English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 16/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17/24-27/:”When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?’He said, ‘Yes, he does.’ And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?’When Peter said, ‘From others’, Jesus said to him, ‘Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the lake and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.’”.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 15-16/2020
In Occupied Lebanon: Early Parliamentary Elections Or Disarmament?/Dr. Walid Phares/May 15/2020
Hassan Says Face Masks Mandatory as 5 New Coronavirus Cases Emerge
Hasan Says Coronavirus Situation Still Under Control
Lebanon central bank official probed over currency crash
Report: BDL Employees Plan a Strike over Hamdan’s Arrest
Central Bank Official Arrested in Currency Crisis Probe
Hamdan Detained, Staff Urge His Release as BDL Denies Charges
Lebanese banks brace for continued protests
President Aoun follows up on measures taken to control smuggling across borders
Wazni Says Lebanon Ready to Float Lira, Halve Number of Banks
7 MEA Flights to Arrive Friday in Beirut
Third repatriation phase: Seven MEA flights arrive today
Security, Military Forces Vow 'Upped' Measures to Stem Smuggling
Govt. Vows Crackdown on Smuggling into Syria
Abdel Samad tweets: Media freedom is sacred and must always be guaranteed
Food prices in Lebanon spike by 55 pct as locals struggle to feed families: Report/Lauren Holtmeier, Al Arabiya English/Friday 15 May 2020

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 15-16/2020
St Peter's Basilica Reopens To Tourists Monday: Vatican
U.S. weighs measures in response to Iran fuel shipment to Venezuela - source
US Global Maritime Advisory Warns Of Iran's 'Deceptions'
Iranian IRGC commander Abolfazl Sarlak killed in Syria
EU to Push Israel to Ditch West Bank Annexation Plans
Palestinians mark the Nakba as US and Israel discuss West Bank annexation
Jihadist ‘civil war’ erupts in Africa’s Sahel region
Turkish Cypriots Protest Closure of Island Crossings
WHO Probes Possible Coronavirus Link to Rare Disease in Children
Trump Hopes for COVID-19 Vaccine by End of Year, 'Maybe Before'
Europe Opens Up as Virus Economic Toll Mounts

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 15-16/2020
Iran sentences young Christian woman to 10 lashes, three months in prison/Emily Judd, Al Arabiya English/Thursday 14 May 2020
Believers of all faiths unite today in prayer/Shelina Janmohamed/The National/May 15/ 2020
Mullahs’ Missiles Kill Iranians but Can’t Defend Iran/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/May 15/2020
Iranian Imbroglios, Ideological Fallacy and Middle Eastern Volatility/Charles Elias Chartouni/May 15/2020
UN, WHO work with Assad to starve eastern Syria of aid during pandemic/Seth J. Frantman/Jerusalem Post/May 15/2020
Question: "Does God exist?"/GotQuestions.org/May 15/2020
Turkey views new Iraqi government as an opportunity to boost cooperation/Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/May 16/2020
What will the post-COVID world look like?/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/May 16/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 15-16/2020
In Occupied Lebanon: Early Parliamentary Elections Or Disarmament?
Dr. Walid Phares/May 15/2020
Early or none elections in Lebanon without first disarming the militias, even if gradually, will not change anything. Worth mentioning that there have been since 2005 successive electionsthat repeatedly brought in a majority not in favor of themilitias. Sadly these majorities were unable to dissolve or disarm the militias, but on the contrary the militias succeeded in dissolving these parliamentary majorities in one way or another.
In Summary the main focus in occupied Lebanon must be on the disarmament of the militias, in any possible place, as a first stage for any solution, for any path to a solution. How? Here the focus begins, on “how” and not on “we are unable to do so”

Hassan Says Face Masks Mandatory as 5 New Coronavirus Cases Emerge
Naharnet/May 15/2020
Health Minister Hamad Hassan noted on Friday that shall Lebanon ease confinement measures over coronavirus, people will have to wear their face masks “at all times in public.”His statement came as the country recorded five new cases of coronavirus which raised the tally to 891 since the first infection was detected on February 21. The Minister stressed the need for joint efforts and vigilance among the people in order to stem the virus spread. “Joint efforts between security forces, municipalities and people are crucial to stem the spread of coronavirus,” he said.
He said face masks do not have to be medical ones, “masks made of cloth are also efficient at reducing the possibility of retracting the virus by 95 percent, provided that other people wear ones too,” he said.

Hasan Says Coronavirus Situation Still Under Control
Naharnet/May 15/2020
Health Minister Hamad Hasan announced Friday that the coronavirus situation is still under control in Lebanon. “We are still in the third phase and we have not descended into the fourth phase, and this is thanks to everyone's cooperation and awareness. We are counting on this cooperation to keep the pandemic under control and within the capabilities of official and societal institutions,” Hasan said. “Whenever an infection is recorded, home quarantine is obligatory and all the precautionary measures must be taken for personal safety and that of the family and society,” he added. Asked whether there is a need to extend the state of general mobilization, Hasan said: “This matter is being discussed and assessed, pending the continuation of field surveying over the next two days.”“The ministerial committee on fighting the coronavirus pandemic will convene Sunday morning at the Grand Serail under Prime Minister Hassan Diab to evaluate the epidemiological situation and act accordingly. This is a government's decision and not a ministry's decision and the Health Ministry is performing its duty and submitting recommendations,” the minister went on to say. “The decision on extending general mobilization or any other measure is up to the whole government to take,” he added.

Lebanon central bank official probed over currency crash
Associated Press/May 15/2020
The central bank denied charges of manipulation in a statement that detailed recent transactions with money traders.
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s financial prosecutor questioned a top central bank manager on Friday over the country’s financial crisis, including the free fall of the Lebanese currency, a judicial official said. Mazen Hamdan, the head of cash operations at the bank, is the most senior official to be interrogated in an ongoing probe into possible financial wrongdoing. He was ordered to appear for questioning about what Lebanon’s official news agency called “the manipulation of the dollar exchange rate.” The central bank denied charges of manipulation in a statement that detailed recent transactions with money traders.The probe reflected a growing clash between the central bank and the government at a critical time, as Lebanon launches talks with the International Monetary Fund to negotiate a rescue plan amid an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. The talks come against the backdrop of a deepening liquidity crunch, negative economic growth, soaring inflation and a massive state debt. The judicial official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation, said Hamdan has not yet been formally charged.
In a statement, the central bank said it was lifting banking secrecy rules to show transactions between the bank and private money traders, to respond to the prosecutor’s allegations. It said the transactions with private traders over one month were of a limited quantity and were no match to the fluctuations witnessed in the market. It added that no transactions with exchange bureaus occurred after May 5.
“There are no manipulations in the exchange market as a result of transactions with the central bank,” it said. Meanwhile, the central bank’s staff union called for the release of Hamdan, denouncing a “continuous attack on the central bank” and saying Hamdan was only carrying out his administrative duties.
In recent days, authorities have cracked down on currency exchange bureaus as the Lebanese pound, pegged to the dollar for more than 20 years, lost 60% of its value in weeks. A number of money dealers and the head of their union were arrested and officials closed down some bureaus for operating without licenses. They accused others of violating orders from the central bank to trade at a new controlled rate. The measures to contain the currency’s free fall, including a cap on external transfers and adjusted exchange rates for dollar withdrawals from banks and money transfer bureaus, have created chaos on the black market and sowed panic among the public. The central bank said it will provide dollars to importers at the rate of 3,200 pounds to the dollar — more than double the official pegged rate — to control the price of food. The black market rate has reached over 4,200 pounds to the pound in recent days.
The interrogation of Hamdan comes amid an unprecedented public spat between the head of the government and the governor of the central bank. Prime Minister Hassan Diab has held the governor, Riad Salameh, responsible for the pound’s downward spiral. Salameh says he has been taking all necessary measures to contain the crisis and blames politicians for misspending bank finances to pay down massive state debt.

Report: BDL Employees Plan a Strike over Hamdan’s Arrest
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 15/2020
The Central Bank employees plan to go on strike on Monday in protest at the arrest of senior bank official Mazen Hamdan over currency manipulation accusations, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday. On Thursday, financial prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim ordered the arrest of Hamdan, the director of monetary operations at the central bank (Banque du Liban). Hamdan was arrested as part of an investigation into exchange rate manipulations as the country struggles with a major currency crisis. The Lebanese pound had been pegged to the dollar at 1,500 since 1997 but the country's worst economic crisis in decades has seen its value plunge by more than half on the black market.The central bank has sought to stem the fall by ordering exchange offices to cap the rate at 3,200 to the dollar, but the pound has kept sliding. Lebanese officials already arrested the head of the money changers' union as it battles to stabilise the value of the country's currency on the black market.

Central Bank Official Arrested in Currency Crisis Probe
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 15/2020
Lebanese prosecutors on Thursday ordered the arrest of a senior central bank official as part of an investigation into exchange rate manipulations as the country struggles with a major currency crisis. The Lebanese pound had been pegged to the dollar at 1,500 since 1997 but the country's worst economic crisis in decades has seen its value plunge by more than half on the black market. The central bank has sought to stem the fall by ordering exchange offices to cap the rate at 3,200 to the dollar, but the pound has kept sliding. Financial prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim ordered the arrest of the director of monetary operations at the central bank, Mazen Hamdan, the state-run ANI news agency reported on Thursday. Hamdan was arrested on Thursday by security forces, a security source confirmed, and he was escorted to his office to pick up documents. Lebanese officials already arrested the head of the money changers' union as it battles to stabilise the value of the country's currency on the black market. Lebanon is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war, worsened by the coronavirus epidemic. Forty-five percent of Lebanon's population now lives below the poverty line, and tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs or seen salaries slashed because of the downturn. The central bank official's arrest comes as tensions grow between the country's government and the central bank's governor, Riad Salame, who has been in office since 1993.Praised by his supporters as the architect of the stability of the pound, he has been unable in recent months to stem the fall of the local currency. Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday called for further investigation into speculation on the Lebanese pound. "The Lebanese have a right to know the reasons for this rise in the exchange rate, which manipulates the national currency," he said according to a news release. Since October 2019, Lebanon has been rocked by an uprising that has denounced the entire political class, accusing them of corruption and incompetence.
The government has adopted an economic reform plan and signed a request for financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund in a bid to tackle the crisis.

Hamdan Detained, Staff Urge His Release as BDL Denies Charges
Associated Press/Naharnet/May 15/2020
A top Lebanese central bank official has been detained pending investigation into the country's financial crisis, including the free fall of the Lebanese currency, a judicial official said Friday. Lebanon's financial prosecutor ordered the detention of Mazen Hamdan, the head of cash operations at the bank, late Thursday. He is the most senior official to be named in an ongoing probe into possible financial wrongdoing. Hamdan was ordered to appear for questioning about what Lebanon's official news agency called "the manipulation of the dollar exchange rate."The central bank denied charges of manipulation in a statement that detailed recent transactions with money traders. The probe reflected a growing clash between the central bank and the government at a critical time, as Lebanon launches talks with the International Monetary Fund to negotiate a rescue plan amid an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. The talks come against the backdrop of a deepening liquidity crunch, negative economic growth, soaring inflation and a massive state debt. The judicial official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation, said Hamdan has been asked to respond to the accusations but has not been formally charged. An investigative judge would be in charge of the formal interrogation. It's unclear when that will start and Hamdan for now remains in detention. In a statement, the central bank said it was lifting banking secrecy rules to show transactions between the bank and private money traders, to respond to the prosecutor's allegations. It said the transactions with private traders over one month were of a limited quantity and were no match to the fluctuations witnessed in the market. It added that no transactions with exchange bureaus occurred after May 5. "There are no manipulations in the exchange market as a result of transactions with the central bank," it said.Meanwhile, the central bank's staff union called for the release of Hamdan, denouncing a "continuous attack on the central bank" and saying Hamdan was only carrying out his administrative duties.
In recent days, authorities have cracked down on currency exchange bureaus as the Lebanese pound, pegged to the dollar for more than 20 years, lost 60% of its value in weeks. A number of money dealers and the head of their union were arrested and officials closed down some bureaus for operating without licenses. They accused others of violating orders from the central bank to trade at a new controlled rate. The measures to contain the currency's free fall, including a cap on external transfers and adjusted exchange rates for dollar withdrawals from banks and money transfer bureaus, have created chaos on the black market and sowed panic among the public. The central bank said it will provide dollars to importers at the rate of 3,200 pounds to the dollar - more than double the official pegged rate - to control the price of food. The black market rate has reached over 4,200 pounds to the pound in recent days.
The interrogation of Hamdan comes amid an unprecedented public spat between the head of the government and the governor of the central bank. Prime Minister Hassan Diab has held the governor, Riad Salameh, responsible for the pound's downward spiral. Salameh says he has been taking all necessary measures to contain the crisis and blames politicians for misspending bank finances to pay down massive state debt.

Lebanese banks brace for continued protests
Jacob Boswall, Al Arabiya English/Friday 15 May 2020
Weeks after renewed protests targeted Lebanese banks, many branches have begun hunkering down behind heavy barricades. Large steel fortifications can be seen going up across Lebanon, weeks after angry protesters vandalized and torched bank branches from Nabatieh in the south to Tripoli in the north.
Many criticize the fortifications, arguing that the money spent on defenses could have been invested more productively elsewhere. Lebanese blogger Gino Raidy alleged that each branch paid on average $4,800 to fortify themselves – using his estimation, the sum could have provided 168,960 food parcels for families in need. Many Lebanese are especially angered by the decision to dig in, since the local banking sector is widely acknowledged to be insolvent. “So obviously they have money to build these fortifications,” one user responded sarcastically to a photo of a barricade under construction in Tabaris, central Beirut. Hundreds recently defied state-imposed regulations to curb the spread of coronavirus, taking to the streets against continued inflation which has caused a steep rise in the cost of everyday items. In Tripoli, a recent flashpoint for unrest, protesters adopted the slogan “Dying of coronavirus is better than starvation.” Almost half of Lebanon’s population struggles to pay for basic foodstuffs, according to a recent policy piece by Lebanese think tank Triangle. The cost of food has increased by an average of 55 percent since April 2019 – broadly reflecting the purchasing power of the Lebanese Lira, which is being eroded by the day. Some basic items, such as tomatoes and garlic, have increased by 128 percent and 95 percent respectively.

President Aoun follows up on measures taken to control smuggling across borders
NNA/May 15/2020
President Michel Aoun continued his follow-up on measures decided to control smuggling operations across illegal land borders, especially subsidized material such as fuel, flour and others. The President had recieved a series of reports on implemented measures and procedures to put an end to smuggling through illegal land crossings and operations seized during the past hours. President Aoun also asserted the importance of coordination between various security and military agencies to ensure the success of all previous Cabinet-adopted measures, and Supreme Defense Council decisions.
President Aoun met MP, Nicolas Sehnawi, and discussed with him the current situation and recent developments.
President Aoun received the Chairman of the National Audiovisual Council, Abdul Hadi Mahfouz.
The President received reports prepared by the Council, and followed-up audiovisual and electronic media performance, in addition to problems related that the National Assembly sponsors. For his side, Mahfouz stated that the issue of communication sites was the main focus of the meeting, especially in terms of subjecting these issues to the judiciary in cases of defamation and false news, and the application of laws in force. President Aoun sent at telegram to Tunisian President, Qais Bin Al-Munsif Bin Mohammed Saeed, and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Abou Lgheith, condoling the death of former League Secretary General, late Al-Shazly Al-Qalibi, noting the role he played during his assumption of his responsibilities in the Arab League.—Presidency Press Office

Wazni Says Lebanon Ready to Float Lira, Halve Number of Banks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 15/2020
Lebanon is ready to terminate a 23-year-old dollar peg and float the pound, but only after it secures billions in aid, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said Friday.
Speaking to AFP after talks started Wednesday with the International Monetary Fund on a plan to rescue Lebanon's crisis hit economy, he also said banking sector restructuring would entail halving the number of lenders. Foreign exchange shortages have in recent months severely strained the official rate of 1,507 to the dollar, with the pound losing well over half its black market value to trade at considerably beyond 4,000 against the greenback.
"The IMF always asks for the freeing of the pound's exchange rate," Wazni said.
But "we need to change the stabilization policy to one of a flexible exchange rate in a first stage and for the foreseeable future," he said, referring to an initial managed flotation.
"When we receive financial support from abroad, we will transition to flotation" dictated by the market, he said. "The Lebanese government has asked for a transitional period to pass through a flexible exchange rate before we reach flotation," he added. Wazni said the first phase would involve a gradual depreciation of the Lebanese pound against the dollar, in coordination with the central bank.He said this was necessary because the government feared a "huge deterioration of the pound exchange rate" otherwise.
Merging banks
Lebanon, which was hit last fall by unprecedented protests, asked the IMF for financial assistance on May 1 after laying out a much-awaited financial rescue plan. That plan aims to drum up billions of dollars in aid, reduce the deficit, restructure a colossal debt burden and slim down an oversized banking sector. Wazni said banking sector restructuring would be carried out "step by step," and possibilities included "merging" financial institutions.
"Lebanon counts 49 commercial banks and it is normal for that number to decrease to around half of that in the next stage," he said. Wazni said that the IMF had however not set any political conditions for financial assistance. "No political conditions have been set," he said. Analysts say the economic collapse is due in part to years of political crises that have stalled decision-making and permitted a culture of waste and corruption.
A mass protest movement that erupted on October 17 -- but has since largely dwindled -- has blamed the financial crisis on politicians demonstrators say are inept and corrupt.
But people have also protested against the banks, which have since the fall imposed informal capital controls on small depositors, capping then stopping dollar withdrawals and banning all transfers abroad.The financial fallout of recent months has created enormous hardship. Around 45 percent of Lebanon's population now live in poverty and inflation has soared to 55 percent, according to official estimates.
Capital controls bill
The finance minister said "parliament will pass a capital controls bill in the coming weeks."
Wazni noted Lebanon was aiming to obtain around $9 billion from the IMF, on top of another $11 billion in grants and loans already pledged by international donors in 2018.
"Lebanon's quota at the IMF is about 870 million dollars, but it hopes to secure... around ten times that amount... around 9 billion dollars," he said.
He said it was in Lebanon's interest to reach an agreement with the IMF quickly.
"The sooner we wrap up the negotiations, the better for Lebanon," he said.
A deal would "give credibility to the government's program, broaden prospects for international support conferences, and ease negotiations between Lebanon and creditors," Wazni said. Lebanon is one of the most indebted countries in the world, with a debt burden equivalent to 170 percent of its gross domestic product. It defaulted on a eurobond repayment for the first time ever in March. Wazni said a "first call" with creditors was made two weeks ago, without providing any further details.

7 MEA Flights to Arrive Friday in Beirut
Naharnet/May 15/2020
Seven Middle East Airlines planes carrying evacuated Lebanese expats will arrive Friday in Beirut, the National News Agency said. The flights are part of the third phase of the government's repatriation plan. They will arrive from Frankfurt (5pm), Paris (6pm), Milan (7pm), Madrid (8pm), Accra (11pm), Kinshasa (12:30am Saturday) and London (1:30am Saturday). Six of the flights come from countries where coronavirus tests (PCR) are not being conducted prior to departures, NNA said, which means that the passengers will be tested on arrival. The agency added that the Frankfurt, Paris and London flights will also carry evacuated Lebanese coming from the U.S., Canada and South America. Lebanon on Tuesday ordered a four-day-long lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus after recording an uptick in infections in recent days amid eased restrictions.
Lebanon has officially announced 891 cases of COVID-19, including 26 deaths. The new virus cases include repatriated Lebanese nationals who have returned to the country en masse in recent weeks.

Third repatriation phase: Seven MEA flights arrive today
NNA/May 15/2020
Seven MEA flights are scheduled to arrive at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut as of 5:00 pm on Friday as part of the government’s third repatriation phase.
The seven flights will arrive today as follows:
Frankfurt at 5:00 pm
Paris at 6:00 pm
Milan at 7:00 pm
Madrid at 8:00 pm
Accra at 11:00 pm
Kinshasa at 12:30 am
London at 12:30 am
It is worth mentioning that the scheduled MEA flights for today will be arriving from countries where no PCR tests have been conducted for the Covid-19, with the exception of Madrid. Middle East flights arriving from countries where PCR tests are not examined are scheduled to arrive in Beirut on May 15, 17, 19, 21, and 23, as per the government’s third repatriation phase. It should also be noted that the flights arriving from Frankfurt, Paris, and London will also be carrying passengers from the US and Canada.

Security, Military Forces Vow 'Upped' Measures to Stem Smuggling
Naharnet/May 15/2020
Security forces seized several oil tankers and trucks smuggling basic materials through illegal crossings from Lebanon into Syria, MTV station reported on Friday. “Our forces will not only crack down on tankers and trucks through illegal crossings, but rather will also storm the places where they load the contraband goods,” security forces told al-Anbaa daily on condition of anonymity. “We obtained beneficial information on their whereabouts and identities,” they emphasized. Later on Friday, the army said it dismantled a bridge route in Hermel's al-Qasr village used by hundreds of trucks to smuggle goods and other materials into Syria. On Thursday, the army said that between May 7 and 14, it seized about 215,000 litres of fuel oil and 71 tonnes of flour at the Lebanese-Syrian border, arresting 25 people. The Cabinet had ordered during a meeting on Thursday the seizure of all contraband goods at its border with Syria after a controversy over fuel smuggling, as both countries face economic crises. The Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party, two anti-Damascus parties not represented in the government, have pushed for the investigation.

Govt. Vows Crackdown on Smuggling into Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 15/2020
Lebanon on Thursday ordered the seizure of all contraband goods at its border with Syria after a controversy over fuel smuggling, as both countries face economic crises. Lebanon is mired in its worst economic crunch in decades and public pressure has mounted for a tougher approach to smuggling, especially of fuel and flour. The cabinet on Thursday ordered the seizure of "all goods illegally entering or leaving Lebanon", said Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad. Vehicles used by smugglers would be confiscated by the army and internal security forces, she said. The army says that between May 7 and 14, it seized about 215,000 litres of fuel oil and 71 tonnes of flour at the Lebanese-Syrian border, arresting 25 people. The country had faced a political crisis, a currency meltdown and de facto capital controls in the months before the coronavirus pandemic forced a nationwide lockdown. The state spends billions of dollars on subsidies on essentials such as fuel and flour, but smugglers often sell them in war-torn Syria at a hefty mark-up. The border between the two countries has been closed in a bid to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. But the mountainous region is difficult to control and Syria's nine-year civil war has seen a surge in smuggling activity. Lebanon's announcement Thursday came after Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najem ordered a probe into "operations to smuggle large quantities of fuel oil across the border". The country's political scene is sharply divided between camps allied and hostile to the Syrian regime. Two anti-Damascus parties not represented in the government, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party, have pushed for the investigation. Hassan Nasrallah, chief of the Hizbullah movement, which is in government and staunchly backs the Syrian regime, has called for "bilateral cooperation" to prevent smuggling.

Abdel Samad tweets: Media freedom is sacred and must always be guaranteed
NNA/Friday 15 May 2020
Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, on Friday said via Twitter: "In order to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding, I firmly believe that media freedom is sacred and must always be guaranteed. I also believe that the media professional is not a criminal and that he should not be imprisoned in the course of his media work. We have been working for some time on amendments that would prevent the trial of journalists before Lebanese courts, except in specific cases such as murder or violation of the rights and honor of others.”

Food prices in Lebanon spike by 55 pct as locals struggle to feed families: Report
Lauren Holtmeier, Al Arabiya English/Friday 15 May 2020
Food prices have been on the rise in Lebanon, and an increasing number of Lebanese are struggling to provide for their families, and some are foregoing other expenses like necessary medication to put food on the table. With compounding crises, there seems to be no end in sight for the country’s struggles.
On average, food prices have risen by 55 percent in Lebanon since April 2019, a recent policy paper by Lebanese think tank Triangle found. Imported food prices, which must be purchased with the country’s dwindling foreign currency reserves, have seen more significant increases. Already at the end of 2019, importers warned of food shortages if the situation did not improve. So far, however, there are no shortages of basic goods.
“Now COVID-19 restrictions have widened the gulf between family incomes and food prices by slashing work hours even further, while the economy shows no signs of recovery,” the paper said.
In 2007 and 2008, food prices increased by around 18 percent, but at that time there was economic growth in the country, Sami Halabi, director at Triangle and one of the authors of the paper told Al Arabiya Englsih.
Today, that is not the case as the country’s economic situation continues to spiral and the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying lockdowns have put undue stress on a large segment of the population.
Now the middle class is being pushed below the poverty line as well, Halabi said.
“The immediate situation is worse [than in 2007], and the prognosis is also worse,” Halabi said. “And there’s no end in sight, because the government doesn’t really have a plan, other than the one they just unveiled to the IMF, which seems to be quite out of touch with reality.”
The country defaulted on its Eurobond payments in March, which triggered discussion with the International Monetary Fund to restructure the country’s massive debt. After the government approved an economic reform plan, official talks with the IMF kicked off this week.
On Friday, the Lebanese central bank said it will aim to provide dollars for importers at an exchange rate of 3,200 Lebanese lira to the US dollar. The pegged rate remains 1,507 lira to the dollar, but inflation in recent months has seen the peg slip, and on the street, the local currency now trades at a rate of more than 4,000 lira to the dollar.
“Banque du Liban will continue to inject dollar banknotes that it acquires via the banks with the aim of financing imports at the price of 3,200 Lebanese pounds per US dollar with the aim of reducing the price of food products,” the central bank said in a statement, Reuters reported.
Halabi said the central bank’s recent measure will help some, but the currency will continue to devalue.
“At the end of the day, there needs to be an emergency food security policy,” he said.
No shortages yet
While there are no shortages yet, though some high-end imports have disappeared from supermarket shelves, it has become harder for the average Lebanese family to purchase necessities.
At the same time last year, those below the extreme poverty line in Lebanon needed to spend around half their income on food, deemed by international aid organization as enough to survive. Today, to buy the same amount, those families must use 79 percent of their income, Triangle found. Forty-five percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and 22 percent lives below the extreme poverty line.
Triangle’s analysis found that the price of garlic has increased 95 percent, broad beans have shot up 70 percent, and rice has gone up 88 percent. Those import-dependent products have seen higher price hikes than some local products, such as salt, which has increased in price by 29 percent, and onions which have gone up 32 percent.
Lebanon is currently dependent on imports for between 65-80 percent of its food supply, and because of poor local infrastructure and weak bargaining positions farmers have against wholesalers and retailers, locally produced food is “neither particularly abundant nor cheap, with imported foods often being more affordable,” the paper’s authors wrote.
As Lebanon’s crisis continues to deepen, and concerns that any IMF program will come at a high cost, with more austerity measures imposed on Lebanese that could most severely hurt those at the bottom of society, hunger could continue to rise in the coming months. Protesters in the northern city of Tripoli, one of the poorest cities in the country, recently reclaimed the streets, burning banks, as hunger and unemployment fuel discontent.
“The government needs to get serious very quickly,” Halabi said. “Otherwise they’re going to have a huge security problem on their hands.”

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 15-16/2020
St Peter's Basilica Reopens To Tourists Monday: Vatican
NNA/May 15/2020
Saint Peter's Basilica will reopen to visitors on Monday, after a two-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Holy See said Friday. The Basilica, the largest Catholic church in the world, was disinfected Friday, with a team of suited and masked cleaners spraying every surface of the 23,000-square metre (250,000-square foot) church.

U.S. weighs measures in response to Iran fuel shipment to Venezuela - source
Matt Spetalnick/Reuters/May 15/2020
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is considering measures it could take in response to Iran’s shipment of fuel to crisis-stricken Venezuela, a senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration told Reuters on Thursday.
FILE PHOTO: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a news conference at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero
The United States has a “high degree of certainty” that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government is paying Iran tons of gold for the fuel, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It is not only unwelcome by the United States but it’s unwelcome by the region, and we’re looking at measures that can be taken,” the official said. The oil sectors of Iran and Venezuela - members of OPEC that both are deeply at odds with the United States - are under tough U.S. sanctions. The official declined to specify the measures being weighed but said options would be presented to Trump, a fierce critic of the governments of both Iran and Venezuela. At least one tanker carrying fuel loaded at an Iranian port has set sail for Venezuela, according to vessel tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon on Wednesday, which could help ease an acute scarcity of gasoline in the South American country.
The Iran-flagged medium tanker Clavel earlier on Wednesday passed the Suez Canal after loading fuel at the end of March at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, according to the data.
Venezuela is in desperate need of gasoline and other refined fuel products to keep the country functioning amid an economic collapse that has occurred under the socialist Maduro. It produces crude oil but its infrastructure has been crippled during the economic crisis.
Neither Venezuela’s oil ministry nor state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) responded to requests for comment. The shipment marks the latest sign of cooperation between the Iran and Venezuela. Starting last month, several flights from Tehran have brought materials to Venezuela to help it restart the catalytic cracking unit at its 310,000 barrel-per-day Cardon refinery, drawing U.S. condemnation.
Venezuela’s 1.3 million-bpd refining network has all but collapsed due to under-investment and lack of maintenance.n  Last year, the United States imposed sanctions on PDVSA as part of Trump administration efforts to oust Maduro, whose 2018 re-election was considered a sham by most Western countries.
The United States and dozens of other nations recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president last year. But Maduro, who calls Guaido a U.S. puppet, remains in power, backed by Venezuela’s military as well as Russia, China, Cuba and Iran - a growing source of frustration for Trump, according to some U.S. officials. The United States also maintains punishing sanctions on Iran aimed at containing its regional power in the Middle East, measures that were re-imposed after Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Tehran.
Four other vessels of the same size as the Clavel, all flagged by Iran and loaded with fuel at or near Bandar Abbas, are about to cross the Atlantic Ocean after passing Suez. They have not yet set their final destinations, data showed.
One of them, the Fortune, appears on a list of tankers scheduled to enter Venezuelan port, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Opposition politicians also said they had received information that all five tankers were heading to Venezuela.
All five are bringing gasoline, according to Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, a service that tracks oil shipments and storage. Madani said the vessels loaded at Berths 1 and 2 at the Shahid Rajaee port at Bandar Abbas, according to the service’s satellite imagery.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month called on countries to deny overflight rights to Mahan Air, an Iranian airline under U.S. sanctions, which he said delivered cargoes of “unknown support” to the Venezuelan government.
*Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga and Luc Cohen; Editing by Will Dunham

US Global Maritime Advisory Warns Of Iran's 'Deceptions'
Radio Farda/May 15/2020
In its newly released Global Maritime Advisory (GMA), the U.S. government has advised the world's shipping lines to be vigilant about "Iran's, North Korea's and Syria's deceptions". The new advisory, prepared by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the U.S. Coast Guard, and published on Thursday, May 14, is a global guide to alert the maritime industry, and those active in the energy and metals sectors to deceptive shipping practices used to evade sanctions, with a focus on Iran, North Korea, and Syria.
Warning shipping companies that might seek loopholes to circumvent U.S. sanctions, the new advisory has provided useful information and ways for private shipping companies to keep them away from possible sanctions. In several parts, the new guide has directly named Iran, North Korea, and Syria as countries that are taking various steps to skip the U.S. and international sanctions. "The advisory also includes best practices for different sectors of the maritime and energy industries, including global commodity traders, maritime insurers, financial institutions, ship owners and flag registries, and others, to assist in their due diligence and mitigation of sanctions risk", the guide says. Washington officially withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers on May 8, 2018, and re-imposed batches of economic sanctions on the clergy-dominated Islamic Republic of Iran. Since then, in addition to imposing sanctions on some Iranian shipping companies or those affiliated with the Islamic Republic abroad, several foreign shipping companies have also been subject to U.S. sanctions for their oil dealings with Tehran. The publication of the new guide has coincided with reports saying that several Iranian oil tankers are on their way to Venezuela. In the last ten days, several U.S. officials have said that the Islamic Republic is providing aid to Venezuela, including in the refinery sector. Venezuela, in return, has delivered a gold consignment that was taken to Tehran by air, the officials have maintained.

Iranian IRGC commander Abolfazl Sarlak killed in Syria
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/Friday 15 May 2020
Abolfazl Sarlak, a commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been killed in Syria, Iranian state media reported. Iran’s state news agencies have given conflicting reports on how Sarlak was killed. The semi-official Mehr news agency said he was killed by an explosive trap set up by ISIS in eastern Aleppo on Sunday, while the semi-official Fars news agency said he was killed during clashes with “terrorists” in the town of Khanaser in Aleppo. Sarlak had been fighting “takfiris” in Syria and Iraq “for years,” Mehr said. Iran uses the term “takfiri” to refer to Sunni groups it deems extremist. Sarlak had been living in Aleppo with his wife and two children, the official IRIB news agency said, adding that he had an “important role” in the IRGC’s headquarters in Aleppo. The commander was close to slain commander Qassem Soleimani, according to the Iranian media. Soleimani, who headed the Quds Force – the overseas arms of the IRGC – was killed in a US airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport in January. Following news of Sarlak’s death, IRGC-linked accounts on social media shared an undated image showing him with the new head of the Quds Force Esmail Ghaani.

EU to Push Israel to Ditch West Bank Annexation Plans
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 15/2020
The EU will make a diplomatic push to try to stop Israel going ahead with a plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, the bloc's foreign policy chief said Friday. Josep Borrell said the bloc would use "all our diplomatic capacities" to try to dissuade Israel's incoming government from going ahead with the move, approved under U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan. While EU countries are alarmed at the prospect of annexations, which they say would violate international law and harm the chances of peace, they are divided about what action to take against Israel.
"What everybody agreed is we have to increase our efforts and our reachout to all relevant actors in the Middle East...," Borrell said after the talks. "We are ready to do that and we will do that in the next days using all our diplomatic capacities in order to prevent any kind of unilateral action." The push will involve talking to Washington and Arab countries as well as Israel and the Palestinians, Borrell said. Israel's long-awaited unity government will be sworn in on Sunday -- after three inconclusive elections in less than a year and a power-sharing agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former rival Benny Gantz. Some EU countries have pushed for the bloc to take a hard line against Israel, with Luxembourg's veteran foreign minister Jean Asselborn in particular calling for the recognition of a Palestinian state. But others have urged caution and dialogue with Israel, which is seen as an important EU partner in the Middle East. "We are in a dialogue with the responsible parties, including in Israel," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. "We have always made it clear... that we are committed to the goal of a negotiated two-state solution, and that we believe that annexations are not compatible with international law."

Palestinians mark the Nakba as US and Israel discuss West Bank annexation
The National/May 15/2020
More than 700,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes during the creation of Israel 72 years ago.
Palestinians are marking the 72nd anniversary of Nakba Day online, commemorating their losses in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war via apps and video chats rather than rallies as coronavirus restrictions remain in place. More than 700,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes and over 500 towns and villages destroyed during the Nakba – the Arabic word for catastrophe – which culminated in the creation of Israel on May 14, 1948. Last year, at least 60 people were injured in clashes with Israeli troops after thousands gathered for demonstrations across the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In a speech on Wednesday reported by The Jerusalem Post, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said “those who created our catastrophe wanted Palestine to be land without people or territories and were betting that the name of Palestine would be erased from the records of history.
“Despite all the obstacles, and despite all the aggressive occupation policies, measures and violations, we are proceeding with confident steps towards the restoration of our full rights and the removal of this hateful occupation.”
His comments came as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel on Wednesday to discuss West Bank annexation plans with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Pompeo, making his first foreign trip since the coronavirus crisis began, arrived as Israel prepared to swear in a new government following 18 months of political stalemate. Mr Netanyahu and his rival-turned-ally Benny Gantz agreed to form a coalition to avoid yet another parliamentary election after three inconclusive polls since April last year.
The new government, which is due to be sworn in on Sunday, will clear the way for Mr Netanyahu to implement parts of a controversial US peace plan unveiled in January. The proposal gives a green light from Washington for Israel to annex swathes of the occupied West Bank. The Palestinians, who cut ties with the Trump administration in 2017, rejected the plan and Arab states have warned that it could lead to further conflict in the region. Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Wednesday that "any Israeli decision to annex the settlements, the Jordan Valley and the north of the Dead Sea in occupied Palestine will be a disastrous step". In a phone conversation with Spain's foreign minister, Mr Safadi warned that it would "kill chances for a just peace and push the region towards more conflict".
The West Bank was captured by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Nearly three million Palestinians live in the territory alongside more than 400,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.
Former US president Barack Obama's ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, said he believes the "Trump administration very much wants this annexation to happen". The new Israeli government plans to begin implementing Mr Trump's plan as early as July.
Mr Pompeo said the issue was complex but refused to clarify whether the US administration backs Israel’s timetable for annexation. “This is a decision that the Israelis will make,” he told the Israel Hayom newspaper. “I want to understand how the new leadership, the soon-to-be new government, is thinking about that." His visit coincided with an upsurge in violence in the West Bank as Israeli troops shot dead a 15-year-old Palestinian near the flashpoint city of Hebron. On Tuesday, a Palestinian stone-thrower killed an Israeli soldier during an arrest operation near Jenin in the army's first fatality of the year.

Jihadist ‘civil war’ erupts in Africa’s Sahel region
Samir Wahbi/The Arab Weekly/May 15/2020
PARIS--A recent upsurge in the activities of Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaeda affiliates in Africa’s Sahel region is causing scores of casualties among African and foreign armies and has triggered growing concern about the adequacy of counter-terrorism strategies. Some experts are however pinning hopes on the implosion of the jihadist nebula as previous collaboration between extremist factions in the Sahel seems to be giving way to some form of “jihadist civil war”.In the past, al-Qaeda and ISIS affiliates joined efforts to conduct terror activities and recruited from the same pool of foot-soldiers drawn by very similar narratives of alienation, violence and hostility both to local rulers and the West. Since 2012, jihadist activity has proliferated in part as a result of growing insecurity in northern Mali after the return of militants and mercenaries from Libya with the fall of the Muammar Qaddafi regime in the wake of the NATO-led military campaign.
Mali graph
Militant activities expanded to Burkina Faso, Niger and other neighbouring countries, leading Western powers, especially France and the US, to intervene militarily to help local governments fight armed militants. Some of the militant groups subsequently re-branded themselves as al-Qaeda affiliates and then as offshoots of ISIS. Since the beginning of 2020, there have been signs of growing strife between these al-Qaeda and ISIS militants in a large desert area where weak states have long had a tough time controlling porous borders and illicit trafficking. Mahamat Saleh Annadif, the United Nations special representative in Mali, said that the strife is “no longer a secret.” “We don’t know where it’s going to end, each one wants to get the upper hand over the other,” he said, explaining that the groups are fighting over land. Ibrahim Maiga, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Bamako, told AFP clashes often break out over local disputes. For instance, during the dry season at the beginning of the year, fighting often erupts in central Mali over a fodder crop grown in the Niger river delta.”These conflicts should not only be understood through an ideological prism,” he said. Middle East experts say the behaviour of al-Qaeda and ISIS militants in the Sahel mirrors at least partially some episodes of the two groups’ bloody relations in Syria and in Yemen. The tensions between the Islamic State’s affiliate in Yemen (ISIS-Y) and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have often escalated into a full-fledged war with its car bombings and propaganda campaigns. There, too, competition was over local turf and raw power. According to Elisabeth Kendall, a Yemen expert at Oxford University, the two sides fought over “local territorial and power rivalries”. Clashes between the two camps in the Sahel started as a turf war after ISIS fighters crossed into al-Qaeda territory in central Mali from Burkina Faso. They went on a recruitment drive which irked the GSIM alliance, the local al-Qaeda affiliate. Scores were killed on both sides in March and April. At least in one case, ISIS extremists used a suicide car bomb against their al-Qaeda affiliated rivals.The only worrisome conclusion that could be drawn from the comparison between jihadist “civil wars” in the Sahel and in a place like Yemen is that such an internecine conflict is very unlikely to make the local affiliates of both extremist groups any less violent.

Turkish Cypriots Protest Closure of Island Crossings
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 15/2020
Turkish Cypriots in the north of divided Cyprus protested Friday against the closure of crossings by the island's internationally-recognised government as part of efforts to combat coronavirus. "We want to get back to work," read a banner unfurled by dozens of demonstrators who have jobs in the Greek Cypriot-administered south, gathered at the Ayios Dhometios crossing in the capital Nicosia. The Mediterranean island is divided between the Republic of Cyprus -- a European Union member state -- and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Ankara. After the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Cyprus on March 9, crossings along the UN-patrolled ceasefire line that runs across the country were shuttered. About 1,500 Turkish Cypriots formally work in the south in sectors ranging from construction to health services, although the figure is likely higher because of unregistered workers. The south has recorded 907 cases and 17 deaths from COVID-19, according to figures Thursday when two new cases were declared, while the TRNC says it has had 108 cases and four deaths. The north has declared no new cases of coronavirus for more than three weeks and said its last patient being treated in hospital was released on Monday. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the northern third of the island in response to an Athens-backed coup aimed at unifying it with Greece.

WHO Probes Possible Coronavirus Link to Rare Disease in Children
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 15/2020
The World Health Organization said Friday it was studying a possible link between COVID-19 and a rare inflammatory illness that has sickened and killed children in Europe and the United States. In recent weeks, several countries have reported cases of children affected by an inflammatory disease with symptoms similar to those of a rare condition, Kawasaki's disease. "Initial reports hypothesize that this syndrome may be related to COVID-19," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing.
"It is critical to urgently and carefully characterize this clinical syndrome, to understand causality and to describe treatment interventions," he said. He said the WHO had developed a preliminary case definition for the disease, which it has dubbed "Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children", and was calling on clinicians worldwide to "be on the alert and better understand this syndrome."His comments came after a doctor in France said Friday that a nine-year-old boy there who had tested positive for COVID-19 had died from the syndrome, marking the first such death in the country.
Similar child fatalities are being investigated in New York and London. A London children's hospital said on Wednesday that a 14-year-old boy with no underlying health conditions had died from the disease and had tested positive for the new coronavirus.
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that three children in the state had died and more than 100 cases were being investigated. There have been 125 reported cases in France between March 1 and May 12, according to the country's public health agency. The patients' ages ranged from one to 14.
- 'Very rare' -
WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove told Friday's briefing that the link to COVID-19 had yet to be clearly established, since some of the children with the syndrome had not tested positive for the virus. "We need to understand if this syndrome is related to COVID-19 or not," she said. "We need all countries to be on alert for this."WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan meanwhile said that even if the syndrome is related to COVID-19, it may not be caused by the novel coronavirus itself. "What we don't know yet is whether those rare things that happen are associated directly to the virus... or are we seeing also the result of the immune response to the virus," he said. He also stressed that the syndrome impacting children appeared to be "very rare", and had only become apparent because of swelling number of COVID-19 cases. "It doesn't mean that the disease is changing in kids," he said. "What it means is that when you get a very large number of children with the disease, you will see a very rare occurrence happen."

Trump Hopes for COVID-19 Vaccine by End of Year, 'Maybe Before'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 15/2020
U.S. President Donald Trump Friday said he hoped a COVID-19 vaccine would be available by the end of the year, and announced he was appointing a former pharmaceutical executive to spearhead the effort. "We are looking to get it by the end of the year if we can, maybe before," Trump said, as he delivered an update on the race for a vaccine."We think we are going to have some very good results coming out very quickly," he told reporters in the Rose Garden of the White House. The timeline projected by Trump is more optimistic than what Europe foresees. The European Medicines Agency said Thursday a vaccine could be ready in a year's time under an "optimistic scenario."Trump announced he would appoint Moncef Slaoui, the former head of GSK Vaccines, and four star army general Gustave Perna, to lead "Operation Warp Speed." "My administration is providing roughly $10 billion to support a medical research effort without parallel," the president said, comparing the effort with the Manhattan Project during World War 2 that led to the development of nuclear weapons. Trump added that when a vaccine was ready the military would be enlisted to distribute it -- and evoked a spirit of global cooperation.
"We are working together with many different countries, and again we have no ego," he said. "Whoever gets it, we think it is great, we are going to work with them and they're going to work with us. If we get it, we'll be working with them."
Scientists have cautioned that it is possible that despite worldwide efforts, it is possible that an effective vaccine may never be found -- or that some vaccines could backfire and make people more, not less, susceptible to infection. Trump also sought to temper expectations.
"Again, it is not solely vaccine based," he said. "Other things have never had a vaccine and they go away. So I don't want people to think this is all dependent on a vaccine, but a vaccine would be a tremendous thing." Scientists have never previously developed a successful vaccine for any kind of coronavirus that infects humans. Efforts that were underway against the SARS coronavirus were halted early because that disease was contained after infecting about 8,000 people, and it was therefore not judged profitable to pursue. Vaccines do exist for animal coronaviruses, for example a type of coronavirus that infects chickens -- and this is used by farmers. However, it also kills a certain percentage of chickens, and such an outcome would not be acceptable in humans.

Europe Opens Up as Virus Economic Toll Mounts
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 15/2020
More parts of Europe opened up on Friday despite fears of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, as shock new figures revealed the extent of the disease's toll on the U.S. and German economies.
Borders were reopening and lockdowns continued to ease from Australia to Austria as governments around the world tried to rebuild economies that have been shattered by the outbreak. But the battle against COVID-19 is far from won, with more than 300,000 deaths and nearly 4.5 million infections globally, and the virus continuing to ravage the United States and Russia. With a vaccine a year away at best and the World Health Organization warning the virus might never go away, countries are taking steps to try to return life to something like a semblance of normality. Slovenia on Friday became the first European country to open its borders, declaring an end to its coronavirus epidemic, despite new infections still being reported. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were set to create their own "Baltic bubble", allowing free movement among the three countries, while Austria and Germany were expected to open their shared border.
- 'We missed it' -
Austria has been a pioneer in ending lockdowns and took an important symbolic step on Friday by reopening its restaurants and iconic Viennese cafes. "It's been hard for us that everything's been closed," said Fanny and Sophie, 19-year-old students waiting for breakfast at a cafe in the Austrian capital. "We missed it and we're going to come back as much as possible." On the other side of the world, Sydney's bars and restaurants opened their doors to customers Friday as a weeks-long lockdown eased. "The desire to sit in a place that is not your house with your mates and have a drink is truly overwhelming," said Chrissy Flanagan, owner of The Sausage Factory, a bistro in Australia's biggest city. In the Vatican, Saint Peter's Basilica will reopen on Monday after a two-month closure due to the pandemic. In badly-hit Italy, some beaches are reopening but the absence of tourists is still keenly felt, for example in the canal city of Venice, where even the pigeons have deserted the famed St Mark's Square. "Without tourists, Venice is a dead city," said 66-year-old gondolier Mauro Sambo. Russia pushed ahead with plans to ease restrictions despite reporting more than 10,000 new cases, with its football league set to return next month and thousands being tested for antibodies.
- U.S. economic woes -
Germany was ready to relaunch its football championship on Saturday, although in front of empty stadiums and under draconian health measures. However France called for self-restraint as the country prepared for its first weekend since its lockdown was eased on Monday, warning that police would break up any large gatherings.France also announced the first death of a child from an inflammatory condition believed to be linked to coronavirus, as similar child fatalities are being investigated in New York and London.The pressure to ease lockdowns has mounted as the catastrophic economic effects of the virus have become clearer. In the United States, the world's worst-affected country with more than 85,000 deaths, industrial production dropped a record 11.2 percent in April, the largest drop in 101 years. With 36.5 million Americans left unemployed by the coronavirus crisis-- more than 10 percent of the population -- President Donald Trump has been keen to ease lockdown measures as he seeks re-election in November. But Trump has also sought to deflect from his government's handling of the pandemic by ramping up his war of words with Beijing over responsibility for what he has dubbed the "Plague from China", threatening to cut ties between the two countries. The virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year before spreading around the world, fueled by air travel and a globalized economy. Europe's top economy Germany meanwhile tipped into recession, suffering its worst steepest quarterly contraction since the global financial crisis in 2009. Although the figure was smaller than steep GDP plunges in France, Italy and Spain, Berlin now expects a record 6.3 percent contraction in the economy for 2020.
- 'Nightmare scenario' -
Meanwhile the Asian Development Bank doubled its previous estimate of the cost of the pandemic, saying the world economy would shrink by $8.8 trillion -- almost a tenth of global output. The World Health Organization warned that Africa is a hotspot waiting to happen, despite so far having escaped the worst of the disease. Researchers say fragile health systems on the world's poorest continent could quickly be overwhelmed, with modelling suggesting 231 million people could become infected and up to 190,000 could die. There was also concern over the discovery of infections in the world's biggest refugee camp, in Bangladesh, where upwards of a million Rohingya Muslims from neighboring Myanmar live in squalor. Daniel Sullivan from Refugees International called it the "realization of a nightmare scenario."In the Philippines, a powerful storm forced tens of thousands of evacuees into cramped shelters, making social distancing nearly impossible. "It's difficult to enforce because they are stressed. But we are doing our best," local police official Carlito Abriz told AFP.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 15-16/2020
Iran sentences young Christian woman to 10 lashes, three months in prison
Emily Judd, Al Arabiya English/Thursday 14 May 2020
قضاء إيران يحكم على شابة مسيحية ب 10 جلدات والسجن ل 3 أشهر بتهمة التظاهر ضد اسقاط الطائرة الأوكرانية
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/86203/86203/
Iran has sentenced a young Christian woman to 10 lashes and three months in prison for allegedly demonstrating against the military’s downing of a Ukrainian airplane in January.
Mary Mohammadi, 21, was arrested in Tehran on January 12 and charged with “disrupting public order by participating in an illegal rally,” according to nonprofit Christian watchdog Article 18.
Mohammadi said she was subjected to torture while being detained in Evin prison and Qarchak Women’s Prison for 46 days.
“I was forced to endure all kinds of torture, none of which is sanctioned by law, and which ought to be considered crimes in themselves,” said Mohammadi in a post on Twitter.
Iran’s largest women’s prison, Qarchak is known for its “unbearable conditions, including regular assaults and inappropriate behavior of prison guards towards women, chronic lack of water, unsanitary living spaces, and an environment that enables rape and murder,” said US official Brian Hook during a special briefing in December.
Mohammadi was sentenced on April 21, according to Article 18, who reported the judge at the court hearing repeatedly asked Mohammadi about her Christian faith.
Mohammadi said she is being punished for “protesting against the slaughter of human beings” and for “showing sympathy for all the families who perished on the Ukraine airline crash.”
Flight PS752, a Ukrainian International Airlines airliner, was shot down outside Tehran on January 8, killing all 176 people on board.
Iranian officials initially claimed the plane had crashed due to a technical error and invited countries that lost citizens to help investigate.
Three days later, Iran admitted responsibility for shooting down the plane, saying its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) mistook the plane for a “hostile target.” The admission came after Western leaders said there was strong evidence the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile.
The plane’s passengers included 63 Canadians, 82 Iranians, and others from Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany and the UK.
After Tehran’s admission, protests erupted across the country in support of the victims. Mohammadi said in a social media post she is “proud of sympathizing with human beings” and that her sentencing is the cost of that.
Mohammadi is just one of many young Iranians who have been sentenced to time behind bars for protesting against the IRGC shooting down the civilian airliner. Just after Mohammadi’s judgment, two other Iranian students were sentenced to prison time for participating in the January protests.
Iran’s judiciary announced on January 14 it had arrested about 30 protesters in relation to the "illegal rallies."
“Around 30 people have been arrested for taking part in illegal gatherings ... We have tolerance towards legal rallies,” said spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili, the Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
Mohammadi, whose sentence has been suspended for one year, has decided not to appeal against the verdict, according to Article 18.
“We have refrained from appealing against the verdict because the appeal courts have turned into confirmation courts!” Mohammadi said in a statement to Article 18.
US President Donald Trump mentioned the case against Mohammadi during a speech at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, in February

Believers of all faiths unite today in prayer
Shelina Janmohamed/The National/May 15/ 2020
Pope Francis called on “believers of all faiths” to unite in the day of fasting and prayer to ask “God to help humankind overcome the coronavirus pandemic.”
Members of The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, with Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar. Courtesy: The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity
Members of The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, with Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar. Courtesy: The Higher Committee of Human Fraternity
Abrahamic House of Fraternity embodies values on which foundation of UAE was built
Across the streets of one borough in East London, the adhan is being broadcast from the mosques in the vicinity to remind local Muslim residents of the time for prayer. It is an unusual scene. Due to lockdown, no worshippers are hurrying to the mosque. Instead, its doors are closed. For the thousands of local Muslims observing the month of fasting, one of their most central experiences of the year, which revolves around the mosque, is something they cannot take part in.
The result is an abject feeling of loss. To remedy this, permission has been granted by the local council for the adhan to be proclaimed. It appears to be human understanding at its finest, to extend understanding and joy to others in a time of difficulty.
The global faith leadership across religions has backed science and human safety right from the start, closing its institutions on the expert advice of scientists
While there are upsetting stories of rising racism and Islamophobia during this current pandemic and associated lockdown, the stories of believers of different faiths coming together, appreciating each other, and drawing strength from their respective religions has been heartening. The mosques broadcasting the adhan have said that while they have received some Islamophobia-filled comments, the overwhelming feedback has been positive. As one local resident told me: “I live in the borough and think it's a positive step. I can hear the azaan [sic] and stop to admire its beauty. Given the absence of mosques, especially for taraweeh, I am glad steps have been taken to help Muslims feel that connection to their places of worship during Ramadan.”
A worldwide day of prayer for people of all faiths has been organised for today, May 14th. It has been called for by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, an international religious community based in the UAE, formed during Pope Francis’s visit to Abu Dhabi last year. Pope Francis called on “believers of all faiths” to unite in the day of fasting and prayer to ask “God to help humankind overcome the coronavirus pandemic.”
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai tweeted about the day: “However our efforts play out, we need God's grace and mercy.”
One of the Pope’s aides has nailed the heart of the interfaith contribution in navigating the current situation. “Faith unites, not divides.” Monsignor Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, a priest from Egypt and a member of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity added: “It will be the first time that all humanity has united for a single goal: to pray together, each according to their faith.”Part of the prayers will be dedicated to scientists working to find a vaccine against the disease. The global faith leadership across religions has backed science and human safety right from the start, closing its institutions on the expert advice of scientists.
This ought to be remembered and create a shift in thinking about establishment religions. Of course there have been religious groups across all faiths who have opposed shutdown, and even gone as far as to dispute the science, saying that their faith will protect them.
But credit is due to the institutions who have held firm on lockdown.
The interfaith movement should draw strength from the fact that they have found common cause in upholding science and in protecting human life even in the face of intense criticism from their own congregations. This sameness despite difference has also made clear that the underpinnings of all faiths are consistent, no matter your religion.
The sanctity of human life, the power of prayer, the importance of human endeavour to solve problems all the while relying on God have become even more apparent during this crisis, and should be taken as firm foundations for the power and potential impact of interfaith work in the future. There has been undoubted loss for believers over the last few weeks in terms of religious practice. Death of course is the most sombre.
In terms of religious practice, the festivals of Easter, Passover, Baisakhi and Ramadan, to name just a few have lacked the togetherness and congregation that define them. But the interfaith work like today’s Day of Prayer may be the silver lining of that loss, bringing believers together in a much bigger way beyond the confines of their own religion.
It is seeing these similarities across faiths that is most powerful. When I asked if people who are not Muslim enjoyed hearing the adhan, one respondent said “I've always liked it,” he said. “It isn't that different to the church bells I hear daily. Medieval Jewish culture had something similar: schulklopferen, who would knock at your door!”
The lens of interfaith worship during this pandemic has harnessed the power to show us we are may be different, but ultimately we are the same.
Shelina Janmohamed is the author of Love in a Headscarf and Generation M: Young Muslims Changing the World

Mullahs’ Missiles Kill Iranians but Can’t Defend Iran
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/May 15/2020
Last Monday’s tragedy in the Gulf of Oman in which 19 Iranian naval officers were killed and 15 others injured in a “friendly fire” incident has focused attention on the Islamic Republic’s failure to develop a realistic defense doctrine that reflects Iran’s interests as a nation rather than as a vehicle for an ideology.
The exercises during which the tragedy happened was one of several designed to test the Islamic Republic’s ability to engage in naval battles with an unnamed “enemy” and, thanks to several generations of missiles, emerge victorious.
Tehran’s obsessions with missiles started in the 1980s during the war with Iraq in which Saddam Hussein’s army held a monopoly of missile power. Under the Shah, Iran had not shown interest in missiles because it had access to the most advanced warplanes. When he mullahs seized power in 1979, Iran lost that access, and with it the superiority that a modern air force secured. The Iraqis used their Soviet-made Scud (al-Hussein) missiles, along with French Exocets, with little impact in military terms. But the psychological impact on Iran’s new rulers was immense.
To the mullahs, as to the Egyptian leader Abdel Nasser before them, missiles were the weapons of the poor against a rich enemy that could afford expensive warplanes. Abdel Nasser had not made any military gains thanks to his missiles, al-Zafer and al-Qaher, but the propaganda benefits he secured justified investment in them.
According to the memoirs of the late, Hashemi Rafsanjani, a key figure in the first 30 years of the Islamic Republic, the idea of building a missile power-base was first aired in Tehran in mid-1980s under the influence of North Koreans who offered to supply the mullahs with their Rodong ballistic missiles based on an original Chinese model.
Sometime in the mid-1980s, Iran’s new rulers developed a defense doctrine in which missiles featured as a key element in the new regime’s military dispositions. The doctrine was a mixture of North Korean military culture and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s (mis-)understanding of early Islamic warfare.
Khomeini wanted the doctrine based on what he called “an army of 20 million”. He imagined a long war, probably against the United States, in which Iran could field millions of “volunteers for martyrdom” and sustain huge casualties while the Americans, whom he believed were “afraid to die”, would fail to do the distance.
According to various accounts both Rafsanjani and the then chief of the Revolutionary Guard Gen. Mohsen Reza’i promoted the idea of transforming the Islamic Republic into a regional “superpower” in terms of missiles.
A third tentative element was added later when Khomeini lifted the ban he had imposed on Iran’s nuclear project that had started under the Shah in 1956 as a scientific and industrial endeavor.
Three decades later, the doctrine in question may be in need of a radical revision. Khomeini’s “army of 20 million” is no more than a fantasy, which Iran’s flattening demographic curve and dire economic problems exclude.
More importantly, perhaps, there is no evidence that as many Iranians today would be “volunteers for martyrdom” as the time the ayatollah developed his nightmarish dream.
The nuclear angle of the triangle may also be redundant as economic pressure, internal discord and, more recently, lack of easy money from oil exports, have turned the pursuit of even tactical nuclear weapons a luxury that the Islamic Republic cannot afford at present.
That leaves the third, missiles, angle to thrive. Missiles are the weapon of the poor especially when copied from foreign models courtesy of North Korea, China and to a lesser extent Russia.
Over the last 30 years, Tehran has developed three generations of missiles, often with little reference to Iran’s actual defense needs. Whenever the North Korean and Chinese wanted to empty their stocks of outdated missiles they found a keen buyer in Tehran with lots of oil money to burn. The Iranian buyers couldn’t care less whether the missiles had been developed for the specific needs of North Korea or China and thus might not address Iran’s own needs.
Today, Iran owns and maintains a wide range of obsolete missiles that may be of archeological interest to students of warfare history. The Nour missiles, based on the Chinese C-802, with a range of 120 kilometers fired from fixed platforms, may be as cute as a cuddly grandmother but useless in modern warfare. Other Chinese and/or North Korean copies, such as Kawthar-1, Qader and Nasr, could be useful if Iran were to fight an equally underdeveloped adversary. Other missiles, for example Ra’ad copied from the Chinese Silkworm may make sense if used by a reasonably advanced navy, like the one China is developing as part of an ambitious plan to make the People’s Republic a member of the “Bluewater” club of nations capable of projecting naval power across the oceans.
A series of cruise missiles, notably Hoveyzeh with a range of 1,350 kilometers, and its more problematic version Ya-Ali would require airborne target-search and pinpointing radar mechanisms that Iran has not yet developed.
Some in the Iranian military seem to be aware of the fundamental flaws of a defense doctrine that ignores Iran’s geopolitical reality as a nation and tries to reflect the interests of an ideology which is, after all, something intangible.
One more problem is Iran’s continued dependence on North Korean and Chinese partners for spare parts, technology, maintenance and training-for-use of virtually all its missiles. There is no guarantee that either Beijing or Pyongyang would want to be dragged into a war that the Islamic Republic might trigger to prolong its existence as an exporter of revolution.
No credible defense doctrine could be shaped without clearly identifying a putative adversary. Yet, pushing aside the propaganda fluff, Tehran’s defense doctrine may be only tangentially related to enmity for Israel and the United States. Both nations helped Iran during the eight-year war against Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Both may find Khomeinism repulsive but neither has an interest in turning Iran as a nation-state into an enemy.
What Iran needs is a national defense doctrine designed to ensure is security as a nation-state and not the current hodgepodge aimed at bolstering a bankrupt ideology’s braggadocio.
The mullahs’ missiles kill Iranians, and passengers of foreign jetliners, but cannot ensure Iran’s national security.

Iranian Imbroglios, Ideological Fallacy and Middle Eastern Volatility
Charles Elias Chartouni/May 15/2020
Three successive tragedies succeeding one after the other, since January 2020, ( Downfall of the Ukrainian airliner, the mismanagement of the Coronavirus Pandemic and the destruction of an Iranian vessel by friendly fire ) add to the cascading dramas of recurrent earthquakes, massive floods ( 27/ 31 regions ), ramping desertification caused by cyclical droughts and climate change, and their impact on rural migration, gigantic urban squalor and skyrocketing poverty, hazardous and costly power projections and international isolation, have not yet impelled a critical retrospection, on the part of the Iranian regime, and there are very few chances they will. These tragic events, far from being accidental, display the systemic failures of the Islamic regime and its inability to reform itself and engage its society and the world community on a different course. The ideological blinkers of an obscurantist religious ideology, the vested interests of the clerical autocracy and its auxiliaries within the religio-political conglomerate, the delusions of a conquering messianic Shiism and its imperial adventurism all across the larger Middle East, and those of a ubiquitous confrontation with the international community are far from tempering the zeal of a political millenarism, and relativizing its political achievements throughout the post-revolutionary era.
However, what mostly matters is the bolting estrangement setting at the very core of the Islamic order, challenging its narrative, poor governance records, and disengaging the political dynamics it has elicited, the Iranian regime is stripped of its legitimacy, its foundational myths are debunked and relegated into systematic irrelevance, and still its psychotic drive is pursuing its course and compensating its compounded deficiencies by doubling down on repression, systemic mismanagement and governmental ineptitude, pervasive corruption and self pitying belligerence. These repeated tragedies are quite illustrative of the labyrinthine mazes, and the state of total bewilderment of a political messianism experiencing the limitations of its cumulative pitfalls, inherent paradoxes and systemic deadlocks. There is nothing unusual in this kind of political and ideological configurations, whose parametric coordinates have been tested through repeated iterations, in different geopolitical environments and across a vast array of ideological settings ( from Bolshevism to Khomeinism ), and they have never failed to yield the same results compounded with snowballing catastrophes.
Political messianism with its regeneration cosmogonies, salvational figures and enthralling eschatologies have ushered all along nightmares, large scale disasters and well entrenched states of psychotic blindness, moral callousness and mental despondency, and the Khomeinist dystopia is no different. Meanwhile, Iranians are going to submit to forced travails and cope with the consequences of glaring governmental ineptitude, and the volatile Middle East is doomed to deal with the fallacies of failed dystopias, dysfunctional governance and ecological entropies and their enhancing cortège of tribulations.
One Iranian ship reportedly fired on another during military exercises. It was one more public relations disaster for Iran’s military.

UN, WHO work with Assad to starve eastern Syria of aid during pandemic
Seth J. Frantman/Jerusalem Post/May 15/2020
International organizations partnering with the Syrian regime are cutting off aid to the poorest and most vulnerable people in Syria during the global pandemic.
A recent report at Foreign Policy noted that the “United Nations informed its relief agencies several weeks ago that they were permitted to fund private charities operating in northeastern Syria only if they were registered in Damascus and authorized to work there by the Syrian government, which has proved unwilling, or unable, to meet the region’s health needs.”
This gives the Syrian regime a veto over aid to eastern Syria and a way to use it as a weapon. Turkey and Russia collaborated in the effort, as Turkey turns off water to 460,000 people in eastern Syria, and Russia supports the Syrian regime. The report indicates how dictatorships and regimes that abuse human rights come first at controlling UN and international aid, enabling them to use it only for charities linked to them and using it to empower loyalists and sideline others.
The World Health Organization has also stopped supporting eastern Syria, an area of millions of people who are recovering from ISIS atrocities, as the WHO also works through the Syrian regime rather than providing equal access to people on the ground in a Syria divided by conflict. It now turns out that people of eastern Syria are being increasingly isolated by great powers who want them to stop working with the US and either be controlled by Turkey or by the Russian-backed Assad regime.
The report notes that the UN Security Council, “acting under pressure from Russia, shut down a UN-sanctioned humanitarian aid hub on January 10 at the Yaroubia crossing on the Iraqi-Syrian border. That deprived the UN of an explicit legal mandate to serve in the region.” The crossing was used by the WHO and private groups, “delivering medical assistance into northeastern Syria.”
THE LARGER context is that Russia, Iran and Turkey want the US to leave eastern Syria. the people in eastern Syria are the victims because the local authorities were supported by America to fight ISIS. The local authorities are called the Syrian Democratic Forces and various civilian autonomous councils linked to them. The Syrian regime wants the SDF to be disbanded and become part of the Syrian regime’s forces.
Russia and Iran want the US to leave eastern Syria. Turkey, which works closely with Russia and Iran, also wants the US-backed SDF to leave; it invaded part of eastern Syria last year, sending extremist groups to attack civilians.
The pandemic has made matters worse. Desperate for medical support, the local authorities have complained that the WHO didn’t even inform them that a man who became sick in March in Qamishli had COVID-19. The organization reportedly informed the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), but it took another week to even tell the local authorities, because the UN only speaks to the Syrian regime in Damascus. Local authorities in Qamishli and Hasakah complained in a Voice of America report that the regime is concealing the number of coronavirus cases in eastern Syria and also allowing travel, despite attempts at lockdowns.
On May 7, Turkey and the extremists it backs in northern Syria cut off water to 460,000 people in eastern Syria. Turkey and the Syrian regime agree on trying to impose suffering on locals, isolate them and make sure they receive no aid.
THE WAY the UN works makes it so that no one who is not loyal to the Syrian regime receives aid in Syria. For instance, the UN’s World Food Programme conducted air drops to the Syrian-regime-run city off Deir Ezzor when it was under siege by ISIS between 2015 and 2017. The program conducted 309 airdrops at a cost of $37 million a year, according to its website. The assistance helped 200,000 people. But there were no UN-supported air drops for people in Raqqa, Qamishli, Kobane or Idlib, or in refugee camps or areas outside Syrian regime control.
The recent Foreign Policy report indicates that OCHA did ask the UN Office of Legal Affairs to look into the legality of providing relief to people who the Syrian regime didn’t want relief to go to. The experts “concluded that the UN could only fund agencies registered and approved by the Syrian government.” This means the government of Syria can decide who gets aid and can discriminate against those it doesn’t like, including for political, ethnic or religious reasons. That would appear to run contrary to all the lip service the UN and its various organizations pay to human rights and access to health care.
But the reality as it plays out in eastern Syria shows that even during a global pandemic, authoritarian regimes always come first, even if they can’t provide for their own people or don’t control most of their country. For similar reasons, people in Libya, Yemen and parts of Somalia receive no support during the pandemic.
THE SYRIAN regime has blocked aid going to eastern Syria unless local authorities will make sure it only goes to areas the regime wants. That has included blocking delivery of supplies by road from Damascus and making sure any aid flights to the regime-run airport in Qamishli are managed by the regime. The cut-off of aid is designed to isolate areas in eastern Syria and bring them to the bargaining table. The US had already walked away from some of these areas in October 2019, enabling a Turkish invasion and the rapid movement of Russia and Syrian regime forces to parts of northeast Syria.
US envoy James Jeffrey indicated in December 2018 that the SDF would need to work with Damascus and the regime, saying the US has no permanent relationship with non-state actors like the SDF. The US view of the SDF is temporary, tactical and transactional. The transaction today includes the SDF continuing to fight ISIS while the US secures oil fields near the Euphrates River to block Iran’s presence. The US calls this the Eastern Syria Stabilization Area.
As part of the transaction, US anti-ISIS envoy Jeffrey wants the SDF to continue to be subcontractors holding thousands of ISIS detainees. There was even some talk of having the UN support a coronavirus facility at Al-Hol camp where some families of ISIS detainees live, alongside other internally displaces Syrians. But that plan was also scuttled. Civilians who suffered under or even fought ISIS in eastern Syria will get no aid from the WHO or UN.
The US anti-ISIS coalition has tried to do what it can to help in eastern Syria. Under CENTCOM’s leadership, which is sympathetic to the people of eastern Syria and helping them in stabilization efforts after ISIS, some limited support has been delivered, including a multi-year electricity infrastructure effort. Had the area of Raqqa and other towns that once suffered under ISIS waited for the UN, they would still be in darkness.

Question: "Does God exist?"
GotQuestions.org/May 15/2020
Answer: Whether God exists is the most important question any person can consider. Opinions on God are everywhere, but answering the question does God exist? demands more than a few seconds of attention and involves a wide range of ideas and evidence. Ultimately, what we see in human experience, science, logic, and history leads to a confident answer: yes, God exists.
Often, this question is posed as “Can you prove God exists?” The problem is that, while truth itself is absolute, there are virtually zero instances of absolute proof outside of pure logic and mathematics. Courtrooms don’t require absolute proof, for that reason; rather, they seek to dispel “reasonable doubt” and consider what’s “most probable.”
It’s equally flawed to demand “proof of God” that no person could ever reject. Neither evidence nor people function that way in the real world. “Encountering” facts and “accepting” them are profoundly different. Airtight, sound arguments are still “unconvincing” to those determined to disbelieve. For that person, it’s not “proof,” even if it would convince almost anyone else. A person’s intent is more influential than any evidence encountered.
That means “faith” is necessary—and not just regarding God’s existence. Perfect knowledge is beyond our ability. Bias and prejudice cloud our views. There will always be a gap between what we can “know” and what we “believe.” This applies equally across the spectrum from skeptics to believers. We cannot possibly know every detail involved every time we sit in a chair, eat food, or climb stairs. Such actions all express a measure of faith. We act, despite what we don’t know, because of what we do know. That’s the essence of biblical faith, including faith in the existence of God. We trust in what is known, leading us to action, despite a less-than-absolute understanding (Hebrews 11:6).
Whether or not one acknowledges God, the decision involves faith. Belief in God does not require blind faith (John 20:29), but neither can it overcome malicious resistance (John 5:39–40). What is fair is to point to human experience, logic, and empirical evidence to inform the answer.
Does God exist? – Human Experience
Discussing the existence of God usually starts with logical arguments. That makes sense, but it’s not how human beings normally operate. No one starts devoid of all perspective, waiting to follow a robotically rational path before forming an opinion. People interpret life based on the world around them. So looking at the existence of God ought to start with experiences. Afterwards, we can use logic to assess those views.
Evidence of God exists in daily human experiences (Romans 1:19–20; Psalm 19:1; Ecclesiastes 3:11). This includes our innate sense of morality. It applies to the apparent design of the universe around us. Human life compels belief that truth, deception, love, hate, goodness, evil, etc., are real and meaningful. The overwhelming majority of people throughout history were inclined to believe in a reality greater than the physical.
Those experiences are not conclusive, of course. Instead, God uses general revelation as an invitation (Revelation 3:20). Common experiences are meant to emphasize that we ought to seek further answers (Matthew 7:7–8). Those who ignore or disdain that invitation don’t have the excuse of being ignorant (Romans 1:18; Psalm 14:1).
Does God exist? – Human Logic
Three of the more powerful logical suggestions of God’s existence are the cosmological, teleological, and moral arguments.
The cosmological argument considers the principle of cause and effect. Each effect is the result of some cause, and each cause is the effect of a prior cause. However, that chain of causes cannot go on infinitely into the past, or else the chain would never actually start. Logic demands something eternally existent and not itself the effect of anything else. Our universe, clearly, is not eternal or uncaused. Logic points to God: the uncreated, eternal measure of all other things, the First Cause of our reality.
The teleological argument examines the structure of the universe. The largest galactic scales, our solar system, our DNA, subatomic particles—everything gives the appearance of having been purposefully arranged. This trait is so strong that even hardened atheists are constantly fumbling to explain away the appearance of design.
Nothing about subatomic particles or forces indicates they must be arranged the way they are. Yet, if they were not exactly as they are, complex matter—and life—would be impossible. Dozens of universal constants coordinate with mind-boggling precision just to make life possible, let alone actual. Science has never observed or explained life arising from non-life, yet it also shows a sudden onset of complex organisms. Archaeologists who see the words I am here on a cave wall would universally assume intelligent action. Meanwhile, human DNA represents a coding structure beyond the ability of the best human engineers. The weight of this evidence, logically, favors the idea of an Intelligent Designer—God—as an explanation.
The moral argument takes note of concepts like good and evil, ethics, and so forth. It’s notable that these are discussions of “what should be,” not merely “what is.” Moral principles are drastically disconnected from the ruthless, selfish reasoning that one would expect of a creature randomly evolved to survive at any cost. The very idea that human beings think in non-physical, moral terms is striking. Beyond that, the fundamental content of human morals across cultures and history is identical.
Further, discussion of moral ideas leads inevitably to a crossroads. Either moral ideas are completely subjective, and therefore meaningless, or they must be grounded in some unchanging standard. Human experience doesn’t support the conclusion that morals mean nothing. The most reasonable explanation for why people think in moral terms and share moral ideals is a real moral law provided by a Moral Lawgiver, i.e., God.
Does God exist? – Human Science
The logical arguments above are inspired by observations. Concepts such as the Big Bang Theory demonstrate, at the very least, the scientific validity of a created, non-eternal universe. Likewise for the structure of DNA. Empirical data lends credibility to the idea of a biblical Creator and contradicts alternative explanations, such as an eternal universe or abiogenesis.
Archaeology also lends support to the Bible. People, events, and places depicted in Scripture have repeatedly been confirmed by secular discoveries. Many of these came after skeptics implied the Bible’s accounts were fictional.
History and literature, for their part, also support the existence of God. The preservation of the Bible is one example. Tracing the existing text so closely to the original events makes it more reliable. Judeo-Christian influence on culture, morality, human rights, and the birth of modern science also strongly indicates an approach aligned with truth.
Does God exist? – God in Us
Each of the prior categories is an entire field of study and the subject of thousands of books. Yet the existence of God is demonstrated most profoundly, for most people, in personal experience. It may be impossible to “prove” to others that you’re happy, for instance, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are. That’s not to say internal perspective outweighs objective truth, but complex truths are often powerfully supported by individual experiences. Changed lives, reformed attitudes, and answers to prayer are all part of our personal perception that God exists.
A personal sense of truth is the most compelling way we know God exists, and it’s God’s intent for all people to experience that sense. God came to earth personally, as a human being (2 Corinthians 4:6), so we could have a personal relationship with Him (John 14:6). Those who sincerely seek God will find Him (Matthew 7:7–8), resulting in the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26–27).
The question does God exist?, therefore, cannot demand an answer using absolute proof, but we can point people to where the weight of evidence leads. Accepting the existence of God is not a blind-faith leap into the dark. It’s a trusting step out of the dark into a well-lit room where many things are made clear.

Turkey views new Iraqi government as an opportunity to boost cooperation
Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/May 16/2020
After months of political deadlock, intense protests and a growing economic crisis, Iraq finally has a new prime minister. Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is a Shiite political figure who previously led the Iraqi National Intelligence Service for almost four years.
The appointment of the 53-year-old, a former journalist who is considered to be a pragmatist, seems to have been welcomed across the region. Following the confirmation of his position he was congratulated by wide range of actors in the region, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Jordan.
On May 9, two days after he officially took office, Al-Kadhimi met Turkey’s ambassador to Baghdad, Fatih Yildiz, and told him he wants to enhance bilateral relations in all fields, according to a statement issued by the prime minister’s office. Two areas of cooperation in particular were highlighted by the new premier: The economy and the fight against terrorism. Turkey from the beginning expressed support for Iraq’s efforts to form a stable government under Al-Kadhimi. In April, Hami Aksoy, a spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, stressed Ankara’s position by stating: “We support the formation of a stable government in our brotherly neighbor Iraq, particularly at a time when the whole world is facing dire difficulties.”
The diplomat also praised President Barham Salih’s decision to nominate Al-Kadhimi for prime minister, saying: “As one who is well familiar with our region, he will serve for the benefit of both Iraq and our region.”
Amid great geopolitical uncertainty, diminishing US influence in the region, the fall in oil prices and the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya, an unstable Iraq is the last thing Turkey needs on its doorstep.
As a neighboring country, Turkey attaches a great deal of importance to Iraq’s stability and territorial integrity, matters it views as vital to its own security and stability. Ankara became more active in Iraqi affairs following the US invasion in 2003, which marked a watershed moment for Iraq and the region. The consequences of the invasion were not only a milestone in the politics of the country, but also in Turkey’s regional policies.
Saddam Hussein was perceived as a difficult neighbor, with whom Turkey nevertheless managed to coexist for more than three decades. However, more than at any other time in the nation’s history, the post-invasion era posed some disquieting challenges for Turkey.
There are several driving forces motivating Ankara’s enthusiasm for closer ties with Iraq.
Despite the close ties that had been built between the two neighboring countries, the relationship hit rock bottom during the tenure of Iran-backed former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki as a result of his sectarian politics. In particular, Al-Maliki tested the limits of Ankara while the latter was trying to tread a fine line between the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions in the politically-fragile country.
Al-Maliki’s premiership, from 2006 to 2014, was a time of missed opportunities for Baghdad and Ankara. After his resignation, progress in rebuilding relations was gradually made with his successors. In the post-Al-Maliki era, Turkey is attempting to keep the relationship on track, with a sole focus on issues of cooperation rather than contention.
There are several driving forces motivating Ankara’s enthusiasm for closer ties with Iraq. First and foremost is security. From the Turkish perspective, the main focus is to rid the nation of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), particularly in the north where they plan cross-border terrorist attacks against Turkey. From a more general security perspective, both Ankara and Baghdad seek greater cooperation in the post-Daesh Middle East. A multi-dimensional approach to intelligence and military cooperation are essential elements for a secure environment in which to achieve this.
Ankara has pledged a $5 billion loan to Baghdad for reconstruction as a strategy to increase its influence in post-Daesh Iraq. The two states are on the same page about the formation of an independent Kurdish state: They both reject the idea.
In terms of economics and energy, Iraq is one of Turkey’s most important trading partners and an essential source of energy. Since the ruling party came to power in Turkey in 2002, the economy has been the main driver of a shift in foreign policy toward regional relationships. The economy and identity are equally influential in the determination of Turkey’s foreign policy.
Despite the economic problems in both countries, Iraq still represents to Turkey a large market for consumption and investment. From Baghdad’s perspective, Turkey is an important partner to help rebuild the economy and maintain a stable route for exports.
In a nutshell, Iraq is of great geostrategic importance to Turkey as, amid the chaos in the region, Ankara seeks to make more friends and fewer foes.
With some issues still to be resolved — such as energy and water security, particularly at a time when Turkey has announced the huge Ilısu dam on the Tigris is about to start generating power — time will tell how the relationship between Turkey and Iraq will evolve, with economic and security interests driving the political cooperation.
• Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkey’s relations with the Middle East.

What will the post-COVID world look like?
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/May 16/2020
Although virologists have been warning of the risks of a global pandemic since the SARS outbreak in 2003, the world was still mostly unprepared when confronted with the COVID-19 crisis. However, it was also unlucky.
It was unfortunate that the pandemic came in the run-up to a US presidential election that has created an environment as politically polarized as any the country has experienced. As a result, much of the US media coverage of, and debate about, the virus and the global policies needed to deal with its effects have been more about the presidential race rather than the pandemic.
This has obviously had a clear effect on international politics because of the importance of the role of the US and its global leadership.
It was also bad luck that the health crisis came at a time of high tensions between the US and the second largest global power, China, where the virus originated. This further complicated any potential global unified response.
As a result of the global uncertainty, it is difficult to forecast how critical aspects of the crisis, which seems likely to continue for at least another 12 months, will play out in the Middle East, and also what a post-COVID world might look like.
One certainty is that most countries will be forced to shift their focus and resources to domestic matters rather than regional issues.
The virus and the resultant shutdowns imposed to “flatten the curve” of infections have had, and will continue to have, devastating consequences on economies and national budgets. It seems that despite the soft reopening of parts of economies around the world, the current health concerns will prevent a full restoration of business activities for some time, especially if the number of infections and deaths start to rise again after governments relax precautionary measures.
In our increasingly interconnected world, it is difficult to determine whether any country will come out on top economically, and consequently geopolitically, especially given mounting levels of debt.
Countries able to borrow in their own currency seem to be at an advantage; this applies mainly to the US and the EU (if the European countries can unify their policies), and indirectly also explains the current debate in the Gulf about the unpegging of currencies.
Another certainty is that with less money available, wars and proxy wars will become prohibitively expensive and all parties will be forced to scale down their ambitions. As a result, aggression will be reduced and consensus and agreement might be more readily reached. Countries and their allies or proxies who have refused to sit at the negotiation table might now change their minds and mellow, or perhaps even be forced to completely withdraw from conflict zones.
Take Iran, for instance, which has been targeted recently by a successful US policy of maximum pressure. The country is facing problems domestically and, with the added pressure of low oil prices, it will be less able to maintain its financial support to the Houthis in Yemen, the militias in Iraq, and Hezbollah.
Does that mean Tehran will cease its meddling? Nothing is certain but domestic turmoil might force it to do so.
As Iran’s problems have grown, the region has witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic the emergence of a more assertive Turkey. This has happened despite the fact the country is also suffering economically.
It has been a long time in the making. Turkish involvement has spread to many regional issues beyond its normal national security zone. Its involvement in neighboring Syria is understandable, given that the conflict there directly threatens Turkey’s security. More interesting is the Turkish interest in Libya, where Ankara is pushing for a continued presence with no apparent direct threat or rationale to explain this. This is happening while it also increases political rhetoric that promises continued interference in the domestic affairs of Arab countries in the years to come.
A closer look at the issues reveals that Turkey is focusing its involvement on key points on Europe’s energy routes. This is not surprising, as Europe remains Ankara’s main and constant focus. So, Turkey is now directly competing with Russia — the biggest supplier of gas to Europe — in Syria, where Iran is also strongly entrenched as the country is a key Mediterranean access point for its gas and energy deliveries to Europe.
Turkey is challenging Russia for control of the tap that provides Europe with its energy stability, and this explains its involvement in Libya and other countries. The same logic explains Ankara’s negative reaction to the Israeli-Greek-Cypriot gas-pipeline project, EastMed. This motivates its strategy, as it hopes to leverage it to make more gains in the region. Therefore, we can expect an increased Turkish focus on the Mediterranean and on supply-chain routes and access points for energy, as well as merchandise being shipped from the East to Europe.
On that point, the land routes of China’s Belt and Road Initiative include one that goes through Russia and another that passes through Turkey. This massive project is also something Turkey is well aware of, and Ankara is striving to ensure it has a presence on key points along the BRI’s Maritime Silk Road. Once again, it is being guided not by national security concerns but a desire to increase its regional clout.
It is difficult to forecast how critical aspects of the corona crisis will play out in the Middle East. While Russia and Turkey face off on the ground over an increasing number of issues, it is interesting to note the apparent lack of any direct involvement by the US or China, the two biggest global powers, and, surprisingly, the total absence of European nations, which should be the most concerned about what is happening.
In weighing how global and regional powers will direct their foreign policies and manage existing conflict zones, their own domestic political, economic and social stability will play an important role.
Yet, apparent weaknesses might invite bold moves and dangerous power-grab attempts. This delicate balance will be the key driver for international policies in the coming years. One might say that uncertainty and volatility have spread from the stock-markets to the geopolitical arena.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is the CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.