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Politicians Gather for First Sitting of New Iranian Parliament

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The 268-member-strong 11th Parliament gathered in Tehran for a swearing-in ceremony Wednesday. The newly elected members were subject to temperature tests before entering the chamber, and observed strict social distancing measures inside the Majlis (parliament) during the inauguration, Iranian media reported. 

Iran’s February 21 elections, where voter turn-out was at its lowest since the 1979 Revolution, delivered a government packed with hardliners and conservatives faithful to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

The parliament’s Interim Chair, Reza Taqavi, dubbed the new assembly the “Supreme Leader’s Majlis.” Although it has little influence on foreign or nuclear policy, the new Majlis could strengthen support for hardline candidates ahead of Iran’s 2021 presidential elections.

Several of the newly elected representatives are also threatening to cause trouble for President Hassan Rouhani’s moderate administration, prompting him to request the two branches of government to sign an accord. Several new members have threatened to impeach Rouhani, while others want him tried for mismanagement.

Next week the parliament will elect a new speaker to serve a one year term, but temporary chairman Taqavi promised the assembly “will neither play the role of an advocate for the administration, nor will it act as its enemy.” Taqavi and Mostafa Mirsalim, the oldest members of parliament, are both serving as interim chairs.

Official proceedings included a message from Khameini, read by his Chief of Staff, Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani that encouraged the Majlis to further Khamenei’s policy of “economic jihad,” and a speech by President Rouhani. 

Despite being one of the countries worst affected by COVID-19, Rouhani told the new parliament, “we are among the countries that have been successful in their fight against this dangerous virus.” He also called for political cooperation, urging Iranians to “confront sanctions and the disease” together. 

The Majlis elections coincided with the beginning of Iran’s deadly COVID-19 pandemic outbreak that has killed 7,500 and infected 139,500 people, according to official figures. The coronavirus crisis has placed further pressure on Iran’s economy, while the health system was already struggling under the weight of crippling US sanctions re-enforced in 2018 after President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled America out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Read also: French FM: Iran’s Jailing of French Academic ‘Politically Motivated’

Afghanistan Ceasefire Provides Hope for Peace

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The celebratory spirit of the festival of Eid al Fitr appears to have temporarily produced what years of negotiations have failed to do. After a bloody winter and a violent spring with daily civilian casualties, both parties have realized a temporary ceasefire.

While ceasefires in Afghanistan are regularly breached by a reemergence of violence, the current halt in hostilities appears to have been universally accepted and implemented.

Unique ceasefire

After a violence-filled Ramadan that saw 146 civilians killed and 430 wounded, on Sunday May 24, the opposing sides realized a surprising ceasefire. The Taliban declared a unilateral three-day ceasefire, spanning the days that local tradition allocates for celebrating Eid al Fitr.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani quickly accepted the truce proposal and announced he would initiate the release of up to 2,000 Taliban prisoners of war.

The prisoner release came as a gesture of good will following the Taliban ceasefire proposal tand is part of the larger prisoner swap agreed to in the US-Taliban negotiations that preceded the current stalled negotiations between the warring parties.

Obstacles

The agreement to swap prisoners as part of the agreement between the Taliban and US negotiators has provided a stumbling block in negotiations between the national government and the Taliban who still controls large swaths of the country.

As the US withdraws its forces in-line with the agreement, violence has continued amid crumbling diplomatic efforts.

The US expressed relief over the sudden lull in violence. President Ghani received a phone-call from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who expressed his support and hope for an extension to the sudden secession of violence.

“Peace is the consistent and overwhelming desire of the Afghan people,” Pompeo said in an official statement welcoming the ceasefire.

US Withdrawal

Pompeo urged both parties to “move with urgency to intra-Afghan negotiations.”  The Pentagon has presented US President Donald Trump with several possible timelines to complete its withdrawal from the two-decade long conflict.

According to the New York Times, citing a number of officials, one of those timelines includes a total withdrawal before the US presidential elections in November.

The US elections appear to have become a major deadline for large geopolitical moves by the US. Reports have indicated that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are similarly using US elections as a reason to rush annexation plans.

With the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on schedule, the flare up of violence provided an unfortunate reminder of the limited change the US has managed to achieve for the $2.4 trillion it has spent on the conflict.

Tunisia: Zero New COVID-19 Cases Reported, Recoveries Up

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Tunisian authorities have announced their prescribed preventive measures have successfully reduced the impact of the coronavirus in the country. For the second day in a row, Tunisia’s infectious diseases experts were able to report no new cases, while treatment has resulted in 929 successful recoveries so far.

Tunisia’s strict lockdowns appear to have made an impact as currently only 74 Tunisians are still infected, and only two of those remain hospitalized.

While the remaining patients are under ongoing observation, the drop in COVID-19 cases provides some confirmation of a successful containment strategy.

Second wave

On May 11, Arabia Policy reported that WHO representative Yves Souteyrand estimated evidence of a possible second wave could materialize from May 20 onward.

The current reduction in new cases and active patients could garner some confidence as the state gradually reopens its economy.

Although the COVID-19 crisis presented dire economic woes for Tunisia’s poor that has led to an increase in illegal logging, the medical news should soon translate to renewed economic opportunities for the country’s most vulnerable populations.

Although Tunisia’s budget will feel the pain from increased spending on health care amid a global halt in tourism, the country’s international cooperation and widespread amnesties for prisoners appear to have limited the impact of the pandemic.

Lockdowns and testing

Individual Tunisians and businesses significantly contributed to the country’s current success, through adherence to national initiatives and a general collaborative attitude.

By applying drastic lockdown strategies and learning from Chinese lessons in epidemic management, Tunisia appears to have outperformed many richer countries.

Following through with a focus on testing should provide the final step in ensuring the virus does not reemerge in the North African state. “We cannot stop this COVID-19 pandemic if we do not know who is infected. So I have a simple message for all countries – Test, Test, Test,” WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has recommended as countries around the world gradually reopen their economies.

Dubai Airport Ready to Lead Air Travel Resumption

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On Tuesday Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced that business activities in the Emirates will gradually reopen from May 27. Airports are one of the services slated to reopen tomorrow, alongside retail outlets and malls, health clinics, government service centres, gyms and cinemas.  

Dubai Airport, one of the world’s biggest transit and air-freight hubs, will once again be able to “facilitate transit passengers and travellers to other destinations,” according to WAM news agency, after being shuttered except for air-freight and repatriation services since March 25.  

Tourism is crucial to the Dubai economy, and Dubai Airport’s CEO Paul Griffiths has sought to reassure potential visitors that airports are safe and Dubai is ready to welcome travellers again. 

“Dubai International Airport is prepared to welcome visitors as soon as airports around the word start reopening and pave the way for a phased resumption of air services,” Griffiths said on Wednesday, March 27. 

“As health and hygiene standards will play an influential role in encouraging people to travel, we have put in place a set of health and safety protocols at our airports including all necessary quarantine arrangements and the implementation of sanitisation and disinfection measures to reassure tourists that Dubai is one of the safest destinations to visit,” he said.  

Additional safety measures adopted include the installation of protective plexiglass at check-in and immigration counters, body-heat detectors, social distancing markers, and increased levels of sanitisation, according to Dubai Airports’ latest COVID-19 update. A number of cafes and restaurants have also reopened to service airport users.  

Travellers should not get too excited though as only a handful of Emirates Airline flights are operating out of Terminal 3 at Dubai Airport, in addition to vital cargo and emergency evacuation flights. As well as ad-hock flights, a regular schedule of outbound flights to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney and Melbourne resumed on May 21.

Read also: UAE Provides Exceptional Support to Foreign Workforce Amid Pandemic

PLO Envoy: Joe Biden Not “Capable of Stopping Netanyahu”

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In an online discussion for the Israel Policy Forum, Husam Zomlot, Palestinian ambassador to the UK, expressed doubts over the future of US-led Israel-Palestine mediation. Israeli officials are openly touting ambitions to annex large swathes of the Palestinian West Bank with the perceived backing of the US State Department, which presents a point-of-no-return, according to the PLO envoy.

Two-state solution

The “Trump Peace Deal” and its associated annexation plans could be the end of the two-state solution that diplomats have attempted to bring about for decades. “For those who believe in the two-state solution, I think for us annexation would mark the smoking gun and the end of that paradigm,” Zomlot told the audience.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s overtures in favor of annexation have prompted the Palestinian Authority to start planning for a secession in Israeli-Palestinian cooperation. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority has stressed that economic, political, and security cooperation with Israel will end if annexation plans are not brought to a halt.

US mediation

Zomlot expressed little faith that Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, would be able to stop Netanyahu’s ambitions. The PLO envoy said Biden’s statements revealed a reluctance to pressure Israel. Without an effective deterrent to Israeli hostilities, the ambassador fears, the US would effectively abdicate its role as mediator in the conflict.

Biden told Jewish Democrats that he would not give US military aid to Israel, which accounted for $3.8 billion in direct military aid and $8 billion in loan guarantees, as leverage. “A priority now for the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace should be resuming our dialogue with the Palestinians and pressing Israel not to take actions that make a two-state solution impossible,” the presidential candidate told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on May 6.

Israel’s role in US elections

J Street, a liberal Jewish advocacy group in the US has raised concerns about both Democratic and Republican party platforms on Israel. In a letter the group said both parties’ platforms have “been nearly silent on the rights of Palestinians, on Israeli actions that undermine those rights and the prospects for a two-state solution, and on the need for security for both peoples.”

But traditional US politicians have long taken a pro-Israel stance as a given. “I am a Zionist. You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist,” Joe Biden said during the 2008 presidential elections.

While the only Jewish candidate running for the presidency, Bernie Sanders, did not attend the annual pro-Israeli AIPAC conference over its support for Israel’s right-wing government, Joe Biden gave a keynote speech. Sanders called the conference “a platform for bigotry.”

“I do not see a US partner arriving now that is capable of stopping Netanyahu,” Zomlot summarized his doubts over the Democratic presidential candidate.

Trump supports annexation

Zomlot, former head of the Palestinian diplomatic delegation to the US, stated that he considered the Trump administration to be responsible for Netanyahu’s sudden push for annexation. “Trump is more into annexation than the Israeli government itself,” he said.

The United States government indicated in April that an eventual annexation of Palestinian territory is in-line with the Trump administration’s vision for the Middle East. “We are prepared to recognise Israeli actions to extend Israeli sovereignty and the application of Israeli law to areas of the West Bank that the vision foresees as being part of the State of Israel,” a US State Department spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

With Trump having granted diplomatic clout to Israel to undergo what the United Nations considers an illegal land grab, only a different president could radically change the impending hostilities. It is likely, however, that Trump and Netanyahu envision annexation to commence before US voters cast their votes in November. Using it as an ‘electoral winner’ Trump and Netanyahu could push for annexation as early as July.

Even if Biden wins the election, it is possible the damage will already have been done, and Biden would not risk reversing the process. “The headache that Mr. Biden will inherit if he is elected will be immense. And I do not believe he can bring about an end to the conflict via another process: It will be over,” Zomlot said to summarize the troubling developments.

Middle East Faces ‘Second Plague’ as Locust Swarms Approach

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Swarms consisting of millions of locusts are approaching the Middle East, devastating farm land and livestock as they make their way north. Recent swarms have destroyed most of the crops in Ethiopia and are impacting livelihoods and food security wherever they pass.

Controlling desert locust swarms takes time and effort, warns Qu Dongyu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). “Our gains have been significant, but the battle is long and is spreading to new areas,” Dongyu told a virtual gathering of stakeholders and FAO officials on May 21. “It is clear that we cannot declare victory yet. Upsurges of this magnitude are rarely defeated in a few months.”

Stopping the swarms

Efforts to limit the impact and halt swarms have consisted of spraying areas where the ravenous insects descend. The difficulties in tracking swarms and spraying pesticides means that locusts often outmaneuver airplanes and helicopters used to identify and spray them. Spraying pesticides also impacts the health of crops and animals, which further endangers food security in some of the worst-affected regions.

Locusts have been breeding in the Horn of Africa and are expected to form new swarms in June. The new swarms pose a significant threat to South Sudan and Sudan, the Sahel region of West Africa, and even Pakistan and Iran. As June is the start of harvest season in many countries, the new swarms are expected to damage local food production and the livelihoods of thousands of people.

A threat larger than ever before

“I have a lot of experience with locusts, but this is my first time to see such a size of a swarm,” Mehari Tesfayohannes, chief information and forecasting officer for the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa, told Vox. Recent rains fostered ideal conditions for the insects to breed and converge.

Desert locusts are normally solitary animals but conditions can trigger a “gregarious state” causing them to form giant swarms that can travel up to 100 miles per day. According to the FAO, the locusts pose a threat to Middle Eastern and North African countries as far north as Iraq and Jordan, and as far west as Mauritania. With governments preoccupied with COVID-19, the FAO is warning that the swarms could seriously impact food security, with some already spotted as far north as Dubai.

Local authorities are now doing whatever they can to destroy the swarms before the insects reach maturity. “In Saudi Arabia, control operations are in progress against immature adult groups that formed in the Nafud Desert in the north and mature adult groups in the south near Yemen. Similarly, control operations continue against immature adult groups in northern Oman near UAE,” the FAO stated.

Church of the Nativity Reopens, Boosting Spirits, Palestine’s Tourism

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The Christian holy site, located in the occupied West Bank and known as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, began welcoming visitors again on Tuesday. The church closed on March 5 amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Anyone wanting to enter the Church of the Nativity must now be fever-free and wear a face mask. 

The church will allow only 50 visitors at the same time, but its re-opening nonetheless signals a much-needed boost to the local tourism industry and the morale of Christians around the world, according to Palestinian Tourism Minister Rula Ma’ayah. 

“The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ gave hope to people more than 2,000 years ago, and opening the church today will, I think, give hope to the whole world that hopefully this pandemic will end – not only in Palestine but in the whole world,” Ma’ayah told Reuters.

On Tuesday afternoon, Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila said health officials recorded no new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. Just 114 active cases remain active in Palestine, including 60 in East Jerusalem, 18 in Hebron, and 36 in the southern districts, the minister specified.

On May 25, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced the end of the state’s two-month-long lockdown, coinciding with the end of Eid celebrations to mark the conclusion of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Shtayyeh said with the worst of the COVID-19 crisis over and Palestinians can focus on a “gradual return to normal life.” The prime minister gave all government offices, shops, religious sights, public transport services, public spaces, eateries, education institutions, events spaces, and courts the green-light to reopen on May 26. 

“Today is a big Eid for Bethlehem and for believers,” the head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Bethlehem, Bishop Theophylactos, said in response to the announcement relaxing coronavirus restrictions on May 25. 

Read also: UAE Flight Delivers Aid to Help Palestine Fight COVID-19

France Increases Repatriation Flights, Ferries from Maghreb

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Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday the French government understood stranded citizen’s frustrations, and will triple flights between Algiers and Paris and operate extra ferries to bring French nationals home over the next fortnight.

“We will put in place three daily flights from Algiers from May 27 which will triple the air-travel capacity,” Le Drian said, without specifying how many French nationals remain blocked in the Maghreb by border closures. 

“We will organise, for caravaners in particular, but not only them, around ten boat trips in the next fortnight,” he added, saying the extra ferries will create a “maritime bridge” facilitating citizens’ return.  

“One boat will leave on Tuesday bound for Sete, another will depart Wednesday for Marseille,” the minister detailed.  

Complicated repatriation operations

Ahead of the announcement, the foreign minister told national radio channel France Inter that while he respects the two Maghreb countries’ COVID-19 curbs, it has been a challenge to return home French citizens stuck in Morocco and Algeria.  

Le Drian explained that France repatriated 30,000 tourists from Morocco alone, on 200 flights. The repatriations began March 13, during the first wave of the crisis. Since April, what the minister called a “second wave” of French citizens have signalled their desire to leave Morocco. 

The second wave includes people who now want to return, “either because they were unable to find a seat on the initial flights (a very small number of people), or because they are French-Moroccan citizens who…now want to come back (to France), or because they are caravaners who… thought they would be able to return home later.” 

“For those people, it’s becoming complicated — Moroccan airports are closed, the only airline flying is Air France which we often charter regularly, and there are very strict sanitary measures in place, with movement banned. It’s a unique situation and I respect the sanitary measures the Moroccan authorities have put in place.” 

Morocco closed its borders on March 15, and is still in the midst of one of the world’s longest COVID-19 lockdowns. The North African country’s state of emergency and “sanitary confinement” were extended on May 18 for an additional three weeks, and are now set to end on June 10.  

Moroccans still waiting to go home

Thousands of foreigners have been able to leave Morocco on special repatriation flights and ferries, while an estimated 32,000 Moroccans remain stranded overseas due to the strict border closures, which prohibit any inbound travel. 

On May 6, a group of those Moroccans stuck abroad released a video calling on the government to expedite repatriation efforts. 

“Morocco forgot about us, but we did not. Bring us home, please,” the stranded citizens implored.  

The only Moroccans repatriated to date are the approximately 400 Moroccans stuck in Ceuta, and another 200 who were trapped in Melilla when land borders with the two Spanish enclaves were closed on March 13. 

 

In Heroic Feat, Emirati Man Saves Family From Fire

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On Saturday, May 23, the town of Al Hili to the east of Abu Dhabi was resting in anticipation of the first day of Eid al-Fitr celebrations. With the UAE in the final days of its strict lockdown and Ramadan ending, the occasion must have been jubilant. But as a yet-unidentified family went to sleep, one daughter forgot to properly close their propane gas tank.

An unpleasant awakening

After sharing the nightly iftar (breaking of the fast) meal, the family had settled down to sleep. At 2 a.m., the mother woke her husband, as she had noticed large plumes of smoke coming from their kitchen.

What followed was a case of quick thinking and heroism: The man rushed to turn off the electricity and evacuated his wife and six children as the blaze raged in the kitchen. The man called the authorities, who arrived promptly.

Amateur firefighter

When local firefighters and civil defense teams arrived, they were shocked to find the family waiting outside while the man remained inside the burning house. Fearing the worst, a firefighter rushed in, only to find that the man was alive and actively fighting the blaze. Even as the flames spread, the man had continued to fight the giant fire as it ravaged the family’s house.

As the professionals unrolled their fire hoses, they saw that the man had doused almost half of the large blaze. The man was finally able to rest as the fire fighting crew took over to extinguish the remainder of the fire. The man’s heroic intervention saved his family’s life and prevented a massive loss of property, with observers commending his act of bravery.

Preventing risks

Temperatures are increasing following the end of winter in the UAE. The local cool season lasts from October to April after which temperatures rapidly increase to a maximum of 55 degrees Celsius at summer’s peak in August.

Because of the intense heat, Abu Dhabi officials stress the importance of storing and using gas cylinders in a safe way. “Home owners and restaurants should ensure the safety norms of cooking stoves, check gas pipes and not leave the cylinders exposed to sun rays,” local officials told the Khaleej Times.

Keeping gas cylinders away from the sun can prove vital as exposure to sunlight could heat up the cylinders and cause an explosion or fire in the region’s exceptionally hot climate.

“Families should always close gas cylinders before leaving the house. They should not be placed near emergency outlets or glass doors,” authorities said. Abu Dhabi authorities are spreading awareness, as it cannot depend on such amazing acts of heroism alone.

Iraqi Journalists Face Restrictions, Repression, Violence

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With Iraq facing concurrent and interconnected crises impacting its citizens’ health, security, and economic prospects, accurate reports by local media are more important than ever. Iraq features near the bottom of the 2020 World Press Freedom Index at number 162 out of 180 total countries, with journalism becoming increasingly difficult in the country.

Government restrictions

Iraq has severely restricted freedom of movement for journalists, writers, and media staff during the COVID-19 crisis. Local checkpoints have blocked the media in Baghdad, effectively limiting the access that reporters need to cover stories.

The Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) released on May 25 a statement demanding that authorities grant media and health personnel special exemptions to coronavirus restrictions. The IHCHR said the media constitutes a “cornerstone of awareness and education programs and the supervisory role it plays as the fourth authority.”

The statement prompted the government to respond without confirming when they would allow the press free movement. A spokesman for newly inaugurated Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi tweeted that authorities “consider the media a key partner in facing the [COVID-19] pandemic, along with the medical staff, and we have taken the necessary measures to facilitate the work of media professionals and journalists.”

Local repression

Local authorities in Iraq’s Kurdish region appear to be silencing dissent after local security forces arrested eight journalists. The reporters had been covering a protest by teachers and government employees in Duhok in northern Iraq. Because of budget problems, the state has not paid government workers and teachers for four months and they were demanding a solution.

“The reason they arrest journalists during protests is because security forces engage in human rights abuses and they don’t want that to be under camera lenses,” Rahman Gharib, coordinator at the local Metro Center for Journalist Rights and Advocacy told VOA News. The local Kurdish authorities have abused their power in order to silence opposition and minimize protests, according to several sources interviewed by the outlet.

Popular resentment

Iraq’s press also faces opposition from the public. On May 18, dozens of protesters attacked and looted the offices and recording studio of the Saudi Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC) in Baghdad. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed concern over the failure of Iraqi authorities to protect the Saudi press office. Protesters had expressed their anger over MBC coverage of a local militia leader and stormed the broadcaster’s offices.

“Iraqi authorities are utterly failing to protect broadcasters and media outlets from attacks by protesters or armed assailants who are taking the law into their own hands,” said Ignacio Miguel Delgado, CPJ representative for the Middle East and North Africa.

With journalists facing pressure from all sides, protecting and empowering local media has become more important than ever. With three journalists killed in 2020 alone, “Iraqi journalists risk their lives when they cover protests or investigate corruption, and the dangers have grown since the start of an unprecedented wave of anti-government protests,” according to a statement by Reporters Without Borders.