Iran in indirect contact with Syria and Israeli protesters block Gaza aid
Iran says it has opened 'indirect' communications with the new regime in Syria.
Israeli protesters are attempting to block aid deliveries to Gaza through the Karam Abu Salem crossing.
US President Donald Trump has selected a design for America's Golden Dome missile defence shield.
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The National
an hour ago
- The National
'It's now or never': Lebanon looks to digital transformation to revive economy and curb corruption
Lebanon 's President Joseph Aoun has pledged to expand digitalisation in the public sector as part of a broader drive to make government more efficient, revive the economy and tackle corruption. The country must be "open to regional partnerships and ready for foreign investment", he said at the Smart Government: Diaspora Experts for Lebanon conference in Beirut. 'The smart government is always postponed so that citizens' paperwork remains hostage to the whims of the corrupt,' Mr Aoun said. 'We want Lebanon to be open to regional partnerships and ready for foreign investment. The digitalisation project is not just a government initiative, it is a national project and a sovereign decision for a better future." The conference brought together senior officials, business leaders and experts from the Lebanese diaspora to discuss the country's digital strategy, including its policy for artificial intelligence and the role of public-private partnerships in innovation. 'Now is the right time because we are living in the era of global digital transformation. If Lebanon doesn't catch up, it risks missing the moment,' said Rabih El Amine, chairman of the Lebanese Executives Council, which organised the event. He added that Lebanon has reached a turning point for reform with the election of Mr Aoun and appointment of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam after more than two years of political vacuum, and 14 months of deadly conflict with Israel. 'We now have a newly elected President and a government in formation. Both have pledged in their initial statements to endorse and support the establishment of a smart government in Lebanon,' Mr El Amine said Political will and legal reforms are essential for Lebanon to initiate its digital transformation, he said. 'International partners are ready to help. We're here to help the government build the needed infrastructure for digital transitions," he said. "But if parliament does not modernise laws to align with these strategies, then we go nowhere." Lebanon's Minister of the Displaced and Minister for Technology and Artificial Intelligence, Kamal Shehadi, outlined his flagship initiative at the conference. Known as LEAP, the project is aimed at driving digital reform, transforming government operations and the broader economy, and developing AI infrastructure. Under the initiative, AI is expected to contribute 10 per cent of the country's GDP by 2035, supported by expanded broadband and digital infrastructure, generating an economic boost of $3 billion to $4 billion. It also aims to attract $500 million in AI investment and double the AI workforce. 'This is our last chance,' Nadine Shawi, an adviser to the Ministry of Technology and Artificial Intelligence, told The National. 'The time is now. We've also established a digital authority to oversee everything related to AI, and we're actively co-ordinating with other ministries. This is the right moment. We're making progress and now is the time to accelerate development.' Economic challenge Since 2019, Lebanon has faced what the World Bank described as one of the worst financial crises since the mid-19th century, with the local currency losing more than 90 per cent of its value and public services collapsing. The financial meltdown, which has resulted in losses exceeding $70 billion, has left banks nearly insolvent and locked many depositors out of their savings. One in three Lebanese is living in poverty, according to a World Bank report released last year. 'After the 2019 financial crash, investors will think 10 times before putting money in. The government needs to create the right conditions for investment,' Jihad Bitar, chief executive of Siren Analytics, a Beirut company that specialises in digital transformation, told The National. Lebanon faces a long road to economic recovery, with numerous constraints, Economy Minister Amer Bsat said at the conference. 'It's clear that we do not have a functioning banking sector capable of seizing emerging opportunities, including those in Syria,' he added. The downfall of former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad in December and the lifting of western sanctions have renewed international investor interest in the country, although Beirut has not yet revived its historically close trade ties with Damascus. 'Our private sector is not competitive. We need to lower the cost of production, particularly electricity,' Mr Bsat added. He also pointed to the country's challenging business environment. 'Today, it takes just two hours to open a company in London. In Lebanon, the relationship between the private and public sectors is not sound,' he said. 'One of the solutions is digitalisation. The implementation of e-government can help streamline procedures and facilitate interaction with the state."
Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Hezbollah can recover after its costly war with Israel, senior official says
Hezbollah can recover from the heavy military defeat it suffered at the hands of Israel because it still has the backing of the Lebanese people, Ibrahim Mousawi, a sitting MP from Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, has told Middle East Eye. Speaking in the Lebanese capital Beirut, Mousawi, a member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, however, accepted that Hezbollah was facing several hurdles after much of its leadership was wiped out, and after it lost control of key assets such as Beirut airport and smuggling routes along the Syrian border. "Everybody knows we are in a difficult situation," Mousawi said. "[But how] did we start the resistance? We built it ourselves little by little. It is one of the miracles of history, the sacrifice for our land. It's very difficult and [we are in] tough times - but we will continue to struggle," he added. On 8 October 2023, a day after Israel launched its war on Gaza, Hezbollah opened a limited battlefront with Israel in support of Hamas and Palestinians under attack in the besieged enclave. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters For nearly a year, the conflict was mostly limited to clashes in the border areas between Lebanon and Israel. But in September, Israel exploded thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members before launching a widespread bombing campaign across the country followed by a ground invasion. Dozens of villages were erased and more than 3,900 Lebanese killed, including the group's charismatic and long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah. After Hezbollah signed up to a lopsided ceasefire on 27 November, Israel has repeatedly flaunted its dominance over Lebanon by occupying five strategic points in the south. Walid Jumblatt says Arab leaders must wake up to Israeli expansionism Read More » It has also repeatedly carried out air strikes on areas in the south and in late March, conducted its first raid on Beirut in four months. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED), an American NGO which tracks violence, Israel carried out at least 330 aerial attacks between 27 November and 10 January 2025, destroying at least 260 properties in the first 60 days of the truce. Mousawi said that Hezbollah was shouldering its responsibility towards Lebanon and covering the costs of rehousing southerners made homeless by Israel's war. He said the movement had spent more than $1bn on rents and salaries for those displaced by the violence. "We have done a great part in the recovery process," he said. "It's not there yet and in some aspects it is not estimated that we will [get back to where we were]," he added. 'The Israelis want our land' Mousawi said that despite the destruction, which saw countless social, financial and medical Hezbollah-run institutions destroyed, the movement would continue to remain active and resist Israeli expansionism. "When you lose one battle, the important thing to recognise is that the environment of resistance is still there and so is Hezbollah's social matrix," he said. "Why do we have a resistance? Because the Israelis want our land. When you don't have a strong army to defend you, and America continues to deprive the Lebanese army of the means to defend itself, you are left with no other option than resistance," Mousawi added. While Israel is yet to complete its withdrawal from southern Lebanon, which was scheduled under the terms of the ceasefire for 18 February, Mousawi confirmed that Hezbollah had handed over its arms and pulled back its forces from their positions south of the Litani River in accordance with UN Resolution 1701 passed after their previous war with Israel in 2006. But he denied the movement was in talks with Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese president and former chief of staff of the Lebanese army to hand over the rest of its arsenal of heavy weapons. "Hezbollah has handed over its arms south of the Litani [River]. When you talk about other arms, this is a sovereign discussion which is going to be discussed at a national level. "This is something for the Lebanon president who is prudent. The way he is handling the issues, it gives you an indication of what kind of man he is." Mousawi framed those discussions as Hezbollah's part in a "National Strategy Security Plan" to make sure that Lebanon can defend itself. Mousawi also heaped praise on the Lebanese army, despite it choosing to sit out Israel's war and battles with Hezbollah. "Who are the Lebanese army? They are brave people," he said. "My father was in the Lebanese army. My brother was in the Lebanese army. Some of them are martyrs but they are not being given the orders to fight and they don't have the equipment. "Our Lebanese army are strong and brave and they can do the mission if they have the right orders. We will be with them, the people of the land." 'We will work with anyone against Israel' Still, Mousawi was bitterly critical of the committee chaired by US General Jasper Jeffers, whose job it is to monitor the ceasefire, which he said gave Israel the scope to continue carrying out attacks in the south of the country. "We are under some kind of American mandate. This can give Lebanon scores of issues, but one thing I am sure of, the Americans won't succeed." Mousawi also said the fall of Syria's former president, Bashar al-Assad, presented a major change in the balance of power. Israel's aggression in Syria advances a century-long plan to co-opt the Druze Read More » "What happened in Syria is a major loss for the axis of resistance," he said. "It was in power for nearly 60 years and it went in days and hours." Syrian rebels, led by the now dissolved Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), seized the capital Damascus early on 7 December, as Assad fled to Russia, ending more than five decades of brutal dynastic rule. In the space of 10 days, the rebels captured Aleppo, Hama and Homs, with little resistance from demoralised Syrian troops. Assad's forces also pulled out of Deir Ezzor in the east, which was then taken by the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces. When asked whether Hezbollah would work with President Ahmed al-Sharaa or any future Syrian administration, Mousawi said the Shia movement was prepared to "work with anyone against Israel". But he said there were certain new realities that Sharaa would have to face. "I believe that no ruler, no president can oppose the unanimous will of his people. We believe in Arab nationalism. Let us hope that Syria will stay in the right position to be part of those who oppose the occupation. "In Hezbollah we are open to anyone to gain arms to oppose Israel. This is a period of rebuilding your capabilities in order to come back to your previous strength. Israel cannot get a hold of this region. The soul of revolution will always fight back," he added. 'No one in the camps is giving up their arms' Separately, a Palestinian source in southern Lebanon told MEE that whilst Hezbollah fighter fought bravely on the ground, the blows it received in Beirut and elsewhere "had a huge effect" on its fighting units. "Many of the fighters fled with their families, which gave Hezbollah an indication that they could not hold their positions on the ground much longer," the source, who is close to resistance groups, said. "Hezbollah were desperate to sign the ceasefire agreement because they could not have held on for even one month longer." 'The arms are a symbol of our cause and our resistance. The moment we give up our arms, is the moment we have given up our cause' - Palestinian Islamic Jihad source In April, a Hezbollah source told the AFP news agency that the movement had ceded 190 out of 265 military positions south of the Litani River to the Lebanese army. Meanwhile, informed sources outside of Hezbollah told MEE that the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon was a long way off, despite Washington imposing excessive pressure on the Lebanese government. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas was recently in Beirut on a three-day mission, and Palestinian and Lebanese sources told MEE that the trip was intimately tied to disarming Palestinian factions in the country's refugee camps. After meeting President Aoun, a joint statement released on the Lebanese presidency's X (formerly Twitter) account said there was a commitment by "both sides to the principle that all weapons in the country must be controlled by state authorities'. However, several sources told MEE that Palestinian factions, who largely posses a range of light to medium weapons, would refrain from relinquishing their weapons due to fears of potential massacres. This was confirmed by interviews MEE conducted in Beirut's Burj al-Barajneh camp. Najwa refused to leave her village so Israeli troops shot her in her home Read More » Palestinians in Lebanon vividly remember the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, when Israel-backed Christian Lebanese militiamen killed between 800 and 3,500 civilians, mostly women, children, and the elderly. "No one in the camps is giving up their arms," Zaki, a man affiliated with Islamic Jihad, told MEE. "The arms are a symbol of our cause and our resistance. The moment we give up our arms, is the moment we have given up our cause. All factions of the resistance received a hit but will come back much stronger, as they have done in the past." A Palestinian academic source summed up the mood of all Palestinian factions in the camps, telling MEE: "How is it only the question of Palestinian arms?" "All the main political parties, even the Druze, have their own arms," he said. "If every single party has its own arms, what is the problem of Palestinians defending themselves? "Palestinians don't have heavy weapons. So let us talk about the problem of arms in the whole of the Lebanese community before we talk about any one group disarming," he added.
Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
UAE President, German Chancellor discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Excellency Friedrich Merz, held a phone call today to discuss ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly in the economic and development fields. The call took place within the context of the strategic partnership between the UAE and Germany and focused on advancing shared interests. During the call, His Highness congratulated Chancellor Merz on his election and wished him every success in leading Germany towards greater progress and prosperity. He reaffirmed his commitment to working closely with the new Chancellor to further enhance bilateral ties, especially in areas that support sustainable growth and benefit both nations and their peoples. Chancellor Merz thanked His Highness for his warm congratulations and reaffirmed Germany's commitment to deepening its relationship with the UAE in support of mutual development goals.
