Tag Archives: coronavirus

Researchers and collaborators from the Salk Institute collaborators show how the spike protein damages cells, confirming COVID-19 as a primarily vascular disease.Scientists have known for a while that SARS-CoV-2’s distinctive “spike” proteins help the virus infect its host by latching on to healthy cells. Now, a major new study shows …

During a private audience in the Vatican with Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, Pope Francis on Thursday confirmed that he wants to visit the country as soon as possible. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told a press briefing attended by Arab News that the pope “reiterated his closeness to the Lebanese …

A haven for humans craving furry feline company, a cat cafe in Dubai also doubles as an adoption centre for some of the United Arab Emirates’ many strays. The Ailuromania Cat Cafe, which was the Middle East’s first cat cafe when it opened in 2015, hopes the relaxing properties of …

U.S. President Joe Biden made a long-awaited first phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday after a delay that had seen Washington deny it was snubbing Israel’s leader. There had been speculation that the Democratic president was signaling displeasure over Netanyahu’s close ties with former President Donald …

The World Health Organization’s special envoy on COVID-19 urged world leaders earlier this month to reconsider ‘using lockdowns as the primary control method’ of battling Covid-19. After first creating global panic by putting the Covid-19 mortality rate higher than 3 percent and urging governments in an unprecedented move to lockdown …

The White House has asked U.S. government agencies for extensive details of any funding that seeks to counter China’s global influence and business practices, or supports Beijing, amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing. According to an Aug. 27 White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) document seen by …

Republicans made the case for President Donald Trump to be re-elected in November in the Republican National Convention on Monday night.The party made pointed attacks against Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, warning of a grim future under his leadership. Unlike the Democratic Party’s convention, which was held entirely online because …

Wuhan is probably one of the last places on earth where you would expect to see a massive techno pool party taking place. Just a few days ago thousands of people gathered at the Wuhan Maya Beach Water Park for a wild music festival, with no face masks or social …

Coronavirus has changed the lives of people around the world. Staying safe from this contagious disease has become a priority. Gradually, people are also learning to follow a lifestyle that minimizes the risk of spread. Since social distancing and quarantining is an inseparable part of our new life, it will …

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck back on Sunday at demonstrations calling for his resignation, accusing protesters of trampling democracy and the Israeli media of encouraging them. Netanyahu, who was sworn in for a fifth term in May after an election, has often complained of press bias against him, and some …

Sixteen people have been caught and fined SR10,000 ($2,666) each in the past week for violating a ban on entry into the holy sites, according to the Saudi Public Security spokesman. Hajj pilgrims are to self-quarantine to ensure their compliance with confinement before heading to the holy sites, the Saudi …

The Egyptian regime has reacted in an unexpected way to the global pandemic—with civilian, technocratic, and expert bodies leading the way and even some (admittedly officially patrolled) political debate being allowed to emerge. Does this portend a real change in Egyptian governance, and if so, why, what kind, and will …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China on Thursday and said Washington and its allies must use “more creative and assertive ways” to press the Chinese Communist Party to change its ways, calling it the “mission of our time.” Speaking at the Nixon Library in President …

France told Lebanon on Thursday that it had no option but to accept an IMF deal to help it out of a dire financial crisis and that Beirut must enact reforms urgently if it is to win foreign aid. Lebanon desperately needs such aid as it wrestles with a financial …

Tunisian demonstrators shut an oil pumping station that feeds a coastal terminal on Thursday, escalating weeks of protests for jobs in the marginalized southern region of Tatouine, witnesses told Reuters. The move places further pressure on Tunisian leaders already struggling with political deadlock following the resignation on Wednesday of prime …

Lebanon on Sunday hosted its annual famous music festival in the ancient northeastern city of Baalbek without an audience. The unprecedented move was dubbed by the organisers as “an act of cultural resilience” to the global coronavirus pandemic as well as the country’s unprecedented economic crisis. By Arthur Blok Held …

06 Jul 2020 This story first appeared as an MEI Insight A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox. Resolving the tug of war in the Middle East will require a backing away from approaches that treat conflicts as zero-sum games, and engagement by all regional and external players. …

On an average day, US President Donald Trump sends about 14 posts to the 28 million Facebook followers of his campaign account. His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, delivers about half that many posts to an audience of just 2 million. The numbers are similarly skewed in other spheres of the …

Almost 7 billion euros were pledged today to support war-torn Syria at a donor conference in Brussels. Around 60 countries and international agencies gathered to drum up financial aid for the Arab nation as the corona-virus and economic chaos wreak even more havoc in a country shattered by a conflict …

The United Arab Emirates can work with Israel on some areas, including fighting the new coronavirus and on technology, while still having political differences with the state, a senior official said on Tuesday. Addressing a conference of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) advocacy group, minister of state for foreign affairs …

Iraq affirmed its commitment to the OPEC+ oil production cut deal but asked the group to take into consideration the members’ economic situation in sharing the burden of future cuts, Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi said on Sunday. “We are seeking to set new rules in future over sharing burden …

The International Monetary Fund on Friday said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt for a one-year, $5.2 billion standby loan to help the North African country grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. The agreement, which must be finalized by the Fund’s executive board, would …

OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC Russia have agreed a preliminary deal to extend existing record oil output cuts by one month while raising pressure on countries with poor compliance to deepen their cuts, OPEC+ sources told Reuters. However, there was no agreement yet on whether to hold an OPEC+ …

Norway, which chairs a group of international donors to the Palestinians, urged Israel on Tuesday not to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. Norway heads the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), which met on Tuesday, partly to discuss Israel’s plan to extend its sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the …

U.S. immunotherapy company Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc (INO.O) on Wednesday said its experimental vaccine to prevent coronavirus infection was shown to produce protective antibodies and immune system responses in mice and guinea pigs. The company’s shares, which have more than quadrupled this year, surged 17.7% to $17.13 in trading before the …

Defying the badly predicted odds from self-assuming ‘experts’ and most mainstream media so-called pundits yet again, Bali proves to be a healthy safe-haven in the world of global viral outbreaks once more. By Joshuahn Jackstonburg This happened during the Asian Flu, SARS, MERS and Zika Virus, and has always been …

People all around the globe are currently directly, or indirectly, affected by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The Levant News publishes voices from a wide variety of people with different backgrounds. After stories from the Netherlands, Lebanon and Italy today Mohammed Hussein Aldosari writes from Saudi Arabia. The Covid-19 crisis and …

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered meat processing plants to stay open to protect the nation’s food supply even as workers got sick and died. Yet the plants have increasingly been exporting to China while U.S. consumers face shortages, a Reuters analysis of government data showed. Trump, who is in an …

Yemeni authorities declared Aden, interim seat of the Saudi-backed government, an “infested” city on Monday after the number of coronavirus cases there jumped and clashes erupted elsewhere in the south between separatists and government forces. A five-year war has shattered Yemen’s health system, pushed millions to the brink of famine …

Saudi Arabia’s government is suspending the cost of living allowance and raising the value added tax (VAT) threefold, as part of measures aimed to shore up state finances, which have been battered by low oil prices and the coronavirus. “Cost of living allowance will be suspended as of June first, …

Humanity is imprisoned by the Covid-19 pandemic. People are being arrested for walking together in a park, or sitting with more than three persons in one car. Economies are collapsing, and it will be a matter of weeks before millions of people around the globe will start rioting for food. …

In times of crisis and panic, going against the flow is seen by many as inconvenient. This is precisely the case in the current Covid-19 pandemic where people who dare to oppose the official information coming from institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and other local health institutions …

Antibodies from Winter, a 4-year-old llama with great eyelashes, have neutralized coronavirus and other infections in lab experiments. Some scientists hope she might be an important figure in the fight against the coronavirus. Winter is not a superpowered camelid, she was simply the lucky llama chosen by researchers in Belgium, …

Kim Jong-un finally emerged back onto the world stage earlier this week after a 20-day absence, which led to much speculation about his health and well-being. The weeks of speculation about the North Korean dictator’s health brought home an alarming fact: no one really knows who will control North Korea …

Humanity is imprisoned by the Covid-19 pandemic. People are being arrested for sitting on a bench in a park, or hiking with friends in nature. Economies are collapsing, and it will be a matter of weeks before millions of people around the globe will start rioting for food. Mainstream media …

The Trump administration stepped up assertions that the coronavirus originated at a laboratory in Wuhan, adding more fuel to a point of tension between the U.S. and China. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said he also has seen “enormous evidence” that Covid-19 virus originated in a laboratory in …

People all around the globe are currently directly, or indirectly, affected by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The Levant News publishes voices from a wide variety of people with different backgrounds. After stories from the Netherlands, Lebanon and Italy today Saleh Abdulwahed writes from the Saudi capital Riyadh. While driving through …

Dutch pollster and data-analyst Maurice de Hond exposed a relationship between the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the weather (especially specific humidity). Which can be found here. In his second contribution to The Levant News he elaborates how aerosols play an important role in the infection with the virus. …

As the world faces a spiraling daily commercial downturn that is faster and deeper than any since World War 2, the singular entity of Bali – Earth’s most photographed island – has felt it more than anywhere. By Joshuahn Jackstonburg Due to the almost total reliance on business via foreign …

Oil and gas exporter Algeria plans to develop other natural resources including uranium, gold and phosphate with the help of foreign investors after the end of the health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Friday. The North African country’s economy still relies heavily on energy …

A patent has been granted by the UAE Ministry of Economy for the development of an innovative and promising treatment for COVID-19 infections using stem cells. The treatment was developed by a team of doctors and researchers at the Abu Dhabi Stem Cell Center (ADSCC) and involves extracting stem cells …

In his book Plagues and Peoples historian William Hardy McNeill uses two concepts to describe the impact of diseases on humankind. One are the micro-parasites: the bacteria, viruses and other invisible lifeforms that cause disease. The other are the macro-parasites: the rulers, states and conquerors that impose taxes on subjects, …

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he believes China’s handling of the coronavirus is proof that Beijing “will do anything they can” to make him lose his re-election bid in November. In an interview in the Oval Office, Trump talked tough on China and said he was looking at different …

People all around the globe are currently directly, or indirectly, affected by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The Levant News publishes voices from a wide variety of people with different backgrounds. After stories from the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and Italy today George Labaki writes from the mountains of Lebanon. As a …