Middle East Experience

The Trump administration froze some aid to Addis Ababa in August over its stance on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Biden to review Trump's freeze on aid to Ethiopia over Nile dam

Saudi Arabia will invest more than $20 billion in its domestic military industry over the next decade as part of aggressive plans to boost local military spending, the head of the Kingdom’s military industry regulator said on Saturday.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The Gulf state wants to develop and manufacture more weapons and military systems domestically, aiming to spend 50 percent of the military budget locally by 2030.“The government has put a plan that we will be investing in excess of $10 billion in the military industry in Saudi Arabia over the next decade and equal amounts on research and development,” Governor of the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Ohali told a defense conference in Abu Dhabi.He also said the Kingdom plans to increase military research and development (R&D) spending from 0.2 percent to around 4 percent of armaments expenditure by 2030.Read more:US State Department announces new military support for Saudi Arabia, LebanonSaudi Armed Forces launch first women’s wing in major new advanceSaudi Arabia launches ‘World Defense Show’ to deepen military partnerships in 2022
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia to invest over bln in domestic military industry over next decade

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in visible panic during a recent debate in parliament after she had left her face mask on the lectern once she finished her speech and returned to her seat.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Merkel left the lectern, sat down and appeared to be looking for her face mask when suddenly she threw her arms up into the air once she had realised her gaffe.The chancellor quickly got up and returned to the lectern where a parliament official was holding Merkel's face mask while disinfecting the lectern for the next speaker.Merkel reached for her face mask as one of her fiercest critics, opposition far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel took the floor next to her.According to parliament rules, lawmakers must wear face masks at all times except at the lectern.Read more:Kuwait allows entry of foreigners from February 21 with new coronavirus proceduresArabic Language classes record enrollment surge amid COVID-19 pandemic: UAE expertsRussia to produce 88 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in first half of year - deputy PM
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Watch: Angela Merkel panics after forgetting mask on lectern following speech

A tour in al-Yasmineh (Jasmine) neighborhood in the old city of Nablus takes you to the different civilizations that have passed through Palestine over the centuries.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: A trip down memory lane in this ancient neighborhood of Nablus

A man was killed in Myanmar on Saturday when police fired to disperse protesting opponents of a Feb. 1 military coup in the second city of Mandalay, media and an ambulance service said.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.They said police and striking shipyard workers faced off for hours in Mandalay and several people with serious wounds were taken to hospital after police fired guns to break up the crowd.One man died of a head wound, according to media workers including Lin Khaing, an assistant editor with the Voice of Myanmar media outlet in the city, and a Mandalay emergency service.Read more:Shooting at Myanmar anti-coup protest injures at least fiveDiverse Myanmar protesters united in opposition to coupMyanmar protester shot in head last week dies: Hospital
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Myanmar police fire live rounds to disperse protests, at least one killed

Russia said Saturday its scientists had detected the first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of bird flu to humans and had alerted the World Health Organization.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Information about the world’s first case of transmission of the bird flu (H5N8) to humans has already been sent to the World Health Organization,” the head of Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said in televised remarks.The highly contagious strain is lethal for birds but has never before been reported to have spread to humans.Popova said that scientists at Russia’s Vektor laboratory had isolated genetic material of the strain from seven workers of a poultry farm in southern Russia, where an outbreak was recorded among the birds in December.The workers did not suffer any serious health consequences, she added.Popova praised “the important scientific discovery,” saying “time will tell” if the virus can further mutate.“The discovery of these mutations when the virus has not still acquired an ability to transmit from human to human gives us all, the entire world, time to prepare for possible mutations and react in an adequate and timely fashion,” Popova said.Located in Koltsovo outside the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, the Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Center has developed one of Russia’s several coronavirus vaccines.In the Soviet era the top-secret lab conducted secret biological weapons research and still stockpiles viruses ranging from Ebola to smallpox.Read more:Iraq reports H5N8 bird flu outbreak on farm in SamaraaEgypt reports bird flu outbreak in rural areas, state of emergency declared
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Russia detects first case of H5N8 bird flu transmission to humans

The Lebanese Prime Minister-designate seeks to rally foreign support for his country, which suffers a political stalemate amid stalled government formation and severe economic crisis..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon's Hariri in UAE for second visit in two weeks

Palestinian citizens of Israel were comparatively less hateful, according to the Hebrew University poll..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Nearly half of Israeli youths hate Palestinians, support expulsion: study

Iran is confident the United States will lift its sanctions despite ongoing “diplomatic wrangling” over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Saturday.“We predict with confidence that diplomatic initiatives will result in a favorable outcome despite the diplomatic wrangling, which are a natural prelude to the return of the parties to their commitments, including the lifting of all sanctions in the near future,” state media quoted Rabiei as saying.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.US President Joe Biden’s administration has announced its willingness to return to talks to revive the nuclear deal Former President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018.Biden reversed Trump’s determination that all UN sanctions against Iran had been restored. And the State Department eased stringent restrictions on the domestic travel of Iranian diplomats in New York.Yet, Tehran demanded that all Trump-era sanctions on Iran be lifted before taking any real action to return to the deal.But White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki stressed on Friday that the US would not take any additional steps on Iran before diplomatic conversation.Iran has set a deadline of next week for Biden to lift sanctions reimposed by Trump, or it will halt snap IAEA inspections under the deal, which lifted sanctions in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear program. Next week is also when the IAEA is expected to issue a quarterly report on Iran's nuclear activities.Reuters reported in an exclusive that the IAEA found uranium particles at two Iranian sites it inspected after months of stonewalling and is preparing to rebuke Tehran for failing to explain, possibly complicating US efforts to revive nuclear diplomacy.Iran has long denied striving to develop nuclear weapons through uranium enrichment, though its intelligence minister recently said persistent Western pressure could push Tehran to fight back like a “cornered cat” and seek nuclear weapons.The Iranian regime is trying to get more concessions from Washington before taking any real action, especially in light of growing pressure at home due to economic hardship worsened by the US sanctions.“Tehran urgently needs sanctions.. Iran also holds its presidential elections in June 2021 and, for the outgoing Rouhani administration, securing a quick return to the deal would build back lost economic and political confidence, and perhaps also impact the election outcome,” according to Sanam Vakil, Senior Research Fellow at Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House.Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said in a speech on Wednesday: “We’ve heard many promises which were broken and contradicted in practice. Mere words don't help. This time only action! Action! If the Islamic Republic sees action from the other side, it will act too.”Some hardliners are already crediting what they describe as the Iranian regime’s perseverance in the face of US pressure for the recent Biden administration policy announcements."They have reversed some measures ... It is a defeat for America ... but we are waiting to see whether there will be action on lifting sanctions," state media quoted Tabriz city's Friday prayer leader Mohammadali Ale-Hashem as saying.- With ReutersRead more:Iran reacts to US talks offer: Lift sanctions before we reverse nuclear actionsWhite House has no plan to take additional steps on Iran before conversation: PsakiIAEA finds uranium traces at 2 sites Iran barred it from, will rebuke Tehran: ReutersBiden withdraws Trump ‘snapback’ claim on UN sanctions against IranUS willing to accept EU invitation for nuclear talks with Iran: State Department
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran says confident US will lift sanctions despite nuclear deal ‘political wrangling’

The action makes federal funding available to individuals across the state, including assistance for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Biden approves major disaster declaration for Texas -FEMA