Middle East Experience

Although he is the first Egyptian prizewinner in an international ballet competition, Luca Abdel-Nour continues to be bullied in his own country by those who believe ballet dancing is limited to women.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egyptian male ballet dancer performs on international scene despite bullying at home

China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) will need to assess results from overseas Phase III clinical trials to decide whether its two-shot COVID-19 vaccine should be followed by a booster shot, a company executive said on Sunday.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Regulators and vaccine developers are looking at whether booster doses are necessary amid concerns that emerging variants of the new coronavirus might weaken protection of vaccines designed against older strains.“The preliminary results so far showed that the booster vaccination can effectively increase the neutralizing antibody titer and antibody persistence, and also effectively improve the vaccine’s ability to resist mutations,” Zhang Yuntao, vice president at China National Biotec Group (CNBG), an affiliate of Sinopharm, said on Sunday.“Is a booster shot needed? When will the booster be given? The answer should be based on the results of future phase III clinical studies,” Zhang said at a news conference.Antibodies triggered by two COVID-19 vaccine products from Sinopharm both have “pretty good” neutralizing effect on variants found in Britain and South Africa as well as a few others, Zhang told a news conference, citing results from lab tests using blood samples taken from clinical trial participants.Lab testing was ongoing for variants found in Brazil and Zimbabwe, Zhang said.The effect of antibodies induced by Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine declined against a variant identified in South Africa, while the effect against a variant found in Britain remained similar to that against the older Wuhan variant, Gao Qiang, general manager at Sinovac unit Sinovac Life Sciences, said during the same presser.Sinovac is importing the variant from Brazil for vaccine research and development, and work tailored to the South Africa variant had already started, Gao said.The correlation between antibody levels and the vaccine’s efficacy was not immediately clear, a Sinovac spokesman said.Sinovac was also testing a third booster shot in a China-based clinical trial, with participants given a third dose around eight months after receiving the second, the company said on Tuesday.The South Africa variant could pose a greater threat than others based on antibody responses triggered by the vaccine from CanSino Biologics Inc (CanSinoBIO), a company executive said earlier this month.Antibodies triggered by one dose of CanSinoBIO’s vaccine showed a roughly four-fold drop in their ability to block the 501Y.V2 variant, the firm’s chief scientific officer, Zhu Tao, said.The weakening effect by other variants fell into a less severe range, he added.Read more:UAE administers ‘booster’ shot to those with no COVID-19 antibodies after vaccineChina bolsters COVID-19 vaccination drive, considers differentiated visa policiesEgypt receives second shipment of COVID-19 vaccine donated by China
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Sinopharm executive says COVID-19 booster shot decision after assessing trial results

"Any person who cares about this country, would have reached the right conclusion a long time ago and would have handed over the reins to someone else," Liberman said.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Liberman announces he will recommend Yair Lapid to be prime minister

Stranded abroad and unable to return to Kuwait due to the coronavirus pandemic, over 200,000 Kuwait-based expatriates lost their residencies in one year, Times Kuwait reported on Monday.The expats came from 20 different countries, and the worst-hit nationalities were those from Egypt, India and Sri Lanka, a source told Kuwait daily media Al Qabas.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.At the beginning of the outbreak, the country’s government temporarily suspended a decision stating that an expat resident’s visa would be automatically canceled after six months of being outside the country, regardless of its validity.This meant that any expat or resident of Kuwait abroad at the time of the outbreak could rest assured that their visas were valid and safe. Many expats were finding it difficult to return to the country due to pandemic-induced travel restrictions.Although the decision was suspended, it still meant that any expat outside Kuwait looking to renew their residency needed to do so before the expiry date on their visa.Read more:Kuwait gov’t backs down after threatening lawmakers for gathering during pandemicKuwait finance minister Hamada calls for reforms despite rebound in oil pricesUAE’s Al Hosn App updated to become official national COVID-19 vaccine registry
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Kuwait: Over 200,000 expats lose residency permits in one year

Taking the coronavirus vaccine does not break the fast, Kuwait's Dar Al Iftaa announced..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Kuwait's fatwa council says Covid-19 vaccine 'does not break Ramadan fast'

A decrease in morbidity among healthcare workers was already observed within two weeks after receiving their first shot.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Vaccines prevented 500 Hadassah employees from catching COVID-19 – study

If the current numbers hold and the Ra’am Party gets four Knesset seats, its leader Mansour Abbas could hold the key to choosing the country’s next prime minister.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Arab-Israeli legislator emerges as kingmaker

Jerusalemite families are facing the threat of eviction and demolition of their homes, as Israeli settlers claim they own the lands where they are dwelling.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israel intensifies efforts to Judaize Jerusalem

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the head of Libya’s presidency council Mohammed al-Menfi have agreed to reopen an Egyptian embassy in Tripoli “very soon,” Al Arabiya reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources. Al-Menfi told the Egyptian president that Libya is able to provide the appropriate work environment for the full reopening of the Egyptian embassy again, as well as the diplomatic consulates of different countries, the sources said. For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The Libyan government affirmed its ability to fully protect diplomatic facilities inside Libya and provide the necessary security to ensure their safety, Al Arabiya cited the sources as saying.The decision comes just 10 days after the formation of an interim government to lead Libya to December elections.French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Germany’s Heiko Maas and Italy’s Luigi Di Maio were in Tripoli to meet their Libyan counterpart Thursday in a show of support for the war-torn country’s newly formed unity government.Oil-rich Libya was mired by chaos after the toppling of dictator Moammar Gaddafi, who was killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising. The members of the new Government of National Unity (GNU) led by interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah were confirmed by Libya’s parliament on March 10 following months-long talks sponsored by the United Nations.Al-Sisi and al-Menfi agreed that foreign militias and mercenaries must leave Libya in order to achieve peace and rebuild the country.Read more:Foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy arrive in LibyaItalian PM Draghi’s Libya visit in early April in gesture of support to unity govtUS Secretary Blinken presses Turkish FM on Russia, discuss conflicts in Syria, Libya
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Egypt’s Sisi, Libya’s al-Menfi agree to reopen Egyptian embassy in Tripoli ‘soon’

Pre-election public opinion polls estimated that Blue and White under Defense Minister Benny Gantz would fail to pass the Knesset-entry threshold, but in reality the party has apparently garnered 8 Knesset seats.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: 2021 elections in Israel: The revival of Benny Gantz