Reports | Center For Middle Eastern Studies

False reports: Qatar trying to erase UAE’s humanitarian efforts in Somalia

on: April 26, 2020

Doha has not only shed the blood of the people of Somalia through its support for terrorism in Africa, specifically its funding for what is known as Al-Shabaab movement as it has inci... Read more

Mullahs disregard public safety, to reopen religious shrines Sarah Waheed The Iranian regime is still sacrificing its people, making them bear the brunt of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak losses, only to preserve its own interests and schemes. Ahmad Marvi chief custodian of Astan Quds Razavi, the administrative organization which manages the Imam Reza shrine and various institutions which belong to the organization, said on April 17 that a guide has been prepared to reopen the country’s religious shrines. Iran’s death toll from the new virus rose on April 18 to reach 5,031, health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpour said on state TV. The total number of people diagnosed with the COVID-19 disease caused by the new virus reached 80,868, as the country recorded 1,374 new cases on the same date, the spokesman said. For his part, President Hassan Rouhani called on the Minister of Health to “form a team” to consider the possibility of establishing religious programs and establishing worship during the month of Ramadan in the provinces that enjoy a “stable state”, as he put it. While some measures have been taken to protect visitors – such as disinfecting holy shrines – there hasn’t been an outright closure of the sites for a long time. Some religious clerics believe the shrines, including the Masumeh shrine in Qom, have divine powers that can cure diseases. Millions of people visit the shrines every year, spending many hours praying near them, or kissing and touching them. After the outbreak of the virus in Iran, clerics and religious authorities strongly opposed the temporary closure of sites, including shrines, and did not agree to close them until late. Iran’s shrines draw Shiites from all over the Mideast for pilgrimages, likely contributing to the spread of the virus across the region. On March 3, 2020, some Iranian activists announced in a series of tweets that Iran’s failure to cancel religious sites caused a further outbreak of the pandemic. The activists explained that these shrines are one of the forms of occupation and the Persian presence on the ground, and the Iranian regime has exploited the Shiite religious shrines to achieve its political and economic goals. Vali Taymuri, Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s deputy in charge of tourism, has said that the cotronavirus epidemic will cost $200 million to the country’s tourism industry in three months. Iran had 7.8 million tourists from March 21, 2018 to March 20, 2019 with 93 percent from regional countries, the majority coming from Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the secretary of the airlines association told ILNA the coronavirus crisis will cost $200 million in damages to Iran’s airline industry until early April.

on: April 26, 2020

ءSarah Waheed The Iranian regime is still sacrificing its people, making them bear the brunt of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak losses, only to preserve its own interests and sche... Read more

France escalates security in anticipation of new stabbings

on: April 26, 2020

Nahla Abdel Moneim In light of the global corona virus pandemic and the occupation of states in limiting its negative effects, terrorist groups have been actively exploiting the organ... Read more

Kim Jong-un’s train possibly spotted at North Korean resort

on: April 26, 2020

A train thought to belong to Kim Jong-un has been spotted at his compound in a resort town on the country’s east coast, according to satellite images, amid conflicting reports about the Nort... Read more

German police arrest over 100 in Berlin during anti-lockdown protest

on: April 26, 2020

More than 100 people were on Saturday arrested by German police for flouting the coronavirus lockdown measures they were protesting against. People in Berlin and Stuttgart have taken to the... Read more

Donald Trump set to fall back on xenophobia with re-election plan in tatters

on: April 26, 2020

Donald Trump had been intending to run a re-election campaign based on a strong economy and a socialist opponent. Both have vanished in the past month. But the US president still has his ult... Read more

Far right hijack coronavirus crisis to push agenda and boost support

on: April 26, 2020

Far-right movements are exploiting the coronavirus crisis to push their anti-minority agendas and win new support. A report by Zinc Network, a communications agency that tracks disinformatio... Read more

Sainsbury’s top man steps down just as the panic-buying revenues roll in

on: April 26, 2020

Mike Coupe is preparing to deliver Sainsbury’s annual results on Thursday, his last presentation to investors as head of Britain’s second biggest supermarket chain. After almost six years at... Read more

Johnson faces lockdown dilemma as scientists warn over grim data

on: April 26, 2020

The number of new cases of Covid-19 being diagnosed is still much too high to allow any easing of the lockdown soon, leading scientists have warned, as the virus death toll in UK hospitals p... Read more

If ministers fail to reveal 2016 flu study they ‘will face court’

on: April 26, 2020

The government faces being taken to court if it refuses to disclose the findings of an exercise confirming the UK could not cope with a flu pandemic. Dr Moosa Qureshi, an NHS doctor, is dema... Read more

‘We did it to ourselves’: scientist says intrusion into nature led to pandemic

on: April 26, 2020

The vast illegal wildlife trade and humanity’s excessive intrusion into nature is to blame for the coronavirus pandemic, according to a leading US scientist who says “this is not nature’s re... Read more

Trump says briefings ‘not worth the effort’ amid fallout from disinfectant comments

on: April 26, 2020

After more than a month of near-daily White House coronavirus press briefings, Donald Trump stayed behind closed doors on Saturday after advisers reportedly warned the president that his app... Read more

UAE confirms 7 deaths, 532 new cases as testing surpasses 1 million

on: April 26, 2020

The United Arab Emirates confirmed seven more deaths due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, raising its total death toll to 71 as of Saturday, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.... Read more

Saudi Arabia partially lifts coronavirus curfew nationwide, Mecca lockdown remains

on: April 26, 2020

Saudi Arabia has partially lifted the curfew restrictions it imposed across the Kingdom starting on Sunday while maintaining a full lockdown on Mecca and previously isolated neighborhoods, a... Read more

Libyan crisis complicating security problems in Sahel and Sahara region

on: April 26, 2020

Ahmed Adel Rampant terrorism in Libya is complicating the security problems of the nearby Sahel and Sahara states. Terrorist groups active in Libya energize others operating in Sahel and the... Read more