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Egypt's Sisi, France's Macron Discuss Regional Issues, Fighting Terrorism

Sisi and Macron meet in Brest on Friday. (Egyptian Presidency Spokesman)
Sisi and Macron meet in Brest on Friday. (Egyptian Presidency Spokesman)
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Egypt's Sisi, France's Macron Discuss Regional Issues, Fighting Terrorism

Sisi and Macron meet in Brest on Friday. (Egyptian Presidency Spokesman)
Sisi and Macron meet in Brest on Friday. (Egyptian Presidency Spokesman)

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Friday to join efforts to help restore stability in Libya, fight terrorism and promote coordination to maintain security and stability in the Middle East, the Mediterranean basin and Africa.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the One Ocean Summit in the French city of Brest. A statement by the Egyptian presidency said the talks touched on strategic bilateral relations, especially at the economic, commercial, military and security levels.

Macron said his country was proud of its strong and distinguished relations with Egypt, stressing “the commitment of the French administration to consolidate joint cooperation in various fields, and to support the tireless efforts of President Sisi to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development, and to combat terrorism and extremist ideology in the entire region.”

Sisi pointed to “the special importance that Egypt attaches to strengthening cooperation with France, especially with regard to the transfer of French expertise and technology.”

Egyptian presidential spokesman, Ambassador Bassam Rady said the meeting discussed regional issues of common interest, especially the latest developments in Libya, where Macron expressed his country’s appreciation for the Egyptian efforts to preserve Libya’s national institutions and promote a political settlement to the crisis.

The two sides also reviewed cooperation within the framework of Egypt’s hosting of the global climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

Addressing the One Ocean Summit on Friday, Sisi stressed that climate change “remains the most difficult challenge facing us, with its negative effects that extend to various aspects of life…”

“International efforts to overcome the negative effects of climate change on the seas and oceans are still not up to the desired level,” he said, calling for “intensifying international efforts to protect our seas and oceans from these effects, and to preserve their sustainability and the diversity of marine life.”

Sisi announced that his country would join the declaration to be issued at the summit under the title, “Protecting the Ocean: Time for Action”, as well as the initiatives of the Global Ocean Alliance and the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People.

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Arab World

Saddam Haftar Assures Shaibani of General Command’s Readiness to Support Syrian People

General Saddam Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Benghazi. (LNA General Command)
General Saddam Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Benghazi. (LNA General Command)
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Saddam Haftar Assures Shaibani of General Command’s Readiness to Support Syrian People

General Saddam Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Benghazi. (LNA General Command)
General Saddam Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Benghazi. (LNA General Command)

General Saddam Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, discussed with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani several issues of common interest during the minister’s first visit to Benghazi.

They also underlined the depth of the fraternal and historical relations uniting the Libyan and Syrian people.

Libya and Syria restored diplomatic ties after nearly 14 years after Shaibani visited Tripoli in August. Talks discussions aimed to strengthen bilateral relations and expand joint cooperation between the two countries, culminating in the reopening of the Syrian embassy in Libya.

The LNA General Command said on Sunday that Saddam praised the role of the Syrian leadership "in achieving security and stability in Syria, overcoming the challenges faced during the transition phase, and working to restore normalcy and open up to the international community."

He underscored the General Command's support for the Syrian leadership, and “its readiness to provide everything within its power to support the brotherly Syrian people to help Syria regain its position in the Arab and international arenas.”

For his part, Shaibani expressed the Syrian leadership's keenness to support everything that would achieve permanent stability in Libya.

Arab World

139 Migrants, Including Children, Die After Boat Capsizes off Djibouti

A portion of the vessel floats after it capsized while carrying about 305 people from Djibouti to Yemen. (Kennedy Omondi Okoth/International Organization for Migration/Handout via Reuters)
A portion of the vessel floats after it capsized while carrying about 305 people from Djibouti to Yemen. (Kennedy Omondi Okoth/International Organization for Migration/Handout via Reuters)
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139 Migrants, Including Children, Die After Boat Capsizes off Djibouti

A portion of the vessel floats after it capsized while carrying about 305 people from Djibouti to Yemen. (Kennedy Omondi Okoth/International Organization for Migration/Handout via Reuters)
A portion of the vessel floats after it capsized while carrying about 305 people from Djibouti to Yemen. (Kennedy Omondi Okoth/International Organization for Migration/Handout via Reuters)

At least 139 people, including children, have died after a boat carrying more than 300 migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti in east Africa, the International Organization for Migration said Sunday.

That number only includes those buried by authorities in Djibouti. Others have been buried by the migrants themselves, but they won't be added to the official count until authorities can verify the bodies, Alexandre Coissac, IOM Chief of Mission in Djibouti, told the AP via the phone.

“What is terrible is that they were buried with no names, in a common grave, like in a war situation,” Coissac said. “They all have a mother, a father, and we may never learn what happened.”

Coissac said the migrants boarded the ship in the evening of Oct. 8 and that it sank very soon after, close to the shore, “mainly because it was overcrowded.”

“The local authorities did their best,” Coissac said, “but they were overwhelmed with all the bodies that kept coming at once towards the shore.”

He said authorities were bringing the surviving migrants to the IOM rescue center in Obock where they received medical assistance after swallowing sea water, and psychological support.

“They're all in a state of shock,” Coissac, who visited the area of the shipwreck Saturday, said. “I tried to talk to some of them but it's very difficult.”

Some of the migrants in the IOM center are already aware that their family members died during the shipwreck. Others were given access to phones to call loved ones back home to notify them they are alive.

At least 84 people remained missing in one of the deadliest shipwrecks yet on the popular but perilous crossing from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, where many migrants seek work in Gulf nations.

The boat was traveling from Djibouti to Yemen when it capsized on Thursday night or Friday morning, according to the IOM. More than 80 people survived, all of them Ethiopian nationals, it said.

The Geneva-based UN migration agency said the vessel had 305 people on board and warned that the death toll could still rise.

Personal items likely belonging to the migrants, including shoes, were seen on a beach in a video shared by IOM. Rescue work continued as fears grew for the missing.

Tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa travel every year through Djibouti and across the Bab al-Mandeb Strait towards Gulf countries in search of safety and economic opportunities, the IOM said in its statement.

That movement has continued despite newly escalating fighting in Yemen, on the other side of the strait.

“This is a devastating loss of life,” said Coissac. “This tragedy is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by migrants along this migration corridor as they seek economic opportunities.”

In recent weeks, at least 2,000 Yemenis have received aid in Djibouti as the fighting has escalated in Yemen between the legitimate government and Iranian-backed Houthi militia.

That's the opposite direction from the movement of the migrants who died in the shipwreck and the typical migration patterns of recent years: The tens of thousands who cross from eastern Africa toward Yemen each year have typically been looking for work in the Gulf.

Over 900 migrants died or went missing along the route last year, according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.

“No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way,” IOM Director-General Amy Pope said. “We cannot keep treating these deaths as normal. Safe and legal pathways save lives. I am asking governments and donors to act before the next boat goes down.” 

Arab World

Washington Targets Hezbollah’s Alternative Funding Networks

Hezbollah supporters hold up a portrait of the group’s former secretaries-general, Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, during the second anniversary of their assassinations in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP). 
Hezbollah supporters hold up a portrait of the group’s former secretaries-general, Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, during the second anniversary of their assassinations in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP). 
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Washington Targets Hezbollah’s Alternative Funding Networks

Hezbollah supporters hold up a portrait of the group’s former secretaries-general, Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, during the second anniversary of their assassinations in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP). 
Hezbollah supporters hold up a portrait of the group’s former secretaries-general, Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, during the second anniversary of their assassinations in Beirut’s southern suburbs (AP). 

The United States is stepping up efforts to track alternative financing channels used by Hezbollah as tighter sanctions threaten its traditional sources of funding, particularly Iranian money that has long underpinned the group’s military and security capabilities and political influence in Lebanon.

Washington’s campaign extends beyond restricting Iranian transfers to tracing foreign funding networks and cross-border commercial activities that Hezbollah could use to compensate for any decline in Tehran’s support.

A Reuters report last week that Hezbollah had received $200 million in cash from Iran the previous month to assist tens of thousands of families displaced by the war prompted a response from the US State Department.

The department expressed doubt that the money had reached Hezbollah but reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining pressure on the group’s funding sources through sanctions, while supporting the legitimate Lebanese government’s efforts to rebuild southern Lebanon.

New round of sanctions

Sami Nader, director of the Middle East Institute for Strategic Affairs, described the measures as part of a new round of US sanctions aimed at tightening financial pressure on Iran and its regional affiliates.

“The issue is not specifically Hezbollah, but primarily Iran,” Nader told Asharq Al-Awsat, pointing to a recent US announcement describing Hezbollah as an integral part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Nader said Tehran had developed alternative channels to circumvent financial restrictions, particularly through gold and cryptocurrencies.

He described an expanding network of such activities across the region, with links to Iran and Hezbollah.

The latest sanctions are designed to target these alternative mechanisms, he explained.

Nader added that if cryptocurrency offices linked to these networks are found to exist, Lebanese authorities would likely be asked to shut them down and take action against them, while also tightening oversight of gold transactions.

Four sources of financing

Hezbollah has long relied on multiple funding sources, particularly under previous Lebanese administrations that turned a blind eye to billions of dollars reaching the group, including through official border crossings.

Economist Antoine Farah identified four principal sources of financing: The first was direct Iranian support, provided through regular transfers from Tehran. The second involved illicit activities, particularly drug smuggling and the Captagon trade, which Farah said Hezbollah had engaged in both inside Lebanon and abroad, notably in several Latin American countries. The third consisted of substantial donations from Shiite financiers and supporters around the world. The fourth was a network of front businesses established to generate additional revenue, launder money and conceal the origins and destinations of funds.

Farah told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hezbollah’s ability to draw on most of these sources had declined considerably, while the group faced mounting pressure from legislative and regulatory measures being strengthened in Lebanon.

Stricter financial oversight

Farah highlighted amendments being introduced to Law No. 44 on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, particularly provisions requiring the identification of the ultimate beneficial owners of companies and commercial enterprises.

Identifying who ultimately benefits from commercial activities, while tracing the origins and destinations of funds, would help restrict the operations of front businesses established by Hezbollah, he explained.

Farah also pointed to measures being taken by Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, to regulate currency exchange dealers and money transfer companies.

He said the measures were making it increasingly difficult to exploit these sectors to transfer money and channel financing to Hezbollah.