English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 06/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’”
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10/13-16:”‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But at the judgement it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades.‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 05-06/2021
Health Ministry: 101 new Corona cases, two deaths
Gantz: Israel ready to provide assistance to Lebanon amid economic crisis
A New Investigator Targets Powerful Officials in Beirut Blast Probe
Lebanon medicine importers warn essential drugs running out
Battered with crises, Lebanon hopes tourism will bring some relief
President Aoun addresses latest developments with Caretaker Information Minister
Families of Beirut Blast Victims Mark 11 Months since Disaster
Report: Hariri Met Berri, to Submit Line-Up to Aoun Friday
Qatari Foreign Minister to Visit Lebanon Tuesday
Nasrallah expects 'decisive' days for government formation, blames U.S. for current crisis
Nasrallah Says This Week Decisive on Govt., Criticizes Port Blast Probe
Report: Hariri to Take Imminent Decision on Next Step
Al-Braks: Ships to Unload Today, BDL Policy Still Ambiguous
Mired in Crises, Lebanon Hopes Summer Arrivals Bring Relief
Lebanon at the Crossroads: Personal Reflections by UK Head of Mission
Naharnet/Martin Longden, Head of Mission of the British Embassy Beirut
Delegation representing Lebanese Business Council in Saudi Arabia visits Othman
A roundtable on civilian-military cooperation and challenges to economic stability in Lebanon
Lebanon has entered a cycle of unending crisis - analysis/Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/July 05/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 05-06/2021
Pope Francis, 84, Recovering after Colon Operation
Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant Back Online after Two Weeks
Cyprus Says Huge Forest Blaze Fully 'Under Control'
Israel Looks to Renew Law that Keeps Out Palestinian Spouses
Once more, rockets target Iraq base hosting US troops
Foreign oil firms seek exit from Iraq over ‘unsuitable’ environment
An officer for every village: Sisi’s plan seen as ‘militarising society’
Ship that blocked Suez Canal to be released as settlement reached
Gunmen kidnap 140 school students in northwest Nigeria
21 migrants’ bodies retrieved off Tunisia
U.S. Military Denies American Troops in Syria were Attacked
Canada/Minister Garneau meets with senior Israeli government officials
Canada/Minister Garneau concludes official visit with the Government of Israel
Canada/Minister Garneau meets with Palestinian Authority officials

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 05-06/2021
How Erdoğan's Miscalculation Crippled Turkey's Aerial Firepower/Burak Bekdil/ Gatestone Institute/July 05/2021
Hit Her/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/July 05/2021
The European Union Should Be Able to Kick Out Hungary/Andreas Kluth/Bloomberg/July 05/2021
Hot African Winds/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/July 05/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 05-06/2021
Health Ministry: 101 new Corona cases, two deaths
NNA/05 July/2021
In its daily report, the Ministry of Public Health announced on Monday the registration of 101 new Coronavirus infections, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 545, 671.
It added that two deaths were also recorded during the past 24 hours.
The Health Ministry announced 26 new incoming cases of the COVID delta variant from ten different countries.

Gantz: Israel ready to provide assistance to Lebanon amid economic crisis
Tzvi Joffre/Jerusalem Post/05 July/2021
"As an Israeli, as a Jew and as a human being, my heart aches seeing the images of people going hungry on the streets of Lebanon."
Defense Minister Benny Gantz has offered to assist Lebanon as it continues to suffer from a worsening economic crisis. “As an Israeli, as a Jew and as a human being, my heart aches seeing the images of people going hungry on the streets of Lebanon,” he wrote Sunday on Twitter. “Israel has offered assistance to Lebanon in the past, and even today we are ready to act and to encourage other countries to extend a helping hand to Lebanon so that it will once again flourish and emerge from its state of crisis.” Lebanon is suffering from a worsening economic crisis, with violence and protests breaking out in cities around the country as basic services collapse. Electricity outages and gas shortages are commonplace. More than half of Lebanon’s population is living in poverty, and its financial crisis is likely to rank in the top 10, and possibly even the top three, most severe crises in the world since the mid-1800s, according to the World Bank.“The increasingly dire socioeconomic conditions risk systemic national failings with regional and potentially global effects,” the World Bank said in a report last month. Lebanon’s gasoline crisis could be addressed within a few days if it would just accept Iranian oil shipments, which are under sanctions by international law, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said in recent weeks. Hezbollah will eventually negotiate directly with Tehran and import Iranian oil through the Port of Beirut if the Lebanese government does not begin “bearing its responsibility,” he said.
Such a move could bring Iranian fuel tankers not far from Israel’s shores. This is not the first time Israel has offered to help Lebanon in times of crisis. After a huge explosion devastated Beirut last August, killing dozens and injuring thousands, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved humanitarian and medical assistance to Lebanon and instructed the National Security Council to contact former UN special envoy for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov to find out how Israel could help. Gantz and other Israeli officials reiterated Israel’s offer for aid at the time.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun and his daughter, Claudine Aoun Roukoz, have expressed openness in the past to some form of peace with Israel. If border disputes with Israel and issues with Palestinian refugees were resolved, Roukoz said in an interview with Al Jadeed TV last October, she would “not mind that the Lebanese state makes peace with Israel after the demarcation and the guarantee of resources.”Last August, when asked whether Lebanon would consider making peace with Israel, Aoun said: “That depends. We have problems with Israel, and we have to resolve them first.” He did not specify what problems would need to be resolved. Lebanon and Israel have conducted US-mediated negotiations concerning the maritime border between the countries’ exclusive economic zones over the past year.

A New Investigator Targets Powerful Officials in Beirut Blast Probe
Ben Hubbard and Hwaida Saad/The New York/July 05/2021
Judge Tariq Bitar is seeking to lift the immunity of prominent political and security figures as part of efforts to prosecute those responsible for the deadly explosion in Beirut’s port last summer.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The judge investigating last year’s huge explosion in the port of Beirut has moved to summon a range of powerful politicians and security officials for questioning as suspects, which could result in criminal charges against them related to the blast, the state-run National News Agency said Friday. The initiatives by the judge, Tarek Bitar, are the latest in several so far unsuccessful efforts to determine the exact cause of the explosion and to hold those responsible for it accountable. The explosion last August occurred when what remained of 2,750 tons of hazardous chemicals that had been improperly stored in the port for years suddenly combusted, sending up a pink mushroom cloud and dispatching a pressure wave that tore through Beirut, killing 200 people, injuring 6,000 and heavily damaging residential neighborhoods. Blast victims, relatives of the dead and Western officials have called on the Lebanese authorities to investigate the blast, but those efforts have proceeded slowly amid characteristically fierce resistance from powerful politicians, leaving many Lebanese fearing that once again the powerful will escape responsibility
Judge Bitar is the second judge to head the investigation and is likely to face the same challenges as his predecessor: legal and public relations maneuvers by powerful politicians and other officials in Lebanon who have long operated with impunity, protected by laws that they argue shield them from prosecution.
Judge Bitar’s moves on Friday sought to sweep away these protections so he could get on with his investigation. He set a date to question as a suspect the caretaker prime minister, Hassan Diab, and requested that Parliament lift the immunity of three current lawmakers who served as government ministers in the years surrounding the explosion: a former finance minister, Ali Hassan Khalil; a former transportation minister, Ghazi Zaiter; and a former interior minister, Nouhad Machnouk. Judge Bitar wants to question the three former ministers on suspicion of homicide with probable intent and criminal negligence, the state news agency said.

Lebanon medicine importers warn essential drugs running out
The Arab Weekly/July 05/2021
BEIRUT- Lebanon’s medicine importers Sunday said they had run out of hundreds of essential drugs and warned of more shortages, as the country’s dire financial crisis batters the health sector. Lebanese are grappling with a raft of shortages, including petrol, as the caretaker government discusses lifting subsidies it can no longer afford amid what the World Bank says is one of the world’s worst financial crises since the 1850s. The local currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value on the black market, but the central bank has been providing importers with dollars at a much more favourable official rate to cover a large part of the cost of imported drugs. Medicine “imports have almost completely ground to a halt over the past month”, the association of pharmaceuticals importers said in a statement. The syndicate said the central bank has not released the promised dollars to pay suppliers abroad, who are owed more than $600 million in accumulated dues since December and importers cannot obtain new lines of credit. “Importing companies’ stocks of hundreds of medicines to treat chronic and incurable diseases have run out,” it warned. “And hundreds more will run out through July if we cannot resume imports as soon as possible.”Syndicate head Karim Gebara said some drugs to treat cardiac diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and multiple sclerosis were already out of stock. If nothing is done, “the situation will be catastrophic by the end of July” depriving “hundreds of thousands of patients” of their medication, he warned. On Thursday, President Michel Aoun said he had agreed with ministers and the central bank chief to “continue subsidising medication and medical supplies” selected by the health ministry according to priority.
Lives at risk
The Lebanese state is providing less than five hours of electricity a day in most areas, as it struggles to come up with the foreign currency for fuel imports. For the past months, Lebanese motorists have had to queue for hours outside petrol stations in scorching heat as fuel has become in short supply. The cost of filling up a car with petrol has increased by 55 percent in the past two weeks, as the government has slashed fuel subsidies. Hospitals have also warned that worsening power cuts and fuel shortages are also gravely impacting the health sector. The Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoted the head of the private hospital syndicate Sleiman Haroun as saying that hospitals had enough fuel stocks to operate generators for just two days, instead of two weeks. Firass Abiad, the head of the Rafic Hariri main public hospital battling the COVID-19 pandemic, said the lives of patients were also at risk. “For most hospitals in Lebanon, the major concern currently is not the (coronavirus) Delta variant, nor shortages in supplies. The major worry now is electricity, without which medical equipment cannot work,” Abiad wrote on Twitter. “Old generators cannot continue running nonstop. When they break down, lives will be at risk.”The government resigned after a deadly port explosion on August 4 last year, but a deeply-divided political class has failed to agree on a new cabinet to lift the nation out of the crisis.

Battered with crises, Lebanon hopes tourism will bring some relief
The Arab Weekly/July 05/2021
NIHA, Lebanon – The dual shocks of the coronavirus pandemic and a devastating financial crisis have gutted the hospitality sector in Lebanon, known for its beaches, mountain resorts and good food. Hundreds of businesses, including guest houses have been forced to close. But as pandemic restrictions are being eased, the businesses that survived hope the dollars spent by visiting Lebanese expats and an increase in domestic tourism can get the wheels of the economy moving again. Currently, most hotel reservations are from Lebanese expats and some foreigners from neighbouring Iraq, Egypt and Jordan. Airport arrivals are picking up. Every day for the past several weeks, the Beirut Airport has had four flights coming from Iraq, with more than 700 passengers in total, according to Jean Abboud, president of the Travel and Tourist Agents Union. Chaotic scenes have been reported at the arrivals lounge as people crowd for the obligatory PCR test.
Domestic tourism
Many Lebanese who traditionally holidayed abroad over the summer are now turning to domestic tourism. It is the more practical option because of travel restrictions, dollars trapped in banks and a lack of functioning credit cards. “In the past two years, the country has radically changed. It is no longer a destination for nightlife, for city tourism and for the things that people knew. There’s … more interest from the Lebanese to travel inside their country,” said Joumana Brihi, board member of the Lebanese Mountain Trail Association. The association maintains a 290-mile (470-kilometre) hiking trail spanning the country from north to south. Many in the industry say the number of domestic tourists has increased significantly since the country’s lockdown eased in April. They expect to see expats piling in and spending this summer despite the instability, partly because of the devalued Lebanese pound.
That will save a lot of places from shutting down or “at least prolong the life of some businesses,” said Maya Noun, general secretary of the syndicate of restaurant owners.
Cheap destination
Since October 2019, Lebanon’s currency has lost more than 90% of its value, trading at around 17,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar on the black market. The official exchange rate remains at 1,507 pounds to the dollar. Last year, Member of Parliament Michel Daher was chastised on social media for saying on TV that “Lebanon is really cheap, in every sense,” because of the crumbling currency. “People were laughing at me then,” Daher said. “Now, there are lots of Lebanese expats coming because of the prices, but we also want foreigners.”
Still, the scene on the ground is no picturesque vacation destination. Electricity cuts last much of the day and privately run generators have had to be turned off for several hours to ration fuel. The country suffers from a shortage of vital products, including medicine, medical products and petrol.
For weeks, frustrated citizens have been lining up to fill up at fuel stations, with occasional fistfights and shootings amid frayed nerves. More than half the population has been plunged into poverty and with sectarian tensions on the rise, Lebanon feels ready to erupt. Lebanon’s currency crash has created a jarring schism between the comfortable minority whose income is in so-called fresh dollars that can be withdrawn from banks and those being pushed further into poverty, including former members of a vanishing middle class whose purchasing power has disappeared.
Can expats really help?
Resorts in the coastal cities of Batroun and Byblos are regularly packed and forecast to do well this summer after being closed last year because of the pandemic. Restaurants, pubs and rooftop bars are buzzing again and some mountain guesthouses and boutique hotels are fully-booked. Yet the idea that expats will help the economy is partially misleading, said Mike Azar, a Beirut-based financial adviser. “Foreign dollars coming from tourists is always going to be a positive thing, but does it make the lira (pound) appreciate or depreciate at a slower pace? It is not really something you can say.”
Many expats seem to be wavering over whether to visit Lebanon. Some yearn to reconnect with family after long separations caused by the pandemic. Others are not willing to risk it. Joe Rizk, a 20-year-old mechanical engineering student at UMass Lowell in the US from the coastal village of Damour, said his family persuaded him to return for the month of August. He said he would bring medicines that are in short supply, like Advil, for family and friends. “I will not spend more than $300 or $400 this whole month even if I was going every night to a bar, or club or restaurant,” he said, adding he would be using the family house and car while in Lebanon. But Hala al-Hachem, a 37-year-old assistant bank manager in Massachusetts, said she was too worried to visit Lebanon with two children, aged eight and six. Originally from south Lebanon, she used to return with her family every summer.
Not this time. “Do I want to go there and not be able to put gas in my car and travel around? Do I want to go there and risk one of them getting sick and going to a hospital where they don’t have the medicine needed to treat them? Do I want my sons to wonder at night why there is no electricity?” she asked.

President Aoun addresses latest developments with Caretaker Information Minister
NNA/05 July/2021
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received Information Minister, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, today at the Presidential Palace, and discussed with her general affairs and the results of her recent participation in the meeting of Arab Information Ministers, in Cairo.
Statement: After the meeting, Minister Abdel Samad made the following statement:
“I briefed His Excellency, on my visit to Egypt for participating in the meeting of Arab Information Ministers. However, the discussion was overshadowed by the deteriorating living and economic conditions which the citizens are suffering from, in addition to the sufferings of employees in the public sector, whether in the media or Lebanon TV. Some employees couldn’t afford to buy gasoline, or if they can afford to buy they have to wait in a cue for two or three hours to fill up their cars, and their incomes are no longer enough for them.
The current situation is very bad. We demand social assistance for employees, whether in TL or in the ministry. I see that this income is short-term and cannot meet employee-needs on the long term, as it is necessary to secure a life-time income for this employee on the draft law presented by the Information Ministry to the Parliament. This guarantees the inclusion of contractors in the Ministry in the retirement charter, and this is very essential. This is a gift for employees, especially contractors, because it provides them with guarantees. We stress the need to work on achieving development and growth, since no matter what we offer in aid for the employee, which is aid within a rentier economy, it doesn’t give anything in return on the long-run, nor does it achieve any economic growth. The solution begins when each individual considers that he has the solution, and considers himself the most responsible for contributing to the solution. Each individual should join hands with his partner, away from disputes over some topics, since disputes will lead to tension in the atmosphere and things will turn to the worse. This will accelerate the collapse in various sectors, and this is what we are witnessing today in the educational sector, as well as in the health and media sectors, reflected on all levels especially tourism. Instead of thinking about securing a good environment for tourists, we must secure a good environment for citizens, to live a decent life, which is one of the most basic rights.
We measure performance by results, so if results are bad, this means that the adopted policies were wrong, no matter who these policies are and who is behind them. It therefore necessary to reconsider and research the policies adopted in our system, and his Excellency the President saw that the entire system needs to be restored. Regarding my visit to Egypt, there was unanimity in support of the Lebanese state and approval of the Information Ministry’s proposals fully. The first proposal is that Beirut will be the capital of Arab media in year 2023. We have to secure the incubating environment for this great event, which has a great strategic dimension since it helps restore confidence in Lebanese media and sheds light on Lebanon as a major media, heritage and tourism station, with important landmarks which attract investments. Beirut is a station to attract investors in the productive, media and industrial sectors. This requires concerted efforts of both public and private sectors.
Therefore, it is necessary to form specialized committees. Whether at the level of ministries, or cooperating with the media and the private sector to market this idea. This helps restore Lebanon to its leading position in the media sector, instead of exporting our media professionals who constitute an important and rare human wealth. As for the second proposal, which was unanimously approved during the conference, it is to allocate an award to Beirut, which is the “Beirut Prize for Humanity”. This award was launched in solidarity with the Beirut Port explosion victims, and on the occasion of commemoration of this anniversary blast. Since this explosion is a criminal and inhuman act, we suggested allocating an award for the best journalistic work which can shed light on the humanitarian aspect, and take into account objectivity, impartiality and transparency, in order to achieve justice and the pursuit of truth.
After a year has passed, we still affirm that the truth must come to light and that families of victims be compensated by revealing the truth and all circumstances.
We also tackled the subject of the French gift which was presented to the Ministry of Information, and this comes as a result of the great confidence in the projects presented by the ministry, including what we consider the dream project, which is archiving media materials for Lebanon TV and the Ministry of Information, whether the agency or the Lebanese radio or also the Directorate of Studies. There is a very rich archive dating back to 1938, and it is necessary to archive it so that we can benefit from this ancient media heritage, and the French state, through its embassy and ambassador in Lebanon, is thanked for contributing to putting this goal on the path of implementation through cooperation in this framework.
We also addressed a very important law issued by Parliament, the Public Procurement Law. This law is one of the required reform items at the level of Lebanon, and at the level of countries in general, in order to achieve transparency and equality in the issue of public procurement. We strongly demand that the approval of the appointment of the authority that manages this purchase be expedited, and that neutrality and objectivity be taken into account in its selection, especially since the authority is chosen by the Cabinet, so it is important for us to be chosen on objective grounds, so that we have actually achieved the goal of this law. As for the issue of Lebanon TV, I would like to clarify a basic point, which is that television suffers a lot in the absence of a board of directors, which usually enjoys wide powers. I would like to point out that most development projects or those related to program networks and others require the presence of a board of directors, in the absence of the Council and its Chairman, the Minister of Information exercises the powers of the Chairman of the Board of Directors de facto and not by law, and at a minimum, to conduct television business, within the framework of rational and sound management.
We have endeavored to appoint a board of directors, because this is our main problem in television, but the Port explosion constituted a fatal blow not only for the television, but for the whole country, and affected our decision, after we were in the final stage of selecting the candidates and raising the names to the Council of Ministers. We continued in this direction in the hope that the government would be formed, and when we began to lose hope of its formation in the near term, I submitted about a month ago a summons to the Judiciary to appoint a temporary director or a judicial guard for Lebanon TV. Judicial assistants delayed the issuance of the decision. We consider that every delay negatively affects the television.
As for the issue of electronic media, we are within the framework of developing a strategy for it, and putting it forward at the level of the League of Arab States, because we consider that individual pressure does not serve any issue, and it is necessary to form an Arab bloc to face any challenges in the context of electronic media, and this is what we seek. In addition to giving rights to the media as a result of the lost profit from advertising and by allocating a kind of revenue that major technology companies receive to the media, and a tax for the state from these revenues because they are missed profits for them, and value is created by the companies doing their business on Lebanese land”.
Lebanese Ambassador to Senegal: The President met the Lebanese Ambassador to Senegal, Sami Haddad, and discussed with him relations between both countries, in addition to the situation of the Lebanese community in Senegal.-- Presidency Press Office

Families of Beirut Blast Victims Mark 11 Months since Disaster
Agence France Presse/05 July/2021
Dozens of relatives of those killed in Lebanon's port blast gathered to mark 11 months since the catastrophe and urge answers from a sluggish probe towards prosecuting those responsible. Hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded on the dockside on August 4 last year, killing more than 200 people, injuring thousands, and ravaging swathes of the capital.It emerged afterwards that top political and security officials, including then prime minister Hassan Diab, had known about the explosives being stored unsafely at the port for years. Among the men, women and children who rallied Sunday outside the port was 47-year-old mother of three Raghida al-Zein, dressed in black and clutching a portrait of her husband killed in the blast. "I lost the pillar of our home, a friend. We have lost everything," she said, accusing officials of being "without a conscience."
Nearby a teenager and young girl held up a banner that read: "The wives and children of the Beirut port martyrs demand justice." Ibrahim Hoteit, who lost his brother Sarwat, said the families of the victims needed to know the truth.
"We live in a country run by gangs," he said of the deeply divided political class, which many accuse of incompetence and corruption. Retired army officer Elias Tanios Maalouf, 61, said he had lost his son George, a soldier who had been stationed at the entrance of the port when the fertilizer blew up on the evening of August 4, 2020. "George was taken, and with it all the joy in life," he said. Maalouf described the authorities as "corrupt and criminal", but said he held hope in the judiciary.
The judge investigating the blast said Friday he had summoned outgoing premier Diab and taken steps towards indicting several former ministers and security officials over the explosion. A similar move led to his predecessor being thrown off the case in February, after causing an uproar among the political elite for issuing charges against Diab and former cabinet ministers. Lebanon's government resigned after the explosion, but has remained in a caretaker capacity as the country's many political parties bicker over shares in a new cabinet.

Report: Hariri Met Berri, to Submit Line-Up to Aoun Friday
Naharnet/05 July/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri held a “decisive” meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday, the Akhbar al-Yawm news agency said, a day after the PM-designate returned from the UAE.Hariri and Berri agreed that the PM-designate would submit a 24-minister cabinet line- to President Michel Aoun on Friday, the agency added. Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah meanwhile announced that “decisive meetings” would be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in order to settle the government’s issue.

Qatari Foreign Minister to Visit Lebanon Tuesday
Naharnet/05 July/2021
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani will arrive in Lebanon at 5pm Tuesday on a one-day official visit, the Qatari embassy said on Monday. The minister will hold separate meetings with President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, the embassy added in a statement. Earlier in the day, the Qatari government-funded Al-Jazeera TV said the visit is “part of Qatar’s efforts to help resolve the political crisis in Lebanon.” Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, had in February urged Lebanon’s political parties to put the national interest first and speed up the formation of a new government. The emir voiced his remarks during a meeting with Hariri in Doha.

Nasrallah expects 'decisive' days for government formation, blames U.S. for current crisis
NNA/05 July/2021 
Hezbollah Secretary General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said Monday that the upcoming few days should be decisive regarding the long-awaited formation of the new government. Speaking at the opening of the National Media Gathering conference "Palestine Emerges Victorious" at As-Saha Restaurant, Nasrallah indicated that the imminent meetings would draw a "clear governmental course."
According to the Hezbollah leader, the current governmental dilemma reflects a regime crisis in Lebanon, adding that there is also a political crisis, rampant corruption, limitless thefts and monopolization. However, he accused the U.S. administration of standing behind the current crisis, and slammed it for "besieging" the Lebanese people and preventing help from the world. "The purpose of the U.S. blockade is to provoke the Lebanese people against the Resistance," he said.
"What (people) are suffering is caused by the U.S. policy and embassy in Lebanon," he stressed. Nasrallah indicated that major companies seeking to invest in Lebanon had been turned down out of fear of U.S. sanctions. Pertaining to the Beirut port blast case, Nasrallah voiced rejection of any political exploitation of the ongoing investigations. However, he indicated that justice was still far-off and that the truth was still veiled. On a separate note, Nasrallah highlighted the importance of media and its rhetoric in the confrontation with the enemy. "The development of media confrontation is a must, just like the military confrontation," he said. "Media rhetoric displays and conveys what is happening on the ground," he added, stressing its role in the face of Israeli occupation and US hegemony. "In this battle, confrontation cannot be divided," he continued.
"The US hegemony has put all resources in the region in the service of the Israeli enemy's interest," he indicated. "The media rhetoric of the Axis of Resistance is based on the Palestinian people's right to their land and Syria's to its Golan," said Nasrallah.
"The standards of righteousness are found in the Palestinian Cause as well as in the media rhetoric of the Axis of Resistance," he stressed.
"The media of the Resistance relies on the victory of the Axis and its imposing the rules of engagement on the Israelis and the U.S.," he went on to say.
"We know the weaknesses of the enemy, which we can use to triumph against it," he underscored.Moreover, Nasrallah maintained that the Israelis believed the media of the Resistance more than they trusted their leaders.
"The Resistance promised to liberate the land and it did. It promised to free the detainees and it did. The Resistance in Palestine promised to defend al-Quds, and it kept its promise," he said. "When we speak about wiping the occupation entity out of existence, it is not only words," he stressed. "Our goals are not exaggerated, and this is one of our strength points." Nasrallah continued: "Not only did social media platforms cover news of victory but also contributed to the accomplishment of triumph."
He also indicated that the potentials of the axis of Resistance had significantly grown. "For the past decades, the media of resistance has made substantial achievements upon which further development must be based."He also reminded that the enemy had banned satellite channels and websites because of the impact they made. Furthermore, he called for a media plan to face misleading and fabricated news, especially pertaining to the Palestinian Cause and al-Quds.
"We must develop our rhetoric in accordance with the changes and threats in the region," he underlined, highlighting the necessity to shape a new public opinion on the new regional equation. He also considered that those devising plots in the region were seeking to preoccupy people with their daily bread. "The key purpose is to keep us unbothered with the ongoing conspiracies, especially in Palestine."

Nasrallah Says This Week Decisive on Govt., Criticizes Port Blast Probe
Naharnet/05 July/2021
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday said decisive meetings will be held this week regarding the issue of the new government, as he criticized the course of the probe into the catastrophic 2020 explosion at the port of Beirut. “These days are supposed to be decisive regarding the cabinet formation issue and the meetings that will be held today, tomorrow and Wednesday can make things clearer,” Nasrallah said in a televised address. “There is a system crisis in Lebanon and the governmental crisis is a reflection of this crisis. There is also a political crisis, rampant corruption, thefts and monopolization,” he added. Lashing out at Washington, Nasrallah accused the United States of “imposing a siege on Lebanon and preventing any help from the world.”“The U.S. ambassador is shedding crocodile tears over the Lebanese,” Nasrallah added. Turning to the issue of the port blast probe, Hizbullah’s leader voiced concerns and regretted that those summoned Friday by Judge Tarek al-Bitar “knew that they were being summoned from the media.”“Justice is still distant and the truth is still concealed,” Nasrallah lamented, reminding that he had called on Bitar’s predecessor, Judge Fadi Sawwan, to publish the technical findings of the investigation and to say whether Hizbullah had any weapons at the port at the time of the blast. “We reject any political exploitation of the Beirut port blast investigation,” Nasrallah went on to say. On Friday, state-run National News Agency said Bitar had summoned outgoing premier Hassan Diab and taken steps towards indicting several former ministers and incumbent and ex-security officials over the explosion. Three of the former ministers that Bitar will act against are members of parties that are allied with Hizbullah. The judge also intends to prosecute General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who is also considered to be close to Hizbullah. A similar move led to Bitar's predecessor being thrown off the case in February, after causing an uproar among the political elite for issuing charges against Diab and former cabinet ministers.

Report: Hariri to Take Imminent Decision on Next Step
Agence France Presse/05 July/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri returned to Beirut from Abu Dhabi on Sunday afternoon, after he spent two weeks in the Emirati capital that also witnessed visits to Turkey and Egypt and meetings with their presidents. Hariri’s “return this time might be different from his other stays in Beirut, seeing as he has become on the verge of taking a certain decision in order to break the current impasse,” al-Joumhouria newspaper reported. Noting that Hariri will take his decision in “the coming few days,” the daily said the PM-designate might decide to submit a cabinet line-up or to step down.
Informed sources meanwhile told the newspaper that “so far, it doesn’t seem that Speaker Nabih Berri’s initiative has led to a certain format, amid ambiguity surrounding the drive that Hizbullah led between Berri and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil.”Berri, however, remains ready to “resume his political efforts in the coming hours in light of Hariri’s return to Beirut,” the sources added.

Al-Braks: Ships to Unload Today, BDL Policy Still Ambiguous
Naharnet/05 July/2021
Member of the Syndicate of Station Owners, George al-Braks, confirmed on Monday that "the indications point to an agreement to unload the cargo of (gasoline) ships parked at the Lebanese shores today.”He assured that gasoline will be distributed, which will lead to an “increase in the number of stations that will operate normally, and a decrease in the queues that we have been seeing in the streets lately."Al-Braks pointed out that "this is not a radical solution because it is related to the Central Bank, whose policy is still ambiguous.”“We do not know if Banque du Liban will commit to giving approvals to importing companies on an ongoing basis and in quantities that are sufficient for the local market,” al-Braks added, noting that BDL “has obtained the exceptional approvals from the political authority.”He considered that “the opening of the lines of credit by the Central Bank in a smooth and continuous way to be able to import sufficient quantities of fuel, is a prerequisite for ending queues, reviving the economy, and encouraging expatriates to come,” in addition to the issue of “controlling smuggling, storing and the black market.”

Mired in Crises, Lebanon Hopes Summer Arrivals Bring Relief
Associated Press/05 July/2021
In a village in Lebanon's scenic Chouf Mountains, 69-year-old Chafik Mershad pulls out a massive rectangular guestbook and reads out despairingly the date when he hosted his last visitor: Nov. 16, 2019. A month earlier, anti-government protests had exploded across the country over taxes and a deteriorating currency crisis. Amid such uncertainty, few people visited his guesthouse. Then came the coronavirus and subsequent government-imposed lockdowns. The guesthouse officially closed its doors in February 2020. A year and a half later, he still has no plans to reopen amid the country's current financial meltdown. "Corona really affected us, but the biggest thing was the currency crisis," Mershad said, speaking at his home above the guesthouse. "We used to offer meals for guests with Nescafe, tea, whatever they wanted for a cheap price. Now, one hamburger patty costs that much."
The dual shocks of the pandemic and a devastating financial crisis have gutted the hospitality sector of this Mediterranean nation, known for its beaches, mountain resorts and good food. Hundreds of businesses, including guesthouses like the Mershad Guesthouse, have been forced to close. But as pandemic restrictions are being eased, the businesses that survived hope the dollars spent by visiting Lebanese expats and an increase in domestic tourism can get the wheels of the economy moving again.
Currently, most hotel reservations are from Lebanese expats and some foreigners from neighboring Iraq, Egypt and Jordan. Airport arrivals are picking up: Every day for the past several weeks, the Beirut Airport has had four flights coming from Iraq, with more than 700 passengers in total, according to Jean Abboud, president of the Travel and Tourist Agents Union. Chaotic scenes have been reported at the arrivals lounge as people crowd for the obligatory PCR test. Many Lebanese who traditionally vacationed abroad over the summer are now turning to domestic tourism. It's the more practical option because of travel restrictions, dollars trapped in banks and a lack of functioning credit cards. "In the past two years, the country has radically changed. It is no longer a destination for nightlife, for city tourism and for the things that people knew. There's ... more interest from the Lebanese to travel inside their country," said Joumana Brihi, board member of the Lebanese Mountain Trail Association. The association maintains a 290-mile (470-kilometer) hiking trail spanning the country from north to south.
Many in the industry say the number of domestic tourists has increased significantly since the country's lockdown eased in April. They expect to see expats piling in and spending this summer despite the instability, partly because of the devalued Lebanese pound.
That will save a lot of places from shutting down or "at least prolong the life of some businesses," said Maya Noun, general secretary of the syndicate of restaurant owners.
Since October 2019, Lebanon's currency has lost more than 90% of its value, trading at around 17,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar on the black market. The official exchange rate remains at 1,507 pounds to the dollar.
Last year, Member of Parliament Michel Daher was chastised on social media for saying on TV that "Lebanon is really cheap, in every sense," because of the crumbling currency.
"People were laughing at me then," Daher told The Associated Press. "Now, there are lots of Lebanese expats coming because of the prices, but we also want foreigners."
Still, the scene on the ground is no picturesque vacation destination. Electricity cuts last much of the day and privately run generators have had to be turned off for several hours to ration fuel. The country suffers from a shortage of vital products, including medicine, medical products and gasoline. For weeks, frustrated citizens have been lining up to fill up at gas stations, with occasional fistfights and shootings amid frayed nerves. More than half the population has been plunged into poverty, and with sectarian tensions on the rise, Lebanon feels ready to erupt. Lebanon's currency crash has created a jarring schism between the comfortable minority whose income is in so-called fresh dollars that can be withdrawn from banks, and those being pushed farther into poverty, including former members of a vanishing middle class whose purchasing power has disappeared.
Resorts in the coastal cities of Batroun and Jbeil are regularly packed and forecast to do well this summer after being closed last year because of the pandemic. Restaurants, pubs and rooftop bars are buzzing again and some mountain guesthouses and boutique hotels are fully booked. Yet the idea that expats will help the economy is partially misleading, said Mike Azar, a Beirut-based financial adviser. "Foreign dollars coming from tourists is always going to be a positive thing, but does it make the lira (pound) appreciate or depreciate at a slower pace? It is not really something you can say."
Many expats seem to be wavering on whether to visit Lebanon. Some yearn to reconnect with family after long separations caused by the pandemic. Others are not willing to risk it. Joe Rizk, a 20-year-old mechanical engineering student at UMass Lowell in the U.S. from the coastal village of Damour, said his family persuaded him to return for the month of August. He said he would bring medicines that are in short supply, like Advil, for family and friends.
"I will not spend more than $300 or $400 this whole month even if I was going every night to a bar, or club or restaurant," he said, adding he would be using the family house and car while in Lebanon. But Hala al-Hachem, a 37-year-old assistant bank manager in Massachusetts, said she was too worried to visit Lebanon with two children, aged 8 and 6. Originally from south Lebanon, she used to return with her family every summer.
Not this time.
"Do I want to go there and not be able to put gas in my car and travel around? Do I want to go there and risk one of them getting sick and going to a hospital where they don't have the medicine needed to treat them? Do I want my sons to wonder at night why there is no electricity?" she asked.

Lebanon at the Crossroads: Personal Reflections by UK Head of Mission
Naharnet/Martin Longden, Head of Mission of the British Embassy Beirut
There have been better times to be head of the British Embassy in Lebanon. The crises buffeting this wonderful and troubled country – from the port explosion, to the Covid pandemic, to the economic collapse – have dulled Lebanon’s shine, impoverishing the people and putting both state institutions and the private sector under intolerable pressure. With no prospect in sight of a government capable of gripping the situation, Lebanon’s situation looks increasingly precarious. And yet my message, as I leave Beirut, is not just one of profound concern but also of hope. For I see in Lebanon a place which, for all of its deeply serious problems, retains incredible potential. This land of the cedars is a truly amazing country: of outstanding natural beauty – from the mountains to the sea, of a rich and diverse culture, and of a people whose hard work and creativity rivals anyone in the Middle East – and beyond.
only unleash this better future if you can slip the shackles of your history. And change fundamentally the way in which politics and government are done here. Lebanon today stands perhaps at its most important crossroads ever: which way will you go?
Forgive my bluntness: but there is something rotten at the heart of Lebanon. The failure so far to hold anyone accountable for the disastrous port explosion last summer is just the most dramatic example of the impunity and irresponsibility that characterises too much of Lebanese life. State institutions are subverted; special interests are protected; and Hizballah’s militia operate freely, accountable to no one but themselves. And the result? An elite enriched, as the Lebanese people lose out at every turn. I have discussed Lebanon’s political deadlock and the deteriorating situation with almost all shades of the political elite. I have warned about the risks they are taking, and of the damage being done to people’s lives. I have urged them to find a compromise that can establish a broad-based government, with a mandate to undertake the reforms and secure the IMF support that is so desperately needed. But I regret that my words, like those of Lebanon’s other international friends, fall on deaf ears. And this is a problem. Because although the UK will always do what it can to stand by the Lebanese people – with a strong record of significant support for Lebanon’s security, education and humanitarian support– this assistance cannot be a substitute for urgent action by Lebanon’s politicians. The international community cannot stop Lebanon’s fall.
It would be easy to dismiss Lebanon’s political elite as out of touch and corrupt. Many regrettably are. But the problem is more profound than that. For a political system rooted in the divisions of confessionalism can simply never be the basis for a successful twenty-first century country.
For decades the real purpose of the Lebanese “system” has been, not to look after the national interests of the country, but to “balance” the interests of competing groups. Some tell me this is what is necessary to prevent the fracturing of the delicate Lebanese mosaic. Perhaps. It is certainly important to ensure that Lebanon’s diversity is respected and protected in the framework of the country. But what has been the consequence of this system?
It has been to focus on a zero-sum game, on ensuring that each group gets no less of its share of Lebanon’s wealth and resource than it believes it is due. And in this relentless effort to take, Lebanon’s leaders have spent its resources recklessly – way beyond what it could ever truly afford. Now the country stands on the verge of insolvency. So focused were the political elite on dividing the cake, they never thought about how to bake a bigger one. Some say it is the region that prevents progress. Lebanon is a small country – a place in which the fault lines and tremors of others’ geo-politics play out. For sure, yours is a difficult neighbourhood: too many foreign powers take too close an interest in what happens here. Their agendas are not always benign. But the confessional instinct to lend one’s trust to foreign powers more than to fellow Lebanese has not helped. The weaker and more divided the country, the more vulnerable Lebanon becomes to the predations of others. A neutral Lebanon, disassociated from the region’s other conflicts, is an essential feature of a better future. And it would be a fatal error to conclude that Lebanon must wait for other nations to reconcile before change can happen here. None of this is easy to do: nothing of value ever is. But in the midst of our current despair I do believe that change can and will come to Lebanon. Last month I took a two day tour of the south, travelling as far down as Bint Jbeil. One of the highlights was to call in on a rural public school and meet the young people to hear their views and aspirations for Lebanon. They are – in every sense – Lebanon’s future. For theirs is a generation less scarred by the divisions of the civil war. But also more united, through technology, with their peers across the globe: they see the world beyond Lebanon – and thus what is possible here.
I do not believe that the old, corrupted practices will withstand youth’s excited impatience for a better future, and nor should they. This at heart is what gives me hope for the future of Lebanon: as the new generation rides to the rescue of the old. And the UK, as a long-standing friend and partner to the Lebanese people, will be proud to ride with you.

Delegation representing Lebanese Business Council in Saudi Arabia visits Othman
NNA/05 July/2021 
Internal Security Forces chief, Major General Imad Othman, on Monday met at his ISF office with a delegation of the Lebanese Business and Investment Council in Saudi Arabia, headed by its Secretary General Fadi Kasouf, accompanied by the head of the Lebanese-Gulf Business Development Commission, Elie Rizk. The delegation hailed the efforts undertaken by the ISF institution and the measures taken to combat drug smuggling operations. Talks also touched on the means to bolster cooperation and coordination between the two sides.

A roundtable on civilian-military cooperation and challenges to economic stability in Lebanon
NNA/05 July/2021
The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and the National Forum for Human Security (NHS) initiated a roundtable on the challenges to economic security in Lebanon and the need for greater civil-military cooperation. The roundtable was convened in a hybrid setting at the Lebanese Army's Civil-Military Directorate (CIMIC) in Fiadiyeh. Speakers included Director General Elie Abi Rashed, Colonel Iyad Al Alam, National Human Security Forum’s Director Dr. Imad Salamey, and representative of KAS Ms. Valentina von Finckenstein. The roundtable was attended by a number of representatives from the Lebanese Government, security agencies, civil society, and international organizations. Also present was the head of the UN political unit Alaa Abdalaziz and representatives from the European Union, the UN, the US Embassy, the British Embassy. The discussion was moderator by Dr. Elie Mekhael.
Valentina von Finckenstein, representative of the KAS considered that: "The NHS Forum and KAS are setting a focus on the connection between economic deterioration and security as the economic crisis is worsening rapidly: and we already see the impact of these developments on the security situation very clearly. As Lebanon has only limited resources to address these security issues, coordination becomes all the more relevant in order to have a more effective crisis response, avoid the duplication of efforts and to ensure human security."
Dr. Imad Salamey emphasized that the economic crisis in Lebanon had become a direct threat to the country’s existence, and that the goal of these discussions is to strengthen civil-military cooperation in responding to economic emergency. The severity of the economic situation facing the Lebanon was described by the World Bank as the worst economic disaster in history, which would likely undermine the social safety and national stability of the country. He added: “thus it is of most urgency to explore ways and means to defend our country from a looming and imminent threat. We resort to the Lebanese army for support as we trust in this institution the ability to protect and defend Lebanon from internal and external threats. We are confident that civil-military cooperation is an essential safeguard that can help protect our country from the devastating repercussions of economic collapse.”
The Army Stands Ready to Protect Lebanon
Director of CIMIC, Colonel Elie Abi Rached, declared that economic stability is essential components for the wellbeing of Lebanon. He added that the preservation of stability and the protection of the Lebanese people is the aim of the state as a whole, including its military and security institutions. He concluded that in times of national crisis the army can only take on its responsibility to defend the country against instability. After all, the role of the army is key in helping build public confidence in government institutions and insure the safety and wellbeing of the public as whole.
He added: "the army founded CIMIC to ensure ongoing dialogue with civilian organizations and to support them confront daily challenges. It utilizes its resources for that purpose while cooperating with partnering states and international actors.” He cited the head of the LAF’s General Joseph Aoun statement that addressed the international conference in support of the Lebanese Army by stating that "the army is the only institution that is still standing strong in providing assurance for stability and security in Lebanon.” He extended his respect to the soldiers who stood their grounds protecting the people of Lebanon despite their deteriorating salaries and rising economic difficulties. Allies support to the Lebanese Army at this very challenging time is proven most critical.
Civil Military Cooperation to Support Lebanon
Colonel Iyad Al Alam of CIMIC explained the strategic vision and the activities of CIMIC. He considered that human security can complement national security. He suggested that during times of crisis social safety can be best protected in sustaining development at all levels.
"The army,” he said, “has supported the civilian population and CIMIC has been created for that purpose.” He added that this project has been proven to be the most efficient in both formation and outcomes. “Since its foundation in 2015, CIMIC has implemented more than 226 projects in different domains throughout the different regions in the country… they have been completed in partnership and the support of the Dutch Government, the European Union, and the Fund for Economic and Social Development.” Colonel Al Alam described CIMIC’s projects as rooted in its strategic vision to support the unity and progress of Lebanese society. Our first objective is to protect domestic stability while overcoming current economic crisis. He concluded by asserting that the army provides the greatest source of confidence for the country, and therefore the prospective assurance for economic recovery.
The UN Supports Civilian-Military Cooperation
The head of UN political unit, Mr. Alaa Abdelazziz, considered civil military cooperation as a critical mean in confronting contemporary economic crisis. He added that "the UN supports every opportunity that encourages the international community and the members of the Security Council to support the Lebanese Army. We reaffirm to the international community that the Army is the sole safeguard against chaos and serve as a guarantee for national unity." In reference to the Conference for the Support of the Lebanese Army, which took place in Paris on the 17 of June with the participation of 18 countries and the EU and UN, he declared that the goal is to support the Lebanese Army to overcome the current economic crisis among its rank-and-file. He informed the participants that the UN is "in an ongoing contact with General Aoun to set in place a structure capable of ensuring the implementation of the conference recommendations and pledges.” He asserted that “the UN reaffirms its support to the Lebanese Army and urges the Lebanese politicians for a speedy government formation to implement needed reforms."
Participants
Participants in the meeting made several recommendations and suggestions. They included those proposed by Dr. Zena Mhanna representing Amel Association, Mr. Assem Abi Ali advisor to the Minister of Social Affairs and the Director of Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, Captain Vladi Sharabji from Internal Security Forces - Public Affairs Office, Director of USIP’s Middle East Programs Dr. Elie Abou Aoun, Engineer Ms. Salaam Namani from Makhzoumi Foundation, Dr. Roubina Shahin head of the National Committee for the Prevention of Violent Extremism, Professor of Political Science Dr. Joseph Helou, expert in counter terrorism programs at the EU delegation Ms. Fransesca Farrisi, and expert in humanitarian response at UNOCHA Ms. Joelle Harfoush. The meeting included an open discussion where proposals and recommendations were made to best confront the economic crisis through civil military cooperation and include:
Recommendations on Civil Military Cooperation for Economic Security
-Support social cohesion by fostering unity around the army, being a main source for public confidence and representing a safeguard against chaos and insecurity. Mobilize efforts to insure financial support and needed resources to help it fulfill its mission.
-Strengthen civil-military cooperation with international institutions to develop common agenda for crisis response plans and to optimise local and international resources for recovery.
- Facilitate civil society cooperation with the army in insuring local stability.
-Reaffirm the importance of civil-military cooperation to insure emergency response plans specially in the distribution of essential items (pharmacies, supermarkets, bakeries, etc.) and insuring appropriate access to critical services.
-Have the military benefit from the civil society's capacities in:
mapping needs around the country and in areas of socio-economic poverty.
conducting fund raising and grant writing while reaching out to international donor
Compiling economic and strategical research that can benefit military response plans
Establishing open communication channels between the civilian and military in emergency response.
-Strengthen the cooperation between the National Human Security Forum and CIMIC in order to maintain dialogue to determine priorities and engage other CSOs to optimize resources and coordinate emergency response action plans.
-Develop human security strategy based on the civil military cooperation in response to crises.

Lebanon has entered a cycle of unending crisis - analysis
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/July 05/2021
Many factors have contributed to the cascading crises that afflict Lebanon — From a fractured government to a broken economy.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when Lebanon’s current crisis began. There were protests in late June over a fuel price hike and protests against banks on June 26 when protesters attacked the Lebanese Swiss Bank and other branches as the Lebanese currency hit record lows.
These types of attacks have taken place before when banks were targeted in April 2020. And these crises go back to the fact Lebanon lacks a new government despite Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri being on a foreign trip to drum up support in the UAE, Turkey and Egypt. Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz has offered to provide assistance to Lebanon.
Lebanon is in a long, slouching, slow-moving disaster. Like a mud slide that gains momentum over time. The country has a political system that is broken and is a country divided along sectarian lines. Lebanon also has an armed state within a state called Hezbollah that siphons off cash, plays a role in security, carries out extrajudicial assassinations and increasingly operates a parallel network of health, banking, construction and even supermarket services. These factors have hollowed out Lebanon, leaving it as an empty shell.
With all that, the current crisis is over fuel prices and declines in exchange rates. According to Al-Jazeera “the cash-strapped country would now import fuel at 3,900 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, as opposed to 1,500. A ministerial source told Al-Jazeera the price of a tank of petrol could almost double. The decision was made following a meeting last week between President Michel Aoun, central bank Governor Riad Salameh, caretaker Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, and caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni at Baabda Palace.”
Meanwhile the European Union’s top diplomat has slammed Lebanese politicians for delays in forming a new government. Sanctions could come soon. Hariri, who has failed so far to form a government, received support from his Sunni constituents again in recent days. The Supreme Islamic Sharia Council, “which represents the Sunni community and its leaders in Lebanon, has renewed its support for Saad Hariri, the prime minister-designate, amid an escalating dispute over the failure to form a government in the country,” Arab News reported.
Lebanon’s central bank and banking institutions are also on the brink. On June 3, Reuters noted that “the governor of Lebanon's central bank reassured depositors that it was not bankrupt and that people's deposits were safe and would be returned soon, after reversing a decision to stop withdrawals that triggered street protests.”
The disaster is growing and there are warnings that Lebanon’s GDP will continue to fall, down some thirty percent in the last years. Reuters notes “the financial crisis has wiped out jobs, raised concerns for growing hunger and put more than half of the Lebanese population below the poverty line. The Lebanese pound has lost around 90% of its value since late 2019.”
Who benefits from the ruin being visited on Lebanon? Hezbollah. Hezbollah has not lost currency or lost its savings. Mostly Lebanon’s middle class has been destroyed. The upper class anyway kept money abroad in foreign banks and were fantastically corrupt, helping to lead the country to its current state. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has continued to sponge up state assets, taking over more and more of what looks like government roles. That essentially means that in the future Hezbollah will not be a “state within a state” in Lebanon, but rather Hezbollah will have a state within it called Lebanon, because the power relationship has been reversed.
Western powers helped encourage this system in which Hezbollah was allowed to keep a vast arsenal of some 150,000 rockets and control part of Lebanon. Iran fueled Hezbollah as well and the Syrian civil war let Hezbollah act as the foreign and defense establishments of Lebanon, essentially doing what the foreign and defense ministries are supposed to do. Hezbollah sent thousands of fighters to Syria and conducted foreign policy for Lebanon. Hezbollah leaders have openly argued for repositioning Lebanon to be linked to Iran and China, and distancing it from the US. France has tried to mediate, unsuccessfully. The Lebanese have paid the price.  The endless crisis goes back a long way. Lebanon was battered by a civil war in the 1970s and 1980s. However it sought to put that behind it with the end of the Cold War and a deal brokered by Saudi Arabia. Ostensibly, Sunnis and Shi’ites gained while the Christian community lost out but the end result was a continuing division in the country. When Israel left Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah didn’t put down its arms but rather put itself on steroids as it armed itself. In 2005, Hezbollah murdered the popular former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive bombing and in 2006 Hezbollah attacked Israel and provoked a massive war. In 2008 it took over part of Beirut in armed clashes. Then it set about holding the government hostage until it could get its chosen president, Michel Aoun into power. Lebanon lacked a president for years as Hezbollah waited. Now, as Lebanon’s crisis deepens, it continues to strengthen its grip and push Lebanon into a series of endless crises.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 05-06/2021
Pope Francis, 84, Recovering after Colon Operation
Agence France Presse/July 05, 2021
Pope Francis, 84, was recovering in hospital Monday from surgery for an inflamed large colon, a potentially painful condition that could see him bed-bound for several days. The pontiff was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital Sunday for a scheduled operation under general anesthetic for symptomatic diverticular stenosis of the colon. Afterwards, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he had "reacted well to the surgery". The Vatican press office told AFP on Monday it expected to issue a fresh medical bulletin around midday (1000 GMT). A week earlier, on the eve of the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Francis seemed to hint at the upcoming operation, saying: "I ask you to pray for the pope, pray in a special way. The pope needs your prayers".The Argentine is likely to stay in hospital for at least five days, according to Italian news agency ANSA. The Vatican said it could not confirm how long the stay would be.
The pontiff has already put his Wednesday general audience on hold for the summer, and has no other official appointments in his calendar until next Sunday, when he is to lead the Angelus prayer. Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi sent Francis "affectionate get well soon wishes" Monday, as did the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, Sheikh Ahmed el Tayyeb, who wished him "a speedy recovery". Francis is in the same suite on the 10th floor of the Gemelli hospital used by Pope John Paul II, according to Catholic website Cruxnow.com. The late pope underwent surgery there several times, including after an attempt on his life in 1981, and for a tumor in the colon in 1992, it said. Francis's condition causes potentially painful inflammation of the diverticulum, a pocket that can form on the colon walls and which tend to multiply with age. "Stenosis" here means an abnormal narrowing of the colon, and patients with diverticulitis may experience lower abdominal pain, fever, or rectal bleeding. The condition may be caused by high pressure within the colon or a diet low in fiber and high in red meat, according to the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. The pontiff had arrived at the clinic in the afternoon accompanied by his driver and one close aide, and Italian media said he was in the operating room a few hours later. Born on December 17, 1936 in Argentina, Francis lost part of his right lung at the age of 21. He also suffers from a hip problem and sciatica.

Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Plant Back Online after Two Weeks
Agence France Presse/July 05, 2021
Iran's only nuclear power plant has been brought back online, its manager said early Monday, after two weeks off-grid amid a power shortage and rolling blackouts across the Islamic republic. The Bushehr plant's shutdown was initially blamed on a "technical fault" that required repairs followed by conflicting reports that it was a regular maintenance operation. The plant going offline came as Tehran and world powers in Vienna talks attempt to revive a hobbled 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear program that was torpedoed by the United States. It returns to the grid as major cities across Iran including the capital Tehran are experiencing frequent blackouts blamed on high summertime demand exceeding production levels. The "technical fault" that shut down the Bushehr plant "was fixed", Mahmoud Jafari, who is also deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), told ISNA news agency around midnight. That allowed the plant to be reconnected to the national power grid and resume production. Jafari said power generation had resumed Sunday, and urged Iranians to "help" the overburdened grid by minimizing power consumption as high temperatures are forecast in the coming days.
The plant on Iran's southern coast and its 1,000-megawatt reactor were built by Russia and officially handed over in September 2013 after years of delay. Russian and Iranian firms started work on two additional 1,000-megawatt reactors in 2016, with construction expected to take 10 years. On June 20, the AEOI had blamed "a technical fault" for the shutdown and said it had given the energy ministry one day's notice before going offline. It said two days later that the issue was with the plant's "power generator", without explaining further. But Iran's foreign ministry at the time described the shutdown as "routine," saying it was carried out "once or twice each year".
Record power consumption
Bushehr plant chief Jafari said in late March that Iran was having a difficult time obtaining supplies to run Bushehr because of US sanctions, and warned of an imminent shutdown "if no solution is found". Tehran is engaged in talks with world powers in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal that gave Iran international sanctions relief in exchange for limiting its nuclear program. But hopes for rising prosperity were dashed in 2018 when former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord and re-imposed punishing sanctions on Tehran. Trump's successor Joe Biden favors rejoining the accord and his administration is indirectly involved in the Vienna talks to salvage the deal. Bushehr going off-grid had raised concerns of worse blackouts after a string of power cuts in Iran blamed on heat, drought impacting hydro-electrical facilities, and surging electricity demand. Iran introduced planned, rolling blackouts in May after Tehran and several other cities were hit by unannounced power cuts, sparking complaints from consumers and an apology from the energy minister. A spokesman for Iran's electricity company on Monday apologized for unplanned cuts the night before. Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi said record consumption of 65,900 megawatts had exceeded Iranian power plants' 55,000 MW output and a "looming heat wave" could exacerbate the situation, IRNA news agency reported. Power cuts are not uncommon during Iran's hot summers, when air-conditioning use spikes. Adding to the problem, the country's hydropower capacity has been hit by low rainfall. A government report in May said precipitation was down 34 percent compared to the long-term average, and warned of reduced water supplies for the year.

Cyprus Says Huge Forest Blaze Fully 'Under Control'
Agence France Presse/July 05, 2021
Firefighters in Cyprus said Monday they had brought under control the island's worst blaze on record, which ripped through mountain forests and farmland, killing four people and destroying scores of homes. Water-bombing planes from Greece and Israel and British aircraft from bases on the Mediterranean island helped douse the huge fire, which blackened 55 square kilometers (21 square miles) of the Troodos Mountains. The Cyprus Forestry Department said Monday that "the fire that broke out on Saturday... came under full control today" at 8:00 am (0500 GMT). Four Egyptian farm laborers aged in their 20s and 30s were killed by the flames as they tried to escape on foot after their car plunged into a ravine. The wildfire, described as the worst since the Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960, destroyed 50 homes, damaged power lines and forced the evacuation of 10 villages, authorities reported.
"Everything was a nightmare and pure hell here, the village was surrounded by fire," said Akis Giorgiou, 45, from the hamlet of Arakapas. The fire, fanned by strong winds and exacerbated by a heatwave that has baked the island in temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), sent up a vast cloud of smoke that was visible from sea and from the other side of the Troodos mountain range. More than 600 people from the emergency services and army were involved in tackling the blaze, along with a dozen aircraft and 70 fire trucks as well as a reconnaissance drone, the forestry department said.
- 'A tragedy' -
Firefighters were still deployed en masse on Monday around the badly-hit village of Arakapas, near Limassol, to tackle any potential new outbreaks, the department said. AFP reporters had seen thick gnarled trunks of ancient olive trees reduced to smouldering stumps and grey ash replacing yellowed scrub as far as the eye could see. A 67-year-old farmer was arrested and remanded in custody on suspicion of having unintentionally started the enormous blaze while burning stubble, a charge he denied. Police said an eyewitness had seen him leaving Arakapas in his car at the time the fire started there. He could face charges of recklessly causing four deaths. Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said the four Egyptians' charred bodies had been found outside the village of Odos in Larnaca district. Their burnt-out vehicle was discovered at the bottom of a ravine and the four bodies were some 600 meters (yards) away.
The Egyptian government said they were farm workers from the North African country, while Nicosia vowed in a tweet to "stand by the victims' families... offering every support". "It is a tragedy," President Nicos Anastasiades said on Twitter on Sunday.
He described the fire as the worst event since 1974, when the island was divided after Turkey occupied its northern third.

Israel Looks to Renew Law that Keeps Out Palestinian Spouses
Associated Press/July 5, 2021
Israel's parliament is set to vote Monday on whether to renew a temporary law first enacted in 2003 that bars Arab citizens of Israel from extending citizenship or even residency to spouses from the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Critics, including many left-wing and Arab lawmakers, say it's a racist measure aimed at restricting the growth of Israel's Arab minority, while supporters say it's needed for security purposes and to preserve Israel's Jewish character.
The law creates an array of difficulties for Palestinian families that span the war-drawn and largely invisible frontiers separating Israel from east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, territories it seized in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for a future state. "You want your security, it's no problem, you can check each case by itself," said Taiseer Khatib. His wife of more than 15 years, from the West Bank city of Jenin, must regularly apply for permits to live with him and their three children in Israel."There's no need for this collective punishment just because you are Palestinian," he said. Israel's dominant right-wing parties strongly support the law, and it has been renewed every year since being enacted. But Israel's new government includes opponents of the measure, and the right-wing opposition led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — aiming to embarrass the government — has warned it won't provide the votes needed to renew the law.
Dozens of families held a demonstration outside the Knesset, Israel's parliament, ahead of the vote, which is expected late Monday. "We want stability in this country, like anyone else," said Maryam Abu Arar, from the West Bank town of Bethlehem, who requires a permit to live with her husband and four children in Israel. "We want to live in a democratic country, with peace and security for us as well."The Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law was enacted as a temporary measure in 2003, at the height of the second intifada, or uprising, when Palestinians launched scores of deadly attacks inside Israel. Proponents said Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza were susceptible to recruitment by armed groups and that security vetting alone was insufficient. The law has been continually renewed even after the uprising wound down in 2005 and the number of attacks plummeted. Today, Israel allows more than 100,000 Palestinian workers from the West Bank to enter on a regular basis."It was passed in the middle of the intifada, and now we are in a very different period in time," said Yuval Shany, a legal expert at the Israel Democracy Institute. Not only are attacks far rarer, but Israel has vastly improved its technological abilities to monitor Palestinians who enter, he said. "I don't think the security argument is very strong at this point in time." Because of the law, Arab citizens have few if any avenues for bringing spouses from the West Bank and Gaza into Israel. The policy affects thousands of families. Male spouses over the age of 35 and female spouses over the age of 25, as well as some humanitarian cases, can apply for the equivalent of a tourist permit, which must be regularly renewed. The holders of such permits are ineligible for driver's licenses, public health insurance and most forms of employment. Palestinian spouses from Gaza have been completely banned since the militant Hamas group seized power there in 2007.
The law does not apply to the nearly 500,000 Jewish settlers who live in the West Bank, who have full Israeli citizenship. Under Israel's Law of Return, Jews who come to Israel from anywhere in the world are eligible for citizenship.
Israel's Arab minority, which makes up 20% of the population, has close familial ties to Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and largely identifies with their cause. Arab citizens view the law as one of several forms of discrimination they face in a country that legally defines itself as a Jewish nation-state.
"This law sees every Palestinian as an enemy and as a threat, just because of his ethnic and national affiliation," said Sawsan Zaher, a lawyer with Adalah, an Arab rights group that has challenged the law in court. "The political message is very racist and very dangerous."Palestinians who are unable to get permits but try to live with their spouses inside Israel are at risk of deportation. Couples that move to the West Bank live under Israeli military occupation. If their children are born in the West Bank, they would be subject to the same law preventing spouses from entering Israel, though there is an exception for minors.The citizenship law also applies to Jewish Israelis who marry Palestinians from the territories, but such unions are extremely rare. Human Rights Watch pointed to the law as an example of the widespread discrimination faced by Palestinians — both inside Israel and in the territories it controls — in a report earlier this year that said such practices amount to apartheid. Israel rejects such allegations and says Jewish and Arab citizens have equal rights. Arab citizens have the right to vote, and the new government for the first time includes an Arab faction, which is opposed to the citizenship law. But even as Defense Minister Benny Gantz, a political centrist, recently urged the right-wing opposition to support the law on security grounds, he also evoked demographic concerns. "This law is essential for safeguarding the country's security and Jewish and democratic character, and security considerations need to be put before all political considerations," Gantz said in a statement. Ahmad Tibi, a prominent member of an Arab opposition party, called on fellow lawmakers to strike the law down. "They should look at the eyes of these children and these families and then vote to prevent this most racist law," he said as he met with the demonstrators. "These families should be allowed to live normally as all other families, wherever they decide to live."

Once more, rockets target Iraq base hosting US troops
The Arab Weekly/July 05/2021
BAGHDAD – Three rockets targeted an Iraqi air base hosting American troops on Monday without causing casualties, a spokesman for the US-led coalition said.
Colonel Wayne Marotto, a spokesman for the international coalition in Iraq, said on Twitter that the Ain al-Assad base “was attacked by three rockets” in the early afternoon. “The rockets landed on the base perimeter. There are no injuries and damage is being assessed,” he said. The assault on the Ain al-Assad facility in the western province of Anbar is the latest in a series of attacks on American interests in Iraq which Washington blames on Iran-linked militias. US forces, whose 2,500 troops are deployed in Iraq as part of an international coalition to fight the jihadist Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group, have been targeted more than 40 times this year. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday’s attack, which came a week after deadly US air strikes on pro-Iran fighters in both Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon said the raids were retaliation for attacks on US interests and Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared they sent a “strong message” not to keep attacking American forces.
The “Hashed-al-Shaabi” (Popular Mobilisation Forces), an Iraqi paramilitary alliance that includes several Iranian proxies and has become the main power broker in Baghdad, said the raids killed four of its fighters in the Qaim region near the border with Syria. Iraqi analysts say the attacks are not intended to cause injury but to serve as a new warning from Iran’s proxies to US troops to leave Iraq. The June 27-28 overnight strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one in Iraq, the Pentagon said. Hours later, pro-Iran militias fired several shells at an American base in eastern Syria. Iran-aligned groups operate in Iraq, which counts both Tehran and Washington as allies and in war-torn Syria, where Iran is a key backer of the Damascus regime.

Foreign oil firms seek exit from Iraq over ‘unsuitable’ environment
The Arab Weekly/July 05/2021
BAGHDAD – Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said in a video posted on Saturday on the ministry’s Facebook page that BP was considering withdrawing from Iraq and that Russia’s Lukoil had sent a formal notification saying it wanted to sell its stake in the West Qurna-2 field to Chinese companies.
Abdul Jabbar said the investment environment in Iraq was unsuitable for retaining major investors. “All major investors are either looking for another market or for another partner. We, as an investment environment, are inappropriate for major partners,” the minister said. Abdul Jabbar also revealed Exxon Mobil Corp wants to sell its stake in West Qurna-1 for no more than $400 million, a price he called “very cheap.” State-controlled Basra Oil Co is considering a deal, he said. The statements were made during a parliamentary session on June 29 to which Abdul Jabbar was invited, oil ministry sources said. No one from Lukoil nor BP was available to comment outside of normal business hours. Iraq pumps about four million barrels a day of crude. Yet international energy companies have been put off in recent years by tough contractual terms, payment delays and political instability.
Over the last few years, long delays to amending the technical service contracts prompted the exit of some of the country’s largest upstream investors including Shell, which left the Majnoon oil field in mid-2018. US firm Occidental also quit Iraq’s upstream in 2015. Over the past week, protests rocked Iraq over worsening power cuts as temperatures exceeded 50 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. Power from Iraq’s main grid suffers year-round from hours-long cuts each day, but the shortages worsen during the hot summer months when temperatures regularly reach 50 degrees and households rely on air conditioning. Iraqis blame a government which relies on energy imports from Iran and which they say has failed to develop Iraq’s own grid to serve its population. Iraq’s electricity minister resigned last week under pressure over the power crisis, local media reported. The government has said that oil production has not been affected by the power cuts.

An officer for every village: Sisi’s plan seen as ‘militarising society’
The Arab Weekly/July 05/2021
The Egyptian president has appointed an army officer in each village to contribute to the “Decent Life” project, which aims to develop 4,500 villages.
CAIRO – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi treats the army as if it were the political party that he has hesitated to form, as it alone is capable of supporting him in the face of internal crises.
Sisi needs an influential backer who supports his rapid moves in different directions without getting involved in the political calculations that usually determine the actions of the political parties, analysts say
The Egyptian president has abandoned political aesthetics and appointed an army officer to every village to contribute to the “Hayat Kareema” (Decent Life) project, which aims to develop 4,500 villages, in a plan described by Egyptian political sources as de facto “military rule.”
It seems that interest in the process of training and educating different groups of the population has not borne fruit nor achieved the desired results, even after appointing more members of the so-called “Party Youth Coordination Committee” as deputy governors and to other leading administrative positions.
Sisi has found in the army the only institution capable of driving the development process he has been trying to pursue since taking power. The armed forces have the required administrative discipline and trained cadres to monitor the progress of the “Decent Life” project beyond local bureaucrats. They also enjoy a momentum linked to the president’s military affiliation.
The Egyptian president has said more than once that he is not adept at political discourse and that he is only proficient in the language of work, which is mastered by army cadres who keep their distance from ideological affinities and have no problem siding with him.
Egyptian political sources expressed wariness that the new experiment, after it is carried through, would lead to a deadlock due to the officers’ inability to deal with the problems that have accumulated in Egyptian villages over the years. Moreover, the appointment of local leaders from within army ranks is likely to elicit criticism and create a military authority above the civilian authority, which currently carries out the bulk of the development in the villages. The imposition of the new military structure could lead to the failure of both layers of authority.
George Ishaq, a member of the government-affiliated Egyptian Council for Human Rights, said that “the state’s fears of holding the delayed local elections and neglecting the appointment of administrative cadres directly leads to the use of military personnel to control street movement in remote areas.”
Talking to The Arab Weekly, Ishaq added that addressing the failure of past governments to set up strong civilian institutions that are able to push through development projects “will not be resolved by appointing officers to supervise the implementation of the projects, because the crisis will continue; and what citizens accept today they may reject tomorrow.”
With his military appointments, Sisi goes beyond what the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser did when he placed large numbers of army officers in high positions during the fifties and sixties.
Analysts say that the armed forces are usually successful in protecting the country from external threats but their active participation in the development process and involvement in the details of local fieldwork could overwhelm military officers.
The pursuit of this plan could also spark tensions between the officers and the villagers, who may object to the military’s development methods. This could ultimately lead to frictions with the local military supervisor and adversely affect the perception of the army among the public. The Egyptian president said during his inspection of equipment for the development of villages, that he has submitted a proposal to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, the Urban Communities Authority and to the army command to “appoint an officer in every village responsible for follow up on developments and achievements within the Decent Life initiative.”
His words triggered a wide controversy in political and human rights circles, which saw in the decision a clear security approach aimed at countering the continued influence of Islamist organisations within villages and hamlets, which for many years have remained beyond the control of government agencies.
The Commander of the Engineering Authority in the Egyptian Army, Major General Ihab el-Far, confirmed that there are more than 350 officers currently deployed in the areas where the “Decent Life” initiative is being effected and that the army has completed 20 percent of the total project. Hassan Salama, a professor of political science at the National Centre for Social and Criminal Research, told The Arab Weekly that Sisi’s approach “aims to control things in villages from the base up so that development becomes systemic and not random.”
The decision raised strong fears that it will overshadow the main tasks of the army. Some analysts said it is necessary to make room for civilian cadres first, because appointing a military officer in each village just confirms the propensity to “militarise Egyptian society.”A number of decisions taken by Sisi reflects his desire to follow up on developments in local areas and villages, analysts say. They are also motivated by his fear that the financial allocations for development projects, which amount to $38 billion, could be subject to abuses by civilian authorities.

Ship that blocked Suez Canal to be released as settlement reached
The Arab Weekly/July 05/2021
CAIRO – The owners and insurers of the Ever Given container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March said on Sunday a formal settlement had been agreed in a compensation dispute and the canal authority said the vessel would be allowed to sail on July 7. The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has held the giant ship and its crew in a lake between two stretches of the waterway since it was dislodged on March 29, amid a dispute over a demand for compensation by the SCA. The Japanese-owned Ever Given had become stuck in high winds and remained wedged across the canal for six days, disrupting global trade.
“Preparations for the release of the vessel will be made and an event marking the agreement will be held at the Authority’s headquarters in Ismailia in due course,” Faz Peermohamed of Stann Marine, which represents owner Shoei Kisen and its insurers, said in a statement. The SCA said the settlement contract would be signed on Wednesday at a ceremony and that participants would be able to watch the ship leave.
Stann Marine gave no details of the settlement.
Osama Rabie, the SCA chairman, said the canal will receive a tug boat with a pulling capacity of about 75 tonnes as part of a settlement, without mentioning any other details. “We preserved the rights of the authority in full, preserved our relationship with the company and also political relations with Japan,” he told a private TV channel on Sunday evening. The disagreement had centred on the compensation amount the Suez Canal Authority is claiming for the salvage of the vessel. The money would cover the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic and lost transit fees for the week the Ever Given blocked the canal.
At first, the Suez Canal Authority demanded $916 million in compensation, which was later lowered to $550 million. The two sides have traded blame for the vessel’s grounding, with bad weather, poor decisions on the part of canal authorities and human and technical error all being thrown out as possible factors.
The six-day blockage disrupted global shipping. Hundreds of ships waited in place for the canal to be unblocked, while some ships were forced to take the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip, requiring additional fuel and other costs. The canal earned revenue of $3 billion in the first six months of 2021, up 8.8% compared with the same period last year, despite the Ever Given accident, Rabie said. Shoei Kisen and its insurers said last month they had reached an agreement in principle with the SCA. The SCA had demanded $916 million in compensation to cover salvage efforts, reputational damage and lost revenue before publicly lowering the request to $550 million. Shoei Kisen and the ship’s insurers had disputed the claim and the ship’s detention under an Egyptian court order. Earlier on Sunday, an Egyptian court adjourned hearings in the compensation dispute to July 11 to allow the canal and the ship’s owner to finalise the settlement, court sources and a lawyer said.

Gunmen kidnap 140 school students in northwest Nigeria
NNA/July 5, 2021
Gunmen have kidnapped 140 students from a boarding school in northwestern Nigeria, a school official said on Monday, the latest in a wave of mass abductions targetting schoolchildren and students. Heavily-armed criminal gangs often attack villages to loot, steal cattle and abduct for ransom in northwest and central Nigeria, but since the start of the year they have increasingly targeted schools and colleges. The attackers scaled a fence to break into the Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna state in the early hours of Monday, taking away most of the 165 pupils boarding there overnight. "The kidnappers took away 140 students, only 25 students escaped. We still have no idea where the students were taken," Emmanuel Paul, a teacher at the school told AFP. Kaduna state police spokesman Mohammed Jalige confirmed the early Monday morning attack, but he could not give details on the number of pupils taken. "Tactical police teams went after the kidnappers," he said. "We are still on the rescue mission." Bethel Baptist High School is a co-education college established by Baptist church in 1991 at Maramara village in Chikun district outside the state capital Kaduna.--AFP

21 migrants’ bodies retrieved off Tunisia
NNA/July 5, 2021
Coastguards in Tunisia have retrieved the bodies of 21 sub-Saharan migrants and rescued 50 after their boat sank off the port city of Sfax, authorities said on Monday. “Twenty-one bodies of migrants were recovered after their boat was shipwrecked on July 4, and 50 were rescued,” National Guard spokesman Houcem Eddine Jebabli told AFP. He said the migrants, all from sub-Saharan Africa, had been trying to reach Europe.The spokesman said four boatloads of migrants had sunk since June 26 after setting off from Sfax, with the bodies of 49 people recovered and 78 rescued.--AFP

U.S. Military Denies American Troops in Syria were Attacked
Associated Press/July 5, 2021
A facility housing U.S. troops in eastern Syria came under attack late Sunday when rockets were fired from nearby areas, an opposition war monitor, state media and a spokesman for U.S.-backed fighters said, though the U.S. military denied there was any attack. "There is no truth to the reports that U.S. forces in Syria were attacked by rockets today," tweeted coalition spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto. Earlier Sunday, Siyamend Ali, a spokesman for the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, said two rockets were fired at al-Omar field in Syria's eastern province of Deir el-Zour without inflicting any casualties. He added that it was not immediately clear where the rockets were fired from. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rockets were fired from areas controlled by Iran-backed fighters in the area of Mayadeen, also in Deir el-Zour. Syria's state news agency, SANA, also reported that al-Omar facility was hit with two rockets. Later Sunday, the Syrian Democratic Forces denied reports that another base housing U.S. troops was hit, saying the sounds of explosions at the facility, known as Conoco, were from training with live ammunition. The alleged rocket attack on al-Omar came six days after U.S. troops in eastern Syria came under a similar attack. Last week's attack came a day after U.S. Air Force planes carried out airstrikes near the Iraq-Syria border against what the Pentagon said were facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups to support drone strikes inside Iraq. Hundreds of U.S. troops are stationed in northeastern Syria, working with the Syrian Democratic Forces to fight against the Islamic State group. Thousands of Iran-backed militiamen from around the Middle East are deployed in different parts of Syria, many of them in areas along the border with Iraq. Iran-backed fighters have joined President Bashar Assad's forces in Syria's 10-year conflict. Their presence helped tip the balance of power in Assad's favor

Canada/Minister Garneau meets with senior Israeli government officials
July 4, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today met with Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Minister Garneau underscored Canada’s unwavering friendship and partnership with Israel, which is based on shared democratic values, a long history of close cooperation and strong people-to-people ties. The Minister congratulated the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister on their successful efforts in forming a new government.
Minister Garneau highlighted the success of the Canada-Israel bilateral relationship and strong collaboration in the areas of trade, science, technology and innovation. Minister Garneau expressed that Canada looks forward to negotiations with Israel to modernize and expand the scope of the Canada-Israel Agreement on Bilateral Cooperation in Industrial Research and Development, and to expand scientific collaboration between Canadian and Israeli researchers.
Minister Garneau reiterated Canada’s support for Israel’s right to live in peace with its neighbours within secure boundaries, as well as its right to self-defence consistent with international law.
He also encouraged steps to stabilize the current fragile ceasefire and expressed Canada’s concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. He restated Canada’s long-standing position and concerns that the continued expansion of settlements, demolitions and evictions constitute a serious obstacle to achieving peace and called on Israel to cease such activities.
The Minister and his interlocutors agreed that positive progress has been achieved through Israel’s historic normalization agreements with its neighbours and committed to continue working together to explore new partnership opportunities, engage on multilateral issues, enhance regional security and advance peace in the Middle East.
Finally, Minister Garneau expressed Canada’s concerns over the disturbing increase of antisemitism and hatred, at home and around the world. He reaffirmed Canada’s efforts to combat antisemitism, including by hosting the emergency National Summit on Antisemitism that Irwin Cotler, Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, will lead this summer. Both countries agreed to continue to work together, with Jewish communities, and with other members of the international community to take concrete steps to combat antisemitism worldwide.

Canada/Minister Garneau concludes official visit with the Government of Israel
July 4, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Today, the Honorable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, concluded an official visit with the new Government of Israel. He met with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett; Alternate Prime Minister & Foreign Affairs Minister Yair Lapid; and Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen. He also spoke with President-elect Isaac Herzog.
During these meetings, Minister Garneau highlighted the long history of cooperation between Canada and Israel and underscored Canada’s commitment to continue strengthening the bilateral relationship and advance shared priorities through trade; collaboration on science, technology, innovation and education; combatting antisemitism; and preserving holocaust remembrance.
Minister Garneau announced Canada’s intention to deepen already strong cooperation in science, research and innovation by tripling its annual contribution to the Canada-Israel Agreement on Bilateral Cooperation in Industrial Research and Development to $3 million per year. In his meeting with Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Orit Farkash-Hacohen, both ministers agreed to launch negotiations to modernize and expand the scope of the agreement and to establish a new mechanism to lead and promote their R&D collaboration, as well as expand scientific collaboration between Canadian and Israeli researchers.
During his visit, Minister Garneau reaffirmed Canada’s support for Israel’s right to live in peace with its neighbours within secure boundaries, and expressed full support for Israel’s right to defend itself, consistent with international law. He restated Canada’s long-standing position and concerns that the continued expansion of settlements, demolitions and evictions constitute a serious obstacle to achieving peace and called on Israel to cease such activities. He reiterated Canada’s strong commitment to playing a constructive role toward a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East underpinned by a two-state solution that allows the Israeli and Palestinian peoples to live side-by-side in peace and security.
Minister Garneau announced that the Government of Canada will be providing $700,000 to Siach Shalom (Talking Peace), a project supported by Mishkenot Sha’ananim. This funding will support Israeli and Palestinian dialogue, facilitate discussions between both peoples, and increase the inclusion of religious communities and women’s participation in peacebuilding efforts.
Minister Garneau also visited the Hand in Hand Center for Jewish-Arab Education school in Jerusalem, part of a network of Jewish-Arab integrated bilingual schools. The Minister met with leaders of various organizations to discuss their work in creating bridges between communities to combat xenophobia, racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and create a strong and inclusive society.
Finally, Minister Garneau, together with Irwin Cotler, Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, visited Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. The Minister took part in a wreath laying ceremony to honour the memory of the victims and pay tribute to survivors. He reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to advancing Holocaust education, remembrance and research, to combat antisemitism, and protect human rights, at home and abroad. To this effect, Minister Garneau and his Israeli counterpart agreed to continue to partner, with Jewish communities and other international partners, to combat antisemitism worldwide.
Quotes
“Canada reaffirms its unwavering support and friendship to the Israeli people and we remain steadfast in our commitment to play a constructive role in supporting a two-state solution and advancing sustainable peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. We will continue to engage with all sides to advance efforts towards peace.”
- Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Quick facts
Later this summer, Canada will be hosting the emergency National Summit on Antisemitism, led by Special Envoy Cotler.
The modernized Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, which entered into force in September 2019, includes new, progressive elements on gender, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the environment.
Canada is home to the fourth-largest Jewish diaspora in the world.
Associated links
Canada-Israel Relations
Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement

Canada/Minister Garneau meets with Palestinian Authority officials
July 5, 2021 – Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today met with Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, Dr. Muhammad Shtayyeh, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, and Dr. Riad Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Palestinian Authority.
Minister Garneau offered Canada’s condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the recent conflict, and underscored Canada’s grave concerns over the humanitarian impact it has on Palestinians.
The Minister reaffirmed Canada’s long-standing commitment to support the Palestinian people. He highlighted Prime Minister Trudeau’s announcement of $25 million for Palestinians affected by the recent violence in Gaza and the West Bank, noting that Canada has moved quickly to provide $10 million for urgent humanitarian needs.
Minister Garneau restated Canada’s long-standing position and concerns that the continued expansion of settlements, demolitions and evictions constitute a serious obstacle to achieving peace and the need for these activities to cease. The Minister also restated Canada’s commitment to a two-state solution, with Palestinian and Israeli peoples living side-by-side in peace and security and with their human rights fully respected.
The Minister highlighted Canada’s disappointment by the decision to postpone Palestinian elections and strongly urged the officials to hold them as soon as possible to ensure democratic renewal and accountability.
The Minister expressed Canada’s deep sadness over the death of political activist Nizar Banat while in the custody of Palestinian security forces and urged the Palestinian Authority to conduct a credible and transparent investigation into his death and hold accountable those responsible. The Minister also conveyed Canada’s concern regarding attacks on protestors, including attacks on women, and journalists, and expressed Canada’s firm support of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Minister Garneau and his interlocutors agreed to continue working together and with the international community to support the creation of a sovereign, viable, democratic and territorially contiguous Palestinian state that lives in peace and security with Israel and its neighbours.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 05-06/2021
How Erdoğan's Miscalculation Crippled Turkey's Aerial Firepower
Burak Bekdil/ Gatestone Institute/July 05/2021
Turkey is still blackmailing the U.S. (and NATO allies) that it may opt for a Russian fighter jet, the Su-57, for instance, in case it feels threatened by the lack of a new generation fighter aircraft. This is bluffing.
Turkish Air Force generals know too well that switching from NATO-standard aircraft to Russian ones after 70 years is not like changing your American car in favor of a Japanese one. Building a new operational structure, modifying air bases, new repair, service and maintenance systems will be too costly, time consuming and technologically difficult.
Erdoğan's top officials are undermining themselves when they try to convince the public that Turkey's local defense industry is making miracles in fighter jet technology.
In the meantime, fearing further U.S. sanctions, Turkey has suspended plans to activate the S-400 surface-to-air missile system.... This means Ankara paid a good $2.5 billion to Moscow for a system that it probably will never activate.
"This is a sale. We received our money. The Turks can ride the missiles to go to the beach or to carry potatoes with them. It's not our concern." — Aleksey Yerhov, Russia's ambassador to Ankara, mocking Turkey's reluctance to activate the S-400 surface-to-air missile system, onedio.com, July 6, 2020.
Turkey is blackmailing the U.S. (and NATO allies) that it may opt for a Russian fighter jet, the Su-57, for instance, in case it feels threatened by the lack of a new generation fighter aircraft. Pictured: A Su-57 fighter jet of the Russian Air Force.
One of the hottest issues in the 50-minute discussion between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Joe Biden during the NATO summit of June 14 was NATO member Turkey's acquisition of the Russian-made S-400 long-range air defense system and subsequent U.S. sanctions, including expelling Turkey from the U.S.-led multinational consortium that builds the F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet. Unsurprisingly, the meeting ended without a solution. That is bad news for the Turkish Air Force (TuAF).
For more than a decade, Turkey's military top brass planned future air power capabilities based on the assumption that they would be receiving at least 100 F-35s starting in the 2020s. The TuAF operates squadrons of fourth-generation U.S.-built F-16s and older F-4s in its operations against separatist Kurdish militants in Turkey's southeast as well as in northern Iraq and Syria. Turkey first began acquiring the F-16s from the U.S. in late 1980s and has locally produced the iconic fighter jet under license, being one of the five countries to locally produce the aircraft. Today, TuAF has a total of 270 F-16C/D aircraft in its inventory, all of them Block 30/40/50 models. Most of those aircraft will have to be phased out within the next 10 to 15 years, depending on their upgrades. Whether Congress will allow the sale of fighter jet parts and servicing for upgrades is another question mark.
What are Turkey's options to minimize the inevitable decay in TuAF's deterrence? Not too many. Turkey is still blackmailing the U.S. (and NATO allies) that it may opt for a Russian fighter jet, the Su-57, for instance, in case it feels threatened by the lack of a new generation fighter aircraft. This is bluffing. TuAF generals know too well that switching from NATO-standard aircraft to Russian ones after 70 years is not like changing your American car in favor of a Japanese one. Building a new operational structure, modifying air bases, new repair, service and maintenance systems will be too costly, time consuming and technologically difficult.
In theory, Turkey is proud of its own indigenous fighter jet program, the TF-X. Tusaş Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has for years been running the TF-X program. Turkey's defense and aerospace authorities have been announcing "breaking news" almost daily to update the public on the TF-X. Most recently, TAI announced that it started to build Europe's second biggest supersonic wind tunnel for future tests of the TF-X. The company said it signed a deal with a Turkish university for the Turkish fighter jet's software system. TAI has also unveiled the TF-X's mock-up.
These are fairy tales Turks love to hear. The government-sponsored narrative about the Turkish fighter jet in the making aims is for domestic consumption only. Few Turks know that their aerospace engineering is at best decades away from building a new generation aircraft. TAI first aimed to fly the TF-X in 2023, the centennial of the Turkish Republic. It is now talking about 2025-2026 to take a prototype aircraft from the hangar. That deadline is not realistic either.
In reality, the TF-X is still at pre-conceptual design phase. In other words, it has not been designed yet -- because you cannot design a fighter jet before choosing the engine that will power it. Turkey does not have aircraft engine technology but claims it is developing it. That claim, too, is for domestic consumption.
Erdoğan's top officials are undermining themselves when they try to convince the public that Turkey's local defense industry is making miracles in fighter jet technology. In a recent television debate, Mesut Caşin, one of Erdoğan's chief advisors, took out what looked like a tiny model aircraft from his pocket and showed it to cameras, claiming "this will be Turkey's national, indigenous fighter jet."
In the meantime, fearing further U.S. sanctions, Turkey has suspended plans to activate the S-400 surface-to-air missile system. Although the official target to activate the system was April 2020, the Turkish military is keeping the S-400 "packed and inactivated." This means Ankara paid a good $2.5 billion to Moscow for a system that it probably will never activate.
Russia's ambassador to Ankara, Aleksey Yerhov, mocked Turkey's reluctance to activate the Russian system for which it paid $2.5 billion when he said, "This is a sale. We received our money. The Turks can ride the missiles to go to the beach or to carry potatoes with them. It's not our concern." That was deeply embarrassing for Turkey.
But the show goes on. Ismail Demir, Erdoğan's top defense procurement official, said on June 21, "The issue of the defense industry is a highly significant issue in diplomacy." He was right. Turkey's acquisition of the $2.5 billion Russian air defense architecture, its inability even to activate the system, and the consequences of that acquisition are textbook examples of how the defense industry can be mishandled in diplomacy.
Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey's leading journalists, was recently fired from the country's most noted newspaper after 29 years, for writing in Gatestone what is taking place in Turkey. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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She is A Woman… Hit Her
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/July 05/2021
What happened recently at the Tunisian parliament is infuriating. A parliamentarian by the Name of Sahbi Samara suddenly leaped from his seat. Confident in his stride, he walked towards his colleague, Free Constitutional Party leader Abir Moussi. He took a few steps and then slapped her, hard. Another parliamentarian, Seiffedin Makhlouf, who apparently didn’t like Samara’s “leniency,” finished the job by kicking Moussi in the knee. There was a bit of mayhem and hubbub, but parliament did not stop working. It is normal!
Two factors intensify the fury. First, this is Tunisia, the only country whose revolution was relatively successful. Among the fruits of that success was the ratification, in 2017, of Law 58 to combat violence against women and strive to achieve gender equality. Second: it is parliament, a space that should reflect equality between citizens before playing its two primary roles, passing legislation and monitoring the executive. Mr. Samara and Mr. Makhlouf wanted to turn parliament into another space where women obey, one larger, more powerful and more influential than a family home.
Today, this audacity to attack women is taking various forms elsewhere in our region.
Take Turkey, for example: a few months ago, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to take his country out of the “Istanbul Convention,” which is aimed at protecting women from violence. Turkey has now officially withdrawn.
The arguments put forward by those who defend the withdrawal are bizarre: ‘‘the Convention promotes homosexuality and contributes to the disintegration of the family and society!’’
Turkey, where violence against women has increased noticeably over the past few years, will certainly witness a greater increase after the removal of this deterrence. This is also normal. The important thing is that foreigners do not interfere in our affairs, for we know better how to deal with our women. Are we not independent and sovereign?
News of women’s tribulations have been circulating profusely, and they take many forms, as well as happening on a variety of levels. Recently, in Iran’s presidential elections, forty out of the forty women who had submitted their candidacy were rejected. All of them were rejected, no exceptions. It could be said that men are no luckier, as shown by the fact that about 590 of them were also rejected. Nevertheless, seven men were allowed to run for office, and one of them, Ebrahim Raisi, was elected president.
The Syrian people, who are struggling against their suffering, exile and the loss of their loved ones, had the assault on the symbols of their sacrifices, especially their women icons, added to the list. The lawyer, Haitham al-Maleh, dubbed the “sheikh of Syrian jurists,” explained Zahran Alloush’s kidnapping of activist Razan Zaitouneh as being a consequence of her “not appeasing her conservative environment by dressing modestly,” and he did not hide his disappointment with her for “refusing to obey his orders” while she was working in a law firm he ran. Those who defended him found no better argument than referring to him having called Zaitouneh “his daughter,” and fathers, of course, are keen on ensuring that their daughters dress modestly and come back home before sunset!
Yes, women are easy targets, opponents against whom values, morals, religion, nationalism and heritage can be deployed. All of this and more is happening before Afghanistan is “liberated” as a result of the US withdrawal and before the Taliban regains control of the country, as observers unanimously predict. With regard to women, the Taliban which is liberating Afghanistan today, is superior to Khomeini, who had liberated Iran yesterday and who, in turn, outdid the revolution that had liberated Algeria the day before. We are moving up then, thanks to God’s grace. The methods and degrees vary, but the goal is one and the same.
Women’s persecution is exacerbating today for reasons linked to the situation in the region: its fragmentation, its inability to either keep things as they are or take off into a new state of affairs, its poverty and despondency, the unemployment of its peoples, and the collapse of their economic, health and education systems... These are issues that incur a higher cost on women than men. She is the first victim. He is the second.
However, responding to these issues with abuse and prejudice stems from two other sources: first, in our experiences with “women’s liberations,” from Kamal Ataturk to Habib Bourguiba, the negative repercussions equaled gains. Equality was linked to the state, not freedom, and separating religion from the state received a bigger share than separating the state from religion. It thus became easy for the Islamists and their supporters to paint everything progressive, including women’s freedoms, as being against the people and their freedom. As for the second source, it is the flood of political hostility to the West that became a cultural hostility to modernity. Decolonization, in this case, becomes closer to decivilization, as Yassin al-Hafiz used to say and warn us of. This is how the equation in place became: more national liberation equals more backwardness and more authoritarianism.
Amid the presence of such hindrances, we have called upon and continue to call upon the worst aspects of our “national” or “authentic” heritage and traditions, which, as soon as they open their mouths, hurl damnations at women.Burak Bekdil/ Gatestone Institute/July 05/2021

The European Union Should Be Able to Kick Out Hungary
Andreas Kluth/Bloomberg/July 05/2021
Tempers were flaring at a recent summit of the European Union when Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, looked straight at Viktor Orban, his Hungarian counterpart, and said what everybody was thinking: If you don’t share our values, you should take Hungary out of the EU. Rutte’s unsubtle nudge to make a member state exit the club was also a reminder about one of the EU’s biggest design flaws. It has no mechanism to expel countries. This raises the question: When exactly should a bloc, club or organization be able to throw members out?
In the Hungarian case, Orban’s latest affront was a law that curbs sex education in a way that crudely stigmatizes homosexuality, in effect equating it with pedophilia. But Orban has been scorning the EU’s values for years. With many small cuts, he’s whittled away at the rule of law, minority rights and press and academic freedoms.
Another member state, Poland, is almost as bad as Hungary in disdaining everything from gay rights to judicial independence. With their illiberal cynicism, these two governments threaten to hollow out the EU’s identity as a club of democratic, tolerant and open societies. And yet the tools available to discipline errant members are weak. The main one is a process stipulated in Article 7 of the EU’s treaties, which Brussels has initiated against both Poland and Hungary. It allows the bloc to strip a country of its voting rights if all the other states identify a “serious and persistent breach” to EU values. That unanimity requirement, however, means that Hungary and Poland can have each other’s back and needn’t worry.
Another mechanism — to tie funding to observance of the rule of law — was added last year, but it is vague, messy and slow. The reality is that the EU, which subjects countries to onerous standards while they’re applying for membership, can do almost nothing to sanction them once they’re in, and certainly can’t kick anybody out.
A similar dilemma often keeps the brass at NATO awake. In the alliance’s early years, the US and other allies feared that some members, such as Italy, might become communist and serve as Trojan horses for the Soviets. More recently, the bogey has been Turkey, which has scorned democratic norms, menaced allies such as Greece and even bought an air-defense system from Russia that could enable that adversary to sabotage NATO equipment. But NATO also can’t kick members out.
In this sense, the EU and NATO differ from most other types of association in this world. The United Nations, for example, is also a club of nation states but does have a way of expelling members. So does the Council of Europe, a human-rights organization with 47 member states, including all 27 EU countries.
The ability to expel is also the default in organizations whose members are individuals. The Catholic church can and does excommunicate people for apostasy or other alleged sins. The US Congress, like most parliaments, can kick out members (and has done so 20 times), as can political parties, country clubs, schools and most other institutions.
This implicit prerogative to expel members is philosophically baked into the liberal tradition as a natural extension of “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” In ancient Athens, the world’s first experiment in democracy, citizens regularly gathered to write the names of individuals on shards of pottery called ostraka. Anybody who received enough votes was ostracized in the original sense — that is, exiled.
As usual in life, however, it gets complicated. Everybody can agree that, for example, a Jewish organization should be able to throw out a member who shows up with a swastika and shouts “Heil Hitler.” But what about an organization that trains young leaders and wants to keep out women? Or a labor union that wants to terminate members for their political activities? Or the Boy Scouts if they want to expel a member just because he’s gay?
The latter three were actual cases before US courts that illustrate the philosophical and ethical conflicts involved. In the first, judges ruled that the organization cannot exclude women; in the second, that the labor union cannot kick out members; but in the third, that the Boy Scouts — thanks to the First Amendment — did have the right to expel a member for being gay.
I’m not about to re-litigate these cases. I’m simply acknowledging that freedom cuts both ways. Sometimes it requires protecting groups from individuals. Most of the time, though, it means protecting individuals from groups, and from being arbitrarily and unfairly excluded. That even applies to countries.
The power to expel is therefore nothing to trifle with. It should be used only in extreme circumstances and with an overwhelming consensus among members that it’s necessary. Even then, expulsion should always be reversible, so that the member in question has the chance and the incentive to make amends.
The EU needs to get this balance right. This means tweaking its treaties to make sure that expulsion is rare but possible. While that effort gets underway, Orban will have plenty of time to ponder how much further up his populist tree he wants to climb. And Hungarians — who still have votes, after all — can decide if they’d rather swap out leaders and stay in a club they like.

Hot African Winds
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/July 05/2021
No wonder the world is preoccupied with the centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. It is not simple for Mao Zedong’s bloc to blow out this candle while still in power, even though the last century has crushed many empires, regimes, ideas, and parties. We are talking about a country that has succeeded in replacing Japan as the second-largest world economy and is currently heading to the top position. We are talking about a party that has 93 million members, exceeding the population of a country like Germany. Moreover, it’s about a country that many call the “world factory,” a designation that raises concern in some Western states over China becoming indispensable due to supply chains.
The coming years will be impacted by the Asian numbers and the hopes they raise for some while raising fears for others. Some people believe that the West does not have a solution to the Chinese rise. They believe that curbing the grand ambitions of a country, whose population is equivalent to that of a continent, may require betting on another Asian giant, India. They note that India has several power cards that China possesses, including population density, technological progress, and a colossal army. Those consider that pumping Western support into the veins of the Indian titan may help it form something equal or nearly equivalent to the Chinese deployment on the Silk Road.
I was following the torrent of analyses about the “Asian roar” and the “Chinese era” when I was caught by scenes and news from the Dark Continent, suggesting that the African winds would not be late in blowing as well, leaving clear effects on the stability and economy of the world.
The first scenes were the images of sinking boats carrying refugees fleeing the nightmare of wars, poverty, and blocked horizons. This is frequently seen off the Libyan and Tunisian coasts. There are haunting accounts of journeys of perils and humiliations, on which Africans dream of throwing themselves into a country where a decent meal, a job, and health care can be found.
Stories reveal that sea pirates are more petrifying than land brigands. Migrants are often crammed into dilapidated boats that are likely to sink before they reach their destination.
Experts believe that this phenomenon is likely to worsen, not regress. Even though some successes have been registered in some areas of the Dark Continent, most countries have failed to provide the basic needs to restore the hope of their citizens in the future, pushing them towards internal and external migration that weighs on the economy, security, and political situation.
Because of the rapid population growth, many expect that the coming decades would witness extraordinary waves of immigration, especially as the rising needs outweigh the capabilities. Many reports say in the middle of this century, the African continent will witness a demographic explosion that will make it an incubator for a quarter of the world’s population, and that the population of a country like Nigeria will reach the limits of 400 million people. The projected numbers for the end of the current century show that Africa’s population will exceed four billion people.
A recent study by UNICEF noted that half of the world’s children would be African in 2100. I also remembered the African wind as I watched the photos circulated by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front of thousands of captured Ethiopian soldiers.
The photos were accompanied by hints from the same Front that the region may search for its future outside the Ethiopian Republic, implicitly blaming the policies pursued by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
It is clear that the government forces, which also enjoyed Eritrean support, committed rude practices during their invasion of the region, which revealed the depth of the hatred that lies within this multi-ethnic society.
The problem of the Tigray region raises the difficult question of whether we will witness further faltering and failure of the experiences of coexistence on the African continent. The ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity within the Ethiopian map is present within other territories, and it quickly expresses itself in the form of bloody explosions as soon as the iron fist of the central government declines.
The current Ethiopian troubles bring to mind images of the Yugoslav explosion and the divorce that entailed horrific massacres. The failure of coexistence experiences and the inability of countries engulfed by corruption to build real institutions that lead the development process and combat poverty, not only strengthen the winds of migration but also provide the ground for the birth of armed militias and terrorist groups.
News from the Sahel and Saharan countries reveal a movement of terrorist cells, such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, and others. If we take into consideration the American waning desire to engage in the fight against terrorism and France’s fear of drowning in those arenas, we find ourselves in front of fragile countries trying to confront cross-border terrorist and criminal groups.
The continent, which used to complain about the ambitions of foreign parties into its mines and wealth, cannot today deny the failure of many of its countries in controlling conflicts, placing them under the umbrella of international law and respecting the principles of good neighborliness and balance of interests.
The Renaissance Dam crisis provides a model for African conflicts that can ignite over water or other wealth in the lack of rational policies.
Some fear that the setback of the Ethiopian government forces in the Tigray region will push Abiy Ahmed to toughen his stance on the Renaissance Dam, something Egypt has openly declared that it cannot give up. The recent Sudanese-Ethiopian clashes in the border area may represent an indication of the possibility of a large-scale fire.
The hot African winds concern us, whether they take the form of waves of migration, the spread of terrorism, or the failure of coexistence experiences.
Thus, the Arabs have to prepare for hot winds blowing from many directions, which necessitates rational and bold policies that help maintain maps and renew hope for better days.