TheRegion
Iran taking advantage of international inaction, says analyst
•Abu
Dhabi’s Music and Arts Foundation is hosting the 18th edition of the Abu Dhabi Festival titled, “The Future Starts Now.” The hybrid program combines virtual and in-person performances, exhibitions, and events.
•The
“Revival” art exhibition by Tom Young is still ongoing until
April 14 in Saida, Lebanon. The painter’s works are on display at the ancient Hammam Al-Jadeed bathhouse in the city’s old souq and depict defining moments in Lebanese history.
•Dubai’s
Expo 2020 continues to welcome visitors in the Terra pavilion. Visitors can experience a glimpse of the international event coming up in October through the sustainability pavilion. It will remain open to the public until April 10.
•The
Ramallah Art Fair continues in Palestine. The exhibition was organized in cooperation with 26 Palestinian artists. The latest edition features works created recently or produced specifically for the fair by the artists. The exhibition runs until March 4.
The US condemnation of the Houthi attack on Jazan “makes no difference” to the Iran-backed militia’s behavior as the group should be recognized as a terrorist organization, a Saudi political analyst said.
“Previous condemnations against Iran and its militia failed to stop them from what they wanted to do,” Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri, who is also an international relations scholar, told Arab News.
The US Embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday condemned the latest missile attack by the Houthis targeting a border village in the Jazan region in southwestern Saudi Arabia, in which five civilians were injured. “We call on the Houthis to stop attacking innocent civilians and to engage in the diplomatic process to end this conflict,” the embassy said.
Al-Shehri said that if the US was serious in its denunciations, then the administration should have kept the Houthis on its terrorist list: “That is the least it can do, let alone being an ally to the Kingdom.” “On the international level, lifting the ‘terrorist’ designation imposed on the Houthis was like giving them the green light to continue in their terror activities as if they were not harmful, terrorist acts,” Al-Shehri said.
He expects more than words of condemnation from the US as Saudi Arabia has been on the receiving end of several Houthi attacks.
“The problem with the new US administration is that it knows quite well where dangers and problems are,” Al-Shehri said.
He said Iran is keen to “heat up” the region and the increasing Houthi attacks on the Kingdom reflect that.
“Regionally, Iran is taking advantage of the current unrest and instability in the region for the benefit of its nuclear project,” he said. “The plan is being led by the military ruler of the Houthis, Hassan Irlu, who is now in Sanaa.” The Houthis are under pressure in Marib and they are trying to use all ballistic missiles, military projectiles and drones against the civilians, Al-Shehri said.
“Iran is to be blamed, not the Houthis,” he said.
“The international community that is watching silently is also responsible for the terror acts by the Houthi militia, which has turned against the country’s legitimate government.”
UN Resolution 2216 acknowledges the legitimacy of the Yemeni government, but Al-Shehri said: “It has not even been implemented. Nor has it brought peace and stability to Yemen or the region.” Meanwhile, the joint coalition forces on Tuesday night intercepted and destroyed a booby-trapped drone launched by the Houthi militia. “It was (sent) in a systematic and deliberate manner to target civilians and civilian objects in the southern region,” Brig. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Coalition to Support Legitimacy, said in a statement to SPA.
On the international level, lifting the ‘terrorist’ designation imposed on the Houthis was like giving them the green light to continue in their terror activities. Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri
Political analyst
We are providing assistance to our fellow citizens, which we consider a duty, not a favor.
Saleh Al-Sodmi Co-founder
A group of recruitment experts in Saudi Arabia have joined forces to launch a jobs initiative via a popular new audio-only app.
The six volunteers have been giving up three hours a day to speak with job seekers on the Clubhouse social networking platform which is rapidly becoming a go-to staging post for connecting users with the country’s employers.
The team’s Employment Forum Initiative chat room aims to help link people with recruitment specialists and businesses throughout the Kingdom.
The forum is among a number of rooms set up on Clubhouse — that in recent weeks has been among the top three most popular social media apps in Saudi Arabia and worldwide — to discuss labor market needs, job interview techniques, freelancing opportunities, and other employmentrelated issues.
One of the forum’s founders, Saleh Al-Sodmi, told Arab News: “We are a group of volunteers representing ourselves in this initiative where we united our love of giving and compassion to help people. We are providing assistance to our fellow citizens, which we consider a duty, not a favor.”
Al-Sodmi and his colleagues all work in the human resources and recruitment sector but have been sacrificing their time on a daily basis to help Clubhouse users in their hunt for jobs.
During the first five days of the initiative, the group helped more than 20 people to find employment and numerous others to get job interviews, and Al-Sodmi expected more success stories as the app’s network of HR and recruitment specialists grew.
“It began with two young sisters who were looking for a job and started a room in Clubhouse for that purpose. Gradually many people within the recruitment field joined, and we agreed to carry on such meetings on a daily basis,” he said.
Between 700 and 1,000 users have been attending the group’s forums in recent days, and numbers are increasing. According to a new report by mobile data and analytics firm App Annie, the Clubhouse app has grown from having more
than 3.5 million global downloads in February 2020 to reaching 8.1 million by Feb. 16 this year. Al-Sodmi added: “This initiative has shown how people love good and giving. Personally, all I want in return is an honest prayer. We can always help. Even when we do not have the proper job for the job seeker, we can still offer advice on how to improve their chances or overcome concerns.”
Maryam Saleh, a Clubhouse user, told Arab News: “I am truly fascinated with the idea, and I appreciate the moderators’ commitment to giving three hours of their time or sometimes more to help others.
“I found out about it from my friend; I hope it grows further and helps young people to get the opportunities they deserve, especially those, like me, who graduated in these difficult times amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.”
Al-Sodmi said Clubhouse had helped users reach out to a wider audience and connect with people that were not as easily accessible via social media platforms.
“For instance, Clubhouse allowed the influencers’ privilege to dissolve and helped the different groups of societies to truly mingle amongst themselves and talk to each other.
“We have seen artists, economists, and CEOs connecting and interacting with the public easily and comfortably,” he added. Hanan bin Fantokh, another volunteer recruitment specialist within the employment initiative, told Arab News that the platform has helped save recruiters’ time finding candidates and conducting initial interviews.
“It has also helped people break through their fear barrier by allowing them to introduce and market themselves publicly. It also helped many enhance their dialogue and persuasion skills. “On the jobs front, many have started getting interviews, and some have signed contracts. However, the availability of jobs is less than the number of job seekers,” she added.
A land route for passengers linking Egypt, Jordan and Iraq will improve transport options for workers and students, according to Cairo and Amman.
Kamel El-Wazir, Egyptian minister of transport, and Amjad Adaileh, Jordan’s ambassador in Cairo, said that the land transport link between the three countries — starting from Cairo and continuing through Amman to Baghdad — will cost $130 per passenger, including the ferry price between the ports of Nuweiba and Aqaba.
During a meeting in Cairo, they discussed ways to support trade between Egypt and Jordan by overcoming hurdles faced at arrival ports, and facilitating the transfer of Egyptian products to Jordan and from there to other Arab countries such as Iraq and Syria.
They also discussed the need to develop the Arab Bridge Maritime Company owned by Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, and open markets to serve the trade movement between the three nations and East African countries.
The land route aims to encourage the movement of Egyptian labor to these countries, and the movement of students and scholars from Iraq and Jordan to Egypt.
Reservations in Egypt can be made through the Arab Union Superjet Company.
Prof. Sharon Peacock told The Independent newspaper that experts had yet to see “the full extent of the evolution” of the virus that causes COVID-19, highlighting the recent emergence of new variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil.
The three all carry similar developments to their spike proteins — affecting their ability to latch onto human cells — most likely driven by increasing levels of human immunity and exacerbated by social distancing measures which, Peacock said, were a sign of “convergent evolution,” suggesting the virus was getting stronger in a bid to increase its own circulation.
“Lots of mutations have just lit up almost at the same time, which is really fascinating,” she added. “It seems to me that around November (2020) there’s been a very high number of cases combined with a partially resistant population, which has led to this natural selection and convergent evolution.” The E484K mutation, found in the Brazilian and South African variants’ spike proteins, is thought to help the virus evade antibodies from the immune system, which have raised fears over the efficacy of a series of new vaccines to adequately deal with them.
The N501Y mutation, meanwhile, is found in all three main new variants, and is thought to aid transmissibility.
But Peacock said mutation does not necessarily mean the virus will continue to strengthen. “It’s likely that the virus will also be constrained by certain configurations of mutations, after which it could lose fitness and it would not be able to outcompete others,” she added.
“There’s quite a lot of mutations we don’t really understand yet but are probably quite important that we’re really not talking about that much. There’s also probably lots more out there at the moment but we’re not sequencing (enough to detect them).
“I don’t think we’ve seen the full extent of the evolution of the virus and what it can possibly do. The last few months, it’s like the time before variants and then the time of variants. Our whole mindset has been changed by that.”
Despite the uncertainty over the evolution of the virus, Peacock said she remains optimistic about humanity’s ability to deal with it in the future.
“I’m very positive about vaccination. It might not completely eliminate reinfection, but because it reduces infection and reduces transmission, then we’re getting into a better ballpark,” she said. “It’s not going to switch (the virus) off, which is why we’ll never get rid of it, but I think it’s very positive,” she added.
“Is it possible that a variant could emerge which is a really tough nut to crack? It could, but we’ve got sequencing and we’ve got very good vaccine strategies. My sense is that we can keep ahead of it.” Prof. Eleanor Riley, an immunologist at the University of Edinburgh, described coronavirus as “walking a bit of a tightrope” in terms of its evolutionary progress. “Any mutation has to help it avoid existing antibodies but also retain that ability to fit our cells, so there will be some kind of constraints on how much that spike protein can vary to avoid our immune system while still being a very good fit for our cells,” she told The Independent.
“I think we don’t have an idea yet how much tolerance there is in that trade-off. I think over the next few months, we’ll start to see how much the virus can still vary.”
I don’t think we’ve seen the full extent of the evolution of the virus and what it can possibly do. The last few months, it’s like the time before variants and then the time of variants. Our whole mindset has been changed by that.
Prof. Sharon Peacock
Head of the UK’s genetic surveillance program