Middle East Experience

The UN-backed Lebanon Tribunal on Friday sentenced a Hezbollah member convicted of conspiring to kill former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in a 2005 bombing to five terms of life imprisonment.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.Salim Jamil Ayyash was found guilty in August of homicide and committing a terrorist act over the deaths of Hariri and 21 others in the attack on Beirut's waterfront.The trial was conducted in absentia and Ayyash remains at large. Three alleged accomplices were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.“The attack was intended to spread terror in Lebanon and indeed did,” Australian Judge David Re said in reading out the court's decision. “The trial chamber is satisfied it shouldimpose the maximum sentence for each of the five crimes of a life sentence to be served concurrently.”Hariri's assassination plunged Lebanon into what was then its worst crisis since its 1975-90 civil war, setting the stage for years of confrontation between rival political forces.“Mr Ayyash's crimes are extremely grave, he had a central role in the attack,” Judge Janet Nosworthy said.“Lebanon is a parliamentary democracy, its politicians and leaders should be removed from office at the ballot box rather than by the bullet or a bomb,” she said.Prosecutors had called for a life sentence for each of the five counts Ayyash was convicted of.Read more:Saudi Arabia: Rafik Hariri tribunal verdict beginning of steps to seek justiceInternational community welcomes ruling on Rafik Hariri killing at UN-backed tribunalHezbollah to ignore UN-backed tribunal over Rafik Hariri assassination: Nasrallah
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Killer of Lebanon’s Hariri sentenced to life in prison, remains at large: UN court

Ankara’s growing isolation and a combination of broader geopolitical factors, including Iran and the Caucasus, are driving a fresh bid to normalize Turkish-Israeli ties.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Shared interests in Iran, Caucuses push Turkey and Israel closer

Two Saudi Royal Air Force fighter jets escorted the US B-52H Stratofortress bombers across the Kingdom’s airspace on Thursday, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Friday.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.The bombers which are “characterized by the ability to launch a large load of multiple weapons and hit their targets accurately in the depth of enemy territory,” according to SPA, flew over a swath of the Middle East, sending what US officials said was a direct message of deterrence to Iran.“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its international partners are constantly working to improve the harmony between them, as employees of the Royal Saudi Air Force work with their counterparts from allied countries to achieve integration between communications, planning and technical systems,” the press agency added.The flight of the two massive B-52H bombers over the region, the second such mission in less than a month, was designed to underscore America's continuing commitment to the Middle East even as President Donald Trump's administration withdraws thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.The long-range heavy bombers, which can carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, are a formidable sight and are flown less frequently in the Middle East than smaller combat aircraft, such as American fighter jets. Adversaries often complain about bomber flights in their region, deeming them a provocative show of force.With ReutersRead more:US B-52H bombers fly over Middle East in mission to deter IranAnti-tank missile in Libya looks like Iran-produced ‘Dehlavieh’ weapon: UNPersons involved in killing of Iranian nuclear scientist arrested, official says
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudi Royal Air Force fighter jets escort B-52H bombers across Kingdom airspace

Millions of Egyptian workers may benefit from their government's involvement in Iraq’s massive reconstruction process.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Egypt wins strong foothold in Iraq’s reconstruction

For students in Lebanon, obtaining a recognized degree during the coronavirus pandemic can be challenging. Where classes have moved online, and some students are seeking to pursue their studies entirely online, local laws don't recognize online learning.In Lebanon, online degrees are not recognized by the government, meaning students – even during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic – cannot pursue online studies if they wish to enter the job force in Lebanon after graduation.At the end of February, Lebanese schools and universities were forced to move classes online as the novel coronavirus continued its rapid spread.Universities in Lebanon had to continue teaching 190,000 students through e-learning platforms, in a country where to receive government accreditation, higher education degrees must have no more than 25 percent of classwork completed online.At the onset of the pandemic, the government needed to enact policy changes to allow students to obtain degrees that could be put to use in Lebanon.Instead, the government, headed by Hassan Diab who stepped down as Prime Minister in August, said that coursework taught online during the pandemic would be recognized. Many hoped the government would begin fully recognizing online degrees, but it stopped short, only accrediting a few months worth of online coursework.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.As coronavirus made studying in classrooms more difficult, several international and local charity organizations started offering extra scholarships for Lebanese to earn online university degrees.But the current law also affects those wishing to study outside Lebanon.Dana Hamzeh had intended to pursue her master’s degree online at Arizona State University, but quickly learned it may not be worthwhile.“Prior registration the university sent me an email informing me that it is up to me to decide whether obtaining this degree would be beneficial to me professionally since the Middle East and North Africa region is still in the early adoption stages of online learning,” Hamzeh told Al Arabiya English. “I had to contact the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education, to discover that the government would not accredit my degree, which means that all public institutions and most of the private sector in Lebanon would not recognize this degree, so I had to drop out.”Read more: AUB students decry tuition doubling after exchange rate scrapped, others to followAt the end of September, Bahiya Hariri, the Chairperson of the Education Parliamentary Committee, presented her bill to the Parliament’s general assembly, but it was rejected by Inaya Ezziedne, Farid Bustani, and Oussama Saad. Previously, Edgard Traboulsi had also drafted a law with a single article that accredits online learning, but this law never passed.Ezziedne told Al Arabiya English she rejected the bill because there are other educational issues that the country must tackle first.Structural changes needed, dissenting voices say“Information technology has become a necessity, but we cannot, in exceptional circumstances, issue a law that accredits online degrees while the infrastructure needed for online learning is not available. This would widen the regulatory gap that has proven to exist in higher education,” Ezzedine said.In 2018, as part of her work as a Minister for Administrative Reform, Ezzeddine issued a Digital Transformation Strategy that sets out the needed infrastructure for digitization.Today Ezzeddine calls for “the execution of this strategy before the issuance of a law that accredits online degrees for the sake of ensuring accessibility to online learning for all students and assuring that this law would not deepen educational inequalities.”Antoine Habshi, a member of the education committee in the Lebanese parliament, also linked accrediting online learning to the quality of higher education.Read more:Lebanon goes back to school amid coronavirus: Families can’t afford supplies, laptopsVideo: Lebanese school sprays down students amid coronavirus outbreakLebanon recruitment agencies benefit from sponsorship system, lobby against reforms“Before the issuance of a law that accredits online degrees, the parliament should pass the bill that was drafted to monitor and evaluate the quality of higher education, otherwise legalizing online learning without mechanisms of monitoring the quality would expand the scandals in higher education,” Habchi said.ChallengesChallenges have always faced the higher education sector in Lebanon. With over 50 universities, most have been created in the last 20 years through ministerial decrees to serve clientalist networks.Major challenges face the higher that is full of scandals. In 2019, former Minister of Education Akram Chehayeb created mechanisms to evaluate the quality of education offered by several universities in Lebanon.Chehayeb said these universities are commercial universities that offer low quality education and seek to maximize profit; he banned some from teaching programs that are not accredited by the ministry and he closed others.In March 2019, Chehyaeb requested that police arrest Director General of Higher Education in Lebanon Ahmed el-Jammal on suspicion of his involvement in issuing fake certificates in return for money.While the country tries to figure out how to bring its education laws into the 21st century, Lebanese students are advised not to enroll in any higher education online program as having online degrees officially recognized seems to be far off in the torn country, Dr. Abdel Mawla Chehabeddine, the Secretary of the Equivalence Committee in Higher Education, said.“Although it is a crucial decision that has to be taken immediately, no one knows when the government would accredit online learning – this is Lebanon,” said Chehabeddine.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Amid coronavirus, students forced online, but Lebanon won't recognize online degrees

Kuwaitis forced an American international school to apologise after a teacher 'broke local morals' and gave her students a map that includes Israel..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Kuwaiti school fires expat teacher after including Israel in assignment

Travelers arriving in the United Kingdom from Saudi Arabia will no longer need to quarantine for 14 days as was previously required due to the coronavirus pandemic.Transport minister Grant Shapps said that Saudi Arabia and Botswana were added to England's safe travel corridor list while Spain's Canary Islands, a popular destination for British tourists, has been removed.Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.Travelers arriving from the archipelago will now have to self-isolate, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Thursday.Shapps said data from the islands showed cases and positive tests were increasing, and so from Saturday morning, people arriving in England would have to enter quarantine.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“BOTSWANA and SAUDI ARABIA have been ADDED to the #TravelCorridor list. If you arrive from these places after 4am Sat 12 Dec you do NOT need to self-isolate,” Shapps tweeted.Last month, the United Kingdom said travelers arriving in the United Kingdom from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and six other countries will no longer need to quarantine for 14 days as was previously required due to the coronavirus pandemic.Read more:Coronavirus: UK removes UAE, Bahrain from COVID-19 travel quarantine listCOVID-19 death rate down 30 pct since April, study finds50 mln vaccines could be ready in 2020, immunity up to one year (With Reuters)
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: England adds Saudi Arabia to safe travel corridor list

Shocked by Likud’s Gideon Saar establishing his own, rival party, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be forced to back off his campaign for new elections.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: To save himself, Netanyahu might agree to keep rotation agreement

Only 'serious' offenders will be considered for deportation, officials say..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Germany lifts ban on deportations to war-torn Syria

Over half of Lebanese believe that a civil/secular system of governance in best for the country, the latest survey by Arab Barometer has revealed..
Source: Albawaba
Full Article: Majority of Lebanese believe in a secular state: survey