Middle East Experience

Iranian forces have repositioned themselves in eastern Syria due to recent suspected Israeli strikes.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israeli airstrikes hit central Syria

Qatar's flagship airline will resume flights to Seattle and Atlanta and increase daily and weekly flights to other cities in the United States.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Qatar Airways announces expansion of flights to US

The United Arab Emirates said on Friday it was in talks with Denmark after the Nordic country temporarily halted all flights arriving from the Gulf Arab state, a major travel hub, due to potentially unreliable coronavirus tests in Dubai.Read also: Dubai's latest COVID-19 rules for weddings, restaurants, gyms, concertsDenmark’s transport ministry said the five-day travel restrictions, comes after concerns were raised about the coronavirus tests administered in Dubai before departure. It added it had taken the decision after a detailed tip-off, without elaborating.“All accredited UAE testing centers are regularly subject to strict quality checks,” the UAE foreign ministry said, adding there are severe penalties for non-compliance with international standards to ensure the highest level of quality in testing.The statement said the UAE was communicating with Danish authorities “to clarify the details and cases” behind the decision in order to guarantee the safety of all travelers.Denmark earlier this month made it mandatory for travelers to show a negative test from the previous 24 hours before departure towards Denmark from all countries.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Late on Friday, Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Twitter 50 persons with COVID-19 had flown in from Dubai in January alone. Thirty-three of those arrived after Denmark made it mandatory to test negative for COVID-19 before departure.Several Danish celebrities, including former footballer Nicklas Bendtner, were criticized earlier this month after Danish media reported they had traveled to regional tourism hub Dubai on holiday despite the government advising against going abroad to limit the spread of the coronavirus.Read more:Dubai suspends live entertainment permits as COVID-19 cases surgeUAE sets record with 3,552 new COVID-19 casesDenmark extends hard COVID-19 lockdown amid spike in infections
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Dubai in talks with Denmark after suspension of flights due to COVID-19 test concerns

Dubai has issued tighter restrictions on weddings, restaurants, gyms, and social gatherings, the Dubai Media office announced on Friday, amid a spike in COVID-19 cases.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.In a series of tweets, Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management outlines the new rules which include reducing the number of attendees at social events, increasing the required distance between tables at restaurants and workout equipment at gyms.The decisions, which go into effect on January 27, are “due to an increased number of violations and non-compliance with precautionary and preventative measures,” the media office said in a tweet.Weddings and social gatheringsAuthorities have limited the attendees for weddings, social events, and private parties to a maximum of 10 first-degree relatives only. This rule applies to all events whether held at hotels, venues, or homes.Restaurants and cafesRestaurants and cafes will be required to increase the distance between tables to three meters instead of two. The number of people allowed to sit at tables at restaurants will be reduced to seven instead of 10. Only four people will be allowed to sit together at cafes serving shisha.GymsThe Dubai Economy and Dubai Sports Council have instructed gyms and fitness centers to increase the social distancing requirement between workout equipment and individuals to three meters instead of two.Concerts and live eventsConcerts and live events being held in Dubai are not affected by the new rules as strict measures are enforced, the Dubai Media Office said, according to Dubai Tourism.“[Dubai Tourism] confirmed live events being held in Dubai… are observing stringent precautionary protocols mandated by the authorities,” the media office said in a tweet.Organizers are required to ensure a two-meter distance between attendees and masks are required at all times.“The capacity of the venues has been reduced according to the one-person-per-4 square meters rule,” the office said.A series of concerts for artists including Egyptian star Amr Diab and Gulf star Majid al-Mohandes have taken place in Dubai as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), but strict measures were enforced.Saudi Arabian artist Rashed al-Majed is expected to perform at the DSF closing concert on January 29 at the Coca Cola Arena.Read more:Dubai in talks with Denmark after suspension of flights due to COVID-19 test concernsDubai suspends live entertainment permits as COVID-19 cases surgeUAE sets record with 3,552 new COVID-19 cases
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Dubai's latest COVID-19 rules for weddings, restaurants, gyms, concerts

Death stalks the corridors of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital, where losing multiple patients in one day to COVID-19 has become the new normal. On Friday, the mood among the staff was even more solemn as a young woman lost the battle with the virus.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.There was silence as the woman, barely in her 30s, drew her last breath. Then a brief commotion. The nurses frantically tried to resuscitate her. Finally, exhausted, they silently removed the oxygen mask and the tubes — and covered the body with a brown blanket.The woman, whose name is being withheld for privacy reasons, is one of 57 victims who died on Friday and more than 2,150 lost to the virus so far in Lebanon, a small country with a population of nearly 6 million that since last year has grappled with the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history.In recent weeks, Lebanon has seen a dramatic increase in virus cases, following the holiday season when restrictions were eased, and thousands of expatriates flew home for a visit.Now, hospitals across the country are almost completely out of beds. Oxygen tanks, ventilators and most critically, medical staff, are in extremely short supply. Doctors and nurses say they are exhausted. Facing burnout, many of their colleagues left.Many others have caught the virus, forcing them to take sick leave and leaving fewer and fewer colleagues to work overtime to carry the burden.To every bed that frees up after a death, three or four patients are waiting in the emergency room waiting to take their place.Mohammed Darwish, a nurse at the hospital, said he has been working six days a week to help with surging hospitalizations and barely sees his family.“It is tiring. It is a health sector that is not good at all nowadays,” Darwish said.More than 2,300 Lebanese health care workers have been infected since February, and around 500 of Lebanon’s 14,000 doctors have left the crisis-ridden country in recent months, according to the Order of Physicians. The virus is putting an additional burden on a public health system that was already on the brink because of the country’s currency crash and inflation, as well as the consequences of the massive Beirut port explosion last summer that killed almost 200 people, injured thousands, and devastated entire sectors of the city.“Our sense is that the country is falling apart,” World Bank Regional Director, Saroj Kumar Jha, told reporters in a virtual news conference Friday.At the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the main government coronavirus facility, there are currently 40 beds in the ICU — all full. According to the World Health Organization, Beirut hospitals are at 98 percent capacity.Across town, at the private American University Medical Center — one of Lebanon’s largest and most prestigious hospitals — space is being cleared to accommodate more patients.But that’s not enough, according to Dr. Pierre Boukhalil, head of the Pulmonary and Critical Care department. His staff were clearly overwhelmed during a recent visit by The Associated Press, leaping from one patient to another amid the constant beep-beep of life-monitoring machines.The situation “can only be described as a near disaster or a tsunami in the making,” he said, speaking to the AP in between checking on his patients. “We have been consistently increasing capacity over the past week or so, and we are not even keeping up with demands. This is not letting up.”Boukhalil’s hospital raised the alarm last week, coming out with a statement saying its health care workers were overwhelmed and unable to find beds for “even the most critical patients.”Since the start of the holiday season, daily infections have hovered around 5,000 in Lebanon, up from nearly 1,000 in November. The daily death toll hit record-breaking more than 60 fatalities in in the past few days.Doctors say that with increased testing, the number of cases has also increased — a common trend. Lebanon’s vaccination program is set to begin next month.The World Bank said Thursday it approved $34 million to help pay for vaccines for Lebanon that will inoculate over 2 million people.Jha, the World Bank’s regional director, said Lebanon will import 1.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccines for 750,000 people that “we are financing in full.” He added that the World Bank also plans to help finance vaccines other than Pfizer in the Mediterranean nation.Darwish, the nurse, said many COVID-19 patients admitted to Rafik Hariri and especially in the ICU, are young, with no underlying conditions or chronic diseases.“They catch corona and they think everything is fine and then suddenly you find the patient deteriorated and it hits them suddenly and unfortunately they die.”On Thursday night, 65-year-old Sabah Miree was admitted to the hospital with breathing problems. She was put on oxygen to help her breathe. Her two sisters had also caught the virus but their case was mild. Miree, who suffers from a heart problem, had to be hospitalized.“This disease is not a game,” she said, describing what a struggle it is for her to keep breathing. “I would say to everyone to pay attention and not to take this lightly.”A nationwide round-the-clock curfew imposed on Jan. 14 was extended on Thursday until Feb. 8 to help the health sector deal with the virus surge.“I still have nightmares when I see a 30-year-old who passed away,” said Dr. Boukhalil. “The disease could have been prevented.”“So stick with the lockdown ... it pays off,” he said.Read more:Dubai in talks with Denmark after suspension of flights due to COVID-19 test concernsDubai's latest COVID-19 rules for weddings, restaurants, gyms, concertsDubai suspends live entertainment permits as COVID-19 cases surge
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Multiple daily COVID-19 deaths at Lebanon hospitals becomes new normal

The upcoming Palestinian elections are expected to stir a new confrontation between Fatah and Mohammed Dahlan’s movement should the reconciliation efforts exerted by some Arab countries fail to unify the Fatah movement.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Dahlan complicates Abbas' plans for Palestinian elections

The UAE set a record on Saturday with 3,566 new COVID-19 cases confirmed over the past 24 hours, according to the NCEMA.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section. The total number of cases increased to 274,376 while the recoveries totaled 247,318 after 4,051 individuals recovered.The death toll remains relatively low at 783 as of January 22, with seven new fatalities reported since yesterday.The UAE has seen a drastic spike in cases over the past several weeks. Dubai, which has been a tourist hotspot for people escaping lockdowns in their countries, has implemented new restrictions to try and slow the spread. Authorities have also noted that a number of businesses have not been complying with preventative measures.Restaurants can only seat seven people at each table, down from 10. They are also required to keep a distance of three meters between all tables.Permits for live entertainment at restaurants and hotels in Dubai have also been suspended until further notice.“The Department observed, through field inspection, an increase in number violations during entertainment activities in hotels and restaurants. Accordingly, the Department directs all concerned in hotel establishments and restaurants to temporarily hold entertainment activities as of Thursday, January 21, 2021 until further notice,” the notice addressed to hotel and restaurant owners and managers read.Authorities have also issued more than 200 violations and shut down 20 businesses for “non-compliance with guidelines,” according to the Dubai Media Office.Read more:Dubai's latest COVID-19 rules for weddings, restaurants, gyms, concertsDubai suspends live entertainment permits as COVID-19 cases surgeDubai in talks with Denmark after suspension of flights due to COVID-19 test concerns
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE cases continue to increase with 3,566 new COVID-19 infections

Veteran talk show host Larry King has died at the age of 87, Ora Media announced on Saturday in a statement on King’s personal Twitter account.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.“With profound sadness, Ora Media announces the death of our co-founder, host, and friend Larry King, who passed away this morning at age 87 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,” the statement said.No further details were shared in regard to the cause of his death.On January 3, CNN announed that King, one of the network's biggest stars, had been in the hospital for more than one week due to a COVID-19 infection, according to AFP.He also had Type 2 diabetes and had a long history of medical issues, including several heart attacks, lung cancer and angina, a condition caused by reduced blood flow to the heart, AFP reported.Television and media legendThe legendary host is one of the most recognizable figures on US television, known for his signature rolled-up shirtsleeves, multi-colored ties, suspenders and big glasses.His list of interviewees has ranged from every US president since 1974 to world leaders Yasser Arafat and Vladimir Putin, and celebrities Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando and Barbra Streisand.King hosted CNN's “Larry King Live” for 25 years, retiring in 2010.He continued to do interviews on his own website and then, in 2012, he began hosting “Larry King Now” on Ora TV, an on-demand digital network that he co-founded.In 2013, he also began hosting a show called “Politicking with Larry King” on Ora TV.With AFPRead more:CNN’s Larry King hospitalized with COVID-19Sheldon Adelson: Billionaire Republican donor, casino mogul dead at age 87Bond actress Tanya Roberts dies in Los Angeles at 65
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Veteran talk show host Larry King dead at age 87: Statement

Turkey’s foreign minister on Friday warned the EU off using sanctions as Brussels demanded “tangible outcomes” from a push to mend ties battered by tensions in the eastern Mediterranean..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: EU mistrust of Turkey stands in the way of better ties

Teenagers aged between 16 and 18 will now be given access to the vaccine in Israel, which has been criticised for skirting its responsibility to vaccinate Palestinians..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Israel expands vaccination campaign to teens, continues refusal to inoculate Palestinians