Hizbollah accuses four people of being among 10 CIA spies



BEIRUT // Hizbollah's public naming of four people it alleges are American spies in Lebanon is the latest move in its campaign against US covert operations in the region.

Al Manar, Hizbollah's television station, broadcast a programme on Friday naming individuals that the Lebanese Shiite movement claims are among 10 CIA officers who are posing as US diplomats and actively recruiting Lebanese informants.

Hizbollah alleged they have been working to collect information on the Shiite movement, while coordinating closely with Israel.

The programme was broadcast shortly before Hizbollah's close ally, Iran, issued indictments against 15 people charged with espionage.

Tehran's chief prosecutor said yesterday that the unidentified suspects were spying for the US and Israel, according to the Fars news agency.

The announcement came just days after a US surveillance drone was captured by Iran.

The Al Manar report described the US Embassy in Beirut as the CIA headquarters in Lebanon and included the name of the man identified as the agency's Beirut station chief.

It also alleged that intelligence officers met with Lebanese informants at branches of Starbucks, McDonald's and Pizza Hut.

"The station is tasked with recruiting wide networks of agents from various segments of Lebanese society: political, social, educational, health, security and military fields," the report alleged.

The CIA would neither confirm nor deny the allegations.

"The agency does not, as a rule, address spurious claims from terrorist groups," a spokeswoman, Jennifer Youngblood, told the Associated Press.

"It's worth remembering that Hizbollah is a dangerous organisation, with Al Manar as its propaganda arm," she added. "That fact alone should cast some doubt on the credibility of the group's claims."

Nevertheless, some analysts believe that US covert operations in Lebanon have been impacted.

Elias Hanna, a Lebanese analyst, who teaches at the American University of Beirut and Notre Dame University and retired general said that although Iran and Hizbollah have been in a "covert war" with the US for three decades, the timing of these latest claims is still significant.

"It's a kind of pre-emptive coup. It is testing the ground and like a warning [for informants] to stop working," he said. "It also shows that US intelligence is weak in Lebanon."

Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, believes these latest reports come as part of Iranian and Hizbollah efforts to highlight the extent of US espionage in the region.

"[But] the claims to have shattered US intelligence networks are grossly exaggerated," he said.

These most recent allegations about American intelligence activities in Lebanon come following reports last month that Hizbollah had captured a number of CIA informants.

This followed a televised address in June, when Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah's chief, announced that at least two members of the Shiite movement had confessed to spying for the US intelligence agency.

The CIA considers Hizbollah a terrorist organisation.

* With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sustainable Development Goals

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

10. Reduce inequality  within and among countries

11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects

14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

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Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

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7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m

7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m

8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m

8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m

10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m

10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

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7.40pm First View

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Tips to avoid getting scammed

1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday

2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment

3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone

4) Try not to close the sale at night

5) Don't be rushed into a sale 

6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour

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MANDOOB
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The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5