Lenderking in the Region to Push Forward Peace in Yemen
Arab World
Washington - Ali Barada
US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking. (US State Department)
The US State Department called on Monday the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen to “immediately cease their attacks on Yemeni ports” and to engage in peace efforts. It added that US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking started travel on November 27 to Oman and Saudi Arabia to support ongoing peace efforts. “The environment created by the UN-mediated truce presents the best opportunity Yemen has had for peace in several years,” continued the State Department in a statement. “At this critical moment, we remind the Houthis that Yemenis are calling for peace, not a return to war,” it said. “To that end, we call on the Houthis to immediately cease their attacks on Yemeni ports, which are disrupting the flow of much-needed resources and exacerbating suffering across Yemen. Such attacks only risk plunging Yemenis into another pointless cycle of violence and suffering,” it added. “We urge the Houthis to instead seize this opportunity for peace, cooperate with the UN, and accept that the only path forward to ending eight years of destructive war is through a negotiated, inclusive Yemeni-led political settlement,” it stressed.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4014121/lenderking-region-push-forward-peace-yemen
French Lawmakers Vote to Condemn Iranian Protest Crackdown
Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat
Iranian refugees and Iranians living in Greece lit candles forming the name 'Mahsa' during a demonstration to commemorate 40 days from the death of Iranian Mahsa Amini while in police custody in Iran, in central Athens on October 29, 2022. (AFP)
French lawmakers on Monday condemned Iran’s crackdown on anti-government demonstrators and called on European governments to put more pressure on Iran to investigate the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody in Tehran. Legislators in France’s National Assembly unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution supporting the protesters, by a vote of 149-0. Activists also planned a demonstration Monday outside the Assembly, the lower but most powerful house of parliament in France. The resolution calls on European governments to step up pressure on Iran to uphold its international promises and to investigate what happened to Amini, who was arrested for violating the country’s strict dress code. Protests over her death have morphed into the most serious challenge to Iran’s establishment in decades. The measure strongly condemns what French lawmakers call “the brutal and generalized repression by the security forces ... toward non-violent demonstrators, which constitutes a blatant and unacceptable violation of the right to demonstrate and freedom of expression." Rights monitors say hundreds have been killed and more than 18,000 people detained since the anti-government protests started in September. The French resolution also denounces laws and rules restricting the rights of women and minorities in Iran. It calls for the release of seven French citizens detained in Iran, too.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4014111/french-lawmakers-vote-condemn-iranian-protest-crackdown
Japan Births at New Low as Population Shrinks and Ages
Varieties
Asharq Al-Awsat
Women carry their children on their bicycles as they ride through an intersection near a sporting arena planned to be used during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo on June 24, 2021. (AP)
The number of babies born in Japan this year is below last year’s record low in what the top government spokesman described as a “critical situation.” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno promised comprehensive measures to encourage more marriages and births. The total of 599,636 Japanese born in January-September was 4.9% below last year’s figure, suggesting the number of births in all of 2022 might fall below last year's record low of 811,000 babies, he said. Japan is the world’s third biggest economy but living costs are high and wage increases have been slow. The conservative government has lagged on making society more inclusive for children, women and minorities. So far, the government's efforts to encourage people to have more babies have had limited impact despite payments of subsidies for pregnancy, childbirth and child care. “The pace is even slower than last year ... I understand that it is a critical situation,” Matsuno said. Many younger Japanese have balked at marrying or having families, discouraged by bleak job prospects, onerous commutes and corporate cultures incompatible with having both parents work. The number of births has been falling since 1973, when it peaked at about 2.1 million. It's projected to fall to 740,000 in 2040. Japan's population of more than 125 million has been declining for 14 years and is projected to fall to 86.7 million by 2060. A shrinking and aging population has huge implications for the economy and for national security as the country fortifies its military to counter China's increasingly assertive territorial ambitions. A government-commissioned panel submitted a report to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week citing the low birth rate and falling population as factors that might erode Japan's national strength.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4012626/japan-births-new-low-population-shrinks-and-ages
Kuwait - Asharq Al-Awsat
Impact of the initial increase in the interest rate on the net revenues of Gulf banks (AP)
The aggregate gross loans in the Gulf region reached a new record of $1.93 trillion, and the banking sector in the Gulf countries is witnessing the initial interest rate hike applied by the central banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries consistent with the US Federal Reserve interest rate hike. Kuwait-based KAMCO Investment Company said the net interest income for listed banks in the GCC reached a record quarterly level at $18.6 billion during the third quarter (Q3) of 2022 compared to $17.2 billion during Q2. According to the report, non-interest income dropped to a four-quarter low of $7.4 billion during Q3-2022 compared to $7.8 billion during Q2-2022, reflecting a slide in global and regional financial markets during the quarter. Aggregate lending in the GCC remained strong during the quarter. Central bank data showed Kuwaiti banks seeing double-digit growth in outstanding credit facilities during the quarter. The report shows that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Omani banks registered low single-digit growths. The Credit survey from UAE central banks also showed strong lending during the quarter. On the other hand, the Qatari banking sector was an exception showing a marginal decline in lending during the quarter. Data on listed banks also showed growth, with aggregate GCC gross loans reaching a new record of $1.93 trillion, increasing by 1.2 percent or $23.5 billion during the quarter. Outstanding net loans witnessed a slightly smaller growth of 1.1 percent during the quarter due to higher provisions booked. Aggregate quarter-over-quarter growth in customer deposits was at a six-quarter low of 1.0 percent to reach $2.19 trillion at the end of Q3-2022. The change in customer deposits remained mixed in the GCC during Q3-2022, with UAE and Saudi-listed banks showing growth while aggregates for the rest of the countries showed declines. The net impact of larger lending growth and a slightly smaller customer deposit growth was a marginal growth of ten bps in the aggregate GCC loan-to-deposit ratio at the end of Q3-2022. The report noted that despite the growth, the ratio remained below the 80 percent level and at one of the lowest quarterly levels at 79 percent. The report stated that the Gulf banking sector balance sheet continued to grow during the quarter, despite the slowdown in the growth rate to its lowest level in six quarters. Total assets reached a new record level of $2.9 trillion after increasing by 1.2 percent during the third quarter of 2022 compared to Q2. Conventional banks in the region witnessed greater total asset growth of 1.4 percent during the third quarter, while asset growth in listed Islamic banks was slightly lower by 0.4 percent compared to Q2.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4012496/gcc%E2%80%99s-banks-gross-loans-reach-193-trillion
Baghdad - Asharq Al-Awsat
A pro-Kurdish demonstration against Turkish military attacks in northern Syria and Iraq is held in Berlin on November 26. (Reuters)
President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani visited Baghdad to discuss the outstanding issues, including the importance of strengthening the border security of the Region and Iraq, in light of repeated attacks from neighbors Iran and Türkiye. Barzani’s visit to Baghdad - his second in a week - sought to “complete the agenda of meetings with Iraqi political leaders,” a statement by the Region’s presidency said on Sunday. According to the statement, Barzani had canceled the second day of his visit to Baghdad last week to attend the funeral of victims that lost their lives following a gas explosion in Duhok on Monday night. “Barzani is scheduled to complete the visit to Baghdad and hold a series of meetings with a number of other leaders and senior Iraqi officials,” the statement clarified. An official government source revealed that “Baghdad and Erbil agreed to form a joint security committee which would discuss all files with the Iranian and Turkish sides.” Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is set to visit Tehran on Tuesday. Barzani and the Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim Al-Araji discussed the security and political situation in the country, the source told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Barzani, during his meeting with Al-Araji, showed great flexibility in authorizing Baghdad to form a higher committee,” they added. “In all its meetings, the Region confirms with Iraqi leaders that it is part of Iraq, and therefore it requests a position from Baghdad regarding the attacks it is being subjected to,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Moreover, the source pointed out that the Kurdistan region supports any step taken by Baghdad towards the Turkish and Iranian opposition so long that it is based on the Iraqi constitution. This was affirmed by Barzani during his meeting with Al-Araji. The Iraqi constitution prohibits Iraq from being used as a corridor or a springboard for aggression against any of its neighboring countries.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4012271/barzani-discusses-border-security-baghdad
Thousands Protest Turkish Strikes on Kurdish Groups in Syria
Arab World
Asharq Al-Awsat
Kurdish protesters attend a demonstration against Türkiye's military action in northeastern Syria, in Marseille, France, October 12, 2019. Jean-Paul Pelissier, Reuters
Thousands of Kurds protested on Sunday in the Syrian city of Qamishli against days of deadly Turkish cross-border strikes targeting Kurdish groups in the country's northeast. Türkiye announced last Sunday it had carried out air strikes against semi-autonomous Kurdish zones in north and northeastern Syria, and across the border in Iraq. It has also threatened a ground offensive in those areas of Syria, said AFP. Demonstrators in Kurdish-controlled Qamishli, in Hasakeh province, brandished photos of people killed during recent strikes in the semi-autonomous region, an AFP correspondent said. "Only the will of the Kurdish people remains," said protester Siham Sleiman, 49. "It will not be broken and we remain ready. We will not leave our historic land." After a three-day lull, Turkish fighter jets heavily bombed Kurdish-controlled areas north of Aleppo early on Sunday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor. A separate Turkish drone strike killed five Syrian government soldiers near Tal Rifaat, also north of Aleppo, the Observatory added, reporting an exchange of shelling between Kurdish combatants and Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies. Protesters in Qamishli also chanted in favor of the resistance in "Rojava" -- the name Kurds in Syria give to the area they administer. "The message that we want to convey to the world is that we are victims of eradication," said Salah el-Dine Hamou, 55. "How long will we continue to die while other countries watch?" The Turkish strikes come after a November 13 bombing in Istanbul that killed six people and wounded 81. Ankara blamed the attack on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which it and its Western allies consider a terrorist group. The PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. Türkiye alleges that Syrian Kurdish fighters are the PKK's allies. Kurdish groups denied any involvement in the Ankara blast. Some protesters on Sunday carried Kurdish flags alongside photos of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan -- jailed in Türkiye since 1999 -- and shouted slogans against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish raids have killed at least 63 Kurdish and allied fighters and Syrian regime soldiers, as well as a Kurdish journalist, according to the Observatory, which relies on an extensive network of sources in Syria. Eight people have been killed in retaliatory artillery fire, three of them across the Turkish border. Since 2016, Türkiye's military has conducted three offensives mostly targeting Kurdish fighters, and captured territory in northern Syria, which is now held by Ankara-backed proxies. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds' de facto army in the area, led the battle that dislodged ISIS group extremists from the last scraps of their Syrian territory in 2019.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4012121/thousands-protest-turkish-strikes-kurdish-groups-syria
King Salman Receives Written Message from President of Azerbaijan
Gulf
Riyadh - Asharq Al-Awsat
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah meets his counterpart from North Macedonia Bujar Osman in Riyadh. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz received on Sunday a written message from President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The message tackled the strong bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan and ways of bolstering them in various fields and on all levels. The message was received by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah from Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Shahin Abdullayev during a meeting at the foreign ministry in Riyadh. The officials discussed bilateral relations and ways to boost them in all domains. They also exchanged views on issues of common interest. Prince Faisal later met with North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Bujar Osman. They discussed bilateral relations between their countries and efforts to strengthen cooperation in all fields. They also reviewed regional and international developments.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4012066/king-salman-receives-written-message-president-azerbaijan
