Middle East Experience

Muscat has introduced a dress code in public places with the threat of jail and fines for violators..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Planned Muscat dress code law threatens violators with jail and huge fines

The Jerusalem Post presents its first virtual annual conference.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Shaping the Jewish Future: Politics, populism, pandemic - watch

Lebanon confirms record 1,027 coronavirus cases, one death..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon confirms record 1,027 coronavirus cases, one death

"I think it is inevitable that the Saudis will come to the table."
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Engel: 'I'm concerned UAE F-35 deal will undermine Israeli security'

Major hospitals in the UAE’s Dubai and Abu Dhabi have lowered the price of the COVID-19 PCR test for to 180 dirhams ($49) plus VAT.The reduction is the second drop in the price of the PCR nasal test swab this month as the country undergoes a spike in coronavirus infections.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Mediclinic, which runs major hospitals and health centers in Dubai, Abu Dhai, and Al Ain, has reduced the price to 189 dirhams including VAT.Government-owned healthcare centers in Abu Dhabi, run by SEHA, are also offering tests at the same price. VPS Healthcare hospitals including Medeor Hospital in Abu Dhabi have likewise dropped their price to 189 including VAT.PCR tests had previously cost 370 dirhams, before hospitals lowered the price to 250.Coronavirus in the UAEAbu Dhabi currently requires a test to enter the emirate from the other emirates of the UAE.The capital reopened to tourist visas on Thursday, months after its neighbor Dubai, but arrivals are required to quarantine for 14 days and must wear an electronic tracking device.The UAE has experienced a second spike in cases during September. On Wednesday, the country recorded its highest single-day increase since the start of the outbreak with 1,083 new cases, followed by over 1,000 cases on Thursday.Authorities have urged the public to adhere to coronavirus safety guidelines and issued fines for violating the rules.Most recently, Dubai Police fined a woman 10,000 dirhams for hosting a party.Read more:Coronavirus: Dubai fines 24 businesses, warns five for violating COVID-19 measuresCoronavirus: Abu Dhabi, other UAE emirates resume tourist visas after COVID-19 haltCoronavirus: Dubai Police fine woman over $2,000 for hosting party
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Major Dubai, Abu Dhabi hospitals drop COVID-19 PCR test price to 180 AED

Hundreds of high school students in the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi who opted to attend in-person classes were tested for the novel coronavirus for free ahead of the new academic school year set to begin next week, according to local media reports.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Drive-through centers and government facilities around Abu Dhabi welcomed students on Wednesday and Thursday, authorities said.Students will need a proof of a negative test result to their school campuses on September 27.“As per the schools reopening guidelines, all pupils aged 12 years and above, will be required to undergo a Covid-19 PCR test prior to joining schools,” a spokeswoman for the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, the regulator for all schools in the emirate, told The National.Read more:Coronavirus: Dubai Police fine woman over $2,000 for hosting party Coronavirus: Major Dubai, Abu Dhabi hospitals drop COVID-19 PCR test price to 180 AEDCoronavirus: Dubai fines 24 businesses, warns five for violating COVID-19 measuresSchools across the capital were forced to close as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.However, students under the age of 11 were allowed to return earlier this month. Students between the ages of 11 and 14 will continue to study from home until further notice, authorities said.Students in grade 9 to 11 who are expected to take international exams – including the GSCEs, A-levels, International Baccalaureate or an equivalent exam – were given the option of attending in-person classes.The pupils taking the tests have not attended in-person classes since March, when schools across the country were closed to slow the spread of the virus.Younger children, between the ages of three and 11, or up to grade 5/year 6, have since returned.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi high school students get free PCR test before UAE school year

The United Arab Emirates reported another significant rise in new coronavirus cases with 1,008 infections detected in 24 hours, the Ministry of Health and Prevention announced on Friday.This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 89,540.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Two people died due to complications caused by COVID-19, according to the ministry. The virus-related death toll in the country is now 409. Meanwhile, 809 people recovered from the coronavirus, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 78,819. The UAE has been witnessing a rapid rise in the number of daily reported cases. On Thursday, a total of 1,002 new infections were recorded in 24 hours.The day before, that number reached 1,083 – the UAE’s highest single-day increase since the start of the outbreak.Authorities have urged the public to adhere to precautionary measures and warned that violators will have to be pay hefty fines for ignoring the law.Read more:Coronavirus: Dubai Police fine woman over $2,000 for hosting party Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi high school students get free PCR test before UAE school yearCoronavirus: Major Dubai, Abu Dhabi hospitals drop COVID-19 PCR test price to 180 AED
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE COVID-19 cases continue to rise with 1,008 new infections

Four people were injured, two seriously, in a knife attack in Paris Friday outside the former offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Prime Minister Jean Castex said.Two of the victims were in a critical condition, the Paris police department said.French police have detained a second person over the knife attack, a judicial source said. A first suspect was detained near the Place de la Bastille close to the scene of the incident.It was not immediately clear why the second person had been detained.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.France’s anti-terror prosecutors’ office said Friday that they had opened an inquiry into the knife attack.The suspected attackers will be questioned over “attempted murder related to terrorism” and “conspiracy with terrorists,” the office said.Deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire tweeted that police were hunting a “potentially dangerous” individual.The Paris metro closed lines in the area.Police later said one suspect had been detained after the attack, which occurred as the trial was underway for the alleged accomplices of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack.“A serious event has taken place in Paris,” said Castex, who was addressing reporters at the time and cut short a visit to northern Paris to head instead to the crisis centre of the interior ministry.“Four people have been wounded and it seems that two are in a serious condition,” he said.He added the attack had taken place “in front of” the weekly’s former offices in the 11th district of central Paris. The magazine’s current address is kept secret for security reasons.The stabbing came as a trial was underway in the capital for alleged accomplices of the authors of the January 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo.Twelve people, including some of France’s most celebrated cartoonists, were killed in the attack by brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi and claimed by a branch of al-Qaeda.The trial in Paris had resumed Friday after a suspect’s coronavirus test came back negative.The hearing for fourteen suspects, which opened on September 2, was postponed Thursday after Nezar Mickael Pastor Alwatik fell ill in the stand.His lawyer Marie Dose said her client had suffered from “a lot of fever, coughing, vomiting and headaches”.He was back in the box on Friday, after the presiding judge informed defence and prosecution lawyers by SMS late Thursday that the test results allowed for the trial to go ahead.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Four people injured in knife attack in Paris, two suspects detained: Police

Soaring prices of cryptocurrencies, most notably Bitcoin, are tempting many unemployed Egyptians seeking to achieve quick gains, amid fears of Bitcoin being exploited to finance terrorism or illegal trade.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egyptians turn to Bitcoin amid coronavirus crisis

Despite Turkey’s efforts to maintain the status quo in Idlib, a Russian-backed Syrian assault seems increasingly likely.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Turkey's military deterrence breaks down in Syria's last rebel stronghold