Middle East Experience

American comedian and television host Steve Harvey was seen in a traditional dress robe in the UAE celebrating with local tribes in the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, partaking in celebrations and beating a traditional drum, according to videos posted online.Harvey, who is currently visiting the UAE, was seen in one video listening to local tribesmen performing a custom locally known as the al-Nadba, where men chant in both a screeching and low sound. The chant is said to originate from the al-Shihuh (or al-Shehi) tribe who are based in the UAE’s Ras al-Khaimah.It is believed to have started generations ago by tribesmen as a call for unity during times of hardship and war.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Another video posted online that quickly made the rounds across locals in the UAE showed Harvey joining the tribesmen in celebration by beating a traditional drum instrument.In one video posted by a local, Harvey can be heard saying that he has been in the UAE shooting a series for the past six days on the “the hidden gems of the UAE.”“This is the best time I’ve had on the trip. You know we been here filming for six days. Six straight days I’ve been in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, you know all over Dubai, filming for Facebook to put on a … to show the hidden gems of the UAE. To show the world the mountains and the rivers that they don’t about, they just think this desert. They don’t understand Islam, they don’t know that Islam is peace because there’s a media machine that makes sure,” Harvey says in the video while talking to a local man.The American television host of popular show “Family Feud” was seen in several TikTok videos recently around Dubai, dining in the famed Nusr-Et Steakhouse in Dubai and being served by “Salt Bae” himself during his dinner.“According to a stats I’ve been reading, the safest place on the planet right now in terms of large countries, is the UAE, the United Arab Emirates,” Harvey told the local Gulf News newspaper.“They have conducted more coronavirus tests than anybody, they have the lowest death rate, they have the lowest infection rate. They jumped on this thing right away. It has a lot to do with the leadership over there because they are serious, they love their people and they do everything to protect, they keep their people safe,” Harvey added in his interview with Gulf News.Read more:Fast & Furious’ Tyrese Gibson dons traditional Kandura to ‘show respect’‘My heart is beating so fast!’ Tyrese Gibson in emotional mosque visitWill Smith marvels at Burj Khalifa during Dubai visit
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Watch: Steve Harvey in kandura performing local tribe chant in UAE’s Ras al-Khaimah

A slew of new sanctions in Trump administration's final weeks could complicate Biden's pledge to rejoin the Iranian nuclear agreement.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US sanctions companies in UAE, China over Iranian petrochemical sales

The nuclear deal's remaining signatories met virtually in an effort to preserve the landmark agreement.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iran nuclear deal parties discuss salvaging the accord

Egypt and Iraq are expanding defense industry ties in a sign of deepening engagement among Cairo, Baghdad and Amman.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt, Iraq deepen defense ties

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Health, Dr. Tawfiq al-Rabiah, received the coronavirus vaccine on Thursday.“Today is the beginning of the end of the [coronavirus] crisis,” al-Rabiah said, stressing that, under the directives of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the largest vaccination process in the Kingdom begins.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Citizens and residents of the Kingdom will begin to receive the coronavirus vaccine free of charge in Saudi Arabia, while the health minister confirmed that “we will have vaccination centers in all regions of the Kingdom.”The first Saudi citizens received the coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, the Ministry of Health announced on Twitter.On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia received its first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine, al-Rabiah announced.“I am pleased to inform everyone, citizens and residents, of the arrival of the first batch of the coronavirus vaccine this morning, and I hope that it will be the beginning of the end of the crisis - God willing - and it will be provided to everyone at the earliest opportunity,” the minister said at the 2021 Saudi Budget Forum.More than 150,000 people have signed up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia since the Ministry of Health opened registration on Tuesday, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).Read more: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia receives first COVID-19 vaccine shipmentCoronavirus: More than 150,000 people in Saudi Arabia sign up for COVID-19 vaccine
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia’s health minister receives COVID-19 vaccine

French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for COVID-19, the presidency said on Thursday, adding he would now self-isolate for the next week.Read more: Turkey says France must change stance on Syria operations to improve ties“The president tested positive for Covid-19 today (Thursday),” it said in a statement, adding he had been tested after the “onset of the first symptoms”.Macron will now, in accordance with national regulations, “self isolate for seven days. He will continue to work and carry out his activities remotely,” it said.Macron will cancel all his forthcoming trips, including a scheduled visit to Lebanon, after being diagnosed with COVID-19, a French presidency spokeswoman told Reuters on Thursday.Read more:Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia receives first COVID-19 vaccine shipmentCoronavirus: Bahrain’s King Hamad receives COVID-19 vaccineCoronavirus: Alaska health worker had serious allergic reaction after Pfizer vaccine
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: France's President Macron tests positive for COVID-19

Oil and gas was the industry most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud said on Thursday, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The energy minister was speaking at the 2021 Saudi Budget Forum, in a session titled “Challenges of Global Energy Markets.”“During the coronavirus pandemic, no country has done what the Kingdom has [done] in caring for its citizens,” Prince Abdulaziz said.The minister said that there was reduced demand for petroleum products for the year 2020 compared to 2019.“In three days we managed to get production-reduction commitments from everyone at OPEC Plus,” the minister added.Read more:Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister says the worst is over for oil marketSaudi Arabia, other G20 leaders emphasize importance of clean energy, sustainability
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Oil and gas industry most affected by coronavirus: Saudi energy minister

Several belly dancers in Egypt are leading a campaign to preserve their traditional dance from whom they describe as intruders that have sexualized the dance performance.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egyptian dancers call for protecting belly dance

The Lebanese judge investigating the huge explosion that rocked Beirut in August has suspended the probe after two ministers he charged requested he be removed, judicial sources said Thursday.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Fadi Sawan on December 10 issued charges against caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers over the August 4 blast that disfigured Lebanon’s capital.The four were charged with “negligence and causing death to hundreds and injuries to thousands more” in one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.Among them are former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil and former public works minister Ghazi Zaiter, who have since accused Sawan of violating the constitution.Lebanon’s top Cassation Court is now expected to rule on their request for Sawan to be removed from his post.“Until then, all investigation proceedings are suspended,” a senior court judicial official told AFP on condition of anonymity.Diab has also refused to appear in front of the judge on similar grounds.Lebanon’s politicians have rallied around the argument that the indictment of a minister should be submitted to a vote in parliament.Diab, who resigned in the wake of the explosion, already testified before Sawan in September.The huge stock of ammonium nitrate that ignited at Beirut port had been stored there for years when Diab took office almost exactly a year ago.The fact that little light has been shed on the circumstances that led to Lebanon’s worst peacetime disaster nearly four months after the blast has caused outrage.It is also fuelling distrust among international donors, whose support is much needed if Lebanon is to stand a chance of surviving its deepest ever economic crisis.Read more: Caretaker PM Diab declines questioning in Beirut blast probe, official source saysLebanon’s caretaker PM Diab says conscience is clear over Beirut port blastBeirut Blast: Mystery over murder of two customs colonels killed three years apart
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Beirut blast probe suspended amid political tussle

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri Thursday called for a general session next week to discuss a series of important draft laws from a long agenda, with a long-overdue item — the capital control law — missing from the list..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Parliament to discuss 68 draft bills, capital control missing