Items

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  2021-11-01

  my unplanned graduate studies journey

  My story happened precisely a month after our national lockdown in Saudi Arabia, which was in March 2020, at that time I was applying for a scholarship to continue my higher education degree anywhere in the West, either in The UK or The United States, so my dream began to almost vanish after applying for one of the UK universities and they asked for an IELTS score, though I told them IELTS centers were shut down in Saudi Arabia at that time, unfortunately, they just assumed I had no other alternative rather than sticking with that condition! no exceptions! no mercy in another word you could say! though I have provided them with a very recent IELTS score very close to the overall score they asked for, I even begged them and asked them for any alternative test they could provide me since I explained to them the situation that no IELTS / TOFEL venues were open! , they just put me down and made me search for another option, which was Pitt one of the top PA or even nationwide universities to provide with accredited graduate Master of Library and Information Science. luckily when I applied they pre-accepted my application and they gave me an option which I never thought about it as a way of such a good university as Pitt would accept it, since that kind of online test was newly launched. so I fought a lot to get that offer letter to provide it to the scholarship provider as I had little hope to meet that condition of having the offer letter on that particular short notice deadline and the very deadly period of the peak of the global disaster of covid19. I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FROM THE DEPTH OF MY HEART, 1- PITT ADMISSIONS STAFF FOR PROVIDING ME THAT ALTERNATIVE OPTION OF PROVIDING THEM WITH AN ACCEPTABLE ONLINE ENGLISH TEST. 2- DUOLINGO FOR BEING THERE FOR US AT THAT HARD TIME! 3-MY SCHOLARSHIP PROVIDER FOR ALLOWING ME TO CONTINUE MY FURTHER STUDIES IN ONE OF THE TOP UNIVERSITIES OF THE UNITED STATES.
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  2021-01-25

  Why camels are worrying coronavirus hunters

  In northern Kenya, researchers are working to prevent a dangerous coronavirus – Mers – from jumping from camels to humans again. But climate change is making their job more difficult. I It’s thought that Covid-19 originated in animals before jumping to humans. Now experts are warning that the chances are the next pandemic will, too. Seventy-five percent of the newly emerging diseases currently affecting people originate in animals, according to Predict, a US government-funded collaboration by infectious disease experts across the globe. Already, Predict scientists have identified 1,200 new zoonotic, or animal-borne, diseases. But scientists estimate there are some 700,000 more zoonotic diseases we don’t even know about yet. ... “That infection” is Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers), a novel coronavirus that so far has proven to be at least 10 times more deadly than Covid-19. It was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 2012. By 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) had identified “1,761 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Mers-CoV, including at least 629 related deaths”. Later that year, an outbreak at a hospital raised the alarm that it’s not just camel herders who are susceptible to the disease, but anyone at all. But while camels can be carriers, the Mers threat to humans is mostly man-made. As human-induced climate change makes droughts more frequent, prolonged, and severe, herders have had to abandon cows and other livestock for camels because only they can survive weeks without water. The result is a growing number of camels in close contact with humans – the perfect conditions for the spread of a deadly disease. Mers causes the same sorts of respiratory system complications as Covid-19, including pneumonia. Symptoms often start with nasal congestion, a cough, chest pains, or difficulty breathing. In the worst cases, it may cause fibrosis – irreversible scarring – in the lungs. This can be deadly. More than one-third of all humans known to have contracted Mers have died from it, according to the WHO. Once it jumps from animals to humans, a Mers outbreak could grow rapidly. Saudi Arabia alone saw 15 people infected in December 2019 and January 2020 – three of whom were hospital workers infected by their patients. “The fact that RNA viruses such as coronaviruses mutate means you never know what could happen with that particular virus,” says Zimmerman.
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  2021-07-22

  Hajj pilgrimage 2021

  This CNN article/photos show how the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is impacted by COVID for the second year in a row. The article states that, typically, 2 million Muslims worldwide go to Mecca for the Hajj, but this year, it is expected that only 60,000 residents will attend. Worshippers must be fully vaccinated and nonresidents are not allowed to attend.
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  2020-10-04

  Saudi Arabia Reopens Religious Travels

  Saudi Arabia opens up religious travels after having suspended them for over 6 months. Visitiors are now allowed to go on pilgrimige and holy visits.
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  2020-05-25

  When we lose our loved ones

  People around the world are paying for the Corona pandemic in some way, some people pay it psychologically, others the price is losing those they love. It affects all of us in some way, and we all have a different story with this pandemic. This story brings what happened to me, one of my relatives, during the pandemic.
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  2020-07-02

  Yemen Covid in A Time Of War

  Yemen is a country in a state of war. The Saudi coalition vs the Houthi Rebels. Saudi bombing raids have been destroying hospitals in a country with an already weak healthcare system. Humanitarian aid had been dwindiling since the Covid pandemic started. Now with a Covid crisis and humanitarian crisis how can the Yemeni people cope.
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  2020-04-24

  A Ramadan unlike any other

  During the Holy month of Ramadan, those who are fortunate make their pilgrimage around the Ka'aba to increase their blessings. During this time, in an effort to limit contagion from the coronavirus, Saudi Arabia has ordered for this place to be emptied. The emptiness that surrounds the Holy place hits hard for any Muslim, knowing that they are unable to pray in the congregation during this difficult time. At the same time, mosques are being closed to limit the spread and follow the precautionary guidelines.
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  2020-04-13

  Saudi Arabia Races to Contain Epidemic in Islam’s Holiest City

  This article is about Saudi authorities rushing to contain COVID-19 in the Islamic holy city of Mecca. It goes on to talk about how Saudi Arabia is doing everything they can to shield Mecca specifically because of its importance to the worlds Muslim population.