palestinian journalist who claims he was interrogated by Mossad in Madrid told The New Arab's Arabic-language service that he fears remaining in Spain..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: 'I fear revenge': Al-Araby TV journalist 'interrogated by Mossad' considers leaving Spain

A UAE based space exploration company has announced that it will send an unmanned rover to the moon next year..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: UAE to send rover to the Moon in 2022

Analysis: Amid new geopolitical shifts and realignments in the region, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan appear to be pursuing a reset in relations..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Can Saudi Arabia and Pakistan mend frayed ties?