Syria rejects UN plan on constitution committee as regime kills 7 civilians in Idlib
Syria rejects UN plan on constitution committee as regime kills 7 civilians in Idlib/node/1394371/middle-east
Syria rejects UN plan on constitution committee as regime kills 7 civilians in Idlib
De Mistura (L), a veteran Italian-Swedish diplomat due to step down next month, said Friday that Foreign Minister Walid Muallem (R) rejected the last list of UN-proposed names and suggested his own method to the final 50 members during talks in Damascus this week.
Syria rejects UN plan on constitution committee as regime kills 7 civilians in Idlib
UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura has been working since January on forming a group of 150 members to thrash out a new constitution, seen as a first step to winding down a conflict that has cost more than 360,000 lives.
Syrian regime artillery fire killed seven civilians in Idlib.
Updated 26 October 2018
AFP
BEIRUT: A United Nations plan to end the seven-year civil war in Syria has run aground after Damascus blocked the world body's proposal for a committee to draft a new constitution, provoking anger among western powers.
UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura has been working since January on forming a group of 150 members to thrash out a new constitution, seen as a first step to winding down a conflict that has cost more than 360,000 lives.
Under the UN plan, the Syrian regime would choose 50 of the committee members, the Syrian opposition another 50 and the UN would nominate the final 50, composed of representatives of civil society and technical experts.
De Mistura, a veteran Italian-Swedish diplomat due to step down next month, said Friday that Foreign Minister Walid Muallem rejected the last list of UN-proposed names and suggested his own method to the final 50 members during talks in Damascus this week.
"Walid Muallem didn't accept a role for the UN in identifying or selecting a third list," the envoy told the UN Security Council by video conference during an emergency session called by the United States.
"Rather, Mr Muallem indicated that the governments of Syria and Russia had agreed recently that the three Astana guarantors (Iran, Russia and Turkey) and the Syrian government would in consultations among them prepare a proposal as regards the third list."
De Mistura said withdrawing the UN list was only possible "if there was an agreement on a new credible, balanced and inclusive list" that complied with UN resolutions and commitments made in January talks in the Russian resort town of Sochi.
Also on Friday, Syrian regime artillery fire killed seven civilians in Idlib, in the highest death toll since a deal last month to prevent a government assault on the province, a monitor said.
Three children were among those killed in the country's last major rebel bastion in the northwest of the country, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey agreed on September 17 to set up a buffer zone around the Idlib region, which includes the province of the same name and parts of adjacent provinces.
The deal was intended to protect three million inhabitants in the region, more than half of which is held by the Tahrir Hayat al-Sham (HTS) alliance led by militants of Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate.
Friday's deadly shelling hit Al-Rifa, an HTS-held village in the southeast of Idlib province.
In the neighbouring province of Aleppo, regime fighters and rebels exchanged gunfire on the western outskirts of the provincial capital, the Observatory said.
Extremists including HTS were to withdraw from the expected demilitarised zone under the Russian-Turkish deal, but did not do so by an October 15 deadline.
After that date passed, shelling continued intermittently and escalated dramatically late Wednesday.
Government rocket and artillery fire killed one girl in Kafr Hamra, a town in Aleppo province inside the planned buffer zone, the Observatory said.
And rocket fire by both extremists and Turkish-backed rebels hit second city Aleppo, wounding 10 people.
Both Russia and Turkey have said the truce deal remains on course despite the missed withdrawal deadline.
The leaders of the two countries are to be joined by their French and German counterparts for a four-way summit on Syria in Istanbul on Saturday.
Syria's regime has insisted that the buffer zone deal is temporary and that Idlib would eventually revert to government control.
On Friday, Syria's UN envoy Bashar Jaafari repeated this in comments reported by state news agency SANA.
"It is normal that the Syrian state fights terrorism in Idlib to rid its people of terrorism, and to extend its sovereignty over it," he said.
Staff members of the Palestinian Ministry of Health unload a shipment of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines donated by the Chinese government in the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, on March 29, 2021. (AFP)
Israel has come under international criticism for not doing more to enable Palestinians living in areas it occupies to be inoculated, while its national vaccination drive has been one of the fastest and most efficient in the world
Updated 30 March 2021
Reuters
RAMALLAH: Palestinians on Monday received 100,000 doses of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated by China to help broaden an initial campaign to vaccinate medical staff, the elderly and the chronically ill.
Palestinian health authorities have been mounting a limited vaccination drive among the 5.2 million people living in the Israel-occupied West Bank and Gaza, using vaccines provided by Israel, Russia, the UAE and the global COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative.
So far, more than 69,000 Palestinians have received their first dose of the vaccine, and around 7,600 people have had both shots, according to a health ministry statement.
Israel has come under international criticism for not doing more to enable Palestinians living in areas it occupies to be inoculated, while its national vaccination drive has been one of the fastest and most efficient in the world.
It says it has vaccinated more than 100,000 Palestinian workers with permits to enter the country or Jewish settlements in the West Bank but that the Palestinian Authority bears overall responsibility for inoculations in self-rule areas.
After the arrival of the Chinese shipment, Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al-Kaila said in the West Bank city of Ramallah that recent restrictions such as curfews and weekend lockdowns had helped to relieve pressure on crowded hospitals.
“We will continue (vaccinating) our medical staff in the clinics for the public sector and the private sector, dentists and pharmacists, (and) for other categories that have immediate contact with the population,” Kaila said.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) plans to cover 20 percent of Palestinians through the COVAX mechanism.
PA officials hope to procure additional vaccines to achieve 60% coverage across the West Bank and in Gaza, which is run by Hamas.
Health officials have reported 227,808 coronavirus cases and 2,511 deaths since the pandemic began.
Bahrain’s leaders hold talks with Chinese foreign minister
King and Wang discussed regional and international developments and joint efforts to combat COVID-19
Crown prince and foreign minister also held talks with Wang
Updated 30 March 2021
Arab News
LONDON: King Hamad said Bahrain takes pride in its close historical ties with China during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The king said relations are based on strong foundations of trust, mutual respect, cooperation and joint coordination in all fields.
Wang Yi, who is touring Gulf countries, met King Hamad at Al-Qudaibiya Palace in Manama on Monday.
The king and Wang discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation, “especially in the investment, economic, commercial and scientific fields, in addition to developing various aspects of coordination and joint work in order to achieve the common interests of the two countries,” Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.
The king said Bahrain appreciated the interest China attaches to achieving security and stability in the Middle East, addressing political and security challenges, and accelerating the pace of cooperation among regional countries to achieve development and support the global economy.
Both sides also discussed efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Wang said he appreciated the king’s efforts to develop prosperous Bahraini-Chinese relations.
Wang also met Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad who said Bahrain was proud to participate with the UAE and China in clinical COVID-19 vaccination trials.
The UAE, through G42, hosted Phase III clinical trials of the Chinese pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm vaccine from July, which later expanded to other countries in the region including Bahrain. On Monday the Emirates announced a new factory in Abu Dhabi to manufacture the vaccine later this year.
Wang later met with his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif Al-Zayani where they witnessed the signing of an agreement to establish cultural centers in both countries.
Earlier on Monday, Wang held talks with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi in Muscat.
A handout photo obtained from the French Embassy in Libya shows the ambassador of France in Tripoli, Béatrice le Fraper du Hellen (C), posing for a picture with two unidentified officials in Tripoli. (AFP)
Libya descended into chaos after its leader Muammar Qaddafi was toppled and killed in a NATO-backed uprising a decade ago, leaving multiple forces vying for power
Updated 30 March 2021
AFP
TRIPOLI: France has reopened its embassy in Libya after a seven-year closure as insecurity swept the country following its 2011 revolution, in another sign of a gradual return of stability.
Its representative resumed operations behind a tall compound wall in a new building on the outskirts of Tripoli.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the reopening last week after talks in Paris with the head of Libya’s newly installed presidential council, Mohammed Al-Manfi.
Libya descended into chaos after its leader Muammar Qaddafi was toppled and killed in a NATO-backed uprising a decade ago, leaving multiple forces vying for power. Most diplomats and other foreigners left the North African country after repeated attacks and kidnappings, notably a terrorist assault on the US Consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi in September 2012 that killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
The French Embassy was targeted in an April 2013 car bombing that wounded two gendarmes, after which it was moved to a hotel before relocating in July 2014 to Tunis, like most other foreign missions.
Fighting only came to a halt last summer, and a formal ceasefire in October was followed by the establishment of a new Government of National Unity (GNU).
Italy already returned its embassy to Tripoli in 2017, while several other countries, such as Egypt, Greece and Malta, are to follow France’s lead.
Archaeologists dismiss claims recent Egyptian disasters caused by pharaohs’ curse
Plans to move 22 royal mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization have coincided with a string of major incidents
Egypt has been in the international spotlight after a giant cargo ship ran aground, blocking the Suez Canal, and a fatal train crash in Sohag
Updated 29 March 2021
Mohammed Abu Zaid
CAIRO: Claims that a series of recent disasters in Egypt have been brought about by a pharaohs’ curse were on Monday dismissed by archaeologists.
Plans over the coming days to move 22 royal mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to a permanent exhibition space in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization have coincided with a string of major incidents in the country.
And some reports have suggested that the serious occurrences are linked to the pending transfer of the preserved ancient monarchs.
Egypt has been in the international spotlight after a giant cargo ship ran aground and blocked the Suez Canal, preventing billions of dollars-worth of trade per day passing through the strategic waterway.
The country has also witnessed a fatal train crash in Sohag, the collapse of a 10-storey property at Suez Bridge, a shops fire at Zagazig railway station, the collapse of a concrete pillar on a bridge under construction in Mariotia, and blazes at the Maadi Tower and a house in Minya.
All the events have taken place as the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities prepares to shift the mummified pharaohs as part of the nation’s ongoing efforts to develop and modernize Cairo and other cities through the completion of various archaeological and cultural activities.
Some social media users put the timing of the incidents down to a curse of the pharaohs quoting the ancient leaders as warning that, “death will come on quick wings for those who disturb the king’s peace.”
However, former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass poured cold water on the claims. “The occurrence of these accidents is just fate and there is no connection between them and the mummies at all,” he said.
The archaeologist pointed out that he had supervised the discovery of some of the tombs of ancient Egyptians and had not been harmed.
Among the museum exhibits to be transferred are the mummies of kings Ramesses II, Seqenenre Tao, Thutmose III, and Seti I, and queens Hatshepsut, Meritamen, the wife of King Amenhotep I, and Ahmose-Nefertari, wife of King Ahmose.
Egyptian historian and writer, Bassam El-Shammaa, also rejected rumors of a pharaohs’ curse on the country. He said that phrases and shapes carved on the walls of temples simply expressed the imagination of ancient Egyptians.
He added that some mummies were moldy, causing a build up on tomb walls of bacteria which could attack the respiratory system and be fatal.
He also pointed out that ammonia gas could also leak from coffins, resulting in burning to the eyes and nose, pneumonia, and sometimes death, and that bat excrement found inside some graves carried a fungus that could bring on respiratory disease similar to influenza.
The Lebanese flag flies next to the Beirut port silo, damaged in the August 4 explosion, as smoke billows from a huge fire there on September 10, 2020. (AFP/File Photo)
A Lebanese businessman recalls the bittersweet experience of rebuilding after the Beirut blast
Robert Paoli has salvaged his business from the ruins of Beirut port, but his belief in Lebanon’s future is badly shaken
With zero help from Lebanese authorities, Paoli and his loyal staff rebuilt the firm’s warehouse in a matter of months
Updated 30 March 2021
Caline Malek
DUBAI: One Lebanese man has worked day and night since the devastating Beirut blast of Aug. 4 last year to ensure his lifetime’s work is salvaged from the rubble. In less than six months, Robert Paoli became the first trader to reopen a warehouse in the Port of Beirut Logistic Free Zone following the disaster.
“I’ve worked in the freight-forwarding business all my life,” the 57-year-old told Arab News. “I always believed in Lebanon from the beginning, and I worked very hard to create my units in the free zone here.”
Beirut’s strategic location on the Eastern Mediterranean coastline made the port a thriving economic asset. But all that changed one Tuesday afternoon when a nearby warehouse containing nearly 3,000 tons of highly volatile ammonium nitrate caught fire.
The resulting two explosions sent an enormous shockwave through the port and surrounding districts — taking Paoli’s warehouses with it.
Paoli had spent upward of $1.5 million and poured years of hard work into his new warehouse, which had been due to open for business in just a matter of weeks. All types of goods were already stored there, from electrical appliances and tires to chemical agents.
Recalling that horrific day, Paoli said he was lucky to have left his office early, a decision necessitated by COVID-19 restrictions in place at the Logistic Free Zone. As he joined his son for a game of tennis at his club 20 minutes out of town, Paoli received an alarming phone call from a friend about a fire at the port.
“Having three units there and a new warehouse in the Karantina area very close to the port, I was anxious” Paoli said. “My other friend who lived across the port couldn’t see anything. But five minutes later, I heard the explosion.”
The blast was heard as far away as in Cyprus, at a distance of more than 200 kilometers. About 210 people were killed and 7,500 injured as the shockwave flattened nearby buildings and overturned vehicles.
Robert Paoli has spent millions rebuilding devastated warehouse units after the Beirut explosion on August 4, 2020. (Supplied)
“I thought a bomb had hit my club,” Paoli said. “We were far away, but it floored us and the windows broke.”
As a gigantic black cloud rose from the faraway port, Paoli jumped into his car and raced back to the city. Before he arrived, the gatekeeper from the Karantina warehouse called to say everything was gone.
“I was shocked,” he said. “I asked if there were any injuries and there were none, thankfully. My wife called me crying, saying she saw on TV my warehouse in the free zone totally destroyed.”
When he arrived, Paoli found a nightmarish scene, with what remained of his cargo stock trapped beneath tons of rubble. “All my employees came and wept,” he said. “Just thinking about it makes me relive the moment. When I realized how extensive the damage was, the reality of the situation sank in.”
The Lebanese army soon arrived to prevent looters from taking what remained of Paoli’s stock. It was at that moment Paoli resolved to rebuild. “It felt like a challenge for me, thinking we will not go down,” he said. “It was impossible for me to not rebuild.”
That night, Paoli’s first priority was securing his stock, spread across various sites. To supplement the army’s presence, he also placed his staff on round-the-clock guard duty.
BEIRUT EXPLOSION INVESTIGATION
* Investigating judge Fadi Sawan has brought charges against 37 people since Aug. 2020.
* Of them, 25 are detained under conditions that appear to violate their due process rights, according to HRW.
* Among those charged with negligence are two former ministers and caretaker PM Hassan Diab.
* Diab has refused to appear for questioning, calling it “diabolical” to single him out.
* The ministers asked the top court to replace Sawan, bringing the inquiry to a halt since Dec. 2020.
“It was our duty to protect it for our clients,” Paoli said. “My team is incredible. I really felt how much this company meant to them and how much they respected me.”
When the sun rose the following day, the reconstruction effort began. Averaging just four hours of sleep per night, Paoli arrived at 6:30 a.m. every single day for the next six months to clear the debris and salvage what he could.
Robert Paoli, his wife Mona, daughter Andrea and son Philippe, have lost hope in their country after the Beirut explosion on August 4, 2020, devastated their warehouse units. (Supplied)
“It was a big responsibility on my shoulders, because our warehouse units were fully loaded with merchandise,” he said. “We had 80 to 90 40-foot containers. It was hell.”
What cargo they could be saved was removed and either delivered to clients or stored safely. But the trouble was far from over. A month later, another fire broke out at a neighbor’s warehouse.
“The army tried to stop us from entering to try to contain the fire, but we managed to do it within three to four hours,” Paoli recalled. “All the neighboring warehouses burned but ours. We were lucky we were able to save it.”
To add insult to injury, Paoli was taken in for questioning in relation to the fire, but released 24 hours later, angry and demoralized.
Recalling that horrific day, Paoli said he was lucky to have left his office early, a decision necessitated by COVID-19 restrictions in place at the Logistic Free Zone. (Supplied)
“I was exhausted and down because I was trying to do something good and I got arrested,” he said. “I felt like I had gone back to zero. I was really affected but I had this constant drive to rebuild, and this gave me the strength to keep going.”
Soon enough, Paoli’s industry and toil paid off when his warehouse reopened for business in the free zone.
What upset him, however, was the lack of support from government and aid agencies. “Nobody cared or asked about us,” he said. “Associations came to help people, but not us, although we were in the most affected area and we had employees who were at risk of losing their jobs.”
His children, Andrea and Philippe, are proud of their father’s stamina during those grueling months.
Paoli’s industry and toil paid off when his warehouse reopened for business in the free zone. (Supplied)
“I was impressed by his attitude,” said Philippe, a former professional footballer. “He was the only one expressing gratitude that everyone was safe, and rebuilding was like an everyday task for him.
“Looking back, we were the only ones who were able to rebuild in this time thanks to this attitude. This dedication towards his employees really opens your heart. They’re part of our family.”
Andrea, a former national taekwondo champion, praised her father for taking responsibility for rebuilding his business and caring for his staff when no one else would.
“It would have been much easier to do nothing, give up, put the blame on others and, eventually, fire employees,” she said.
The destroyed silo is pictured on October 26, 2020 at Beirut's port following the August 4 massive chemical explosion at the site which that caused severe damage across swathes of the Lebanese capital. (AFP/File Photo)
“What my father did was take a difficult path, following his strong integrity, care, and outstanding crisis-management skills. I can only hope it inspires others around him at a time when the country has plunged into a never-ending nightmare.”
By all accounts, Lebanon’s handling of the disaster’s aftermath leaves a lot to be desired. Eight months on, the blast investigation is still going on, because of which Paoli has not seen a cent from his insurance company.
As he struggles to absorb his share ($3 million) of the free zone’s collective $50 million loss, Paoli says his view of his country has completely changed.
“Before the blast, I always believed that, whatever happens, I will continue growing and working in Lebanon. It’s our country and we have to remain here,” he said.
“But right now, I am saying no more. I will protect what I have, my business and my employees because they’re like my family, but no more expansion plans in this country. For the first time in my life, I am starting to think of doing something outside of Lebanon.”
Paoli’s wife Mona agrees the faith they once had in Lebanon has run out of road.
“Robert’s positivity is contagious,” she said. “But for us, the adventure stops here, and a new page is opening in our life.”
