- PoliticsEgypt Independent
Israel urges citizens to avoid Gulf, cites Iran threat
In recent months, Israel has signed agreements establishing diplomatic relations with Gulf Arab states of the UAE and Bahrain — its first normalization deals with Arab countries in a quarter century. The agreements, brokered by the Trump administration, have generated widespread excitement in Israel, and thousands of Israeli tourists are scheduled to travel to the UAE for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah this month. That may change following Thursday’s warning.
- NewsAl Jazeera
US discussing 'deal' allowing Huawei's CFO to return to China
The US Department of Justice is discussing a deal with Huawei Technologies chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou that would allow her to return home to China from Canada, where she was arrested on a US extradition warrant two years ago, in exchange for admitting wrongdoing, according to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters news agency. The criminal case relates to allegations that Meng breached US sanctions on Iran on Huawei’s behalf and has strained relations between China, Canada and the US.
- PoliticsArab News
People disabled by Beirut explosion stage protest
BEIRUT: People disabled by the Aug. 4 Beirut Port explosion staged a sit-in on Thursday to protest against “injustice, corruption and marginalization. The protest took place in the Basta Al-Tahta neighborhood, where a disabled 87-year-old man called Tawfiq Khawam had set himself alight due to the poverty and neglect he faced. Protesters said they did not want “another Tawfiq Khawam.
- PoliticsAl Jazeera
Ivanka Trump questioned as part of inauguration fund lawsuit
Ivanka Trump has been deposed by attorneys alleging that United States President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration committee misused donor funds, a new court filing reveals. The document, first reported by CNN Wednesday, notes that Ivanka Trump, the president’s oldest daughter and a senior White House adviser, was interviewed on Tuesday by attorneys from the Washington, DC attorney general’s office.
- PoliticsAl Jazeera
Saudi Arabia, Qatar near agreement in Gulf crisis: Sources
Qatar and Saudi Arabia are close to striking a preliminary agreement to end a dispute that has pitted the Gulf neighbours against each other for more than three years, sources told Al Jazeera. The expected deal comes after United States President Donald Trump’s adviser Jared Kushner arrived in the Gulf region as part of a last-ditch effort to resolve the Gulf crisis, before the Trump administration leaves office in January.
- PoliticsArab News
US imposes fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting individual, entity
BEIRUT: Lebanon is on the verge of not being able to feed itself, a British minister warned on Thursday, as the country’s financial crisis hikes poverty and inflation. James Cleverly, the Foreign Office minister for the Middle East, called it “a man-made problem which could have been prevented,” joining a chorus of voices who have blamed Lebanon’s ruling elite for failing to chart a path out of the crisis. Since last year, the unprecedented meltdown has crashed the currency and wiped out jobs.
- HealthAl Jazeera
Moderna plans to test COVID-19 vaccine on children
Moderna is planning to test the effects of its COVID-19 vaccine on children. Its study will include administering two doses of the vaccine within 28 days to 3,000 children aged 12 to 17. Earlier this week, the United Kingdom became the first country to grant emergency use to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, raising hopes of an end to the global pandemic, which has seen almost 65 million people infected and nearly 1.5 million deaths.
