Middle East Experience

A five-year-old child is dead and 700 other people have been hospitalized in Jordan with mass food poisoning after eating shawarma at a restaurant in the town of Ain al-Basha, north of the capital Amman, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Investigations revealed that the meat and chicken shawarma had been prepared without using a refrigeration unit in an “unhealthy environment and without adhering to the health requirements and the minimum levels of general safety,” the official Jordan News Agency reported citing a ministry press release.Laboratory tests also found that bacteria in meat and poultry products at the restaurant, according to the ministry’s statement.The restaurant was immediately shut down following investigations and the restaurant owner is in police custody, AFP reported citing local media.The restaurant was reportedly running a promotional offer in which one shawarma costs one Jordanian dinar ($1.40) instead of 1.85 dinar ($2.61) which caused an increase of customers, according to AFP.The health minister confirmed that most cases are in stable condition and that a few have a moderate level of illness.Following the incident, the health ministry urged people to avoid eating exposed food and to stay away from gatherings, and to avoid going out during hot afternoon hours.Read more:Hajj pilgrims embark on first day of rituals amid COVID-19 measuresJordan's response to coronavirus: Leave no one behindJordan to reopen airports to ‘low risk’ countries
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: One child dead, 700 sick due to mass food poisoning in Jordan restaurant

Dubai’s annual rugby sevens tournament has been canceled for the first time in its 51-year history due to concerns over COVID-19, organizers announced on Wednesday.The international rugby tournament was due to be held in the first week of December but has now been canceled by its organizers, World Rugby, alongside its sister tournament in South Africa.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“While we share in the disappointment of players, teams, fans, hosts and everyone involved with the popular events in Dubai and Cape Town, this is a prudent decision taken with the health and wellbeing of the global rugby community and wider society as our top priority and guided by the relevant government and international public health authority advice,” said World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper in an online statement.The statement added that World Rugby would be focusing on planning for the 2021 Series and the build-up to the postponed Olympic Games in Tokyo.“We are of course disappointed not to be hosting the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens for the first time in 51 years, but we understand the extraordinary circumstances surrounding today’s cancellation of the opening tournaments of the new season,” added Dnata & Emirates Group Services President Gary Chapman.The Rugby Sevens is attended by thousands of people each year and witnesses rugby teams of seven players compete to win the World Sevens Series.Read more:Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi allows restaurants, cafes to operate at 80 pct capacityOne child dead, 700 sick due to mass food poisoning in Jordan restaurantSaudi Arabia announces new Mahd Sports Academy with Jose Mourinho, FIFA chief
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Dubai Rugby Sevens canceled for first time in 51 years due to COVID-19

Dozens of Palestinians are living in caves in Hebron as the Israeli authorities repeatedly demolish their homes built without impossible-to-obtain permits.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Settlement sprawl forces Hebron's Palestinian families to live in caves

Saudi Arabia has confirmed 1,759 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, but none in the country's holy sites amid the start of the Hajj pilgrimage season, the health ministry announced on Wednesday.Read also: Hajj pilgrims embark on first day of rituals amid COVID-19 measuresThe Kingdom has so far detected 272,590 total cases but has maintained a high recovery rate of 84 percent as 228,569 individuals recovered after receiving treatment.Of the new cases, 160 were recorded in the city of al-Hafouf, 122 in Mecca and 108 in the capital Riyadh, according to the health ministry.An additional 27 fatalities were also confirmed over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 2,816 as of July 29.Earlier Wednesday, Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia embarked on the first day of rituals after self-isolating in a designated hotel amid strict coronavirus preventative measures, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.A health leader has been assigned to each group of 50 pilgrims to ensure safety measures, including wearing a mask and social distancing, are implemented at all times, according to SPA.Read more:Hajj pilgrims embark on first day of rituals amid COVID-19 measuresAll the COVID-19 guidelines for the Eid al-Adha holiday across the GulfSaudi Arabia extends validity of expired expat visas for 3 months
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia detects 1,759 new COVID-19 cases, none in Hajj holy sites

The US announced on Wednesday it will pull 11,800 troops from Germany, a hub for US operations in the Middle East and Africa.The US will bring about 6,400 forces home and shift about 5,400 to other countries in Europe, US defense officials said, detailing a Pentagon plan that will cost billions of dollars and take years to complete.The decision fulfills Trump’s announced desire to withdraw troops from Germany, at least in part due to its failure to spend enough on defense. US officials said that some moves will begin in months, and would likely send air and ground forces to countries that already have an American troop presence. The plan leaves about 25,000 troops in Germany.The announcement is closely tied to the plan to increase the US troop presence in Poland, a shift long-desired by Warsaw and Polish President Andrzej Duda. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet announced, said the moves will cost “billions” and require construction at bases in the US to accommodate the additional forces. The officials said that in the future other troops would rotate in and out of Europe.Members of Trump’s own political party have criticized the troop move as a gift to Russia and a threat to US national security. Twenty-two Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee fired back with a letter to Trump saying a reduced US commitment to Europe’s defense would encourage Russian aggression and opportunism.It’s also unclear if the plan would survive if Trump is not re-elected.The decision to keep nearly half the forces in Europe, is a clear move by the Pentagon to assuage allies by avoiding the complete withdrawal of 10,000 troops out of the region. And by spreading forces into the east, it sends a message to Russia that the US is not reducing its commitment to region and remains ready to protect Eastern Europe from any Moscow aggression.Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has voiced support for the plan, while also acknowledging it will take “months to plan, and years to execute.” He was briefed on the issue last week, and issued a statement saying the “concept for realigning US military posture in Europe” is sound.Trump announced last month that he wanted to cut the number of active duty US troops in Germany from roughly 36,000 to a bit more than 25,000. Shifting forces out of the country had long been rumored and is in line with Pentagon efforts to put more troops in the Indo-Pacific.Overall, the US has about 47,000 troops and civilian personnel in Germany, spread out across a number of bases, headquarters and smaller installations. Most of the 35,000 active-duty are in a handful of larger Army and Air Force bases including Ramstein Air Base, a hub in the region. There also are 2,600 National Guard and Reserve forces in Germany, and almost 12,000 civilians working for the services or the Defense Department.Read more:Inside Qarchak Prison: ‘Iran’s most dangerous for women’, human rights report issuedTurkey passes controversial social media regulation bill, reveals decision on TwitterCoronavirus: Hajj pilgrims embark on first day of rituals amid COVID-19 measures
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US to pull 11,800 troops from hub of Middle East operations: Officials

The US has sanctioned 14 Syrian officials and entities linked to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad under the recently implemented Caesar Act, announced Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday.The new designations by the State Department include President Bashar al-Assad’s 18-year-old son, Hafez, and his relative Zuhair Tawfiq al-Assad, who leads the Syrian army’s First Division. The US Treasury also added to its sanctions list Syrian businessman Wassim Anwar al-Qattan and nine business entities linked to al-Qattan and the regime.Read more: New sanctions on Syria: Everything you need to know about the Caesar ActThe designations are the latest round of sanctions under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act that came into effect in June, which aims to cut off revenue and support for the Assad regime.“The Assad regime’s military has become a symbol of brutality, repression, and corruption. They have killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, detained and tortured peaceful protesters, and destroyed schools, hospitals, and markets without regard to human life,” said Pompeo in a Department of State release.“It is time for Assad's needless, brutal war to end. This, above all, is what our sanctions campaign is meant to bring about,” he added.US Treasury sanctions businessman Wassim Anwar al-QattanTen of the 14 new sanctions are being applied by the US Treasury, centering on the activities of businessman Wassim Anwar al-Qattan.Al-Qattan is a Syrian businessman who has several contracts to develop government-owned shopping malls and hotel properties in Damascus. He reportedly has close links with senior regime figures and has been awarded most of the recent real estate projects outside of Marota City in Damascus, according to the US Treasury.On top of various hotels, al-Qattan’s company acquired the rights to develop the government-owned Yalbagha Complex into a tourist commercial complex in Damascus.“While corrupt businessmen with ties to Assad invest in luxury real estate made possible by forced displacement of innocent civilians, they also worsen the oppression of the Syrian people,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.“The United States remains committed to providing humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, while the Assad regime seeks to profit from their suffering,” he added.Hama and Maarat al-Numan sanctionsPompeo announced that the latest tranche of sanctions would be named after Hama and Maarat al-Numan, the locations of atrocities the Assad regime is accused of committing.“These names are meant to memorialize the victims of two of the Assad regime's most notorious atrocities, both of which occurred in this week in 2011 and 2019,” said Pompeo.The city of Hama, where Bashar’s father killed thousands during the Hama Massacre of 1982, was the site of some of the largest peaceful protests against the Syrian regime that broke out in 2011.President al-Assad ordered his forces to attack the city in July 2011, in a siege that killed at least 200 civilians.After eight years of war, the town of Maarat al-Numan was bombed by Syrian regime forces. The bombs hit a busy marketplace, killing 42 Syrian civilians.“There must be accountability and justice for the victims of Hama, Maarat al-Numan, and of the Assad regime’s other war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said Pompeo in the statement.“The Assad regime and those who support it have a simple choice: take irreversible steps toward a lasting political solution to end the Syrian conflict as called for by UNSCR 2254 or face new tranches of crippling sanctions,” he concluded.Read more:US to pull 11,800 troops from hub of Middle East operations: OfficialsCoronavirus: Saudi Arabian doctor who treated 513 COVID-19 patients tests positiveSyrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf says most of his employees are now detained
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Caesar Act: US sanctions Assad’s son and 13 other Syrian officials, entities

The news comes three months after the Southern Transitional Council announced self-rule in parts of southern Yemen.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Yemen’s southern separatists abandon self-rule to pursue power-sharing plan

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar asked US lawmakers today to abandon legislation that would sanction Ankara over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system that the House passed last week.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Intel: Turkish defense minister asks Congress to halt bill sanctioning Ankara

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is seeking to manage disparate political blocs to allow early electons.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iraqi government not giving up on early elections

Dubai has also updated its entry requirements for inbound travellers..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Dubai welcomes tourists from 30 countries