Middle East Experience

Hezbollah has begun to back several charitable initiatives that target low-income households as Lebanon’s economy continues to crumble.These have taken the form of cooperative grocery shops known as Makahzen Nour, and the Iran-backed political party and militia has also started giving direct aid to low-income families. Hezbollah is also expanding Qard al-Hasan, a financial institution providing microloans to its popular base.Hezbollah has been hurting financially, and when popular protests erupted in 2019, prior supporters of the group began to criticize it. When the novel coronavirus pandemic broke out in March, Hezbollah stepped up its public relations efforts to combat the virus, but its fighters said they received less support from the organization.Faced with increased popular criticism for its corruption and mismanagement along other Lebanese political factionser the last few years, the party is seeking to provide for its supporters and poor Lebanese families.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.In Beirut’s southern suburbs, known as a Hezbollah stronghold, the group has opened Makhazen Nour.Al Arabiya English attempted to visit one of the cooperatives on the corner of a gated alley in the Roueiss southern suburb, but was told by a Hezbollah militant guarding the entrance that the cooperative is only accessible “to customers holding a discount card provided by the party as well people accompanying them.”The cooperative is located behind Hezbollah’s Martyr’s square, colloquially known as Moujamaa al-Shuhada, where Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah speeches are transmitted on a regular basis to party supporters.According to an article by local media outlet Janoubia, the cooperative has opened branches in different areas, including Kfadajal and Wadi Jilo in the south, Baalbek and Bednayel in the eastern Bekaa Valley, as well as the one in Roueiss.“There are two types of cards, one labeled Nour attributed to Hezbollah fighters and another called Sajjad, which is distributed to low-income families,” journalist Ali Amine said.The cooperative sells furniture, foodstuff and other household items. Most of the merchandise comes from Iran, he added.Looking at food items sold by Makhazen Nour, most were made in Iran and some in Lebanon.According to a source close to Hezbollah’s commanders who spoke to Al Arabiya English on condition of anonymity, Hezbollah is also providing direct aid to low-income families in the south of Lebanon, regardless of their political affiliations.“They are now targeting poor households where both parents are unemployed,” the source said.Since 2019 Lebanon has faced an unprecedented economic and financial meltdown. The Lebanese pound has lost over 80 percent of its value, and now nearly half of the population lives below the poverty line.Lebanese are struggling to buy basic goods with soaring inflation of over 112 percent, and unemployment surging past 30 percent.MicroloansHezbollah has also expanded another of its charitable ventures known as Qard al-Hasan in the wake of the crisis. The financial organization, which provides interest free microloans and is not subject to the Lebanese monetary and credit law employs nearly 500 people and has around 30 branches across the country, according to an article published by Lebanese business publication Le Commerce du Levant.“My husband stopped working and my salary was too low to settle my daughter’s medical needs. I gave my jewelry as a collateral and was able to take a $500 loan,” said a client of Qard al-Hasan speaking to Al Arabiya English on condition of anonymity.Read more: US-sanctioned Hezbollah’s Qard al-Hasan installs ATMs, violating Lebanon's fiscal lawQard al-Hasan has been sanctioned by the US Treasury since 2007, and according to its website it operates in accordance with the principles of Islamic finance.According to its website, the institution has more than 406,000 contributors and over the years has given out over $3 billion, as of the end of 2019.Microloans are capped at $5,000 (in “fresh dollars,” or dollars not trapped in the current Lebanese banking system) and are repayable over a maximum period of 30 months. According to Le Commerce du Levant, it allocated over 200,000 microloans in 2019 alone, totaling $500 million.These type of loans are politically beneficial to Hezbollah as they help strengthen the group’s influence and control over the country’s Shia community, especially with the prevailing catastrophic economic situation in Lebanon, Joseph Daher, the author of “Hezbollah: Political Economy of the Party of God” told Al Arabiya English.Read more:Expecting the collapse: Meet Lebanon’s young political party ready to take powerWhy Hezbollah is losing the support of Lebanon’s Shia communityWhy did a Lebanese boy’s chicken cross the Lebanon-Israel border?“The Qard al-Hasan institution is part of Hezbollah’s network of organizations and associations falling within the party’s strategy of political domination. In the context of the economic crisis and the rise of poverty in Lebanon, and for lack of a political alternative, the Shiite popular classes, like other popular segments in the country, are forced to ask for the help [of parties] and their dependence on dominant faith-based parties, such as Hezbollah, will strengthen,” he said.As Lebanon’s crisis deepens, the state also becomes weaker, and Hezbollah has found a way to fill gaps where the state cannot.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Hezbollah steps up support for low-income Lebanese with grocery stores, microloans

A US nurse fainted after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine due to a medical condition, rather than the shot as social media users have claimed.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.The nurse passes out when she feels pain due, but a video that went viral prompted people to claim the vaccine caused the fainting.Some even claimed she had died, and that “if people continue to take the vaccine it will become a ‘mass genocide,’” according to a Reuters fact check report.The 42-year-old Alabama nurse was speaking to reporters immediately after she received the vaccine. She was sharing her excitement when she said she felt dizzy and fainted, according to Reuters.One social media post shared the video with the claim: “Watch this nurse pass out after receiving the COVID vaccine. It’s so safe though, right? This will become mass genocide if people continue to follow these rabid dictators.”Once Tiffany Dover recovered, she told local news channel WTVC-TV that “it just hit me all the sudden, I could feel it coming on. I felt a little disoriented, but I feel fine now, and the pain in my arm is gone.”Pfizer, whose vaccine was granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration on December 11, has reported no serious adverse effects from its clinical trials.The AP reported Tuesday that Alabama received nearly 41,000 doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine in its initial round of shipments, which were delivered to 15 hospitals that could store that vaccine at the necessary temperature. More than 4,254 people have died from the virus in the state, and more than 305,640 have tested positive for COVID-19, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins.With the Associated PressRead more:50 mln vaccines could be ready in 2020, immunity up to one yearModerna says CDC panel recommends its COVID-19 vaccine for adultsApple temporarily shuts stores in London, California due to COVID-19
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: US nurse faints after receiving COVID-19 vaccine, but not due to shot

Figures have shown 903 minors – including 264 children aged between 12 and 14 – stood trial for “insulting” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over a six-year period.The Justice Ministry statistics revealed that a total of 128,872 probes were launched over six years for insulting the president, and prosecutors have evaluated 36,066 complaints and launched criminal cases for 11,371 of them, in just 2019 alone.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.According to Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, “insulting” the president can result in a prison sentence of between one and four years. If the act is committed overtly, a one-sixth increase of the sentence is applied.The figures showed 903 minors between the ages of 12 and 17 stood trial over the said charges over six years.Justice Ministry statistics showed that criminal cases were launched for 27,717 of the 128,872 probes in six years, and in 31,109 cases, prosecutors decided to not lodge charges.A total of 9,556 individuals have been convicted, usually for social media posts, and 2,676 people were handed prison sentences, out of which seven are children, including one between the ages of 12 and 14. Some 4,325 individuals were acquitted.A total of 234 foreigners and eight legal entities were sued and nine foreigners were handed prison terms.There has been a dramatic uptick in the number of cases filed for “insulting” the president during Erdogan’s tenure.The Constitutional Court in 2016 rejected the proposal to annul the 299th Article, saying that it’s necessary for “the protection of the public order and a democratic society.”Read more:Turkish President Erdogan files criminal complaint against Dutch politicianTurkey's Erdogan preparing for worst during 4 years of US incoming president BidenTurkey’s Erdogan rejects ally’s call for release of philanthropist and Kurdish leader
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Hundreds of children stood trial for ‘insulting’ Erdoğan over six years: report

Egypt warns its citizens of the spread of a toxic fish on the market that causes poisoning, paralysis or coma, and can even lead to death within six to eight hours.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt sounds alarm over toxic puffer fish

US objectives in Syria are to end the near decade-long conflict, diffuse tensions, and secure a political solution that will pave the way for remaining foreign forces to leave the country, a senior US diplomat told Al Arabiya English.The official also said that sanctions placed on Syria have been effective, and there are more sanctions in the pipeline.Seen as the pathway out of conflict in Syria, the Caesar Act has been effective since mid-2020 when the US slapped sanctions on Syria that aim to put economic pressure on the Syrian government, including President Bashar al-Assad. Thirty-nine entities that conduct business with the regime, including Russian, Iranian and other regional counterparts, have also been subject to sanctions.“The Caesar Act has been very effective in pressuring the Assad regime and its enablers,” said Joel Rayburn, US Special Envoy for Syria in the US State Department, in an interview with Al Arabiya English.“And yes, you can expect more severe Caesar Act sanctions in the future,” he said.Since June 2020, the Syrian economy has reached a new low following the imposition of additional sanctions on the Assad regime and its major supporters in the Middle East region. The crisis in neighboring Lebanon has also dealt a heavy blow to Syria as the countries’ economies are inextricably linked.Read more: New sanctions on Syria: Everything you need to know about the Caesar ActUnlike previous sanctions, the Caesar Act implements the most wide-ranging set of measures against the Syrian government to date and brings under its jurisdiction third-country actors who engage in such activities, including the cross-border business networks that are crucial to the regime’s survival, according to the Brookings Institution.The objective of the ‘summer of Caesar,’ as it is popularly known in the US State Department, has been to minimize the military support and the illicit funding pathways between the Assad regime and its largest supporters in the region, including Hezbollah and the Iranian regime.The imposition of sanctions will continue indefinitely until all parties accede to the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254, which expresses support for a Syrian-led political process, calling for a ceasefire and a political settlement to the current crisis.“We expect [sanctions] to continue on a regular basis. And inside the US government, we have a whole machinery now that is built to impose these sanctions on a routine basis and to continue to uncover the sources of support that the Assad regime uses,” he said.Prior to the Caesar Act, the Syrian regime had avoided the US Treasury’s blacklist by funneling money through Lebanon’s banking system, which Iran uses to funnel money to the Assad regime.“We [have] been able to stop some of that,” Rayburn said, pointing to the fact that the collapse of the Lebanese financial sector has made it hard for anyone, not just the Assad regime, to get foreign currency out of Beirut’s financial sector.Regardless, while Lebanese banks hole up foreign currency in the country, fuel and funds have continued to flow from Lebanon to Syria. Where authorities in Lebanon have said they will crack down on the issue, trucks are still seen crossing the border.“We are watching [the smuggling issue] very closely. And we have very robust sanctions authorities that we can use when we uncover that kind of activity. So, people should beware,” Rayburn added.ISIS attacks increaseISIS attacks in Syria and its neighboring countries have increased significantly in 2020, with the group aiming to retake territory and resources, according to the Middle East Institute. The drawdown of US forces from Syria and Iraq has left significant security gaps, and there is a threat they will be filled by ISIS or its regional affiliates.Read more:How ISIS leader al-Mawla rose rapidly through the ranks in Iraqi terrorist groupA collapsing economy and a family feud pile pressure on Syria's AssadTurkey says France must change stance on Syria operations to improve ties“It is going to require continued military pressure, law enforcement pressure, and local political pressure to make sure that ISIS or other groups similar to it, al-Qaeda in Syria, for example, cannot take advantage of, let’s say, unstable conditions on the ground to try to make a comeback,” Rayburn said.“We have been very fortunate that the US government has maintained support for our local security partners, the Syrian Democratic Forces and others in Syria, the Iraqi security forces and the [Kurdish] Peshmerga in Iraq, in order to keep that pressure on Daesh,” he added.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: More Syria sanctions in pipeline under US Caesar Act, US envoy to Syria says

Rachel Aliniv from Ahuzat Beit Hakerem waited impatiently for retirement to pursue art.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: “I wanted to try everything”

The big reason for giving charitable donations now is the U.S. CARES Act that was enacted in the Spring of 2020.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Could December 2020 be the most tax-effective time ever to give charity?

Three women and 12 children from camps in Syria have been returned to Germany for humanitarian reasons, authorities in Berlin said on Sunday..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Germany brings home women, children from Syria camps

The cabinet was meant to "tighten restraint," as per a proposal by coronavirus commissioner Prof. Nachman Ash and the Health Ministry.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Coronavirus cabinet meeting ends, no decisions made

The expo is expected to host more than 25 million visitors from across the globe when it opens doors in October next year..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Inclusive global health system to be Dubai Expo’s legacy: Reem Al Hashimy