LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 10.2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never
First Letter to the Corinthians 06/12-20/:”‘All things are lawful for me’, but not all things are beneficial. ‘All things are lawful for me’, but I will not be dominated by anything. ‘Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food’, and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, ‘The two shall be one flesh.’But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 09-10/2020
Maronite Archbishop: True Leader is One who Resists Naturalization of Refugees
Abdul-Sater calls on officials to work closely with real rebels
Aoun says a number of states expressed desire to help Lebanon
Presidency Information Office issues a clarification statement
Rahi: We pray that the youth uprising remains a torch in the conscience of officials
3 Troops Killed, 3 Hurt in Raid to Arrest Hermel Fugitive
Fahmi: Any attack against the Army is an attack against all the Lebanese
Diab Says Attack on Army an Attack on Stability, All Lebanese
Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel, says his Party will be on the side of the uprising people
Ministry Says Berri Daughter's Qatar Job 'Not a Deal with Bassil'
Hasan Says Woman Coming from China Quarantined 'at Her Request'
Fire extinguished in former Virgin Mega Store building in Central Beirut
Raad: Trust is gained gradually with every step that is achieved with integrity and transparency
Abu Faour: We will give the government a chance, and we are not leading a campaign to bring down the covenant
Will Hezbollah impose its foreign policy on Lebanon?/Rami Rayess/The Arab Weekly/February 09/2020
MP Chamel Roukoz to Asharq Al-Awsat: New Lebanese Govt. is Not Independent/Paula Astih/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 09/2020
Natural cosmetics mark their presence in Lebanon/Perla Kantarjian/Annahar/February 09/2020

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 09-10/2020
New Iranian failure to put satellite into orbit
Republican Senators urge Twitter to ban Khamenei, Zarif from the platform
After US envoy criticism, German president will not honor Iran’s regime
US Ambassador Warns Israel Against 'Unilateral' West Bank Moves
Pope Prays for ‘Martyred’ Syria amid Idlib Escalation
Syrian Regime on Verge of Capturing Key M5 Highway, Says Monitor
Ilham Ahmed to Asharq Al-Awsat: Damascus Agreed to Political Dialogue with Guarantee from Moscow
Israel Blocks Palestinian Export in Escalating Trade Crisis
Fatah, Hamas Agree to Five-way Meeting of Factions
Emergence of Libyan Jews on Political Scene Revives Debate over Minorities
Riyadh to Host Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit on Monday
US Officials Demand Twitter to Suspend Iranian Accounts
Khamenei Acknowledges Impact of US Sanctions on Iran
Iran Satellite Fails to Reach Orbit
Iraq’s Allawi Rejects Political Quotas, Works to Form Independent Government
Mubarak al-Mahdi to Asharq Al-Awsat: Normalizing Ties with Israel Acquits Sudan of Terrorism
Sisi Calls for Firm Stance to Confront Dispatch of ‘Terrorists’ to Libya
China Virus Deaths Rise Past 800, Overtaking SARS Toll

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 09-10/2020
Iran’s iron curtain is falling/Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/February 09/2020
Iran regime ratchets up cyberattacks in wake of Soleimani’s death/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/February 09/2020
Tehran’s proxies should be punished by Iraqi voters/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/February 09/2020
Why attacks on Al-Azhar and its grand imam are misguided/Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/February 09/2020
Turkey’s political balancing act over Crimean Tatars’ rights/Yasar Yakis/Arab News/February 09/2020
France Quietly Reintroducing the Crime of Blasphemy/Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/February 09/2020
Germany’s Far Right Causes a Political Earthquake/Andreas Kluth/Bloomberg/February, 09/2020
Coronavirus Would Be Worse Without the Web/Tyler Cowen/Bloomberg/February, 09/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 09-10/2020
Maronite Archbishop: True Leader is One who Resists Naturalization of Refugees
Naharnet/February 09/2020
Maronite Archbishop of Beirut Boulos Abdul Sater on Sunday noted that “a true leader is one who resists the naturalization (of refugees) and one who chooses to leave rather than disappoint or harm his people.”
“A true leader is not one who believes that the country is a property for him and for his children after him or one who monopolizes power and aggrieves those who placed their confidence in him,” Abdul Sater said in a sermon marking Saint Maron’s Day. The mass celebrating the occasion was attended by President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Hassan Diab. “Don’t the tens of thousands of Lebanese who elected you deserve that you fix the flaws in the political, economic and financial performance and that you work night and day with the true revolutionaries on securing what provides decent living to every citizen? Otherwise, resignation would be more honorable,” the archbishop added, addressing Lebanon’s politicians.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked.

Abdul-Sater calls on officials to work closely with real rebels
NNA/February 09/2020 
Lebanese political and security leaders gathered Sunday at the Mar Maroun Church in Ashrafieh's Gemmayzeh for a Mass led by Beirut Maronite Archbishop, Boulos Abdul-Sater, to mark St. Maroun's Day. "Don't the tens of thousands of Lebanese who elected you deserve that the political, economic and financial imbalances be addressed?" Abdul-Sater asked the officials during the sermon, underscoring the necessity to work day and night with the real rebels, otherwise resignation is "more honorable". The Mass was attended by President Michel Aoun, House Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Hassan Diab, in addition to various political, security, social and religious leaders. Abdul-Sater also prayed for "all Lebanese officials so they could leave behind a good legacy after a long life, and remember that authority is a service." "A genuine leader is the one who resists resettlement and naturalization," he concluded.

Aoun says a number of states expressed desire to help Lebanon
Reuters/Daily Star/February 09/2020
BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun said Saturday that foreign states, particularly France, had expressed a desire to help Lebanon emerge from a severe economic crisis. As the country grapples with its worst economic and financial strains in decades, foreign donors have said they will only help if the government enacts long-stalled reforms. Aoun said he had a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron and the two would speak again in the next few days. "A number of states have expressed their desire to help Lebanon, with France at their forefront," Aoun's office quoted him as saying Saturday in an interview with French magazine Valeurs Actuelles. It did not elaborate. The new Lebanese government has approved a rescue plan that envisages seeking foreign help, calls for interest rate cuts, and warns some "painful steps" will be necessary, according to a copy seen Thursday. The policy statement will be presented to parliament next week for a vote of confidence. Prime Minister Hassan Diab's cabinet was formed last month with the support of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and its political allies, which hold a parliamentary majority. The government must contend with a liquidity crunch, shattered confidence in banks, a weakened Lebanese pound and soaring inflation. It took office some three months after Saad al-Hariri's government resigned under pressure from nationwide protests against a ruling elite accused of corruption.

Presidency Information Office issues a clarification statement
NNA/February 09/2020 
The Presidency Information Office clarified, in an issued statement today, that "the Directorate of Protocols at the Republic Presidency has nothing to do with the call to the Mass that was held today on the occasion of St. Maroun’s Day, the patron saint of the Maronite community, because said invitations have always been the responsibility of the Maronite Diocese of Beirut." The statement added that the Presidency of the Republic has no knowledge, in advance, of the invitees’ names since the occasion is religious and participation in it is usually open to the public.

Rahi: We pray that the youth uprising remains a torch in the conscience of officials
NNA/February 09/2020
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros Rahi, presided over Saint Maroun Mass service at the Pontifical Maronite Institute in Rome, in the presence of the Lebanese Ambassador to the Vatican, Farid Al-Khazen, and several diplomatic figures. Rahi prayed for Lebanon so that this country would emerge from its serious political, social and economic crises, through the hands of those with good intentions. Finally, he expressed hope that the youth uprising will remain a torch in the conscience of officials.

3 Troops Killed, 3 Hurt in Raid to Arrest Hermel Fugitive
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/Web sites/February 09/2020
Three army troops were killed and three others wounded in a raid to arrest a fugitive in the Hermel area of Ras al-Assi on Sunday. The fugitive, identified as Kh.A.D., was also killed in the operation. TV networks added that there was a chase and that an army force was encircling the region. An army statement said the troops were pursuing a stolen vehicle when the gunfight erupted. The army patrol giving chase "was ambushed and came under fire," the statement said. It said one gunman was killed and the driver of the vehicle was arrested, without providing additional details. Prime Minister Hassan Diab condemned the ambush, saying an attack on the army is an attack on all Lebanese. "What is required at this moment is to speed up the arrest of the attackers," he said, without identifying those responsible, in a statement carried by state-run National News Agency.

Fahmi: Any attack against the Army is an attack against all the Lebanese
NNA/February 09/2020 
Interior and Municipalities Minister Mohamad Fahmi denounced via Twitter this evening the attack against the Lebanese Army, expressing his deepest condolences to the families of the hero martyrs. "Any attack against the Lebanese Army is an attack against Lebanon as a whole," underlined Fahmi, while stressing that "the entire military forces remain the safety valve of the nation."

Diab Says Attack on Army an Attack on Stability, All Lebanese
Naharnet/February 09/2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Sunday condemned an ambush that resulted in the death of two army troops and the wounding of three others. “The ambush that the Lebanese Army patrol came under targets stability, which the Lebanese Army has played an essential role in protecting,” Diab said. “The Lebanese Army remains the country’s security valve and any attack on it is an attack on the Lebanese with all their categories and regions,” the PM added. “That’s why it is required at this moment to speed up the arrest of the attackers and instigators to deter anyone who dares target the state’s prestige,” Diab went on to say.

Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel, says his Party will be on the side of the uprising people
NNA/February 09/2020 
Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel, considered that attending Tuesday's confidence session would denote giving legislation to the previous government approach, thus declaring that his Party will be on the side of the uprising people. In a press conference held at the Kataeb Party headquarters in Saifi this afternoon, Gemayel deemed that the "separation between the state and the people is not new in the history of the world...Rather what is new in Lebanon is that its people have decided to revolt against this separation since the authority must be in the image of the people."
Gemayel reiterated that shortening the parliament's mandate has become the basic demand at this stage, noting that his Party has already submitted a law proposal to this effect. The MP affirmed that the Kataeb will remain besides the people, and will continue to support their uprising in rejecting the same failure approach that has been adopted throughout the past period.

Ministry Says Berri Daughter's Qatar Job 'Not a Deal with Bassil'
Naharnet/February 09/2020
The Foreign Ministry on Sunday denied an al-Akhbar newspaper report claiming that the appointment of Ambassador Farah Berri as acting charge d’affaires at Lebanon’s embassy in Qatar was a “political deal between ex-minister Jebran Bassil and Speaker Nabih Berri at the expense of the treasury.”Farah Berri is the parliament speaker’s daughter. The Ministry clarified that the ambassador was tasked with her new mission after an embezzlement operation was unveiled at the Lebanese embassy in Qatar. “Lebanon’s ambassador to Qatar was summoned pending the end of investigations and the identification of the culprits, and seeing as (Farah Berri) serves at the central administration, she was chosen to head the mission in Qatar pending the end of investigations and the carrying out of diplomatic appointments in the coming period,” the Ministry said. “Her appointment does not put further burdens on the treasury but rather cuts costs seeing as her daily salary will be lower than the ambassador’s monthly salary,” the Ministry added. It also lamented that “it is regrettable to mislead the public opinion with claims about deals at the expense of public administrations instead of focusing on the process of combating the theft of public funds and what the Ministry did in this regard, from referring the file to the competent judicial authorities to putting those accused in this case on trial.”

Hasan Says Woman Coming from China Quarantined 'at Her Request'
Naharnet/February 09/2020
Health Minister Hamad Hasan announced Sunday that a Lebanese young woman who arrived from China in recent days has been quarantined at the Rafik Hariri state-run hospital “at her own request.”The woman had appeared in a viral video in which she criticized the ministry’s precautionary measures at Beirut’s airport and said the country lacks test kits that can verify whether or not a person is carrying the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). “Thermal detection systems only diagnose the clinical state and the Ministry’s Prevention and Monitoring Department is following up on those who arrive from China at their homes where they are being quarantined. The testing and quarantine at the Rafik Hariri hospital are only available for confirmed cases exclusively!” Hasan tweeted. “According to the directions of the World Health Organization, persons arriving from China and showing no symptoms are to be quarantined at their homes or remote places for two weeks, while quarantine (at hospitals) is to be implemented for persons showing disease symptoms or coming from the city of the outbreak,” the minister added. He clarified that the ministry had been communicating with the young woman since her arrival in Lebanon.
“It sent a medical team to her house and it turned out that she was not showing symptoms of being infected with the coronavirus, contrary to what is being rumored,” the minister added.
“At her own request, she was quarantined at the Rafik Hariri hospital for the rest of the theoretical virus incubation period to assess her health situation,” Hasan went on to say. MP Ibrahim Kanaan of Northern Metn meanwhile said that the ministry acted “at our request and at the request of the municipality and residents” despite “the absence of the coronavirus symptoms,” thanking the minister and the medical team. On Wednesday, Hamad had announced that a male Lebanese student who arrived from China was being quarantined at the Rafik Hariri hospital despite being “in good health” and showing no symptoms of being infected. The minister had recently announced that the Rafik Hariri hospital has the ability to quarantine up to four people infected or suspected of being infected with the coronavirus. LBCI TV said the student had been evacuated from China aboard an Iranian plane that carried him to Damascus airport after which he was transferred in a Lebanese Red Cross ambulance to the hospital in Beirut. The new coronavirus that emerged in central China at the end of last year has killed more than 800 people and spread around the world. The latest figures from China show there are nearly 37,200 people infected in the country. Outside mainland China, there have been more than 350 infections reported in nearly 30 other places. There have also been two deaths, one in the Philippines and the other in Hong Kong.

Fire extinguished in former Virgin Mega Store building in Central Beirut
NNA/February 09/2020 
A fire broke out in the former Virgin Mega Store building in Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut today, which Beirut’s fire brigade and civil defense units immediately worked to put out, while the cause of the fire was not confirmed as some believed it was the result of electric contact, NNA correspondent reported.

Raad: Trust is gained gradually with every step that is achieved with integrity and transparency
NNA/February 09/2020 
"We directly give work to this government, but trust is gained gradually with every step that responds to a popular demand, and is achieved with complete integrity and transparency, which increases people's confidence in this government,” said Loyalty to the Resistance Parliamentary Bloc Head, MP Mohamed Raad, on Sunday. “We hope that this trust will increase, as well as the confidence of the citizen in the state, and that the citizen finds a state that accords attention to his interests, and works to achieve them,” added Raad. "We are ready to cooperate with this government to the fullest, as long as it wants to take serious rescue steps away from personal opportunism in accomplishing some necessary projects in this country," he underlined. Raad’s words came during a memorial service held by Hezbollah in the southern town of al-Tairi this morning.

Abu Faour: We will give the government a chance, and we are not leading a campaign to bring down the covenant
NNA/February 09/2020
Member of the "Democratic Gathering" Parliamentary Bloc, MP Wael Abu Faour, said Sunday that the Bloc will accord the new government a chance, while denying that they are leading a campaign to bring down the current mandate. “We will attend the confidence session, discuss and state our opinion, and we will give the government a chance,” he said. "We are proud of Manal Abdel Samad, but no one has consulted us regarding her name," clarified Abu Faour in an interview with "LBC" Channel earlier today. "We are ready to be positive towards the government on the economic level, and it must make the decision to succeed and its first step would be political integrity," he asserted. “There is a huge anger across the Lebanese public opinion regarding the credibility of all political structures, and people want a change in political performance, but accountability must be objective, not random and generalized,” Abu Faour explained. “There is a need to restore the legitimacy of all constitutional institutions starting with the parliament on the basis of a new electoral law,” the MP went on, adding, "If the prevailing logic in the country does not change, then the owner of this logic must change, but we are not leading a campaign to bring down the covenant." "The basic dossiers remain in the custody of the parties themselves, and the electricity plan remains the same," said Abu Faour. “If they return to deals and steamers in the electricity dossier, then where would the change be?” he questioned, adding, “This matter will cause great controversy in the cabinet, as well as in the parliament." "PM Diab should know that there is a distance of integrity that he must take from the presidency and from the approach that prevailed in the country, and this is the main test for both himself and the government," deemed Abu Faour.
Asked about the relationship with the "Future Movement", the MP affirmed that "the calamity did not unite us… for the calamity had already befallen the country and we live in a poisoned political logic that has destroyed the state…Our problem is with the notion of the strong Christian, the strong Shiite and the strong Sunnite; our problem is with this logic that has led us to the damned presidential settlement!" As for the relation with the House Speaker, he stressed that "the relationship with Speaker Nabih Berri is one of joint historical struggle, and a great common denominator between us is the Taif Agreement, though there is not necessarily a convergence in positions.”Regarding the relationship with Hezbollah, Abu Faour said: "We agreed to organize our dispute, and this matter is satisfactory to both Hezbollah and the Progressive Socialist Party." On the relations with the Lebanese Forces, Abu Faour described them as “good and normal”, noting that “the idea of returning to the March 14th coalition is not on our minds, neither on the minds of LF, Future nor the Kataeb." On PSP’s outside relations, Abu Faour confirmed the continuation of contacts between the Party and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He considered that "the solution lies in restoring Lebanon's Arab relations," declaring that "soon there will be a visit by Walid Jumblatt to Moscow, as the relationship between PSP and Russia is historical despite the difference in views on the Syrian dossier.”

Will Hezbollah impose its foreign policy on Lebanon?
Rami Rayess/The Arab Weekly/February 09/2020
Normalising relations with Damascus now seems to be a top priority for Hezbollah.
Despite marginal support, Lebanon’s new cabinet headed by Prime Minister Hassan Diab is expected to gain parliament’s vote of confidence. Four major political parties initially refrained from supporting Diab’s nomination and they are not expected to extend their confidence.
The Future Movement, Progressive Socialist Party, Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party have a total of 47 deputies, not enough to block the parliamentary vote of confidence. It is even worse in the cabinet given that it is made up entirely of ministers supported by Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement and their allies. With the traditional balance of power in Lebanese politics upset in favour of Hezbollah and its allies, fears are mounting regarding Hezbollah’s ability to impose its agenda on the country’s foreign policy. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly expressed, with pride, his commitment to the Iranian agenda, including an emphasis on Hezbollah’s role in the so-called regional “axis of resistance.”
Hezbollah’s power has grown tremendously in Lebanon in the past few years. It gained additional leverage on the local front from its 14-year alliance with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and through an uninterrupted flow of financial and military support from Tehran.
These two basic reasons partially explain Hezbollah’s mushrooming power. Iranian support is instrumental not only to ensure Hezbollah’s continued existence but also for sustaining its supporters amid Lebanon’s growing economic and financial crisis. Nasrallah recently boasted that Hezbollah’s supporters have been the least affected by Lebanon’s economic crisis.
In terms of foreign policy, the new cabinet platform seems to adopt the same old version of previous cabinets. The tripartite formula of the state, people and the resistance uniting to confront external — particularly Israeli — threats has outlived several presidents and cabinets and still survives.
Aoun, formerly a staunch opponent of Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, flip-flopped to secure his election as president in 2016. Before parliamentary elections in May 2018, he publicly promised to call for a national discussion on Lebanon’s national security strategy which is somehow supposed to incorporate Hezbollah’s arms within the state’s apparatus. He retreated from that pledge after the elections, saying such a discussion was no longer necessary.
During the period that Aoun’s son-in-law, Gebran Bassil, served as foreign minister, there was almost total similitude between the so-called official state position and that of Hezbollah. With the new cabinet enjoying the full support of Hezbollah and its allies, this position is not expected to drastically change.
Another complicated issue in Lebanon’s foreign policy is relations with the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, given that its forces have regained control over nearly all the country thanks to the support of Moscow and the so-called “axis of resistance,” which includes Hezbollah.
Normalising relations with Damascus now seems to be a top priority for Hezbollah after leaked information appears to show that Diab is in favour of such a step.
Arguments that this rapprochement is much needed in Lebanon’s economic crisis are being employed by Hezbollah and its allies as an introduction of what is yet to come. Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt warned several times that he senses a Syrian comeback; one of its early indicators is the new cabinet and some of its symbols. Lebanon is at a crossroads, as it has always been, but the question remains: Will it be the battlefield one more time?

MP Chamel Roukoz to Asharq Al-Awsat: New Lebanese Govt. is Not Independent
Paula Astih/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 09/2020
MP Chamel Roukoz, formerly of the Lebanon Strong parliamentary bloc, has not yet decided whether he will take part in Tuesday’s contentious parliament session aimed at discussing the new government’s policy statement. The meeting will also witness a vote to grant Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s cabinet confidence. Anti-government protesters are expected to mobilize and thwart the lawmakers from making it to parliament. Lebanon has been rocked by protests since October 17 demanding a complete overhaul of a political class which is seen as inept, corrupt and motivated by personal gain. Many protesters have rejected the new cabinet and accuse the ruling elite of ignoring demands which include an independent government and an end to corruption. “Diab’s government is not independent, but its ministers have political interests,” Roukoz remarked. The MP said that the protesters were clear in saying they opposed Tuesday’s meeting, revealing that he enjoys contacts with the activists and communicates with them to take decisions. Late last year, Roukoz, who is President Michel Aoun’s son-in-law, quit the Strong Lebanon bloc, headed by Aoun’s other son-in-law and former Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. He criticized the new policy statement, saying it does not tackle pressing demands, such as the excessive spending of treasury funds, tax evasion, customs issues and illegal border crossings, all of which are a major burden on the state’s finances.
The government’s work and productivity will be tested when it addresses the electricity and telecommunications files, Roukoz told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Unfortunately, the policy statement did not offer a new approach on these issues and others, he remarked. Addressing his relationship with Aoun, he described it as “normal and good”, saying he does not oppose the presidential term, but the government. Governments, not individuals, should be held to account, he explained. On his relations with Bassil and his Free Patriotic Movement, he said nothing new has developed in the ties. He revealed that he does meet with his fellow MPs from the FPM, but at the end of the day “we each have our own views and opinions about issues.”
Turning to the general situation in Lebanon, Roukoz described it as “tragic and difficult on all levels.”“We are on the verge of collapse. The situation will become more difficult if we do not receive foreign aid. This does not mean we should give up, but we should work on tackling our problems ourselves to save the people and country,” he stressed.
This can be done through living with the crisis and managing it properly, he suggested. “This can be achieved through regaining the people and the international community’s trust.”Lebanon is facing the worst economic crisis since its 1975-90 civil war, rooted in decades of state corruption and bad governance that have landed the country with one of the world’s heaviest public debt burdens. Reflecting a hard currency shortage, commercial banks have gradually reduced the amount of dollars customers can withdraw since October. For most, the cap is now a few hundred dollars a week.
Roukoz said he was closely following the bank measures against depositors, saying most of them were “illegal and implemented randomly and selectively.”He questioned the central bank and Association of Banks in Lebanon for seeking to adopt new measures that will impact the interests and deposits of the people. The only legal authority that can address this issue is parliament in its capacity as representative of the people, declared Roukoz. “Parliament is the right place to address the crisis through the urgent ratification of laws. The central bank, ministries and concerned agencies can then implement the parliament’s decisions,” he explained.

Natural cosmetics mark their presence in Lebanon
Perla Kantarjian/Annahar/February 09/2020
In the present climate, many of cosmetics enthusiasts are no longer only checking the price of a product before buying it, but also its ingredients.
BEIRUT: With the increased awareness about environmentally and health-friendly products, the global cosmetics industry is welcoming natural, organic, and cruelty-free alternatives, and Lebanon is joining in on that cosmetic venture.The avant-garde Lebanese mindset that holds personal grooming in high esteem has always kept the cosmetic industry of Lebanon stimulated, and according to a 2018 report by the Ministry of Economy and Trade, among the country’s top exports list.
The active cosmetic industry of Lebanon encloses many of the country's most dynamic businesses, many of which are expanding their markets by including “green” and “clean” beauty products which are both healthy and eco-friendly.
“The modern consumer is becoming more discerning, knowledgeable, and demanding in his/her pursuit for healthier living,” Lynn Khoury Sabra from Lynn’s Apothecary told Annahar.
She added that the increasing interest in natural beauty is a continuation of “this true shift in lifestyle,” and that consumer access to knowledge will make it harder for mainstream brands to use green-washing as a selling point without truly reforming their products composition.
In the present climate, many of cosmetics enthusiasts are no longer only checking the price of a product before buying it, but also its ingredients.
Khoury Sabra explained that in genuinely clean and natural makeup, the brands use certified organic ingredients that are often food grade, such as coconut oil, cocoa butter, buriti oil, shea butter, jojoba seed oil, rosehip oil, and Vitamin E.
On the other hand, conventional makeup contains a combination of numerous ingredients, including emulsifiers, thickeners, and artificial ingredients like paraben. “Natural makeup, alternatively, gravitate towards organic ingredients that protect and nourish the skin,” makeup artist Anna Mekhitarian told Annahar, adding that even though the effect is not as long-lasting as that of traditional beauty products, “you can always retouch and reapply.” Mekhitarian believes that if awareness is raised about the health risks and dangers that come with conventional makeup, every cosmetic enthusiast will go “all natural.”
“Paraben, for instance, prolongs a product’s shelf life,” she said, “but it is known to disrupt hormone function.”
A large percentage of natural and organic makeup brands are also promoting the principle of anti-cruelty by not testing their products on animals, a phenomenon that leads to the worldwide death of animals in millions.
Jean Claude Tarchichi, operations manager at Lush Lebanon, told Annahar that the international handmade cosmetics company has been against animal testing since they were first established in 1995.
“Cosmetics do not require animal testing,” Tarchichi said, explaining that if ingredients aren’t safe to use on humans, searching for alternatives makes much more sense than to “keep testing on animals till they are.”
According to Tarchichi, “our skin is used to what exists in nature and reacts well to it,” as opposed to its reaction to products loaded with inorganic and unnatural ingredients which “may last indefinitely, but surely tire the skin.”
A local cosmetics brand that also follows the cruelty-free principle is Koa, a newly founded natural nail polish brand.
As its founder Eddy Karam told Annahar, healthy nail polish prevents skin irritations and allergic reactions to dangerous ingredients of regular nail polish like formaldehyde, parabens, gluten, and acetone.
“Most nontoxic nail polishes are 3-free, meaning they do not contain formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate. However, natural polishes can go as far as being 7-free, 10-free, and even 14-free,” he explained, adding that using “toxic ingredients” doesn’t mean a better product or better results.
“Natural products are used with superior ingredients, and we can definitely get the best outcome using healthy elements,” he added. “All what people need is more awareness to go more natural, more organic, and use high-quality products whose constituents won’t irritate their skin.”
Natural cosmetics are also penetrating the online business market. Nissrine Baaklini, owner of Slow Beauty Middle East, an online shop for natural, organic, vegan, cruelty-free and eco-friendly skincare and beauty products, launched her business in 2018 after noticing the need to develop this market locally.
“Back then, I was pregnant and wanted to use the safest cosmetics available, and had to use natural products all the way from France,” Baaklini said.
She explained that the shift to natural cosmetics occurs when we are “aware that all the toxins and chemicals used in regular cosmetics enter our bodies.”
Similarly, Karen Feghali made the shift to natural living when she quit the world of corporate advertising after noticing that she was “promoting unethical brands.”
She founded thegoodgoodshop.com, a local online shop that promotes ethical and healthy products that also include skincare and beauty brands.
According to a Grand View Research, Inc. report, the global natural cosmetics market size is expected to reach a value of USD 48.04 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 5.01% from 2019 to 2025.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 09-10/2020
New Iranian failure to put satellite into orbit
AP/February 09/2020
An Iranian rocket failed to put a satellite into orbit on Sunday, state television reported, the latest setback for a program meant to help Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. Earlier Sunday, Iran also unveiled a new ballistic missile.Satellite and missile develipment programs have proceeded in Iran despite economic difficulties which have triggered widespread street protests. The failed launch happened at 7:15 p.m. local time at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s Semnan province, some 230 kilometres southeast of Iran’s capital, Tehran. A Simorgh, or “Phoenix,” rocket couldn't put the Zafar 1 communications satellite into orbit, however, due to a low speed, Iranian state TV reported. “Stage-1 and stage-2 motors of the carrier functioned properly and the satellite was successfully detached from its carrier, but at the end of its path it did not reach the required speed for being put in the orbit,” Defense Ministry space program spokesman Ahmad Hosseini told state TV. Hosseini still sought to portray the failure as a “remarkable” achievement for its space program. Previous Simorgh launches of the 80-ton satellite carrier suffered other failures. In the days leading up to the launch, Iranian officials had been promoting the mission, including the country's Information and Communications Technology Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi. His quick rise through the Islamic Republic’s carefully managed political system already is generating speculation he could be a candidate for Iran’s 2021 presidential campaign.
Jahromi acknowledged the unsuccessful launch in a tweet shortly after the news broke on state TV, comparing it to a “few samples of US launch failures.”He tweeted in Farsi that “sometimes life does not go the way we like it to go.”The launch had been planned amid celebrations ahead of the February anniversary of Iran's 1979 "Islamic Revolution." Iran routinely tries to unveil "technological achievements" for its armed forces, its space program and its nuclear efforts during this time. Satellite images by Colorado-based Maxar Technologies obtained by The Associated Press showed the launch tower for the rocket bore massive images of the revolution's leader, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the current Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Officials planned for the satellite, whose name means “victory” in Farsi, to remain in orbit for 18 months before crashing back through the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrating. Sunday's failure came after two failed launches of the Payam and Doosti satellites last year, as well as a launchpad rocket explosion in August. A separate fire at the Imam Khomeini Space Center in February 2019 also killed three researchers, authorities said at the time.
The rocket explosion in August drew even the attention of US President Donald Trump, who later tweeted what appeared to be a classified surveillance image of the launch failure. The three failures in a row raised suspicion of outside interference in Iran’s program, something Trump himself hinted at by tweeting that the US "was not involved in the catastrophic accident." Iran postponed the launch from Saturday, the same day the country claimed it faced a major cyberattack. The US says such satellite launches defy a UN Security Council resolution calling on Iran to undertake no activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. American officials, as well as European nations, worry such launches could help Iran develop intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Iranian missile and satellite development programs are viewed with wariness by the international community as they are part of aggressive policies toward's Iran's neighbours.

Republican Senators urge Twitter to ban Khamenei, Zarif from the platform
Jerusalem Post/February 09/2020
A group of 4 Republican Senators sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey urging him to remove the twitter accounts of both Iran's supreme leader and their Foreign Minister
WASHINGTON – A group of four Republican senators sent a letter on Thursday to Jack Dorsey, CEO and co-founder of Twitter, urging him to remove the accounts of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. The letter was led by Sen. Ted Cruz and co-signed by Tom Cotton, Marsha Blackburn and Marco Rubio.In a copy of the letter seen by The Jerusalem Post, the senators made the case that blocking Khamenei, Zarif and other regime official accounts would be complying with Executive Order 13876 issued by US President Donald Trump in June 2019, which ordered blocking the property of Khamenei and the Iranian supreme leader’s office, as well as people who act on Khamenei’s behalf. Zarif was designated under the same executive order later in the year. “All Americans – including you and Twitter – are prohibited from ‘the making of any contribution or provision of... goods or services’ to them,” the senators noted. “While the First Amendment protects the free speech rights of Americans – and Twitter should not be censoring the political speech of Americans – the Ayatollah enjoys zero protection from the United States Bill of Rights,” the four wrote in their letter. “And, as the leader of the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism – directly responsible for the murder of hundreds of US citizens – the Ayatollah and any American companies providing him assistance are entirely subject to US sanctions laws.” The senators also added that while former president Barack Obama’s administration published General License (GL) D-1, “which created an exception for services and software incident to Internet-based communications,” it does not apply “to any Iranian government official designated as a Specially Designated National (SDN) by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for reasons other than being an Iranian government official. “A Twitter account is a service,” the senators continued. “Neither GL D-1 nor any other authority exempts Twitter from American sanctions. We, therefore, call on you to comply with those sanctions by ceasing the provision of services to Khamenei, Zarif, and any other designated Iranian entity.” “The Obama administration quietly gave the Iranian regime access to American social media – and unfortunately, the Trump administration has left many of those policies on the books,” an aide to one of the senators who signed the letter told the Post. “But the Trump team’s maximum pressure campaign does mean that at least sanctioned officials like Zarif and Khamenei have to be expelled, which is what this letter outlines.” Last November, Twitter had suspended all Hamas-affiliated accounts and “most” accounts associated with Hezbollah. “There is no place on Twitter for illegal terrorist organizations and violent extremist groups,” a company spokesperson told AFP. The social media platform made the decision after a bipartisan group of US lawmakers accused it of violating American law by allowing content from US-designated terrorist groups to appear on the micro-blogging site. Congress called on Twitter to suspend all accounts affiliated with Hezbollah and Hamas by November 2. “I was glad that they came to their senses about changing their policy and not supporting foreign terrorists,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) told the Post last November. “I am happy that they listened to our case and recognized that this was a violation of US law – and took steps to remedy it.”

After US envoy criticism, German president will not honor Iran’s regime
German foreign ministry still slated to celebrate ‘antisemitic’ regime
Jerusalem Post/February 09/2020
The President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier will break with diplomatic tradition in the federal republic and not send a congratulatory telegram to the rulers of the Islamic Republic of Iran this month. The Steinmeier announcement on Saturday follows intense criticism from US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, who said on Thursday: “Germany has a moral responsibility to say to Iran very firmly and clearly that it is unacceptable to deny basic human rights to your people, or kill protesters in the streets or push gay people off buildings. Celebrating the regime’s ongoing existence sends the opposite message.” Fox News first reported Grenell’s criticism of German government policy toward Iran’s regime. The paper Die Welt first reported that "in light of the current developments in Iran in recent months, there will be no telegram from the Federal President this year," which was said by a spokeswoman for the Federal President's Office. Iran's regime murdered as many as 1,500 protestors in November who demonstrated against the regime and its economic mismanagement. The clerical regime launched missile attacks against US military personnel in Iraq last month, causing traumatic brain injuries to 64 soldiers.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also shot down a Ukrainian commercial plane last month, killing all 176 passengers. However, The Jerusalem Post confirmed via foreign ministry sources that Germany's foreign ministry run by Heiko Maas will celebrate the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran this week, as well as the Iranian mullah regime. February 11 marks the National Day of Iran. Ambassador Grenell tweeted the Welt article with a copy to Maas's Twitter account. Germany’s Kurdish community urged German foreign minister Maas not to celebrate Iran’s regime.
“This shows disrespect to the victims of the Mullah regime,” wrote the Kurdish community in a statement last week. Mehmet Tanriverdi, an executive board member of the Kurdish organization, said, "We are asking the Federal Foreign Minister to finally stop courting the religious-fascist regime in Tehran. Germany has a historical responsibility that cannot simply be pushed aside." The US State Department designated Iran’s regime the worst state-sponsor of terrorism. The Anti-Defamation League’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said during a congressional hearing last month that Tehran is the top state-sponsor of Holocaust denial and antisemitism.

US Ambassador Warns Israel Against 'Unilateral' West Bank Moves
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
A US envoy warned Israel on Sunday not to declare sovereignty over West Bank land without Washington's consent. "Israel is subject to the completion (of) a mapping process by a joint Israeli-American committee. Any unilateral action in advance of the completion of the committee process endangers the Plan & American recognition," US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman tweeted. In a separate speech, Friedman elaborated that his message was "a little bit of patience, to go through a process, to do it right, is not something which we think is too much to ask for". His remarks came amid calls for immediate action by ultra-nationalists within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. US President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, unveiled on Jan 28, envisages Israel keeping key swathes of the occupied territory where Palestinians seek statehood. But the question of timing has opened up a rare rift between the allies. Netanyahu initially pledged a speedy "application of Israeli law" - de facto annexation - to Jewish settlement blocs and the Jordan Valley, delighting his religious-rightist base ahead of Israel's March 2 election, where he hopes to win a fifth term. But he was forced to backpedal after the White House made clear it wanted a US-Israeli mapping process - likely to take weeks or more - completed first. The Palestinians, for their part, have rejected the Trump plan as a non-starter. With Defense Minister Naftali Bennett and other Israeli ultra-nationalists urging an immediate cabinet vote on sovereignty in the West Bank, the US ambassador intervened. "With the news out that the (Israeli) cabinet was about to be pushed in a direction that was potentially adverse to our view of the process, we just let people know where we stand," he told the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) think-tank. "It was not a threat."
In parallel, Netanyahu invoked the White House position. "The (US) recognition is the main thing and we don't want to endanger that," the premier told his cabinet on Sunday. At the JCPA, Friedman said the mapping process was unlikely to be completed before March 2. But he held out the possibility of implementation even if the election does not produce a clear winner, as was the case twice in the last year. Asked if Washington first wanted a permanent Israeli government - as opposed to a caretaker government of the kind Netanyahu has headed by default for months - in place, Friedman said: "We have not made that demand." On Saturday, Netanyahu told an election rally that the mapping process with the Americans was already under way. "We've been waiting since 1967 and some people are making a big deal out of a few weeks," he said, alluding to rightist rivals.

Pope Prays for ‘Martyred’ Syria amid Idlib Escalation
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
Pope Francis called on Sunday for respect of humanitarian law in Syria’s Idlib province, amid an escalation of a Syrian regime offensive that has displaced more than half a million in two months. He told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s square that the reports from Idlib were “painful ... particularly regarding the conditions of women and children, of people forced to flee from a military escalation.” “I renew my heartfelt appeal to the international community and all parties involved to use diplomatic means, dialogue and negotiations, in respect of international humanitarian law, to safeguard the lives and fate of civilians,” he said. He then led the crowd in a special spontaneous prayer “for this beloved and martyred Syria”. Turkey has reinforced its military presence in the area, saying the advances by Russian-backed Syrian troops and their allies threaten a fresh humanitarian disaster. The crisis risks driving another wave of potential refugees to Turkey’s southern border, and Ankara has threatened to act unless there is a pull back. Turkey and Russia support opposing sides in Syria’s nearly nine-year war, but have forged a series of agreements since 2017 aimed at containing the bloodshed. Turkey already hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened this week to repel the Russian-backed Syrian forces unless they withdraw from the region.

Syrian Regime on Verge of Capturing Key M5 Highway, Says Monitor
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
Syrian regime forces Sunday were set to retake a key motorway connecting the capital Damascus to second city Aleppo following weeks of battles in the opposition-held Idlib region, a monitor said.
The M5 has been long in the sights of the regime as it seeks to revive a moribund economy after nearly nine years of war.It connects Aleppo, once Syria's economic hub, to Damascus and continues south to the Jordanian border and recapturing it would allow traffic to resume between economically-vital parts of war-torn Syria. After weeks of steady regime advances in Syria's northwest, only a two-kilometer section of the M5 remains outside its control, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor. Pro-regime forces on Sunday were closing in on the last sliver in the southwest of the Aleppo province neighboring the Idlib region where they have been battling opposition factions and extremists, the monitor said. "Regime forces have gained new ground and now control several villages near the motorway," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP. Regime forces have recaptured more than 600 square kilometers of territory so far in a campaign to seize control Idlib and the Aleppo countryside, a statement from Syria's armed forces said on Sunday. Regime forces have taken control of dozens of towns and villages in recent days as part of the campaign, the statement said, according to Reuters.
Since December, Russian-backed regime forces have pressed a blistering assault against Idlib, Syria's last major opposition bastion, retaking town after town from their opponents in the region. The violence has killed more than 300 civilians and sent some 586,000 fleeing towards relative safety nearer the Turkish border. On Saturday, the regime captured the Idlib town of Saraqeb, located on a junction of the M5 highway, state media said. Troops then pressed north along the motorway past Idlib's provincial borders and linked up with a unit of Syrian forces in Aleppo province, according to the Observatory and state agency SANA. It was the first time in weeks the two units joined up after waging separate offensives against the opposition and extremists in Idlib and Aleppo. A little more than half of Idlib province remains in opposition hands, along with slivers of neighboring Aleppo and Latakia provinces. The region is home to three million civilians, half of whom have already been displaced from other parts of the country. Some 50,000 fighters are also in the shrinking pocket, many of them extremists but the majority allied opposition factions, according to the Observatory. The United Nations and aid groups have appealed for an end to hostilities in the Idlib region, warning that the exodus risks creating one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of the nearly nine-year war.

Ilham Ahmed to Asharq Al-Awsat: Damascus Agreed to Political Dialogue with Guarantee from Moscow
Qamishli – Kamal Sheikho/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
Head of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) Ilham Ahmed revealed that the Syrian regime has agreed to Russian-mediated political negotiations with Kurds. She told Asharq Al-Awsat that the formation of a “higher committee” that would address the administration of the autonomous region in eastern Syria was also a possibility. She said that a Russian envoy had met with Kurdish, Arab and Christian officials from northeastern Syria at the Hmeimim air base at the end of 2019. Discussions focused on how to “develop” the dialogue, she explained. “Are we part of this dialogue or not? What framework will they be held in?”Ahmed said the parties were still in the very early discussions with the Damascus regime. “Moving forward from dialogue to serious discussions requires an agenda and plan that would be addressed through dedicated committees.”The Russians are “serious” about playing role of mediator and “guarantor” in the political process, she added. “They have pledged to exert pressure on the regime to accept a comprehensive settlement,” she stressed. She revealed that after concluding talks at Hmeimim, “we traveled to Damascus the next day to meet Ali Mamlouk (head of the national security bureau).” The Russian envoy was present at the talks. “I am awaiting for words to turn into actions. This will be proven by practical steps and the launch of comprehensive dialogue that addresses the fate of the Syrian people and a region that is part of the Syrian state,” she went on to say. She stressed the need for a “responsible approach” that steers clear from hostility and hopes for a military solution. Ahmed rejected the threatening rhetoric of some senior regime officials, saying thorny issues demand dialogue. Furthermore, she pointed to meetings with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Syrian opposition figures in Cairo. “We are working on holding the Cairo 3 conference in March,” she said.

Israel Blocks Palestinian Export in Escalating Trade Crisis
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
The Israeli military blocked Palestinian agricultural exports on Sunday in the latest escalation of a months-long trade war that comes amid fears of renewed violence as well. Following Defense Minister Naftali Bennett's instruction, the military said it would not allow the Palestinians to transfer their products through their land crossing to Jordan, the West Bank's only direct export route to the outside world. The Palestinian Authority said Israeli forces at checkpoints blocked vegetable shipments that were in their way to export abroad. The Ministry of Agriculture statement said vegetable exports to Israel were worth $88 million last year, comprising 68% of the West Bank's overall vegetable exports, reported The Associated Press. The crisis erupted in September, when the Palestinians decided to stop importing beef from Israel. The Palestinian Authority claimed most of the 120,000 head of cattle they imported monthly from Israel was itself imported and that they therefore preferred to import directly from abroad. The move appeared aimed at reducing the Palestinians' economic dependence on Israel. Shortly after the September announcement, Israeli cattle ranchers saw a drop in their market and pressured Israeli authorities to take action. Bennett retaliated with a ban on Palestinian beef and other products, triggering the Palestinians to expand their boycott, and stop importing Israeli vegetables, fruits, beverages and mineral water. The Palestinians say their actions are aided at pressuring Israel into revoking its ban, while Israel says normal trade will be restored the moment the Palestinian reverse the cattle ban that started the crisis in the first place. The trade crisis comes amid a surge in violence following the release of President Trump's Middle East plan, which the Palestinians have rejected. A week of protests left four Palestinians dead.

Fatah, Hamas Agree to Five-way Meeting of Factions
Ramallah – Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
Fatah and Hamas agreed to hold a five-way meeting with Palestinian factions. The agreement came after two Fatah leaders arrived in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The two, Ismail Jabr and Rouhi Fattouh, are members of Fatah’s central committee. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that it was agreed to hold a five-way meeting to arrange for the visit of the PLO delegation to the Gaza Strip and to discuss ways to enhance national unity. The visit of Fatah leaders has spelled the end of tensions with Hamas, especially after the PLO had previously postponed its delegation's visit to Gaza. The delegation will hold talks with Hamas to bridge current divisions. If successful, the agreement may allow President Mahmoud Abbas to personally visit Gaza later. Fatah spokesman, Ayyad Nasr, said that the visit of the two leaders to Gaza aims to pave the way for the PLO delegation’s anticipated visit in the future. He noted there are preparations being made for a future meeting with Hamas and other Palestinian factions, and confirmed the need for Palestinian unity to confront the dangers of the US peace plan. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh had contacted Abbas soon after the contentious peace plan was unveiled. The president had pledged to visit Haniyeh in Gaza. Hamas, for its part, welcomed the visit of the Fatah delegation. “The Palestinian people and their factions must unite their efforts and develop mechanisms of joint action to face the growing challenges facing the Palestinian issue,” Qassem said.

Emergence of Libyan Jews on Political Scene Revives Debate over Minorities
Cairo – Jamal Jawhar /Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
A meeting between United Nations envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, with the President of the Union of Jews of Libya, Raphael Luzon, in Geneva earlier this week revived a debate about the role non-Arab minorities can play in shaping the war-torn country’s future. It raised questions about the ethnic and linguistic rights of minorities that encompass Jews, Amazighs, Tuaregs and Toubous. Since the overthrow of long-time ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi, the minorities have sought to obtain their constitutional and social rights from successive governments. They have also demanded that their languages and holidays be officially recognized. Luzon revealed that he had obtained from the UN mission in Libya recognition of the Libyan Jews’ right to take part in future meetings about the country’s peace process. The announcement drew rejection and raised questions from other minorities about why the UN had so far neglected them as they too are part of the Libyan social fabric. Will they also be included in future meetings on Libya? Ambassador Ibrahim Moussa Kerrada, a former senior aide at the UN, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the majority of Amazighs are based in Tripoli, Zuwara and Gadamis, as well as the cities of the Nafusa Mountains region.
The Amazighs of the desert are more commonly known as Tuaregs, he explained. They are mainly located in southwestern Libya. Kerrada, who is also of the Amazigh minority, said that many Libyan cities, regions and tribes can trace their traditions to the Amazighs.
Moreover, during Gaddafi’s four decades in power, the Amazighs formed the largest opposition bloc inside Libya and abroad, he revealed. He cited the “chauvinistic” treatment that forced them to oppose Gaddafi, adding that they were the first to join the February 27, 2011 revolt against him. The period between 2012 and 2014 was good for the Amazighs and Libya in general, but ultimately, by the end 2014, the country had embarked on a dangerous path that among many other things, has seen the minority politically marginalized, he stated. Since then, the Amazighs have boycotted parliamentary and constitutional panel elections, leaving them without representation at the legislature and the panel that is aimed at drafting a constitution, noted Kerrada. Returning to Luzon’s announcement, the UN mission has yet to make a comment, but officials in Libya were quick to question the timing of the move given high tensions in the country. MP Jaballah al-Shibani said the UN mission’s recognition of the Union of Jews of Libya as a party that should be represented in dialogue on the country’s future is a violation of its tasks. With this recognition, the mission has moved from working on Libya’s stability to imposing a form of hegemony on the country, he stated. “While recognizing them as Libyans, they are not parties in the conflict. Dialogue is usually restricted to the warring parties, not onlookers,” he remarked. “We are not being racist, but we are questioning the timing of the move. Why now? And for whose interest? Why don’t we leave the Jewish issue to until after the state is restored,” he suggested. “Isn’t this a provocation against all Libyans? Couldn’t this lead to a boycott of the dialogue?” An elder of the Toubou tribes expressed to Asharq Al-Awsat his disappointment that the demands of the Toubou have been ignored.
They are being constantly “punished” because they are non-Arabs, he declared. He accused successive governments of neglecting their regions, citing poverty and youth unemployment among the Toubou population. “Every political factions wants the Toubou to join them and fight for their cause. If we don’t, then we are discriminated against as non-Arabs,” he lamented. He urged the UN mission to address their demands and include them in political life. No official figures exist over the number of Jews in Libya. They are estimated at the dozens, who have immigrated from the country over the decades.

Riyadh to Host Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit on Monday
Riyadh - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
Retail Leaders Circle (RLC) MENA Summit will kick off in Riyadh on Monday, in partnership with “Invest Saudi” and under the patronage of Minister of Commerce and Investment Majed al-Qasabi. More than 50 speakers will take part in the summit, in addition to a group of experts and decision-makers in the regional retail sector. The two-day summit will convene in the Saudi capital under the theme “Future Retail & Consumer: Thriving in a Changing Environment.” It will bring together more than 1,500 retail leaders, brand owners, SMEs, industry stakeholders policy-makers and investors. It will organize dialogues and workshops that will focus on several significant topics that address the changing environment of retail and consumption in the Kingdom and the region. It aims to shed light on Saudi Arabia’s plans to become a pioneer in business, investment and retail in line with its Vision 2030 goals. The Kingdom’s hosting of the event coincides with Saudi Arabia taking over the G20 presidency. The partnership between Invest Saudi and RLC is part of efforts by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority to attract key world and regional events that bring together business pioneers and decision-makers. Significantly, Saudi Arabia ranked seventh in retail trade according to the 2019 Global Retail Development Index.

US Officials Demand Twitter to Suspend Iranian Accounts
Washington - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
A group of senators wrote a letter to CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey claiming that Twitter may be violating US sanctions by letting Iranian leaders maintain accounts on social media. “While the First Amendment protects the free speech rights of Americans — and Twitter should not be censoring the political speech of Americans — [supreme leader Ali Khamenei] enjoys zero protection from the United States Bill of Rights,” they continued. The letter was led by Sen. Ted Cruz and co-signed by Tom Cotton, Marsha Blackburn and Marco Rubio. The senators said that President Barack Obama’s administration “created an exception for services and software incident to Internet-based communications,” which allowed the Iranian regime to propagandize through social media networks such as Twitter. “And, as the leader of the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism — directly responsible for the murder of hundreds of US citizens — [Khamenei] and any American companies providing him assistance are entirely subject to US sanctions laws,” the group said. The White House was notified about the letter’s content. Copies of the letter were sent to Obama, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and lawyers of Northern California. “This letter is just one example of Senator Cruz’s fight in the Senate to hold technology companies like Twitter accountable," a spokesperson for Cruz said.

Khamenei Acknowledges Impact of US Sanctions on Iran
Tehran, London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei acknowledged on Saturday the impact of new US sanctions against the country, describing them as “literal crimes”. "We should be strong to prevent any war against the county. Being weak will encourage our enemies to attack Iran," he said.
"These sanctions are criminal act... but we can turn it to an opportunity by distancing Iran's economy from being dependent on oil exports," he added. "Iran poses no threat to any other country... Our only aim is to make sure our security is guaranteed," Khamenei added. "Our Air Force, which had no right to and couldn't even repair parts of aircraft (before the revolution) now builds planes," Khamenei was quoted as saying on his English-language Twitter account. Earlier statements by a number of Iranian officials denied the impact of sanctions on the economy. "We have billions of dollars in various countries. But when we want to transfer one dollar from these funds for the purchase of medicines or food, the US does not allow it", Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said recently. On Jan. 3, the US killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad, prompting Iran to fire a salvo of missiles against two Iraqi bases that house US troops the following week. US-Iranian ties worsened since the US withdrawal in May 2018 from the nuclear deal. Washington then re-imposed a series of economic sanctions, which Iran responded to through violating key pledges it made within the 2015 deal.

Iran Satellite Fails to Reach Orbit
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
An Iranian rocket failed to put a satellite into orbit Sunday, a defense ministry official said in the latest setback for a program the US claims helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. "It was launched with success and ... we have reached most our aims ... but the "Zafar" satellite did not reach orbit as planned," the official told state television. Iran carried out at least two failed satellite launches last year. The United States says it is concerned that long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads. Tehran denies that satellite activity is a cover for missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons. President Donald Trump’s administration reimposed sanctions on Iran following Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from an international accord designed to curb Iran’s nuclear program. Trump said the nuclear deal did not go far enough and did not include restrictions on Tehran’s missile program. Tensions, already high over the nuclear issue, reached the highest level in decades between Iran and the United States after Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3. Iran retaliated with a missile attack against a US base in Iraq. Iran launched its first satellite Omid (Hope) in 2009 and the Rasad (Observation) satellite was sent into orbit in June 2011. Tehran said in 2012 that it had successfully put its third domestically-made satellite Navid (Promise) into orbit.

Iraq’s Allawi Rejects Political Quotas, Works to Form Independent Government
Baghdad – Hamza Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi has been spearheading a campaign against a 16-year tradition of portfolio quotas and for consensual democracy. Allawi, according to MP Hussein Arab, has been holding consultations with political blocs to push back against the agenda of quotas as he embarks on his mission to form a new government. Mohammad al-Khalidi, head of the "Bayariq al-Khair" bloc in parliament, paints another picture of this very complex scene. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said that “all the political blocs are now in a difficult situation with their supporter bases, which now are demanding a comprehensive change starting with the blocs themselves.” “While Allawi’s mission is certainly not easy, it is also not impossible because there is a firm conviction among the vast majority of deputies, with their various affiliations and attitudes, that it is necessary to get out of this political impasse and that this will not be achieved except through an independent government.” On whether Allawi’s cabinet will gain the parliament’s vote of confidence, Arab said: “All indications are that the government will pass through parliament if it was truly assembled without political quotas.” According to the MP, Allawi received the green light to form an independent government for the period of transition from all Shiite blocs in parliament. Nevertheless Kurdish and Sunni blocs had a different say on the matter. “The position of the Kurds so far varies between rejection and acceptance, while Sunni Arabs, as far as I know, set conditions on ministers,” Arab said, explaining that these requests aren’t “major obstacles given that everyone wants to overcome this stage even with minimal losses.”

Mubarak al-Mahdi to Asharq Al-Awsat: Normalizing Ties with Israel Acquits Sudan of Terrorism
Khartoum – Aidroos Abdulaziz and Ahmed Younes/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
In Sudan, more support normalizing ties with Israel than those who don’t. Among those supporters is Sudan’s former deputy Prime Minister Mubarak al-Fadil al-Mahdi, who served in the regime of ousted president Omar al-Bashir.
Mahdi told Asharq Al-Awsat that opposing normalization with Israel is “irrational”, especially since Palestinians themselves had normalized their ties with Israel after the Oslo Accords. This, according to Mahdi, comes at a time Sudan is in a dire need for waiver for its terrorism-related sanctions, a matter which Israel could help with. Normalization of relations will “acquit” Sudan of terrorism, he charged. Mahdi, who heads the National Umma Party, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Palestinians deal with Israel in electricity and customs with a large population of their people working in Israel. Normalization of ties with Israel dates back to the signing of the Camp David Accords, a move which had written off any military options. In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords. “After Egypt regained its dignity in the 1973 war, it regained by signing (the Camp David Accords) its lands, normalized relations and raised the Israeli flag in Cairo, then many Arab countries (Jordan, Oman and Qatar) followed,” Mahdi said. He added that continuing to boycott Israel has “become meaningless,” as the world and balances of power are changing. He noted that in Israel there are 13 Arab deputies in the Knesset, and the conflict has turned into a peaceful political, civilizational and cultural struggle. Regarding Sudan’s normalization of its relations with Israel, he explains that the African country's economy, especially its agricultural sector, is severely underdeveloped. “Although Sudan boasts 200 million acres of arable land, it cultivates about 45 million of them, with poor productivity and high cost due to underdevelopment,” he highlighted, pointing out that Israeli technologies could help improve Sudan’s situation. “The yield of an acre of sesame crop, for example, does not exceed 100 kilograms, while acres in countries with advanced agricultural technology, such as Turkey, yield 1,700 kilograms,” he explained. If relations should indeed thaw, there are quite a few things Sudan could get from Israel. Among them: technological and scientific aid, assistance in the field of intelligence (not mentioned publicly, but certainly discussed) and, above all, access to the White House. “We will wait for what they will do for us to lift the sanctions,” Mahdi said. “This is the first step, and if we go beyond it and remove the name of Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, we will have all opportunities in the process of normalization in relation to technical and economic cooperation,” he added.

Sisi Calls for Firm Stance to Confront Dispatch of ‘Terrorists’ to Libya
Cairo - Walid Abdul Rahman/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 9 February, 2020
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for a “firm stance” by the African Union Peace and Security Summit to confront the continuous dispatch of thousands of foreign fighters and terrorists from Syria to Libya. During his participation in the African Union Peace and Security Summit on Libya and the Sahel, he said the threat of foreign fighters will not be restricted to Libya, but will extend beyond its borders. This would jeopardize the security of neighboring countries, he warned at the summit held in Addis Ababa. Sisi stated that the Libyan crisis was passing through a critical phase that is making it more complicated. This calls for the AU to activate its role, given its responsibility towards maintaining African peace and security, he suggested. The president also considered that the latest negative developments in Libya must not detract from efforts to reach a comprehensive solution to the crisis through addressing its social, economic and political issues, he added. Achieving security stability in Libya hinges on reaching a peaceful settlement to the crisis, stressed Sisi. The settlement must address the marginalization of some regions, fairly distributes wealth, as well as power, and allows the reconstitution of state institutions in Libya and secures the country’s borders.

China Virus Deaths Rise Past 800, Overtaking SARS Toll
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 09/2020
The death toll from the novel coronavirus surged past 800 in mainland China on Sunday, overtaking global fatalities in the 2002-03 SARS epidemic, even as the World Health Organization said the outbreak appeared to be stabilizing. With 89 more people dying -- most in Hubei, the province at the center of the outbreak -- the toll is now higher than the 774 killed worldwide by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), according to official figures. The latest data came after the WHO said the last four days had seen "some stabilizing" in Hubei, but warned the figures can still "shoot up".
Almost 37,200 people in China have now been infected by the virus, believed to have emerged late last year in Hubei's capital Wuhan, where residents are struggling to get daily supplies because of sweeping transport restrictions and instructions to stay inside.
The epidemic has prompted the government to lock down whole cities as anger mounts over its handling of the crisis -- especially after a whistleblowing doctor fell victim to the virus. With much of the country still not back at work after an extended Lunar New Year holiday, cities including financial hub Shanghai ordered residents to wear masks in public. Michael Ryan, head of the WHO's Health Emergencies Program, said the "stable period" of the outbreak "may reflect the impact of the control measures."While the death toll has climbed steadily, new cases have declined since Wednesday's single-day peak of nearly 3,900 people nationwide.
On Sunday, the number of new cases was just over 2,600.
Public anger
Millions of people are under lockdown in Hubei in a bid to stop the virus spreading. "The local government asked people to stay at home as much as possible, but there is not enough goods in shops each time we get there, so we have to go out frequently," said a woman surnamed Wei, who told AFP her husband was infected. Wang Bin, from the ministry of commerce, said challenges included poor logistics, price increases and labor shortages. "It is difficult for the market supply to reach normal levels," he admitted at a press conference Sunday. In Hubei province there is five days of guaranteed pork and egg supplies, and three days of vegetables, he said. Melissa Santos, a student from the Dominican Republic living in Wuhan, said she planned to go out to buy food for the first time in a week Sunday. "I am a bit worried," she told AFP. "I have read that the virus can be transmitted very fast, in a few seconds."
China drew international condemnation for covering up cases during the SARS outbreak, whereas the measures it has taken this time have been praised by the WHO. But anger erupted on social media after the death of a Wuhan doctor who police silenced when he flagged the threat of an emerging virus in December. The doctor, 34, died early Friday, after contracting the virus from a patient. Chinese academics were among those angered by his death, with at least two open letters posted on social media demanding more freedoms. "Put an end to the restrictions on freedom of speech," one letter demanded.
'Percolating along'
Beijing responded by sending its anti-graft body to launch an investigation, attempting to ease the anger. But Ian Lipkin -- a professor at Columbia University who worked with China on the SARS outbreak -- said earlier intervention could have made a key difference. "This virus was percolating along without anyone realizing it was there," he said. If the quarantine measures have been effective, the epidemic should peak within the next fortnight, Lipkin added -- but he warned there is also the risk of a "bump" in numbers when people return to work. "If, in fact, the methods for containment have been adequate or effective at all... I think we will start to see some dramatic reduction in China around the third week of February," he said. Lipkin also said warmer weather would help to slow the number of cases.
Global fears
Wuhan has converted public buildings into makeshift medical centers, and built two new field hospitals. But Wuhan resident Chen Yiping told AFP her 61-year-old mother has severe symptoms and is still waiting for a hospital bed because there are "there are too many people in need of treatment".
The first foreign victim in China was confirmed this week when an American diagnosed with the virus died in Wuhan. The only fatalities outside the mainland have been a Chinese man in the Philippines and a 39-year-old man in Hong Kong. Several countries have banned arrivals from China while major airlines have suspended flights. Air China announced Saturday it would cancel some of its flights to the US including from Beijing to New York and Washington. Sixty-four people on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan's coast have tested positive, with all passengers told to stay inside their cabins to prevent further infection.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 09-10/2020
Iran’s iron curtain is falling
Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/February 09/2020
Behind a curtain. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks at a celebration of the 41st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.(DPA)
Arrogance leads nowhere.
In his State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump mentioned Iran in passing. Just like former President Ronald Reagan, who in 1981 began doggedly pursuing the dismantling of the former Soviet Union, Trump seems to be on his way to earnestly bringing down a country he sees as an enemy to its real size. That feat would allow him to leave his mark on the history of the Middle East but this is contingent on his success in doing so because Iran has been working for many years on changing the nature of several neighbouring countries and others far from it.
In his speech, Trump gave a realistic description of the state of the Iranian economy and its deterioration considering US sanctions. He mentioned the United States’ assassination of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, commander of al-Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Soleimani was the direct supervisor of Iranian activity in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, especially the Gaza Strip, and even in Yemen and Afghanistan. His activity consisted mainly in recruiting sectarian militias to serve the Iranian expansion project.
Iran wants each of those areas, which are Arab countries and territories, except for Afghanistan, to be satellites and bargaining cards. Its goal is to perpetuate its regional role, regardless of the misery that afflicts most Iranians.
The deterioration of the economy in the Islamic Republic must be considered a natural consequence of the arrogance that characterises the actions and declarations of senior Iranian officials. They refuse to admit they have no solutions to Iran’s internal problems, especially as they let the country remain captive to its oil and gas exports. Even on the external front, there is no successful Iranian model that can be presented in any political, economic or civilisational field.
Iran refuses to deal with the regional and international realities that arose with the arrival of Trump at the White House. This is why we see Iranian President Hassan Rohani talking about re-establishing the nuclear deal with the Group of Five Plus One that the US president tore apart.
Rohani does not know, or perhaps he does know very well, that the nuclear accord is no longer valid for blackmailing anyone and that counting on Europe is not a safe bet.
Iran has not overcome one psychological complex that controls all its actions — the constant denial of its defeat and refusing to admit failure with the courage it presupposes to carry out a process of self-criticism.
In 1986, two events exposed the weakness of the Soviet Union, which Reagan had dragged into an arms race it could not afford. This was when the US president spoke of the “Star Wars” defence system, a system of missiles in space capable of intercepting and disrupting any missile attack on the United States.
Time has revealed that Reagan’s plan was more akin to science fiction than reality but it served to reveal that the Soviet Union was in no way capable of competing with the United States in an arms race of this type. It showed that the Soviet economy resembled a colossus with clay legs.
The economic fragility of the Soviet Union had consequences on the ground. On January 13, 1986, the situation in South Yemen, which was then called the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), exploded. This republic was independent and remained so until 1990 when Yemeni unity was achieved.
The PDRY was a mere Soviet satellite and served as a foothold for the communist bear in the Arabian Peninsula. South Yemen suffered a civil war that marked the end of Soviet control over the country.
It turned out that the other world superpower was nothing more than a paper tiger. Perhaps the most prominent evidence of this and the biggest humiliation to the communist regime was resorting to a royal yacht of the British monarch to evacuate Soviet nationals from the PDRY.
The second event that demonstrated the weakness of the former Soviet regime was the catastrophic Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine on April 26, 1986. Ukraine was a Soviet republic and the Chernobyl accident came to confirm, without doubt, that the Soviet Union was a third-world country that possessed nuclear reactors but was unable to ensure their safe functioning.
Soleimani’s assassination came within the context of a catastrophic economic situation in Iran. He was considered a symbol of the Iranian expansionist project but Iran can no longer come up with a response to his killing. The missile strikes at Iraq’s al-Asad Airbase was more of a farce than anything else and the accidental downing of the Ukrainian passenger plane revealed that Iran is a third-world country at best.
Just as the Soviet Union could not adapt to new realities that accompanied Reagan’s arrival to the White House, Iran was unable to adapt to Trump’s era. Certainly, arrogance is of no use to anything. It is equally futile to bet on Trump not being elected for another term in November. Not only have the Democrats failed to force him out of office with impeachment for pressuring the Ukrainian president to dig dirt on the Bidens, they displayed a great deal of internal chaos during the Iowa caucuses. Trump is still waiting for a serious Democratic contender for his position.
Time is not working in favour of the interests of the Islamic Republic just as it did not play in favour of the interests of the Soviet Union. Is there anyone in Tehran who wants to realise that Barack Obama is no longer president and that no one is willing to negotiate with Tehran on its terms, especially now that the cards in its hand no longer have any value? Take Lebanon in the era of Hezbollah’s rule, for example, or take Iraq now. Lebanon is collapsing since it has been abandoned to its fate by the United States and the Arabs. In Iraq, there is a real popular revolution against everything related to the Iranian coloniser.

Iran regime ratchets up cyberattacks in wake of Soleimani’s death
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/February 09/2020
Iran’s hacking attempts have significantly increased in 2020. In early January, cyberattacks that were traced back to Iranian IP addresses nearly tripled in just two days.
This is most likely a response to US President Donald Trump’s order to kill top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who enjoyed enormous influence in directing the Iranian regime’s foreign policy, was a staunch and loyal confidante to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and was the head of the Quds Force — the elite branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that is mandated to carry out extraterritorial operations in order to export Tehran’s revolutionary principles and increase its influence in other countries in the Middle East.
From the Iranian leaders’ perspective, they have yet to take revenge, as Soleimani’s death was a significant blow to the theocratic establishment. This is because he was an irreplaceable asset for the ruling mullahs. He had built deep connections with the leaders of militia and terror groups across the region and was in charge of extraterritorial operations, including organizing, supporting, training, arming and financing predominantly Shiite militia groups. He was also responsible for launching wars directly or indirectly via these proxies; fomenting unrest in other nations to advance Iran’s ideological and hegemonic interests; attacking and invading cities and countries; and assassinating foreign political figures and powerful Iranian dissidents worldwide.
After Soleimani’s death, Iranian hackers defaced many websites, including those of the Texas Department of Agriculture and an Alabama veterans’ group. They posted an image of Soleimani, which was accompanied by a message saying: “Hacked by Iranian hacker.” A website belonging to the US Government Publishing Office was also defaced, while the Iranian hackers posted a mocked-up image of Trump being bit by a fist.
Iranian hackers mainly tend to target political, financial and energy institutions. In late January, Iran-linked threat actor APT34 was reportedly detected sending malicious email attachments to US-based services company Westat. Many US state and local institutions, as well as dozens of federal agencies, use Westat to carry out research. The targeted emails asked recipients to fill in a survey about how Westat was performing by downloading an Excel spreadsheet. By allowing the spreadsheet to be downloaded, a virus was also automatically downloaded without the recipient’s knowledge.
The Iranian regime has also been targeting journalists and dual Iranian citizens living in the West, particularly the Iranian-American community. Last November, Iranian-born German academic Erfan Kasraie received a malicious email, written in Farsi, purportedly sent by journalist Farnaz Fassihi, who was said to be working with the Wall Street Journal. Fassihi was previously affiliated with that publication but is now working for the New York Times.
The Iranian hackers posted a mocked-up image of Trump being bit by a fist
The same message was sent to journalists working for international outlets including CNN and Deutsche Welle, according to a Reuters report last week. The email asked each recipient to answer some questions and share their “important achievements” in order to “motivate the youth of our beloved country.” In order to view and answer the questions, they were asked to enter their Google password. Once the recipient opened the file by entering their password, the Iranian hackers gained access to the account and could impersonate the journalist.
Some of the emails asked the recipient to sign a contract to sell some of their pictures to the Wall Street Journal. The Israeli firm ClearSky Cyber Security provided evidence that two media figures at CNN and Deutsche Welle were impersonated. The London-based cybersecurity company Certfa blamed the Iranian hacking group nicknamed Charming Kitten for these attacks.
Iran has invested significant capital in its cyber program. The Israeli-based Institute for National Security Studies acknowledged in 2016 that: “The IRGC clearly makes the country one of the best and most advanced nations when it comes to cyberwarfare. In a case of escalation between Iran and the West, Iran will likely aim to launch a cyberattack against critical infrastructures in the United States and its allies, (targeting) energy infrastructure, financial institutions, and transportation systems.”
This is not the first time that the Iranian regime has been engaged in such extreme activities, targeting innocent and vulnerable people and organizations. In 2016, the US Justice Department indicted seven Iranian citizens for distributed denial of service attacks against 46 companies mainly in the banking and financial sectors. In addition, US intelligence concluded that the Islamic Republic was behind the “Shamoon” virus that targeted the computers of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil corporation in 2012. And, in November 2018, two people based in Iran were accused of being behind a series of cyberattacks on US targets, which included crippling the city of Atlanta’s government by targeting its hospitals, schools, state agencies and other institutions. Data from these major institutions was held hostage in exchange for ransom payments.
The Iranian regime must be held accountable for deliberately carrying out cyberattacks and hacking vulnerable individuals and organizations.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is an Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Tehran’s proxies should be punished by Iraqi voters
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/February 09/2020
In one of the most outrageous political U-turns in recent memory, Muqtada Al-Sadr has pivoted from wholehearted support for Iraq’s uprising to sending his shock forces to kill demonstrators and violently break up protest camps. After months of Al-Sadr’s rhetoric about listening to the voice of the people, a terse message this weekend baldly stated: “Protesters should not interfere in political matters.”Shockingly, most of the killings of protesters by Al-Sadr’s supporters occurred in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. This is the beating heart of the Shiite world, where Tehran has labored hardest to entrench its influence; yet hundreds of thousands of furious residents consistently demand an end to corrupt, sectarian governance and Iranian interference.
These protesters are now turning their fury on Al-Sadr himself, accusing him of abandoning his flirtation with the protest movement and aligning with pro-Tehran factions to profit from lucrative government appointments. In what protesters have denounced as a “political coup,” Tehran’s proxies and Al-Sadr have colluded to appoint a nonentity as prime minister with the intent of perpetuating the status quo, while affording themselves breathing space to crush the protests.
Throughout the 1970s, Iraq’s immense oil wealth made it one of the most advanced states in the region. Having undergone a succession of catastrophes since then, today’s Iraq sees a governing elite cream off billions, while citizens endure grinding poverty, unemployment and dysfunctional services. Just as in Lebanon, Iraq’s nationwide protests didn’t erupt against a specific prime minister or government policy, but against the governing system as a whole.
This isn’t the first time Al-Sadr has performed self-serving, 180-degree ideological somersaults. He repeatedly oscillated from being one of Iraq’s foremost paramilitary warlords to denouncing militias for “slaughter, assassinations and… distorting Islam.” Despite branding himself as an anti-sectarian nationalist, Sadrist thugs abducted and murdered tens of thousands of Sunnis between 2005 and 2008. After 2014, Al-Sadr’s “Peace Brigades” militia had one foot in and one foot out of the Iran-dominated Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi paramilitary coalition.
In about 2015, Al-Sadr sought to return to political relevance under a reform banner, yet government departments under Sadrist control circa 2005 were notorious for corruption and criminality. The Sadrist Ministry of Health was nicknamed the “Ministry of Murder” because his foot soldiers reportedly prowled hospital wards slitting the throats of Sunnis and dissidents. Ambulances became the chosen vehicles of death squads.
Al-Sadr has veered from attention-grabbing political stunts (such as his 2016 invasion of the Green Zone) to bouts of petulant withdrawal from the political field altogether. No wonder the speculation about whether Al-Sadr is a bipolar manic depressive.
This isn’t the first time Al-Sadr has performed self-serving, 180-degree ideological somersaults.
In about 2004, Al-Sadr was gratefully accepting Iranian funding to destabilize Iraq. He was even based in Qom between 2007 and 2011, but began spouting anti-Iranian rhetoric after his return to Baghdad. During Al-Sadr’s visit to Tehran late last year, Qassem Soleimani and Ali Khamenei sought to return him to Iran’s orbit. There have been reports of discreet visits by Al-Sadr and his former subordinate Qais Al-Khazali to Iran in recent days.
Iran has resorted to various methods of influencing the unpredictable Al-Sadr; from buying him off to threats of assassination and face-to-face meetings with his idol, Hassan Nasrallah. If Al-Sadr is indeed today acting at Tehran’s behest, it is unclear what his current motivations are.
One reason that Tehran’s proxies are rushing to form a government is their fear of new elections. Pro-Iran elements won a pitiful share of the vote in 2018, yet were able to dominate the new administration thanks to vigorous lobbying by figures like the late and unlamented Soleimani.
Having spent recent months effectively waging war against Shiite citizens throughout the south, where do Hadi Al-Amiri, Al-Khazali and Al-Sadr expect their votes to come from now? The pro-Iran Bana list would be lucky to get even 10 percent of the vote. Al-Sadr may fare even worse, having betrayed his loudly proclaimed principles. Thus, if Sunnis, Kurds and moderates aligned themselves around a broad-based, non-sectarian coalition it would be possible to shut out Iran-backed entities altogether. Indeed, according to the constitution, figures affiliated with paramilitary forces should not be allowed to participate in politics at all.
Leading cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani has already called for a new round of free and fair elections, and protesters have urged him to categorically reject new Prime Minister Mohammed Allawi. If there are fresh elections, militias and foreign-aligned elements should be excluded from the process, with Al-Hashd-dominated departments like the Interior Ministry also kept at a distance.
Iran’s proxies have sought to discredit the protest movement by alleging manipulation by foreign embassies. Unfortunately, far from manipulating the situation behind the scenes, Western diplomats are sleeping at their posts. Where is the international community on attacks against citizens and pressures for reforms and uprooting corruption?
Iraq is the central plank in Tehran’s campaign of regional expansionism. The US and others should be capitalizing on Iran’s recent setbacks, as slamming the door on Tehran’s fingers in Iraq would have a huge impact on its ability to project its influence in Syria and Lebanon.
Even after the deaths of well over 650 protesters, the wounding of more than 20,000, and with reports of hundreds of disappearances, protesters remain as determined as ever. The “political coup” by pro-Iran elements has only achieved one thing: When millions of protesters come out in future months, we won’t see generalized slogans condemning corruption and misgovernance across the board, but rather Al-Hashd and Al-Sadr have put themselves firmly in the cross hairs. They are now widely loathed, even by the segments of society that relatively recently lauded them as popular heroes and saviors from the scourge of Daesh. Instead of hijacking the Iraqi revolution, Al-Sadr and Iran’s henchmen have simply ensured that they are the ones standing in the eye of the storm when the revolution definitively arrives.
Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Why attacks on Al-Azhar and its grand imam are misguided
Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/February 09/2020
In the blink of an eye, a scientific and intellectual discussion between the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb and President of Cairo University Mohammed Othman Elkhosht at the “Renewing the Religious Discourse” conference turned into some sort of street fight in Egyptian society. Several parties took part in the argument and turned it into what seemed to be a major crisis between the Egyptian state and Al-Azhar, Egypt’s top religious authority.
In fact, the real crisis emerged a while ago. Many journalists in Egypt portrayed the matter of renewing the religious discourse that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had demanded of Al-Azhar as a battle — as if Al-Azhar did not wish to renew the discourse; as if it was the sole authority responsible for this; or as if the state had gotten tired of what some had called the “stubbornness” of Al-Azhar, which was standing in the way of these renewal requests. However, this is not the case. The renewal matter needs a lot of time and effort. It is a process that cannot be done overnight and it certainly cannot be entrusted to Al-Azhar alone, but to all of the state’s institutions.
The renewal of the current religious discourse, which many think is the reason behind the rise of extremism and terrorism in Egypt, is a process that requires changes in educational curricula, the media, and social discourse, among others. If we wanted to look for the party responsible for establishing the terrorist ideology and creating terrorist activity, blaming Al-Azhar alone would be unfair. But Al-Azhar bears a part of the responsibility and, thus, has to review its methodologies and separate educational curricula and heritage books. It must declare a clear and loud position regarding the important difference between heritage books — as an intellectual legacy to be preserved with its advantages and disadvantages, as part of the history of the human thought — and the true positions of Al-Azhar regarding issues of public concern.
In any case, preserving the relationship between Al-Azhar and the Egyptian state is my concern now, as many are attacking Al-Tayeb because they may have misunderstood the urgent calls to renew the religious discourse, or they may be seeking to acquire a false honor by creating a rivalry with the grand imam. Many attacked the man, and even the institution, and forgot that its power emanates from the state.
Here, I would like to remind those who have doubted that Al-Tayeb is a statesman of the famous story of Gourna village. Gourna is located on the West Bank of the River Nile opposite Luxor. It was home to many artifacts and was where the tombs of many kings, queens and noblemen lay, along with the most precious treasures of the old Egyptian civilization. Over time, many people sought Gourna’s artifacts in order to sell them, smuggle them, or even melt them down to sell them as raw gold. A lot of architects were also interested in conducting research about the town.
Renowned architect Hassan Fathy built New Gourna in the mid-20th century with a plan to resettle the town’s people away from the artifacts. A few years later, the Gourna People Resettlement Program was established, enabling archeologists to reach more than 50 tombs, and so the region was supposed to be evacuated. The people of Gourna almost clashed with the state, but Al-Tayeb, who at the time lived in Gourna with his family, was the first to pack up his belongings, along with his brother Sheikh Mohammed, and leave the village. They were soon followed by the rest of the villagers.
I would also like to remind Al-Tayeb’s doubters of an incident that took place a few years ago. As Gourna’s people refused to get a medical device moved from their village hospital to Luxor General Hospital, the then-minister of health called for the mediation of the grand imam. He visited and listened to him, and the device was eventually moved, as everyone listened to the voice of the sheikh. This is the attitude of a statesman.
Many are attacking Al-Tayeb because they may have misunderstood the urgent calls to renew the religious discourse.
Then there is the important and necessary position Al-Tayeb took over the incursion of the Muslim Brotherhood, as he stood resolute against the group’s ambitions to take down the most important religious institutions in the Islamic world.
Allow me to also remind Al-Tayeb’s doubters of his initiative to return the sums the Egyptian Cabinet had allocated for him as a reward for his work. Sources close to him confirmed he had cut his expenses to be able to return these sums to the state. Moreover, Al-Tayeb has always refused any privileges he could have gained from his status and has never used his status to achieve benefits for himself or his institution. According to news reports, Al-Tayeb does not accept grants or gifts.
Here, let us recall the financial value of the Sheikh Zayed human fraternity award received by Al-Tayeb and Pope Francis last year. The latter donated the full amount of his reward to the Muslims of Rohingya, while the grand imam donated part of his to provide medical treatment for Muslim and Christian children in Upper Egypt, without regard to their religion, and the rest to a charitable organization that takes care of orphans.
Al-Tayeb has created an exclusive Egyptian case that is treasured by Egyptians. He has also proven to be a real Egyptian man; and I am not only talking about the features of “kindness” on his face, which is clear proof that he was aptly named (Al-Tayeb means “the kind”), but also his personality, which is deeply rooted in Egypt’s culture, history, tolerance and diversity. He is a simple man from a simple but well-educated family. Almost all of his ancestors were scholars. He says he inherited his qualities from his late grandfather — a great scholar who died in 1956 at the age of 100 — and that his village, Gourna, is neither a village nor a city. He is a child of the Egyptian civilization that is deeply rooted in history. He is a child of the Egyptian culture that is closely associated with moderation and which faced extremism and violence at various periods in the country’s history.
The vile attacks against the grand imam of Al-Azhar deserve to be reconsidered. I am not only speaking from an intellectual point of view, which is not biased toward or affiliated with Al-Azhar, neither ideologically nor educationally, but also a scientific point of view. I do not agree with what has been circulating recently about a dispute between El-Sisi and Al-Tayeb. Also, I do not think that Egypt’s political leadership is pleased with the campaign against Al-Azhar and its grand imam for many reasons, including the president’s awareness and understanding of Al-Azhar’s role as an extremely important institution to the Egyptian state, nationally and abroad. We can also say that, today, Al-Azhar is one of the most important elements of Egypt’s soft power. All of the above-mentioned matters are clear proof that the attacks against the grand imam of Al-Azhar are not based on a real understanding of the components of the power of the Egyptian state, in which the institutions — notably Al-Azhar — should be inter-related and following one man.
*Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy is a critically acclaimed multimedia journalist, writer and columnist who has covered war zones and conflicts worldwide. Twitter: @ALMenawy

Turkey’s political balancing act over Crimean Tatars’ rights
Yasar Yakis/Arab News/February 09/2020
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week paid an official visit to Ukraine that may have implications for Turkey-Russia relations.
The visit took place within the framework of a Turkey-Ukraine High Level Strategic Council meeting. Six agreements were signed during the meeting. They included a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a free trade area, a financial agreement in the field of military cooperation, and other agreements in various technical and administrative fields.  On the issue of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Turkey has so far remained as neutral as possible. Despite its close relations with Russia, it sided with the international community and refused to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
In March last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Erdogan to the opening of a new mosque built in Simferopol, Crimea, with Turkey’s contribution, but the Turkish president did not agree to attend. The opening was initially scheduled for April 21 last year, but was postponed to April 21 this year — probably to give Erdogan time for reflection.
Turkey is opposed to Crimea’s annexation, firstly because it believes that it was an unfair move, but there may also be an intention to capitalize on the votes of Turkey’s strong Tatar diaspora. Crimean Tatars have a deep-rooted resentment against Russia. Their history is laden with hardship, which they have been subjected to ever since their land was first annexed by Russia in 1783. At that time, the Crimean Peninsula was mainly inhabited by Tatars. In the 150 years that followed the initial annexation, czarist Russia encouraged the settlement of Russians on the peninsula to change the ethnic composition to the Tatars’ detriment.  In 1944, Russian ruler Joseph Stalin exiled 423,100 Crimean Tatars to Central Asia, mainly Uzbekistan, in cattle trains. As a pretext, he used the existence of a Crimean Tatar Legion in the Nazi army, but a great number of the Crimean Tatars were serving in the Red Army when they learned they were going to be exiled. Those who tried to escape the deportation were shot dead on sight, while those who tried to escape by boat were drowned as the Russians scuttled their barges. Within months, half of the deported population had died of cold, hunger, exhaustion and disease.
Turkey’s refusal to recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea will do little to restore the Tatars’ usurped rights.
In 1967, a Soviet decree removed the charges against Crimean Tatars, but did not reinstate their property rights or compensate them. Before Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared Perestroika, the Tatar population in Crimea was reduced to 1.5 percent. After the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, many Tatars returned home, but saw that their houses and land had been occupied by Ukrainians. Therefore, they settled as squatters, occupying land that was not legally registered.
This is the main reason for the Tatars’ resentment against Russia, but using this resentment in a manner that might provoke a reaction from Moscow is a sensitive subject in a period when Turkey-Russia relations are exposed to all sorts of hazards.
Ukraine needs friendly neighbors in the region, while Turkey is isolated in the international arena. Therefore there is complementarity between them. But they both need foreign investment and neither of them is, at present, in a position to attract it.
Before Crimea’s second annexation by Russia in 2014, the Turkish government was negotiating with the Ukrainian authorities to restore the Crimean Tatars’ rights. But there was no tangible progress because, for almost two generations, the houses that once belonged to Tatars were inhabited by Ukrainians and it was not easy to kick them out.
Now that Crimea is controlled by Russia, it will do everything possible to keep it, especially to consolidate its naval infrastructure on the coast of the Black Sea. Therefore, Turkey’s refusal to recognize the annexation will do little to restore the Tatars’ usurped rights.
Turkey has to restart negotiations with the Russian authorities. While Ukraine recognized Tatars as the indigenous people of Crimea, Russia considers them only as an ethnic minority. Therefore, any recognition of their rights will probably be commensurate with this status.
As long as Russia-Ukraine relations remain where they are at present, Ankara’s relations with Kiev will affect Turkey-Russia ties one way or another. Using the Tatar issue for electioneering purposes in Turkey is a delicate option. If Turkey does something to boost the Crimean Tatars’ cause, it would be more realistic to discuss this question with Russia. Moscow is investing heavily in Crimea to demonstrate that it is boosting the living conditions there. Transport infrastructure is being improved, while the peninsula’s most important cultural heritage — the Tatar Khan’s Palace in Bakhchysarai — is being renovated to gain the heart of the local Tatars.  This issue is very important but also a sensitive one. It has to be handled with the utmost care if Turkey is to enter the vineyard to eat grapes and not to beat the gardener.
*Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkey and a founding member of the ruling AK Party. Twitter: @yakis_yasar

France Quietly Reintroducing the Crime of Blasphemy
Giulio Meotti/Gatestone Institute/February 09/2020
Today, in France, using freedom of expression to criticize Islam is clearly an extremely dangerous act, even if you, like Mila, are a child.
France is rapidly going from laïcité (secularism) to lâcheté (cowardice); from freedom of expression to unconditional surrender. France keeps trying to procrastinate while Islamism thrives on the elites' rapidly abandoning their Judeo-Christian values.
Feminist organizations, so quick to denounce "toxic masculinity" and "patriarchal structures of domination", were also silent.
Today, in France, the country of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which always sanctified freedom of expression and the right to criticize religion and ideologies, some within the justice system.... are quietly and de facto reintroducing the crime of blasphemy.
Today, in France, the country that always sanctified freedom of expression and the right to criticize religion and ideologies, some within the justice system are quietly and de facto reintroducing the crime of blasphemy. (Images source: iStock. Image is illustrative and does not represent any person named in the article.)
France had just come out of the fifth anniversary of the massacre at its satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo than it was plunged into a similar case. On January 18, Mila O., a 16-year-old French girl, made insulting comments about Islam during an Instagram livestream.
"During her livestream, a Muslim boy asked her out in the comments, but she turned him down because she is gay. He responded by accusing her of racism and calling her a 'dirty lesbian'. In an angry follow-up video, streamed immediately after she was insulted, Mila responded by saying that she 'hates religion'".
Mila continued, saying among other things:
"Are you familiar with freedom of expression? I didn't hesitate to say what I thought. I hate religion. The Koran is a religion of hatred; there is only hatred in it. That's what I think. I say what I think... Islam is sh*t... I'm not a racist at all. One cannot simply be racist against a religion... I say what I want, I say what I think. Your religion is sh*t. I'd stick a finger up your god's a**h*le..."
What she said might be considered a bit raw, but does she have the right to say it? After all, Jews are called the descendants of pigs and apes without the speech police having a stroke.
Following her statements, Mila was targeted on social networks, where the video was widely shared; she received numerous death threats, and her name, address and the name of her school were made public. Mila was forced to leave school for her own safety.
Now under police protection, Mila is in such danger that no French school can, for the time being, accommodate her. "I can't set foot in my high school anymore and I can't even change schools because the whole of France is out to get me", she said. For not having understood what is clear to everyone -- that Islam is a "religion of peace" -- she is threatened with death, rape and having her throat cut.
"Are we in France or Pakistan?", asked French intellectual Jacques Julliard. Welcome to the France of 2020, where magazines run headlines such as: "Mila, 16 years old, threatened with death for criticizing Islam". Islamism is becoming pervasive among French Muslims. Since France has not fought it, its hold over France can only increase.
"Let's get to the point: the progressive intelligentsia wants to believe in multicultural living together, even when reality denies it and reveals a society where diversity is translated into social and identity fragmentation", wrote the Canadian philosopher, Mathieu Bock-Côté. When multiculturalism turns into threats to free speech, multiculturalists dangerously take the side of the Islamists. The case of Mila represents all the cracks in the disintegration of French society. According to the French journalist, Dominique Nora:
"A few weeks after the commemoration of the massacre at Charlie [Hebdo], the 'Mila affair' shows the disturbing asymmetry that reigns in France regarding freedom of expression, or more precisely, blasphemy."
Mila's story could have ended with the death threats -- as the death threats against Salman Rushdie could have ended 31 years ago -- if all the state authorities had immediately rushed to support Mila, and if the France as a society had condemned with one voice the barbaric aggression against the schoolgirl. The opposite happened. Avoiding "stigmatization by Muslims" has become the official excuse used by the politicians to justify abandoning the victims of violent Islamist threats, such as Mila.
Not one, but two investigations were opened, one for the death threats received by Mila and the other against Mila for "provoking religious hatred" (later dismissed). The controversy redoubled when the general delegate of the French Council for Muslim Worship, Abdallah Zekri, said that the girl had "looked for" trouble: "She must bear the consequences of what she said. Who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind". Islamists are daily testing the resilience of our democratic societies.
Mila's controversy took on a new dimension when Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet, after having first condemned the death threats received by Mila, declared: "Insulting religion is obviously an attack on freedom of conscience; it is serious." Unfortunately for Belloubet but fortunately for France, that is not (yet) a crime. Belloubet later admitted her "mistake". Nonetheless, the damage was immense. Ségolène Royal, a former minister and presidential candidate, piled on, saying that Mila had lacked "respect".
"No, you're not Mila; you, Mrs. Ségolène Royal, have no courage", tweeted the philosopher Raphaël Enthoven in response. Martine Aubry, the socialist mayor of Lille, asked Mila to "exercise restraint and avoid this kind of talk, even if the threats are unacceptable". France is rapidly going from laïcité (secularism) to lâcheté (cowardice); from freedom of expression to unconditional surrender. France keeps trying to procrastinate while Islamism thrives on the elites' rapidly abandoning their Judeo-Christian values.
There were even those, such as the historian of religion, Oden Vallet, claiming that Mila is "responsible" for future terror attacks.
A former cartoonist at Charlie Hebdo, Delfeil de Ton, after the 2015 massacre of his colleagues, shamefully accused Charlie Hebdo's late editor Stéphane Charbonnier of "dragging" the staff into the slaughter by satirizing Mohammed.
Mila's case resembles that of a French philosopher, Robert Redeker, who in 2006 published an opinion extremely critical of Islam in Le Figaro. Following this, Redeker, who was a teacher in a public high school in Toulouse, began receiving death threats by phone, email and through Al Hesbah, a password-protected forum with ties to Al Qaeda. "I can't work, I can't come and go and am obliged to hide", Redeker said from an undisclosed location. "So in some way, the Islamists have succeeded in punishing me on the territory of the republic as if I were guilty of a crime of opinion". That was the "fatwa in the country of Voltaire".
Fifteen years later, Mila's case shows how greatly the Islamists have indeed succeeded.
There are a few brave writers who have defended Mila. In an article for the Journal du Dimanche, the former Charlie Hebdo lawyer Richard Malka wrote about "Mila's case or the triumph of fear."
"There is no reaction from ministers and major feminists or LGBT associations, artists and 'progressives'. Turn your head, whistle, look at your shoes before choosing fashionable indignations that you will embrace with all the more ardor as long as they don't expose you to any risk".
Malka also wrote that "no human rights organizations has protested or expressed solidarity with the girl whose life has suddenly been plunged into hiding". Feminist organizations, so quick to denounce "toxic masculinity" and "patriarchal structures of domination", were also silent.
Today there are many countries where people are killed because they dare to criticize Islam. In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a country that punishes blasphemy with death, judges sentenced to death but later absolved Asia Bibi for that "crime". Today, in France, the country of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which always sanctified freedom of expression and the right to criticize religion and ideologies, some within the justice system -- in the name of a misguided, militant anti-racism -- are quietly and de facto reintroducing the crime of blasphemy. "The Mila Affair: Are we pretending to create a crime of blasphemy in French law?" asked an appeal published by Le Figaro.
Today, in France, using freedom of expression to criticize Islam is clearly an extremely dangerous act, even if you, like Mila, are a child. Those who disassociate themselves from Mila wear masks of submission.
Franz-Olivier Giesbert, an influential commentator and former editor of Le Figaro, accused Justice Minister Belloubet of appeasing Islamists, and compared her actions to those of the Vichy regime that collaborated with Hitler. "Is France still France?", Giesbert asked in an editorial for the news magazine Le Point.
"Some days you wonder. In Islamic republics such as Pakistan or Iran [Belloubet's comments] would be normal. But they are not normal in France, the country of the Enlightenment where there is a right to blasphemy".
If you count all the French journalists, cartoonists and writers currently under police protection for criticizing Islam, then, yes, France is turning into the new Pakistan. Éric Zemmour, the author of Le Suicide Français, is followed by two police guards wherever he goes; Charlie Hebdo's director, "Riss", and the remaining cartoonists live under police protection as does Philippe Val, the former director of Charlie Hebdo, who decided to publish the Mohammed cartoons in 2006. The journalist Zineb Rhazaoui is surrounded by six policemen. Already in 2002, two noted authors were forced to stand trial in France for their ideas on Islam, Oriana Fallaci and Michel Houellebecq.
Five major French intellectuals -- Elisabeth Badinter, Elisabeth de Fontenay, Marcel Gauchet, Jacques Julliard and Jean-Pierre Le Goff -- published a pro-Mila appeal in L'Express, calling out "the cowardice of justice and politics now obsessed with the acrobatics on the subjects of freedom of expression when it comes to Islam. We will pay dearly for this cowardice".
After the massacre at Charlie Hebdo, Pope Francis said, "Curse my mother, expect a punch", and blamed the cartoonists for their own murder. Islamists are winning the ideological battle and we are behaving like cowards. Will 16-year-old Mila have to be murdered to unify people enough so that the cowards can say "Je suis Mila" for 24 hours?
*Giulio Meotti, Cultural Editor for Il Foglio, is an Italian journalist and author.
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Germany’s Far Right Causes a Political Earthquake
Andreas Kluth/Bloomberg/February, 09/2020
Germany made post-war history on Feb. 5. In a total shock, one of the country’s 16 state parliaments elected a premier with votes that included members of a hard-right populist party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Worse, one of the AfD leaders in that state, Thuringia, is Bjoern Hoecke, considered to be on the party’s extreme — indeed proto-Fascist — wing. Is Germany following the example Austria set decades ago and, 75 years after Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bunker, normalizing the far right?
Not so fast. The Thuringian surprise is a political quake that will reverberate across Germany, and potentially Europe. But it doesn’t necessarily represent an accelerating shift to the right, and certainly not the beginning of a descent toward populist nationalism of the sort that’s become de rigueur in Hungary and Poland. What took place in Thuringia’s parliament this week is worrying. But it was constitutionally above board and may yet turn out harmless.
Thuringia is usually peripheral in Germany politics, and certainly unusual. Located in what used to be East Germany, it exemplifies that region’s political direction since reunification in 1990. The two strongest parties in its parliament are the Left, which is descended from the Socialist Unity Party that once ruled East Germany, and the AfD. The centrist parties that governed West Germany after 1949 and then the reunited country are weak in Thuringia.
It was widely assumed that Thuringia’s previous premier, Bodo Ramelow, would be reelected. He belongs to the Left, which is considered scandalous by Christian Democrats and other conservatives because of that party’s connection to former communist dictators. But he’s a pragmatic type, and personally popular. He couldn’t cobble together a majority in parliament with the Social Democrats and Greens on the center-left, but it was assumed that enough other centrists would support him.
They didn’t get a chance. After a series of surprising maneuvers, a candidate from the pro-business Free Democrats, the smallest party in the chamber, got himself elected to the premiership in the third round of voting. Thomas Kemmerich won with 45 votes to Ramelow’s 44, which means he must have drawn support not only from his own party and Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats but also from the AfD.
The AfD, predictably, celebrated its coup. You can’t ignore us any longer, was its message to the nation. Just as predictably, all the other mainstream parties cried foul: The Left, the Social Democrats and the Greens accused Kemmerich and his Thuringian clique of breaking postwar “taboos” and kindling “political arson.” Notably, so did the national leaders of the Christian Democrats, including Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the party’s boss and presumed candidate to succeed Merkel as Germany’s chancellor. She reprimanded the Thuringian branch of her party for playing with fire.
All of this means Kemmerich and his Free Democrats in Erfurt, all five of them, won’t be celebrating long. They don’t have a stable majority, since they don’t agree with the AfD on anything, and they’ve already pledged that they’ll never negotiate with extreme right-wingers. If Kemmerich plods along, his government will always be one vote of no-confidence away from collapse.
One way or another, the likeliest outcome of this crisis is that Thuringia will have to call a new election before long. And this time the region’s voters will have looked into the abyss, and will — one hopes — understand what’s at stake.
The politics of Thuringia resemble those of Germany and indeed all of Europe in becoming more fragmented and unstable. That doesn’t make a rightward drift inevitable. Modern Germany’s democracy is mature enough to weather this storm.

Coronavirus Would Be Worse Without the Web
Tyler Cowen/Bloomberg/February, 09/2020
For all the bashing directed at technology nowadays, it is noteworthy that so far the internet has put on an impressive performance when it comes to the coronavirus.
Most of all, the internet has aided and enforced transparency. In early December, it seems, local governments in China sought to cover up evidence of a possible spreading pandemic. But once the word got out on the internet, the cover-up stopped almost immediately. The central government stepped in aggressively to ensure a quarantine and many other active countermeasures. Whether or not those were the right policy responses, the elimination of the cover-up was a necessary step in limiting the spread of the coronavirus.
Scientific information about the coronavirus has spread around the world remarkably quickly, mostly because of the internet. The virus has been identified, sequenced, and tracked online, and researchers around the world are working on possible fixes. The possibility that the failed ebola drug remdesivir may help protect against the virus is now well known and the drug is being deployed. The notion of using an HIV cocktail plus some anti-flu drugs against the coronavirus also has been publicized online. The final word on those potential fixes is not yet in, but the internet accelerates the spread of knowledge, along with its application.
Researchers from India prematurely published a claim that the coronavirus resembles in some critical ways the HIV virus, and their presentation hinted at the possibility something sinister was going on. The online scientific community leaped into action, however, and very quickly the theory was struck down and a retraction came almost immediately. I saw this whole process unfold on my Twitter feed in less than a day.
And if the virus undergoes significant mutations, which could complicate public health responses, that too will be disseminated online almost immediately.
It cannot be said that there are no down sides to the rapid spread of information. For instance, the idea of buying up masks seems to have spread through the internet, and such masks are easy to order online, or at least they were before the supply ran out. Panic-buying of masks may now make it harder for hospitals and health-care professionals to get the masks they need. But while the internet has inflamed some problems, the dominant response has been one of reasoned haste.
Within China, much of the virus response has been coordinated using the internet. For instance, many Chinese hospitals need both medical supplies and donations. A group of students from Wuhan University school of computer science and engineering set up a platform to allow hospitals to publicize what they need and to bring donors and hospitals together. The service was up and running within 40 hours, and hospitals now have much greater access to increasingly scarce supplies.
Another Chinese site, NJU FactCheck, is combating misinformation and fact-checking the claims of public figures concerning the coronavirus. On Twitter, public-health researcher Helen Branswell is one very good source of current and evidence-based information in English.
More generally, so much of the Chinese adaptation to the virus has involved the internet and online activity. Many more people are telecommuting, supply chains are being monitored from greater distances, and telemedicine may be on the verge of making a huge leap, at least in China. If you were wondering what might spur drone delivery and self-driving vehicles, perhaps the coronavirus will play a significant role, as human-to-human contact in China becomes something to be avoided. Wearables to monitor health may also take big steps forward, again out of necessity.
There is a possible dark side here as well. For instance, a “digital quarantine” is keeping many Chinese, especially from Wuhan, within proscribed regions. The computerized systems that track identity cards, which are used to take trains and buses and to register in hotels, have been used to corral people from Wuhan who have broken the quarantine. It is easy enough to imagine future extensions of those techniques, for instance by shutting down payments and ride-sharing technologies, so they do not operate outside of the quarantine zones. Opinions will vary as to whether those measures are justified. Still, no matter what your net assessment of the positives and negatives here, one thing is clear: It is better to face this public health emergency with the internet than without it. Keep that in mind the next time you hear someone wax nostalgic about the good old days before the internet.