Middle East Experience

Egypt has agreed to resume diplomatic relations with Qatar, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.The move follows an agreement between Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt earlier this month to end their boycott of Qatar -- a move taken in 2017 over allegations it supported terrorism, a charge that Doha denies.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app“Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Qatar exchanged, today, January 20, 2021, two official memoranda, in virtue of which the two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations,” a foreign ministry statement said.Egypt reopened its airspace to Qatari flights on January 12 and flights between the two countries were resumed.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Egypt foreign ministry says agreed with Qatar on resuming diplomatic relations

Saudi Arabia opens its first drive-in movie theater in Riyadh to allow viewers to enjoy watching a movie while taking the necessary precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.The movie theater can accommodate up to 150 cars while applying social distancing measures, organizers say. Wearing masks and checking temperatures are mandatory.Drive-in cinemas popped up in other parts of the Middle East since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, with similar venues opening in Dubai and Beirut early last year.Saudi Arabia recorded 365,325 cases of the coronavirus, including 6,335 total deaths.Read more:Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia approves AstraZeneca, Moderna vaccines after Pfizer successCoronavirus: US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia receives COVID-19 vaccine in Riyadh
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia’s first drive-in movie theater opens in Riyadh

Inauguration Day for President-elect Joe Biden will look unlike anything the nation has seen before as the scars of COVID-19 and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol turn the West Front into a virtual ghost town compared to years past.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Instead of a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, there will be a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Instead of balls, there will be Zoom parties. Instead of hundreds of thousands congregating on the Capitol grounds and on the National Mall, there will be thousands of National Guard members.What to watch for on Inauguration Day:The Swearing-in Biden’s oath of office is the only essential. The Constitution sets out a 35-word oath for the new president. Some presidents make it 39 by tacking on “so help me God.” There are conflicting stories about when the ad lib started. Some say George Washington added the words when he took the oath at his 1789 inaugural. Others say the first eyewitness account of a president using those words came at Chester Arthur’s inauguration in 1881.Regardless of who started the add-on, every president since 1933 has done it.Chief Justice John Roberts will swear in Biden; Justice Sonya Sotomayor will swear in Kamala Harris as vice president.Among the celebrities who will bring star power to Biden’s inauguration are Lady Gaga, who will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and Jennifer Lopez, who will give a musical performance. Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman will read an original poem, “The Hill We Climb.”The speech A president’s inauguration speech is designed to set the tone and the policies the new administration will pursue.Biden’s speech will focus on how he will seek to make good on the theme he has chosen for the inauguration, “America United”As the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol showed, the challenge before him is daunting.Who will not be there President Donald Trump has opted not to attend the inauguration, becoming the first president to do so since Andrew Johnson in 1869.The tradition of a president attending his successor’s inauguration began with George Washington and projects to the country and the world that America is transitioning to new leadership freely and in peace. Biden and Harris are urging supporters to stay home because of the coronavirus pandemic. The National Mall is closed and just a fraction of the tickets usually handed out for an inauguration will be distributed.About 200,000 small US state and territorial flags have been installed on the National Mall, representing those who can’t attend.A few lawmakers from both parties have indicated that they will not be attending out of safety concerns following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.Who will be there Vice President Mike Pence and most members of Congress are expected to attend. The lawmakers can bring one guest. In previous inaugurations, lawmakers scored hundreds of tickets to distribute to friends, donors and constituents.Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton are expected to attend. Former President Jimmy Carter, 96, and former first lady Rosalynn Carter, 93, will not, though they have extended their “best wishes.” Security forces in and around the Capitol and the White House are expected to widely outnumber inauguration guests.After the insurrection at the Capitol by Trump followers as lawmakers confirmed Biden’s victory, about 25,000 National Guard were being brought into the nation’s capital. After the oath The new president will make his way to the other side of the Capitol for the long-standing tradition of the new commander in chief inspecting the troops. The Pass in Review ceremony is designed to reflect the peaceful transfer of power. Every branch of the military will be presented, though this year’s participants will socially distance to deter the spread of the virus.The traditional congressional lunch won’t occur because of COVID-19 concerns, but Biden is expected to take care of some business before leaving the Capitol.A new tradition? After the Pass in Review ceremony, the Bidens and Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The former presidents and first ladies will join them.What about the parade? The traditional inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue has been dramatically scaled back. Instead, after visiting Arlington National Cemetery, Biden will receive a presidential escort — and a short one, at that. It will extend just a few hundred yards to the White House rather than the 1.6-mile route of previous inaugurations.The proceedings will provide the world with the images of Biden going to his new home without attracting large crowds.Again, every branch of the military will participate in the escort, and the marchers will socially distance. Virtual parades will be televised and feature performances from around the country. The inaugural committee says the programming will include musical acts, local bands, poets and dance troupes. An emphasis will be placed on paying homage to Americans on the front lines of the pandemic.Inaugration night parties In past inaugurations, participants would don their tuxedos and ball gowns and attend one of the many inaugural balls and galas taking place around town. This year, state Democratic Parties and advocacy groups will hold virtual balls.Actor Tom Hanks will host a 90-minute prime-time TV special with performances by Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato and Ant Clemons.According to producers, the program “will showcase the American people’s resilience, heroism, and unified commitment to coming together as a nation to heal and rebuild.”
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Inauguration Day: What Joe Biden’s schedule will look like as he takes his presidency

Donald Trump has left the White House for the final time as president.Trump emerged from the building Wednesday morning and strode across the South Lawn to board Marine One. He said, “It’s been a great honor, the honor of a lifetime.”For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Trump now heads to Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland, where he’ll have a military sendoff. A red carpet has been placed on the tarmac for Trump to walk as he boards the plane. Four US Army cannons are set up for a 21-gun salute.Trump then flies to Florida, where he’ll stay at Mar-a-Lago.Trump is leaving Washington just hours before Joe Biden takes the oath of office as the 46th president. It’s the first time in more than a century that a sitting president has rejected the tradition of attending his successor’s inauguration.Read more:Inauguration Day: What Joe Biden’s schedule will look like as he takes his presidencyIn farewell remarks, Trump says ‘movement we started is only just beginning’
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Trump leaves White House for the last time as president

Egypt has recently reopened the Al-Arish port in North Sinai as part of efforts to revive the economy in the area that has struggled under years of Islamist insurgency.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt resumes trade at Sinai port as Islamic State threat regresses

After Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit warned that keeping them lower in the queue was illegal, Public Security Minister Amir Ohana ordered the prison services to start vaccinating elderly inmates.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israel starts vaccinating prisoners after delay

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States Wednesday, a day which he said was one of “history and hope.”“This is democracy’s day,” Biden said during his inaugural speech. “We have much to repair ... and much to gain,” he said from the steps of the US Capitol.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“We have never, ever, ever, ever failed in America when we’ve acted together. Let’s begin to listen to one another, hear one another, see one another, show respect to one another...”“Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war. We must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured,” he said in an apparent dig at his predecessor.Biden extended a hand to those who did not vote for him and said, “If you still disagree, so be it. That’s democracy.”But, he added, “Hear me clearly … I will be a president for all Americans,” Biden said. “I promise you I will fight as hard for those who did not support as those who did.”Earlier, Biden tweeted that it was a “new day in America” shortly after attending a mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington.Alliances around the worldBiden said that the US had been tested, but “we've come out stronger for it.”We will repair our alliances and engage with the world, once again,” the US president said.Trump has been accused of disrupting Washington’s ties with traditional allies, including European states.Absent TrumpOutgoing President Donald Trump left the White House earlier and headed to his resort in Florida. Trump left behind a farewell letter to his successor, despite being the first president in modern history to skip his successor’s inauguration.The US capital was exceptionally empty Wednesday after a “Green Zone” was set up to prevent security incidents. This comes after the Jan. 6 riot and raiding of the Capitol building by supporters of Trump.Trump, who was impeached for a second time by Congress last week, has claimed that the presidential election was rigged and “stolen” by Biden and the Democrats.Biden and Harris were sworn in in front of the US Capitol building. Biden will then deliver an inaugural address “laying out his vision to defeat the pandemic, build back better, and unify and heal the nation,” his transition team said in a statement.Later Wednesday, Biden is expected to sign at least 15 executive orders to reverse several Trump-era policies. This includes the notorious Muslim travel ban, reentering the Paris Climate Deal, and coronavirus response policies.Biden is also expected to send a bill to Congress that would allow millions of illegal immigrants living in the US to have a road to citizenship.Making historyMeanwhile, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris made history after becoming the first female vice president and the first Black vice president in the US.Harris, 56, was most recently a senator from California. She took the oath of office from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.And Biden will make history by becoming the oldest US president. He is 78 years old.Read more:Trump leaves White House for the last time as presidentInauguration Day: What Joe Biden’s schedule will look like as he takes his presidency
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: New day in America: Joe Biden sworn in as 46th US president

President Hassan Rouhani appeared more upbeat on the prospects of the Iran nuclear deal on the day that Donald Trump departed from the White House.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: As Trump departs, Iran says 'ball in Washington’s court' to reinstate nuclear deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed to six other heads of states that they join forces to combat the current and future pandemics in a more coordinated manner.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Netanyahu proposes international corporation to battle pandemics

Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau has called on Jews in Israel and across the globe to fast tomorrow and to pray for the dead and infected.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israel’s chief rabbi calls for day of fasting, prayer for pandemic victims