Middle East Experience

As part of the United Arab Emirates’ efforts to expand its COVID-19 testing program, some Dubai hospitals and drive-through testing centers are now offering PCR coronavirus nose swab tests for only 250 dirhams ($68) or less.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.The tests, which are widely used across the country to detect the coronavirus, previously cost 370 dirhams ($100).Mediclinic Parkview Hospital, NMC Royal Hospital, Zulekha Hospital Dubai, and Medeor Hospital Dubai all offer the nasal test for 250 dirhams.Meanwhile, Emirates Specialty Hospital offers the test for 249 dirhams for walk-in appointments. Aster Clinic also offers the PCR test for 299 dirhams ($81).However, the test is free for people who are suspected to have been infected with COVID-19, those who are most vulnerable, Emirati nationals or those who lives in households with nationals, and children of Emirati women.Those who are most vulnerable to the disease include people over the age of 50, people of determination, and those with chronic illnesses.Most of Dubai’s testing centers offer walk-in appointments and the results are guaranteed to come out within 24 to 48 hours.Read more:Coronavirus: COVID-19 saliva tests as effective as PCR nose swabs, UAE study showsCoronavirus: Entering Abu Dhabi requires either COVID-19 PCR or laser test, not both
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Dubai residents can now get a PCR test for only or less

Experts accuse the Turkish government of hiring inexperienced construction companies to restore precious historical monuments, and the results have been predictable.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Botched restoration makes Turkish antiquities into punchlines

Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecution issued a verdict against eight people for their involvement in the murder of the late journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Monday.Khashoggi – a well-known Saudi Arabian journalist – was murdered on October 20, 2018 at the Kingdom’s consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul. He had been visiting the consulate to complete paperwork related to his divorce.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Five people were sentenced to 20 years in prison for their involvement in the murder, SPA cited the prosecution as saying on Monday. The three other defendants were given a prison sentence of seven to ten years.The verdict is final and must be enforced, the prosecution added, according to SPA.The journalist’s family had in May issued a statement saying that they pardoned their father’s killers. Under the Kingdom’s law, the victim’s family has the right to pardon or grant clemency to the perpetrator. Once ratified, this pardon prevents the perpetrator from receiving the death penalty.However, the perpetrator will still be punished for the crime they have been found guilty of committing and a sentence will be issued under public law.Around the time of his death, Khashoggi had been living in the United States and was working as a columnist for the Washington Post. Read more:Sons of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi say they pardon killersKhashoggi’s son says he’s confident that the Saudi judicial system is fair
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia’s Public Prosecution issues final verdict in Khashoggi case

The Egyptian armed forces said they had launched successful military attacks on terrorist hideouts and arms warehouses in the Sinai, inflicting heavy losses on the Islamic State-affiliated Wilayat Sinai.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Army operations in Sinai continue unabated

Nearly 100 people have died and hundreds have been left homeless due to the unprecedented floods in Sudan caused by heavy rainfall in recent weeks, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency across all governorates.Various regions in Sudan are experiencing difficult humanitarian conditions due to the floods that struck the country.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.At least 46 people have been injured due to the recent floods, while large areas of fertile agricultural land that used to supply the country with its needs of vegetables and fruits have been damaged.The Director of Civil Defense Police in North Kordofan, Sudan, announced on Monday the death of 11 people as a result of the floods, noting that 375 houses had collapsed in the governorate while 16 government facilities were damaged.The states most affected included North Kordofan, Khartoum, al-Qadarif, and Sennar states.Read more: Sudan declares three-month state of emergency over floods: SUNASudanese authorities said that the Nile River began to witness stability in some stations that recorded an unprecedented rise at levels not seen in a hundred years.Despite the relative stability of the levels of the Nile, authorities said they do not rule out that it will continue to rise in some places, especially the capital Khartoum and some cities in the Nile River state, at a time when different areas in Sudan are experiencing difficult humanitarian situations that have forced the authorities to declare a state of emergency in all governorates.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Sudan floods: Nearly 100 deaths, hundreds homeless amid unprecedented rainfall

On Sudan’s Tuti Island, where the Blue and White Nile meet, the highest river waters since records began have left people struggling to hold back the rising floods.Wedged between the twin cities of Khartoum and Omdurman, people on Tuti fill bags with sand and small stones in an often futile bid to stop the lapping water from swamping their homes.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The world’s longest river is life-giving, but the Nile also brings misfortune and misery to many.“Three days ago the water invaded my house around midnight,” said Swakin Ahmad, dressed in a red headscarf.“We were knee-deep in it. My husband and I, with our five children, fled... carrying a few things in our hands.”Every year during the rainy season the river floods, and the people of the island expect the waters to rise.But nothing in the past compares to the floods of today, residents say.More rain forecast“In previous years, we would leave our house for two months to live with friends,” Ahmad said.“But this year that was impossible, because water had entered their homes too.”Civil defense officials say that seasonal floods have killed 94 people, injured 46 and destroyed or damaged over 60,000 homes across Sudan during the current season.Read more: Sudan declares three-month state of emergency over floods: SUNAThe level of the Blue Nile has risen to 17.57 meters, the ministry of water and irrigation said this week, breaking all records since measurements began more than a century ago.But many fear the worst is yet to come.Heavy rains are forecast to continue through September, both in Sudan and upstream in neighboring Ethiopia, the source of the Blue Nile.Read more: Nearly 100 deaths, hundreds homeless amid unprecedented rainfall in Sudan“Young people tried to rescue things from my house,” Ahmad said. “But it was hopeless, because they had water up to their necks and could not see anything.”Residents have thrown up makeshift barrages in the path of the water, but their efforts have been engulfed by the rising river.Iqbal Mohamed Abbas, who welcomed many of those forced from their homes at her educational center, described “the courage with which young people tried with simple means to slow down the flood.”She recalled previous occasions when the island was flooded, remembering a tune her grandparents sang decades ago.“I am proud of these young people who came to try to stop the Nile with their bodies,” Abbas said, reciting the lyrics.But this time it appears much worse.Sudan’s water ministry predicts that this year’s flood is larger than that of 1998, which destroyed tens of thousands of homes in several states and displaced more than a million people.The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that more than 380,000 people have already been affected across the country.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Watch: Residents of Sudan’s Tuti Island struggle to abandon flooded homes

During his party’s faction meeting on Monday, Liberman said “we hear endless talk of closure, but what we need is order."
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Netanyahu to opposition heads: Dangerous statements, anarchy

The bigger reason why Israel was wary of ties with Kosovo was because of a concern over setting a precedent for the Palestinians.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Why Israel stopped worrying about Palestinians copying Kosovo - analysis

The ministry clarified that any delays in the project were due to technical issues only and that all diplomatic approvals have been given.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Housing Ministry: East Jerusalem’s Givat Hamatos project not frozen

Qatar’s recent announcement to effectively dismantle its controversial Kafala system as part of reform to labour laws was rightly met with praise from the international community..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Qatar’s new labour laws: After celebration must come work – Doha News