Middle East Experience

The ICC chief prosecutor's statement came in response to a May 27 request from the ICC Pretrial Chamber to clarify the status of the Oslo Accords and their impact on the war crimes probe.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: ICC Prosecutor: Israel war crimes probe can go on despite Oslo Accords

A field hospital in a northern Libyan village was targeted in an airstrike blamed on the UAE..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Libya's GNA accuse UAE of launching air strike on field hospital

There currently remain approximately 7,500 members of the community in Addis Ababa and Gondar, many of whom have been stuck there for many years awaiting immigration to Israel.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Activists step up campaign to bring remaining Falash Mura to Israel

A year and a half after her initial nomination, the Israeli government has finally approved the appointment of Amira Oron as ambassador to Egypt.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Israel confirms first woman ambassador to Egypt

Saudi Arabia reported on Monday 3,369 new coronavirus cases and 34 deaths, bringing the total number of infections in the Kingdom to 105,283 and the death toll to 746.The Kingdom also recorded 1,707 new recoveries, reaching a total of 74,524.The highest number of new infections was in Riyadh (746), followed by Jeddah (577) and Mecca (376).Sunday saw the first strike in Saudi cases, when the Kingdom recorded more than 3,000 within 24 hours for the first time.Coronavirus in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabian authorities moved to reimpose restrictions on the city of Jeddah from Saturday as the number of coronavirus cases continued to grow.The restrictions will prohibit movement in all areas of the city from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. and ban dining in restaurants and cafes.Workplace attendance will also be halted, with the restrictions are set to last until June 20.Elsewhere in the Kingdom, authorities have enacted a three-stage plan aimed at returning to normalcy.Read the latest coronavirus updates in our dedicated section.The Kingdom is currently in stage two of the plan, in which domestic travel between provinces is allowed and residents are able to move freely during non-curfew hours (6 a.m. to 8 p.m.).The suspension on workplace attendance has also been lifted, allowing all employees in ministries, government entities and private sector companies to return to working from their offices, given that they follow strict precautionary guidelines.However, the general guidelines do not apply to the city of Mecca, which remains on lockdown.Read more: Coronavirus: Psychopaths less likely to practice social distancing, study showsCoronavirus: Americans drinking bleach and washing food with disinfectants, finds CDCGulf malls delay mega-projects amid coronavirus slump
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia reports 3,369 new cases, 34 deaths

Iraq has signed an agreement with Iran to continue importing gas and electricity for two years.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iraq still committed to energy ties with Saudi Arabia, Gulf states despite Iran electricity deal

Qatar announced 1,368 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total in the country to 70,158.According to the Qatari Ministry of Health, 24,166 of the 70,158 total cases in the country are currently active cases.The ministry also reported three new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 57.An additional 1,597 people had recovered from the virus, added the health ministry, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 45,935.The small Gulf country said it tested 4,113 people in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests conducted since the beginning of the pandemic to 259,646.A total of 1,603 people are currently under acute hospital care, the health ministry reported, adding that 179 of them were admitted in the past 24 hours.Meanwhile, 19 new cases have been admitted to the ICU, bringing the total number of patients recieving treatment in ICUs to 241.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the appFor more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Read more:Coronavirus: UAE schools to restart with distance learning August 30, says ministerCoronavirus: Six people die from COVID-19 in Oman in one dayCoronavirus: Psychopaths less likely to practice social distancing, study shows
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Qatar announces 1,368 cases, 3 new deaths from COVID-19

Oman's death toll from the coronavirus jumped on Monday after officials announced that six people had died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.The six new deaths take the death toll from 75 to 81.The Omani Ministry of Health also reported 604 new cases, of which 344 are Omani citizens.The increase is slightly less than on Sunday, when authorities identified 866 new cases.The total number of cases in the sultanate is 17,486 as of Monday.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Read more: Coronavirus: UAE reports 540 new cases, one new death, after 44,000 testsCoronavirus: Saudi Arabia now has over 100,000 COVID-19 casesCoronavirus: New research suggests doctors are treating COVID-19 patients wrongly
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Six people die from COVID-19 in Oman in one day

Israel has intensified its measures in West Bank areas facing the threat of annexation at a time when Palestinians feel the imminence of the annexation project more than ever.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Jordan Valley Palestinians watch as Israel imposes authority ahead of looming annexation

People with psychopathic traits are less likely to practice adequate social distancing, thereby exposing others to risk of coronavirus infection, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed science journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.Social distancing policies have been in place since the onset of the virus, with authorities telling people to stay home and maintain adequate distancing with others when outside. There have, however, been numerous reports of people deliberately breaking social distancing measures, such as so-called “coronavirus parties” in the US.According to the journal study, people with psychopathic traits are more likely to be among those who broke the rules.“Dark traits (esp. psychopathy, meanness, and disinhibition) predicted low endorsement of health behaviors and the intent to knowingly expose others to risk,” Pavel Blagov, the study’s author, wrote in the report.Blagov noted that a person’s personality traits can help broadly predict their behavior toward public health messages and their actions during a pandemic.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app“Psychopathy and, to some extent, narcissism and Machiavellianism, predict not only antisocial tendencies (including aggression and violence), but also various health behaviors and outcome,” he wrote.Psychopathy can be understood as a range of characteristics revolving around a lack of empathy, and can include other characteristics, such as egocentricity, deceptiveness, and manipulativeness, Blagov wrote.These personality traits could lead those with so-called “dark traits” to willingly dismiss or act opposed to public health messages, and deliberately endanger others, the report said.The online study was conducted with 502 respondents who filled out a questionnaire between March 20 and March 23, 2020 on how they had complied with measures meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus. It also asked how they would act if they were infected, and assessed the respondent’s personality.“In planned and exploratory analyses, meanness and disinhibition (and overall psychopathy) as well as Machiavellianism (to a lesser extent) predicted lower intent for social distancing and hygiene. Together with boldness, the psychopathy traits predicted endorsement of risky, venturesome behavior (when participants were asked to imagine being disease carriers),” the report said.“Meanness and disinhibition (and overall psychopathy, but not boldness) predicted endorsement of behavior that puts others at risk of infection (knowingly, and perhaps deliberately). This corroborates the link between psychopathy and unethical everyday behavior.”Read more:Ramadan in coronavirus lockdown: Psychologists answer questions on mental health‘Communicate with the people you love’ while in coronavirus lockdown: PsychologistCoronavirus: Woman in California arrested for licking $1,800 worth of groceriesIranians caught licking Shia holy shrine amid coronavirus outbreak arrested
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Psychopaths less likely to practice social distancing, study shows