Middle East Experience

Lebanon confirms 469 new coronavirus cases and four deaths..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon confirms 469 new coronavirus cases and four deaths

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House….
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: US-Israel delegation leaves UAE after 'ground-breaking' normalisation visit

Comment: Establishing the truth behind Hariri's killing and a string of other assassinations is an important step towards reconciliation, as Lebanon grapples with its past and present, writes Kareem Shaheen..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Where does STL verdict leave Hezbollah and the search for accountability in Lebanon?

Analysts believe there could be up to 2 million coronavirus cases in Syria, but the authorities are no way near reimposing restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Syria could have 2 million cases of coronavirus by Aug. 31

Amazon is planning on expanding the services it provides to the promising Egyptian market in the field of e-commerce, but some obstacles might slow down growth in this sector.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Amazon seeks development of Egypt e-commerce market

Iran displayed a surface-to-surface ballistic missile on Thursday that Defence Minister Amir Hatami said had a range of 1,400 kilometers and a new cruise missile, ignoring US demands that Tehran halt its missile program.“The surface-to-surface missile, called martyr Qassem Soleimani, has a range of 1,400 km and the cruise missile, called martyr Abu Mahdi, has a range of over 1,000 km,” Hatami said in a televised speech.Pictures of the missiles were shown on state TV, which it said was “the newest Iranian cruise missile that will further strengthen Iran’s deterrence power.”For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed in January in a US strike on their convoy in Baghdad airport.“Missiles and particularly cruise missiles are very important for us ... the fact that we have increased the range from 300 to 1,000 in less than two years is a great achievement,” said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.“Our military might and missile programs are defensive.”The announcement comes as Washington is pushing to extend a UN-imposed arms embargo against Iran, which is due to expire in October under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.Read more:UN report on Iranian missiles in Yemen used against Saudi: Key takeaways explainedIran says it built ‘missile cities’ along Gulf coast, warns enemies of ‘nightmare’US to impose UN sanctions ‘snapback’ on Iran: TrumpTensions have been high between Tehran and Washington since 2018, when President Donald Trump pulled out the United States from the deal and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.Washington says its aim is to force Tehran to agree a broader deal that puts stricter limits on its nuclear work, curbs its ballistic missile program and ends its regional proxy wars. Iran has rejected talks as long as US sanctions remain in place.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday Trump has directed him to trigger ‘snapback’ – a return of all US sanctions on Iran - at the U.N. Security Council in New York on Thursday, after the council rejected Washington’s bid to extend Tehran’s arms embargo.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Iran announces new locally made missiles amid rising tensions with US

Low-income Egyptian families have discovered a way to make money via video-steaming platforms like YouTube and Tiktok.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: YouTube, Tiktok help low-income families survive in Egypt

Dubai’s Emirates airline is waiting for an aviation agreement before flights to Israel can begin following the historic peace deal announced last week between the UAE and Israel, the airline’s COO said.“It’s an agreement between the two governments and definitely there will be many other sectors within business that will be benefiting from such an agreement, obviously aviation will be one of the main sectors. But before we plan any flights to between here Israel or Tel Aviv an agreement needs to be put in place between the two cities,” Adel al-Redha, chief operating officer of Emirates told CNBC Thursday.Israel and the UAE reached a historic peace deal last week that will lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations in an agreement that US President Donald Trump helped broker. Some business and communication agreements have already passed, including collaboration on a coronavirus vaccine and restoration of phone lines between the two nations.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Direct flights have yet to be announced, but are part of the overall deal. Israel’s foreign ministry has also told Al Arabiya English that the country will likely not stamp passports of tourists traveling to Israel from the UAE – an important move as Israel stamping a UAE passport would be significant as certain Arab countries, such as Lebanon, place entry restrictions on people with Israeli stamps in their passports.“I think demand will come from both sides of the region, and there will be quite a lot of opportunity for trading and business between the two cities and two countries,” al-Redha added.When reached for comment, an Emirates spokesperson told Al Arabiya English that the opening of any new route requires air traffic rights and government approvals.“Once those are in place, Emirates will review market demand and a range of operational factors before making any decision to start flight services. With regards to new destinations, we have nothing further to announce at this time,” the spokesperson said.Read more:After UAE-Israel deal, is Bahrain the next Arab state to move toward peace?UAE’s G42 to work with Israeli NanoScent to develop COVID-19 detector from scentUAE-Israel accord: Saudi Arabia committed to Arab Peace Plan, says foreign minister
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Dubai’s Emirates waiting for approval to start Israel flights after peace deal: COO

The UAE’s Ministry of Health announced Wednesday a further 461 cases of coronavirus in the country, a small jump in the rate of infection in a week that has seen numbers begin to rise, and bringing the country’s total to 65,802 cases.The ministry added that a further 131 cases had recovered, bringing total recoveries to 58,153. Two additional deaths were also recorded, leaving the total death toll to 369.Authorities continue to aggressively test for the virus as part of a strategy to contain its spread. An additional 72,283 COVID-19 cases were conducted over the prior 24 hours, the ministry said, bringing the total number of cases conducted in the country thus far to 6,265,918.Cases of coronavirus have begun to rise in the UAE over the past week, with officials noting the trend as “alarming” on Tuesday.“An alarming increase in the number of daily infections among citizens and residents,” Dr. Omar al-Hammadi, spokesperson for the UAE government said at the time.Abu Dhabi-based G42 Healthcare is currently trialing the world’s first Phase III trials of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, a term referring to the use of virus particles that can no longer produce more disease in a vaccine. Phase III trials expand research previously conducted on a new medicine and give the drug to a larger group of people than earlier clinical phases with the aim of testing for safety.On Wednesday, it was announced that G42 would begin would with Israeli company NanoScent to develop and manufacture a product they say will be capable of detecting suspected cases of COVID-19 from a sample of exhaled nasal air.The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday in a signing ceremony held via video conference between the UAE and Israel.The agreement came after the United Arab Emirates and Israel reached a historic peace deal last week that will lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two Middle Eastern nations in an agreement that US President Donald Trump helped broker.Read more:UAE’s G42 to work with Israeli NanoScent to develop COVID-19 detector from scentUAE-Israel accord: Saudi Arabia committed to Arab Peace Plan, says foreign minister
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE reports 461 new COVID-19 cases as infections continue to rise

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintains a friendly relationship with US presidential candidate Joe Biden, but fears that if elected, President Biden would return to talks with Iran.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Netanyahu fears that Biden as president would renew Iran deal