Middle East Experience

"We had a period of euphoria," outgoing Health Ministry D-G Moshe Bar Siman Tov said. "Now we have received a wake up call."
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: In Israel, daily coronavirus rate spikes to 101 new cases

The European country will open up for tourists from Israel, Lebanon and several other European countries in June.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Greece to allow tourists from Israel, Lebanon

A State Department official said it is warning companies about doing oil-related business with Venezuela as the ships continue to arrive.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Fourth Iranian tanker reaches Venezuela as US ups pressure

Turkey may have gotten kudos for tipping the balance in Libya, but Russian countermoves raise the prospect of Turkish collaboration with Russia in the North African country, which is not to the liking of countries that have been giving plaudits to Ankara.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: What does Libya’s ‘Syrianization’ scenario mean for key actors?

Clashes between Syrian rebel groups in the northern city of Afrin left at least two children dead Thursday.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Reports: Children among the dead after Syrian rebels clash in Turkish-held Afrin

India will witness a spike in coronavirus cases after the current lockdown ends on May 31, and 50 percent of the country’s population is “likely to be infected with the virus” by end of December, a doctor and member of a COVID-19 task force said, according to a local media report.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Dr. V Ravi, head of neurovirology at the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), told New Indian Express that there will be community spread but 90 percent of those expected to be infected will not know they contracted the virus.“It’s only 5-10 percent of cases will have to be treated with high-flow oxygen and only 5 percent would require ventilator support,” Ravi is quoted by New Indian Express as saying.He also said states should be “fully geared up with medical infrastructure to handle the increase in cases, especially those which will require intensive medical care and treatment,” according to the report.Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to direct all states to “have at least two COVID-19 testing laboratories in each district.”India has so far confirmed 165,386 coronavirus cases, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, and recorded 4,711 deaths.Ravi said the country’s mortality rate ranged between 3 to 4 percent, with Gujarat recording the highest at 6 percent.“We will have to wait for the vaccine till March next year,” Ravi is quoted by New Indian Express as saying. “People will learn to live with COVID-19, with all necessary precautions and preventive measures.”India has a population of 1.3 billion, according to Countrymeters website.Read more:India’s Consulate in Dubai warns against repatriation flights scamsIceland’s mass testing finds half of coronavirus carriers show no symptomsCoronavirus outbreak in Indian market could cause swell in cases
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: 50 pct of India’s population could have virus by December, says expert

The COVID-19 coronavirus probably gains a foothold in the human body through the nose, according to a recently published study from researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.The study led by Richard Boucher and Ralph Baric examined how easily Sars-CoV-2, the technical name for the virus that causes COVID-19, affected different types of cells within the human body.Read the latest coronavirus updates in our dedicated section.It found that the most easily infected cells are within the nose. The results also showed that the ease of infection decreases moving down the respiratory tract, which connects the nose down to the lungs and is the primary target of the disease.The virus mainly enters the body through the Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), an enzyme which attaches itself to the outer cells of various organs including the lungs and heart. The mapping conducted by the North Carolina team found “the highest ACE2 58 expression in the nose with decreasing expression throughout the lower respiratory tract.”For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the appMuch remains unknownThe study will add to the growing body of research attempting to understand COVID-19, which has killed more than 360,000 people worldwide as of Saturday.It can be interpreted as adding to the case for wearing face masks as a preventative measure against the spread of coronavirus.However, much remains unknown about the virus.“The mode of acquisition and causes for the variable clinical spectrum of COVID54 19 remain unknown,” said the study.“The sites of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the upper airways (nose, oropharynx) and 220 lung (lower airways, alveoli) are under active investigation,” it added.Read more:Coronavirus: Diabetes leads to 1 in 10 dying in hospital within 7 days, finds studyCoronavirus: Death rate is only 0.05, epidemic is on its way out, says Oxford expertCoronavirus: US hospitals cut back use of hydroxychloroquine touted by Trump
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Most easily infected cells are within the nose, researchers say

New YorkThousands of protesters stormed the security perimeter of Barclays Center in New York as protests spread across the United States over the killing of George Floyd, a Minneapolis black man who died after being pinned by the neck under a white police officer's knee.Police made scores of arrests at Friday's massive demonstration in Brooklyn, loading cuffed protesters onto city buses lined up on Atlantic Avenue, shutting down a major thoroughfare.A diverse group of protesters cheered to hip hop music and tried to argue about police brutality with police officers in riot gear, who occasionally lunged into crowds to pluck people out for arrest after bottles and other projectiles were thrown.The demonstrators at a “We can't breathe” vigil and rally in lower Manhattan were pressing for legislation outlawing the police “chokehold” used by a city police officer in the 2014 death of Eric Garner, who was also black.AtlantaIn an impassioned speech, Bernice King, the youngest daughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., implored people to go home after more than 1,000 protesters marched to the state capitol from the Centennial Olympic Park, blocking traffic and an interstate highway along the way.“The only way we get what we really want is through non-violence,” Bernice King said in her father's hometown. “Let's do this the non-violent way to deal with the evil of our time.”King was assassinated in 1968, a year after race riots spread across many big cities.The Atlanta demonstration turned chaotic and at times violent. Fires were burning in downtown Atlanta near the CNN Center, the network's headquarters.At least one police car was among several vehicles burnt. Windows were smashed at the CNN building, along with store fronts. Police pushed back the crowd, but they hurled bottles at officers.MinneapolisHundreds of protesters defied an 8 p.m. curfew to gather in the streets around a police station burnt the previous night.“We are out here because we, as a generation, realize things have to change,” said one marcher, Paul Selman, a 25-year-old black man, who had just graduated with a master's degree in English from Minnesota State. “We need peace.”Peter McMahon, 26, a resident of the area around the police station and owner of two nearby properties, said, “This is my generation, and these are the people I went to high school with,” adding, “This is not a surprise. I have lost good friends over this Black Lives Matter shit.”DetroitHundreds in the automotive capital joined a “March Against Police Brutality” late in the afternoon outside the Detroit Public Safety Headquarters. Many chanted, “No justice, no peace.” Some carried signs that read, “End police brutality” and “I won't stop yelling until everyone can breathe.”A 19-year-old man protesting in the city was shot dead on Friday night by a suspect who pulled up to demonstrators in a sport utility vehicle and fired gunshots into the crowd, then fled, the Detroit Free Press and other local media reported. Police could not immediately be reached for comment.DenverDenver saw a second day of protests after hundreds marched peacefully through its downtown demanding justice for Floyd.HoustonHundreds gathered on Friday in a protest organized by the group Black Lives Matter at City Hall. The crowd spilled onto Interstate 45's entrance ramp near downtown chanting, “I can't breathe,” and “No justice, no peace.”LouisvilleAfter a night of violence in which at least seven people were shot, police in the Kentucky city braced for more protests over the killing of Floyd and several others, such as Breonna Taylor, shot by police in her Louisville home in March.Read more:Pentagon prepares US military police to deploy to MinneapolisCivil unrest rages in US over police killing of George FloydProtesters clash with riot police in US over racially charged killing of George Floyd
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Protests erupt across US after police killing of George Floyd

Saudi Arabia has recorded 1,618 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 83,384, the health ministry announced on Saturday.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Despite an increase in numbers, an additional 1,870 recovered, leaving the country with more recoveries than infections. A total of 58,883 individuals have recovered so far.The ministry also said that 22 people who had previously tested positive for the virus have died, raising the relatively low death toll to 480.Most of the newly detected cases were in Riyadh, Jeddah and Mecca, according to the health ministry's breakdown.Saudi Arabia has lifted some restrictions on movement for residents within the country and is now allowing travel between its provinces in a partial easing of its coronavirus lockdown, the Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday.Read more: Saudi Arabia’s measures to combat coronavirus since February: A timelineMore shops, including wholesale, retail and malls, will also be allowed to reopen in a further lifting of the lockdown restrictions, as long as all precautionary measures are adhered to.All activities that don't allow social distancing remain banned until further notice.As the Kingdom slowly eases restrictions, people are still urged to maintain social distancing, wear a mask while in public and avoid crowds in order to avoid contracting or spreading the virus.The virus has so far infected 5,945,737 people globally and has killed 365,368. Meanwhile, 2,507,354 people have recovered so far.Read more:Saudi Arabia sets guidelines for malls, industrial sector, as it reopensHere are the 10 guidelines as Saudi Arabia prepares to reopen mosquesSaudi Arabia opens Prophet’s Mosque in Medina to the public from May 31
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia records 1,618 new cases, 1,870 recoveries

Dubai, like many cities around the world, is trying to find a "new normal" as businesses reopen with restrictions.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Dubai reopens gyms, restaurants after months of closure