Middle East Experience

Scrolls have been an essential part of Jewish life for millennia
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Did Qumran Jews use Torah scrolls 2,000 years ago? Plot thickens - study

Special support for winners of 4- and 5-star ratings in Taqdeer Award..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Dubai: Fee waivers, 50% discounts among 35 incentives for ‘star’ firms

On Sunday the Aruar Police Station received a complaint of animal abuse together with a TikTok video showing two individuals torturing young puppies.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: TikTok video leads police to two minors suspected of abusing puppies

Lebanon registers record 53 coronavirus deaths, 3,144 more cases..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon registers record 53 coronavirus deaths, 3,144 more cases

The announcement comes after the Health Ministry approved the rapid tests on January 7.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Four-hour ‘Check2Fly’ tests to launch right after lockdown

In the past month, Israel has established itself as a vaccination powerhouse.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: What exactly is Israel's Health Ministry sharing with Pfizer?

Saudi Arabia’s fourth annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference will feature more than 140 speakers throughout the event next week, according to a statement.Yassir al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and chairman of energy-giant Saudi Aramco, will officially open FII on January 27 under the theme “The Neo-Renaissance.”Al-Rumayyan will be joined by David Solomon, chairman & CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group, Thomas Gottstein, CEO of Credit Suisse Group, Ray Dalio, co-chairman & CIO of Bridgewater Associates, and Marco Alvarez, CEO of Snam, for a discussion on how the global investment community can use the global economic downturn caused by the coronavirus to build a more sustainable future.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Also in attendance will be Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the Kingdom’s Minister of Energy, who will be joined by Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of Total, and Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy and group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), who will join together to discuss the future of investment in the energy sector.Other high-profile names that have already been confirmed include Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment, Lord Gerry Grimstone, the UK’s Minister of State for Trade, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World, and Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Ministry of International Cooperation of Egypt.“There has never been a more important time for leaders, investors and policy makers to come together to work towards re-energizing the global economy,” al-Rumayyan said in a previous statement in the lead up to the conference.Saudi Arabia previously postponed the fourth FII conference to January 2021 from October 2020 due to global travel issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.“The 4th edition of FII will see the most innovative technologies to facilitate global conversations and to be inclusive at the benefit of all of humanity,” Richard Attias, the CEO of the FII Institute earlier said.“The FII Institute will act as a catalyst and a pioneer to allow interaction and exchange of disruptive ideas. There has never been a more important time to bring the greatest minds together to harness this opportunity to reimagine our world.”This year the conference will differ from previous editions, as the main program will be livestreamed from Riyadh, the Kingdom’s capital, without participants in attendance due to coronavirus social distancing measures.In October 2019, more than 6,000 executives and participants attended the third Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh.Read more:Saudi Arabia’s fourth FII conference will focus on ‘reimagining the global economy’Saudi Arabia’s FII to host conference on green recovery for post-coronavirus worldAll eyes on G20 meeting in Riyadh after FII global forum concludes
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative conference to host over 140 speakers

Iran’s military kicked off a ground forces drill on Tuesday along the coast of the Gulf of Oman, state TV reported, the latest in a series of snap exercises that the country is holding amid escalating tensions over its nuclear program and Washington’s pressure campaign against Tehran.Read more: Airstrikes pound Iran-backed militias south of Iraq’s Baghdad: ReportsAccording to the report, commando units and airborne infantry were participating in the annual exercise, along with fighter jets, helicopters and military transport aircraft. Iran’s National Army chief Abdolrahim Mousavi was overseeing the drill.Iran has recently stepped up military drills as part of an effort to pressure President-elect Joe Biden over the nuclear deal that President Donald Trump pulled out of. Biden has said the US could rejoin the multinational accord meant to contain Iran’s nuclear program.On Saturday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard conducted a drill, launching anti-warship ballistic missiles at a simulated target at a distance of some 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) in the Indian Ocean, a day after the Guard’s aerospace division launched surface-to-surface ballistic missiles and drones against “hypothetical enemy bases” in the country’s vast central desert.Last Thursday, Iran’s navy fired cruise missiles as part of a naval drill in the Gulf of Oman, under surveillance of what appeared to be a US nuclear submarine.Earlier last week, the Guard’s affiliated forces carried out a limited maneuver in the Persian Gulf after a massive, drones-only drill across half of the country earlier in January.Tensions between Washington and Tehran have increased amid a series of incidents stemming from Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.In the final days of the Trump administration, Tehran seized a South Korean oil tanker and begun enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels, while the US sent B-52 bombers, the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and a nuclear submarine into the region.Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew the US from Iran’s nuclear deal, in which Tehran had agreed to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump cited Iran’s ballistic missile program among other issues in withdrawing from the accord.When the US then stepped up economic sanctions, Iran gradually abandoned the limits that the deal had imposed on its nuclear development.Read more:Seven UN member states, including Iran, lose right to vote over unpaid duesCoronavirus: US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia receives COVID-19 vaccine in RiyadhBuilding from the ground up: Middle East mega projects set to open their doors
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran kicks off military drill on coast of Gulf of Oman

On the occasion of the anniversary of laying the foundation stone of the Aswan dam, the Egyptian state opened the door to the second phase of the compensation paid for the Nubians who were displaced from their lands.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt’s Nubians get second chance at requesting compensation

The United Arab Emirates announced another record number of new detected COVID-19 cases as the virus continues to spread.State News Agency WAM reported that 3,491 new cases had been recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the country's total to 260,223.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page. Five patients died of COVID-19 related complications, bringing the UAE's total death toll to 756.The second-highest number of new cases in one day on record is Monday's 3,471.In the face of steadily-climbing case numbers, the country continues to roll out its mass vaccination program.On Sunday it was announced that the minimum age for vaccination would be lowered from 18 to 16.Citizens and residents are being offered China's Sinopharm vaccine for free across the seven emirates, while Dubai is offering a choice between the Sinopharm and Pfizer/BioNTech inoculations.Federal authorities plan to inoculate 50 percent of the country's population in the next year, while Dubai health authorities announced in December that the emirate plans to vaccinate 70 percent of its population with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in that time.Read more: Coronavirus: UAE lowers age requirement for COVID-19 vaccines to 16Coronavirus: UAE vaccinates 887,697 people since launch of COVID-19 shot campaignCoronavirus: Dubai aims to inoculate 70 pct of population with Pfizer vaccine in 2021
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Number of new UAE COVID-19 cases reaches record high