Source: Arabic
An asteroid, with a diameter the size of Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world, will pass near Earth tomorrow, Tuesday, which may “pose a danger,” according to the USA Today website.
No danger, but newly-discovered asteroid 2022 RM4 will pass less than 6 lunar distances on November 1. Possibly as wide as 740 meters, it will brighten to mag 14.3, well within reach of backyard telescopes. @unistellar
This is very close for an asteroid this size. #2022RM4 pic.twitter.com/Z8khblg3Gq— Tony Dunn (@tony873004) October 5, 2022
The asteroid, called “2022 RM4”, is 330-740 meters long, which is slightly less than the length of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It will pass near the Earth at a speed of regarding 52,500 miles per hour (84,000 kilometers per hour), nearly 68 times the speed of sound.
It is mentioned that the actual distance between the Earth and the asteroid is six times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, which is a very close distance by cosmic standards. The asteroid will reach approximately 1.43 million miles from Earth when it reaches its closest point on Tuesday.
The asteroid will get close enough to Earth, and it will be large enough for astronomers to photograph with a telescope.
“Asteroid 2022 RM4” was discovered by astronomers through the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System in Haleakala, Hawaii, on September 12. A NASA laboratory classifies it as a “near-Earth object (…) and a potentially dangerous asteroid.”
The question that worries everyone, will that giant asteroid hit the Earth?
In answering this question, NASA denied the possibility of that asteroid hitting the Earth, and estimated the trajectories of all near-Earth objects over the next 100 years, and determined that the planet did not face a known danger from a horrific asteroid collision, according to the American newspaper.
SourceLondon Arabs
The severity of the political differences over the completion of the constitutional benefits (the prime minister and the presidency) indicates that Lebanon entered a period of institutional vacuum, just days before the end of President Michel Aoun’s term, and in light of a caretaker government that seems to be largely restricted in running the affairs of the presidency, which deepens problems The Lebanese.
The head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, considered on Tuesday that the caretaker government cannot assume the powers of the presidency in the event of a vacancy, because it lacks its legitimacy.
Bassil said, “Whoever thinks that the caretaker government will assume the powers of the presidency is mistaken. This is a violation of the constitution, and it is a constitutional body that has lost its legitimacy and charter.”
And he declared that the caretaker prime minister “wants to challenge a government that takes the powers of the president of the republic and takes the country to sedition, just as someone who wants a defiant president. This is a constitutional massacre that we will not allow and we will confront with all our might.”
In the event of a vacuum, presidential powers are transferred to the government headed by Najib Mikati. However, Prime Minister Mikati’s government has limited its role to conducting business since the parliamentary elections in May.
Analysts say this means it is unable to make big decisions that include international agreements. This might complicate finalizing a draft agreement with the International Monetary Fund to provide much-needed aid, assuming ruling politicians eventually implement the long-awaited reforms needed to seal the deal.
Observers believe that Bassil takes the release of the constitutional institutions as a card to obtain political gains, as he still considers himself a natural candidate to succeed Aoun in Baabda Palace, despite the lack of enthusiasm by his allies (Hezbollah – Amal Movement) to recommend him.
They affirm that the election of a new president for Lebanon is mainly linked to the formation of a new government in which the Free Patriotic Movement will have a balanced representation, despite the decline in its electoral results and its popularity within its Christian environment, which is rejected by Mikati, who remained open to modifications in the proposed government structure, which President Aoun rejected at the time. former.
The current’s relationship with the prime minister-designate has worsened since the latter presented a government formation to President Aoun two months ago, which included reducing his share in the government cabinet, in line with the decline the party witnessed during the legislative elections held on the fifteenth of last May.
According to the government formation presented, Mikati withdrew the Energy Ministry from the Free Patriotic Movement, which the latter considered prejudice once morest him.
The Ministry of Energy is not the only cause of the heated dispute between Mikati and Bassil, which in turn extended to the presidency, since President Aoun, whose term ends on the 31st of next October, is the founder of the Free Patriotic Movement, and will return to his presidency following the end of his term.
Sources pointed out that the problem is still when President Aoun demands to keep the Ministry of Energy from his share and that of the Free Patriotic Movement or to replace the Ministry of Interior with it, which Mikati rejects, who gave it to a Sunni figure in the 24 ministers he presented to Aoun, and kept the Ministry of Interior with the Sunni sect. .
They point out that disrupting the formation of the new Lebanese government and maintaining the current caretaker government serve Aoun’s agendas, given that the current enjoys ministerial weight in it that enables him to disrupt the government’s tasks if it is entrusted with the tasks of managing presidential affairs.
Bassil demands in advance to know the position of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance regarding lifting the cover and protection for the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, to dismiss him.
It also calls for the commitment of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Finance to facilitate the termination of the judicial investigation into the crime of the explosion of the currently frozen port of Beirut, due to the lawsuits filed by some of the persons prosecuted by the investigative judge once morest the latter, and which are pending in the accusatory panel at the Court of Cassation.
Bassil insists on the presence of politicians in the government, which reflects his desire to be a minister in it in order for the prime minister to participate in obtaining the powers of the presidency when a presidential vacuum arises, and thus he has a role in choosing the next president through his influence on government decisions and his influence over them if this prolonged The vacuum, as long as he cannot be elected, is due to the US sanctions imposed on him since November 2020.
It seems that Hezbollah is not in a hurry to reach a political settlement, except for some efforts led by its ally, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, to bring the positions closer.
Hezbollah has not yet announced its presidential candidate, despite the failure of the Lebanese parliament four times to elect a new president, while its moves behind the scenes do not seem serious to accelerate the formation of the new government.
Observers say that Hezbollah prefers not to resolve its presidential and governmental orientations than to expedite them without a clear international and regional approach to dealing with the Lebanese crisis.
SourceAl Ain News
Currencies witnessed a fierce war today, during which the dollar outperformed and the sterling collapsed, so what is the reason?
The pound fell to an all-time low on Monday, once morest the US dollar, which sped past the top of 20 years.
Sterling fell by 4.9% to its lowest level ever, recording $1.0327, before settling around 1.05405, a level lower than the closing of the previous session by 2.9%.
At a time when the dollar index rose very quickly towards levels of 114 points, to exceed the top of 20 years, as it recorded its highest level since March 2022, following new statements from the President of the Federal Reserve Board in Atlanta sparked a storm in the markets regarding the Fed’s continuing to raise interest rates at the necessary pace. to restrain progress.
Why is sterling sold?
On news of the pound’s plunge to a record low on Monday, traders rushed to sell it amid speculation that the new government’s economic plan in London would squeeze public finances to the limit.
Sterling fell 3.6% on Friday, when new finance minister Kwasi Quarting unveiled historic tax cuts funded by the largest increase in borrowing since 1972.
“The pound is taking a big hit,” said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.
“Investors are looking for a response from the Bank of England. They say this cannot continue.”
The euro is sinking
The euro also touched its biggest drop in 20 years once morest the dollar amid fears of an economic recession, with the energy crisis continuing and winter approaching amid an escalation in the Ukraine war.
dollar beast
The dollar index reached 114.58 for the first time since May 2002 before falling back to 113.73, an increase of 0.52% from the close of trading last week.
“The bad situation in the UK is increasing support for the US dollar, which might continue to rise once more this week,” Joseph Caporso, head of international economics at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a report.
“If a sense of crisis appears in the global economy, the dollar may jump significantly,” he added.
The euro fell to 0.9528 dollars, and fell in the last trading by 0.41% at 0.96545 dollars.
The Dollar also continued its recovery once morest the Yen following the shock of the Japanese authorities’ intervention in the exchange market last week, as investors refocused on the contrast between the tightening of Federal Reserve policies and the Bank of Japan’s insistence on sticking with massive stimulus measures.
The dollar rose 0.39% to 143.95 yen, extending its rally back towards a peak reached on Thursday when it reached for the first time in 24 years at 145.90 yen. It fell to 140.31 on the same day following Japan intervened by buying the yen for the first time since 1998.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki reiterated on Monday that the authorities are ready to respond to speculative moves in the currency.
The offshore Chinese yuan fell once more to 7.1630 per dollar, its weakest since May 2020.
Source: Major
It is expected that Presidents Michel Aoun and Najib Mikati will resume their consultations on forming a government tomorrow, Tuesday, amid assessments also by addressing the existing differences over the necessary amendments to the current government formation to endorse a new government by changing two or three ministers.
Sources following up on the governmental issue told Al-Liwaa: The trend is positive towards the formation of the government and things are almost mature, but still uncertainty surrounds the ministers who will be changed.
She added: The formation of the government will certainly precede Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s invitation to the presidential election session, to give a positive and reassuring signal to the continuation and regularity of work in all state institutions in the event of a delay in the election of the president.
Well-informed political sources made it clear to the “Liwaa” that all the talk that is being circulated regarding the decision to switch ministerial portfolios remains just deliberation, awaiting what is decided by the President of the Republic meeting with the President-designate.
The sources said that the issue of an orphaned cabinet reshuffle may be attached to the current government, which has not yet been smashed, in light of the failure to submit proposals for the alternative minister, which is meant by the Druze minister from the Democratic Party’s share.
And it considered that the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister-designate would not accept to give up their share without a certain balance, but the file of forming the government is entering a new stage and may be resolved positively, unless something unthinkable happens.
Political sources said that the path of forming the new government is on track, as a result of the contacts and efforts made by Hezbollah with President Aoun and MP Gibran Bassil on the one hand, and with the designated president and his supporter, President Nabih Berri, on the other hand, during which the dispute between the two parties was narrowed to a minimum. But the remaining point of contention is still regarding who names the few ministers, or even the two alternative ministers, the Minister of the Displaced and the Minister of Economy, following he left the decision on this dispute to the two presidents personally following Mikati returned from abroad.
The sources indicated that the discrepancy over this remaining problem will not lead to disruption of the formation of the new government, even if Bassil seeks by promoting the replacement of other ministers whose names are not up for change, or leaking new names to minister in the floating government, to confuse the designated president and try to blackmail him, before His expected meeting with the President of the Republic in the middle of this week following the completion of the approval of the draft general budget expected today or tomorrow at the latest