English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For October 12/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2021/english.october12.22.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God
Saint Luke 12/16-21: ‘Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 11-12/2022
The US mediator Hochstein Is indirectly negotiates with Hezbollah, Which means implicitly acknowledging the legitimacy of its occupation of Lebanon/Abu Arz - Etienne Sakr/October 11/2022
Change org petition/Lebanese government and officials to stand trial for causing Beirut Port Explosion.
President Aoun meets with PM-designate Mikati and Caretaker Minister Bou Habib
Israel satisfied with draft of maritime border deal with Lebanon: Israeli official
Biden hails Israel-Lebanon deal as 'historic breakthrough'
Bou Saab hands demarcation draft to Aoun, says Lebanon secured 'full rights'
Report: Lebanon-Israel gas deal to be signed Oct. 20
Lapid says 'historic' sea border deal will strengthen Israel's security
Israel announces sea deal with Lebanon, but doubts remain
Mikati asks TotalEnergies to launch gas search 'immediately'
Report: Govt. formation not deadlocked as Ibrahim, Hezbollah continue mediation
Berri wonders if Oct. 13 is 'official holiday', LF says to attend session
Berri receives copy of modified official draft of border demarcation deal, tackles overall situation with Ain El Tineh visitors
"Strong Lebanon" parliamentary bloc holds regular meeting, discusses FPM’s “presidential priorities” paper
Bassil meets al Rahi over 'presidential priorities'
Nasrallah says Hezbollah to maintain readiness until deal with Israel is signed
Sayyed Nasrallah: Hezbollah Awaits Official Stance, to Maintain Readiness
Michel Mawad: Lebanon’s Education Sector to Witness Five Lean Years
Israel says historic agreement made with Lebanon on maritime borders/Steve Hendrix and Sarah Dadouch/The Washington Post/October 11/2022

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 11-12/2022
UAE president highlights need for dialogue during meeting with Russia’s Putin
Iran Racing to Expand Enrichment at Underground Plant, IAEA Report Shows
Iran’s Crackdown on Protests Intensifies in Kurdish Region
France Says New Citizen Held in Iran, EU Sanctions to Come
Iran protests over woman's death persist despite crackdown
With winter fast approaching, Europe scrambles to prepare for energy shortages
Lavrov says Russia open to talks with West, awaiting serious proposal
Reports: Türkiye Exerting Efforts to Hold Talks Between Russia, West
G7 to Hold Crisis Talks on Russia's Bombing Blitz in Ukraine
Greece, Türkiye Set Tensions Aside for Direct Maritime Link
UN: 54 Poor Nations Urgently Need Debt Relief

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 11-12/2022
Egypt’s Institutionalized Discrimination against Its Coptic Christian Citizens/Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/October 11/2022
China's Drug Attack on the US/Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/October 11/2022
What Does Washington Want from the Oil of OPEC+?/Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al-Awsat//October,11/2022
Elon Musk Taps His Inner Trump in Twitter Machinations/Timothy L. O'Brien/Bloomberg/October,11/2022

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on October 11-12/2022
The US mediator Hochstein Is indirectly negotiates with Hezbollah, Which means implicitly acknowledging the legitimacy of its occupation of Lebanon
Abu Arz - Etienne Sakr/October 11/2022
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/112642/%d8%a3%d8%a8%d9%88-%d8%a3%d8%b1%d8%b2-%d8%a7%d8%aa%d9%8a%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%b5%d9%82%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%88%d8%b3%d9%8a%d8%b7-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%b1%d9%83%d9%8a-%d9%87%d9%88%d9%83%d8%b4/
The ongoing negotiations on demarcating the maritime borders between the state of Israel and Lebanon, are in reality taking place between Israel and "Hezbollah", as the latter confiscates the entire Lebanese decision making process, even in the smallest details; Thus, the American mediator Mr. Hochstein is practically negotiating with "Hezbollah" indirectly, and implicitly recognizing the legitimacy of its occupation of Lebanon. This shameful human rights atrocity, is unfolding despite the fact that Hezbollah tops the list of the USA terrorist organizations, as well as the lists of numerous Western and Arabic countries.
What a contradicting fake world-wide rhetoric?
This bizarre contradiction is taking place while the West continues to boast and openly brag every day that they are the protectors of democracy and freedom for all peoples in the world.
In conclusion: The demon of power and money controls the world, and the rest are all false slogans that protect special interests.

اضغط على الرابط المرفق ووقع العريضة:  الحكومة اللبنانية والمسؤولون اللبنانيون سيحاكمون بتهمة التسبب في انفجار ميناء بيروت.
Lebanese government and officials to stand trial for causing Beirut Port Explosion.
https://www.change.org/p/international-court-of-justice-lebanese-government-and-officials-to-stand-trial-for-causing-beirut-port-explosion?recruiter=177251429&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_medium=whatsapp&utm_content=washarecopy_23910805_en-US%3A0&recruited_by_id=13948e40-66c9-11e4-8450-39aa5f745187&share_bandit_exp=initial-23910805-en-CA
Samer Bechara started this petition to INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE and 1 other
Following the massive destruction of Beirut city on 04-08-2020 which caused more than 100 casualties 5000 injured and left Beirut surrounding area (20km radius) from the blast heavily damaged.
The explosion is suspected to be caused by 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate which are used for bomb making, these where left in the heart of a city since 2014 at high risk of causing a devastating explosion similar to a nuke.
We want everyone involved or knew about this situation and did nothing to stand trial and be given the death penalty, including high officials and politicians.

President Aoun meets with PM-designate Mikati and Caretaker Minister Bou Habib
NNA/11 October ,2022
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received at Baabda Palace this afternoon, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Abdallah Bou Habib, in the presence of the Director General of the Presidency of the Republic, Dr. Antoine Choucair, after the President of the Republic received the final amended official version of the proposal submitted by the American mediator, Amos Hochstein.
Following the meeting PM Mikati made the following statement:
"I met with His Excellency the President, the meeting was related to the recent understanding that took place regarding the maritime borders. The meeting was good and His Excellency and the working group conducted a final reading of the memorandum of understanding, and in light of it, I believe that His Excellency the President will address the Lebanese in this regard, marking a stage that will be, God willing, a good one, a word of thanks must be addressed first to the Lebanese working group that devoted themselves to studying this agreement, starting with Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, and Major General Abbas Ibrahim, Professor Ali Hamdan and Professor Antoine Choucair.
Thank you also to the American administration, which made a great effort to reach this agreement, and a thank you to the French government and the French president in particular for what they have done in the last hours, with regard to Total and the success of this agreement.
Prime Minister Mikati added: “This morning a meeting took place with Total company in the Serail and we agreed to start the excavation process as soon as the memorandum of understanding is completed. Currently, a final reading is underway by the work team and there are some small details related to translation into Arabic.
His Excellency the President will address at the Lebanese tonight or tomorrow.
Appreciation for the good news to the Lebanese about the beginning of a new phase that we hope will bring good to Lebanon, after we have passed through a difficult phase. We must also thank the army and the Hydrography Department, which made a great effort with the Lebanese technical team to reach this result.”
Question: What is the Lebanese position on the expected vote at the United Nations regarding the Ukrainian crisis?
PM Mikati: The vote will be tomorrow, within the context that the Lebanese government has taken since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis. -- Presidency Press Office

Israel satisfied with draft of maritime border deal with Lebanon: Israeli official
Reuters/11 October ,2022
Lebanon and Israel have received a final draft of a US-mediated maritime border deal that satisfies all of their requirements and could imminently lead to a “historic deal,” negotiators from the two countries said on Tuesday. “If everything goes well, Amos Hochstein's efforts could imminently lead to a historic deal,” Lebanon's lead negotiator Bou Saab told Reuters minutes after receiving the draft from Hochstein, the US official engaged in months of shuttle diplomacy to try to end the dispute. Israeli National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata who headed the Israeli negotiating team echoed Saab's remarks:
“All our demands were met, the changes that we asked for were corrected. We protected Israel's security interests and are on our way to an historic agreement,” he said in a statement. While limited in scope, an agreement would ease security and economic concerns in both countries, whose shared history is rife with conflict. The deal would resolve a territorial dispute in the eastern tip of the Mediterranean sea in an area where Lebanon aims to explore for natural gas, and near waters where Israel has already found commercially viable quantities of hydrocarbons. Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party and militia backed by Iran, has threatened to use force against Israel should Israel explore for gas near the disputed area before Lebanon is allowed to do so in its own maritime zone. “We received minutes ago the final draft... Lebanon felt that it takes into consideration all of Lebanon's requirements and we believe that the other side should feel the same,” Bou Saab said. Israel last week rejected last-minute amendments to the deal by Lebanon that briefly appeared to jeopardize long-standing efforts to reach an agreement. Officials from both countries were in close contact via the U.S. mediator over the past few days in an effort to resolve outstanding differences. Lebanon's president said that a deal would not signify a “partnership” with Israel, a country Lebanon does not recognise and officially regards as an enemy. “We are avoiding a sure-fire war in the region,” Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said last week. Israeli Energy Minister Karine Elharrar told Army Radio a signing date has not been set yet. Israel is holding an election on Nov. 1 and it is still unclear whether the accord would require parliament's approval.

Biden hails Israel-Lebanon deal as 'historic breakthrough'
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday hailed a U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon to settle their maritime border dispute as "a historic breakthrough," and urged all parties to stick to the deal. Negotiations between the neighboring countries, which are still technically at war, had suffered repeated setbacks since their launch in 2020 but gained momentum in recent weeks with both sides eyeing revenue from potentially rich Mediterranean gas fields. "It is now critical that all parties uphold their commitments and work towards implementation," Biden said in a statement. The agreement "will provide for the development of energy fields for the benefit of both countries, setting the stage for a more stable and prosperous region, and harnessing vital new energy resources," he said. "This agreement also protects Israel's security and economic interests critical to promoting its regional integration. It provides Lebanon the space to begin its own exploitation of energy resources."

Bou Saab hands demarcation draft to Aoun, says Lebanon secured 'full rights'
Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Lebanon has secured its "full rights" in the latest text drafted by U.S. mediators to demarcate the maritime border with Israel, its lead negotiator said Tuesday, after Israel said it met its terms too. "Lebanon has obtained its full rights, and all of its remarks have been taken into account," said lead negotiator Elias Bou Saab, the deputy speaker of parliament, after handing the draft to President Michel Aoun. "Today we have come to a solution that satisfies both parties." Lebanon's presidency said the proposed final text submitted by Hochstein was "satisfactory to Lebanon" and voiced hope that "the agreement on the demarcation will be announced as soon as possible."Israel had said earlier Tuesday that it was close to a "historic" deal with Lebanon and the U.S. draft met its "demands". The welcome for the text on both sides of the border has raised hopes that years of negotiations have finally borne fruit, allowing cash-strapped Lebanon to develop potentially lucrative offshore gas reserves. Bou Saab said he hoped an agreement could be signed before Aoun's term of office ends on October 31. He added that Lebanon will "get its full rights from the Qana field", and Israel might receive compensation through TotalEnergies. There will be no direct partnership in gas exploration or exploitation between the two enemy states, he said. Aoun’s office in a statement said the latest version of the proposal “satisfies Lebanon, meets its demands, and preserves its rights to its natural resources," and will hold consultations with officials before making an announcement. Negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, which are still technically at war, had suffered repeated setbacks since their launch in 2020 but gained momentum in recent weeks with both sides eying revenue from potentially rich Mediterranean gas fields.
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein floated a proposed final agreement earlier this month that was accepted by Israel, but Lebanon sought some adjustments. Israel said last week it intended to reject the changes sought by Lebanon, even if that made a deal impossible, but negotiations continued, culminating in what both sides described as acceptable final terms. "Israel and Lebanon have reached an historic agreement settling the maritime dispute," said a statement from Israel Prime Minister Yair Lapid's office, in which he hailed "an historic achievement that will strengthen Israel's security."A major source of friction at the talks was the Karish gas field, which Israel insisted fell entirely within its waters and was not a subject of negotiation. Lebanon reportedly claimed part of the field and Hezbollah, which holds huge sway in Lebanon, threatened attacks if Israel began production at Karish. Israel has said production would begin at Karish as soon as possible, regardless of Lebanon's demands.

Report: Lebanon-Israel gas deal to be signed Oct. 20
Naharnet/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Preparations are underway to officially sign the sea border demarcation agreement between Lebanon and Israel, Qatar’s al-Arabi TV has reported. “The agreement will be officially signed on October 20 in the border area of Ras al-Naqoura,” the TV network added, quoting unnamed sources. Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Tuesday that Israel has reached a "historic agreement" with Lebanon that will allow both sides to benefit from offshore gas reservoirs.

Lapid says 'historic' sea border deal will strengthen Israel's security
Associated Press/Agence France Presse/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Israel's prime minister said Tuesday that the country has reached an "historic agreement" with neighboring Lebanon over their shared maritime border after months of U.S.-brokered negotiations, potentially unlocking significant offshore gas production.
Premier Yair Lapid called the deal a "historic achievement that will strengthen Israel's security, inject billions into Israel's economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border.""In the last few hours, Israel received a draft agreement that meets all of its security, economic and legal demands," the statement from Lapid's office said. The premier will "convene a security cabinet meeting, followed by a special government meeting at which the agreement will come before the government for approval before it is presented to the Knesset (parliament)," it added. The agreement is expected to enable additional natural gas production in the Mediterranean. Lebanon hopes gas exploration will help lift its country out of its spiraling economic crisis. Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel's creation in 1948 and both countries claim some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel announces sea deal with Lebanon, but doubts remain
Associated Press/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Israel's prime minister said Tuesday that Israel has reached a "historic agreement" with neighboring Lebanon over their shared maritime border after months of U.S.-brokered negotiations. The agreement would mark a major breakthrough in relations with the two countries, which formally have been at war since Israel's establishment in 1948. But the deal still faces some obstacles, including key legal and political challenges in Israel. At stake are rights over exploiting undersea natural gas reserves in areas of the eastern Mediterranean that the two countries -- which do not have diplomatic relations -- claim. Premier Yair Lapid called the deal a "historic achievement that will strengthen Israel's security, inject billions into Israel's economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border."The agreement is expected to enable additional natural gas production in the Mediterranean. Lebanon hopes gas exploration will help lift its country out of its spiraling economic crisis. Lebanon and Israel both claim some 860 square kilometers of the Mediterranean Sea. Under the agreement, those waters would be divided along a line straddling a strategic natural gas field. According to a senior Israeli official, Lebanon would be allowed to produce gas from that field, called "Qana," but pay royalties to Israel for any gas produced from the Israeli side. Lebanon has been working with the French energy giant Total on preparations for exploring the field. The agreement would also leave in place an existing "buoy line" that serves as a de facto border between the two countries, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing behind-the-scenes negotiations. Many leading Israeli security figures, both active and retired, have hailed the deal because it could lower tensions with Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has repeatedly threatened to strike Israeli natural gas assets in the Mediterranean. With Lebanon now having a stake in the region's natural gas industry, experts believe the sides will think twice before opening up another war. The two sides fought a monthlong war in 2006, and Israel considers the heavily armed Hezbollah to be its most immediate military threat. "It might help create and strengthen the mutual deterrence between Israel and Hezbollah," said Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. "This is a very positive thing for Israel."An Israeli official said the deal would go before Israel's Security Cabinet and then the full Cabinet on Wednesday and be presented to Parliament for a 14-day review. After the review, the Cabinet would reconvene to give final, formal approval, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss government policy.
The process will take place less than three weeks before Israel goes to the polls Nov. 1 for the fifth time in under four years. Approval is not guaranteed. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has claimed Lapid does not have the authority to sign an agreement and vowed to cancel what he calls a "disgraceful deal" if re-elected. The Kohelet Policy Forum, an influential conservative think tank, already has filed a challenge to the Supreme Court trying to block the deal. Eugene Kontorovich, the forum's director of international law, claimed the agreement requires parliamentary approval. He accused the government of trying to rush through an agreement under pressure from Hezbollah. "This means Hezbollah now overrides Israel's democracy," he said. Senior U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein, whom Washington appointed a year ago to mediate talks, delivered a modified proposal of the maritime border deal to lead Lebanese negotiator, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab late Monday night, according to local media and officials. President Michel Aoun's office said the latest version of the proposal "satisfies Lebanon, meets its demands, and preserves its rights to its natural resources," and will hold consultations with officials before making an announcement.

Mikati asks TotalEnergies to launch gas search 'immediately'
Naharnet/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati on Tuesday asked French energy giant TotalEnergies to kick start gas exploration off its shores, after Israel said the two countries have reached a U.S.-mediated deal to settle their maritime border. Lebanon's search for gas riches in the hydrocarbon-rich eastern Mediterranean had stalled since 2020 over competing claims with Israel over offshore gas fields. Following Israel's announcement on Tuesday, caretaker PM Mikati met a visiting delegation from TotalEnergies -- which was awarded an exploration license in 2018. "During the meeting, Mikati called on representatives of TotalEnergies to immediately begin taking operational steps to drill in Lebanese waters," his office said in a statement. Lebanon has yet to officially agree to the deal, but Mikati said he hoped a "conclusion would be reached soon" that could pave the way for "gas exploration in Lebanese waters". Lebanon's energy minister, Walid Fayad, who also attended the meeting, said that "logistical matters take time, but work will start immediately". TotalEnergies is part of a consortium of energy giants awarded a license to explore for gas in two of Lebanon's 10 blocks, numbers 4 and 9. One well drilled in Block 4 in 2020 by TotalEnergies, Eni and Novatek showed only traces but no commercially viable gas deposits. Block 9, near the border with Israel, contains the so-called Qana field or Sidon reservoir, and will be a major zone for offshore exploration after a deal is finalized, according to Lebanese officials. Lebanon will "get its full rights from the Qana field", and Israel could receive compensation through Total, said Elias Bou Saab, Lebanon's lead negotiator in the maritime border talks. Bou Saab had on Tuesday morning visited President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and PM-designate Najib Mikati, to hand them a copy of the latest text drafted by U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein. "The unified Lebanese stance and Lebanon's adherence to its rights and demands have led to this positive outcome," Mikati said, as he received the final draft of the maritime border agreement from Bou Saab.

Report: Govt. formation not deadlocked as Ibrahim, Hezbollah continue mediation
Naharnet/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
The government formation efforts are not deadlocked and mediators are seeking a solution for the complications, al-Joumhouria newspaper quoted “credible political sources” as saying. “General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim is carrying out contacts with some sides, while Hezbollah is seeking to ease the stance of Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil. Accordingly, things are not deadlocked until now and might lead to a breakthrough at any moment,” the sources added. “The mediators do not rule out the possibility of the formation of a government within a few days, but they have set a timeframe for the success of their mission that ends on October 15 at the latest,” the sources said. “What’s being worked on is a government format based on the format (initially) presented by PM-designate Najib Mikati that changes a number of ministers and not most of the Christian ministers as requested by MP Jebran Bassil,” the sources added, noting that not more than five ministers will be changed. The contacts with Mikati have convinced him to accept that Aoun name the Sunni minister in agreement with Akkar’s MPs and the Druze minister in agreement with Lebanese Democratic Party chief Talal Arslan as well as two Christian ministers, the sources said. The sources added that such a format is the best possible one and that the government might be formed before the end of this week should there be good intentions and an end to political bickering.

Berri wonders if Oct. 13 is 'official holiday', LF says to attend session
Naharnet/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said that he does not intend to change the date of Thursday’s presidential election session, despite the Free Patriotic Movement’s objection and declared boycott. Told that the October 13 anniversary is a sensitive topic for the FPM, Berri asked: “Is October 13 an official holiday? No, not as far as I know.” “I only abide by the official holidays and nothing else,” Berri added, in remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper. Asked about the session’s quorum should other blocs decide to boycott it, the Speaker said: “Those who fail to attend the session would bear the responsibility for their stance, and should there be no quorum, I will set another date, no problem.” Asked whether he intended to “target or provoke the FPM through setting a session on the anniversary of General (Michel) Aoun’s ouster by force from the Baabda Palace,” Berri smiled and said he wasn’t aware of the date. Lebanese Forces bloc MP Ghayyath Yazbek meanwhile told Radio All of Lebanon that the LF bloc will take part in the session. “With all due respect to the October 13 anniversary, this issue cannot be tackled in a political way,” Yazbek said. Asked about the candidates of the Change bloc, Nassif Hitti, Ziad Baroud and Salah Honein, Yazbek described them as respectable figures but added that the LF does not believe that any of them can rescue Lebanon amid the current circumstances. “The LF does not intend to nominate someone other than MP Michel Mouawad, because it sees in him all the patriotic and political characteristics, and he has all the professional capabilities and the sovereign expertise that push the LF to stand by him until the end,” Yazbek added.

Berri receives copy of modified official draft of border demarcation deal, tackles overall situation with Ain El Tineh visitors
NNA/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022 
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Tuesday received at the Second Presidency in Ain El-Tineh, Deputy House Speaker, Elias Bou Saab, who handed him the final, modified official version of the draft agreement submitted by the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, over southern maritime border demarcation.
Speaking on emerging, Bou Saab said that the draft has taken into account all of our observations, adding that the Lebanese unified national position has yielded a very great result in these negotiations.
“Today we reached a final formula thanks to Lebanon's strength and the unity of its position, and we obtained the observations we want, but these observations are currently being studied by His Excellency the President, Speaker Berri and the Prime Minister, and in light of which, there will be a unified position by Lebanon,” Bou Saab said. On the other hand, Speaker Berri received “Kataeb Party” parliamentary bloc MP Salim Sayegh, with whom he discussed the current general situation, the latest developments and legislative affairs. Berri also met with “Democratic Gathering” MP Hadi Abou Al-Hassan, over the general situation, the latest political developments and legislative affairs. Among Speaker Berri's itinerant visitors for today had been MP Michel Daher, with whom he discussed the latest developments and an array of developmental and legislative affairs.

"Strong Lebanon" parliamentary bloc holds regular meeting, discusses FPM’s “presidential priorities” paper
NNA/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022 
The "Strong Lebanon" parliamentary bloc held its regular meeting presided over by MP Gebran Bassil, during which the bloc's agenda was discussed and the following statement was issued:
1- The bloc discussed the presidential priorities paper issued by the Free Patriotic Movement. MP Hagop Pakradounian, representing the Tashnag party, expressed his belief that the paper constitutes a future vision not only for the presidency, but for the revival of the country and its progression from the state of disintegration and collapse. Pakradounian considered that the paper constitutes an entire roadmap to rebuild the state and seek public order as well as restore Lebanon's role in the region and the world, on top of it being a prelude for agreement on the person of the President of the Republic.
2- MP Bassil tackled the completion of the demarcation of the maritime borders, considering it a victory for Lebanon and the culmination of a long path, thanks to the continuous effort, steadfast position and diligent work of the Ministry of Energy since 2009, with the Offshore Petroleum resources law and the implementing decrees as well as the appointment of a management body for the Petroleum sector and geophysical surveys of the entire marine waters in two and three dimensions, launching the first licensing cycle in Lebanese marine waters, signing contracts, starting exploratory drilling, promulgating a law to enhance transparency in the petroleum sector and proposing a law for the Lebanese Sovereign Fund.
The head of the bloc considered that what we have reached today could have been achieved since 2013 if obstacles were not placed internally and pressures from abroad were not exercised.
3- The bloc announces its abstention from participating in the parliament session dedicated to electing a president of the republic, due to its appointment on October 13 which constitutes a disregard for the feelings and the historical meaning that bears national symbolism represented in the memory of the martyrdom of the Lebanese army officers and soldiers as well as civilians in a military operation carried out against legitimacy in violation of Lebanon's freedom, sovereignty and independence, placing it under the tutelage for a period of 15 years.
4- Emphasizing the need to form a government in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, the bloc reiterates the warning against any attempt that some might think of to consider the resigned government capable of assuming the powers of the president of the republic in the event of a vacuum in the presidency, which cannot be accepted, given that any attempt in this direction will generate an uncontrollable constitutional chaos.
5- The bloc denounces the actions of the president of the Supreme Judicial Council Souheil Abboud, in violation of laws and obstructing the course of justice, and demands that he be referred to judicial inspection due to his flagrant violation of legal texts, including Article 1 of the Corruption Law in the Public Sector and Articles 371, 374 and 377 of the Penal Code, which punish the use of influence and abuse of power, with confirmation of the right of the minister of Justice to call on the Supreme Judicial Council to meet under Article 6 of the Judicial Law.

Bassil meets al Rahi over 'presidential priorities'
Naharnet/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil met Tuesday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and handed him a copy of a "presidential priorities" paper that had been announced last week by the FPM leader. Bassil said that he will contact the parliamentary blocs to discuss with them the presidential paper.
He urged the Patriarch and President Michel Aoun to call for a national dialogue over the presidential election. According to the FPM's paper, the new president must "preserve national sovereignty, protect the border and the full rights, devise a defense strategy in which the state is the main authority, preserve and develop Lebanon’s ties with the world, and achieve a swift and safe repatriation of the displaced Syrians."

Nasrallah says Hezbollah to maintain readiness until deal with Israel is signed
Naharnet/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday cautiously welcomed the Lebanese, Israeli and American declarations about an imminent sea border demarcation deal between Lebanon and Israel, noting that his group will maintain its military readiness until the final agreement is signed by the two sides.
“We are awaiting the declaration of the official stance by the president… We are awaiting the official stance of the enemy's government. What's important is what will happen tomorrow in the meeting of Israel's cabinet,” Nasrallah said in a televised address marking the Prophet’s Birthday.“We will await the official stances and only after the agreement is signed we can say that we have a deal,” Nasrallah added. “Until the Lebanese see the delegations going to Naqoura on TV, we must remain cautious,” he urged. Dismissing accusations, Nasrallah added: “It is strange that some in Israel and in the Arab media are claiming that Hezbollah wants to sabotage the deal. We have no problem when the Lebanese officials say that the agreement meets the Lebanese demands.”“We only care about the extraction of oil and gas from Lebanese waters and our stance on demarcation is known,” Hezbollah’s leader went on to say, noting that he does not recognize Israel’s border. “Tonight we will not issue threats. Tonight there will only be joy and clapping,” Nasrallah added. As for the funds that will be yielded by Lebanon’s potential gas resources, Hezbollah’s leader called for benefiting from “the experiences of the countries that have sovereign funds,” while noting that Hezbollah is among those who have concerns over how the funds will be managed. “We must all immunize the funds” that will come from the gas resources, Nasrallah urged.

Sayyed Nasrallah: Hezbollah Awaits Official Stance, to Maintain Readiness
Batoul Wehbe/Al-Manar English Website/October 11/2022
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah announced on Tuesday that Lebanon is before decisive hours with regards to the maritime demarcation deal, saying Hezbollah will await the official stances by the Lebanese President General Michel Aoun.
“Only after the agreement is signed we can say that we have a deal,” Sayyed Nasrallah said in a televised speech delivered during the celebration that was held this evening on the occasion of Prophet Mohammad’s birthday (PBUH) along with his grandson Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq (PBUH) and the Islamic Unity Week.Lebanon received the updated proposal by US Energy Envoy Amos Hocshtein on an impending deal on the maritime dispute with the Zionist entity. The Lebanese Presidency Press Office announced on Tuesday that Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab handed over President Michel Aoun the proposal finalized by Hochstein.“With regard to the demarcation file, we are before decisive hours, and we, as Lebanese, are waiting for the official stance to be announced by the President,” Hezbollah leader announced, adding “We will await the official stances and only after the agreement is signed we can say that we have a deal.”Sayyed Nasrallah said ‘Israel’ is sharply divided on the deal, even within the “same parties and ministers in the government,” and that not all Israeli sides are satisfied with the agreement. “We are waiting for the official position of the enemy’s government and what’s important is what will happen tomorrow in the meeting of the Israeli cabinet. We all witnessed the contradictory statements in the Zionist entity over the past months and there is a rift there.”Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Tuesday that a “historic agreement” has been reached on the maritime dispute. He called a Security Cabinet meeting, followed by a general cabinet meeting for Wednesday to approve the deal, and that the deal is expected to be submitted to the Knesset for review.
“The moment the Lebanese see the delegations going to Naqoura on TV, we must remain cautious,” his eminence warned, “When the Lebanese side announces the approval of the deal, then we consider that things are done and until then we must remain vigilant.”
Sayyed Nasrallah called for attentiveness as there are those who can change their minds at every moment. He described the negotiations as difficult, “Reaching a deal was not an easy task.”Bou Saab, Lebanon’s lead negotiator in the issue of maritime deal, said: “For Lebanon, the maritime deal has been finalized,” noting that the US mediator is waiting for the official response by Lebanon. He stressed, in remarks carried by Al-Manar, that Lebanon will have a united stance towards Hochstein’s updated proposal, noting that “no modifications have been made so far on the updated proposal.”
Hezbollah’s leader pointed that Hezbollah only cares about the extraction of oil and gas from Lebanese waters and its stance on demarcation is known. “Since the very beginning we said we stand behind the state on the issue of Lebanese demands, and I always said we want to ‘eat grapes’ and extract oil,” Hezbollah’s S.G. said.
“We have no problem when the Lebanese officials say that the agreement meets the Lebanese demands. My call is that after publishing the final text, this understanding should be approached in the spirit of national responsibility required to judge it positively or negatively away from settling accounts,” Sayyed Nasrallah indicated, hailing the cooperation spirit witnessed in Lebanon. “We are before a new experience of cooperation between state officials that was met with popular support. Lebanon will be able to achieve this great accomplishment at time when no one is concerned about its rights.”“Where is our sea? I tell you: To us, our sea extends to Gaza, and when Palestine is liberated, we will not disagree with our Palestinian brothers on maritime borders demarcation,” his eminence said.
Sayyed Nasrallah said Hezbollah had no need to send more drones than the ones previously sent toward the Karish field on July 5, as “the objective was for the enemy to understand that we are serious.”
In this context, the Hezbollah leader hailed the resistance fighters “whose sacrifices and efforts exerted for years bore fruit within few months,” stressing that the resistance will maintain its readiness until the agreement is signed. “To resistance fighters I say: You’ll remain on your readiness, vigilance and measures until we see with our very eyes that the deal is signed, and after that is another day,” Sayyed Nasrallah said.
Sayyed Nasrallah stressed that “this is a national wealth that is not owned by a particular sect, political party or region; it belongs to the entire Lebanese people, so it must be approached with a spirit of responsibility,” and continued, “I promise you to cooperate with all the pillars of the state.” “We must benefit from the experiences of the countries that have sovereign funds,” his eminence said, adding “we must all immunize the funds that will come from the gas resources.”Hezbollah S.G. ended up the issue of maritime borders demarcation deal by saying: Tonight, we will not issue threats. Tonight, there will only be joy and clapping. On the internal Lebanese issue, Sayyed Nasrallah said: “On the presidential file, I have nothing new to add regarding the issue of the presidency and we call for the formation of a government.” He regretted that officials are “blowing hot and cold”” in this regard, oscillating between optimism and stagnation in the negotiations. As for Yemen, the Hezbollah leader praised Yemenis for the huge celebrations held across the various provinces that had been plagued by eight years of war. “This people, who suffered from an eight years war and suffers from many life crises, is gathering in a scene like no other, we bow in respect.”Turning to the Palestinian cause, Sayyed Nasrallah hailed the latest resistance might in the West Bank, saying: “What’s going on in the West Bank is percussive to the Zionist entity and all its political forces. The resistance today in West Bank needs all ways of political, media and popular solidarity. The resistance in West Bank is able to change equations, hopes are pinned on it.”West Bank cities have witnessed a significant escalation of resistance operations lately, especially in Jenin and Nablus, at the level of shooting at the Occupation army’s checkpoints and settlers and throwing explosive and incendiary devices, in response to the Israeli crimes in occupied territories. Sayyed Nasrallah also lauded Hamas’ decision on strengthening the relations with Syria as a courageous, wise and sound decision.

Michel Mawad: Lebanon’s Education Sector to Witness Five Lean Years
Beirut - Thaer Abbas/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
The president of the Lebanese American University in Beirut (LAU), Dr. Michel Mawad, said that the education sector in the country would witness five lean years, as a result of the financial and economic crisis and the lack of resources. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Mawad pointed to the danger of the human capital flight, which he said would take several years to compensate. He stressed that brain drain and the loss of educational energy in the higher education sector would have long-term repercussions and require many years to address. “At the university, we face many difficulties, and we thank God that we overcome them one by one,” Mawad said. “The great difficulty that people do not notice is the brain drain from Lebanon and the university. Today, we have lost between 20 to 25 percent of doctors who have specializations from abroad. This affects the education of students in medicine, pharmacy or nursing…” he warned.
In addition to the loss of human and educational capacity in the higher education sector, which Mawad deems “harmful to the sector,” he noted that many of the students could no longer afford the tuition fees because the purchasing power has decreased by about 15 times. “We are doing our best to bring in the funds to retain the students. This priority stems from the fact that the Lebanese University has become almost absent, forcing students to resort to small businesses,” Mawad emphasized, pointing to the risk of the desperate youth being dragged into extremist organizations due to the spread of poverty in the country.
He stressed that based on LAU’s determination to promote the advancement and support the youth, the university has provided last year $70 million in scholarships and around $100 million for the current 2022-2023 academic year. This has led to an increase in the number of students from 8,360 in 2021 to 8,500 students this year. Mawad underlined the need for funds in US dollars to cover the university’s expenses. “We buy fuel in US dollars; we used to spend $1.3 million annually, but now our budget is $8.7 million in expenses for electricity, internet, water and heating,” he said, stressing that the LAU is a private, non-profit organization, “but we are forced to secure the alternative to what the state could not provide, and this puts pressure on us.”
The president of the LAU revealed that the university’s deficit in the past two years amounted to $72 million, forcing it to withdraw the equivalent amount from the endowment in the United States to cover its expenses and enable professors to continue their mission. “We have reached the stage of turning off the lights in some buildings, not only because of the high cost of diesel but also because of its shortage,” he stated. Despite all the challenges, Mawad said that the university has kept pace with modern scientific developments, and has taken the lead in launching new specializations in artificial intelligence, nanoengineering, and robotics, in addition to the opening of modern laboratories in the faculties of medicine and engineering. Other important achievements include the opening of the University Medical Center in Jounieh, known as Saint John Hospital, in continuation of the university's mission to interact with its community and promote its advancement.
According to Mawad, Lebanon’s exit from its crisis depended on time and liquidity. “We are seeking in various ways to find foreign sources of funding,” he noted. The LAU has launched an online educational plan, but Mawad said that the Ministry of Education has not yet approved the granting of online degrees.”
“We are working with a company to market our online specializations for students outside Lebanon, and we tell all students who study online that this certificate is not recognized in Lebanon, but only abroad”, he continued. In addition, the LAU has offices in New York since 2013 and now is starting to convert them into a university campus due to the huge demand by non-American students, who wish to pursue their education in the US, Mawad noted. “We are also seeking to repeat this experience in Arab countries, and we have hired companies to study the market in Saudi Arabia, and we have been informed that there are opportunities in Riyadh, and an option in Baghdad,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. LAU is seeking to expand in the Arab region and build a university campus in Baghdad, during the next three years. This will include campuses and colleges for medical sciences. “The university is growing... We are not politicized or follow a specific religion, and we do not differentiate between students. We use all our energies to educate our students and allow them to have the best work opportunities in Lebanon and abroad,” Mawad underlined. In light of the weak government supervision that led to the spread of random universities and the issuance of fake degrees, the LAU president insisted that well-established non-profit universities such as AUB, LAU, USJ, and others, have put among their priority maintaining high-quality education. All funds received “are used to cover expenses, develop the university's premises, laboratories, scientific research centers, and also help students,” he stated.

Israel says historic agreement made with Lebanon on maritime borders
Steve Hendrix and Sarah Dadouch/The Washington Post/October 11/2022
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/11/israel-lebanon-maritime-border-deal/
JERUSALEM — Israeli and Lebanese leaders appear to have agreed to a U.S.-brokered deal that will let both countries exploit gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean, potentially ending a decades-long dispute over their maritime border, easing growing military tensions and providing a desperately needed source of income to Lebanon’s collapsing economy.
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The agreement, which needs formal approval in both countries, was hailed by leaders in Beirut and Jerusalem as a historic breakthrough. It is the first agreement on border demarcation between the two nations.
“This is an historic achievement that will strengthen Israel’s security, inject billions into Israel’s economy, and ensure the stability of our northern border,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement Tuesday.
Another bank heist in Beirut, another hero for Lebanon’s weary public
Lebanese leaders have yet to make an official announcement on the deal, but President Michel Aoun said in a tweet Tuesday that “the final version of the offer is satisfactory for Lebanon and answers its demands and preserves its rights to its natural wealth.”
“If everything goes well, [Washington’s] efforts could imminently lead to a historic deal,” Elias Bou Saab, Lebanon’s lead negotiator on the issue and deputy parliament speaker, told Reuters after receiving the text of the deal from American officials Tuesday.
Officials hope the agreement, if finalized, will cool intensifying tensions along the frontier. Hezbollah, the Iran-allied militant group that controls southern Lebanon, has threatened to attack a new offshore gas facility that Israel is readying for production in what Lebanon claims are disputed waters. The group has launched drones toward the gas field more than once, including three unmanned aircraft that were shot down by Israel in early July.
In the face of Hezbollah’s threats to strike should Israel begin pumping natural gas from the Karish Field, Defense Minister Benny Gantz put troops on high alert after the maritime border talks ran into last-minute disputes last week.
Hezbollah, which along with its allies, holds the largest bloc in parliament, had no immediate comment on the draft of the agreement. A media officer for the group told The Washington Post that Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah is likely to talk about the deal in a speech scheduled for Tuesday. “Today we’ll find out,” the official said.
The agreement would define only the offshore boundary between the sworn enemies, not the 50-mile land border that remains in dispute after multiple wars and continues to be patrolled by a United Nations monitoring force after more than four-decades.
The maritime frontier has proved to be equally contentious in recent years, particularly after gas deposits were discovered in the sea bed inside the 330-square mile region. Israel, which has already developed gas fields in nearby waters, strung a line of buoys three miles out from a rocky cliff near the U.N. headquarters. Beirut condemned the move as a unilateral provocation.
Resolving the dispute — which has gained urgency as the risk of conflict rose and Lebanon’s economic free fall has grown more critical — has been a regional priority for the Biden administration. The president’s special envoy, Amos Hochstein, brokered talks over the past year with the goal of giving countries fair access to the area.
The deal comes as gas discoveries are remaking the energy map of the Mediterranean just as Europe is looking for alternate sources in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Gas diplomacy may also be thawing Israel’s tense relationship with Turkey, for example, as the two countries seek to revive long-abandoned plans for a pipeline through Turkey to Europe.
Details of the agreement were not made public Tuesday. But reports of its broad terms in recent week suggest that it clarifies the lines of Exclusive Economic Zones for both countries. Lebanon would gain access to promising fields in previously disputed waters; Israel would be free to begin operating the Karish well with Lebanon’s agreement.
Lebanese officials have said the final deal would not have them in direct partnership with Israel, and it was unclear how royalties would be split from the one area, the Qana Field, which lies partially in Israeli waters.
Lebanon in 2017 issued licenses to move forward with offshore oil and gas development for two of the 10 blocks in the Mediterranean, including Qana, and officials were moving quickly to advance the process.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Tuesday morning with Energy Minister Walid Fayyad and a delegation from French oil giant Total. Fayyad expressed hope that the deal will benefit Lebanon and grant it its “rights and full share in Qana field without sharing it with anyone,” according to state media. He also emphasized the need to begin exploration and development, which often take years, as soon as possible.
“Logistical issues take time but work will begin immediately,” he said.
Lebanon’s leaders and public hope the deal will pave the way for gas exploration and bring in much-needed revenue to the country, which has been hit by sharp economic decline and a banking crisis that have ravaged the local currency and left much of the country out of work.
In a place previously an oasis for opulence, people sifting through trash cans for food is now a common sight in the capital Beirut. The World Food Program said in a report last month that an estimated 33 percent of Lebanese now lack minimum dietary provisions.
Access to gas fields could mean export revenue and energy sources for a country where electricity is now an expensive luxury and some Lebanese have begun joining Syrians and other migrants in perilous boat journeys to Europe.
Israel hopes access to the gas deposits will help pull Lebanon back from the brink of collapse and reduce the risk of another out war.
“Such a field would weaken Lebanese dependency on Iran, restrain Hezbollah and bring regional stability,” Lapid told his cabinet earlier this month.
In Israel, which does not have diplomatic relations with Lebanon, it was unclear what steps the government needed to take to ratify the agreement. Legal experts said the deal could be enacted simply on the approval of the current cabinet, most of whom have signaled enthusiasm for a draft they said benefits both countries. They pushed back on some right-wing lawmakers, including former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who blasted the government for “surrendering” to Hezbollah.
But Israel is holding national elections in less than a month, and some officials, including alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, have said in the past that such an important agreement should go before the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
Bennett, as Lapid’s partner in the government, still holds an effective veto in the cabinet. His office said Tuesday that he will make a decision on the agreement after reading the draft and consulting with security officials.
Dadouch reported from Beirut.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 11-12/2022
UAE president highlights need for dialogue during meeting with Russia’s Putin
Arab News/October 11, 2022
DUBAI: The UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan highlighted the need for dialogue between all parties to the Ukraine crisis during a visit to St. Petersburg, Russia on Tuesday. During a meeting with Putin, Sheikh Mohamed said his country seeks to contribute to strengthening the foundations of peace and stability in the world, and is working to reduce tensions and find diplomatic solutions to crises. He called for the continuation of serious consultations to resolve the Ukraine crisis through dialogue, negotiation, and diplomacy to reach a political settlement. The two presidents also reviewed a number of regional and international issues and developments of common concern during discussions, Emirates News Agency reported. The UAE’s foreign ministry said on Monday that the president's visit to Russia aims to help reach “effective political solutions” to the Ukrainian crisis. Russia's . The Gulf country “seeks to achieve positive results to reduce military escalation, reduce humanitarian repercussions, and reach a political settlement to achieve global peace and security,” the ministry said. Meanwhile, Putin said Emirati-Russian ties are an important factor of regional and global stability. “Despite all the difficulties that exist in the international relations today, ties between Russia and the United Arab Emirates are an important factor of stability in the region and the entire world,” Russia’s president said at the start of his talks with Sheikh Mohamed. Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic advisor to the UAE’s president, said in a tweet that Sheikh Mohamed’s visit was pre-scheduled within the framework of bilateral relations but that the war in Ukraine requires an urgent solution.

Iran Racing to Expand Enrichment at Underground Plant, IAEA Report Shows
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Iran is rapidly expanding its ability to enrich uranium with advanced centrifuges at its underground plant at Natanz and now intends to go further than previously planned, a confidential UN nuclear watchdog report seen by Reuters showed on Monday. While indirect talks between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal have stalled, Tehran has brought onstream an ever larger number of advanced centrifuges the deal bans it from using to produce enriched uranium. These machines are far more efficient than the first-generation IR-1, the only centrifuge that the deal lets Iran use to grow its stock of enriched uranium. Iran has been adding them particularly at two underground sites at Natanz and Fordow that may be designed to withstand potential aerial bombardment. The third of three cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-6 centrifuges recently installed at the underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz has now come onstream, said the International Atomic Energy Agency report to member states.
Diplomats say the IR-6 is Iran's most advanced centrifuge. Iran has also quickly completed the installation of seven cascades that were either not finished or at a very early stage of installation on Aug. 31, Monday's ad hoc report showed. End-August marked the last visit by inspectors mentioned in the IAEA's most recent quarterly report. Those seven cascades, one of IR-4 centrifuges and six of IR-2m machines, were fully installed but not yet enriching, Monday's report said. Iran has also informed the IAEA it plans to add an extra three cascades of IR-2m machines at the FEP, on top of the 12 already announced and now installed, the report showed. Of those three extra IR-2m cascades, installation has already started on two of them, the report said. The report also showed that all the centrifuges enriching at Natanz were still producing uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas enriched to up to 5% but now they were being fed with natural UF6. That contrasted to the quarterly report issued in September that said on Aug. 31 the centrifuges were being fed with UF6 enriched to up to 2%. It did not explain the change. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran deal and re-imposed sanctions against Iran that the deal had lifted. Iran responded by breaching the restrictions on its nuclear activities imposed by the deal. If the deal is revived Iran will have to put its advanced centrifuges into storage, diplomats say.

Iran’s Crackdown on Protests Intensifies in Kurdish Region
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Iran intensified its crackdown Tuesday on Kurdish areas in the country's west as protests sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by the morality police rage on, activists said. Riot police fired into at least one neighborhood in Sanandaj, the capital of Iran’s Kurdistan province, as Amnesty International and the White House's national security adviser criticized the violence targeting demonstrators angered by the death of Mahsa Amini. Meanwhile, some oil workers Monday joined the protests at two key refinery complexes, for the first time linking an industry key to Iran's theocracy to the unrest. Iran’s government insists Amini was not mistreated, but her family says her body showed bruises and other signs of beating. Subsequent videos have shown security forces beating and shoving female protesters, including women who have torn off their mandatory headscarf, or hijab.
From the capital, Tehran, and elsewhere, videos have emerged online despite authorities disrupting the internet. Videos on Monday showed university and high school students demonstrating and chanting, with some women and girls marching through the streets without headscarves as the protests continue into a fourth week. The demonstrations represent one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 2009 Green Movement protests. One video posted online by a Kurdish group called the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights showed darkened streets with apparent gunfire going off and a bonfire burning in Sanandaj, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Tehran. Another showed riot police carrying shotguns moving in formation with a vehicle, apparently firing at homes. The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran posted another video showing what it described as a phalanx of motorcycle-riding security forces moving through Sanandaj. "They reportedly broke the windows of hundreds of cars in the Baharan neighborhood," the center said. Amini was Kurdish and her death has been felt particularly in Iran’s Kurdish region, where demonstrations began Sept. 17 at her funeral there after her death the day before. Amnesty International criticized Iranian security forces for "using firearms and firing tear gas indiscriminately, including into people’s homes." It urged the world to pressure Iran to end the crackdown as Tehran continues to disrupt internet and mobile phone networks "to hide their crimes."Iran did not immediately acknowledge the renewed crackdown in Sanandaj. However, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador over the United Kingdom sanctioning members of the country's morality police and security officials due to the crackdown. Iran's Foreign Ministry called the sanctions "arbitrary and baseless," even while threatening to potentially take countermeasures against London. Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden's national security adviser, similarly noted that "the world is watching what is happening in Iran.""These protestors are Iranian citizens, led by women and girls, demanding dignity and basic rights," Sullivan wrote on Twitter. "We stand with them, and we will hold responsible those using violence in a vain effort to silence their voices."

France Says New Citizen Held in Iran, EU Sanctions to Come
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
France's foreign minister said on Tuesday five of its nationals were being held in Iran and the European Union had agreed the technical aspects to impose sanctions on Tehran, which would come into force next week. France lashed out at Iran on Oct. 6 accusing it of "dictatorial practices" and taking its citizens hostage after a video was aired in which a French couple appeared to confess to spying, after weeks of unrest that Iran has linked to foreign foes. France subsequently urged its nationals to leave Iran as soon as possible, saying they were exposed to the risk of arbitrary detentions. "I hope to speak to the Iranian foreign minister today to ask once again for the immediate release of all our compatriots, who are held in Iran," Catherine Colonna told France Inter radio. "There are currently five."Until now, Paris had not confirmed that a fifth citizen had been detained during the nationwide protests. Iran said last month that nine Europeans had been arrested in the unrest. Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent weeks as efforts to revive nuclear talks in which France is one of the parties have stalled. Neither country has an ambassador in place. The anti-government protests in Iran over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody last month have pushed the EU to follow the United States, Canada and Britain in imposing sanctions. "The EU agreed yesterday the technical aspects of a sanctions package that will target those behind the repression. "It will be validated on Monday," Colonna said, referring to an upcoming meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Iran protests over woman's death persist despite crackdown
DUBAI (Reuters)/Tue, October 11, 2022
Clashes between protesters and security forces persisted across Iran on Tuesday, with social media videos showing tanks being transported to Kurdish areas, which have been a focal point of the crackdown on protests over Mahsa Amini's death in custody. Protests calling for the fall of the clerical establishment have swept Iran since Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, died on Sept. 16 while being detained by the morality police in Tehran for "inappropriate attire".While observers do not believe the unrest is close to toppling the government, the protests mark one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution, with reports of strikes spreading to the vital energy sector. The authorities are waging a deadly crackdown. Videos on social media showed trucks moving dark green tanks to Kurdish areas, raising the stakes in the revolt. Reuters could not verify the video footage.
At least 185 people, including 19 minors, have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands have been arrested by the security forces, according to rights groups. The government says more than 20 members of the security forces have been killed.
Iranian authorities have said they will investigate civilian deaths. Tensions have been especially high in Kurdish regions, given Amini's ethnic background. Human rights groups say Iran's Kurdish minority of more than 10 million has long been oppressed - a charge the Islamic Republic denies.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network said the protests were continuing for a fourth week in those regions "despite the tense security atmosphere and the militarization of these cities".It said security forces had killed at least 30 protesters, injured another 825, and arrested more than 2,000 in the predominantly Kurdish regions. Reuters could not independently verify the report. The Hengaw human rights group said on Monday security forces had fired towards residences in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj. The Iranian authorities have blamed the violence on an array of enemies including armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents, with the Revolutionary Guards attacking their bases in neighbouring Iraq a number of times during the latest unrest. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi reiterated accusations that Iranian Kurdish dissident groups were supporting the protests and said security forces would "neutralize the desperate anti-revolutionary effort".
ENERGY SECTOR
Unrest continued elsewhere overnight after demonstrations spread into Iran's vital energy sector, according to videos on social media which Reuters could not confirm. Energy installations in southwestern Iran were hit by strikes for a second day on Tuesday, with workers protesting at the Abadan oil refinery, Kangan and the Bushehr petrochemical plant, according to the widely followed Tavsir1500 Twitter account. Videos posted on the account showed a few dozen workers chanting "Death to the dictator", referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A regional official said on Tuesday the workers at the Assaluye plant were angered by a dispute over wages and were not protesting over Amini's death. Governor Ali Hashemi said some Iranians had tried to hijack the workers' protests by chanting anti-government slogans, according to Iran’s Young Journalists Club News (YJC) Telegram account.
It was a combination of mass protests and strikes by oil workers and bazaar merchants that helped to propel the Shi'ite clergy to power in the Iranian revolution four decades ago. Dozens of universities are also currently on strike, with students playing a pivotal role in the protests. Meanwhile, in the city of Fuladshahr in the central province of Isfahan protesters set fire to the office of a prayer leader, according to a video posted by Tavsir1500. The authorities' crackdown on protesters has prompted some Western states to draw up more sanctions on Iran, stoking diplomatic tensions at a time when talks to revive Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers are at a standstill. France's foreign minister said on Tuesday five of its nationals were being held in Iran and the European Union had agreed the technical aspects to impose sanctions on Tehran, which would come into force next week. France lashed out at Iran on Oct. 6 accusing it of "dictatorial practices" and taking its citizens hostage after a video was aired in which a French couple appeared to confess to spying.

With winter fast approaching, Europe scrambles to prepare for energy shortages
Melissa Rossi/Yahoo News/Mon, October 10, 2022
Patrick Vranckx, a bakery owner in Temploux, Belgium — 50 miles southeast of Brussels — is panicked. His Boulangerie Pâtisserie Vranckx, which sells hand-molded bread and pastries to about 400 customers every day, is already struggling to keep up with skyrocketing energy costs, and winter promises even greater pain.“We won't be able to hold out many more months,” he told Yahoo News, noting that electricity prices have quadrupled over the past year. With delivery of Russian natural gas, which last year provided 40% of Europe’s supplies, now down to a trickle, OPEC cutting oil production, hydropower crippled by this summer’s drought, renewable electricity not fully in force, and temperatures already falling as winter approaches, Europe is bracing for the worst energy crisis the continent has ever known. Government officials and energy agencies are warning of possible blackouts as the cold sets in. Energy may even be rationed as part of “robust demand-reduction measures,” Thorfinn Stainforth, an analyst at the Institute for European Environmental Policy, told Yahoo News, adding that industrial customers are likely to be hit first.
Johan Lilliestam, who leads the Energy Transitions group at Germany’s Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany, has dubbed the dire situation “Europe’s Energy Drama,” and says that each day seems to deliver a new cliffhanger. Two weeks ago, it was the suspected sabotage of the underwater Nord Stream pipelines, which closed them down for good and set off European panic about the security of other gas pipelines amid an energy standoff with Russia. Last Thursday, just as the 27-member European Union was finalizing its sanctions on Russian oil, OPEC+ announced it had reached a deal with Moscow to slash petroleum production, a move that some believe could accelerate inflation.
“I don’t think the announcement will strongly affect supply, but it may affect prices,” Lilliestam told Yahoo News, while noting that the deal came “despite strong calls from the West not to take measures that could further increase oil prices.”
In France, normally an electricity exporter to its Western Europe neighbors, thanks in part to its investments in nuclear power, the state electricity agency is warning of possible cutoffs. Half of the country’s 56-reactor nuclear fleet is down, due to corrosion and maintenance, Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, research fellow at the Jacques Delors Energy Center, told Yahoo News. The reduced production of electricity is particularly worrisome, he said, since the French rely on electricity for heating. What’s more, wage strikes by oil workers have severely reduced French gasoline supplies, as witnessed this weekend by long lines at stations, a third of whose pumps are running dry. French labour union workers march on a palm-lined street, waving crimson flags and matching banner.
Across the continent, everything from coal to wood is scarce. Tom Goethals, who normally delivers cords of firewood grown in Belarus and Russia to 30 pizzerias and 300 customers in Brussels, had to switch to a French supplier because of shortages and high transportation costs. Demand, meanwhile, has gone through the roof. “People are afraid they won’t have heat or it will be too expensive to use,” Goethals said, adding that some Belgian suppliers are already out of wood for the season and that most suppliers’ prices have doubled due to shipping costs.
Despite expedited plans to transition to renewable sources of energy in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union remains dependent on natural gas, which powers a large portion of industrial production, power generation and heating needs, particularly in industrial countries like Germany. To bridge the gap, the EU is being forced to import expensive liquefied natural gas from Qatar and the U.S., a move that has sent electricity and heating prices to all-time highs. Norway is now Europe’s main gas supplier through its pipelines, but is cutting its neighbors no deals, leading to accusations of war profiteering. French President Emmanuel Macron, who plans to confront gas suppliers about their prices, told business leaders in Paris last week that “In a spirit of great friendship, we will say to our American and Norwegian friends: ‘You’re super, you supply us with energy and gas, but one thing that can’t go on for too long is us paying four times more than the price you sell to your industry,'” Bloomberg reported. He added, “That is not exactly the meaning of friendship.”
With no sign that the crisis will ease anytime soon, European governments are trying to put in place measures to shield consumers and to save energy. Last week, the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, imposed a windfall tax on fossil fuel producers, capped electricity prices for most utilities and called for households to cut electricity demand during peak consumption periods by at least 5%. In its quarterly report, the Paris-based International Energy Agency, pointing out that Europe is facing “a winter of unprecedented uncertainty of supply due to Russia’s behavior,” warned that “a complete shutdown of Russian pipeline flows to the European Union cannot be ruled out,” and urged consumers to slash natural gas consumption by 13%, by turning down thermostats and water heaters.
Europe’s natural gas storage caverns are nearly 90% full, but those reserve stocks are only enough to last three months, and future gas supplies appear uncertain, all the more since caps on gas prices may come into effect. Across much of the continent, heavily polluting coal plants that had been scheduled to be decommissioned are operating again, nuclear plants that had been turned off are powering back up, fracking is being discussed, new gas pipelines are being proposed and Europeans are being asked to heat their homes to no more than 19° Celsius, 66° Fahrenheit, although some stores and offices, won’t exceed 17°C (62° F). “Most people have purchased additional blankets and [sweaters], and they’re stalling turning on their heating until the cold really sets in,” said Andy Hughes, an estate manager who lives in Cirencester, England, where nighttime temperatures have fallen sharply in recent weeks.
Workers in white suits and helmets inside a vast power plant, seen from above. The difference between energy prices in Europe and the United States is stark, with the average Western European paying 41 cents per kilowatt hour while American households pay around 15 cents. That disparity is hitting ordinary citizens in Europe hard. “Vulnerable people are really squeezed now,” Stainforth said.
Lilliestam also worries about how the manufacturing sector will deal with unprecedented energy prices. “How much loss can industry take?” he asked. “How long can they carry these prices? How long can you just shut down production and then still come back?"
While the crisis has affirmed the need to transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy, it has also made clear that it won’t happen quickly enough to meet Europe’s energy demands this winter. “It can't be stressed enough, how much we really need — and there's so much that could be done with renewable energy now, the prices are so advantageous,” Stainforth said, adding, “There's no reason why just large amounts of renewables can’t be deployed across the European Union now, to make sure we're in a good position in two, three, five,10 years from now, both climate-wise but also energy security-wise.” Had Europe moved more rapidly earlier, he noted, “We wouldn't be having these problems with the wild fluctuations of consumer prices and industrial prices, and problems with energy security.”

Lavrov says Russia open to talks with West, awaiting serious proposal
LONDON (Reuters)/Tue, October 11, 2022
-Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow was open to talks with the West on the Ukraine war but had yet to receive any serious proposal to negotiate. In an interview on state TV, Lavrov said Russia was willing to engage with the United States or with Turkey on ways to end the war, now in its eight month. His emphasis on Russia's receptiveness to talks came after a series of stinging defeats since the start of September that have swung the momentum of the conflict in favour of Ukraine. Lavrov said officials including White House national security spokesman John Kirby had said the United States was open to talks but that Russia had refused. "This is a lie," Lavrov said. "We have not received any serious offers to make contact."He also said Russia would not turn down a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden at a mid-November summit of the Group of 20 in Indonesia, and would consider the proposal if it receives one. "We have repeatedly said that we never refuse meetings. If there is a proposal, then we will consider it," Lavrov said. Commenting on the possibility that Turkey could host talks between Russia and the West, Lavrov said Moscow would be willing to listen to any suggestions but could not say in advance whether this would lead to results. He said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan would have an opportunity to put proposals to Russian President Vladimir Putin when both visit Kazakhstan this week. Lavrov noted that direct talks between Russia and Ukraine had broken down at the end of March. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ruled out talking to Putin after Russia claimed the annexation last month of four Ukrainian regions that it partly occupies.

Deadly Russian Strikes May Have Violated International Law Principles, Says UN
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Russia may have violated principles on the conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law with deadly strikes on Ukraine on Monday, a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said. "We are gravely concerned that some of the attacks appear to have targeted critical civilian infrastructure ... indicating that these strikes may have violated the principles on the conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law," Ravina Shamdasani told a news conference on Tuesday. "We urge the Russian Federation to refrain from further escalation, and to take all feasible measures to prevent civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure," she added.

Reports: Türkiye Exerting Efforts to Hold Talks Between Russia, West
Ankara - Saeed Abdulrazek/Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Türkiye plans to organize negotiations between Russia and four western countries to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, according to reports from Ankara and Moscow on Monday. Ismail Emrah Karayel, Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Türkiye and the European Union confirmed that Ankara is working to hold negotiations between Russia and the US, France, Britain and Germany, to help deescalate tensions. “We assume that Istanbul can become the venue for negotiations, of course, if the parties agree,” RIA Novosti quoted Karayel as saying. Turkish and Russian media outlets quoted Karayel as saying that Ankara accepts the conditions to be a mediator between the countries. He cited Türkiye’s previous role in the signing of the Agreement on the Safe Passage of Grain in the Black Sea between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in July. The deal was mediated by Ankara under the auspices of the United Nations. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russian and Turkish presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may meet in the Kazakh capital of Astana later this week. However, he responded negatively when asked if Ankara passed to Russia any proposals on holding talks between Russia and the West, but he said it might be raised at the Erdogan-Putin meeting. On Sunday, the Turkish newspaper Milliyet said Ankara requested that the US, France, Germany, and the UK to hold negotiations with Russia. It said influential figures in Washington have already reacted positively to the plan. Earlier, Ibrahim Kalin, adviser to the Turkish President, said that Putin wanted to reach a "new big agreement" with the West, and this explained Moscow's desire to enter negotiations.

G7 to Hold Crisis Talks on Russia's Bombing Blitz in Ukraine
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
The United States and other G7 powers will hold crisis talks Tuesday on Russia's recent bombing blitz across Ukraine, with Britain's Liz Truss expected to insist they "must not waver one iota" in their support for Kyiv. The meeting comes a day after Russian missiles rocked the Ukrainian capital for the first time in months, with President Volodymyr Zelensky warning Moscow that his country "cannot be intimidated", reported AFP. Russian forces rained more than 80 missiles on cities across Ukraine on Monday, according to Kyiv, in apparent retaliation for an explosion that damaged a key bridge linking the Crimean peninsula to Russia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the strikes showed Moscow was "desperate" after a spate of embarrassing military setbacks, as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of "severe" responses to any further attacks. At an urgent meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday -- called to debate Moscow's declared annexation of four partly occupied Ukrainian regions -- Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya branded Russia a "terrorist state", noting his own immediate family had come under attack on Monday. "Unfortunately, you can hardly call for a stable and sane peace as long as an unstable and insane dictatorship exists in your vicinity," he said, telling member states at least 14 civilians were killed and 97 wounded in the strikes.
- 'Stay the course' -
Zelensky and G7 leaders are set to convene Tuesday to discuss the latest Russian attacks. Truss's office said the British prime minister, who succeeded Boris Johnson just over a month ago, would use the call "to urge fellow leaders to stay the course". "The overwhelming international support for Ukraine's struggle stands in stark opposition to the isolation of Russia on the international stage," she is expected to say. "Nobody wants peace more than Ukraine. And for our part, we must not waver one iota in our resolve to help them win it." German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told reporters Monday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had spoken with Zelensky and assured him "of the solidarity of Germany and the other G7 states". US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, condemned Monday's strikes in stark terms, saying they "demonstrate the utter brutality" of Putin's "illegal war". In a statement, the White House said Biden had spoken to Zelensky and had pledged to furnish Ukraine with "advanced air defense systems". Ahead of Monday's General Assembly session, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the latest attacks as an "unacceptable escalation of the war", his spokesman said. Though Russian representative Vasily Nebenzya did not directly address the missile strikes at the session, he defended his country's annexation of Ukrainian regions, saying the aim was "to protect our brothers and sisters in eastern Ukraine".
- 'In an instant... it's death' -
Residents across Ukraine expressed shock and rage after Monday's barrage. Ivan Poliakov, 22, was so angry he struggled for words as he tried to describe one of the strikes on Kyiv. "I saw children and women cry," he told AFP. "I love Kyiv. The people are good, they are courageous. But in an instant... it's death." In Dnipro, soldier Maxim was on leave from the front lines for the first time in six months to celebrate his wife's birthday when Russian missiles slammed into the central Ukrainian city, damaging their home. "We are fighting on the front exactly to protect these places" far from enemy lines, he said. "But they still manage to hit them." The strike, he said, had made him more determined than ever to push back the Russians in northeast Ukraine. Since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, more than 7.6 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe, while another nearly seven million people have been displaced within the country. Monday's missile strikes prompted a fresh warning from the UN's refugee chief that more people could soon be forced to flee their homes. "The bombing of civilians, of houses... of non-military infrastructure in an indiscriminate manner in many cities across Ukraine, means the war is becoming harder and more difficult for civilians," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told journalists in Geneva. "I fear that the events of these last hours will provoke more displacements."

Greece, Türkiye Set Tensions Aside for Direct Maritime Link
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Setting aside longstanding strategic rivalry, Greece and Türkiye on Monday inaugurated a "friendship line" ferry link between Thessalonika in northern Greece and the western Turkish port of Izmir. Greek-based shipping company Levante Ferries announced the MV "Smyrna di Levante" vessel had started passenger and freight services between the two countries, the first direct maritime link between the regional rivals. The company said the vessel carrying up to 948 passengers and as many as 300 vehicles would both promote the neighbors' commercial interests and deepen ties, AFP said. The ship began its maiden test voyage from Thessalonika at 5.15 pm (1414 GMT) on Monday with 35 people aboard -- mainly Levante employees -- bound for Izmir some 14 hours away. The ferry firm has over the past three years invested a reported 16 million euros in the three-times weekly route, the first direct major link between continental Greece and Türkiye. Some eastern Greek islands off the Turkish coast offer more ad hoc trips to nearby Turkish ports courtesy of small boats. "We want to link Europe and Asia (and) benefit from market demand" to "promote maritime and tourist transport," said Greek operator Yannis Dimitriadis.
Greece and Türkiye have endured long bouts of sometimes bitter rivalry with a series of maritime border disputes raising tensions amid Turkish accusations its fellow NATO member seeks to militarize more than a dozen of its islands in the Aegean Sea. Athens has pushed back against Ankara's demands that it desist from doing so. Last week saw a further spat at an informal EU gathering in Prague when Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis left an official dinner during an address by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Growing Trade Signals Deeper Ties Between Iran and Turkey
Sinan Ciddi/ Policy Brief/October 11, 2022
According to Turkish government sources, bilateral trade between Turkey and Iran increased sharply over the last six months. Although formally a U.S. ally through NATO, Turkey appears determined to deepen its economic ties with Tehran, recalling its facilitation of Iranian sanctions evasion prior to 2016.
In September, the Turkish Institute of Statistics (TUIK) reported a 49 percent increase in non-oil and gas imports from Iran in March through August 2022 as compared to the same period during the previous year. (The data is available in files posted for download on the TUIK website.) Additionally, Turkey reported a 20 percent increase in overall exports to Iran in the first six months of 2022 as compared to 2021. The rise in trade between the two neighbors is broadly reflective of Turkey’s desire to increase bilateral trade with Iran. During the July 2022 meeting of the Turkey-Iran High Level Cooperation Council, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared, “we have reached $7.5 billion as of now. I believe that we will achieve $30 billion” — an aspiration mirrored by his Iranian counterpart. These aspirations may not be plausible, however, as the level of trade between Ankara and Tehran has fallen dramatically over the past several years, due in part to the reimposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran in 2018 and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first six months of 2020, trade declined by 73 percent, and overall Turkish imports from Iran are approximately 50 percent lower than they were in 2017. This year’s increase hints at a post-pandemic recovery and/or an intention by both regimes to increase trade to pre-pandemic levels and possibly surpass it. Independent of economic matters, Tehran and Ankara remain suspicious of one another’s intentions. Although both Erdogan and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi have expressed interest in combatting Kurdish separatist movements, they favor opposing policies in places such as Syria and Iraq, where Turkey would like to see Iranian influence diminished. The Biden administration should be wary of any increase in trade between Iran and Turkey that points toward sanctions evasion, for which there is ample precedent. In a six-count indictment in October 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York charged Halkbank, a major Turkish public lender, with fraud, money laundering, and sanctions offenses related to the bank’s alleged participation in “a multibillion-dollar scheme to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran.” The prosecutors accused the bank of helping Tehran transfer $20 billion worth of restricted funds, with at least $1 billion laundered through the U.S. financial system. While Turkey has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate the indictment on jurisdictional grounds, the administration has good reason to be suspicious. In addition to monitoring Turkish trade with Iran, the United States should be willing to help secure oil and natural gas offsets for Turkey to reduce its dependency on Iranian energy sources. Furthermore, the U.S. government should look for common ground with Ankara given their shared concern about Iranian proxy networks, especially in Iraq and Syria. High-level dialogue between Ankara and Washington on Iran could be a valuable means to contain Iranian regional aspirations if Erdogan is prepared to respect sanctions.
*Sinan Ciddi is a non-resident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he contributes to FDD’s Turkey Program and Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). For more analysis from Sinan, the Turkey Program, and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Sinan on Twitter @SinanCiddi. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.

UN: 54 Poor Nations Urgently Need Debt Relief
Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 11 October, 2022
Cascading global crises have left 54 countries -- home to more than half of the world's poorest people -- in dire need of debt relief, the UN said Tuesday. In a new report, the United Nations Development Program warned that dozens of developing nations were facing a rapidly deepening debt crisis and that "the risks of inaction are dire", AFP said. UNDP said without immediate relief, at least 54 countries would see rising poverty levels, and "desperately needed investments in climate adaptation and mitigation will not happen". That was worrisome since the affected countries were "among the most climate-vulnerable in the world". The agency's report, published ahead of meetings of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and also of G20 finance ministers in Washington, highlighted the need for swift action. But despite repeated warnings, "little has happened so far, and the risks have been growing," UNDP chief Achim Steiner told reporters in Geneva. "That crisis is intensifying and threatening to spill over into an entrenched development crisis across dozens of countries across the world."
The poor, indebted countries are facing converging economic pressures and many find it impossible to pay back their debt or access new financing.
- 'Volatility' -
"Market conditions are shifting rapidly as a synchronized fiscal and monetary contraction and low growth are fueling volatility around the globe," UNDP said. The UN agency said debt troubles had been brewing in many of the affected countries long before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. "The rapid build-up in debt over the past decade has been consistently underestimated," it said. The freeze on debt repayment during the Covid crisis to lighten their burden has expired and negotiations under the G20 Common Framework created during the pandemic to help heavily-indebted countries find a path to restructure their obligations has been moving at a snail's pace. According to available data, 46 of the 54 countries had amassed public debt totaling $782 billion in 2020, the report said. Argentina, Ukraine and Venezuela alone account for more than a third of that amount. The situation is deteriorating rapidly, with 19 of the developing countries now effectively shut out of the lending market -- 10 more than at the start of the year.
- 'Missing ingredient' -
A third of all the developing economies have meanwhile seen their debt labelled as being "substantial risk, extremely speculative or default," UNDP's chief economist George Gray Molina told reporters. The countries at the most immediate risk are Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Tunisia, Chad and Zambia, he said. Gray Molina said private creditors have so far been the biggest obstacle to moving forward with needed restructuring. But he suggested that the current market conditions could pave the way for a debt deal, as private creditors see the value of their holdings plunge by as much as 60 percent. "When emerging market bonds trade at 40 cents on the dollar, private creditors suddenly become more open to negotiation," he said. "The incentives are to now join a negotiation where you might accept the haircut of 20 cents on the dollar, 15 cents on the dollar and 30 cents on the dollar."But willing creditors are not enough to actually nail down a much-needed debt-relief agreement, Gray Molina acknowledged. "The missing ingredients at this moment are financial assurances from major creditor governments to clinch a deal."Steiner, who has repeatedly raised the alarm about the crisis, voiced hope the international community might finally recognize that action is in everyone's shared interest. "Prevention is better than treatment and certainly... much, much cheaper than having to deal with a global recession," he said.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 11-12/2022
Egypt’s Institutionalized Discrimination against Its Coptic Christian Citizens
Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/October 11/2022
The president of Cairo University, Muhammad Uthman al-Khosht, recently assigned 31 new directors, deputy directors, managers, and researchers to head a number of departments, including those of agriculture, medicine, engineering, nursing, dentistry, statistical research, and African Studies.
Although the Copts—Egypt’s most indigenous, Christian, people—make up anywhere from 10-20% of its population, notable among these new Cairo University hires is that not a one of them is Christian. All are Muslim.
The significance of this news is not so much that discrimination against Christians in Egypt exists—which should be beyond obvious by now—but rather that it seems to permeate every single facet of Egyptian society.
As the Washington-based Coptic Solidarity (CS), an international human rights organization focused on the plight of Egypt’s Copts, reported last June:
Egypt currently has some 135 ambassadors on-post abroad, and about 20 consul-generals (with an administrative rank of ambassador).
Over the past few weeks, we at Coptic Solidarity were able to survey the names of 128 of these ambassadors and 16 consul-generals. The conclusions are consistent with previous surveys we’ve done over the past twenty years and kept in a database of Egyptian ambassadors and consul-generals created by Coptic Solidarity. Although Copts, the indigenous Christian inhabitants of Egypt, account for, at the very least, 10 percent of Egypt’s population—and should, therefore, account for, at the very least, 10 percent of Egypt’s diplomatic corps:
No Copts are appointed to any major Western capital (Washington, London, Paris, Bonn, Rome, Ottawa, etc.).
No Copts are appointed to any major non-Western capitals (Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, Delhi, etc.)
No Copts are appointed to any international organization.
No Copts are appointed to any Arab or Muslim country.
No Copts are appointed as consul-general—anywhere…
Similarly, in an attempt to demonstrate Egypt’s advancement concerning women, on March 3, 98 female judges took the legal oath in preparation for assuming judicial roles in Egypt’s State Council. This was considered a major and unprecedented development; since its inception 75 years earlier, not a single woman had sat on the podium of the State Council court—and now 98 are. And yet, not one of them is a Christian—again, despite the fact that the Copts account for between 10-20% of the nation’s population, suggesting that at the very least 10 of the 98 should have, for proper representation, been Copts.
Or consider the recent presidential decree for new deputy prosecutors. Out of 516 hires, a paltry five—meaning less than 1%—are Copts. The decree was signed by none other than President al-Sisi, whose lobbying agency in Washington D.C. boasts his efforts to ensure “meritocracy in civil service.”
Such overt discrimination persists even in less “formal” settings. Take football (American soccer), for example—a very popular national pastime in Egypt. As Aid to the Church in Need noted in a February, 2022 report,
Christians make up around 15% of the population of Egypt and are as football-crazy as their Muslim neighbours, but there is not a single Copt in the national team….There are no official statistics on the number of Copts in Egypt, but estimates vary between 10% and 20%. … The fact that no Copts, of any denomination, are represented in top-level football, and therefore in the national team, stings.
Or as Coptic Solidarity’s president, Ms. Caroline Doss Esq., observed:
Sports are to be participated in by all. It is inconceivable that not a single Coptic athlete is skilled enough to represent Egypt in sports, particularly considering that Egypt is the 14th most populous country in the world with at least 15 million Copts. Your action is necessary to bring an end to this religiously-motivated discrimination.
Nor is such widespread discrimination against the Copts limited to Egyptian policies. Western elements, including those charged with combatting discrimination, tend to ignore it; at the very least, they certainly do not treat it the same way they would if the opposite was the case—if a Christian nation was openly discriminating against Muslim minorities.
Regarding this last example, CS has sent various letters and reports (several linked to here) to various responsible sporting committees, chief among them the Zurich-based FIFA (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association), an international governing body founded in 1904 to oversee international competition. FIFI reportedly takes accusations of discrimination very seriously. But as CS noted:
CS first reported widespread discrimination against Coptic athletes in Egypt to the International Olympic Committee and to FIFA in August 2016. Neither entity responded until European news outlets published stories on the topic in 2018 during the lead up to the World Cup. A FIFA employee finally contacted CS requesting additional information—twenty months after the original complaint was sent.
CS complied, but, to date, FIFA has done little if anything to reverse such discrimination.
Similarly, in the latest summer games in Tokyo, Egypt’s delegation included 141 athletes: one of them—0.7% of them—was a Copt. CS’s complaints to the IOC went on deaf ears.
Seemingly adding insult to injury, the IOC’s president recently visited Egypt, where he applauded the country’s bid to host the summer Olympic Games in 2036. There is no mention that he ever raised the issue of discrimination with the authorities.
In short, whereas actual, violent and murderous persecution against Egypt’s Christians is not uncommon, institutionalized and open discrimination against them permeates every aspect of Egyptian society.

China's Drug Attack on the US
Lawrence Kadish/Gatestone Institute/October 11/2022
The Chinese have a very long memory. And a strong sense of history.
If only Americans possessed both, for we would be able far better to understand the enormous consequences of the lethal drug abuse harming America from the massive quantities of death-dealing fentanyl being smuggled into our country, with its origins often a Chinese lab.
The Chinese know full well that a society's addiction to drugs can unravel a proud nation, stripping away its very sovereignty. When opium was brought to China in the 1700s, the British quickly used the drug as a means of gaining an economic advantage over its new trading partner. The addiction to the drug was so explosive that the Chinese emperor eventually sought to ban it. When his military destroyed warehouses full of the drug, the British responded with a crushing naval attack that became known as a series of Opium Wars.
Other Western nations followed Britain's lead, but it was England that forced a humiliating treaty on the Chinese, and evidently that cause-and-effect has never been forgotten by today's Chinese rulers.
So as a leading global manufacturer of fentanyl, China is unique in appreciating just how destabilizing such a drug can be to a nation.
In fact, this very issue was explored during a recent interview with the Communist Chinese Ambassador to the US, Qin Gang, who was quick to remind Newsweek that China knows full well the devastating impact of illicit drugs. Not surprisingly, he was quick to deny any suggestion their manufacturing of fentanyl was their way of "returning the favor" to Western nations.
He told the reporter that during the 18th and 19th Centuries, "China decided to ban the material to save its population and economy, the British launched the Opium War, which started a century of humiliation for China, marked by a slate of unequal treaties and waves of Western aggressions. The repercussions of history are felt even today. With such searing pains in our national memory, China holds an understandably stronger antipathy for narcotics than any other country, as displayed in its zero-tolerance attitude towards all narcotic drugs, as well as stringent control and tough punishment measures. Thanks to these efforts, narcotics are not endemic in China."
One might suggest that the Ambassador has revealed more than he intended.
China said in word and deed that they intend to recapture what they view as their historic role as a global superpower. Using military force might seem appealing, but as Vladimir Putin's blunder in Ukraine has demonstrated, things do not always go as planned. By introducing destabilizing addictive drugs, coupled with alliances with mega-billionaires who know no allegiance to a nation but, rather, to their own profits, China could simply wait for events to play out.
As Qin observed in his interview, China's descent into nationwide addiction more than two hundred years ago led to "a century of humiliation..." That experience is apparently seared into their national consciousness: they know full well the power of addiction as a national weapon. With that appreciation, the drug dealers and criminal middlemen who peddle the fentanyl may very well be just someone's useful soldiers in a far larger scheme of redefining who will be the dominant global power for the rest of this century.
*Lawrence Kadish serves on the Board of Governors of Gatestone Institute.
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What Does Washington Want from the Oil of OPEC+?
Nadim Koteich/Asharq Al-Awsat//October,11/2022
The White House has gone too far in its reaction to the OPEC+ decision to cut oil production by two million barrels a day. The decision was framed as a Saudi attack on the US aimed at influencing the midterm elections by raising the price American voters pay for oil and fueling resentment at the Democrats. Some have even leaped to the conclusion that Riyadh has chosen to ally with Moscow in the ongoing battle between the latter and Western capitals being waged against the backdrop of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Over the past few days, the major liberal newspapers have been brimming with commentary and statements from members of Congress suggesting marvelously creative punitive measures against Saudi Arabia, giving one the impression that this was a sovereign decision Saudi Arabia had taken alone and that the US is the sole target of this decision globally.
Since oil is a universally strategic commodity, an obvious question comes to mind: why did neither India nor China consider the decision to cut production, which aims to stop prices from dropping further, to have been taken to undermine their interests? Indeed, these two countries are facing far more grave economic challenges than the US and will thus take a bigger hit from the rise in oil prices. Is it a secret to anyone that India and China are competing over every drop of oil they can obtain at a discount, especially Iranian and Russian oil, as they seek to cut costs and reduce the pressure their economies are under? Why has Germany, the European country most dependent on Russian energy, decided to seek agreements and develop solutions with the Gulf states instead of populist rhetorical escalation against the Kingdom?
Moreover, what harms the global economy more, Iran’s direct role in prolonging the Russian-Ukrainian conflict (or at least its criminal intention to do so, as demonstrated by its decision to send Moscow drones to bomb Ukrainian cities with), or the decision of OPEC+- the hostility to which wise, calm figures within the administration, such as Amos Hochstein, have played down? Indeed, he refrained from hastily and unfoundedly calling it an act of aggression, only saying that, in his opinion, it was a wrong decision.
These questions do not need answers; they answered themselves as soon as the fog of populist statements from Washington subsided.
The superficial and hasty conclusion that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has chosen to align itself with Russia in the latter’s conflict with Ukraine is nothing short of detached from reality. Does it imply that the United Arab Emirates, the only Arab state currently in the Security Council, thus representing shared Arab interests within it, went against Saudi Arabia by voting to condemn Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions?
Riyadh has not issued an opposing stance to that taken by the UAE at the Security Council, meaning that the decision of the UAE does not express the position of Abu Dhabi alone but reflects a solid joint understanding among the Arabs that this position in their interests, even if the proposed resolution did not pass because of a Russian veto. How, then, could Saudi Arabia be allied with Russia and supportive of its war when it comes to oil but opposed to it regarding the outcome of the war itself?
After calming down, Washington needs to ask itself, why have we seen prices drop the way they have since August 30 despite the fact that Saudi Arabia had not taken any serious technical or political measures to precipitate this decline?
The fact of the matter is that this drop in prices is a reflection of the dynamics of the oil markets, which are affected by an array of shifting, constantly effervescing factors. These factors include apprehensions created by the war between Russia and Ukraine and the implications of the coronavirus pandemic that we continue to feel, especially in China, where mass lockdowns are still being imposed, reducing its demand for oil. Added to them are the facts that central banks around the world are raising interest rates and that recession is on the horizon in Europe and across the world.
Why are scientific and technical reasons accepted in explaining the decline of the price of oil since August 30 but not in explaining the decision taken by OPEC+?
Some of the reactions to the OPEC+ decision have gone as far as suggesting support for a longstanding legislative proposal known as “NOPEC,” which stipulates holding the OPEC+ cartel legally responsible in the event that it is proven that its member states had colluded to manipulate prices!
Floating such proposals is enough to toxify the oil market, stir panic, and raise prices far higher than any OPEC+ decision can.
To reiterate, oil is a strategic commodity, and decisions regarding this commodity could have ramifications that go beyond the economy, affecting politics and even questions tied to national security.
It seems that the truth of the matter, which has been articulated by American officials and commentators, is that it is Washington that is demanding the politicization of oil prices. The Biden administration wants OPEC+ to take decisions aimed at punishing Russia by reducing the profits it makes from the sale of oil and uses to fund its war on Ukraine. That is, it demands that countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and others pay the bill for punishing Vladimir Putin’s regime without the US accounting for the interests and security concerns of these countries regarding the matters that concern them.
Though it has political ramifications, the decision taken by OPEC+ is technical. As for what Washington wants, it is the decision on the matter to be purely political and aimed at weaponizing energy to confront the weaponization against Europe by Putin’s regime through halting gas exports. Let us assume that this was possible without implying significant economic, political, and security ramifications on the countries concerned with the decision; why would they do Washington this service?
Did the US administration act in accordance with the interests of Saudi Arabia regarding the question of whether to designate the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization? Have the concerns of Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies regarding the nuclear deal with Iran, which the Biden administration still seeks to conclude, been resolved? Has the US administration u-turned on its negative position regarding arms deals?

Elon Musk Taps His Inner Trump in Twitter Machinations
Timothy L. O'Brien/Bloomberg/October,11/2022
Maybe Elon Musk will acquire Twitter Inc. before a court-appointed Oct. 28 deadline to complete the $44 billion acquisition rolls around. Maybe the price of Tesla Inc.’s shares, currency that Musk may need to rely on to help pay for the deal, will bounce back from a grinding downturn. Maybe the seven banks that have arranged a $13 billion loan — and stand to lose as much as $500 million on the transaction — will hang tough. Maybe the coalition of rich guys and venture capitalists who promised to chip in $7 billion to support Musk’s bid will stick around.
That’s a lot of maybes, however, even for an entrepreneur accustomed to vaulting past expectations while also peddling ill-informed bunk about a wide range of subjects, including Covid-19, reality TV, reproduction, Martian democracy and the fates of Taiwan and Ukraine. And this time, for the first time, Musk has the law closely corralling his shenanigans. (Previous tepid monitoring and slaps on the wrist from the Securities and Exchange Commission don’t count.)
The lying, spin and misdirection Musk has attached to his Twitter bid might have been fun when he first hatched the offer, but a judge is looking now. Yes, he’s the world’s richest person, but his sagging Tesla shares, among his most liquid holdings, lost 16% of their value last week after the company’s car sales didn’t meet expectations. He may have to fork over more cash or sell assets such as part of his stake in Space Exploration Technology Corp. to fully fund the takeover. Reality is catching up to Musk, and it’s all very Trumpy.
There are distinct differences between Musk and former President Donald Trump, of course. Musk hasn’t been running around fomenting coups, for example, so the fallout from his brinksmanship is less consequential. But he has run roughshod over business norms, securities regulations and the truth in his pursuit of Twitter, wasting a lot of other people’s time and money and toying with the fates of Twitter’s 7,500 employees. His penchant for doing as he pleases without worrying about the damage is in sync with Trump’s own mojo.
Both men are thin-skinned and unpredictable; they both revel in lashing out at their critics on social media; they both use social media to foster cults of personality; and they both seem to think they possess a universal intelligence.
Musk and Trump have also both attracted flocks of courtiers and enablers who are eager to further their own ambitions, bask in their access to power or make a little money. Such sycophancy has produced rafts of tragicomic propaganda.
“Donald Trump is at his very best, at his very best, when he talks about the issues,” the former president’s adviser, Kellyanne Conway once said of the man who studiously avoided learning anything about most issues. Jack Dorsey, a Twitter founder and former chief executive officer whose mismanagement of the company helped make it a takeover target, waxed heroic about Musk’s attempted buyout: “Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.”
Extending the light of consciousness doesn’t really seem to be the animating force behind Musk’s Twitter bid. What is? Well, Musk will tell you that it’s “an accelerant to creating X, the everything app.” Ah, yes, the everything app. As my colleague Parmy Olson pointed out, an app that meets every consumer need has enormous business appeal, and some already exist in places like China. But US regulators are unlikely to sign off on a venture like that and, as Olson also noted, “it’s probably not the best idea for someone as volatile as Musk to oversee an app on which millions engage in social commentary, payments, shopping, identification and more.”
But saying you have a mega-app called “X” in mind, without putting any clothing on the idea, sends out just the right amount of guru-ness to the fanbase. When one Musk follower told him on Twitter that it “would have been easier to just start X from scratch,” Musk hit that softball out of the park with this reply: “Twitter probably accelerates X by 3 to 5 years, but I could be wrong.”
Translation: “Twitter, which I don’t own yet and which is in a notoriously fickle industry that I have never worked in, will speed up the development of an unknown X I’ve never really elaborated upon, and by a metric I just invented.” This sounds like, wait for it, wait for it … Trump.
The former president has been fumbling through the launch of a Twitter competitor because managing media companies is hard, and money and celebrity alone aren’t enough to make them successful. He entered the White House promising to bring business-like efficiency to the Washington swamp but never really elaborated on the concept. And then he bestowed chaos on everything around him and filled the swamp with his own people. “I will give you everything,” Trump promised when he campaigned for the presidency and didn’t deliver on most of it.
A significant portion of Trump’s more concrete actions, many involving potential election fraud and financial wrongdoing, have landed him in the lap of the law. State and federal civil and criminal prosecutions of Trump and his minions are afoot. Trump has circumnavigated the rule of law for decades, and he may prove elusive again, but he’s facing some formidable challenges.
Musk — who has amazing, outsize accomplishments under his belt at Tesla and SpaceX — isn’t anywhere close to the kinds of existential legal problems Trump is enduring. Still, for someone who routinely thumbed his nose at the SEC, his experience going against Twitter in the Delaware Chancery Court to try to extricate himself from the buyout has to have been a sobering experience. The case was an embarrassment for Musk. Cringeworthy text messages and other communications were released. And Judge Kathaleen McCormick has presided over the matter with an iron fist, refusing to let Musk or his lawyers get away with any hijinks. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to win in court and would have to endure a grueling deposition, Musk pulled the plug on the case and is now revisiting the Twitter takeover. The court caught up with him. Musk has also ventured into dangerous legal territory. If he doesn’t have a deal in place by Oct. 28, McCormick plans to proceed with a trial in November. He also told the judge — not just investors and the media — that he intends to complete the buyout. She might decide to force him to close the deal, or she might find evidence of securities fraud in his court machinations. Some investors are also probably waiting in the wings, ready to sue Musk if he doesn’t follow through.
That’s a lot of pressure. And Musk will most likely slip past most of it. Even so, his Twitter foray has made him recognizable to anyone who has seen Trump exposed on multiple occasions — as the emperor who has no clothes.