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By Caroline Rose — Foreign policy — The late October release of an interview with George Kordahi on an Al Jazeera-affiliated program, filmed before he became Lebanon’s information minister, unleashed a diplomatic crisis. In the tape, Kordahi expressed sympathy with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, against whom Saudi Arabia is currently fighting a brutal war. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain promptly recalled their diplomatic envoys from Beirut, and Saudi Arabia imposed a ban on all Lebanese imports. The UAE additionally barred its citizens from travel to Lebanon. But there is an unstated element in the recent Gulf pressure campaign against Lebanon that transcends political and sectarian dynamics: The Gulf is a destination market in the Middle Eastern drug trade. A notable uptick in smuggled shipments of captagon, an amphetamine-type substance—transited through overland routes in Jordan and Lebanon, as well as maritime routes in the Mediterranean and Red Sea—has overwhelmed ports of entry in the Persian Gulf, introducing a challenge that customs systems and interior ministries have struggled to navigate.

Yet the decision to impose a blanket ban on Lebanese imports may have backfired. Much like the November 2017 crisis, when Saudi authorities held then-Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri hostage and forced his resignation (which he later rescinded), the recent Saudi move is an attempt to shift Lebanon’s balance of power against Hezbollah, a Shiite Islamist political party and military group supported by Iran. Amid stalemate, economic collapse, and political paralysis in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and its allies have racked up pressure on Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s new, fragile government as a warning against rising Shiite influence in the country.

For decades, Saudi Arabia has sought to constrain Iranian influence among Lebanon’s Shiite population as well as its proxy control over Hezbollah. Until recently, Riyadh has accomplished this through its ties to Lebanon’s Sunni political elite. But the country’s ongoing political paralysis has created concern that Saudi leverage in Lebanon may now be waning. Captagon’s quick ascent has added to Saudi Arabia’s anxieties. In the last two decades, the Persian Gulf, particularly Saudi Arabia, has transformed into the drug’s top destination market, where it has become a quiet but popular substance.

@AzziSejean

السنةُ الجديدةُ تعاقدَت مع الشمسِ ألّا تغيبَ قبلَ طلوعِ القمرِ لئلّا تَدْهـمَها الظُلمةُ ويَعبِثَ بها أهْلُ الظلامِ قبل أنْ يَرحلوا. مِثْلُنا، سنةُ 2022 تَخشى ما يَنتظرُها. اسْتَجارَت بكَوكبِ الأرضِ أن يُبطئَ دوَرانَه حولَ الشمسِ لتُبعِدَ عنها كأسَ الحلول. لكنَّ ما كتبَه الزمانُ لا يُلغيه المكان. تُطِلُّ السنةُ الميلاديّةُ مُضطَرِبةً وحَذِرةً ومشغولةَ البال. يومٌ إلى الأمام وعشرةُ أيَّامٍ إلى الوراء. السنواتُ الثلاثُ الماضيةُ أخْبرَتها عمَا حلَّ بها في لبنان وبلبنان. حَكَت لها معاناتَها علّها تُجنِّبُها قدَرًا مماثِلًا، ونَصَحْتها بأنْ تَتغلّبَ على اضطرابِها وتُقْدِمَ وتَتقدّمَ بخَطواتٍ عسكريّةٍ مُهابَةٍ لأنَّ الدَعَساتِ الناعمةَ عديمةُ التأثير.

هَـمُّ 2022 أن تؤثِّرَ هي في لبنان وتَبعَثَ فيه الحياة، لا أن يُؤثِّرَ هو فيها ويُعطّلَ فعلَ مجيئِها ومفعولَه. قيمةُ الزمنِ بحَدَثِه الجديد لا بحُدوثِه الروتينيّ. قد يكونُ رهانُ السنةِ الجديدةِ واقعيًّا إذا حَصَلت خِلالَـها الانتخاباتُ النيابيّةُ والشعبُ يُعوِّلُ عليها لإحداثِ تغييرٍ نوعيٍّ وكَمّيٍ في الطبقةِ السياسيّةِ، والانتخاباتُ الرئاسيّةُ والشعبُ يتوقّعُ أن تأتيَه برئيسٍ جديدٍ اسمًا ونهجًا وخِيارات.

لبنان يودّع السنة بتسونامي الانهيار والانسداد علق الرئيس ميشال سليمان على بعض جوانب الخطاب الأخير للرئيس عون فاعتبر ان “الدعوة إلى الحوار الوطني لطرح الاستراتيجية الدفاعية تأخرت كثيرا ولكن تنطبق على هذا الموضوع مقولة “ان تأتي متأخراً خيرٌ من ان لا تأتي ابدا. ولكن يجب الا يغرب عن بالنا ان الاستراتيجية هي متلازمة مع اعلان […]

Beirut, (Reuters) – The first phase of repairs to the Arab Gas Pipeline should be completed by the end of February to allow delivery of Egyptian gas to Lebanon, Energy Minister Walid Fayad was quoted as saying in a Lebanese presidency statement on Wednesday. Under a U.S.-backed plan to help ease Lebanon’s power crisis, Egypt […]

By Kareem Chehayeb — aljazeera — Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanese security agencies have foiled an attempt to smuggle nine million illegal amphetamine Captagon pills to an unnamed Gulf country, officials said. Lebanese Customs said in a statement on Wednesday that they arrested several perpetrators and have opened a judicial investigation into a plot to smuggle the pills out of Lebanon after officials found them in a shipment of plastic oranges at the Beirut port. Speaking at the port later, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said he could not disclose details about who had been arrested and what they knew so far about the operation. However, he said the investigation will reveal where the pills were produced and packaged, and who was responsible for hiding them in the shipment of fruits. “We promise [our] citizens and all the friendly countries, especially the Gulf countries, the Lebanese authorities are serious in combatting the smuggling of Captagon,” he said. Sources familiar with the case told Al Jazeera that the Captagon shipment was heading to Kuwait.

The seizure comes as the cash-strapped country tries to resolve an ongoing diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia last April announced an indefinite ban on Lebanese agricultural products after officials said they had thwarted an attempt to smuggle 5.3 million Captagon pills hidden in a shipment of pomegranates at Jeddah port. Captagon is manufactured in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and is often exported to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. The Saudi authorities have since announced the seizure of several shipments containing millions of Captagon pills from Lebanon and Syria.

by HASSAN AMMAR — TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanon’s energy minister launched two projects in the country’s north on Tuesday to facilitate the flow of natural gas from Egypt. The move aims to improve electricity production and expand the country’s tanks to increase oil reserves. The revival of the Arab Gas Pipeline to deliver Egyptian gas to Lebanon comes as the small country is reeling from a crippling electricity crisis. The pipeline has been out of service in Lebanon since before Syria’s 10-year conflict began in 2011. Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad said Egypt’s Technical Gas Services will begin renovation work on the pipeline inside Lebanon within days and work should be done in a little more than two months. Egypt has agreed to supply Lebanon with natural gas to its power plants through Jordan and Syria. Syrian experts have finished work inside the war-torn country.

The Syrian government is under U.S. and Western sanctions for its role in the war, which has left nearly half a million killed and disappeared and nearly half of the population displaced. Despite the sanctions, the U.S. has supported the resumption of natural gas flow from Egypt to Lebanon via Syria. Fayad told The Associated Press during a tour of an oil facility that U.S. officials who have visited Lebanon said the contract to bring gas from Egypt will not be targeted by sanctions because “no cash is going from any side to Syria.” He added that Egyptian officials are in contact with the Americans to make sure that the contract does not violate the sanctions.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Officials in Lebanon continue to acquit themselves of all the crises that the Lebanese people are facing, as a result of the economic collapse, political disputes and Hezbollah’s influence on Lebanon’s external decisions. Following President Michel Aoun’s televised speech to the Lebanese people, where he indirectly criticized Hezbollah and its Shiite ally Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati held a press conference on Tuesday. He said that “interfering in the work of the Cabinet hindered the mission of his salvation government” and that “halting the Cabinet’s session since Oct. 12 constitutes a structural malfunction in the work of the government that cannot be ignored or overlooked.” Mikati stressed that he does not accept any settlement at the expense of institutions. “I do not barter the Cabinet’s meetings for any settlement that is not accepted by the Lebanese people and families of the victims of the Beirut port explosion, and the international community.” He added that he cannot hold anyone responsible for not holding the Cabinet’s sessions “as I am convinced of a disruption in the course of the Beirut port investigation; however, this cannot disrupt the government and stop the reforms.”

Mikati stressed the need to “distance the judiciary from political disputes and maintain its independence to preserve one of the state’s most important pillars,” in response to Hezbollah and the Amal Movement’s insistence on the dismissal of Judge Tarek Bitar from the investigation of the Beirut port explosion. He said: “When the state stopped acting by the law and became influenced by the sectarian political authority, it started breaking down and lacking the capability to carry out its missions as a body that is trusted to implement policies and strategies.” Mikati called for a national dialogue to improve Lebanon’s ties with the Arab states, especially in the Gulf. He also urged Lebanese leaders not to interfere in their internal affairs, and called for a return to the “dissociation policy that preserves our home and protects its relations with the international community and the Arab world.” He said that remediation should be done “within constitutional and legal frameworks,” and stressed the necessity to implement the constitution. He added that if his resignation is the solution, he will not hesitate to resign if he sees that it will contribute to further damage.

President Michel Sleiman: “Une nouvelle stratégie défensive devrait confier les armes à l’autorité exclusive de l’État dans un délai d’un an”  https://icibeyrouth.com/liban/20060

By Donna Abdulaziz – wsj – —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—This conservative Islamic kingdom is rapidly trying to ease its staid social norms, allowing women to drive and travel freely in recent years, opening doors to tourists and tolerating music blaring from modern coffee shops. A four-day music festival earlier this month is emblematic of how Saudis are learning to have fun in ways that are common in much of the world but long forbidden here. The festival—called Soundstorm and organized by a Saudi company called MDLBeast (pronounced Middle Beast)—featured 200 performances, including from big-name DJs such as David Guetta. Held north of the capital Riyadh in a vast desert, the electronic-music event drew tens of thousands of people, most of them young Saudi men and women. Many mixed traditional national dress with LED sunglasses, marshmallow helmets, and the face paint common at rave parties, embellished with crystals and glitter.

“I can’t believe this is happening in Riyadh,” said Noura Mohammad, 28 years old, who attended Soundstorm with her twin sister, Ohoud, wearing matching white coats and pink bandannas over their niqabs, a traditional face covering. The sisters said they discovered electronic music through American movies but never expected to be able to dance openly in their home country. “My sister and I love to dance,” Ms. Mohammad said. Dancing and the mingling of sexes was once forbidden here. Now, the Saudi government is betting that events like Soundstorm will give the country’s large population of young people—about 70% of the population is under 35—an outlet for entertainment they are used to seeing in other parts of the world but not here. The government aims to double household spending on cultural and entertainment activities inside the kingdom by 2030, as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s drive to diversify and modernize the oil-dependent economy.

by NNA – President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, affirmed that “From my position as the custodian of the constitution, I call for an urgent national dialogue in order to reach an understanding on three issues, and to work towards their approval later within the institutions, namely: Expanded administrative and financial decentralization. – The defense strategy to protect Lebanon. -A plan for financial and economic recovery, including the necessary reforms and a fair distribution of losses.

The President also clarified that he had called for more than one meeting and conference and proposed solutions, but the people of the organization refused to give up any gain, and did not take any account for the people, reiterating his call to dialogue for every Lebanese woman and man who desires the salvation of Lebanon. The President indicated that “In spite of everything, the solution is possible within the national reconciliation document, and it requires first accountability, that is, determining responsibility for the collapse, protecting people’s money and returning it to depositors”. “The solution also requires moving to a civil state, and a new system whose main foundation is expanded administrative and financial decentralization, and the upcoming parliamentary elections should constitute a referendum on this basis” President Aoun said. In addition, President Aoun stressed that “Defending the homeland requires cooperation between the army, the people and the resistance, but the primary responsibility is for the state. Only the state sets the defense strategy and ensures its implementation”.