Pierre Balanian

People face water and power shortages as well as high unemployment with temperatures topping 45 degrees. Abadi, who had to get out of Basra through the backdoor, is under threat. Given power shortages, he has turned to Saudi Arabia after Iran turned off the switch because of Iraq’s failure to pay its bills. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah Al Sistani has given his blessing to the protest movement.

The threats of Avigdor Liebermann and the affirmations of Michel Aoun. Protected maritime drilling for the exploitation of gas and oil in the eastern Mediterranean. According to the UN maps, 860 sq km belong to Lebanon, but Israel does not agree. Smoke bombs on Lebanese beaches; Israeli lookouts encroach on the territorial waters of Lebanon. Hezbollah used as a deterrent. For Israeli strategists, a war against Beirut is too risky.

The coalition led by Riyadh blocks the arrival of fuel needed to run the wells. Over a million people without water in Taiz, Saada, Hodeida, Sana'a and Al Bayda. According to UNICEF, 1.7 million children suffer from acute malnutrition”; 150,000 children are likely to die in the coming weeks. The silence and neglect of the international community. The threat of hitting crude-cargo ships. Yesterday, Saudi Arabia allowed the reopening of Sana'a airport and Hudayda port, but only for humanitarian aid. An insufficient measure.

Hariri's promise to return to Lebanon has not been kept. The abduction of the prime minister is an attack on the "independence and dignity" of the country. The Lebanese were disappointed that they did not see any member of Hariri’s family during his meeting with Patriarch al-Rahi. French representatives are on their way to Riyadh. Iranian President Rouhani attacks Saudi Arabia for asking Israel to "bomb the Lebanese people."

Hariri gives an interview to Paula Yacoubian after a week of silence following his resignation. Saudi TV carried it live, Lebanese broadcasters did not. Hariri shed some tears when he wasld that the Lebanese want him to come home. His wife and children, who live in Saudi Arabia, have received threats. Saudi Arabia have called for Lebanon to be neutral in the region.

Mohammed bin Salman wants all the power and to gain it he is waging war against everything and against everyone. Added to the external wars - Syria, Yemen, Iran, Qatar, Hezbollah - are internal ones among the Saud. Illustrious arrests of 11 princes, 38 ministers and businessmen for corruption: all allies of the late King Abdallah or rivals to the throne. Among the allies of Mohammed bin Salman: Donald Trump and Israel.

Kirkuk's seizure by the Iraqi army marks a turning point, and certainly widens the split between Talabani’s supporters and those of Barzani. Turkey and Iran are happy at the end of the dream for independence.

To punish Kurdistan for daring to hold a referendum on independence, all flights to and from Erbil and Suleymaniyeh were canceled yesterday. Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt adhere to the embargo. To go abroad, there are only overcrowded local flights to Baghdad. Oil trade to Turkey does not stop. Growing Kurdish rage against Iraqi Arabs.

After Iran, tomorrow Turkey will also suspend flights to and from Erbil and Suleymaniyeh. The few available places reach dizzying figures. Kurdish borders controlled by the Iraqi army and Iranian and Turkish soldiers. Syria promises autonomy to the Syrian Kurds.

Since the early hours of the day people have flooded polling stations. Mosques and churches have joined in the festive atmosphere with muezzins' calls and bells pealing. Kurdistan is a country of tolerance and coexistence. But Turkmen fear and Turkey voices threats. The Israeli lobby backs the referendum opposed by Iraq’s Arabs and Shias.

Five meters high and two wide the statue was in the center of the city. Since 2003, 90% of Christians have left the city, 300 families remain. The Chaldean Archbishop offers a monument dedicated to all religions.The campaign for the independence of Kurdistan is mounting to push the population to vote "yes" in the referendum. But several Christians are concerned about the tensions with Baghdad and the rise of Kurdish Islamic parties. Yazid and Turkmen threatened. The US proposal to postone the referendum and open three years of negotiations in view of Kurdistan's independence. At least 50,000 troops packed at the border.

Two Saudi preachers from the Islamic tribunal have resigned. The Ahrar el Sham group withdrew last July. The Damascus Liberation Organization is just another name for al Qaeda. Retaliatory clashes increase, suspicions grow. Contacts with Russians and Iranians in an attempt to save themselves from an imminent attack by the Syrian army.