AUB President elected to the American Academy
As an honorary society and an independent research centre, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences convenes exceptional global leaders renowned for their excellence that span across disciplines, professions and perspectives. All of its members have impacted the lives of people and societies, leaving their mark in every field of human endeavour.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1780 by, among others, John Adams, the second President and first Vice President of the United States; American political and intellectual leader James Bowdoin; and American statesman John Hancock. Its first elected class included US Founding Father Benjamin Franklin and first US President George Washington.
Dr Khuri remarked, 'I am particularly proud to have been nominated by Board Chair Emeritus Philip S Khoury for work we have all done together over the last decade at AUB.' He added, 'Being selected among a constellation of global leaders and pioneers is truly humbling. And my mother will no doubt be thrilled that I was elected in the same class as Gloria Steinem, one of her heroes and one of feminism's greatest champions.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
4 days ago
- Observer
The Mossad inside Iran: where were the nine bullets?
The recent Israeli-American strikes on Iran have reignited debates about a troubling reality: the Mossad's successful infiltration of Iranian territory and its ability to carry out precise and damaging operations deep inside the country. High-profile assassinations, targeted bombings, and the compromise of nuclear facilities raise serious questions about how Israeli intelligence has manoeuvred so freely, and why Iranian security agencies failed to detect and stop such breaches. Che Guevara once said, 'If you want to liberate a nation, load your gun with ten bullets — nine for the traitors within, and one for the external enemy. If not for the traitors, the enemy would never dare attack.' Guevara's statement encapsulates the Iranian dilemma. Tehran seems to have waited too long to aim those metaphorical nine bullets inward. Despite numerous arrests and even executions of alleged collaborators, the real players — those in influential positions — appear untouched. In a striking moment in 2021, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed in a televised interview that Iran's top counterintelligence official was himself an Israeli spy. He highlighted how Mossad agents managed to steal truckloads of sensitive documents, questioning how such an operation passed through checkpoints unnoticed. The operation in question took place in January 2018, as confirmed by former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen in an interview with Israeli Channel 12. The stolen files related to Iran's nuclear and space programmes were later revealed by Israel as a major intelligence triumph. But rather than shake the Iranian establishment into a deep internal reckoning, these revelations were met with limited action. Assassinations of scientists continued. Explosions struck military sites. Israeli agents reportedly reached the very heart of Iran's Revolutionary Guard command. Following the most recent Israeli air strikes, Iranian authorities announced the arrest of 18 alleged Mossad operatives in Mashhad, accused of manufacturing suicide and reconnaissance drones. Reports suggest the plan had been to eliminate senior Iranian figures on the ground while Israel launched air strikes from above. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf later admitted that 'a large part of the enemy's operations are carried out through infiltrators from within.' While Tehran has now launched a campaign against espionage—with more than 700 arrests reported in 12 days — the sheer scale of infiltration points to a longstanding and well-entrenched network. The critical question now is: why do citizens become willing tools of foreign intelligence services? Iranian media argue that Mossad exploits economic hardship and social marginalisation, particularly among minorities. The use of encrypted apps and cryptocurrency helps facilitate the secure transfer of intelligence. Recruits, reportedly trained in countries like Georgia and Nepal, are equipped with tools and knowledge to operate covertly. And while poverty may explain the motivations of some, the more unsettling reality is the presence of wealthy and influential collaborators — those whose betrayals are not born of desperation but opportunism. Israel's deep interest in Iran is hardly a secret. According to Ronen Bergman's book 'Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations', Mossad's former chief Meir Dagan prioritised the Iranian nuclear threat when he assumed leadership in 2002. Dagan restructured the agency around two goals: preventing Iran's acquisition of nuclear capabilities and countering armed movements like Hezbollah and Hamas. His 2003 strategy included a combination of sabotage, assassinations, cyber warfare, support for opposition groups, and economic pressure. The story is all there in Bergman's book — published in 2018, well before the recent strikes. This brings us to a troubling question: with so much information already public, why wasn't Iran prepared? The conversation has now widened to include concerns across the region. Gulf nations are questioning their own security vulnerabilities, especially in light of reports that some Asian companies working in the Gulf have connections with Mossad. These revelations, surfacing after the Israeli strikes, raise alarm over potential breaches across multiple sectors, particularly as many Gulf states rely heavily on foreign contractors. The Iranian breach — despite the country's strong military and intelligence capabilities—sends a sobering message to the Gulf. It's not just the strength of your military that ensures security, but your vigilance against traitors within. Gulf citizens have voiced growing concerns online about 'fifth column' elements operating under the guise of expatriate labour or business partnerships. The fear is not just espionage, but betrayal from those benefiting from the country's wealth while working for its enemies. Ultimately, no foreign adversary can inflict such damage without help from within. It's not just the enemy at your door — it's the one already inside your house. Translated by Badr al Dhafri. The original version of this article was published in Arabic in the print edition of the Oman Daily newspaper on July 14. Zahir al Mahrouqi, Al Mahrouqi is an Omani writer and the author of 'The Road to Jerusalem'
Observer
5 days ago
- Observer
Clashes rage in Druze region as 940 people killed
Sectarian clashes escalated in Syria's predominantly Druze region of Sweida on Saturday, with machine gun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggled to implement a ceasefire. Reuters reporters heard gunfire from inside the city of Sweida and saw shells land in nearby villages. There were no immediate, confirmed reports of casualties. The government had said security forces were deploying in the southern region to try to keep peace and urged all parties to stop fighting after nearly a week of factional bloodshed in which hundreds have been killed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, said clashes since last week around Sweida had killed at least 940 people. Reuters could not independently verify the toll. Interim President Ahmed al Sharaa said 'Arab and American' mediation had helped restore calm, before the clashes escalated. He criticised Israel for air strikes during the week. The fighting is the latest challenge to the control of Al Sharaa's Islamist-dominated government, which took over after rebels toppled autocratic president Bashar al Assad in December. It started last week as clashes between the Druze and Syrian Bedouin tribes. Government forces then arrived to try to quell tensions, clashing with Druze gunmen and attacking the Druze community. Saturday's violence once again pitted Druze against Bedouin, witnesses said. The fighting has drawn in neighbouring Israel, which carried out air strikes in southern Syria and on the Defence Ministry in Damascus this week while government forces were fighting with the Druze. Israel says it is protecting the Druze, who also form a significant minority in Israel. — AFP
Observer
5 days ago
- Observer
A handshake in orbit 50 years ago transformed the space race
Some 140 miles above France, American astronauts opened a spacecraft hatch and found themselves face to face with cosmonauts from the Soviet Union. 'Glad to see you,' Col. Alexei Leonov spoke in accented English to Brig. Gen. Thomas Stafford of NASA. 'Ah, hello, very glad to see you,' Stafford responded in his own accented Russian. The two men then shook hands. Today, Russian and American astronauts routinely share rides to the International Space Station, no matter the geopolitical conflict that divides their nations. But in the summer of 1975, seeing two men from rival nations greet each other in orbit across a bridge between their docked spacecraft was a powerful and unprecedented gesture witnessed by millions on the world spinning below. The handshake, which occurred 50 years ago on July 17, defined the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first international human spaceflight. That simple symbol of partnership between bitter competitors remains an enduring legacy of the mission. 'It's amazing to think that two opposed countries with different systems and cultures, essentially ready to destroy each other, can somehow cooperate and do this highly technical, complicated mission,' said Asif Siddiqi, a professor of history at Fordham University and an expert on Russian space history. A generation after the orbital handclasp, the Soviets and the United States would come together to build the ISS. The aging space outpost's days are finite, and there are no immediate plans for Russia and the U.S. to sustain their cooperation in human spaceflight. The U.S. also sees itself as competing with China for dominance in space. But experts like Siddiqi see reasons for hope on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz mission. 'Whenever people tell me that this would never happen today, I always think, Well, that's what people said in the late '60s,' Siddiqi said. 'Androgynous' Dock Early in the space age, as America raced to catch up to the Soviet Union, a partnership in space had been proposed. In September 1963, speaking before the United Nations General Assembly two months before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy floated a joint mission to the moon. 'Why, therefore, should man's first flight to the moon be a matter of national competition?' he asked. 'Surely we should explore whether the scientists and astronauts of our two countries — indeed of all the world — cannot work together in the conquest of space.' This dream was deferred, and the U.S. would overtake the Soviets in the moon race with the successful Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Oddly, the American moon landing may have created a new window for cooperation. Public support for the Apollo missions fell, and the program was cut short after the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. That left the U.S. space program without an immediate objective. In parallel, both nations' reputations were tarnished abroad, the Soviet Union by its invasion of Czechoslovakia, and America by its involvement in the Vietnam War. That created an additional motivation to jointly reassert each country's status atop the global hierarchy. 'They needed to lift themselves and cooperate to show the rest of the world: We are as super and as great as ever before. We're doing things which no country can do in a similar capacity,' said Olga Krasnyak, an associate professor of international relations at the National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow. This mutually recognized opportunity for prestige led to tentative talks between the country's officials in 1970. From the get-go, it was clear that the mission faced immense diplomatic, technical, and cultural obstacles. There was no smooth glide path to launch. 'How do we communicate with people who speak entirely different languages, and who think differently about engineering and problem-solving?' Brian C. Odom, NASA's chief historian, said. 'On paper, it seems easy. You launch, we launch, we come together, we shake hands, we go our separate ways. But making that happen, where you don't have five people dying in orbit, is incredibly difficult.' The sudden switch from enemies to partners, at least in this limited case, caused whiplash for the public and politicians alike (a scenario that was dramatized in the Apple TV alternative history series 'For All Mankind'). Zbigniew Brzezinski, who later served as Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, criticized the Nixon and Ford administrations for the mission, calling it a 'technological giveaway.' Soviet space officials, who had long worked in secrecy, had to overcome wariness about loosening the flow of information to an adversary. The country's diplomats had to ensure that plans could be discussed without divulging anything sensitive to national security. Both sides were suspicious of the safety of the other's flagship spacecraft. The three astronauts selected for Apollo 1 perished in a fire during a rehearsal in 1967, while the three cosmonauts of Soyuz 11 died in space in 1971 when their cabin depressurized. Snipes about the superiority of one side's spacecraft over the other rankled insiders of the mission. American astronauts were used to a much more hands-on guidance system with Apollo, whereas Soyuz was largely automatic and controlled from the ground. The vehicles even used different atmospheres in their interiors. Soyuz simulates the familiar conditions of Earth, with a nitrogen-oxygen air mixture and a pressure equivalent to our planet at sea level. Apollo, in contrast, used a pure oxygen atmosphere at a much lower pressure. This discrepancy was solved by the development of a docking module with airtight hatches at each end. Once the module connected the two craft, crew members from one vehicle could enter, ensuring that both hatches were closed while it pressurized to match conditions of the other side. When that process was complete, the hatch to the other vehicle could be opened, allowing crews to safely enter without risking 'the bends,' a condition caused by rapid depressurization. For this particular mission, the Soyuz was kept at a lower pressure than normal to ease transitions between vehicles. The docking module was also purposefully designed to be androgynous to ensure that neither spacecraft was perceived as 'female,' or passive. As the mission planners navigated these headaches, a deep and abiding friendship flourished between the astronauts and cosmonauts. The Apollo side, headed by Stafford, also included Donald 'Deke' Slayton and Vance Brand. Leonov flew on the Soyuz side with Valery Kubasov. The crews learned each other's languages, though Leonov jokingly called Stafford's drawling pronunciation 'Oklahomski.' They trained together at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston and Star City, the Russian space center outside Moscow. During these meetings, the space travelers hunted, drank and partied together. They shared steam baths and got into snowball fights. The two commanders remained particularly close for the rest of their lives: Leonov helped Stafford adopt two children from Russia, and Stafford gave a eulogy in Russian (or, rather, Oklahomski) at Leonov's funeral in 2019. The crews were 'setting an example, by being friendly and demonstrating cooperation,' said Brand, the last living member of the mission, in a 2000 interview with Rebecca Wright of NASA's Johnson Space Center Oral History Project. 'We actually came to have a very close relationship with the Soviet crew,' he added. Strawberry Juice and Borscht Against all odds, the crews finally reached their launch pads during the summer of 1975. On July 15, the Soyuz crew blasted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, followed by the Apollo crew, which launched about seven hours later from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The lead-up to docking was relatively smooth, though the Apollo crew discovered a 'super Florida mosquito' had stowed away with them, and Stafford joked that a juice spill had turned the Apollo into a 'strawberry-colored spacecraft.' The spaceships successfully docked at 12:12 p.m. Eastern time, July 17, high above the Atlantic Ocean. Hours later, the historic handshake was broadcast live to millions of viewers. The mission even inspired a cocktail called the Link Up, with equal parts Southern Comfort and vodka mixed with lime and ice, served at London's Savoy Hotel. The crew spent the next two days exchanging gifts, dining together (including borscht toasts), listening to music, and conducting experiments. The ships parted ways on July 19. After all the mutual worries about spacecraft safety, it was Apollo that ended up experiencing a serious incident, as toxic fumes filled the capsule during reentry. The brand lost consciousness, and the crew was hospitalized after splashdown. Despite this frightening conclusion of the mission, the astronauts quickly recovered and the mission was hailed as a diplomatic and technical success. 'A Little Bit Messy' A second Apollo-Soyuz mission was planned, but it never panned out. U.S.-Soviet tensions rose again during the late 1970s and into the 1980s. The countries did not directly team up again for years. However, both superpowers fostered new collaborations with their allies. During the 1980s, NASA space shuttle crews included Canadian, European, and Japanese astronauts, while the Soviet Union launched cosmonauts who came from Cuba, Poland, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and other countries. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Americans and Russians again joined forces in space, first aboard the Mir space station in the early 1990s. The American-Russian partnership is now the backbone of the ISS, which has remained continuously inhabited since the year 2000. That outpost is in its twilight years. Russia is discussing building its own separate successor space station, and the U.S. is seeding commercial outposts in orbit — efforts that can make Apollo-Soyuz seem like a distant memory. But Krasnyak, the Russian international relations expert, said that the legacy of this mission, and cooperative space exploration in general, remains important to Russians 50 years later. Whether the U.S. and Russia partner on future human spaceflights or not, she noted that the two powers continue to be world leaders shaping international deliberations on space. Siddiqi, the historian of Russian spaceflight, views the 1975 U.S.-Soviet mission as a forerunner for the complex international partnerships that characterize modern spaceflight, even if it's in a 'roundabout way.' 'It was a little bit messy, but the road leads back to Apollo-Soyuz,' he said. 'Other historians would see it differently, as a kind of rupture or as a one-off, but I see a lot of continuities.' Odom, NASA's chief historian, does not see Apollo-Soyuz as a direct progenitor of the ISS, or of other subsequent space collaborations. From his perspective, the mission's legacy is grounded more in the context of a time when two feuding powers extended an olive branch into orbit, with repercussions for how their citizens viewed each other back on Earth. 'The people who were involved come away from it thinking about what cooperation really might mean,' Odom said. 'If we can cooperate with the Soviet Union in this way, we can cooperate with anyone.' The direct communication and interpersonal relationships were a powerful spinoff from the mission, Odom added. 'The thing that they come away with is that 'oh, you're human beings just like us,' he said. 'You're not the monsters that we imagined or feared that you would be. You're just people trying to do a job and go about your daily life.' This article originally appeared in
