Senator Ron Johnson said the United States is considering basing more forces on Crete as relations with Turkey deteriorate.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Pentagon pushes back on claim that US to leave Turkey’s Incirlik base
Abu Dhabi Investment Office to open first outside office in Tel Aviv
Office will be used to 'connect innovators from around the world to solve global challenges,' statement says..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Abu Dhabi Investment Office to open first outside office in Tel Aviv
US gives Iraqi Kurdistan peshmerga $250 million worth of Humvees, ammo
Washington's ambassador announced the move as some US troops prepare to leave Iraq.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US gives Iraqi Kurdistan peshmerga 0 million worth of Humvees, ammo
Dubai company to work on direct trade route between UAE and Israel
DP World is partnering with Israeli companies to establish a trade route between Dubai and Eilat and to bid on the strategic Port of Haifa.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Dubai company to work on direct trade route between UAE and Israel
After breaches, UN Security Council urges Libya’s backers to respect arms embargo
The council also called for a cease-fire and extended the UN mission in Libya by another 12 months.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: After breaches, UN Security Council urges Libya’s backers to respect arms embargo
Why Egypt chose Chinese COVID-19 vaccine over Russian one
As Egypt and China are set to sign an agreement for the distribution of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine, questions arise as to the efficiency of this vaccine.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Why Egypt chose Chinese COVID-19 vaccine over Russian one
Coronavirus: Passengers arriving in Abu Dhabi must wear COVID-19 tracking device
International passengers arriving at Abu Dhabi airport will now have to wear a tracking device while they complete a mandatory 14-day home quarantine due to COVID-19, according to state-owned Etihad Airways.Daily infections in the United Arab Emirates rose this month to their highest since the outbreak started, which officials have largely blamed on people not practicing social distancing.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Those arriving at Abu Dhabi airport would be fitted with a medically approved wristband, which is removed after the 14-days of home quarantine, according to Etihad’s latest travel update.Those arriving from countries deemed to be a high risk may have to quarantine in a government facility, it said.A health ministry official on September 10 said 12 percent of cases in the previous two weeks were from international arrivals while 88 percent were linked to people gathering in large groups.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The UAE recorded 786 new novel coronavirus cases on Thursday, down from 1,007 on Saturday, it biggest daily total so far.The UAE, which has seen 82,568 infections and 402 deaths from COVID-19 so far, does not disclose where in the country the cases occur.Only UAE citizens and residents can currently enter the country through Abu Dhabi airport, though foreign visitors can enter through Dubai.Read more: Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi requires a COVID-19 PCR test after six days, threatens finesAbu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways announces coronavirus insurance for passengers
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Passengers arriving in Abu Dhabi must wear COVID-19 tracking device
Coronavirus: Face masks may reduce COVID-19 severity, create immunity, study shows
Wearing a face mask may reduce the severity of a COVID-19 infection and may help in creating immunity against the disease, according to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Wearing face masks could become a method to expose people to the coronavirus in a controlled and limited way, which may reduce the severity of a future COVID-19 infection, the study found, adding that this could lead to immunity and eventually slow the spread of the virus in the US and around the world.Exposing people to a virus in a controlled way, known as “variolation,” was a method used during the smallpox outbreak. An uninfected individual was deliberately infected by having dried smallpox scabs blown up their nose, according to the US National Library of Medicine. Individuals then contracted a mild infection of smallpox and went on to develop immunity.“Between 1 to 2 percent of those variolated died as compared to 30 percent who died when they contracted the disease naturally,” according to the US National Institutes of Health.In their study, researchers at University of California San Francisco said that wearing a face mask protects the person by “blocking viral particles from entering the nose and mouth.”The severity of the virus depends on the amount of the virus that an individual contracts, according to the researchers.Therefore, if a person does become infected, a mask can help in avoiding a high dose of the virus from entering a person’s nose or mouth.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Since masks can filter out some virus-containing droplets (with filtering capacity determined by mask type), masking might reduce the inoculum that an exposed person inhales,” the doctors said in their research.“If this theory bears out, population-wide masking, with any type of mask that increases acceptability and adherence, might contribute to increasing the proportion of [COVID-19] infections that are asymptomatic.”Wearing face masks can be considered a “health measure that could increase the proportion of asymptomatic” patients and make the infection less deadly, according to the study.Until a vaccine is made, this method could also increase the number of people with immunity and reduce severe illnesses and deaths caused by COVID-19.Read more:Masks cut risk of COVID-19 infection by 65 percent, expert saysHow much you are exposed to the coronavirus affects disease severity: ExpertsHow to spot symptoms of the coronavirus
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Face masks may reduce COVID-19 severity, create immunity, study shows
US sanctions Hezbollah-linked companies, official as new Lebanon govt on hold
The United States issued more sanctions against Hezbollah Thursday as efforts to form a new government in Lebanon were further hindered by the Iran-backed group and its allies insisting on maintaining hold of the Finance Ministry portfolio.Arch Consulting Company, based out of the Hezbollah-stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut, was designated for being linked to Hezbollah. Meamar SARL, in Lebanon, was also designated for its links to the group.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Sultan Asaad, a senior Hezbollah Executive Council official, was designated as well. He is reportedly the deputy to Executive Council Chairman Hashem Saffieddine.The US said that Asaad also serves as the senior official for Hezbollah’s central municipal portfolio."As of early 2019, Asaad was responsible for dozens of companies subordinate to the Executive Council, including Arch and Meamar. He provided project guidance to these companies and was involved in their financial and legal issues," the Treasury Department said.Thursday’s move came days after two senior politicians close to Hezbollah were sanctioned for their support to the group and for corruption.Former Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil and former Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos were hit with sanctions, arguably the most aggressive step taken by the US against high-level politicians outside of Hezbollah’s official circle.Following the sanctions, Parliament speaker Nabih Berri who has been in his role since 1992, took the move personally and refused to allow a finance minister to be named by someone other than his Amal Movement and Hezbollah.Khalil is also Berri’s top political aide and has been active in the attempts to form a new government under Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib. Adib vowed to form a government of independent ministers and remained adamant about not allowing political parties to name ministers.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that Hezbollah exploits Lebanon’s corrupt system “just like other parties, as today’s designations and our September 8 designation of former ministers demonstrate.“The Lebanese people deserve better, and the United States will continue to support their calls for an end to corruption and more responsive governance,” he added.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US sanctions Hezbollah-linked companies, official as new Lebanon govt on hold
Lebanon’s PM-designate to hold more talks in faltering bid to appoint cabinet
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Mustapha Adib said on Thursday he would give more time for talks about the formation of a new government as his faltering efforts raised doubts about a French initiative to lift the country out of a deep economic crisis. France has been leaning on Lebanon's sectarian politicians to form a new cabinet and embark on reforms to exit the crisis that is the worst facing the country since its 1975-1990 civil war. But a deadline of September 15 that politicians had promised Paris they would meet has already been missed.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. The process has been bogged down as Lebanon's dominant Shia Muslim factions, the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Amal Movement, have insisted on naming Shia ministers in the cabinet and said these must include the finance minister. Political sources say Adib has been working on proposals to switch control of ministries, many of which have been held by the same factions for years, as he seeks to deliver a government of specialist ministers to deliver reforms mapped out by France. Lebanese media reports had indicated he might step down. But after meeting President Michel Aoun, Adib said he had agreed "to hold off a bit to give more time for consultations". "I presented to the president the difficulties that are facing forming the government," he said. "I know full well that we do not have the luxury of time. And we count on everyone's cooperation." Adib, a Sunni Muslim, was designated prime minister on August 31 by a clear majority of Lebanese parties under French pressure. He enjoys the backing of former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, Lebanon's leading Sunni politician. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the Amal chief, became more insistent on naming the finance minister after Washington last week imposed sanctions on his senior aide for corruption and for enabling Hezbollah, political sources from several parties say. The aide, Ali Hassan Khalil, is a former finance minister. The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on two Lebanon-based companies and one individual it said were linked to Hezbollah, according to the US Treasury Department's website. The US Treasury Department blacklisted Lebanon-based Arch Consulting and Meamar Construction.Read more:Lebanon's Hezbollah says US obstructed government formation effortsLebanon between France’s roadmap and US sanctionsUS sanctions Hezbollah-linked companies, official as new Lebanon govt on hold
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lebanon’s PM-designate to hold more talks in faltering bid to appoint cabinet