2021.10.29 國際新聞導讀-伊朗盼美國解除制裁並宣布11月底恢復核談判，為何需要這麼多時間？是否有假？拜登政府打擊腐敗與洗錢、蘇丹政變證明阿拉伯世界需要國王將軍或伊斯蘭主義者、臉書公司改名META進軍元宇宙

蘇老師講解國際新聞、中東與中亞歷史、中國事務、太空知識的頻道。 Diplomat's daily news review and history research on Middle East and Central Asia, China Affairs and Space Exploration

2021.10.29 國際新聞導讀-阿富汗盼與世界對話、伊朗盼美國解除制裁並宣布11月底恢復核談判，為何需要這麼多時間？是否有假？拜登政府打擊腐敗與洗錢、蘇丹政變證明阿拉伯世界需要國王將軍或伊斯蘭主義者、臉書公司改名META進軍元宇宙
Renata S. Hsi An
中國表示，塔利班渴望與世界對話
中國沒有在阿富汗作戰，自8月美軍撤離後在阿富汗重新掌權以來，是一直向塔利班伸出橄欖枝的國家。
中國外交部長王毅於10/27週三表示，塔利班渴望與世界其他地區進行對話，國際社會應該幫助阿富汗的發展。
王毅藉由線上視頻連線伊朗舉行的會議上發表談話時表示，北京準備主辦阿富汗與其鄰國之間關於該國未來的進一步會談。
王毅在伊朗國家電視台直播的評論中談到，塔利班渴望與世界進行對話…中國將在適當的時候主辦第三次阿富汗鄰國會議。
巴基斯坦、塔吉克、土庫曼和烏茲別克的外交部長親自出席了阿富汗及其鄰國的會議，中國和俄羅斯則是藉由線上視頻連線參加此會議。
在會談之前，巴基斯坦於9月主辦了一次涉及阿富汗鄰國的類似會議，旨在建立阿富汗的持久和平。
譯者註：基本上這次會議，看來很像是分配權益與日後雙邊關係如何發揮在中亞地區的作為。
中國沒有在阿富汗作戰，自8月美軍撤離後在阿富汗重新掌權以來，是一直向塔利班伸出橄欖枝。
美國和其他西方國家正在尋找與塔利班接觸的方法，並確保人道主義援助流入該國，同時不賦予他們尋求的合法性。
美國官員和塔利班代表本月在卡達討論了對阿富汗的人道主義援助，但華盛頓表示，這些會議並不等於承認塔利班。
在伊斯蘭激進運動保證捍衛人權，特別是婦女權利之前，美國和其他西方國家不願意向塔利班提供資金。
據國家電視台報道，在週三的伊朗會議上，伊朗外交部長侯賽因·阿米爾-阿卜杜拉希揚
(Hossein Amirabdollahian)支持在阿富汗組建包容性政府。他的言論呼應了伊朗的官方立場。
幾十年來，什葉派穆斯林伊朗一直是強硬的遜尼派穆斯林塔利班的敵人，但在過去幾年裡，它一直在公開會見塔利班領導人。
7月，德黑蘭主辦了當時的阿富汗政府代表和一個高層塔利班政治委員會的會議。伊朗曾批評8月份控制阿富汗的塔利班，將少數民族排除在政府之外。
新聞出處：JP
新聞日期：2021/10/27
REUTERS
#為阿富汗禱告
#為阿富汗主內家人們平安禱告
#為阿富汗女孩與婦女們禱告
#為中國與阿富汗關係禱告
伊朗談判代表稱與六國的核談判將於11月底恢復
伊朗最高核談判代表阿里·巴蓋里·卡尼週三在推特上表示，與六國的談判將於 11 月底恢復。
通過路透
2021 年 10 月 27 日 19:18
2021 年 3 月 24 日，歐盟旗幟在比利時布魯塞爾的歐盟委員會總部外飄揚
（圖片來源：REUTERS/YVES HERMAN）
廣告
伊朗最高核談判代表週三表示，伊朗與六個世界大國旨在恢復 2015 年核協議的談判將於 11 月底恢復，因為西方對伊朗核進展的擔憂加劇。
“與@enriquemora_ 就成功談判的基本要素進行了非常認真和建設性的對話。我們同意在 11 月底之前開始談判，”Ali Bagheri Kani在布魯塞爾與歐盟官員會面後在 Twitter 上寫道。
“確切日期將在下周公布，”他補充道。
4 月，德黑蘭和六國開始討論挽救 2015 年核協議的方法，該協議三年前被時任美國總統唐納德·特朗普放棄。特朗普隨後重新對伊朗實施嚴厲制裁，這些制裁通過擠壓其石油出口來摧毀其經濟。
但自伊朗強硬總統易卜拉欣·賴西 (Ebrahim Raisi) 於 6 月當選以來，談判一直擱置，如果談判在維也納恢復，預計他將採取強硬態度。
伊朗外交部副部長阿里·巴蓋里於 2021 年 10 月 14 日在伊朗德黑蘭會見歐洲對外行動署 (EEAS) 副秘書長恩里克·莫拉（未圖示）。（圖片來源：伊朗外交部/WANA（圖片來源：伊朗外交部）西亞通訊社）/通過路透社講義）
與伊朗最高領袖阿亞圖拉阿里哈梅內伊一樣，賴西希望以結果為導向的會談旨在讓德黑蘭和華盛頓重新完全遵守該協議。
為回應特朗普的壓力，德黑蘭通過重建濃縮鈾庫存、將其提煉到更高的裂變純度並安裝先進的離心機以加快產出，逐漸違反了協議。
幾個月來，西方大國一直敦促伊朗重返談判，並表示隨著德黑蘭核計劃的進展遠遠超出協議規定的限制，時間已經不多了。
美國伊朗問題特使羅伯特·馬利週一表示，恢復該協議的努力處於“關鍵階段”，德黑蘭避免談判的理由越來越少。
在維也納進行了六輪會談後，德黑蘭和華盛頓在需要採取哪些步驟以及何時採取步驟的問題上仍存在分歧，關鍵問題是德黑蘭將接受哪些核限制以及華盛頓將取消哪些制裁。
伊朗外交部長侯賽因·阿米拉卜杜拉希安在電視新聞發布會上說：“美國重返協議對我們來說並不重要。重要的是談判的結果對伊朗有利。”
他重申伊朗要求釋放因美國製裁而凍結的資產。
“（美國總統喬）拜登必須將他的善意付諸實踐，例如釋放 100 億美元的伊朗被封鎖資產，”Amirabdollahian 說。
由於美國對其銀行和能源部門的製裁，伊朗無法獲得其在外國銀行的數百億美元資產，主要來自石油和天然氣的出口。
Iran negotiator says nuclear talks with six powers will resume by end of November
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani tweeted on Wednesday that the talks with six major powers will resume by the end of November.
By REUTERS
OCTOBER 27, 2021 19:18
European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS/YVES HERMAN)
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Iran's talks with six world powers aimed at reviving a 2015 nuclear deal will resume by the end of November, its top nuclear negotiator said on Wednesday, as Western concerns over the Islamic Republic's nuclear advances grow.
"Had a very serious & constructive dialog with @enriquemora_ on the essential elements for successful negotiations. We agree to start negotiations before the end of November," Ali Bagheri Kani wrote on Twitter after meeting EU officials in Brussels.
"Exact date would be announced in the course of the next week," he added.
In April, Tehran and six powers started to discuss ways to salvage the 2015 nuclear pact, which three years ago then-US President Donald Trump abandoned. Trump then reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran that have devastated its economy by squeezing its oil exports.
But the talks have been on hold since the election of Iran's hardline President Ebrahim Raisi in June, who is expected to take a tough approach if the talks resume in Vienna.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, Ali Bagheri meets with Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Enrique Mora (not pictured), in Tehran, Iran, October 14, 2021. (credit: Iran's Foreign Ministry/ WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)
Raisi, like Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wants results-oriented talks aimed at bringing Tehran and Washington back into full compliance with the pact.
In response to Trump's pressure, Tehran has gradually breached the deal by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
For months, Western powers have urged Iran to return to negotiations and said time is running out as Tehran's nuclear program advances well beyond the limits set by the deal.
US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said on Monday that efforts to revive the pact were at a "critical phase" and Tehran's reasons for avoiding talks were wearing thin.
After six round of talks in Vienna, Tehran and Washington still disagree on which steps need to be taken and when, with the key issues being what nuclear limits Tehran will accept and what sanctions Washington will remove.
"America's return to the deal does not matter to us. What is important is that the outcome of talks be in Iran’s favor," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said in a televised news conference.
He repeated Iran's demand for the release of its assets frozen because of US sanctions.
"(US President Joe) Biden has to put his goodwill into practice by for instance releasing $10 billion of Iran’s blocked assets," Amirabdollahian said.
Iran has been unable to access tens of billions of dollars of its assets in foreign banks, mainly from exports of oil and gas, due to US sanctions on its banking and energy sectors.
伊朗準備與歐洲核協議各方舉行直接會談
4 月，伊朗與世界六國開始談判，以恢復美國前總統唐納德特朗普於 2018 年退出並重新實施削弱伊朗經濟的製裁協議。
通過路透
2021 年 10 月 27 日 13:52
2021 年 3 月 24 日，歐盟旗幟在比利時布魯塞爾的歐盟委員會總部外飄揚
（圖片來源：REUTERS/YVES HERMAN）
廣告
伊朗準備與歐洲各方就2015 年核協議進行直接會談，伊朗新聞電視台週三援引未具名消息人士的話說，德黑蘭最高核談判代表訪問布魯塞爾，討論恢復陷入僵局的核談判。
“伊朗已正式表示準備與核協議的三個歐洲締約方進行直接會談，”消息人士告訴新聞電視台。“伊朗邀請這三個國家訪問德黑蘭，或提出前往三國首都進行此類會談，但迄今為止沒有收到任何回應。”
4 月，伊朗與世界六國開始談判，以恢復美國前總統唐納德特朗普於 2018 年退出並重新實施削弱伊朗經濟的製裁協議。
自強硬派神職人員易卜拉欣·賴西( Ebrahim Raisi ) 當選伊朗總統兩天后，談判自 6 月以來一直擱置。
由於擔心伊朗的核進展，西方大國敦促德黑蘭重返維也納談判。德黑蘭表示支持以結果為導向的談判，但尚未宣布何時恢復談判。
美國總統唐納德特朗普於 2018 年在白宮舉行了一項公告，宣布他打算將美國從伊朗核協議中撤出。（來源：JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS）
自 2019 年以來，伊朗逐漸突破了核協議施加的限制，但表示如果美國總統喬拜登解除其國家對伊朗的所有製裁，其核步驟是可逆的。
伊朗最高核談判代表阿里·巴蓋里·卡尼本月將在布魯塞爾與歐盟官員恩里克·莫拉舉行第二次會晤，後者負責協調德黑蘭與六國之間的核談判。
Iran ready to hold direct talks with European parties to nuclear deal
In April, Iran and six world powers started negotiations to revive the agreement which former US President Donald Trump quit in 2018 and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.
By REUTERS
OCTOBER 27, 2021 13:52
European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS/YVES HERMAN)
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Iran is ready to hold direct talks with European parties to a 2015 nuclear pact, Iranian Press TV quoted an unnamed source as saying on Wednesday as Tehran's top nuclear negotiator visited Brussels to discuss a resumption of stalled nuclear talks.
"Iran has formally voiced preparedness for direct talks with the three European parties to the nuclear deal," the source told Press TV. "Iran invited the three states for visits to Tehran or offered trips to the trio’s respective capitals for such talks, but it has received no response so far."
In April, Iran and six world powers started negotiations to revive the agreement which former US President Donald Trump quit in 2018 and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy.
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The talks have been on hold since June, two days after hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi was elected Iran's president.
Concerned about Iran's nuclear advances, Western powers have urged Tehran to return to negotiations in Vienna. Tehran says it backs result-oriented negotiations, but has not announced when it will return to the talks.
US president Donald Trump holds up a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear agreement, at the White House in 2018. (credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)
Since 2019, Iran has gradually breached limits imposed by the nuclear deal but says its nuclear steps are reversible if US President Joe Biden lifts all his country's sanctions on Iran.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, is in Brussels for a second meeting this month with Enrique Mora, a European Union official who coordinates nuclear talks between Tehran and six powers.
拜登打擊洗錢運動的影響——分析
美國總統拜登在美國和全球範圍內打擊腐敗和洗錢對中東有什麼影響？
作者：KSENIA SVETLOVA / THE MEDIA LINE
2021 年 10 月 28 日 23:23
2021 年 9 月 17 日，美國總統喬·拜登在美國華盛頓白宮的一個禮堂參加能源和氣候主要經濟體論壇（MEF）關於氣候變化的會議
（圖片來源：路透社/喬納森恩斯特）
廣告
美國總統喬拜登在競選期間和上任以來多次宣布，在美國和全球範圍內打擊腐敗和洗錢是國家安全的核心優先事項，也是其“外交政策的重要組成部分”。中產階級。”
有關 The Media Line 的更多故事，請訪問themedialine.org
拜登打算打擊通常被稱為“狂野西部”的加密貨幣行業，以打擊全球洗錢鏈，並強調腐敗是對民主國家的最大威脅。
白宮態度的轉變在中東地區得到了很好的體現。該地區的統治者將不得不進行調整——或者失去信譽和美國政府的支持——而美國將不得不在其切身利益和一貫的外交政策之間做出選擇。
洗錢挑戰
2020 年，七個中東國家，一些位於海灣地區，另一些位於北非和黎凡特，在巴塞爾反洗錢指數的前 50 名名單中名列前茅，該指數對全球洗錢和恐怖主義融資風險進行了排名。這種現象當然不是新鮮事。然而，似乎由於新技術和加密貨幣的興起，洗錢變得比以往任何時候都更加容易和容易。
最近洩露的潘多拉文件進一步揭示了中東國家主導的腐敗程度令人難以置信的程度。反洗錢指數的“明星”之一是土耳其，在巴巴多斯和澳門之間處於第 41 位。近年來，雷傑普·塔伊普·埃爾多安 (Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) 的 AK 黨受到一系列腐敗指控的嚴重打擊，包括洗錢、販毒和武器走私，而國營的 Halkbank 則被指控參與一項數十億美元的計劃以逃避美國對伊朗的製裁。10 月初，紐約美國上訴法院裁定 Halkbank 可以因這些指控被起訴。幾天后，國際金融行動特別工作組（FATF）採取了行動。
美國總統喬·拜登和總理納夫塔利·貝內特 8 月在白宮會面時握手。（信用：喬納森·恩斯特/路透社）
“這是金融行動特別工作組第二次將土耳其加入其灰名單。2012 年，土耳其差點被列入黑名單，與伊朗和朝鮮並列。這表明，在埃爾多安政府的領導下，土耳其一直存在非法融資問題，”保衛民主基金會土耳其項目高級主任、該國議會前成員艾坎·埃爾德米爾告訴媒體專線。
馬里和約旦最近也被添加到 FATF 的灰名單中。
Erdemir 解釋說，華盛頓在兩個層面上打擊非法融資，他說：“國際社會通過 FATF 名單和聯合國指定做出了努力。與此同時，美國財政部的指定和美國司法部的起訴對規避制裁和洗錢計劃施加了壓力。
“為了讓美國努力產生更大的影響，歐盟需要在追踪非法金融交易方面更加警惕。迫切需要協調一致的跨大西洋行動，”他說。
對民主和全球發展的威脅
拜登總統對洗錢和非法融資的態度與其前任有何不同？2017 年，唐納德·特朗普告訴時任國務卿雷克斯·蒂勒森，《反海外腐敗法》(FCPA) 不利於美國的商業利益，因此應該廢除。
雖然特朗普政府顯然認同商界許多人普遍認為 FCPA“束縛了海外美國人的手”，但拜登認為腐敗對全球發展和民主來說是危險的，他打算根據這一信念採取行動。他在 2018 年在丹麥舉行的民主峰會上說：“腐敗資金是尋求全面削弱民主治理的威權政權的首選工具——尤其是在缺乏強有力的制度來捍衛法治的新興民主國家。”
在 6 月初發布的白宮《將反腐敗作為美國核心國家利益的備忘錄》中，拜登承諾“領導努力促進善治，為美國和全球金融體繫帶來透明度”。 ，在國內外預防和打擊腐敗，使腐敗行為者越來越難以保護他們的活動。”
撰寫有關金融犯罪和腐敗的美國以色列記者西蒙娜·韋恩格拉斯 (Simona Weinglass) 解釋說，洗錢通常與有組織犯罪、販毒和人口販賣一起出現。她在接受媒體專線採訪時說，洗錢對任何國家都是危險的。
“如果你的國家是大量洗錢的目的地，這可能是一種魔鬼交易——立竿見影的效果看起來很棒——你所有的錢都流入了你的國家，流入了你的房地產市場，流入了私營部門。所以一開始這一切看起來都很棒。它可以創造看起來像很多經濟活力的東西，”她說。
“但任何魔鬼的討價還價，都有一個隱藏的代價，社會會在以後付出代價。首先，如果你的國家的活力來自骯髒的犯罪或盜賊統治的錢，而不是合法的錢，它會加劇不平等和腐敗。突然間，你們的政府機構對普通民眾的反應變少了，因為所有這些政客都在討好有錢的階級。如果這種情況持續足夠長的時間，你可能會遇到罪犯和政府之間沒有真正區別的情況，就像在俄羅斯一樣，”她繼續說道。
“此外，對於誠實賺錢的人來說，生活開始變得越來越困難。腐敗感覺正在蔓延。例如，如果您的房地產市場中有很多髒錢，這是導致普通市民無法承受的價格的主要因素之一，”Weinglass 說。
Erdemir 補充說：“土耳其案例顯示了洗錢、逃避制裁、恐怖主義融資、毒品貿易和人口販運之間的錯綜複雜的聯繫。一旦問題變得如此普遍，犯罪網絡就會大舉侵入政治精英和執法系統。這種脆弱性隨後被伊朗和委內瑞拉等國家行為者以及哈馬斯、伊斯蘭國、基地組織、伊斯蘭革命衛隊等非國家行為者利用。”
一些中東國家對拜登的“中產階級外交政策”迅速做出反應，希望促進他們在華盛頓的利益並改善他們的全球記錄。2021 年 8 月 22 日，在阿拉伯聯合酋長國副總統、總理兼國防部長、迪拜統治者謝赫·穆罕默德·本·拉希德·阿勒馬克圖姆的指示下，迪拜宣布成立一個專門的新法院，重點打擊金錢洗錢。該公告是在阿聯酋內閣批准成立反洗錢和打擊資助恐怖主義執行辦公室幾個月後發布的。
“在最近的國家風險評估之後，阿聯酋對其面臨的洗錢、恐怖主義融資和大規模殺傷性武器融資風險的理解仍在浮現。風險是巨大的，源於阿聯酋廣泛的金融、經濟、企業和貿易活動，包括作為石油、鑽石和黃金出口的全球領導者，”FATF 報告在 2020 年表示。
“阿聯酋在各大洲之間的戰略地理位置、靠近衝突地區以及其自身的 7 個酋長國、兩個金融自由區和 29 個商業自由區的複雜性，進一步增加了阿聯酋吸引與犯罪和恐怖活動有關的資金的風險，”報告繼續。
Weinglass 說：“有趣的是，在以色列和阿聯酋和平之後發生的一些第一次重大事件是外匯行業的會議。你必須想知道為什麼。為什麼他們在冠狀病毒危機期間如此渴望聚在一起？”
2021 年 4 月 30 日，沙特阿拉伯的部長們批准了一項新的打擊金融欺詐和欺騙的法律，旨在加強沙特王國打擊金融犯罪的努力。
許多中東洗錢問題專家表示，這些新措施的效果如何，以及它們是否僅用於反對批評者或政敵，而不是針對政權親信，還有待觀察。
12 月 9 日至 10 日，拜登將在華盛頓召開民主領袖峰會，討論人權、非法金融和監管問題。所有這三個問題都密切相關，並且被拜登政府明確列為優先事項，拜登政府承諾將點點滴滴聯繫起來，並利用其所有力量來保護民主。
Implications of Biden’s crusade against money laundering - analysis
What are the implications of US President Biden's fight against corruption and money laundering in the United States and globally for the Middle East?
By KSENIA SVETLOVA/THE MEDIA LINE
OCTOBER 28, 2021 23:23
U.S. President Joe Biden participates in a meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) on climate change, from an auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 17, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)
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US President Joe Biden has declared multiple times, during his electoral campaign and since he entered into office, that the fight against corruption and money laundering in the United States and globally is a core national security priority and an important part of his “foreign policy for the middle class.”
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Biden intends to clamp down on the cryptocurrency industry, which is often described as “the Wild West,” to fight the global money-laundering chains and to highlight corruption as the greatest threat to democracies.
The change of attitude in the White House is well felt in the Middle East. The region’s rulers will have to adjust – or lose credibility and the support of the US administration – while the US will have to choose between its vital interests and a consistent foreign policy.
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The money-laundering challenge
In 2020, seven Middle Eastern countries, some in the Gulf and others in North Africa and the Levant, were starring in the top 50 list of the Basel AML Index that ranks money-laundering and terrorist financing risks around the world. This phenomenon is certainly not new. However, it seems that due to new technologies and the rise of cryptocurrencies, money laundering has become easier and more accessible than ever before.
The recently leaked Pandora Papers shed more light on the incredible level of state-led corruption in the Middle East. One of the “stars” of the AML Index was Turkey, well-positioned at No. 41 between Barbados and Macao. In recent years Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AK Party has been severely hit by a series of corruption allegations, including money laundering, drug trafficking, and arms smuggling, while the state-run Halkbank was charged with taking part in a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade US sanctions on Iran. Earlier in October, the US Court of Appeals in New York ruled that Halkbank can be prosecuted over these accusations. After a few days, the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) took action.
US PRESIDENT Joe Biden and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett shake hands during a meeting at the White House in August. (credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)
“This is the second time that the Financial Action Task Force added Turkey to its gray list. In 2012, Turkey came close to being blacklisted, alongside Iran and North Korea. This shows that under the Erdoğan government, Turkey has had a persistent illicit finance problem,” Aykan Erdemir, senior director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former member of the country’s parliament, told The Media Line.
Mali and Jordan were also recently added to FATF’s grey list.
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Erdemir explains that Washington fights illicit finance on two levels, saying, “There is an international effort through FATF listings and United Nations designations. At the same time, US Treasury designations and US Justice Department prosecutions put pressure on sanctions evasion and money laundering schemes.
“For US efforts to make greater impact, the European Union needs to become more vigilant in going after illicit financial transactions. There is an urgent need for concerted transatlantic action,” he says.
A threat to democracy and global development
How different is President Biden’s attitude on money laundering and illicit finance from that of his predecessor? In 2017, Donald Trump told then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is bad for US commercial interests and thus should be scrapped.
While Trump’s administration apparently shared the view that is common among many in the business sphere about the FCPA “tying the hands of Americans abroad,” Biden believes that corruption is dangerous for global development and for democracies, and he intends to act on this belief. Speaking at a democracy summit in Denmark in 2018, he said, “Corrupt money is the preferred tool of authoritarian regimes seeking to undercut democratic governance across the board − especially in fledgling democracies that lack robust institutions to defend the rule of law.”
In the White House’s “Memorandum on Establishing the Fight against Corruption as a Core United States National Interest” that was published at the beginning of June, Biden promised to “lead efforts to promote good governance, bring transparency to the United States and global financial systems, prevent and combat corruption at home and abroad, and make it increasingly difficult for corrupt actors to shield their activities.”
Simona Weinglass, an American Israeli journalist who writes about financial crime and corruption, explains that money laundering often comes in one package with organized crime, drug trafficking and human trafficking. Money laundering is dangerous to any country, she said, speaking to The Media Line.
“If your country is the destination of a lot of laundered money, it can be a kind of devil’s bargain − the immediate effects seem wonderful − you have all this money flowing into your country, into your real estate market, into the private sector. So it all seems wonderful at first. It can create what looks like a lot of economic dynamism,” she says.
“But with any devil’s bargain, there is a hidden price that the society pays later. First, if your country’s dynamism comes from dirty criminal or kleptocratic money and not legitimate money, it exacerbates inequality and corruption. Suddenly your government institutions become less responsive to ordinary people because all these politicians are currying favor with the moneyed classes. If this goes on long enough you can get to a situation where there is not really a difference between the criminals and the government, like in Russia,” she continues.
“Also, life starts to become more and more difficult for people who earn their money honestly. Corruption feels like it is spreading. For instance, if there is a lot of dirty money in your real estate market, this is one major factor that contributes to prices that are out of reach for regular citizens,” Weinglass says.
Erdemir adds, “The Turkish case shows the intricate links between money laundering, sanctions evasion, terrorism finance, narcotics trade and human trafficking. Once the problem becomes so pervasive, criminal networks make strong inroads into the political elite and the law enforcement system. Such a vulnerability is then exploited by state actors, such as Iran and Venezuela, and nonstate actors such as Hamas, Islamic State, al-Qaida, the IRGC, and others.”
Some Middle Eastern countries were quick to respond to Biden’s “foreign policy for the middle class,” looking to promote their interests in Washington and to improve their global record. On August 22, 2021, at the directive of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president, prime minister and defense minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, Dubai announced the establishment of a specialized new court that will focus on combating money laundering. The announcement came just months after the UAE cabinet approved the establishment of the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism.
“The UAE’s understanding of the risks it faces from money laundering, terrorist financing and funding of weapons of mass destruction is still emerging, following their recent national risk assessment. The risks are significant, and result from the UAE’s extensive financial, economic, corporate and trade activities, including as a global leader in oil, diamond and gold exports,” the FATF report said in 2020.
“The UAE’s strategic geographical location between continents, in proximity to conflict zones and its own jurisdictional complexity of seven emirates, two financial free zones and 29 commercial free zones further increase the UAE’s risk of attracting funds with links to crime and terror,” the report continues.
Weinglass says, “Interestingly, some of the first big events to take place after peace between Israel and UAE were conventions for the forex industry. You have to wonder why. Why were they so desperate to get together during the coronavirus crisis?”
And on April 30, 2021, ministers in Saudi Arabia approved a new law for Combating Financial Fraud and Deceit that is designed to enhance the kingdom’s efforts to combat financial crime.
It remains to be seen how effective these new measures will be, and whether they will be used only against critics or political enemies rather than against regime cronies, many experts on money laundering in the Middle East say.
On December 9-10, Biden will convene a Leaders’ Summit for Democracy in Washington, where human rights, illicit finance and regulation will be discussed. All three issues are closely interconnected and are clearly prioritized by Biden’s administration, which promises to connect the dots and use all of its weight to protect democracy.
敘利亞難民因“挑釁”吃香蕉而被土耳其驅逐出境
土耳其警方對 31 名嫌疑人進行了調查，罪名是在社交媒體帖子中“挑釁性地”吃香蕉。
通過TZVI JOFFRE
2021 年 10 月 28 日 19:42
香蕉藏在塑料袋下
（照片來源：PEXELS）
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11 名敘利亞人被捕，7 人將被土耳其驅逐出境，罪名是在社交媒體帖子中“挑釁性”吃香蕉，此前一場風暴圍繞著一名土耳其公民抱怨敘利亞難民買不起“幾公斤香蕉”的視頻爆發，而他買不起香蕉。
據土耳其媒體報導，伊斯坦布爾警察局已對香蕉案中的 31 名嫌疑人採取行動，逮捕了 11 人。目前仍有11名嫌疑人在逃。被捕的犯罪嫌疑人被控以煽動、侮辱公眾仇恨和敵意罪。
據彭博社報導，此案始於伊斯坦布爾一名土耳其男子抱怨他買不起香蕉的視頻，而敘利亞人卻買得起“公斤香蕉” 。此後社交媒體上開始出現一股趨勢，敘利亞難民發布自己吃香蕉的照片和視頻，旨在嘲笑土耳其公民的抱怨。
根據土耳其移民管理總局的數據，截至 2021 年 10 月，超過 370 萬敘利亞難民居住在土耳其。今年早些時候，在一名土耳其公民在與敘利亞難民的爭吵中喪生後，土耳其爆發了暴力反移民抗議活動。
據《每日快報》報導，土耳其主要反對黨領袖凱末爾·克利奇達羅格魯 (Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu) 於 9 月發誓，要在上台兩年內將所有敘利亞和阿富汗難民遣返家園。
“我對這個問題非常敏感。我不是種族主義者。我不是對來到這裡的人感到憤怒，而是對讓他們來到這裡的人感到憤怒，”Kılıçdaroğlu 在 9 月的一次會議上說，並補充說土耳其“幾乎無法養活自己，也無法承擔難民的負擔。”
Syrian refugees deported from Turkey for 'provocative' banana-eating
31 suspects were investigated by Turkish police on charges of "provocatively" eating bananas in social media posts.
By TZVI JOFFRE
OCTOBER 28, 2021 19:42
The banana was concealed under a plastic bag
(photo credit: PEXELS)
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11 Syrians were arrested and seven will be deported from Turkey on charges of "provocatively" eating bananas in social media posts after a storm erupted surrounding a video of a Turkish citizen complaining about Syrian refugees being able to afford "kilos of bananas," while he could not afford bananas.
The Istanbul Police Department has taken action against 31 suspects in total in the banana case, arresting 11, according to Turkish media. 11 of the suspects are still on the run. The suspects arrested were charged with the crime of inciting or insulting the public to hatred and hostility.
The case began with a video of a Turkish man in Istanbul complaining that he could not afford to buy bananas, while Syrians could afford "kilograms of bananas," according to Bloomberg magazine. A trend on social media began afterward, with Syrian refugees posting photos and videos of themselves eating bananas intended on mocking the Turkish citizen's complaint.
According to Turkey's Directorate General of Migration Management, over 3.7 million Syrian refugees lived in Turkey as of October 2021. Violent anti-migrant protests broke out in Turkey earlier this year after a Turkish citizen was killed in a brawl with Syrian refugees.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the main opposition party in Turkey, vowed in September to send all Syrian and Afghan refugees back to their homes within two years of coming to power, according to the Hurriyet Daily News.
“I am very sensitive on this issue. I am not racist. I’m not angry at the people who came here, but at the people who made them come here,” said Kılıçdaroğlu during a meeting in September, adding that Turkey can "hardly feed itself and cannot take the burden of the refugees.”
蘇丹政變：將軍和伊斯蘭主義者在阿拉伯世界盛行
幕後：蘇丹的軍事政變遵循了阿拉伯世界的流行趨勢。
作者：喬納森·斯派爾
2021 年 10 月 28 日 21:20
蘇丹武裝部隊總司令阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·布爾漢中將在 3 月份在南蘇丹朱巴簽署了蘇丹過渡政府與蘇丹人民解放運動-北方之間的原則宣言後向代表們發表講話。
（照片來源：路透社/JOK SOLOMUN）
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蘇丹發生政變。週一早上，蘇丹軍隊直接根據廣為人知的阿拉伯軍事接管手冊採取了一系列行動，襲擊了該國的國家廣播公司。
在一個未指明的時間，總理阿卜杜拉·哈姆多克和他的一些部長被軍方拘留。政變的領導人和明顯的煽動者、武裝部隊總司令阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·布爾汗中將隨後發表電視講話，宣布“獨立和公平的代議制政府”將掌權直至選舉， 2023 年舉行。
自 2019 年 8 月總統奧馬爾·哈桑·艾哈邁德·巴希爾 (Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir) 被罷免以來，由 14 名成員組成的主權委員會已被軍方解散。
該委員會由軍事和文職成員組成，由布爾汗本人擔任主席。副主席是陸軍快速支援部隊指揮官穆罕默德·哈姆丹·達加洛將軍。然而，兩人原定於 2022 年 1 月將理事會的領導權移交給文職領導人。 移交是在 2019 年憲法宣言草案中規定的，該草案是在巴希爾被推翻之後。本週的政變使這一程序無效，從而迎來了武裝部隊對政府的全面控制。
截至目前，包括首都喀土穆在內的一些城市已經發生了反對政變的示威活動。有數人被殺。哈姆多克已被釋放。政變受到包括美國和英國在內的多個西方國家的譴責，美國國務院發言人宣布凍結對該國7億美元的經濟支持。
2021 年 10 月 25 日，在蘇丹喀土穆發生的軍事政變期間，路障被點燃（圖片來源：REUTERS/EL TAYEB SIDDIG）
駐美國的黎巴嫩記者侯賽因·阿卜杜勒·侯賽因 (Hussein Abdul Hussein) 在周二發表的一篇回應政變的文章中指出：“變化以不同的形式出現在以阿拉伯為主的國家……然而，所有這些國家的結果都是一樣的：要么是內戰，要么是專制的重建。”
事實上，在阿拉伯語佔多數的國家建立穩定和有代表性的統治的努力已被證明普遍不成功。侯賽因指出“缺乏”能夠維持現代國家建設和維護的流行文化。
阿拉伯世界致力於建立代議制政府的力量仍然軟弱無力。
事實上，在每一個阿拉伯國家，這些軟弱的集團都發現自己被兩個強大的元素推到一邊，這兩個強大的元素是目前阿拉伯世界唯一真正的權力競爭者：政治伊斯蘭勢力和舊的、專制的阿拉伯勢力。以軍隊和君主制為代表的秩序。這個一般規則在蘇丹也可見。
我在 2011 年的《轉變之火》一書中寫道，“目前，是這個秩序或伊斯蘭主義者——沒有第三條路。” 該聲明是在阿拉伯之春前夕撰寫的。在隨後的十年中發生的任何事情都沒有必要對其進行修訂。本周蘇丹發生的政變進一步證實，目前阿拉伯世界的治理選擇是將軍和國王——或伊斯蘭主義者。
在蘇丹，奧馬爾·巴希爾政權與受伊斯蘭主義、穆斯林兄弟會影響的哈桑·圖拉比民族伊斯蘭陣線結盟，於 1989 年上台執政。十年後兩人分道揚鑣，但巴希爾仍保持其政權的親伊斯蘭主義傾向。
巴希爾在 1990 年代居住在奧薩馬·本·拉登。他還與伊朗密切合作，允許蘇丹被用作向加沙的哈馬斯和黎巴嫩的真主黨轉讓武器的渠道。伊斯蘭主義者控制著巴希爾領導下的軍隊、情報部門和其他重要部門。
在重新調整蘇丹與阿聯酋和沙特阿拉伯結盟的地區立場的嘗試以失敗告終之後，他在 2019 年倒台。儘管證明不願剷除政府中的伊斯蘭勢力，或在與卡塔爾的爭端中支持阿聯酋和沙特阿拉伯，巴希爾被孤立、遺棄，然後被推翻。
在軍事和文職混合統治的短暫中斷以及對代議制治理的希望之後，忠於巴希爾的部隊於 2021 年 9 月試圖發動政變，並被鎮壓。鐘擺現在又回到了軍方的公開控制之下。
這種模式在整個阿拉伯世界都可以觀察到。在埃及，伊斯蘭主義者在 2011 年推翻了軍事政權，然後在 2013 年被新的軍事政權取代。
在突尼斯，Zine El Abidine Ben Ali 的軍事政權於 2010 年底被推翻，本阿里被民選的伊斯蘭政府取代。隨後是一段相對穩定的時期，隨後是不穩定的時期，然後在反對政府的暴力示威之後，凱斯·賽義德總統於 7 月動用軍隊關閉議會。截至目前，賽義德在軍方的支持下通過法令進行統治。
在利比亞，西方推翻軍事獨裁者穆阿邁爾·卡扎菲 (Muammar Gaddafi) 導致的黎波里出現了以遜尼派伊斯蘭教為主的政府。這個政府現在遭到由舊政權將軍哈利法哈夫塔爾領導的軍事起義的反對。截至目前，這已導致該國四分五裂，哈夫塔爾統治著該國東部托布魯克的一個大飛地。
在敘利亞，在俄羅斯和伊朗的幫助下，遜尼派伊斯蘭起義在很大程度上被阿薩德政權鎮壓。由土耳其支持的遜尼派伊斯蘭主義者控制的飛地在西北部堅守。
在也門，在推翻由伊朗支持的什葉派伊斯蘭主義者以及沙特阿拉伯和阿聯酋的海灣君主制控制的軍事獨裁者後，該國分裂為敵對的飛地。
在黎巴嫩，一支由伊朗支持的什葉派伊斯蘭勢力在正式代議制政府的外殼內進行統治。
在伊拉克，由於當地什葉派伊斯蘭勢力抵抗德黑蘭的統治地位，伊朗支持的部隊的類似努力受到挑戰。
等等。這種模式目前在阿拉伯世界無一例外：伊斯蘭主義者，或將軍/君主，或他們之間的戰爭。蘇丹剛剛重申了這一點，將軍們目前處於優勢地位。
在括號中，應該指出的是，兩個部分例外，恰恰證明了這一規則，即敘利亞北部和伊拉克北部的庫爾德飛地。在這兩個領域，一種專制的半民主盛行。它們證明了規則，因為這些是非阿拉伯區域治理的例子。
蘇丹政變及其所屬的更廣泛格局對以色列有什麼影響？
對於前者，布爾漢於 2020 年 2 月會見了時任總理本雅明內塔尼亞胡。布爾漢與埃及總統塞西關係密切，與他有著長期的友誼。與此同時，他強大的副手穆罕默德·達加洛將軍受到阿聯酋和沙特阿拉伯的支持。因此，政變代表了以色列最接近的地區因素。沒有理由假設耶路撒冷會受到負面影響：無論如何，蘇丹的“正常化”進展緩慢，但政變不會讓它偏離軌道。
關於更廣泛的區域背景：在阿拉伯世界顯然沒有任何能力發展和鞏固真正的代議制機構和公民社會的情況下，威權統治盛行於伊斯蘭叛亂和混亂顯然更可取。
所以布爾汗的政變遵循了可識別的地區趨勢。對於目前譴責政變的英國、美國和其他西方政府來說，了解這一現實可能是明智的。然而，這種希望可以說是一種烏托邦式樂觀主義的表現，這種樂觀主義在阿拉伯世界的民主倡導者中更為常見。
Sudan coup: Generals and Islamists prevail in the Arab world
BEHIND THE LINES: The military coup in Sudan follows a prevailing trend in the Arab world.
By JONATHAN SPYER
OCTOBER 28, 2021 21:20
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF of the Sudan Armed Forces Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan addresses delegates after signing a declaration of principles in March between the Sudanese transitional government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, in Juba, South Sudan.
(photo credit: REUTERS/JOK SOLOMUN)
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A coup has taken place in Sudan. In a series of moves on Monday morning straight from the well-thumbed handbook of Arab military takeovers, Sudanese military forces stormed the country’s state broadcaster.
At an unspecified hour, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and a number of his ministers were taken into custody by the military. The coup’s leader and apparent instigator, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, then delivered a televised address in which he announced that an “independent and fair representative government” would hold power until elections, to be held in 2023.
The 14-member Sovereignty Council, which had acted as the collective head of state since the ousting of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir in August 2019, has been dissolved by the military.
The council consisted of both military and civilian members, chaired by al-Burhan himself. The deputy chair was General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the army’s Rapid Support Forces. The two had been scheduled, however, to hand over leadership of the council to civilian leaders in January 2022. The handover was stipulated by the draft constitutional declaration of 2019, which followed the toppling of al-Bashir. This week’s coup nullifies this procedure, ushering in the full domination of government by the armed forces.
As of now, demonstrations have taken place against the coup in a number of cities, including the capital, Khartoum. Several people have been killed. Hamdok has been released from custody. The coup has been condemned by a number of Western countries, including the US and the UK, and a US State Department spokesperson announced the freezing of $700 million in economic support to the country.
A road barricade is set on fire during what the information ministry calls a military coup in Khartoum, Sudan, October 25, 2021 (credit: REUTERS/EL TAYEB SIDDIG)
US-based Lebanese journalist Hussein Abdul Hussein noted in an article written in response to the coup and published on Tuesday: “Change has come to predominantly Arab countries in different shapes and forms… The result in all these countries, however, has been the same: either civil war or the reestablishment of autocracy.”
It is indeed the case that efforts at establishing stable and representative rule in majority Arabic-speaking countries have proven universally unsuccessful. Hussein points to the “absence” of the “popular culture that can sustain the building and maintaining of a modern state.”
The forces in the Arab world committed to the establishment of representative government remain weak and defeated.
Indeed, in every Arab state, these feeble groupings find themselves pushed aside by the two powerful elements that are the only true competitors for power in the Arab world at the present time: the forces of political Islam, and those of the old, autocratic Arab order, as represented by the military, and the monarchies. This general rule is also visible in Sudan.
In my book The Transforming Fire, I wrote in 2011 that “for the moment, it is this order or the Islamists – there is no third way.” The statement was written on the eve of the Arab Spring. Nothing that has taken place in the subsequent decade makes its revision necessary. The coup in Sudan this week further confirms that the present options for governance in the Arab world are the generals and kings – or the Islamists.
In Sudan, the Omar al-Bashir regime came to power in 1989 in alliance with the Islamist, Muslim Brotherhood-influenced National Islamic Front of Hassan Turabi. The two parted company a decade later, but al-Bashir maintained the pro-Islamist orientation of his regime.
Al-Bashir domiciled Osama Bin-Laden in the 1990s. He also aligned closely with Iran, allowing Sudan to be used as a conduit for arms transfers to both Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Islamists controlled the military, intelligence services and other key ministries under Bashir.
His fall in 2019 came after an abortive attempt to realign Sudan’s regional stance in alliance with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Proving nevertheless unwilling to root out Islamist power in the government, or to back the UAE and Saudi Arabia in their dispute with Qatar, al-Bashir was isolated, abandoned, and then toppled.
After a short hiatus of mixed military and civilian rule, and hopes for representative governance, forces loyal to al-Bashir attempted a putsch in September 2021, and were crushed. The pendulum has now swung back to open control by the military.
The pattern is observable across the Arab world. In Egypt, the Islamists toppled a military regime in 2011, before being themselves replaced by a new military regime in 2013.
In Tunisia, the military regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled in late 2010, and Ben Ali was replaced by an elected Islamist government. A period of relative stability followed, which was then followed by less stability, and then the use of the army by President Kais Saed to close parliament in July, following violent demonstrations against the government. As of now, Saed rules by decree, with the backing of the military.
In Libya, the Western toppling of military dictator Muammar Gaddafi led to the emergence of a Sunni Islamist-dominated government in Tripoli. This government is now opposed by a military uprising led by the Ancien Regime general Khalifa Haftar. As of now, this has led to the fragmentation of the country, with Haftar ruling a large enclave in the east of the country, from Tobruk.
In Syria, a Sunni Islamist uprising has been largely crushed by the Assad regime, with the help of Russia and Iran. An enclave controlled by Sunni Islamists backed by Turkey holds on in the northwest.
In Yemen, the country has divided into rival enclaves following the deposing of a military dictator, controlled by Iran-backed Shia Islamists and the Gulf monarchies of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
In Lebanon, an Iran-supported Shia Islamist force rules, from within the husk of formal representative government.
In Iraq, a similar effort by Iran-supported forces is challenged because of the power of local Shia Islamist forces resisting the encroaching dominance of Tehran.
And so on. This pattern is currently without exception in the Arab world: Islamists, or generals/monarchs, or war between them. It has just been reaffirmed in Sudan, with the generals currently in ascendance.
In parentheses, it should be noted that two partial exceptions, which exactly prove the rule, are the Kurdish enclaves in northern Syria and northern Iraq. In both these areas, a sort of authoritarian semi-democracy prevails. They prove the rule because these are examples of non-Arab regional governance.
What implications do the Sudan coup and the broader pattern of which it is a part have for Israel?
Re the former, Burhan met with then prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February 2020. Burhan is close to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with whom he enjoys a longstanding friendship. His powerful deputy, General Mohamed Dagalo, meanwhile, enjoys the patronage of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The coup thus represents that regional element to which Israel is closest. There is no reason to suppose negative effects for Jerusalem: “Normalization” was proceeding slowly in Sudan in any case, but the coup will not knock it off course.
Regarding the broader regional context: in the apparent absence of any capacity in the Arab world for the development and consolidation of genuine representative institutions and civil society, the prevalence of authoritarian rule over Islamist insurgency and chaos is clearly preferable.
So Burhan’s coup follows the identifiable regional trend. It might be advisable for the British, American and other Western governments currently condemning the coup to acquaint themselves with this reality. Hoping for this, however, would arguably be a display of a type of utopian optimism more usually found among the advocates of democracy in the Arab world.
黎巴嫩、敘利亞和約旦達成電力轉讓協議
世界銀行將資助提供貸款，用於從敘利亞和約旦向黎巴嫩進口和運輸電力。
通過路透
2021 年 10 月 28 日 18:22
2017 年 8 月 10 日在黎巴嫩南部西頓的建築物附近看到一根燈桿
（圖片來源：REUTERS/ALI HASHISHO）
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三個鄰國的部長周四表示，黎巴嫩、敘利亞和約旦已達成協議，向正遭受嚴重能源危機的黎巴嫩輸送電力。
該國能源部長瓦利德法亞德說，世界銀行參加了參與國的聯席會議，將資助向黎巴嫩進口和運輸電力的貸款。
“美國人已經為該項目開了綠燈，”他補充說，指的是美國對敘利亞的製裁。
根據上個月宣布的一項協議，埃及將通過一條穿過約旦和敘利亞的管道向黎巴嫩供應天然氣，以幫助提高黎巴嫩的電力輸出。
敘利亞電力部長 Ghassan al Zamel 表示，他的國家的網絡修復工作將在今年年底完成，工程師們已經在進行維護和修復由十多年的衝突造成的損壞。
敘利亞電力部長 Ghassan al-Zamil 於 2021 年 10 月 28 日在約旦安曼與約旦能源和礦產資源部長 Saleh Ali Hamed Al-Kharabsheh 和黎巴嫩能源部長 Walid Fayad 出席新聞發布會（圖片來源：REUTERS/JEHAD SHELBAK）
“電線還沒有準備好。它需要到年底才能準備好，我們的工作團隊正在夜以繼日地工作，”扎梅爾說。
Lebanon, Syria and Jordan agree electricity transfer deal
The World Bank will finance the granting of a loan to import and transport electricity to Lebanon from Syria and Jordan.
By REUTERS
OCTOBER 28, 2021 18:22
A lighting pole is seen near buildings in Sidon, southern Lebanon August 10, 2017
(photo credit: REUTERS/ALI HASHISHO)
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Lebanon, Syria and Jordan have reached a deal to transfer electricity to Lebanon which is suffering an acute energy crisis, ministers from the three neighboring countries said on Thursday.
The World Bank, which attended a joint meeting for the participating countries, will finance the granting of a loan to import and transport electricity to Lebanon, the country's energy minister Walid Fayad said.
"The Americans have given the green light to the project," he added, referring to US sanctions on Syria.
Under an agreement announced last month, Egypt will supply natural gas to Lebanon via a pipeline that passes through Jordan and Syria to help boost Lebanon’s electricity output.
Syrian electricity minister Ghassan al Zamel said his country's network rehabilitation would be completed by the end of the year, with engineers already undertaking maintenance and repairing damage caused by over a decade of conflict.
Syrian Electricity Minister Ghassan al-Zamil attends a news conference with Jordan's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Ali Hamed Al-Kharabsheh and Lebanon's Energy Minister Walid Fayad in Amman, Jordan October 28, 2021 (credit: REUTERS/JEHAD SHELBAK)
"The electricity line is not ready. It needs until the end of the year to be ready and our work teams are working round the clock," Zamel said.
布隆迪的第一座太陽能發電廠將發電量提高 10%
布隆迪的新太陽能發電廠是三十年來第一個大型能源發電項目。
通過耶路撒冷郵報STAFF
2021 年 10 月 26 日 17:38
Gigawatt Global 在布隆迪的 7.5 兆瓦太陽能場
（照片來源：禮貌）
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在以色列-美國-荷蘭可再生能源開發商 Gigawatt Global 的幫助下，布隆迪本周啟動了它的第一個太陽能發電場。
位於非洲大裂谷內陸國家的兆瓦太陽能光伏電站是多國努力的一部分，將布隆迪的發電能力提高了 10%。
作為 30 年來第一個大型能源發電項目和 30 年來布隆迪能源部門最大的私人投資，該太陽能發電廠現在正在為數以萬計的家庭和企業提供清潔能源。
Gigawatt Global是一家美國支持的荷蘭公司，在耶路撒冷設有辦事處，由美籍以色列首席執行官 Yosef Abramowitz 領導。該公司與全球許多公共和私人合作夥伴合作推進該項目。
該項目的資金來自泛非投資者 Inspired Evolution、英國政府資助的可再生能源績效平台和 Gigawatt Global，美國國際開發金融公司為建設貸款再融資。
婦女賦權在行動_布隆迪穆布加 Gigawatt Global 太陽能場的女性建築工人（圖片來源：對方提供）
“今天布隆迪首個並網太陽能發電場的啟動將點亮全國的能源系統，”英國能源、清潔增長和氣候變化部長格雷格·漢茲說。“它將加強國家電網供應，推動國家在清潔、綠色能源方面的美好未來。
“這個由英國政府資助的開創性項目旨在將布隆迪的發電能力提高 10%，是各國在 COP26 之前合作的絕佳例子。投資於綠色未來有利於經濟和地球。”
芬蘭、英國和奧地利的能源與環境夥伴關係以及比利時的發展中國家投資公司為建設提供了額外的支持。工程和建築服務由 Voltalia 提供。
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Gigawatt Globals 的 Abramowitz 表示：“我們感謝我們的影響力投資者和戰略合作夥伴，以及布隆迪政府，在通向氣候正義和實現聯合國的許多可持續發展目標的道路上共同完成這一歷史性里程碑。”
“國際社會應優先考慮為最脆弱社區服務的綠色能源項目。”
Gigawatt Global 還致力於建立一個由太陽能供電的社區中心，該中心將提供生產性電力使用的途徑。該中心將專注於非政府組織開發的婦女賦權、青年就業和教育。
該公司於 2014 年在盧旺達開設了撒哈拉以南非洲第一個公用事業規模的太陽能場。它活躍於 10 個非洲國家的可再生能源項目。
Eytan Halon 為本報告做出了貢獻。
Burundi's first solar plant increases generation capacity by 10%
Burundi's new solar plant is the first substantial energy generation project in three decades.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
OCTOBER 26, 2021 17:38
Gigawatt Global's 7.5 MW Solar Field in Burundi
(photo credit: Courtesy)
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Burundi inaugurated its first solar field this week, with the help of Israeli-American-Dutch renewable energy developers Gigawatt Global.
The MW solar PV plant in the landlocked African country in the Great Valley Rift was part of a multinational effort and increased Burundi’s generation capacity by 10%.
A first substantial energy generation project in three decades and the largest private investment in Burundi’s energy sector in 30 years, the solar plant is now supplying clean power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
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Gigawatt Global, an American-backed Dutch company with offices in Jerusalem, is headed by American-Israeli CEO Yosef Abramowitz. The company worked with many public and private partners worldwide to advance the project.
Funding for the project came from pan-African investor Inspired Evolution, the UK government-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform and Gigawatt Global, and the US International Development Finance Corporation refinanced the construction loans.
Women's Empowerment in Action_ Female construction workers at Gigawatt Global's Solar Field in Mubuga, Burundi (credit: Courtesy)
“Today’s launch of Burundi’s first grid-connected solar farm will light up the nation’s energy system,” said Greg Hands, the UK Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change. “It will strengthen the national grid supply and propel forward a promising future for the country in clean, green energy.
“Set to increase Burundi’s power generation capacity by 10%, this pioneering project, backed by UK government funding, is a fantastic example of countries working together ahead of COP26. Investing in a green future benefits the economy and the planet.”
Additional support for the construction was provided by Finland’s, the UK’s and Austria’s Energy and Environment Partnership and Belgian’s Investment Company for Developing Countries. Engineering and construction services were provided by Voltalia.
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“We thank our impact investors and strategic partners, as well as the Burundi government, for joining forces to accomplish this historic milestone on the road to climate justice and fulfilling many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” said Gigawatt Globals’ Abramowitz.
“Green energy projects that serve the most vulnerable communities should be prioritized by the international community.”
Gigawatt Global is also working on a community center powered by solar energy that will provide access to productive use of electricity. The center will focus on women empowerment, youth employment and education developed by NGOs.
The company inaugurated sub-Saharan Africa’s first utility-scale solar field in Rwanda in 2014. It is active in renewable-energy projects in 10 African states.
Eytan Halon contributed to this report.
以色列拒絕簽署聯合國關於中國對待維吾爾人的聲明
一名以色列外交官員表示，以色列政府在與中國的關係中還有“其他需要平衡的利益”。
作者：SHIRA HANAU/JTA
2021 年 10 月 27 日 04:14
巴勒斯坦總統馬哈茂德·阿巴斯在美國紐約聯合國總部第 74 屆聯合國大會上發表講話
（圖片來源：路透社/盧卡斯傑克遜）
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以色列選擇不簽署聯合國聲明，表達對維吾爾人福利的擔憂，維吾爾人是中國的穆斯林少數民族，他們被迫進入“再教育營”，有些人將其比作集中營。
雖然美國、英國、德國和澳大利亞是上週簽署聲明的 43 個國家之一，但一名以色列外交官員告訴以色列時報，以色列政府在其“其他利益”中“必須平衡”。與中國的關係。
近年來，兩國在貿易關係上日益密切。
聯合國聲明呼籲中國“確保充分尊重法治，遵守國家和國際法規定的保護人權的義務”。
以色列外交部在一份聲明中告訴以色列時報：“以色列通過各種外交途徑表達了對維吾爾人的擔憂。這方面的一個例子是我們於 6 月在人權理事會上簽署了加拿大 [關於維吾爾人] 的聲明。我們在這個問題上的立場沒有改變。”
2019 年 10 月 1 日，在中國北京國慶節慶祝中華人民共和國成立 70 週年的閱兵式期間，攜帶高超音速導彈 DF-17 的軍車經過天安門廣場。（來源：REUTERS/JASON LEE）
多年來，對中國對待維吾爾少數民族的擔憂——以及將其“再教育營”與大屠殺期間的集中營進行比較——在全球猶太社區內一直在增長。美國的活動家試圖動員猶太人社區支持維吾爾人的事業，就像2000 年代初達爾富爾的種族滅絕事件一樣，而英國猶太人則領導了在英國反對維吾爾人遭受虐待的鬥爭。
Israel declines to sign UN statement on China’s treatment of Uyghurs
An Israeli diplomatic official told said that the Israeli government had “other interests that it has to balance” in its relationship with China.
By SHIRA HANAU/JTA
OCTOBER 27, 2021 04:14
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S.
(photo credit: REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON)
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Israel chose not to sign a United Nations statement expressing concern about the welfare of the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group in China that has been forced into “re-education camps,” which some have likened to concentration camps.
While the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia were among the group of 43 countries that signed the statement last week, an Israeli diplomatic official told The Times of Israel that the Israeli government had “other interests that it has to balance” in its relationship with China.
The two nations have grown closer over trade ties in recent years.
The U.N. statement calls on China to “ensure full respect for the rule of law and to comply with its obligations under national and international law with regard to the protection of human rights.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry told The Times of Israel in a statement: “Israel expresses its concerns about the Uyghurs in various diplomatic tracks. One example of this was our signing onto the Canadian statement [on the Uyghurs] in June at the Human Rights Council. Our position on the issue has not changed.”
Military vehicles carrying hypersonic missiles DF-17 travel past Tiananmen Square during the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of People's Republic of China, on its National Day in Beijing, China October 1, 2019. (credit: REUTERS/JASON LEE)
Concern over China’s treatment of the Uighur minority — and comparisons of its “re-education camps” to concentration camps during the Holocaust — have been growing within the global Jewish community for years. Activists in the United States have tried to mobilize the Jewish community behind the Uyghurs’ cause as in the case of the genocide in Darfur in the early 2000s, while British Jews have led the fight against the abuses of the Uyghurs in the United Kingdom.
馬約卡斯說，美國正在努力為以色列人免簽證
白宮在 8 月拜登總統與以色列總理貝內特會晤後表示，拜登強調“他的政府將加強與以色列的雙邊合作”。
通過LAHAV哈爾科夫
2021 年 10 月 27 日 21:12
以色列駐美國大使吉拉德·埃爾丹和國土安全部部長亞歷杭德羅·馬約卡斯會面。
（圖片來源：以色列駐聯合國代表團）
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美國國土安全部部長亞歷杭德羅·馬約卡斯 (Alejandro Mayorkas)週二表示，美國正在考慮將以色列納入其免簽證計劃，允許其公民免簽證訪問美國 90 天。
“我們有四名候選人正在籌備中：以色列、塞浦路斯、保加利亞和羅馬尼亞，”馬約卡斯週二在一次旅遊業活動中表示。“我們非常非常關注該計劃，”他補充說，並說它提供了顯著的經濟和安全利益。
駐美國大使吉拉德·埃爾丹說：“以色列將繼續全力確保以色列公民能夠在沒有簽證的情況下自由進入美國，就像他們應該能夠與我們最親密的盟友一樣。
“負責此事並與我多次會面討論此事的馬約卡斯的明確聲明是朝著實現目標邁出的重要一步，”埃爾丹補充道。
將以色列加入免簽證計劃是納夫塔利·貝內特總理8 月訪問白宮的目標之一，他的工作人員表示，此事已陷入低級談判，需要上級推動。
上個月在白宮與美國總統喬·拜登會面時，納夫塔利·貝內特總理戴著口罩。REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST
美國總統喬拜登強調，“他的政府將加強與以色列的雙邊合作，以有利於美國公民和以色列公民的方式，包括共同努力將以色列納入免簽證計劃。”
目前有 40 個國家參與美國免簽證計劃。
幾十年來，以色列人免簽證訪問美國和美國反之亦然的問題屢屢被提出。美國從未同意推進它，部分原因是以色列拒絕了許多想要進入該國的巴勒斯坦裔美國人，部分原因是美國對以色列人申請簽證的拒絕率高於免簽證門檻。
然而，以色列一位高級外交消息人士在 8 月解釋說，拒絕率高是由於與美國的文化差異。許多被拒絕的以色列簽證申請來自 20 歲出頭的失業者，美國認為他們更有可能逾期居留並試圖非法工作。但在以色列，這些人通常剛完成以色列國防軍的服務，並打算旅行幾個月。
事實上，以色列人是世界上簽證逾期逗留率最低的國家之一，為 0.5%，而免簽證協議的最高限額為 2%。
消息人士稱，關於阻止巴勒斯坦裔美國人進入以色列，如果以色列安全局阻礙達成免簽證協議，它可以找到解決該問題的方法。
路透社為本報告做出了貢獻。
US working towards visa waiver for Israelis, Mayorkas says
The White House said in August after a meeting between President Biden and Israeli PM Bennett that Biden emphasized "his administration would strengthen bilateral cooperation with Israel."
By LAHAV HARKOV
OCTOBER 27, 2021 21:12
Israeli ambassador to the US Gilad Erdan and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas meet.
(photo credit: ISRAELI DELEGATION TO THE UN)
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The US is considering adding Israel to its visa waiver program, allowing its citizens to visit America for 90 days without a visa, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Tuesday.
“We have four candidates in the pipeline: Israel, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania,” Mayorkas said on Tuesday at a travel industry event. “We’re very, very focused on the program,” he added, saying it provides significant economic and security benefits.
Ambassador to the US Gilad Erdan said, “Israel is continuing in full force to ensure that Israeli citizens will be able to enter the US freely without a visa, as they should be able to do with our closest ally.
“The clear statement by Mayorkas, who is responsible for this matter and with whom I met several times to discuss it, is a significant advance towards attaining the goal,” Erdan added.
Adding Israel to the visa waiver program was one of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s goals for his visit to the White House in August, with his staff saying the matter had gotten stuck in lower-level talks and needed a push from above.
PRIME MINISTER Naftali Bennett holds a mask during a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House last month.REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST
US President Joe Biden emphasized that “his administration would strengthen bilateral cooperation with Israel in ways that would benefit both US citizens and Israeli citizens, including by working together towards Israel’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program.”
There are currently 40 countries in the US Visa Waiver Program.
The issue of waiving visas for Israelis to visit the US and vice versa has been raised repeatedly over decades. The US never agreed to advance it, partly because Israel rejects many Palestinian-Americans who want to enter the country and partly because the American refusal rate for Israelis applying for a visa is higher than the threshold for a visa waiver.
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However, the high refusal rates are due to cultural differences with the US, a senior Israeli diplomatic source explained in August. Many of the Israeli visa requests that are refused come from people in their early 20s who are unemployed and whom the US views as being more likely to overstay their visas and try to work illegally. But in Israel, these are often people who have just finished their IDF service and are looking to travel for a few months.
In fact, Israelis have one of the lowest visa-overstay rates in the world, at 0.5%, when the maximum for a visa-waiver agreement is 2%.
Regarding the blocking of Palestinian-Americans from entering Israel, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) can find a way to resolve that issue, if it is standing in the way of a visa-waiver agreement, the source said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Facebook 宣布更名為 Meta
首席執行官馬克扎克伯格表示，新名稱反映了其對構建元世界的關注。
通過路透
2021 年 10 月 28 日 22:32
在這張 2021 年 10 月 28 日拍攝的插圖中，可以在顯示的 Facebook 新品牌標識 Meta 前面看到小玩具人物
（圖片來源：REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION）
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Facebook Inc 現在更名為 Meta，該公司週四表示，該公司更名為 Meta，專注於其構建“metaverse”的雄心，這是一個共享的虛擬環境，它押注將成為下一個大型計算平台。
更名之際，這家全球最大的社交媒體公司正與立法者和監管機構對其市場力量、算法決策和對其平台上的濫用行為進行監管的批評作鬥爭。
首席執行官馬克扎克伯格在公司的實時流媒體虛擬和增強現實會議上發言時表示，新名稱反映了其建立元宇宙的雄心，而不是其同名的社交媒體服務。
元宇宙
這個詞最早出現在三年前的一部反烏托邦小說中，現在在矽谷引起了轟動，它泛指一個共享虛擬環境的概念，人們可以使用不同的設備訪問它。
“現在，我們的品牌與一種產品緊密相連，它不可能代表我們今天所做的一切，更不用說未來了，”扎克伯格說。
這需要時間，但 Facebook 首席執行官馬克扎克伯格因禁止否認和歪曲大屠殺的內容而受到讚揚。（信用：ERIN SCOTT/REUTERS）
該公司在增強現實和虛擬現實方面投入了大量資金，該公司表示，這一變化將把其不同的應用程序和技術整合到一個新品牌下。它表示不會改變其公司結構。
這家科技巨頭的月用戶數約為 29 億，近年來受到全球立法者和監管機構越來越多的審查。
在最近的爭議中，告密者和前 Facebook 員工 Frances Haugen 洩露了文件，她說這些文件表明該公司選擇利潤而不是用戶安全。扎克伯格本週早些時候表示，這些文件被用來描繪“虛假畫面”。
豪華單戶住宅新聞：在這裡查看最新消息由 Mansion Global 贊助
該公司在一篇博客文章中表示，它打算於 12 月 1 日開始在其保留的新股票代碼 MVRS 下進行交易。週四，它在其位於加利福尼亞州門洛帕克的總部推出了一個新標誌，以取代其豎起大拇指藍色無限形狀的“Like”標誌。
週四下午晚些時候，Facebook 股價上漲超過 3%。
Facebook 本週表示，其負責 AR 和 VR 工作的硬件部門 Facebook Reality Labs 將成為一個獨立的報告部門，其對它的投資將使今年的總營業利潤減少約 100 億美元。
扎克伯格在接受科技刊物 The Information 採訪時表示，他沒有考慮過辭去 CEO 的職務，也沒有“非常認真地”考慮拆分這個部門。
該部門現在將被稱為現實實驗室，其負責人安德魯“博茲”博斯沃思週四表示。該公司還將停止在其 VR 耳機上使用 Oculus 品牌，而是將其稱為“Meta”產品。
今年，該公司創建了一個專注於 metaverse 的產品團隊，並且最近宣布計劃在未來五年內在歐洲僱用 10,000 名員工來開展這項工作。
近年來，該公司的聲譽受到了多次打擊，包括對用戶數據的處理以及對健康錯誤信息、暴力言論和仇恨言論等濫用行為的監管。美國聯邦貿易委員會還針對反競爭做法提起了反壟斷訴訟。
Forrester 研究主管 Mike Proulx 表示：“雖然通過將 Facebook 的母公司與其創始應用區分開來有助於緩解混淆，但更名並不會突然消除困擾公司的系統性問題。”
扎克伯格說，這個新名字來自希臘語“超越”，象徵著總有更多的東西需要建造。推特公司首席執行官傑克·多爾西周四在推特上發布了一個不同的定義，“指的是自身或其流派的慣例；自我指涉。”
扎克伯格表示，新名稱也反映了隨著時間的推移，用戶將不再需要使用 Facebook 來使用公司的其他服務。
Facebook announces rebrand as Meta
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the new name reflected its focus on building the metaverse.
By REUTERS
OCTOBER 28, 2021 22:32
Small toy figures are seen in front of displayed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta in this illustration taken, October 28, 2021
(photo credit: REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION)
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Facebook Inc is now called Meta, the company said on Thursday, in a rebrand that focuses on its ambitions building the "metaverse," a shared virtual environment that it bets will be the next big computing platform.
The name change comes as the world's largest social media company battles criticisms from lawmakers and regulators over its market power, algorithmic decisions and the policing of abuses on its platforms.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at the company's live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference, said the new name reflected its ambitions to build the metaverse, rather than its namesake social media service.
The metaverse, a term first coined in a dystopian novel three decades ago and now attracting buzz in Silicon Valley, refers broadly to the idea of a shared virtual environment which can be accessed by people using different devices.
"Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can't possibly represent everything that we're doing today, let alone in the future," said Zuckerberg.
It took time, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg should be commended for banning content that denies and distorts the Holocaust. (credit: ERIN SCOTT/REUTERS)
The company, which has invested heavily in augmented and virtual reality, said the change would bring together its different apps and technologies under one new brand. It said it would not change its corporate structure.
The tech giant, which reports about 2.9 billion monthly users, has faced increasing scrutiny in recent years from global lawmakers and regulators.
In the latest controversy, whistleblower and former Facebook employee Frances Haugen leaked documents which she said showed the company chose profit over user safety. Zuckerberg earlier this week said the documents were being used to paint a "false picture."
The company said in a blog post that it intends to start trading under the new stock ticker it has reserved, MVRS, on December 1. On Thursday, it unveiled a new sign at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, replacing its thumbs-up "Like" logo with a blue infinity shape.
Facebook shares were up more than 3% late on Thursday afternoon.
Facebook said this week that its hardware division Facebook Reality Labs, which is responsible for AR and VR efforts, would become a separate reporting unit and that its investment in it would reduce this year's total operating profit by about $10 billion.
In an interview with tech publication the Information, Zuckerberg said he has not considered stepping down as CEO, and has not thought "very seriously yet" about spinning off this unit.
The division will now be called Reality Labs, its head Andrew "Boz" Bosworth said on Thursday. The company will also stop using the Oculus branding for its VR headsets, instead calling them "Meta" products.
This year, the company created a product team focused on the metaverse and it recently announced plans to hire 10,000 employees in Europe over the next five years to work on the effort.
The company has had multiple hits to its reputation over recent years, including over its handling of user data and its policing of abuses such as health misinformation, violent rhetoric and hate speech. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has also filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging anticompetitive practices.
"While it'll help alleviate confusion by distinguishing Facebook’s parent company from its founding app, a name change doesn’t suddenly erase the systemic issues plaguing the company," said Forrester Research Director Mike Proulx.
Zuckerberg said the new name, coming from the Greek word for "beyond," symbolized there was always more to build. Twitter Inc CEO Jack Dorsey on Thursday tweeted out a different definition "referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential."
Zuckerberg said the new name also reflects that over time, users will not need to use Facebook to use the company's other services.
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