Middle East Experience

Oman said on Sunday it will close its land ports starting on Monday to curb the spread of the coronavirus, according to the official Oman News Agency.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.The measure will come into effect from 6 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Monday and can be extended for longer than the initial one week closure, ONA said, citing a decision by the Gulf state’s coronavirus emergency committee.In December, Oman had launched its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with the sultanate’s health minister receiving the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.- With ReutersRead more: Coronavirus: Oman to reopen land, air, sea ports on December 29
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Oman to close land ports starting Monday due to COVID-19

The company that bought the ammonium nitrate which exploded in Beirut last August had possible links to two Syrian businessmen under US sanctions for ties to President Bashar al-Assad, according to a report by a Lebanese journalist and London company filings.Savaro Ltd, the trading firm which procured the chemicals in 2013, shared a London address with companies linked to George Haswani and Imad Khoury, according to the report by documentary film-maker Firas Hatoum, which aired on Lebanon’s al-Jadeed TV station this week.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Haswani, Khoury and his brother Mudalal Khoury have all been sanctioned by Washington for supporting Assad’s war effort. All three are joint Syrian-Russian nationals, according to the US sanctions list and a database that gathers data from official Russian institutions.The US Treasury accused Mudalal Khoury in 2015 of “an attempted procurement of ammonium nitrate in late 2013”. It sanctioned his brother Imad a year later for engaging in business activities with Mudalal. Haswani was sanctioned in 2015 on charges of helping Assad’s government to buy oil from ISIS militants, which he has denied.In reviewing filings with Companies House, the UK’s companies registry, Reuters found that Savaro and Hesco Engineering and Construction Company Ltd, a firm subject to US sanctions for its links to Haswani, both moved their corporate registers - official company records - to the same London address on June 25, 2011.That address was also the registered office for IK Petroleum Industrial Company Ltd, in which Imad Khoury was a director, the filings show.Dozens of companies can share listed addresses and such links do not necessarily prove company owners are connected. But it is rare for firms to move their registers, particularly to the same address on the same day, according to a Reuters review of filings by hundreds of companies.Reuters located the agent which had helped register Hesco, but it did not respond to attempts to seek comment about Hesco’s relationship with Savaro. Reuters could not determine if Haswani controlled Savaro, which might have provided a possible indication of his involvement in the procurement of the ammonium nitrate which exploded in Beirut.Imad Khoury denied links to Savaro. “There is a registrar in London, many companies are registered by it, not just mine,” he told Reuters. “I don’t know this Savaro.”Mudalal Khoury said there was “no logic” behind laying blame for the Beirut explosion on a company registered at a London address where many others are also registered.Reuters could not reach Haswani for comment. His son told Reuters in Moscow that his father was unlikely to comment on allegations of links to the chemicals because they are “total nonsense”.Call for investigationThe findings about the possible links between Savaro and the Syrian businessmen have raised questions among some in Beirut over whether the ammonium nitrate, which is used for fertilizer but also explosives, may have been destined for Syria.“We want this to be investigated,” Youssef Lahoud, a lawyer who represents around 1,400 victims of the blast, told Reuters.“It may lead us nowhere or it may be the thread that unravels but we must follow up.”Lebanese Justice Minister Marie Claude Najm told Reuters the report should be investigated, as with any other allegations related to the ongoing probe into the blast, which is in the hands of the investigating judge and is confidential.The Companies House register identifies a Cypriot national, Marina Psyllou, as director and majority owner of Savaro since 2016. Psyllou told Reuters in an email on Friday that she does not manage or own Savaro. She did not respond to questions about Haswani.The Beirut blast killed 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire neighborhoods. Officials have said the chemicals went up in flames after being stored at the port in poor conditions for years.The ammonium nitrate was loaded onto a ship called the Rhosus in Georgia, shipping records show, before making an unscheduled stop in Lebanon in late 2013. It never left, becoming tangled in a legal dispute. The Mozambican firm that ordered the nitrate, FEM, has said it ordered the shipment through Savaro Ltd.Read more:FBI found Beirut port blast caused by 500 tons of fertilizer, not 2,700 tons: PM DiabOpinion: Lebanon’s rule of law proves arbitrary as Beirut port explosion probe stallsBefore and after the explosion: Beirut port blast in pictures
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Beirut blast chemicals possibly linked to Syrian businessmen: Report, company filing

Thirty years after Desert Storm John Nichol says he believed..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Gulf War veteran John Nichol thought the war would be averted

A rebound in Jordan's economic growth to a forecast 2.5% in 2021 depends on continued economic activity during the coronavirus pandemic, the country's finance minister said on Sunday..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Jordan finmin says 2.5% growth in 2021 depends on economic activity during pandemic

The United Arab Emirates has lowered the minimum age requirement to receive a COVID-19 vaccination to 16, from 18 previously, the ministry of health said on Sunday.The UAE, made of up seven emirates, is offering all residents and citizens free of charge a vaccine manufactured by Chinese state-backed pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.The emirate of Dubai alone is offering citizens and residents the choice of either the Sinopharm or the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.The statement carried by the country’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority did not specify which vaccine the new minimum age applied to.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.On Sunday, the UAE has confirmed 3,453 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, raising the total to 253,261, the country’s NCEMA announced.In another development, authorities in Abu Dhabi have updated the rules on entering the emirate from within the country effective from January 17, according to an official statement.Read more:Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi rolls out saliva COVID-19 testing in more schoolsCoronavirus: Dubai hopes COVID-19 vaccines, rapid testing keep Expo 2020 on trackLives on the line if world fails with COVID-19 vaccine logistics, warns COVAX chiefwith Reuters
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE lowers age requirement for COVID-19 vaccines to 16

Latest update will help authorities vaccinate the maximum number of people against the coronavirus..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: UAE Covid vaccine: Minimum age to get jab now 16

Iran's nuclear department has reportedly asked the UN's nuclear….
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Iran asks watchdog not to publish 'unnecessary' nuke details

If the cabinet approves the move, the decision will likely go into effect as early as 1 a.m. Sunday night.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Gov’t expected to require all Dubai returnees to isolate in COVID hotels

Shas leader vows to oppose budget cuts to welfare benefits despite ‘large deficit’ created by COVID-19 crisis.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Deri promises to back Netanyahu for PM in campaign launch

This means that these mayors would stop the work of about 2,500 municipal inspectors.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Bibas: Lockdown enforcement must be equal for all - or else