Middle East Experience

Hezbollah protests investigation into Beirut Port explosion, leading to violence.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Six killed, 32 injured in firefight in the heart of Beirut`

Working on his own, he used the Freedom of Information Act to publish suppressed documents, sometimes making front-page news..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Russ Kick, ‘Rogue Transparency Activist,’ Is Dead at 52

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday’s violence was a setback for the country but would be overcome, adding that his cabinet was working to provide the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with necessary financial figures ahead of talks to pull the country out of its economic meltdown.Mikati spoke to Reuters after a deadly shooting rocked the capital Beirut as tensions over a probe into last year’s massive blast in Beirut burst into the worst street violence in more than a decade, leaving six Shia dead.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Lebanon is going through a difficult phase not an easy one. We are like a patient in front of the emergency room,” Mikati said in an interview.“We have a lot of stages after that to complete recovery,” he said adding that the country’s central bank had no liquidity of foreign currency that it could utilize.Mikati’s cabinet took office last month after more than a year of political deadlock with a focus on reviving IMF talks to pull the country out of a deep financial crisis that has propelled more than three quarters of its population into poverty.But a row simmering for months over the lead investigator into last year’s deadly Beirut port blast threatened to upend it when Shia ministers, allied to the Hezbollah and Amal movements who oppose the judge, demanded his removal.“Everyone who wants to resign should bear the responsibility of his decision,” Mikati said when asked about whether ministers had threatened to resign over the demand.He said it was not the job of politicians to interfere in the judiciary but that the body should correct its own errors.“A judge should firstly protect the law and the constitution,” he said.“Many, including myself say may be there is a constitutional error but this the judiciary has to decide and that body can rectify itself not the politicians.”Despite the distraction from the cabinet’s focus on economic recovery, Mikati said the necessary financial data would be provided to the IMF “in the coming days.”Lebanon’s financial system collapsed in 2019 after decades of corruption and waste in the state and the unsustainable way it was financed.Over the past two years, the country has lost more than 90 percent of its value and the World Bank has dubbed the economic meltdown as one of the deepest depressions in modern history.IMF talks stalled last year after the previous government drew up a financial recovery plan that mapped out losses of some $90 billion in the financial sector.The figure was endorsed by the IMF but many of Lebanon’s main political players disputed the scale of the losses.When asked whether a new figure for the size of the losses or the distribution was determined, Mikati said he could not reveal data before sharing it with the IMF.Financial advisory firm Lazard drafted the original recovery plan for Lebanon last year and was asked to continue its role after Mikati’s cabinet was formed. Mikati said it was waiting on some figures that would be handed over by the government next week to complete their plan.“I would have hoped for (figures to be handed over) sooner rather than later but ... in light of the current circumstances there is a bit of delay that is outside of our power but soon the talks with the IMF will start formally and completely.”Read more:US urges ‘de-escalation of tensions’ in LebanonUN Secretary-General Guterres calls for halt to Lebanon violenceTop US Republican hits out at Hezbollah, voices concern over situation in Lebanon
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Beirut violence is a setback but will be overcome: PM Najib Mikati

The White House on Thursday called for a swift and transparent investigation into the Port of Beirut blast, hours after deadly clashes broke out in Beirut during a protest organized by Hezbollah.The protest turned violent after Hezbollah and Amal Movement supporters marched toward the Justice Ministry to demand the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the investigation into the 2020 port blast, which killed over 200 and injured thousands more.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Asked about the clashes and the violence over the investigation, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the US and the international community urged Lebanese authorities to complete “a swift and transparent investigation of the horrific explosion at the Port of Beirut.”“The victims of the August 2020 port explosion deserve justice, and those responsible must be held accountable,” Psaki told Al Arabiya’s Washington Bureau chief, Nadia Bilbassy-Charters.Earlier, the State Department called for calm in Lebanon. “The future of Lebanon’s democracy depends on the ability of its citizens to address the difficult issues with confidence in the rule of law,” State Department Spokesman Ned Price said.“Judges must be free from violence; they must be free of threats. They must be free of intimidation, including that of Hezbollah,” he added.Read more: Lebanese Forces party denies involvement in Beirut violence
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Lebanon’s Beirut blast victims deserve justice, accountability needed: White House

The US is committed to the defense of Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday ahead of a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan.“It’s a real pleasure to have my friend and colleague, the Saudi Foreign Minister here,” Blinken said at the State Department ahead of their closed-door meeting.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The discussions were expected to touch on Iran, Yemen, climate change and energy, Blinken added.“We have a strong partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia. We are committed to the defense of the Kingdom, and we have a lot of work that we’re doing together on a variety of very significant issues,” the top US diplomat said.For his part, Prince Faisal hailed the “tremendous, immense value” of bilateral ties between Washington and Riyadh.Citing the same issues that would be discussed, as well as the recovery from COVID-19, Prince Faisal said they pointed to just how important the partnership was.Read more: US embassy in Saudi Arabia condemns Houthi attacks on Abha airport
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: US committed to defense of Saudi Arabia, Blinken tells FM Prince Faisal

Saudi Arabia has expressed its hope for the stability of Lebanon and support for the Lebanese people following violent clashes on Thursday, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“The Kingdom aspires for Lebanon to prevail in peace and security by ending the possession and use of weapons outside the framework of the state and strengthening the Lebanese state for the benefit of all Lebanese without exception,” the statement said.“The brotherly Lebanese people deserve stability in their homeland, growth in their economy, and security that dispels terrorism.”At least six people were killed when protests by the Iran-backed Hezbollah and ally Amal movement against the judge leading a probe of the Beirut port blast turned violent.Snipers fired from rooftops at the protesters, who Hezbollah claimed were members of the Christian Lebanese Forces party.The Lebanese Forces denied any involvement in the violence.Lebanon has been embroiled in an economic crisis since 2019, which was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the deadly port blast in August 2020.A probe to determine the reason why a large quantity of ammonium nitrate, which caught fire and caused an explosion killing more than 200 people, was being stored at the port has stalled numerous times.Hezbollah and its allies are accusing judge Tarek Bitar of carrying out the investigation in a biased way.Several Hezbollah allies have been singled out in the probe, although no party members have been.Read more: US committed to defense of Saudi Arabia, Blinken tells FM Prince FaisalBeirut violence is a setback but will be overcome: PM Najib MikatiLebanon’s Beirut blast victims deserve justice, accountability needed: White House
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia expresses hope for stability in Lebanon following violent clashes

Explosions hit a Shia mosque in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Friday, leaving at least 15 dead and 31 wounded, a health official said.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“So far seven dead and 13 wounded have been brought to our hospital,” a doctor in the city’s central hospital told AFP.The cause of the blasts was not immediately identified, but it came exactly a week after a suicide bomb attack on Shia worshippers in the northern city of Kunduz, that was claimed by ISIS.An eyewitness told AFP he heard three explosions, one at the main door of the mosque, another at a southern area, and a third where worshippers wash themselves.Another witness said three blasts rocked the mosque in the center of the town during Friday prayers, the busiest congregation of the week.Interior ministry spokesman Qari Sayed Khosti tweeted: “We are saddened to learn that an explosion took place in a mosque of the Shia brotherhood in the first district of Kandahar city in which a number of our compatriots were martyred and wounded.“Special forces of the Islamic Emirate have arrived in the area to determine the nature of the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.”According to an AFP journalist the mosque was full of people at the time of the explosions, and at least 15 ambulances went to the scene.Graphic images posted to social media, which could not be immediately verified, showed bodies lying on the floor of the Fatemieh mosque.Read more: ISIS claims responsibility for deadliest attack on Afghanistan since US withdrawalIran’s President Raisi claims US ‘plot’ behind ISIS attack on Afghanistan’s mosqueISIS claims attack on Afghanistan mosque that left 12 worshippers dead
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: At least 15 killed, 31 injured in mosque blast in Afghanistan’s Kandahar

The violence added to concerns for the stability of a country that is awash with weapons and grappling with one of the world's sharpest ever economic meltdowns.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Hezbollah: We won't be dragged to civil war

SOCIAL AFFAIRS: “He’s free and I’m in a nightmarish prison all my life, afraid to see him on every corner of every street and failing to recover.”
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Exploring Israel's systemic neglect of sex offense victims

Data released in honor of International Girls Day shows that 67% of victims of attacks against minors online are girls.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Public Security Ministry releases statistics of attacks on girls online