English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese
Related, Global News & Editorials
For
April 12/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.april12.20.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
Great Sunday of the Resurrection/Who will roll away the stone for us from the
entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was
very large, had already been rolled back.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark
16/01-08:”When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of
James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very
early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the
tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us
from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone,
which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb,
they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and
they were alarmed.But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for
Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look,
there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he
is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’
So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized
them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on April 11-12/2020
Halleluiah! Jesus Has Risen! Indeed He Has Risen/Elias Bejjani/April
12/2020
Ten new coronavirus cases in Lebanon
Lebanon, Sudan Report More Virus Cases
Ministry of Health confirms new coronavirus cases in Lebanon
Hariri Hospital: One recovery, three infected cases in critical condition, no
fatalities today
Ten New Cases of Coronavirus Raise Tally to 619, 76 Recoveries
Lebanon begins fourth stage of repatriation of expats stranded abroad
Lebanese returning from Kuwait praise undertaken procedures: Thank God we are
Lebanese!
US Department Of State/Reward Offer for Information on Hizballah’s Financial
Networks Muhammad Kawtharani
US offers $10 million reward for information on senior Hezbollah figure,Mohammad
Kawtharani/Jamie PrentisThe National/April 11/2020
US offers $10 mln for information on Kawtharani’s activities in Iraq
Israel warns after Syrian commander visit to Hezbollah positions: ‘We see you’
Lebanon’s creditors divided over draft financial restructuring plan
Lebanon’s bonds have tumbled to around 15-19 cents on the dollar in recent
weeks.
Rahi in Easter Message Says Lebanon a ‘Looted’ State
Aoun Addresses Lebanese on Easter Day
Berri contacts Aoun, Rahi on Easter: An occasion to draw inspiration towards the
values of hope and resurrecti
Geagea: Reform a Hopeless Case amid Hegemony of the Trio
Hariri Says Govt. Heading towards ‘Economic Suicide Plan’
Hassan visits Barja, Siblin Governmental Hospital, pays tribute to all those
providing aids to hospitals
Fahmy congratulates the Lebanese on Easter occasion: We ask the Lord to lift the
epidemic off our homeland
El-Khalil describes government's rescue plan as “theft of the century”
Beware of stealing depositors' money, cautions Arslan
Najm: Hold the corrupt accountable, instead of choosing the easier way by
confiscating people’s lifetime savings!
Wahhab: Who can persuade those lamenting over deposits to return the people's
entrusted funds?
Ibrahim calls on military to continue to carry out missions with sincerity,
dedication
Alain Aoun: Any plan that does not include the recovery of looted funds is bound
to fail
Lebanon in double-edged fight faces COVID-19, financial crisis/Samar Kadi/The
Arab Weekly/April 12/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
April 11-12/2020
Guterres: Through unity we can defeat this virus, in light of
cooperation, solidarity and faith in our common humanity
1st Results in on Gilead Coronavirus Drug; More Study Needed
Spain's Daily Virus Toll Falls again with 510 Dead
US records more than 500,000 coronavirus cases
Global COVID-19 death toll crosses 100,000 milestone
New Defense Systems Deployed at Bases Housing US Forces in Iraq
US officials: Missile defence systems now operating in Iraq
Russian president and Saudi crown prince hold telephone talks
Tripoli Residents Suffer from Power and Water Cuts
Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous
sources published on April 11-12/2020
Economic meltdown pushes Tehran to take risks with pandemic/Thomas
Seibert//The Arab Weekly/April 12/2020
The poor will pay the biggest price for this pandemic/Cornelia Meyer/Arab
News/April 11/2020
Healthcare systems under review/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab News/April 11, 2020
War with an invisible enemy, and facing the fight to come/Mohamed Berrada/Arab
News/April 11, 2020
Coronavirus: Misinformation remains a pressing matter – but there is one
solution/Damien McElroy/The National/April 11/ 2020
Importance of Government Transparency in Saving Lives/Ferid Belhaj/World Bank
Vice President for the Middle East & North Africa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11
April, 2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News &
Editorials published on April 11-12/2020
Halleluiah! Jesus Has Risen! Indeed He Has
Risen
Elias Bejjani/April 12/2020
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/85061/elias-bejjani-halleluiah-jesus-has-risen-indeed-he-has-risen-2/
Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has
risen. He is not here (Mark 16/05)
Do not be afraid, “Don’t be amazed”, with these reassuring and soothing words
The Angel spoke to Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome.
They had came to the tomb on Sunday morning to mummify and anoint Jesus’ Body as
the Jewish tradition required. They thought death had defeated Jesus and ended
His life as it does to every human being.
On their way, they were sadly thinking and wondering who will roll for them the
stone away from the tomb’s entrance so they can get in and perform the
mummifying and anointing process.
While halfway from the tomb, they saw that the enormous stone had been rolled
away. When they entered the tomb they found that Jesus’ body was not there. They
found only the shrouds that His body was wrapped with on His burial after the
crucifixion.
Christ is the Way, Christ is the Truth, and Christ is the actual eternal life
that we long for. We strongly believe with full conviction that Christ dwells in
His Holy Church, and exists in its Mysteries (Sacraments).
He is always present in the Holy Eucharist that we receive during every mass.
Christ at all times is ready, willing and delighted to help us in our burdens
when we call on Him and ask for His mercy.
“Come to me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart; and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light.” (Matthew11:28-29)
The miracle of resurrection is the cornerstone of our Christian faith. This
pivotal liturgical fact was strongly stressed by Saint Paul in his First Letter
to the Corinthians, (15/12-26):
Through Crucifixion and resurrection, Christ has overcome death, broke its
thorn, and granted us His eternal forgiveness from the original sin.
With His death and resurrection, death in its traditional earthly human concept
has been abolished forever and Sin since then has become the actual death that
leads the sinners to Gahanna into the unquenchable fire. When our bodies die, we
sleep in the hope of resurrection.
On Jesus’ return on the Day of Judgment, the dead will be the first to rise and
escort Him. “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will
all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we
will be changed”, (Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 15 / 51-52).
Easter Sunday is a holy feast of love, humility, forgiveness, brotherhood,
tolerance and repentance.
Religiously we are not to participate in any of these feast prayers or make any
offerings or receive the Holy Communion unless we replace hatred with love,
grudges with forgiveness, rejection of others with tolerance, arrogance with
humility, greed with contentment, deception with transparency, and evil with
righteousness.
If we do not learn how to tame our selfishness, anger, hatred and forgive others
for whatever evil deeds they commit against us and reconcile with them, than we
do not qualify to be called Jesus’ followers.
Our prayers will not be heard or responded to, if we do not practice the grace
of forgiveness as did He who was crucified for our salvation.
“If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that
your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar,
and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer
your gift”. (Matthew 5/23-24).
Meanwhile our true faith in Jesus and in His Sacrifices won’t be complete unless
we adopt in our thinking, deeds and language the pure components of sacrifice,
honesty, truth, self respect, meekness and decency.
“Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for
building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear. Don’t
grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of
redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away
from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving
each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4/29-32)
For our prayers to be looked upon and heard by Almighty God, we are required to
reconcile with ourselves and with all others on whom we have inflicted pain and
injustice, and treated with an evil manner.
To please the Lord we are required to genuinely, heartily and overtly perform
all required acts of repentance for all our mischievous conducts and
wrongdoings.
Mark 11/24-26: “Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for,
believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. Whenever you stand
praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who
is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not
forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions”
Almighty God has endowed us with His love talent, (minas) and expects us to
faithfully invest it in helping others who are in need. He expect us to observe
all the teaching of His Bible so that He will reward us on the Day of Judgment
and put us on His Right Side.
On this Holy Day of Resurrection, we are ought with faith and hope to be aware
that Jesus’ Holy blood was shed on the Cross for our sake. Meanwhile remembrance
of His death and resurrection is a Godly consignment that we are entrusted with.
It’s up to us either to honour this trust or betray it. Halleluiah! Jesus has
risen! Indeed He has risen.
Ten new coronavirus cases in Lebanon
Annahar Staff/ Annahar/April 11/2020
No cases were recorded Saturday among expats repatriated to Lebanon.
BEIRUT: The Ministry of Public Health reported 10 new cases of coronavirus in
Lebanon, increasing the total number of cases to 619 as of April 11.The deaths
increased to 20, and the recoveries to 76.
No cases were recorded Saturday among expats repatriated to Lebanon.
Lebanon, Sudan Report More Virus Cases
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 April, 2020 - 11:00
Lebanon registered on Saturday 10 new coronavirus cases, taking the country’s
tally to 619. The health ministry said that no new casualties have been
reported. Lebanon has registered 20 deaths from the disease and carried out 515
tests in the past 24 hours. The northern town of Bcharre was meanwhile, was put
in lockdown after several virus infections were reported there. The military and
security forces have deployed patrols throughout the country to enforce the
authorities’ general health mobilization, in place until April 26. People are
allowed to leave their homes only to buy food or medicine, and most businesses
have closed. The only airport is also shut, except for a few flights returning
expatriates stranded abroad. An overnight curfew largely bans people from going
outside between 7 pm and 5 am. Sudan, meanwhile, reported two more virus cases,
raising its total to 17. The new patients were receiving necessary treatment at
an isolation center, said the health ministry. Sudan has reported one fatality
from the virus and has 238 suspected cases that are in isolation.
Ministry of Health confirms new coronavirus cases in
Lebanon
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
Ten new cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Lebanon by the
Ministry of Public Health in a statement on Saturday, raising the number of
infected people in the country to 619.
Hariri Hospital: One recovery, three infected cases in
critical condition, no fatalities today
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
Rafic Hariri International Hospital indicated on Saturday, in its daily report
on the latest developments about the Corona Covid-19 virus, that the total
number of laboratory-confirmed cases of the virus currently present in the
hospital's health isolation area has reached 26 cases, adding that 27 suspected
cases were transferred from other hospitals. The Hospital also announced that
one patient has recovered from the virus after the result of the PCR examination
came out negative in both times, indicating that the total number of complete
recoveries to-date has reached 77 cases. Meanwhile, the Hospital assured that
all those infected with the virus "are receiving the necessary care in the
isolation unit, and their condition is stable except for 3 cases in critical
condition." It concluded its statement by indicating that further data on the
number of infected cases on all Lebanese territories can be found in the daily
report issued by the Ministry of Public Health.
Ten New Cases of Coronavirus Raise Tally to 619, 76
Recoveries
Naharnet/April 11/2020
Ten new cases of coronavirus were recorded on Saturday raising the total number
of people who retracted the virus to 619, the Health Ministry said. It noted
that the infections were all among Lebanese residents. No cases were recorded
Saturday among expats repatriated to Lebanon.
No fatalities were recorded Saturday keeping the death toll at 20. The total
number of recoveries reached 76, the National News Agency showed on its website.
Lebanon begins fourth stage of repatriation of expats
stranded abroad
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
The fourth stage of the plan adopted by the government for the repatriation of
Lebanese expatriates following the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) will
start this Saturday afternoon. The Middle East Airlines (MEA) plane coming from
Kuwait will arrive at the Beirut Airport at 3:00 p.m., followed by others from
Dubai at 6:00 p.m., Rome at 9:00 p.m. and Luanda at midnight.
Lebanese returning from Kuwait praise undertaken
procedures: Thank God we are Lebanese!
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
A Middle East Airlines flight coming from the State of Kuwait, with 123 Lebanese
citizens on board, accompanied by a medical team affiliated to the Ministry of
Public Health, and members of the Lebanese Public Security, landed at Rafik
Hariri International Airport in Beirut close to 4:00 p.m. today. Upon arrival,
the usual procedures adopted for all passengers coming from abroad were
implemented, as the doctors and medical teams at Beirut Airport examined the
health conditions of the returnees and subjected them to PCR tests, especially
since most of them are elderly and families with children. The sterilization
process then followed for all the travelers, before they departed the airport
lounges after ensuring that all procedures were completed, and headed to the
hotels designated for their quarantine by buses allocated outside the airport.
The returning Lebanese praised the procedures and measures undertaken by the
Lebanese government in ensuring their safe return, expressing their pride for
belonging to this nation.
US Department Of State/Reward Offer for Information on Hizballah’s Financial Networks Muhammad
Kawtharani
MEDIA NOTE
OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON
APRIL 10, 2020
The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward
of up to $10 million for information on the activities, networks, and associates
of Muhammad Kawtharani, a senior Hizballah military commander. This announcement
is part of the Department’s standing reward offer for information leading to the
disruption of the financial mechanisms of the terrorist organization Lebanese
Hizballah.
Muhammad Kawtharani is a senior leader of Hizballah’s forces in Iraq and has
taken over some of the political coordination of Iran-aligned paramilitary
groups formerly organized by Qassim Sulemani after Sulemani’s death in January.
In this capacity, he facilitates the actions of groups operating outside the
control of the Government of Iraq that have violently suppressed protests,
attacked foreign diplomatic missions, and engaged in wide-spread organized
criminal activity. As a member of Hizballah’s Political Council, Kawtharani has
worked to promote Hizballah’s interests in Iraq, including Hizballah efforts to
provide training, funding, political, and logistical support to Iraqi Shi’a
insurgent groups.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Kawtharani as a Specially
Designated Global Terrorist in 2013.
In April 2019, Rewards for Justice announced a reward of up to $10 million for
information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of the global
terrorist organization Lebanese Hizballah.
Rewards can be provided for information leading to the identification and
disruption of:
Sources of revenue for Hizballah or its key financial facilitation mechanisms;
Major Hizballah donors or financial facilitators;
Financial institutions or exchange houses facilitating Hizballah transactions;
Businesses or investments owned or controlled by Hizballah or its financiers;
Front companies engaged in international procurement of dual-use technology on
behalf of Hizballah; and
Criminal schemes involving Hizballah members and supporters which financially
benefit the organization.
Hizballah is a Lebanon-based terrorist organization that receives weapons,
training, and funding from Iran, which the Secretary of State designated as a
state sponsor of terrorism in 1984. Hizballah generates about a billion dollars
a year from a combination of direct financial support from Iran, international
businesses and investments, donor networks, and money laundering activities. The
State Department designated Hizballah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)
in October 1997 under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and as a Specially
Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in October 2001 under Executive Order (E.O.)
13224.
More information about these reward offers is located on the Rewards for Justice
website at www.rewardsforjustice.net. We encourage anyone with information on
Hizballah financial networks to contact the Rewards for Justice office via the
website, e-mail (LH@rewardsforjustice.net), phone (1-800-877-3927 in North
America), or mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, D.C., 20520-0303, USA).
Individuals may also contact the Regional Security Officer at the nearest U.S.
embassy or consulate. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
The Rewards for Justice Program is an effective law enforcement tool and is
administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.
Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of $150 million to
more than 100 people who provided actionable information that helped bring
terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide.
Follow us on Twitter at
https://twitter.com/Rewards4Justice.
US offers $10 million reward for information on senior Hezbollah figure,Mohammad
Kawtharani
مكافئة أميركيىة بقيمة 10 مليون دولار لكل من يقم معلومات عن أنشطة رجل حزب الله في
العراق محمد كوثراني
Jamie PrentisThe National/April 11/2020
Mohammad Kawtharani is accused of heading up the group’s actions in Iraq.
The US has offered a reward of up to $10 million (Dh36.7 million) for
information on the activities and networks of Mohammad Kawtharani, a senior
Hezbollah military commander. The US State Department said Kawtharani was a key
leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah units in Iraq. It’s also said he has taken
over some of the political co-ordination of Iran-linked paramilitary groups
since the death of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in January.
“In this capacity, he facilitates the actions of groups operating outside the
control of the Government of Iraq that have violently suppressed protests,
attacked foreign diplomatic missions, and engaged in wide-spread organised
criminal activity,” the State Department said. “As a member of Hezbollah
Political Council, Kawtharani has worked to promote Hezbollah interests in Iraq,
including Hezbollah efforts to provide training, funding, political, and
logistical support to Iraqi Shia insurgent groups,” it added. He was designated
as a terrorist by the US Treasury in 2013. “This announcement is part of the
Department’s standing reward offer for information leading to the disruption of
the financial mechanisms of the terrorist organisation Lebanese Hezbollah,” the
US said.
US offers $10 mln for information on Kawtharani’s
activities in Iraq
Reuters, Washington/Saturday 11 April 2020
The United States on Friday offered up to $10 million for information on Sheikh
Mohammad al-Kawtharani, a senior military commander of the extremist group
Hezbollah in Iraq who was an associate of the late Iranian General Qassem
Soleimani. Announcing the reward, the US State Department said Kawtharani had
“taken over some of the political coordination of Iran-aligned paramilitary
groups” formerly organized by Soleimani, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard
commander killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January. “In this capacity,
he facilitates the actions of groups operating outside the control of the
Government of Iraq that have violently suppressed protests, attacked foreign
diplomatic missions, and engaged in wide-spread organized criminal activity,” it
said in a statement. The State Department said it was offering the sum for
information on Kawtharani’s activities, networks and associates as part of an
effort to disrupt the “financial mechanisms” of the Lebanese-based Hezbollah.
Kawtharani was branded a global terrorist by the United States in 2013, accused
of funding armed groups in Iraq and helping transport Iraqi fighters to Syria to
join President Bashar al-Assad’s effort to put down a revolt against his rule.
Reuters reported in February that according to two Iraqi sources and a senior
Iraqi Shi’ite Muslim leader, Kawtharani for now was seen as the most suitable
figure to direct Iraqi militias until a permanent Iranian successor could be
chosen, although he did not have Soleimani’s clout. “Kawtharani has connections
with the militia groups,” the Shi’ite leader said. “He was trusted by Soleimani,
who used to depend and call on him to help him in crises and in meetings in
Baghdad.”
Israel warns after Syrian commander visit to Hezbollah positions: ‘We see you’
Leen Alfaisal/Al Arabiya English/Friday 10 April 2020
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a warning to its adversaries when a
Syrian Armed Forces commander visited Hezbollah positions in Syria near the
Israeli border. The IDF published the video taken from Israeli territory on its
Twitter account, and with it a message.
“We see you. Consider this a warning. We won’t allow Hezbollah to entrench
itself militarily in Syria. When re-posted by Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for
the IDF, the video was accompanied with a threat.
“The Syrian regime will be held responsible for any disrupting activity launched
from its territory.”In his tweet, Adraee says the head of the Syrian Armed
Forces 1st Corps, Ali Ahmad Asaad, continues to support Hezbollah’s presence on
the borders. “This video we reveal today shows the commander of the first corps
on a tour in sites known to be used by Hezbollah,” Adraee said. “Hezbollah’s
presence in Syria generally, and in the Syrian part of the Golan [Heights]
specifically, is aimed at creating a terrorist structure against Israel,” he
added.
Lebanon’s creditors divided over draft
financial restructuring plan
Reuters/April 11/2020
LONDON: Lebanon’s international and local creditors are at odds over a draft
plan on tackling the country’s crippling financial crisis.
Some international holders of Lebanon’s more than $30 billion Eurobonds are
broadly supportive of the proposal, which estimates Lebanon will need external
financing of $10 billion-$15 billion over the next five years, and say it can
act as a blueprint to seek International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial support.
But a letter from investment bank Houlihan Lokey — adviser to the Association of
Banks in Lebanon (ABL) — to investment bank Lazard, the Lebanese government’s
adviser, expressed concerns about the plan, its impact on the banking system and
its proposal to impose a financial burden on depositors.
“Lebanese commercial banks are the single largest constituency of Eurobonds’
holders, which should be used to the advantage of the government and country as
a whole to come up with a credible restructuring plan that ensures that the
heavy debt burden is addressed while protecting the health of the banking sector
and, more importantly, depositor monies,” said the letter, seen by Reuters. The
plan, which is still being discussed by the Cabinet, was drawn up in the wake of
Lebanon defaulting on its hefty foreign currency debt last month. A coronavirus
lockdown has compounded economic problems which include a weakening currency and
capital controls that have denied savers access to dollar savings.At a media
briefing on the government’s economic plan on Thursday, Finance Ministry
advisers described it as subject to revision as the government holds talks with
various stakeholders.
Figures such as the $83.2 billion in banking sector losses could change amid
negotiations with bondholders that will determine the discount taken by foreign
and local holders of debt.
Adviser Alain Biffani said the plan did not mean the government would
necessarily resort to an IMF program, but targets on things like the deficit and
exchange rate provided a strong starting point and were largely in line with the
fund’s requirements.
Lebanon’s bonds have tumbled to around 15-19 cents on the
dollar in recent weeks.
Reuters/April 11/2020
Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri this week said people’s bank deposits
were “sacred” and must not be touched.
“Before asking the public to directly assume responsibility for any portion of
this problem, a complete and independent audit of historical government
expenditures and finances must be prepared and made public,” the letter from
Houlihan Lokey said, adding ABL agreed external funding from the IMF will be
necessary. Steffen Reichold, portfolio manager at Stone Harbor Investment
Partners, described the plan as a “serious blueprint.” “With a plan like this
you could get the IMF onboard,” he said. “Putting the debt on a sustainable
path, restructuring all key institutions, wiping out all the capital of the
banks, introducing a flexible exchange rate, reforming the electricity company –
this is all the stuff that would be on the IMF’s likely list of
requirements.”Lebanon’s bonds have tumbled to around 15-19 cents on the dollar
in recent weeks, with global market turmoil further dimming recovery value
prospects for its creditors.
“We had been taking a view that a 25-30 cents recovery would be good ballpark
for the Eurobonds but taking this document at face value and assuming they’re
serious about implementing the reform program outlined, the recovery value will
be better than that,” said Nick Eisinger, principal, fixed income emerging
markets at Vanguard, which has a small underweight on Lebanon. Based on
calculations from the plan, Reichold said it appeared the government was looking
at a roughly 75 percent haircut on the principal on Eurobonds and domestic debt,
which is broadly in the range of what he had expected.
Rahi in Easter Message Says Lebanon a ‘Looted’ State
Naharnet/April 11/2020
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged the State in his Easter message on
Saturday to focus on social justice, preserve the life savings of Lebanese in
the banks and recover the State’s “looted” funds, the National News Agency
reported. “We hope the government would carry out the required reforms in
accordance with social justice, impose taxes consistent with citizens’ incomes
and collect these taxes from everyone while preserving the citizens' money in
banks,” said Rahi. The Patriarch pointed out that Lebanon is a state whose funds
have been “looted,” voicing calls to restore the public funds and “preserve the
life savings of Lebanese in banks.” Rahi’s comments come amid reports claiming
that Lebanese banks could impose a haircut, which would deduct from deposits or
turn them into long-term bonds, as the country grapples with an unprecedented
economic crisis. Coronavirus is the latest crisis to hit Lebanon, which is
already reeling under a crumbling economy. Due to an acute liquidity crisis,
banks have since September increasingly been restricting access to dollars and
have halted money transfers abroad.
Aoun Addresses Lebanese on Easter Day
Naharnet/April 11/2020
President Michel Aoun addressed the Lebanese on Easter Day on Saturday extending
well-wishes to all "Lebanese in general, and Christians in particular,” the
National News Agency reported. The President said: “No matter how long the time
of pain lasts, yet resurrection remains the essence of our faith and the core of
our affiliation with this wound-burdened nation ever since the dawn of its
existence.”Aoun noted that Easter this year comes with a “unique message of
salvation, involving the entire humanity because of the coronavirus pandemic
which is reaping the lives of people on a daily basis outnumbering the victims
of major wars.”But Aoun appealed to everyone to stay strong and “not to
surrender to the culture of death and its repercussions.”The President addressed
the Lebanese who are in home quarantine and those lying in patients’ beds, as
well as the healthcare workers and nursing body, who are far from their families
during this glorious “Day of Resurrection”. He stressed that “joint suffering
will definitely yield the spirit of solidarity and active values through which
our country will be renewed.”
Berri contacts Aoun, Rahi on Easter: An occasion to draw
inspiration towards the values of hope and resurrection
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
House Speaker Nabih Berri congratulated the Lebanese, in general, and the
Christian communities, in particular, on the glorious Easter occasion, deeming
it a chance to gather inspiration towards cultivating the values of hope and
resurrection. In this context, the House Speaker contacted today the President
of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara
Boutros al-Rahi, former Presidents Amin Gemayel and Michel Sleiman, Al-Marada
Chief, former Minister Sleiman Franjieh, Lebanese Forces Party Chief Samir
Geagea, Free Patriotic Movement Chief, MP Gebran Bassil, and a number of
spiritual leaders and current and former cabinet ministers and members of
parliament.
Geagea: Reform a Hopeless Case amid Hegemony of the Trio
Naharnet/April 11/2020
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Saturday that reform in Lebanon is a
“hopeless” case as long as “the trio” parties continue to dominate the country’s
authority. “As long as the trio (political parties) are in control of the
authority in Lebanon, there is no hope for any reform or any actual rescue
plan,” said Geagea in a statement, without naming the parties he was hinting at.
The LF chief said any rescue plan that does not firstly eye reforms in several
sectors will not be approved by his party. “Channels of corruption and
squandering of public funds are still wide open,” said Geagea. Adding that the
LF would approve a rescue plan only if “reforms are introduced to the
electricity and telecommunication sectors, to the customs services, and that all
illegal crossings must be closed and the contracts of all illegal and legal
employees must be halted because they were imposed for electoral reasons,” he
stated. Geagea warned that a rescue plan failing to take the above into
consideration, means "it seeks new resources for the state from the people’s
pockets without putting an end for corruption or waste of public funds.”
Hariri Says Govt. Heading towards ‘Economic Suicide Plan’
Naharnet/April 11/2020
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri criticized the government in a tweet saying it
“failed” to formulate a rescue economic plan for the country’s dwindling
economic, and instead is heading towards an “economic suicide plan.”“Since the
formation of this government, it has been promising the Lebanese and the world
an economic rescue plan. Based on this, we decided to give it a grace period,
before judging the promised plan. But it seems that it is heading towards an
economic suicide plan, based on the confiscation of the money of the Lebanese
deposited in the banks,” said Hariri in his tweet Friday. He added: “The grace
period that we gave doesn’t mean in any way to allow the government and those
behind it to change the nature of our economic system that is safeguarded by the
constitution, or put the hand on the people’s life earnings so that the state
can exempt itself from any contribution to the effort required by everyone. We
will soon take a strong stance if the issue is not remediated.”
Hassan visits Barja, Siblin Governmental Hospital, pays tribute to all those
providing aids to hospitals
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
Public Health Minister Hamad Hassan paid tribute, on Saturday, to all those
extending assistance and aids to hospitals during the current challenging period
of combating the Coronavirus epidemic. “What I see today is a wonderful painting
of cooperation and dedication in the service of mankind, and this is our message
and the message of Lebanon and the shining Lebanese society…We see in more than
one country in the world that the flag of Lebanon is raised, and we have the
honor today to raise this flag together, with one fist, one spirit, and one
determination,” said Hassan. "This crisis is not only an epidemiological crisis,
but we have many crises at this stage, and through our manner of dealing with
Corona, we will face many intractable and accumulated crises that need
determination, solid will and strong initiative," he added.
Minister Hassan’s words came during his visit today to the town of Barja in
Iqlim al-Kharoub district, in light of the high number of Corona virus cases
reported there, where he had a closer look at the town’s means of combating the
epidemic and inspected the Siblin Govermental Hospital, accompanied in his tour
by MP Bilal Abdullah and a medical delegation.
He commended the efforts undertaken by the town’s officials and citizens, and
their responsible work towards confronting the epidemic despite their limited
means and overpopulated area. Hassan indicated that at his Ministry level,
efforts are pinned on securing large sums to support government hospitals,
primary health care clinics, and the Public Health Ministry’s clinics on all
Lebanese territories. “We have a strategy plan and steps that we must take, but
without the responsible civil society’s partnership, we will not be able to
catch up with time, because we work according to criteria…We submit a public
tender and set conditions, because these are funds we are entrusted with, and
some of this money is a grant, and part of it is a loan, which has financial
consequences on our children and future generations, for which reason we have a
shortage of medical equipment…We are keen on preserving public money and we
endeavor to avoid any money waste or corruption, which we are combating with all
our partners in the homeland,” he corroborated. “Social and health integration
and initiatives are important, and our greetings go out to all the initiators,
who provide assistance to the public sector, government hospitals and
dispensaries, because some of these initiatives stimulate society towards
solidarity, to show Lebanon's image to the world, through our performance,
cooperation and our keenness on preserving this Lebanese society trademark in
the face of Corona,” Hassan underlined.
Fahmy congratulates the Lebanese on Easter occasion: We ask
the Lord to lift the epidemic off our homeland
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
Interior and Municipalities Minister, Brigadier General Mohamed Fahmy, expressed
his well-wishes on the holy Easter occasion in a tweet on Saturday, saying: “On
the occasion of the glorious Easter, I extend my sincerest congratulations to
the Lebanese people in general, and Christians of the Western sects in
particular, calling on God Almighty to remove the epidemic from our homeland,
ensure the fast recovery of our infected people, and bless everyone with health
and peace."
El-Khalil describes government's rescue plan as “theft of
the century”
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
Member of the "Development and Liberation" Parliamentary Bloc, MP Anwar El-Khalil,
referred to the government’s rescue plan that is being studied by the Council of
Ministers as being the "theft of the century", saying that it "violates the
preamble to the Lebanese Constitution, strikes the constitutional identity of
Lebanon and alters its economic identity.”In a press conference held in his
hometown Hasbaya today, El-Khalil reminded that the cabinet was formed under the
headline of competence, facing challenges and recovering the looted funds. He
added, however, that instead of doing that, the cabinet is hovering over the
depositors’ money, and has not yet initiated any real reform step to stop the
waste expenditure, combat corruption and recover the stolen money. El-Khalil
indicated that his words represent his personal opinion and not that of the
Development and Liberation Bloc, since it has not convened in a meeting yet. “We
had envisioned that the competence government would operate in a professional,
specialized manner, but it seems that it is looking for the easiest operation to
exploit and rob the money o depositors, and therefore I call it the ‘theft of
the century’,” the MP regretted.
He again reminded that “this government was formed on the basis of restoring the
stolen money and stopping corruption and the corrupt." El-Khalil concluded by
emphasizing that the government must implement its promises; thus, it must start
with a plan and put in place a reform program, which would enable it to resort
to the donor agencies and ask them for support.
Beware of stealing depositors' money, cautions Arslan
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
“Those who looted the state and its money have not been satisfied yet, so that
their audacity would drive them to pose a threat to people’s deposits...?!”
questioned Lebanese Democratic Party Chief, MP Talal Arslan, via Twitter on
Saturday. He added: “Beware of stealing depositors’ money, whether residents or
expatriates, who suffered throughout their years of working abroad, and placed
the money they earned through their hard work and sweat in Lebanese banks, which
in turn invested their savings in the Central Bank of Lebanon, and the latter
invested their money in a plundered and plagued state!”
Najm: Hold the corrupt accountable, instead of choosing the easier way by
confiscating people’s lifetime savings!
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
Deputy Nazih Najm deemed, in an issued statement on Saturday, that "the
government has fallen the moment it considered the usurpation of the rights of
people, Lebanese and non-Lebanese, who showed confidence by depositing their
money and savings in Lebanese banks."
“You are tampering with the lifetime savings of the Lebanese, which they
collected throughout their long years of hard work and perseverance,” cautioned
Najm. “Look for those who stole and robbed and hold them accountable and judge
them, instead of leaving the corrupt free and finding it easier to confiscate
people's funds,” he underlined. Najm stressed that "this issue will not pass at
any cost.” He added: “Enough of this farce, enough of violating people’s rights,
their money and their savings, and enough attempts to bend the Lebanese…who
shall never bow but to the Lord Almighty, and who shall rise up to defend their
rights and their lifetime savings, and we will be the first to rise up with
them."
Wahhab: Who can persuade those lamenting over deposits to
return the people's entrusted funds?
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
Arab Unification Party Head Wi’am Wahhab tweeted Saturday on the issue of
people’s bank deposits, saying: "I am ready to convince the government not to
steal people's deposits, and it will not do so...But who can persuade those who
are lamenting over the deposits to return the entrusted funds of the people,
which they have robbed for the past thirty years…?”
Ibrahim calls on military to continue to carry out missions
with sincerity, dedication
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
General Security Director-General, Abbas Ibrahim, issued on Saturday a
congratulatory letter to the Military working at the Directorate, on the
occasion of Easter holiday, hoping that "Lebanon will recover in the coming year
from its most severe ordeal in its recent history, in terms of the Coronavirus
epidemic and the extremely difficult economic and monetary situation."He added:
"Despite the circumstances of this holiday due to the spread of Coronavirus and
social tragedies as a result of the economic situation, it is an opportunity
towards self-purification."
Abbas also called on them to continue to carry out the tasks entrusted to them
at the security, social and administrative levels, with all sincerity, sacrifice
and dedication. He stressed that public security will remain present alongside
citizens in this ordeal, as well as those residing in Lebanon, while providing
assistance within the limits of the available capabilities. Finally, Ibrahim
saluted the doctors and nurses who are making the noblest sacrifices to protect
human beings.
Alain Aoun: Any plan that does not include the recovery of
looted funds is bound to fail
NNA/Saturday, April 11.2020
MP Alain Aoun tweeted Saturday on the government’s rescue plan, saying: "Any
economic financial plan that does not include a road map, even in stages, to
revive people's deposits by using all means of recovering the stolen money from
the corrupt, holding accountable those responsible for the losses, investing the
state's productive property and institutions and securing favorable foreign
conditions, is doomed to fail."
Lebanon in double-edged fight faces COVID-19, financial crisis
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/April 12/2020
BEIRUT - Lebanon has extended its almost month-long lockdown for another two
weeks to contain the spread of COVID-19 as it gradually starts to repatriate
citizens stranded abroad.
The general mobilisation period, which was first implemented on March 15, will
continue until April 26.
“We cannot say that we have completely contained the epidemic within Lebanon. On
the contrary, we are afraid that the epidemic will return and spread
vigorously... so we decided to extend the [general] mobilisation,” Information
Minister Manal Abdel Samad said.
Beirut's international airport, which has been closed since March 18, was
temporarily opened for rare flights organised by the government to bring home
Lebanese expatriates stranded in Europe, Africa and the Gulf countries.
Health personnel stationed at the airport checked and tested disembarking
passengers who were ferried in buses to quarantine centres, where they had to
wait for test results. Those testing positive were transferred to the hospital
and the rest were asked to self-quarantine at home.
At least 26 passengers tested positive for coronavirus in the first phase of
repatriation. A new batch of flights for expats is planned for later this month.
The Lebanese American University's (LAU) School of Medicine said it has put in
place a mobile clinic to serve some Lebanese regions that are deprived of
adequate medical services.
The clinic will be touring towns and villages offering citizens free testing for
the viral infection, in addition to providing health information and medical
consultations.
The extended lockdown has brought Lebanon's already fledgling economy to an
abrupt halt, with concerns mounting over the poor's ability to survive.
The government said it is finalising a draft plan to tackle the country's
crippling financial crisis, which estimates Lebanon will need external financing
of $10 billion-$15 billion over the next five years.
“The most positive aspect of the plan is that it reveals openly and for the
first time the big losses of the banking sector which are estimated at $83
billion, divided between the Central Bank and private banks,” said Kamal Hamdan,
director at the Consultation and Research Institute (CRI) in Beirut.
“The plan is very clear. It calls for the overall restructuring of the banking
sector in Lebanon with both the Central Bank and the private banks, mainly
readjusting their capital in line with the losses, forcing the merging of banks
and eventually ending the Lebanese pound’s peg on the dollar.
“This will entail painful measures including haircuts on major depositors and
the deposits of the upper middle-class,” Hamdan said.
Lebanon will have no option but to seek foreign financial assistance, according
to Hamdan. “This could come in the form of bilateral agreements with donor
countries or through a programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
However, by proposing a clear plan of action, Lebanon will be in a better
position to negotiate.”
The coronavirus pandemic is expected to affect Lebanon’s ability to get the
foreign assistance it needs, Hamdan contends. “Negotiations will be more
difficult in view of the increasing global demand for financial support from the
IMF and the World Bank. Lebanon might get less than the $10-15 billion it is
seeking.” Some international holders of Lebanon's more than $30 billion
Eurobonds are reportedly broadly supportive of the proposal. But the Association
of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) expressed concerns about the plan’s impact on the
banking system and its proposal to impose a financial burden on depositors.
"Lebanese commercial banks are the single largest constituency of Eurobonds'
holders, which should be used to the advantage of the government and country as
a whole to come up with a credible restructuring plan that ensures that the
heavy debt burden is addressed while protecting the health of the banking sector
and, more importantly, depositor monies," said ABL in a letter cited by Reuters.
The plan, which is still being discussed by cabinet, was drawn up after Lebanon
defaulted on its hefty foreign currency debt last month. The coronavirus
lockdown has compounded economic problems that include a weakening currency and
capital controls that have denied savers access to dollar savings. Lebanon has
609 confirmed cases of coronavirus which has killed 20 people so far.
*Samar Kadi is the Arab Weekly society and travel section editor.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on April 11-12/2020
Guterres: Through unity we can defeat this virus, in light of cooperation,
solidarity and faith in our common humanity
NNA/April 11/2020
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted the
importance of unity in defeating the Coronavirus epidemic, “through cooperation,
solidarity and faith in our common humanity.”
In a message marking the holy occasion of Easter, Jewish Passover and Ramadan,
under the headline "Renewing Faith in Our Common Humanity in Confrontation
against the Covid 19 Pandemic," which was distributed by the United Nations
Information Office in Beirut, Guterres said: “Today, I would like to make a
special appeal to the religious leaders of all religions to unite forces in
order to work for peace in all parts of the world, and to focus on our common
battle to defeat the Covid 19-pandemic.” “I make this appeal at a special time
of spiritual events. For Christians, it is time to celebrate Easter. As for the
Jews, they celebrate the Jewish Passover. Soon, Muslims will start the holy
month of Ramadan. I extend my best wishes to all who celebrate these important
rituals,” he added. “We have always known that these occasions are a time of
feeling connected, a time for family connections, a time of hugs, handshakes,
and the union of humanity,” Guterres went on. “But this is an unprecedented
time. We all seek to explore the depths of a strange and surreal world…A world
with empty streets and closed stores. The places of worship are empty…A world
full of anxiety,” he added regretfully. “We are concerned for those we love, and
they feel the same for us. How do we celebrate at a time like this?” questioned
Guterres. “Let us all be inspired by the essence of these sacred occasions as
moments of reflection, remembrance and renewal,” he said. “As we cope, let us
accord our special thoughts to the frontline health workers who are fighting
this malicious virus, and all those working to preserve the course of life in
our cities and villages,” Guterres corroborated. “Let us remember the most needy
and vulnerable groups in all parts of the world; those in war zones, refugee
camps, poor neighborhoods and all places less equipped to combat the virus,” he
maintained. “Let us renew our faith in one another and let us draw strength from
the goodness that gathers in difficult times, in the context of the union of
societies with diverse beliefs and moral traditions in order to care for one
another,” appealed the UN Secretary-General in his message.
1st Results in on Gilead Coronavirus Drug; More Study
Needed
Associated Press/Naharnet/April 11/2020
More than half of a group of severely ill coronavirus patients improved after
receiving an experimental antiviral drug, although there's no way to know the
odds of that happening without the drug because there was no comparison group,
doctors reported Friday. The results published by the New England Journal of
Medicine are the first in COVID-19 patients for remdesivir. The Gilead Sciences
drug has shown promise against other coronaviruses in the past and in lab tests
against the one causing the current pandemic, which now has claimed more than
100,000 lives. No drugs are approved now for treating the disease. At least five
large studies are testing remdesivir, and the company also has given it to more
than 1,700 patients on a case-by-case emergency basis. Friday's results are on
53 of those patients, ages 23 to 82, hospitalized in the United States, Europe,
Canada and Japan. Thirty-four of them were sick enough to require breathing
machines. All were given the drug through an IV for 10 days or as long as they
tolerated it. After 18 days on average, 36 patients, or 68%, needed less oxygen
or breathing machine support. Eight others worsened.
Seven patients died, nearly all of them over age 70. That 13% mortality rate is
lower than seen in some other reports, but no true comparisons can be made
without a study rigorously testing the drug in similar groups of patients, the
authors noted. A dozen patients had serious problems but it's not clear whether
they were from the drug or their disease. Those included septic shock and
trouble with kidneys and other organs. Four discontinued treatment because of
health problems they developed. "It looks encouraging," said Dr. Elizabeth
Hohmann, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital who
is helping lead one of the studies testing the drug. The problems that occurred
were not unexpected given the disease, she said. Dr. Derek Angus, critical care
chief at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who wasn't involved with
the research, said the recovery rate is good but "there is no way of knowing
from this series if remdesivir was helpful." Results from more rigorous studies
are expected by the end of this month.
Spain's Daily Virus Toll Falls again with 510 Dead
Agence France Presse/April 11/2020
Spain registered a fall in its daily death toll from the new coronavirus for a
third consecutive day on Saturday with 510 people dying, the government said. It
was the smallest daily increase since March 23 in Spain, which is suffering one
of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the world. The update for the last 24 hours
raised the country's overall number of fatalities to 16,353 and the number of
confirmed cases another 4,800 to 161,852. Masks will be handed out at metro and
train stations from Monday as some companies re-open after a two-week
"hibernation" period, the health minister said Friday. Although health chiefs
say the pandemic has peaked, they have urged the population to strictly follow
the national lockdown which was put in place on March 14 in order to slow the
spread of the virus. The restrictions will remain in place until April 25
although the government has made clear it expects to announce another two-week
extension.
Spain toughened its nationwide lockdown on March 30, halting all non-essential
activities until after Easter as it sought to further curb the spread of the
virus.
US records more than 500,000 coronavirus cases
AFP/April 11/2020
WASHINGTON: The number of coronavirus cases recorded in the United States surged
past 500,000 late Friday, according to the latest tally by Johns Hopkins
University.
The US has led the world in the number of infections since the end of March.
With more than a third of all officially declared cases globally, it threatens
to overtake Europe, which has recorded more than 850,000 cases. The new US
record comes as the worldwide death toll from the coronavirus surged past
100,000 Friday.
The epidemic in the US cut a widening swath through not just New York City but
the entire three-state metropolitan area of 20 million people connected by a
tangle of subways, trains and buses.
In the bedroom communities across the Hudson River in New Jersey, to the east on
Long Island and north to Connecticut, officials were recording some of the worst
outbreaks in the country, even as public health authorities expressed optimism
that the pace of infections appeared to be slowing. As of Friday, the New York
metropolitan area accounted for more than half the nation’s over 18,500 deaths,
with other hot spots in places such as Detroit, Louisiana and Washington, D.C.
“Once it gets into the city, there are so many commuters and travel, it gets
everywhere,” said Matt Mazewski, a Columbia University economics student who
tried to get away from the epicenter by leaving his apartment near the New York
City campus for his parents’ house in Long Valley, New Jersey. Confirmed
infections reached about 1.7 million worldwide, while they surpassed half a
million in the US, according to a Johns Hopkins University count. The US is on
track to overtake Italy as the country with the highest number of dead, though
the true figures on infections and lives lost around the world are believed be
much higher because of limited testing, government cover-ups and different
counting practices.
In places such as New York, Italy and Spain, for example, many victims who died
outside a hospital — say, in a house or a nursing home — have not been included
in the count.
With Christians around the world heading into Easter weekend, public health
officials and religious leaders alike urged people to stay home, warning that
violating lockdowns and social distancing rules could cause the virus to come
storming back. Authorities in Europe put up roadblocks, used helicopters and
drones, and cited drivers who had no good reason to be out. Even in places where
the crisis seemed to be easing, the daily death totals were hard to bear.
“I understand intellectually why it’s happening,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New
York, where deaths rose by 777, to more than 7,800. “It doesn’t make it any
easier to accept.”
But New York officials also said the number of people in intensive care dropped
for the first time since mid-March and hospitalizations were slowing: 290 new
patients in a single day, compared with daily increases of more than 1,000 last
week. Cuomo said that if the trend holds, New York might not need the overflow
field hospitals that officials have been scrambling to build.
New Jersey’s outbreaks began with the state’s first confirmed infection, in a
man who commuted between New York and his Fort Lee apartment. The virus is now
in all 21 New Jersey counties.
Some suburbs had an infection rate even higher than New York City’s, including
Rockland County, where the rate was double.
As of Friday, Nassau County, on New York’s Long Island, had over 700 deaths.
Bergen County, New Jersey, and Westchester County, New York, had around 400
each. Essex County, New Jersey, and Suffolk County, New York, both recorded more
than 350. Fairfield County, Connecticut, had about 180. Officials said many
Connecticut infections can be traced to cases in New York’s Westchester County.
“This is a virus that knows no borders,” Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said last
month. For several days, two of the globe’s other worst-hit places, Italy and
Spain, reported that new infections, hospitalizations and deaths have been
leveling off even as the daily death tolls remain shocking.
Spain recorded 605 more deaths, its lowest figure in more than two weeks,
bringing its overall toll to more than 15,800. Italy reported 570 additional
deaths for a total of more than 18,800.
With some signs of hope emerging, questions intensified about when restrictions
might be loosened. Spain said factories and construction sites could resume work
Monday, while schools, most shops and offices will remain closed. In Italy,
there were pleas to restart manufacturing.
Though US President Donald Trump insisted he would not lift restrictions until
it’s safe, he announced an “Opening our Country” task force and said, “I want to
get it open as soon as possible.”
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned
that easing restrictions prematurely could “lead to a deadly resurgence.”
Italy, Ireland and Greece were among the countries extending lockdown orders
into May.
As the threat receded in some places, it increased elsewhere. In the US,
Michigan announced 205 new deaths Friday, its highest daily total, up from 117 a
day earlier. In Europe, Britain recorded 980 new deaths, likewise a one-day
high, for close to 9,000 dead in all.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained hospitalized with the virus but
was out of intensive care. His father, Stanley Johnson, said the prime minister
needs to “rest up” before returning to work.
On Good Friday, some churches worldwide held services online, while others
arranged prayers at drive-in theaters.
In Paris, services were broadcast from a nearly empty, closed-to-the-public
Notre Dame Cathedral, still heavily scarred from a fire a year ago. In Warsaw,
Poland, priests wearing masks heard confessions in a parking lot. And in New
Orleans, the Catholic archbishop sprinkled holy water from the Jordan River from
a biplane traveling overhead.
Global COVID-19 death toll crosses 100,000 milestone
The Arab Weekly/AFP/April 11/2020
JEDDAH: The worldwide death toll from COVID-19 passed the 100,000 mark on
Friday, three months after the new coronavirus killed a 61-year-old Chinese man
from Wuhan on January 9. More than 1.7 million declared cases have been
registered in 193 countries. The sad milestone came as Christians around the
globe marked a Good Friday unlike any other — in front of computer screens
instead of in church pews. A tally by Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency
placed the global death toll at 1900 GMT on Friday at 100,859 people, citing
official figures. First Asia, then Europe in March and now the United States
have each, in turn, become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has
forced more than half of humanity into lockdown. Despite sometimes draconian
confinement measures, the number of daily deaths has accelerated across the
globe — from fewer than 500 per day in mid-March, to more than 5,000 at the
start of April and now nearly 7,500. In the last eight days, more deaths were
registered than in the preceding 84 days.
Glimmer of hope
Of more than 1.6 million declared cases, at least 335,900 are considered
recovered. Italy and Spain are the two European countries hardest hit with
18,849 and 15,843 deaths respectively. But there appear to be the first glimmers
of hope — after a peak of nearly a thousand deaths in 24 hours, on March 27 in
Italy and on April 2 in Spain, the daily figures seem to have reached a plateau
and are slowly starting to come down. In the last 24 hours, Italy has recorded
570 dead and Spain 605. Nevertheless, the situation is continuing to get worse
in others.In Britain, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson was back on his feet to
recovery from COVID-19, the nation recorded its deadliest day yet with 980 more
deaths, taking the country’s overall toll to nearly 9,000. Saudi Arabia
announced 364 new cases, 19 recoveries and three deaths. The overall case count
has now reached 3,651, with 2,919 active cases; 57 of them are now in the
intensive care unit, while 685 were treated and 47 have died. Some countries are
tiptoeing toward reopening segments of their battered economies. But the World
Health Organization chief has warned that a premature lifting of stay-at-home
and other restrictions could spark a “deadly resurgence” of the virus.
Meanwhile, the first person to contract Ebola in Democratic Republic of Congo in
more than 50 days has died, ending hopes that the second worst outbreak of the
disease in history might be over.
Actual toll could be higher
The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and
information from the World Health Organization (WHO), probably reflect only a
fraction of the actual number of infections. Many countries are only testing the
most serious cases. Others do not have a policy of large-scale testing when
resources are severely lacking, as in Africa. “There are problems with all the
indicators, but the number of cases depends a lot on the number of tests,” said
French epidemiologist Catherine Hill. “The number of dead is a good indicator
provided that you do not change the parameter along the way.” In France, for
example, deaths in nursing homes were not counted until April 2 and the daily
number of deaths in these establishments prior to that date would have to be
reconstructed. Some countries, such as Spain, have also questioned whether their
tolls might be higher, as people dying at home are generally not taken into
account. With 70,270 deaths out of 857,822 cases — equivalent to 70 percent and
52 percent of the global totals respectively — Europe remains the hardest-hit
region by the pandemic. On March 22, it had registered fewer than 10,000 deaths.
The spread has accelerated in recent weeks — in 11 days, the number of deaths
has doubled. Almost everywhere in Europe, morgues are overwhelmed, with coffins
lined up in churches in Bergamo, an ice rink in Madrid and a market hall in
Rungis in France.
The disease is now spreading fastest in the United States, and New York state in
particular, where the number of registered cases has surpassed Italy’s, with
more than 160,000 for the state and 93,000 for New York city alone.
New Defense Systems Deployed at Bases Housing US Forces in Iraq
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 April, 2020
US officials announced that new air defense systems are now operating at Iraqi
military bases housing American and allied forces where troops have been
attacked by Iranian-backed factions in recent months. Patriot missile launchers
and two other short-range systems are now in place at al-Asad Air Base, where
Iran carried out a massive ballistic missile attack against US and coalition
troops in January, and at the military base in Erbil, said officials, who spoke
on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive weapons movement. A short-range
rocket defense system was installed at Camp Taji, reported The Associated Press.
The military has been gradually moving the defensive systems into Iraq over the
last few months to provide more protection for troops that have seen a series of
rocket and missile attacks. Soon after Iran launched a massive ballistic missile
assault against troops at al-Asad in January, questions were raised about the
lack of air defense systems at the bases. But it has taken time to overcome
tensions and negotiate with Iraqi leaders, and to also locate defense systems
that could be shifted into Iraq. Prior to the missile attacks, US military
leaders did not believe the systems were needed there, more than in other
locations around the world where such strikes are more frequent.
The systems are now operational, as top US officials warn that threats from
Iranian proxy groups continue. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff said Thursday. that because of that threat, hundreds of soldiers from the
1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, remain in Iraq. He said only one battalion
was allowed to return to Fort Bragg, N.C., “in part because the situation with
the Shiite militia groups and Iran has not 100 percent settled down.” He added
that “they will continue their mission until such time that we think the threat
has subsided.”Several rockets hit near the site of an American oilfield service
company in southern Iraq this week. It was the first such attack in recent
months to target US energy interests. Americans had already left the location.
President Donald Trump early last week said his administration has received
intelligence that Iran is planning a strike. He provided no details, but he
warned Iran in a tweet that if US troops are attacked by Iran or its proxies,
"Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!”Other officials in recent weeks said
there had been an increase in intelligence pointing to a possible large attack.
But they said this week that the threat appears to have tapered off, as
countries grapple with the rapidly spreading coronavirus. Still, military
leaders have argued that US and coalition troops needed the extra protection
because threats from the Iranian proxies continue and it's unclear how much
control Tehran may have over them, particularly now as the virus hits Iran hard.
In early January, the US launched an airstrike in Baghdad that killed Iran’s
most powerful military officer, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis,
a leader of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Kataib Hezbollah, one of those
militias, has been responsible for a number of attacks on US, Iraqi and
coalition forces. The Soleimani killing triggered the Iran ballistic missile
attack, which resulted in traumatic brain injuries to more than 100 American
troops.
Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and has steadily reimposed US
sanctions on Iran that had been eased or lifted under the terms of the deal.
Late last month, the administration slapped sanctions on 20 Iranian people and
companies for supporting Shia militia responsible for attacks on US forces.
Currently, there are more than 6,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. While some forces have
been withdrawn over the past few months, others have flowed in to set up and
operate the new air defense systems.
US officials: Missile defence systems now operating in Iraq
The New Arab & agencies/April 11/2020
New air defense systems are now protecting American and allied forces at
military bases in Iraq where troops have been attacked by Iranian-backed
insurgents in recent months, according to US officials.
Patriot missile launchers and two other short-range systems are now in place at
al-Asad Air Base, where Iran carried out a massive ballistic missile attack
against US and coalition troops in January, and at the military base in Irbil,
said officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive weapons
movement. A short-range rocket defence system was installed at Camp Taji.
The military has been gradually moving the defensive systems into Iraq over the
last few months to provide more protection for troops that have seen a series of
rocket and missile attacks.
Soon after Iran launched a massive ballistic missile assault against troops at
al-Asad in January, questions were raised about the lack of air defence systems
at the bases. But it has taken time to overcome tensions and negotiate with
Iraqi leaders, and to also locate defence systems that could be shifted into
Iraq.
Prior to the missile attacks, US military leaders did not believe the systems
were needed there, more than in other locations around the world where such
strikes are more frequent.
The systems are now operational, as top US officials warn that threats from
Iranian proxy groups continue.
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. that
because of that threat, hundreds of soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne
Division, remain in Iraq. He said only one battalion was allowed to return to
Fort Bragg, North Carolina , “in part because the situation with the Shia
militia groups and Iran has not 100 percent settled down.” He added that “they
will continue their mission until such time that we think the threat has
subsided.”
Several rockets hit near the site of an American oilfield service company in
southern Iraq this week. It was the first such attack in recent months to target
US energy interests. Americans had already left the location.
President Donald Trump early last week said his administration has received
intelligence that Iran is planning a strike. He provided no details, but he
warned Iran in a tweet that if US troops are attacked by Iran or its proxies,
"Iran will pay a very heavy price, indeed!”
Russian president and Saudi crown prince hold telephone
talks
SPA/April 11/2020
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz held phone discussions on
Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reported official Saudi news
agency SPA. “During the phone conversation, they reviewed the efforts being
exerted to stabilise and maintain energy markets to support the growth of the
global economy,” added SPA. “They also stressed the importance of the
cooperation of all producing countries in this regard.” The leaders of the G20
countries held a virtual summit on April 9 devoted to stabilising the global oil
market and coordinating efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and curtail
its economic fallout. A special G20 Energy Ministers’ virtual meeting took place
on Friday.
Tripoli Residents Suffer from Power and Water Cuts
Cairo - Jamal JawharAsharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 April, 2020
Residents of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, were this week interrupted from
watching news of the war and the sporadic sound of shelling, to buy gallons of
drinking water after it was cut off from their homes. In addition, the majority
of areas in the city suffered a total blackout at a time when the threat of the
spread of the coronavirus looms in the country. There was a total blackout in
both the western and southern regions of the country. Operation Volcano of Rage
that is affiliated with Fayez al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord accused
what it called the “Haftar militias”, referring to the Commander of the Libyan
National Army, of “shutting the gas pipe in the Sidi al-Sayeh area which feeds
the western region with electricity days after closing the gas pipes in the
Great Man Made River which also feeds the area.” The Operation says the LNA did
so to punish citizens, after it also halted the production and export of oil,
incurring 4 billion dollars in losses. Abdel-Moneim al-Hor, the
Secretary-General of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, residing in al-Khums,
a city east of the capital, told Asharq Al-Awsat, “We have been suffering from a
cut in water and electricity supplies for days. Today I bought water and emptied
it in the underground tanker of my home."The General Electricity Company
clarified two days ago that “an unknown group had shut down the gas pipe in the
Sidi al-Sayeh area.”It warned that “continuing to close it will cause a massive
shortage in electricity production in the area and that manual loads will be
resorted to in order to maintain the safety and stability of the electric grid”.
In addition to the power cut, Tripoli and the majority of cities in western
Libya have suffered from water cuts for two days, in an operation that Sarraj’s
forces see as deliberately depriving people of drinking water by the LNA as a
tactic of war.
Despite the Great Man Made River administration announcing that drinking water
supply has partially returned to some areas, it expects that “it will be cut off
again in the capital over the continued raids by armed men of the control room.
The western Libyan cities also suffered the same fate, as citizens there
complained of drinking water and electricity cuts, deepening their years-long
crisis coupled with a rise in the price of fuel and cooking gas. Ali Imlimdi, a
lawyer who works and lives in the city of Sabha in the south, said that in
addition to power cuts, people there “are facing a rise in the prices of cooking
gas and fuel.” He clarified that there was power rationing of up to nine hours a
day . . . and once the Tripoli station is shut down, the Awbari gas station in
turn also shuts down because it cannot withstand the pressure.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on April 11-12/2020
Economic meltdown pushes Tehran to take risks with pandemic
Thomas Seibert//The Arab Weekly/April 12/2020
ISTANBUL - Iran’s government has decided that the threat of a possible collapse
of the economy is bigger than the danger posed by the coronavirus.
Even though Iran is the hardest-hit country in the Middle East with more than
67,000 infections and over 4,100 deaths caused by COVID-19, the respiratory
disease triggered by the virus, President Hassan Rohani is allowing some
businesses outside Tehran to re-open on April 11 and has said it is possible
that companies in the capital could re-open a week later.
As Rohani’s government pushes to get at least some Iranians back to work, it is
trying to sound upbeat about the trajectory of the virus spread, claiming the
number of new infections is dropping.
“People’s health is the country’s first priority, but employment, production and
businesses in a year that is named ‘Surge in Production’ must be considered as
well,” Rohani told a cabinet meeting on April 5, according to the presidency’s
website.
“Therefore, all necessary measures must be taken for jump-starting the country’s
economy by observing health protocols with people’s health prioritised.”
Even as Rohani’s government acted to get the economy back on track Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a warning to Iranians that the virus
remained a lethal danger that would affect the holy month of Ramadan that starts
on April 23.
Khamenei appealed for Iranians to pray at home and to avoid mass gatherings and
communal prayers during the Muslim fasting month.
“In the absence of public gatherings during Ramadan, such as prayers, speeches…
which we are deprived of this year, we should not neglect worship, invocation
and humility in our loneliness,” Khamenei said in a televised speech on April 9.
Despite the warning, Rohani’s plan to re-boot the economy is going ahead.
The president unveiled a loan programme of about $17.4 billion for companies and
promised support payments of $230 each for 23 million poor households.
In an unprecedented step for the Islamic Republic, Rohani has also requested a
loan of $5 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It is Tehran’s
first demand for IMF aid since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“These moves by the Iranian regime demonstrate its intent to move beyond the
crisis, but the danger of coronavirus has yet to have passed,” Kaleigh Thomas of
the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS), a Washington think-tank, said by
e-mail.
Iran’s economy contracted by around 10% last year under the pressure of US
sanctions that have crippled the country’s oil sector. Experts say mismanagement
and corruption also played a role. The coronavirus pandemic, which has prompted
the shutdown of businesses and domestic travel, has worsened the economic
situation further.
The economy ministry listed “the escalation of US sanctions and depletion of
Iran’s foreign exchange reserves, combined with economic losses resulting from
coronavirus outbreak and disruptions caused to businesses that would lead to
leaner tax revenues” as the “most biting” challenges facing Iran, according to
the Financial Tribune, an Iranian English-language business newspaper.
Rohani gave no details about which businesses would be allowed to re-open on
April 11. He said that “high-risk businesses will remain closed until further
notice." It remained unclear which companies are considered low-risk. Iran's
Financial Tribune said “swimming pools, sports centres or any place of
gathering” would not be allowed to open. A quick return to normal economic
activity could trigger a second wave of infections.
Rohani also received permission from Khamenei to take $1.1 billion out of the
National Development Fund, the country’s sovereign wealth fund. The money will
be used to fight the coronavirus and to help the unemployed.
Farhang Jahanpour, a British academic of Iranian descent and a commentator on
Iranian affairs, said by e-mail the decrease in oil revenue due to US sanctions
was forcing Rohani’s government to turn to the sovereign wealth fund to confront
the challenges posed by an economic crisis in times of a pandemic.
“In view of the negative effect of COVID-19 on society and economy, it would be
quite logical for the government to dip into [the] National Development Fund in
order to support the economy and help the most vulnerable members of the
society.”
Rohani’s government feels encouraged in its effort to revive the economy by what
it claims is a gradual decline in coronavirus cases. It says social distancing
measures are showing an effect.
The number of 117 deaths in the 24 hours to April 9 reported by Tehran was the
lowest daily death toll in more than three weeks, according to the Turkish news
agency Anadolu. Figures compiled by the Johns Hopkins University in the US
showed that Iran’s number of new infections per day has fallen since March 30,
when it stood at 3,200. The figure given by Iran’s health ministry for April 9
was 1,634.
But there has been speculation inside and outside of Iran that the real number
of deaths and infections in the country could be much higher than officially
announced. Iran initially downplayed the outbreak in February amid the 41st
anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution and a crucial parliamentary vote.
About eight in ten COVID-19 cases in the Middle East are said to have originated
in Iran.
The poor will pay the biggest price for this pandemic
Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/April 11/2020
COVID-19 pandemic tend to focus on affluent countries. Even when studies
conclude that the less wealthy are more at risk, because they live in cramped
conditions and lack access to good nutrition and health care, these studies
apply mostly to the US or Europe. And there is indeed a problem there; many
people have lost their jobs, 17 million in the US alone, as economies contract
because of the pandemic. Food banks are overwhelmed, with queues longer than
could have been imagined only a few weeks ago.
This holds true for countries with relatively well functioning healthcare
systems. New hospitals for COVID-19 patients have been made operational at
record speed from London to New York, and from Wuhan to Paris. Even in these
well-off countries, healthcare professionals are running out of protective
equipment and hospitals do not have sufficient access to intensive care beds or
ventilators; countries are literally “hijacking” exports of medical equipment
intended for their neighbors and allies.
This is the situation in affluent economies. It becomes a lot more dire when we
look at low-income countries with healthcare systems that are inadequate at the
best of times. As the virus spreads, countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America
will be hard hit. Again, the hardest hit will be the poor who live in slums.
Living quarters are cramped and sanitary appalling. For them it must sound like
the height of cynicism when doctors tell them to wash their hands frequently and
use plenty of soap. How can they, when there is neither clean water nor soap?
As though this were not depressing enough, think of the plight of refugees. A
conservative estimate is that in the Middle East alone 20 million displaced
people are strewn across a plethora of failing or war-torn states with already
woefully inadequate healthcare systems. Six million Syrians are refugees outside
the country. They are joined by many internally displaced, a million in ravaged
Idlib province alone. The UN estimates that 2 million Iraqis are still displaced
since the American-led invasion. There are 3 million Afghan refugees and more
than 4 million internally displaced people in Yemen, not to speak of the
conflict in Libya and other places, all of which drove people from their homes.
Most of these displaced people live in refugee camps with a high population
density, little or no access to sanitation and inadequate food supplies — not to
speak of the lack of personal protection equipment for the aid workers looking
after the camps. This is a breeding ground, if ever there was one, for a fast
spreading virus.
The COVID-19 crisis becomes a lot more dire when we look at low-income countries
with healthcare systems that are inadequate at the best of times. As the virus
spreads, countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America will be hard hit.
There have been few reported cases of COVID-19 in these camps. The first was
reported in Greece at the beginning of this month and none have been reported so
far among Syrian refugees in the Levant. This is not to say that there are no
cases, they just have not been reported. How could they, when there is little or
no access to test kits?
To make matters worse, these failing states and the refugee camps in them are
kept afloat by submerged trade networks, which are bound to spread the virus.
As advanced countries concentrate on their own virus-related economic problems,
aid money is bound to become scarcer. The UN’s World Food Programme is a good
example. It is chronically underfunded, yet keeps many people nourished in
conflict zones such as Yemen. It will cut its aid to Yemen by 40 percent in the
months to come, for various reasons.
The scenarios for how the virus will spread across the least fortunate people on
the planet are chilling. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded with
countries at war to suspend hostilities, while the coronavirus crisis was
ongoing. He was heard by some. Saudi Arabia, for example, is willing to extend
its two-weeks cease-fire in Yemen. In Libya, some heed Guterres’s call, but
many, including eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar, do not. There is already some
sort of a coronavirus blame game going on in Libya.
What many of the affluent countries do not understand is that what happens in
the refugee camps on their peripheries will in due course affect them too. When
the travel restrictions are eased as the crisis abates in Europe and the US,
these refugees will do whatever it takes to cross borders in the quest for a
livelihood. They will then bring the virus back to those countries and the
lockdowns will start all over again. The pandemic strategy of these OECD nations
must therefore take into consideration what happens in the refugee camps. Karl
Blanchet, a public health professor and director of the Geneva Centre for
Education and Research in Humanitarian Action, put it well when he said: “Either
we include everyone in this strategy, or we strategically fail. Not including
these populations is a recipe for failure for our whole society.”
The problem of how COVID-19 will spread in refugee camps is not just woefully
underreported, it matters to the affluent of the world just as much as it does
to the most deprived. As humanity we need to take care of the weak, because it
is the right thing to do — but also out of self-interest.
*Cornelia Meyer is a business consultant, macro-economist and energy
expert.Twitter: @MeyerResources
Healthcare systems under review
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arab News/April 11, 2020
The NHS has called on retired doctors and nurses to consider returning to work
to assist in the treatment of patients with coronavirus. (Getty Images)
As part of the battle against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), health
authorities in the UK have urged the government to accelerate the process for
granting visas to foreign doctors. They also called on retired medics to return
to work in hospitals.
The UK is not the only country competing for the services of foreign medical
professionals with vital specialist knowledge by offering them residence and
work permits. In fact, it already has thousands of immigrants working in its
health services, including more than 4,000 Iraqi doctors.
The first doctor in Britain to die on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis
was a Pakistani father of four. All of his children are also doctors, as is his
wife.
Given the threat the pandemic poses to the world, there are renewed discussions
and debates in many nations about the state of healthcare systems, shortages of
medical staff, the standards of health institutions, and the quality of the
services they provide. People are asking whether their health services are
self-sufficient and the sector is adequately developed.
Let us take Saudi Arabia as a regional model. The country has good health
service, which is ranked 26th on a global list by the World Health Organization.
There are about 100,000 practicing doctors in the country but only a quarter of
them are Saudis. This is despite major scholarship programs to send Saudi
medical students to study in the West, and 37 medical colleges in the Kingdom
with 25,000 students.
Why, then, are their so few Saudi doctors? It is because studying medicine takes
a long time, costs a lot and has very high educational requirements. Adding to
the difficulty is the fact that opportunities to study at Western universities
are limited by a system of codifying the places reserved for international
students, and as a result the system provides few seats for Saudi students.
Complementary medical professions, such as nursing, are no less important. There
are about 185,000 nurses in the Kingdom, a third of whom are Saudis. There are
also technical and administrative specialties within the health sector.
Even before the coronavirus crisis, everyone understood that medicine is one of
the noblest professions, and that the quality of healthcare provision is a
reflection of the progress and status of a nation. One of the lessons we must
learn from the current crisis is the need to emphasize the importance of, and
increase the interest in, developing curative services, while also enhancing
awareness of health-related issues in our communities.
This is a global issue and not a problem faced only by developing nations.
Although governments consider the cost of providing healthcare to be high, and
often seek to privatize and commercialize medical services, they must be held to
account when services are not adequate, they must be compelled to contribute
more to them when required, and they must be reminded that they are not exempt
from the responsibilities of safeguarding public health.
Neglecting or failing to support this vital sector is costly and dangerous.
Ill-prepared governments around the world that are battling to slow the spread
of coronavirus have suddenly found themselves forced to spend large sums of
money on preventative measures, laboratory tests, treating the infected and
purchasing vital medical equipment that is in short supply.
The truth is that money alone cannot alleviate the danger posed by the virus and
limit its repercussions when there are not enough specialists, health
practitioners, hospital beds, respirators, medical masks and protective
clothing.
Much has been said and written in honor and praise of healthcare professionals
all over the world, highlighting the risks they face and thanking them for the
sacrifices they are making every single day — in some cases giving their lives
to help others. No amount of words will ever be enough to express the debt of
gratitude we owe them.
Even before the coronavirus crisis, everyone understood that medicine is one of
the noblest professions.
Medicine is a vital profession but it is not accessible to everyone. The cost of
teaching and training physicians is high, exceeding $2.5 million for each
medical student. It takes more than 11 years of study and training to reach
advanced levels of qualification.
Action is needed, therefore, to reduce the burdens on our doctors, nurses and
other medical professionals, and cut the costs of providing care. More
consistent, constant monitoring of individuals’ health, for example, along with
enhanced initiatives to raise awareness of health issues and the importance of
early treatment, including improved health education for children at an early
age.
Measures such as these, and others, can create a healthier community that
requires fewer visits to the doctor, reducing the financial burden of providing
a quality healthcare system.
*Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general manager
of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat.
Twitter: @aalrashed
War with an invisible enemy, and facing the fight to come
Mohamed Berrada/Arab News/April 11, 2020
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues to unfold with tragic
consequences around the world, changing social life, disrupting economies, and
shaking up life priorities. Yet the human toll remains the heaviest of all.
All Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) governments rapidly reacted to protect the
public, with draconian measures designed to slow the advance: Closing schools,
suspending international travel, stopping nonessential commercial activities,
imposing strict curfews, sanitizing public spaces, and even halting the Umrah
pilgrimage. These containment initiatives will hopefully prove effective in
slowing down the transmission.
However, COVID-19 has been an overwhelming challenge to health care systems
around the world: With more than 20 percent hospitalization, including 5 percent
admission to intensive care units (ICUs), the pressure on the sector remains
intense and relentless. In these early stages of the outbreak, and beyond the
public health response, health care providers in GCC states urgently need to
consider several fundamentals for the fight to come against this new threat.
The first is planning: The crucial calculations needed before heading into
battle.
We already have a good initial understanding of the transmission rate and
incubation period for COVID-19. And while those two metrics remain the main
factors of its rapid spread, they also provide decent visibility of upcoming
demand for the next 10 to 14 days — and a vital head start that can make the
difference between life and death for thousands. To take advantage of this, the
efficient planning of health care provision remains crucial, especially at these
early stages.
First, ensuring a continuous flow of accurate and timely information between all
relevant entities is vital to guarantee proper allocation of resources,
distribution of patients, and tracking of current availability and challenges.
Secondly, collaboration between providers and key industry players will build a
united front against the virus: Public, defense, and private hospitals as well
as pharma companies, med-tech, and suppliers should continue to work together to
manage any potential burden that might surge, sharing supplies, workforce, or
knowledge, or collaborating in clinical trials at a local, regional, and global
level.
Finally, this collaboration is effective only by establishing a government-led
command and control center to coordinate the activities of all health care
providers across the country, backed by potential regional branches, to
facilitate a quick and effective response to emergencies and spikes in demand.
In the region, national task forces led by public health authorities have been
quickly established to spearhead this effort.
The next fundamental is a patient pathway attack stratagem.
COVID-19 has forced health care providers into uncharted territory. As such,
establishing a clear pathway to guide health care professionals on how to manage
suspected and confirmed cases is a top priority, especially at the entry points
of the health care system such as primary health care centers or ERs that tend
to be unequipped to face the virus.
The pathway should include clear and detailed guidelines on safety procedures,
case investigation, testing, reporting, transfer, treatment and patient
management, data gathering, and information sharing. In addition, guidelines on
prioritizing access to full ICUs will ensure unbiased decisions and the full
legal protection of health care professionals. Those guidelines should be
frequently updated and communicated as new information becomes available.
The next is fundamental is securing supply lines.
In the war against COVID-19, basic personal protective equipment (PPE), such as
face masks, gowns and gloves, has rapidly been depleted. Testing kits, oxygen
bottles, and medication have become increasingly hard to secure. Ventilators for
the most critical patients are in short supply, with traditional manufacturers
operating at full capacity and building partnerships in unrelated industries to
bridge the gap. This shortage will only become more acute as demand
exponentially increases and more countries are affected. All GCC countries have
taken this matter seriously and initiated mitigation plans to procure required
materials.
Providers, supported by their governments, should stockpile supplies based on
forecasted demand. This might mean immediate and greater control over vital PPE
available to the public, diverting them toward health care professionals; new
and creative use of technology (for example, 3D printing for ventilator parts)
to bridge supply gaps and develop local production capabilities; and rationing
the consumption of supplies and reducing medical waste to help safeguard these
crucial resources.
Then there is bed capacity. With 20 percent of patients requiring
hospitalization during a very short time window, providers must quickly optimize
their existing capacity and temporarily expand it — while segregating COVID-19
patients from other patients. This is a unique — and long overdue — opportunity
for providers to focus hospital stays on acute cases and discharge long-term
cases into a more appropriate community: Care, but using self-management
solutions, homecare, and primary care networks.
Providers should also freeze non-critical admissions and elective surgeries, an
initiative already implemented in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, and selectively
repurpose available beds, whether in health care (for example, specialized
hospitals with non-critical patients) or other sectors (like hotels).
Full optimization of bed capacity should be supported by “health transportation”
strategies at the local and national levels, from ambulances and helicopters to
“sanitary trains” — such as the repurposed TGV high-speed train in France — to
tackle the uneven distribution of patients across cities and regions.
Then, there is mobilizing the work force. To win this war, protecting and
strengthening health care personnel is crucial. This can be achieved by
mobilizing retired workers, repurposing with adequate training existing
physicians and nurses, and accelerating the entry of new graduates into the
field. Moreover, new technologies, such as robotic nurses, may help handle
nonessential tasks and limit exposure to risk. Testing and protecting caregivers
interacting with high-risk populations (for example, home care, hospice, or care
home nurses) is also crucial. Finally, health care providers must be mindful of
the physical and mental health of their employees and implement initiatives
designed to support overall well-being.
We must also tend to the other patients. While fighting COVID-19, health care
providers still need to look after all non-coronavirus patients requiring health
care services. Those include acute patients who need hospital admission and
careful management in a protected environment, plus controlled patients needing
ongoing monitoring. It is then vital to implement community care solutions to
promote out-of-hospital management (for example, virtual clinics, remote
monitoring, homecare services, and dedicated treatment facilities), and to
prepare strategies on how to manage delayed care services such as post-crisis
surgery.
Reinforcing the resilience of the pharmaceutical supply chain will also ensure
the right medication reaches the right patients, whether via direct delivery, a
pioneer initiative launched by public hospitals in Saudi Arabia, or
collaboration with private pharmacy networks.
Finally, after winning the war, we must win the peace. This crisis will push
health systems in the GCC to accelerate the adoption of a new mindset: Digitally
enabled self-care, enhanced and reinvented primary and home care services,
collaborative health professionals, sharper focus on admissions and discharge
for the right patients at the right time, cross-border R&D, and innovative
medical supply chains.
It’s vital that we understand which decisions might remain relevant beyond the
present, and actively help speed up their implementation and adoption. This will
empower us to further reinforce our health care systems, and save millions of
lives in the process.
• Mohamed Berrada is partner and head of health care practice at Kearney
Coronavirus: Misinformation remains a pressing matter – but there is one
solution
Damien McElroy/The National/April 11/ 2020
Only gold-standard media operations can expose and dispel industrial-scale myths
and manipulations.
It must have been spectacular. The fire crew called to the scene near
Birmingham’s Bluebell Park was forced to park up and wait for 40 minutes just
after midnight on Saturday as the blaze consumed the mobile phone mast. The
electronic panels fizzed and sparked as the flames went higher.
The cause of the blaze was arson, and the attack was driven by one of the most
persistent Covid-19-related conspiracies. Fed by social media, people have come
to believe that installation of the next-generation telecommunications
infrastructure is transmitting the novel coronavirus.
It is not 5G that is bringing the curse of our times. It is the prevalence of
the lies and rumours powered by social media messaging.
This is an object lesson in the scale of the damage that can be done by
fabricated claims.
In such a scenario, only gold-standard media operations can expose and dispel
industrial-scale myths and manipulations. During a health crisis, it is clear
that the right messaging must be responsibly delivered. If that tight focus is
made impossible, people will die.
The pandemic represents the greatest challenge for media operations in several
generations. Economic contraction has inflicted a terrible toll. Reliance on an
advertising model to provide revenue compounds the general problems. Advertisers
are using blocking tools to prevent their adverts appearing alongside stories on
the coronavirus. This is further slashing revenues.
It is also antithetical to the common good.
Without the media, people will not stay at home in sufficient numbers. And even
if they do, they will not properly understand if they are doing the right things
in the correct manner.
A British government minister, who has oversight of the sector, was not far
wrong when he described the press as the nation’s fourth emergency service. This
is a twist on the long-argued concept that the media serves as a fourth estate
in the affairs of a nation. News represents an active pillar of public life. It
serves to ensure the good functioning of the other parts of the constitutional
settlement.
Absent the media to report, the vacuum gets filled up. The attacks on the 5G
towers would be unchallenged. The sources of the campaign could remain hidden.
The science that debunks the claims would not see the light of day. The public
would be left vulnerable to the consequences of distorted information, and the
proponents of the conspiracy theory would keep recycling their myth. On Monday,
the groups behind the 5G incident are intent on staging an “uprising” against 5G
on Facebook.
There is nothing amusing about where this activity leads. The burning down of
mobile phone masts means that there is less capacity for emergency services. It
endangers the lives of the vulnerable. It means that when people are trapped in
their homes, they could loose communications links vital for their jobs or as a
diversion from the boredom.
There are myriad falsehoods surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, and the rapid
disavowal of false narratives has become a first priority challenge. The few
months since the pandemic was declared has illustrated how the public sphere can
be overwhelmed by malign forces.
There are many messages about bogus vaccines or untested treatment being shared
on WhatsApp and other platforms. These range from comical theories about eating
your own weight in garlic – I may have made that up – to potentially hazardous
drug cocktails.
Some states have sponsored the false material and thrown their own resources
behind it. Iran, for instance, has claimed that the US military brought the
virus to the country.
This is a new phenomenon that is compounding an old problem. Plagues and
pandemics have spurred conspiracies and wild theories for centuries. Frequently,
these have targeted foreigners as carriers of the pestilence.
Nations need a strong media brand to project to the outside world their own
lessons and leadership in a crisis.
For instance, the UAE took an early decision to roll out testing for coronavirus.
The hundreds of thousands of tests since have helped to contain the outbreak.
Good systems were put in place that could be emulated elsewhere, such as the QR-code
system for retrieving results of tests taken at the airports.
Setting the standard for testing can be a point of pride when the word gets out.
Credible media coverage projects the benefits of putting in place those strong
systems far and wide, and can assist other countries.
Alternative approaches have not worked, and it was the detail exposed through
scrutiny from a strong press that led to U-turns from officials. Countries such
as Britain sought to maintain daily life for as long as possible before locking
down to contain the pressure on their health services.
Good journalism not only saves lives, it is a safeguard for society.
*Damien McElroy is the London bureau chief of The National
Importance of Government Transparency in Saving Lives
Ferid Belhaj/World Bank Vice President for the Middle East & North Africa/Asharq
Al-Awsat/Saturday, 11 April, 2020
As the coronavirus sweeps across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region,
uncertainty and fear are gripping the streets. Citizens are turning to their
governments to act; however, lack of transparency over decades has bred distrust
and, in many instances, undermined state credibility. People cannot be certain
if daily reporting and updates are true. As someone aptly described the
leadership response to the pandemic: “When you lose people’s trust, even when
you tell the truth, people won’t believe you.” Governments need to be reminded
of this sad reality.
As if a global pandemic amid social unrest were not enough, more than any other
region MENA is confronting two distinct but related shocks. Alongside the spread
of the virus, oil prices collapsed. This is putting pressure directly on incomes
and fiscal accounts of oil exporters; and it is indirectly, but heavily,
affecting the region’s developing economies that rely on worker remittances,
foreign direct investment, and transfers from high-income neighbors.
As we fight the spread of the virus, policies designed to contain the pandemic,
such as generalized social distancing, are having at least short-term
recessionary consequences with potentially grave economic costs. The World Bank
Group is committed to helping countries weather these shocks with financing and
expertise, with the intention of leaving no one behind.
We have put together a coronavirus emergency financing facility of $14 billion,
and are working tirelessly to ramp up our operations. On March 25, President
David Malpass committed $160 billion over the next 15 months to finance support
operations tailored to the needs of each country, with an emphasis on
policy-based financing and protecting the poorest households and the
environment.
Yet soon, together with our partners in MENA, we will come out of emergency
mode. We will need to come out stronger than ever, with a hopeful vision for a
brighter future for the region.
To bring new hope to people, we must learn and change. After all, when the virus
arrived, the region, and I mean all of it — its leaders, entrepreneurs, educated
youth, broader civil society — was already engaged in difficult debates about
the past, and the future development of their countries. All of society seemed
to be at stake, from the nature of political systems to technical aspects of
social and macroeconomic policies.
Our new regional economic update contributes important details to these debates
by examining the importance of government transparency. If there is a single
lesson to draw from the pandemic, it is that transparency in public information
can save lives and improve economic outcomes, partly by enhancing societal trust
in the state.
Unfortunately, the region has under-performed for years, if not decades, in the
transparency department. MENA stands out as the only region that has dropped in
data capacity and transparency since 2005, as many countries in the region have
either lagged in their ability to generate data or have prevented access to data
altogether.
Reliable data and transparency help improve public policies and enhance people’s
trust in government. Conversely, lack of data and transparency could be at least
partly responsible for the region’s chronic low-growth syndrome. Since the
beginning of the 21st century, growth of output per capita across MENA has been
lower than what is typical for economies with the same levels of development.
The new report argues that if MENA had grown at the typical rate observed in the
rest of the world, the region would be at least 20 percent richer than it is
today.
Our economists also found that lack of transparency hurts even more when systems
are under stress by potent threats such as the current pandemic. The region’s
declining data transparency has resulted in losses of income per person ranging
between 7 percent and 14 percent. So, it is plausible that the lion’s share of
income losses during the 21st century have been due to lack of transparency.
It is difficult to think of more important, long-term challenges for MENA than
raising the pace of economic growth, solving fiscal vulnerabilities, and
improving the performance of labor markets across the region. Yet, these are
areas with missing information or ambiguous data. This latest research helps
shed light in dark corners of crucial policy debates.
The grievances that sparked protests across MENA can only be addressed by
rebuilding trust. The coronavirus pandemic has put in stark relief what is at
stake: Nothing less than human lives and prosperity.
Now, more than ever, a new social contract is needed, and the process of healing
starts with transparency and accountability. More sunlight can help bring a
prosperous future to MENA with enhanced societal trust in government and lead to
growth and prosperity across the region in the years and decades to come.