News

MEA Reserves 5 Aircraft In Turkey As Conflict Precaution

Flights continue as normal, but Middle East Airlines staff are on standby in case more of the fleet needs to be relocated.

Published

3 years ago

October 18, 2023

Nour Nasir

mea reserves 5 aircraft in turkey as conflict precaution

Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) has chosen to relocate 5 of its 24 aircraft to Turkey as hostilities mount in Israel and Gaza.

So far, scheduled flights have not been affected by heightened regional tensions, despite Palestinian militants from Hamas clashing with IDF forces in what is now the deadliest conflict since 2006.

mea announcement 2023

A spokesperson from MEA said the planes had been moved to Istanbul airport over the weekend and would remain there for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the remaining 19 aircraft in the fleet are operating normally.

Middle East Airlines staff are also on standby to implement an emergency plan to move the rest of the airliners if the situation worsens.

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“It’s a plan in case of an emergency. God willing, we won’t need it,” explained the MEA spokesperson.

Back in 2006, the Lebanese carrier diverted all its planes from Beirut airport at the start of the month-long 2006 war, which was responsible for the deaths of 1,200 Lebanese citizens. The airport was later bombed, rendering it inoperable.

Related Topics:Aviation Lebanon Middle East Airlines

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YouTube Rolls Out Supervised Children’s Accounts Across MENA

An industry-first feed timer lets parents cap Shorts scrolling. Access can also be switched off entirely ahead of exam season.

Published

11 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Dana Saadeh

YouTube

YouTube has launched supervised kid accounts across the Middle East and North Africa, giving parents a way to hand their children the main YouTube app without handing over all of it. Announced in Dubai on July 2, the accounts are built directly into the platform rather than the standalone YouTube Kids app, and are aimed at families who feel a child has outgrown the curated library but isn’t ready for the open feed.

Parents can choose from three content settings, each broadly aligned with international content ratings. Explore covers educational videos, tutorials, arts and crafts, and dance. Explore More adds gaming and live streams. Most of YouTube opens up almost everything except videos rated 18+ or deemed inappropriate for supervised accounts.

The standout tool is an industry-first Shorts feed timer, which lets parents set daily limits on short-form scrolling. Set it to zero and Shorts disappears altogether – a lever YouTube suggests parents might pull ahead of exam season. Other protections are on by default for all users under 18: “Take a Break” and “Bedtime” reminders, no personalized ad targeting, autoplay switched off, and no ability to upload videos or write comments. The accounts are optional, and parents can end supervision at any time.

The kid accounts join supervised teen accounts already available across the region, which notify parents by email when a teenager uploads a video or starts a live stream.

“YouTube has been a huge part of families’ lives across this region for over 20 years,” said Javid Aslanov, head of YouTube Middle East and North Africa, citing Kantar research showing 95% of viewers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE agree YouTube has top content in education and learning.

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“It’s essential that we protect young people in – not from – the digital world,” added Garth Graham, YouTube’s head of health.

The new settings are rolling out gradually across the MENA, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Iraq. The latest features can be set up through Family Center in the YouTube app or via Google Family Link.