LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 03/2019

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven
“Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 03/22-30: “After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison. Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ John answered, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.” He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on April 02-03/19
Hezbollah Established New Missile Factory In Beirut-Report
UNIFIL Head chairs regular tripartite meeting
Electricity Panel Holds Another 'Positive' Meeting as Ships Option Dropped
Bassil Urges Talking to Both Syria and Int'l Community on Refugees
Khalil Announces Budget Cuts after Stark World Bank Warnings
Strong Lebanon Bloc: Lebanon Can't Bear Any Delay in Electricity Plan
Future bloc convenes at Center House to discuss political developments
Geagea Says Some Still Insisting on Shady Deals in Electricity File
Hariri Receives U.S. and French Ambassadors
Zasypkin from Bkirki: Collaboration with Damascus to Repatriate Refugees
Ferzli Denies Claims about Reduction to Retirees' Salaries
Jumblat Says Wage Scale Won't be Altered, Slams Atallah Remarks
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Expected in Lebanon
Hizbullah Expresses 'Pride' in Aoun's Arab Summit Stances
Finance Minister: Deficit Could Be Reduced by up to 2.5%
Former President Amine Gemayel Proposes National Strategy to Deal with Refugee Crisis in Lebanon
26th edition of HORECA LEBANON opens in grand fashion under patronage of Tourism Minister
Lebanese Anti-Hizbullah Daily: Iran Has Evacuated Bases, Weapons Depots, Near Damascus International Airport For Fear Of Israeli Attacks – And Will Operate Out Of Airport Near Syria-Lebanon Border/MEMRI/April 02/19

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 02-03/19
Netanyahu to meet Putin days before Israel vote
Israeli troops kill Palestinian man in West Bank clashes
Britain, France, Germany seek full UN report of Iran missile activity
US blames Iran for flood toll, says ready to help
US blames Iranian 'mismanagement' for slow deadly floods response
US Suspends F-35 Program Deliveries to Turkey over Russian Arms
U.S.-Backed Force Tracks Syria Jihadists after 'Caliphate' Falls
Egypt sentences dozens to prison on terror charges
Algeria's President Bouteflika Resigns
British PM Mulls Solution to Brexit Deadlock as EU Warns of No-Deal
Erdogan Party Appeals Istanbul, Ankara Results after Turkey Vote
At al-Azhar, Guterres Warns against Rising Anti-Muslim Hatred
Hamas Leader Says Rocket that Hit Israeli House Fired in Error

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 02-03/19
Hezbollah Established New Missile Factory In Beirut-Report/Jerusalem Post/April 02/19
Lebanese Anti-Hizbullah Daily: Iran Has Evacuated Bases, Weapons Depots, Near Damascus International Airport For Fear Of Israeli Attacks – And Will Operate Out Of Airport Near Syria-Lebanon Border/MEMRI/April 02/19
Druze feelings mixed about Trump’s recognition of Golan/Mordechai Goldman/Al Monitor/April 02/19
Christchurch Murders: The Real Accomplices/Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/April 02/19

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on April 02-03/19
Hezbollah Established New Missile Factory In Beirut-Report
Jerusalem Post/April 02/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73500/jerusalem-post-hezbollah-established-new-missile-factory-in-beirut-%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B2-%D9%85%D8%B5%D9%86%D8%B9-%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A/
Israeli intelligence allegedly shared the new information with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri of the secret facility on his state visit in March.
Hezbollah has built a new missile factory in Beirut with the help of Iran, a Channel 13 report revealed on Monday night.
Israeli intelligence reportedly shared the new information with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri of the secret facility on his state visit to Lebanon in March and expressed his concern about the threat the terrorist organization poses to the country.
The missile factory could include the capability of manufacturing precision-guided missiles, according to an anonymous American source quoted by the report.
“We have made it clear to the Lebanese government that Hezbollah is doing something inside Lebanon and that the danger of an escalation with Israel as a result is real,” the source said, adding that “we made sure that all the information we have in this context is also in the hands of the Lebanese government.”
In his address to the UN General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of shielding its massive missile stockpiles behind civilian buildings, including Beirut’s main airport.
Hezbollah had been trying to build infrastructure to convert ground-to-ground missiles to precision missiles in the Ouzai neighborhood of the Lebanese capital, near the airport. Hezbollah officials reportedly made a conscious decision to transfer the center of gravity of this precision missile project – which they have been dealing with for some time – to that civilian space in the heart of the Lebanese capital, Netanyahu said.
One of the sites, according to Netanyahu, was inside a football stadium belonging to the Lebanese terrorist group. A second site was near Rafic Hariri International Airport and a third sits some 500 meters from the airport’s landing strip, in the heart of the Ma’aganah residential neighborhood, full of residential buildings. Hezbollah’s effort to build accurate and precise missiles – facilitated by Iranian expertise, funding and guidance – has been targeted by Israel on numerous occasions in Syria.

UNIFIL Head chairs regular tripartite meeting
Tue 02 Apr 2019/NNA - UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col today chaired the regular military tripartite meeting at the UN position in Ras Al Naqoura.Opening the meeting, the UNIFIL Commander said that despite a spike in activities and tensions due to developments along the Blue Line in the last months, "we have been experiencing noticeable stability which is indicative of the effective use of our liaison and coordination mechanisms, coupled with restraint and continued engagement by the parties."General Del Col noted the effective handling of sensitive activities along the Blue Line. This, he said, had led Member States to acknowledge and appreciate the coordinated efforts of UNIFIL and the parties at the UN Security Council meeting last week, which he attended. Today's Tripartite discussions touched on air and ground violations, the situation along the Blue Line, the discovery of tunnels, the issue of permanent violations including Northern Ghajar, as well as other issues within the scope of the UN Security Council resolution 1701 and related resolutions. In view of the busy summer season in south Lebanon, which usually sees large number of visitors to the UNIFIL area of operations, Major General Del Col asked the parties for prior notification of any activities planned along the Blue Line. "In the past we have seen that with proper coordination of activities and deconfliction on the ground, the situation can be managed so as to avoid unnecessary tension, and I acknowledge all your efforts to this end," he said. Tripartite meetings have been held regularly under the auspices of UNIFIL since the end of the 2006 war in south Lebanon as an essential conflict management and confidence building mechanism.

Electricity Panel Holds Another 'Positive' Meeting as Ships Option Dropped
Naharnet/April 02/19/The ministerial panel tasked with studying a plan to end the country's chronic electricity problem held a “very position” meeting on Tuesday, Information Minister Jamal al-Jarrah said, confirming that the option of renting power generating ships to cover the current production deficit is no longer on the table. Energy Minister Nada al-Bustani “submitted a paper in which she chronologically specified the steps that need an agreement in order for the plan to move forward,” Jarrah added, noting that another session will be held at 3:00 pm Wednesday. “We will continue the discussions and hopefully we will finalize them tomorrow,” the minister said. Reassuring that the atmosphere was “very positive” and that the debate was “responsible and profound,” Jarrah told reporters that there are “two ideas” regarding the side that will carry out the tendering process. Asked whether the plan will be discussed in Thursday's cabinet session, the minister said the plan could be discussed, even if it does not get listed on the agenda. Media reports meanwhile said that the plan will not be discussed in Thursday's session for several reasons. Asked about the expected date for 24/7 power feed, Jarrah said: “In the year 2020 the transitional phase will begin, and simultaneously the permanent phase will also begin.”“But we all know that the permanent phase does not need months but rather years. According to the plan, we will begin permanent phase production in the year 2022 or in the early months of 2023, if everything does as planned,” the minister added. Asked about power plants, Jarrah said there will be plants in Salaata, al-Zahrani, Deir Amar, al-Hraysheh and Jiye, confirming that the issue of renting power ships is no longer on the table. According to media reports, contractors tasked with building the power plants will be responsible for providing the emergency megawatts that are currently being generated by the Turkish ships pending the start of the permanent phase.

Bassil Urges Talking to Both Syria and Int'l Community on Refugees
Naharnet/April 02/19/Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Tuesday noted that there are “three parts” for any plan to return the Syrian refugees to their country. “We have different viewpoints on how to return the displaced and we insist on respecting the Lebanese laws in order to secure a dignified return,” Bassil said in remarks at parliament. “The return of the displaced can happen through implementing the Lebanese laws and dealing with the international community and the Syrian government,” Bassil added, noting that “these are three parts of the plan and it is unacceptable to limit it to one approach.”The minister also noted that there are several types of refugees, saying some of them “have security and humanitarian excuses while there are economic refugees who should be dealt with accordingly.”“Syrians who have refugee cards and work permits are benefiting from the international aid in Lebanon and yet they are visiting Syria. They are opening commercial shops that replace those of Lebanese citizens and this is unacceptable,” Bassil warned. And as he called on international organizations to “assist the Syrians by securing their return instead of keeping them in Lebanon,” the minister said the reforms that Lebanon intends to implement are “voluntary” and are not “in return for a solution for the refugee file.”“We want to reform taxes, the state budget and electricity and these are our choices and are not imposed on us in relation with the refugee file,” Bassil added, saying that “what's important is to prevent any demographic change in Lebanon.”

Khalil Announces Budget Cuts after Stark World Bank Warnings
Naharnet/April 02/19/Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil announced on Tuesday a budget reduction process that will reach 2.5 percent in the wake of renewed international calls for Lebanon to accelerate the completion of required reforms, and local warnings of an imminent economic crisis. "We have finalized the budget reduction project, which aims primarily at reaching a deficit ceiling of only 9 percent of GDP," Khalil, who discussed these issues with Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday, told al-Joumhouria newspaper. "We agreed on this goal with the international institutions. If we carry on with this plan, the reduction is expected to exceed one percent to 2.5 percent,” he said. In the context of measures taken by the Ministry of Finance to reduce the deficit, Khalil has referred to the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers on Monday, a bill to eliminate all customs exemptions contained in the Customs Act or other laws, except the ones noted by international agreements and treaties. A World Bank delegation that visited Lebanon recently, launched warnings about the critical economic situation in Lebanon.
Vice-president of client services at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Jürgen Rigterink led a delegation and visited Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Minister of Finance. He issued new warnings, pointing out that "the current economic indicators indicate an imminent crisis.”He said the bank had given Hariri “full support to continue working on the reform agenda, especially in terms of fiscal and energy control.”"We believe there is a need for important and bold reforms ... According to our experience, the reforms may be painful, but the alternative is more painful," said Rigterink. "Thanks to the current government, Lebanon is ready to take these steps."

Strong Lebanon Bloc: Lebanon Can't Bear Any Delay in Electricity Plan
Naharnet/April 02/19/The Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc warned Tuesday that “Lebanon and its economy cannot bear any delay in approving the electricity plan.”“All options are on the table” as to the tendering process, MP Ibrahim Kanaan announced after the bloc's weekly meeting. “There is correlation between the state budget and the electricity file, which is lowering deficit,” Kanaan noted. “Why is the state budget being delayed? It should have been already passed. We want it to be referred with reforms and the spiteful policy that we witnessed in the past should stop,” he added. Kanaan also stressed that “there is international and local consensus on the need for financial reform through the state budget.”

Future bloc convenes at Center House to discuss political developments
Tue 02 Apr 2019/NNA - Future bloc on Tuesday convened at the Center House under the chairmanship of MP Bahiya Hariri, to discuss most recent political developments in the country. In a statement issued in the wake of the periodic meeting and read out by MP Henri Chedid, the bloc hailed the consecutive meetings, chaired by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, for the sake of accomplishing the electricity plan and preparing the national budget. The bloc underlined the paramount importance of accomplishing these two vital dossiers, notably the national budget and electricity. "These two vital dossiers [national budget and electricity] constitute the indispensable gateway to putting the government's program into action," the bloc said, calling for halting verbal outbidding and populist positions. On the other hand, the bloc hailed the "Tunis Declaration" issued by the Arab Summit, notably in terms of the solidarity of the Arab leaders with Lebanon and their concern for its stability and territorial integrity in light of the recurrent Israeli violations of Lebanon's sovereignty.

Geagea Says Some Still Insisting on Shady Deals in Electricity File
Naharnet/April 02/19/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Tuesday warned that some parties are still insisting on making shady deals in the electricity file. “It is not only the LF that is raising remarks over the electricity plan but rather the entire universe, from the CEDRE donors to the World Bank and the European Central Bank to political parties and every citizen from the northern border to the southern border. They are all calling for a healthy and drastic solution for the electricity file that would end wastage and restore power feed,” Geagea said in an interview with the Central News Agency.
“Even in the ministerial panel tasked with studying the electricity plan, our stances are complementing those of the Free Patriotic Movement's allies, so why are they targeting the LF exclusively and launching personal insults against it?” the LF leader asked. He added: “In my opinion, some are still insisting and carrying on with the shady deals and they are trying to approve the (power generating) ships where the major interests lie and this is the main point.”And noting that the LF's “fierce opposition is harming these very interests and blocking them,” Geagea said “a lot of the LF's remarks were endorsed” during Monday's ministerial meeting on the electricity file. “This proves that the electricity file has nothing to do with the fabricated political clash,” the LF leader added.

Hariri Receives U.S. and French Ambassadors
Naharnet/April 02/19/Prime Minister Saad Hariri received on Tuesday at the Grand Serail the U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth Richard where discussions addressed the local and regional developments as well as the bilateral relations, Hariri’s press office said. Hariri also met with the French Ambassador Bruno Foucher and discussed with him the situation and the relations between Lebanon and France.

Zasypkin from Bkirki: Collaboration with Damascus to Repatriate Refugees
Naharnet/April 02/19/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi received on Tuesday in Bkirki the Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin, with whom he discussed a number of topics, most notably the return of displaced Syrians to their country, the National News Agency reported. After the meeting, Zasypkin said: “I briefed his Eminence on the outcome of the visit conducted by President Michel Aoun to Russia, and his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. Discussions have touched on bilateral relations and international and regional issues. The Russian and Lebanese sides both share identical views on the return of displaced Syrians to their homeland.""We will work to achieve this goal in cooperation with the Syrian authorities and everyone who can assist, because repatriation is imperative and not linked to a political settlement in Syria. This is our joint position, and we will continue to work to achieve this," the ambassador stressed. Zasypkin called on "all parties to actively contribute to securing the return [of the displaced]."

Ferzli Denies Claims about Reduction to Retirees' Salaries
Naharnet/April 02/19/Deputy Speaker Elie el-Ferzli on Tuesday denied claims about reductions in the salaries of retirees, saying that these “rumors aim to push the Lebanese towards revolution.”“We have not yet heard any official or parliamentary statement about this, therefore everything being circulated in that regard is only rumors and campaigns aimed to harm the economic stability,” said Ferzli in remarks to VDL radio station (93.3). He added: “Investment today is in the security. It is the highest degree of positive investment in the economy,” stressing "the need to maintain the military forces under reasonable ceiling that can be borne by the budget," expressing his belief that "there are formal procedures (reductions) in the budget not related to substance.”On the controversial electricity plan, Ferzli said that “any disruption or criticism about the plan without proof will damage the Lebanese economy, which is unacceptable," he said, stressing the need to approve the plan.

Jumblat Says Wage Scale Won't be Altered, Slams Atallah Remarks
Naharnet/April 02/19/Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat on Tuesday reassured that the new wage scale for civil servants and the armed forces will not be altered. The wage scale was approved in 2017 after strenuous negotiations and years of street protests.Separately, Jumblat said that the World Bank is laying out some demands related to lowering expenditure, noting that any such measure should begin with “the salaries of former ministers and MPs, the rents of governmental buildings and the army's Measure 3.”“I'm a former MP and my monthly salary amounts to $6,000 and this is not fair,” Jumblat said in a video interview with the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa portal. Commenting on remarks by Minister of the Displaced Ghassan Atallah that “Christians are still afraid to sleep at night in Mount Lebanon (Chouf and Aley),” Jumblat said: “Let's ask his political part whether it accepts this statement.”“Does the Free Patriotic Movement accept the remarks of the minister of the displaced, especially after the (Christian) reconciliation with the PSP?” Jumblat added.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Expected in Lebanon
Naharnet/April 02/19/Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza will visit Lebanon on Tuesday as part of a regional tour to explain the crisis in his country as a result of the conflict between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition House Speaker Juan Guaido. According to al-Joumhouria daily, Arreaza will discuss the “results of foreign interference in the Venezuelan internal affairs since the crisis erupted in the country a few months ago.”The Minister will hold meetings with senior Lebanese officials including President Michel Aoun, PM Saad Hariri, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. On Monday, the Venezuelan Supreme Court asked the Constituent Assembly, composed exclusively of supporters of President Nicolas Maduro, to lift the parliamentary immunity of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by about 50 countries as the transitional president of the country. The Supreme Court's move comes at a time when Maduro and Guaido have been in rivalry over power since the beginning of the year.

Hizbullah Expresses 'Pride' in Aoun's Arab Summit Stances
Naharnet/April 02/19/Hizbullah on Monday expressed its “pride” in President Michel Aoun's stances at the Arab League summit that was held Sunday in Tunisia. In a statement issued by its media relations department, the party said it was proud of “the national and nationalist stances that were expressed by His Excellency President Michel Aoun regarding Lebanon, Palestine and the Golan, and his insistence on the return of Syrian refugees to their country in a manner that would preserve the interests of Lebanon and Syria.”Hizbullah meanwhile criticized the summit's resolutions, saying “they fell too short of the seriousness of the stage that the nation is going through.”The resolutions “did not rise to the level of tackling the U.S. resolutions that are judaizing Jerusalem and the Golan,” the party lamented. “As the leaders of the Arab countries asserted the Arab right to recovering occupied Jerusalem and Golan, a lot of them are vigorously seeking further normalization steps with the enemy,” Hizbullah added. Aoun on Sunday described U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Syria’s occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel as a “threat” to Lebanon’s sovereignty. “Trump’s decision does not only threaten the sovereignty of a brotherly country, but also the sovereignty of the Lebanese state, especially in the Shebaa Farms and the Kfarshouba Hills,” Aoun warned in his speech before the 30th Arab Summit in Tunisia. Israel had argued that the Shebaa Farms and the Kfarshouba Hills are part of the Golan whereas Lebanon has insisted that they belong to Lebanon, amid a dispute over the demarcation of the border in that area. Separately, Aoun wondered whether the international community is seeking to turn the Syrian refugees into “hostages” in order to “use them as a tool of pressure against Syria and Lebanon.”

Finance Minister: Deficit Could Be Reduced by up to 2.5%
Kataeb.org/Tuesday 02nd April 2019/The final touches were put to the plan to reduce the deficit as part of the 2019 state budget, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil told Al-Joumhouria newspaper. Khalil noted that the plan aims at bringing the deficit-to-GDP ratio to less than 9%, adding that the deficit could be reduced by up to 2.5 percent this year. In its policy statement, the government pledged to undertake a financial consolidation that would start by decreasing the deficit by at least 1% of GDP annually over the next five years, as required by the international community at the CEDRE conference.

Former President Amine Gemayel Proposes National Strategy to Deal with Refugee Crisis in Lebanon
Kataeb.org/Tuesday 02nd April 2019/As part of his visit to Australia, former President Amine Gemayel gave a lecture at the Western Sydney University where a conference was held to discuss the Syrian refugees crisis and the challenge it poses to human rights. Gemayel said that the Syrian crisis constitutes, first and foremost, a challenge to the human rights of the Syrian people who are the primary victims of this war waged on them by their own government and its allies. He also noted that the Syrian war has posed a severe challenge to the Lebanese people as well, jeopardizing its legitimate right to security and self-determination. Gemayel warned that the permanent presence of Syrian refugees is dangerously exacerbating a series of problems that, if left unaddressed, will provoke a national crisis and even lead to state failure. The former president outlined that the bitter and tragic history of the Palestinians in Lebanon had contributed to the Lebanese authorities' decision not to set camps for Syrian refugees for fear that these "supposedly temporary" encampments would become autonomous and permanent entities challenging Lebanon's sovereignty and existence. "Thus, any attempt to highlight the Lebanese perspective on the Syrian refugee crisis as a challenge to human rights must take into account the fact that Lebanon has paid a heavy price for the Palestinian presence in our country," he stressed. Gemayel put forth a national strategy that the Lebanese state must adopt to deal with the lingering refugee crisis. The proposed strategy includes the following steps:
- Refusing the naturalization of Syrians and denying them a permanent residency in Lebanon;
- Ensuring the safe return of refugees to their homeland;
- Adopting a comprehensive government approach and assigning the refugees' return file to one working power/agency;
- Establishing full control of the border with Syria;
- Enabling the Foreign Ministry to set out a diplomatic policy that allows Lebanon to speak with one voice on the refugees affairs;
- Coordinating diplomatic efforts with Turkey, Jordan and other countries hosting refugees.

26th edition of HORECA LEBANON opens in grand fashion under patronage of Tourism Minister
Tue 02 Apr 2019/NNA - Under the patronage of Lebanese Minister of Tourism, H.E. Mr. AvedisGuidanian, Hospitality Services celebrated the official opening of the 26th edition of HORECA LEBANON, the annual meeting place for the hospitality and foodservice industries, on April 2nd, 2019, at Beirut's Seaside Arena. The ceremony was attended by:H.E. Mr. AvedisGuidanian;Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade, H.E. Mr. Mansour Bteich; Lebanese Minister of Post & Telecommunication, H.E. Mr. Mohamad Choucair, presidents of associations and syndicates; prominent figures in the hospitality and foodservice industries as well as media representatives. "For a better industry"is HORECA LEBANON's theme for this year,which defines the objective of the event: to be a regional business meeting place where the future of the hospitality and foodservice sectors in Lebanon and the Middle East can be shaped. The event is set to welcome 18,000 industry professionals and more than 300 local and international exhibitors from Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, KSA, Kuwait, Poland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, UAE and USA. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore over 2,500 brands during the four-day event. "We will be celebrating our biggest edition to date this year, with more than 100 events taking place over four days," says Joumana Dammous-Salame, managing director of Hospitality Services, the event organizer. Over 70 international experts from the world of food, drink and hospitality will attend the 2019 show to conduct demonstrations and judge a number of competitions such as the renowned Hospitality Salon Culinaire, the Junior Chef Competition, the Art of Service Competition, Coupe du monde de la patisserie, the Lebanese Bartenders Competition, Mocktail Competition, the Lebanese Barista Competition, Latter Art Competition, Atelier Gourmand, Al Matbakh, Wine Lab, Arak Lab, Annual Hospitality Forum, National olive oil contest and the Bed Making Competition.

Lebanese Anti-Hizbullah Daily: Iran Has Evacuated Bases, Weapons Depots, Near Damascus International Airport For Fear Of Israeli Attacks – And Will Operate Out Of Airport Near Syria-Lebanon Border
MEMRI/April 02/19
On March 23, 2019, the Lebanese anti-Hizbullah Al-Modon daily reported that during February 2019, Iran had evacuated its bases and weapons depots near the Damascus International Airport.[1]It explained that this move was based on understandings with Russia and was aimed at preventing further attacks by Israel in the region. In accordance with these understandings, it added, Iran would be able to continue to send fighters, light military equipment, and logistical support via the Damascus airport, but that precision and long-range missiles, according to the assessment of sources cited in the report, would from now on be sent to Syria via Iraq or Lebanon.
The report added, citing a source described as close to the Damascus airport administration, that most of the Iranian missiles at the evacuated bases had been transferred to commands of the Syrian Army's Fourth Division in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, and that some of the equipment and ammunition were transferred to bases of the Syrian Army First Division as well as to the Al-Mezzeh Military Airport southwest of Damascus.
Also according to the report, Iran is planning to establish a new military airport near Al-Kiswah in the west of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, and that it has recommenced activity at the Al-Dimas Airport in the same region, near the Syria-Lebanon border. The new military airport will be used, inter alia, to launch drones into Israel for fighting and surveillance purposes, and as a Hizbullah intelligence base.
The following is a translation of the main points of the March 23 Al-Modon report:[2]
Iranian Bases, Weapons Are Being Transferred From Damascus Airport To Other Bases – For Fear Of Israeli Attacks
"A special source has confirmed to Al-Modon that the Iranian militias have completed the February [2019] evacuation of their depots and intelligence centers located three kilometers from Damascus International Airport, in accordance with understandings [arrived at] with the Russian side, with the aim of protecting the airport from further [Israeli] attacks. According to the source, the agreement [with the Russians] states that Iran will stop sending prohibited weapons and ammunition, such as precision and long-range missiles, via Damascus International Airport, but will be permitted to continue to send fighters, light military equipment, and the logistical support required by the Shi'ite fighters fighting in Syria [via this route]. The source, who is close to the [Damascus] airport administration, stated that the Iran-Russia agreement would lead to Russia-Israel coordination, according to which [Israel] would stop bombing the airport and its environs during the evacuation activity.
"According to the source, the evacuated positions included more than nine large depots of weapons, ammunition, and long-range missiles. Additionally, an intelligence center near the airport, facing Eastern Ghouta, was evacuated, as were a center spying on wireless communications and an operational command center. The evacuated depots' [inventory] was divided among military bases east, west, and north of Damascus, and most of the missiles were transferred to [Syrian Army] Fourth Division command posts, situated on the broad mountain range in the west of Rif Dimashq Governorate Likewise, some of the weapons, ammunition, and logistical equipment were transferred to bases of the First Division; of all the regime forces, this division is the most closely affiliated with Iran, while some of the medium and light weapons and equipment were transferred to the Al-Mezzeh Military Airport."
From Now On, Iran Will Send Military Equipment Via Airports In Iraq Or Lebanon, And From There Overland To Syria
"Among the evacuated positions is the 'Glass House'– the largest Iranian base near Damascus International Airport. Israel, which has disseminated photos of it, claimed nevertheless that it has been empty for months, with no notable activity going on there. But the Iranians, according to sources [who spoke to Al-Modon], have left one underground command at the Glass House, for receiving visiting Iranian personnel arriving in Damascus via the airport for temporary [stays] until the route to their destination is secured.
"Despite the evacuation of dozens of Iranian military positions around the international airport, there remain groups of fighters subject to the local and foreign Shi'ite militias; these groups are located in the government factories and in the large abandoned hangars around the airport, facing Eastern Ghouta. Around these places are air defense bases, that serve as dormitories and as training centers [for fighters]...
"The source assessed that Iranian equipment [destined for Syria] will from now on be sent to airports in Iraq and from there will be transported overland to Syria, or via Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport and from there [to Syria] via legal and illegal passages controlled by Hizbullah and other groups subject to Iran."
Iran Seeks To Build A Military Airport West Of Rif Dimashq, And Is Already Operating Another, As A Base For Fighting And Espionage Against Israel
"The operation to evacuate the Iranian depots near Damascus airport was carried out at the same time as discussions [were underway] about Iran's intention, in agreement with the Russians, to establish a new military airport in western Rif Dimashq near the town of Al-Kiswah. Most of the Shi'ite, Iranian, and Lebanese militias are located there. The aim is to move the activity at Al-Mezzeh Military Airport to the new airport, which will be under full Iranian control and will serve military purposes, instead of moving it to Damascus International Airport.
"Sources also told Al-Modon that the Iranian militias had operated Al-Dimas Airport [used for] gliders and that it was not in operation since being bombed by Israel in 2014... [sometime after which] it became a training base and living quarters for local and foreign militias belonging to the regime. Al-Dimas Airport began operating [once more as an airport] in early 2019 in coordination with [Syrian] Air Forces units. According to Al-Modon's sources, Iran has designated it [i.e. Al-Dimas Airport, as the site] for developing drones for fighting and for surveillance of the Golan and of positions near Israel. This is in addition to using it as an intelligence base [for holding] command meetings with the participation of Hizbullah commanders, due to its proximity to the Syria-Lebanon border..."
[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 7464, Reports In Arab Media On Iranian Bases In Syria, May 10, 2018.
[2] Almodon.com, March 23, 2019.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on April 02-03/19
Netanyahu to meet Putin days before Israel vote
AFP, Jerusalem/Tuesday, 2 April 2019/Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, just five days ahead of an April 9 Israeli general election, the premier’s office said. Netanyahu has held a series of meetings with foreign leaders in the run-up to the vote, helping him further his argument that he is Israel’s irreplaceable leader. His office did not provide further details in its brief statement on the meeting on Tuesday. Israel and Russia coordinate their military activity in Syria to avoid accidental clashes. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria. It has pledged to keep its main enemy Iran from entrenching itself militarily in the neighboring country. In the civil war that erupted in Syria in 2011, Russia has been backing President Bashar al-Assad’s forces alongside Iran and Tehran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. A friendly fire incident in September that led to Syrian air defenses downing a Russian plane during an Israeli raid angered the Kremlin, which blamed Israel. Netanyahu and Putin held their first extensive face-to-face discussions since the friendly fire incident in Moscow on February 27. The two have spoken repeatedly by phone in recent months, including on Monday. The Israeli premier is currently hosting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who arrived in Israel for a three-day visit on Sunday.
He also recently hosted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and last week met US President Donald Trump in Washington. Netanyahu is facing a tough election challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz.

Israeli troops kill Palestinian man in West Bank clashes
AgenciesTuesday, 2 April 2019/A Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces on Tuesday during clashes with troops in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said. The ministry said Mohammed Adwan, 23, was killed and three others were wounded. Two residents said soldiers arrived in the Qalandiya area early on Tuesday to carry out arrests and young men threw stones at them. The Israeli army said there was a “riot” during an operation in the nearby Kufr Aqab area, and “rocks and explosive devices were hurled at the troops, who responded with fire.”Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek to establish a state there and in the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014.

Britain, France, Germany seek full UN report of Iran missile activity
AFP, United Nations, United States/Tuesday, 2 April 2019/Britain, France and Germany are accusing Iran of developing missile technology, following recent activities, that they said was inconsistent with a UN resolution, and are calling for a full UN report, according to a letter released on Tuesday. The European trio cited Iran’s launch of a space vehicle and the unveiling of two new ballistic missiles in February as forming “part of trend of increased activity inconsistent” with the resolution, according to the letter sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 -- adopted just after the 2015 nuclear deal -- calls on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”Tehran insists that its missile program is defensive and that it has no intention of developing a nuclear capability. The three countries asked Guterres to “report fully and throughly on Iranian ballistic missile activity” in his next report, which is expected in June. The letter from the European countries, which are signatories to the nuclear deal along with the United States and Russia, came nearly a month after the United States made a similar appeal to the council, saying it was time to bring back tougher international restrictions on Tehran.
Sanctions reimposed
President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear accord in May last year and reimposed sanctions on Iran, citing concerns about missile development among its reasons. At a council meeting in December, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for tighter restrictions on Iran to curb its missile program but Russia flatly asserted that there was no proof that Iran’s missiles can carry a nuclear payload. The European countries said the Safir space launch vehicle used for a satellite blastoff on February 6 is based on two other missiles and uses technology closely related to the development of long-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The new “Dezful” missile during its inauguration ceremony at an undisclosed location. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards unveiled a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometres on February 7. (AFP) On February 7, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards unveiled the Dezful surface-to-surface missile which they claimed had a range of 1,000 kilometers, according to the letter sent on March 25. During a public display in Tehran on February 4, Iran revealed a variant of the Khorramshahr ballistic missile that the letter said was “potentially an intermediate-range ballistic missile.”Iran reined in most of its nuclear program under the landmark nuclear deal with major powers but has kept up development of its ballistic missile technology.

US blames Iran for flood toll, says ready to help
AFP, Washington/Tuesday, 2 April 2019/US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday blamed Iran for the level of devastation from major floods and said Washington was ready to help. Pompeo issued a statement in implicit response to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who on Twitter blamed “economic terrorism” by the United States whose sanctions have led to a chronic shortage of rescue helicopters. “These floods once again show the level of Iranian regime mismanagement in urban planning and in emergency preparedness. The regime blames outside entities when, in fact, it is their mismanagement that has led to this disaster,” Pompeo said in a statement. “The United States stands ready to assist and contribute to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which would then direct the money through the Iranian Red Crescent for relief,” he said. Vast stretches of Iran have been inundated since mid-March, killing some 50 people and disrupting major transportation and communications. The Iranian Red Crescent said Tuesday it was preparing to accommodate 100,000 people as rain hits southwestern Khuzestan province. The disaster struck just as Iran was reeling from the reimposition of sweeping US sanctions with President Donald Trump hoping to curb the clerical regime’s influence around the Middle East. In contrast with earlier disasters such as the 2003 Bam earthquake, foreign assistance has been minimal amid fear of US penalties for dealings with Iran. Pompeo in his statement also highlighted Iran’s targeting of environmentalists “for attempting to help Iran prepare for these very issues.” Eight environmentalists appeared in court earlier this year on charges they were spying on military bases.

US blames Iranian 'mismanagement' for slow deadly floods response
Arab News/April 02/2019/TEHRAN: The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blames Iranian "mismanagement" for hampering rescue efforts in flood-stricken areas. Mike Pompeo hit back at claims earlier from Tehran that US sanctions re-imposed by the Trump administration last year have been the major obstacle to successful rescue efforts. Iran has been facing major flooding for the past two weeks and on Monday, the death toll in the disaster rose to 45. The floods have struck hundreds of villages as well as towns and cities in the western half of the country, where in some places an emergency situation has been declared. "These floods once again show the level of Iranian regime mismanagement in urban planning and in emergency preparedness," Pompeo said. "The regime blames outside entities when, in fact, it is their mismanagement that has led to this disaster. They even jail environmentalists for attempting to help Iran prepare for these very issues. "The United States stands ready to assist and contribute to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which would then direct the money through the Iranian Red Crescent for relief."
Earlier, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that America’s “maximum pressure” policy on Iran “is impeding aid efforts by Iranian Red Crescent to all communities devastated by unprecedented floods.” He said the sanctions have prevented Tehran from getting badly needed equipment, including relief helicopters. “This isn’t just economic warfare; it’s economic terrorism.”Local authorities in the stricken areas have repeatedly asked for more helicopters to reach remote and cutoff locations, AP reported. Iranian state media said on Tuesday that dozens of military and Iranian Red Crescent helicopters are taking part in the relief operation. Britain and Germany have offered to send help, including boats and safety equipment. Iranian media reports said the floods have cut off some 80 intercity roads, as well as roads to nearly 2,200 villages, and that electricity and communications with many places, including in western Ilam and Lorestan provinces, have been cut. Authorities have issued evacuation warnings and state TV has broadcast footage showing inundated towns and villages in western and southwestern Iran. State media said officials have warned about the possibility of dams breaking and have ordered emergency water discharges from reservoirs to prevent a catastrophe. Triggered by heavy rainfall, several rivers have burst from their banks. Emergency services are advising people to postpone unnecessary intra-city commutes as well as trips to western and southern Iran, including the oil-rich Khuzestan province which is expecting heavy flooding in the coming days as overflowing rivers from provinces upstream reach Khuzestan. The floods have hit Iran particularly hard, coming against the backdrop of a spiraling economic crisis. President Donald Trump’s decision last year to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal with world powers and restore crippling economic sanctions have caused the Iranian currency, the rial, to plummet in recent months, sending prices skyrocketing and wiping out many people’s life savings. The floods first began in the second half of March in the northern provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran and later spread. Iran has seen a decades-long drought but the latest flooding has also been blamed on widespread disregard of safety measures and construction of buildings and roads near the rivers. Last year, at least 30 people were killed by flash floods in East Azerbaijan province.*With AP

US Suspends F-35 Program Deliveries to Turkey over Russian Arms
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 02/19/The United States said Monday it was halting all deliveries and joint work with Turkey on the F-35 fighter jet program after the NATO ally insisted on a major arms purchase from Russia. After months of warnings, the United States said that Turkey's decision to buy Russia's S-400 missile system was incompatible with remaining part of the emblematic US warplane program. "Until they forgo delivery of the S-400, the United States has suspended deliveries and activities associated with the stand-up of Turkey's F-35 operational capability," Pentagon chief spokesman Charles E. Summers Jr. said. "Should Turkey procure the S-400, their continued participation in the F-35 program is at risk," he said in a statement. US officials have voiced concern that, with Turkey in both camps, Russia could obtain F-35 data to improve the accuracy of the S-400 against Western aircraft. The Pentagon said that it had started to look at secondary sources to produce parts for F-35s that were being developed in Turkey. "We very much regret the current situation facing our F-35 partnership with Turkey, but the (Defense Department) is taking prudent steps to protect the shared investments made in our critical technology," Summers said. Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35A fighter jets, with pilots already training in the United States. The plane's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, said that contracts with Turkish companies to build parts for the F-35 had been expected to reach $12 billion. Among the eight Turkish companies involved in the purchase, Ayesas has been building a panoramic cockpit display for the F-35 and Fokker Elmo makes 40 percent of the electrical wiring and interconnection system, according to Lockheed Martin.
Growing tilt to Russia
The purchase of a Russian system is highly unusual for a member of NATO, the Western alliance forged to counter the Soviet Union. The US suspension announcement comes two days before foreign ministers from the 29 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are due in Washington to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the alliance -- and hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP party suffered a surprise rout in elections in major cities including Istanbul. Erdogan, whose relations with the West have soured sharply as he cracks down on dissent at home, has increasingly looked to Moscow as a partner. Russian tourists have made Turkey their top destination, providing a vital economic boost. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Turkey, where Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu insisted that the S-400 purchase would go ahead. "We have an agreement with Russia and we are bound by it," Cavusoglu told reporters. Hoping to offer an alternative, the United States last year approved the sale of Patriot missiles to Turkey -- a deal to which Ankara said it was open. Four senators last week proposed legally barring the transfer of F-35s to Turkey if it buys the S-400. One of the senators, Democrat Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, praised the Pentagon suspension and pledged to "continue working in the Senate to prevent this dangerous possibility from becoming a reality."
Rocky ties with US
Turkey's relations with the United States plunged last year when President Donald Trump imposed tariffs, battering Turkey's lira, over the jailing of an American pastor detained as part of a mass roundup following a coup attempt against Erdogan. The pastor, Andrew Brunson, was freed and Trump appeared to grow fond of Erdogan, speaking to him before his sudden decision to withdrew US troops from Syria. But tensions quickly resurfaced with the United States fearful that Erdogan will strike US-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria and a Turkish court trying a US consulate staffer, Metin Topuz, on charges of spying. Topuz, a Turkish citizen, is accused of ties to Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States. Erdogan has repeatedly demanded that the United States extradite Gulen, whom the Turkish leader accuses of fomenting the coup.

U.S.-Backed Force Tracks Syria Jihadists after 'Caliphate' Falls
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 02/19/A U.S.-backed force said Tuesday it was chasing Islamic State group jihadists in eastern Syria, as coalition warplanes pound the militants more than a week after their "caliphate" was declared defeated. The Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by warplanes of a U.S.-led coalition, dislodged IS fighters from their last redoubt in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border on March 23, following a months-long offensive. The U.S.-backed alliance is now "tracking down remnants of the terrorist group," SDF spokesman Mustefa Bali said on Tuesday. "There are groups hiding in caves overlooking Baghouz," he said. The U.S.-led coalition said it was supporting sweeping operations with air strikes on jihadist hideouts. "The Syrian Democratic Forces continues to deny Daesh a physical space and influence in the area and work to deny them the resources they need to return," coalition spokesman Scott Rawlinson told AFP on Monday, using an Arabic acronym for IS. "In support of back-clearance operations, the coalition continues to conduct precision strike support in coordination with SDF," he said. The official said anti-IS operations are now focusing on "eroding" IS' "capacity to regenerate and collaborate."The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said that more than a dozen coalition air strikes have targeted IS hideouts in Baghouz since Sunday. Strikes hit caves and farmlands in the village where holdout jihadists are believed to be hiding, it said. IS fighters also retain a presence in Syria's vast Badia desert and various other hideouts, and have continued to claim deadly attacks in SDF-held territory. Last week, IS killed seven U.S.-backed fighters in an attack on a checkpoint in the northern city of Manbij, which is controlled by a local council linked to the SDF. The Observatory on Tuesday said that nine suspected jihadists were captured in the former IS bastion of Raqa since Sunday. The SDF has warned that a new phase has begun in anti-IS operations, following the defeat of the jihadist proto-state. They appealed for sustained coalition assistance to help smash sleeper cells. The "caliphate" proclaimed in mid-2014 by fugitive IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi started collapsing in 2017 when parallel offensives in Iraq and Syria wrested back its main urban hubs -- Mosul and Raqa. The nearly five years of fighting against the most brutal jihadist group in modern history left major cities in ruins and populations homeless.

Egypt sentences dozens to prison on terror charges
The Associated Press, CairoTuesday, 2 April 2019/Egypt has sentenced more than 70 suspected members of the Muslim Brotherhood group to prison on terror-related charges. The Ismailia criminal court on Tuesday sentenced nine of the defendants to 15 years in prison and 43 others to 10 years. Another 22 were sentenced to three to seven years, and 14 were acquitted. Nearly half of the defendants were tried in absentia. The defendants were accused of burning police vehicles and attacking a coffee shop. The violence came in response to the dispersal of two pro-Muslim Brotherhood mass sit-ins in Cairo in 2013.

Algeria's President Bouteflika Resigns
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 02/19/Algeria's ailing leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika submitted his resignation with immediate effect, state television said Tuesday, ceding power in the face of massive street protests after two decades at the helm. Bouteflika "officially advised the Constitutional Council of the end of his term of office as President of the Republic" from Tuesday, said a news ticker on the public broadcaster. Long accused of clinging to power, Bouteflika has come under mounting pressure to step down since his decision to seek a fifth term despite rarely being seen in public after suffering a stroke in 2013. The 82-year-old, who uses a wheelchair, said last month he would pull out of the bid for another term, and on Monday his office said he would resign before his mandate expires at the end of the month. The moves failed to satisfy protesters who feared a ploy to extend his rule, with hundreds of students taking to the streets earlier on Tuesday. The news of his resignation ends 20 years of rule, with the veteran of the independence struggle finally losing his grip after weeks of massive street protests and the loss of support from key loyalists. Car horns sounded in the street as small crowds of people began gathering to celebrate in Algiers. Algeria's constitution says that once the president officially resigns the speaker of the upper house of parliament would act as interim leader for up to 90 days during which a presidential election must be organised. The resignation came hours after the military demanded impeachment proceedings be launched against Bouteflika immediately as it dismissed the announcement he would resign before his mandate expires. Armed forces chief Ahmed Gaid Salah called for "the immediate application of the constitutional procedure for removing the head of state from power", in a defense ministry statement after a meeting of top brass. The statement said the army considered an announcement from the presidency on Monday that Bouteflika would resign by the end of his term on April 28 as invalid because it did not come from the president himself.Any decision taken outside the constitutional framework is considered null and void," the general said.
Radical change
Without naming anyone, Gaid Salah criticized "the stubbornness, the procrastination and the deviousness of certain individuals who are trying to make the crisis last and make it more complex with the only concern being their narrow personal interests." He said the army's "sole ambition" was to "protect the people from a handful of (other) people who have unduly taken over the wealth of the Algerian people." A long-time Bouteflika ally, the general last week called on the president to resign or be declared unfit to rule, becoming one of the first of his faithful supporters to abandon him. On Monday, the presidency said in a statement that Bouteflika would resign "before April 28, 2019", after "important decisions" were taken, without specifying when these moves would occur. The veteran leader would take "steps to ensure state institutions continue to function during the transition period", it said in the brief statement that was carried by the official APS news agency. That announcement was greeted by little sign of euphoria as people insisted that the whole ruling establishment must go. Bouteflika's resignation would not "change anything", psychology student Meriem Medjdoub said as she marched in central Algiers earlier Tuesday with around 1,000 protesters. "We are demanding a radical change," she told AFP.
Rumors swirl
As rumors swirled of frantic behind-the-scenes maneuvering, prosecutors on Monday announced they had banned corruption suspects from leaving Algeria after launching graft probes against unnamed individuals. The authorities did not say who was being targeted by probes into corruption and illegal money transfers abroad, but they followed the arrest of the president's key backer, businessman tycoon Ali Haddad. Haddad, who Forbes magazine describes as one of Algeria's wealthiest entrepreneurs, was detained at the weekend at a border post with neighboring Tunisia. Bouteflika had named a new government on Sunday, made up mainly of technocrats under recently appointed premier Noureddine Bedoui. The administration -- supposed to steer the country towards transition -- included General Gaid Salah remaining in his position as deputy defense minister. Among the other key Bouteflika backers is his younger brother and special adviser Said, who was frequently cited in the past as a likely successor to the president. Discreet and rarely seen in public, Said Bouteflika has exerted increasing influence behind the scenes as his brother's health woes worsened, but the president's resignation could take away much of his power.

British PM Mulls Solution to Brexit Deadlock as EU Warns of No-Deal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 02/19/British Prime Minister Theresa May chairs a crucial meeting of senior ministers on Tuesday to seek a way out of a months-long Brexit deadlock, as the EU warned a no-deal departure from the bloc is growing more likely by the day. The cabinet will discuss the next steps after lawmakers failed Monday to find a majority on any alternative to her divorce deal -- an agreement they have also rejected three times already. Brussels has set Britain an April 12 deadline to pass the agreement, settle on an alternative or crash out of the European Union. Backbenchers in parliament's lower House of Commons seized the initiative by holding a round of votes last week on eight alternative Brexit options, but failed to agree on any of them. It refined them down into four choices this week, but once again a majority voted no to them all. The results were closest for proposals to negotiate a permanent customs union with the EU, but that still fell short by three votes. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned Tuesday the parliamentary gridlock meant Britain leaving without an orderly withdrawal agreement next week was now "day after day more likely". "If the UK still wants to leave the EU in an orderly manner, this agreement, this treaty is and will be the only one," he told a think tank in Brussels of May's deal. The EU has called an emergency summit for April 10 to agree on the next steps. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay hinted the government could now bring May's deal back for a fourth vote this week and avoid a longer delay to Brexit that would mean holding elections to the European Parliament next month. "To secure any further extension, the government will have to put forward a credible proposition to the EU," he said. "The only option is to find a way through which allows the UK to leave with a deal. "The best course of action is to do so as soon as possible."
Refusing 'to compromise'
Britain voted by 52 percent to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum, but the process has been mired in divisions over the terms of the divorce and what kind of future ties to seek. The political chaos forced May to postpone Britain's exit from the original date of March 29. Monday's voting saw proposals rejected for remaining in the EU's customs union and its single market. A vote on plans for a second referendum and to block a no-deal Brexit also fell short. Nick Boles, the MP who had proposed a plan to stay in both the single market and a customs union, quit May's Conservative Party after the vote. "I have given everything to an attempt to find a compromise," an emotional Boles told parliament. "I have failed chiefly because my party refuses to compromise. I regret therefore to announce I can no longer sit for this party," he said.
The Conservatives rely on backing from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionists for a narrow majority, which shrank even further with Boles' departure. However Anand Menon, professor of European politics at King's College London, told AFP that the latest votes meant Tuesday's cabinet meeting would be "relatively upbeat"."The cabinet can say... to parliament, 'look, we gave you two chances to come up with something, you've failed both times. Vote for (May's) deal otherwise next week there is a real danger of no-deal'."
British newspapers' front pages raked over the continued impasse. "Farce as Commons fails to agree any Brexit plan AGAIN," said the Daily Mail. The Daily Mirror called it "another night of division and despair".

Erdogan Party Appeals Istanbul, Ankara Results after Turkey Vote
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 02/19/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP on Tuesday appealed against results in Istanbul and Ankara following a weekend election after tallies showed the ruling party lost both key cities. Erdogan's AKP and coalition partner won more than 50 percent of votes nationwide in Sunday's local ballot, but defeat in both Turkey's capital and its economic hub would be a setback after the party's decade and a half in power. The AKP appeals with electoral authorities, who have two days to decide whether the claims of irregularities have merit, may signal more ruling party challenges to the surprise opposition victories. "We have filed our objections with the electoral authorities in all 39 districts," AKP's Istanbul chief Bayram Senocak told reporters. "We have identified irregularities and falsifications."
He said the party had found an "excessive" difference between votes cast at ballot stations for their candidate and the data sent to electoral authorities. Hakan Han Ozcan, AKP's Ankara chairman, told reporters they were also filing an appeal in 25 districts of the capital. Anadolu state news agency said results showed CHP opposition candidate Mansur Yavas with 50.93 percent of votes against 47.11 percent for the AKP. Istanbul, the largest city in the country, was a key prize for Erdogan and he had fielded former premier and loyalist Binali Yildirim as candidate for mayor.But Istanbul was a very tight race and both Yildirim and the opposition CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu claimed victory in the early hours of Monday when tallies showed them in a dead heat. Symbolic gesture Electoral authorities on Monday announced Imamoglu was ahead by 28,000 votes with nearly all ballot boxes tallied, prompting AKP officials to challenge to the result. Imamoglu had 48.79 percent of the votes while Yildirim had 48.52 percent, Anadolu reported on Tuesday, citing preliminary results.Imamoglu on Tuesday traveled to Ankara to lay flowers at the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Musfafa Kemal Ataturk in a highly symbolic gesture Erdogan often does himself soon after his election wins. "Had the other party won, I would have said 'congratulations Mr Binali Yildirim', which I do not say because I am the one who won," Imamoglu told reporters. "They are behaving like a kid who has been deprived of his toy."AKP party spokesman Omer Celik on Monday had said they had found discrepancies between reports from polling stations and vote counts in both Ankara and Istanbul. Erdogan, himself a former Istanbul mayor, had campaigned hard in the city. But the ruling party may have been stung by the economy with Turkey in recession for the first time since 2009 and inflation in double digits.

At al-Azhar, Guterres Warns against Rising Anti-Muslim Hatred
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 02/19/U.N. chief Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against growing hatred of Muslims, less than a month after a deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand killed at least 50 people. His remarks came during a speech at Egypt's Al-Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's foremost religious institution, where he met Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb. "Around the world, we are seeing ever-rising anti-Muslim hatred, anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia," the U.N. secretary general said. He cited the March 15 New Zealand mosque attacks by a white supremacist as well as a 2018 synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that killed 11 people and is believed to be the deadliest against Jews in U.S. history. Guterres warned of a surge in hate speech he said was "entering the mainstream, spreading like wildfire through social media.""We see it spreading in liberal democracies and as well as in authoritarian states." Guterres is on a two-day trip to Egypt, Following his visit to Al-Azhar, he was scheduled to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. On Sunday, he attended an Arab League summit in Tunisia.

Hamas Leader Says Rocket that Hit Israeli House Fired in Error
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 02/19/Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said Tuesday the rocket from Gaza that hit a house in Israel last week launched due to a technical error, his first official statement on the strike. The rocket that was fired from the Gaza Strip on March 25 destroyed a house north of Tel and injured seven Israelis. Israel responded by striking a series of Hamas targets in the Palestinian enclave, including flattening Haniya's office, before Egypt brokered a ceasefire that prevented a full conflict. In his comments on Tuesday, Haniya said the rocket was "due to a technical defect, but was a mini demonstration if (Israel) thought to commit folly against the Palestinian people."The statement from his office said he made the remarks during a meeting with political analysts. He did not provide further details on what type of technical defect could have caused the launch. Previously only unnamed officials from Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza, have said the rocket was fired due to a technical error. Following the latest ceasefire, Hamas said Egypt had brokered a truce that would see Israel ease its crippling blockade of the enclave in exchange for calm. Israel has not publicly commented on the reported agreement. On Monday, Israel expanded the fishing zone around Gaza, increasing it in one area to the largest distance in years, in what Hamas officials said was the first step. An Egyptian security delegation visited Gaza late Monday and met with Hamas. Haniya said the delegation brought a timetable from the Israeli side for implementing the agreements. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in the middle of a grueling election campaign and faces a strong challenge from centrist former military chief Benny Gantz. Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 02-03/19
Druze feelings mixed about Trump’s recognition of Golan
Mordechai Goldman/Al Monitor/April 02/19
ARTICLE SUMMARY
Some Druze residents of the Golan Heights protested US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the territory, but others welcomed it.
REUTERS/Ammar AwadDruze people take part in a protest over President Donald Trump's support for Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, in Majdal Shams near the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, March 23, 2019.
On March 21, when US President Donald Trump tweeted that he supports recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, tempers flared in Druze villages across the territory. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Majdal Shams, waving Syrian flags, carrying photographs of President Bashar al-Assad and shouting, “Golan – Syrian land forever.”
Israel has occupied 1,250 square kilometers of the Golan Heights for 52 years, ever since capturing it in 1967 from the Syrians, who used its strategic position to attack Israeli villages in the Galilee and Jordan Valley for nearly 20 years. Of the 128,000 Syrian citizens who once lived there, only 6,000, most of them Druze, decided to remain there. The rest abandoned their homes and fled to Syria.
After 14 years of Israeli military rule, the Knesset passed a law annexing the Golan Heights and offering Israeli citizenship to residents of the territory. In response, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 497, declaring the annexation “null and void” according to international law.
Since that day in 1981, few residents have requested an Israeli identification card. According to Interior Ministry estimates, no more than 10% have chosen to become naturalized Israeli citizens. According to data obtained by Al-Monitor, there had been a sharp rise in the number of naturalization requests in recent years. Whereas in 2014 only 39 Druze requested citizenship, in 2016 the number increased to 188. It then decreased to 85 in 2018, but requests continue to be made. As of mid-March, 34 Druze had submitted applications to naturalize this year.
Wahel Tarabiah, an art teacher from Majdal Shams and an activist with the Al-Marsad Arab Human Rights Center, sees himself as a Syrian citizen living on Syrian land. He says he will not seek an Israeli identification card.
“In Israel, they call us the ‘Druze villages,’ but culturally we are Arab, and our political affiliation is Syrian,” Tarabiah told Al-Monitor. “We are Druze as a religious identity. We are not the Druze villages! We are the Arab Syrian villages! The Israeli regime calls us this in order to bring religious identity to the forefront and to erase the cultural roots of our identity.”
Tarabiah hopes for the return of the Golan to Syria. “My position against the Israeli occupation is unequivocal,” he explained. “Israeli fascism and apartheid are not essentially different from President Assad’s dictatorship. The only difference is that the Israeli regime is smarter at marketing itself to the world.”
Tarabiah does not, however, believe the Golan will soon change hands. “The return of the Golan to Syrian sovereignty is contingent on the existence of a democratic regime in Syria,” he asserted.
Abbas Abu Awad, head of the Buqa’ata local council, takes a different position.
“Following the Arab Spring in Syria, 90% of the Druze prefer Israeli sovereignty. There’s no question here at all,” he told Al-Monitor. “Three hundred people went to protest out of 24,000 Druze. That’s nothing. Supporters of Syrian nationalism are few.”
As for why the majority of Druze aren’t rushing to identify with Israel, Abu Awad asserted, “Many have family across the fence. They fear that if they support Israel, their families in Syria will be harassed.”
Abu Awad claims that the Druze don’t feel safe siding with Israel. “Israelis have a history of returning territory,” he said. “Israel was in Lebanon for 25 years and then abandoned its allies. The same story happened with Yamit in Sinai [which was returned to Egypt]. For years Israeli governments have held overt negotiations over returning the West Bank and covert negotiations over returning the Golan Heights. People [here] think that Israel could leave the territory, and whoever supported the Israelis would pay a heavy price.”
Despite the minority seeking Israeli citizenship, in recent years a desire to integrate into Israel could be discerned in the rate of people participating in local elections.
Until 2018, as an act of denying Israeli authority, the four Druze villages on the Golan — Majdal Shamas, Masaada, Ein Qinia, and Buqa’ata — had refrained from holding local elections and were content to have affairs managed by a committee appointed by the Israeli interior minister. On October 30, 2018, following protests, threats and general uproar, Ein Qinia, Majdal Shams, and Buqa’ata held elections for the first time in 52 years. Although few participated, that the elections took place should not be taken for granted. Masaada continues to be managed by an Interior appointee.
“The discussion among the Druze is divided between the public and the personal,” Eli Zigdon, chairman of the Masaada committee, told Al-Monitor. “In public they have to support Assad, but in private conversation you hear the complete opposite. They support remaining under Israeli rule.”
Zigdon is convinced that in a few years, opposition to naturalization will decrease substantially. “Israel has controlled the Golan Heights for more years than Syria controlled it,” he said. “Reality is more powerful than anything.”
Tarabiah refuses to accept this as a possibility. “Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights contravenes international law and the resolution of the Security Council, and we will never recognize it,” he said. “Trump’s declaration is a disaster. It proves that occupation pays off. It hurts all international values that were decided following the First and Second World Wars. It takes us all back to the law of the jungle.”
As Tarabiah sees it, the one good thing about Trump’s declaration is its returning the issue of Syrian refugees to the international headlines.
“In 1967, Israel expelled [residents of] 340 villages and two cities from the Golan Heights,” Tarabiah remarked. “Today their descendants number nearly half a million people, and I support their return to the Golan. This right is no less than the right of the return of the Palestinians, but no one talks about the Golan. Now, thanks to Trump, we can bring up this issue. In this respect, I thank him.”
Abu Awad sees Trump’s decision differently. “The Druze are happy with Trump’s move, because it gives us another indication that Israel is not leaving here,” he said. “But we are a suspicious people. It will take many more years until people will believe that the romance with Israel is permanent.”
Mordechai Goldman has served for the past few years as the diplomatic and military analyst of the ultra-Orthodox daily Hamevaser. He attended ultra-Orthodox rabbinical colleges and studied psychology at the Israeli Open University. He also participated in the national civil service program. Goldman lectures to ultra-Orthodox audiences on the diplomatic process and on the Israel Defense Forces and consults with companies in regard to the ultra-Orthodox sector.

Christchurch Murders: The Real Accomplices
Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/April 02/19
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13984/christchurch-murders-accomplices
Two days before the tribute to the victims and the broadcasting of the call to prayer, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern invited an imam to read the Koranic verses of Surah al Baqarah before the opening of a parliamentary session. Surah al Baqarah speaks of "those who are killed in the way of Allah" and evokes a "great punishment" for "those who disbelieve". Do New Zealanders really deserve a great punishment because an Australian came to New Zealand and committed a mass murderer?
In Saudi Arabia, the good news is that in 2018, a few laws were changed to allow women to drive. The bad news is that women are still not allowed to travel, get married or divorced, file a police report, or even leave prison, without the permission of a male guardian. If they try to flee, they risk being arrested or killed. In November, "dozens" of activists involved in the "right to drive" campaign were arrested and are currently on trial. Apple and Google, in their app stores, offer a Saudi Arabian government app that "allows Saudi men to track women under their sponsorship."
The real accomplices of Christchurch mass murderer are not those who sounded the alarm about Muslim immigration to the West, but those in the West who embrace this passive submission, weakness and cultural suicide and refuse to see the potential storms ahead.
The Christchurch massacre -- in which dozens of innocents were slaughtered in cold blood because of their religion, as they were assembled to pray -- was a despicable, indefensible act. The murderer, Brenton Tarrant, is a criminal. The manifesto text he left to justify his act is in no way a justification.
The reactions that followed were marked by legitimate indignation. Unfortunately, the attack was also used to launch a campaign both dangerous and treacherous.
Tarrant, in his manifesto, defined himself as an "eco-fascist" and wrote that he admires British Nazi Oswald Mosley and China's communist regime, and that he rejects conservatism. Even though US President Donald J. Trump condemned the murders, the killer's remarks were used to attack him.
Possibly because Tarrant opposed Muslim immigration to Western countries (mostly, he wrote, because it leads to overpopulation), many of those who expressed concerns about Muslim immigration to the West, or criticized Islamic violence or anti-Semitism, were accused as having been partly or fully responsible for the massacre -- even US President Bill Clinton's daughter, Chelsea Clinton.
By contrast, many Muslims, when extremist violence in the name of Islam takes place, state that they cannot be held "collectively responsible" for the actions of their co-religionists, and that to try to do so is unjust and "Islamophobic." Often, however, it seems as if members of other religions are not held to the same presumption of innocence.
The French author Renaud Camus, for instance, who created the concept of "the great replacement" a decade ago, was presented as having a particularly heavy responsibility for the attack; he was described in the French media as an "accomplice to crime".
Two days before the tribute to the victims and the broadcasting of the call to prayer, New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern invited an imam to read some verses from the Koran's Surah al Baqarah before the opening of a parliamentary session. Part of Surah al Baqarah speaks of "those who are killed in the way of Allah" and evokes a "great punishment" for "those who disbelieve". Do New Zealanders really deserve a great punishment because an Australian came to New Zealand and committed a mass murderer?
Instead of blaming the mass-murderer, Ardern incriminated guns; then said that Tarrant's manifesto text should be removed from websites. She encouraged social networks to suppress messages Tarrant left -- an act that could prevent the possibility of deciphering his motives. Ardern added that she would never speak Tarrant's name and asked everyone else to do the same. She also wore an Islamic veil as a sign of compassion and solidarity. And on Friday, March 21, the Islamic call to prayer was broadcast on radio and television throughout the country, with the words "Allahu Akbar" ("Allah is the greatest"), while many New Zealanders observed two minutes of silence.
On March 24, the country's "chief censor," David Shanks, went a step further and ordered all New Zealanders in possession of Tarrant's manifesto text to destroy it. He added that anyone in New Zealand caught with the text on his or her computer could face up to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, is it still possible to say that there is a huge difference between expressing concerns about Muslim immigration to the West and carrying out a mass murder? Is it still possible to say that there is an immense difference between questioning Islam and killing Muslims? Or that facts have shown that Muslim immigration to the West can have concerning consequences? Or that Islam may not be a religion of peace? Or that millions of Muslim women in the Muslim world might feel repressed by the obligation to wear a hijab?
Can it still be said that guns do not fire on their own but are instruments that people not only use to commit crimes but also to defend themselves? Or that erasing a murderer's writings and messages, and threatening severely to punish people who have his manifesto on a computer, might be counterproductive?
In all European countries with large Muslim populations, no-go zones have emerged, crime rates have increased and immense problems of integration have arisen. After Sweden opened its doors to a mass-immigration from Muslim countries, it became known as the rape capital of the West.
Erasing a murderer's text, background or the messages he leaves, or even hiding his name, can prevent understanding what might lead to such crimes and a society's ability to prevent similar ones in the future.
Criminalizing people who have a text on their computer makes the possession of information a crime.
Asking non-Muslim women to wear a veil implies overlooking that Islam does not treat women as men's equals. While millions of Muslim women agree to wear a veil -- and some even join the jihad and become soldiers -- others who might wish to stop wearing one can be harshly punished. In Iran, Shaparak Shajarizadeh is reported to have been sentenced to 20 years in jail for removing her headscarf, and "morality police" units have been arresting women who have refused to wear one. Women can be sent to prison or flogged.
In Saudi Arabia, the good news is that in 2018, a few laws were changed to allow women to drive, start a business, attend sporting events and have access to education and healthcare without the permission of a male. The bad news, however, is that the religious police are still strictly monitoring respect for Islamic rules; women are still not allowed to travel, get married or divorced, file a police report, or even leave prison, without the permission of a male guardian. If they try to flee, they risk being arrested or killed. In November, "dozens" of activists involved in the "right to drive" campaign were arrested and are currently on trial. Three have been released on bail; but what about the rest? If women are now allowed to drive, what about releasing all of them? Apple and Google, in their app stores, offer a Saudi Arabian government app that "allows Saudi men to track women under their sponsorship."
Broadcasting a call to Muslim prayer including the words "Allahu Akbar" implies overlooking a pattern of a fundamentalist intolerance for other religions, and that the word Islam means "submission." Although many of the acts by New Zealand's government and media are doubtlessly well-intended, they will be likely interpreted as signals of weakness, tacit submission, and an integral part of the cultural suicide that is gaining ground in all Western societies.
There still seems a widespread refusal in the West to look closely at the problems posed by Muslim mass-immigration; a wish to be willfully blind to what Islam expects and a determination not to acknowledge crimes committed on every continent in the name of jihad. These denials go hand-in-hand with blaming firearms for murder; erasing information to be able to pretend it never existed; instituting even more censorship; asking non-Muslim women to wear a Muslim veil to show solidarity and broadcasting throughout a country a prayer saying "Allahu Akbar".
Accepting more and more of this new culture perhaps to appear good-hearted and welcoming, or perhaps simply for more votes, has been the adopted by the leadership of many countries. It has not, however, been so been readily adopted by the population, and has possibly been the leading factor in creating, as a reaction, the rise of nationalist movements all over Europe.
Every society, of course, has its extremists and psychopaths, but if the West keeps sending signals that the violence and demands of Islam are acceptable in the free world, still more atrocities such as Christchurch massacre, as misguided expressions of extreme public frustration, may occur. One might argue that the other side might also be frustrated that their beliefs are not more widely embraced in their new homes, but no one asked them to come to the West or to bring with them the oppression they were supposedly fleeing. Alex Alexiev, Chairman of the Center for Balkan and Black Sea Studies, wrote:
"If there is one thing to be seriously concerned about in the shooter's murderous ravings, it is not his crackpot ideas, but the fact that his views on immigration are shared by a majority of Europeans — and not only in Eastern Europe, which refuses to take any immigrants."
The real accomplices of Christchurch mass murderer are not those who sounded the alarm about Muslim immigration to the West, but those in the West who embrace this passive submission, weakness and cultural suicide and refuse to see the potential storms ahead.
"The claim that Islam is a religion of peace," the noted British author and commentator Douglas Murray, observed, "is a nicety invented by Western politicians so as either not to offend their Muslim populations or simply lie to themselves that everything might yet turn out fine."
The risk that everything will not turn out "fine" is all too real; it cannot be indefinitely ignored.
*Dr. Guy Millière, a professor at the University of Paris, is the author of 27 books on France and Europe.
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