English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For January 26/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.january26.22.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Bible Quotations For today
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
John 09/01-34/As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”“Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said. The Pharisees Investigate the Healing. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”The man replied, “He is a prophet.”They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 25-26/2022
Lebanon and IMF Begin Talks on Rescue Package
World Bank Blames Lebanon's Rulers for Economic Meltdown
World Bank report: “Lebanon’s Crisis: Great Denial in the Deliberate Depression”
Aoun tackles developments with US Ambassador
President Aoun receives Syrian Energy Minister, praises Arab cooperation to help Lebanon
Health Ministry: 7250 new Corona cases, 14 deaths
Tenenti: Attacks on men and women serving the cause of peace are crimes under both Lebanese and international law
Jordanian Minister of Energy arrives in Lebanon
Fayyad and Nassar Voice Reservations as Cabinet Finishes 1st Budget Session
Cabinet Convenes Anew to Study Draft State Budget
Al-Halabi in wake of morning cabinet session says articles being discussed in cooperative, scientific atmosphere
Bassil Accuses Geagea of Implementing 'Foreign Agenda', Seeking 'Civil War'
Geagea: I express personal affinity with Sheikh Saad despite several differences that marred our relationship
UN’s Wronecka hands Derian letter from Guterres
Reports: Hizbullah Abstains from Responding to Kuwaiti Paper
Daryan Says Hariri's Decision Regrettable and Painful
Saad Hariri, Lebanon's Reluctant Son
Lebanese React to Hariri's Decision to Bow Out of Politics
Lebanon is occupied by Iran. Let us liberate it from this scourge./Jean Marie Kessab/January 25/2022

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 25-26/2022
US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Leaves Post amid Iran Nuclear Talks
French Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Iran Prison for Spying
US, Europe Declare 'Unity' against Russia over Ukraine
Ukraine Urges Calm, Saying Russian Invasion not Imminent
Kurds Locked in Tense Syria Prison Standoff with ISIS
Iraq’s Top Court Upholds Re-Election of Parliament Speaker
UN: South Sudan Inter-Ethnic Violence Kills 32, Including Children
Syria, Russia Start Joint Air Force Patrols Near Golan Heights
Syria: Prominent Figures Denounce Govt's Failure to Provide Heating
Snow Storms, Cold and Fire Threaten Displaced Syrians in Northern Camps
Thousands Stranded as Snow Causes Havoc in Istanbul
Palestinians Intelligence Chief: We Reject Iran’s Conspiracy against Arab Countries
UNICEF: Pandemic Causing ‘Nearly Insurmountable’ Education Losses Globally
S. Korean Officials Say North Korea Tested Cruise Missiles
Canada/Minister Ng announces Canada’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka
Canada/Global Affairs Canada statement on temporary withdrawal of dependants from Ukraine
Canada/Minister Ng announces Canada’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 25-26/2022
Oman Must Isolate, Not Embrace, the Houthis/Jonathan and Schanzer Michael Rubin/The National Interest/January 25/2022
Biden’s North Korea Policy Needs Rebooting/Anthony Ruggiero and Matthew Zweig/Foreign Policy/January 25/2022
Houthis Renew Attack on Abu Dhabi With Ballistic Missiles/Joe Truzman/FDD's Long War Journal/January 25/2022
Biden's Latest Mayhem/Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/January 25/ 2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 25-26/2022
Lebanon and IMF Begin Talks on Rescue Package
Agence France Presse/January 25/2022
Lebanese officials began much-delayed talks with the International Monetary Fund Monday on support measures aimed at lifting the country out of its worst-ever economic crisis. "We hope the negotiations will be concluded as soon as possible, but given the complexity of the issues it is possible that other rounds will be held," Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh al-Shami, who heads the Lebanese delegation, said in a statement. The talks are taking place online due to Covid-19 restrictions. Lebanon is hoping to obtain a financial rescue package to rekindle an economy that has been in free fall for two years.
The previous government held several rounds of talks with the multilateral lender, but was unable to secure a bailout, amid a failure by the two sides to agree on the scale of financial losses stemming from the meltdown. The current government opened a preparatory dialogue with the IMF last year and has settled on a figure of around $69 billion as its estimate for the financial sector's losses, ahead of the talks that began on Monday. The state defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2020, the currency has lost around 90 percent of its value on the black market and four out of five Lebanese are now considered poor by the United Nations. Despite the country's shocking social and economic decline, Lebanon's ruling class has continued to stall reforms demanded by foreign donors ahead of any assistance. The Cabinet of Prime Minister Najib Miqati met Monday for the first time since mid-October, after months of political horsetrading between its rival factions. "In this first round of negotiations and over the next two weeks, we will discuss several topics, including the budget, the banking sector and the exchange rate," Shami said in the statement issued by Miqati's office.

World Bank Blames Lebanon's Rulers for Economic Meltdown
Associated Press/January 25/2022
The World Bank accused Lebanon's political class of orchestrating the country's economic collapse, warning in a report released Tuesday that the meltdown is a long-term threat to the small Mideast nation.
The World Bank's Lebanon Economic Monitor showed the country's gross domestic product plummeted from close to $52 billion in 2019 to a projected $21.8 billion in 2021, marking a more than 58% contraction. That's the biggest contraction of the 193 countries listed by the publication.
"Lebanon's deliberate depression is orchestrated by the country's elite" that has long controlled the country, said the report, titled, "The Great Denial."
The meltdown began in October 2019 and has thrown more than 75% of the country's population into poverty. The same political class blamed for the decades of corruption and mismanagement leading up the crisis has done almost nothing to help Lebanon climb out of the crisis.
The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value and the there are several exchange rates, reflecting the severity of the crisis. Banks have imposed informal capital controls, depriving people of access to their savings.
Despite spending billions of dollars on infrastructure projects since the civil war ended in 1990, electricity cuts out for 22 hours a day, tap water is largely undrinkable, roads are riddled with holes, trash piles on the streets while the sewage system floods whenever there is heavy rain.
The report, which analyzes the end of 2021, estimates a decline of the GDP by 10.5% percent for that year. That comes after a 21.4% contraction in 2020. It lined up with earlier reports that said the crisis is one of the world's most severe economic collapses in modern times.
Lebanon's surging inflation, estimated to average 145% in 2021, now ranks third globally after Venezuela's and Sudan's, it said.
The report said government revenues are estimated to almost halve in 2021 to reach 6.6% of GDP, marking the third-lowest ratio globally after Somalia and Yemen. The gross debt is estimated to reach 183% of GDP in 2021, taking Lebanon to the fourth highest ratio in the world behind Japan, Sudan and Greece."Deliberate denial during deliberate depression is creating long-lasting scars on the economy and society," said Saroj Kumar Jha, the World Bank's regional director. "Over two years into the financial crisis, Lebanon has yet to identify, least of all embark upon, a credible path toward economic and financial recovery."Jha added that the Lebanese government urgently needs to move forward with the adoption of a credible, comprehensive and equitable macro-financial stabilization and recovery plan and accelerate its implementation if it is to avoid a complete destruction of its social and economic networks and immediately stop irreversible loss of human capital. The report came a day after Beirut resumed its talks with the International Monetary Fund after the Cabinet held its first meeting in three months. The talks began last year and broke off without a breakthrough amid political bickering by rival groups.

World Bank report: “Lebanon’s Crisis: Great Denial in the Deliberate Depression”
NNA/January 25/2022
The scale and scope of Lebanon’s deliberate depression are leading to the disintegration of key pillars of Lebanon’s post-civil war political economy. This is being manifested by a collapse of the most basic public services; persistent and debilitating internal political discord; and mass brain drain. Meanwhile, the poor and the middle class, who were never well served under this model in the first place, are carrying the main burden of the crisis.
According to the World Bank Lebanon Economic Monitor (LEM) Fall 2021 “The Great Denial”, Lebanon’s deliberate depression is orchestrated by the country’s elite that has long captured the state and lived off its economic rents. This capture persists despite the severity of the crisis -one of the top ten, possibly top three most severe economic collapses worldwide since the 1850s; it has come to threaten the country’s long-term stability and social peace. The country’s post-war economic development model which thrived on large capital inflows and international support in return for promises of reforms is bankrupt. In addition, the collapse is occurring in a highly unstable geo-political environment making the urgency of addressing the dire crisis even more pressing.
The LEM estimates real GDP to decline by 10.5 percent in 2021, on the back of a 21.4 contraction in 2020. In fact, Lebanon’s GDP plummeted from close to US$52 billion in 2019 to a projected US$21.8 billion in 2021, marking a 58.1 percent contraction—the highest contraction in a list of 193 countries.
Monetary and financial turmoil continue to drive crisis conditions, under a multiple exchange rate system which poses valuable challenges on the economy. The sharp deterioration in the Lebanese Lira persisted in 2021, with the US$ banknote rate and the World Bank Average Exchange rate depreciating by 211 and 219 percent (year-on-year), respectively, over the first 11 months of the year. Exchange rate pass through effects on prices have resulted in surging inflation, estimated to average 145 percent in 2021—ranking 3rd globally after Venezuela and Sudan. Inflation is a highly regressive tax, disproportionally affecting the poor and vulnerable, and more generally, people living on fixed income like pensioners. Food inflation remains concerning as it forms a larger proportion of the expenses incurred by poorer households who are struggling to make ends meet with their deteriorating purchasing power.
Government revenues are estimated to almost halve in 2021 to reach 6.6 percent of GDP, marking the 3rd lowest ratio globally after Somalia and Yemen. The expenditure contraction was even more pronounced, led partially by drastic cutbacks in primary spending, which has reinforced the economic spiral. Meanwhile, gross debt is estimated to reach 183 percent of GDP in 2021, taking Lebanon to the 4th highest ratio in the world preceded only by Japan, Sudan and Greece.
A rare relative bright spot in 2021 has been tourism, which helped hold the current account deficit-to-GDP ratio steady.
Starting Spring 2021, a disorderly termination of the foreign exchange (FX) subsidy commenced and was in full force by the summer. The path authorities followed to the subsidy removal was opaque, inadequately coordinated and lacked timely pro-poor alleviation measures. As a result, subsidy removal mostly benefited importers and smugglers while precious and scarce FX resources were drained.
“Deliberate denial during deliberate depression is creating long-lasting scars on the economy and society. Over two years into the financial crisis, Lebanon has yet to identify, least of all embark upon, a credible path toward economic and financial recovery,” said Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank Mashreq Regional Director. “The Government of Lebanon urgently needs to move forward with the adoption of a credible, comprehensive and equitable macro-financial stabilization and recovery plan and accelerate its implementation if it is to avoid a complete destruction of its social and economic networks and immediately stop irreversible loss of human capital. The World Bank reconfirms its readiness to continue to support Lebanon in addressing the pressing needs of its people and challenges affecting their livelihoods.”
As detailed and called for in previous issues of the LEM, this strategy would be based on: (i) a new monetary policy framework that would regain confidence and stability in the exchange rate; (ii) a debt restructuring program that would achieve short-term fiscal space and medium-term debt sustainability; (iii) a comprehensive restructuring of the financial sector to regain solvency of the banking sector; (iv) a phased, equitable, fiscal adjustment to regain confidence in fiscal policy; (v) growth enhancing reforms; and (vi) enhanced social protection.
Particularly, initiating a comprehensive, well-structured and swift reform of the electricity sector is critical to address the long-standing and compounding challenges of this sector which is at the center of Lebanon’s economic and social recovery. In addition, Lebanon needs to step-up efforts to ensure efficient and prompt delivery of social protection assistance to the poor and vulnerable households struggling under the continuing economic crisis.
The Special Focus section of the LEM “Searching for the External Lift in the Deliberate Depression” examines the reasons for the weaker than expected increase in exports considering the Lebanese Lira’s sharp depreciation; it analyzes the failure thus far for the external sector to sufficiently benefit from increased price competitiveness and become a more robust driver of growth. The Special Focus finds that Lebanon’s exports are inhibited by three factors (outside of the crisis itself): (i) (pre crisis) economic fundamentals; (ii) global conditions; and (iii) political/institutional environment.

Aoun tackles developments with US Ambassador
NNA/January 25/2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, on Tuesday welcomed at Baabda Presidential Palace, US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, with whom he held a tour de horizon over Lebanese-US relations, especially in light of existing cooperations between the two countries. The pair also broached the most recent political developments, as well as the current economic and social conditions.

President Aoun receives Syrian Energy Minister, praises Arab cooperation to help Lebanon
NNA/January 25/2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met Syrian Energy Minister, Eng. Ghassan Al-Zamel, shortly after his arrival in Lebanon, on the eve of signing the contract to supply electric power from Jordan through Syria. Minister Al-Zamel was accompanied by Lebanese Energy Minister, Walid Fayyad, and the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdel Karim Ali. During the meeting, Minister Al-Zamel conveyed to President Aoun the greetings of Syrian President, Dr. Bashar Al-Assad, and his directives "To provide all assistance and facilities for the implementation of this project”.
For his part, President Aoun thanked Minister Zamelfor Syrian accomplishments to facilitate the signing of the contract, praising the existing Arab cooperation to support Lebanon by its brothers, especially in this difficult circumstance which Lebanon faces. Statement of Ministers Fayyad and Zamel:
After the meeting, Minister Fayyad made the following statement: “We held a meeting this afternoon with His Excellency the President, which came within the framework of the visit of the Syrian Energy Minister, Ghassan Al-Zamel, in the presence of the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali.
It is expected that tomorrow we will sign an energy supply contract from Jordan. To this end, we will receive the Jordanian Energy Minister, Saleh al-Kharabashi, shortly. We will also sign an energy transit agreement from Jordan to Lebanon through Syria, in cooperation with the Arab brothers.
I welcome Minister Zamil to Lebanon. We have briefed His Excellency the President on this strategic cooperation taking place, which is a very important step in rebuilding the historical partnerships between the two countries and with the Arab brothers in general, from Egypt, Jordan and Iraq who all stand by Lebanon's side. We hope that this cooperation will be constructive for the benefit of all the Arab brothers, and at the same time, the vital importance of this file lies in the ability, during the short period, within two months or less, to secure additional electricity to the Electricity of Lebanon network at a cheaper cost and less pollution than the electricity provided by private generators, so we will obtain 2 additional hours of feeding or 200 megawatts.
Then Minister Al-Zamil said:  "We had a short meeting with the President of the Republic and conveyed to him the greetings of President Bashar Al-Assad. The President's directives require providing all assistance and all facilities to implement this project. We in Syria do not need lights from anyone or anyone. We have done our best since the first meeting, where we said that at the end of the year the connection line will be ready. On the 29th of last month, we informed the Jordanian and Lebanese sides about the readiness of the line. And the Syrian government's directives require providing all facilities to complete this agreement. And we are now ready to sign, and we have come to witness the signing by the Lebanese and Jordanian parties”.
Questions & Answers:
In response to a question about the implications of this visit to Beirut after a boycott of nearly 11 years, Minister Al-Zamel replied: "It is a visit to our brothers in Lebanon, and we previously considered ourselves one people in two brotherly countries.
It is a visit that I cannot say is the beginning of Arab-Arab cooperation, because this cooperation is supported by President Bashar al-Assad and by the government to facilitate and reactivate Arab cooperation in general”.
In response to another question, Minister Fayyad explained that “The issue of gas was addressed by the World Bank faster than it was addressed regarding electricity, and the World Bank has allocated $300 million for the gas program, while what the World Bank is looking for today is to add financing for electricity rushing from Jordan to Lebanon through Syria”.
Whether there are positive signs from the World Bank in this direction, Minister Fayyad replied: "Yes, there are positive signs, and we will meet with officials in the World Bank in this regard, including the general manager of our region”. -- Presidency Press Office

Health Ministry: 7250 new Corona cases, 14 deaths
NNA/January 25/2022
In its daily report on the COVID-19 developments, the Ministry of Public Health announced on Tuesday the registration of 7250 new infections with the Coronavirus, which raised the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 874144. The report added that 14 deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours.

Tenenti: Attacks on men and women serving the cause of peace are crimes under both Lebanese and international law
NNA/January 25/2022
UNIFIL Spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said that “Earlier today, peacekeepers on a routine patrol were attacked west of the village of Ramyah, south Lebanon, after their vehicles were blocked. One peacekeeper was injured.”“The perpetrators also vandalized two vehicles and stole a number of items.”Tenenti added that “The Lebanese Armed Forces were on the scene and after a time were able to de-escalate the situation. The peacekeepers were not on private property but on a commonly-traveled public road. They were simply doing their jobs to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 and maintain stability in south Lebanon. Under Resolution 1701, UNIFL has full freedom of movement and the right to patrol within its area of operations.” “Attacks on men and women serving the cause of peace are crimes under both Lebanese and international law. We call on the Lebanese authorities to investigate this crime and prosecute all who were responsible,” said the UNIFIL spokesperson.

Jordanian Minister of Energy arrives in Lebanon
NNA/January 25/2022
Jordanian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Ali Hamed Al-Kharabsheh, accompanied by a delegation, arrived on Monday evening at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, to sign two agreements to supply Lebanon with electricity from Jordan. Greeting him at the airport had been Water and Energy Minister, Dr. Walid Fayyad, and Jordan's Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Al-Hadid.

Fayyad and Nassar Voice Reservations as Cabinet Finishes 1st Budget Session
Naharnet/January 25/2022
A first Cabinet session for discussing the draft state budget was held Tuesday at the Grand Serail under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Najib Miqati, as two ministers voiced reservations over the way the budget was being addressed. “The discussions have reached Article 39 of the draft state budget and we will continue the deliberations from Article 40 after a 30-minute break,” acting information minister Abbas al-Halabi said after the session. “The budget is being debated article by article and Cabinet discussed several articles related to economic incentives as it suspended the debate over other articles,” Halabi added. Energy Minister Walid Fayyad meanwhile announced that he is not satisfied by “the way the budget is being addressed in the session,” noting that he prefers to “tackle the objectives and the comprehensive plan before delving into the budget in detail.”Tourism Minister Walid Nassar for his part said that he shares Fayyad’s reservations. “I expressed my opinion about extraordinary powers and I will not agree to grant any extraordinary powers to any minister,” Fayyad added.He also said that “the articles whose discussion was suspended are related to income tax,” noting that “the atmosphere is positive” and that “the exchange rate has not been agreed until the moment.”

Cabinet Convenes Anew to Study Draft State Budget
Naharnet/January 25/2022
Cabinet convened Tuesday at the Grand Serail to study the draft law of the 2022 state budget, in a second consecutive session. The session was chaired by Prime Minister Najib Miqati and attended by the ministers except Justice Minister Henry Khouri who is abroad. Acting Information Minister and Education Minister Abbas al-Halabi said Monday that successive meetings will be held to study and finalize the budget. "There would be morning and evening sessions," Halabi said.

Al-Halabi in wake of morning cabinet session says articles being discussed in cooperative, scientific atmosphere
NNA/January 25/2022
The Council of Ministers on Tuesday commenced sessions at the Grand Serail to study and discuss the 2022 state budget under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Najib Mikati.  In the wake of the morning session, Acting Minister of Information, Judge Abbas Al-Halabi, said that in addition to the state budget, the cabinet also discussed several articles that provide economic incentives to help resuscitate the faltering Lebanese economy. “The discussion of some other articles has been suspended. The council's sessions will continue until 6:00 pm and will resume Wednesday and Thursday morning,” Al-Halabi said.
Regarding the customs US dollar rate, Al-Halabi said that it was too early to delve into its details. “We are discussing all the articles, one item at a time, in an atmosphere of full cooperation, and within a scientific and objective discussion that only enriches these articles in a way that preserves public funds and leads economic revival.” Regarding new taxes, Al-Halabi deemed this “an integrated project”, and suggested tackling this topic once relevant discussions are concluded. It is to note that the Council of Ministers is currently convening in a second session at the Grand Serail.

Bassil Accuses Geagea of Implementing 'Foreign Agenda', Seeking 'Civil War'
Naharnet/January 25/2022
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday commented on ex-PM Saad Hariri’s decision to withdraw from political life as he slammed Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea as being “obsessed with war.”
“Someone has chosen to be sanctioned (by the U.S.) to prevent civil war and someone has agreed to withdraw in order not to allow civil war,” Bassil tweeted, referring to himself and to Hariri. “But there is someone who is determined to fight the war, and it is not important for him if he stabs his ally in the back or if he betrays a historic reconciliation,” the FPM chief added, apparently referring to Geagea. “What’s important for him is to implement a foreign agenda and cause strife in Lebanon. The choice is between a militiaman who is obsessed with war and a statesman who is working to prevent it,” Bassil went on to say.

Geagea: I express personal affinity with Sheikh Saad despite several differences that marred our relationship
NNA/January 25/2022
Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea, on Tuesday affirmed, "Despite the many differences that marred the relationship between us and former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, particularly in the political approaches related to governance, I cannot, at these particular moments, but express my personal affinity with Sheikh Saad."Geagea said in a statement, “As we respect and appreciate the friends and brothers of the Future Movement, we insist on coordinating with them and with all the sons of the Sunni community in Lebanon and with all those from other communities who believe in the Lebanese cause, so that Lebanon, the statehood, sovereignty and freedom, can triumph.”

UN’s Wronecka hands Derian letter from Guterres
NNA/January 25/2022
Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, on Tuesday welcomed at his Dar el-Fatwa residence United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, who handed him a letter of appreciation from UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, after the latter’s visit to Lebanon.
In his letter, the UN Secretary General highlighted the important role played by the Mufti of the Republic in favor of inter-religious understanding. “This contributes to the strengthening unity, solidarity, dialogue, coexistence, as well as safeguards Lebanon’s stability and security,” the letter read.

Reports: Hizbullah Abstains from Responding to Kuwaiti Paper
Naharnet/January 25/2022
Hizbullah will not respond to the Kuwaiti paper’s demands, sources have said.
Informed sources told al-Liwaa newspaper, in remarks published Tuesday, that the paper carried by the Kuwaiti foreign minister is addressing the Lebanese state and not Hizbullah, even though some points are directly related to the group. “The state will respond, as promised by Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib,” the sources said. They added that Hizbullah would commit to the requested “verbal pacification” towards KSA and some Gulf states, if the latter stopped "attacking" and accusing the Shiite party. Bou Habib had said Monday that studying the Kuwaiti paper will be done by Saturday. The paper was handed Saturday to Lebanese authorities by Kuwait’s foreign minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasse Al-Sabah. He said the paper carries "a Kuwaiti, Gulf, Arab and international message” containing measures to build confidence again with Lebanon.President Michel Aoun reportedly expressed to the Kuwaiti envoy his reservations over the mention of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 in the submitted paper, stressing that “the issue of Hizbullah’s arms and its regional role is not a local issue that has to do with Lebanon alone, but rather a regional and international issue.”

Daryan Says Hariri's Decision Regrettable and Painful
Naharnet/January 25/2022
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan on Tuesday described ex-PM Saad Hariri's withdrawal from political life as "regrettable" and "painful." In a statement, Daryan lauded the efforts that Hariri exerted while performing his "national missions" and his "constant cooperation with Dar al-Fatwa."
Expressing his concern over the developments in the Lebanese arena, the mufti called for "further Islamic and national unity."He also said that Lebanon's ties with Arabs, especially Saudi Arabia, must be at "the best and highest level," stressing that "no Lebanese group should harm these brotherly relations."

Saad Hariri, Lebanon's Reluctant Son
Agence France Presse/January 25/2022
Lebanon's Saad Hariri, who announced on Monday that he was withdrawing from political life, was thrust into the limelight by his father's assassination but always struggled to fill his shoes. Despite widespread skepticism over whether the three-time premier's retirement could be considered definitive, Hariri's tearful announcement marked a major turning point in his troubled career. He cited "Iranian influence and international upheaval" among the reasons for not running in parliamentary elections due to take place in May. Ever the reluctant politician, Hariri had resigned as prime minister after unprecedented nationwide protests broke out in 2019 to demand the wholesale overhaul of Lebanon's political class. He was designated the following year to form a technocratic government that would implement much-anticipated reforms, but he failed to broker a consensus and threw in the towel. In a country where other political stalwarts have been in their positions since the 1980s and look set to cling on for as long as possible, Hariri cuts an unusual figure. At 51, he is more than 30 years younger than Speaker Nabih Berri and President Michel Aoun, and more inclined to self-criticism than most of his fellow political leaders. "Rafik Hariri's project can be summed up in two ideas: firstly, preventing civil war in Lebanon, and secondly a better life for the Lebanese," he said on Monday. "I succeeded in the first, but I was not destined to succeed enough in the second," Hariri said.
Heavy legacy
Rafik Hariri was a towering figure and the political mantle he left after his death was heavy on his son's shoulders. The backbone of that legacy included a colossal fortune, in the shape of the Saudi Oger company he inherited, and unwavering support from Riyadh that helped counteract Iran's growing regional ambitions. By 2017, Saudi Oger had gone bankrupt and Hariri's relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was so brittle that his once undisputed leadership in Lebanon's Sunni community started looking tenuous. The most striking expression of that divorce came in 2017 when he unexpectedly announced his resignation from a hotel in Riyadh, where he was apparently being held against his will. He had long been criticized within his own camp for being too conciliatory towards the powerful Shiite movement Hizbullah. Hariri's brother Bahaa launched a separate movement last year and the job of prime minister was taken by veteran politician and billionaire Najib Miqati. His standing among fellow sectarian leaders also took a hit during the October 2019 uprising, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets demanding basic services and removal of a political class they accused of mismanagement. Hariri tried to cast himself as a champion of economic reform efforts that were held hostage by unwilling coalition partners.
Decline -
The move earned little more love from the public, who saw him as a typical product of the kind of corrupt and hereditary politics that were driving the country to the brink. He again tried to win support on the street by admitting that the ruling class was collectively responsible for the financial crisis that has devastated the country over the past two years. "People say all parties are responsible, myself included. Yes, we are responsible," he said in late 2020, as Lebanon's economy was going into a tailspin. Hariri failed to gain new traction and his loss of influence started to look inevitable, further exemplified by the final demise of his once thriving media empire, the last remnant of which was the Daily Star newspaper that closed in November. Hariri launched his political career at the urging of his family, after his father's death. He left his post in Saudi Arabia running Saudi Oger and back in Beirut played a key role in mass demonstrations that ended a 30-year Syrian military presence in Lebanon. His close friends say he enjoys cooking and exercising, and would make appearances at Beirut bike rides and the city's annual marathon. Hariri's wife Lama Bashir-Azm, who is of Syrian origin, and their three children live outside of Lebanon.

Lebanese React to Hariri's Decision to Bow Out of Politics
Associated Press/January 25/2022
Former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora expressed on Tuesday his support for ex-PM Saad Hariri in a statement on social media. "I am with you despite your decision and with you in spite of them," Saniora declared, calling Hariri "Brother Saad."Saniora was not the only politician to express an emotional reaction to Hariri's decision to withdraw from his political career. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks pulished Tuesday, that "Hariri's decision is saddening." Before him, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said the same, adding that "the country was orphaned" and that "Mukhtara is sad and lonely." He was the first to tweet, minutes after Hariri announced his withdrawal in an emotional televised address. Prime Minister Najib Miqati followed. He said that Hariri's speech is "a sad page" for Lebanon and for him personally.
"But I understand the painful conditions he is going through and the bitterness he is feeling," Miqati added. MP Tammam Salam, also a former PM, praised Hariri's decision, saying that it reflects "a deep imbalance in political and national powers" and a "lack of unity in the nation." He hoped for others "who consider themselves victorious over the remains of a collapsed homeland" to follow his example, in admitting responsibility. Last week, Salam announced he won't participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, as he wished to "make way for new blood and real change."He said he respects the demands of the rebellious people seeking a much-needed change and new perspectives. Hariri, who was traditionally in the camp opposing Hizbullah, has largely co-existed with it, forming coalition governments that included the group. That cost him support from Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, the rival of Iran, over influence and clout in the region.Now, as he exits from political life, Hariri said he is convinced there is “no room for any positive opportunity for Lebanon” in light of Tehran’s growing influence, internal divisions, rising sectarian sentiments and the dysfunction of the state. He also acknowledged in his televised speech that he had failed to prevent Lebanon from falling into the worst economic crisis in its modern history. Hariri’s decision came despite the fact that several prominent politicians, including Berri and Jumblat, tried to convince him to change his mind. After Hariri’s speech, some of his supporters blocked roads with burning tires to express their anger with his decision. “Despite his political woes, Saad Hariri remains the primary Sunni leader in Lebanon,” Randa Slim, a political analyst with the Washington-based Middle East Institute said in a Twitter post. “His political exit will create a vacuum,” she said, adding that the scramble for the Sunni community leadership mantle will now intensify. Hariri was a young political novice when he was thrust into the spotlight following the assassination of his father and had to learn fast. But he lacked his father's political savviness and clout and often fumbled his way through Lebanon's complex and sectarian-based politics. His business also suffered and in 2019 he had to close a TV network and newspaper owned by his family following a years-long financial struggle.

Lebanon is occupied by Iran. Let us liberate it from this scourge.
Jean Marie Kessab/January 25/2022
Hariri in Hariri out. Mostakbal in Mostakbal out. That is not the question . The question is why was not the Sunni community able after some many years to produce a more reliable group of politicians able to cope with the current situation, occupation by Iran that is and the current economic disaster as well. That question could also strictly apply to all the Lebanese communities. Hariri committed huge mistakes. So did the rest. Huge mistakes. He justified his mistakes by saying that he did what he did in order to avoid civil war. Honestly I could not manage to understand this statement despite huge mental efforts. The civil war did not happen albeit a few clashes. This is a fact. But what did we get instead? We got a fully fledged occupation, an economic mega disaster and plenty more evils to come. Hariri avoided civil war by dispensing morphine and more morphine to the people. This drug relieves momentarily pain but kills in the end. This is what happened, no more no less.
Am I sad or angry? I really cannot say.
Lebanon is occupied by Iran. Let us liberate it from this scourge.
Vive la Résistance
Vive le Liban
Task Force Lebanon.
https://www.facebook.com/taskforcelb

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 25-26/2022
US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Leaves Post amid Iran Nuclear Talks
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
A senior member of the US team negotiating with Iran has left the role amid a report of differences of opinion on the way forward, as the urgency to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal intensifies. A State Department official confirmed on Monday that Richard Nephew, US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran, is no longer on the negotiating team, but was still a State Department employee. The official did not give a reason for the change but said personnel moves were "very common" a year into an administration. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Nephew left after differences of opinion within the US negotiating team on Iran. The paper said he had advocated a tougher posture in the current negotiations. The departure comes at a critical time as the United States and its European allies last week said there were just weeks to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Indirect talks between Iran and the United States resumed almost two months ago. Western diplomats have indicated they were hoping for a breakthrough over the next few weeks, but sharp differences remain. Iran has rejected any deadline imposed by Western powers. Diplomats and analysts say the longer Iran remains outside the deal, the more nuclear expertise it will gain, shortening the time it might need to race to build a bomb if it chose to, thereby undermining the accord's original purpose. Tehran denies it has ever sought to develop nuclear arms. The State Department official said the withdrawal of the Trump administration from the JCPOA had left the Biden administration with a crisis. Finding a way forward could lead to disagreements. "Working our way out of this crisis requires many difficult, closely balanced decisions, on which there can be reasonable disagreement ... The senior-most levels of our Government have given careful consideration to these choices, weighed multiple views, and settled on a policy," the official said. The US State Department on Monday repeated that it remains open to meeting with Iranian officials directly to discuss the nuclear deal and other issues after Iran's foreign minister said Tehran would consider this but had made no decisions. "We are prepared to meet directly. We have consistently held the position that it would be much more productive to engage with Iran directly on both JCPOA negotiations and on other issues," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. Price also said the United States had not made Iran's release of four Americans a condition of reaching an agreement on reviving the nuclear deal, saying that achieving such an agreement was "at best, an uncertain proposition." Iranian Americans, whose US citizenship is not recognized by Tehran, are often pawns between the two nations, now at odds over whether to revive the fraying 2015 pact under which Iran limited its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. "We want to see these Americans ... returned as soon as possible," Price said. "It would not serve our purposes - it would not serve their purposes - to tie their fates to a proposition that ... is uncertain at best."

Flicker of Hope for Western ‘Hostages' in Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
When Barry Rosen, one of those held in Tehran's American embassy in the 1979-81 crisis, saw coverage of the talks in Vienna on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, he felt there was one glaring omission. Rosen, 77, says he saw "nothing in the press, anywhere, about the plight of the hostages," referring to the dozen or so Westerners being held either in prison or under house arrest in Iran. Rosen decided to come to the Austrian capital and go on hunger strike in their support, AFP said. "It's been 40 years since I was freed and now I said to myself I have to do something about this," Rosen told AFP, sporting a black cap with the slogan "free the hostages". "I suffered from 1979 to 1981 and I just don't want more people suffering all the time," he said in front of the five-star Palais Coburg hotel that is hosting the diplomatic talks. It's also where Rosen has set up his base, although strict security means he can't get anywhere near the delegations. He ended his hunger strike on Sunday after being urged to do so by his supporters due to the "deleterious effect" on his health. His message for Tehran's interlocutors is clear: "Tell Iran to release all the prisoners immediately and if they don't do that, don't sign the nuclear accord."
Growing movement -
Among those who have taken notice of Rosen's message is the top US negotiator for the talks Rob Malley, who met Rosen several times last week. Rosen says Malley assured him that those currently held in Iran would not be forgotten. On Monday Malley tweeted, "applauding (Rosen's) heroic efforts to secure the release of all wrongfully detained foreign/dual nationals in Iran". "We remain fully focused on this crisis," Malley added. Also on Monday Iran's foreign ministry signaled it was "possible" to reach deals on both the nuclear issue and that of detainees. "If the other party (the US) has the determination, there is the possibility that we reach a reliable and lasting agreement in both of them in the shortest time," ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters. On Monday the US State Department said that "it would not serve our purposes, it would not serve their interests" to link the fate of the detainees with the nuclear negotiations. "We want the return of these Americans to be a certain proposition. And so we are keeping these issues separate," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. Most of the Westerners detained in Iran also have Iranian nationality and stand accused of crimes such as espionage -- charges their families dismiss as ridiculous. Some have also decided to go on hunger strike. British-Iranian engineer Anoosheh Ashoori, 67, has stopped eating and 36-year-old French national Benjamin Briere, who insists he was in Iran as a tourist, has been refusing food since Christmas Day 2021. Another detainee, 58-year-old Austrian-Iranian businessman Kamran Ghaderi, began his own hunger strike on Monday, his wife Harika told AFP. She has also met Rosen and hailed what Malley said as "a good sign". "All these countries are here, why shouldn't (prisoners) be a topic," she said of the current negotiations. Ghaderi was arrested in January 2016 and Harika says "my eight-year-old son cannot remember his father and is asking every day when he is coming back."
'Keep the momentum' -
Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-American held in Iran between 2015 and 2019, has also come to Vienna. Now president of the Hostage Aid campaign group, said he was "excited" about the impact that the current protests are achieving.
"Now we need to keep the momentum," he says, adding that the final goal is for "all of (the detainees) to be released". Some experts caution that linking the issue of prisoners and Iran's nuclear program may prove tricky. The talks are aimed at reviving the moribund 2015 deal -- also known as the JCPOA -- which offered Iran sanctions relief in return for strict curbs on its nuclear program to make sure it couldn't develop a nuclear weapon. But the deal has been disintegrating ever since former US President Donald Trump pulled out of it in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. "It is my understanding that the US has a separate process for discussing this (hostage) issue. It should not be mixed up with the nuclear talks, which are complicated enough," says Barbara Slavin of the Atlantic Council think tank. The talks are currently making slow progress and are facing several sticking points, notably Tehran's insistence on guarantees that a future US administration won't repeat Trump's actions. "Iran should free the detainees, no matter what happens with the JCPOA," says Slavin.

French Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Iran Prison for Spying
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
An Iranian court on Tuesday sentenced French national Benjamin Briere to eight years in prison on spying charges, his Paris-based lawyer said, describing the trial as a politically motivated sham and his client as a "bargaining chip". Briere, 36, has been held in Iran since May 2020, when he was arrested after flying a helicam - a remote-controlled mini helicopter used to obtain aerial or motion images - in the desert near the Turkmenistan-Iran border. The ruling comes at a sensitive time as the United States and European parties to Iran's 2015 nuclear deal try to restore the pact that was abandoned in 2018 by then-US President Donald Trump. "It is unacceptable that Benjamin Briere remains a hostage to negotiations on the part of a regime that persists in its desire to arbitrarily detain a French citizen and use him as a bargaining chip," lawyer Philippe Valent said in a statement. France has been seen as tougher in nuclear negotiations with Iran than some of the other parties to the deal. Briere, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, was given an additional eight-month sentence for "propaganda" against Iran, Valent said. Briere will appeal against the ruling, said Saeid Dehghan, one of his Iranian lawyers. He said his client had been shocked by the sentence, which was harsher than expected and included an additional charge of cooperating against Iran with hostile states. "His sentence is based on a different legal clause than the earlier one ... He has been convicted of cooperation with hostile states against Iran which carries a longer sentence than his previous one," Dehghan said.
Hunger strike
Briere has been on a hunger strike since Christmas.
"Benjamin Briere obviously did not - nor ever - benefit from any form of fair trial before impartial judges," Valent said. "This ruling is the result of a purely political process."Iran's judiciary was not immediately available for comment. France's foreign ministry said the verdict was "unacceptable", adding that it was in regular contact with Briere. France has warned Tehran in the past that the way it is handling the cases of French nationals held in Iran could sour ties. Briere's family are alarmed by his physical and psychological condition, Valent said, urging the French authorities to step in. In recent years, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Western powers have long demanded that Tehran free their citizens, who they say are political prisoners. Earlier this month, Iran re-imprisoned Franco-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, sentenced to five years in jail in 2020 but recently living under house arrest. France has demanded Adelkhah's immediate release.

US, Europe Declare 'Unity' against Russia over Ukraine
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
President Joe Biden declared "total" unity among Western powers Monday after crisis talks with European leaders on deterring Russia from an attack against Ukraine, while the Pentagon said 8,500 US troops were put on standby for possible deployment to boost NATO. "I had a very, very, very good meeting -- total unanimity with all the European leaders," Biden told reporters shortly after finishing a one hour and 20 minute video conference with allied leaders from Europe and NATO. In London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office also said "the leaders agreed on the importance of international unity in the face of growing Russian hostility," reported AFP. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said "it is up to Russia to undertake visible de-escalation," while NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned of "severe costs" if there is "any further aggression" by Moscow against Ukraine. Also on the call were the leaders of France, Italy, Poland and the European Union. Despite insisting he has no intention of attacking, President Vladimir Putin has deployed some 100,000 troops close to Ukraine, where Russia already seized Crimea in 2014 and backs a separatist army in the east. Moscow is demanding a guarantee that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, never be allowed to join NATO, as well as other concessions by the United States in return for a decrease in tension. The United States and NATO have rejected the Russian demands and told Putin to withdraw from Ukraine's borders, warning that a Russian attack will trigger damaging economic sanctions, as well as a beefed-up NATO presence in eastern Europe. In Washington, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said a force of up to 8,500 US troops was on "heightened alert" for potential deployment to reinforce any activation of the NATO Response Force in the region, where there are growing fears of spillover from the Ukraine conflict. "What this is about... is re-assurance to our NATO allies," Kirby said. "It sends a very clear signal to Mr. Putin that we take our responsibilities to NATO seriously." NATO also said it was sending jets and ships to bolster its eastern flank. The tension helped fuel instability in global markets, while Russia's main stock index plunged and the central bank suspended foreign currency purchasing after the ruble slumped. The French government announced that Russian and Ukrainian officials would meet, along with French and German counterparts, in Paris on Wednesday to try to find a way out of the impasse. President Emmanuel Macron "thinks there is a space for diplomacy, a path to de-escalation," an aide said, confirming that Macron would speak to Putin "in the coming days."
Unity search
Washington is trying to maintain transatlantic unity to build a credible threat of sanctions as a deterrence against Moscow. However, members of the 27-nation European Union have starkly differing approaches and ties to Russia, which supplies about 40 percent of the trade bloc's natural gas supplies. The new government in EU economic powerhouse Germany in particular has faced criticism from Kyiv over its refusal to send defensive weapons to Ukraine, as well as hesitating over one of the harshest economic sanctions under discussion -- cutting Moscow from the global SWIFT payments system. Echoing other US warnings, Kirby said on Monday that intelligence shows "it's very clear that the Russians have no intention right now of de-escalating." However, some European leaders are signaling less alarm. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after talks with US top diplomat Antony Blinken that there was nothing to suggest an "immediate" Russian attack. "You have to stay calm doing what you have to do, and avoid a nervous breakdown," he said. While Britain and Australia followed the United States in ordering diplomats' families to leave Kyiv, the EU and the Ukrainian government said any withdrawal of foreign embassy personnel was premature. France told citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the country.
NATO troops 'on standby
The US-led NATO alliance said members were placing troops "on standby" and sending ships and jets to bolster eastern Europe's defenses, pointing to recent mobilizations by Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands. Stoltenberg said the alliance "will continue to take all necessary measures to protect" members.
The Kremlin accused NATO of "hysteria." It also claimed that Ukrainian troops fighting Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country could launch an offensive, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky's office to say that Ukraine will not "succumb to provocations." The United States has warned that Moscow could manufacture a "false flag" incident in Ukraine to be able to then frame an invasion as a justified response. Non-NATO member Ireland meanwhile sounded the alarm over upcoming Russian military exercises off its southwest coast in international waters of the Atlantic.

Ukraine Urges Calm, Saying Russian Invasion not Imminent
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
Ukraine's leaders sought to reassure the nation that a feared invasion from neighboring Russia was not imminent, even as they acknowledged the threat is real and prepared to accept a shipment of American military equipment Tuesday to sure up their defenses. Russia has denied it is planning an assault, but it has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine in recent weeks, leading the United States and its NATO allies to rush to prepare for a possible war, The Associated Press said. Several rounds of high stakes diplomacy have failed to yield any breakthroughs, and this week tensions escalated further. NATO said it was bolstering its deterrence in the Baltic Sea region, and the US ordered 8,500 troops on higher alert to potentially deploy to Europe as part of an alliance “response force" if necessary. The State Department has ordered the families of all American personnel at the US Embassy in Kyiv to leave the country, and it said that nonessential embassy staff could leave. Britain said it, too, was withdrawing some diplomats and dependents from its embassy. In Ukraine, however, authorities have sought to project clam. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Monday that the situation was “under control” and that there is “no reason to panic.”Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that, as of Monday, that Russia’s armed forces had not formed what he called battle groups, “which would have indicated that tomorrow they would launch an offensive.” “There are risky scenarios. They’re possible and probable in the future,” Reznikov told Ukraine’s ICTV channel on Monday. “But as of today ... such a threat doesn’t exist.” Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, echoed that sentiment, saying that the movement of Russian troops near Ukraine's border “is not news.”“As of today, we don't see any grounds for statements about a full-scale offensive on our country,” Danilov said Monday. Russia has said Western accusations that it is planning an invasion are merely a cover for NATO’s own planned provocations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday once again accused the US of “fomenting tensions” around the Ukraine, a former Soviet state that Russia has been locked in a bitter tug-of-war with for almost eight years. In 2014, following the ouster of a Kremlin-friendly president in Ukraine, Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula and threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in the country's industrial heartland in the east. The fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels has since killed over 14,000 people, and efforts to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict have stalled. In the latest standoff, Russia has demanded guarantees from the West that NATO would never allow Ukraine to join and that the alliance would curtail other actions, such as stationing troops in former Soviet bloc countries. Some of these, like any pledge to permanently bar Ukraine, are non-starters for NATO — creating a seemingly intractable stalemate that many fear can only end in war. Putting the US-based troops on heightened alert for Europe on Monday suggested diminishing hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin will back away from what US President Joe Biden himself has said looks like a threat to invade neighboring Ukraine. As part of a new $200 million in security assistance directed to Ukraine from the United States, a shipment including equipment and munitions is also expected to arrive Tuesday in Ukraine. The US moves are being done in tandem with actions by other NATO member governments to bolster a defensive presence in Eastern Europe. Denmark, for example, is sending a frigate and F-16 warplanes to Lithuania; Spain is sending four fighter jets to Bulgaria and three ships to the Black Sea to join NATO naval forces, and France stands ready to send troops to Romania.

Kurds Locked in Tense Syria Prison Standoff with ISIS
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
US-backed Kurdish forces tightened the noose Tuesday around ISIS fighters hunkering down inside a Syrian prison, with both sides facing a bloodbath or talks to end the five-day-old standoff. Around 100 ISIS fighters attacked Ghwayran prison in the northeastern city of Hasakeh on January 20, in their biggest military operation since their military defeat in 2019. The ensuing clashes with the Kurdish forces running northeastern Syria have left more than 160 people dead, including 45 in Kurdish ranks, according to the group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Some of the estimated 3,500 IS prisoners inside the facility have already been bused out to other detention centers in recent hours but it was unclear how many remained inside Ghwayran. Some of the hundreds of minors detained in the prison were transferred on Monday, the Observatory said. "Kurdish forces are working on Tuesday to tighten the noose around ISIS members holed up in the northern part of the prison, while conducting careful search operations inside the buildings," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "If there is no deal for a swap, there will be a massacre, hundreds of people will be killed," he said. The Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish administration's de-facto army, have not confirmed reports that several prison guards were being held by ISIS fighters. The SDF said that 250 ISIS detainees had surrendered on Tuesday, bringing the total number of extremists who have turned themselves in to 550. The Kurdish-led force's spokesman, Farhad Shami, insisted there were no ISIS fighters on the loose and that inmates who had broken out of their cells were contained within the compound perimeter.Inmates divided SDF forces operating with air support from US-led coalition forces operating in the region have deployed elite units and armored vehicles in and around the converted school that became one of the world's largest ISIS prisons. An assault has looked imminent since Monday but the Observatory said Kurdish forces were reluctant to move in due to the presence of hostages inside. The SDF is counting on the besieged fighters running out of ammunition and supplies, Abdel Rahman said. He said talks were taking place for some of the Kurdish troops and prison staff trapped inside to be freed in exchange for medical treatment for wounded extremist fighters. ISIS fighters are holding about 27 hostages in the northern section of the prison, Abdel Rahman said. Since Monday, 15 prison staff who were held by unarmed extremists have been released, according to the observatory. The fate of 25 others is still unknown. Abdel Rahman said that while foreign ISIS members were thought to oppose a negotiated settlement, many of the Syrians among the inmates favored swap talks. SDF spokesman Shami said that those among the inmates who wanted to surrender were being pressured by the most extremist ISIS members inside the prison. "ISIS executed more than seven members of the organization who were terrorist inmates who wanted to surrender," he told AFP. As bodies were still being retrieved from the scene of the battle and after sporadic clashes overnight, the death toll for the spectacular jailbreak attempt rose to 166. The Observatory said 114 of the dead were affiliated with ISIS, while seven were civilians caught in the crossfire. The United Nations said up to 45,000 Hasakeh residents were forced to leave their homes as the fighting raged and Kurdish forces locked down large parts of the city. Most of the inmates in Ghwayran were captured by US-backed forces in late 2018 and early 2019, during the dying days of the terror group's self-proclaimed caliphate.
'I'm very scared'. The Save The Children charity said it had received audio messages from one Australian teenager who was taken to Syria at the age of 11 by his parents and called for help from inside the prison. "There's no doctors here that can help me," he can be heard saying, after explaining he suffered injuries to his head and his hand during the fighting. "I'm very scared, there's a lot of people dead in front of me," he also said in the recording, the authenticity of which AFP could not independently verify. The proto-state declared by ISIS in 2014 once straddled large parts of Iraq and Syria. After five years of military operations conducted by local and international forces, its last rump was eventually flushed out on the banks of the Euphrates in eastern Syria in March 2019. An estimated 12,000 suspected ISIS members are still held in Kurdish prisons nearly three years on.

Iraq’s Top Court Upholds Re-Election of Parliament Speaker
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
Iraq's top court on Tuesday confirmed the re-election of Mohammed al-Halbousi as parliament speaker, following appeals against its conduct, paving the way towards the formation of a new government. Two lawmakers had appealed Halbousi's re-election as speaker, a position historically reserved for Iraq's Sunni Arab minority, during parliament's opening session earlier in January which was overshadowed by disputes between rival blocs from the Shiite majority. "The Federal Supreme Court rejected the appeal of two MPs who demanded the annulment of the inaugural session of parliament on January 9," in which Halbousi was re-elected, said presiding judge Jassim Mohammed Aboud. The ruling will allow the resumption of parliament sessions, and along with them deliberations over the selection of a new president, who will in turn choose the next prime minister, to be approved by the legislature.
Lawmakers have until February 8 to elect a president -- a post historically allocated to a Kurd. But negotiations between parties and coalitions seeking to form a parliamentary majority have been marked by tensions, particularly between key Shiite currents seeking to exert their influence. Both the Coordination Framework and another bloc formed by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr claim to have the majority needed to elect a president. The legislature opened to furious arguments between the rival factions. Amid the debate, Mahmud al-Mashhadani -- the oldest member of parliament who was therefore chairing the opening session -- was taken ill and rushed to hospital. When the session resumed an hour later, lawmakers re-elected Halbousi of the Sunni Taqadom party as speaker. Appeals against the speaker's re-election were filed by Mashhadani and another MP, Bassem Khachan.

UN: South Sudan Inter-Ethnic Violence Kills 32, Including Children
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
The United Nations on Tuesday announced that 32 people, including women and children, had been killed during armed raids in a region of South Sudan plagued by inter-ethnic violence. The deadly attacks on two villages in the troubled Jonglei State on January 23 sent civilians fleeing as armed youths from a rival ethnic group opened fire and torched property. Among the dead were three children who drowned in a river while trying to escape, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said. At least 26 people were wounded, across genders and ages, and others remain unaccounted for two days after the bloodshed in the Baidit locality. “UNMISS strongly condemns any attack on civilians and urges groups and individuals to take immediate action to avoid further escalations that will endanger vulnerable people,” it stated, AFP reported. “The Mission further calls on authorities to carry out timely investigations and that the perpetrators be held accountable.”The peacekeeping mission was deployed for a year in 2011 when South Sudan gained independence, but its mandate has been extended again and again as the young country has suffered through civil war and high levels of ethnic violence.
More than 700 people were killed and others raped and kidnapped in Jonglei between January and August 2020 in armed raids by ethnic militias in the eastern state. A UN investigation found political and military elites played a role in the violence in which militias razed villages in coordinated attacks on their rivals, using machetes, machine guns and sometimes rocket-propelled grenades. The UN’s special envoy to South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, told the Security Council in December that the number of civilian casualties from local violence across the country had roughly halved in 2021 compared to the previous year. But instability remains pervasive, and a post-war coalition government has failed to stop armed violence or punish those responsible nearly two years after taking power in Juba. President Salva Kiir and his deputy and historic foe, Riek Machar, formed a power-sharing government in 2020 after years of bloodshed between their forces left nearly 400,000 people dead. But the government is weak and trust is in short supply. The UN has warned that the peace agreement is at risk of collapse if key pillars of the accords remain unfulfilled.

Syria, Russia Start Joint Air Force Patrols Near Golan Heights
Idlib, Tel Aviv – Firas Karam, Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022'
Syrian and Russian military jets jointly patrolled the airspace along Syria’s borders on Monday and plan to make such flights regular, the Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s defense ministry as saying. According to RIA Novosti, the Russian pilots took off from the Hmeimim Air Base, while the Syrian pilots departed from military airports in the vicinity of the Syrian capital, Damascus. During the exercises, the Russian pilots carried out mock strikes against ground targets, while their Syrian counterparts worked to monitor the airspace and provide the necessary air cover. Russian pilots used Su-34 and Su-35 fighters and the A50 early warning aircraft, while the Syrian pilots used the MiG-23 and MiG-29 aircrafts. The path of the group included the Golan Heights, the armistice line with Israel that has seen regular Israeli air strikes against suspected Iranian and Hezbollah positions. Russia’s Defense Ministry said such joint patrols are expected to be a regular occurrence moving forward. In Tel Aviv, they considered these patrols “a message to Israel that Moscow is determined to strengthen the Assad regime’s position and reduce Israeli attacks in Syria.” Syria on June 25, 2021. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) Syria and Russia held joint military jet patrols of the airspace along Syria’s borders on Monday, including in the Golan Heights area, according to a Russian Defense Ministry statement reported by Interfax. Russian President Vladimir Putin is considered one of few allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In other news, Russian and Syrian warplanes, for the first time in a year, flew over the airspace of northwestern Syria. This coincided with ground bombardment by Syrian regime forces on de-escalation areas in the countryside of Idlib and Hama in northwest Syria. Opposition sources reported no human or material losses.

Syria: Prominent Figures Denounce Govt's Failure to Provide Heating
Damascus - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
Prominent figures in Damascus launched an attack against the Syrian government for to its “failure to provide means of heating.”Amid a severe cold wave sweeping all Syrian regions and the lack of means of heating, prominent Syrian actor Firas Ibrahim wrote a post on his Facebook page, which read: “In Russia, for example, the temperature reaches -40 degrees Celsius, and no one complains about the cold.”He continued: “So cold is not to blame… The guilty are me, you and all of us, who accept the lack of all means of heating and remain silent so as not to disturb with our innocent and sincere objections the people who have no sense of conscience!”However, Ibrahim deleted his post shortly after, publishing another post, which read: “It’s not about what I and other people who care about this country write, because we express the opinion of most of the helpless people.”
The problem “lies in distorting these writings and interpreting them according to the whims of some geniuses… and taking our opinions to dangerous turns…,” the actor underlined. Ibrahim was subjected to harassment and threats after his first post. He posted a third statement, in which he said: “In reference to my previous post, in which I promised not to discuss public affairs again, someone wrote to me: If you do not like the situation, I can give you the directions to the airport road” near Damascus so you can leave. In response, Ibrahim wrote: “I know the way well, but I was hoping instead… that you would try with me to fix what was destroyed so that we would all stay here... Such a call and advice is a bad omen and excuse me if I do not take it.”For his part, former MP Nabil Saleh, who is known for his sharp criticism of the government, wrote on Facebook: “The cold lessens the nation’s resolve... Rationing electricity and fuel weakens the body of the nation… Electronic courts silence the voices of the nation.”He continued: “Queues for bread, sugar and rice humiliate the nation. A salary that is not enough for more than a day reduces the nation’s ability to work. Failure to secure the requirements of the soldiers’ families weakens the nation's front. Most of what the official authorities do helps diminish the spirit of the nation.”

Snow Storms, Cold and Fire Threaten Displaced Syrians in Northern Camps
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
Five-year-old Intissar and her younger sister Lin were sheltering from northern Syria's bitter winter cold when fuel from a heater ignited their tent, killing them and seriously injuring their mother. The young family and other displaced Syrians were living near the Turkish border in a camp of more than 400 tents, which offer little protection from snow storms and plunging temperatures which struck in recent days. The cold snap has brought chaos to traffic and flights in neighboring countries but its effects are most severe in northwest Syria, where 3 million people have been left homeless in a long-running humanitarian crisis. Many have been displaced several times by the 11-year war. "People in the camp are suffering. The tents don't protect from the cold," said Nouredin al-Abdullah, whose cousin Ahmed is the father of the girls who died. "If you think about heating, God forbid, you and your children may go (the same way)". He said the latest snowfall was the heaviest he had seen. The weight of the snow has collapsed many tents, while water seeped underneath them. Across the region, food supplies and health services have been disrupted and relief workers are struggling to reach some of the 300 worst affected sites, said Mark Cutts, UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria. "The numbers are just staggering, and it is very difficult to provide people with all the support they need," he said. Desperate to stay warm, people were burning cardboard and plastic bottles, and then inhaling toxic fumes. "Even more suffering is caused because of the lack of fuel for heating," he told Reuters, adding that at least one child had died from the freezing cold. "There are more than 1 million people still living in tents or substandard accommodation," Cutts said. "It's becoming increasingly urgent that we get people out of these tents."

Thousands Stranded as Snow Causes Havoc in Istanbul
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
Rescue crews on Tuesday were forging ahead with efforts to clear major throughways in and around Istanbul that were clogged by a massive snow storm that hit the megacity and left countless people and vehicles stranded overnight in below-freezing conditions. Highways and roads in the city came to a standstill on Monday after the storm pounded Istanbul - a city of some 16 million people which straddles the European and Asian continents - accumulating more than 80 centimeters (31 inches) of snow in some areas.Stranded motorists either spent the night in cars, abandoned their vehicles to walk home or crowded metros and other public transportation. A lucky few were rescued and taken to hotels. The city’s Disaster Coordination Center, or AKOM, says an Icelandic low-pressure system is behind the cold front and precipitation affecting most of the country. The storm also caused havoc in neighboring Greece, snarling traffic in Athens and putting most public transport out of action. Flurries are forecast to continue through Wednesday. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said more heavy snowfall was likely Tuesday evening. AKOM teams and other units worked overnight to clear snowy roads and highways but abandoned vehicles hampered their operations. Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya urged motorists to return to their vehicles and move them. A flight suspension in and out of Istanbul Airport on Monday was extended until 1 p.m. Tuesday (1000 GMT) over safety concerns, while the governor’s office banned the use of private cars until the same time. Istanbul’s second airport, Sabiha Gokcen, was operating limited services. “Nothing is moving. The snow ploughs can't even reach us,” Ahmet Odabasi, 40, one of thousands of travelers stranded overnight on a highway west of Istanbul told The Associated Press by telephone. “I have been stuck here for 12 hours now. I am lucky that I have gas, food and water,” said the motorist, who was driving to Istanbul from the city of Edirne, near the border with Greece. AKOM manager Selcuk Tutuncu told the AP that 40,000 tons of salt have been used since the beginning of the storm. “Right now there are over 1,500 vehicles and over 7,000 personnel working out in the field nonstop,” Tutuncu said. On Monday, authorities in Istanbul suspended intercity bus services and blocked travel to the city from Turkey’s northwestern Thrace region. The Istanbul governor’s office announced that civil servants would be allowed to stay at home Tuesday, except for those employed in security, health and transportation sectors. Schools across Turkey were already closed for a winter break. Imamoglu said the municipality has provided shelter to around 1,500 homeless people. Another 1,500 people stranded at a bus terminal due to the suspension of intercity services were taken to hotels or hostels. Teams have left some two tons of food for stray cats and dogs, Imamoglu said.

Palestinians Intelligence Chief: We Reject Iran’s Conspiracy against Arab Countries
Ramallah – Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
Majed Faraj, head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service (GIS), has slammed Hamas for dragging Palestinians into conflict and crises with Arab states to please Iranian agendas. “Hamas is pulling us to a far place,” said Faraj in a rare media statement. “Our memory is still alive. And Palestine is not just geography, Palestine is the people. People here and hundreds of millions abroad. I am not ready as a Palestinian to grow animosity with Arab countries,” added Faraj. “I am against any Iranian influence in the Arab region, the Arab region is for the Arabs and will only be for the Arabs,” he asserted, adding that Palestinians support both Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Faraj stressed that his statements weren’t political and reflected a national security position. He praised Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Jordan, and Bahrain for always backing Palestinians. “I cheer for Arabs only. And none of us is ready to upset Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, or all of these countries.” Faraj stressed that Palestine is with resolving any Arab-Arab dispute diplomatically and away from conspiracies. “We do not accept the Arab capitals to be controlled by non-Arab countries, and I mean Iran openly,” he affirmed.
“This is an Arab land and will remain Arab,” he underlined, adding that his statements stem from an appreciation of countries that have historically stood with Palestinians and an appreciation of the looming dangers as well. “We are with the unity of the Arabs and the position of the Arabs, and we are not a tool for any party,” added Faraj. Faraj’s speech against Iran and Hamas came after controversial positions were made in the Hamas-ruled Gaza. Hamas officials and other Iranian-backed factions showed support for Iran and its arms in the region against Arab countries.

UNICEF: Pandemic Causing ‘Nearly Insurmountable’ Education Losses Globally
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
School closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic have caused "nearly insurmountable" losses in education among children around the world, UNICEF said on Monday. More than 616 million students are still being affected by full or partial school closures, the UN children's agency said.
In many countries, in addition to depriving millions of children of the chance to acquire basic skills, these disruptions have affected students' mental health, put them at greater risk of abuse and prevented many from having access to "a regular source of nutrition," UNICEF added. "Quite simply, we are looking at a nearly insurmountable scale of loss to children's schooling," said UNICEF Chief of Education Robert Jenkins in a statement, almost two years into the pandemic. And "just re-opening schools is not enough," he added, calling for "intensive support to recover lost education." UNICEF reported that "learning losses to school closures have left up to 70 percent of 10-year-olds unable to read or understand a simple text, up from 53 percent pre-pandemic" in countries with low and middle income. In Ethiopia, for example, children learned only "between 30 to 40 percent of the math they would have learned if it had been a normal school year" in primary school, the UN agency estimated. Rich countries are far from being spared. In the United States, learning losses have been observed in several states, including Texas, California and Maryland, said UNICEF. School dropouts are also a problem: in South Africa, between 400,000 and 500,000 students "reportedly dropped out of school altogether between March 2020 and July 2021." Finally, in addition to rising levels of anxiety and depression among children and young people linked to the pandemic, school closures also meant more than 370 million children around the world did not get school meals, "losing what is for some children the only reliable source of food and daily nutrition."

S. Korean Officials Say North Korea Tested Cruise Missiles
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 25 January, 2022
North Korea on Tuesday test-fired two suspected cruise missiles in its fifth round of weapons launches this month, South Korean military officials said, as it displays its military might amid pandemic-related difficulties and a prolonged freeze in nuclear negotiations with the United States. One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department rules, said South Korean and US intelligence officials were analyzing the launches, but didn't provide further details. Another military official, who requested anonymity over similar reasons, said the tests were conducted from an inland area, but didn’t specify where, The Associated Press said. North Korea has been increasing its testing activity recently in an apparent effort to pressure the Biden administration over the stalled diplomacy after the pandemic unleashed further shock on an economy broken by crippling US-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons program and decades of mismanagement by its own government. North Korea last Thursday issued a veiled threat to resume the testing of nuclear explosives and long-range missiles targeting the American homeland, which leader Kim Jong Un suspended in 2018 while initiating diplomacy with the United States. Some experts say North Korea could dramatically escalate weapons demonstrations after the Winter Olympics, which begin Feb. 4 in China, the North’s main ally and economic lifeline. They say Pyongyang’s leadership likely feels it could use a dramatic provocation to move the needle with the Biden administration, which has offered open-ended talks but showed no willingness to ease sanctions unless Kim takes real steps to abandon his nuclear and missile program.

Canada/Minister Ng announces Canada’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka
January 24, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
World Expos are a global opportunity to celebrate culture, deepen economic ties and strengthen international relationships.
Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, announced Canada’s intention to participate in Expo 2025 Osaka.
This important event will bring people together from around the world to Japan to showcase world innovations and encourage international collaboration. Under the theme ‘Designing Future Society for our Lives’, the event will be centered on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
With an anticipated 28 million visitors, Expo 2025 Osaka will be an engaging platform to showcase Canadian innovation and attract international investments. Canadian businesses will be invited to explore new opportunities and build networks in the dynamic Indo-Pacific region. Canada’s presence will highlight leadership in key sectors such as advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, tourism and education.
Quotes
“Participating in Expo 2025 is a unique opportunity for Canada to showcase all that it has to offer, while also strengthening the existing economic, cultural and people-to-people ties between Canada and Japan, and, more broadly, the Indo-Pacific region.”
Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“Canada’s presence at Expo 2025 Osaka will demonstrate what many around the world already know: Canada is an ideal place for business, investment, education, tourism, and immigration. The Canada Pavilion in Osaka will serve as a meeting place for businesses and innovators alike. It’s one more way that we are opening doors for companies to compete in thriving global markets in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
- Mary Ng,Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade
Quick facts
With a gross domestic product of $6.8 trillion in 2020, Japan is the world’s third-largest national economy, and one of Canada’s most important economic and commercial partners. Japan is also Canada’s largest source of bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indo-Pacific, with stock valued at $47.9 billion in 2020.
Canadian investment in Japan is also significant and diverse with Canadian companies operating in the country, across a variety of sectors, including in the automotive, information and communications technologies, financial services, and forestry sectors.
In May 2021, Canada and Japan agreed on six areas of bilateral cooperation that will advance common interests in the Indo-Pacific region. These six areas are the rule of law; peacekeeping operations, peacebuilding and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief; energy security; health security and responding to COVID-19; free trade promotion and trade agreement implementation; and the environment and climate change.
Canada is currently participating in the International Exhibition in Dubai, UAE, which is taking place from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. It is the first world fair in both Middle East and the Arabic-speaking world and is expected to attract over 25 million visitors.

Canada/Global Affairs Canada statement on temporary withdrawal of dependants from Ukraine
January 25, 2022- Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Global Affairs Canada, today issued the following statement:
“The safety and security of Canadians, our personnel and their families at our missions abroad is our top priority. Due to the ongoing Russian military buildup and destabilizing activities in and around Ukraine, we have decided to temporarily withdraw Canadian embassy staff’s children under 18 years of age and family members accompanying them.
“Officials at Global Affairs Canada and at the Embassy of Canada to Ukraine in Kyiv will continue to closely monitor the situation

Canada/Minister Ng announces Canada’s participation in Expo 2025 Osaka
January 24, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
World Expos are a global opportunity to celebrate culture, deepen economic ties and strengthen international relationships.
Today, the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, announced Canada’s intention to participate in Expo 2025 Osaka.
This important event will bring people together from around the world to Japan to showcase world innovations and encourage international collaboration. Under the theme ‘Designing Future Society for our Lives’, the event will be centered on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
With an anticipated 28 million visitors, Expo 2025 Osaka will be an engaging platform to showcase Canadian innovation and attract international investments. Canadian businesses will be invited to explore new opportunities and build networks in the dynamic Indo-Pacific region. Canada’s presence will highlight leadership in key sectors such as advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, tourism and education.
Quotes
“Participating in Expo 2025 is a unique opportunity for Canada to showcase all that it has to offer, while also strengthening the existing economic, cultural and people-to-people ties between Canada and Japan, and, more broadly, the Indo-Pacific region.”
- Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“Canada’s presence at Expo 2025 Osaka will demonstrate what many around the world already know: Canada is an ideal place for business, investment, education, tourism, and immigration. The Canada Pavilion in Osaka will serve as a meeting place for businesses and innovators alike. It’s one more way that we are opening doors for companies to compete in thriving global markets in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
- Mary Ng,Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade
Quick facts
With a gross domestic product of $6.8 trillion in 2020, Japan is the world’s third-largest national economy, and one of Canada’s most important economic and commercial partners. Japan is also Canada’s largest source of bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indo-Pacific, with stock valued at $47.9 billion in 2020.
Canadian investment in Japan is also significant and diverse with Canadian companies operating in the country, across a variety of sectors, including in the automotive, information and communications technologies, financial services, and forestry sectors.
In May 2021, Canada and Japan agreed on six areas of bilateral cooperation that will advance common interests in the Indo-Pacific region. These six areas are the rule of law; peacekeeping operations, peacebuilding and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief; energy security; health security and responding to COVID-19; free trade promotion and trade agreement implementation; and the environment and climate change.
Canada is currently participating in the International Exhibition in Dubai, UAE, which is taking place from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. It is the first world fair in both Middle East and the Arabic-speaking world and is expected to attract over 25 million visitors.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 25-26/2022
Oman Must Isolate, Not Embrace, the Houthis
Jonathan and Schanzer Michael Rubin/The National Interest/January 25/2022
The Switzerland of the Middle East can still serve as a center for regional diplomacy. But even Switzerland does not offer safe haven to terrorists.
On January 17, the Houthi terrorist group launched a drone and missile strike from its base in Yemen against Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Kamikaze drones hit the international airport and a nearby fuel depot, sparking a large fire. The attack killed two Indian citizens and a Pakistani, and injured several other workers.
The Biden administration last year delisted the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization citing questionable concerns that the designation could hamper the delivery of humanitarian aid. Calls to re-designate the group are fully justified. The Biden administration should go a step further, however, and demand that Oman dismantle the Houthi regional headquarters that currently operates with Washington’s blessing inside its borders. The office is home to senior Houthi leaders who have blood on their hands.
Oman views itself as the Switzerland of the Middle East. The country cites its neutrality and commitment to diplomacy as justification for hosting the Houthi headquarters. However, the Houthis have exploited their presence in Oman not only to legitimize their operations and to access the international financial system, but also to smuggle weapons into Yemen. In 2016, Iran reportedly smuggled anti-ship missiles, surface-to-surface short-range missiles, small arms, explosives, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Yemen, some of which apparently passed through Oman. In March 2017, Conflict Armament Research, a nongovernmental group, reported that the Houthis had smuggled UAVs used in Yemen through Oman. The following year, the United Nations reported that Oman was the “most likely” route through which Burkan-2H missiles reached Yemen.
Subsequent U.S. pressure led the Omanis to crack down on some illicit activity. However, for Saudi Arabia and other regional countries, Oman’s indulgence of the Houthis remains problematic. Rather than engaging in diplomacy, the ostensible justification for the Houthi presence in Oman, the Houthis continue to wage a campaign of regional terrorism. The number of Houthi terrorist attacks has spiked in the last year. In just the last two months, the Houthis have hijacked an Emirati-flagged ship off the Yemeni coast; overrun the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, taking several Yemenis staff members hostage; and have taken two United Nations workers hostage.
The Omanis might once have justified their relationship with Mohammed Abdulsalam, the Houthi’s chief negotiator and a resident of Oman, in an effort to resolve the Yemeni civil war. However, the Houthi strikes on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia and now the United Arab Emirates put an end to that pretense. That Abdulsalam was in Tehran at the time of the attack suggests a level of coordination. To put it mildly, that is not a good look for Oman.
The ruling elite in Muscat may say that the Houthis are indigenous freedom fighters. While this was once a subject of debate, the Houthis have themselves helped to settle it. The group openly identifies as part of an “Axis of Resistance,” the Iran-led alliance that includes Lebanese Hezbollah, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Iraqi militias, and Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. Ali Shirazi, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative to Qods Force, stated in January 2015, “The Houthis are a version of Hezbollah, and this group will use the stage for confronting the enemies of Islam.” It should come as no surprise that the missile, drone, and guidance technology used in the Abu Dhabi attack were made in Iran.
Sultan Qaboos, the late ruler of Oman, prided himself on moderation and mediation. During the first years of his rule, he faced a communist insurgency that he put down with Iranian assistance. Omani officials often cite Iran’s assistance during that Dhofar Rebellion to justify their cordial relationship with Iran today. But that was a different Iran, led by the secular Pahlavis. Today, Iran is a terrorist-supporting theocracy. The alliances of a bygone era in no way justify Oman’s support for a terrorist group that operates with impunity on its soil.
Qaboos died in 2020, paving the way for his successor Haitham, who is a careful pragmatist. It is unlikely that Haitham would expel the Houthis without direct coordination with the United States. Washington must now put a process in motion. It begins with a simple bureaucratic measure: the State Department must add the Houthis back onto its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. It serves as a recognition that the State Department’s 2021 decision to delist the group neither furthered a diplomatic solution nor facilitated provision of humanitarian assistance to Yemen. It would further mark the beginning of an international effort to isolate the Houthi leadership.
Of course, that effort should primarily include measures to isolate the Houthis’ patrons in Iran. But it must include pressure on Muscat to dismantle the Houthi headquarters. The Switzerland of the Middle East can still serve as a center for regional diplomacy. But even Switzerland does not offer safe haven to terrorists.
*Jonathan Schanzer is senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
*Michael Rubin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Biden’s North Korea Policy Needs Rebooting
Anthony Ruggiero and Matthew Zweig/Foreign Policy/January 25/2022
North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles on Jan. 17, marking its fourth missile test this month and its seventh since September 2021. This spate of tests provides the final word on U.S. President Joe Biden’s engagement-only policy toward Pyongyang: It’s not working. While the administration has belatedly begun to tighten sanctions in response to the tests, Biden should get back on track by aggressively enforcing congressionally mandated sanctions against North Korea.
Upon concluding its North Korea policy review in April 2021, the Biden administration announced it would pursue a middle ground between the Obama administration’s “strategic patience” (diplomatese for doing nothing) and the Trump administration’s combination of “maximum pressure” and personal engagement with dictator Kim Jong Un. That month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden seeks a “calibrated, practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with the DPRK” and has reached out to Pyongyang both publicly and privately to offer talks. The United States reduced its economic pressure on North Korea as well. Kim, however, rejected the administration’s overtures and friendly gestures. Meanwhile, Pyongyang’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs march ahead, putting Washington and its East Asian allies in a worse position than before Biden took office.
With the administration distracted by other foreign-policy priorities—not least Russia’s preparations for war against Ukraine—North Korea has received little attention. The November 2021 readout of a virtual meeting between Biden and China’s Xi Jinping mentioned North Korea in a single short sentence, where it was lumped together with other “regional challenges” like Afghanistan and Iran.
This inattention has allowed the strict U.S. and United Nations sanctions imposed against North Korea since 2016 to atrophy. If not continually updated and enforced, sanctions are circumvented and lose their effectiveness. With such pressure lacking since Biden took office, the Kim regime has capitalized through a range of operations to evade sanctions, including covert ship-to-ship transfers to veil fuel imports and the use of front or shell companies and covert agents to access the international financial system.
The Biden administration did not issue its first sanctions package against North Korea until Dec. 10, 2021, almost a year after taking office. Those sanctions rightly highlighted Pyongyang’s deplorable human rights record, including the mistreatment of Otto Warmbier, an American who was arbitrarily detained in North Korea in 2016 and died shortly after he was released. Yet the U.S. Treasury Department conspicuously failed to designate any of the financial institutions, particularly in China and Southeast Asia, aiding the North Korean regime, as mandated by the U.S. Congress since 2019. A separate U.S. sanctions package issued on Jan. 12 similarly failed to pack a significant punch.
Only a policy that convinces Kim that his nuclear program puts his regime itself at risk has the potential to bear fruit.
Meanwhile, the Kim regime continues to advance its missile and nuclear capabilities, including intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of hitting the continental United States. Yet the Biden administration has done little in response. After North Korea resumed missile testing this past September following a six-month hiatus, the administration for months failed to issue sanctions over Pyongyang’s missile tests, each of which violated multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, as the administration has acknowledged. Kim probably interpreted this soft U.S. stance as an indication that Biden would tolerate further testing.
Following last week’s missile test, for example, the administration was able to convince fewer than half the 15 countries currently represented on U.N. Security Council to support a strongly worded statement condemning the launch. While inevitable Russian and Chinese vetoes precluded a statement issued by the U.N. Security Council, the administration failed to convince India, Mexico, or Norway to join in condemning the Kim regime.
That Biden’s engagement-only policy has failed should come as no surprise. Each of Biden’s four most recent predecessors also tried and failed to convince Kim and his father before him to denuclearize. Leon Panetta, who served as defense secretary and CIA director during the Obama administration, urged Biden to not take a status quo approach to North Korea and noted Kim only responds to strength. Only a policy that convinces Kim that his nuclear program puts his regime itself at risk has the potential to bear fruit. Along with stronger diplomatic, military, cybersecurity, and informational efforts, accomplishing this will require sustained economic pressure.
To that end, the Biden administration needs to get serious about enforcing sanctions. Bipartisan majorities in Congress, working closely with both the Obama and Trump administrations, overwhelmingly passed mandatory North Korea sanctions in 2016, 2017, and 2019.
Those laws provide the administration with both a clear mandate and powerful tools to turn the screws on Kim and force him to return to the negotiating table. The administration should crack down on North Korea’s financial networks under the 2019 Otto Warmbier Act, including the financial institutions facilitating Pyongyang’s sanctions evasion. The administration should also better implement the 2017 Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which requires the U.S. government to impose restrictions on the shipping registries of countries that violate many U.S. or U.N. sanctions on North Korea.
Finally, the administration should rigorously enforce the panoply of mandatory sanctions contained in the 2016 North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act. That law requires sanctions for activities ranging from the purchase of North Korean minerals or seafood to the provision of jet fuel and luxury goods to the Kim regime. Proper sanctions enforcement will require a sustained effort to sanction anyone helping North Korea’s prohibited activities, including individuals and entities in China and Russia that enable Beijing and Moscow to ignore the U.N. sanctions they voted for.
Congress still has a role to play, too. Ensuring the Biden administration implements North Korea sanctions will require rigorous, bipartisan oversight from both houses of Congress. As a first step, the leaders of the House and Senate foreign affairs committees should hold hearings on the administration’s policy. The Biden administration, in turn, should proactively engage with lawmakers from both parties to chart a new, bipartisan North Korea policy.
While Biden has a full foreign-policy plate, the fact remains that the Kim regime poses a serious threat to the United States and its allies. Ignoring this threat will only make it grow.
*Anthony Ruggiero is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense on the U.S. National Security Council during the Trump administration. Twitter: @NatSecAnthony. Matthew Zweig is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Twitter: @MatthewZweig1. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, non-partisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Houthis Renew Attack on Abu Dhabi With Ballistic Missiles
Joe Truzman/FDD's Long War Journal/January 25/2022
On Monday morning, Abu Dhabi came under ballistic missile attack by Yemen’s Houthis, according to a statement by the United Emirates Ministry of Defense.
“The Ministry of Defense announced on Monday that its air defense forces had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles targeting the UAE, which were fired by the Houthi terrorist militia. The ministry confirmed that there were no casualties resulting from the attack, as the fragments of the ballistic missiles fell in different areas around the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi,” the statement read.
A statement from the Saudi government also confirmed it “recently” came under assault, which resulted in the injury of two civilians.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has condemned the repeated attacks by the Iran-backed terrorist Houthi militia on civilian objects and vital installations in the south of the Kingdom and Abu Dhabi, most recently targeting the city of Dhahran Al-Janub and the industrial zone in the southwestern Jazan that resulted in two minor injuries to residents of Bangladeshi and Sudanese nationalities,” the statement read.
Yahya Sare’e, a spokesperson for the Houthis, confirmed in a Twitter statement the militant group targeted Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
“In response to the escalation of the US-Saudi-Emirati aggression and its crimes against our dear people. The missile force and the air force carried out a large-scale military operation,” Sare’e stated.
Sare’e also added that Al-Dhafra Air Base, which hosts the U.S. military’s 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, was targeted with ballistic missiles.
The U.S. Air Force “intervened” in the offensive and “successfully reacted to multiple inbound threats during an attack near Abu Dhabi,” according to a report in The New York Times.
Monday’s ballistic missile strike was the second significant operation launched by the Houthis against the Emirates in one week. The previous week’s assault targeted several sites in the UAE including Abu Dhabi International Airport that resulted in the killing and wounding of civilians.
In recent weeks, the Saudi-led coalition increased it attacks against Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. Additionally, the coalition reportedly killed Houthi leader Abdullah Qassem al-Junaid, who headed the College of Aviation and Defense, according to an Al-Ayn report.
In response to retaliatory strikes for last week’s UAE attack, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sare’e hinted in a tweet that a response against the UAE may be imminent.
“After the crimes committed by US-Saudi-UAE aggression today against Yemeni people, we advise the foreign companies in Emirates to leave because they invest in an unsafe country and the rulers of this country continue in their aggression against Yemen,” Sare’e stated.
The UAE has largely avoided strikes since its involvement in the Yemen conflict, but a few notable operations have been claimed by the Houthis inside Emirati territory.
In 2018, the Houthis claimed an attack using a Samad-3 drone against Abu Dhabi International Airport.
The previous year, the Houthis claimed responsibility for assaulting the Barakah nuclear reactor in the Gharbiya region of Abu Dhabi.
It’s unlikely these high-profile operations against the Emirates would have occurred without approval by the Houthis chief backer, Iran. Much like the Islamic Republic’s history of using its proxies in Iraq to attack American-led coalition bases, it is using a similar game plan in Yemen by supplying the Houthis with offensive armaments to use against Saudi Arabia and at an increasing rate against the Emirates.
*Joe Truzman is a contributor to FDD's Long War Journal.

Biden's Latest Mayhem
Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/January 25/ 2022
It should not be surprising that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin believes he can invade Ukraine, a sovereign neighboring nation, and claim it as an historic part of his empire. After all, there is a shameful European history to reflect upon, combined with the most recent actions of the United States under the current White House. Pictured: Putin, accompanied by Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, at the "Zapad-2021" military exercise in the Nizhny Novgorod region, on September 13, 2021.
It should not be surprising that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin believes he can invade Ukraine, a sovereign neighboring nation, and claim it as an historic part of his empire. After all, there is a shameful European history to reflect upon, combined with the most recent actions of the United States under the current White House.
In 1938, Western democracies were more than willing to hand over a free and stable central European nation to Hitler. The Czechs found themselves abandoned and served up on a plate to the Third Reich as Hitler threatened war if the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia was not annexed by Germany. The reason for his demand was that it was territory long populated by many ethnic Germans. (And this may sound disturbingly familiar if you follow Putin's logic why Ukraine is his, given that part of its diverse population is Russian.)
Some 84 years ago, Britain's Neville Chamberlain conspired with the French to appease Hitler, and telling a BBC audience, "How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas masks here because of a quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing."
The deal forced onto the Czech leadership by the democracies was that the Sudetenland would become part of the Reich but the rest of the Czech nation would be secure. It was cynical nonsense of course. Hitler sensed the moral bankruptcy of the democracies and within 12 months would take over the rest of Czechoslovakia. He did it without firing a shot and without the democracies confronting him.
Couple past history with the actions of US President Joe Biden, who unilaterally pulled our troops out of Afghanistan, thereby handing the Taliban a stunning strategic victory, and it should be no surprise that Putin believes this administration has neither the will nor the courage to stand up to what is an act of stunning aggression.
Unlike the Czechs however, the Ukrainians have no illusions about their foe or the White House. There must have been more than startled looks and a few profane oaths when they heard Biden initially describe the potential Russian threat to Ukraine as a minor incursion. The President quickly went into damage control mode, then acknowledging it would be "an invasion."
If the Russians cross the border, they have the means to brush aside Ukraine's conventional forces, who will seek to defend their homeland. There is little doubt that the Russians will face a determined, courageous, and stubborn opponent in the Ukrainians, who are just as tough -- if not tougher -- than the Russian shock troops that invade. It will not be a parade for Putin -- but did it even need to even come to this?
Like Hitler, Putin is a high-stakes international war-game player, fully prepared to use his military as part bluff, part checkmate.
Like Hitler, he seeks to recreate a lost empire.
Like Hitler, his people are expert at sowing disinformation -- and now they have the added weapon of using social media and letting loose their professional hackers.
But if Hitler had been confronted with a resolute, focused, and vigorous Chamberlain, would he have even considered his demand for the Sudetenland? Would the word "appeasement" been some minor footnote in a history book rather than Chamberlain's disastrous strategy that led to one of the world's worst calamities?
That is where we are today. If Putin believed that a strong, steadfast, and determined president was in the Oval Office would he have ever considered sitting down with him to play the most dangerous war game imaginable? Not likely.
*Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
© 2022 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.