YouTube Introduces (and Retracts) Age Restriction to Al Jazeera Arabic Live Stream
May 19, 2021
Activists and media professionals have condemned attempts by social media platforms to control access to free and reliable content on the attacks by Israel on Palestine. On Wednesday morning, YouTube had, in the midst of this, added an age restriction to Al Jazeera Arabic’s live stream.
Al Jazeera reports that a message appeared on its Arabic YouTube page early on Wednesday, saying that its content may be inappropriate and that viewing the live stream required verification of the user’s age.
Earlier this month Facebook and Instagram were criticized for removing content and accounts sharing events in Sheikh Jarrah, the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood where Palestinian families are being forcibly dispossessed of their homes.
India Hit by Cyclone amid Coronavirus Crisis
May 18, 2021
CNN reports that India has been hit, amid the coronavirus crisis in the country, by the strongest storm on record to reach its west coast.
Tropical Cyclone Tauktae made landfall on Monday night in Gujarat. The state was hit with maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour. According to the Indian Meteorological Department it had, by Tuesday morning, weakened from an “extremely severe cyclonic storm” to a “severe cyclonic storm.”
At least 26 people across the coastal states of Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra were killed, from drowning at sea, collapsed houses, lightning strikes and other accidents as a result of Tauktae. Trees and power lines have been downed by ferocious winds, while highways were flooded by heavy rains.
Climbing Death Toll in Gaza, Occupied West Bank
May 15, 2021
Israel has hit a refugee camp in an airstrike killing at least 10 Palestinians, including eight children. Al Jazeera reports that bodies were still being pulled out from under the rubble on Saturday morning. Israel has been bombarding the Gaza Strip for six consecutive days now.
According to al Jazeera, Tamara Alrifai, director of strategic communications and spokeswoman at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the agency was “extremely shocked and devastated” at the news of the bombardment of the Shati refugee camp. She added, “What’s happening in Gaza cannot be disassociated with what’s happening in the West Bank, the protests and the indiscriminate use of force by the Israeli security forces that were the trigger for the events in Gaza and for what is now a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza”.
Emirates Suspends Further Flights from the East
May 10, 2021
The United Arab Emirates has suspended the entry of travelers from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal as part of safety measures against the spread of the coronavirus.
The Emirates National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority announced on Monday that the decision would be effective on Wednesday, May 12. Transit flights traveling to those countries were exceptions to the suspension. Travelers on these flights would, however, be required to submit proof of having been in those countries for not less than 14 days.
Also exempt are UAE citizens, those on diplomatic missions, official delegations, those traveling on business planes, and golden visa holders. Even they, however, will be required to undergo a PCR test at the airport upon arrival and quarantine for 10 days. Al Arabiya reports that additional PCR tests are required on the fourth and eighth days after entry into the Emirates.
Seychelles Refutes False Positive Accusations
May 09, 2021
The Seychelles Tourism Board has vehemently denied accusations that the local health authority had issued false positive COVID-19 tests to force tourists to prolong their time in the island nation. The tourism board said that “the initial reports alleging Seychelles was giving out inaccurate test results appeared in the Israeli press and on social media after some of their nationals tested positive upon their exit from the holiday destination.”
Chief executive, Sherin Francis, reiterated that interfering with the COVID tests would increase the nation’s statistics and reflect negatively on the destination. Francis, however, added that the Seychelles could not allow a guest to exit the country if he or she had tested positive, in compliance with international health and sanitary measures. Francis said, “Every guest testing positive during their stay has to quarantine for 10 days before being allowed to return home. T