English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 18/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today

Jesus Appears to Two Of The Disciples On the Road to Emmaus & Explaines For Them The Scripture
Luke 24/13035/Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”“What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.0 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 17-18/2021

Elias Bejjani/Visit My LCCC Web site/All That you need to know on Lebanese unfolding news and events in Arabic and English/http://eliasbejjaninews.com/

Saad Al Hariri is like a captured Bird In The Hezbollah Cage/Elias Bejjani/April 17, 2021
Corona – Health Ministry: 1695 new Corona cases, 32 deaths
Arrival of tenth shipment of Pfizer vaccine
Civil activists hold a sit-in outside the Foreign Ministry to protest border violations
US voices frustration as Aoun ups the ante in gas row with Israel
Russia supports Hariri’s efforts to form Lebanon’s government
Lebanese army receives 22 tonnes of food from Morocco
Lebanon praises US mediation in border demarcation talks
Report: Hizbullah Stockpiling in Preparation for ‘Collapse’ in Lebanon
FPM: We will continue to expose every file related to fighting corruption
Bassil: A real revolution is one that pursues people's affairs in the face of corrupt judges
Lebanese judge stages second raid on money exchange/Najia Houssari/Arab News/April 17/2021
Judge Aoun raids 'Mkataf Exchange Company' offices once again
Judge Aoun to Protesters: We work within the law, we have no wish to offend anyone
Najm calls on judiciary to carry out an uprising to change its status quo
Future Movement to FPM: Stop spreading delusions
Abdel Samad: To approve media law to carry out reforms that reflect people's needs, journalists' rights
Why is Lebanon unable to form a government?/Sami Moubayed, Correspondent/Gulf News/April 17/ 2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 17-18/2021

Queen Elizabeth II stands alone to bid farewell to her ‘strength’ Prince Philip
Iran Names Suspect in Natanz Attack, Says He Fled Country
Biden says 'premature' to know if Iran talks will succeed
Vienna talks resume amid tensions as Iran names suspect in Natanz attack
IAEA confirms Iran has started enriching uranium to 60% purity
Biden says 'premature' to know if Iran talks will succeed
Arabic speakers with Mideast resumes feature in Biden’s latest State Department picks
UN votes to deploy cease-fire monitors in Libya
Cyprus meeting of UAE, Israel, Greece showcases ‘new narrative’
Sudan scraps planned visit to Israel
Domestic, foreign factors could boost the fortunes of Sadr in Iraq’s elections
Russia Bans Top Biden Officials as Tensions Soar
Canada has second case of rare blood clots after AstraZeneca vaccine
Covid Death Toll nears 3 Million as India Cases Surge

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 17-18/2021

Jordan’s stability is vital, and King Abdullah is its biggest guarantor/Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/April 17/ 2021
What a wonderful world — if we don’t destroy ourselves/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/April 17/ 2021
Iran and Israel edging closer to the abyss/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/April 17/ 2021
The Apogee of Social Media/Chris Farrell/Gatestone Institute/April 17, 2021
The shift from hostility to competition between Egypt and Turkey/Mohamed Abul Fadhl/The Arab Weekly/April 17/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 17-18/2021

Saad Al Hariri is like a captured Bird In The Hezbollah Cage
Elias Bejjani/April 17, 2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/97984/elias-bejjani-saad-al-hariri-is-like-a-captured-bird-in-the-hezbollah-cage/
Sadly Lebanon’s designated PM, Mr. Saad Al Hariri has been a notorious failed politician from his day one in politics following the assassination of his late father, PM, Rafik Hariri, in 2005 by the terrorist Hezbollah and the criminal Syrian Assad regime.
Hariri, in reality is just like a captured bird held in the Hezbollah cage no more no less. He follows Hezbollah’s orders and does not have any margin of a free decision making will or power.
His priorities are not Lebanon or the Lebanese people interests but his own private business affairs.
Meanwhile the governments that he chaired since the assassination of his father are the ones that legitimized the Terrorist Hezbollah’s occupation and handed over to its local leadership and to the Iranian Mullahs’ the country’s decision making process and gave them full control on all public institutions.
Al-Hariri, with his two Trojan and Satanic partners Samir Geagea and Walid Jumblat, handed Lebanon over to Hezbollah and sold its sovereignty and independence for thirty pieces of silver.
On top of all his failures, Hariri is a corrupted politician that is surrounded by thugs, gangs and money sharks.
In short, Hariri is the Sunni facade behind which hides Iran’s scheme in Lebanon.
There is not even one patriotic and free Lebanese citizen in Lebanon or in Diaspora who is not fully aware that Hariri and the two evil Trojans Walid Jumblat and Samir Geagea have maliciously handed over the country and its fate to the terrorist Hezbollah in exchange for personal and selfish governing power gains and agendas.
To conclude, Saad Al Hariri is a discredited and out of date politician, and if Iran allowed him to form the new Lebanese government, it will only be a tool in its hand and a cover for its criminal, terrorist and occupational schemes.
In summary, The Following politicians, Saad Al Hariri, Walid Jumblat, Nabih Berri, Samir Geagea, Slieman Frangea, Gobran Bassiel, Hassan Nasrallah, Amin Gemayel and all those of the second or third class Lebanese politicians who are affiliated to them by any means are cut from the same corrupted, rotten and Narcissistic garment.
Accordingly any change in Lebanon must start with the change of these sharks and their puppets.
 

Corona – Health Ministry: 1695 new Corona cases, 32 deaths
NNA/April 17, 2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced, on Saturday, the registration of 1,695 new Corona infections, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 508,503.
It also indicated that 32 deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours.

Arrival of tenth shipment of Pfizer vaccine
NNA/April 17, 2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced in a statement this afternoon that the tenth shipment of Pfizer vaccine has arrived in Lebanon, containing 47,970 vaccines. "Lebanon has so far received 391,950 vaccines from Pfizer," the statement indicated. It also reminded that the daily and cumulative detailed number of those who have received the vaccine is published in the daily report on Corona by the Public Health Ministry.

Civil activists hold a sit-in outside the Foreign Ministry to protest border violations
NNA/April 17, 2021 
Members of civil movement groups staged a sit-in this afternoon in front of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Ashrafieh, to protest against "the violation of our land and sea borders."The protesters deplored the approach of neglecting and bargaining over Lebanon's rights that the ruling class continues to adopt, undermining the country's maritime resources and oil and gas wealth. They also criticized the policy of procrastination and throwing responsibilities from one side to the other in amending Decree 6433, in which the Lebanese army defined Lebanon's actual maritime borders in the South with line 29 to guarantee field number 9 with a wealth estimated at 40 billion dollars. They cautioned that such an approach renders the country on the verge of losing this right, while the enemy is about to start exploring deep in our waters, not paying attention to the homeland's interests. In this context, the protesters launched a cry against robbing the country of its resources, land and sovereignty, stressing that "the time has come to liberate Lebanon and its legitimacy, and restore its decision-making in all institutions, as there is no hope in a surrendering authority..." Accordingly, the civil activists demanded that the Lebanese officials sign the amendment to Decree 6433 that guarantees the state's southern maritime borders; insist through negotiations on fully obtaining Lebanon's rights to the joint gas fields; confront the flagrant aggression on its northern maritime borders; cut-off diplomatic relations with Iran and expel its ambassador; implement the Constitution and the National Accord, as well as the resolutions of the international and Arab legitimacy, particularly Resolutions 1559-1680-1701, the Armistice Agreement, the adoption of neutrality, and the holding of an international conference for Lebanon. Demonstrators pledged to pursue their march until the country is liberated from occupation and its sovereignty, freedom and independence are restored.

US voices frustration as Aoun ups the ante in gas row with Israel
The Arab Weekly/April 17, 2021
Aoun called for a “commitment to not carrying out any oil or gas activities and not starting any exploration in the Karish field and its adjacent waters” until the matter was settled, the presidency said.
BEIRUT – Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun Thursday demanded Israel halt all exploration in an offshore gas field on its southern border, as part of an ongoing dispute over their shared sea frontier. The countries, which are still technically at war, last year took part in indirect US-brokered talks to discuss demarcation to clear the way for offshore oil and gas exploration. But those talks stalled after Lebanon demanded a larger area, including part of the Karish gas field, where Israel has given a Greek firm the rights for exploration. “Lebanon is within its rights to evolve its position,” Aoun told visiting US envoy David Hale, asking for “international experts” to weigh in on the issue. He called for a “commitment to not carrying out any oil or gas activities and not starting any exploration in the Karish field and its adjacent waters” until the matter was settled, the presidency said. The talks last year were supposed to discuss a Lebanese demand for 860 square kilometres (330 square miles) of territory in the disputed maritime area, according to a map sent to the UN in 2011. But Lebanon then said the map was based on erroneous calculations and demanded 1,430 square kilometres (552 square miles) more territory further south, including part of Karish. Lebanon’s outgoing public works minister this week signed a draft decree cementing Lebanon’s demand for the larger area. Aoun, the caretaker prime minister and the outgoing defence minister still have to sign it before Lebanon sends it to the UN to make its new demand official.
— American frustration —
For his part, Hale on Thursday said the US was ready to continue brokering Israel-Lebanon talks “on the basis on which we initiated these discussions,” appearing to reject the Lebanese move towards demanding a larger area. Hale said resolving a maritime border dispute with Israel would “have potential to unlock significant economic benefits for Lebanon.”A statement issued by the Lebanese presidency later said Aoun had asked to accredit international experts to draw border lines according to international law for the area and asked that no oil and gas exploration work be done in those waters in the meantime.
The US envoy’s visit comes as Lebanon’s top politicians have for months argued over the composition a new cabinet to launch reforms and unlock financial aid to lift the country out of its worst economic collapse in decades. “The time to build a government, not block it, is now,” Hale said.
“Those who continue to obstruct progress on the reform agenda jeopardise their relationship with the United States and our partners and open themselves up to punitive actions.”The US in November slapped sanctions on Aoun’s son-in-law, former energy and foreign affairs minister Gebran Bassil, for alleged corruption. It also sanctioned former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil and former transport minister Yusef Fenianos in September for alleged graft and support of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. Hezbollah is black-listed by Washington, but it is also a powerful political player in Lebanon with seats in parliament. Lebanon’s government stepped down after a massive blast at Beirut’s port in August 2020, but deeply divided politicians have been unable to form a new cabinet ever since.

Russia supports Hariri’s efforts to form Lebanon’s government
The Arab Weekly/April 17, 2021
MOSCOW--Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visited Russia on Thursday, securing Moscow’s support for the swift formation of a new government in Lebanon and the required measures to deal with a worsening economic crisis the country is facing. Initially, Hariri was expected to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin but the meeting was eventually replaced with a 50-minute phone call between the two leaders. According to Russian authorities, direct talks were not possible due to health concerns after Putin received his second vaccine shot against the coronavirus. Hariri also held talks with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin over the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, in addition to discussions about the Lebanese-Russian bilateral relations. “We confirm our willingness to do whatever it takes to develop these relations in different fields in the coming stage, for the benefit of our people,” said Mishustin as he welcomed Hariri and the accompanying delegation. The Russian premier also stressed “the strong ties between both countries.” For his part, Hariri said, “Lebanon is in economic, social and health distress, and we hope that you will help by securing the Russian vaccine that has proven effective for Lebanon’s people and residents.” Hariri, a three-time prime minister, resigned in 2019 after nationwide protests against a corrupt political elite which demonstrators blamed for pushing the country into crisis. He was nominated prime minister again in October but remains at loggerheads with President Michel Aoun and has been unable to form a new government. Following his meeting with Mishustin, Hariri told reporters he discussed economic issues with the Russian premier, noting that when Lebanon forms a government and implements the required reforms, “we would like to see all the Russian companies invest in Lebanon, whether in the electricity sector or other infrastructure projects.”A statement released by the Kremlin said Putin reaffirmed “the principled support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.” It added that Putin and Hariri discussed regional issues and expressed readiness to cooperate on creating favourable conditions for the safe return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon. Experts say Russia is taking into account its relations with Syria and considering a delicate balance between its role in the war-torn country and ties with Beirut. This factor makes Moscow more cautious than the US when it comes to addressing the political crisis in Lebanon, the experts argue. Since Hariri was nominated in October, political bickering has delayed the formation of a new cabinet as Lebanon sinks deeper into its worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history. The economic crisis is the gravest threat to Lebanon’s stability since the 15-year civil war ended in 1990. Hariri has been insisting on forming a cabinet of experts whose main job will be to get Lebanon out of its paralysing economic crisis. Other groups, including Aoun, Gibran Bassil’s Free Patriotic Movement and Iran-backed Hezbollah, insist on a mixed cabinet of politicians and experts. On Thursday, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale warned that Lebanese politicians who continue to block reforms in the crisis-hit country could face punitive actions by Washington and its allies. “Those who continue to obstruct progress on the reform agenda jeopardise their relationship with the United States and our partners and open themselves up to punitive actions,” Hale said after meeting Aoun, a political ally of Hezbollah, whose son-in-law, Basssil, has been targeted by US sanctions because of alleged corruption. “Today there’s been very little progress but it’s not too late,” Hale said. The senior US official also accused Hezbollah and Iran of undermining the Lebanese state, adding that Washington has long called for Lebanon’s leaders to show sufficient flexibility to form a government that “is willing and capable of reversing the collapse that is underway.”'
He noted that the US and the international community are ready to help, saying that “the time to form a government, not block it, is now. The time to build a government is now. The time for comprehensive reform is now.”

Lebanese army receives 22 tonnes of food from Morocco
Sunniva Rose/The National/April 17/2021
Gift from King Mohammed VI comes as the Lebanese army struggles to feed its soldiers.
Two Moroccan planes landed at Beirut’s international airport carrying 22 tonnes of food as a gift to Lebanese soldiers, said the army said on Saturday. Six more planes are scheduled to arrive in the coming days, bringing a total of 90 tonnes of food as a gift from Morocco's King Mohammed VI, according to a Lebanese army statement published by the state-run National News Agency. Lebanon’s army commander Gen Joseph Aoun thanked King Mohammed VI “for his valuable initiative”, it said. In February, the army received food parcels including items such as rice, oil and pasta from France valued at $60,000. Shortly after, Turkey also donated food worth $200,000. The Lebanese army scrapped meat from soldiers’ meals in June because of the increase in food prices caused by the country’s worst-ever economic crisis. Lebanon depends on imports to feed itself, and the crash of the local currency in the past year and a half has triggered hyper-inflation. The latest government figures show that the price of food increased by 417 per cent in the past year. In parallel, soldiers’ monthly wages went from being worth on average $866 a month to just over $100. Early in March, Gen Aoun said in a speech that soldiers were going hungry. “Where are we going? What do you intend to do? We have warned, more than once, about the seriousness of the situation and the possibility of a social explosion,” he said, addressing Lebanon’s politicians. They have been bickering for the past eight months over the formation of a new Cabinet since prime minister Hassan Diab resigned over the Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people. US and French officials have repeatedly hinted at sanctions against Lebanese leaders over their failure to act in the face of the country's growing crisis.
 

Lebanon praises US mediation in border demarcation talks
MEM/April 16, 2021
Lebanese President Michel Aoun stressed on Thursday the importance of continuing the border demarcation negotiations with Israel and what he described as "honest and fair" mediation by the US. The American delegation is headed by Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hill. Aoun pointed out that he is "entrusted with Lebanon's sovereignty, rights and interests and will not overlook them while working to spare the country from the negative repercussions that may arise from any careless attitude." All possible efforts should be made to ensure consensus and not disagreement among the Lebanese people over the demarcation of the border with Israel. The first round of indirect negotiations to demarcate the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel was launched on 14 October under UN auspices and US mediation. The fifth round was postponed when the Lebanese delegation presented papers, documents and maps, claiming an extra 1,430 square kilometres, in accordance with the recognised law of the sea. Aoun has called for international experts to be accredited in order to demarcate the border in accordance with international law, and to ensure that no oil or gas related operations, or any exploration activities, will be carried out in the Karish field and adjacent waters. The Lebanese president emphasised the foundations for launching the border demarcation negotiations. He insisted that Lebanon has the right to develop its position in line with its interests and international law, and in accordance with constitutional principles. After meeting with President Aoun, Hill stressed that, "The US is ready to facilitate negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on the maritime borders, and bring experts to help in solving this issue."

Report: Hizbullah Stockpiling in Preparation for ‘Collapse’ in Lebanon
Naharnet/April 16, 2021
Hizbullah party is reportedly making preparations in anticipation of the “complete collapse” of Lebanon’s faltering economy, media reports said on Saturday. The party is reportedly issuing food ration cards, importing medicines and equipping tanks to store fuel from Iran. The move is a response to a serious economic crisis in Lebanon, which will represent an expansion of the services provided by the group to its Shiite base, with a network that includes charities, a construction company, and a compensation system, said reports. It sheds light on the growing fear of the collapse of the Lebanese state, a situation in which the authorities become unable to import food or fuel. Hizbullah sources said on condition of anonymity that the plan prepares for the worst-possible scenario, that accelerated with the state approaching a halt on subsidies on basic goods like wheat, fuel and medicine, raising concerns of unrest and hunger.
The growing role of Hizbullah in dealing with the crisis is highlighted by the services it provides that are usually the government's prerogatives. The plan also reflects concerns in Lebanon that the collapse will lead people to depend on political parties for food and security, as was the case with militias during the Lebanese civil war between 1975 and 1990. The sources added that "Hizbullah’s" ration card actually helps hundreds of people to buy basic Iranian, Syrian and Lebanese commodities in Lebanese pounds, at a much cheaper price and with a discount of up to 40% with the party's support. The card, bearing the name of a Shiite imam, could be used in cooperatives, some of which are new in the southern suburbs of Beirut and parts of southern Lebanon where Hizbullah has influence. The sources did not give details about the budget or the beneficiaries. The Lebanese currency has lost more than 85 percent of its value on the informal market since 2019, as the country runs out of dollars. Food prices rose by 400 percent with no government plan in sight to salvage the country. Customers have come to blows in supermarkets to secure fast-selling subsidised products, while shortages in pharmacies have made buying medicines akin to hunting for treasure. Yet authorities have done little to stem a crisis compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 6,600 people, and by last year's port blast which cost more than 200 lives and ravaged swathes of Beirut.

FPM: We will continue to expose every file related to fighting corruption
NNA/April 16, 2021 
"The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) will continue to expose every file related to the fight against corruption, and it salutes every judge who dares to find the truth and performs his duties despite the injustice to which [the judge] is sometimes exposed to," said the FPM’s political body, in a statement issued after its periodic electronic meeting chaired today by its Chief, MP Gebran Bassil. In this context, the FPM polit-bureau called on popular and reformist political forces to "reject the subsequent abuse of those who defend the rights of the people, specifically those in the judiciary." "It is not permissible to frustrate people's hopes for reform and strike those who represent the anti-corruption slongan," conferees added. The statement also urged Justice Minister and the Supreme Judicial Council to "assume their responsibilities and not to remain silent about the bad reputation, bad performance and bad arbitration of the judiciary."
Commenting on the government formation file, the Movement’s Political Council confirmed that they would not refrain from urging Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to form a government on the basis of the Charter and the Constitution, in coordination with the President of the Republic.
Regarding Lebanon's maritime borders, the Council considered that "the issue should be dealt with at a high level of responsibility and with a national strategy that runs between two boundaries: not to compromise rights and the oil and gas wealth as a result of the inability to take any bold decision and between the abusive and harmful setbacks of any careless decision taken by Lebanon." "President of the Republic, who is entrusted with the constitution and rights, is the one we rely on to adopt a good policy that allows us to invest our wealth and prevents us from losing opportunities and the resulting damages," the Movement’s political body statement concluded.

Bassil: A real revolution is one that pursues people's affairs in the face of corrupt judges
NNA/April 16, 2021
Head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, commented in a tweet, Saturday, on the developments in the judicial situation in the country, considering that any reform begins with the judiciary.
"There is no point in talking about reform or fighting corruption if there is no independent, bold and effective judiciary," MP Bassil said in his tweet this morning. He added: "The real revolution is the revolution of the honest judiciary that pursues people's cases in the face of some corrupt judges who hide some files and neglect some of them and block others.""What reform would we hope for if the judiciary is not reformed? Where are the media, civil society, the Minister of Justice, the Supreme Judicial Council, and the political forces?," Bassil asked. "Every Lebanese must define his position between those who want reform so that the state can be established and money restored, and those who want corruption to continue so that the collapse continues," he concluded.

Lebanese judge stages second raid on money exchange
Najia Houssari/Arab News/April 17, 2021
BEIRUT: Controversial Lebanese judge and Mount Lebanon state prosecutor Ghada Aoun carried out a second raid on a money exchange in northern Lebanon on Saturday in defiance of a senior judiciary decision dismissing her from an investigation into possible currency export breaches.
Aoun was accompanied by several activists from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) during the raid on the money exchange in the Awkar district in northern Lebanon. Less than 24 hours earlier she raided the office with members of the security services. Aoun remained in the money exchange for several hours on Friday in protest at her dismissal by the the discriminatory Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, a decision that caused widespread anger among the Lebanese public. Caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm held an emergency meeting on Saturday with Oweidat as well as Supreme Judicial Council head Judge Suhail Abboud and Judicial Inspection Authority head Judge Borkan Saad. After the meeting Najm voiced her anger at the situation regarding the judiciary, saying that she refuses to be “a false witness to the decay of the judiciary and the fall of the fig leaf in this state.”
Najm said the events involving Aoun are an indication of “the failure of state institutions.” Lebanon is facing a political and economic crisis amid disputes between state officials, a deadlock that has led to the collapse of the national currency. However, critics accuse Aoun of a lack of respect for due process. There are six criminal cases and 28 complaints against her before the Judicial Inspection Authority — the largest number of cases filed against any judge in the history of the Lebanese judiciary. Aoun was investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing dollars from the market and shipping the funds abroad. The Supreme Judicial Council dismissed Aoun along with two other judges who had previously been suspended by the Disciplinary Council for Judges. Judge Oweidat on Friday asked the Director-General of State Security, Maj. Gen. Antoine Saliba, to suspend the officers who accompanied Aoun on the exchange office raid.
People in Lebanon on Friday watched on TV as Aoun requested that the money exchange office be sealed because the owner, Michel Mecattaf, refused to provide her with details of currency transfers on behalf of banks. Earlier, Mecattaf’s agents informed Aoun that she had been dismissed from the case. Aoun remained alone for hours inside the office after state security personnel left. A medical team checked on her after her blood pressure rose, and she left the premises soon after. Later she stepped on to the balcony of her home to wave to FPM supporters, who gathered outside to offer support. After Aoun’s second raid on Saturday, the head of the Mecattaf financial company accused her supporters of “breaking into private property by force.”Mecattaf described the case as “eminently political,” saying that he is “a witness and not a convict.”
Najm described the events as “unacceptable.”
“I am not in a position to please this political party or that team. We want an effective and independent judiciary. The problem is not the laws — oversight and accountability have been absent for years,” she said. Najm also said that “the judiciary is incapable of fighting corruption,” and called on judges to “rise up against this reality.” She added: “There is a lack of confidence in the judiciary, and this is a major insult.”Retired General Prosecutor Hatem Madi told Arab News: “Judge Oweidat’s decision shows that some judges are working independently, but things must be put to rights. Regardless of whether Oweidat’s decision was right or wrong, the public prosecution offices in Lebanon must be an integrated unit.” The decision to dismiss Aoun revived a political dispute between the FPM and the Future Movement, the two parties in conflict over the formation of the government. The FPM, headed by MP Gebran Bassil, said that it will “continue to expose every file related to the fight against corruption,” saluting “every judge who rightfully performs their duties despite the injustice to which they are sometimes exposed.”The Future Movement said that “mourning for judges after encouraging them to violate laws and asking them to open discretionary files for opponents is a matter that no longer fools any of the Lebanese people.”
 

Judge Aoun raids 'Mkataf Exchange Company' offices once again
NNA/April 16, 2021 
For the second consecutive day, Mount Lebanon Prosecutor General, Judge Ghada Aoun, raided the "Mkataf" Exchange Company offices in Aoukar region to complete the investigations. Meanwhile, the company's surrounding vicinity is witnessing the gathering of a number of Judge Aoun's supporters. It is to note as well that Judge Samer Lisha is present inside the company.

Judge Aoun to Protesters: We work within the law, we have no wish to offend anyone
NNA/April 16, 2021 
The General Prosecutor in Mount Lebanon, Judge Ghada Aoun, called on the protesters gathering outside the "Mkataf" Money Exchange Company in the region of Aoukar this afternoon, to "keep their sit-in peaceful."
"We are working within the law and studying judicial files, and we do not want to offend or attack anyone," Aoun said.

Najm calls on judiciary to carry out an uprising to change its status quo
NNA/April 16, 2021
Caretaker Justice Minister, Marie-Claude Najm, called on the judiciary to hold an uprising that would alter its existing reality, and to conduct self-accountability that would lift injustice off judges. "The judiciary reveals itself as being incapable of combatting corruption, and fights in media battles, thus losing people's confidence," she said, stressing that she "refuses to be a false witness to what is happening." Najm's positions came after the emergency meeting she held at her Ministry office today, attended by Supreme Judicial Council President, Judge Suhail Abboud; Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat; and Head of the Judicial Inspection Authority, Judge Barkan Saad, which was devoted to tackling the decision of lifting the hand of Judge Ghada Aoun as a Public Prosecutor in Mount Lebanon, and the recent developments at the Mkataf Money Exchange Company. Najm expressed her regret over "the existing dispute within the judiciary body," and how the people perceive that the judiciary is divided, with each judge following a certain political affiliation. "I reject the current condition of the judiciary...which shows itself incapable of combatting corruption, and fights in a media battle, while the authority is incapable of forming a power, and does not stand aside nor refer to the people...It is inconceivable that there are judges with the Central Bank Governor and with the banks, and judges against them, for the judiciary cancels itself in this way."Najm urged the Judicial Inspection Authority to intervene and have control over the whole dossier, so as to determine the corrupt judges and those to be held accountable, in addition to activating all its pending files. The Caretaker Minister stressed the need for the judiciary to rise-up against the existing status quo, assuring that she did not leave out any chance to address letters to the Supreme Judicial Council, Judicial Inspection Authority and the Public Prosecutor, in order to reach an effective judiciary. On emerging from their meeting with the Justice Minister, the three judges left without making any statement. When asked about the decision taken, Judge Abboud replied: "You'll see..!"

Future Movement to FPM: Stop spreading delusions
NNA/April 16, 2021 
In an issued statement this afternoon, the Future Movement called on the Free Patriotic Movement to "end its boring farce and stop spreading delusions, as it knows well that the Prime Minister-designate provided a full-fledged government line-up more than four months back, based on the standards of the constitution, the charter, and competencies; but unfortunately to-date, the President of the Republic is still holding on to it, along with the judicial formations and the decrees of the Civil Service Board.""What is happening in the judicial body is very critical, and a precedent that did not happen during the ill-fated civil war, not even during the days of the joint domination of the Lebanese-Syrian security system," the statement said, emphasizing that "the judiciary is the bulwark of justice and the refuge of the oppressed, and when it falls, the system of values, rights and duties falls, and we become dominated by the law of the jungle!"The Movement underlined the need to "confront the strange practices that are occurring in the judiciary, starting with the release of the judicial formations that are stalled by the Republican Palace for malicious and political purposes.""What the Lebanese are witnessing today is a natural result of the infringement on the Supreme Judicial Council's authority and the violation of laws, by continuing to stop the judicial formations without any legal justification," the statement maintained. "The solution lies in preserving the constitution, respecting the laws, not interfering with the powers of the constitutional institutions, and not exploiting major issues for personal purposes," the Future Movement's statement concluded.

Abdel Samad: To approve media law to carry out reforms that reflect people's needs, journalists' rights
NNA/April 17, 2021
Caretaker Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, said today via her Twitter account: "I hope that all those involved in the media sector would read the media law proposal as amended by the Ministry of Information and forwarded in July 2020 to the Head of the Administration and Justice Parliamentary Committee...Passing this modern law is pivotal for the regulation of public and private media in Lebanon, and for the implementation of a set of reforms that reflect the needs of the public and the rights of journalists."

Why is Lebanon unable to form a government?
Sami Moubayed, Correspondent/Gulf News/April 17, 2021
‘Even if Cabinet is formed, it will be rejected as present leaders can’t rebuild Lebanon’
Damascus: There are two initiatives currently on the table to move the Lebanese cabinet formation talks forward. One is the brainchild of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and second is an expansion on an initiative proposed last September by French President Emanuel Macron.
So what is the problem?
It’s been six months now since Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri was asked to form a government, and yet, he has repeatedly failed to come up with something acceptable to President Michel Aoun and his ambitious son-in-law Gibran Basil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM).
Hariri and Aoun agree on nothing. Their last meeting on March 22 ended in failure, with each side blaming the other for lack of progress.
The Prime Minister wants a minimised technocratic government of 18 ministers; Aoun wants an expanded one of 20-24, with a blocking majority for the FPM. A small cabinet means four Sunnis (including the premier), four Shiites, one Druze, and nine Christians (4 Maronites, 3 Greek Orthodox, 1 Roman Catholic, and 1 Armenian).
Christian ministers
Hariri wants to name two out of nine Christian ministers, but Aoun is insisting that only his party, the FPM, is entitled to nominate Christian ministers. Aoun justifies that claim by pointing to the fact that his party controls the largest Christian bloc in Parliament, with 29 MPs.
When it comes to portfolios, Aoun is also making claim to the Ministry of Interior, which has traditionally been held by a Sunni Muslim from Hariri’s Future Party. Hariri tried meeting him at midway, nominating neither a Sunni nor a Maronite for the job, but a Greek Orthodox. Aoun flatly rejected the proposal.
The two men were also quarreling over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has traditionally been held by the Aounists. Gibran Basil curtly refused relinquishing it to a Sunni Muslim from Hariri’s team. Again, Hariri came up with an idea, suggesting that it goes neither to a Sunni nor to a Christian but to a Druze, which was also rejected by Aoun.
In his last cabinet line-up, rejected by Aoun, Hariri had made sure to accommodate the two Shiite parties, Hezbollah and Amal. A cabinet of 18 ought to have contained only two seats for the Shiites but Hariri gave them four. He increased their power however by giving those four ministers a total of six portfolios, becoming the largest share in Lebanese history.
The Berri Initiative
Berri has been mediating between the two sides, trying to come up with a suitable formula. He enjoys excellent personal relations with Hariri and happens to be part of the same coalition with Aoun, known as the March 8 Alliance.
The Berri Initiative calls on Hariri to abandon his insistence on a minimized cabinet in exchange for Aoun abandoning his claim to a blocking majority. Hariri accepted positively to the Speaker’s suggestion, dropping his claim for an 18-man cabinet.
An expanded cabinet would mean an increased share for Aoun and his Shiite allies, Hezbollah and Amal. It would also mean two Druze seats, rather than one. The first would be named by Hariri’s ally Walid Jumblatt, and the second by Emir Talal Arslan, an ally of Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Aoun too has reacted positively to the Berri Initiative. He now says that he is willing to accept six rather than nine Christian seats, but on the condition that they are all named by the FPM and not the Future Party.
Revised French initiative
Immediately after the port explosion last August, President Emmanuel Macron came to Beirut, carrying a French proposal to the Lebanese political community. In addition to demanding political, monetary, and administrative reforms, the French initiative aimed at breaking the monopoly of political parties, demanding rotation of cabinet posts.
Neither initiative will work. Forming a cabinet means initiating reform, which would implicate the entire political class. In the unlikely event that Hariri and Basil form a cabinet, the emerging civil society will not like it because the leaders who impoverished Lebanon cannot rebuild it.
Matter of portfolios
Meaning the portfolio of Interior would no longer be reserved for the Future Party, nor would Defence be for the FPM or Finance for the Amal Movement. When meeting Macron for the second time in September, parties leaders nodded affirmatively to his suggestion. But when it came to cabinet formation, they failed to deliver. Berri made claim to the Finance Ministry, Aoun to Defence, and Hariri to Interior.
Macron was supposed to make another trip to Beirut last December but got locked down in Paris with COVID-19. Since then, his advisers have been on the phone with Lebanese leaders, trying to break the impasse.
Macron was hoping to bring Basil to Paris this April, for a one-on-one with Hariri. The two men had managed to sort out such an agreement back in 2016, when they jointly named three Christian ministers out of 30 ministers in Hariri’s first cabinet under the Aoun presidency.
The Hezbollah-backed, pro-Aoun daily Al Akhbar reported a phone conversation between Basil and an adviser to the French President.
When asked if Hariri was coming to Paris, the reply was: “He cannot refuse.”
Basil's ambitions
Based on those words, Basil agreed to make the trip, requesting a meeting with Macron. He desperately needed the international exposure, especially after being ignored by all foreign diplomats visiting Beirut, the most recent of whom were Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameeh Shukri and Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League Hussam Zaki.
It was Hariri who backed out, however, claiming that his schedule was full, with a Moscow visit scheduled on April 13 and a Vatican visit on April 22. Hariri also made it clear that he preferred that the meeting is arranged in Beirut rather than Europe, and that concrete concessions are extracted beforehand from both Basil and Aoun.
He claimed that he has already walked an extra mile to accommodate the president, insisting that under no conditions will Aoun get the right to name all Christian ministers.
“Neither initiative will work” said Hilal Khashan, veteran professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Speaking to Gulf News, he explained: “Forming a cabinet means initiating reform, which would implicate the entire political class. In the unlikely event that Hariri and Basil form a cabinet, the emerging civil society will not like it because the leaders who impoverished Lebanon cannot rebuild it.”

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 17-18/2021

Queen Elizabeth II stands alone to bid farewell to her ‘strength’ Prince Philip
Reuters/April 17, 2021
The queen in 1997 described Philip as her "strength and stay" over their decades of marriage
Mourners at the ceremony in Windsor Castle, including Prince Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry, were limited in number
WINDSOR: Queen Elizabeth and her family paid their last respects to Prince Philip on Saturday at a funeral that celebrated his naval past, his international heritage and seven decades of service in which he helped guide the queen through repeated crises. Elizabeth, dressed in black and in a white trimmed black mask, stood alone as the funeral service began in St George's Chapel, which dates back to 1475. Mourners at the ceremony in Windsor Castle, including Prince Charles and his sons Princes William and Harry, were limited in number and separated due to COVID-19 rules. "We are here today in St George’s Chapel to commit into the hands of God the soul of his servant Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh," the Dean of Windsor, David Conner, said. "We have been inspired by his unwavering loyalty to our Queen, by his service to the Nation and the Commonwealth, by his courage, fortitude and faith."After the nation observed a minute's silence in brilliant sunshine, Harry and William took up their places on opposite sides of the chapel with the final resting place of Tudor monarch Henry VIII dividing them. Philip, officially known as the Duke of Edinburgh, died aged 99 on April 9. The queen in 1997 described Philip as her "strength and stay" over their decades of marriage. His naval cap and sword lay on top of the coffin, which was covered with the Duke of Edinburgh's personal standard featuring the Danish coat of arms, the Greek cross, Edinburgh Castle and the stripes of the Mountbatten family. The choir sang a sailors' hymn, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save", and shortly before he is lowered into the Royal Vault, the Russian "Kontakion of the Departed", a hymn of the Orthodox and Eastern churches, will echo around the ancient church. Philip's coffin was borne to the chapel on a bespoke Defender TD 130 in military green as a minute gun fired eight times. Before the procession, military bands spaced out across the quadrangle of Windsor Castle to play the prince's chosen music, including "I Vow To Thee My Country,", "Jerusalem" and "Nimrod". Philip, who married Elizabeth in 1947, helped the young queen adapt the monarchy to the changing world of the post-World War Two era as the loss of empire and the decline of deference challenged the world's most prominent royal family. She has now been widowed just as she grapples with one of the gravest crises to hit the royal family in decades - allegations of racism and neglect by it from her grandson Harry and his American-born wife Meghan.
Attention on Harry
Much media attention will focus on the royals' behaviour towards Harry as he made his first public appearance with the family since the couple gave an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey last month.
In the interview they accused one unnamed royal of making a racist comment, and said Meghan's pleas for help when she felt suicidal were ignored. The couple, who moved to Los Angeles and quit royal duties last year, laid bare their perceptions of the family's attitudes in what amounted to a critique of the old-fashioned customs of an ancient institution. Meghan said she had been silenced by "the Firm" while Harry said his father, Charles, had refused to take his calls. Harry said both Charles and his brother William were trapped in the royal family. Meghan watched the funeral at her home in California after she was advised by her doctor not to travel while pregnant, a source familiar with the situation said. US networks showed the funeral live as did British TV stations. Mourners eschewed the tradition of wearing military uniforms, a step newspapers said was to prevent embarrassment to Harry, who despite serving two tours in Afghanistan during his army career, is not be entitled to wear a uniform because he was stripped of his honorary military titles. Prince Andrew, who stepped down from public duties in 2019 over controversy surrounding his what he termed his "ill-judged" association with late US financier Jeffrey Epstein, had wanted to wear an admiral's uniform at the funeral, British media reported.
Queen alone
The palace emphasised beforehand that while the occasion would have the due pageantry that marks the passing of a senior royal, it remained an occasion for a mourning family to mark the passing of a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. There were just 30 mourners inside the chapel for the service because of continuing coronavirus restrictions in Britain. Philip's dedication to his duty earned him widespread popularity in Britain, but he was also criticised by some for a number of off-the-cuff racist or abrupt comments which shocked princes, priests and presidents. "He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm and also because you never knew what he might say next," Harry said of his grandfather. Philip was a decorated Royal Navy veteran of World War Two and his funeral, much of which was planned in meticulous detail by the prince himself, will have a strong military feel, with personnel from across the armed forces playing prominent roles.

Iran Names Suspect in Natanz Attack, Says He Fled Country
Associated Press/April 17, 2021
Iran named a suspect Saturday in the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges there, saying he had fled the country before the sabotage happened. While the extent of the damage from the April 11 sabotage remains unclear, it comes as Iran tries to negotiate with world powers over allowing the U.S. to re-enter its tattered nuclear deal with world powers and lift the economic sanctions it faces. Already, Iran has begun enriching uranium up to 60% purity in response — three times higher than ever before, though in small quantities. The sabotage and Iran's response to it also have further inflamed tensions across the Mideast, where a shadow war between Tehran and Israel, the prime suspect in the sabotage, still rages. State television named the suspect as 43-year-old Reza Karimi. It showed a passport-style photograph of a man it identified as Karimi, saying he was born in the nearby city of Kashan, Iran.
The report did not elaborate how Karimi would have gotten access to one of the most secure facilities in the Islamic Republic. The report also aired what appeared to be an Interpol "red notice" seeking his arrest. The arrest notice was not immediately accessible on Interpol's public-facing database. Interpol, based in Lyon, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The TV report said "necessary actions" are underway to bring Karimi back to Iran through legal channels, without elaborating. The supposed Interpol "red notice" listed his travel history as including Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Ethiopia, Qatar, Turkey, Uganda, Romania and another country that was illegible in the broadcast. The report also showed centrifuges in a hall, as well as what appeared to be caution tape up at the Natanz facility. In Vienna, negotiations continued over the deal Saturday. The 2015 accord, which former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from in 2018, prevented Iran from stockpiling enough high-enriched uranium to be able to pursue a nuclear weapon if it chose in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, though the West and the IAEA say Tehran had an organized military nuclear program up until the end of 2003. An annual U.S. intelligence report released Tuesday maintained the longtime American assessment that Iran isn't currently trying to build a nuclear bomb. Iran previously had said it could use uranium enriched up to 60% for nuclear-powered ships. However, the Islamic Republic currently has no such ships in its navy. The attack at Natanz was initially described only as a blackout in its electrical grid — but later Iranian officials began calling it an attack. One Iranian official referred to "several thousand centrifuges damaged and destroyed" in a state TV interview. However, no other official has offered that figure and no images of the aftermath have been released.

Biden says 'premature' to know if Iran talks will succeed
AFP/17 April ,2021
US President Joe Biden said Friday it was too early to know whether indirect talks underway with Iran would succeed in reviving a nuclear accord. Biden said the United States does "not think that it's at all helpful" that Iran this week ramped up uranium enrichment, a move taken in response to sabotage on a nuclear facility believed to have been carried out by Israel. "We are nonetheless pleased that Iran has continued to agree to engage in discussions," Biden said at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. "I think it's premature to make a judgment as to what the outcome will be, but I think we're still talking," Biden said. He reiterated that he supported the 2015 agreement negotiated when he was vice president but would not make "major concessions" to return to it. Former president Donald Trump trashed the agreement -- under which Iran was promised sanctions relief in return for major curbs on its nuclear program -- and instead imposed sweeping economic punishment including a unilateral ban on other nations buying its oil. Iran wants the United States to lift sanctions before it rolls back the measures it took in protest which led the country away from compliance. The State Department said Friday that the US delegation would remain in Vienna, where it is holding indirect talks with Iran through European intermediaries.

Vienna talks resume amid tensions as Iran names suspect in Natanz attack
The Arab Weekly/April 17, 2021
State television named 43-year-old Reza Karimi as a suspect in the attack on the nuclear facility.
TEHRAN--Tensions are at an all-time high Saturday, with Iran naming a suspect in the attack on its Natanz nuclear facility that damaged centrifuges there. According to Iran, the suspect had fled the country “hours before” the sabotage happened. While the extent of the damage from the April 11 sabotage remains unclear, it comes as Iran tries to negotiate with world powers over allowing the US to re-enter its tattered nuclear deal with world powers and lift the economic sanctions it faces. Already, Iran has begun enriching uranium up to 60% purity in response — three times higher than ever before, though in small quantities. The sabotage and Iran’s response to it also have further inflamed tensions across the Mideast, where a shadow war between Tehran and Israel, the prime suspect in the sabotage, still rages.
Main suspect
State television named the suspect as 43-year-old Reza Karimi. It showed a passport-style photograph of a man it identified as Karimi, saying he was born in the nearby city of Kashan, Iran. The report also aired what appeared to be an Interpol “red notice” seeking his arrest. The arrest notice was not immediately accessible on Interpol’s public-facing database. Interpol, based in Lyon, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The TV report said “necessary actions” are underway to bring Karimi back to Iran through legal channels, without elaborating. The supposed Interpol “red notice” listed his foreign travel history as including Ethiopia, Kenya, the Netherlands, Qatar, Romania, Turkey, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates. The report did not elaborate how Karimi would have gotten access to one of the most secure facilities in the Islamic Republic. However, it did for the first time offer authorities acknowledging an explosion struck the Natanz facility. There was a “limited explosion of a small part of the electricity-feeding path to the centrifuges’ hall,” the TV report said. “The explosion happened because of the function of explosive materials and there was no cyberattack.”Initial reports in Israeli media, which maintain close relations to its military and intelligence services, blamed a cyberattack for the damage.
Explosion or cyberattack?
The Iranian state TV report also said there were images that corroborated the account of an explosion rather than cyberattack offered by security services, but it did not broadcast those pictures. The report also showed centrifuges in a hall, as well as what appeared to be caution tape up at the Natanz facility. In one shot, a TV reporter interviewed an unnamed technician, who was shown from behind — likely a safety measure as Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated in suspected Israeli-orchestrated attacks in the past. “The sound that you are hearing is the sound of operating machines that are fortunately undamaged,” he said, the high-pitched whine of the centrifuges heard in the background. “Many of the centrifuge chains that faced defects are now under control. Part of the work that had been disrupted will be back on track with the round-the-clock efforts of my colleagues.”
Talks in Vienna
In Vienna, negotiations continued over the deal Saturday. The European Union said the talks would involve EU officials and representatives from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran. The talks are aimed at determining which sanctions the United States should lift and the measures Iran has to take to come into compliance with the accord. The Russian ambassador to Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, spoke of “slow but steady progress in the negotiations on restoration of the nuclear deal” on Twitter. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, confirmed Iran was now producing uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, taking the country closer to the 90 percent level required for use in a nuclear weapon. “The enrichment of uranium to 60 percent is underway” in Natanz, he said, quoted by Tasnim news agency. The 2015 accord, which former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from in 2018, prevented Iran from stockpiling enough high-enriched uranium to be able to pursue a nuclear weapon if it chose in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful, though the West and the IAEA say Tehran had an organised military nuclear programme up until the end of 2003. An annual US intelligence report released Tuesday maintained the longtime American assessment that Iran isn’t currently trying to build a nuclear bomb. Iran previously had said it could use uranium enriched up to 60% for nuclear-powered ships. However, the Islamic Republic currently has no such ships in its navy. The attack at Natanz was initially described only as a blackout in its electrical grid — but later Iranian officials began calling it an attack. One Iranian official referred to “several thousand centrifuges damaged and destroyed” in a state TV interview. However, no other official has offered that figure and no images of the aftermath have been released.

IAEA confirms Iran has started enriching uranium to 60% purity
Reuters/17 April ,2021
Iran has started the process of enriching uranium to 60% fissile purity at an above-ground nuclear plant at Natanz, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Saturday, confirming earlier statements by Iranian officials. The move has complicated talks aimed at reviving Iran's nuclear deal with major powers as it is a big step towards producing weapons-grade uranium. Iran had previously only reached 20% purity, and that was already a breach of the deal, which says Iran can only enrich to 3.67%. Iran made the step up to 60% in response to an explosion that damaged equipment at the larger, underground Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz. Tehran has blamed Israel and named a man wanted in connection with the blast. "The Agency today verified that Iran had begun the production of UF6 enriched up to 60%... at the (above-ground) Natanz Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. UF6 is uranium hexafluoride, the form in which uranium is fed into centrifuges for enrichment. A confidential IAEA report to member states seen by Reuters provided more details. "According to Iran's declaration to the Agency, the enrichment level of the UF6 produced at PFEP was 55.3% U-235. The Agency took a sample of the produced UF6 for destructive analysis to independently verify the enrichment level declared by Iran. The results of this analysis will be reported by the Agency in due course," the report said.

Biden says 'premature' to know if Iran talks will succeed
AFP/17 April ,2021
US President Joe Biden said Friday it was too early to know whether indirect talks underway with Iran would succeed in reviving a nuclear accord. Biden said the United States does "not think that it's at all helpful" that Iran this week ramped up uranium enrichment, a move taken in response to sabotage on a nuclear facility believed to have been carried out by Israel. "We are nonetheless pleased that Iran has continued to agree to engage in discussions," Biden said at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. "I think it's premature to make a judgment as to what the outcome will be, but I think we're still talking," Biden said. He reiterated that he supported the 2015 agreement negotiated when he was vice president but would not make "major concessions" to return to it. Former president Donald Trump trashed the agreement -- under which Iran was promised sanctions relief in return for major curbs on its nuclear program -- and instead imposed sweeping economic punishment including a unilateral ban on other nations buying its oil. Iran wants the United States to lift sanctions before it rolls back the measures it took in protest which led the country away from compliance. The State Department said Friday that the US delegation would remain in Vienna, where it is holding indirect talks with Iran through European intermediaries.

Arabic speakers with Mideast resumes feature in Biden’s latest State Department picks
Marco Ferrari, Al Arabiya English/17 April ,2021
Two Arabic-speaking women and four people who have held posts in Arab countries are among seven diplomats that US President Joe Biden plans to nominate for State Department roles. Former US ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Barbara Leaf has been tapped for the role of assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs. She served her role in the UAE between 2014 and 2018, and speaks Arabic as well as French, Italian and Serbo-Croatian. Mary Catherine Phee, also an Arabic speaker, is set to be nominated for the position of assistant secretary of state for African affairs.
She currently serves as principal deputy special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation at the State Department. Phee began her career in Jordan’s capital Amman and has worked at US embassies in Egypt and Kuwait. Michele Sison, Biden’s nominee for assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, was a US ambassador to the UAE between 2004 and 2008. Gentry Smith is Biden’s nominee for assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security. He leads the Gentry Group, a security consulting firm. He was also formerly the deputy regional security officer at the US embassy in Cairo. On Wednesday, the US Senate approved President Joe Biden’s nominee Wendy Sherman to be deputy secretary of state, the second-highest position at the department. She was nominated by the president on January 16. Biden officials say they have struggled with delays in appointing people to senior posts due to bureaucratic hurdles left behind by former president Donald Trump including his refusal to acknowledge Biden’s election win, according to Foreign Policy.

UN votes to deploy cease-fire monitors in Libya
The Arab Weekly/April 17, 2021
UNITED NATIONS / NEW YORK— The UN Security Council has authorised international monitors to watch over a nearly six-month-old cease-fire agreement in Libya as the country heads toward December elections after a decade of fighting and upheaval. In a vote announced Friday, the council unanimously approved Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ recent proposal for up to 60 monitors to join an existing political mission in Libya. “The monitors would be deployed to Sirte once all the requirements for a permanent United Nations presence have been met, including security, logistical, medical and operational aspects,” Guterres wrote to the council on April 7. “In the meantime, forward presence would be established in Tripoli, as soon as conditions permit,” he said. A new Libyan unity government was sworn in on March 15. In the resolution adopted on Friday, the Security Council stressed the “full, equal and meaningful participation of women and the inclusion of youth” in the elections. The measure also urges all foreign forces and mercenaries to get out of the country, as was supposed to happen months ago. “We now expect all UN members to act on that, helping Libya to regain its sovereignty and work towards lasting peace and stability,” Britain’s minister for the Middle East and North Africa, James Cleverly, said in a statement from London. He heralded the resolution as sending “a clear signal of support” for Libya’s transitional government, which took power last month and is expected to lead the country to the elections, planned Dec. 24. Voting was conducted by email, due to the coronavirus pandemic; the results were announced at a brief virtual meeting. Libya has been wracked by chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gadhafi in 2011 and split the oil-rich North African country between a Tripoli-based government and rival authorities based in the country’s east. Each side was backed by armed groups and foreign governments. The UN estimated in December there were at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, including Syrians, Russians, Sudanese and Chadians. The cease-fire agreement, reached in October, called for the foreign fighters to leave within three months. The cease-fire deal has dramatically reduced civilian casualties, but the UN has continued to document killings, forced disappearances, sexual violence, arbitrary arrests, hate crimes and attacks against activists and human rights defenders in Libya, UN special envoy Jan Kubis told the council last month. The Security Council resolution also demands all countries fully comply with a decade-long UN arms embargo on Libya. A recently released report by UN said the embargo has been “totally ineffective.”
 

Cyprus meeting of UAE, Israel, Greece showcases ‘new narrative’
The Arab Weekly/April 17, 2021
PAPHOS, CYPRUS--Cyprus hosted a meeting Friday of top diplomats from Israel and the UAE, as well as Greece, for talks they said reflected the “changing face” of the Middle East. “This new strategic membership stretches from the shores of the Arabian Gulf” to the Mediterranean and Europe, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told a news conference in the coastal resort city of Paphos. Standing alongside Anwar Gargash, adviser to Emirati President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, he said their encounter was a sign of “the changing face of the Middle East”. He called for a “strategic partnership in energy between the Eastern Med and the Gulf”, following last year’s historic normalisation of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Gargash said ties with Israel amounted to an “alternative strategic view” aimed at bolstering regional security, adding that the Paphos talks covered economic and political cooperation, as well as “using technology to fight Covid”. The Cypriot and Greek foreign ministers both stressed the new regional grouping was open to all parties. “The evolving web of regional cooperation is creating a new narrative, one that is cracking the glass ceiling of the prevailing (one) of our neighbourhood as a region of turmoil, conflict and crisis,” said Cypriot Foreign Minister and host Nikos Christodoulides. “The path is open for all countries of the region to join us,” he added, without a direct mention of Turkey, whose troops occupy the northern third of Cyprus and which is in dispute with Nicosia and Athens over gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean. “On energy, we agreed that unlocking the full energy potential of the region by enhancing the sustainable, efficient, and environmentally conscious developments of natural gas must be a priority,” he pointed out. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, who has visited both Turkey and Libya over the past week, stressed calls for “the withdrawal of all foreign forces” from the North African country, where Turkish troops are posted. On Iran and its controversial nuclear programme, Ashkenazi reiterated that Israel would “do whatever it takes to prevent this radical and anti-Semitic regime from acquiring nuclear weapons”.
 

Sudan scraps planned visit to Israel
The Arab Weekly/April 17, 2021
KHARTOUM – Sudan denied on Friday reports that it would send its first delegation to Israel months after a deal for ties between the two countries, and two Sudanese sources said Khartoum had scrapped a planned visit. Sources had previously said that a Sudanese delegation comprising security and intelligence officials would travel to Israel next week. Sudan agreed to take steps towards normal ties with Israel last year in a deal brokered by then US President Donald Trump’s administration. This month, Sudan’s cabinet voted to repeal a 1958 law to boycott Israel. The issue is divisive in Sudan, which is going through a delicate political transition following the overthrow of former leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Two official Sudanese sources said that an invitation to visit Israel had been accepted, but that plans had later changed. They gave no explanation for the change. Sudan’s general intelligence service said “news circulating on some media and social media about the visit of a security delegation to Sudan was not true”, state news agency SUNA reported. Sudan’s security and defence council also denied the news. The deal for Sudan to normalise ties with Israel was struck alongside normalisation deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, and came as the United States agreed to remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Sudan’s military is seen to have led the move, but civilian groups with which it is sharing power are more reluctant and say the deal must be approved by a yet-to-be formed transitional parliament.

Domestic, foreign factors could boost the fortunes of Sadr in Iraq’s elections
The Arab Weekly/April 17, 2021
BAGHDAD – Informed Iraqi sources said that the Sadrist movement has begun to prepare for the upcoming Iraqi elections and that it will present itself to the US as a “moderate” movement and the best option in the Iraqi Shia community.
The sources told The Arab Weekly that the Shia political spectrum is now divided between the pro-Iranian Popular Mobilisation Forces, accused by the US of responsibility for attacks targeting its forces in Iraq; the Dawa Party, which is internally splintered and the remnants of smaller formations, such as the Al-Hikma groups. In this context, the Sadrist movement finds itself to be the strongest and most influential political faction, despite the fact that many forces within the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) were originally offshoots of the Sadrist movement.
An Iraqi source familiar with the movement’s internal discussions said, “The time for propaganda against American occupation is gone after the Sadrist movement had a taste of power. It has benefited from the quota system through the appointment of cabinet members in various positions and subsequently gained a level of influence within Iraqi state institutions that is similar to that wielded by the Dawa Party.”He added that, “The leader of the movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, realises that the options of the United States are limited. There is no way to deal with the PMF, which is almost completely under the thumb of the Iranian Quds Force, nor with the Dawa Party, whose fortunes are eroding and which stands accused by many of its followers of corruption, nor with the smaller Shia groups that enjoy more popularity in the media than among political activists. The Sadrist movement has become the ‘moderate tendency’ despite all that happened during the past few years.” On Monday, Iraqi President Barham Salih signed a decree to hold early elections on October 10.
Despite the endeavours of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to co-opt a large segment of the Shia electorate within the civil state, the Sadrist movement is betting on its popularity among the poor in major popular neighbourhoods of Baghdad, in addition to segments of the population in the central Euphrates and southern Iraq regions that are dissatisfied with the government. Kadhimi has yet to flesh out his personal political plan even though time is running out for him.It is unclear whether he will enter the election race as a separate political movement or whether Iran will allow him to operate politically outside the Shia grouping that is loyal to Tehran. This is especially so because the Iranians consider him to be close to Washington and to the West and hold him responsible for opening the door for the return to Iraq of the pan-Arabist policies. The Kadhimi government has vowed to ensure “a fair voting election process under international supervision, far from the influence of arms,” but it would be difficult for the PMF militias to leave the scene without putting up a struggle. The position of the Sadrist movement in relation to the political system in Iraq has evolved from attacking it for lack of legitimacy, when not prohibiting it altogether, to infiltrating Iraqi state institutions, the army and security services and exerting partial control over the powers of the prime minister. The United States does not seem totally opposed to the option of backing to Sadr, as long as he is able to curtail the domination of the Popular Mobilisation Forces over the state, or confront Kadhimi’s reluctance to thwart the PMF’s daily challenge to the authorities in line with the Iranian policy of targeting US forces in Iraq with “light” strikes that do not provoke President Joe Biden’s administration and push it to a tough response against Iran or its militias.
Sadr often tries to suggest that he is outside the Iranian orbit in Iraq and that he deals with Tehran as an equal. He stresses also that his late father, Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, saw himself as an Arab standing up to Iran’s hegemony over the supreme Shia authority of Iraq and whoever assumed it.
With the elections approaching, Nuri al-Maliki, who heads the State of Law coalition, is seeking to flirt with Sadr and bring him into the fold of Iran’s allies, minimising his differences with the populist leader. Maliki said, “my hand is extended to whomever wants to reconcile with me, and I do not want disputes, and I do not want the continuation of the dispute, neither with Muqtada al-Sadr nor with anyone else,” denying “the existence of mediation for reconciliation with Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr.” Iraqi observers believe that Sadr may achieve good results in the upcoming elections by billing himself a “moderate” and keeping his distance from Iran. But he will nevertheless remain part of the “Tehran system” which controls the Iraqi scene and uses it regionally for its own purposes. Iraqi political analyst and writer Mustafa Kamel, believes, “Sadr is Iran’s most dangerous agent in Iraq (…) and the role assigned to him is limited to reshuffling cards and providing a lifeline to the political system, and this is the secret of his fluctuating positions and wavering between right and left.” Talking to The Arab Weekly, Kamel added that Sadr might win the elections “not because he enjoys support among the Iraqis, as he is widely rejected by them, but because overt and covert bargaining, influence-peddling and foreign interferences might push him to the fore”. He pointed out that, during the past few years, Arab efforts have been devoted to polishing Sadr’s image but he has failed to play a national leadership role as he quickly reverted to his usual sectarian and chaotic course.

Russia Bans Top Biden Officials as Tensions Soar
Agence France Presse/April 17, 2021
Russia on Friday banned top officials from US President Joe Biden's administration from entering the country and announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats, as tensions soar between the rivals. The Russian action comes a day after Washington announced sanctions against Moscow and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, in retaliation for what it says was interference by the Kremlin in US elections, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity. Moscow in a forceful response said top US officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Biden's chief domestic policy advisor Susan Rice, and FBI chief Christopher Wray would be banned from entering Russia. Lists of officials banned from entry are usually kept secret, but Russia's foreign ministry said it was revealing the names due to the "unprecedented nature" of the current tensions with Washington.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that Russia was responding to US sanctions in "a tit-for-tat manner" by asking 10 US diplomats in Russia to leave the country while also expelling five Polish diplomats in response to a similar move by Warsaw. Lavrov also said that Putin's top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, had recommended that US envoy John Sullivan leave for Washington to conduct "serious consultations". Sullivan said he had only seen a message on the Russian foreign ministry's website and was consulting with Washington. "We have not received any official diplomatic correspondence providing details of the Russian government actions against the diplomatic mission of the United States of America in Russia," Sullivan said in a statement. The State Department later called Russia's retaliation "escalatory and regrettable". "It is not in our interest to get into an escalatory cycle, but we reserve the right to respond to any Russian retaliation against the United States," a spokesperson said in Washington.
- Openness to summit -
Despite the barrage of expulsions and sanctions, Russia's foreign ministry insisted that it viewed Biden's recent proposal to hold a summit with Putin "positively", adding that it was "currently under consideration". Biden's suggestion earlier this week had amounted to a peace offering at a time when tensions between Russia and the West have escalated over the conflict in Ukraine. The US penalties announced Thursday widened restrictions on US banks trading in Russian government debt and sanctioned 32 individuals accused of meddling in the 2020 US presidential vote. Biden had described the new US sanctions as a "measured and proportionate" response to Moscow's hostile actions. In March, Russia recalled its ambassador to the United States back to Moscow for consultations on the future of US-Russia ties. The rare move came after Biden said Putin would "pay a price" for alleged election-meddling and agreed with the assessment that Putin is a "killer". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday said Putin had long talked about the importance of normalising relations between Moscow and Washington. "It is indeed good that the points of view of the two heads of state coincide on this," he said. But Peskov also blasted the new round of penalties imposed by Washington, saying America's "addiction to sanctions remains unacceptable". Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Friday offered his country as a venue for a possible Biden-Putin meeting. In recent weeks, Russia's massing of troops on Ukraine's northern and eastern borders, and on the Crimean peninsula it annexed seven years ago, have contributed to the sharp escalation in tensions. US forces in Europe have raised their alert status in response, while NATO has issued warnings to Moscow.
- NATO concern -
NATO on Friday said reported plans by Moscow to block parts of the Black Sea would be "unjustified" and called on Moscow "to ensure free access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov, and allow freedom of navigation".Russian state media reported that Moscow intends to close parts of the Black Sea to foreign military and official ships for six months, triggering concerns in the US and EU. Sanctions as a tool for punishing Moscow have become routine since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and fighting erupted between Kiev's forces and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine. Relations have plunged further in the intervening years, with Washington accusing Moscow of interfering in its presidential elections in 2016 and 2020. Even before the recent alarm over the Ukraine conflict, tensions had ratcheted up sharply this year as the US slapped sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Ties then hit rock bottom last month after Biden, who promised to take a firmer line on Moscow than his predecessor Donald Trump, agreed with a description of Putin as a "killer".

Canada has second case of rare blood clots after AstraZeneca vaccine
Reuters/18 April ,2021
Canada on Saturday reported a second case of rare blood clots with low platelets after immunization with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine in a week, while it said it still recommended the use of the shot. The person who experienced the very rare event has been treated and is recovering, Canada's health ministry said in a statement, adding that the person lives in the province of Alberta. Visit our dedicated coronavirus site here for all the latest updates. Based on the evidence available, Canada still maintains that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the potential risks, the statement said. Canada health authorities "will continue to monitor the use of all COVID-19 vaccines closely and examine and assess any new safety concerns," the statement said. Canada reported a first blood clotting associated with the vaccine on Tuesday, and a day later, after a review, health authorities said they would not restrict use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. A separate advisory council had earlier recommended Canada stop offering the vaccine to people under 55. That panel is in the process of reviewing its advice. Canada has been ramping up its vaccination campaign, but still has a smaller percentage of its population inoculated than dozens of other countries, including the United States and Britain.Amid a spiking third wave of infections, Ontario, Canada's most populous province, announced new public health restrictions on Friday, including closing the provinces borders to domestic travelers.

Covid Death Toll nears 3 Million as India Cases Surge
Agence France Presse/April 17, 2021
The global coronavirus death toll was expected to reach three million on Saturday, as the race for immunisation continues and countries like India grapple with rising infections and new lockdowns. The virus that surfaced in late 2019 in central China and the ensuing pandemic has infected more than 100 million people, leaving billions more under crippling lockdowns and ravaging the global economy. India's capital New Delhi went into a weekend lockdown Saturday as the world's second-most populous nation faces more than 200,000 fresh daily cases and families clamouring for drugs and hospital beds. Hopes that South Asian countries might have seen the worst of the pandemic have been dashed, with India recording over two million new cases this month alone and Bangladesh and Pakistan imposing new shutdowns. In Japan, rising virus cases have stoked speculation that the Olympic Games -- postponed last year due to the pandemic -- could be cancelled. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, in his first meeting with US President Joe Biden, said his government was listening to experts and doing its "utmost" to prepare for the Tokyo games in July. "They are doing everything possible to contain infection and to realise safe and secure games from scientific and objective perspectives," Suga told a joint news conference, at which Biden backed Japan's efforts to host the global event. Coronavirus preparations are being made for another global sporting showcase -- the World Cup in Qatar next year. The Gulf kingdom is in talks with coronavirus vaccine makers to ensure all fans attending the 2022 World Cup in the country have been vaccinated, its foreign minister said Friday. The virus continues to impact events elsewhere in the world. On Saturday, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II bids a final farewell to her late husband, Prince Philip, at a funeral restricted by coronavirus and likely watched by millions from afar. The public has been asked to stay away because of the global pandemic.
'Cautious optimism' in Europe
In Brazil, the country with the third-highest death toll in the world, night shifts have been added to several cemeteries as diggers work around the clock to bury the dead. One of these is Vila Formosa, the largest cemetery in Latin America and a showcase for the lethal cost of the pandemic in Brazil, where more than 360,000 people have died from Covid-19.  Despite the high infection rate, the government of Brazil's most populous state Sao Paulo announced it will allow businesses and places of worship to reopen from Sunday. But there was better news in Europe, where some countries are easing their lockdowns in response to not only fatigue, but falling infection numbers and progress with vaccinations. Italy announced Friday it will ease coronavirus restrictions for schools and restaurants from April 26. Expressing "cautious optimism", Prime Minister Mario Draghi said his government was taking a "calculated risk". Italy will also allow up to a thousand spectators at outdoor events from May 1, when it eases its stadium fan ban in regions less affected by the coronavirus. In more good news for Brits after the partial reopening of society this week, Germany on Friday removed the United Kingdom from the list of risk zones for coronavirus infections, meaning that travellers will no longer need to quarantine upon arrival.
 

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 17-18/2021

Jordan’s stability is vital, and King Abdullah is its biggest guarantor
Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/April 17/ 2021
Last week, Jordan celebrated the centennial of its establishment. Despite watered-down ceremonies due to the pandemic — and despite a recent rift within the Hashemite Royal Court — Jordan has every right to celebrate and be proud.
Indeed, marking 100 years is a notable accomplishment for a country with limited resources (including drinking water), troublesome neighbors, a suffering economy and an overflow of refugees. Despite those challenges, Jordan has remained true to its values, staying at the forefront of the fight against terror, and being a steadfast US ally, a proponent of tolerant Islam and a crucial player in regional peace talks.
For us Saudis, our Jordanian neighbors represent a stable Arab monarchy that shares not only historical and family ties but also a large northern border and several other mutual interests. Saudis, like many Arabs, also highly value Jordan’s “buffer zone” status and admire its unique ability to absorb shocks caused by never-ending regional turmoil. That is why the debate in Riyadh these past few days has not been about an apparent rift within the Jordanian Royal Court, but more about how Western pundits have failed to grasp the bigger picture.
To be fair, the average observer would — understandably — believe the recent troubles ended with the conclusion of the Royal Court saga which saw Prince Hamzah bin Hussein signing a letter reiterating his allegiance, and King Abdullah stating the problem has now been resolved. The pair made their first joint public appearance at the centennial ceremonies.
However, this is the Middle East, and over here there is always more than meets the eye. This is why it is surprising that celebrated columnists — such as The Washington Post’s David Ignatius — and others who wrote for titles like Foreign Policy, have missed the wood for the trees on this occasion.
For instance, in Ignatius’s eyes, what took place in Amman was merely a “riveting episode in the Jordanian version of ‘The Crown’ — in which the messy family politics common to most royal dynasties are afflicting the Hashemites,” he wrote on April 6.
A more accurate comparison between a work of drama and Jordan’s woes would be “Apocalypse Now” — not “The Crown.”
Based on that assertion, he offers a diagnosis and remedy for the problem: “The most worrying aspect of the Jordan flap is that (King) Abdullah may have contracted the obsession with imagined social-media enemies,” he wrote. Of course, while there is no objection to the column’s call for allowing free speech and criticism, his analysis suffers from a case of myopia. That’s because it focuses on the effects rather than the cause of Jordan’s problems, ones that could have huge regional ramifications.
Take “The Crown” analogy, for instance. A more accurate comparison between a work of drama and the true extent of Jordan’s woes and potential future challenges would be “Apocalypse Now.”
There is a deeper underlying reason for why this rift floated to the surface and why social media voices are critical of the Jordanian government — and that reason is economic crisis.
This is what the international community and a new US administration must focus on. Failing to diagnose deeper societal problems in countries like Jordan, ones that that eventually manifest themselves in a multitude of outcomes, be they leadership rifts, mass alienation or civil strife, could be one of the international community’s costliest foreign policy blunders.
Jordan, after all, neighbors the problematic Israel/Palestinian territories, a hijacked Iraq, a severely divided Syria and a deeply unstable Lebanon. Chaos in Jordan would potentially mean unprecedented waves of refugees spill across borders, and easily exacerbate existing instability in neighboring regions, creating a fresh void for extremists like Daesh to exploit. This might all sound far fetched, but make no mistake — Jordan is undergoing a serious crisis. Unlike the US, most countries in Western Europe or the neighboring Gulf, Jordan does not have the means to offset the tremendous economic repair bill caused by the pandemic. Their 2021 state budget bill was recently described by Jordan’s Finance Minister, Mohamad Al-Ississ as “the most difficult for Jordan ever. The coronavirus pandemic and exceptional regional circumstances have minimized growth.”
Riyadh has zero interest in a destabilized Jordan and only benefits from supporting King Abdullah’s unique ability to navigate through regional storms.
Add to that the fact that Jordan hosts nearly 1.3 million Syrians — more than half being refugees. At the height of the Syrian civil war, close to 13,000 Syrians per day poured into Jordan. To this day, Jordan, a nation of just 10 million people, has not been compensated enough for their colossal efforts in containing a global refugee crisis. Let us not forget, Jordan in the past also took in Palestinian and Iraqi refugees despite not having the means to provide for them. Point is: The writing was on the wall for a long time. The solution to this crisis will need more than a mere phone call from the White House. King Abdullah deserves to be listened to, as opposed to be told he should stop reading criticism stemming from a national crisis his government has warned for years is coming.
For their part, regional powers have been more alert to Jordan’s (and by extension the region’s) needs. Noticing that Jordan was stretched to its limits, Saudi Arabia ordered oxygen shipments for Jordan in its battle against coronavirus and continues to send substantial amounts of aid through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief). Back in 2018, Saudi Arabia launched an economic initiative to help Jordan. Called the Makkah Summit, it was attended by Kuwait and the UAE and resulted in an aid package of $2.5 billion.
Truth is, contrary to the beliefs of conspiracy theorists out there, Riyadh has zero interest in a destabilized Jordan and only stands to benefit from supporting King Abdullah’s unique ability to navigate his people through regional storms.
However, much more is needed. And it is imperative a new US administration not be under the illusion that the recent saga in Jordan was exclusively a family matter. The economic factors that made that saga even remotely possible are growing in strength day-by-day — and we all owe it to Jordanians to support them in every way possible.
*Faisal J. Abbas is Editor in Chief of Arab News. Twitter: @FaisalJAbbas

What a wonderful world — if we don’t destroy ourselves
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/April 17/ 2021
Russian forces massing on the border with Ukraine threaten the kind of conflict we’ve seen only a few examples of since the Second World War — the wholesale invasion of one sovereign nation by a more powerful neighbor. Yet the entire planet is embroiled in a plethora of assorted conflicts, with between 40 and 50 ongoing wars. A historically high 80 million people have been forcibly displaced by conflict, a disproportionate number of them hosted in states that are themselves fragile. Over the past decade, global conflict surveys demonstrate a sustained rise in political violence and regionalized conflict, along with a decrease in global cooperation and security. Conflict is also the principal factor in the nearly one billion people worldwide who are undernourished, with growing numbers entirely dependent upon humanitarian aid and protection in the malign context of a pandemic that has killed more than three million people.
President Biden has just declared the end of America’s longest war, with the withdrawal of the remaining 2,500 US troops from Afghanistan by September 11. However, in echoes of Obama’s overhasty 2011 retreat from Iraq, experts warn that a resurgent Taliban could rapidly demolish weak Afghan state institutions, threatening a new phase of the conflict. This would have destabilizing consequences for Central Asia, and risk Afghanistan again becoming a breeding ground for global terrorism. Meanwhile, Israeli military experts believe it’s only a matter of time before they’re forced to go on the offensive against Iran and its proxies, either across the Lebanon/Syria border, or via a major operation to destroy Iran’s nuclear capacity. A lower-level version of this conflict is already underway, with both sides attacking each other’s shipping, and Israel staging clandestine attacks against Iranian nuclear and military installations, along with strikes against Iran-linked sites in conflict-wracked Syria. The Middle East is as volatile as ever, with Iran via the Houthis launching armed drone and missile strikes against Saudi Arabia almost every day. Chronic Iranian interference in Lebanon and Iraq has likewise brought these states to the cliff-edge of civil conflict, after months of political dysfunction and economic turmoil.
In addition to instability in Libya and other parts of North Africa, vast regions of sub-Saharan Africa are plagued by Islamist insurgencies that threaten to topple weak regimes and carve out terrorist empires throughout vast transcontinental ungoverned spaces. Terrifying recent events in Mozambique, where Daesh-affiliated militants invaded towns and perpetrated massacres and abductions, illustrate how rapidly the security situation can disintegrate. Much of Latin America is plagued by sky-high murder rates, due to warring narcotics cartels with private armies capable of outgunning fragile governments. Resulting northern-bound waves of migration from these war zones are having a corrosive impact on US domestic politics, just as high levels of migration from disintegrating states throughout Africa and Asia have emboldened the far-right fringes of European politics.
As long as mankind continues behaving like warring tribes, we have no prospects of uniting to confront threats that could wipe us out as a species. Ethiopia has recently witnessed mass atrocities, with accusations of systematic rape used as a weapon of war. Meanwhile, the anarchic situation in Myanmar is grimly reminiscent of the early days of the Syria conflict, with hundreds of protesters callously murdered by a military regime with no concept of compromise.
Vladimir Putin’s readiness to countenance a war of annexation against Ukraine, and Chinese threats against Taiwan and islands in the South China Sea, illustrate how far matters have deteriorated since the 1990s, when international law and conflict-resolution mechanisms appeared to be in the ascendancy. Interactions between India and China have also become increasingly belligerent. Other than sanctions, the Western world has scant political will to counter major acts of aggression. Limp-wristed statements of condemnation and attempts to appease Chinese and Russian aggression may hasten trends back toward Cold War. This would be a very different kind of conflict from that of the 1980s, with cyberwarfare being a major component, along with an all too familiar race for nuclear supremacy and build-ups of conventional arsenals, while challenging each other via proxy battlefields. None of these scenarios is necessary or inevitable. Economists argue that all nations benefit when they peaceably increase trade and remove barriers. It’s relatively straightforward to envisage definitive formulas for stability in fragmented nations such as Libya, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan, if major powers cooperate in muscular peace efforts.
The fundamental obstacle comes with egotistical politicians such as Putin, Erdogan, Khamenei and Xi, whose efforts to consolidate personal power have become hitched to expansionist overseas agendas — a vicious circle where autocracy and militarism become mutually reinforcing. In the cases of Tehran in Lebanon, Moscow in Libya, and Beijing in Myanmar, these powers relish their ability to wield weaker states as negotiating cards, holding the fate of entire nations hostage to their own cynical interests.
The recipe for escaping this trap is thus not a rush back into Cold War, but intensified efforts by Western nations and allies to revive the rules-based system, and re-empowering conflict resolution institutions, imposing far more stringent consequences for aggression. In terms of economic and military might, Western nations still massively outstrip emergent Asian powers. They must translate this disproportionate power into reinvigorated diplomatic influence.
While many Western nations have increased military expenditure, in Britain, America and other European nations diplomatic and development spending has been slashed. This emasculation of Western soft power is a catastrophic mistake.
I would argue that there is a direct relationship between the worldwide epidemic of failing states and the West’s failure to properly invest in global development and diplomacy or offer assertive support for human rights and accountable governance. Dollar for dollar, spending on developmental support for fragile states can be ten times as effective as spending on military deterrents when it comes to enhancing international stability. Nevertheless, pariah states will only refrain from military aggression when physical deterrents exist. Hence the need for entities such as NATO, which must be willing to forcibly deter aggression on Europe’s far-eastern fringes in order to prevent the cancer-like contagion of instability and anti-democratic tendencies spreading to the heart of Europe.
Similarly, Western distaste for maintaining small overseas forces in locations such as Africa, Syria and Afghanistan ignores the disproportionate role these missions play in reinforcing local administrations, training security forces, and combating terrorism.
The elephant in the room is that, while conflicts threaten some of us, environmental catastrophe threatens us all: Global warming, rising sea-levels, atmospheric pollution, desertification, and the wholesale destruction of ecosystems.
As long as mankind continues behaving like warring tribes, we have no prospects of uniting to confront threats that could wipe us out as a species. We live in a truly wonderful world. Let’s not expend our energies trying to destroy it.
*Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Iran and Israel edging closer to the abyss
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/April 17/ 2021
There is no longer anything new or surprising about Israel and Iran engaging in a shadow war, accompanied by constant streams of aggressive rhetoric flowing between them. As a matter of fact, the conflict has escalated in recent months. It is stepping out from the shadows, from covert to overt, abandoning any trace of or room for plausible deniability, and therefore edging closer to the abyss of intensification and a widening of the confrontation to other arenas, and toward a more direct conflict. Recent acts of belligerence between Israel and Iran have left an air of inevitability of further and more dangerous escalations. What makes the current relations between the two countries exceptionally dangerous is that, in their different ways, both the Iranian and Israeli political systems are fragile and suffering from chronic internal discord, which makes them more inclined to pursue an aggressive foreign policy, with greater risk of miscalculation. Last weekend’s mysterious explosion, which caused a power outage that damaged the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, turned less mysterious when one listened to the response of Israeli officials, while it was described by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and other officials as “nuclear terrorism.” This followed mutual and ongoing attacks on Israeli and Iranian ships in international waters, cyberattacks on major installations, and the assassination of Iranian scientists, culminating in the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was regarded as the country’s top nuclear scientist. What is changing things is the rapid and very public escalation from a war of words to words of war, and the readiness of each side to take responsibility for its aggressive actions in a nonchalant manner.
For more than two decades, Israel adhered to its unending diplomatic and military campaign to stop Iran from developing nuclear military capability, while displaying ambiguity when it came to military operations. Gradually this approach is being abandoned, and it leaves open the question whether this is for strategic reasons or has more to do with the domestic political and legal predicaments currently faced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the intention of Washington to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement.
The rivalry between Iran and Israel has been a permanent feature of Middle Eastern politics since 1979. Acquiring nuclear capability is only one facet of the threat Iran presents, with its considerable and visible presence in Syria in support of the murderous regime of Bashar Assad too close for comfort to Israel’s occupied part of the Golan Heights. And its arming of its Islamist Shiite ally Hezbollah, Israel’s arch-enemy, with an extremely sophisticated arsenal of rockets and missiles, plus its support for radical Palestinian groups, has led to quite a broad consensus within Israel that Iran presents an existential threat, or at least the most severe strategic challenge the country faces. However, this situation requires a measured response that mixes foreign policy tools. Right now, Israel is provoking Iran to retaliate, not only because of last week’s attack itself, but because of the public humiliation it has brought Tehran.
Netanyahu’s legal difficulties have long clouded his political judgment, yet he has also been one of the most ardent and vocal opponents of the JCPOA. And, after four years of a likeminded US administration, the keenness of the Biden administration to revive the Iran nuclear deal has led him to take increasingly aggressive measures to avert this move. It could hardly be a coincidence that the attack on Natanz took place as indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran over the JCPOA resumed in Vienna. Moreover, the explosion also occurred during a visit to Israel by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Washington has denied any involvement in the attack, but for this to happen during such a high-profile visit implicated the US and also sent the message that, in this close alliance, Israel doesn’t necessarily follow its more powerful ally.
What is changing things is the rapid and very public escalation from a war of words to words of war.
It is generally agreed that, from the outset, the 2015 nuclear agreement was far from perfect. However, an improved deal that ensures all sides adhere to its terms is to be preferred over the current rapid deterioration in relations. Iran’s defiant response to last week’s explosion — announcing that it would start enriching uranium at 60 percent purity, higher than ever before and another breach of the JCPOA — is Tehran signaling that it will not cave in easily. It is even less likely to show flexibility under pressure just two months before a presidential election.
This doesn’t mean that Iran lacks vulnerabilities of its own, but its bravado should be tested around the negotiation table before the international community resorts to other means. Iran’s foreign policy is a mixture of a deep sense of victimhood, paranoia and aggression. However, the ultimate corollary is not that diplomatic efforts cannot yield results or that its government is not conducive to reason when presented with a combination of pressures and incentives.
In the anomalous situation that has overtaken Israeli politics, Netanyahu is blocking the appointment of a justice minister and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has said it will not be possible for the special security Cabinet to convene, unless it is on matters of utmost urgency and on the condition that it is comprised of an equal number of ministers from the two governing parties, Likud and Blue and White. This creates an extremely perilous situation, whereby — at a time when conflict with a major foe is fast brewing — there is no functioning security Cabinet and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, both former heads of the Israel Defense Forces, are sidelined from the decision-making process.
Instead, a prime minister who is up to his eyeballs in the quagmire of his corruption trial, who has a personal interest in turning an issue of the highest national interest into an emergency, and by that forcing the formation of yet another coalition government led by himself, is virtually the sole decision-maker on the issue, compartmentalizing all the relevant competent bodies and without Knesset supervision.
There is no doubt that Iran should be deterred from developing nuclear military capability. It would further destabilize the region, adding to its subversive conduct in other parts of the Middle East and its sabotage of international navigation routes. However, there is a stark difference between deterring Tehran and humiliating it, and the latter risks pushing it over the edge and handing more power to the more extreme and confrontational elements in its leadership.

*Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg
 

The Apogee of Social Media
Chris Farrell/Gatestone Institute/April 17, 2021
Most famously, of course, is the banning of the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump. But there are many, many others.
Journalist friends from center-right outlets saw tens of thousands evaporate. Colleagues were suspended for reposting something they had said on multiple occasions for a year.
The social media giants are still flush with cash, convinced they are righteous and enlightened, and, most of all, are exceedingly arrogant. They believe they will continue to define and influence society – and they may – but only half.
The nearly consistent claim from established social media companies against their start-up competitors is that they are guilty of some "ism." Take your pick: racial, ethnic, political, religious, sexual, whatever. Some crime, syndrome, or deplorable belief – some "ism" – is usually attached to any platform other than themselves.
This is not the stuff of right-wing conspiracy theorists. It touches on press freedoms and landmark legal cases such as New York Times v. Sullivan. In that 1964 case, the Supreme Court established that a plaintiff in a defamation case concerning a public figure must prove "actual malice" in reporting false information. Actual malice is the publication of a false statement with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.
When a business turns on roughly half of its customers, treats them like criminal suspects or seeks to deprive them of their services, can they prosper? The answer is "No."
Social media is dying, they just don't know it yet. All the so-called "giants" of Silicon Valley: Twitter, Facebook, and their ilk cannot continue successfully "as is." In the lead-up to the 2020 election, and certainly in the aftermath of the January 6th Capitol riot, persons and organizations not subscribing to the new orthodox socialist ideology of the American Left have found themselves "de-platformed," suspended, erased, minimized and banned.
Most famously, of course, is the banning of the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump. But there are many, many others. A policy analyst colleague with a few hundred Twitter followers watched an unexplained and precipitous 20% reduction overnight. They had not posted anything "controversial," or anything at all in several weeks, but clearly some algorithm had identified the analyst as "one of those people." Journalist friends from center-right outlets saw tens of thousands evaporate. Colleagues were suspended for reposting something they had said on multiple occasions for a year. No explanations, no remedy, no recourse. Another symptom of the cancel culture syndrome.
Social media's death knell is not immediately apparent and there appears to be little or no public awareness of the tolling bell. But, as far back as November 2017 there were indications detailed in a CNN Money article that is loaded with irony, and a striking void of self-awareness that verges on satire. If you do not follow the link to read the entire article, then contemplate the following excerpted blurb:
"It is completely misunderstanding the nature and threat of 'fake news' to suggest that Facebook and the people behind it, past and present, bear any personal responsibility for what happened in last year's election," the former employee said, "and the general state of political discourse in America today."
Social media is a bit like the just-diagnosed patient with a terminal disease. By outward appearances, they may seem fine, but the clock is ticking, and they know it.
The social media giants are still flush with cash, convinced they are righteous and enlightened, and most of all, are exceedingly arrogant. They believe they will continue to define and influence society – and they may – but only half.
Other social media platforms have surfaced to offer alternatives. Former President Trump is purportedly on the verge of launching his own new social media platform. Like most Internet innovation, there is a "Wild West" air and stream-of-consciousness style to how things have been launched, modified and maintained. There was a day back in living memory when the entire Internet was that way. Today, however, the "respectable, establishment" social media platforms do not like any competition. The nearly consistent claim from established social media companies against their start-up competitors is that they are guilty of some "ism." Take your pick: racial, ethnic, political, religious, sexual, whatever. Some crime, syndrome, or deplorable belief – some "ism" – is usually attached to any platform other than themselves. The new companies purportedly trade on either hate or phobia.
The social media giants enjoy official government ideological support. In the aftermath of the January 6th riot at the Capitol, social media provided law enforcement with information to identify persons, locations and activities. The government, in turn, issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin wherein they admit:
"DHS does not have any information to indicate a specific, credible plot; however, violent riots have continued in recent days and we remain concerned that individuals frustrated with the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances and ideological causes fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize a broad range of ideologically-motivated actors to incite or commit violence." [Emphasis added]
This symbiotic relationship between a politicized Biden administration terror bulletin and the silencing and de-platforming by social media giants is what used to be referred to by Pentagon contractors as a "self-licking ice cream cone." There appears to be "no sunlight" visible between the ideologues operating in DC and Silicon Valley. They seem to be working from the same script. These tactics are all reminiscent of the techniques proposed in the pre-election planning of the Transition Integrity Project.
Guess who curates, controls and feeds the news media reporting flow to an ill-defined but enormous percentage of the population? The social media giants. The monopolistic manipulation of news feeds by social media was recently detailed in the legal opinion of Senior Circuit Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. "Silicon Valley also has an enormous influence over the distribution of news. And it similarly filters news delivery in ways favorable to the Democratic Party," he wrote.
This is not the stuff of right-wing conspiracy theorists. It touches on press freedoms and landmark legal cases such as New York Times v. Sullivan. In that 1964 case, the Supreme Court established that a plaintiff in a defamation case concerning a public figure must prove "actual malice" in reporting false information. Actual malice is the publication of a false statement with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth.
Social media's news curation and distribution results in half the country being spoon-fed a pablum of politicized lies, and the other half distrusting virtually every news report as nothing but propaganda. The shredding of the fabric of American society is happening before our eyes and in some cases around the kitchen tables of American families.
There will come a point when people might have to choose between their Twitter feed and their family. Between what they know to be true from their conscience, their religion, their first-hand experience, their friends and business contacts – and whatever their phone just "alerted" them [read: psychologically conditioned them] to in a dopamine-laced "ping!"
That tension and division is what spells the end for social media as it currently exists and operates. When your business practices divide rather than unify, cause confusion over clarity, distraction rather than enlightenment, and sows strife rather than edification – those are the practices that cannot be sustained over the long haul. The problem, of course, is that along the way they create enormous damage, some of which may be irreversible. The American public is experiencing all of that damage now.
*Chris Farrell is a former counterintelligence case officer. For the past 20 years, he has served as the Director of Investigations & Research for Judicial Watch. The views expressed are the author's alone, and not necessarily those of Judicial Watch.
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The shift from hostility to competition between Egypt and Turkey
Mohamed Abul Fadhl/The Arab Weekly/April 17/2021
Turkey realised that the battle of attrition against its opponents, especially Egypt, has cost it dearly
Strategic competition does not exclude hostility between states, as there are always many powers vying for their own interests and centres of influence.
Also, rivalry does not eliminate competition in any of sense. The balance of competition against hostility between Egypt and Turkey had rocked up and down, before the tide of political Islam swelled in the Arab region, becoming a driver of hostility between the two countries after the fall of Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt on July 3, 2013. Since that time, the Turkish regime has seen what happened in Cairo as a painful blow to its own Islamist project and this prompted it to choose hostility as the determining characteristic of its relations with Egypt.
Political and security trends evolved over a period of more than seven years during which Ankara welcomed thousands of Muslim Brotherhood leaders, cadres and their allies, as well as opportunists who had invested in the escalation of the dispute between the two countries.
It provided them generous support in the political, security and media fields. But this all resulted in a moral defeat of most of the policies that Turkey sponsored.
President Erdogan reached the conclusion that continued hostility with Egypt would lead to more local, regional and international setbacks for his country, and came to believe that a calm rapprochement and shift to competition might give him a better advantage.
Ankara adopted a friendly line, made limited moves and announced undertakings for the immediate future, hoping to prove Turkey’s good intentions. The aim was to dispel concerns and doubts, confirm it is keen to normalise relations with Egypt and that it is ready to turn the dispute into a form of friendship or strategic competition, even if that comes with hidden hostility.
Turkey slowly got the attention of Egypt. Whenever Cairo felt a sense of being manipulated or distrustful of Ankara’s practices, the Turks dispelled Egypt’s concerns with statements and moves in line with Egyptian aspirations over controversial issues. They thereby hoped to give the impression that the change is real and that Egypt and the countries of the region must prepare to deal with a new Turkey that has a different agenda. Turkey realised that the battle of attrition against its opponents, especially Egypt, had cost it dearly, besides the expense of sheltering and sponsoring the Brotherhood and putting up with its unaffordably arrogant behaviour. It concluded that reaching an understanding with Cairo is the key to greater rapprochement with several Gulf states, resolving many of the crises Ankara faced in the eastern Mediterranean and preserving Turkey’s intertwined interests in Libya, where it had first used mercenaries and extremists as effective weapons.
It also realised that using the Brotherhood to pressure Egypt was no longer productive. It began to end its dependence on the militant group and keep its distance from the problems they caused for Turkey. It attempted to reassure Egypt with relatively marginal political and media concessions and sought a formula to close this file in a satisfactory way or at least shelve it temporarily.
Confining the disagreement within such limits and away from blatant interference in internal affairs of others can give Turkey comparative advantages. If it removes the Brotherhood card from its sleeve, takes mercenaries out of Libya and helps Cairo solve the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis, it may get a return for that on some regional issues, or at least it would end Egypt’s defensive reactions once it is convinced that Ankara is not a threat to Cairo. Ankara wants to establish with Cairo a less aggressive relationship that shifts from hostility to strategic competition. It knows that the scale will move in favour of Turkey once it dispels negative perceptions about its policies and begins to deal with its opponents in a peaceful manner. Regional neighbours such as Turkey, Iran and Israel, have inherited a notion according to which Egypt is a major obstacle to the expansion of their influence in the region. Entering into direct conflict with Cairo will not exhaust Egypt, but rather provides it with the justification for arming itself militarily because it is the largest Arab country.
The intensification of the conflict with Turkey due to its provocative interventions in Libya, its arrogance in the eastern Mediterranean and its support of the Brotherhood and extremists, contributed to the mobilisation of Egypt’s power to deny Turkey access to major strategic advantages in the region. Thus the idea of hostility, confrontation and direct attrition is no longer useful. Rapprochement with Egypt to end this confrontation and its harmful repercussions have become necessary for both countries. Cairo frets about hidden Turkish agendas and knows that Ankara’s desire to settle certain crises does not mean a fundamental Turkish change of behaviour. Egypt felt it needed however to calm down sources of contention over regional issues and set new priorities. This motivated it to respond positively to the signals coming from Ankara, and accept the transformation of hostility into strategic competition.
Cairo began preparing early for this type of competition by weaving a network of multiple relationships, balancing its relations with major powers, not being complacent about boosting its sources of military power and remaining open to various other nations. It started adopting large economic reform projects and investing in geopolitics to maximise its gains, knowing that this competition will determine which party will be able to impose its conditions on the other in the region.
*Mohamed Abul Fadhl is an Egyptian writer.