Mideast Catholic patriarchs express hope amid uncertainty at Christmas

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by cruxnow.com BEIRUT, Lebanon - Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East - with hope, despite uncertainty in the region - called for peace, security, prayer and solidarity at Christmastime. From Baghdad, Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako expressed hope for a “new phase” for his country, that the recent triumph over the Islamic State and the termination of terrorist control of Mosul and other Iraqi cities is a step toward security and stability. But the liberation of those areas, he said, requires the Iraqi government to work to facilitate “the return of Christians to their homes and properties, preserving their rights as indigenous citizens, recognizing their culture, civilization and heritage as an essential part of Iraq’s history and preventing demographic changes in their historical geographic areas.” Sako reiterated that before the American-led invasion of 2003, there were more than 1.5 million Christians in Iraq. More than half of that Christian population has migrated due to discrimination, threats, abductions and the expulsion from their homes in Ninevah Plain by the Islamic State in 2014, he said. “This is our homeland and we insist (we) remain here,” he said. He called for unity among Iraqi Christians as well as for them to work “hand in hand with their fellow Muslims.” The future, Patriarch Sako said, “cannot be built without tolerance and coexistence.” “So, let us move to the path of hope together,” Patriarch Sako said. “In regard to Muslims, an honest dialogue is a must, to understand the truth of each side and accept it,” he said. Alluding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Chaldean patriarch urged Christians “to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who have been suffering from injustice and displacement for 70 years.” He also called on them “to pray for Jerusalem to remain a holy city for Christians, Muslims and Jews.”

In his Christmas message, Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, also touched upon Trump’s declaration regarding Jerusalem. “We categorically reject it because it is an unjust and hostile decision toward Christianity and Islam, and of the Palestinian people in particular,” Rai said. He said the decision demolished peace negotiations and could “ignite a new uprising and even war, God forbid.” Citing World Bank studies, Rai noted that one-third of the Lebanese people remain below the poverty level. Furthermore, the presence of 1 million displaced Syrians and hundreds of Iraqis as well as half a million Palestinian refugees is “compounding the needs of the Lebanese.” Rai called upon the Prince of Peace to protect Lebanon and “this growing (Middle East) region where Christianity originated, and to spread the culture of love, brotherhood and peace.”

Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan noted that Lebanon, “the only country where all citizens enjoy the best possible liberty and equality,” had faced numerous trials in 2017. In his Christmas message from the patriarchate in Beirut, he thanked God that the Lebanese army dispelled terrorist groups that were threatening Lebanon’s “very existence.” “During this joyful season, our thoughts and prayers will particularly go to our brothers and sisters in Syria and Iraq, who have been suffering for long, because of their steadfast faithfulness to the Gospel,” Younan said. “Their presence as a Christian minority that endured every kind of hardship is essential to the rebirth of their respective countries.” He added that “there is still a lot to do that would inspire confidence to our eradicated and exhausted community in order to return to their ancestral land” in Syria and Iraq. “Economic sanctions on Syria must be lifted,” the Syriac Catholic patriarch said. The sanctions, he said, “are like crimes against humanity, because they target the most vulnerable segments of a nation.”

Melkite Catholic Patriarch Joseph Absi, in a message from the patriarchate in Damascus, Syria, noted that “as the various currents of the world invade the spirit of the people” and “as the land of the East is trampled by war and displacement,” the faithful sometimes wonder about the presence of God “and his role in our lives.” But Absi offered hope and reassurance in his message that “Christmas comes, the Divine Incarnation, to reveal to us that God’s hand appears and accompanies us, especially in the difficult stages of our lives.”

Lebanese foreign minister denounced over Israel comments

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BEIRUT- Lebanese politicians on Thursday criticized Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil over a television interview in which he was shown saying that Lebanon did not have an ideological problem with Israel and was not against it having security. The comments, made to al-Mayadin television channel during a long interview on Tuesday, had just started attracting attention. Bassil stated during his interview“There is no ideological problem with Israel, and we do not reject its existence. Israel has the right to safety. All we care about is for people to recognize one another. We are people who accept the other but the problem is when the other rejects you,” Bassil, said when asked about normalizing relations with Israel. A former government minister called on Bassil to resign and a member of parliament also criticized him with Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouq leading the charge tweeting "The Cabinet should dismiss Bassil if he doesn't recognize an ideological difference with Israel"; while MP Boutros Harb called on the Justice Minister to open a probe regarding the matter.  Bassil’s office later said al-Mayadin had distorted his comments through its editing of the interview, without explaining how. “The aim of taking his statements out of context is to distort his stance – the well-known stance that Israel is an aggressive entity that practices terrorism of the state. It is well-known who stands behind this campaign that aims to harm the stance which Bassil expressed at the Arab League,” the statement said. 

World's Wealthiest Became $1 Trillion Richer in 2017

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by Tom Metcalf, Jack Witzig - Bloomberg - The richest people on earth became $1 trillion richer in 2017, more than four times last year’s gain, as stock markets shrugged off economic, social and political divisions to reach record highs. The 23 percent increase on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 500 richest people, compares with an almost 20 percent increase for both the MSCI World Index and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos added the most in 2017, a $34,2 billion gain that knocked Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates out of his spot as the world’s richest person in October. Gates, 62, had held the spot since May 2013 , and has been donating much of his fortune to charity, including a $4.6 billion pledge he made to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in August. Bezos, whose net worth topped $100 billion at the end of November, currently has a net worth of $99.6 billion compared with $91.3 billion for Gates. George Soros also gave away a substantial part of his fortune, revealing in October that his family office had given $18 billion to his Open Society Foundations over the past several years, dropping the billionaire investor to No. 195 on the Bloomberg ranking, with a net worth of $8 billion. By the end of trading Tuesday, Dec. 26, the 500 billionaires controlled $5.3 trillion, up from $4.4 trillion on Dec. 27, 2016. “It’s part of the second-most robust and second-longest bull market in history,” said Mike Ryan, chief investment officer for the Americas at UBS Wealth Management, on Dec. 18. “Of all the guidance we gave people over the course of this year, the most important advice was staying invested.”

Winners

The 38 Chinese billionaires on the Bloomberg index added $177 billion in 2017, a 65 percent gain that was the biggest of the 49 countries represented. Hui Ka Yan, founder of developer China Evergrande Group, added $25.9 billion, a 350 percent jump from last year, and the second-biggest U.S. dollar gain on the index, after Bezos. Technology billionaire Ma Huateng, co-founder of messaging service Tencent Holdings, became Asia’s second-richest person when his fortune nearly doubled to $41 billion. The number of Asian billionaires surpassed the U.S. for the first time, according to a UBS Group AG and PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

The U.S. has the largest presence on the index, with 159 billionaires who added $315 billion, an 18 percent gain that gives them a collective net worth of $2 trillion.

Russia’s 27 richest people put behind them the economic pain that followed President Vladimir Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, adding $29 billion to $275 billion, surpassing the collective net worth they had before western economic sanctions began.

It was also a banner year for tech moguls, with the 57 technology billionaires on the index adding $262 billion, a 35 percent increase that was the most of any sector on the ranking. Facebook Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg had the fourth-largest U.S. dollar increase on the index, adding $22.6 billion, or 45 percent, and filed plans to sell 18 percent of his stake in the social media giant as part of his plan to give away the majority of his $72.6 billion fortune.

In all, the 440 billionaires on the index who added to their fortunes in 2017, gained a combined $1.05 trillion.

Losers

The fortune of French telecommunications billionaire Patrick Drahi fell $4.1 billion to $6.3 billion, a 39 percent drop. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the richest person in Saudi Arabia, dropped $1.9 billion to $17.8 billion after he was detained in a crackdown against corruption led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that targeted royals, government officials and business leaders. There were 60 billionaires who fell from the ranking, including South African retailer Christo Wiese, whose fortune dropped to $1.8 billion from a peak of $7.7 billion, in August 2016, after news of an accounting scandal at his Steinhoff International Holdings NV broke on Dec. 5. Sumner Redstone, 94, also fell off the list as CBS owner Viacom Inc. continued to grapple with a bitter battle for control between his daughter and other executives, while Rupert Murdoch, 86, sidestepped succession concerns with a December deal to sell much of 21st Century Fox Inc.’s entertainment assets to Walt Disney Co. Redstone shed $90 million. Murdoch added $2.7 billion. In all, the 58 of the 500 billionaires who saw their fortunes shrink in 2017, lost a combined $46 billion

Contacts Between FPM, Lebanese Forces to Protect ‘Maarab Understanding’

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aawsat.com -  Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat Contacts and meetings resumed between the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the Lebanese Forces (LF) party in an attempt to revive already tense relations between the two largest Christian forces in Lebanon. Ties became strained after the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in November, a position backed by the LF. Information Minister Melhem Riachi, of the LF, and MP Ibrahim Kanaan, of the FPM, are tasked with the mission of repairing relations between the two sides. The two officials were the sponsors of the Maarab understanding reached in 2016 to end nearly 30 years of disputes between the two Christian parties. The agreement led the LF to announce its backing of Michel Aoun for the country’s presidency. He was elected later that year. An FPM official and former minister Mario Aoun told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday that relations between both parties is not measured by the presence of some simple disputes, but by their agreement on essential issues. “The FPM and LF relationship is bound by essential understandings that could not be overlooked,” he said. The FMP position is shared by the LF. “There are differences over some positions, but we already agreed to accept each other’s differences,” LF MP Joseph Maalouf told Asharq Al-Awsat. The disputed files between both sides are countless, and include disagreements over issues related to the oil and electricity sectors, in addition to the issue of appointments in public institutions. Despite revitalized relations, it does not appear that they would be sufficient for both parties to strike alliances for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for May. “The current agreements between the FPM and LF do not mean their translation into electoral alliances,” Aoun said. He said that the new electoral law is capable of testing the electoral capacities of each party

Earthquake fears over Lebanese dam

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by dw.com/ - In a bid to tackle water shortages, Lebanon is planning to build a dam close to two major seismic fault lines. Locals say environmental damage and the risk of earthquakes will outweigh the dam's benefits. In a country notorious for its environmental scandals — including the two-year garbage crisis — the Bisri Valley, just 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of the capital, Beirut, feels like an Arcadian paradise. Its fertile soil nourishes a plentiful variety of fruit and vegetables, from olives and almonds to kiwis and pomegranates. It's also famous for its pine nuts that grow wild on tall, umbrella-shaped trees (photo above). Adding to the valley's charm, ruins that span several civilizations from the Phoenicians to the Romans are scattered along the Awali River. But all this is set to vanish. In an attempt to tackle ongoing water shortages, construction is due to start soon on Lebanon's second biggest dam. The process is expected to take nine years and cost an estimated $617 million (around €518 million), funds mostly provided by the World Bank. The 70-meter (230-foot) dam on the Awali River will inundate 400 hectares (990 acres) of agricultural land, pine forests and natural vegetation. Advocates say the dam is essential to tackling water shortages that plague Beirut and its environs, home to 40 percent of the country's population. Some neighborhoods only have three hours of water a day, according to the government's Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), which is overseeing the project.

Seismic disturbance But for the valley's inhabitants the dam is a costly solution. Not only will they lose their farmland and livelihoods — they also fear the dam, to be built on an active seismic fault line, could put the region at risk of catastrophic earthquakes. Amer Machmouchi, a civil engineer who owns land in the Bisri Valley, is one of the dam's fiercest opponents. He's old enough to remember the devastating earthquake in 1956 that killed 135 people and destroyed his family home. "Any attempt to drill or dig in this area will allow water to run in the cracks," he told DW. "Research suggests that extra water leakage into these cracks would lead to earthquakes, which would destroy all the villages. People will die in the thousands." The Lebanon Eco Movement, a network of 60 local NGOs, also believes such a reservoir built on an active fault line could aggravate seismic activity. But Elie Moussalli, the engineer in charge of the project at CDR, insists their fears are unfounded. "The dam is designed to accommodate the maximum credible earthquake, which is equivalent to 8 on a Richter scale," he said. "Studies were done according to best international practices." But Machmouchi isn't convinced.

Flooding the breadbasket Among his favorite aspects of the valley are the Roman ruins that grace the verdant banks of the Awali River. The CDR has promised to excavate and relocate them, along with the historic Mar Moussa Church, at a cost of $370 million. Machmouchi remains dubious: "Who can move this temple? The area is 400 meters long. Where can it go?" Locals are also unhappy about the compensation the government is offering for the expropriation of their land. Marie-Dominique Farhat's family owned 59 greenhouses that produce around 250 tons of strawberries a year. They have all been taken down to make way for the dam. "They will give us a compensation equivalent to only two or three years of harvest. Locals will become poorer," she told DW. Farhat's mother, 91-year-old Lody Awad, lives in an old house overlooking the valley. She said Lebanon, which has historically depended on agricultural produce imported from neighboring Syria, cannot afford to lose the Bisri's fertile fields. "What is lacking here in Lebanon is agricultural land to feed the population, which is growing," she told DW. "They need vegetables, fruits, of course, fruit trees, olive trees, and pine trees. If they take all this land — well it's a pity, it's a real pity."

Authorities have promised to relocate the historic Mar Moussa Church, but locals are skeptical

Ecosystems under threat Roland Nassour, who prepared a report on the environmental risks of the dam on behalf of Lebanon Eco Movement, said wildlife is also at risk. The inundation will "obstruct movements of migratory water bird species," as well as alter the river's sediment levels and downstream flow patterns, he said. "It's a whole ecosystem that will be severely impacted." Environmental activists favor alternatives to the dam such as groundwater extraction. "We believe any water development strategy should consider investment in the underground water," Nassour said. "About 65 percent of Lebanon's water resources are actually in underground water basins." Listen to audio 08:41 Living Planet: A high price for water? But a 2014 environmental impact assessment by the CDR says these were examined and discarded. The World Bank argues that Lebanon's groundwater resources are already under pressure. "Currently in Lebanon, groundwater is overextracted by 200 million cubic meters per year and the aquifers are already being exploited at unsustainable levels," a World Bank spokesperson told DW. Bisri's last harvest? Despite opposition, construction of the Bisri dam looks set to go ahead. But that hasn't stopped some landowners from continuing to tend to their orchards. Every Sunday, Oussama Saad still visits his fields of eggplants, prunes, almonds and nectarines, which his father purchased 60 years ago. "The connection between the land and the people is very strong," he said, plucking a pomegranate from an overhanging branch. "I don't want money. I want to live here. If we can't stop the dam, I will see if I can find another piece of land. But I don't think I can find a good place like this."

Women may have more rights ‘but female freedoms are going backward’

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by OLIVIA CUTHBERT -Arab News -  LONDON: Women may be gaining ground legally, but older generations say that over time, their liberties have been chipped away. Pictures of Levantine women in the sixties and seventies hint at fewer restrictions — their coiffured hair, short sleeves and mini skirts portraying modes of dress that would be unthinkable in modern-day Syria or Iraq. Layla Naffa, director of projects at the Arab Women’s Organization in Jordan, started university in the late sixties when women were moving more and more into the public sphere. “We seemed to gain so many liberties back then — women were in education, attending university and able to work.” “You can see the difference in the way they dressed and presented themselves. We all used to wear the micro-jupe (mini skirt).” In 1974, Jordanian women received the right to vote. Prior to this, Syria was among the earliest Arab countries to take the step in 1949, followed by Lebanon in 1952 and Egypt in 1956. Progress started to sputter in the mid-seventies, Naffa said, with the rise of Islamic extremism, which has been gaining momentum ever since. Since then, attitudes in conservative communities have hardened against women’s rights, with many who may once have enjoyed more freedoms, shut out of public life and consigned to the domestic sphere.

Recent regional tensions have exacerbated this inequality, said Amal Amraoui of the Chouf Organization, which campaigns for women’s rights in Tunisia. “Mentalities are going backward and the new kind of radicalization in the region kills a little bit of our freedom day by day.” “Before women in MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) countries had freedom, but not rights; now they are getting rights but they don’t have freedom,” she added. Recent legal reforms, including a law eliminating violence against women in Tunisia and the abolition of rape-marriage clauses in Jordan and Lebanon, are an important first step. However, these will not translate into change on the ground without simultaneously unpicking a deep-rooted mentality that sees gender-based violence as acceptable and inequality as the norm. “Governments passing laws is one aspect, but it isn’t everything,” said Dr. Lina Abirafeh, director of the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW). “It is about undoing what is so ingrained in all of us we don’t even realize it... and it begins with education.” Aid agencies say that women and girls suffer disproportionately in times of conflict and economic hardship, which often trigger an increase in sexual harassment, domestic violence and early marriage. “Those conflicts and insecurities exacerbate the pre-existing vulnerabilities that women and girls already have. In short, they make things much worse,” Abirafeh added.

Sara Bittar, a gender research consultant who works with international NGOs, said that women in conservative communities in the Middle East are facing more and more pressure, noting a rise in child marriage and increasing rates of domestic violence, particularly among refugees. While access to employment and education has improved for a select few, the gap between social spheres has widened, she said, cutting the vast majority adrift from these opportunities. “If we are to look at opportunities for women across the board, they have not increased as much as you would expect, especially in light of the recent (legal) reforms as well as social media, which should give more women a voice.” Instead, “new channels have reinforced existing restrictions,” she explained, with those in opposition to equal rights utilizing social media platforms to condemn gender equality and criticize its advocates. Since the start of the Arab Spring in 2011, which many women used as a platform to demand their rights, violence against activists has seen a notable increase. But while opposition to gender equality remains widespread, civil society organizations have grown stronger and more vocal, raising issues in the public sphere that would once have been taboo to touch on. But the road to comprehensive change remains long and confidence that equality is achievable ebbs and flows for activists facing hurdles that often seem insurmountable.