Middle East Experience

Some officials say that a joint American-Israeli strategy is evolving — some might argue regressing — to a series of short-of-war clandestine strikes..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Long-Planned and Bigger Than Thought: Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Program

The United Arab Emirates launched its new government structure, in line with its response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, on Sunday.The plan merges several significant ministries and agencies to increase flexibility, announced Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.“The aim ... is a government that can more quickly make decisions and deal with changes and more adeptly seize opportunities in dealing with this new stage in our history; a swift and agile government,” Sheikh Mohammed said.The new changes for the UAE government:Fifty percent of all government service centers will be converted into digital platforms within two years.Fifty percent of federal authorities will be merged or added to government ministries within two years.Abdullah al-Marri has been appointed as the new economy minister.Within the Ministry of Economy, there are now three other senior ministerial roles. Abdullah bin Touq is the Minister of Economy, Ahmed Belhoul is the Minister of State for Business and SMEs, and Dr Thani al Zeyoudi is the Minister of State for Foreign Trade,A new Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology has been created, with the head of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC, Sultan al-Jaber, as minister.The Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Infrastructure have been merged to form the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. This new portfolio will be headed by current energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei.The National Media Council and the Federal Youth Foundation have been merged with the Ministry of Culture to form the Ministry of Culture and Youth.Noura Al Kaabi will be the new Minister of Culture and Youth, with Shamma Al Mazrouei as Minister of State for Youth.The UAE's state news agency WAM has been brought under the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, while a new UAE Government Media Office has been created. The office will report to the Cabinet and oversee both domestic and international media communications for the UAE.Developing.UAE responds to coronavirusThe new structure had previously been announced by Sheikh Mohammed during a remote UAE government meeting.This announcement came after Sheikh Mohammed discussed the country's plans to review the structure and size of its government in May.The UAE has recorded over 50,000 cases of coronavirus as of Saturday, a relatively low number in comparison to some of its regional neighbors.The country ranks highly in terms of its testing and tracing program.Read more: Coronavirus risk: Bars, music concerts, sports, religious services are highest danger
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE launches new government structure for COVID-19 plans

Saudi Arabia's coronavirus infections have passed 200,000 and neighboring United Arab Emirates 50,000, with the number of new cases climbing after the Arab world's two largest economies fully lifted curfews last month.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Restrictions had been in place in both countries since mid-March and their gradual lifting has allowed commercial businesses and public venues to reopen.Other Gulf countries have also moved to ease restrictions, although Kuwait has maintained a partial curfew and Qatar, Bahrain and Oman did not impose one at all.Saudi Arabia, which has the highest count among the six Gulf states, reported more than 4,100 cases on Friday and on Saturday to take its total to 205,929, with 1,858 deaths. The daily tally first rose above 4,000 in mid-June but had dipped.The United Arab Emirates, where daily infection rates recently dropped to between 300 and 400 from a peak of some 900 in late May, registered more than 600 cases on Friday and over 700 on Saturday, taking its toll to 50,857, with 321 deaths.Dubai, the region's business and tourism hub is due to reopen to foreign visitors on July 7, although this has not been implemented at a federal level in the UAE, which does not provide a breakdown of cases for each of its seven emirates.Qatar, which has the second highest regional infection rate, has seen its daily case numbers fall from a peak of more than 2,000 in late May to around 500 on Saturday, bringing it near to 100,000 cases in total.In Oman, the health minister warned on Thursday that there had been a disturbing surge in infections in the last six weeks and urged people to comply with health measures.Iran, the epicenter for the disease in the Middle East with a total infection count of 237,878 and 11,408 deaths as of Saturday, has imposed new curbs to halt the spread of the virus.Read more:Coronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia ranks at high risk: Experts’ COVID-19 mapUAE set to announce new government structure: Dubai rulerCoronavirus: Dubai Tourism shares travel industry outlook ahead of tourists’ return
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia, UAE COVID-19 cases rise after lockdowns lifted

The United Arab Emirates recorded 683 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, a slight decrease on the 716 new cases it reported on Saturday.Three more people died from COVID-19 over the last 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health, bringing the death toll to 321.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.The new cases were detected after authorities carried out 71,000 tests over the last day, added the ministry.The total number of cases is now 50,857, after crossing the 50,000 mark on Saturday.Read more:Coronavirus: Qatar reports 616 new cases, ranked highest risk by COVID-19 mapCoronavirus: Saudi Arabia, UAE COVID-19 cases rise after lockdowns liftedCoronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia ranks at high risk: Experts’ COVID-19 mapUAE rise in cases due to "community spread"According to a new COVID-19 level risk map developed by teams at Harvard’s Global Health Institute and Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, the spread of coronavirus in the UAE is primarily due to "community spread."This term refers to when a virus freely spreads through a population through contact with an infected person, and is the mid-level ranking of risk according to the experts who devised the map.Saudi Arabia is ranked orange, while Qatar and Bahrain are two of the most at risk countries, with a red level risk.The risk levels determine the severity of an outbreak in a given country based on the number of new daily reported cases.Read more: New coronavirus mutation may make COVID-19 spread faster, says Fauci
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE records 683 COVID-19 cases, slight decrease on previous day

Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that it will extend expatriate visas and residency permits for another three months free of charge, according to a Ministry of Interior statement.The decision is aimed at supporting the Kingdom's efforts in mitigating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on individuals, businesses, the private sector and investors, and on economic activities.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.According to the official Saudi Press Agency, the extension of the validity on the following visas has been approved:- The validity of final exit visas for expatriates has been extended free of charge.- The validity of expired Residence Permit (Iqama) for expatriates who are outside the Kingdom on an exit and return visa, which expired during the period of which entry and exit were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended for a period of three months free of charge.- The validity of unused exit and return visas for expatriates that expired during the period of travel suspension has been extended for a period of three months free of charge.- Exit and return visas for all expatriates who are outside the Kingdom, which expired during the coronavirus travel ban, have been extended for a period of 3 months free of charge.- Residence permits (Iqama) for expatriates who are inside Saudi Arabia and had arrived on a visit visa that expired during the travel ban period, have been extended for a period of 3 months free charge.An interior ministry source said that these exceptions are “subject to continuous follow-up and change according to need,” SPA reported.On Thursday, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz ordered the extension of a number of government initiatives to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on economic activities and the private sector.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Read more:Saudi Arabia’s King Salman extends COVID-19 help to aid private sectorSaudi Arabia records 3,580 new COVID-19 cases, total reaches 209,509Saudi Arabia, UAE COVID-19 cases rise after lockdowns lifted
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia extends expat visas, residency permits for three months

More than 700 Australian academics and artists have signed a letter calling on Canberra to publicly oppose Israeli plans to annex large parts of the West Bank..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Hundreds of Australian artists, academics call for halt to Israel's annexation plans

Saudi Arabia has recorded 3,580 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 209,509, the health ministry announced on Sunday.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.The city of Riyadh saw the highest number of new infections, followed by Taif with the second most.The Kingdom’s death toll reached 1,916 after 58 new fatalities were recorded over the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry.Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries has reached 145,236 after 1,980 individuals who had previously tested positive for the virus recovered.A total of 62,357 cases remain active in Saudi Arabia with 2,283 in critical conditions. The Kingdom has administered 1,874,327 tests as of July 5.Saudi Arabia saw an increase in infections after lifting curfew and lockdowns last month. Restrictions that were implemented in an effort to slow the spread of the deadly virus were gradually eased allowing commercial businesses and public venues to reopen.The Kingdom has the highest number of COVID-19 cases among the six Gulf states, followed by Qatar with the second highest number.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Read more:Saudi Arabia, UAE COVID-19 cases rise after lockdowns liftedCoronavirus outbreak in Saudi Arabia ranks at high risk: Experts’ COVID-19 mapCoronavirus risk: Bars, music concerts, sports, religious services are highest danger
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia records 3,580 new COVID-19 cases, total reaches 209,509

Cohen was due to finish a five-year term in January 2021, and has now been extended through June 2021.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Mossad head’s short-term extension points to politics, not Iran

In today's roundup: Egyptian actor Ragaa al-Geddawy dies after contracting the COVID-19, Iran and Morocco report new record one-day virus death toll and the Gulf sees a spike in infections..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: The Middle East at war with coronavirus: Top stories from 5 July

The reaction in the Toronto and wider Canadian Jewish community has been fierce.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Toronto eatery dishes out antisemitic theories, store vandalized by JDL