English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 25/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.june25.22.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 16/29-33:”His disciples said, ‘Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.’Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’”

Titels For English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 24-25/2022
Aoun meets head of Hamas political bureau, affirms Palestinian right to establish independent state
Aoun meets Arab Peace Group, says restoration of Arab cohesion cornerstone of re-strengthening relations
Al-Mawarid Bank announces suspension of membership in Association of Banks in Lebanon
Mikati, Derian perform Friday prayer at Prince Monzer Mosque in Downtown Beirut
Parliament General Secretariat issues schedule of non-binding consultations
Statement of International Support Group for Lebanon on Mikati’s reassignment
Italian Ambassador, UNDP ink Zahle Waste Water Treatment Project in presence of Ministers of Energy and Environment
Families of Abra detainees stage sit-in making 9th anniversary
Report: Mikati won Maronite patriarch's 'blessing' despite FPM-LF snub
Mikati says Hezbollah backs government's sea border proposal
Raad calls for forming government that can address 'priorities'
Mikati expected to submit 'balanced' govt. line-up within a week
Al-Mawared suspends membership in Banks Association, urges others to follow suit
UK Court orders firm that sent nitrates to Beirut to reveal owner's identity
A World Apart, Lebanon and Sri Lanka Share Economic Collapse
Lebanon’s anti-Hezbollah parties should unite in any way they can/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/June 24/2022

Titles For Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 24-25/2022
US Supreme Court ends constitutional right to abortion
Question: "What does the Bible say about abortion?"/GotQuestions.org?/June 24/2022
Iran: Israeli Accusation of Iranian Plot to Harm Israelis in Istanbul ‘Ridiculous’
Iran rejects Israeli charges of attacks in Turkey
Top EU Diplomat Due in Tehran on Friday for Talks
Faezeh Rafsanjani: My Father Tried to Convince Khomeini to End War with Iraq
Israeli FM Thanks Turkey for Foiling Attacks on Israelis
Ex-US Vice President Mike Pence Denounces Iran's ‘Brutality’
UN Chief Warns of ‘Catastrophe’ from Global Food Shortage
Troubled at Home, France’s Macron Remains a Key World Player
World Leaders Seek United Front for Ukraine as War Rages On
Russian Military Cargo Plane Crashes, Killing 4
Ukrainian Army to Leave Battered City to Avoid Encirclement
Tunisia's interior ministry says president facing 'serious threats'
Tunisian knife attacker wounds two policemen outside synagogue
New rocket attack targets northern Iraq gas complex
UN says Al-Jazeera journalist killed by Israeli fire

Titles For LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 24-25/2022
Muslim Man Tries to Slaughter Coptic Christian Woman with a Sickle/Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/June 24/2022
Sudan: The Genocide No One Talks About/Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/June 24/ 2022
Putin: From Frank Sinatra to Leonid Brezhnev/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/June 24/2022
A Little Epoxy Can Unglue India’s Welfare System/Andy Mukherjee/Bloomberg/June 24/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 24-25/2022
Aoun meets head of Hamas political bureau, affirms Palestinian right to establish independent state
NNA/June 24/2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, renewed Lebanon's position on the Palestinian cause, which is represented in affirming the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on all their national soil, with Jerusalem as its capital, and dedicating the right of return to the land of Palestine for Palestinian refugees. The President also considered that resistance to occupation by the Palestinian people is not terrorism. President Aoun stressed the importance of preserving Jerusalem, where the three religions meet: Christianity, Islam and Judaism, considering that no one can imagine Jerusalem without the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and other holy places. President Aoun’s positions came while meeting head of the Hamas political bureau, Dr. Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh was accompanied by a delegation that included: Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the movement, Dr. Khalil al-Haya, a member of the political bureau, and Dr. Musa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of movement and a member of the Political Bureau, Osama Hamdan a member of the Arab and Islamic Relations Office of the movement, and Dr. Ahmed Abdel Hadi the representative of "Hamas" in Lebanon.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Haniyeh expressed the Palestinian people's appreciation for the support they receive in Lebanon, as president and people, despite the difficult circumstances they are going through.
Then President Aoun was briefed on the latest developments in Palestine and what the Israeli occupation is doing in Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank, especially the settlement projects that are being implemented in addition to the permanent exposure to places of worship and the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and other aggressive practices. Dr. Haniyeh praised the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their confrontation with the continuous Israeli attacks, saluting the Palestinian martyrs who fell in these confrontations.
Statement:
After the meeting, Dr. Haniyeh made the following statement:
"I had the honor to meet His Excellency the President, and the meeting was an occasion in which I presented him with the latest developments that the Palestinian cause is going through.
On our part, we focused on the fierce battle taking place in Jerusalem between the Zionist occupation and our people stationed there. We explained what is happening in Jerusalem, whether in the context of Judaization, continuing settlement, demolishing homes, or deporting and restricting our Jerusalemites to push them out of the holy city, as well as the plans for the temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the attack that took place on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.
We assured that the Israeli occupation does not differentiate between a Muslim and a Christian on the land of Palestine, especially in Jerusalem.
We were exposed to the unjust siege that Gaza has been experiencing for 15 years, with the aim of breaking the will of the Palestinian people and subjugating the resistance in Palestine and Gaza to the will of the occupation, an extension of what our people live in the camps of Lebanon, 74 years after the Nakba and the asylum.
We reject resettlement, the alternative homeland and displacement, and we adhere to the right of return to the land of Palestine, and we wished His Excellency and the Lebanese state to look positively at some of the human rights requirements of our people in the camps, especially since there is a significant decline in the services provided by UNRWA to the Palestinian camps.
For our part, we congratulated His Excellency the President, the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people on the achievement of the parliamentary elections and the electoral entitlement, and we wished Lebanon stability, security and well-being, because Lebanon's strength and stability is a strength for Palestine and support for the resistance in it. We also affirmed our full solidarity with Lebanon in the face of Israeli harassment on the borders. We asserted that the Israeli is a usurper of Palestine and the arms of this occupation have no right to extend to any Arab country, nor to Lebanon and its full right to its natural resources, oil and gas.
We have heard His Excellency the President renewing the position of Lebanon and the Presidency of the Republic on the Palestinian issue and the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on their entire national soil, with Jerusalem as its capital, and on the right to return to the land of Palestine for all Palestinian refugees. His Excellency also affirmed that the Palestinian people have the right to resist the occupation and that the resistance is not terrorism as he said, neither is it terrorism in Palestine, nor is the resistance here in Lebanon and Hezbollah terrorism.
The President refuses to describe the resistance as terrorism, as long as it is a resistance against the occupation. We expressed our very high appreciation to His Excellency, and we always wish him health and wellness, and for Lebanon security, stability and more unity”.—Presidency Press Office

Aoun meets Arab Peace Group, says restoration of Arab cohesion cornerstone of re-strengthening relations
NNA/June 24/2022
President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, on Friday welcomed at Baabda Palace a delegation from the "Arab Peace Group". The delegation included: former Yemeni President, Ali Nasser Muhammad, former Jordanian Minister of Interior, Engineer Samir Habashneh, member of the Central Committee of the "Fatah" movement, former ambassador to Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, and Messrs.: Akram Abdel Latif Jarab, Abdel Hussein Shaaban, Fahd Habashneh and Abu al-Fadl Baji. At the beginning of the meeting, President Ali Nasser Mohamed conveyed the solidarity of the "Arab Peace Group" with Lebanon, as president, government and people, wishing President Aoun success in completing his national mission, calling for Lebanon to overcome the difficult circumstances it is going through. President Mohamed expressed confidence in the people's ability and presented the Arab situation in general, and the efforts made by the group to achieve its goals and spread peace through dialogue. President Mohamed pointed out that the group made great efforts with a number of different parties in the Arab countries to reach a political solution to the existing crises, whether in Yemen or Syria or Libya. After that, Minister Habashneh explained the stages of the group's efforts and the reactions to them, referring to the conference that the group will hold after Eid al-Adha in Cairo, to evaluate the results of the contacts. Ambassador Zaki also spoke about the situation in Palestine in light of the continued Israeli attacks. For his part, Dr. Shaaban raised the importance of the "Human Academy for Convergence and Dialogue," which President Aoun wanted as a space for dialogue that would practically lead to peace and consensus.
President Aoun:
For his side, the President welcomed the delegation, praising the efforts made by the group to achieve the goals for which it was established. President Aoun asserted the importance of a unified position among Arab countries that suffer from divisions and differences that are reflected in their peoples and their peace and stability. In addition, President Aoun focused on the importance of Arab cooperation in the economic field and the convergence of the group of eastern countries with the Gulf states in a single economic market that will have a great impact on the renaissance of these countries and their peoples. Finally, the President considered that Arab solidarity has been shaken by the events in the Arab countries, stressing that restoring cohesion and solidarity is the cornerstone of re-strengthening relations between these countries, “And there is no useful option other than that”.—Presidency Press Office

Al-Mawarid Bank announces suspension of membership in Association of Banks in Lebanon
NNA /June 24/2022
The Media Department at AM Bank s.a.l. has issued the following press release: “Ever since the inception of the “October 19” crisis, AM Bank has been feeling that the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) has been taking decisions that greatly diverge from the interests of its members, thus harming the banking sector and depositors alike. The series of inappropriate decisions started with the closure of banks for two consecutive weeks during the month of October 2019. The unprecedented-in-history closure constituted the first blow that undermined the long-standing trust between banks and their clients. That trust was the cornerstone of the success and prosperity of the banking sector in Lebanon, and the ABL managed with its closure decision to erode decades of hard work in an instant. Such inappropriate decisions at the ABL were frequent over the past two years and are still common now, most recently in what relates to the correspondence addressed to the International Monetary Fund. The letter dated June 21, 2022, and sent by “Decision Boundaries” to Mr. Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, the Mission Chief for Lebanon at the IMF was sent without a discussion of its contents. Most ABL member banks were not privy to it, nor to the logic behind the proposed steps and action plan. AM Bank is of the opinion that such an important action plan — one that will have lasting consequences on Lebanon and its people for many years to come — ought to have been discussed and approved by all member banks. Further, AM Bank is shocked that it was neither informed of the appointment of the above-mentioned company as an advisor to the ABL nor made aware of the terms and conditions governing such appointment. What’s even more shocking is that AM Bank read the letter in the press and on social media! AM Bank is of the opinion that the Association of Banks in Lebanon had an opportunity to prevent the exacerbation of the current crisis, yet it did not undertake efforts to improve its performance or make the right decisions in order to put in place plans and solutions aimed at recovering the depositors money. To date, the ABL remains in denial and unwilling to recognize that its member banks need to be proactive and assume a certain level of responsibility that is commensurate with the underlying risks of their balance sheets. Alas, most of the positions of the ABL have aimed at solely protecting banks and their owners, without stressing the seniority of the deposits over their capital. The main objective of any bank operating anywhere and in any country must be to safeguard the deposits entrusted to them, as it is not possible to separate between depositors and banks - there are no banks without depositors and no depositors without banks. AM Bank cannot stand idly by, and expects much more from the ABL leadership that ought to know better. Consequently, AM Bank announces the suspension of its membership in the Association of Banks in Lebanon until matters are rectified in the best interest of depositors first. It also calls upon other banks to follow suit and suspend their memberships in the hope of sending a clear message to the ABL leadership that “enough is enough”, and matters must be dealt with a higher level of understanding and realism.”

Mikati, Derian perform Friday prayer at Prince Monzer Mosque in Downtown Beirut
NNA/June 24/2022 
Prime Minister-designate, Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Friday visited Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, at the latter’s residence. The pair then jointly perform Friday prayers at Prince Monzer Mosque in downtown Beirut.

Parliament General Secretariat issues schedule of non-binding consultations
NNA /June 24/2022
The General Secretariat of the Parliament has issued the schedule of the non-binding consultations that the Prime Minister-designate, Najib Mikati, will be holding in the Parliament on forthcoming Monday and Tuesday.
The schedule is as follows:
Monday, June 27, 2022:
- Speaker Nabih Berri (1:30 pm)
- Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab (1:50 pm)
- Development and Liberation Bloc (2:10 pm)
- Strong Republic Bloc (3:00 pm)
- Loyalty to Resistance Bloc (3:20 pm)
- MPs Paula Yacoubian, Melhem Khalaf, Mark Daou, Halima Kaakour, Rami Fanj, Yassine Yassine, Firas Hamdan, Elias Jradi, Cynthia Zarazir, Najat Saliba, Waddah Sadek, Michel Doueihy and Ibrahim Mneimneh (3:40 pm)
- Democratic Gathering Bloc (4:00 pm)
- National Moderation Bloc (4:20 pm)
- National Independent Bloc (4:40 pm)
- kataeb Bloc (5:00 pm)
- North of Confrontation Bloc (5:20 pm)
- Human Project Bloc (5:40 pm)
- Projects Association Bloc (6:00 pm)
- Jamaa Islamiya Bloc (6:20 pm)
- MP Ghassan Skaff (6:30 pm)
Tuesday, June 28, 2022:
- Independent MPs: Hassan Mrad (10:30 am), Jean Talouzian (10:40 am), Fouad Makhzoumi (10:50 am), Osama Saad (11:00 am), Abdel Rahman Bizri (11:10 am), Jihad Samad (11:20), Michel Daher (11:30 am), Ashraf Rifi (11:40 am), Firas Salloum (11:50 am), Charbel Massaad (12:00 pm), Bilal Heshaymi (12:10 pm), Ihab Matar (12:20 pm), Nabil Badr (12:30 pm)
- Strong Lebanon Bloc (12:40 pm)
- Armenian MPs Bloc (1:00 pm)
- MP Mohammad Yehia (1:20 pm)
- MP Abdel Karim Kabbara (1:30 pm)
- MP Jamil Sayyed (1:40 pm)
- Economic and Social Council (1:50 pm)

Statement of International Support Group for Lebanon on Mikati’s reassignment
NNA/June 24/2022
The following is the Statement of the International Support Group for Lebanon on the reassignment of Prime Minister, Najib Mikati: “The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG) takes note of the designation of a Prime Minister. It calls on all political actors to form a government quickly. With the severe economic and social challenges it faces, Lebanon and its citizens cannot afford political deadlocks. The ISG also emphasizes that it is important to adhere to the constitutional calendar in order for the presidential election to take place on time. The ISG urges Lebanese stakeholders, including executive and legislative authorities, to work quickly on the swift formation of a government that can implement important outstanding reforms in order to relieve the suffering of the Lebanese people. In particular, the authorities must deliver on commitments made in the 7 April staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including budget laws, capital control, banking secrecy, banking resolution, government and central bank decisions on banking resolution and exchange rate unification, to lay a solid basis for socio-economic relief and a sustainable recovery of Lebanon. This is best achieved through an agreement with the IMF, supported by the international donors’ community. The ISG continues to stand by Lebanon and its people. The International Support Group has brought together the United Nations and the governments of China, France, Germany, Italy, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, together with the European Union and the Arab League.  It was launched in September 2013 by the UN Secretary-General with former President Michel Sleiman to help mobilize support and assistance for Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty and state institutions.

Italian Ambassador, UNDP ink Zahle Waste Water Treatment Project in presence of Ministers of Energy and Environment
NNA /June 24/2022
Italian Ambassador to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardiere, accompanied by Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water, Dr. Walid Fayad, Caretaker Minister of Environment Dr. Nasser Yassin, and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative in Lebanon, Melanie Hauenstein, on Friday visited Zahle’s waste water treatment plant, where Bombardiere and Hauenstein inked “Zahle Waste Water Treatment Project”.
The Italian Government has provided a grant contribution of 4 Million Euros to the UNDP to implement the project and ensure the operation and maintenance of the aforementioned plant, considering the financial and economic crisis that is currently affecting Lebanon.
This new contribution will sustain the running of the project for other two years, with the aims of preserving the environment and increasing the health and hygienic conditions of the population within the area.
The signing ceremony kicked off with an address by the Italian Ambassador to Lebanon, in which she said: “We are proud of this Italian investment. We are aware of its impact for the protection of health and environment. Health and environment are top priorities for the Italian Development policy. And we are equally aware, in this difficult time for Lebanon, Of the necessity to preserve the functioning of this facility. For a successful implementation of the project, we need to make sure that everybody delivers on its own commitment (steering committee).
This project is a test case for a partnership in action. A partnership between donors, UN agency and several state institutions, to prove our capacity to face a critical challenge in a critical sector, working together to protect a basic public service in the short term and at the same time to reform the whole water sector."For her part, UNDP’s Hauenstein said, "As I said in the beginning for us UNDP, accepting to manage and oversight the facility for the coming two years is a new way of providing development services. We are convinced that this is an opportunity to pilot a good example for others to follow in the future. Once the project is running, it can be integrated into other upcoming projects as the quality of the treated wastewater is such that can be used for irrigation, which is critical to unleash the great potential of this region for agriculture. At the same time it is a powerful example on how Lebanon can adapt to climate change."In turn, Lebanon’s Caretaker Minister of Environment thanked the Italian government and the UNDP for funding and managing Zahle’s waste water plant.
“The government is endeavoring to support this region that is fully qualified to grow wheat and grains, especially in the central and western Bekaa,” Yassin said.
“We must exert relentless efforts to secure proper agriculture in the Bekaa region. This project will be completed, in cooperation with the Italian Embassy and the World Bank, within the framework of Anjar city’s waste water project,” Yassin added.
Lebanon’s Caretaker Energy Minister delivered a word in which he deemed Zahle’s waste water plant one of the most strategic stations in Lebanon “as it contributes to keeping agriculture sustainable and life honorable in this region.”
However, Fayad warned that the success of this project remained coupled with the ability to secure a 24/7 power supply.
“Therefore, we will look for objective solutions, but the main solution lies in implementing the electricity plan set by the Ministry of Energy,” Fayad added.
Zahle Waste Water Treatment Project has the general objective to improve the sanitation conditions of the Zahle Caza (Zahle city and the villages of Kaa El Rim and Hazzerta) while reducing at the same time the environmental impact linked to wastewater production due to human and commercial consumption, targeting the SDGs. No. 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 9 (Built Resilient Infrastructure) and 14 (Prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution).
The specific aim of the project is to eliminate the pollution of the Litani and Berdawni rivers which are touristic sites with several restaurants and recreational activities that shall benefit of the clean water.
Beneficiaries of the project are actually around 205,000 people, reaching 300,000 people for the horizon 2030, living in the municipality of Zahle and in the villages of Kaa El Rim and Hazzerta and other villages in the central Beqaa.
The Project has been originally financed in 2005 by the Italian Government with a soft loan of 22 Million Euro.
The construction of the project was awarded by CDR to the Italian company Suez Trattamento Acque spa, one of the leading international company in the sector, and the project started Operation and Maintenance on October 2, 2017.
Till now a total of 30 Million m3 of waste water has been treated with an average flow of 20.000 m3/day with good treatment level, according to international standards, and satisfactory laboratory results of the effluent at the outlet.
The Government of Italy now is willing to provide an additional financing with a grant contribution of 4 Million Euros to UNDP in order to ensure the operation and maintenance of the plant, considering the financial and economic crisis that is currently affecting Lebanon.
This new contribution will sustain the running of the project for other two years, with the aims of preserving the environment and increasing the health and hygienic conditions of the populationwithin the area.
It is crucial that all the partners involved, including the local Institutions and Authorities, shall take all the actions necessary for a successful sustainability of the Project, in terms of continuous electrical supply and diesel (in case of cut-offs), sludge disposal and availability of human and financial resources.
In addition to Zahle project, the Italian Cooperation is active with other projects across the national territoy in the waste water treatment sector, particularly: Jbeil under construction, Anjar, Harjel and Mish Mish awarded to contactors, and others planned projects are Jbaa, Bint Jbeil, Bakoun, Hasbaya, and Hermel. All such projects will target a total number of beneficiaries of around 700.000 people. The Italian Cooperation in Lebanon is providing a total financing of 180 million Euros for water and waste water projects.

Families of Abra detainees stage sit-in making 9th anniversary
NNA /June 24/2022
The families of Abra detainees on Friday staged a sit-in marking the ninth anniversary of Abra incident in front of Abra mosque under the title of “Stop Abra conspiracy and release our detainees immediately".
The protesters also brandished pictures of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Asir and banners calling for “an immediate halt to the injustice done to detainees” and for their immediate release.

Report: Mikati won Maronite patriarch's 'blessing' despite FPM-LF snub
Naharnet/June 24/2022
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati won Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s “blessing” for his nomination to form the new government although he was not named in the binding consultations by the country’s two biggest Christian parties – the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces, media reports said.Prior to his designation, Mikati “engaged in dialogue with the LF and sought indirect talks with the FPM, relying on Hizbullah’s assistance,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday. “He also tried to benefit from Speaker Nabih Berri’s special relation with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and held contacts with religious leaders, most notably Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, with the aim of obtaining support for his program, proposing anew a government reshuffle that would allow the entry of new forces into the government and reiterating his readiness to head a national unity cabinet,” the daily added. It also quoted sources close to Mikati as saying that he “won the support of the Amal and Hizbullah duo and also the ‘blessing’ of the Maronite patriarch.”“But he knows that the negotiations with the FPM will be difficult,” the sources added. He meanwhile “does not know until the moment whether the stance of the PSP and the LF is final as to refusing to take part in the government,” the sources went on to say.

Mikati says Hezbollah backs government's sea border proposal

Naharnet /June 24/2022
Hezbollah backs the Lebanese government’s decision regarding sea border demarcation and its response to the proposal presented to the U.S. mediator was “not negative,” PM-designate Najib Mikati said. “We do not want a war and all that we want is to extract gas from the Eastern Mediterranean,” Mikati said in an interview on Qatari satellite TV network Al Araby. “We have submitted to U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein a proposal regarding the gas in the Eastern Mediterranean and we cannot back down from what we offered,” Mikati added. Turning to the issue of his appointment as PM-designate, Mikati said “the sectarian fabric was not balanced during the (binding) parliamentary consultations,” in reference to the fact that he did not receive any vote from the country’s main Christian parties. He, however, stressed that his new government will “conform to the National Pact and respect sectarian balances.”Mikati also revealed that “there has been no communication nor contact with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil.”“Despite this, I don’t see that there is any problem with him,” Mikati added.

Raad calls for forming government that can address 'priorities'
Naharnet /June 24/2022
The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammed Raad, on Friday called for forming a new government that can “serve the priorities” that the country needs, a day after Najib Mikati was designated to form a new cabinet.
“A PM-designate has been named, after everyone said that we must not waste the remaining months of the presidential term in searching for a prime minister. Thank God we acted quickly and a premier was designated, and now we will hurry up in forming the government so that we don’t waste the remaining months in the distribution of shares and rivalry over them,” Raad said. “Look at the priorities that the country needs and let us form a government that can serve these priorities,” Raad added, calling for “a smaller number of ministries.”“Let the government be able to serve the priorities that the current period in the country requires, including rescuing the monetary situation, securing electricity, approving the recovery plan, fixing the Lebanese lira exchange rate, activating the economic activity in the various fields, and providing food and medical supplies,” the Hezbollah legislator went on to say, calling for “productivity in the coming period.”

Mikati expected to submit 'balanced' govt. line-up within a week

Naharnet/June 24/2022
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati is expected to submit a “balanced” cabinet line-up to President Michel Aoun “within a week at the latest,” political sources said. “The PM-designate intends to speed up the process of forming the new government, despite all the obstruction attempts no matter where they may come from, and he will reject any conditions or unrealistic, crippling demands,” the sources told al-Liwaa newspaper in remarks published Friday. “The expected line-up takes into consideration the requirements of the difficult and complicated period and how to deal with it. It also takes into account citizens’ daily needs and demands and the revival of state’s crumbling institutions,” the sources added.

Al-Mawared suspends membership in Banks Association, urges others to follow suit
Naharnet/June 24/2022
Al-Mawared Bank announced Friday the suspension of its membership in the Association of Banks as it accused the association of failing to protect the banks and the depositors. The Bank in a statement accused the Association of taking decisions "that are not necessarily in the interest of its members and of the depositors," since the beginning of the crisis in October 2019, and of "failing to protect the banking sector.""The Association has been taking decisions that harmed the banking sector and the depositors, starting with the decision to close banks for two weeks during the month of October 2019, which affected the confidence of the depositors in the banks," al-Mawared said. The Bank also accused the Association of sending a letter to the International Monetary Fund without notifying the association's members or discussing its content with them. "It is an obligation for banks to preserve the money of the depositors who trusted the banks with it," al-Mawared said, adding that it can't "stand idly by and let the depositors bear the losses."The Bank urged other banks to follow suit and suspend their membership.

UK Court orders firm that sent nitrates to Beirut to reveal owner's identity
Naharnet/June 24/2022
The High Court of Justice in London has ordered Savaro Ltd to disclose the identity of its ultimate beneficiary owner who had sent the ammonium nitrate to Beirut on the Rhosus ship. In august 2021, the Dechert LLP had filed an action in the High Court of London against Savaro on behalf of the Beirut Bar Association and a number of victims or their relatives of the Beirut Port Explosion.Ten months later, a British judge ordered Savaro to disclose the identity of its owner within a deadline. Lawyer Nasri Diab from the Beirut Bar Association Prosecution office and lawyer Kamil Abu Suleiman from the Dechert LLP stressed the importance of the court's decision, which gives hope to the victims, a few weeks away from the anniversary of the August 4 explosion. Head of the Bar Association, Nader Kaspar, considered that the diligent work of the Public Prosecution Office constitutes a guarantee for the victims, despite all the obstacles and delays.

A World Apart, Lebanon and Sri Lanka Share Economic Collapse
Asharq Al-Awsat/June 24/2022
Lebanon and Sri Lanka may be a world apart, but they share a history of political turmoil and violence that led to the collapse of once-prosperous economies bedeviled by corruption, patronage, nepotism and incompetence. The toxic combinations led to disaster for both: Currency collapse, shortages, triple-digit inflation and growing hunger. Snaking queues for gas. A decimated middle class. An exodus of professionals who might have helped rebuild. There usually isn’t one moment that marks the catastrophic breaking point of an economic collapse, although telltale signs can be there for months - if not years.
When it happens, the hardship unleashed is all-consuming, transforming everyday life so profoundly that the country may never return to what it was. Experts say a dozen countries - including Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Pakistan - could suffer the same fate as Lebanon and Sri Lanka, as the post-pandemic recovery and war in Ukraine spark global food shortages and a surge in prices.
Roots of crisis
The crises in Lebanon and Sri Lanka are rooted in decades of greed, corruption and conflict. Both countries suffered a long civil war followed by a tenuous and rocky recovery, all the while dominated by corrupt warlords and family cliques that amassed enormous foreign debt and stubbornly held on to power. Various popular uprisings in Lebanon have been unable to shake off a political class that has long used the country’s sectarian power-sharing system to perpetuate corruption and nepotism. Key decisions remain in the hands of political dynasties that gained power because of immense wealth or by commanding militias during the war. Amid the factional rivalries, political paralysis and government dysfunction has worsened. As a result, Lebanon is one of the most backward Middle East countries in infrastructure and development, including extensive power cuts which persist 32 years after the civil war ended.
In Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa family has monopolized politics in the island nation for decades. Even now, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still clinging to power, although the family dynasty around him has crumbled amid protests since April. Experts say the current crises in both countries is of their own making, including a high level of foreign debt and little invested in development. Moreover, both countries have suffered repeated bouts of instability and terrorist attacks that upended tourism, a mainstay of their economies. In Sri Lanka, Easter suicide bombings at churches and hotels killed more than 260 people in 2019. Lebanon has suffered the consequences of neighboring Syria’s civil war, which flooded the country of 5 million with about 1 million refugees. Both economies were then hit again with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tipping points
Lebanon’s crisis began in late 2019, after the government announced new proposed taxes, including a $6 monthly fee for using WhatsApp voice calls. The measures set a spark to long smoldering anger against the ruling class and months of mass protests. Irregular capital controls were put in place, cutting people off from their life’s savings as the currency began to spiral. In March 2020, Lebanon defaulted on paying back its massive debt, worth at the time about $90 billion or 170% of GDP - one of the highest in the world. In June 2021, with the currency having lost nearly 90% of its value, the World Bank said the crisis ranked as one of the worst the world has seen in more than 150 years. In Sri Lanka, with the economy still fragile after the 2019 Easter bombings, Gotabaya pushed through the largest tax cuts in the country’s history. That sparked a quick backlash, with creditors downgrading the country’s ratings, blocking it from borrowing more money as foreign exchange reserves nosedived. On the brink of bankruptcy, it has suspended payments on its foreign loans and introduced capital controls amid a severe shortage of foreign currency. The tax cuts recently were reversed. Meanwhile the Sri Lankan rupee has weakened by nearly 80% to about 360 to $1, making the costs of imports even more prohibitive. "Our economy has completely collapsed,” the prime minister said Wednesday.
Upended lives
Before this latest descent, both Lebanon and Sri Lanka had a middle-income population that allowed most people to live somewhat comfortably.
During the 1980s and 1990s, many Sri Lankans took jobs as domestic workers in Lebanese households. As Sri Lanka began its postwar recovery, they have been replaced by workers from Ethiopia, Nepal and the Philippines. The recent crisis forced most Lebanese to give up that luxury, among others. Almost overnight, people found themselves with almost no access to their money, evaporated savings and worthless salaries. A month’s salary at minimum wage isn’t enough to buy 20 liters (5 1/4 gallons) of gasoline, or cover the bill for private generators that provide homes with a few hours of electricity a day.
At one point, severe shortages of fuel, cooking gas and oil led to fights over limited supplies - scenes now replicated in Sri Lanka. Cancer drugs are often out of stock. Earlier this year, the government even ran out of paper for new passports. Tens of thousands of professionals, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, have left the country in search of jobs. Similarly, Sri Lanka is now almost without gasoline and faces an acute shortage of other fuels. Authorities have announced nationwide power cuts of up to four hours a day and asked state employees not to work on Fridays, except for those needed for essential services. The UN World Food Program says nearly nine of 10 Sri Lankan families are skipping meals or otherwise skimping to stretch their food, while 3 million are getting emergency humanitarian aid. Doctors have resorted to social media to seek critical supplies of equipment and medicine. Growing numbers of Sri Lankans want passports to go overseas to search for work.
Other disasters
In addition to the political and financial turmoil, both countries have faced disasters that worsened their crises. On Aug. 4, 2020, a catastrophic explosion struck Beirut's port, killing at least 216 people and wrecking large parts of the city. The blast, widely considered one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, was caused by the detonation of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate that was stored in a warehouse for years. The dangerous material was housed there apparently with the knowledge of senior politicians and security officials who did nothing about it. There was widespread outrage at the traditional parties’ endemic corruption and mismanagement, which were widely blamed for the calamity. Sri Lanka faced a disaster in early 2021, when a container ship carrying chemicals caught fire off the coast of the capital of Colombo. It burned for nearly two weeks before sinking while being towed to deeper waters. The burning ship belched noxious fumes and spilled more than 1,500 tons of plastic pellets into the Indian Ocean, which were later found in dead dolphins and fish on the beaches. Fishing was banned in the area because of health risks associated with the chemicals in the water, affecting the livelihoods of some 4,300 families, who still have not received compensation.

خالد أبو زهر: مطلوب من الأحزاب اللبنانية التي تقف ضد حزب الله أن تتوحد بأي طريقة ممكنة
Lebanon’s anti-Hezbollah parties should unite in any way they can
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/June 24/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109577/khaled-abou-zahr-lebanons-anti-hezbollah-parties-should-unite-in-any-way-they-can-%d8%ae%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af-%d8%a3%d8%a8%d9%88-%d8%b2%d9%87%d8%b1-%d9%85%d8%b7%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a8-%d9%85%d9%86/
Following the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the political landscape in Lebanon was divided between the March 14 and March 8 movements. March 14 was a gathering of all the political parties and voices standing against the Syrian occupation. March 8 was represented by Hezbollah, Michel Aoun and other pro-Syrian movements. Through violence and assassinations, intimidation and other ruses, the March 14 alliance was beaten. The knockout blow came on May 7, 2008, when Hezbollah invaded Beirut. This was the end of the March 14 alliance.
In reality, March 14 had, from the start, a dysfunctional structure. With no real leadership, structure or capacity, the alliance was imploding from within. It was unable to face the ruthlessness of Hezbollah and the Iranian regime’s takeover of Lebanon. In the face of this violence, it might not have been able to survive even if it was united and in complete solidarity. But we will never know.
And so, as March 14 disintegrated, analysts stopped representing the political struggle in Lebanon as one between March 14 and March 8, or even as a fight for freedom and real independence. This made it seem as if both alliances had dissolved. In reality, March 8 was still alive and kicking and it has been the ruling regime ever since, bringing in the coercion of all others. Even some of its opposition ended up collaborating with it.
As early as 2006, the March 8 alliance had transformed into an iron-clad political agreement. This happened in the form of the Mar Mikhael Agreement. The name is in reference to the first meeting between the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, then-MP Aoun, and Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in the Mar Mikhael Church in Haret Hreik, south Beirut. This marked the full political alignment between the FPM and Hezbollah. Through thick and thin, international condemnation and sanctions, this political movement has been moving forward. There is no doubt that the leader is Hezbollah and it calls the shots. Nevertheless, it is a unified bloc on all matters.
On the other hand, its opposition is a fragmented and diversified group with no coordination or common vision for Lebanon beyond slogans for freedom, sovereignty and independence. As one would say when expecting a payment and instead receiving a compliment: Where do I cash this check? Where does this opposition, with its newcomers, cash the political gains it made in the recent elections? There is, in fact, a greater risk of losing it all.
There is not much difference between these political formations and the leaderless youth that started protesting in October 2019. In the face of the adversity of Hezbollah and the Iranian occupation, they are unable to achieve any real political gains. They do not seem able to disrupt the activities of Hezbollah even in the slightest.
I have, unfortunately, little hope of seeing this change in the future. And Hezbollah will continue to use these divisions to further its own interests and continue its control over the country. When it comes to the reasons for these divisions among the remnants of March 14, I am convinced that it is not about religion. It is about too many egos and the lack of a clear vision and strategy for the future. And, as always, a lack of hard power. Let’s face it, even in a democracy, political parties are effectively dictatorships, with leaders having enough muscle to silence any dissent. In Lebanon, besides Hezbollah, no other formation can do this. Saad Hariri could not impose anything on Samir Geagea or Walid Jumblatt. This is still true today with the current actors.
But this fragmentation goes deeper. How can a left-wing political party align itself with a right-wing one? How can political groups fight together for the same platform or agenda when their definitions of sovereignty and freedom are different? This is mission impossible. Indeed, each group has its own view on what the country’s institutions should be and what the meanings of freedom and sovereignty are. More importantly, even the political structure does not allow for a common agenda to be built. It is a political structure of transactions and deal-making, not one of nation-building. The recent events around the central bank are, if needed, further proof of this.
There is the possibility of Hezbollah and its allies either controlling or, in a worst-case scenario, leading the consensus choice for PM.
As President Aoun has started the parliamentary consultations with the objective of naming the next prime minister, it is important to recognize that, if all the opposition to the Iranian regime and the anti-establishment MPs united under the same umbrella, they could probably reach enough seats to propose the next PM. Yet, in reality, there is little chance of this happening, as they will probably be divided on names, details and political influence. This leaves the possibility of Hezbollah and its allies either controlling or, in a worst-case scenario, leading the consensus choice. Once again, they will be controlling the government while making the opposition bear responsibility for all its ills.
This is why the opposition to Hezbollah and Iran should in reality be described as a resistance. And the political parties should not enter into any deal-making. They should block every single decision. They might not be able to unite to form a majority that is capable of governing, but they can unite to slow Hezbollah’s advances. However, this should only be seen as a temporary solution.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 24-25/2022
US Supreme Court ends constitutional right to abortion
Agence France Presse/Friday, 24 June, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ended the right to abortion in a seismic ruling that shreds half a century of constitutional protections on one of the most divisive and bitterly fought issues in American political life. The conservative-dominated court overturned the landmark 1973 "Roe v Wade" decision that enshrined a woman's right to an abortion and said individual states can permit or restrict the procedure themselves. "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives," the court said.

Question: "What does the Bible say about abortion?"
GotQuestions.org?/June 24/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/109582/%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b0%d8%a7-%d9%8a%d9%82%d9%88%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d8%aa%d8%a7%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%82%d8%af%d8%b3-%d8%a8%d8%b4%d8%a3%d9%86-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%ac%d9%87%d8%a7%d8%b6%d8%9f-wh/
Answer: In anticipation of the likely explosion of interest in the topic of abortion, we have recorded four podcast episodes recently of the GotQuestions.org staff discussing the issues:
What does the Bible say about abortion?
How should Christians view the Roe v Wade decision on abortion rights?
Why should Christians be pro-life?
What does it mean to be pro-life? How can I do more to promote life?
The Bible never specifically addresses the issue of abortion. However, there are numerous teachings in Scripture that make it abundantly clear what God’s view of abortion is.
Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that God knows us before He forms us in the womb.
Psalm 139:13–16 speaks of God’s active role in our creation and formation in the womb.
Exodus 21:22–25 prescribes the same penalty—death—for someone who causes the death of a baby in the womb as for someone who commits murder. This law and its punishment clearly indicate that God considers a baby in the womb to be just as much a human being as a full-grown adult. For the Christian, abortion is not a matter of a woman’s right to choose to have a baby. The baby is already present and living. Abortion is a matter of the life or death of a human being made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27; 9:6).
What does the Bible say about abortion? Simply put, abortion is murder. It is the killing of a human being created in the image of God.
A common argument against the Christian stance on abortion is “What about cases of rape and/or incest?” As difficult as it would be to become pregnant as a result of rape or incest, is the murder of a baby the solution? Two wrongs do not make a right. Intentionally killing the unborn child is not the answer. Also, keep in mind that having an abortion is a traumatic experience. It seems nonsensical to add an additional trauma to the woman. Too, abortion can be a means of rapists covering up their crimes. For example, if a minor is molested and becomes pregnant and then is taken to have an abortion, the molestation could continue without penalty. Abortion will never erase the pain of rape or incest, but it very well may add to it.
A child who is conceived through rape or incest is as much made in the image of God as any other human. That child’s life should be protected just as much as the life of any other human being. The circumstances of conception never determine the worth of a person or that person’s future. The baby in this situation is completely innocent and should not be punished for the evil act of his or her father. Depending on the situation, the mother might choose to raise the child. If she does not already have a community of support, there are many organizations and local churches ready to walk alongside her. Or she might place the child for adoption. There are many families, some unable to have children on their own, who stand ready to receive and love a child from any background.
It’s also important to keep in mind that abortions due to rape or incest account for a very small percentage of total abortions: only 1 percent of abortions can be traced to cases of rape or incest (Torres and Forrest, cited by Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health and the Alan Guttmacher Institute in An Overview of Abortion in the United States, October 2001, www.abortionfacts.com/facts/8#cite-1, accessed 9/9/21).
Another argument often used against the Christian stance on abortion is “What about when the life of the mother is at risk?” Honestly, this is the most difficult question to answer on the issue of abortion. First, let’s remember that such a situation is exceedingly rare. Dr. Landrum Shettles, a pioneer in the field of in vitro fertilization, wrote, “Less than 1 percent of all abortions are performed to save the mother’s life” (Landrum Shettles and David Rorvik, Rites of Life, Zondervan Publishing House, 1983, p. 129). Dr. Irving Cushner, Professor of Obstetrics at the UCLA School of Medicine, when testifying before the U. S. Senate, was asked how often abortions are necessary to save the life of the mother or to preserve her physical health. His response: “In this country, about 1 percent” (testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution of the United States on October 14, 1981, quoted in The Village Voice, July 16, 1985).
Other medical professionals go further, stating that abortion is never necessary to save the mother’s life. Over 1,000 OB-GYNs and maternal healthcare experts signed a statement in 2012, saying, in part, “As experienced practitioners and researchers in obstetrics and gynaecology, we affirm that direct abortion—the purposeful destruction of the unborn child—is not medically necessary to save the life of a woman” (Dublin Declaration on Maternal Health, www.dublindeclaration.com, accessed 9/9/21). Further, in 2019, “medical leaders representing more than 30,000 doctors said intentionally killing a late-term unborn baby in an abortion is never necessary to save a mother’s life” (www.lifenews.com/2019/03/05/30000-doctors-say-abortion-is-never-medically-necessary-to-save-a-mothers-life, accessed 9/9/21).
Second, let’s remember that God is a God of miracles. He can preserve the life of a mother and her child despite all the medical odds being against it. Third, even in the small percentage of abortions performed to save the life of the mother, most of those abortions can be prevented by an early induced delivery of the baby or a C-section. It is extremely rare that a baby must be actively aborted in order to save the life of the mother. Ultimately, if the life of the mother is genuinely at risk, the course of action can only be decided by the woman, her doctor, oftentimes the father of the child, and God. Any woman facing this extremely difficult situation should pray to the Lord for wisdom (James 1:5) as to what He would have her do.
The overwhelming majority of abortions performed today involve women who simply do not want to have the baby. As indicated above, just 2 percent of abortions are for the reason of rape, incest, or the mother’s life being at risk. Even in these more difficult 2 percent of instances, abortion should never be the first option. The life of a human being in the womb is worth every effort to preserve.
For those who have had an abortion, remember that the sin of abortion is no less forgivable than any other sin. Through faith in Christ, all sins can be forgiven (John 3:16; Romans 8:1; Colossians 1:14). A woman who has had an abortion, a man who has encouraged an abortion, and a doctor who has performed an abortion—all can be forgiven by faith in Jesus Christ.

Iran: Israeli Accusation of Iranian Plot to Harm Israelis in Istanbul ‘Ridiculous’

Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
Iran said on Friday Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s accusation of an Iranian plot to harm Israelis in Istanbul was "ridiculous" and aimed at damaging Iranian-Turkish relations. At a news conference in Ankara on Thursday, Lapid thanked his host Turkey for helping abort a suspected Iranian plot against Israelis in Istanbul and said the effort was still underway. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted in a ministry tweet as saying Lapid’s "ridiculous” allegation was a "pre-designed scenario to destroy relations between the two Muslim countries", referring to Turkey and Iran.

Iran rejects Israeli charges of attacks in Turkey
Agence France Presse/Friday, 24 June, 2022
Iran on Friday dismissed as "ridiculous" allegations by Israel's foreign minister while on a visit to Ankara that the Islamic republic was planning anti-Israeli attacks in Turkey. "The baseless allegations... are ridiculous and part of a pre-designed plot to destroy relations between the two Muslim countries," foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement. "It is expected from Turkey not to remain silent in the face of these divisive allegations," he said. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday thanked Turkey for thwarting an alleged Iranian assassination plot against its tourists in Istanbul. "We're not only talking about the murder of innocent Israeli tourists, but also a clear violation of Turkish sovereignty by Iranian terror," Lapid said. Media outlets in Turkey have reported the arrest of eight people allegedly working for an Iranian intelligence cell that planned to kill Israeli tourists in Istanbul. Iran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war but tensions have ratcheted up following a string of high-profile incidents that Tehran has blamed on Israel. The Islamic republic has pointed at Israel for the killing of Revolutionary Guards Colonel Sayyad Khodai at his Tehran home on May 22. Two other senior Guard members have also died -- one in a reported accident and the other in a shooting -- in the past month. The Revolutionary Guard, the ideological arm of Iran's military, said Thursday it was replacing its veteran intelligence chief. Khatibzadeh stressed that Iran would respond forcefully to "assassinations and acts of sabotage by the Zionist regime" but "without threatening the security of civilians and the security of other countries". Israel last week urged its citizens to leave Turkey because of the "real and immediate danger" coming from Iranian operatives. It is still keeping Istanbul at its highest level of travel warning, while putting the rest of Turkey on the second-highest alert.

Top EU Diplomat Due in Tehran on Friday for Talks
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will arrive in Tehran on Friday night for talks, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said, according to state media. "Bilateral relations, regional and international issues, as well as the latest status of sanctions lifting will be discussed during the visit, which is part of the ongoing consultations between Iran and the European Union,” ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said. A deal to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear accord with world powers seemed near in March but talks were thrown into disarray in part by a dispute over whether the United States should remove Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards from its Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO] list, The Associated Press said.

Faezeh Rafsanjani: My Father Tried to Convince Khomeini to End War with Iraq
Riyadh - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
Faezeh Rafsanjani, the daughter of late Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, revealed that her father sought an end to the Iran-Iraq war. He proposed ending the war to then supreme leader Khomeini, but he refused, she revealed in an interview to Asharq television. Moreover, she revealed that her father sought openness towards Saudi Arabia and backed restoring Iran’s relations with the United States. He did not oppose ties with any country, except for Israel, she added. Rafsanjani, who is a member of the reformist Executives of Construction Party, slammed the ruling conservatives in Iran, saying they are not seeking a nuclear deal with the West because they are actually benefitting from it. She noted how many conservatives often slam the US and European countries, while their children purse an education in the West. She doubted that a nuclear deal would be reached during the term of US President Joe Biden, noting that the Iranians and Americans were awaiting the outcome of the US Midterm elections. Rafsanjani’s father had pursued reform in Iran and sought openness with neighboring countries and the West. His daughter called on her country “to be open to the world” because few Iranians really support being closed off from it.

Israeli FM Thanks Turkey for Foiling Attacks on Israelis
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday thanked Turkish authorities for their cooperation in allegedly foiling attacks against Israeli citizens in Turkey, and warned Israel would not "sit idly by' in the face of threats to its citizens from Iran.
Lapid made the comments after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, as the two countries press ahead with efforts to repair ties that have been strained over Turkey’s strong support for the Palestinians. Earlier this month, Israel issued a warning for its citizens to avoid travel to Turkey and urging Israelis in Turkey to leave immediately. The warning said Israeli citizens could be targets of Iranian attacks. Turkish media reports said authorities had detained five Iranians suspected of planning attacks on Israelis in Istanbul. "In recent weeks, the lives of Israeli citizens have been saved thanks to security and diplomatic cooperation between Israel and (Turkey)," Lapid said. "We are full of appreciation for the Turkish government for this professional and coordinated activity."Lapid continued: "For its part, Israel won’t sit idly by when there are attempts to harm its citizens in Israel and around the world. Our immediate goal is to bring about calm that will enable us to change the travel warning to (Turkey)."The travel warning angered Turkey, whose economy depends on tourism to a large extent. Ankara responded by issuing a statement that said Turkey was a safe country. Standing next to Lapid, Cavusoglu said Turkey "cannot permit these kinds of incidents taking place in our country.""We have delivered the necessary messages," he said, without elaborating. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said that a joint operation with Turkey succeeded in thwarting several attacks and resulted in the arrest of several suspected operatives on Turkish soil in recent days. Hurriyet newspaper reported on Thursday that Turkish authorities detained five Iranian nationals on Wednesday suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate Israeli citizens in Istanbul. Police seized two pistols and two silencers in searches conducted in houses and hotels where the suspects were staying, according to the report. Lapid’s visit comes amid political turmoil in Israel, where Bennett’s fragile, year-old government decided this week to dissolve parliament, triggering new elections which are set to take place in the fall. Under the agreement that forged Bennett’s coalition government, Lapid is expected in the coming days to become caretaker prime minister until a new government is cobbled together after the elections. The developments deepen a political crisis in Israel, which has held four elections since 2019, each largely a referendum over former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule. Netanyahu hopes to return to power in the upcoming vote, but polls show that as in previous rounds it will unlikely produce a clear winner.
Turkey, beset by economic troubles, has been trying to end its international isolation by normalizing ties with several countries in the Middle East, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Turkey and Israel were once close allies, but relations grew tense under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is a vocal critic of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians. Turkey’s embrace of the Hamas movement, has angered Israel. The countries withdrew their ambassadors in 2010 after Israeli forces stormed a humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power there in 2007. Nine Turkish activists were killed. Israel apologized to Turkey for the deaths under a US-brokered agreement, but reconciliation efforts stalled. Turkey recalled its ambassador in 2018 after the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, prompting Israel to respond in kind. The two countries have not reappointed their ambassadors. The two ministers said Thursday that they had agreed to hold discussions on re-appointing ambassadors. The latest rapprochement has been led by Israel’s mostly ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, who has held several telephone calls with Erdogan and visited Turkey in March, becoming the first Israeli leader to do so in 14 years. Cavusoglu visited Israel last month. It was first official visit to Israel by a Turkish official in 15 years.

Ex-US Vice President Mike Pence Denounces Iran's ‘Brutality’

Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
Former US Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday denounced the Iranian regime for "brutality" and urged the Biden administration not to renew a nuclear deal with Tehran, saying it would embolden Iran's leadership. Pence flew 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) from his home in Indiana to Albania to visit the Ashraf-3 camp that is home to some 3,000 Iranian dissidents from the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, best known as MEK. Speaking at the camp near a small hill town 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Albania's capital, Tirana, Pence harshly denounced Tehran for brutality, poverty and corruption. Pence said the election of President Ebrahim Raisi, whom he called "a brutal mass murderer responsible for the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners," was "intended to quash internal dissent and intimidate the people of Iran into remaining silent." He also visited the camp’s museum on what it describes as the death or execution of up to 120,000 Iranians since the regime came to power in 1979. The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq began as a Marxist group opposing the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It supported the 1979 revolution, but soon had a falling out with Khomeini and turned against his clerical government, carrying out a series of assassinations and bombings in Iran. The MEK later fled into Iraq and backed Saddam Hussein during his bloody eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s, leading many people in Iran to oppose the group. Although now largely based in Albania, the group claims to operate a network inside Iran. Pence hailed the time of his governing with former President Donald Trump when they canceled the Iran nuclear deal, mentioning the sanctions imposed on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and bringing Iran’s oil exports to near zero. "A renewed deal with Iran won’t block Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb," Pence warned. He said a deal would not "benefit the people of Iran in any way but "merely empower and enrich a corrupt regime that has tormented and tortured the Iranian people for generations." Pence urged the Biden administration "to immediately withdraw from all nuclear negotiations with Tehran, voice support for the organized opposition in Iran, and make it clear that America and our allies will never permit the regime in Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon."

UN Chief Warns of ‘Catastrophe’ from Global Food Shortage
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
The head of the United Nations warned Friday that the world faces "catastrophe" because of the growing shortage of food around the globe. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war in Ukraine has added to the disruptions caused by climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and inequality to produce an "unprecedented global hunger crisis" already affecting hundreds of millions of people. "There is a real risk that multiple famines will be declared in 2022," he said in a video message to officials from dozens of rich and developing countries gathered in Berlin. "And 2023 could be even worse."Guterres noted that harvests across Asia, Africa and the Americas will take a hit as farmers around the world struggle to cope with rising fertilizer and energy prices. "This year’s food access issues could become next year’s global food shortage," he said. "No country will be immune to the social and economic repercussions of such a catastrophe."Guterres said UN negotiators were working on a deal that would enable Ukraine to export food, including via the Black Sea, and let Russia bring food and fertilizer to world markets without restrictions. He also called for debt relief for poor countries to help keep their economies afloat and for the private sector to help stabilize global food markets. The Berlin meeting's host, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, said Moscow's claim that Western sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine were to blame for food shortages was "completely untenable." Russia exported as much wheat in May and June this year as in the same months of 2021, Baerbock said. She echoed Guterres' comments that several factors underlie the growing hunger crisis around the world. "But it was Russia's war of attack against Ukraine that turned a wave into a tsunami," Baerbock said.

Troubled at Home, France’s Macron Remains a Key World Player
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
Emmanuel Macron may be weakened at home after parliamentary elections forced him into political maneuvering, but on the international stage the French president has the resources to remain one of the most influential world leaders. France’s foreign allies closely watched Sunday’s elections where Macron’s alliance won the most seats but lost its majority in the National Assembly, France’s most powerful house of parliament. The outcome has made the 44-year-old centrist’s life significantly harder at home, rendering the implementation of his agenda - such as pension changes and tax cuts - more difficult. Yet it is not expected to derail his international agenda in the immediate future. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Macron has been at the epicenter of international diplomacy and, despite a historic shift in French politics and growing polarization, experts say that’s not expected to change. "There will be much more contrast between the pressure he might have at home compared to his freer rein abroad," said Laurie Dundon, a France-based senior associate fellow with the European Leadership Network. Macron, who is in Brussels for a two-day European Council summit, will next week head to Germany for the G-7 meeting and, the week after that, to Spain for the NATO summit. The French president holds substantial powers over foreign policy, European affairs and defense. He is also the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces. France has provided significant financial and military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion and sent its troops to bolster Europe’s defenses on its eastern flank. During the presidential campaign in spring, Macron’s popularity rose because of his leadership role in efforts to end the war: He championed ever tougher sanctions against Moscow while keeping an open line with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been in near-constant contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Macron, who won a second term against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in April, even traveled to Kyiv in the week between the two rounds of the vote earlier this month, along with other European leaders.
France’s support for Ukraine is widely popular at home according to opinion polls, and opposition leaders have carefully avoided criticizing it.
The platform of the leftist coalition led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, which has become France’s main opposition force, is explicitly in favor of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. On the far right, Le Pen, who has long had ties to Russia, now says she supports a "free Ukraine" while expressing reservations over arms deliveries. "Foreign policy is not a realm where either Le Pen or Mélenchon want to expend their energy when they have so many domestic issues to challenge Macron on," Dundon said. "Neither one of them wants to get involved in the messiness of the diplomacy on Russia and Ukraine," she said.
First elected in 2017, the staunchly pro-European Macron has never hidden his ambition for a leadership role in global diplomacy. His reelection in April bolstered his standing as a senior player in Europe as it faces the war in Ukraine and its consequences for the continent and beyond. France’s strong presidential powers are a legacy from Gen. Charles de Gaulle’s will to have a stable political system throughout the Fifth Republic he established in 1958, after the post-World War II period experienced successions of short-lived, inefficient governments. The president represents the country abroad, meeting with foreign heads of states and governments. It’s the prime minister, appointed by the president, who is accountable to parliament. The National Assembly has negligible power over the president’s foreign agenda although it keeps control of government spending. "Parliament has not been asked to give its opinion on the dispatch of arms to Ukraine, nor on France’s external operations, notably in the Sahel, in the Middle East as part of the anti-ISIS coalition, or in Afghanistan," Nicolas Tenzer, Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, wrote. Parliament must, however, give its authorization for an extension of these operations after four months, he stressed. The emboldened opposition, both on the left and on the right, could seek to use parliament’s power to force a debate. Every week, lawmakers are entitled to question government members - but not the president - including about foreign policy. It’s an opportunity to raise criticism on key issues. But the debate in France is widely expected to remain focused on domestic policies. In a sign that the president’s attention might be shifting at least temporarily to political realignment at home, Macron hardly mentioned his international agenda on Wednesday when he delivered his first speech since the parliamentary elections. He only briefly referred to the European meeting focusing on Ukraine. "I will have only one compass: that we move forward for the common good," he told the French.

World Leaders Seek United Front for Ukraine as War Rages On
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
World leaders including US President Joe Biden will seek to close ranks at back-to-back summits from Sunday on offering emphatic support to help Ukraine repel Russian invaders as the relentless war puts international unity to the test. In the face-to-face talks, the allies will take stock of the effectiveness of sanctions imposed so far against Vladimir Putin's Russia, consider possible new military and financial aid for Ukraine, and begin turning their eye to longer-term reconstruction plans, AFP said. But they will also be struggling to maintain a united front as the fallout from the war -- from soaring inflation to looming food shortages to fears over energy supplies -- tug at their resolve. Ahead of the summit of G7 most industrialized nations which will be hosted from Sunday at the Bavarian mountain resort of Elmau Castle, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that allies would need stamina in shoring up Ukraine. "The truth is, we are still far from negotiations between Ukraine and Russia" because Putin "still believes in the possibility of a dictated peace", Scholz said on Wednesday. "It is therefore all the more important that we stay firmly on course -- with our sanctions, with internationally coordinated arms deliveries, with our financial support for Ukraine." Scholz will be arriving in Elmau from an EU summit in Brussels, where the 27-member bloc on Thursday agreed to grant "candidate status" to Ukraine. After the G7 summit closes on Tuesday, the leaders will head to a gathering of NATO powers in Madrid. There, cracks are already apparent over Sweden and Finland's bids for accession, after Turkey blindsided the 30-member defense alliance in opposing the applications.
- 'Increase pressure' -
Western allies have supplied Ukraine with billions in financial aid and armaments, with the US leading the charge with $5.6 billion worth of weapons alone. But as the war drags into its fifth month, Ukraine has repeatedly warned that it needs far more support to withstand the grinding Russian assault. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will participate in the G7 and NATO summits in separate video-link sessions, but he has made his agenda abundantly clear with his repeated pleas for more pressure on Russia and more weapons for his troops. Washington said leaders at the G7 plan to "roll out a concrete set of proposals to increase pressure on Russia". Yet allies' coordinated unprecedented action to shut down Russia's economy has failed so far to work. Instead, it has exposed the Achilles heel of energy reliance that continues to crimp the ability of major players like Germany or Italy to go all out in punishing Moscow. As the impact of Western sanctions start to trigger more violent aftershocks in the world economy, a backlash was also looming in other parts of the world. Three invited guests at the G7 summit -- India, Senegal and South Africa -- have all shied away from condemning Russia over its invasion and all three face being hard hit by looming food shortages. A fourth guest, Indonesia, while voting for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine in a March UN vote, has refused to bar Putin from the G20 summit it is hosting in November. Instead, it has invited Zelensky too to attend. Thorsten Brenner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute, noted that "a crucial task is convincing many non-Western countries who are sceptical of sanctions that the West is mindful of their concern about rising energy prices when designing sanctions". "G7 also needs to make it clear that... the West lives up to its responsibility of advancing food security in most vulnerable countries."
- 'Not a catastrophe' -
Meanwhile in Madrid, where a broader spectrum of countries count among members, military support for Ukraine will be on the NATO agenda. Here too, leaders will be keen to demonstrate their ironclad resolve to shield member states against Russia. But Turkey's opposition of Finland and Sweden's membership bids looks set to tarnish the show of unity. The remaining 29 NATO leaders will seek to get Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to move towards a compromise but Germany has sought to manage expectations, saying it "would not be a catastrophe if we need a few more weeks" to reach an agreement. The delay was an unwelcome distraction, and overshadows plans by the alliance to unveil plans to bolster its forces on its eastern flank with an eye to facing down Russia in the longer term. NATO rushed tens of thousands of troops to eastern Europe in the wake of the invasion and members on Russia's borders were calling for major deployments to be stationed permanently as a new defensive wall. But beyond Russia, the alliance will also update its "strategic concept" for the first time in a decade. Crucially, it is not only expected to toughen its stance towards Russia but also mention the challenges posed by China for the first time.

Russian Military Cargo Plane Crashes, Killing 4
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
A Russian military cargo plane crashed Friday, killing at least four crewmembers and leaving several others injured, officials said. The heavylift Il-76 cargo plane went down in the southwestern Ryazan region. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the plane suffered an engine problem that forced the crew to crash-land it on the ground, The Associated Press said. The regional administration said that four of its crew were killed and a further five were injured when the plane slammed into a field just outside the city of Ryazan. Officials said that those injured were hospitalized in grave condition. The four-engine Il-76 was designed in the 1970s and has served as the main heavylift cargo plane for the Soviet and Russian air force. It has also been widely used by many countries around the world.

Ukrainian Army to Leave Battered City to Avoid Encirclement
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 24 June, 2022
After weeks of ferocious fighting, Ukrainian forces will retreat from a besieged city in the country's east to avoid encirclement, a regional governor said Friday. The city of Sievierodonetsk, the administrative center of the Luhansk region, has faced relentless Russian bombardment. Ukrainian troops fought the Russians in house-to-house battles before retreating to a huge chemical factory on the city's edge, where they holed up in its sprawling underground structures, The Associated Press said. In recent days, Russian forces have made gains around Sievierodonetsk and the neighboring city of Lysychansk, on a steep bank across the river, in a bid to encircle Ukrainian forces. Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said that the Ukrainian troops have been given the order to leave Sievierodonetsk to prevent that. “We will have to pull back our guys,” he said. “It makes no sense to stay at the destroyed positions, because the number of casualties in poorly fortified areas will grow every day.”Haidai said the Ukrainian forces have “received the order to retreat to new positions and continue fighting there" but didn't give further details. He said the Russians were also advancing toward Lysychansk from Zolote and Toshkivka, adding that Russian reconnaissance units conducted forays on the city edges but were driven out by its defenders. Following a botched attempt to capture Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in the early stage of the invasion that started Feb. 24, Russian forces have shifted focus to the Donbas region, where the Ukrainian forces have fought Moscow-backed separatists since 2014. The Russian military controls about 95% of Luhansk province and about half of neighboring Donetsk province, the two areas that make up the Donbas. After repeated requests to its Western allies for heavier weaponry to counter Russia’s edge in firepower, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said a response had arrived in the form of medium-range American rocket launchers. A US defense official confirmed Wednesday that all four of the promised High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, were in the hands of Ukrainian forces but said it was not clear if they have been used yet. The US approved providing the precision-guided systems at the end of May, and once they were in the region, Ukraine’s forces needed about three weeks of training to operate them. The rockets can travel about 45 miles (70 kilometers). The US will send an addition $450 million in military aid to Ukraine, including four more of the medium-range rocket systems, ammunition and other supplies, US officials announced Thursday.

Tunisia's interior ministry says president facing 'serious threats'
Agence France Presse/Friday, 24 June, 2022
Tunisia's President Kais Saied is the target of "serious threats", the interior ministry said Friday, 11 months since the head of state staged a dramatic power grab. "According to credible information and investigations still underway, the president of the republic and the presidency as an institution are the target of serious threats," spokeswoman Fadhila Khelifi told journalists. "There is a plan by groups both at home and abroad to target the security of the president" and to "damage state security and create chaos" in the North African country, she said. She did not provide more details on the threats or their origin.
Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, a prominent left-wing politician and key Saied opponent, cast doubt over the claims. "This is just to justify new arrests and to take revenge against his rivals," Chebbi told AFP. "The president is politically isolated and is trying to stir up public sympathy." Saied sacked the government and suspended parliament 11 months ago, later extending his powers over the judiciary and moving to change the constitution in decisive blow to the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings. Some Tunisians have welcomed his moves against a system seen as corrupt and unable to tackle the country's deep social and economic issues. But opponents, notably the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, have condemned his moves as a coup.

Tunisian knife attacker wounds two policemen outside synagogue
Associated Press/Friday, 24 June, 2022
An assailant with a knife wounded two police officers guarding a synagogue in the center of the Tunisian capital overnight, the interior ministry said Friday. The man had been imprisoned over a "terrorism" case and released in 2021, interior ministry spokesman Fakher Bouzghaya told AFP. The suspect assaulted police deployed to guard the Grand Synagogue of Tunis in the city center, lightly wounding two officers before being overpowered. Bouzghaya said an investigation was underway. Before its independence from France in 1956, Tunisia was home to over 100,000 Jews, but emigration has seen their numbers fall to around a thousand. Since the revolution that overthrew dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, the country has seen a number of jihadist attacks that have killed dozens of people. The latest attack comes with the country in a deep economic and political crisis almost a year since President Kais Saied's July 2021 power grab.

New rocket attack targets northern Iraq gas complex
Agence France Presse/Friday, 24 June, 2022
A Katyusha rocket struck near an Emirati-owned gas complex in northern Iraq on Friday, a local official said, the second such unclaimed attack in as many days. The rocket targeted the Khor Mor gas complex in the autonomous Kurdistan region without causing any injuries or damage, a Kurdish security official said. UAE energy company Dana Gas owns the complex, and the gas field lies between the cities of Kirkuk and Sulaimaniyah. On Wednesday, the same facility was the target of a Katyusha rocket that also caused no damage or injuries. No group has so far claimed either attack. Energy infrastructure in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq has come under repeated attack in recent weeks. In May, there was minor damage at the Kawergosk refinery northwest of the Kurdistan capital Arbil. Three rockets had landed near that facility in April with no casualties or material damage reported

UN says Al-Jazeera journalist killed by Israeli fire

Agence France Presse/June 24/2022
The United Nations said Friday that its findings showed that the shot that killed Al-Jazeera TV journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 was fired by Israeli forces. The Palestinian-American journalist, who was wearing a vest marked "Press" and a helmet, was killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli army operation in Jenin camp in the northern West Bank. "We find that the shots that killed Abu Akleh came from Israeli security forces," UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva. "It is deeply disturbing that Israeli authorities have not conducted a criminal investigation. "We at the UN Human Rights Office have concluded our independent monitoring into the incident. "The shots that killed Abu Akleh and injured her colleague Ali Sammoudi came from Israeli security forces and not from indiscriminate firing by armed Palestinians, as initially claimed by Israeli authorities" she said. She added that the information came from the Israeli military and the Palestinian attorney general. "We have found no information suggesting that there was activity by armed Palestinians in the immediate vicinity of the journalists," Shamdasani said. In line with its human rights monitoring methodology, the UN rights office inspected photo, video and audio material, visited the scene, consulted experts, reviewed official communications and interviewed witnesses. The findings showed that seven journalists arrived at the western entrance of the Jenin refugee camp soon after 6:00 am. At around 6:30 am, as four of the journalists turned into a particular street, "several single, seemingly well-aimed bullets were fired towards them from the direction of the Israeli security forces. "One single bullet injured Ali Sammoudi in the shoulder; another single bullet hit Abu Akleh in the head and killed her instantly."UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has urged Israel to open a criminal investigation into Abu Akleh's killing and into all other killings by Israeli forces in the West Bank and in the context of law enforcement operations in Gaza.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 24-25/2022
Muslim Man Tries to Slaughter Coptic Christian Woman with a Sickle
Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/June 24/2022
A Muslim man attempted to slaughter a Coptic Christian woman with a sickle in the village of Sharona, Minya governorate, Egypt. According to a June 15 report, Qassim Falah Muhammad attacked Mona Wafdi Marzouk, 35, as she was walking to her family farm early in the morning to assist her sick and ailing father. Muhammad crept up behind her and began to strangle her; then, according to the report, “he grabbed a sickle [a sharp tool used for cutting weeds] and tried to slaughter her with it.” Luckily, the sickle had dulled over the years and did not fully slice though the arteries of her neck. Muhammad then fled the scene, as reported by Mona’s cousin, Makari, who saw the incident from a distance and ran to the butchered woman’s aid. He and other family members instantly transferred her to the nearest medical center, where she received seven stitches to her neck. Although she survived, “Mona lives in a state of terror and panic after the harsh experience of this extremist person.”
While it is unclear why Muhammad targeted Mona, it is clear and well established that he hates Christians and has targeted them before. In fact, the day before he tried to slaughter Mona, he invaded the home of another Copt in the same village and robbed him of his money and other possessions. In response to a police investigation, Muhammad’s family instantly produced a certificate indicating that he is “mentally ill”—a tactic on regular display in Egypt whenever a Muslim is caught after attacking a Christian, to get him the most lenient sentencing. But as the report notes, “If he is mentally ill, why does he exclusively target Copts? Is it sensible to promote the ‘psychopath’ narrative in every single incident against the Copts—as if the mentally ill only see and try to kill Copts?” This is hardly the first time a fanaticized Muslim man ambushes a Coptic Christian woman in Egypt. In an earlier, and eerily reminiscent, incident from 2020, a Muslim man crept up behind a Coptic woman walking home with groceries, pulled her head back with a hand full of hair, and slit her throat with a knife in his other hand. In this instance, Catherine Ramzi, who was also rushed to a nearby medical center, received 63 stitches to her throat; doctors told her she came within an inch of dying. It is believed that her Muslim would-be murderer—who was, incidentally, also portrayed by Egyptian media as “mentally ill”—may have identified her as a Christian for not wearing a hijab around her hair or for having a cross tattoo on her wrist. Also, in April, 2021, a Muslim man butchered a Coptic woman and her toddler son with a machete—“as if he were slaughtering chickens,” said eyewitnesses. He also tried to slaughter the Christian woman’s young daughter, who managed to flee.

Sudan: The Genocide No One Talks About
Pierre Rehov/Gatestone Institute/June 24/ 2022
Civilian institutions are concerned that Sudan's new puppet government is simply a cover for the return of Bashir and that, although he is in prison, he is behind every development in the Sudanese government. This, apparently, is also the conviction of El Nur. He notes with distress that the massacres organized by the Janjaweed and the Rapid Intervention Forces have not seen any let up. Daily peaceful demonstrations in Khartoum and the rest of the country are interrupted by the police and state militias, who fire live ammunition at the crowds, while raids are conducted throughout Sudan. Homes are burned. Villagers are forced into the desert without food or water. Summary executions take place. Women and children are crushed by cars. Students are mown down by bullets. To this day, although the American government has scrupulously honored its part of the agreement, the Sudanese authorities have been careful not to respect the slightest paragraph. In northern Sudan, mercenaries from the Wagner Group, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, have, with the apparent complicity of the regime, taken over the main gold mines of Al-Ibediyya. Day and night, extracting this gold is carried out by "free" Sudanese whose symbolic salary is close to slavery. Where does this gold go? No one is sure, but reportedly it could be feeding the coffers of Moscow and perhaps those of its ally, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. Last month, the Biden administration suspended all aid to Sudan, including that linked to its normalization agreement with Israel, and informed Jerusalem that no support should be given to the Khartoum government until there are democratic elections. We may have to wait for a new coup d'état. Perhaps, this time, it will be led by the Sudanese people at the instigation of El Nur, the "Mr. No" who has always refused to compromise with dictatorial regimes. In Darfur, an area of Sudan, massacres have been taking place on a daily basis for several decades. This is happening everywhere in the country. But who is talking about it? Pictured: Militiamen of the Sudanese regime's Rapid Support Forces prepare to receive then President Omar al-Bashir during his visit to the town of Umm al-Qura in South Darfur province, on September 23, 2017.
In Darfur, an area of Sudan, massacres have been taking place on a daily basis for several decades. This is happening everywhere in the country.
But who is talking about it?
The Western world seems lack empathy, perhaps due to its weariness in the watching this tragedy for so long, and masked by geopolitical and economic interests. As for the international community, it remains focused on a conflict between two nuclear superpowers, the US and Russia, at the gates of Europe, Ukraine, and that could degenerate into a world war. For anyone following the media, it would seem that, with the exception of the fighting there, the rest of the planet is experiencing an unprecedented period of peace. The United Nations, for its part, has long been bogged down in various obsessions, not the least of which is its favoring numerous dictatorships and systematically condemning Israel. The UN "peacekeeping" forces in Africa were keen to save their resources by fleeing an area that was consuming most of them with little result -- thanks to the alibi put together by the violent regime in Khartoum: that they were committed to a democratic transition that was actually a long-lasting coup.
The UN, therefore, is actually paying lip service to daily murders committed by the forces of the Islamist government in power against its "opponents". They are called "armed and tribal rebels" to disqualify them in the eyes of the media. The term includes villagers, whether or not they are Muslim, African tribes in regions coveted for their natural resources, Christians living in the south of the country and, more generally, anyone who does not please the militias in the pay of the regime. These militias are the dreaded Janjaweed, associated with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and armed groups linked to the current government, the result of yet another military coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his sidekick with a genocidal reputation, Vice President Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (often referred to as Hemedti). After a recent four-day visit to Sudan, UN human rights expert Adama Dieng expressed deep concern about the situation. A comprehensive report, presented on June 15 at the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, documented unprecedented violence, particularly against peaceful protesters opposed to the Khartoum regime and villagers who dared to resist the imposed Islamic laws. However, according to the South Sudan-based human rights lawyer and democratic opposition leader, Abdelwahid El Nur, what the report details is "a drop in the bucket compared to the daily atrocities committed by the government.
To understand the current situation, it helps to realize that Sudan -- after centuries of Egyptian, Turkish and British colonization, and after finally gaining its independence in 1956 -- immediately fell into a cycle of civil wars, coups and revolutions, until 1972. Of the 160 ethnic groups that make up its population, a small majority of individuals of Arab origin continues to dominate social and political life while oppressing local Cushitic and Nilo-Saharan minorities.
In 1983, a civil war in the south was reignited after the government imposed a policy of Islamization, including enforced Sharia law. In six years, more than four million people in southern Sudan were displaced or fled from the massacres. On April 6, 1985, a group of military officers led by Lieutenant General Siwar adh Dhahab overthrew President Jaafar Nimeiri, who took refuge in Egypt. That coup was followed by a coalition government, headed by Sadiq Al Mahdi, a soft and weak leader. In 1989 a new coup, fomented by the junta of Omar al-Bashir, a fundamentalist from the Muslim Brotherhood, installed him as head of state, a post he would for three decades. Under Bashir's presidency, sharia law was quickly imposed again. Education was overhauled to emphasize the importance of Arab and Islamic culture. Memorizing the Koran became mandatory in religious institutions, school uniforms were replaced by combat fatigues and a religious police force was established to compel strict sharia law, especially for women, who were forced to wear veils in public.
This period, according to human rights groups saw a proliferation of torture chambers used by security agencies and known as "ghost houses". Al-Qaeda members, including Osama bin Laden, were given sanctuary and assistance; this this policy of complacency towards fundamentalism and loss of human rights led to the US listing Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
It was not until 2003 that El Nur's Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) tried to obtain rights for the people of Darfur, who had been victimized by Khartoum's policy of forced Islamization. After the violent reactions of the regime against demonstrators and countless massacres against the civilian population -- and in the absence of any possibility of a real ceasefire, because the UN failed to protect the civilian population against militia attacks -- the SLM formed a civilian protection force, the Sudan Liberation Army or SLM/A.
In contrast to the radicals in Khartoum, the SLM favors a secular and democratic government, close to the West. The SLM includes the recognition of Israel and the establishment of a peaceful, inclusive regime. El Nur, because he never compromised with the regime, became the idol of millions of Sudanese. Successive governments tried to lure him on their side, while hating him for what he represented: a promoter of human rights, in the manner of South Africa's Nelson Mandela, who must be prevented from taking power.
Meanwhile, the Janjaweed militias, taking advantage of the conflict that opposed Khartoum's regime in Darfur and South Sudan, began ethnically cleansing the area and committing atrocities on a grand scale. Hundreds of thousands of civilians, in a country torn apart by civil war, were once again displaced. As thousands of civilians were killed, rare lulls in the fighting, international interventions, the dispatch of African Union troops and ceasefires following UN Security Council resolutions blew about in the wind.
In 2009, the International Criminal Court, accusing Bashir of crimes against humanity and war crimes, issued a warrant for his arrest. The massacres nevertheless continued, on an even more massive scale.
Finally, in 2018, El Nur and several pro-democracy organizations organized new demonstrations, which led in April 2019 to the fall of Bashir, arrested by his lieutenant, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), the head of the Rapid Security Forces, and apparently not much better. He was, it seems, only seizing the opportunity to reach the highest level of power while continuing to practice Bashir's policy of forced Islamization.
Since the fall of Bashir's government and his imprisonment, the country has been "officially" ruled by the Sudan Sovereignty Council, composed of military and civilian representatives, former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and the Council's chairman, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The coalition, however, is fragile and does not include the popular El Nur.
After several months of discussion, Hamdok had met El Nur in Paris in September 2019, under the sponsorship of French President Emmanuel Macron. Hemedti also sent a delegation to try to win El Nur's alliance. His repeated refusals to compromise with "criminals bathed in the blood of his people" earned him the nickname "Mr. No." He had apparently not forgotten that on June 3, 2019, Hemedti had been responsible for the "Khartoum massacre" during which his Rapid Security Forces killed 128 civilians.
It was in this tenuous context that the U.S. government brought Sudan into the Abraham Accords. In October 2020, under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, Sudan had all sanctions lifted in exchange for normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel, establishing a democratic regime, and forming an internal reconciliation leading to lasting peace.
Shortly after, Sudan went to war with Ethiopia -- a conflict that has continued since.
To this day, although the American government has scrupulously honored its part of the agreement, the Sudanese authorities have been careful not to respect the slightest paragraph.
The "transitional government" lasted until October 25, 2021, when the Sudanese military, led by Burhan, took control of the government. At least five senior officials were arrested and imprisoned. Civilian Prime Minister Hamdok, who refused to declare his support for this new coup, immediately called for popular resistance. On October 26, he was placed under house arrest.
In the face of internal and international resistance, on October 28 Burhan declared himself ready to reinstate the Hamdok cabinet, even though the deposed prime minister had declined the initial offer, making any further dialogue conditional on the full restoration of the system that had been overthrown by the latest coup.
On November 21, 2021, Hamdok and Burhan signed a 14-point agreement reinstating Hamdok as prime minister and pledging that all political prisoners would be released. Civilian groups, however, including the Forces for Freedom and Change and the Association of Sudanese Professionals -- and again El Nur's SLM/A -- rejected the agreement, refusing to share power with the military.
Many see the senior generals -- all members of a security committee appointed by Bashir in the last days of his regime -- as favoring the Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP), which imposed a strict version of sharia law when it was in power.
Hamza Balol, a leading member of the pro-democracy Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) movement, which shared power with the generals until the coup, believes the military sabotaged the transition by protecting Bashir's NCP.
Civilian institutions are concerned that this new puppet government is simply a cover for the return of Bashir and that, although he is in prison, he is behind every development in the Sudanese government.
This, apparently, is also the conviction of El Nur. He notes with distress that the massacres organized by the Janjaweed and the Rapid Intervention Forces have not seen any let up. Daily peaceful demonstrations in Khartoum and the rest of the country are interrupted by the police and state militias, who fire live ammunition at the crowds, while raids are conducted throughout Sudan. Homes are burned. Villagers are forced into the desert without food or water. Summary executions take place. Women and children are crushed by cars. Students are mown down by bullets. The daily death toll and the number of injured are in the thousands.
In northern Sudan, mercenaries from the Wagner Group, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, have, with the apparent complicity of the regime, taken over the main gold mines of Al-Ibediyya. Day and night, extracting this gold is carried out by "free" Sudanese whose symbolic salary is close to slavery. Where does this gold go? No one is sure, but reportedly it could be feeding the coffers of Moscow and perhaps those of its ally, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran.
Last month, the Biden administration suspended all aid to Sudan, including that linked to its normalization agreement with Israel, and informed Jerusalem that no support should be given to the Khartoum government until there are democratic elections.
We may have to wait for a new coup d'état. Perhaps, this time, it will be led by the Sudanese people at the instigation of El Nur, the "Mr. No" who has always refused to compromise with dictatorial regimes.
*Pierre Rehov, born and raised in North Africa, is a reporter, author and the director of "Hostages of Hatred" and "Silent Exodus", documentary films about Palestinian and Jewish refugees.
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Putin: From Frank Sinatra to Leonid Brezhnev
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/June 24/2022
As the war in Ukraine drags on many commentators wonder where and when Vladimir Putin might decide to call an end to his current aggressive behavior. Digging into Russian history some may assert that even if he does stop it would be a tactical move of the kind that Lenin described as "one step back, two steps forward."Putin’s behavior has its roots in the Russian psyche. From early days of appearing as a distinct people, Russians have always feared that they may become like others while, lacking in natural defenses, their vast territory was vulnerable to foreign invasion.
In his novel "What is to be done?" Nikolai Chernyshevki poses the question whether Russia should become European or Asian or remain itself and make Europe and Asia like itself. For Khomiakov and other pan-Slavists, to perform its duty as the Third Rome and the final standard-bearer of True Christianity, Russia should not allow even a parcel of its soil or soul to be lost to others. Thus, when Putin says that Ukraine was, is and must re-become Russian he is expressing a deeply-rooted national conceit that any relationship with the outside world is ipso facto conflictual. Lenin expressed that Old Russian conceit in his own style by using a misunderstood version of Hegelian dialectics. "We would be safe and our victory would be victory only when our cause succeeds in the entire world," he wrote. He accepted coexistence between Socialism and Capitalist in "a period of transition", but insisted that Russia, in its Bolshevik version at the time, wouldn’t be safe "until our cause conquers the whole world."
"It is inconceivable for the Soviet Republic to exist alongside the imperialist states for any length of time. One or other must triumph in the end," he wrote.
Lenin made two mistakes in his use of dialectics. First, he assumed that the conflict between thesis and anti-thesis had to be resolved "in the end", an imaginary time-span. Secondly, he couldn’t see that in Hegelian dialectics the conflict ends with a synthesis that both is and is not the thesis and the synthesis while representing a third and new reality. In other words, the conflict between socialism and capitalism isn’t like a boxing match that is set to end after a predetermined number of rounds with a knockout win for one or the other.
By the late 1950s after Nikita Khrushchev’s boast about "burying the Capitalist world" by the year 2000 had become a sour joke, his successors rehashed the Khomikov-Lenin pseudo-mystical vision of Russia’s role in history by shedding is Christian and Communist aspects and basing it on preserving Russia’s interests and influence as a state. That gave birth to the Brezhnev Doctrine under which Russia wouldn’t allow any state that had been in Russian influence zone or had a Communist regime to break away and join "the other side."
It was under that doctrine that Russian tanks crushed the Prague Spring and, later, tried to preserve a ramshackle Communist regime in Kabul by invading Afghanistan. The aim was no longer world conquest but hanging on to Russia’s portion of it.
By the time Mikhail Gorbachev had risen to the top in the Kremlin, the Afghan disaster and growing discontent across eastern and central Europe had made the Brezhnev Doctrine redundant. Gorbachev developed his own mini-doctrine by admitting and, in some cases even helping, the so-called People’s Republics in the Russian zone of influence in Europe could go their own way provided they would not totally exclude Russia.
His subliminal message as that the USSR and the "Capitalist world" could share the booty they had won after the Second World War. A new world order could be built based on "universal values" and "shared interests". Unlike Lenin, who saw all relationships as conflictual, Gorbachev believed that thesis and anti-thesis could join each other in a global synthetic tango. Interestingly, Western democracies wanted the USSR to survive as a pillar of stability in Europe. James Baker III, secretary of state under President George WH Bush, insisted that "instability in eastern Europe isn’t in our interests." The US, France and Great Britain were even maneuvering to delay or sabotage German reunification. In 1989 Gennady Gerasimov, spokesman for the Soviet foreign ministry, repeated what Politburo member Alexander Yakovlev had quipped a few weeks earlier by asserting that the USSR wanted to be part of a world order based on diversity. "Today, we have replaced the Brezhnev Doctrine with the Sinatra Doctrine, allowing each country to go its way." The reference, of course, was to American crooner Frank Sinatra’s famous song "I Did It My Way" which Alexander Yakovlev and some other fans of "ole-blue-eyes" in the Politburo loved. The Sinatra Doctrine remained in force in the Kremlin even after the disintegration of the USSR, keeping alive the hope of finding a proper place for Russia in a new world order free from ideological rivalry, arms race and imperialistic competition for hegemony in the "Third World." Regardless of who is to blame hopes of finding a proper place for Russia were never fulfilled, partly because Russia always wanted more than it deserved and the Western powers offered less than it merited. Putin’s jingoistic jargon and Quixotic carpet-bagging in Ukraine is a crude response to that reality. He has certainly buried the Sinatra Doctrine but one cannot be sure whether he has fully reverted to the Brezhnev Doctrine. Conflicting signals from Moscow indicate that he may end up adopting a more modest version of the Brezhnev Doctrine by settling for annexing another chunk of Ukraine. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, says Ukraine "as it was with the same shape on the map and boundaries is finished and will never return."
The problem is that if Putin manages to reshape Ukraine into a downsized nation, he might be tempted to revert to the doctrines that, based on their different and yet similar mystical views of Russia’s role in human history, Khomiakov and Lenin advocated. And that could mean other conflicts and even wars in Europe and, perhaps, even in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In a mystical view of human affairs knowing where to start is often easy. It is where to stop that is always difficult. This is why even a fish-tail end to the war in Ukraine may not be sufficient to restore lasting peace to Europe.

A Little Epoxy Can Unglue India’s Welfare System
Andy Mukherjee/Bloomberg/June 24/2022
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s model of welfarism isn’t new to India: Previous leaders have also subsidized food and fuel, and given the rural poor houses, toilets, and paid work. Modi’s edge comes from technology. A year before the 2014 election that brought him to power, the government, then led by the Congress Party, had piloted direct cash transfer to beneficiaries, inspired by the former Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s popular Bolsa Familia program. Modi took that modest $1 billion start and turned it into a $300 billion vote magnet: And he did it with the help of 12-digit numbers.
Those numbers — and the ID cards that carry them — are known as “Aadhaar.” It’s a biometrics-based system through which almost everyone in the second-most-populous nation can prove who they are. Aadhaar, which means “foundation” in Hindi, supports 450 million-plus no-frills savings accounts and has bolstered the use of mobile internet for financial transactions even in remote villages. Five years ago, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Romer endorsed Aadhaar as a template for the world.
Increasingly, though, it’s beginning to look like there’s a fair bit of epoxy putty — quite literally — in the very foundation of Modi’s welfare program.
Fingerprinting 1.33 billion people and recording their personal information and iris scans in a central repository was no mean feat. It was hoped that this super-expensive database would pay its cost by helping to reduce waste in public programs and by preventing theft. That was touted as a big advantage in a corruption-ridden country where state benefits have a hard time reaching legitimate beneficiaries.
However, activists have highlighted numerous incidents of denial of benefits: Fingerprints fade with intense manual labor; getting data-entry mistakes fixed can be a nightmare. Those issues have largely been ignored.
Now there’s a growing problem in the other direction: Aadhaar is being very successfully used — by fraudsters. Blame it on ubiquity combined with lax controls. While the unique ID was conceived to make welfare programs more efficient, private entities didn’t lose any time in realizing its potential. Banks and telcos used Aadhaar to conduct online “know your customer” checks, which drastically cut their cost of authenticating customers. In the process, Aadhaar became all-pervasive and private data began to show up for sale on the dark web.
The government’s response has been to brush it all away. Anything that casts doubt on the integrity of the system is ignored. That isn’t a surprise: Having chosen a technology and made it universal, policy makers have no other route to building trust in transactions. In 2018, the Indian Supreme Court restricted the use of the database — and barred private entities from using it for know-your-customer verifications. Nevertheless, New Delhi has since then gone around opening legal back doors for the private sector to keep tapping it.
A wake-up call about identity fraud came last month. The Unique Identification Authority of India, or UIDAI, issued an advisory asking people not to give out photocopies of their cards “because it can be misused.” Further, the notice said that only users licensed with the authority can query the database to authenticate identity; establishments like hotels or movie theaters are not permitted to collect or keep copies. After people began to question why this warning was being issued when everyone’s Aadhaar information was already circulating everywhere, it was withdrawn the same day and replaced with new guidance that advised people “to exercise normal prudence.”
So what’s going on? The Morning Context, an Indian news website, recently gave an alarming account of scams. It seems anyone can learn how to clone a fingerprint with epoxy putty on YouTube; and anyone can buy an identification card online. Fingerprints can be lifted from digitized property sale deeds. Or, to steal money from bank accounts, one could hack into a mobile app used by small village shops that double up as micro-ATMs for Aadhaar-holders. There was a sixfold increase in overall Aadhaar fraud registered with the UIDAI last year, the May 30 article said. “There is no data on the full extent of welfare benefits swindled, accounts degraded and criminal complaints registered,” the Morning Context added.
More disturbing than the crime is the official silence about its prevalence or severity. The Reserve Bank of India’s recently released Payments Vision 2025 gives a nod to the “significant growth in Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) through the business correspondent-assisted model.” More than 2 billion such micro-ATM transactions took place last financial year; that’s a $38 billion entanglement of Aadhaar with the banking system — all of which is on behalf of customers at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Yet the RBI’s vision document, which has “integrity” as a key pillar, has nothing to say about making security more robust for deposit, withdrawal and transfer services used by the poor.
Then there’s the social welfare plank: Aadhaar Payment Bridge System is how the government transfers cash to beneficiaries. Even here, there are weaknesses. Back in 2018, Ram Sewak Sharma, the former UIDAI chief, had made his Aadhaar number public on Twitter and dared privacy activists: “Show me one concrete example where you can do any harm to me!” As it turns out, someone managed to register Sharma as an eligible farmer and the Modi government paid him three installments of free cash. You can split hairs about whether the vulnerability was in Aadhaar or elsewhere, but the hacker had proved a point.
Modi’s new welfarism rests on Aadhaar. But if there are cracks in the edifice, they need to be acknowledged — not to frighten users away, but to make them more aware. At the same time, India needs a strong data protection law. Losing money is bad enough. But it’s scary if a bad actor can put a person at a specific place or tie her to an activity with the help of a bogus transaction. Sealing wax in the foundation of trust simply won’t do.