LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 23/19

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 08/51-55: “Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.’The Jews said to him, ‘Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and so did the prophets; yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.”Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets also died. Who do you claim to be?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, he of whom you say, “He is our God”, though you do not know him. But I know him; if I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him and I keep his word.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on January 22-23/19
Moody's Downgrades Lebanon's Rating to Caa1, Changes Outlook to Stable
Army, UNIFIL on Alert as Israel Resumes Construction Work on Border
Aoun: Anti-Corruption Battle Has Begun and I'll Call Things by Name
Berri Says Govt. 'within a Week', Relation with Aoun 'Excellent'
Kataeb Media Council Hails TV Station's Responsiveness to Criticism Over Anti-Bachir Tweet
Berri Says Hariri Hoping for Government Breakthrough Soon
Berri: I will ask for Cabinet to convene to approve budget
Bassil from Davos: Achieving stability in Syria is in Lebanon's interest
Bassil Backs 'Secular Syria', Says Lebanon Sects Want to Protect Privileges
Strong Lebanon bloc expresses satisfaction with summit outcomes
Future bloc convenes at Center House, hails Arab Economic Summit outcome
Army Chief welcomes ambassador of Switzerland, tackles ties with Fotel
North Lebanon Merchants Association honors participants in Second Turkish Arab Economic Forum
Army Says Israeli 'Agent' Arrested over Anti-Hamas Attack
Lebanese PM Launches New Initiative to Resolve Cabinet Deadlock
Lebanon's Finance Minister: 'Steps Needed After Long-term Investment Rating Downgraded
Libya Demands Official 'Apology' from Lebanon over Flag Incident
Jumblat Criticizes Presidency’s Statement about Gharib
Council of Churches of Orient begins week of prayer for unity of Churches
Lebanon bids farewell to May Menassa, Aoun awards late writer National Order of Merit
Military Court of Cassation pushes Ahmad Al-Assir and companions’ trial to March 7
Bukhari oversees aid distribution to the displaced in Arsal, underlines Kingdom's humanitarian message
Syrian 14-year-old dies after police chases him in Beirut, activists furious
Nadine Labaki's 'Capernaum' Gets Official Oscar Nomination
Lebanon should be wary of Qataris bearing gifts

Litles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 22-23/19
12 Iranian Soldiers Killed in Israeli Strike on Syria, Watchdog Says
12 Iranians among 21 Killed in Israel's Syria Strikes
Car Bomb Hits Syria Regime Stronghold Latakia
EU Sanctions 11 Syrian Businessmen, 5 Entities
Assad blocks access to Damascus for EU envoys: diplomats
Egypt: 59 Suspected Militants Killed in Sinai
PA Says will Stop Accepting US Aid in Response to New Anti-terrorism Law
Jordan Objects to Israel's Opening of Airport near Red Sea
Egypt Takes New Steps to Boost Ties with Europe
Calm Day in Khartoum, Calls for Night Protests
Russian Police Detains Drunken Man who Hijacked Plane
UK Labor Proposes MPs Vote on New Brexit Referendum
Ex-diplomats, scholars urge China to release Canadians

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 22-23/19
Moody's Downgrades Lebanon's Rating to Caa1, Changes Outlook to Stable/moody's.com/Naharnet/January 22/19/
Lebanon should be wary of Qataris bearing gifts/Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/January 22/19
12 Iranian Soldiers Killed in Israeli Strike on Syria, Watchdog Says/Haaretz/January 22/19
The Fateh-110 intercepted over Golan Sunday was Iran’s second surface missile attack on Israel/DEBKAfile/January 22/19
The new IDF chief's knockout victory over Iran/Yossi Yehoshua|/Ynetnews/January 22/19
Opinion/ And if Iran Doesn’t Give In?/Sima ShineHaaretz/January 22/19
Motion 103 , Islamophobia and the Muslim Brotherhood in Canada/Rami Dabbas/CIRC/January 22/19
Spain: Catalonia's Continuing Jihad Problem/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/January 22/19
Sweden: New Government, Old Policies/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/January 22/19
European disunity on Iran/Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/January 22/ 2019
Can Europe’s central bank address the slowdown in its economies/Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady/Al Arabiya/January 22/19
Pushing Back on Iran in Syria (Part 1): Beyond the ‘Boots/Hanin Ghaddar and Dana Stroul/The Washington Institute/January 22, 2019
Yasmine Hamdan: The Daring Diva Who Turns Umm Kulthum Into Electro/Rajaa Natour/Haaretz/January 22/19

Latest LCCC English Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on January 22-23/19
Moody's Downgrades Lebanon's Rating to Caa1, Changes Outlook to Stable
moody's.com/Naharnet/January 22/19/
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the Government of Lebanon's issuer ratings to Caa1. The outlook was changed to stable from negative. Moody's decision to downgrade the ratings to Caa1 reflects the heightened risk that the government's response to increased liquidity and financial stability risks will include a debt rescheduling or other liability management exercise that may constitute a default under Moody's definition. In December 2018 Moody's changed the outlook on Lebanon's then B3 issuer ratings to negative reflecting rising liquidity and financial stability risks. Compared with Moody's previous assessment, this higher probability of a default event denotes the rising risk that the government, possessing increasingly limited fiscal and monetary levers to contain or reverse its high debt and interest burden amid deteriorating domestic and external funding conditions, may seek to enhance debt sustainability through other means. The ongoing delay in the formation of a government is adding to Lebanon's pressures. The stable outlook reflects a balance of risks at the Caa1 rating level, between a possibility that an event of default is avoided or that, on the contrary in a default event, losses to investors are larger than consistent with a Caa1 rating. An event of default may be avoided if, upon its formation, a new government takes some fiscal consolidation measures that unlock the CEDRE public investment package. Alternatively or in conjunction with CEDRE inflows, more financial interventions by the central bank could contribute to avoiding a default event if that is achieved while maintaining broad financial stability. Moody's has also downgraded Lebanon's senior unsecured Medium Term Note Program rating to (P)Caa1 from (P)B3 and affirmed the (P)Not Prime other short-term rating. Concurrently, Moody's has lowered the long-term foreign currency (FC) bond ceiling to B2 from B1, the FC deposit ceiling to Caa1 from B3, the local currency bond and deposit ceilings to Ba3 from Ba2. The short-term FC bond and deposit ceilings remain Not Prime.

Army, UNIFIL on Alert as Israel Resumes Construction Work on Border
Naharnet/January 22/19/The Israeli enemy resumed construction work on the border between the occupied northern territory of Palestine and south Lebanon, that prompted the Lebanese army and UNIFIL to go on alert, the National News Agency reported on Tuesday. In Kfarkila, Israel troops resumed the installation of an iron fence above the cement one separating Lebanon and occupied Palestine, opposite the Adaisseh-Kfarkila highway, added NNA. Facing al-Wazzani parks area, two Israeli Poclain excavators resumed digging and lifting soil behind the technical fence. Some trucks were transporting soil and rocks towards the occupied Syrian village of Ghajar. In Adaisseh, Israel resumed the construction of a separation wall in a disputed area in Tallat al-Mahafer opposite the village. Opposite Wadi Hounine overlooking the town of Markaba, three Israeli Poclain excavators resumed digging works along the technical fence.

Aoun: Anti-Corruption Battle Has Begun and I'll Call Things by Name
Naharnet/January 22/19/President Michel Aoun on Tuesday announced the start of his tenure's “anti-corruption battle,” vowing to “call things by name” should the deterioration continue. “Today we have started the anti-corruption battle. I was waiting for the post-parliamentary elections government to engage in this battle more effectively, but this should not prevent its start in light of the magnitude of the enormous corruption that we are witnessing,” Aoun said in Baabda in a meeting with a delegation from the Energy and Water Ministry. The delegation was led by caretaker minister Cesar Abi Khalil and the directors general of the ministry and the Electricité du Liban and public water institutions. “We have many difficulties ahead to overcome and I will call things by name, because it is unacceptable to continue in the same manner, seeing as people are counting on us and they are the ones who are suffering,” the President added. “It doesn't matter when we begin the work but rather when we finish it, because speed is essential and necessary. We began working on the electricity plan in June 2010, and after eight years we are still suffering from a power deficiency,” Aoun went on to say. “We have borne the blame for the delay and non-implementation despite political acknowledgment that we were prevented from implementing these plans,” he added.

Berri Says Govt. 'within a Week', Relation with Aoun 'Excellent'
Naharnet/January 22/19/Speaker Nabih Berri announced Tuesday after talks with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri that the new government could be formed “within a week or less.”“There are active and needed efforts and PM-designate Saad Hariri intends to intensify his efforts and he hopes to form the new government within a week or less,” Berri told reporters after the Ain el-Tineh meeting with Hariri. “The Development and Liberation bloc and the Loyalty to Resistance bloc do not have a problem at all with PM-designate Hariri,” Berri added, noting that his relation with President Michel Aoun and Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil is “excellent.”The Speaker also revealed that “the 32-minister proposal has been binned and Hariri is not considering it,” adding that he would seek a caretaker cabinet session for passing the state budget as well as parliamentary legislative sessions should the formation of the government protract beyond the promised timeframe. Asked about MP Jamil al-Sayyed's call for a parliamentary vote on withholding confidence from Hariri, Berri said: “I know what my duties are and what the country's components and interest are.”Al-Jadeed TV meanwhile reported that Hariri visited Berri to “discuss the issue of pending portfolios – environment, information and industry – in order to prevent the emergence of a new obstacle when an agreement is reached on the candidate who will represent the Consultative Gathering.”OTV meanwhile said that Berri “reiterated that the only solution is to represent the Consultative Gathering with a minister 'not shared with anyone.'”

Kataeb Media Council Hails TV Station's Responsiveness to Criticism Over Anti-Bachir Tweet
Kataeb.org/January 22/19/Kataeb Media Council hailed Al-Jadeed TV's responsiveness to the criticism that a social media post had drawn on Monday, praising the station for deleting the insulting tweet targeting Martyr President Bachir Gemayel. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Council thanked the TV station for releasing a statement clarifying this issue following a phone call made by the Kataeb party's leadership to seek clarifications. The Kataeb Media Council addressed those who insulted Martyr President Bachir Gemayel, saying that the latter, along with all the martyrs of the Lebanese Resistance, died in defense of Lebanon's sovereignty, freedom and independence. “We take pride in their struggle and their martyrdom,” the statement stressed. “He [Bachir Gemayel] is an elected President of the Lebanese Republic, whether you like it or not," it added. “He represented a Lebanese project of independence, freedom and sovereignty, whether you like it or not." “He is the martyr of the 10,452 Km2 Lebanon, whether you like it or not."“Our martyrs, notably President Bachir Gemayel, are living in us and they are the torch for our cause, struggle and decisions,” the statement affirmed.

Berri Says Hariri Hoping for Government Breakthrough Soon
Kataeb.org/January 22/19/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday met with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri in Ain al-Tineh, as the latter has launched a new round of talks to break the protracted government formation stalemate.Following the meeting, local media quoted Berri as saying that the government formation talks have been intensified and that Hariri is hoping that a breakthrough would be reached within a week.“It is time that politicians rise above their inner anxieties and personal conflicts,” Berri stated, assuring that the formation of a 32-minister government is not on the cards for Hariri.
“If the promise was not fulfilled and the government wasn't formed, I might ask the caretaker Cabinet to convene to discuss the 2019 state budget and might hold legislative sessions,” Berri revealed. The Parliament speaker described his ties with President Michel Aoun as "excellent”, adding that both the Development and Liberation and the Loyalty to Resistance blocs are on good terms with Hariri.

Berri: I will ask for Cabinet to convene to approve budget
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, said in a chat with reporters after meeting with PM-designate Saad Hariri, who left Ain El-Tineh without giving any statement, "that Hariri is intensifying his efforts," hoping to "see a government birth in less than a week.""Prime Minister Hariri says that, within a week or less, God willing, the government will see the light,” he said in response to a question. Berri stressed that his relation with President Michel Aoun was "excellent". "I know what is in the interest of the country. If there no conclusive progress is made this week in terms of forming the government, I will ask for the convening of the cabinet to approve the draft budget, in addition to the possibility of holding legislative sessions," he said.In response to a question, the House Speaker said: "The country needs a government first and foremost, especially since the Israeli aggressions are not only on Syria but also on Lebanon because the skies of Lebanon are always being used. (…) Ay developments can threaten the fate of the country. It is now time for everyone to rise above their internal tensions and personal conflicts."

Bassil from Davos: Achieving stability in Syria is in Lebanon's interest
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - Caretaker Foreign Minister, Gebran Bassil, said on Tuesday that achieving stability in Syria and non-sectarianism were in Lebanon's interest. Speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Minister Bassil pointed out that if, during the war, "lebanonization" meant division, it was now "synonymous with the export of the Lebanese model of coexistence and plurality." "Our model is perhaps not the best, but it has stood up to the terror and unilateralism of Daesh and Israel," he corroborated. "We know that managing plurality and realizing consensual democracy is not easy in a country with 18 religious communities (...), but we can achieve stability through agreement," he said."It is quite natural that each confession seeks to safeguard its prerogatives," he maintained. Bassil concluded: "Christians in Lebanon enjoy an important political, social and economic presence within the framework of partnership with Muslims."

Bassil Backs 'Secular Syria', Says Lebanon Sects Want to Protect Privileges
Naharnet/January 22/19/Free Patriotic Movement chief and caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil announced Tuesday that “stability in Syria and the endurance of the secular/non-theological state in it are in Lebanon's interest.”Bassil voiced his remarks during a political seminar at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he represented Lebanon in the absence of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri who canceled his participation to follow up on the renewed drive to form a new government in Lebanon. “Our model may not be the most successful, but it has persevered in the face of the models of terrorism and unilateralism: Daesh and Israel,” Bassil said, referring to Lebanon and its confessional political system. “We realize that managing diversity and fulfilling consensual democracy are difficult in a country consisted of 18 sects, and that it is not easy to achieve balanced partnerships between the presidencies, the parliament, the government and state administrations, but when we reach consensus, stability would prevail,” the minister added. “It is normal for each sect to seek to preserve its jurisdiction,” Bassil went on to say. He also noted that Christians in Lebanon “enjoy a strong political, social and economic presence within the principle of partnership and coexistence with Muslims.”

Strong Lebanon bloc expresses satisfaction with summit outcomes
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - The "Strong Lebanon" parliamentary bloc expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the summit for economic and social development that led to a stabilization of the economy given the Qatari contribution of half a billion dollars purchase of Lebanese bonds. "The success achieved is in its infancy and the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, has put forward the Lebanese economic question at the Arab level and proposed the creation of an Arab bank like the European Bank," said MP Ibrahim Kanaan, at the end of the periodic meeting of the bloc. He added that the Syrian question was raised against the backdrop of the return of displaced persons and the reconstruction of Syria, highlighting the efforts of a number of Arab countries and the Gulf, to participate actively in the reconstruction through the private sector and to solicit meetings with the private sector and the Syrian State. He also called for taking into account the national interest and for not paralyzing Lebanon financially and economically. At the government level, Kanaan said: "The President of the Republic and the leader of the bloc are making great efforts to overcome obstacles," noting that "his camp is ready to reach out to other groups positively."

Future bloc convenes at Center House, hails Arab Economic Summit outcome
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - Future bloc on Tuesday convened at the Center House under the chairmanship of MP Bahiya Hariri, to discuss most recent political developments in the country. In a statement issued in the wake of the periodic meeting and read out by MP Sami Fatfat, the bloc welcomed the holding of the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Beirut, congratulating the state and its apparatuses on their work in this regard. "The success of the summit is considered a success for Lebanon, its Arabism and people," statement read, adding that Arab contributions are a sign of great confidence in the Lebanese economy. The bloc thanked the participating Arab countries for their contributions, including Kuwait and Qatar, each of which awarded $50 million to the Digital Economy Fund. Future bloc also expressed gratitude to Qatar's announcement to subscribe to $500 million in government bonds. On the other hand, the bloc welcomed the prime minister's revived attempts to form the government at the end of the summit. Future bloc urged all parties to cooperate with the PM-designate and the President of the Republic to realize the formation of a national accord government. The bloc reiterated that challenges facing the economy can only be met and addressed by accelerating government formation.

Army Chief welcomes ambassador of Switzerland, tackles ties with Fotel
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, received at his office in Yarzeh MP Wael Abu Faour, and discussed with him the general situation in the country.
He then welcomed the Ambassador of Switzerland, Monika Schmutz Kirgoz, with talks touching on the general situation in Lebanon and the region. The LAF commander them met US Central Command, General Joseph Fotel, in the presence of US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard. Discussions touched on bilateral relations and the needs of the Lebanese Army.

North Lebanon Merchants Association honors participants in Second Turkish Arab Economic Forum
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - North Lebanon Merchants Association, headed by Assad Hariri, held a dinner banquet in honor of the Turkish delegation participating in the Second Turkish-Arab Economic Forum held in Tripoli. The dinner banquet, held at the Hoz Mall in Tripoli, was attended by the Governor of Mersin, Ali Ihsan, Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon, Hakan Cakil, Head of the Turkish-Arab Countries Business Association (T?RAP), Secretary General of the Supreme Defense Council, Major General Saadallah Hamad, and President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Tripoli Tawfiq Daboussi. Scores of trade, economic and social dignitaries attended the dinner banquet. Exchange of shields between Association President and Turkish delegation members took place at the ceremony. A protocol of cooperation between the Association and the Arab-Turkish Economic Forum was signed, aimed at enhancing economic cooperation and trade exchange between the two countries.

Army Says Israeli 'Agent' Arrested over Anti-Hamas Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 22/19/The Lebanese Army said Tuesday it has arrested a suspected agent of Israel's spy agency Mossad over a failed bid to assassinate a Hamas official in the southern city of Sidon. In January 2018, Mohammed Hamdan, a security official with the Lebanese branch of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, was wounded in the leg in a car bomb blast in Sidon. Lebanon and Hamas blamed Israel for the attack, and days after the January 14 blast Lebanese authorities said they had arrested a man suspected of involvement in the car bombing. A statement at the time said he was "one of the main perpetrators of the crime, who confessed to being tasked by Israeli intelligence." On Tuesday the army said in a statement a second male suspect "who carried out surveillance" before last year's bombing had also been arrested. The second suspect "has admitted to being a Mossad agent since 2014," it said, without specifying his nationality. Hamas has fought three wars with Israel in the past decade and is based in Gaza, but it operates a branch in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region. Lebanon is also home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees, many of whom live in 12 camps across the country, the largest being Ain el-Hilweh near the port city of Sidon.

Lebanese PM Launches New Initiative to Resolve Cabinet Deadlock
Beirut - Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 22 January, 2019/Following a pause of more than a week, as political leaders were busy preparing for the Arab Economic Summit, Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri launched a new initiative aimed at reviving efforts to resolve the nine-month cabinet formation deadlock. Political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that Hariri did not uncover the details of his proposal, however, it is mainly focused on the blocking third and distribution of ministerial portfolios. The sources said Hariri informed President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri about his initiative.“Both officials welcomed the proposal, but would wait to learn about its details before taking the appropriate position.” In Beirut, Hariri met Monday with caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil. "There are several suggestions that are being discussed. Hariri agreed to more than one idea. There is a real possibility to form a government if there are good intentions,” said the minister after the talks. “Hariri will carry out the necessary contacts over the next two days to follow up on the issue,” Bassil added. Sources from Bassil’s Free Patriotic Movement told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that Hariri and the FM are currently holding talks with several parties to push forward the cabinet formation process. Asked about leaked reports saying Hariri would again suggest forming a 32-member cabinet, the sources said: “Such a proposal is one of several ideas currently under discussion.” Furthermore, the sources said that the tensions that prevailed between Aoun and Berri over the invitation of Libya to last week’s summit in Beirut have not impacted the cabinet talks. “All parties want to end the deadlock and seriously form a political cabinet capable of following up on the results of the summit,” the sources said. However, Mustaqbal Movement politburo member Mustafa Alloush is still not optimistic about the near birth of a cabinet. “The problem is with Bassil. If he abandons a demand that his bloc acquire the blocking third, then a government may see the light,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Lebanon's Finance Minister: 'Steps Needed After Long-term Investment Rating Downgraded
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 22 January, 2019/Lebanon's Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said a report by Moody's Investors Service that downgraded the country's long-term investment ratings reflects the need for quickly forming a new government and implementing reforms, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Khalil's statement came in a tweet Tuesday after Moody's downgraded the Lebanon's issuer ratings to Caa1 from B3. The outlook was changed to stable from negative. Moody's said its decision reflects the heightened risk that the government's response to increased liquidity and financial stability risks will include "a debt rescheduling or other liability management exercise that may constitute a default under Moody's definition," according to AP. Lebanon's economy has been under pressure with a debt of $85 billion equal to 150 percent of its GDP and little growth.

Libya Demands Official 'Apology' from Lebanon over Flag Incident
Naharnet/January 22/19/Libyan army spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmari denounced the attack on his country’s flag in Beirut last week when AMAL Movement supporters removed Libyan flags and replaced them with the Movement’s flag, the Saudi Okaz newspaper reported on Tuesday. “Genuinely, we are very upset about what happened in Beirut. Our brothers in Lebanon, mainly those concerned about the cause of Sadr’s death, should know that the issue is also of concern to the Libyans who were suffering in the past from Muammar Gadhafi," said Mesmari in remarks to the daily. He added: “They turned the issue into a state issue and tried to exploit it one way or another. We are very upset about that, especially the tearing down of the flag. This flag represents the entire Libyan people. It doesn’t represent Gadhafi, nor does it represent a specific era.”Demanding an apology from official Lebanon, he added: “Unfortunately, what happened has happened and I hope there will be positive action at the official level from the Lebanese side.”Libya has boycotted a summit last week in Beirut in protest at the removal of its flag by AMAL Movement supporters who addressed insults to Libya near the summit's venue in protest at the invitation of Libya to the summit. Tension has surged over the issue. AMAL accuses the former regime of slain Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi of kidnapping its revered founder Imam Moussa al-Sadr during a visit to Libya in 1978. The case has strained Libyan-Lebanese ties for the past four decades and in recent days the invitation and talk of the possibility of freeing Gadhafi’s son Hannibal from Lebanese prisons have deepened tensions between AMAL and the Free Patriotic Movement. AMAL and its leader Speaker Nabih Berri argue that the new Libyan authorities have not exerted sufficient efforts to unveil the fate of the movement’s revered founder Imam Moussa al-Sadr, who disappeared in 1978 during a visit to Libya.

Jumblat Criticizes Presidency’s Statement about Gharib
Naharnet/January 22/19/Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat criticized on Tuesday the Lebanese Presidency’s statement about the invitation of dissident Druze cleric Sheikh Nasreddine al-Gharib to Beirut's Arab economic summit. “The statement of the Lebanese Presidency about inviting a Sheikh along the official spiritual leader of the (Druze) community, Sheikh Naim Hassan, to attend the Arab summit is unconvincing in form and content,” said Jumblat in a tweet. Describing the statement as an attempt to “please” the Syrian regime, he said the move seems to be part of “returning a favor for the Syrian regime and its allies.”The Lebanese presidency issued a statement on Monday, clarifying that “the invitation of any religious or non-religious figure to an official ceremony does not represent, in any way, a violation by the Presidency of the national values and principles and subsequently does not represent a violation of the constitution or law and regulations.”The invitation of al-Gharib to Beirut's Arab economic summit has dismayed the religious leadership of the Druze community in Lebanon, which said that inviting any figure other than the community's official spiritual leader represents a “violation of protocol” and an attack on the National Pact. Al-Gharib is backed by Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan and Arab Tawhid Party chief ex-minister Wiam Wahhab, who have rejected a 2006 law issued by Parliament and limiting the official representation of the Druze community to a single spiritual leader and to an elected confessional council.

Council of Churches of Orient begins week of prayer for unity of Churches
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - The "Council of Churches of the Middle East in Lebanon" began Tuesday a week of prayers for the unity of Churches at the headquarters of the Syriac-Orthodox Patriarchate in Atchaneh, in the presence of Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, Ignatius Ephram II, and representatives of the different Christian communities.After the inaugural prayer, Patriarch Ephram II emphasized the importance of this meeting, wishing it would bear fruits. He deplored the destruction of churches and the persecution of Christians and minorities in the East by terrorist organizations, questioning the fate of bishops Boulos Yaziji and Youhanna Ibrahim who were kidnapped at the beginning of the war in Syria, and wondering who benefited from the exodus of Christians of the region. "Our future is that of conviviality with our Muslim brothers and good relations with our neighbors, based on human rights and mutual respect for dignity," he said. "We must work to secure this future (...) and we call for discarding radical ideas and consolidating the principles of coexistence, human values and religious freedom."

Lebanon bids farewell to May Menassa, Aoun awards late writer National Order of Merit
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - Lebanon and the world of journalism and letters bid farewell this Tuesday to journalist and writer May Menassa. The funeral took place at the Saint Maron church in Gemmayzeh, in the presence of outgoing Minister of Culture Ghattas Khoury representing President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and Prime Minister-designate, Saad Hariri, deputy Ibrahim Azar representing Speaker Nabih Berri, former Speaker of the House, Hussein Housseiny, outgoing Information Minister, Melhem Riachy representing Lebanese Forces Chief Samir Geagea, outgoing Minister of Education, Marwan Hamadeh, AN-NAHAR daily team, the family of the deceased and several political, cultural and media figures. At the end of the religious ceremony, Minister Khoury awarded the deceased, on behalf of President Aoun, the decoration of the National Order of Merit.

Military Court of Cassation pushes Ahmad Al-Assir and companions’ trial to March 7
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - The Military Court of Cassation, headed by Judge Tani Latouf, postponed until July 7 the trial of Ahmad al-Assir and seven of his companions involved in the Abra security events, after they appealed the death and hard labor sentences imposed on them by the permanent military court.

Bukhari oversees aid distribution to the displaced in Arsal, underlines Kingdom's humanitarian message
Tue 22 Jan 2019/NNA - Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, on Tuesday oversaw the distribution of 760 food parcels and 1,520 blankets to the displaced Syrians in the Al-Shuhada "Martyrs" camp in the town of Arsal.The Aid is provided by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.In this framework, Ambassador Bukhari visited the sick and the most underprivileged families, in the company of the Baalbeck-Hermel Mufti, Sheikh Khaled Solh and Arsal's Municipality Head, Bassel Hujeiri. The diplomat has pledged $5,000 to treat crippled child Maha Al-Rifai to continue medical treatment at AUH Hospital. In his delivered word, Bukhari said that King Salman's Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid is deemed the bright humanitarian face of Saudi Arabia, placing the country at the forefront of donor countries in favor of relief programs and humanitarian aid for refugee camps in Lebanon. He said that "the wise Saudi leadership has decided to launch a campaign to distribute 13,000 food parcels and 20,000 blankets to the displaced Syrians in the localities of Arsal and Akkar," noting that there will be new aids. On the humanitarian situation in the refugee camps, Bukhari underlined the unremitting humanitarian message of Saudi Arabia, pledging to file a report on the stringent needs of these camps and vowing to adopt additional steps.

Syrian 14-year-old dies after police chases him in Beirut, activists furious
Leen Alfaisal, Al Arabiya English/Tuesday, 22 January 2019/Ahmed al-Zouabi, a Syrian refugee child in Lebanon who worked as a shoe-shiner, died after being chased by the Lebanese police earlier this week. The child was running away from the police who were chasing him following an alleged “theft case” that was reported. Human rights activists took to social media their anger about the recklessness Syrian refugees are treated with in Lebanon. Sara is a Syrian activist who told the tragic story of Ahmed in a tweet, saying: “Did you hear about the Syrian child Ahmed al-Zouabi who died in Beirut? He was working as a shoe-shiner in Tallet al-Khayyat in Beirut. A police patrol came and chased after him because Syrians aren’t allowed to work in Lebanon. He ran away into a building and fell from the sixth floor. Ahmed was 14 when he died."She later replied to people’s interaction with her tweet saying: “We cannot do anything. He died, just like that, and nothing will bring him back. What we can do is talk about him to prevent his case from being ignored like nothing has happened.”Beirut’s municipality issued a statement explaining that police chased him for a theft case but lost him in the chase.
Syrians’ lives in Lebanon
According to the UN, the small country is estimated to have more than a million Syrian refugees who fled the war. Lebanon is the only country that kept its doors open throughout the Syrian crisis for people fleeing, but with the huge influx of refugees, racial tensions have been on the rise, and they have often been subject of social media debates. An example would be when famous Lebanese singer, Youri Mrakkadi, once published a video saying that someone from a Lebanese municipality said: “Hijabis, dogs, and Syrians are not allowed to enter the beach.”Another incident was when a report published by the website of local Lebanese television station MTV titled “Cancer sweeps Lebanon: Two reasons contribute to its spread” alleged that Syrian refugees in Lebanon are one of the reasons behind the spread of cancer in the country.

Nadine Labaki's 'Capernaum' Gets Official Oscar Nomination
Kataeb.org/January 22/19/Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum” movie has been officially nominated for the Best Foreign-Language Film category at the 2019 Oscars, after it had been shortlisted along with 8 other films from a selection that exceeded 80 submissions from all around the world. This nomination makes it the first film by an Arab woman to get an official Oscars nod and it is the second film from Lebanon to ever be nominated after Ziad Doueiri's "The Insult" was shortlisted in 2017. The film will compete with Roma (Mexico), Never Look Away (Germany), Shoplifters (Japan) and Cold War (Poland).
"Capernaum" movie, which depicts the daily struggles of the life of a child refugee and tackles many social issues affecting Lebanese and refugees alike, already won the prestigious Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for the Golden Globes as well as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).The 91st Academy Awards ceremony will take place on February 24.

Lebanon should be wary of Qataris bearing gifts
محمد شبارو/على لبنان أن يكون حذراً من تقديم قطر الهدايا له
Mohamed Chebaro/Arab News/January 22/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/71381/mohamed-chebaro-lebanon-should-be-wary-of-qataris-bearing-gifts-%d9%85%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%af-%d8%b4%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%88-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%89-%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%a3%d9%86-%d9%8a%d9%83/
The average Lebanese was looking forward to the Arab economic summit that was held in Beirut at the weekend to maybe offer relief to the country’s ailing economy, which has been under severe strain due to many months of governmental void. But Lebanese internal disagreements about inviting Syria and Libya to the summit led to many countries downgrading their representation to mere ministerial or ambassadorial level.
The Qatari emir and Mauritania’s president were the only heads of state who decided to attend. The former stole the limelight when his government announced that Doha is to purchase $500 million of government bonds in debt-ridden Lebanon.
Lebanon’s economy has looked to be on the brink of collapse for some time, but a Paris conference last April made aid pledges worth $11 billion. However, France last month warned that Beirut could lose those pledges if it continued to be without a government following almost eight months of political disputes following the general election.
The Qatari bond purchase may also have wider political implications. Qatar is at the center of a bitter dispute with Egypt and three neighboring Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, which is traditionally a backer of Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. Since June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and seeking closer relations with Iran.
The Qatari bond purchase, as helpful as it may appear from the outside, might have serious implications and push core Gulf supporters like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE into shying away from supporting Lebanon in the future.
Some Lebanese also never forget that Doha tried to defend and rehabilitate the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar Assad, when the international community tried but failed to sanction his regime and hold it responsible for the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.
Since then, Qatar has sided with the Lebanese political umbrella group the March 8 Alliance, which is close to Tehran and Damascus, and serves as a political bloc that advances Hezbollah’s agenda in Lebanon, as dictated by Syria and Iran at the expense of its national interests and fragile democracy.
Since the so-called Arab Spring, Qatar has been seen as an agent promoting groupings affiliated with political Islam, namely the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and even Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups like Al-Nusra Front in Syria.
Though Lebanon is the weakest link in this Middle East conflict, the desperate Lebanese people seem to be keen to welcome this Qatari assistance to their economy, especially after the finance minister spooked Lebanese markets earlier this month with comments about the country’s public debt, which is among the worst in the world.
But, like everything in the region and Beirut especially, the step by Qatar risks pulling Lebanon further into its sphere of influence and alienating core supporters like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who have paid billions of dollars over the years to ensure Lebanon enjoyed financial stability and national cohesion despite the divisive rhetoric promoted by groups supported by Qatar, Iran and Syria.
The Qatari bond purchase, as helpful as it may appear from the outside, might have serious implications and push core Gulf supporters like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE into shying away from supporting Lebanon in the future. Beirut must quickly clarify its position and allay its traditional allies’ fears that it will not be pulled into the Syrian-Iranian-Qatari political sphere.
**Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years’ experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy. He is also a media consultant and trainer.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on January 22-23/19
12 Iranian Soldiers Killed in Israeli Strike on Syria, Watchdog Says
Haaretz/January 22/19
Twenty-one people were killed in the overnight Syria strike, which targeted Iranian sites and Syrian air defenses, Syrian Observatory reports. Twenty-one people were killed in the extensive Israeli strikes on Syria overnight Sunday, a war watchdog reported on Tuesday, adding that at least 12 of them were members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. According to the report by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, six of those killed in the attack were Syrian soldiers and militiamen and the rest were "foreigners."  The Israeli military said that it struck Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria, including sites of the Guards' Quds Force, in response to a surface-to-surface missile toward northern Israel a day earlier. Israel said the targets included munition storage facilities, an intelligence site and a military training camp, as well as a number of Syrian air defense batteries. The Russian military and the Syrian air force did not activate their more advanced systems, the S-300, nor the S-400, which is operated by Russian soliders alone. Israel said that the strike was a respose to the missile attack, which it says was Iranian-made and launched by Iranian forces in Syria. The missile was intercepted by the Iron Dome air-defense system.  Israeli officials, meanwhile, believe Iran will respond more aggressively to recent Israeli strikes as the civil war nears its end and the country is carved up into areas of control. The assessment is that although Iran’s economic situation and its involvement in the war in Yemen has led it to reduce its presence in Syria, it has not given up its desire to solidify its control there. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps was set up after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi’ite clerical ruling system and revolutionary values. It answers to Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini. The Quds (Jerusalem) force, led by Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, is the branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards which operates outside of Iran's borders. Members of the Quds force have fought in support of President Bashar Assad in Syria's civil war and have backed Iraqi security forces in their battle against Islamic State militants in recent years.

12 Iranians among 21 Killed in Israel's Syria Strikes
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 22/19/The death toll from Israel's latest bombardment of military targets in Syria rose from 11 to 21, a war monitor said Tuesday, adding that most of those killed were Iranian. The strikes carried out late Sunday and early Monday hit several positions and assets held by Iran and its allies in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. An initial toll of 11 has now risen to 21, the head of the Britain-based Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP. "There are 15 foreigners among the dead, including 12 from the Iranian forces," he said. "Six Syrians from the regime were also killed." Israel has warned it will continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hizbullah.

Car Bomb Hits Syria Regime Stronghold Latakia
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 22/19/A car bomb exploded Tuesday in the Syrian regime's coastal stronghold of Latakia, killing one person and wounding four others, state news agency SANA reported. "Initial reports indicate that a car bomb exploded and that the driver was killed while four other people were wounded," SANA said, adding that the explosion occurred in the city's Al-Hammam square. Authorities found a second bomb in the same place and defused it just before it was due to blow up, the agency added. It published video footage showing a burnt-out car surrounded by firefighters and soldiers. Latakia is a bastion of the family of President Bashar al-Assad. The city, the capital of Latakia province located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, has largely escaped the violence that has devastated other regions of Syria since the conflict began in 2011.According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, Tuesday's blast was caused by an explosive device hidden inside the car or near it.Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that the driver killed in the blast was not a suicide attacker. In September 2015 a car bomb had exploded in the same square, killing dozens of people. The latest explosion comes days after a blast -- the first in more than a year -- hit the Syrian capital Damascus which has also been largely insulated from the war. According to SANA the bomb blast hit southern Damascus without causing any victims, but the Observatory reported it left a number of people dead and wounded.

EU Sanctions 11 Syrian Businessmen, 5 Entities
Brussels – Abdullah Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 22 January, 2019/The European Council added eleven prominent businessmen and five entities to the list of those subject to restrictive measures against the Syrian regime and its supporters. These businessmen and companies are involved in luxury estate development and other regime-backed projects, and as such support or benefit from the Syrian regime, said the Council’s statement on Monday. The statement named: Anas Talas who is a leading businessperson operating in Syria, with interests and activities in multiple sectors of Syria's economy. He benefits from and supports the Syrian regime. In 2018 the Talas Group, chaired by Anas himself, entered into a SYP 23 billion joint venture with Damascus Cham Holding for the construction of Marota City, a regime-backed luxury residential and commercial development. Nazir Ahmad Jamal Eddine, who is also a leading businessperson operating in Syria with significant investments in the construction industry, was named in the statement. He holds a controlling 90 percent stake in Apex Development and Projects LLC, which has entered into a $34.8 million joint venture for the construction of Marota. He benefits from and supports the Syrian regime. Mazin al-Tarazi has significant investments in the construction and aviation sectors. Through his investments and activities, he benefits from and supports the Syrian regime. Also on the sanctions list, Samer Foz, Khaldoun al-Zoubi, Vice President of Aman Holding, and Aleppo MP Hussam al-Qatirji who supports and benefits from the regime through enabling, and profiting from, trade deals with the regime in relation to oil and why Bashar Assi is the founding partner of Fly Aman airline and Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Aman Damascus”. In addition to Khaled al-Zubaidi who has significant investments in construction, and owns a 50 percent stake in Zubaidi and Qalei LLC. Zubaidi and Qalei LLC is constructing the luxury tourist city Grand Town and to which the regime has granted a 45-year agreement in return for 19-21 percent of its revenue. Hayan Qaddour, and Maen Haykal, both major contributors in Exceed Development and Investment and were named on the list. The final businessman sanctioned is Nader Qalei who has significant investments in the construction industry and a 50 percent stake in Zubaidi and Qalei LLC. The statement also identified the following entities: Rawafed Damascus Private Joint Stock Company, Aman Damascus Joint Stock Company, Bunyan Damascus Private Joint Stock Company, Mirza, and Developers Private Joint Stock Company. With that, the sanctions list now includes 270 persons and 72 entities who are also under restrictive measures such as travel ban and asset freeze. EU sanctions currently in place against Syria also include an oil embargo, restrictions on certain investments, a freeze of the assets of the Syrian central bank held in the EU, and export restrictions on equipment and technology that might be used for internal repression, as well as on equipment and technology for the monitoring or interception of internet or telephone communications. Sanctions on Syria were originally imposed in 2011 and are reviewed on an annual basis. The next review is due by June 1. In its statement, the EU asserted that it remains committed to finding a “lasting and credible political solution to the conflict in Syria as defined in the UN Security Council resolution 2254 and in the 2012 Geneva Communique and as s stated in the EU strategy on Syria adopted in April 2017.” “The EU believes that there can be no military solution to the conflict and strongly supports the work of the UN Special Envoy and the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva,” the statement concluded.

Assad blocks access to Damascus for EU envoys: diplomats
Reuters/Tuesday, 22 January 2019/Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has revoked special visas for European Union diplomats and officials traveling regularly between Beirut and Damascus, complicating efforts to distribute aid to civil war victims, three senior EU diplomats said. Since conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, the EU has used the Lebanese capital, the nearest major city, for its diplomatic base while closing most embassies in Damascus in protest over what they describe as Assad’s brutal assault on the opposition. But the special permission to use multiple-entry Syrian visas for access to Damascus was rescinded at the start of January with no explanation from the Syrian government, the EU diplomats said, meaning personnel have to apply for time-consuming, single-entry visas every time they wish to travel. The EU diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity said they believed it was an attempt to try to force European governments and the bloc to re-open embassies in Damascus, as the Syrian army, backed by Russian and Iranian forces, regains control of most of the country. “It’s a serious problem for the EU’s humanitarian assistance,” said one EU diplomat. “This is a measure that hits diplomats and staff of European government embassies and the European Union institutions.”Reuters was unable immediately to reach Syrian Foreign Ministry officials for comment. After more than seven years of a devastating war drawing in foreign powers, the European Commission, the EU executive, has channeled almost 800 million euros ($909.44 million) on food, medicine and shelter for Syrians inside the country. There was no immediate available estimate for the impact of the multi-visa ban, but a Commission spokesman said that the bloc was “doing everything in our power to take appropriate measures to minimize any impact on the delivery of EU humanitarian assistance inside Syria.”

Egypt: 59 Suspected Militants Killed in Sinai
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 22 January, 2019/The Egyptian military announced Tuesday that at least 59 suspected militants have been killed in recent operations in the northern Sinai region. In a statement, it said that it arrested another 142 militants, according to The Associated Press. It added that airstrikes destroyed 56 vehicles containing weapons and ammunition in the Western Desert, south and northeastern border areas. The military statement gave no timeframe for these recent operations. Egypt launched a nationwide operation against militants last year. It has voiced its determination to defeat a long-running insurgency in Sinai, which serves as a base for Egypt's ISIS affiliate.

PA Says will Stop Accepting US Aid in Response to New Anti-terrorism Law
Ramallah - Kifah Ziboun/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 22 January, 2019/The Palestinian Authority (PA) officially informed US President Donald Trump’s administration that it will stop taking any form of government aid from the United States at the end of the month. This came in response to the “Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act”, known as ATCA, approved by US President Donald Trump in October 2018, which makes it possible for US citizens to sue foreign entities that receive US aid. If the PA accepts any US aid whatsoever, it could be subject to lawsuits amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars by Americans harmed in operations carried out by Palestinians. “The Palestinian government respectfully informs the US government that, as of January 31st, 2019, it fully disclaims and no longer wishes to accept any form of aid referenced in ATCA,” PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah wrote in the letter sent to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo back on December 26, 2018. “The Palestinian government unambiguously makes the choice not to accept such aid.” The PA wants to avoid legal and financial prosecution, Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that the law targets the PA and comes in line with the war waged by the US administration against it. According to sources, trials have began against Palestinian banks and will develop to reach the PA and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The law put Palestinians before two options, either to abandon US security aid or face bankruptcy in case they were tried. The US administration has earlier cut aid to the Palestinians, including the complete cessation of UNRWA funding, the cessation of aid to Palestinian projects and hospitals in Jerusalem and civil organizations concerned with coexistence. However, it maintained assistance to the security services that is estimated at 60 million dollars. Late 2018, Trump tried to put pressure on the US Congress to circumvent the law with regard to US aid to the Palestinian security services. His administration commissioned a senior US military officer, who is responsible for security coordination with the Palestinian security forces, to brief members of Congress on the implications of stopping aid for PA security services.

Jordan Objects to Israel's Opening of Airport near Red Sea
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 22 January, 2019/Israel inaugurated on Monday a new international airport in its desert south meant to boost tourism to the nearby Red Sea and serve as an emergency alternative to Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport. Jordan, however, hit out at the move to open the airport along their shared border, saying it would threaten the Kingdom's airspace. “Jordan rejects the establishment of the Israeli airport in its current location,” Head of Jordan's Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission Haitham Misto said. He said Jordan had notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) of "the Kingdom's strong objection.”Amman, Misto added, had called on the ICAO to "take all necessary measures to ensure that Israel complies with international standards.” He said the commission had been in touch with Israel's civil aviation authority and “informed it that the decision to operate the airport should not be taken unilaterally until all outstanding matters are resolved.”Israel must abide by the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation signed by 192 countries, including Jordan and Israel, he stressed.Initially Ramon Airport will handle only domestic flights, operated by Israeli carriers Arkia and Israir, AFP reported. A date has not yet been given for the start of international flights. The new airport will replace Eilat’s current airport — used almost exclusively for domestic flights — and the basic airport at Ovda, 60 kilometers north of the city, which receives international traffic, mainly of holidaymakers from Europe. The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) said that the plans for the Ramon project were revised in light of lessons learned during the 2014 Gaza war. "In an emergency, not only will Israel's entire passenger air fleet be able to land and park there but also additional aircraft," the IAA added.
After a rocket fired from Gaza hit near the perimeter of Ben Gurion airport in 2014, international carriers suspended flights. Israeli media said that a 26-meter high, 4.5-kilometer long "smart" anti-missile fence has been installed to help protect Ramon, which is adjacent to the border with Jordan. The IAA refused to comment on those reports.

Egypt Takes New Steps to Boost Ties with Europe
Cairo - Mohammed Nabil Helmi/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 22 January, 2019/Egypt has carried out simultaneous steps in the past two days to revive its economic and agricultural relations with the European Union and its member states.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan met in Cairo on Monday, during which Shoukry expressed his country’s readiness to cooperate with the European Union (EU) in new agricultural projects. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said the meeting tackled bilateral relations in the fields of “agriculture, development of irrigation and land reclamation.”The two sides also discussed the possibility of launching tripartite cooperation projects with African states in the agricultural field, according to Hafez. The EU commissioner was keen to be posted on Egypt's priorities during its presidency of the African Union in 2019 and its vision towards cementing cooperation with African partners in various fields of development. Meanwhile, an Egyptian ministerial delegation continued its visit to Germany to discuss boosting relations and transferring Berlin's expertise in the field of waste management and recycling. The delegation includes Minister of Military Production Mohamed El-Assar, Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Shaarawi, Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad and Chairman the Arab Industrialization Organization (AIO) Abdel Moneim Altras. Assar underlined on Monday the importance of strategic partnership between Egypt and Germany in various fields and Berlin’s support for Cairo in the integrated waste management mechanism. Meanwhile. in the framework of the Egyptian-French relations, Cairo looks forward for the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron in Egypt. The President’s visit will witness the signing of a number of agreements and MoUs, said Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouly on the sidelines of his meeting with French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire. Le Maire said Macron will discuss with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi means of strengthening bilateral cooperation in several fields, including electricity, health, air, and transport. He visited Sisi, who asked him to discuss cooperation with Egypt in the field of automobile industry, especially electric cars, and he promised him to review the issue with the French automotive manufacturer, Peugeot, after returning to France.

Calm Day in Khartoum, Calls for Night Protests
Khartoum - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 22 January, 2019/Khartoum has witnessed a calm day, while Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) called for night protests in two popular areas in Khartoum on Tuesday. Sudan’s Doctors’ Committee said in a terse on Monday that a university student was shot in the head. This raises the number of dead to three last Thursday. SPA urged for continuous protests throughout the night. Minister of Information Mamoun Hassan Ibrahim accused a left-group of conducting actions against the citizens' security, noting that high committees are following up the occurrences along with various security bodies. During a press conference in Khartoum, Ibrahim said that the security bodies are working on securing the state and citizens. Ibrahim stressed the citizens’ right to protest and express freely, as he admitted that there is an actual crisis, but he set a condition that protesters should demonstrate without neglecting the state. Communist Party Secretary Mohammad Mokhtar al-Khatib said in another news conference that the regime is cracking under the pressure of the fight. He denounced the aggression and violence practiced by the regime against people. Khatib vowed to keep up the struggle to oust the regime and establish a civil and democratic state. National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) General Salah Abdallah Gosh affirmed that the NISS seeks to safeguard citizens, and accused a demonstrator of killing doctor Babeker Abdul Hamid last Thursday. NISS has pictures that show the moment the doctor was killed, said Gosh, pledging to arrest the committer. Further, Al Arabiya announced that Sudanese authorities have revoked press accreditation of Al Arabiya’s Khartoum correspondent Saad el-Din Hassan. Sudanese officials initially detained then released Hassan earlier this month after he was summoned for questioning following his reporting of the recent protests in the country.

Russian Police Detains Drunken Man who Hijacked Plane
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 22/19/Russian police detained a drunken man who threatened the crew of a passenger plane flying Tuesday from a Siberian city to Moscow, forcing it to land shortly after take-off. The Russian Investigative Committee said that the man told the Aeroflot crew that he was armed and demanded the diversion of the plane after it had taken off from the Siberian city of Surgut. The plane landed in the city of Khanty-Mansiysk, about 230 kilometers (145 miles) to the west. The plane stood on the runway in Khanty-Mansiysk for more than an hour before law enforcement officials went onboard. The airport was evacuated and the area cordoned off. Aeroflot said no one was hurt. The investigators said the man has been identified as a Surgut resident who has a past conviction for property damage. He will now face charges of hijacking.

UK Labor Proposes MPs Vote on New Brexit Referendum
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 22/19/Britain's main opposition Labor party has proposed MPs be allowed to vote on a second referendum as part of a series of options to stop a "no deal" Brexit. A parliamentary amendment tabled late on Monday would require ministers to allow time in the House of Commons to discuss ways to prevent Britain leaving the EU in March with no deal. These options include renegotiating Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement to include a new UK-EU customs union and a "strong relationship" with the EU's single market. They also should include "legislating to hold a public vote on a deal or a proposition" that has the support of a majority of MPs. MPs roundly rejected May's Brexit deal last week but she still believes it can be saved and has promised to return to Brussels to secure further concessions that might win over her critics. She will return to the Commons next Tuesday when MPs will have a chance to debate her approach and vote on amendments offering a different way forward. The Labor amendment has little chance of success as it would need the support of members of May's Conservative party, who are unlikely to back a plan proposed by Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn. But the very fact that a second referendum is now being openly discussed was welcomed by campaigners who want to stop Brexit altogether. "It is a big step forward that for the first time my party is acknowledging in a parliamentary amendment that a People's Vote may be the only way forward," Labor MP David Lammy said. There are other amendments that do have the support of pro-European Conservative MPs, including ones that seek to stop a potentially hugely disruptive "no deal" Brexit by seeking to delay the process. Not all amendments will go to a vote. This is a decision for the Commons Speaker, John Bercow, who will make his selection next week.

Ex-diplomats, scholars urge China to release Canadians
AFP, Beijing/uesday, 22 January 2019/A group of former diplomats and academics have signed an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping calling for the release of two Canadians who have been detained on allegations of espionage. Former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor were last month arrested in China for activities that “endanger China’s security” -- a phrase often used by Beijing when alleging espionage. Their detentions are thought to be in retaliation for Canada’s arrest on a US request of Huawei vice president Meng Wanzhou, who is accused of violating Iran sanctions.
The letter said both Kovrig and Spavor worked to improve understanding of China and to promote better relations with the world. “Kovrig and Spavor’s detentions send a message that this kind of constructive work is unwelcome and even risky in China,” read the page-long letter, which had 143 signatories from 19 countries. The list includes six former Canadian ambassadors to China: Fred Bild, Joseph Caron, Earl Drake, David Mulroney, Guy Saint-Jacques and Robert Wright as well as former US ambassadors Gary Locke and Winston Lord and Hong Kong’s last British governor Chris Patten. Many of the world’s leading China academics also gave it their support. “We who share Kovrig and Spavor’s enthusiasm... must now be more cautious about traveling and working in China and engaging our Chinese counterparts,” the letter said. “That will lead to less dialogue and greater distrust, and undermine efforts to manage disagreements and identify common ground. “Both China and the rest of the world will be worse off as a result.”

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 22-23/19
The Fateh-110 intercepted over Golan Sunday was Iran’s second surface missile attack on Israel
DEBKAfile/January 22/19
Yet the massive IDF assault on Iranian sites on Monday, Jan. 21 skipped the launchers from which the Fatteh-110 missile was aimed at the Golan the day before. DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report that those launchers are located south of at Al Kisweh opposite the Golan and are manned by Iranian Revolutionary Guards missile units. The order to fire the improved Fatteh-100 missile, which carries a quarter-of-a-ton warhead to a range of 300km, was given in person by Al Qods chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani to test Israel’s responses. It was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.
Yet when the IDF conducted its extensive assault on Iranian sites on Monday, Syrian missile batteries were bombed, but not the launchers from which Iran had staged its second missile attack on Israel. Our sources report that the first attack on Dec. 25, in which Iran shot a Fajr-5 ground-to- ground missile against central Israel, went answered. In the interests of avoiding tipping the situation into escalation, Israel officials made light of it as an anti-air missile from Syria. However, the attack was accompanied by an Iranian threat to attack the Hermon north of the Golan if Israeli attacks on its sites in Syria continued. They made good on that threat on Sunday. The contest is still at the muscle-testing stage. IRGC military planners are undoubtedly studying and analyzing the results of their second missile attack on Israel and the IDF’s responses, before deciding on their next move. They will have taken note of the fact that their launching sites in both attacks were left in place. Israel’s air defense network remains on high alert. Note was taken of the warning issued on Jan. 17 by IRGC chief commander Gen. Ali Jaafari that “Iran will protect its military advisers and equipment in Syria in the wake of Netanyahu’s threats.

The new IDF chief's knockout victory over Iran
Yossi Yehoshua|/Ynetnews/January 22/19
Analysis: Israel was once again able to thwart an Iranian retaliatory strike, thanks to quality intelligence and foresight. But the Iranians will certainly not back down now, and the IDF must be ready for when the Quds Force try again.
It was IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi's first round of fighting against Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and he scored a knockout win, even if official Israel won't admit it. It seems quality intelligence collected by the IDF led to some sort of a successful ambush, which exacted a significant price from the Iranians in Syria.
Since Operation House of Cards in May 2018, the Iranians have been looking for an opportunity to retaliate against Israel. To them, the recent changes in Syria—and especially Assad's victory in the country's years-long civil war—serve as an excellent opportunity to do so. They wanted to create a price tag that would have Israel pay dearly for the attacks on Iranian infrastructure and make it wary of attacking again, or at the very least reduce the number of Israeli strikes down from the dozens carried out in 2018.
"We will not ignore such acts of aggression as Iran attempts to entrench itself militarily in Syria, and in light of explicit statements by Iran that it seeks to destroy Israel," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We are acting against Iran and against the Syrian forces that abet the Iranian aggression. Whoever tries to hurt us—we will hurt them."To understand the IDF's operational achievement, one must examine the exact timeline and analyze the intelligence. According to the reports in Syria, the first Israeli strike in the country was carried out at 1pm Sunday. And despite the fact Syrian aerial defenses were activated, the strike was a success.
An hour later, the Iranian missile was launched at the northern Golan Heights. It may have surprised many, but not those in the know. It also wasn't a coincidence that it was the Iron Dome that intercepted the missile and not David's Sling. This was thanks to early assessment of the Quds Force's plans to respond to the strikes attributed to Israel. The Iranians invested in preparing the launch of the advanced missile, which has a range of over 200 kilometers and can carry a payload of hundreds of kilograms of explosives. To the Iranians, this was a significant response. Had the missile landed in one of the northern Israeli cities and caused casualties, it might have changed the equation.
But the IDF knew of this plan and prepared the Iron Dome battery in the north accordingly, ensuring it covered the Mount Hermon ski site, where thousands of visitors were enjoying the day. In recent years, there have been upgrades and improvements made to the Iron Dome's interception capabilities against heavier missiles, and Sunday was a good opportunity to show off those improvements, which are certainly better than David's Sling interception capabilities.
It's noteworthy that the launch of this type of missile by the Revolutionary Guards rather than some Shiite militia doesn't happen at a moment's notice, and requires approval from the highest ranks in Soleimani's chain of command. It also requires preparation—which Israeli intelligence must have identified.
But this is not where the battle ended; on the contrary. The IDF chose to allow the visitors at the Hermon to finish their day out before responding in darkness, attacking several Iranian targets in Syria. These targets included arms depots, training facilities, anti-aircraft systems, and storage facilities at the Damascus airport—which, according to reports, the Russians asked Israel to avoid attacking. By the end of this skirmish, Israel could be content. But it's important to remember that this is only a tactical victory. The Iranians will try to respond, again and with greater force, particularly after this failure.
There's no need to panic, only to be ready—just like in May, when the Iranians tried to avenge the successes attributed to the IDF, and failed. Such preparations will include bolstering aerial defenses, intelligence and offensive capabilities, as well as a supplementary diplomatic move vis-à-vis the Russians, who promised to curb Iran but didn't keep that promise.

Opinion/And if Iran Doesn’t Give In?
Sima ShineHaaretz/January 22/19
Eight months after Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal both sides continue to hang tough
Eight months after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and restore economic sanctions on Tehran, both sides continue to hang tough. Trump has recently told journalists that Iran is in trouble and will eventually return to the negotiating table on his terms. Iranian leaders, meanwhile, continue their verbal attacks on America and its president, and make it clear they are opposed to any dialogue so long as the sanctions continue.
There’s no doubt that the sanctions are affecting Iran’s economy, and the situation could get worse in the coming year. The U.S. administration seeks to create public pressure on the Iranian regime so that it will enter negotiations prepared to compromise on a series of issues, primarily its nuclear and missile programs.
The United States is convening an international conference in Poland next month on the subject of the Middle East. According to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, one purpose of the conference is to build a coalition of Middle Eastern countries that could respond to the many threats to the region — including, he implied, the Iranian threat.
At the same time, it was recently made known that U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton asked the Pentagon a few months ago to prepare a plan for military action against Iran. Although this request was linked to the shooting at the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad and at the consulate in Basra by Shi’ite militants that the administration linked to Iran, American security sources expressed concern that Bolton, known for his tough positions on Iran, could sway Trump into launching a military action against it.
On the other hand, outgoing Defense Secretary James Matiss had made it clear that the current moves against Iran, as well as the sanctions, were a diplomatic campaign with no military aspects. Trump has also chosen to ignore comments by top advisers, including Bolton, who promised that U.S. troops would remain in Syria until the last Iranians left. The exit of the American forces, which has already begun, is being interpreted by many as a disengagement from the Middle East, about which Trump has said many times that the United States has invested a great deal of money and lives and gotten nothing in return.
The picture emerging on this issue, as on others, is of a variety of opinions, some contradictory, among senior U.S. officials regarding the use of military force. But there are no differences of opinion between the president and his advisers ever the need to make Iran change its policies.
Thus 2019 began with rising tensions between the United States and Iran. The main question is whether Iran’s economic situation in the coming year will deteriorate to the point that it will begin a dialogue with the American administration from a clear point of weakness — and, in that situation, whether Trump will settle for the public achievement of a summit with the Iranian president, even if it means yielding on some of his demands.
The alternative is Iran’s continued opposition to a dialogue with the American president, who, in Tehran’s opinion, is interested in regime change, not just a change in policy. Another possibility is escalation, with Iran going back to pursuing its nuclear program, perhaps even more quickly than in the past. In such a case, the American administration will indeed have to consider whether to threaten with a military option.
Sima Shine, a senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, was a deputy director general in Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs, deputy head of the National Security Council for Strategic Affairs and was head of the research division in the Mossad’s intelligence division.

Motion 103 , Islamophobia and the Muslim Brotherhood in Canada
Rami Dabbas/CIRC/January 22/19
It is regrettable that using the term Islamophobia has become the new method adopted by members of the terrorist groups in Canada and the rest of the world in general , specifically the Muslim Brotherhood. It is used as an attempt to defend their presence in these countries, as one of the alternative safe havens to them following threats against them by the US administration.
In 2017, Canadian House of Commons approved a Motion condemning «Islamophobia», submitted by a Liberal MP with connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, Iqra Khalid in the Canadian Parliament. Ms Khalid – from Pakistani origin – a country which criminalizes Islamophobia and any criticism of Islam, presented this motion to give Islam a privilege against any other faith in Canada .
Iqra Khalid made her suggestions to the Canadian parliament, saying : ‘’Based on the views and opinions in the Parliament , the government must work seriously to stop the climate of hatred and fear by the Canadian people’’, she said and added: ‘’we have to condemn Islamophobia in the country,” and the fear of Islam in the West . This is one of many types of repression by liberals of freedom of speech in Canada, which shows how the Muslim Brotherhood and their followers in Canada have infiltrated the liberal government.
For my part, I wonder why the Motion adds the term “religious discrimination” to the term “Racism”, whereas ‘discrimination’ alone would have been enough and would have included all forms of discrimination based on religion, color, race or sex. Why did the Canadian government refuse a proposal of a similar version of this Motion put forward by the Progressive Conservatives that did not include the term “Islamophobia”? The Conservative’s proposal was meant to condemn “all forms of racism and religious intolerance, discrimination against Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus and other religious groups”
However, the Canadian government adopted the proposal of MP Khalid, which included the term “Islamophobia” as “irrational hatred toward Muslims which leads to discrimination”, even though most hate crimes in Canada religiously motivated are against the Jews and not against the Islamic community.
It seems that the current plan of political Islamist movements in Canada, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, is to make the use of the term “Islamophobia” in political, media and cultural speeches normal and repetitive, in order to put pressure on the Canadian government of Justin Trudeau to achieve their interests. The Muslim Brotherhood find a safe haven on Canadian territory indeed.
Many media outlets, including the Toronto Sun newspaper, have warned of the spread of extremist Islamic ideology in Canada through members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and have advised the government to pay attention to the Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Canada who are financing terrorist groups in various countries around the world.
A large problem is that the Muslim Brotherhood in Canada are trying to speak on behalf of all Muslims in Canada about Islamophobia, and they pressure the Canadian government to achieve their own goals. However, the fact is that many Muslims living in Canada do not give any permission to the Muslim Brotherhood to speak on their behalf about Islam.
It should be noted here that the Canadian government has already set the Islamic charity Irfan Canada movement on the list organizations charged with funneling funds to terrorist organizations. Muslim Canadian Wael Haddara, the special adviser to the ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, member of the Muslim Brotherhood, has allegedly been connected with the Canadian Islamic charity. Besides his involvement with MAC, Wael Haddara has also been associated with the following Islamist organizations in the past: Muslim World League, CAIR-CAN, and the Muslim Students Association as well as IRFAN-Canada.
The Muslim Brotherhood in Canada is using the term Islamophobia to manipulate and achieve their own goals and interests. Canada is becoming more and more primed, with the help and influence of Islamists such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the liberal government, of developing into an Islamic caliphate and a save haven for terrorists .
References:
https://pointdebasculecanada.ca/former-mac-president-wael-haddara-was-senior-advisor-to-ousted-muslim-brotherhood-backed-egyptian-president-mohammed-morsi/
https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/fatah-dont-use-divisive-term-islamophobia-expert-tells-mps

Spain: Catalonia's Continuing Jihad Problem
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/January 22/19
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13579/spain-catalonia-jihadists
Police said that the jihadis were known to have committed at least 369 robberies and thefts in and around Barcelona. In addition to theft, the cell members sustained themselves through drug trafficking and document fraud.
"There is little doubt that the autonomous region of Catalonia has become a prime base of operations for terrorist activity. Spanish authorities tell us they fear the threat from these atomized immigrant communities prone to radicalism, but they have very little intelligence on or ability to penetrate these groups." — American diplomatic cable, October 2, 2007.
"The Salafist religious centers detected in Catalonia are opposed to any reading of the Qur'an that is not the most rigorous... and at the same time are demanding a 'purification' of Muslim believers from foreign influences.... This religious interference results in the... prohibition, especially for female teenagers, of attending schools with male students. This supposes a deep break with the values ​​of individual freedom that are guaranteed by the laws of Europe." — Intelligence report leaked to the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia.
Police in the Spanish region of Catalonia recently arrested 18 members of a jihadi cell plotting an attack in Barcelona, drawing renewed attention to the continuing problem of radical Islam in Catalonia. Pictured: Police and medics tend to wounded survivors of a terrorist attack by Younes Abouyaaqoub in Barcelona, on August 17, 2017. Abouyaaqoub murdered 15 people and wounded 130 others. (Photo by Nicolas Carvalho Ochoa/Getty Images)
Police in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia arrested 18 members of a jihadi cell plotting an attack in Barcelona — and then released all but three.
The arrests have drawn renewed attention to the continuing problem of radical Islam in Catalonia, which has one of the largest per capita Muslim populations in Europe.
The cell — comprised of individuals from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Morocco — was broken up on January 15, when more than a hundred police officers raided five properties in Barcelona and the Catalan town of Igualada.
The arrests were part of a year-long counter-terrorism investigation called "Operation Alexandra," launched in May 2017 after police received a tip that local jihadis were preparing an attack.
Catalan police, known as the Mossos d'Esquadra, said that the cell included five ringleaders who were in an "advanced process of radicalization with the aim to attack." The cell adhered to the "doctrinal principles" of the Islamic State and were "significant consumers" of jihadi propaganda.
The newspaper El Mundo reported that the cell was divided into two parts: The first part consisted of a dozen members dedicated to robbery and theft, the proceeds of which financed the second part: namely the five ringleaders, who were committed to carrying out an attack.
Police said that the jihadis were known to have committed at least 369 robberies and thefts in and around Barcelona. In addition to theft, the cell members sustained themselves through drug trafficking and document fraud.
According to El Mundo, cell members were dedicated to stealing passports and other identity documents from tourists in Barcelona, Spain's second-largest city and one of Europe's most popular holiday destinations. The stolen documents were introduced into black market counterfeiting networks and then used by jihadis to travel throughout Europe.
On January 18, the Audiencia Nacional (National Court), a high court specialized in terrorism offenses, revealed that a Spanish citizen of Libyan origin nicknamed "Rabeh," who was serving a sentence in the Catalan prison of Brians I for crimes relating to terrorism, had made contact with the cell, with the intention of carrying out an attack upon his release.
Seventy-two hours after their arrest, however, only three of the of the 18 jihadis remained in custody. Catalan media, citing police sources, reported that although all 18 cell members are radicalized, the 13 dedicated to theft and document fraud were released without even having appeared in court because it was not possible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt their intention to participate in an actual attack. They presumably have returned to their illicit livelihoods of pickpocketing, drug trafficking and document fraud. Two others were released on the condition that they promise not to leave Spain.
Barcelona has been on high alert since August 2017, when 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub, a member of a 11-person jihadi cell based in Catalonia, drove a van into pedestrians on Las Ramblas, the city's main tourist thoroughfare. He killed 15 people and wounded 130 others. A few hours later, five members the same cell drove their vehicle into pedestrians in the nearby coastal town of Cambrils. In that attack, a Spanish woman was killed, and several other people wounded.
On December 23, 2018, the U.S. State Department warned of the risk of a jihadi attack in Barcelona during the Christmas and New Year's holidays. The security alert advised U.S. citizens to "exercise heightened caution around areas of vehicle movement, including buses, in the Las Ramblas area of Barcelona.... Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, and other public areas."
Catalan police later said that they were searching for a 30-year-old Moroccan bus driver named Brahim Lmidi who allegedly was plotting to travel to Barcelona and "run over" people with a "bus or something similar." Lmidi, who remains at large, is believed to be linked to a Salafist mosque in Vilanova i la Geltrú, a seaside town south of Barcelona.
On December 22, a 33-year-old Moroccan jihadi, identified only by his initials M.E.M., was arrested in Mataró (Barcelona) on suspicion of belonging to the Islamic State. The detainee had left Morocco in May 2014 to join the Islamic State in Syria. Police said he entered Spain in June 2018, after having returned from Syria through Turkey, Germany and Ukraine, among other countries. M.E.M. circulated in Europe without any documentation, following the usual practice of destroying passports and identity cards to avoid being identified by security forces. He was living as a squatter in Barcelona to avoid detection.
On December 18, Khalid Makran, a 29-year-old Dutch jihadi was arrested at a service station along the A7 motorway near Tarragona, south of Barcelona. Police were alerted after Makran covered the walls of his hotel room in nearby Vilaseca with jihadi propaganda.
On August 20, Abdelouahab Taib, a 29-year-old Algerian with Spanish residency, was shot dead by police after he entered a police station in Cornellà de Llobregat (Barcelona) carrying a knife and shouting "Allahu Akbar!" ("Allah is the greatest!").
On August 1, two Moroccan jihadis living in Mataró (Barcelona) were arrested for allegedly recruiting fighters to join the ranks of the Islamic State. Police said that one of the men, Mostafa Bechri Boulben, 46, used up to 10 mobile phones to communicate with combatants in Iraq and Syria.
On June 8, Spanish police called for the deportation of Mohamed Attaouil, president of the Imam Malik Islamic Cultural Center in Salt (Girona), because his continued presence in Spain posed "a significant and concrete risk to public safety." Attaouil was said to be "a benchmark" of the Catalan Muslim community and the "leader of the Salafi movement" in the region.
On May 11, Tarik Aazane and Rachid el Founti, two Moroccan jihadis living in the Catalan towns of Roda de Ter and Torello, were each sentenced to eight years in prison for the crime of terrorist indoctrination. The National Court (Audiencia Nacional) heard how the two men disseminated more than 600 videos, comments and images on social networks to promote the Islamic State. The men also indoctrinated two Spanish women in an effort integrate them into the jihadist movement. One of the women declared that she was "ready to die for Allah." The other woman, a former neo-Nazi skinhead, "underwent a process of aesthetic change, wearing clothes typical of the Muslim culture." Police said that she was "easier to convert to Islam because of her anti-Jewish sentiment."
On April 10, ten members of an Islamic State jihadi cell were sentenced to combined prison terms of nearly 100 years for a plot to bomb landmarks and behead infidels in Barcelona. The cell, composed of five Moroccans, four Spaniards and a Brazilian, was separate from the jihadi group that killed 16 people in Barcelona and nearby Cambrils in August 2017.
The court heard how the jihadi cell — called "Islamic Fraternity, Group for Preaching Jihad" — was created at a mosque in Terrassa, a city located 30 kilometers from Barcelona, with the goal of creating a global Islamic Caliphate.
Prosecutors said the cell's "sole purpose and motive was to fulfill and serve the objectives of the Islamic State and to carry out, at any time, an attack on institutions such as the police, banks or Jewish interests."
The cell's leaders — Antonio Sáez Martínez (a Spanish convert to Islam also known as "Ali the Hairdresser") and Lahcen Zamzami and Rida Hazem, both of Moroccan nationality — reportedly believed they could reach paradise "by attacking institutions, entities, organizations and symbols of Western culture."
Independence-minded Catalonia has 7.5 million inhabitants, including an estimated 520,000 Muslims, who account for around 7% of the total Catalan population. By comparison, the Muslim population of Catalonia is higher — as a percentage of the total population — than the Muslim population of Austria (6.9%), Britain (6.3%), Germany (6.1%), Italy (4.8%) and Switzerland (6.1%), according to estimates by the Pew Research Center.
In some Catalan municipalities — Castelló d'Empúries (48%), Salt (40.5%) y Sant Pere Pescador (39%) — immigrants, mostly from Morocco, comprise nearly half the population, according to official Catalan statistics.
A five-page American diplomatic cable, dated October 2, 2007, described the link between mass immigration to Catalonia and the rise of radical Islam in the region:
"Heavy immigration — both legal and illegal — from North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria) and Southeast Asia (Pakistan and Bangladesh) has made Catalonia a magnet for terrorist recruiters. ... The Spanish National Police estimates that there may be upwards of 60,000 Pakistanis living in Barcelona and the surrounding area; the vast majority are male, unmarried or unaccompanied, and without legal documentation. There are even more such immigrants from North Africa. ... They live on the edges of Spanish society, they do not speak the language, they are often unemployed, and they have very few places to practice their religion with dignity. ... Individually, these circumstances would provide fertile ground for terrorist recruitment; taken together, the threat is clear....
"There is little doubt that the autonomous region of Catalonia has become a prime base of operations for terrorist activity. Spanish authorities tell us they fear the threat from these atomized immigrant communities prone to radicalism, but they have very little intelligence on or ability to penetrate these groups."
In his book Jihadism: The Radical Islamic Threat to Catalonia, Catalan terrorism analyst Jofre Montoto estimated that at least 10% of the Muslims in Catalonia are "hardcore believers in the doctrine of jihadism."
Many of Catalonia's problems with radical Islam are self-inflicted. In an effort to promote Catalan nationalism and the Catalan language, Catalonian pro-independence parties have for decades promoted immigration from Arabic-speaking Muslim countries, in the belief that these immigrants (unlike those from Latin America) would learn the Catalan language rather than speak Spanish.
An intelligence report leaked to the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia revealed that half of the 98 Salafist mosques in Spain are located in Catalonia. The report showed that Catalan municipalities of Reus and Torredembarra (Tarragona), Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona) and Salt (Girona) are centers for Salafism, a fundamentalist ideology that openly calls for replacing Western democracy with an Islamic government based on Sharia law. The report states:
"Salafist doctrine calls for a return to the origins of Islam with repeated messages that could be considered strongly contrary to a harmonious cultural integration with respect to equal rights between men and women....
"The Salafist religious centers detected in Catalonia are opposed to any reading of the Qur'an that is not the most rigorous... and at the same time are demanding a 'purification' of Muslim believers from foreign influences.
"This religious interference results in the demand for women to dress more conservatively and for the prohibition, especially for teenagers, of attending schools with male students. This supposes a deep break with the values ​​of individual freedom that are guaranteed by the laws of Europe. For men, as well as for women, the Salafist ideology could influence a radicalization and, in the end, become a problem of coexistence."
Pierre Conesa, a former senior French Defense Ministry official and author of a half-dozen books about radical Islam, said that Catalonia and Salafism are now inseparable:
"Barcelona is a city that has long sheltered a form of radicalization. For a time, the city embraced the Muslim Brotherhood, then Tablighi Jamaat [a Sunni Islamic missionary movement advocating a rigorous and literal interpretation of Islam] and now the Salafists.
"There is a kind of radical immersion in Catalonia. If London has long been the home of Londonistan [an epicenter of Islamism], Barcelona is a Salafist city, where a nucleus of Salafist radicalization has been formed over time in the image of Molenbeek in Belgium, or Trappes in France."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Sweden: New Government, Old Policies
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/January 22/19
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13594/sweden-new-government
Keeping the Sweden Democrats away from any kind of political influence seemingly became the main reason the government crisis lasted so long. Swedish political leaders are especially opposed to the policies of the Sweden Democrats concerning immigration.
"Sweden needs to build a migration policy from scratch, with fixed rules, and respect for the country's borders, citizens and laws... Fire brigades and ambulances cannot move into immigrant-dominated areas without armed escort. Those who live and work in our suburbs get their stores robbed, broken or taken over by criminals. The few perpetrators who are actually sentenced for serious crimes escape with mild punishment, while their victims do not receive support or redress. As a result of the uncontrolled immigration, terrorists... walk freely on the streets and squares and utilize our welfare and asylum systems." — Sweden Democrats.
There is not a word in the new agreement about terrorism and internal security, even though the Swedish Security Service (Säpo), in a January 15 press release, stated, "The level of the terror threat remains elevated, a three on a five-point scale. This means that a terrorist act is likely to occur".
Pictured: Sweden's House of Parliament (Riksdagshuset) in Stockholm. (Image source: Holger.Ellgaard/Wikimedia Commons)
On January 18, more than four months after Sweden's September elections, Social Democrat leader Stefan Löfven became prime minister for a second term, when he won the backing of the Swedish parliament: 115 parliamentarians from his own party and its coalition partner (the environmentalist Green Party) voted for his proposed government coalition, while 77 parliamentarians abstained and 153 voted against. There are 349 seats in the parliament.
Under Swedish parliamentary rules, a prospective prime minister can form a government even if he has not secured a majority of votes, as long as there is not a majority against him in parliament. Löfven was far from winning a majority of votes, prompting the question whether, despite becoming prime minister for a second term, he actually won the election.
The question is actually debatable: Löfven's Social Democratic party experienced its worst election result ever, gaining only 28.3 % of the vote. It is the first time the party has ever received less than 30% of the vote; its government coalition partner, the Green Party, barely made it above the electoral threshhold, with only 4.4 % of the vote. (The electoral threshhold is 4%).
The prolonged coalition wrangling began after the results of the September 9 elections made it clear that Sweden's traditional center-left and center-right blocs had each gained around 40% of the vote, yet were unable to find ways to build a government coalition without either involving the opposing bloc or the Sweden Democrats (SD). Keeping the Sweden Democrats away from any kind of political influence, seemingly became the main reason the government crisis lasted so long. Throughout the government's negotiations, the Sweden Democrats, with 17.5 % of the vote, and now the third-largest party in parliament, representing the more than one million people who voted for them (out of 6.5 million votes in total) remained an isolated outsider, shunned by all political leaders.
"It is ... about decency, a decent democracy. A government led by the Social Democrats guarantees that the Sweden Democrats -- an extremist and racist party -- do not get influence", Löfven said on September 9, as he was casting his vote.
"My values are not SD's", said the leader of the center-right bloc, Ulf Kristersson, a year ago, about whether he would be willing to talk to the Sweden Democrats. "I will not cooperate, converse, collaborate, [or] co-ordinate with SD". He repeated the same message in November, two months after the September 9 elections: "I do not speak to, or negotiate with, the Sweden Democrats", he told Swedish television. "That is not because I do not respect their voters but I want to talk to those with whom I would like to cooperate."
Swedish political leaders are especially opposed to the policies of the Sweden Democrats concerning immigration. According to the Sweden Democrats election platform:
"For decades Sweden's migration policy has been handled in an irresponsible and ignorant way, with serious consequences for Swedish society A very high number of asylum seekers and their relatives has divided society, cultivated exclusion and eroded welfare state. At the same time, safety has been compromised... Today tens of thousands of people are staying illegally within the country's borders and Sweden is internationally known for unrest and citizens who are active in terrorist networks... Sweden needs to build a migration policy from scratch, with fixed rules, and respect for the country's borders, citizens and laws".
As part of such a policy, the Sweden Democrats say they want "to stop receiving asylum seekers in Sweden", as well as "sharpen the requirements to become Swedish citizens" and "enable revocation of citizenship that has been granted in error". They also say they want to give the police "tools and resources to search for people who are staying in the country illegally... and allow for longer stays in detention if expulsion cannot be enforced immediately". In addition, they say they would "Strive for agreements with other countries to be able to expel more people..."
The Sweden Democrats also note that they want a tougher approach to law and order:
"Current and former governments have seriously harmed confidence in the judicial system. Police quit [their jobs] as a result of poor working conditions and growing threats. Fire brigades and ambulances cannot move into immigrant-dominated areas without armed escort. Those who live and work in our suburbs get their stores robbed, broken or taken over by criminals. The few perpetrators who are actually sentenced for serious crimes escape with mild punishment, while their victims do not receive support or redress. As a result of the uncontrolled immigration, terrorists... walk freely on the streets and squares and utilize our welfare and asylum systems. Jews flee Swedish cities while anti-Semitism grows stronger. The social contract is about to be broken on the part of public Sweden".
To counter this, the Sweden Democrats want to introduce, among other things, "wide-ranging penalties and, in particular, raise the minimum penalty for repeated and serious crimes". They also want to introduce "compulsory expulsion of grossly criminal foreigners and the possibility to recall citizenship in case of terrorist offenses". The Sweden Democrats would also like Sweden to leave the EU, and to have a referendum on the issue, something to which almost all the other political parties are strongly opposed.
None of the other parties wants even to consider a dialogue about these issues with the Sweden Democrats. Prime Minister Löfven, in fact, on January 18, spoke as if Sweden's political leaders, in keeping the Sweden Democrats politically isolated, had just pulled back from the edge of an abyss, the extreme irony of his words clearly lost on himself:
"More and more governments around the world are becoming dependent on parties with an anti-democratic agenda. In the 2018 election, Sweden stood before a similar threat: getting a small right-wing government in the hands of the Swedish Democrats. But in Sweden we stand up for democracy and the equality of people. Sweden chooses a different path and it is historic.
"It has not been easy, but Sweden's centrist parties have gathered and done what is required. Through the January agreement, Sweden gets a new government based on collaboration in the center of Swedish politics. Sweden gets a powerful government that is not dependent on the Sweden Democrats... The biggest winner is Sweden".
The January agreement to which Löfven is referring formed the basis of a new political alliance between Löfven's party and his environmental coalition partner on one hand, and two small parties from the center-right bloc, which decided to break with traditional bloc politics and support the Social Democratic government. It will also form the basis for the new government's policies. Annie Lööf, the leader of the Center Party (one of the two breakout center-right parties), explained why she had chosen to support Löfven's government, which, during the elections, she had campaigned to replace:
"The 2018 election was a choice of values. The Center Party chose to stand up for humanity, equality and tolerance. We fought against xenophobia... With this agreement we stand up for our values, while at the same time putting a government in place. It is a solution where neither the Sweden Democrats nor the [far-left] Left Party is given influence over politics."
Swedish voters appear unimpressed with the way the collective of Swedish political leaders have handled this period of coalition squabbling. A January opinion poll revealed that if elections were to take place now, the Sweden Democrats would go from 17.5% to 19.9% of the vote, becoming the second-largest party in Sweden. The Green Party, the Social Democratic Party's government coalition partner, would not even make the electoral threshold; neither would one of the two breakout center-right parties that supported Löfven's government. The other center-right party would lose 30% of its voters.
A different January poll showed that 70% of the Swedes have lost confidence in politicians. "The low level of confidence is startling but not completely unexpected", said Torbjörn Sjöström, from Novus, the company behind the poll.
"There has been a crisis of confidence for quite some time. The high voter mobility that we have had during the last mandate periods and that SD [Sweden Democrats] has increased so strongly is a sign of a reduced confidence in the political system.
"During the four months that have passed, politics has shown that power seems to be most important, and that political solutions are subordinate. [Politicians] talked about a fateful election but then the country managed and kept on managing for four months without a government, so [politicians] have also shown that politics is not as important as they claimed".
The loss of confidence in politicians was particularly high -- 93% -- among people who had voted for the Sweden Democrats. "They think they have seen evidence that democracy does not work. They are the third-largest party, but have been completely outmaneuvered," said Sjöström, referring to the fact that every single political leader in Swedish politics refused even to talk to the Sweden Democrats.
So, what does the new government promise to do on the most pressing issues, such as immigration and law and order? According to the January agreement between the Social Democratic government and its center-right supporters:
"Sweden is a fantastic country but we are facing great challenges together: climate change, lack of integration, segregation and dependency, globalization, which continues to test our competitiveness... increased polarization and racism, gang crime... housing shortages ... The proposals in this agreement can vigorously meet these challenges by untying old knots and bringing about systemic changes... Our parties have different ideological starting points but are united in the defense of the liberal foundations of democracy; a strong rule of law, an unwavering protection of the individual's freedom and rights, resistance to xenophobia, independent free media, equality and equal conditions regardless of background".
The agreement mentions the issue of migration on page 15 of its 16 pages. It does not, however, mention any of the problematic issues that migration has brought upon Sweden -- although it does talk about ideas to get more immigrants into the job market and learning Swedish, as well as proposals to deal with honor killings. Ironically, it actually creates a basis for even more immigration. According to the agreement, Sweden will reintroduce the right to family reunion for those people granted asylum in Sweden who do not have refugee status. This means that they will be able to bring their spouses and children to Sweden, while unaccompanied children will be able to bring their parents. This repatriation is estimated to bring at least 8,000 more people to Sweden in the coming three years. According to Henrik Emilsson, Ph.D of international migration at Malmö University, the change will affect asylum immigration:
"Family reunification is something that is very important for people seeking asylum. The information about which countries have which rules spreads quickly and affects where people apply".
The issues of "safety, security and democracy" are mentioned only on the last page of the agreement, perhaps indicative of the assigned priority. (By comparison, there are two pages about climate change and the environment).
Here is what the new government plans, but without a word as to how it intends to do it:
"Security throughout Sweden will increase... We take action against organized crime, strengthen the police and combat both crimes and causes of crimes. Democracy must be safeguarded, both here and in the world. The work against violent extremism, anti-gypsyism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and any other forms of racism must be strengthened".
The agreement also promises "ten thousand more police officers" and pledges, "Sweden's [foreign] aid will be raised to 1% of the gross national income".
There is not a word in the agreement about the threat from Islamic terrorism, even though the Swedish Security Service's (Säpo) January 15 press release stated, "Violence-promoting Islamist extremism currently constitutes the biggest threat to Sweden" and, "The level of the terror threat remains elevated, a three on a five-point scale. This means that a terrorist act is likely to occur".
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

European disunity on Iran
عبد العزيز العويشق: الانقسام الأوروبي حول إيران
Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg/Arab News/January 22/ 2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/71384/abdel-aziz-aluwaisheg-european-disunity-on-iran-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%B2-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B4%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%85/
Developments over the past few days have made it quite clear that Europe is divided over Iran in several ways. There are major differences between the continent’s governments, but there are also internal differences between the security and political establishments on how to deal with Iran. In addition, there are growing differences between the EU and its member states over the issue. America’s assertive plans to confront Iran are forcing those differences into the open.
Take, for example, the upcoming conference, dubbed as the “Ministerial to Promote a Future of Peace and Security in the Middle East,” which is scheduled for Feb. 13-14. Although it is being co-hosted in Warsaw by Poland and the US, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini is skipping the conference due to a “scheduling conflict,” despite the fact that most EU members are expected to send high-level delegations. The main reason for some planning to skip the conference is that they expect it to focus on Iran’s destabilizing activities.
The EU and key European states keep saying that their support for maintaining the nuclear deal with Iran does not mean they are unconcerned about Iran’s malign activities or its ballistic missile program. But, when the US and Poland called for a meeting to discuss those issues, together with countering terrorism, the EU has decided to avoid that discussion.
Similarly, there are clear differences between Europe’s security and political establishments. The former is quite concerned about Iran’s support for terrorism, including on European soil. The politicians, on the other hand, appear to be fixated on the nuclear deal in the hope that it will open up new opportunities for trade and investment in Iran; and they have gone to extreme lengths to confront the US, not Iran, to do so.
The EU has enacted legislation to counteract American sanctions against Iran and is readying a special entity: The so-called Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), “a system to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran and circumvent US sanctions,” according to EU officials. Some European countries are reported to be taking secret measures to further the SVP, but are balking at hosting it for fear of US secondary sanctions.
EU politicians appear to be fixated on the nuclear deal in the hope it will open up new opportunities for trade
On the other hand, earlier this month, the EU sanctioned Iran over attacks in France, Denmark and the Netherlands, including the murders of two Iranian opposition figures living in Europe. The EU was forced by its member states to take this action after resisting repeated calls to sanction Iran. For months, Denmark led efforts to impose disciplinary measures. Similarly, two Iranian diplomats were expelled from the Netherlands in 2018. The expulsions were meant to “underline that this behavior is unacceptable and needs to stop immediately,” according to Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok.
It took the EU almost a year to sanction two individuals who were caught red-handed: Assadollah Asadi, a diplomat accredited to the Iranian Embassy in Vienna, and Saeid Hashemi Moghadam, deputy chief in Iran’s Ministry for Intelligence and Security. The sanctions included freezing their European assets and travel bans — quite mild measures. The sanctions are in response to an attempt to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris and assassinate an Iranian-Norwegian dissident from Ahvaz living in Denmark. The Netherlands also witnessed two separate murders of Iranian dissidents on its soil, in 2015 and 2017.
The growing international consensus on the range of Iran’s threats and the need to rein in its behavior has been motivated by those attacks in Europe, as well as Iran’s firing of short-range ballistic missiles into Syria last September, tests of long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and a satellite launch this month. This consensus is forcing European powers to take action.
On Monday, Germany, the EU’s largest member, revoked the license of Iranian airline Mahan Air to operate in Germany and banned it from its airports. According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger, the measure was necessary to protect Germany’s “foreign and security policy interests.”
Mahan Air is Iran’s second-largest carrier after Iran Air and is used to operate regular flights to German cities. Mahan Air was blacklisted by the US in 2011, and Gulf Cooperation Council member states have recently sanctioned the airline for serving as the main carrier for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Qassem Soleimani’s Quds Force. Mahan Air uses the cover of a civilian airline to ferry weapons, ammunition and fighters to Syria and other countries where it is allowed to fly. Part of the reason why Germany acted now is that the US had threatened sanctions against countries and companies offering the airline landing rights or services.
EU foreign ministers are known to be pushing Brussels on the need to stake a clearer position on Iran’s support for terrorism, its missile tests and its malign interference in its neighbors’ internal affairs. But the EU, led by its chief diplomat Mogherini, wants to see the SPV established first.
Thus the planned conference in Poland next month will be an interesting test for European unity on dealing with Iran. Mogherini or other foreign ministers skipping the conference would be remarkable and would suggest that Europe, or parts of it at least, are giving priority to hoped-for mercantilist gains from courting Iran over a principled position against Tehran’s destabilization of the region, its support for terrorism worldwide, including in Europe, and its suppression of human rights at home.
• Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg is the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) assistant secretary-general for political affairs and negotiation, and a columnist for Arab News. The views expressed in this piece are personal, and do not necessarily represent those of the GCC.

Can Europe’s central bank address the slowdown in its economies?
Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady/Al Arabiya/January 22/19
Looming signs of a slowdown in growth, are not only apparent in China and the US, but also in Europe, and the European Central Bank’s actions are crucial in trying to reverse this slowdown.
The European Central Bank’s (ECB) first Monetary Policy Meeting of 2019 will be conducted under the cloud of a sharper-than-expected deceleration in Eurozone growth in the last few months of 2018, complicating the ECB’s already supremely cautious 2019 exit strategy from its non-standard stimulating measures. Any formal revisions to the ECB forecast will have to wait until the second meeting on March 7, and there is no need or desire in the Governing Council yet to tinker with its existing language around rates’ lift-off.
But ECB President Mario Draghi will acknowledge the slowdown, point to continued stimulating policy measures at the central bank’s disposal, including the roughly 15 billion Euros per month still of bond reinvestments expected for 2019, and emphasize the conditional nature of the ECB’s policy path forward in case forecasts do materially change.
In addition, there will be a discussion at this meeting about a renewal of the program to provide additional cheap funding to the banking sector, and the contingency plan all along for the Governing Council has been to revisit the program by March if necessary – and that is increasingly looking to be the case.
With the US Federal Reserve also signalling toward fewer interest rate hikes in 2019, the ECB leadership may also slow down any European interest rate rises into the beginning of 2020. And, as such, the ECB’s president is more likely to emphasise that any future rise in interest rates is conditional on the economy and the ECB’s inflation forecasts.
Current market expectations are that the first hike, when it comes, is likely to be an adjustment only in the currently -0.4 percent deposit rate, while leaving the other benchmark rates unchanged. It will also probably hike by as little as 10 basis points. This should be a relief to European companies struggling with sluggish demand and the aftershocks of a possible messy UK Brexit.
With the US Federal Reserve also signalling toward fewer interest rate hikes in 2019, the ECB leadership may also slow down any European interest rate rises into the beginning of 2020
In the meantime, the ECB is putting on a brave face. On January 24, in the closing remarks following a speech before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Draghi said while he does not see a recession, he frankly conceded he is bracing for a slowdown that will indeed be longer than originally expected.
Unsaid is that the slowdown has also come sooner, and is deeper than expected by the ECB. To add to general economic worries, there are country-specific issues facing the Eurozone, with Italy at the forefront with several Italian banks of various sizes facing some liquidity issues.
France is another country where macroeconomic risk has been elevated. Already, the “yellow vest” protests in Paris and across the country are seen to have had a dampening effect on consumption and tourism over the holiday period in France.
But looking ahead, the expectation, or at least hope, is that these riots will slowly play their course, and polls indeed suggest that after a brutal year, France’s President Emmanuel Macron’s popularity rating may even have finally bottomed.
But, there are bright spots where Germany leads the way, despite the planned exit of Angela Merkel as Chancellor. ECB officials seem to be pleased to note that the fiscal debate between the CDU and SPD coalition partners have all been about tax cuts and additional stimulus, and not about further budgetary savings, even as the German Debt to GDP ratio, at a tantalizing 60.2 percent, approaches the Stability and Growth Pact target of 60 percent.
But, perhaps most to the point, with growth flagging, Berlin has already taken pre-emptive steps, quietly stashing an extra 11 billion Euros in the budget under what ostensibly appears to be some sort of “refugee fund,” but which could be drawn on for a rainy day. Not many European countries can do the same.
Unlike economies, which have one central bank to address issues in that country, the ECB has a more difficult role in juggling the economic and fiscal pressures facing multiple member states and trying to steer a neutral course to please as many members as possible
Sometimes it works, especially during periods of economic growth in leading Eurozone economies which cascades to the poorer members, but in a period of populist economic and nationalist policies adopted by different European states, the ECB’s tasks becomes harder.
If the policies are adopted, even if delaying and reducing any future interest rate hikes to ease pressure on economies most affected, in the end domestic political pressure becomes a critical one on whether the ECB can really act as a catalyst for slowing down economic growth. The implication for oil producers is that a European economic slowdown only adds to pressure on future oil prices coming on top of Chinese economic weakness.
While the Brexit talks between the UK and the European Union are now entering a crucial stage, any final break up from Europe might not impact the relationship between the Bank of England and the ECB as feared, as many are confident that their relationship will remain strong into the future as it is based on trust. This is bearing in mind that a huge part of the EU financial industry is in the UK, that fundraising for the broader EU is based in England, and that the clearing, foreign exchange and bond trading are also important assets for the Bank of England, and few European countries are prepared to step in and fill that gap quickly. The UK is still one of Europe’s biggest economies - so despite not being part of the European single currency- the Bank of England owns a share of the ECB’s capital stock instead.
Of course, there are always surprises and if the United Kingdom exits with no Brexit deal, then all cards are off the table, even for this anchor finance relationship.

Pushing Back on Iran in Syria (Part 1): Beyond the ‘Boots’
حنين غدار ودانا سترول/معهد واشنطن/الضغط على إيران مجدداً في سوريا ولكن في أطر أبعد من الوجود العسكري المباشر
Hanin Ghaddar and Dana Stroul/The Washington Institute/January 22, 2019
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Apart from its military intervention, Tehran has pursued a wide range of economic and social tactics for increasing its sway in Syria, but Washington can still push back with targeted assistance, innovative sanctions, and strategic messaging.
This PolicyWatch is the first in a two-part series on how to counter Iran’s expanding activities in Syria amid talk of U.S. military withdrawal. Part 2 will discuss the array of Iranian-backed armed groups currently operating there.
During his January 10 speech in Cairo, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asserted that the United States will use “diplomacy and work with our partners until every last Iranian boot is expelled” from Syria. The emphasis on Iranian “boots” underscores how Washington and its regional partners have long focused on the military facets of Iran’s entrenchment in Syria—namely, its deployment of forces to ensure the Assad regime’s survival, threaten Israel, and secure a land bridge connecting Tehran to Beirut via Baghdad and Damascus.
Yet Iran’s leaders also recognize that securing long-term influence in Syria requires more than military means. Accordingly, they are applying best practices from their experience with Hezbollah in Lebanon, where the powerful Iranian proxy has entrenched itself not only militarily, but also politically, religiously, and culturally. To extend this model to Syria, Tehran is pursuing two lines of effort:
Purchasing real estate, changing demographics, and developing networks of support between Damascus and the Lebanese border, with the ultimate goal of establishing a geographical area of control similar to Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Pushing social, religious, and economic programs designed to woo underserved communities who may not be ideologically aligned with Tehran but lack viable alternatives.
If curbing Iran’s presence in Syria remains a priority for the United States, policymakers should quickly adopt new methods to counter these soft-power activities.
CONFISCATING SUNNI PROPERTY IN WEST SYRIA
Iran is heavily invested in securing Damascus, its suburbs, and the zone extending from the Shia Muslim shrine of Sayyida Zaynab to the Lebanese border. In Tehran’s view, this requires systematic demographic changes. Over the past year, Sunni communities have been pushed out of their long-time homes and replaced by people friendly to Iran and the Assad regime.
To provide a legal basis for such measures, the regime issued Law No. 10 last April. This legislation gave Syrian property owners thirty days to find a local regime administrator and file an ownership claim in person—a clear attempt to wrest land from Sunnis, who constitute the bulk of wartime refugees and were largely unable or unwilling to return in time to file claims. Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have exploited this situation to purchase numerous properties. According to reports quoting Syrian officials, more than 8,000 properties in the Damascus area have been transferred to foreign Shia owners in the past three years.
Iran is also transforming local Sunni mosques into Shia religious centers and shrines, as well as constructing new Shia meeting halls, mosques, and schools. Anecdotal reporting suggests that the Assad regime has closed some of these Shia centers in Russian-controlled areas of the country, but has failed to do so in the Iranian-controlled areas around Damascus and Sayyida Zaynab.
EXPANDING INFLUENCE IN THE SOUTH AND EAST
Outside the nascent Damascus-area stronghold, Iran’s efforts center on cementing its land bridge across Syria and controlling the country’s border with Iraq. Since the U.S.-Russia-Jordan agreement in south Syria collapsed last year, Assad’s forces (with Moscow’s facilitation) have pressured local fighters and communities into reconciliation agreements and relocation to opposition-held areas in northwest Syria. Iran has taken advantage of these forced population movements, though with a different mix of tools given their predominantly Sunni and tribal makeup.
Over the past six months, Iranian personnel have established military posts and security networks across the southwestern province of Deraa. Concurrently, they and their Hezbollah proxies have constructed at least eight local Shia religious centers and five religious schools. Recognizing the area’s abysmal economic and security situation, Iran is also reportedly offering jobs to young Sunni residents without requiring them to take up arms. For about $200 a month, many of these unemployed young men would rather join Iran’s militias in noncombat roles than be arrested, conscripted, or killed by the Assad regime.
To the east, Iran has deployed a tribal engagement strategy in the Deir al-Zour area, buying local loyalty and providing material assistance. For example, many members of the Baggara—a Sunni tribe whose connections with Tehran date back to 1988—are now working openly with the Iranians to establish religious schools and centers.
EDUCATIONAL SWAY
Another development that indicates Iran’s goal of establishing a multigenerational presence in Syria is the Assad regime’s decision to open Farsi-language departments in several educational institutions, including Damascus University, Baath University in Homs, and Tishreen University in Latakia. The courses offered by these departments come with a wide array of incentives to boost the number of Syrians they reach: students are not required to enroll in full-degree programs to attend; youths below university age are eligible; regular university fees may not apply; and the courses include trips to Iran.
Below the university level, Iran has opened a number of language schools and colleges in Damascus, Hama, and Deir al-Zour. Students receive financial incentives in these programs as well.
WIDENING THE U.S. POLICY APERTURE
The U.S. debate on Syria is currently seized by questions of timeline and conditions for withdrawing American forces. Yet this limits the debate geographically to the north and east while unnecessarily narrowing the discussion to military tools. If the administration is serious about pushing back on Iran inside Syria, then it is time to consider nonmilitary steps, particularly the following:
Restart U.S. stabilization assistance. In August 2017, Washington froze more than $200 million in U.S. stabilization assistance for communities liberated from the Islamic State. Although Saudi Arabia and other countries have pledged to fill the funding gap, restarting U.S. assistance would give Syrian communities an immediate alternative to Iranian patronage, particularly with regard to civilian protection, job creation, education, and basic services. Even without U.S. forces on hand, the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development have developed robust programs for providing and monitoring aid in hard-to-reach places. These programs should be expanded to more meaningful levels.
Specify terms for U.S. reconstruction. The administration has consistently maintained that it will provide reconstruction aid once a substantive political process to end the war is under way and Iran is out of Syria. Yet questions regarding U.S. follow-through in Syria and the broader debate about U.S. foreign assistance make it difficult to view any such pledge as meaningful without further details. Therefore, administration officials should clearly articulate the size and scope of what they are willing to contribute pending congressional approval. This vision should be paired with specific plans for burden-sharing with like-minded governments in Europe and the Middle East, international financial institutions, and the UN. Putting specifics on the table would provide tangible incentives to drive a wedge between Syria and Iran.
Impose meaningful sanctions on persons knowingly supporting Iran’s nonmilitary activities. For years, Congress considered imposing sanctions via legislation such as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. Among other steps, this act called for sanctions on any entities providing spare aircraft parts that allowed the Assad regime to continue dropping barrel bombs and chemical weapons; it also envisioned sanctioning persons who invested in sectors that allowed the regime to remain economically viable. Such innovative concepts can be applied to nonmilitary activities as well, including new sanctions targeting firms that finance or otherwise help Iranian entities build new structures on properties confiscated under Law No. 10. The choice should be stark: if companies choose to support Iran’s agenda in Syria, they will be blocked from doing business in Europe, the United States, and the wider Middle East.
Use strategic messaging and awareness campaigns to counter Iran’s cultural and educational agenda. By understanding how Iran is working at the local level, policymakers can design targeted campaigns that emphasize its track record as an unreliable partner—from its frequent habit of under-delivering in other countries to its ultimate goal of future coercion and political domination. American voices may not be the most effective vehicle for this message at the moment, but Washington still has access to networks of free Syrian media that it previously cultivated, and it could use other people-to-people partnerships in this endeavor as well. For example, the Iranian regime has proven incompetent at environmental and water management at home, so helping local Syrian media report on this performance could generate skepticism about Iranian outreach in water-poor areas of the country. Tehran has also been known to distort foreign markets by dumping subsidized consumer projects (e.g., in southern Iraq); accordingly, policymakers should show Syrian farmers and manufactures how casting their lot with Iran would open the door to economic subjugation.
Shape terms for Arab reengagement. Recently, several regional governments have reached out to Syria, reacting to perceptions that the Assad regime is here to stay given Russia and Iran’s unconditional support. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are reopening their embassies in Damascus; Lebanon lobbied for the regime’s inclusion at the recent Arab economic summit in Beirut; Tunisia just launched its first commercial flight to Damascus; Jordan reopened the Nasib border crossing, paving the way for billions of dollars in renewed trade; and discussion on Syria’s readmission to the Arab League now seems a matter of when, not if. Yet such rapprochement should not be given away for free. The administration should press these governments to insist on specific conditions before reopening their embassies, such as reversal of the Law No. 10 land grab and the closing of Iran-sponsored religious institutions.
*Hanin Ghaddar, a veteran Lebanese journalist and researcher, is the Friedmann Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute. Dana Stroul is a senior fellow in the Institute’s Geduld Program on Arab Politics.

Yasmine Hamdan: The Daring Diva Who Turns Umm Kulthum Into Electro
Rajaa Natour/Haaretz/January 22/19
This innovative Lebanese-French artist takes traditional Arab music on a journey of discovery and change, offering a fresh take on social and political issues, including feminist ones
Mid-April, 2008. A thrilling night in Bethlehem. My friends and I, all from Jaffa, and many others, eagerly awaited this day. This is the day Yasmine Hamdan is performing somewhere that's close enough for us to see her live. To get there on time, to avoid any delays or surprises of any kind, we set out three hours before the show. To dispel the tension we wandered aimlessly around the marketplace, gobbled up falafel and then, like jolly foreign tourists, followed that up with kanafeh.
After a brief wait, the big moment arrived. A tall, slim and beautiful woman took the stage. She had the air of a Lebanese-French diva combined with that of a bad girl rock star. Not showing too much excitement, yet not too aloof either – perhaps even a little timid. The first thing she did was speak to the audience and welcome everyone, in endearing Lebanese Arabic. Hamdan knows how to talk to an audience. Then she began to move sensuously and slowly, wrapped in a red scarf, and started to sing. Instantly, she had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand, with her wild charm.
That evening, Hamdan performed most of the most popular songs from all of her albums, including “Beirut” and “Azza.” The largely Palestinian audience swayed and danced and shouted with a gleeful abandon, which made for a somewhat jarring contrast with the serious setting of the concert – Qal’at Murad (Murad’s Castle), Bethlehem’s Palestinian Heritage Center.
Hamdan, who lives in France and is currently on a world tour promoting her new album – is a cultural icon in the Arab world and one of its most prominent alternative musicians. She draws inspiration from Umm Kulthum to create electronic music, dares to set the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish to rock music and performs all over the world – in Dubai, Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, England, France, Russia, Japan, America. She sings in Arabic, English and French. Her audience is broad and varied and her fans come from practically everywhere. The theme song for Jim Jarmusch’s 2013 film “Only Lovers Left Alive,” which she wrote and performed, was nominated in 2015 for the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Hamdan was born in Lebanon in 1976, at the height of the brutal civil war there. Because of the war, her family fled the country and moved to France. They subsequently moved to the United Arab Emirates, then to Greece and finally to Kuwait.
In 1990, with the outbreak of the Gulf War, the family returned to Lebanon. This sojourn exposed Hamdan to different cultural, musical and linguistic landscapes, which she would later weave into her world-embracing art. At the same time – as she has said in interviews and as is evident from listening to her music – she was raised on classic Arabic singers like Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Asmahan.
Hamdan’s original plan was to study psychology at Beirut University. Around that time, however, she met musician Zeid Hamdan (no relation) and began learning guitar and writing poetry. She enrolled in Ma’ahad al-Musiqa, a prestigious music academy. She left there soon afterward, she said years later, because the atmosphere was too academic and stuffy.
In one interview, she recalled: “I missed home, but I didn’t know which home. One day I was at a nightclub in Beirut and the DJ played Asmahan’s song 'Ya Habibi Ta’ala' (Come, My Love). The next day I went looking for someone who sold Arabic music cassettes.”
The return to Lebanon had been, for her, a return to the beating heart of Arab culture. And yet, as Hamdan admitted in another interview: “Music helped me invent a new life, the kind I knew I wouldn’t find in Lebanon.”
In 1997, she and Zeid Hamdan formed Soapkills (Al-Sabun Yaqtul), the first indie-pop group in the Arab world. The band, with its innovative sound, combining lyrics in Arabic and English and Arab music with electronic music, simultaneously rejected the old-fashioned form of classical Arab music while infusing it – musically, rhythmically and lyrically – with a new electro-Arabic sound and feel.
Soapkills quickly became a hit on the fringe music scene that was blossoming in Beirut after the war, and its music was played nonstop on Lebanese radio. The group performed elsewhere in the Arab world, as well as in Europe, but it broke up in 2005 and Yasmine Hamdan moved to France. There she collaborated with the CocoRosie duo and with producer Marc Collin (Nouvelle Vague).
Slaughtering a sacred cow
In the 1990s and early 2000s, electronic music wasn’t particularly well-received by the Arab audience, whose tastes were still quite conventional. Nor was this audience ready to hear an electro version of Umm Kulthum – that was like slaughtering a sacred cow. But in time, precisely because Hamdan didn’t dismiss Arab music but instead took it with her on a journey of discovery and change, her standing solidified. She made a name for herself as a serious artist with a real musical backbone, and both the Arab and foreign press took note and covered her performances.
Hamdan’s work is both musically and lyrically bold. Some songs address social issues like the cost of living, or the silencing and exclusion of the ordinary citizen. But even with this revolutionary streak, she is a very careful, deliberate and selective artist, and is closely involved in every aspect of her work: She writes much of the lyrics, and also composes and produces.
Of the 25 albums she has released since 2005, two especially stand out: "Ya Nass," from 2012 and "Al Jamilat" (The Beautiful Ones), from 2017. The latter is a particularly eclectic album with songs in tribal, Bedouin, Egyptian and Lebanese dialects. It moves freely and naturally between musical adaptations of texts in high literary Arabic, such as a poem by Omar Khayyam, and adaptations of texts and classic works in spoken Egyptian Arabic, such as Mohammed Abdel Wahab’s “La Mouch (Laa Mech Ana Elli Abki)” (Not That I’ll Cry).
There’s also Hamdan’s original song “Beirut,” from "Ya Nass": “Beirut / Arak drinking / Card playing / Racehorse cheering / Pigeon hunting /The essence of Beirut… Seduction crowd / Cruising around / Fooling about… Beirut / A flower off its terrain / Beirut / Oh her beauty, her good old days / Beirut / That dire end, all a waste / Withering…”
The album has precise, deep rhythms with a strong presence of electric guitar, and Hamdan’s voice is particularly dramatic. The music both corresponds and clashes with the artist’s voice, which is sometimes romantic, warm and effusive, while at other times cynical and sharp.
In “Al Jamilat,” Hamdan doesn’t do anything particularly new musically, but the beats and riffs are spot on and the assimilation of electronic music with Arabic chords is marvelous. She also comes across as even more sophisticated and sure of herself as she lingers over and imbues every word with meaning. She combines her electro-rock with lyrics sung in a very intelligent way, without subscribing to any one specific genre.
In her 2017 album, Hamdan puts to music one of the most beautiful and also most controversial feminist poems of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. It is the title track, "Al Jamilat":
Beauties are beautiful
"The tattoos of the 'violin' around the waist"
The beauties are vulnerable
"A throne without memory."
The beauties are the strong ones
"A desperation that shines but does not burn"
The beauties are princesses
"Mistresses of an anxious revelation."
The beauties are the relatives
"A rainbow neighbors"
The beauties are the distant ones
"Like songs of joys."
The beauties are the poor ones
"Such as roses in the battlefield"
The beauties are the lonely ones
"Such as the slaves serving the Queen."
The beauties are the tall ones
"The aunts of a palm tree touching the sky"
The beauties are the short ones
"Drank a cup of water."
The beauties are the older woman
"Mango peeled and wine mellowed":
The beauties are the young ones
"The promise of a future and the buds of a lily."
Beautiful, all beautiful, you.
If they came together to choose for me the noblest killer.
Hamdan sings Darwish’s words with the accompaniment of electric guitar, drums and synthesizer. Unlike the Joubran Trio, the famous Palestinian oud players who sang and played Darwish with typical Arab chords and harmony, and thus kept him in familiar romantic realms – she takes the famous poet's texts to a whole new musical place.
In an interview with the online Arabic music magazine Ma'azaf, Hamdan said: “This is not a feminist album, which includes strong and weak women, dominant and heroic ones – there’s a whole range of women there. However, the album takes a fresh look at things, complimenting women.”
Lebanese-French singer Yasmine Hamdan
Lebanese-French singer Yasmine HamdanTania Feghali
Even though Hamdan's work touches upon social and political issues, including feminist ones, she avoids talking about politics to the media; she’s careful about choosing her words within the complex Arab-Lebanese mosaic, which is such a complicated and violent realm. In that same interview, she said: “All my life I’ve fought alone – I had to, that was the only way I could win, on my own. Women are a minority just like gay communities around the world. Some of those doing the fighting are human rights activists. Today I feel I’m part of that community of activists, only I am doing things through my music, in a clearer manner.”
Hamdan relates to Beirut with pain: On one hand she has expressed pining and longing, while on the other, she described it as a ghost city, full of fear, in which Christians, Maronites, Shi’ites and Muslims live a lie that is called a communal and multicultural life. In fact, she said, everyone is defeated, silent and broken.
For her part, Hamdan has continued to work in many realms. In addition to the song she wrote for Jarmusch’s 2013 film, she’s written songs for movies such as the “A Perfect Day” (2005); “What a Wonderful World (2007)”; “In Between,” directed by Maysaloun Hamoud (2016); and a few other movies by the Palestinian director Elia Suleiman, to whom she is married.
Jarmusch has said that Hamdan is a gift to the world – comparing her to the biblical Eve. It’s easy to agree with him. Hamdan is a chameleon artist who changes her shape, her look and her voice every time anew. She is unpredictable, as one easily sees during her performances on stage, where she dances barefoot, in constant motion, with her body following her voice, making waves in the air until it breaks.