Dec. 7, 2020- Tornado in Saudi Arabia, Hail Storm in Lebanon and Another Large Earthquake
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Biden makes the Netanyahu-Gantz divorce necessary
This isn’t what Israelis want to hear right now, but it’s nonetheless true. They need to hold another election. The prospect of a new administration in Washington is cause for concern, even if it may not prove to be the end of the world. But the challenge that this will pose requires Jerusalem to speak with one voice. An Israeli government with the prime minister’s office at odds with both the defense and foreign ministries is a luxury the Jewish state might have been able to afford as long as President Donald Trump was in the White House, and the U.S.-Israel relationship was one rooted in close cooperation and a common vision about strategic issues. But with President-elect Joe Biden about to take office with a foreign-policy team committed to the failed Middle East policies of the Obama administration, Israel’s margin for error is about to be reduced. Even if that means that Israelis must suffer through the agony of a fourth election inside of two years, a divorce between unity government partners Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz has become a necessity.
****Please also Dec. 2 report:
MKs approve preliminary vote to dissolve Knesset
Dec. 4, 2020
Saudi Prince Strongly Criticizes Israel at Bahrain Summit
A prominent Saudi prince harshly criticized Israel on Sunday at a Bahrain security summit that was remotely attended by Israel’s foreign minister, showing the challenges any further deals between Arab states and Israel face in the absence of an independent Palestinian state. Prince Turki opened his remarks by contrasting what he described as Israel’s perception of being “peace-loving upholders of high moral principles” versus what he described as a far-darker Palestinian reality of living under a “Western colonizing” power. Israel has “incarcerated (Palestinians) in concentration camps under the flimsiest of security accusations — young and old, women and men, who are rotting there without recourse to justice,” Prince Turki said. “They are demolishing homes as they wish and they assassinate whomever they want.” The prince also criticized Israel’s undeclared arsenal of nuclear weapons and Israeli governments “unleashing their political minions and their media outlets from other countries to denigrate and demonize Saudi Arabia.” The prince reiterated the kingdom’s official position that the solution lies in implementing the Arab Peace Initiative, a 2002 Saudi-sponsored deal that offers Israel full ties with all Arab states in return for Palestinian statehood on territory Israel captured in 1967.
Dec. 6, 2020
Bahrain Changes Tune, Says Won’t Allow Imports From Israeli Settlements
Bahrain will not allow imports from Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry said on Friday according to a report by the state news agency BNA. The ministry’s statement contradicted the country’s trade minister, who said during a visit to Israel last week that they would be allowed. Bahraini Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani’s statement “was misinterpreted,” the ministry said, adding that “the ministry is committed to the Bahraini government’s unwavering stance regarding adherence to the resolutions of the United Nations, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation concerning the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.”
Dec. 6, 2020
Hezbollah’s Nasrallah to move to Iran amid regional tensions – report
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah plans to move to Iran and may have already made the move, an informed source told the Kuwaiti Al-Jarida newspaper on Wednesday. The source told the paper that intelligence services in Lebanon and neighboring countries have monitored extensive, encrypted communications between the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hezbollah concerning the move. Nasrallah is meant to stay in Tehran for an indefinite amount of time and it is unclear when exactly he will return to Lebanon. A Kuwaiti newspaper reported in November that a source close to the commander of the IRGC Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, had stated that Hezbollah had managed to uncover an operation planned by Israel to assassinate Nasrallah and a number of leaders in pro-Iranian factions in Syria, Iraq and the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Dec. 3, 2020
Saudi Arabia says resolution of Gulf dispute seems within reach
Qatar Is Willing To Reconcile With The Saudis But Not With The Emiratis
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Friday a resolution to a bitter dispute with Qatar seemed “within reach” after Kuwait announced progress towards ending a row that Washington says hampers a united Gulf front against Iran. The United States and Kuwait have worked to end the dispute, during which Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have imposed a diplomatic, trade and travel embargo on Qatar since mid-2017over its closeness to Iran and funding of Islamist terrorism. U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner had held talks in Doha on Wednesday following a visit to Saudi Arabia. “We have made significant progress in the last few days thanks to the continuing efforts of Kuwait but also thanks to strong support from President Trump,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told a Rome conference via videolink. The political analyst Hamdan Al-Shehri told Arab News that Iran had been taking advantage of Qatar, and would continue to do so unless Doha came to an agreement with the Anti-Terror Quartet. “First and foremost, Qatar needs to get back to being part of the group in order to play its part in safeguarding the region,” Al-Shehri said. “Qatar’s vulnerable position due to its entanglement with Iran is either out of fear or a show of bold bluntness, both of which came with a cost.” A source in Washington familiar with the discussions said a tentative deal had been reached by the parties and that it could be signed in a few weeks.
Dec. 5, 2020
Turkish Forces Launch Heavy Attack in Northeastern Syria
Ex-envoy says US and Turkey are preventing Syrian Army from retaking entire country
Turkish Armed Forces, alongside their allied militants, launched a powerful attack on northeastern Syria this evening, when their troops targeted the positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Abu Rasin area of Hassakeh. According to a field source in Hassakeh Governorate, the Turkish army launched several artillery shells and rockets toward the SDF’s positions around Abu Rasin; this was followed by heavy rocket fire from the militants of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The source said the attack was unprovoked and did not just target the SDF, but also, the residents of Abu Rasin and its countryside. The Turkish army and their allied militants continue to wreak havoc east of the Euphrates. Meanwhile, in Raqqa and Aleppo governorates, the Turkish army and their allied militants resumed their attacks on the Manbij and Ayn Issa areas, in what appears to be an almost daily occurrence. Since the conclusion of the Karabakh conflict and the return of their Syrian mercenaries, the Turkish Armed Forces have intensified their operations against the SDF east of the Euphrates.
Dec. 7, 2020
Erdogan confidant sends Israel another message of reconciliation
Erdoğan’s New Charm Offensive: Bogus Democratic Reforms
Following years of diplomatic strife, Turkey over the weekend signaled to Israel yet again its desire for rapprochement. On Monday, former admiral Cihat Yayci, a close confidant of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is expected to publish a first-of-its-kind proposal for an agreement on the countries’ shared exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean Sea. The article will appear in the Israeli academic journal Turkeyscope –published by the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University – indicating in and of itself a desire to quell tensions with Israel. Israel Hayom has learned this was the second such signal of reconciliation from Turkey as it pertains to Israel’s energy market. Four months ago, officials in Ankara sent their Israeli counterparts a clear message about Turkey’s desire to launch talks on the matter. The next proposal followed a report last week in an Erdogan–affiliated Turkish media outlet about secret talks between Mossad officials and their Turkish counterparts. According to the report, in these talks, too, Erdogan’s representatives expressed a desire to readjust relations with Israel. The report also said that in recent months the Turkish leader has ceased making belligerent statements about the Jewish state. According to Yayci’s proposal, meanwhile, the maritime borders between the two countries will come together at the expense of Cyprus. From the perspective of the Turks, the deal proposed to the Israelis is an extension of the maritime border the former admiral constructed with Libya. That deal was signed in Tripoli on November 27 of last year and is the source of the current tensions between Ankara and Athens.
Dec. 6, 2020
Ethiopia’s Abiy denies ‘insurgency’ emerging in Tigray
Fighting rages in Tigray as Ethiopian forces strive to capture rebel leaders
China Looms Large Behind The Ethiopian-Tigray Conflict
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has denied a rebellious northern force his troops have been battling for more than a month would have the capacity to mount an armed offensive from the mountains of Tigray. Federal troops have captured the regional capital Mekelle from the former local ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and declared an end to an offensive that began on November 4. But TPLF leaders say they are fighting back on various fronts around Mekelle. Ethiopian experts fear a drawn-out armed campaign with a destabilizing effect across the wider Horn of Africa region. “The criminal clique pushed a patently false narrative that its fighters and supporters are battle-hardened and well-armed, posing the risk of protracted insurgency in the rugged mountains of Tigray,” Abiy said in a statement. Meanwhile, two diplomatic sources told Reuters news agency on Monday that a United Nations security team seeking to access Shimelba refugee camp, one of four for Eritrean refugees in Tigray, was blocked and fired at on Sunday. The sources declined to give more details, saying the full circumstances were unclear. There was no immediate comment from the government, TPLF or United Nations.
Dec. 7, 2020
Haftar Forces Attack Turkish Proxies in Libya
Pentagon Says UAE Possibly Funding Russia’s Shadowy Mercenaries in Libya
On December 6, heavy clashes broke out in southwestern Libya, when the Libyan National Army (LNA) launched a surprise attack on a military camp controlled by forces loyal to the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). A spokesman for the GNA’s Sirte-al-Jufra operations room, al-Hadi Dara, told Turkish state-run Anadulo Agency that the LNA’s attack was quickly repelled by the camp’s forces. Dara’s claims were denied by Khaled al-Mahjoub, Director of the LNA’s Moral Guidance Department, who told Sky News Arabiya that the Tendy camp was captured. According to al-Mahdjoub, the LNA is working to secure the southwestern region to prevent terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, from entering the country. The region is indeed infested with al-Qaeda and ISIS remnants. The LNA and the GNA agreed on a ceasefire in June. Until now, the two sides have been engaged in more or less constructive peace talks. Today’s attack may hinder these efforts. The LNA’s surprise attack on Tendy camp may have been provoked by the Turkish military buildup in Libya. In the last few weeks, Turkey stepped up its arms shipments to GNA forces and made preparations to deploy additional Syrian militants in the country.
Dec. 6, 2020
Armenia: Tens of thousands rally to demand PM’s resignation over Azerbaijan pact
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Armenia on Saturday to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in the biggest protest yet sparked by last month’s agreement to end a recent territorial conflict with Azerbaijan. After six weeks of fighting which resulted in 4,600 deaths, Pashinyan signed a pact with Azerbaijan, ceding control of large parts of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The ceasefire deal, brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, came into force on November 10 and is kept in check by 2,000 peacekeepers deployed by the Kremlin. Pashinyan was denounced as a “traitor” in Saturday’s protests after the Azerbaijani army reclaimed lands that Armenian forces had ruled for more than a quarter-century. More than 20,000 protesters rallied in the capital city of Yerevan on Saturday, many of whom marched to the prime minister’s official residence. Armenia’s opposition parties warned Pashinyan there would be civil disobedience across the country if he does not step down before noon on Tuesday.
Dec. 6, 2020
Gulf states ‘must have role in new US-Iran talks:’ Saudi foreign minister
While harping on the nuclear issue, Iran builds more precise missiles – and uses them
France, Germany, Britain concerned by Iran’s plan for new centrifuges at Natanz
Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states must play a key role in any talks between the US and Iran to revive the deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program, the Kingdom’s foreign minister said on Saturday. Joe Biden has indicated that when he takes office as US president next month he will return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which Donald Trump withdrew in 2018. “Primarily what we expect is that we are fully consulted, that we and our regional friends are fully consulted vis a vis the negotiations with Iran,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan said at the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has dispelled any talk of renegotiating the joint nuclear deal abandoned by the Trump administration after Germany’s foreign minister claimed new, tougher terms were needed. “All those familiar with the international laws know that Iran will not do renegotiation on something which has been negotiated before and the resolution 2231 will not change by these remarks,” Khatibzadeh told reporters via video conference on Monday. The spokesman contended that it was not the Iranian side that broke the terms of the deal and insisted it would not be in Tehran’s interest to renegotiate.
****Please also see these reports regarding the nuclear deal generated since late October
A New Nuclear Deal with Iran?
Oct. 29, 2020
Biden will reenter the Iran nuclear deal within months, former Obama official says
Iran demands US compensation: Biden must ‘make up’ for Trump’s ‘mistakes’
Nov. 9, 2020
Iran feeding uranium gas into advanced centrifuges underground – IAEA
Iranian official says ‘way open’ for US to rejoin JCPOA, but cites ‘challenges’
Nov. 18, 2020
Iranian panel okays bill hardening nuclear stance, sends it to president
Biden: US will rejoin Iran nuclear deal if Tehran returns to strict compliance
Dec. 2, 2020
Meanwhile, on Nov. 30, ETRM brought you the following news reports:
Iran’s nuclear program chief Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassinated
Iran to Boost Nuclear Activity in Response to Scientist’s Assassination
While rumors are now swirling online about the death of the Ayatollah (which Iran has soundly denied) and new “information” is being presented about Fakhrizadeh’s death, it would be helpful to remember that he was the 5th Iranian nuclear scientist killed in the last 10 years.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/reports-of-khameneis-death-greatly-exaggerated-iranian-official-says/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55214359
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Iranian_nuclear_scientists
Violence erupts between Trump supporters, Antifa at Washington state protests
Washington state police responded to reported gunshots during opposing protests between pro-Trump, pro-police demonstrators and Black Lives Matter and Antifa counterprotesters in Olympia, according to reports. Olympia police say the groups had started to disperse by 7 p.m., but not before shots were fired, Shore News reported. The counterprotest, “Squash Fascists,” and “Back the Blue” baited each other throughout the day. An individual brandished a weapon during one of the early confrontations, which was captured on footage by Independent Media PDX. Police arrested the individual, and officers are investigating reports that shots were fired earlier on Saturday. Similar protests occurred in nearby states, with an anti-Proud Boy march in Sacramento, Calif., and an anti-conservative rally in St. Paul, Minn., The Blaze reported.
Dec. 6, 2020
France: Protests turn violent again
Thousands of people, including members of the anti-government Yellow Vest movement, had been marching peacefully in the capital when pockets of protesters, dressed in black and with their faces covered, started launching projectiles at riot police, Reuters reports. The windows of a supermarket, property agency and bank were smashed, according to the AFP news agency, and police responded to the violence by firing tear gas. Some of the demonstrators set up impromptu barricades in the street which they set on fire, it added. Paris police, quoted by BFM TV, said some 500 rioters had infiltrated the protest. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 22 people had been detained over the incidents. Police had been heavily deployed to the capital in a bid to avoid a repeat of the violent clashes seen there last weekend over the same law, which left dozens wounded.
Dec. 6, 2020
Hundreds arrested in fresh Belarus protests against Lukashenko
Mass protests have rocked Belarus, a former Soviet republic in eastern Europe, since official results from the Aug. 9 presidential election gave Lukashenko a landslide victory over his widely popular opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. She and her supporters refused to recognize the result, saying the vote was riddled with fraud. Thousands of people Sunday took part in dozens of small rallies scattered all over Minsk, the Belarusian capital — a new tactic the opposition employed instead of one large gathering to make it harder for the security forces to target the protesters. “We believe! We can! We will win!” the demonstrators chanted. Several people wore Santa Claus costumes and masks depicting President Alexander Lukashenko. “Give Belarusians a gift: go away,” a banner they carried read. On Sunday, water cannons, armored vehicles and military trucks were seen in the center of Minsk. Several subway stations were closed and internet access was restricted. Police in Minsk said they detained more than 300 people. The Viasna human rights group released the names of 189 people detained in Minsk and other cities, where rallies also took place. Authorities have cracked down hard on the largely peaceful demonstrations, the biggest of which attracted up to 200,000 people. Police used stun grenades, tear gas and truncheons to disperse the rallies.
Dec. 6, 2020
This Is Going To Be The Worst Winter For The U.S. Economy In Modern Times
Millions of hungry Americans turn to food banks for 1st time
We already knew that this was going to be the worst winter for the U.S. economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s, but now a new round of lockdowns threatens to rip the guts out of hundreds of thousands of small businesses all around the country. As I write this article, 33 million people are under “stay-at-home orders” in California alone. With each passing day, state governments are implementing even more new restrictions, and those new restrictions are going to increasingly choke the life out of economic activity in this nation. The good news is that most of the corporate giants have enough resources to weather another round of lockdowns, but countless small businesses do not. Even in the most wildly optimistic scenario imaginable, it is hard to imagine how we could possibly avoid the most painful winter for the U.S. economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Perhaps that is why corporate insiders are now selling stocks at the fastest pace that we have seen in almost four years. Corporate insiders absolutely nailed the two short-term peaks in the market that we witnessed earlier this year, and now they seem to think that an even larger move down is coming. But ultimately what we are heading into is not just another temporary economic setback. Sadly, the truth is that our entire system has started the process of completely melting down.
Dec. 7, 2020
China hands out $3 million of digital yuan as JD.com becomes first online platform to accept it
Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com said it has become the first online platform to accept the country’s digital currency. The announcement on Saturday comes as part of another real-world major trial for the digital yuan in Suzhou, a city that’s about 65 miles west of Shanghai. A total of 20 million yuan ($3 million) will be up for grabs in a lottery, according to a WeChat post by JD Digits, JD.com’s fintech arm. Winners will receive a so-called “red packet” via an app containing a maximum of 200 yuan of the digital currency. A hundred thousand of these red packets will be distributed. The digital yuan, which is controlled and issued by the People’s Bank of China, is what’s known as a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The central bank calls its project the Digital Currency Electronic Payment or DCEP, though it has remained quite tight-lipped about its development. Central bank digital currencies are unlike cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, or even the Facebook-backed digital coin Libra (now re-branded as Diem). That’s because they are controlled and issued by a central bank. The BIS, a group of central banks, said earlier this year that 80% of the world’s central banks “had already started to conceptualize and research the potential for CBDCs.”
Dec. 7, 2020
Scientists develop world’s 1st mobile DNA sequence analyzer app
Researchers at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have developed the world’s first mobile genome sequence analyzer app for smartphones, bringing humanity one step closer to the realm of science fiction. The mobile lab, which science fiction fans might argue sounds suspiciously like Star Trek’s “tricorder” device, works in tandem with sequencers like Illumina, Ion Torrent, PacBio, or Oxford Nanopore to sample DNA which is then analyzed on the iPhone app called iGenomics. Researchers claim the system precludes the need for bulky yet sensitive lab equipment, freeing up everyone from pandemic and biohazard specialists and first responders to ecologists working in the field, in some of the most remote parts of the planet, as well as the average consumer. The iGenomics algorithm can reportedly map DNA sequences of viral pathogens, from strains of bird flu to the Zika virus, while also identifying mutations which could save crucial time in both diagnosis and treatment of disease. The iGenomics development team also shared a tutorial online detailing how to analyze SARS-CoV-2 genomes. “Today, we all carry professional cameras in our pockets, so it’s not that hard to imagine in the next couple years, all of us carrying our own DNA sequencers on our smartphones, as well,” the researchers write, adding that people may soon be able to scan themselves for pathogens using just their smartphones, which may prove crucial in a post-Covid-19 era.
Dec. 7, 2020
New progressive Methodist denomination formed before possible UMC schism over LGBT issues
A group of theologically progressive United Methodists and others have formed a new denomination in advance of an expected schism within the United Methodist Church over LGBT issues. Known as the Liberation Methodist Connexion (LMX), the creation of the new group was announced Sunday during an online worship service. “We are a grassroots denomination of former, current, and non-Methodist faith leaders working on the unfolding of the kin-dom of God,” they explain on their website. “We intentionally invite the full participation of all who are living out their God-given identities and expressions.” Those they welcome include all “gender expressions and sexual identity,” “religious or non-religious backgrounds,” “races and ethnicities,” “size,” and “monogamous and non-monogamous.” Over the past several years, the United Methodist Church has experienced increasingly polarizing debate over its biblical stance on homosexuality. The UMC Book of Discipline says homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching” and defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.
Dec. 4, 2020
Pope Francis Adopts Slogan ‘Build Back Better’
Pope Francis has chosen “build back better” to describe his vision for the great reset after the coronavirus pandemic, saying he finds the expression “quite striking.” “The theme of this year’s celebration is ‘Building Back Better: Toward a Disability-inclusive, Accessible and Sustainable post-COVID-19 World,” the pope wrote in his message this week for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, while adding, “I find the expression ‘building back better’ quite striking.” As Gian Guido Vecchi noted in an article Friday in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, the Vatican chose to translate the Italian title “Riconstruire Meglio” using the exact words that Biden (and the United Nations) employs. On his official website, Biden explains the message behind “build back better” by insisting that “this is no time to just build back to the way things were before, with the old economy’s structural weaknesses and inequalities still in place. This is the moment to imagine and build a new American economy for our families and the next generation.” Biden’s version of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) “Great Reset” looks remarkably similar to that of Pope Francis. “We will be able to regenerate society and not return to so-called ‘normality,’ which is an ailing normality, indeed which was ailing before the pandemic: the pandemic highlighted it!,” he said, adding that the old normality “was sick with injustice, inequality and environmental degradation.” In his recent op-ed for the New York Times, the pope wrote that this “is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities — what we value, what we want, what we seek — and to commit to act in our daily life on what we have dreamed of.”
Dec. 5, 2020
US House passes federal cannabis decriminalisation bill
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill to decriminalise cannabis at the national level for the first time. It calls for removing cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and erasing certain federal convictions. It also supports reinvestment in communities adversely impacted by the decades-long “war on drugs”. The bill is very unlikely to be taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (More) Act was passed in the lower chamber 228 to 164 on Friday afternoon, with five Republicans – and one independent – supporting the measure. To become law, the bill needs to pass the Senate and be signed by the president. If that happens, it could help bridge a major disconnect between national and state drug policy in the US.
***Please also see ETRM Dec. 2 reports:
UN removes cannabis from list of dangerous drugs, opening door for further research and legalization
GOP leaders lay into Pelosi for marijuana legalization bill
Dec. 6, 2020
November 9, 2020- Thousands of animals dead due to flooding in Honduras. Link
Nov. 10, 2020- Netherlands to cull 48,000 chickens after another bird flu outbreak. Link
November 16, 2020- Dead whales wash up on the coast of France. Link
November 16, 2020- Thousands of dead fish wash up in lake in Milton Keynes, England. Link
November 16, 2020- Hundreds of dead fish wash up in Valdegrana, Spain. Link
Nov. 25, 2020- Pilot whales die in mass stranding off New Zealand islands. Link
November 27, 2020- Over 150,000 chickens killed due to avian flu in Belgium. Link
A massive tornado formed on the outskirts of Sakaka in Al Jawf, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, December 5, 2020. Meteorologists said it was unusually big for the region and one of the largest tornadoes ever documented in the country. The incredible tornado occurred in the middle of the desert and reached an uninhabited area, according to Metsul Meteorologia. “Weather radars captured the storm supercell responsible for the tornado in Al-Jawf Province in northern Saudi Arabia,” it stated. The storm system also brought heavy rain and hail. The meteorological authority added that among the affected regions wereTabuk, Hail, Al-Qassim, and parts of Madinah, Riyadh. Wind speeds were between 16 and 40 km/h (10 and 25 mph), while waves on the Red Sea reached up to 2 m (6.5 feet).
Dec. 7, 2020
Historic hailstorm hits Beirut, Lebanon
A massive hailstorm accompanied by exceptionally heavy rain and drastic temperature drop hit Lebanon’s capital Beirut on December 5, 2020, causing massive floods and traffic chaos. The last time Beirut witnessed a similar event was back in 1968. The hailstorm lasted about 1 hour and was described by meteorologists as historic. “This supercell affected only the coastal area around Beirut and its suburbs. A supercell effect is always local. Weather stations in Beirut recorded 50 mm [1.96 inches] of rainfall in a lapse of 25 minutes,” Elias Saadeh, founder of Lebanon Weather Forecast, told Al Arabiya English. “This quantity is considered enormous since it is equivalent to pouring 50 liters of water in each square meter [13 gallons per 10 feet2] in 25 minutes. Moreover, this supercell caused a drastic drop in temperature from 21 to 13.5 °C [69.8 – 55.4 °F] in a couple of minutes,” Saadeh said.
Dec. 7, 2020
NASA sounds alarm over 5 incoming rocks
NASA is warning about five space rocks en route to Earth this week, right as Japan’s space agency completed a dropoff of the world’s first subsurface asteroid material, before continuing its planetary defense recon mission. The Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has clocked five asteroids headed toward Earth’s vicinity each measuring over 20 meters in diameter, starting with the 21-meter 2020 XB1 which will fly past the planet at a safe distance of 3.1 million kilometers (considered ‘close’ by astronomical standards) on December 7. Then on Tuesday, December 8, 2018 PK21 (22 meters), and the 33-meter 2020 WK3 (roughly half the wingspan of a 747 jet) will shoot past at 4.6 and 3.8 million kilometers respectively. The very next day, with a diameter roughly half the height of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the 26-meter 2020 XD will fly by at 4.8 million kilometers. Bringing up the rear on December 11 will be asteroid 2020 VC7, measuring a whopping 55 meters or the same height as the Leaning Tower of Pisa at a distance of 5.6 million kilometers.
Dec. 7, 2020
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