'' Next direction is to create a platform for all the countries to invest in Sri Lanka ''. FM Ali Sabary

Q What is your reading on follow-up development on connectivity projects agreed upon with India? 

The line Ministries are doing follow-up work.  Adani group is working on port development. The Power and Energy Ministry is working on renewable energy projects.  We are also in the process of discussing grid connectivity.  I think there is progress on that.  We are finalizing the programme for the Trincomalee district development. 

Foreign minister Ali Sabry responds to questions about the current direction of the country’s foreign policy and plans for the future.

Excerpts of the interview: 

Q What is the next direction of our foreign policy?

A: The next direction is to create a platform for all the countries in the world to come and invest in Sri Lanka.  That is to make Sri Lanka a hub for tourism, aviation, investment and shipping. That is how we can create partnerships, and get the know-how. To finalize debt restructuring, we are yet to finalize work with private bond holders.  Our focus, as a country, is to complete it within the first quarter of next year. 

Q What is the role of the Foreign Ministry in this case?

We work with the Finance Ministry and President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Once we agree on the direction, our Ministry, along with the embassies, will engage with them to get the support required. Based on what is prepared by the Finance Ministry, we sometimes brief the ambassadors based in Colombo.  We sometimes brief the relevant countries through our embassies.  It is a big role. We are proud that we manage to play that role in debt restructuring.As far as private bond holders are concerned, the Finance Ministry is handling it through our legal; and financial advisors. The Foreign Ministry has nothing to do with it.The Paris Club, India and China came on board in debt restructuring. It is a historical achievement for the country.  In relatively a small period of time, we managed to get assurances from them.  

Can Sri Lanka join BRICS?

Q  The next year is going to be an election year. How challenging is the implementation of economic adjustments?

It is definitely going to be challenging. Whoever comes from whatever party, Sri Lanka’s economic interests should be kept in mind instead of making electoral promises that cannot be fulfilled. We must learn from the past. If you look at the last election, both the parties gave promises economically unsustainable. former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to execute them. Ultimately, it contributed to the collapse of the economy. The prospective candidates must act with responsibility and only share what could be realized within the economic plan. 

 

Q In your budget speech, you mention about Sri Lanka’s plan to join BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). How far have you progressed in 

this case?

We have got a note from the Sectoral Oversight Committee of Parliament on Foreign Relations. Internally, there is a team engaged in research into this matter.  It will be presented to the Cabinet early next year. 

 

What will happen to Sri Lanka’s missions closed due to economic crisis?

Q What prompted you to take such an initiative?

Several parties brought it to our attention.  Some MPs also brought this to our attention. The realization of these initiatives will take time. It cannot happen overnight.  We will seek the direction of the Cabinet. 

Q How advantageous is it for us to team up with BRICS?

It is a good thing. It is definitely going to be a multi-polar world.  I think a few countries have had a monopoly over world affairs for a period too long.  That is why the members of the global south got together and took the initiative to form BRICS.  It is a good initiative in the long run. The countries like Sri Lanka will take a long time to get in.  The gap between the global south and the global north need to be bridged. It is unfair for a few countries to call the shots in the world’s economic affairs. It is good to have a diverse pool of countries in this regard.  In that sense, BRICS is a good edition. We hope it will succeed. 

 

Does Iraq matter to Sri Lanka?

Will UAE, as a Muslim country, allow a Buddhist Cultural Centre? 

Q How far have you progressed in terms of the evolution of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for foreign vessels and aircrafts engaging in any operation in Sri Lankan territory?

We have prepared it and shared it with the countries that sent their vessels to Sri Lanka during the last ten years. They are aware of our SOP now. As far as research vessels are concerned, we are going to have a moratorium for the next 12 months. That is for us to build our own capacity to participate in such research activities as equal partners. 
Standard military vessels have been coming to Colombo since time immemorial. We will continue to welcome them. There is no issue with it.  For research, we need to build our own capacity to deal with it as an equal partner. 
The SOP applies to all vessels and aircrafts. 

Q Why is it not put in the public domain?

We have basically given it to people who matter. It is not a matter meant for everybody. The Cabinet has decided to share it with those countries that sent vessels during the last ten years. We have not discriminated against any country in sharing it. We have looked at the last ten years. 

 

How will the mission in New Zealand be advantageous?

Q What is your reading on follow-up development on connectivity projects agreed upon with India? 

The line Ministries are doing follow-up work.  Adani group is working on port development. The Power and Energy Ministry is working on renewable energy projects.  We are also in the process of discussing grid connectivity.  I think there is progress on that.  We are finalizing the programme for the Trincomalee district development. 

Q There are reports that the Foreign Ministry is hamstrung in the discharge of duties due to lack of human resources. How are you going to address it?

That is a huge problem as I told in Parliament. We have an approved cadre of 264 members of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service.  This is in addition to the supportive staff. We have only 168 diplomatic officers to man 55 missions abroad as well 24 divisions in the Ministry. This is not easy. We have sought permission to recruit the next batch. We are in the final stage. We hope to recruit 25 diplomatic officers. We also invest on digitalizing our consular work. We are doing it step by step. We have integrated with the Department of Examination on Ordinary Level and Advanced Level Examinations. As far as these two examinations are concerned, one does not need to come even. We need to introduce this all over the world at our missions. For that, you need manpower and investments. We find trouble now in the Information Technology (IT) sector in particular. The salaries offered by the government are not attractive at all. We are now going to get some support from outside on voluntary basis. 
In the meantime, I will seek Cabinet approval to restart some of the missions we closed, like Cyprus and Frankfort in Germany. Also, we want to restart our embassy in Iraq where there is a huge market for our tea. Besides, we are going to open a new mission in New Zealand.  

 

What are the new plans to for the extradition of criminals absconding abroad?

Q What is the rationale behind the move to open a mission in New Zealand?

There are Sri Lankans living there. Also, we import a lot of dairy products from New Zealand.  We also see it as a market.  There are tourists coming from there. Also, it is far for our diplomats in Canberra to look into New Zealand. 

Q Sri Lanka’s presence in Africa is not sufficient enough. What are your plans?

We are also looking at it.  We have to start missions in Morocco and Rwanda.  Later we have to expand it to Central Asia. There is not a single presence there.  We are looking at Kazakhstan to start off. 

Q What about the countries sharing Theravada Buddhist traditions with Sri Lanka?

We will look at it. We have missions in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. They oversee the countries in the region.  In the long run, Cambodia is an important country. 

 

How will the lack of resources that you speak of at the Foreign Ministry be addressed?

Q  You have taken initiatives to put up a Buddhist Cultural Centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? 

There were a lot of requests from Buddhists who lived there. There are 340,000 Sri Lankans living there. That is the largest Sri Lankan community outside the country and a majority of them are Buddhists.  In the meantime, there are Buddhists from other countries living there. Dubai has become cosmopolitan. They allow multi-faith religious activities. Sri Lankans have made this request. It is a fair request. I took it up with the UAE Foreign Minister who was receptive to the idea. 

 Q What are the new plans to expedite the capture and extradition of Sri Lankan criminals hiding abroad?

We cannot personally go and nab them. We have to work with their police. We have to work through Interpol. There has been progress. There are a few still operating from places like Dubai. The police have made requests to expedite work related to their arrests and extraditions. The Foreign Ministry will coordinate it on behalf of the Sri Lanka Police.    

 

Can the challenge of implementing economic adjustments be met with during the forthcoming year which is an election year?

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Bethlehem’s bombed-out nativity sculpture!

Bethlehem’s bombed-out nativity sculpture sends a powerful message

The scene of a devastated nativity cave symbolises the plight of Christ’s family — and Palestinians now. 

Bethlehem, occupied West Bank — This year, Bethlehem is sombre and quiet. There is no Christmas tree and there are no holiday lights or tourists to see them.

Instead, the city of Jesus’s birth – which is in the middle of a war zone – is marking Christmas with a powerful and poignant message: solidarity with Palestine.

The Holy Family Cave is a sculpture that depicts a harrowing tableau: a bombed-out version of the traditional nativity cave, which many Christians traditionally believe is where Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is the site now of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

The new mural draws a comparison with the journey of Christ and his family, when they had to flee Bethlehem under an oppressive ruler to Egypt, before returning to Nazareth two millennia ago.

Surrounded by rubble and barbed wire, the Virgin Mary embraces the baby Jesus, while Joseph embraces her, offering solace. On one side of the family, the Magi holds out a white shroud. On the other side, the fourth shepherd carries a bag, a symbol of Palestinian displacement.

Angels, suspended around the rubble, represent the souls of children who have been victims of massacres on Palestinian land throughout history: the murder of children in Bethlehem by Herod at the birth of Jesus; various colonial attacks against the Palestinian people and their ancestors; and current massacres by Israel in Gaza.

Around the scene, multilingual panels call for a ceasefire and an end to the massacre against the Palestinian people.

Hana Hanania, the mayor of Bethlehem, said the sculpture aims to showcase Palestinian suffering everywhere. Churches, clergy and civilians in Gaza are being bombarded, and a blockade is enforced in the West Bank, particularly in Bethlehem.

The sculpture, with its political, religious, and national symbolism, draws a comparison between what happened more than 2,000 years ago and what is happening today, she said. Just as Christ was tortured and children were killed by King Herod then, today, children and women are being slaughtered in a clear act of genocide.

The cave’s roof is a geographical map of Gaza. Its shape, together with a depiction of an explosion, form a star, inspired by the Star of Bethlehem that led the Magi to Jesus’s birth. This conveys a message of hope.

The artist, Tarek Salsaa, explained that the scene cannot fully express the immense destruction and systematic genocide against the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation. What Palestine is going through today is reminiscent of the years of colonialism, with all its allies throughout the ages and various historical epochs, he added.

“Christmas approaches this year, and we find ourselves living in the most challenging and difficult circumstances, a result of what our people in the besieged Gaza Strip and in all cities, villages, and camps of the West Bank and Jerusalem are enduring due to the Israeli continuous aggression against our people, said Rula Maayaa, the Palestinian Authority’s minister of tourism and antiquities.

“As we launch this symbolic initiative in Bethlehem … our people are confident that the message of Christmas, sent by the messenger of peace, will triumph over injustice and tyranny,” Maayaa said.

We are in a constant state of mourning, especially during the days of mourning for the martyrs, said Father Ibrahim Feltz, the deputy custodian of the Holy Lands. “We have not witnessed such a scene in the square, and we have not seen the city in this condition. Bethlehem has never been sad like this before.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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‘Jesus in the rubble’: Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem cancelled

 ‘Jesus in the rubble’: Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem cancelled

By William Booth and Sufian Taha December 23, 2023 

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — At Christmastime, the world comes to Bethlehem. The rooftop of the city hall is packed with camera crews from around the globe to capture a towering tree in Manger Square as the bells toll for midnight Mass at the Church of the Nativity, built upon the grotto where, by tradition, Jesus was born.

This year there will be no tree. No parades, bands or music. No lights. No markets, no feasts, no carols. No Santas handing out candy to the children.

And no pilgrims. No tourists.

In place of traditional holiday decorations, one church here has created a simple Nativity scene for Christmas 2023: Jesus enters the world amid a pile of Gazan rubble.

The atmosphere in Bethlehem on the eve of Christmas this year is somber, dark, sad — and political.

Palestinian Muslims visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Thursday. The basilica, shared by the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches, is uncharacteristically quiet during the Christmas season this year. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

Catholic clerics perform a service in the grotto of the Church of Nativity, by tradition the birthplace of Jesus. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

The mass of Boy Scouts who traditionally accompany the Latin Patriarch’s procession into the city — 28 troops’ worth, blasting bagpipes — has been pared down to a single silent troop. The boys will hold aloft Bible verses on peace and, perhaps, photographs of Gazan children.

The United States on Friday abstained from a vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution in support of an indefinite pause in fighting to allow the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. More than 20,000 people have been killed in the enclave during the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

 

End of carousel

Christian leaders here are careful to condemn the surprise Hamas attack on Israeli communities on Oct. 7, when the militants killed 1,200 people and took about 240 more hostage, triggering current hostilities. But they appear most focused on the war since. The Israel Defense Forces, fighting to eradicate Hamas, have killed more than 20,000 people in Gaza, the enclave’s Health Ministry said Friday. With water, food and shelter all short, international aid groups warn a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding.

The West Bank city of Bethlehem is uncharacteristically quiet on the eve of Christmas as the war in Gaza continues. (Video: Joe Snell/The Washington Post)

The Holy Land is home mostly to Jews and Muslims. But 2 percent of the Palestinian population of the West Bank is Christian, with many of them proudly tracing their roots back a millennium or more. There also exists a tiny remnant of Christians — maybe a thousand people, no more — in Gaza.

A view of Route 60, the main highway from Jerusalem south to the West Bank settlements between Bethlehem and Hebron. The road, which lies between high concrete walls, is open only to vehicles with yellow Israeli license plates. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

In his annual Christmas message, Bethlehem Mayor Hanna Hanania spoke this year of mourning — and condemned Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza as “ethnic cleansing” and “genocide.”

So did the head of the chamber of commerce. “I am sad and upset at the moral failure of the West” to stop the killing of civilians in Gaza, Samir Hazboun said.

Christian clergy here use similar language, blaming the failure to protect the innocent on world leaders including President Biden.

The Rev. Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, stood beside the small Nativity scene in his chapel. The baby Jesus sat amid flickering candles atop a pile of busted cement and dirty stone.

“This is what Christmas looks like in Palestine,” Issac said. “This is the true message.”

The Rev. Munther Isaac by the Nativity scene at the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

At first, he said, the idea of placing the birth of Jesus in a war zone “was shocking — it was hard for even our own people. But it left a strong impression because the image is very real, it confronts you with the reality — then and now — in a very powerful way.”

“If Jesus were born today,” he said, “he would be born in Gaza amid the rubble.”

“Who can sing ‘Joy to the World’ today?”

Photos of the scene have gone viral. A similar installation is to be placed in Manger Square before Christmas Eve.

Today, Isaac said, the Christmas story feels more contemporary than ever. In the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph, a Jewish man living in Palestine under Roman rule, is forced to report to Bethlehem for a census. He takes his young, pregnant wife, Mary. Unable to find lodgings — there’s no room at the inn — they settle in a stable.

There, in a manger — a feed trough for animals — Mary gives birth to the child who the faithful believe is the son of God.

King Herod of Judea, learning of the birth of a rival, orders that all male children under 2 be killed: the Slaughter of the Innocents. Jesus, Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt.

“So the story is Jesus is born into hardship, lived under occupation, survived a massacre and became a refugee,” Isaac said.

“This is a story we Palestinians can understand.”

An Israeli military guard tower and concrete separation barrier in Bethlehem. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

Bethlehem is just a few miles south of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. There are 12 miles of high wall and fencing. There are Israeli checkpoints to get in and out of the city, where Palestinians on foot pass through scanners and answer questions by Israeli border guards. Many of those check points are closed now, or only open a few hours a day, because of the Gaza war and the rise in violence in the West Bank.

Hanania said he “cannot believe what we are watching in Gaza. These are the worst days that Palestinians have ever seen.”

In the lead-up to the holiday this year, the painstakingly renovated Church of the Nativity, which dates back to the 6th century, has seen almost no visitors.

A few journalists wandered about. A Danish priest and his daughter came. A local family marveled at the graffiti from the Crusades and the restored 12th-century mosaics depicting hovering angels.

“It’s like the covid times, but worse,” custodian Nicola Hadur said.

In a normal year, he said, pilgrims and tourists would wait in multiple lines for hours to see the cave in which Jesus is said to have been born.

There are 78 hotels and 5,700 rooms in Bethlehem today. In normal times, 6,000 tourists come daily — you can’t move for the tour buses.

There were only 624 foreign visitors during the entire month of November, according to the tourist police. Most were from Indonesia.

Gift shop owner Victor Tabah says the days before Christmas have been the quietest in the 61 years his family has been in business. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

Behind the Church of the Nativity, Victor Tabah’s souvenir shop sat empty.

“I do not blame anyone for this situation, not Hamas or anyone,” the 77-year-old grandfather said. “We have to blame ourselves, we need to be strong and have to keep going.”

This year? “Christmas is finished, we do not see Christmas anymore, it is supposed to be for our children, but we do not have a Christmas anymore,” said Tabah, who has three children and seven grandchildren.

Rami Asakrieh, a Franciscan friar, is pastor of St. Catherine’s Church, where midnight Mass is to be celebrated. (Masses by the Orthodox and other Christian faiths will follow.)

“They say that we are canceling Christmas,” Asakrieh said. “But we have only canceled the celebrations of Christmas. We will say Mass.”

The Rev. Rami Asakrieh in the courtyard of the Church of Saint Catherine in Bethlehem. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)

“It’s impossible to celebrate when so many — on both sides — have lost so much,” he said. “We canceled the festivities as a sign of solidarity with the victims of the war.”

Asakrieh joined the other clerics of Bethlehem last month in sending a letter to Biden and to Congress. “God has placed political leaders in a position of power so that they can bring justice, support those who suffer, and be instruments of God’s peace,” they wrote.

“We need the Christmas message more than ever,” Asakrieh said. “We need the peace and love. We need the light.”

Heidi Levine contributed to this report.

On The Jewish Question - Karl Marx- Autumn 1843

 

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On The Jewish Question

Karl Marx- Autumn 1843

Works of Karl Marx 1844

On The Jewish Question

Written: Autumn 1843;

First Published: February, 1844 in Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher;

Proofed and Corrected: by Andy Blunden, Matthew Grant and Matthew Carmody, 2008/9.

1844 Index | Marx/Engels Archive

Can the US-led maritime force stop Yemen’s Houthi attacks during Gaza war?

The Houthis say they won’t stop attacking ships unless Israel stops its attacks on Gaza. So far, the shipping industry doesn’t appear convinced the task force can halt them.

AJ By Maziar Motamedi 19 Dec 2023

The United States has announced the establishment of a new multinational maritime security force in response to attacks on ships launched by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The initiative is aimed at ensuring ships can pass through busy waterways near Yemen safely as the Houthis have been targeting vessels in protest of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 19,000 Palestinians.

But what will the task force do, how will it work and how effective could it be?

What is the new force?

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a 10-country force on Tuesday in Bahrain.

In addition to the Arab nation, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles and Spain have agreed to join Washington in the new mission.

Some of the countries are expected to conduct joint patrols in the southern parts of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden while others will support the force by providing intelligence.

The mission will be coordinated by Combined Task Force 153 (CTF 153), an existing force under a US-led joint effort established in April 2022 with the aim of improving maritime security in the area.

The existing framework has 39 member nations, and there are reports that other countries could join or have already agreed to join the newly formed 10-member maritime effort but don’t want it publicised.

The Houthis have promised to stand up to any US-led efforts and only stop their attacks once Israel stops its war in Gaza. They have signalled they are open to talks, but diplomacy has so far failed to stop their attacks.

For its part, Iran has warned Washington that its joint maritime effort will face “extraordinary problems”.

How disruptive are the Houthi attacks?

The Houthi group, also known as Ansarallah, started its operations against Israel by launching missiles and drones on the southern parts of Israel, including the port and tourist city of Eilat, in October soon after the war started.

Most of the projectiles were intercepted by Israeli and US defences or fell short due to the roughly 2,000km (1,240-mile) distance between the two countries.

So the Houthis changed tactics, instead focusing on ships near their shores. They have been firing missiles and launching attack drones at commercial ships that they claim are linked to Israel and seized a vessel last month that they are still holding in a Yemeni port.

Their attacks have stopped many ships from making their way to Israel.

“The Houthis are feeling emboldened. They perceive that they have won the civil war in Yemen and that their position is unchallenged domestically,” said Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa whose research focuses on the Middle East, especially Iran and Yemen. “They also probably assess that the US and its regional partners are keen to avoid an escalation of the war in Gaza into a full-blown regional war.”

At least 12 shipping companies have suspended transit through the Red Sea due to the Houthi attacks. They include some of the largest in the world: Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, the Italian-Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company and France’s CMA CGM.

Is a new oil crisis brewing?

Markets, including the oil and gas market, have increasingly reacted to the attacks, especially considering the volume of cargo being redirected. For instance, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd together operate almost a quarter of the world’s shipping fleet.

Bab al-Mandeb, the narrow waterway that separates Eritrea and Djibouti on the Horn of Africa from Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, is where 10 percent of the world’s seaborne crude oil travels. More than 17,000 ships pass through it each year. It is less than 20km (12 miles) wide, far narrower than the more than 200km (124 miles) of the northern parts of the Red Sea.

The direct impact on oil prices has been relatively limited so far, but experts have warned that things could significantly escalate if the attacks continue and security remains an issue. Insurance premiums and prices of oil and gas products are expected to rise if the conflict is not resolved.

“The Houthis will not be deterred to stop these strikes easily,” Juneau told Al Jazeera.

How will the task force provide protection to ships?

Some of the member nations of the task force have warships in the Red Sea. Two US navy destroyers, the USS Carney and USS Mason, are sailing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The idea is for the warships to serve as a deterrent to Houthi attacks and to stop them when possible.

The naval ships won’t necessarily escort commercial vessels through the Red Sea but will be on standby to respond to attacks.

Will the task force be able to stop Houthi attacks?

It’s complicated. Houthi fighters landed a helicopter on a ship last month to capture it. The presence of task force military vessels nearby could make a repeat of such a move harder.

The task force’s warships could also strike down incoming missiles from Yemen, just as they have intercepted rockets headed towards Israel. But even Israel’s much-touted Iron Dome missile defence system doesn’t have a 100 percent track record of stopping incoming rockets. So far, the US has not fired back at Yemen.

“It will be difficult for the recently announced, US-led coalition to fully deter the Houthis and put an end to their disruption of maritime shipping,” Juneau said.

At this point, the markets appear unconvinced that the task force will be able to protect shipments through the Red Sea. On Tuesday, Maersk said it was rerouting its ships around Africa to avoid sending them through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

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US-led force to patrol Red Sea in response to attacks by Houthis backing Palestinians

Video

* US Defense Secretary Austin on Houthi attacks: "This is an international challenge that demands collective action."

* US-led force includes UK, France, Canada and others.

CAIRO/GAZA/JERUSALEM, Dec18, 2023 (Reuters) By Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Bassam Masoud and James Mackenzie

Several countries have agreed to jointly carry out patrols in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to try to safeguard commercial shipping against attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.

The Iran-aligned group says the aim of its missile and drone attacks is to support the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war in the Gaza Strip. On Monday, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi politburo, told Al Jazeera that his group will be able to confront any coalition formed by the United States that could deploy to the Red Sea.

Austin, who is on a trip to Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's headquarters in the Middle East, said participating countries led by the United States include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain.

"This is an international challenge that demands collective action. Therefore today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative," Austin said in a statement early on Tuesday.

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Shipping firms avoid Red Sea as Houthi attacks increase

Shipping Companies

Shipping firms avoid Red Sea as Houthi attacks increase

Reuters December 19, 2023

Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea to show their support for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas fighting Israel in Gaza.

The attacks, targeting a route that allows East-West trade, especially of oil, to use the Suez Canal to save the time and expense of circumnavigating Africa, have pushed some shipping companies to reroute vessels.

Below are companies (in alphabetical order) that have decided to pause shipping via the Red Sea:

CMA CGM

French shipping group CMA CGM said on Dec. 18 it was rerouting some vessels via the Cape of Good Hope, and had instructed all its other container ships that were scheduled to pass through the Red Sea to reach safe areas and pause their journey until further notice.

EURONAV (EUAV.BR)

Belgian oil tanker firm Euronav said on Dec. 18 it would avoid the Red Sea area until further notice.

EVERGREEN (2603.TW)

Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen said on Dec. 18 its vessels on regional services to Red Sea ports would sail to safe waters nearby and wait for further notification, while ships scheduled to pass through the Red Sea would be rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope. It also temporarily stopped accepting Israeli cargo.

FRONTLINE (FRO.OL)

Norway-based oil tanker group Frontline said on Dec. 18 that its vessels would avoid passages through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, boosting the rates customers must pay for crude transport.

HAPAG-LLOYD (HLAG.DE)

German container shipping line Hapag Lloyd said on Dec. 18 it would reroute several ships via the Cape of Good Hope until the safety of passage through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea could be guaranteed.

A projectile believed to be a drone struck its vessel Al Jasrah on Dec. 15, while sailing close to the coast of Yemen. No crew were injured.

HMM (011200.KS)

South Korean container shipper HMM said on Dec. 19 it had from Dec. 15 ordered its ships from Europe that would normally use the Suez Canal to reroute via the Cape of Good Hope for an indefinite period of time.

MAERSK (MAERSKb.CO)

Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk on Dec. 15 said it would pause all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice, following a "near-miss incident" involving its vessel Maersk Gibraltar a day earlier.

On Dec. 19, Maersk said vessels that were due to sail through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden would be re-routed around the Cape of Good Hope.

MSC

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said on Dec. 16 its ships would not transit through the Suez Canal, with some already rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, a day after Houthi forces fired two ballistic missiles at its MSC Palatium III vessel.

OCEAN NETWORK EXPRESS

Ocean Network Express (ONE), a joint venture of Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (9104.T), Nippon Yusen (9101.T) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (9107.T), said on Dec. 19 it had decided to re-route vessels away from the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. Instead, ONE will navigate its ships around the Cape of Good Hope or temporarily pause their journey and reposition them in safe areas.

OOCL

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) stopped cargo acceptance to and from Israel until further notice, the shipping company owned by Hong Kong-based Oriental Overseas (International) Ltd (0316.HK) said on Dec. 16.

WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN (WAWI.OL)

Norway's Wallenius Wilhelmsen said on Dec. 19 it would halt Red Sea transits until further notice. It said re-routing vessels via the Cape of Good Hope would add one to two weeks to voyage durations.

YANG MING MARINE TRANSPORT (2609.TW)

Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport said on Dec. 18 it would divert ships sailing through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden via the Cape of Good Hope for the next two weeks.

Compiled by Paolo Laudani, Izabela Niemiec and Jesus Calero in Gdansk; editing by Stephen Coates and Milla Nissi

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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BP Pauses Oil Shipments Through Red Sea Amid Fears of Attacks

 

Cargo ships waiting in the Red Sea near the opening of the Suez Canal, in 2021.Credit...
Sima Diab for The New York Times

NYT  By Stanley Reed Dec. 18, 2023

Global oil prices jumped on Monday after the energy giant BP said it had stopped sending tankers through the Red Sea, a vital shipping lane which has become an increasingly dangerous route because of drone and missile attacks targeting merchant ships launched by the Houthi armed group in Yemen.

The announcement by BP raised fears of further disruption to shipments through the Suez Canal, a major conduit for both crude and refined oil products.

In response to the growing concerns of disruption, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III announced on Monday night that at least nine other nations had agreed to join the United States in a joint security operation in the Red Sea, where some of those countries’ navies have already foiled drone attacks by the Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen.

The recent escalation of attacks “threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law,” Mr. Austin said in a statement. The nations joining the operation include Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Norway and Spain, he said.

The Houthis have been staging assaults against ships in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel. They have threatened all vessels owned and operated by Israel, as well as any ship heading for Israeli ports. Both the Houthis and Hamas, which controls Gaza, are backed by Iran.

“BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea,” BP said in a statement on Monday that referred to “the deteriorating security situation for shipping.”

Over the weekend, military forces of the United States and other countries said they had shot down more than a dozen drones in the area. On Monday in Tel Aviv, before the task force announcement, Mr. Austin warned that “Iran’s support for Houthi attacks on commercial vessels must stop.”

Soon after Mr. Austin’s remarks, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a senior member of the Houthis, defended the attacks on social media as an effort to force Israel to halt its military assault on Gaza. The United States has “no right to speak about international law, which your airstrikes and rockets have torn up and buried under the ruins of Gaza and Yemen,” Mr. al-Houthi said.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose more than 2 percent in trading on Monday, approaching $80 a barrel. Oil prices had been under downward pressure because of higher production, especially from the United States, and signs that broad economic weakness would restrain demand. Last month, the producers group known as OPEC Plus, announced output cuts to steady the market, but there was little response in global oil markets until recently.

Shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks, Chevron halted production at a natural gas platform in Israeli waters offshore from the Gaza Strip but was able to restart it a few weeks later. Disruption to shipping through the Suez Canal could have more of an impact on the global economy.

As the Red Sea has become a flashpoint, major shipping companies — including Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping — have in recent days said they would temporarily stop sending vessels through the area.

A key risk is that if the attacks on shipping persist, oil companies and other shippers may stop using the Suez Canal for an extended period. Such a change could disrupt the flow of oil from countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where BP operates a major oil field, to Europe and elsewhere.

Tankers on their way from the Persian Gulf region regularly travel through the Red Sea to reach the Suez Canal, which serves as a conduit to the Mediterranean Sea. Ships from Saudi Arabia also unload crude into a pipeline called the SUMED that runs from Ain Sokhna, a port and storage area south of Suez, to a terminal near the Egyptian city of Alexandria.

Viktor Katona, an analyst at Kpler, a firm which tracks commodity shipping, said that the volume of oil and oil products flowing through the Suez Canal had already dropped sharply this month, to about one-third of the usual flows. About 12 percent of crude oil and refined products traded by sea typically travel through the canal, Mr. Katona estimated.

If a slowdown continues, he said, tankers will need to take the far longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. In that case, not only would tankers burn more fuel in transit but freight rates and insurance premiums would most likely rise, increasing costs for consumers.

“It’s a pressure piling up in the system,” he said.

Vivian Nereim contributed reporting.

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Where Is The Promised Safety Net For The Poor?

 

Where Is The Promised Safety Net For The Poor?

19 December 2023 Daily Mirror lk

The country is totally relying on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led programme for recovery from the unprecedented economic crisis that was created by the leaders who for the past several decades promised to the people a paradise on earth. Despite the successful recovery being still in the balance, the economic reforms that are being implemented under the IMF programme have already started to bite especially the poor and the vulnerable.

Those who paid between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 1,500 monthly for their electricity usage in the early months of last year are now paying an amount between Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 7,000 under the cost recovery pricing formula of the IMF, while the water tariff levied from most of the poor people has risen from about Rs. 600 to Rs. 3,000. Power, water and fuel prices have affected the prices of all other commodities and services, hiking them at least by threefold whereas the income of a majority of the population has been static or dropped drastically during the period, besides the real value of money also having dropped significantly. 

The Value Added Tax (VAT) Amendment Bill which is meant for the increase of tax and the removal of tax exemptions for certain items was passed a few days ago and is expected to have a huge impact on the prices of many essential goods and services. It is expected to affect the electricity tariff and fuel prices as well and would have a spiraling negative effect on the lives of the people, especially the poor. They are destined to further suffer for no fault of their own, but due to the economic mismanagement by those who were elected by them to rule the country. 

From the beginning, the IMF reiterated this situation calling it “brutal” while proposing the need to have what it called a social safety net to protect the poor and the vulnerable from the effects of the reforms that are being implemented under its programme. One can observe this in the statement made by the IMF staff members soon after they inked the initial agreement with the Sri Lankan officials on the programme on September 1 last year. They underscored the need for a protective mechanism for the low income groups in the country who they knew would bear the brunt of the economic reforms on the way to recovery. They say that the objectives of the IMF-supported programme will continue to focus on restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, while protecting the poor and vulnerable, among others. 

In spite of the IMF officials and the Sri Lankan leaders often offering assurances on the so-called social safety net for the poor and vulnerable, the situation on the ground is a far cry from what the affected communities expected. The only concession that was in place for the people most affected by the economic crisis as well as the reforms under the IMF programme was a cash dole-out for a freshly selected group of people which is also meagre to offset the effects of the crisis and the remedy for it – the reform programme. 

During a press briefing in September on the first review of the progress of the IMF programme in the country, the IMF officials were questioned about the poor by journalists, and Sarwat Jahan, IMF Resident Representative in Colombo said “We can help through multiple ways. First is when there is stabilization in the economy that means that it’s good for all Sri Lankans, including the poor and the vulnerable, because this means that inflation will go down” Isn’t it a long wait for the most affected group of people, since the IMF officials themselves are concerned that “full economic recovery is not yet assured.”

The programme does not seem to realize the grave situation the poorest of the poor have faced with. Both the government and the IMF are concerned about the revenue targets, no matter what happens to whom. Neither party seems to have put more weight on tax evasion especially by big sharks, despite it being under discussion, from the beginning.   

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Economy signals rebound

FT Monday, 18 December 2023 

Agricultural sector up 3%; Industrial by 0.3% and Services by 1.3%

GDP in July-Sept. quarter improves by 1.6% ending six quarters of negative growth

Sri Lanka’s economy has shown signs of rebound with the July-September posting a 1.6% improvement ending six quarters of negative growth.

As per provisional data released by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) the year-on-year GDP growth rate for the third quarter of 2023 is estimated at 1.6% of positive growth rate.

The Agricultural, Industrial and Services activities expanded by 3%, 0.3% and 1.3% respectively in the third quarter of 2023, DCS said.

The three major economic activities of the economy; ‘Agriculture’, ‘Industry’ and ‘Services’ contributed their share to the GDP at current prices by 7.8%, 28.1% and 57.5% respectively, while ‘Taxes less subsidies on products’ component has contributed 6.5% of share to the GDP in the third quarter of year 2023.

DCS said the third quarter of the year 2023 began with the favourable change in uncertainties in foreign exchange which were observed in previous quarters and the economy and its expectations about the future having been growing at a lower rate, was transformed into a positive state. 

The input costs declined parallel to the favourable change in exchange rate and the demand for debts which were at a lower level, showed a positive indication in this quarter along with the reduction in interest rate. With the expansion of the tourism sector, a positive impact could be observed in the service exports during this quarter. Accordingly, accommodation, food and beverage service activities have recorded a high positive growth while agricultural activities have also recorded a positive growth rate in the third quarter of 2023. Moreover, some of the manufacturing industries have also recorded expansions in this quarter.

Performance in Agricultural activities;

In the third quarter of the year 2023, the agriculture activities have recorded an expansion of 3% when compared to the 6.7% of negative growth recorded in the same quarter in the year 2022.

The expansion in the agricultural activities were mainly driven by ‘Growing of cereals’ (33.2%), ‘Marine fishing and marine aquaculture’ (27.5%), ‘Growing of rice’ (23.2%), ‘Agricultural supporting activities’ (20.9%), ‘Animal production’ (5.4%), ‘Growing of fruits’ (5.4%), ‘Growing of coffee, cocoa and other beverage crops’ (3.8%), ‘Growing of vegetables’ (3.2%) and ‘Growing of sugarcane’ (3.1%).

However, some agricultural economic activities such as ‘Plant propagation’ (36.8%), ‘Forestry and logging’ (30.7%), ‘Fresh water fishing and freshwater aquaculture’ (10.3%), ‘Growing of oleaginous fruits’ (6.1%), ‘Growing of other perennial crops’ (3.9%), ‘Growing of spices’ (3.6%), ‘Growing of rubber’ (2.8%), and ‘Growing of tea (1.4%) have recorded negative growth rates in this quarter.

Performance in Industrial Activities;

During the third quarter of year 2023, the overall industrial activities have reported an expansion of 0.3% compared to the 21.3% negative growth rate reported in the same quarter in the year 2022.

Among the ‘Industrial activities’, the ‘Construction’ activity has recorded a negative growth rate of 5.5% while ‘Mining and quarrying’ activity has expanded slightly by 0.7% during this quarter. The overall manufacturing industry has grown by 2.1% during this quarter. Some manufacturing activities have reported expansions in this quarter with respect to the same quarter of the year 2022 including ‘Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products’(168.6%), ‘Manufacture of basic metal and fabricated metal products’ (29.9%), ‘Manufacture of furniture’ (28.7%), ‘Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products’ (17.5%), ‘Manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco products’ (11.8%) and ‘Manufacture of chemical products and basic pharmaceutical products’ (4.2%).

However, manufacturing activities such as ‘Manufacture of wood and wood products’ (19.0%), ‘Other manufacturing and repair and installation of machinery and equipment’ (18.9%), ‘Manufacture of rubber and plastic products’ (16.5%), ‘Manufacture of textiles, wearing apparel, leather and other related products’ (10.1%), ‘Manufacture of machinery and equipment’ (11.4%) and ‘Manufacture of paper and paper products’ (1.5%) have recorded declines in this quarter compared to the third quarter of the year 2022.

The ‘Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply’ and ‘Water collection, treatment and supply’ activities have recorded expansions by 4.2% and 11.9% respectively in this quarter.

Performance in Services Activities;

In the third quarter of the year 2023, the performance of the service sector has also expanded by 1.3% when compared to 4.2% shrinkage reported in the same quarter of year 2022.

According to the quarterly review of this quarter, ‘Financial service activities’ has reported 0.5% decline while ‘Insurance services’ have reported 29.6% positive growth. Further, ‘Accommodation, food and beverage serving activities’ (34.9%), ‘Programming and broadcasting activities’ (10.9%), ‘Transportation of goods and passengers including warehousing’ (5.7%), ‘Postal and courier services’ (3.3%), ‘Professional services’ (1.9%), ‘Educational services’ (1.8%), ‘Human health services’ (1.0%), ‘Wholesale and retail trade’ (0.9%) and ‘Other personal services’ (0.6%) have reported considerable positive growth rates during this quarter.

Moreover, activities such as ‘IT programming consultancy and related activities’ (20.1%), ‘Real estate activities and ownership of dwelling’ (5.7%) and ‘Telecommunication’ (2.6%) have reported negative growth rates during the third quarter of 2023.

DCS also said the Gross Domestic Product for Sri Lanka for the third quarter of the year 2023 at constant price (2015) has increased up to Rs. 2,946,107 million from Rs. 2,900,654 million which was recorded in the third quarter of the year 2022. In addition, the Gross Domestic Product for Sri Lanka for the third quarter of 2023 at current price has increased up to Rs. 6,906,891 million from Rs. 6,586,602 million which recorded in the same quarter in year 2022 registering 4.9% of positive change in the current price GDP.

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