Middle East Experience

Lebanon said on Thursday that a 24-hour lockdown imposed earlier this month to combat COVID-19 infections overwhelming its medical systems would be extended by two weeks.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.The tight restrictions on movement across the country, which had been due to run until Monday, will stay in place until Feb. 8, the cabinet said in a statement.It said the decision was taken in response to a continued increase in COVID-19 infections and a relentless rise in the number of patients needing intensive care.Countries worldwide are feeling the strain but the crisis is particularly acute in Lebanon, where the pandemic piled in on top of a financial collapse and a huge port blast in August that had already brought the health system to its knees.On Wednesday the health ministry reported 4,332 new cases of the coronavirus and 64 new deaths in Lebanon, raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to more than 250,000 in a country of around 6 million people.Read more:Coronavirus: World Banks approves $34 mln to support Lebanon’s COVID-19 vaccinationsEverything you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine in Lebanon
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Lebanon extends all-day COVID-19 lockdown by two weeks

Donald Trump issued a list of pardons during his final hours as US president but did not include himself, his children, or personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, even though advisers said he had privately debated the extraordinary step of a self-pardon.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Here is how the decision could impact his potential civil and criminal liability as a private citizen.What may have guided Trump’s decision not to pardon himself and members of his inner circle?Presidential pardons can only accomplish so much. They can shut down prosecutions by the US Department of Justice, a federal agency. But investigations brought by state-level prosecutors, such as the criminal probe Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is leading into whether Trump’s businesses engaged in fraud, would still be active.Vance has not charged anyone with criminal wrongdoing and Trump has said the investigation is politically motivated.A self-pardon would have only increased calls to prosecute Trump on a state level, said Daniel R. Alonso, a lawyer at the Buckley firm and Vance’s former deputy in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.It could also have fueled efforts to hold Trump accountable through civil lawsuits brought by private litigants, such as family members of people who died during the January 6 storming of the US Capitol by Trump followers, said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.Before the attack, as lawmakers were certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s November 3 election victory, Republican Trump took to a stage near the White House and exhorted a crowd of supporters repeatedly to “fight” - using the word more than 20 times - and “not take it any longer.” He also called on his followers to march on the Capitol, the seat of government.“With a pardon comes at least the veneer of an admission of guilty,” said Levinson. “In a way, I think pardoning himself and his family is almost like a taunt. It would have said ‘try to come and get me,’ and would have accelerated litigation and investigation.”There is also considerable doubt among scholars about whether a self-pardon would hold up in court. Many experts said it violates the basic principle that no person should be the judge in his or her own case.Self-serving pardons might also have drawn the ire of Republicans in the US Senate, who will soon have a trial to determine whether Trump’s January 6 speech was incitement, the charge in his impeachment by the House of Representatives.The trial could result in Trump being disqualified from future office.Would a pardon for Giuliani have helped Trump?The answer is likely yes, though hard to speculate, legal experts said.Giuliani had dealings with Ukrainians on Trump’s behalf when he was trying to dig up dirt on Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Trump’s efforts led to his first impeachment by the House in December 2019 and the Republican-majority Senate acquitted him in February 2020.In November 2019, federal prosecutors in New York sought records of payments to Giuliani as part of an active criminal investigation, according to a grand jury subpoena seen by Reuters.Prosecutors were investigating money laundering, wire fraud, campaign finance violations, making false statements, obstruction of justice, and violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, according to the subpoena.Giuliani has denied any wrongdoing.The scope and status of the investigation is unclear, and Giuliani has not been charged with wrongdoing. It is also unclear if he knows anything about Trump that would be valuable to prosecutors.But not receiving a pardon makes it more likely that Giuliani would cooperate with prosecutors and implicate Trump if charged, said Jessica Roth, a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and a former federal prosecutor.“Without the possibility of a pardon, the prospect of a conviction and potential prison sentence becomes more real, providing an incentive to cooperate to receive more favorable treatment,” Roth said.Trump may have decided against pardoning Giuliani because he lost a series of lawsuits brought on behalf of Trump attempting to invalidate Biden as the election winner, Levinson said.Could Trump have pardoned himself and others in secret?It’s possible, said former prosecutor Alonso.Pardons are usually made public. But the Constitution does not require this, and Trump could secretly issue preemptive pardons to family members and associates, or even himself, saidAlonso.The Presidential Records Act requires documentation of presidential decisions, but the law lacks a mechanism for enforcing it, Alonso said. A secret pardon might only become public if the recipient were eventually charged with a federal crime and invoked the pardon as a defense.Read more:Trump pardons former White House advisor Steve BannonTrump’s Blackwater pardons ‘an affront to justice’: UN expertsCan anything stop US President Trump from pardoning his family or even himself?
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Explainer: With no self-pardon in hand, could Trump face legal issues as a citizen?

As the prospect of Palestinian general elections draws near, Palestinians are skeptical about their success as divisions remain between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Palestinian skeptics not yet sold on elections

While trying to mend bridges in international affairs and form new alliances domestically, Erdogan targets 50% of Turkey’s residents with anger, but why?
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Is Erdogan’s anger sign of early elections?

Saudi Arabia is optimistic about its ties with the United States under the new administration headed by President Joe Biden, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Thursday.“We are optimistic of having excellent ties with the US under a Biden administration,” the top Saudi diplomat told Al Arabiya in an interview.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Prince Faisal added that the appointments made by Biden - the former VP under President Barack Obama - “showed understanding of the common issues.”Biden was inaugurated Wednesday as the 46th president at the US Capitol, where he vowed to work with allies worldwide and restore American diplomacy.IranBiden also said Gulf allies and Israel would be included in any future talks that focused on Iran's nuclear capabilities as well as its ballistic missiles and malign regional activity.On Thursday, Prince Faisal called on the Iranian regime to change its mentality and focus on its citizens’ wellbeing.Read more:How world leaders are reacting to Joe Biden’s inaugurationWatch: Biden promises to fire staff members who ‘disrespect’ anyone
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Arabia optimistic about ties with US under President Joe Biden: Saudi FM

Riad Salameh has denied charges of aggravated money laundering in connection with possible embezzlement..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Lebanon central bank governor denies transfer of capital

Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh has answered questions from Lebanon's public prosecutor based on a Swiss request, a senior judicial source told Reuters on Thursday..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Prosecutor questions Salameh after Swiss request, source says

So is Israel in better or worse shape in terms of missile defense and deterrence than it was 30 years ago?
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Gulf War: How Israel went from 0 to world's best missile defense

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar will reopen flights at the end of….
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: UAE and Qatar to resume cross-border flights amid coronavirus concerns

As President Biden starts his term in office, Israelis are wondering what the future holds for Israel-US relations..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Israelis express hope and concern after Biden’s inauguration