The National • 20th January 2021

How the cost of Covid-19 testing varies around the world

As Covid-19 testing for travel becomes compulsory around the world, disparities in pricing, availability, speed and service levels remain significant. Residents returning to Dubai over the festive period report paying up to Dh900 for a Covid-19 PCR test, which added huge costs and logistical issues to their travel arrangements. Even within a single country, states and provinces can have different protocols and prices, making it difficult to plan this leg of a trip.

The National • 12th January 2021

Emirati businesswoman donates Dh1m to neonatal unit at West Bank hospital

The Emirati businesswoman and philanthropist, Muna Al Gurg, donated Dh1m to a neonatal intensive care unit in Jenin, a Palestinian city in the West Bank. The support is desperately needed in the occupied territories where newborns lack adequate access to specialised care. The project is being managed by the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, which has been working in the Palestinian territories for 25 years.

Al-Fanar Media • 8th January 2021

Artists in Saudi Arabia Gain New Recognition and Support

Five Saudi artists were recently chosen as winners of the first Misk Art Grant, claiming prizes worth more than $25,000 each. The new grants come as artists are gaining new visibility and recognition in a kingdom experiencing social and cultural changes, and they signal significant new support for the creative arts.

The Jerusalem Post • 6th December 2020

Israeli tourists in Dubai remain defiant in face of security threats

Despite security warnings, Israeli tourists continue to flood into Dubai with Flydubai, the United Arab Emirates’ first airline to offer direct routes, now adding a third daily flight between Dubai International and Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion starting December 10, due to the massive demand.

The National • 22nd November 2020

'It's not a cute way of saying you don't like mess': why OCD needs to be treated more seriously

Colloquially, the term OCD has come to refer to people who like things done “just so”, but experts say obsessive-compulsive disorder is misunderstood. They believe it’s often mocked and not taken seriously enough, given that in the World Health Organisation’s 2017 report Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders, anxiety disorders, of which OCD is one, are listed as “the sixth largest contributor to non-fatal health-loss globally”.

The Jerusalem Post • 18th November 2020

Emiratis unperturbed by fatwa banning them from prayers on Temple Mount

Emirati worshipers remain defiant in the face of a fatwa banning them from praying in al-Aqsa Mosque, claiming it is their religious right to do so. The fatwa was issued by the grand mufti of Jerusalem after the August announcement of normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel under the Abraham Accords.

The Jerusalem Post • 3rd November 2020

The Middle East is all eyes as America goes to the polls

The Middle East is watching – and waiting – as Americans go to the polls to decide who will lead them through the next four years.

The Jerusalem Post • 28th October 2020

Israel's behind-the-scenes ambassador to UAE - revealed

When Dr. Dan Shaham arrived in the UAE one year ago, little did he realize he would be a part of a history-making peace deal. The diplomat of 27 years has been in Abu Dhabi as the Head of Mission to IRENA, at the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency, as the only official Israeli diplomat in the Emirates, until now.

The Jerusalem Post • 19th October 2020

UAE anti-terror chief: We must pool resources with Israel to fight terror

The Abraham Accords, bringing normalization between Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, are a victory for defeating extremism in the Middle East, a counter-terror adviser to the UAE government has told The Jerusalem Post. A new approach was long overdue, and the time had come to finally acknowledge the central place of Jews and Christians in the region’s history, Dr. Ali al-Nuaimi said.

The Jerusalem Post • 13th October 2020

Iconic UAE-Israel peace image stirs antisemitism, online hate

Despite death threats, a barrage of hate, Nazi rhetoric and antisemitic backlash, Emirati Norah al-Awadhi has no regrets about posing in an image with her Israeli friend. It has become an icon of the historic Abraham Accords.

The Jerusalem Post • 7th October 2020

Beirut’s last synagogue at risk after severe damages following port blast

More than a place of worship, it is the final memory of a once-thriving community, which at its peak during the 1950s was around 15,000 strong.

Al-Fanar Media • 7th October 2020

UAE Education Ministry Closes 6 Universities, Puts Another 6 on Probation

The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Education has revoked the licenses of six universities and put another six on probation after it said the institutions failed to meet quality and accreditation standards. Several of the institutions affected by the clampdown are international branch campuses. Local observers see the regulatory move as a useful international signal that the U.A.E. takes education quality control seriously. (See a related article, “A Regional Survey: How Arab Countries

Business Traveller ME • 4th October 2020

Business Lunches: A taster of the region's best business lunches and brunches

As companies get back to some form of normality and many employees return to the office, at least part time, the region’s popular business lunch is back on the menu. Crucial to the business day, lunches are where deals are sealed, new contacts made, cultures shared and relationships developed.

The National • 1st October 2020

Why experts think the pandemic has contributed to a rise in plastic surgery

From lip fillers and liposuction to Botox and rhinoplasty, interest in cosmetic surgery is rising. A recent report published by PMC, a digital archive of medical texts held by the National Library of Medicine in the US, revealed a spike in searches for reconstructive surgical procedures since June and in early July. These reached and then surpassed the number of searches recorded at the start of the year, before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

The Jerusalem Post • 29th September 2020

Bahrain’s lost Jews look forward to returning after peace with Israel

Bahrain’s dwindling community of less than 50 Jews has been offered a new lease on life in the wake of the signing of this month’s historic Abraham Accords, with many in Israel anxious to reconnect to their homeland.

The Telegraph • 20th September 2020

Gulf Jews savour peace deal allowing them to live openly - and eat kosher

And the changes are affecting business life in Dubai too. Alex Peterfreund, a Belgian diamond and jewellery specialist, can now ship goods to Tel Aviv for the first time, a key market, as well as call family in Israel, which until August was banned. He believes the Orthadox Jewish tradition, to which he is aligned, will grow "considerably". So much so, his community is preparing to open its own synagogue on the man-made Palm Jumeirah island, and bring its own rabbi. He calls it “a development

Al-Fanar Media • 20th September 2020

Despite Controversy, Emirati-Israeli Research Cooperation Has Kicked Off

Ben Hayum envisages that the areas of primary interest for the U.A.E. will be food technology and agriculture, medical technology, water and energy. “On all these we have quite a lot to contribute,” he says, but the Emirates also have an interest in developing infrastructure for research and development, “so what I’m suggesting is co-R&D,” he says.

The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com • 7th September 2020

UAE market awaits deals with Israel

Weeks since news of the normalization of ties between the UAE and Israel was announced, businesses on both sides have been frantically planning and exploring investment opportunities between the two newly connected nations.

Hadara Magazine • 31st August 2020

Khorfakkan – A Road Trip

Parallel to work to showcase history is a bold move to usher in the modern. Edgy street art is popping up, notably around the new corniche. A striking 40-metre-long ocean-inspired piece by Dubai-based artist Dina Saadi is the largest mural she has painted.

The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com • 27th August 2020

Dubai’s Jews ready for growth spurt following Israel normalization deal

At just 27 years old, Rabbi Levi Duchman has big shoes to fill. The Brooklyn-born Chabad rabbi in the United Arab Emirates has been helping to quietly build a Jewish community, which this month was able to emerge from its humble shadows.