English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 09/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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15 آذار/2023

Bible Quotations For today
Easter Sunday/Rejoice! Christ Has Risen
Saint Mark 16/01-08/:”When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 08-09/2023
Resurrection: Life, Faith And Death…Halleluiah, Jesus Has Risen, Indeed He Has Risen/Elias Bejjani/April 09/2023
Al-Rahi enumerates in his Easter message Lebanon's social, economic, medical & educational problems, asks officials: Don't you feel ashamed?
Israeli army shoots down drone from Lebanon
Russia asks Israel, Palestinians and Lebanon to defuse tensions
EU condemns rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel, urges 'restraint'
US warns against 'use of Lebanon as launchpad for rocket attacks'
Army: Missile platforms found in Al-Qulaila Plain
Lebanon files complaint at UN Security Council: For condemning Israeli aggression, obliging Israel to stop its violation of Lebanon's sovereignty,...
Berri expresses Easter greetings: We hope that this occasion will bring hope for the resurrection of Lebanon
President Aoun: Resurrection is the light that overcomes all darkness
Mikati's Press Office: Any BDL governorship appointment will only take place at the cabinet's table
Information Ministry denies circulated news about abandoning Tele-Liban's Hazmieh building in favor of Producer Al-Sabah, affirms observation of...
Environment Minister from Bhanness Center: We have detected signals related to the work of mountain-violating quarries
Bou Assi: Haniyeh's government is complicit in turning Lebanon into a mailbox
Retired Military Servicemen refuse any wage increase that does not meet their demands
NSSF launches electronic access to personal and business records amid electricity crisis
The role of judges: Challenges ahead for Lebanon's upcoming municipal elections
Public Procurement Authority recommends cancellation of postal services contract
One year after IMF staff-level agreement, Lebanon fails to implement reform package
PM Mikati's office denies alleged BDL appointment deal
$20 million wasted on incomplete Olympic swimming pool in Lebanon

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 08-09/2023
Netanyahu mobilizes reserves after deadly Tel Aviv, W. Bank attacks
Father of British sisters shot dead in West Bank terrorist attack says 'justice will be done'
Israelis protest judicial overhaul despite violence surge
Israeli military: 3 rockets fired from Syria toward Israel
6 civilians martyred in landmine blast, Homs countryside
Turkey's parliament adopts first legislative decisions to operate its gas center
Iran, Azerbaijan foreign ministers in talks amid tensions - Iranian state media
Iran Installs Cameras in Public Places to Identify, Penalize Unveiled Women
EU Calls for Restraint, Calm amid Israel-Palestinian Clashes
US Warns Assad: No Impunity for Users of Chemical Weapons
Iraq, Syria's Kurdish leader condemn attack on airport
Iraq Calls on Türkiye to ‘Apologize’ for Shelling Sulaymaniyah Airport
US Stresses Need to Transfer Power in Sudan to Civilians
Missile Fired from Ukraine Shot Down over Crimean Town
Zelensky: Crimea Must Be Restored to Ukraine
North Korea tests nuclear-capable underwater attack drone with ‘fatal attack ability’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 08-09/2023
The Trump Indictment Is a Legal Embarrassment/Jed Handelsman Shugerman/Asharq Al-Awsat/April, 09/2023
'A New World Order'? The Iran-Russia-China Axis During the Biden Administration/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/April 8, 2023
This Easter, the resurrection of a new Middle East might be upon us/Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/April 08, 2023
Change of course: Finland’s shift from neutrality/Dr. Diana Galeeva/Arab News/April 08, 2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 08-09/2023
Resurrection: Life, Faith And Death…Halleluiah, Jesus Has Risen, Indeed He Has Risen.
Elias Bejjani/April 09/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/38553/elias-bejjani-resurrection-life-faith-and-death/
Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here (Mark 16/05)
Easter Sunday is a holy feast of love, humility, forgiveness, brotherhood, tolerance and repentance. Religiously and consciously we are not supposed to participate by any means in any of the feast prayers or make any offerings or receive the Holy Communion unless we are genuinely replace hatred with love, grudges with forgiveness, rejection of others with tolerance, arrogance with humility, greed with contentment, deception with transparency, and evil with righteousness.
Do not be afraid, “Don’t be amazed”, with these reassuring and soothing words The Angel spoke to Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. They had came to the tomb on Sunday morning to mummify and anoint Jesus’ Body as the Jewish tradition required. They thought death had defeated Jesus and ended His life as it does to every human being. On their way, they were sadly thinking and wondering who will roll for them the stone away from the tomb’s entrance so they can get in and perform the mummifying and anointing process. While halfway from the tomb, they saw that the enormous stone had been rolled away. When they entered the tomb they found that Jesus’ body was not there. They found only the shrouds that His body was wrapped with on His burial after the crucifixion.
Saint Mark’s (16/01-13) Gospel describes thoroughly what has happened with these three loyal and faithful women: “When the Sabbath was, past Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 16:2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back. Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’” They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid. Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. When they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved. After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either.”
Lord Jesus who died on the cross, had risen from the dead on the third day just as He has said while proclaiming His message. He triumphed over death, defeated the forces of darkness, overcame pain, abolished anguish and brought despair to an end. He rose from the tomb to be constantly with those faithful to Him throughout their lives, and to never abandon them. He shall empower forever those who believe in His message and observe His commandments with the spirit of truth, knowledge, wisdom and solidarity with His Father, Almighty God.
Christ is the Way, Christ is the Truth, and Christ is the actual eternal life that we long for. We strongly believe with full conviction that Christ dwells in His Holy Church, and exists in its Mysteries (Sacraments). He is always present in the Holy Eucharist that we receive during every mass. Christ at all times is ready, willing and delighted to help us in our burdens when we call on Him and ask for His mercy. “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew11:28)
The miracle of resurrection is the cornerstone of our Christian faith. This pivotal liturgical fact was strongly stressed by Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, (15/12-26): ” Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain. Yes, we are found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up, if it is so that the dead are not raised. For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming. Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death”.
Through Crucifixion and resurrection, Christ has overcome death, broke its thorn, and granted us His eternal forgiveness from the original sin. With His death and resurrection, death in its traditional earthly human concept has been abolished forever and Sin since then has become the actual death that leads the sinners to Gahanna into the unquenchable fire.
When our bodies die, we sleep in the hope of resurrection. On Jesus’ return on the Day of Judgment, the dead will be the first to rise and escort Him. “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed”, (Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 15 / 51-52).
Easter Sunday is a holy feast of love, humility, forgiveness, brotherhood, tolerance and repentance. Religiously we are not to participate in any of these feast prayers or make any offerings or receive the Holy Communion unless we replace hatred with love, grudges with forgiveness, rejection of others with tolerance, arrogance with humility, greed with contentment, deception with transparency, and evil with righteousness.
If we do not learn how to tame our selfishness, anger, hatred and forgive others for whatever evil deeds they commit against us and reconcile with them, than we do not qualify to be called Jesus’ followers. Our prayers will not be heard or responded to, if we do not practice the grace of forgiveness as did He who was crucified for our salvation.
“If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift”. (Matthew 5/23-24).
Meanwhile our true faith in Jesus and in His Sacrifices won’t be complete unless we adopt in our thinking, deeds and language the pure components of sacrifice, honesty, truth, self respect, meekness and decency. “Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4/29-32)
For our prayers to be looked upon and heard by Almighty God, we are required to reconcile with ourselves and with all others on whom we have inflicted pain and injustice, and treated with an evil manner. To please the Lord we are required to genuinely, heartily and overtly perform all required acts of repentance for all our mischievous conducts and wrongdoings. Mark 11/24-26: “Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions”
Almighty God has endowed us with His love talent, (minas) and expects us to faithfully invest it in helping others who are in need. He expect us to observe all the teaching of His Bible so that He will reward us on the Day of Judgment and put us on His Right Side.
On this Holy Day of Resurrection, we are ought to be aware that Jesus’ Holy blood was shed on the Cross for our sake. Remembrance of His death and resurrection is a Godly consignment that we are entrusted with. It’s up to us either to honour this trust or betray it. In regards to what is committed to us, Saint Paul conveyed to his disciple Timothy the following advice (6/20-21): “Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called; which some professing have erred concerning the faith”.
Halleluiah! Jesus has risen! Indeed He has risen.

Al-Rahi enumerates in his Easter message Lebanon's social, economic, medical & educational problems, asks officials: Don't you feel ashamed?
NNA/April 08/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/117264/117264/
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, addressed this morning the message of Easter to the Lebanese in general, and Christians in particular, both residents and emigrants, from the "Church of Our Lady" in Bkirki entitled: “Christ has Risen, indeed He has Risen!"
In his religious sermon, the Patriarch said: "I chose as a topic for this message the words of St. Paul the Apostle: Jesus, the head of the body of the Church, is the first and the firstborn, risen from the dead (Col 1:18)...Christ rose to raise us up from physical death, of course, and especially from spiritual death through sin, and from moral and psychological death through despair and loss of hope...In our historical march, Christianity was born from His resurrection. Therefore, the most important event ever in the history of the world is that Jesus died, rose, and is alive forever, so David sang to him in his Psalms: This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!"
"The talk about the mystery of redemption through death and resurrection is not limited to the community of believers, but includes, in a special way, the civil officials who have dedicated their souls to political action in order to secure the common good. If they do not achieve in themselves the 'resurrection of the heart' and pass from a state of sin to a state of grace, they would remain preoccupied with the destruction of the state, the destruction of its institutions, the waste of its money and its bankruptcy, the destruction of its economy, the impoverishment of its citizens and the degradation of its people, and the undermining of the future of its promising generations, and the dispersion of its living forces in four countries of the world...."
Al-,Rahi continued: "Last Wednesday, we lived with the Christian deputies in the shadow of Our Lady of Lebanon-Harissa, a spiritual retreat filled with shared joy as a result of our listening together to two meditations from the Bible. They sowed in the hearts of everyone the joy of God’s work as a first initiator, and the joy of the work expected from man to complete the divine work in us and in the circle of our surroundings and our network of relationships with all people. This joy is the fruit resulting from hearing the word of God, because the divine word enters the depth of man’s heart and thought and motivates him to live it through actions and initiatives... So we thank the Lord for this blessing, and we thank all those who accompanied us with their prayers. Of course, the deputies set off, returning to the areas of their hard work and heavy duties with regard to the fate of the state, the people, the entity, and the land and their parliamentary national conscience and responsibilities, such as electing a president of the republic who enjoys internal and external confidence; otherwise their council will remain suspended from legislation and accountability while they occupy a position empty of its content, and the state remains without a government with full powers, ministries and public administrations scattered, the judiciary suspended and submissive...and illegal weapons remain in a state of chaos dragging Lebanon and its people towards the blows of wars which it did not decide and did not respond to, like yesterday's incident on the south borders, despite the Security Council resolutions, most important of which being Resolution #1701..."
The Patriarch went on to count the endless sufferings and problems of the Lebanese during these unprecedented times in the country, asking officials, "Don't you feel ashamed?!"
He added: "Whether you, officials in the ministries, fulfill your duties that justify the reason for your presence in government, or not, the Church will cling more and more to its conscientious duty to serve those whom the Lord Jesus called his “little brothers” (Matthew 25: 40), in order to secure their rights and protect their dignity...""At the conclusion of this Easter message, we jointly renew our commitment to hope in changing the face of this world, because we are the sons and daughters of the Resurrection. Let our message towards our people be to consecrate them in this Christian hope, for Christ has Risen to make everything new. Yes, Christ is Risen, truly Risen!"

Israeli army shoots down drone from Lebanon
Agence France Presse/Sat, April 8, 2023
Israel's military said soldiers had shot down a drone that entered its airspace from Lebanon a day after a barrage of rockets was fired into Israel. Friday's incident came hours after Israel bombarded Lebanon following the rocket fire that the Israeli army blamed on Palestinian militants. An Israeli army statement said "soldiers identified and downed a drone crossing from Lebanese territory into Israeli territory towards the town of Zarit."It added that the military would "continue to prevent any attempt to violate Israeli sovereignty."The Israeli military's pre-dawn strike into southern Lebanon on Friday was in response to more than 30 rockets fired from Lebanon on Thursday. It was the biggest cross-border escalation since Israel fought a 34-day conflict with Hezbollah in 2006. Israel's military also targeted infrastructure of the ruling Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The violence came amid an upsurge in tensions during Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious holidays. It follows the storming early Wednesday by Israeli riot police of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest site.

Russia asks Israel, Palestinians and Lebanon to defuse tensions
Agence France Presse/Sat, April 8, 2023
Russia has called on Israel, the Palestinians and Lebanon to end the "escalation" of violence, saying it was "deeply" concerned. "We call on the parties involved in the conflict to refrain from confrontational steps, to act in the interests of preventing further escalation, ending violence and restoring a sustainable ceasefire," the foreign ministry said.

EU condemns rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel, urges 'restraint'
Agence France Presse/Sat, April 8, 2023
The European Union on Saturday condemned deadly attacks in Israel and a barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon that triggered Israeli strikes and called for "restraint."
"The EU expresses its total condemnation of these acts of violence. This must cease," the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement after Friday's attacks in Israel. Two British-Israeli sisters aged 16 and 20 were killed and their mother seriously wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank, while an Italian tourist was killed and seven others wounded in Tel Aviv when a car rammed into people walking on a cycling path. Borrell also condemned the "indiscriminate" rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. There has been an escalation of violence since Israeli police clashed with Palestinians on Wednesday inside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque, with Israel bombarding both Gaza and Lebanon following the rocket fire by Palestinian militants. "We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, to avoid further escalation and promote calm for the ongoing religious holidays," Borrell said. "Israel has the right to defend itself. At the same time, any response must be proportionate."The latest flare-up in tensions comes during what is both the Jewish Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Borrell added the "status quo of all the holy sites must be preserved."

US warns against 'use of Lebanon as launchpad for rocket attacks'
Agence France Presse/Sat, April 8, 2023
The United States has said it supports ally Israel's "right to self-defense" after deadly attacks as well as rocket fire from Lebanon that triggered Israeli strikes.
"The targeting of innocent civilians of any nationality is unconscionable. The United States stands with the government and people of Israel," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement. The United States also voiced support for Israel over Lebanon, without explicitly backing the Israeli strikes on the Lebanese south in response to rocket fire by militants. "As we urge de-escalation on all sides, we recognize Israel's ability to exercise its inherent right to self-defense," another State Department spokesperson said. "The use of Lebanon as a launchpad for rocket attacks against Israel only puts Lebanon at risk and increases the potential for further conflict," he said. Violence has soared since Wednesday when Israeli police clashed with Palestinians inside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque, just as believers in the world's three major monotheistic religions were celebrating major holidays.
On Friday, two British-Israeli sisters aged 16 and 20 were killed and their mother seriously wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank, while an Italian tourist was killed and seven other people wounded in Tel Aviv when a car rammed into people walking on a cycling path. The vocal U.S. support for Israel comes after an unusually public spat as President Joe Biden pressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to drop a bid to weaken the judiciary. The plan by the hard-right government, which Netanyahu has put on hold, has set off major protests by Israelis who say it violates democratic principles.

Army: Missile platforms found in Al-Qulaila Plain
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
The Army Command announced today on its Twitter account that "an army unit found missile platforms and a number of missiles in the Sahl al-Qulaila that had been prepared for launching a few days ago," indicating that "work is underway to dismantle them."

Lebanon files complaint at UN Security Council: For condemning Israeli aggression, obliging Israel to stop its violation of Lebanon's sovereignty,...
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Abdallah Bou Habib, instructed Lebanon’s Acting Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Jean Murad, to present the letter of complaint sent by the Ministry on behalf of the Lebanese government to both the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the UN Security Council. In its complaint letter, Lebanon warned against the seriousness of the recent developments in the region, especially the villages in southern Lebanon, and affirmed its keenness on working to defuse the elements of strife and call for restraint and calm, while holding Israel responsible for the repercussions of any escalation that would blow up the situation on the southern Lebanese border. Moreover, Lebanon affirmed its adherence to the policy of restraint based on its awareness of the importance of stability and calm and its unwavering keenness to fulfill its international obligations. Nevertheless, it condemned the attacks carried out by Israel at dawn on Friday, April 7, 2023, on areas in southern Lebanon, which endangered the lives of civilians and the safety of Lebanese territories, deeming this an act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, a threat to the stability that southern Lebanon enjoyed, a blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution #1701 and a threat to international peace and security.
Lebanon also renewed its refusal to use its territory as a platform to destabilize the existing tranquility while preserving its legitimate right to self-defense, and reaffirmed that keeping the lines of communication open with the United Nations and UNIFIL is the best way to solve problems and maintain calm and stability; expressing its readiness to continuously cooperate with the peacekeeping forces on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution #1701, and its keenness on preserving calm and stability in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Lebanon cautioned against the critical situation and repercussions of provocative Israeli practices in Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the breach of the sanctity of the holy places, in addition to the unjustified use of excessive force in places of worship against worshipers. It also denounced Israel's refusal to comply with the calls of the Security Council and the international community to refrain from taking escalatory steps during the coinciding holiday season this year for the three monotheistic religions, as Israel, with its aggressive actions, exacerbated the security situation on the ground, and caused an atmosphere of tension in the region in general. Finally, Lebanon called in its letter on the Security Council and the international community to condemn the Israeli aggression in the strongest terms, and to oblige Israel to stop its violation of Lebanon's sovereignty by air, land and sea, and to cease its continuous threats to peace and security and implement all its obligations in accordance with Resolution # 1701.

Berri expresses Easter greetings: We hope that this occasion will bring hope for the resurrection of Lebanon
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
House Speaker Nabih Berri congratulated the Lebanese, in general, and Christians in particular, on the occasion of the glorious Easter holiday, hoping that “this blessed occasion will bring a ray of light and hopefulness for the resurrection of Lebanon and a date for the victory of the will of goodness and life among the Lebanese, and an end to the path of Calvary."Berri also sent a "greeting of pride and appreciation to Palestine, to the land of the owner of true resurrection and the first redeemer in history, the Lord Christ, Peace be Upon Him, where in the beginning was the word of truth and after the resurrection became an eternal word... From there, from the Mount of Olives and Al-Tur, to Jerusalem, to those who are in retreat in Al-Aqsa and its courtyards, today they are the good tidings and the promise of the resurrection and the passage from slavery and occupation to freedom and liberation.”

President Aoun: Resurrection is the light that overcomes all darkness
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
Former President Michel Aoun tweeted on the occasion of Easter, saying: "It is the resurrection, the light that overcomes all darkness, the love that conquers all evil, and the hope that defeats all despair...Christ is Risen!"

Mikati's Press Office: Any BDL governorship appointment will only take place at the cabinet's table
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s press office issued a statement on Saturday, in which it denied what was stated by journalist Johnny Mounayar in a televised interview that House Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Najib Mikati have agreed to appoint a respected figure in the Central Bank’s governorship post. The statement stressed that "PM Mikati's clear stance is that any appointment in this sensitive position will only take place at the cabinet table, and after consultation with the concerned leaders in advance.”

Information Ministry denies circulated news about abandoning Tele-Liban's Hazmieh building in favor of Producer Al-Sabah, affirms observation of...
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
The Ministry of Information issued a statement on Saturday, indicating that “one of the websites has deliberately broadcasted a baseless report claiming that Information Minister Ziad Al-Makary has relinquished the ‘Tele-Liban’ building in Hazmieh in favor of Producer Sadiq Al-Sabah, alleging that the Minister is in the process of signing an agreement by which Mr. Al-Sabah will be granted one of the real estate assets of the Ministry of Information to build a media production city.”The statement clarified that “the Ministry of Information, while reaffirming that the report's content is completely groundless, underlines that Mr. Al-Sabah is of great national value whom the Information Ministry, and any ministry, is proud to deal with, and has made significant contributions to many state ministries and departments and not vice versa.”It also emphasized that “the Ministry of Information takes into account in all its actions, the rules and laws in force, and therefore has no intention of signing any contract related to the Ministry’s real estate assets without observing the rules.”"The Ministry of Information urges all media outlets to exercise accuracy and caution, and to verify with the Ministry any news related to it before publishing," the statement concluded.

Environment Minister from Bhanness Center: We have detected signals related to the work of mountain-violating quarries
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Environment, Nasser Yassin, held a working meeting this morning with the Secretary-General of the National Council for Scientific Research, Tamara Al-Zein, and the team of the National Center for Geophysics in Bhanness. Following the meeting, Yassin said: "There was a scientific discussion with the center's scientists about monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis, but the main goal was to see what the center's monitoring devices have recorded in terms of irrational signals over the years, which, after assessment, appear to have their concentration and timing coupling with the work of the violating quarries that breach the mountains by blowing them up..."Yassin continued: "We have filed dozens of lawsuits against the owners of the violating quarries and requested their closure with red wax, and we will send this scientific information to the Cases Authority to include it in the lawsuit files, and to the Ministry of Interior to implement the closure decisions."

Bou Assi: Haniyeh's government is complicit in turning Lebanon into a mailbox
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
Member of the "Strong Republic" Parliamentary Bloc, MP Pierre Bou Assi, wrote today on Twitter: "Haniyeh's government is paralyzed or complicit in turning Lebanon into a mailbox...The government of Prime Minister Mikati must meet immediately to take steps to prevent the violation of sovereignty and endangering the security of the Lebanese with foreign agendas...It convenes for trivial reasons and falls slavishly before the violator of sovereignty...This is a cowardly disregard for the nation's supreme interest...What bad times!"

Retired Military Servicemen refuse any wage increase that does not meet their demands
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
The "Retired Military Servicemen Movement" rejected in a statement today any increase in wages that does not meet their rightful demands. It underlined that "the wage increase should be commensurate with the rate of inflation and the loss of the purchasing value of salaries, i.e. it should be balanced with the increase in the cost of the food basket and health, education and life services, in addition to the value of fees and taxes that have increased ten folds, and therefore the wage increase must be based on scientific study, not impromptu or random, following the policy of escaping forward." The statement also called for adopting the same criteria in increasing wages, applying justice and equality in the increase decided for military service retirees. "As the Movement warns the ministerial committee in charge of studying the wage increase file for the public sector against formulating proposals that deviate from these two demands, that is, ignoring the law and returning again to the arbitrary approach and discrimination, it affirms that it will confront with all strength and firmness any injustice affecting the rights of retired military servicemen and will hold the committee and the government responsible for any unfavourable consequences."

NSSF launches electronic access to personal and business records amid electricity crisis
LBCI/Sat, April 8, 2023
Lebanon's National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has announced its electronic services launch, enabling individuals to access their personal records and important documents online. In collaboration with the European Union (EU), the NSSF has activated several services on its official website, www.cnss.gov.lb, allowing citizens to view their personal identification cards and find out their declared salary from their employer. In addition, businesses can access their employee list and secondary name authorization for company transactions through the website after submitting their file to the NSSF. However, implementing these electronic services has been pending due to the ongoing electricity crisis in Lebanon. Generators are only on when employees are present, but the server is usually out of service when there is no power. This has led to delays in processing requests and accessing records. As a workaround, the NSSF advises individuals to organize their schedules on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, when employees are available at work. However, this schedule may change due to employee strikes or other unforeseen events.

The role of judges: Challenges ahead for Lebanon's upcoming municipal elections
LBCI/Sat, April 8, 2023
Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi recently announced the dates for the upcoming local and municipal elections, promising that every employee, including judges, will receive their due rights. However, it remains to be seen if judges are fully prepared to participate in the electoral process. LBCI contacted several judges, including those who participated in the recent parliamentary elections and those who did not, and they all agreed on their willingness to participate if called upon. According to their sources, judges are entrusted with applying the law and, therefore, will not contribute to striking the constitutional rights of citizens. Still, they expressed hidden concerns about their treatment in this process. Some judges complained about the delayed payment of their fees, which took around four months after the parliamentary elections, significantly reducing the value of their remuneration. Some even had to borrow money to cover fuel expenses and arrive at the election centers. Thus, judicial sources stress the need to organize the electoral process, particularly regarding fair compensation and payment mechanisms. Although the Interior Ministry indicated that in case any judges refuse to invoke any party to terminate the electoral process since there are no elections without judges. These judges preside over registration committees in the districts with two-level committees. The primary committee confirms the results issued by the heads of polling stations. In case of any errors or objections from one of the candidate's representatives, the committee re-counts the results. If one of the affected parties decides to appeal, it is submitted to the higher registration committee, which is headed by a chief appellate judge. The Supreme Judicial Council and the Council of State have sent lists of judges' names to the Interior Ministry through the Justice Ministry, but the judges have not yet been notified of their appointment. However, there are constitutional and legal issues here. If new appointments are made by decree, who will sign them instead of the President? If the last appointments are retained, there is a legal dilemma, as the decision was made only once for the parliamentary elections. Could this issue be a gateway to disrupt the municipal elections?

Public Procurement Authority recommends cancellation of postal services contract
LBCI/Sat, April 8, 2023
The Public Procurement Authority has recommended refraining from proceeding with the postal services contract that resulted in the victory of a single bidder, the alliance between Merit Invest and Colis Prive France. However, the recommendation points out significant violations that plagued the bidding process, leading to the acceptance of an offer that fails to meet the requirements set by the administration in the tender document. The Public Procurement Authority report concludes that due to the lack of sufficient experience of the bidder, there is a "legal impossibility for the two companies to fulfill the requirements of the tender document for the contract." This mainly concerns non-postal services for government entities, including government transactions (tax collection, licensing fees, etc.) and transactions with external entities (public facilities, etc.). Furthermore, the Public Procurement Authority has recommended re-announcing the tender and formulating contract annex and tender documents by replacing the term "total profit" in the Ministry's revenue calculation process, wherever it appears, with the term "total revenue" according to what is stated in the contract project and tender document. The authority says that the actual share of the state from the total revenues is less than 5% for six years, and not 15.5%, and does not exceed 5.5% for the entire nine-year contract period.

One year after IMF staff-level agreement, Lebanon fails to implement reform package
LBCI/Sat, April 8, 2023
It has been a year since Lebanon signed the staff-level agreement. It has yet to meet seven requests set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Lebanon was supposed to fulfill in exchange for signing an entire agreement and receiving financial aid of $3 billion. The first request, the amendment of bank secrecy provisions, was first introduced in May 2020. However, it took over two years for the law to be passed, and even then, it needed to be deemed adequate by the IMF, which rejected it and returned it to the President of the Republic to revise on August 1, 2022. The parliament studied the amendments from August to October 18, 2022, and finally passed a modified law after nearly three months. Ultimately, it was still inadequate and did not meet the IMF's requirements. In addition, the budget for 2022 was delayed for months and was rejected by the IMF. As for the 2023 budget, it was only approved in April, and its fate is still unknown. The second request, the forensic audit of the banking sector, has yet to be carried out. The fate of a proposal to create a budget for the Banque du Liban (BDL) and foreign reserves, which was supposed to be submitted in May 2022, has yet to be presented and remains to be determined. Moreover, the capital control law proposal has not been approved by the committees responsible for it. The restructuring of the banks is still a debate between the government and the Association of Banks, and its fate is unknown. Despite the dire financial situation in the country, the restructuring of the public sector has not been addressed by the government, which is instead focused on increasing salaries for public sector employees, including more than 7,000 employees who were hired illegally in 2018 for political reasons. Lebanon's failure to meet the IMF's demands is a cause for concern, as it puts the country's financial stability at risk. The future of the IMF agreement seems uncertain, and Lebanon is relying on a dwindling supply of hope.

PM Mikati's office denies alleged BDL appointment deal
LBCI/Sat, April 8, 2023
The media office of the Prime Minister Najib Mikati issued the following statement: "We deny what was stated by the journalist Johnny Mounayer in a television interview that 'Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Najib Mikati have agreed to appoint one of the respected figures in the governance of the Banque du Liban (BDL).' PM Mikati's government's position is clear, and any appointment to this sensitive position will only be made in the Cabinet after consultation with the relevant authorities in advance. This clarification was necessary."

$20 million wasted on incomplete Olympic swimming pool in Lebanon
LBCI/Sat, April 8, 2023
A whopping $20 million was spent on building an Olympic-sized swimming pool that has yet to be completed after 22 years. A study revealed 26 architectural defects in the construction, which prevented the project from meeting the required standards of an Olympic swimming pool.
Even the systems adopted do not conform to the soil type in the Naccache area. Shockingly, no electromechanical studies were conducted for building an Olympic-sized swimming pool in Lebanon, which contradicts the most basic principles of construction. This resulted in wasting around $9 million in the first phase. In the second phase, inspections revealed errors in execution and the specifications of the diving pool and the swimming pool, which needed to meet the standards of World Aquatics. Adding to the waste, the project was transferred from the Youth and Sports Ministry to the Council for Development and Reconstruction, with payments made despite all the defects and mistakes. However, this led to the project being awarded again to another company, Hicon, with $9.8 million to correct the mistakes and complete the project after the Aztec company failed to deliver.
The project cost an additional $8.7 million, $1 million, and $1.8 million, totaling $10.5 million for a project that has yet to be completed. In the details of this waste, the second phase was called optional, requiring $5.7 million that was not available, and the cost was raised to $8.7 million.
The World Aquatics then intervened to demand specifications that would make the swimming pool and diving pool meet Olympic and international standards at the cost of one million dollars. The cost then rose again to $1.8 million. The project now requires an additional $10.5 million to complete what was supposed to be finished in two years. After 22 years, building an Olympic swimming pool would have provided sports and economic services to Lebanon instead of becoming a blatant example of wasting public funds.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 08-09/2023
Netanyahu mobilizes reserves after deadly Tel Aviv, W. Bank attacks
Agence France Presse/Sat, April 8, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mobilized police and army reserves after separate attacks killed three people, including an Italian tourist, in the West Bank and Tel Aviv, in the latest escalation of deadly violence.
Despite appeals for restraint, violence has surged since Israeli police clashed with Palestinians Wednesday inside Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque, with Israel bombarding both Gaza and Lebanon following rocket fire by Palestinian militants.
The latest flare-up in tensions comes during what is both the Jewish Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Earlier on Friday, two British-Israeli sisters aged 16 and 20 were killed, and their mother seriously wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank. Israel's army said it had launched a manhunt for the perpetrators. Later, in central Tel Aviv, one man was killed and seven people aged between 17 and 74 wounded when a car rammed into pedestrians walking on a cycling path along the seafront, and flipped over, Israeli rescue services and police said. "All the victims were tourists," the Magen David Adom emergency service said. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni identified the deceased as 36-year-old Alessandro Parini. The Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv said it had received three injured Britons and one wounded Italian. A police spokesman told AFP that "the terrorist was neutralized, it was a terror attack against civilians, a car ramming attack." Shortly afterwards, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "instructed the Israel Police to mobilize all reserve border police units and has directed the IDF (Israeli army) to mobilize additional forces," his office said. Oded Revivi, mayor of the illegal settlement of Efrat, confirmed that the dead in the West Bank shooting were Israeli sisters aged 16 and 20, and that the wounded woman was their mother.
A British diplomat later confirmed that the two also held UK passports, while calling for "all parties... to de-escalate tensions."
Friday's attacks came after Israel launched air strikes and an artillery bombardment before dawn in response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. A Qatari official on Friday said Doha was mediating between Israel and the Palestinians. Doha -- which has previously mediated between Israel and Hamas -- "is working to deescalate the situation on all sides, with the latest contact being noon today," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Israeli riot police stormed the prayer hall of al-Aqsa mosque in a pre-dawn Wednesday raid aiming to dislodge "law-breaking youths and masked agitators" they said had barricaded themselves inside. The violence sparked an exchange of rockets and air strikes with militants in Gaza. U.N. chief Antonio Guterres has urged "all actors to exercise maximum restraint."The United States on Friday voiced solidarity with Israel after the Tel Aviv attack, saying that "the targeting of innocent civilians of any nationality is unconscionable," according to State Department spokesman Vedant Patel. France vowed "unwavering" support for "Israel's security and Lebanon's stability and sovereignty," while an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson "strongly condemned the attacks of the aggressor Zionist regime" and Russia called for a "lasting ceasefire."Hamas and Islamic Jihad told Egypt, a longstanding mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, that rocket fire would continue "if Israel continues its aggressions and air strikes but, if these aggressions stop, they will cease fire," Palestinian sources said.

Father of British sisters shot dead in West Bank terrorist attack says 'justice will be done'
James Rothwell/The Telegraph/April 8, 2023
Two British-Israeli sisters gunned down by Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank have been named as Rina and Maya Dee as their mother continued to fight for her life in hospital.Photographs of the young women, aged 15 and 20, were released to Israeli media after relatives had been notified on Saturday.
The sisters' mother, Lucianne, 45, remains in intensive care in Jerusalem after being evacuated by helicopter to hospital. She underwent surgery after being airlifted to Hadassah Medical Center.
Sisters' father issues statement
Born in London, the sisters were the children of Rabbi Leo Dee, formerly a senior rabbi at Radlett United Synagogue in Hertfordshire and assistant rabbi in Hendon, north London. The family relocated to Israel in 2014. Leo Dee graduated from Cambridge University with a masters in engineering and worked in venture capital before becoming a rabbi.He issued a statement on Saturday saying he felt confident that "justice would be done.""We are saddened about the current political tension in Israel which is caused by a lack of trust in its first religious zionist government," he said. He was referring to the presence of a number of religious, ultra-nationalist politicians with ministerial roles in Israel's new government, which was formed under prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in January. "Some people think that a religious government will suppress minority rights and become totalitarian," he added. "But this is not a risk in Israel as religious Jews simply believe in balancing love and justice. For our part, we have felt a warm hug of love from Jews in Israel and beyond and we are confident that justice will be done."
He works at the Zait Ranaan synagogue in Efrat.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered condolences to the family.
He said: “On behalf of all the citizens of Israel, I send my condolences to the Di Mafart family for the murder of the two wonderful sisters, Rina and Maya Zakharan, in the severe attack in the Bekaa. “In these moments, if the family is fighting for its life, and together with the entire nation of Israel, I pray for its safety, and we all send our condolences and strength to this dear family in this moment of great sorrow.” The Dee family emigrated to Israel from the UK some years ago and the mother, Lea, works as a teacher while Rina was studying in 10th grade according to local media reports. The sisters were travelling with their mother to a a hiking spot on Friday when they were shot by gunmen. The city, by the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, is accessible via a highway that passes through the West Bank.The Israeli army said on Saturday night that three rockets were launched at Israel from Syria, with one landing in the occupied Golan Heights. The other two rockets reportedly fell short in Syria and in Jordan respectively. The rocket launches are a fresh escalation as Israel faces rocket attacks from southern Lebanon, the Gaa Strip and now from Syria. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket launches, but a large number of pro-Iranian fighters are based in Syria, where Israel frequently carries out airstrikes on such groups.
Some 22 bullet casings found at the scene
The family were driving in two cars, with the father in front and his wife and two daughters behind him. Palestinian gunmen are said to have chased the car containing the three women off the road before riddling it with bullets. Some 22 bullet casings were found at the scene. The sisters' father turned his car around and returned to the scene as medics quickly arrived. Both sisters died at the scene. Grainy video footage posted online appeared to show the moment that the attackers' car slowed down, then the occupants opened fire, before doing a u-turn around the victims' vehicle and speeding off. The public identification of the sisters was delayed as the attack took place shortly before the start of the Jewish Shabbat, with their details only released after sundown on Saturday. The murders triggered an outpouring of grief in Efrat, a Jewish settlement near Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, as young residents held an impromptu vigil on Friday afternoon. "With great sorrow we received an update on a shocking terrorist attack in which terrorists shot a car including a mother and her two daughters, residents of Efrat," Oded Revivi, the mayor of Efrat, said in a post on Facebook.
"The father of the family who drove in another car from the front turned around and witnessed the efforts to take care of his wife and daughters," he said. The mother was being operated on as of Friday night, and before sundown the family's friends gathered in Efrat to hold a vigil. On Saturday night the Israeli defence ministry announced it was posting soldiers in central Israel to work alongside police in deterring further terrorist attacks. A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said: "We are saddened to hear about the deaths of two British-Israeli citizens and the serious injuries sustained by a third individual. “The UK calls for all parties across the region to de-escalate tensions.”

Israelis protest judicial overhaul despite violence surge
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) /Sat, April 8, 2023
Thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday for a weekly demonstration against the government’s contentious judicial overhaul plans, despite security concerns stemming from a surge in Israeli-Palestinian violence. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put his overhaul on hold after mass protests against the plan, which has brought together large swaths of Israeli society in opposition to a series of bills that aim to weaken the country's Supreme Court.The main protest in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial hub, was held less than two kilometers (a mile) from Friday’s attack, in which an Italian tourist was killed and five other Italian and British citizens were wounded when a car rammed into a group of tourists. In a separate incident, two British-Israeli women were shot to death near a settlement in the occupied West Bank. The spasm of violence in Israel and the West Bank has heightened fears of an even more intense surge, with the rare convergence of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, the Jewish Passover holiday and Easter currently underway. Leaders of the grassroots protest movement against the judicial overhaul called for the weekly mass protest to continue as planned Saturday, with tens of thousands of people attending for a 14th consecutive week. They portrayed the anti-government demonstration as a rally of solidarity with those killed and wounded in Friday’s attacks, as well as with Israelis living near the Lebanese border and the Gaza border affected by recent Palestinian rocket fire. In Tel Aviv, protesters held a moment of silence for the victims. The protest organizers argue that the overhaul plans have diminished Israel’s national security by roiling the military and weakening the country in the eyes of its enemies. Upon announcing the delaying of the proposed changes in Israel’s legal system, Netanyahu appeared to calm some of the tensions that have fueled three tumultuous months of unrest. But his announcement failed to address the underlying issues that have polarized the nation, and he has vowed to revive the plan in the coming weeks if negotiations on a compromise with the political opposition fail. The plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and his allies the final say in appointing the nation’s judges. It would also give parliament, which is controlled by his allies, authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit the court’s ability to review laws. Netanyahu's supporters say the plan is needed to rein in the powers of unelected judges. Opponents say it will destroy a system of checks and balances by concentrating power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies in parliament. They also say that Netanyahu, who has been indicted on corruption charges, has a conflict of interest at a time when he is on trial.

Israeli military: 3 rockets fired from Syria toward Israel
JERUSALEM (AP)/Sat, April 8, 2023
The Israeli military said Saturday that three rockets were launched from Syria toward Israeli territory, a rare attack from the country’s northeastern neighbor that comes after days of escalating violence on multiple fronts. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket launches, which caused no damage or casualties in Israel. Only one rocket managed to cross into Israeli territory and landed in a field in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. The unusual rocket fire from Syria comes against the backdrop of soaring Israeli-Palestinian tensions touched off by an Israeli police raid on Jerusalem's most sensitive site, the sacred compound home to the Al-Aqsa mosque. That outraged Palestinians marking the holy fasting month of Ramadan and prompted militants in Lebanon — as well as Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip — to fire a heavy barrage of rockets into Israel.
On Friday, Israeli warplanes struck sites allegedly linked to the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza and southern Lebanon. Capping the days of heightened violence, a shooting in the occupied West Bank and an alleged car-ramming in Tel Aviv killed two British-Israelis and an Italian tourist on Friday.
The escalation prompted Israel’s defense minister to extend a closure on Saturday barring entrance to Israel for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip for the duration of the Jewish holiday of Passover, while police beefed up forces in Jerusalem on the eve of sensitive religious celebrations.
The moves come after days of violence across the region at a time of heightened religious fervor – with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan coinciding with Passover and Easter celebrations. Jerusalem’s Old City, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, has been teeming with visitors and religious pilgrims from around the world. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that a closure imposed last Wednesday, on the eve of Passover, would remain in effect until the holiday ends on Wednesday night. The order prevents Palestinians from entering Israel for work or to pray in Jerusalem this week, though mass prayers were permitted at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday. Gallant also ordered the Israeli military to be prepared to assist Israeli police. The army later announced that it was deploying additional troops around Jerusalem and in the West Bank.
Over 2,000 police were expected to be deployed in Jerusalem on Sunday – when tens of thousands of Jews are expected to gather at the Western Wall for the special Passover priestly blessing. The Western Wall is the holiest site where Jews can pray and sits next to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where large crowds gather each day for prayers during Ramadan. Jerusalem police chief Doron Turgeman met with his commanders on Saturday for a security assessment. He accused the Hamas militant group, which rules the Gaza Strip, of trying to incite violence ahead of Sunday’s priestly blessing with false claims that Jews planned to storm the mosque. “We will allow the freedom of worship and we will allow the arrival of Muslims to pray,” he said, adding that police “will act with determination and sensitivity” to ensure that all faiths can celebrate safely. The current round of violence erupted earlier in the week after Israeli police raided the mosque, firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of Palestinians who had barricaded themselves inside. Violent scenes from the raid sparked unrest in the contested capital and outrage across the Arab world.

6 civilians martyred in landmine blast, Homs countryside
SANA/Sat, April 8, 2023
Homs, SANA - Six civilians were killed in landmine blast left behind by terrorists in al-Sukhna desert in Homs eastern countryside.An anti-tank mine left behind by Daesh terrorist organization, went off while a car was passing, carrying a number of people who are heading to collect truffles in Jabalal Al-Omour area in al-Sukhna desert, killing 6 civilians , SANA reporter said . On the 17th of last February, 53 citizens were killed while they were collecting truffles in an attack carried out by Daesh terrorists, southeast of al-Sukhna city in Homs eastern countryside.

Turkey's parliament adopts first legislative decisions to operate its gas center
NNA/Sat, April 8, 2023
The Turkish Parliament has begun working on adopting the necessary amendments to legislation and laws in order to operate the International Gas Trade Center, according to "Novosti" news agency. This was announced today by the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Donmez. "With the opening of the International Gas Trade Center, prices will also drop, which is important for Europe. Turkey will become one of the markets that determine the resale price of gas," the minister added, in an interview with the Turkish "CNN" network. The Turkish minister indicated that his country is studying options for cooperation with other countries to transport and sell gas to Europe.

Iran, Azerbaijan foreign ministers in talks amid tensions - Iranian state media
DUBAI (Reuters)/Sat, April 8, 2023
The foreign ministers of Iran and Azerbaijan discussed "problems and misunderstandings" between the two countries in two phone calls, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, days after Baku expelled four Iranian diplomats over "provocative actions". The expulsions came amid a deterioration of ties, partly due to Baku's improving relations with Tehran's arch-enemy Israel. The dispute came to a head when Baku last week opened an embassy in Israel. "In these frank and transparent discussions, existing problems and misunderstandings and solutions ...were discussed," state media said about the phone calls on Friday and Saturday between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov. "The two sides emphasised good neighbourliness and mutual respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the report said. During the row, Azerbaijan suggested that Iran may have been connected to an attempted assassination of an anti-Tehran Azerbaijani lawmaker. Tehran has denied the accusation. Iran, which has a large population of ethnic Azeris in its northwest, has strongly criticised Azerbaijan for moving closer to Israel, with its foreign ministry saying it sees the relationship between Azerbaijan and Israel as "anti-Iranian".

Iran Installs Cameras in Public Places to Identify, Penalize Unveiled Women
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 April, 2023
In a further attempt to rein in increasing numbers of women defying the compulsory dress code, Iranian authorities are installing cameras in public places and thoroughfares to identify and penalize unveiled women, the police announced on Saturday. After they have been identified, violators will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences”, police said in a statement. The move is aimed at “preventing resistance against the hijab law,” said the statement, carried by the judiciary’s Mizan news agency and other state media, adding that such resistance tarnishes the country’s spiritual image and spreads insecurity. A growing number of Iranian women have been ditching their veils since the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police last September. Mahsa Amini had been detained for allegedly violating the hijab rule. Security forces violently put down the revolt. Still, risking arrest for defying the obligatory dress code, women are still widely seen unveiled in malls, restaurants, shops and streets around the country. Videos of unveiled women resisting the morality police have flooded social media. Saturday's police statement called on owners of businesses to “seriously monitor the observance of societal norms with their diligent inspections”. Under Iran's religious law, imposed after the 1979 revolution, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to disguise their figures. Violators have faced public rebuke, fines or arrest. Describing the veil as "one of the civilizational foundations of the Iranian nation" and “one of the practical principles of the Islamic Republic,” an Interior Ministry statement said on March 30 that there would be no retreat on the issue. It urged citizens to confront unveiled women. Such directives have in past decades emboldened hardliners to attack women. Last week a viral video showed a man throwing yoghurt at two unveiled women in a shop.

EU Calls for Restraint, Calm amid Israel-Palestinian Clashes
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 April, 2023
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Saturday condemned the escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinians, urging all parties to exercise restraint and promote calm for the ongoing religious holidays. Israeli-Palestinian tensions mounted after an Italian tourist was killed and five people were wounded in a car ramming in Tel Aviv on Friday following a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank that killed two Israeli sisters. "Israel has the right to defend itself. At the same time, any response must be proportionate. The EU calls for an immediate end to the ongoing violence. Everything must be done to prevent the conflict from spreading," Borrell said in a statement. "We urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, to avoid further escalation and promote calm for the ongoing religious holidays," he said. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Judaism's Passover and Christian Easter are all occurring this month.

US Warns Assad: No Impunity for Users of Chemical Weapons
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 April, 2023
The United States slammed on Friday the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, warning that it will hold him to account for the chemical attacks it had launched during the conflict that erupted in 2011. “In January, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found the Assad regime responsible for the chemical attack on Douma in 2018 that killed 43, just as it was for the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun six years ago this week which killed nearly 100. There can be no impunity for users of chemical weapons,” the US Embassy in Syria tweeted. “No amount of Russian and regime disinformation can refute the facts and the thorough analysis of expert OPCW investigators. We know what happened in Douma, Khan Sheikhoun, and elsewhere in Syria, and we will continue to seek accountability for those responsible.”The government has repeatedly denied that it had used chemical weapons during the war. In wake of the Ghouta attack in 2013, it agreed to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal under a Russian-sponsored deal. Last week, the US imposed sanctions against two members of the Assad family for their role in the smuggling of Captagon narcotics. The sanctions, imposed in coordination between the US and the UK, targeted Samer Kamal al-Assad and Wassim Badi al-Assad. In 2020, 84 million Captagon pills were produced at a factory owned by Samer in Latakia, the US Treasury said. “Syria has become a global leader in the production of highly addictive Captagon, much of which is trafficked through Lebanon,” said Treasury official Andrea Gacki. The stimulant has spawned an illegal $10 billion industry.

Iraq, Syria's Kurdish leader condemn attack on airport
BAGHDAD (AP)/Sat, April 8, 2023
The commander of the main U.S.-backed force in Syria and Iraq’s presidency Saturday condemned what they say was a Turkish attack on an airport in northern Iraq. The condemnation came as the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed Saturday that its chief commander, Mazloum Abdi, was at the airport in northern Iraq at the time of the attack but withheld information until he returned home safely. Abdi later spoke to Kurdish media saying that at the time of the attack he was with troops from the U.S.-led coalition that is fighting the Islamic State group. Iraq’s presidency called the late Friday explosion in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region a “flagrant aggression against Iraq and its sovereignty” in the area. It called on Turkey to issue a formal apology, saying it should not continue “terrorizing” Iraqis in the north.
A representative of the Turkish defense ministry said he had no information about the incident. Turkey has spent years fighting Kurdish militants in its east and large Kurdish communities live in neighboring Iraq and Syria, where they have a degree of self-rule. Turkey considers the main Kurdish militia in northeast Syria an ally of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. The PKK has for decades waged an insurgency within Turkey. On Saturday, Iraq's National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji, heading a high-level security delegation, arrived in Suleimanyah to discuss the issue with local officials, the state news agency reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based opposition war monitor, and some local media reported Friday that the explosion next to the Suleimaniyah International Airport was a Turkish drone attack targeting Abdi, the leader of the SDF.The blast came days after Turkey closed its airspace to flights to and from the airport, citing an alleged increase in Kurdish militant activity threatening flight safety. The airport’s security directorate said an explosion took place near the fence surrounding the airport causing a fire but no injuries.
Officials with the SDF and the Kurdish regional government in northeast Syria said on Friday Abdi was not in Suleimaniyah at the time and was not the target of an attack. On Saturday, SDF spokesman Farhad Sham said in a statement that as part of their emergency security response related to the safety of our forces’ command, “we deliberately restricted the release of information about the Turkish attack on Sulaymaniyah airport, where our commander-in-chief, Mazloum Abdi, was present.”
Shami added that the restrictions were “done to ensure his safety until he arrived unharmed in the secure areas of north and eastern Syria.” Shami added that further details about the attack will released later.
Abdi later spoke with the Kurdish North press agency saying he was in a convoy that included troops from the U.S.-led coalition and members of the Iraqi Kurdish anti-terrorism force. He added that the SDF and anti-terrorism forces in northern Iraq have joint operations rooms and the U.S.-led coalition is aware of that. Asked about the reason behind the attack, Abdi said “it is a clear message from the Turks that they are bothered and oppose our international relations and they want to damage them.” Abdi added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is looking for a “free victory” ahead of the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections next month. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory, said Saturday that Abdi was not directly targeted but was near the airport holding a meeting with Kurdish officials when the Turkish military carried out the attack.
Retired U.S. Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a senior non-resident fellow at the U.S.-based New Lines Institute for Strategy, said the missile targeted a convoy carrying leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces as well as U.S. advisers to the Kurdish-led force. “Turkey sent a warning shot. A deadly and dangerous and provocative warning shot when it fired a missile at the convoy,” he said. Caggins added that it appears Turkey was sending a warning to both the United States and Iraqi Kurds to stop supporting the SDF. He added that Turkey is likely to continue such attacks “with impunity” because it says the SDF is aligned with the PKK and “therefore Turkey feels justified in targeting” the SDF. A statement from the Iraqi Kurdish regional government in Iraq on Friday appeared to blame local authorities in Suleimaniyah. It accused them of provoking an attack on the airport and using “government institutions” for “illegal activities.”
The regional government, with its seat in Irbil, is primarily controlled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, while Suleimaniyah is a stronghold of the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the regional government and a member of the PUK, rejected the regional government statement that appeared to cast blame on his party. He said the statement “represents only one party ... and cannot speak for the entire government.”“We strongly condemn the targeting of Suleimaniyah airport by Turkey,” Abdi tweeted Saturday, adding that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's support for “their brothers in Syria is bothering Turkey.” Abdi vowed that Syria’s Kurds “will continue with their principle relations with our brothers and allies in Suleimaniyah and we stand united against these violations.”Caggins said he expects that the leaders of Turkey are emboldened by their ability to conduct cross-border strikes into Syria and into Iraq because the only response has been a “little bit of finger wagging and minor protest from Baghdad and Damascus and Washington.”

Iraq Calls on Türkiye to ‘Apologize’ for Shelling Sulaymaniyah Airport
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 April, 2023
Iraq called on Türkiye on Saturday to apologize for what it said was the shelling of Sulaymaniyah airport in Iraq's north, saying the Turkish government must cease hostilities on Iraqi soil. The Iraqi presidency said in a statement that Türkiye has no legal justification to "continue its approach of intimidating civilians under the pretext that forces hostile to it are present on Iraqi soil." A drone attack hit the vicinity of Sulaymaniyah airport on Friday but caused no damage or delays or suspension of flights, Lawk Ghafuri, head of foreign media affairs for the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), wrote in a Twitter post late on Friday. The attack came a few days after Türkiye closed its airspace to aircraft traveling to and from Sulaymaniyah due to what it said was intensified activity there by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants.

US Stresses Need to Transfer Power in Sudan to Civilians
Khartoum - Ahmed Younis/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 April, 2023
The US on Friday reiterated its support for the ongoing political process in Sudan and expressed its readiness to support consultations with all Sudanese parties to overcome the challenges facing the final political agreement, accelerate its signing, and establish a credible transitional civilian government. Washington made the announcement following a second delay in signing a political agreement between civilians and the military following a dispute between the military and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On Thursday, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee held telephone calls with each of Khalid Omer Youssif, the spokesperson for the political process, and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the Sovereign Council and commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In a tweet, Phee said she underscored to Hemedti “US support for the aspirations of the Sudanese people to move now to transfer power to a civilian-led government.”In a Facebook post, Hemedti said he assured Phee that the political process was a rare opportunity to restore the course of the revolution and a necessary step to move forward towards a true democratic transition. In a separate tweet, Phee said she spoke to Youssif to “offer strong US support and advocacy for swift Sudanese action to complete the long journey of restoring the democratic transition.”Youssif said the US official affirmed her country’s support for the political process, based on the framework agreement signed between the civil forces and the military on December 5. He added that Phee underlined her administration's readiness to engage positively with all civil and military parties to overcome the remaining challenges to reach a final political agreement as soon as possible. On March 30, Phee spoke with General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sovereign Council, to express support for the “Sudanese people’s pressing demand to transfer power to a civilian-led government.”Joint US-Saudi efforts, which Phee has been a part of since June 2022, succeeded in bringing civilians and military officials together in direct talks, after they came to a halt following an October 2021 military coup. The US-Saudi efforts led to the formation of the Quartet Mechanism that also includes Britain and the United Arab Emirates. The signing of the final political agreement between civilians and the military was scheduled for early April. It was the second time in less than a week that the parties failed to meet a deadline to sign it. The deal aims to restore Sudan’s short-lived transition to democracy, which was halted by the October coup that removed a Western-supported, power-sharing administration.

Missile Fired from Ukraine Shot Down over Crimean Town
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 April, 2023
A missile fired from Ukraine was shot down over the Black Sea town of Feodosia in Russian-controlled Crimea, the Russian head of Crimea's administration said on Saturday. "A missile launched from Ukraine was shot down over Feodosia," Sergei Aksyonov said on Telegram. Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield reports. Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv has demanded that Moscow hand it back. Russia's TASS news agency quoted an adviser to Aksyonov, Oleg Kryuchkov, as saying that debris had fallen in a Crimean town, but no damage or casualties had been reported.

Zelensky: Crimea Must Be Restored to Ukraine
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 8 April, 2023
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Friday to recapture the Kremlin-controlled Crimea peninsula from Russia. During a first official state iftar, he said: “There is no alternative for Ukraine, or for the world, other than the de-occupation of Crimea. We will return to Crimea.” Zelensky, speaking at a mosque outside the center of the capital, Kyiv, announced that Ukraine was beginning a new tradition of hosting an official iftar, the meal breaking the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. "Ukraine is grateful to the Muslims of our country and to everyone in the Muslim community of the world who, like us, longs for peace and protection from evil," he added. Zelensky then handed out awards to several Muslim Ukrainian servicemen. Russia wrested control of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and pushed through a referendum on the annexation that was condemned as fraudulent and illegitimate by Ukraine and its Western allies. The Muslim Tatar community, which accounted for 12-15 percent of the two million Crimea residents, largely boycotted the 2014 vote. Moscow then banned the Mejlis -- the traditional assembly of the Tatar Muslims in Crimea -- declaring it an extremist organization and has jailed members of the community since, citing security concerns.

North Korea tests nuclear-capable underwater attack drone with ‘fatal attack ability’
Anuj PantThe Independent/April 8, 2023
The drone test is the latest in a flurry of other weapon tests carried out by the North in the wake of US-led drills being carried out in the Korean peninsula. The tests of the underwater drone were carried out in the span of four days, between 4 and 7 April, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said on Saturday. The tests were carried out just a little more than a week after the Kim Jong-un regime tested the first version of the drone, called “Haeil” – a Korean word meaning tidal waves or tsunamis. North Korea claims “Haeil-1”, tested at the end of March, can set off a “super-scale radioactive tsunami” that is designed to destroy ports and decimate naval fleets. “Haeil-1” had cruised for about 59 hours, according to KCNA, and was detonated under a mock enemy port off Hongwon Bay between the east coast cities of Hamhung and Sinpho.In contrast, tests for “Haeil-2” this month had the drone stay underwater for 71 hours and six minutes and cruise for 1,000km. “Haeil-2” also successfully detonated a mock warhead in waters near the eastern port city of Tanchon on Friday, said KCNA. “The test perfectly proved the reliability of the underwater strategic weapon system and its fatal attack ability,” KCNA said. The state-run news agency released photographs of the drone, which looks like a large, dark-coloured torpedo-shaped object. Also released were tracks of the object’s underwater trajectory and a blast visible on the sea surface. Analysts, however, were sceptical about the drone after “Haeil-1” was tested in March. Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, had raised questions over the North’s claims after the first test. “This uncrewed underwater vehicle will be vulnerable to anti-submarine warfare capabilities if it were to deploy beyond North Korea‘s coastal waters. It will also be susceptible to preemptive strikes when in port,” he had said. The KCNA report announcing the four-day test came just a day after Joe Biden’s special representative for North Korea met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Seoul. They issued a joint statement for stronger international support to counter North Korea. The North had on Thursday warned the West of “offensive action” over the expansion of US military exercises with South Korea. A day before the warning, the US flew nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Korean Peninsula for joint aerial exercises with South Korean warplanes.
In 2023 alone, North Korea fired around 30 missiles in 11 different launch events. These included an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the US mainland and shorter range, nuclear-capable weapons designed to hit targets on its neighbour.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 08-09/2023
The Trump Indictment Is a Legal Embarrassment
Jed Handelsman Shugerman/Asharq Al-Awsat/April, 09/2023
Tuesday was historic for the rule of law in America, but not in the way Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, would have imagined. The 34-count indictment — which more accurately could be described as 34 half-indictments — was a disaster. It was a setback for the rule of law and established a dangerous precedent for prosecutors.
This legal embarrassment reveals new layers of Trumpian damage to the legal foundations of the United States: Mr. Trump’s opponents react to his provocations and norms violations by escalating and accelerating the erosion of legal norms.
The case appears so weak on its legal and jurisdictional basis that a state judge might dismiss the case and mitigate that damage. More likely, the case is headed to federal court for a year, where it could lose on the grounds of federal pre-emption — only federal courts have jurisdiction over campaign finance and filing requirements. Even if it survives a challenge that could reach the Supreme Court, a trial would most likely not start until at least mid-2024, possibly even after the 2024 election.
Instead of the rule of law, it would be the rule of the circus.
Let’s start with the obvious problem that the payments at issue were made around six years ago. The basic facts have been public for five years. There are undoubtedly complicated political reasons for the delay, but regardless, Mr. Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., had almost a year to bring this case after Mr. Trump left office, but did not do so, and Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Justice Department also declined. To address the perception of a reversal and questions of legitimacy, Mr. Bragg had a duty to explain more about the case and its legal basis in what’s known as a speaking indictment, which the team of the former special counsel Robert Mueller made famous in its filings.
Legal experts have been speculating about the core criminal allegation in this case, because the expected charge for falsifying business records becomes a felony only “when his intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof,” according to New York State law. Astonishingly, the district attorney’s filings do not make clear the core crime that would turn a filing misdemeanor into a felony. Neither the 16-page indictment nor the accompanying statement of facts specifies, though the statement of facts does drop hints about campaign laws. In a news conference, Mr. Bragg answered that he did not specify because he was not required to by law. His answer was oblivious to how law requires more than doing the minimum to the letter — it demands fairness, giving notice and taking public legitimacy seriously.
As a result of all this, Mr. Trump and the public still know shockingly little about the case — not which particular statute he allegedly violated nor whether it is a state or federal campaign crime, a tax crime or something else. That’s why the indictment really contains only 34 half-counts. This open-ended indictment reflects a rule that jurors don’t have to agree on which underlying crime was committed, only that there had been an underlying crime, yet it is also standard when charging some cases to specify crimes in the alternative.
Giving only partial notice might be standard operating procedure in Manhattan, but that standard procedure — suddenly in the bright lights — seems like a systemic infringement of a New Yorker’s right to know “the nature of the charges and evidence against you,” per the Sixth Amendment. On the bright side, maybe the backlash will force Manhattan prosecutors to end this general practice. Still, it is hard not to ask whether Mr. Trump was actually treated worse than other similarly situated defendants, because after so many years of delay, surely a Manhattan prosecutor would have informed another defendant of at least the basic underlying crimes and their statutory basis.
The public could be forgiven for imagining that Mr. Bragg has not settled on his own theory. Unfortunately, he has given fodder to those who would portray this case as a political prosecution still in search of a legal theory.
Even based on the half-felony that we do know — the false business filing with intent to defraud — it remains unclear whether a court has ever allowed a false-filing conviction based on an entirely internal business record that no other party, like a bank, insurance company or customer, would have relied on. I have yet to see any legal experts who have argued for this statute as a basis for the case against Mr. Trump and have identified a New York case along these lines.
Nor have I found one in my own research. That hole in the case should have given prosecutors pause: What, in practice, is the meaning of “intent to defraud”? If a business record is internal, it is not obvious how a false filing could play a role in defrauding if other entities likely would not rely upon it and be deceived by it. Even if one can argue that the statute should apply to internal records, this is not the ideal time to test a seemingly novel (or even a very rare) application.
Because of pre-emption, it’s entirely possible that the State of New York cannot prosecute a state case based on a federal election filing violation. The underlying crime, as best as we can tell from Mr. Bragg’s news conference and a statement to the press, is a campaign finance violation — spending money for a campaign cover-up without reporting it. However, for a federal election, there is what one might call double pre-emption or confirmed pre-emption: Congress and the State of New York agree that cases about federal campaign filings are for federal courts only, not for states.
The Federal Election Campaign Act has a broad pre-emption clause: “The provisions of this act, and of rules prescribed under this act, supersede and pre-empt any provision of state law with respect to election to federal office.” New York State law confirms that state “filing requirements and the expenditure, contribution and receipt limits” under state law “shall not apply” if there is a federal requirement and a federal filing (in other words, they don’t apply to federal elections).
Federal pre-emption applies most strongly when the subject is the candidate’s own campaign conduct (as opposed to donors’, for example) and when it relates to core issues like filing rules (as in this case against Mr. Trump). Some defenders of the indictment cited some examples of federal courts allowing states to proceed based on state law, but those cases were not about basic campaign filing rules but about a fund-raiser funneling money to his own for-profit business, or they were about rules for donors’ contributions or political action committees, as opposed to the candidates’ conduct. These legal experts did not specify any case allowing a state to prosecute a candidate for his or her own behavior in a core area of campaign regulation like filing requirements.
Federal courts allow for states to regulate the times, places and manner of elections, voter registration, ballot theft and the like. They allow exceptions for pre-emption when the state laws are more tangential to the regulation of federal elections. This state filing law is not tangential to federal campaign filing law, nor is this allegation tangential to the field of federal campaign law. But federal courts have emphasized that the federal law applies most strongly to candidate behavior, especially on filing questions. The application of this state filing law overlaps much more closely with the federal law’s field of campaign finance and filing. There is good reason for pre-emption for federal campaign finance: the danger of local prosecutors bending state law against federal candidates of the opposing party. Congress and New York have traditionally agreed that federal campaign finance and filing law are for federal courts.
Pre-emption, abstention and federal jurisdiction are complicated. Even if there is a valid argument that somehow the state statute and this case are only tangential to federal election law or that federal courts should abstain from taking it, Mr. Trump’s lawyers still can go back to the game book from their tangle with the previous Manhattan district attorney, Trump v. Vance, and the subpoena for tax returns. Mr. Trump’s lawyers filed for an injunction in federal trial court, took the appeals up to the Supreme Court and delayed the subpoena for about a year. This case is headed up the same road. The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of federal pre-emption in cases with less clear pre-emption language, and Mr. Trump has a substantial chance of winning, given the clarity of the federal pre-emption language and confirmation of pre-emption in New York State law.
Even if Mr. Bragg prevails, would a trial eight or more years after the underlying events, either at the height of the 2024 election or soon after, really be a win for the rule of law?
Perhaps Tuesday was really an indictment of the Department of Justice under William Barr and Merrick Garland. If anyone should have brought this case, it was one of them. And if the Garland Justice Department should bring a case, there are stronger, more recent and much more serious charges to bring.

'A New World Order'? The Iran-Russia-China Axis During the Biden Administration
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/April 8, 2023
The Biden Administration has created a vacuum of leadership on the global stage.
If the US further pulls out of Asia, the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, Ukraine, Latin America -- anywhere -- the vacuum created will surely be filled by the new axis of China-Russia-Iran. A US pull-out is, most probably, just what they are hoping and waiting for.
If Putin sees any gains in Ukraine, China will try to seize Taiwan.
"We're sitting still, and the Chinese, the Russians, Iran, North Korea, and several others, are moving to shore up their relations and threaten us in a lot of different places... It's an indication that the Saudis and others are [also] trying to hedge their bets with China and Russia, because they don't think the United States has the resolve and the fortitude necessary to do what they need to do to protect the world against Iran and its intentions." — Former US National Security Advisor John R. Bolton, yahoo.com, March 12, 2023.
"The Chinese have a strategy they've been following... We kind of wander around from day to day." — John R. Bolton, yahoo.com, March 12, 2023.
Thanks to the lack of leadership and the vacuum that the Biden administration has created -- and appears continuing to create -- on the global stage, the new axis of Iran-China-Russia has been shaped with Beijing, Moscow and the ruling mullahs -- rather than the brutalized people of Iran. The Axis is seizing leadership of the new world order, or -- if the world's communists manage to defeat the world's democrats, as they seem tenaciously determined to do -- it will be, more accurately, the new world disorder.
If the US further pulls out of Asia, the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, Ukraine, Latin America -- anywhere -- the vacuum created will surely be filled by the new axis of China-Russia-Iran. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran's then President Hassan Rouhani in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on June 14, 2019. (Photo by Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP via Getty Images)
As Winston Churchill famously pointed out, "I never worry about action, but only about inaction". The Biden administration's inaction has led to the creation of a new axis of tyrannies: Russia, China and Iran, with North Korea not far behind. As the Tehran Times, which has close ties to Iran's foreign ministry, wrote: "[T]oday we are witnessing the formation of a new world order...."
Iran, China and Russia recently conducted joint naval exercises in the Sea of Oman, dubbed Marine Security Belt 2023. Iran's state-controlled Press TV boasted that to oppose the United States, China and Russia have also stepped up their "joint military exercises in recent years as part of their aligning of foreign policies."
"Back in December, the naval forces of China and Russia launched a one-week joint exercise off the coast of the Chinese Zhejiang Province in the East China Sea. China's Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army said at the time that the joint exercise was directed at demonstrating the determination and capability of the two sides to jointly respond to maritime security threats, and further deepen the China-Russia comprehensive new-era strategic partnership of coordination."
When these kinds of critical axes develop in the world among authoritarian regimes, they will most likely last for many years, if not decades. As US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told lawmakers, the alliance among China, Russia and Iran would be a problem for the US. Speaking before the House Armed Services Committee alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Milley said that Russia and China are "getting closer together.... And then... Iran is the third. So those three countries together are going to be problematic for many years to come I think, especially Russia and China because of their capability."
The Iranian regime, especially, is fully benefiting from this axis; it is selling weapons to Russia; selling oil and trading with Russia and China in spite of sanctions, and counting on Beijing and Moscow's support in the UN Security Council. As Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, surprisingly acknowledged to Iran's state-controlled Tasnim News:
"We are one of the few countries in the world that clearly stands against the United States, strongly continues its political life, and establishes relations and deals with other countries. So, what's wrong with us having relations with countries like Russia, China, and India?! These countries have advanced technology, and many times, unlike the West, they have been responsive to our requests and offered their capabilities to us. What else should we expect from an allied country?.....Yes, during the years of sanctions, our best customer has been China, and in some years, we have traded goods worth up to 52 billion dollars with China....Recently, in the latest move made by the West and led by the United States, a resolution was supposed to be issued against us (in the UN Security Council), but it was vetoed by both Russia and China."
The Biden Administration has created a vacuum of leadership on the global stage.
If the US further pulls out of Asia, the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, Ukraine, Latin America -- anywhere -- the vacuum created will surely be filled by the new axis of China-Russia-Iran. A US pull-out is, most probably, just what they are hoping and waiting for.
If Putin sees any gains in Ukraine, China will try to seize Taiwan.
Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton accurately told radio host John Catsimatidis on the WABC 770 morning show:
"We're sitting still, and the Chinese, the Russians, Iran, North Korea, and several others, are moving to shore up their relations and threaten us in a lot of different places... It's an indication that the Saudis and others are [also] trying to hedge their bets with China and Russia, because they don't think the United States has the resolve and the fortitude necessary to do what they need to do to protect the world against Iran and its intentions."
"The Chinese," Bolton added, "have a strategy they've been following... We kind of wander around from day to day."
Thanks to the lack of leadership and the vacuum that the Biden administration has created -- and appears continuing to create (here, here and here) -- on the global stage, the new axis of Iran-China-Russia has been shaped with Beijing, Moscow and the ruling mullahs -- rather than the brutalized people of Iran. The Axis is seizing leadership of the new world order, or -- if the world's communists manage to defeat the world's democrats, as they seem tenaciously determined to do -- it will be, more accurately, the new world disorder.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
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This Easter, the resurrection of a new Middle East might be upon us
Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/April 08, 2023
For the first time in decades, winds of hope are blowing across the Middle East this Easter. And the timing could not have been more significant for Arab Christians celebrating Easter Sunday today, Muslims who have been fasting through the ongoing month of Ramadan, and Jews who have just celebrated Passover.
The Beijing-backed Saudi-Iran peace deal has just taken a step forward with the foreign ministers of both countries officially signing the pact into existence last Thursday. Upon implementation, not only will we see a restoration of diplomatic ties, resumption of flights, and issuing of visas, but also an agreement to non-aggression and respecting sovereignty which might resolve several long-standing regional disputes.
Should Tehran play ball, the Saudi-Iran agreement could enable both regional powers to discuss how to help Arab countries which have long suffered due to the presence of Iranian militias. Essentially, this could mean better lives for people in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
However, the deal has already reflected positively on Yemen, where we are seeing a truce which has so far held for the longest time since the conflict erupted. We are also hearing of Saudi-Omani efforts to ride the current positive wave and have a shot at a permanent peace agreement between the warring factions within Yemen which, if signed, would hopefully end the conflict and redirect efforts toward rebuilding and rehabilitation.
Last year, we saw a reset of Saudi-UAE and Egyptian ties with Turkiye. This suggests that whatever happens in the upcoming Turkish elections, relations will have a chance to improve under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or start on a fresh and positive note with a new leader.
And in 2021, as a result of the AlUla Agreement, the rift with neighboring Qatar ended the boycott of that country just in time for the 2022 World Cup which has been described as one of the best ever hosted.
Indeed, what we are seeing is a Saudi-led “Tsunami of Peace,” as Saudi political analyst Salman Al-Ansari described it to this newspaper in a recent interview. If this momentum continues, I believe we will be seeing the manifestation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s vision that the Middle East can become the “new Europe,” something he alluded to as his hope for the region during a panel at the 2018 Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.
The only bad news this Easter is unfortunately coming from the Holy Land itself. Sadly, since January the situation between Israelis and Palestinians has deteriorated, mainly due to the swearing in of an ultra right-wing government spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
There is a genuine opportunity for the Israelis to build on the positive momentum in the region, should they want to.
The continuous provocations, from a serving member of Israel’s Cabinet who said there was no such thing as the Palestinian people, to the Israeli military’s attacking and arresting Muslim worshippers praying in Al-Aqsa Mosque, are only making things more complicated.
In fact, as I have repeatedly said in this column, such actions by the Israeli government embarrass those Arab countries that signed the Abraham Accords in good faith, and create more difficulties convincing those that did not — such as Saudi Arabia — that embracing Israel before resolving the Palestinian issue will encourage the Jewish state to become a more rational player.
Naturally, the extent of such disruption of the status quo would also trigger escalation in areas such as Lebanon and Gaza. Of course, Israel will — rightly so — say it has a right to defend itself, but there is an overwhelming consensus among pundits and observers that the recent provocative behavior in Al-Aqsa is an attempt to distract attention from the huge Israeli protests and anger at Netanyahu’s proposed judicial changes.
Regardless of how Netanyahu’s team sees the situation, or what they think of the Palestinian leadership, there is a genuine opportunity to build on the momentum now evident in the region, should they want to. It is really surreal and unfortunate that the existing dovish Arab push is paired with an extremely hawkish government in Israel. Yet, this might still be turned into an opportunity if Netanyahu manages to display true leadership, rein in the extremists, and convince the far right that peace is the best and most secure way forward.
If the Saudi-Iran peace deal sticks, then Israel might find itself the only missing piece in a new regional map that is built on peace and prosperity. I genuinely advise them to compare the short-term gains they win from increased right-wing provocations to what is at stake in the long run. They should remember that in a 2022 interview with The Atlantic, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the Jewish state could be a potential ally of Saudi Arabia.
“We don’t look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them as a potential ally, with many interests that we can pursue together... But we have to solve some issues before we get to that.”
*Faisal J. Abbas is the editor in chief of Arab News. Twitter: @FaisalJAbbas

Change of course: Finland’s shift from neutrality
Dr. Diana Galeeva/Arab News/April 08, 2023
On Tuesday, Finland officially joined NATO, obtaining the status of the 31st member of the Western alliance. Together with Sweden, Finland applied to become a member in May last year, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has already warned about “counter-measures” to Finland’s NATO membership. What is next? What does this mean for broader Russia-NATO relations? It is worth considering some of the implications and possible scenarios resulting from these actions.
In the Western press, among the most prevailing narratives is that, as AP puts it, “the move is a strategic and political blow to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, who has long complained about NATO’s expansion toward Russia and partly used that as a justification for the invasion.” On June 17, 2022, US President Joe Biden said: “He (Putin) wanted a sort of Finlandization of NATO. He got the NATO-ization of Finland, instead.” This refers to the long-term neutral relations that have existed between Finland and the Soviet Union, as well as modern Russia, prior to the invasion of Ukraine. While Putin may supposedly have hoped that more NATO-leaning countries would adopt a cautious attitude in the face of Russian pressure and proximity, Biden instead projects the move as such non-alignment becoming less attractive, or even viable.
The position replaces a general preference for dialogue with an emphasis on deterrence. The shift was already evident under the previous leadership of the popular center-left leader Sanna Marin, who pushed for the idea to join NATO, receiving praise for successfully advocating for the move. In the recent elections of April 2, 2023, her center-left Social Democratic party increased its number of MPs but lost a very tight election overall, falling into third place behind the two right-wing parties. The conservative Petteri Orpo, leader of the National Coalition Party, is likely to be the next prime minister; the position on NATO is unlikely to change, however. Orpo campaigned strongly on economic issues, vowing to “fix Finland” and its economy. Orpo accused Marin of eroding Finland’s economic flexibility due to the energy crisis in Europe, which dramatically affected the country’s cost of living. This does suggest that the policy of the newly elected government might focus more on the internal development of the country rather than links with European partners.
At the same time, in his victory speech Orpo said: “First to Ukraine: We stand by you, with you ... We cannot accept this terrible war. And we will do all that is needed to help Ukraine, Ukrainian people, because they fight for us. This is clear.” Moreover, the Finnish public’s view has changed dramatically since Russia’s invasion. According to polls from YLE & Demoskop, in 2017, Finnish citizens were 19 percent in support of NATO membership, while in 2022, 68 percent supported the move. Therefore, at both the leadership and public level, there is a consensus around the significance of the current security concerns.
It is time for all sides to call for greater diplomacy and dialogue, before military posturing gains too much momentum of its own.
Obviously, this decision may further damage relations between Russia and NATO. The Finnish-Russian border is sensitive. It runs roughly north-south for some 1,340 km, mostly through unhabituated taiga forests and sparsely populated rural areas. It is a significant and difficult zone to patrol. There is also a symbolic aspect, since the new configuration means that the territory of a NATO member will be much closer to Russia’s former imperial capital (and major cultural center) - St. Petersburg. The distance from the border is just 435 km. Russians are sensitive to the shift. A “Stop NATO” demonstration was held outside the US Embassy in Moscow on Tuesday. Alexander Grushko of the Russian Foreign Office said that the country aims to strengthen its military presence in the western and northwestern areas.
Asked about a scenario in which Finland was attacked, Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO chief, said: “Finland will get an iron-clad security guarantee. Article 5 — our collective defense clause ‘One for all and all for one’ — will now from today apply to Finland.” This means both more protection for Finland but also escalating risks, since any incident may lead to greater consequences.
Fortunately, this scenario seems unlikely. Indirect confrontation between Russia and NATO members is already happening in Ukraine. Notably both sides are working hard to avoid a shift to direct confrontation, which would effectively mean a third world war starting in Europe. Recent nuclear rhetoric has made the devastating possibilities here all the clearer.
However, the problem of relations between Russia and NATO simply won’t go away, and has reached ever higher levels of mistrust. “Democracy” versus “autocracy” is a continuing crisis in international relations, and both sides have been forced to consider whether military scenarios may be inevitable. Given this, one option might be to seek to change the venue of the confrontation away from Europe, again seeking indirect means. One of the potential places for continuing indirect great power competition may turn out to be involvement in a conflict between China and Taiwan. But even in this case, a third world war looms large. Perhaps it is time for all sides to call for greater diplomacy and dialogue, before the military posturing gains too much momentum of its own.
• Dr. Diana Galeeva is a former academic visitor to St. Antony’s College, Oxford University (2019-2022).
Twitter: @Dr_GaleevaDiana