Middle East Experience

UK health authorities are rolling out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine, starting a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval.The first shot will come Tuesday at one of a network of hospital hubs around the country where the initial phase of the UK program will be rolled out on what has been dubbed “V-Day.”For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Public health officials are asking the public to be patient because only those who are most at risk from COVID-19 will be vaccinated in the early stages. Medical staff will contact patients to arrange appointments, and most will have to wait until next year before there is enough vaccine to expand the program.“I think there’s every chance that we will look back on ... (Tuesday) as marking a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus,” said Simon Stevens, the CEO of England’s National Health Service.The first 800,000 doses are going to people over 80 who are either hospitalized or already have outpatient appointments scheduled, along with nursing home workers. Others will have to wait their turn.‘Very pleased’Among those older Britons scheduled to get vaccinated is Hari Shukla of Newcastle.“When I received the telephone call, I was very excited I got the opportunity of joining in and taking part in that,″ he said. “So we are very very pleased and happy and excited as well.″Buckingham Palace refused to comment on reports that Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, would be vaccinated as a public example of its safety.“Our goal is totally to protect every member of the population, Her Majesty, of course, as well,” Dr. June Raine, chief executive of Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, told the BBC.Public health officials elsewhere are watching Britain’s rollout as they prepare for the unprecedented task of vaccinating billions of people to end a pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million. While the UK has a well-developed infrastructure for delivering vaccines, it is geared to administer them to groups such as school children or pregnant women, not the whole population.Global vaccine progressThe UK is getting a head start on the project after British regulators on December 2 gave emergency authorization to the vaccine produced by US drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. US and European Union authorities are also reviewing the vaccine, alongside rival products developed by US biotechnology company Moderna, and a collaboration between Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca.On Saturday, Russia began vaccinating thousands of doctors, teachers and others at dozens of centers in Moscow with its Sputnik V vaccine. That program is being viewed differently because Russia authorized use of Sputnik V last summer after it was tested in only a few dozen people.The first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were delivered to a selected group of UK hospitals on Sunday.At one of those facilities, Croydon University Hospital, south of London, staff members couldn’t so much as touch the vials, but they were thrilled to just have them in the building.“I’m so proud,” said Louise Coughlan, joint chief pharmacist at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust.More doses neededThe vaccine can’t arrive soon enough for the UK, which has more than 61,000 COVID-19 related deaths - more than any other country has reported in Europe. The UK has more than 1.7 million cases.The 800,000 doses are only a fraction of what is needed. The government is targeting more than 25 million people, or about 40 percent of the population, in the first phase of its vaccination program, which gives first priority to those who are highest risk from the disease.After those over 80 and nursing home workers, the program will be expanded as the supply increases, with the vaccine offered roughly on the basis of age groups, starting with the oldest people.In England, the vaccine will be delivered at 50 hospital hubs in the first wave of the program, with more hospitals expected to offer it as the rollout ramps up. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are making their own plans under the UK’s system of devolved administration.Logistical issues are slowing the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine because it has to be stored at minus-70 degrees Celsius (minus-94 degrees Fahrenheit).The immunization program will be a “marathon not a sprint,” said professor Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England.Authorities also are focusing on large-scale distribution points because each package of vaccine contains 975 doses and they don’t want any to be wasted.The UK has agreed to buy millions of doses from seven different producers. Governments around the world are making agreements with multiple developers to ensure they lock in delivery of the products that are ultimately approved for widespread use.Read more: Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi launches phase-III trials for Russian COVID-19 vaccine
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UK rolls out COVID-19 vaccine in global ‘V-Day’ first

Turkey has ordered the detention of 304 military personnel in an operation targeting supporters of the Muslim preacher that Ankara says was behind a failed coup in 2016, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Operations targeting the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen have continued under a four-year-long crackdown since the attempted coup in July 2016. Gulen denies involvement in the putsch attempt, in which about 250 people were killed.Tuesday’s operation was initiated by the prosecutor’s office in the western coastal province of Izmir and was spread over 50 provinces, Anadolu said.The suspects, including five colonels and 10 captains, most of them on active duty, were believed to be in contact with people with links to Gulen’s network, Anadolu said.Since the coup attempt, about 80,000 people have been held pending trial and some 150,000 civil servants, military personnel and others have been sacked or suspended. More than 20,000 people had been expelled from the Turkish military alone.Read more: Turkey orders arrest of 82 military personnel allegedly connected to Gulen: Report
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Turkey orders detention of 304 military personnel over suspected Gulen links

Abu Dhabi Police is set to implement a new artificial intelligence-based system that detects traffic violations, including seatbelt violations and cell phone usage among drivers, starting next year, the Abu Dhabi Media Office announced on Monday.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The new system was launched by Abu Dhabi Police in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority at this year’s GITEX exhibition.“At GITEX Technology Week 2020, Abu Dhabi Police and Abu Dhabi Digital announced a new AI-based system to detect seatbelt violations and cell phone usage among drivers,” Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a tweet.The new system will identify seat belt violations and those who use a mobile phone while driving via the AI system cameras starting next year.“This system, which will enable cameras to detect violations from next year, will help Abu Dhabi to increase security levels on its roads and enhance the safety of road users,” the media office added.Read more:Video: Dubai Police use radars to detect nighttime coronavirus curfew violatorsCoronavirus: Abu Dhabi Police unveils ‘air ambulance capsule’ for infectious diseases
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Abu Dhabi to install AI road system that detects seatbelt violations, cell phone use

Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the death penalty of a once-exiled journalist over his online work that helped inspire nationwide economic protests three years ago, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.The semiofficial Tasnim news agency quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili as saying that the country’s Supreme Court confirmed Ruhollah Zam’s death sentence. It was not clear precisely when the court made its ruling.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.It is also not clear when Zam’s sentence will be carried out. Under Iranian law, Zam has another chance to appeal and the judiciary chief has the power to cancel the ruling and order a retrial if he finds it in violation of Sharia law.In June, a court sentenced Zam to death, saying he had been convicted of “corruption on Earth,” a charge often used in cases involving espionage or attempts to overthrow Iran’s government.Zam’s website and a channel he created on the popular messaging app Telegram had spread the timings of the protests and embarrassing information about officials that directly challenged Iran’s Shiite theocracy. Those demonstrations, which began at the end of 2017, represented the biggest challenge to Iran since the 2009 Green Movement protests and set the stage for similar mass unrest in November of last year.The initial spark for the 2017 protests was a sudden jump in food prices. Many believe that hard-line opponents of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani instigated the first demonstrations in the conservative city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, trying to direct public anger at the president. But as protests spread from town to town, the backlash turned against the entire ruling class.Soon, cries directly challenging Rouhani and even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could be heard in online videos shared by Zam. Zam’s channel also shared times and organizational details for the protests.Telegram shut down the channel over Iranian government complaints it spread information about how to make gasoline bombs. The channel later continued under a different name. Zam, who has said he fled Iran after being falsely accused of working with foreign intelligence services, denied inciting violence on Telegram at the time.The details of his arrest still remain unclear. Though he was based in Paris, Zam somehow returned to Iran and found himself detained by intelligence officials. A series of a televised confessions aired earlier this year over his work.Read more:Iran journalist who inspired 2017 rallies sentenced to deathWhat are the causes that sparked anti-regime protests in Iran?Top 10 Iran protest videos
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran Supreme Court upholds death sentence against journalist Ruhollah Zam

Two Egyptian women have become the Middle East's first hearing impaired flight attendants thanks to an initiative called Humanitarian Flights.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt’s first hearing impaired flight attendants work flight to Khartoum

An article published in the Tel Aviv University Turkeyscope review might suggest that Ankara wants to rehabilitate its relations with Jerusalem.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Mixed signals over Israel-Turkey relations

The US announced sanctions on Iran’s envoy to the Houthis Hasan Irlu on Tuesday, as well as an Iranian university that uses over 50 foreign branches to recruit fighters for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.Read more: Iran’s Rouhani vows to continue support of Assad regime in SyriaIrlu, a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s overseas arm the Quds Force, recently arrived in Yemen to serve as the IRGC liaison to the Houthi militia, according to the US State Department.“By dispatching Irlu to Yemen, the IRGC-QF is signaling its intent to increase support to the Houthis and further complicate international efforts to reach a negotiated settlement to the conflict,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.Irlu had a relationship with slain IRGC-QF commander Qassem Soleimani and has provided training to Lebanese Hezbollah members, according to the State Department.Iran’s Al-Mustafa International University was also sanctioned “for facilitating IRGC-QF recruitment efforts” including recruitment for foreign militias that support al-Assad.Read more: Iran Supreme Court upholds death sentence against journalist Ruhollah ZamMultiple students at the university, which has over 50 branches around the world, have died fighting in Syria, according to the State Department.The IRGC “has recruited Pakistani and Afghan students at Al-Mustafa International University to join the Zaynabiyoun Brigade and Fatemiyoun Division, two militias fighting on behalf of the IRGC-QF in Syria that were previously designated under counterterrorism and human rights authorities,” according to the State Department.IRGC-QF’s recruitment of foreign students “illustrates the degree to which the group has infiltrated Iranian society in order to achieve its destructive goals,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.“These efforts, and the pervasive role the IRGC-QF plays in Iranian foreign policy, contribute to the erosion of trust in Iran’s public and private institutions,” Mnuchin added.The US Treasury also designated another official in the IRGC-Quds Force, Iran-based Pakistani national Yusuf Ali Muraj, for supporting IRGC operations.Read more:Uzbekistan repatriates 98 ISIS-linked women and children from Syrian campsExplosion at Hezbollah base in southern Lebanon: ReportCoronavirus: Abu Dhabi launches phase-III trials for Russian COVID-19 vaccine
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US sanctions Iran’s envoy to Houthis, Iranian university recruiting foreign fighters

With US President Donald Trump soon out of the picture, the Saudis prefer to take things slow with Israel, and await the new Biden administration.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: A new page in Israeli-Saudi relations? Not so fast

Nineveh’s renowned cultural heritage museum, known for the Islamic State's disastrous attack on its treasures, has finally reopened to the public.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Scarred but still standing, Mosul museum reopens at last

A Palestinian mother of five has broken all norms and traditions in the Gaza Strip by becoming the first female taxi driver in the besieged enclave.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Why Gaza should have more female taxi drivers