English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 22/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/aaaanewsfor2023/english.april22.23.htm

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

Click On The Below Link To Join Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group so you get the LCCC Daily A/E Bulletins every day
https://chat.whatsapp.com/FPF0N7lE5S484LNaSm0MjW
اضغط على الرابط في أعلى للإنضمام لكروب Eliasbejjaninews whatsapp group وذلك لإستلام نشراتي العربية والإنكليزية اليومية بانتظام

Elias Bejjani/Click on the below link to subscribe to my youtube channel
الياس بجاني/اضغط على الرابط في أسفل للإشتراك في موقعي ع اليوتيوب
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAOOSioLh1GE3C1hp63Camw
15 آذار/2023

Bible Quotations For today
Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 22/41-46/:”While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’ “? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 21-22/2023
Shifting stance: France says does not have presidential candidate for Lebanon, political Leaders react
Dozens of Syrians expelled from Lebanon
Lebanon lawyers see ban from union as political interference
Jumblat says regional thaw won't affect presidential file
Caught between borders: The plight of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the reality of smuggling
French prosecutors accuse Lebanon central bank chief of hiding fraud
Lebanon's car rental sector thrives during the holidays: report
Beirut Bar Association has never imposed restrictions on freedoms: Nader Gaspard
Abi Ramia discusses prevailing situation with French Parliament Speaker
Hawat patronizing launch of tourist season in Byblos: The day Lebanon entered into the conflict of axes, its collapse began
Lebanon receives new designation as Microsoft shifts threat actor taxonomy
Razi Al-Hajj partakes in 24th annual 'Lebanese Forces' conference in USA
Al-Murtada decides to include "Beirut Arab University Museum" on list of national museums
Assaf delivers Fitr Eid sermon at Al-Amin Mosque commissioned by Derian

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 21-22/2023
Amid joy and tragedy, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr holiday
Israel Sees a Future of Multi-Front Conflicts
Israel Opens First Permanent Embassy in Turkmenistan
Trudeau is the woke weak link in the West’s defences
Putin discusses OPEC+ deal in call with Saudi Crown Prince
US to begin training Ukrainian troops on Abrams tank
Eastern EU farmers fume over Ukraine grain influx
Russian Arms Sales to India Stall on Fears Over US Sanctions
Ukraine planned covert strikes on Russian targets in Syria, leaked Pentagon papers show
Russia downbeat on Black Sea grain deal as Kyiv tries to unblock exports
Russian official warns of 'uncontrollable' arms race - RIA
Romania will not ban Ukrainian grain imports, awaits EU decision
Why Sudan's conflict matters to the rest of the world
Heavy gunfire in Sudan as Eid ceasefire calls ignored
Biden 2024 campaign announcement coming as soon as next week

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 21-22/2023
Question: “Since God withholds forgiveness, can we?/GotQuestions.org?/April 21/2023
Netflix’s Black Cleopatra Exposed/Raymond Ibrahim/American Thinker/April 21/2023
No Cleopatra was not black — here are the facts/Dr. Zahi Hawass/Arab News/April 21, 2023
Turkey: The Abandoned Iraqi and Syrian Christian Asylum Seekers/Uzay Bulut/ Gatestone Institute/April 21, 2023
Troubled times for the Taliban and their neighbors/Luke Coffey/Arab News/April 21, 2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 21-22/2023
Shifting stance: France says does not have presidential candidate for Lebanon, political Leaders react
LBCI/April 21, 2023
After France promoted the equation of Sleiman Frangieh for the presidency in exchange for Nawaf Salam for the premiership for weeks, the official French Foreign Ministry statement came, indicating that they do not have any candidate for the presidency in Lebanon and that "it is up to the Lebanese people to choose their leaders," suggesting a change in Paris' stance towards the presidential file. Samy Gemayel, the leader of the Kataeb Party, who is currently in Paris, informed French officials whom he met over the past two days that the proposal of Sleiman Frangieh is unacceptable to a part of the Lebanese people who cannot hand over the country to Hezbollah for six years. He noted that Paris's goal is to find solutions, not to impose any candidate, and expressed hope in an interview with LBCI that the French would retract this proposal and move towards something constructive. So far, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, has not received any invitation to visit Paris. However, there is ongoing communication with the French Ambassador to Beirut, Anne Grillo, and there is no objection on him, but the mechanism for forming the authority is a Lebanese sovereignty issue that must be discussed within the country, according to sources from the Free Patriotic Movement. "The international community can support the authority that is formed by the people internally," the sources added. "Until today, we have not received any invitation," this is how sources from the Lebanese Forces respond to the question of whether there is an invitation for their leader, Samir Geagea, to visit Paris. The same sources indicate that the LF's position is well-known in French decision-making circles, and the French Ambassador is fully aware of it. "I adhere to my position in the presidential file that says no to any confrontational candidate," says the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, to L'Orient Le Jour. He adds, "Sleiman Frangieh and his team have reasons to believe that he has better chances, and France continues to support him for reasons I am trying to understand."

Dozens of Syrians expelled from Lebanon
Agence France Presse/April 21, 2023
Lebanon has deported dozens of Syrians back to the war-torn country they fled from as anti-Syrian sentiment grows amid a dire economic crisis, security officials and a humanitarian source said Friday. One of the Syrians deported was an army defector, a relative said, warning that "his life is in danger."He had been living in Lebanon since 2014 and was expelled with his wife and two children, he said. "The army has deported more than 50 Syrians from Lebanon in the past two weeks," an army official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the press. Another security official said dozens of Syrians had been expelled. They said Lebanon's army intelligence unit had been cracking down on undocumented Syrians, arresting them and handing them to border guards, who then expelled them from Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled to neighboring Lebanon after the country's civil war began in 2011. Authorities say Lebanon hosts around two million Syrian refugees, while nearly 830,000 are registered with the United Nations. Lebanese authorities have long pushed for Syrian refugees to return, and have made several repatriation efforts they describe as voluntary, but which rights groups say are forced. Rights groups say some refugees have faced persecution, and reject the idea that refugee returns to Syria are safe. The United Nations' refugee agency said Friday it was "following up" on the reports, and that it "continues to advocate for the respect of principles of international law and ensure that refugees in Lebanon are protected from refoulement.""The army's detention centers are full," and other security agencies have refused to take in the arrested refugees, the army official said, commenting on the move. "So the army had to take this measure and place them outside Lebanese borders," he added. The security and army officials said that Lebanese authorities did not coordinate the effort with Damascus, adding that some of the expelled refugees had returned to Lebanon with the help of smugglers who charged them $100 per person. Lebanese General Security is in charge of foreigners' affairs in the country and border monitoring, but an official at the agency said they were not involved in the deportations. A humanitarian source told AFP they had noticed increased army intelligence raids on Syrian communities in Beirut and the Mount Lebanon area since the beginning of April. Approximately 450 Syrians had been arrested and at least 66 confirmed deported, they said. "So far in 2023, at least five raids have taken place," said the source, requesting anonymity as they were not allowed to speak to the media. Since the Damascus regime regained control of most of Syria, some host countries have sought to expel refugees, citing a relative end to hostilities. Lebanon has been mired since 2019 in an economic crisis that the World Bank said was one of the worst in modern history.

Lebanon lawyers see ban from union as political interference
Associated Press/April 21, 2023
In crisis-hit Lebanon, lawyers have been increasingly alarmed by a recent ban from their union on media appearances not authorized by the syndicate, saying it amounts to political interference. Lawyers and human rights activists say the ban also violates laws on free speech and muzzles their accountability work.
The alarm was sounded again on Thursday, when the Beirut Bar Association interrogated for three hours Nizar Saghieh, a prominent activist lawyer, over violating the ban and appearing in the media without permission from the head of the association. Saghieh, who heads watchdog group Legal Agenda, spoke to reporters in defiance of the decision. The head of the association, Nadir Gasbard, said the ban, issued in March, was justified to prevent what he described as "chaos in the judiciary," citing lawyers who frequently appear in the media and comment publicly on unfinished cases. Saghieh had criticized the government's probe in the deadly 2020 Beirut Port explosion and has provided legal analysis on corruption cases — including a probe of Lebanon's embattled Central Bank governor for money laundering — as well as political decisions and alleged human rights violations. He and 12 other lawyers have filed a legal appeal against the association's ban; the judiciary is to decide on the case early next month. There were concerns the association could revoke Saghieh's license following the interrogation, but that did not happen. "I told them I will continue practicing my rights and freedoms until the end," Saghieh told reporters later Thursday. Lebanon's judiciary is widely seen as politicized and beholden to the government. The International Monetary Fund and human rights organizations have urged Lebanon to reform its judiciary so it can function independently and effectively. Ahead of his interrogation, Saghieh said he said the association's decision was "an attempt to terrorize not just me, but every free lawyer with the courage to defend rights and pursue justice." The Beirut Bar Association lashed out at what it called a slanderous and misleading campaign by those seeking to defame the union and said it "would not yield to any pressure." "This restriction is not necessary in a democratic society," said Ghida Frangieh, a lawyer with Legal Agenda and Saghieh's defense attorney. "It limits the possibility of lawyers to participate in public debate on legal and judicial affairs." Last month, Jean Kassir, head of the independent Lebanese news outlet Megaphone, was intercepted by security agents while driving and summoned for an interrogation over a critical report about the port blast probe. The following day, Lara Bitar, editor-in-chief of The Public Source independent outlet, was interrogated by the cybercrimes bureau following a complaint from the Lebanese Forces party that she had allegedly said it was involved in toxic waste trade. Kassir's case was dropped amid a public outcry while Bitar's case was transferred to another court.

Jumblat says regional thaw won't affect presidential file
Naharnet/April 21, 2023
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has suggested that the re-establishment of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and between Riyadh and Damascus, will have no impact on the Lebanese presidential file. “I don’t see Lebanon in all of this,” Jumblat said in an interview with the L’Orient-Le Jour newspaper. “The March 10 agreement is mainly about the conflict in Yemen. Unless there is a way out of this war, Saudi Arabia will not be able to implement its titanic projects,” said the PSP leader. “It is up to us to reach a consensus in order to break the deadlock,” he added. Jumblat also reiterated that he remains “firm” in rejecting any confrontational presidential candidate.

Caught between borders: The plight of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the reality of smuggling
LBCI/April 21, 2023
Ten years ago, this woman fled from Raqqa to al-Qaa projects in order to escape the Syrian war. She couldn't find a way to receive treatment in Syria except through the illegal smuggling. Her situation is similar to hundreds of Syrians who cross daily between Lebanon and Syria through unofficial border crossings.
In the camps of Al-Qaa projects, you can find people who tell you about this reality. The overlapping borders between Lebanon and Syria over vast areas make smuggling a thriving trade. Access to these crossings is preceded by a long smuggling route, where a smuggler transports Syrians using vans.
Before reaching the checkpoints of the Lebanese army, the van stops, and these people continue their journey on foot through orchards and dirt roads. Upon reaching the Syrian side, another smuggler awaits them. Given this reality, it becomes easy to understand the reason for the low activity at official border crossings, even on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, as observed by LBCI over two days in al-Qaa and al-Masnaa. Perhaps this woman is unaware that if she presents to the General Security a document proving that she is a beneficiary of aid from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), her refugee status could be dropped as long as she can travel between Syria and Lebanon. However, without presenting the document, verification remains challenging, as there is no shared data regarding registered individuals between the General Security and the UNHCR, and the General Security is still seeking to obtain this data. In parallel, the Lebanese army daily apprehends dozens of infiltrators or violators and hands them to the General Security for deportation based on a judicial order. However, the magnitude of the crisis requires greater cooperation and coordination amidst information about the emergence of a new wave of displacement towards Lebanon, driven by the deteriorating economic situation in Syria and the desire for aid.

French prosecutors accuse Lebanon central bank chief of hiding fraud
LBCI/April 21, 2023
French prosecutors have told Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh they plan to press preliminary fraud and money laundering charges against him, partly based on allegedly forged bank statements used to conceal his wealth, according to French court documents seen by Reuters.
The accusation of using fake account statements, which had not previously been reported, is contained in documents sent to Salameh by French judicial authorities ahead of a planned hearing in France on May 16. During that hearing, French prosecutors intend to press the preliminary charges and formally name him a suspect. Salameh declined to comment on his alleged use of fake documents. He has repeatedly denied accusations of fraud and money laundering, saying he is being made a scapegoat for Lebanon's financial crisis that erupted in 2019.
A lawyer for Salameh said earlier this month that his client had not yet decided if he would travel to France to attend the May 16 hearing. As part of a joint investigation with counterparts in Lebanon and at least four other European countries, French prosecutors suspect Salameh, 72, colluded with his brother Raja to divert more than $300 million in public funds, some of which was used to buy properties across Europe. Riad and Raja Salameh have denied diverting public funds.French and other European investigators, who questioned Salameh in Beirut last month, suspect the bulk of the governor’s fortune stems from the public funds he allegedly diverted. As part of his response to accusations, Salameh sent French prosecutors a 65-page memo supplied by Marwan Kheireddine, the chairman of Lebanon's AM Bank. The document seen by Reuters contains series of bank statements which, according to one of Salameh's lawyers, show how the governor’s savings rose from $15 million in 1993 to more than $150 million by 2019 "as he capitalized interests". But according to the French court documents seen by Reuters, French investigators have reached the conclusion the bank statements were fake. Salameh "used fake records of bank accounts at AM Bank… provided by Marwan Kheireddine, to justify in a deceitful manner the origin of his properties or revenues," French prosecutors say in the court documents. Kheireddine's lawyer, Thierry Marembert, said his client denied wrongdoing. Following Salameh's questioning in Beirut, French prosecutors wrote that "Riad Salameh is not able to justify the different loans and investments that allowed him to increase his wealth by more than 250 million euros (at a minimum) during this period", according to the French court documents. Salameh has said his fortune came from the sound management of savings he amassed during his career as an investment banker. Kheireddine was questioned in France earlier this month on suspicion of participation in a criminal association and aggravated money laundering. The banker was told not to leave the country and his passport was confiscated.

Lebanon's car rental sector thrives during the holidays: report
LBCI/April 21, 2023
The Head of the Syndicate of Car Rental Agencies, Mohammad Daqduq, described the tourism situation in terms of car rental as good, as the operation rate in the sector has reached 75 percent and is expected to rise during the Eid al-Fitr holiday, according to Al Markazia. He mentioned that most of those renting tourist cars are Lebanese expatriates and some Iraqi tourists. Daqduq told Al Markazia that the operation rate in the sector would have increased if "we had more cars," adding that "we lost about 60 percent of the size of our "fleet," due to the Vehicle Registration Center's closure.He added that they still cannot register their cars because the priority is for citizens' cars, even though they secure an income. He explained via Al Markazia that the increase in the customs dollar to LBP 60,000 significantly affects the sector, hoping that the summer season will be prosperous and that the Saudi-Iranian agreement will be a good sign for the return of Arab tourists to Lebanon.

Beirut Bar Association has never imposed restrictions on freedoms: Nader Gaspard
LBCI/April 21, 2023
The president of the Beirut Bar Association, Nader Gaspard, affirmed that the association, "which is as old as the age of Greater Lebanon," was and will remain the association for public freedoms, foremost among which is freedom of opinion and expression. In a press conference, Gaspard said in regards to freedom of expression and professional ethics, the Beirut Bar Association's Council declares its total commitment to preserving freedom of expression, stressing that the freedom of expression of lawyers is not without limits. He said this freedom is limited in particular by the obligations of respect that lawyers have sworn to respect. He added that the council took a decision aimed at limiting repeated breaches of these obligations, and some colleagues appealed it before the Court of Appeal, adding: "We declare once again that we are under the law and abide by the court's ruling, and we will not discuss this decision as long as the court does not decide on the appeal because it does not affect the course of the case." "However, we only emphasize that it is not at all related to any media appearance of the lawyer related to political, cultural, economic, or social issues. Nor is it related to colleagues who wish to give a lecture anywhere and on any legal or illegal topic," said Gaspard.  He added that the Beirut Bar Association is the mother of freedoms, saying that it was and still is the spearhead in the case of the Beirut Port explosion, the issue of depositors, the independence of the judiciary, and the fight against corruption.
The president of the Beirut Bar Association, Nader Gaspard, pointed out that "the miserable" campaign, with its contents misleading public opinion, falsifying the truth, slander, and defamation of the dignity of the Beirut Bar Association, its president and members, proved to be far from respecting the law and respecting freedoms. He added that that association is well aware that freedoms have rules and principles whose misuse and exploitation lead to the chaos that Lebanon is experiencing today. He said, "The Bar Association has never imposed restrictions on freedoms, but has remained an open platform for every lawyer who wants to debate with the media on national or political issues, constitutional, public and social issues, as well as issues of combating corruption and the independence of the judiciary." He added: "Yes, we are a union that respects the law and sanctifies freedoms, and what we recently saw from some colleagues constitutes a violation of the law under the name of a "battle of freedoms." Gaspard stressed that it is unacceptable to deal with judicial files that are still under consideration before the courts, which puts certain pressures on the judiciary and undermines its independence.

Abi Ramia discusses prevailing situation with French Parliament Speaker
NNA/April 21, 2023
Head of the Lebanese-French Parliamentary Friendship Committee, MP Simon Abi Ramia, met today in Paris with the Speaker of the French Parliament, Yaël Braun-Pivet, accompanied by his team.The meeting included a tour d'horizon on the situation in Lebanon and the world.

Hawat patronizing launch of tourist season in Byblos: The day Lebanon entered into the conflict of axes, its collapse began
NNA/April 21, 2023
Jbeil - Member of the "Strong Republic" parliamentary bloc, MP Ziad Al-Hawat, launched the tourism season for the summer of 2023 in the city of Jbeil, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and the Municipality of Jbeil and in partnership with IN ACTION EVENTS, SOUK AL-AKEL and the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC), during a ceremony held in the public park in the city center, with the participation of Eng. Zaher Abi Ghosn representing Caretaker Tourism Minister Walid Nassar, alongside a number of dignitaries from the region. In his word on the occasion, Hawat underlined the importance of tourism and its positive repercussions on the Lebanese economy, saying: “Despite all the difficult circumstances we are living through these days at all levels, the vacuum in the presidency and the obstruction of the election of a president for the republic, there is still hope among the Lebanese that this summer will be promising and the tourism season will be good.”He called on all Lebanese expatriates, residents, and tourists to visit Lebanon and enjoy its beauty, especially the exceptional model city of Byblos, which enjoys all kinds of tourism, cultural, recreational, religious and marine attractions, indicating that "despite everything, we still have hope for our homeland, and the Lebanese are still clinging to their land and providing the best to all its visitors."Hawat hoped for the election of a new president for the republic before the start of the summer season, a president with real sovereign and salvation characteristics, stressing that "Lebanon can no longer tolerate further collapse and a slide towards poverty and migration." He highlighted "the need to elect a president of the republic capable of returning Lebanon to its Arab surroundings and international legitimacy, so that this country can resume its real role as a link between the whole world," deeming that "the day Lebanon entered into the conflict of axes, the collapse began." "The real role of Lebanon is positive neutrality and a site of attraction for all people, not bias and interference in the projects and problems of the region," Hawat maintained. He hoped that the election of a president would be expedited, one who can later form a government that sets a real rescue plan to place Lebanon back on the right track and build a healthy economy for the Lebanese to live in bliss, prosperity and tranquility.

Lebanon receives new designation as Microsoft shifts threat actor taxonomy
LBCI/April 21, 2023
Microsoft, the American multinational technology corporation, announced the shift to a new threat actor naming taxonomy using the theme of weather. In the table showing the threat actor groups Microsoft tracks and their designated weather events in the new naming convention, Lebanon is designated as “Rain.”
Famine threatens thousands of prisoners in Lebanon: report. According to Microsoft, the complexity, scale, and volume of threats are increasing, adding that with the new taxonomy, it intends to bring context to customers and security researchers that face an amount of threat intelligence data.
Microsoft’s new threat actor taxonomy designates threat actor groups after weather events, either representing a nation-state actor attribution or a motivation. Further, the eight threat actor groups that Microsoft tracks represent: Blizzard (Russia), Sleet (North Korea), Typhoon (China), Sandstorm (Iran), Storm (groups in development), Tempest (financially motivated), Tsunami (private sector offensive actor), and Flood (influence operations).

Razi Al-Hajj partakes in 24th annual 'Lebanese Forces' conference in USA
NNA/April 21, 2023
Member of the "Strong Republic" parliamentary bloc, MP Razi Al-Hajj, is participating in the 24th annual conference organized by the "Lebanese Forces" Party in the United States, in partnership with the LF in Canada, under the auspices of Party Chief Samir Geagea. The 3-day conference will last till Sunday, April 23, with important recommendations to be issued. On the sidelines of the conference, Deputy Hajj will hold a number of political meetings in the American capital, Washington, on the Lebanese situation at the political and economic levels.

Al-Murtada decides to include "Beirut Arab University Museum" on list of national museums
NNA/April 21, 2023
Caretaker Minister of Culture, Judge Muhammad Wissam Al-Murtada, issued a decision to include the "Beirut Arab University Museum" on the list of national museums. Al-Murtada's decision came after he inspected the museum and upon receiving a report from the Museums Authority Committee at the Ministry of Culture, which indicated that the museum meets international standards that qualify it to be listed among national museums as it includes rare and precious books, publications and manuscripts.

Assaf delivers Fitr Eid sermon at Al-Amin Mosque commissioned by Derian
NNA/April 21, 2023
Head of the Supreme Sunni Sharia Court, Sheikh Muhammad Assaf, delivered this morning the Eid al-Fitr sermon at the Muhammad al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut, commissioned by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Latif Derian, in presence of Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Judge Mahmoud Makiya, representing Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as well as Caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad, MP Adnan Traboulsi, several ambassadors and military figures, Sharia judges, scholars, and political, social, and union officials.
In his religious sermon, Sheikh Assaf recalled the meanings and messages of the holy month of Ramadan, stressing that as Muslims, "we will continue to be advocates of unity, not division, tolerance and love, not hatred and spite, mediation, moderation and peace, not intolerance and extremism...advocates of civilization and progress, not advocates of backwardness...advocates of work, not advocates of laziness..."Referring to Lebanon's prevailing crises, Assaf said: 'The country is going through a very difficult and critical stage, so we must, in this delicate phase, be unified, sympathetic and cooperative, in order to reach solutions that will satisfy all the Lebanese following the crises that have rendered the country on the brink of the abyss...So whoever deals with political affairs must look at the interest of the citizen before looking at his narrow personal interests...and move away from the policy of segregation and division and spreading seeds of sedition, wasting public money, and robbing people's lifetime savings..." "Officials must work to find immediate and practical solutions in various fields, foremost of which is the election of a president and the formation of a government that embodies the hopes and aspirations of the Lebanese in building the nation," he said. "Our society today is in need of a decent living for its people and having responsible officials," Assaf added. He underlined that the position of prime minister is of no less importance than the presidency of the republic and the parliament speaker posts, "so we must preserve the powers of each position."He added: "The election of a president for the republic is a national necessity, and establishes a new phase of hope and confidence in the future of Arab Lebanon...We should not bet on the outside in electing a president for our republic, but rather we have to rely on ourselves and strengthen our confidence in each other..."Assaf deemed thar "the wait has been long, time passes quickly, and the people are paying the price...So rushing towards agreement and consensus is the sole path of reaching what all the Lebanese aspire for...It is high time that politicians focus on people's interests rather than their narrow personal gains."

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 21-22/2023
Amid joy and tragedy, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr holiday
Associated Press/April 21/2023
The holiday of Eid al-Fitr ushered in a day of prayers and joy for Muslims around the world on Friday. The celebration was marred by tragedy amid the explosion of conflict in Sudan, while in other countries it came against the backdrop of hopes for a better future. After the Ramadan month of fasting, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr with feasts and family visits. The start of the holiday is traditionally based on sightings of the new moon, which vary according to geographic location. In Sudan's capital, Khartoum, staccato blasts of gunfire marked the early hours of the feast day. A deadly conflict in the vast African country that erupted in the past week has forced many people to shelter indoors ahead of the holiday, even as water and food for civilians runs low.
In Jerusalem, thousands of faithful gathered at Islam's third holiest shrine, the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where tensions with Israeli authorities have seethed in the past month. The compound also hosts Judaism's holiest site.
Following holiday prayers, a clown entertained children and a woman painted the cheek of a girl with the green, red, black and white Palestinian flag. Some attendees trampled on an Israeli flag and unfurled banners in support of Palestinian militant groups.
The streets of Arab capitals Damascus, Baghdad and Beirut were crowded with worshippers heading to mosques and cemeteries. Many Muslims visit the graves of their loved ones after the early morning prayer on the first day of Eid al-Fitr. Visitors toted bouquets of flowers, jugs of water for plants, and brooms to clean gravestones. "After the Eid prayer we always visit our dead … to pray and pay our respects, may God have mercy and forgive them on this blessed day," said Atheer Mohamed in Baghdad's Azamiya cemetery.
Islam's holidays follow a lunar calendar. But some countries rely on astronomical calculations rather than physical sightings. This frequently leads to disagreements between religious authorities in different countries – and sometimes in the same country – over the start date of Eid al-Fitr.
This year, Saudi Arabia and many other Arab countries began their Eid celebrations on Friday, while Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia, among others, set the first day of the holiday for Saturday.
In Sudan, the holiday was eclipsed by a week of raging battles between the army and its rival paramilitary force, which are locked in a violent struggle to control the country. The fighting has killed hundreds of people and wounded thousands.
In a video message released early Friday, his first speech since the fighting broke out, Sudan's top general Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan marked the somber tone of the holiday. "Ruin and destruction and the sound of bullets have left no place for the happiness everyone in our beloved country deserves," he said.
The day before, Sudan's military ruled out negotiations with the rival paramilitary force, known as the Rapid Support Forces, saying it would only accept its surrender as the two sides continued to battle in central Khartoum and other parts of the country, threatening to wreck international attempts to broker a sustainable cease-fire. Yet in other parts of the region, the recent rapprochement between arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran has kindled hopes for peace.
In Yemen, the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement raised the possibility for an end to the civil war that had turned into a proxy conflict and torn the impoverished country apart since 2014. Saudi officials and Iran-backed Houthi rebels recently began talks in Yemen's capital of Sanaa. During the last days of Ramadan, the warring sides exchanged hundreds of prisoners captured during the conflict. However, the moment of hopes was marred by a stampede late Wednesday at a charitable event in the rebel-held capital that killed at least 78 people and injured 77. This year's Eid al-Fitr also came on the heels of intensified violence in Israel and Palestine. Alaa Abu Hatab and his only remaining daughter started the holiday in the Palestinian Gaza Strip by visiting the graves of his wife and four children who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the day of Eid al-Fitr in 2021. That strike also killed Abu Hatab's sister and her children.
"Because they were killed in the Eid, I miss them especially during Eid al-Fitr. I miss their laughter," Abu Hatab said, standing by his family's grave with his six-year-old daughter, Maria. The holiday has become a "scene of pain and loss," he said. In Afghanistan's Kabul, where worshippers gathered under the watchful eyes of its Taliban rulers, 35-year-old Abdul Matin said, "I wish that besides security we had good income and good jobs. Unfortunately people can't afford to buy all their necessities at this difficult time." In Turkey and Syria, many are still mourning loved ones lost in the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the two countries on Feb. 6, killing more than 50,000 people. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday performed morning Eid prayers at Hagia Sophia, the 6th century Byzantine church in Istanbul that was reconverted into a mosque three years ago. Erdogan, who is facing elections next month amid an economic crisis and the fallout of the earthquake, handed out chocolate and pastries to journalists outside the mosque, renamed Holy Ayasofya Grand Mosque after 85 years as a museum.

Israel Sees a Future of Multi-Front Conflicts
FDD/April 21/2023
Latest Developments
Israel faces a future of armed conflicts unfolding on multiple fronts, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on April 20, as Iran steps up efforts to foment Palestinian terrorism in sync with cross-border attacks by its proxies in Syria and Lebanon. “We are at the end of the era of limited conflicts, and at the beginning of a new security era in which there may be a real threat across all sectors and at any given time,” Gallant told reporters in a briefing ahead of Israel’s 75th Independence Day, which will take place next week. The coming celebration follows a flare-up in Iranian-orchestrated violence in Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, southern Lebanon, and Syria.
Expert Analysis
“We are seeing a sneak preview of Iran’s campaign to turn Israel into a ‘Seoul on the Med’ by surrounding it with conventional threats. The goal is to provide both a distraction from Tehran’s nuclear designs and deterrence against taking action to stop its nuclear advances. The Iranians want Israel and its allies to repeat the same fear and fecklessness that characterize the international community’s dealing with North Korea because of Pyongyang’s ability to rain artillery down on the South Korean capital at will.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO
“The Iranian axis is growing in terms of both reach and capabilities. Despite Israel’s best efforts to contain the regime and its proxies through military and other means, Tehran is a tenacious foe. It has placed military hardware and personnel on nearly every one of Israel’s borders, with longer range weapons posing additional threats. There was never a good time to ease international economic and pressure on Iran — but now is a terrible time to let up. The right response to Iranian aggression is increased resolve.” — Jonathan Schanzer, FDD Senior Vice President for Research
Iranian Funding of Terrorist Groups
The dominant Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which fell out of favor with Iran after taking sides against the Assad regime at the beginning of the Syrian civil war, has seen its fortunes improve, Gallant said: It now receives around $100 million annually from Tehran, while the smaller Palestinian Islamic Jihad group receives tens of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, the Iranians are funneling $700 million annually and military know-how to Hezbollah in Lebanon, Gallant said, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to allied militias in Syria. Tehran also spends billions of dollars to prop up the Assad regime.
An Emboldened Tehran
“The increasing dependence [of proxies] on Iran leads them to step over the boundaries and become more brazen,” Gallant said, adding that in the first quarter of 2023 Israel doubled the rate of its preemptive military strikes in Syria. He described Iran as galloping ahead with its nuclear program on the assumption that the West lacks the means and motivation to stop it. While “Israel is active against Iran’s proxies, Iran is strengthening economically and militarily, which gives them room for action,” he said. Gallant asserted that this must “keep the world and Israel up at night.”

Israel Opens First Permanent Embassy in Turkmenistan
FDD/April 21/2023
Latest Developments
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen inaugurated Israel’s first embassy in Turkmenistan during a visit to the Central Asian state on April 20. Cohen is the first Israeli foreign minister to visit the majority Muslim country since 1994.
The newly built embassy is located in the capital city of Ashgabat — just 10 miles from Turkmenistan’s long border with Iran, whose President Ebrahim Raisi threatened the destruction of Tel Aviv and Haifa during a celebration of Iran’s anti-Israel Quds Day on April 18.
Expert Analysis
“At a time when Iran is escalating on all of Israel’s borders, Jerusalem is sending a strong message to Tehran that Israel is deepening its strategic partnerships on Iran’s borders as well.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor
Cooperation on Regional Security
Cohen arrived in Ashgabat on April 19 and inaugurated the newly built Israeli embassy on April 20. He also met with Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, other high-level officials, and members of the country’s small Jewish community.
A statement released by Israel’s foreign ministry highlighted the embassy’s proximity to Iran and quoted Cohen, who said the permanent embassy “will encourage cooperation between the governments and between the economies in the fields of technology, agriculture, and regional security.”
Surrounding the Enemy
The visit comes after Cohen concluded a three-day visit to Azerbaijan, another Muslim-majority country bordering Iran. Azerbaijan has grown closer to Israel in recent years in its diplomacy, trade, and military cooperation, while exchanging harsh words with Tehran’s regime. While there, Cohen met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Cohen said the two discussed “strengthening their political and security alliance” in the face of “strategic regional challenges we share, chief among them regional security and the fight against terrorism.”
Motherland of Neutrality
Turkmenistan’s official motto is “Turkmenistan — Homeland of Neutrality,” and the country has remained neutral in international affairs since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. This neutrality has allowed it to maintain ties with Israel, which has long had a temporary mission in the country, and with Israel’s enemy Iran, with which it shares a 713-mile border. Its primary trading partner is China, to which it exports bulk natural gas, but it has sought to start exporting gas to Europe and the rest of the world through a so-far stalled pipeline project across the Caspian Sea.
A Repressive State
While the embassy’s opening constitutes a positive development, Turkmenistan’s insularity rivals North Korea’s, and the Central Asian country received the fourth-worst rating in the Reporters Without Borders 2022 Press Freedom Index. The index states that news in the country “amounts only to praise for the regime.” The government also practices strict internet censorship, requiring residents to sign into a government-developed platform before logging on. The government blocks most social networks and fines those caught using VPNs. As a result, the country has one of the lowest internet access rates in the world.

Trudeau is the woke weak link in the West’s defences
Michael Taube/The Telegraph/April 21, 2023
Say what you want about former US President Donald Trump, but his insistence that all 31 Nato member states meet a 2 per cent target of GDP spending on defence was wise. This simple, straightforward request ensured each member was firmly committed to playing an equal role in this important military alliance. They would defend the safety and security of democratic countries from rogue states and totalitarian nations as a strong, united and cohesive unit. One Nato member apparently isn’t willing to pull up its bootstraps when it comes to meeting the defence spending target. Embarrassingly, it’s my country - Canada. In an April 19 piece in the Washington Post, a “leaked secret Pentagon assessment” reportedly stated that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau privately told Nato officials that Canada will never meet this target. The anonymous authors also suggested that Nato members and allies have serious concerns about various deficiencies in Canada’s military. “Widespread defence shortfalls hinder Canadian capabilities,” they wrote, “while straining partner relationships and alliance contributions.” According to the Post’s Amanda Coletta, Germany has expressed concern whether Canada “can continue to aid Ukraine while meeting its Nato pledges.” Turkey is apparently “disappointed” by Canada’s “refusal” to support transporting humanitarian aid after its terrible earthquake in February. Haiti is reportedly “frustrated” by Canada’s decision not to lead a multinational security mission in the Caribbean country.
Oh, and if there are any doubts about the Pentagon assessment’s validity, Coletta pointed out it “bears the seal of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.”When Trudeau was asked by reporters about this political bombshell, he tried to sweep it under the rug. “I continue to say, and will always say, that Canada is a reliable partner to Nato,” the PM said, and a “reliable partner around the world.”Yeah, sure. If there’s one thing that’s truly been reliable in Trudeau’s ineffective, mediocre leadership, it’s his unreliability as a friend, ally and partner on the international stage. Most world leaders are well aware of this. That’s why Canada has been sitting at the foreign policy kiddie table since Trudeau became Prime Minister in 2015. That’s why relations with Trump and current US President Joe Biden have been strained for years. That’s why Canada embarrassingly lost a 2020 bid for temporary membership on the United Nations Security Council. That’s why my country was left out of the important Aukus security pact between the U.S., Australia and UK.
And now this.
Trudeau has arrogantly thumbed his nose at the free world for years. The free world, in turn, is more than happy to thumb their noses at him. Take a guess which gesture has more political impact.
The worst part of it? Trudeau has unnecessarily put Canada’s safety and security at risk because he stubbornly refuses to meet a basic Nato defence spending target. If this ever leads Nato to remove Canada as a member, would the PM even care?
Based on past history, I doubt it.
*Michael Taube, a columnist for Troy Media, Loonie Politics, National Post and Epoch Times, was a speechwriter for former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper

Putin discusses OPEC+ deal in call with Saudi Crown Prince
MOSCOW (Reuters)/Fri, April 21, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the OPEC+ deal to cap oil production with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, in a telephone call on Friday, the Kremlin said. The two expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the two countries to bring stability to the global oil market, the Kremlin said in a readout of the call. Putin and the Crown Prince, who is widely known as MbS, have also forged close business relations. "The conversation proceeded in a friendly manner, was constructive and informative. With this in mind, it was agreed to build up contacts in specific areas of cooperation," the Kremlin said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its kingpin Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, in 2016 forged an alliance known as OPEC+ with other big producers led by Russia, to closely interact on the oil market. Earlier this month, OPEC+ oil producers announced further oil output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day in a surprise move.

US to begin training Ukrainian troops on Abrams tank
LBCI/April 21, 2023
The United States will begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use and maintain Abrams tanks in the coming weeks, as it continues to speed up its effort to get them onto the battlefield as quickly as possible, U.S. officials said Friday. The decision comes as defense leaders from around Europe and the world are meeting at Ramstein Air Base, in the ongoing effort to coordinate the delivery of weapons and other equipment to Ukraine. An announcement is expected later Friday. According to the officials, 31 tanks will arrive at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany at the end of May, and the troops will begin training a couple weeks later. Officials said the troop training will last about 10 weeks. The training tanks will not be the ones given to Ukraine for use in the war against Russia. Instead, 31 M1A1 battle tanks are being refurbished in the United States, and those will go to the frontlines when they are ready. The goal has been to have the troops trained by the time the refurbished tanks are ready so they can then immediately move to combat. The tanks are being refitted to meet Ukraine’s needs. According to officials, about 250 Ukrainian troops will be trained — with some learning to operate the tanks and others learning to repair and maintain them. Additional training on how to fight and maneuver with the tanks could also be provided after the initial 10 weeks. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not publicly released. So far, the U.S. has trained 8,800 Ukrainian troops who have already returned to the battlefield, and another roughly 2,500 are in training now. Their training has included everything from basic weapons instruction to how to conduct combat operations and how to maintain and repair equipment. President Joe Biden’s administration announced in January that it would send Abrams tanks to Ukraine — after insisting for months that they were too complicated and too hard to maintain and repair. The decision was part of a broader political maneuver that opened the door for Germany to announce it would send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow Poland and other allies to do the same. Under intense pressure from Ukraine and others to get the tanks into Ukraine faster, the Biden administration announced last month that it would speed up the delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster. The goal is to get the 70-ton battle powerhouses to the war zone by the fall. The U.S. also made clear at the time that it would begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use, maintain and repair the tanks and that the instruction would coincide with the refurbishment of the tanks, so that both would be ready for battle at the same time later this year.
At the same time, the Pentagon must make sure that Ukrainian forces have an adequate supply chain for all the parts needed to keep the tanks running. The Russian and Ukrainian forces have been largely in a stalemate, trading small slices of land over the winter. The fiercest battles have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of dogged Ukrainian defense. But both sides are expected to launch more intensive offensives in the spring. Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Friday in its daily military assessment of the war the soft ground conditions and mud across most of Ukraine will likely slow operations for both sides in the conflict. In other developments, Mykola Oleschuk, commander of Ukraine’s Air Forces, said Friday he had visited a U.S.-made Patriot missile system deployed on the battlefield after its recent delivery. Ukrainian officials announced on Wednesday that the Patriots had arrived. Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with Iranian-made self-exploding Shahed drones, the Ukrainian military said Friday. Russia launched about 10 drones at Ukraine targets, and eight of them were shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, Ukraine’s General Staff said. At least six civilians have been killed and six more have been wounded in Ukraine over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s presidential office reported on Friday morning. According to Ukrainian officials, Russian shelling and missile strikes mostly targeted cities and villages in the embattled partially occupied regions of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Outside of these regions, the Russian forces also attacked the Chernihiv province on Thursday from mortars. Overnight, Russia launched drones to attack Kyiv, as well as the Poltava and Vinnytsia regions.

Eastern EU farmers fume over Ukraine grain influx
LBCI/April 21, 2023
Angel Vukodinov fumes over the piles of unsold sunflower seeds in his granary in central Bulgaria. Like other farmers in eastern EU nations, he blames an influx of Ukrainian grain for the mess. The European Union has allowed Ukraine to export agricultural goods through the bloc after Russia's invasion disrupted the country's traditional Black Sea shipping lanes last year. Farmers in eastern EU states have protested in recent months, saying the move saturated the market and led to a massive drop in prices in their countries. In response, the EU has offered financial aid for farmers impacted by the influx. "We have nothing against the Ukrainian people... But the compensation offered by the EU for our losses is a joke," said Vukodinov, 61, who has been a farmer for more than 30 years in the central Bulgarian town of Saedinenie. Following protests, authorities in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia announced over the past week that they would temporarily ban Ukrainian grains, though goods are still allowed to transit through amid EU talks to find a solution. Following Russia's Black Sea blockade last year, EU member states agreed to import certain products from Ukraine without quantitative restrictions and customs inspection. The goods were destined for Africa and the Middle East, but they got stuck, partially due to logistical problems, including the poor infrastructure in Bulgaria. "The granaries are full, there is no market at all, no demand for any farm produce... on top of the price dumping," said Danka Marincheshka, production chief at Vukodinov's family farm.
'Unfair to us'
Bulgarian farming ministry data show that some 940,000 tons of Ukrainian sunflower seeds were imported into the EU's poorest member last year, or half of Ukraine's total sunflower seeds exports to the bloc. Neighboring Romania came second with nearly 360,000 tons. "Romanian and EU authorities were unfair to us, because, contrary to what they promised, a big part of the grain, which was due to only transit Romania, was left here," said Florentin Bercu, a Romanian union representative. The sunflower seeds market in Bulgaria has become "oversaturated," said Marin Iliev, management board member of the Plovdiv Union of Grain Producers. "Nobody cared to notice what was happening. So these streams that started trickling in became full-flowing rivers, the market overflowed and prices tumbled down," the farmer added. Prices had topped some 870 euros ($950) per ton in March 2022, right after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but have since fallen to around 360 euros per ton, which does not cover production expenses including increased fertilizer prices, according to Iliev.
'Aristocracy of big farmers' -
Nikolay Valkanov, director of the Sofia-based think-tank InteliAgro, however, accused an "aristocracy of big farmers" of holding the country "hostage" by not selling produce last year while hoping for prices to go up."The average price of Ukrainian sunflower seeds sold in Bulgaria last year was $690 per ton. You tell me if these are dumping prices. Why didn't the Bulgarian farmers sell back then?" he told AFP. Faced with protests and roadblocks by farmers over the past months, the European Commission offered in February a 56-million-euro package for farmers. This week, Brussels added an extra 100 million euros of support and proposed emergency measures to ensure grain could enter Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria only for export. So far no permanent solution has been found with more discussions to be held in the coming days. "Brussels is trying to contain the row but the uncertainty continues," Iliev, the Bulgarian farmer, said. "What would reassure us is for solidarity corridors to remain solidarity corridors in practice."

Russian Arms Sales to India Stall on Fears Over US Sanctions
Bloomberg/Fri, April 21, 2023
Russian deliveries of military supplies to India have ground to a halt as the countries struggle to find a payment mechanism that doesn’t violate US sanctions, according to Indian officials with knowledge of the matter. Indian payments for weapons amounting to more than $2 billion have been stuck for about a year, and Russia has stopped supplying credit for a pipeline of about $10 billion worth of spare parts as well as two S-400 missile-defense system batteries that have yet to be delivered, according to the officials, who asked not be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Russia is India’s biggest supplier of weapons needed in border disputes with Pakistan and China. India is unable to settle the bill in US dollars due to concerns about secondary sanctions, while Russia remains unwilling to accept rupees due to exchange-rate volatility, the officials said. New Delhi also doesn’t want to complete the deal in Russian rubles due to concerns about being able to purchase enough on the open market at a fair rate, they said. India’s government has proposed Moscow use the rupees from weapons sales to invest in Indian debt and capital markets to avoid stockpiling rupees, they added, but Vladimir Putin’s government doesn’t find that appealing. One possible solution would be to use euros and dirhams, the currencies used to pay for Indian imports of discounted Russian crude, a senior Indian government official said. However, using these currencies to pay for weapons could invite more scrutiny from the US over sanctions than oil, as well as pushing up costs due to unfavorable exchange rates for India. Another option under discussion is a mechanism for Russia to offset purchases of Indian imports against the price of the weapons, one of the officials said. But this isn’t easy because Russia had a $37 billion trade surplus last year with India, its third-largest behind China and Turkey, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
India’s Ministry of Defense, Ministry of External Affairs, Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India didn’t respond to phone calls or emailed requests for comment. The Kremlin and Rosonboronexport, Russia’s state arms sale company, also didn’t respond to texts and emailed requests for comment.
The issue of payments for weapons has taken on more urgency of late, and dominated discussions when National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited Moscow in January, the people said. It also featured heavily in talks in Delhi this week between Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who said this week that the rupee settlement needed more work. “There is also understandable concern about the trade imbalance,” Jaishankar told reporters. “We need to work together with our Russian friends on a very urgent basis on how to address that imbalance.”
India currently operates more than 250 Su-30 MKi Russian-made fighter jets, seven Kilo-class submarines and more than 1,200 Russian-made T-90 tanks — all of which are operational for another decade and need spare parts. Three of five S-400 missile defense systems have already been delivered.
In addition to the impact of sanctions on potential buyers, Russian weapons sales are likely to keep declining as the Kremlin prioritizes supplies to its own army to support its invasion of Ukraine, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a report in March.
Air Force Hit
The Indian Air Force, which depends on a Russian fleet of fighters and helicopters, is among the worst hit from the disruption in supplies from Moscow, the people said. It’s uncertain whether Russia can perform regular maintenance, they added, potentially leading to vulnerabilities along India’s borders with China and Pakistan. The India-Russia relationship will come under further scrutiny when Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosts Group of 20 leaders in September, during which the war will be a key focus. That meeting might be holding India back from immediately ironing out the payment mechanism for weapons with Russia, the people said. Russia remains India’s largest supplier of military hardware, though purchases have slowed by 19% in the last five years due to sanctions and increased competition from other manufacturing countries. India has carefully calibrated its response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, calling for a cease-fire while abstaining from voting on United Nations resolutions condemning the invasion. Modi will be meeting in the next few weeks with counterparts from the US and other industrialized nations. These countries see India as a bulwark to China’s growing military and economic assertiveness, and have offered to provide defense equipment. But even so, it will take years to wean the nation off Russian weaponry while maintaining a credible defense posture. While President Joe Biden’s administration has largely refrained from penalizing India for its dealings with Russia, including holding back on penalties for S-400 air defense system, it has taken some action. Last September, a Mumbai-based petrochemical firm Tibalaji Petrochem was added to the sanctions list by the US Department of Treasury for buying petroleum products from Iran.

Ukraine planned covert strikes on Russian targets in Syria, leaked Pentagon papers show
Joe Barnes/The Telegraph/April 21, 2023
Ukraine’s military intelligence unit planned secretive attacks on Russian targets inside Syria with the help of local Kurdish militants, according to a leaked top-secret document. Under the plan, Ukrainian officers would have trained members of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a former US-supported group, to strike Russian troops and Wagner Group mercenaries with drones. The Syrian militia reportedly agreed to take part in the covert operation in exchange for training, air defence systems and a guarantee its role would be kept secret. However, the US intelligence document, first reported by The Washington Post, suggests that Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, ordered a halt to the operation in December. Details of the plans emerged from a trove of US intelligence leaked to a chatroom on the Discord messaging platform by Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Russia retains a considerable presence in Syria after Vladimir Putin helped prop up the country’s embattled dictator, Bashar al-Assad, in 2015. Thousands of Russian troops, supported by fighter jets and air defence systems, have been permanently stationed there since the brutal civil war. Moscow has often transferred troops and hardware from Syria to the battlefield in Ukraine amid heavy losses sustained during the invasion. The US intelligence, collected from human sources, said Ukraine had planned to use “UAVs and proxies interests”. Possible targets could have included a “key Russian facility” at Latakia’s Bassel al-Assad airport, home to Russia’s main military base in Syria, where it has stationed aircraft and air defence assets. Oil and gas infrastructure, as well as a base used by Wagner, the Kremlin-linked mercenaries, were also identified as potential targets, the document added. “In early Dec 2022, HUR officials favoured UAV strikes on Russians in Syria, noting that operations would start ‘small’ and could be limited to Wagner positions,” it said. “Late Dec 2022, HUR officials weighed training SDF operatives or unaffiliated cells to conduct strikes on Russian targets and discussed unspecified ‘direct action’ activities along with UAV attacks.”The US intelligence indicated Turkey was aware of the planning, stating that Turkish officials “sought to avoid potential blowback” and suggested that Ukraine launched attacks from Kurdish-held areas instead of territory in the north and northwest of Syria held by rebel groups, some of which are backed by Ankara. “The documents that you are talking about regarding our forces are not real; our forces have never been a side in the Russian-Ukrainian war,” Farhad Shami, an SDF spokesperson, told The Washington Post.

Russia downbeat on Black Sea grain deal as Kyiv tries to unblock exports
BUCHAREST/KYIV, April 21 (Reuters)
Ukraine's prospects of unblocking grain shipments to eastern Europe improved on Friday as Romania opted against a unilateral ban on food imports, but there was no progress on extending a deal on Black Sea exports. Russia's foreign minister made clear Moscow considered its conditions had not been met for extending a U.N.-brokered agreement guaranteeing safe exports via the Black Sea during the war in Ukraine. "Here, practically nothing has been done," Foreign Minster Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Havana on Thursday during an official visit. Russia has said extending last July's agreement beyond a May 18 deadline depends on the West lifting restrictions it says hinder Moscow's agricultural exports. Grain sales are a vital revenue source for Kyiv, and food import bans imposed by four European Union member states in eastern Europe over the last week have increased Ukraine's concerns about its food exports.
Offering Kyiv some relief, Romania said it would not join Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia in banning food imports from Ukraine to protect local producers hit by an influx of cheaper Ukrainian supplies. Instead, Bucharest will wait for the European Commission, the EU executive, to enforce measures to help farmers in central and eastern Europe. "I think it is necessary we wait ... to see what the Commission decides, and then we will meet again to establish long-term rules, because Romania and Ukraine are large grain producing countries," Agriculture Minister Petre Daea said. A major grain transit hub for Ukraine, Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta shipped some 12 million tonnes of Ukrainian grains in 2022 and the first quarter of this year. Daea said, after talks with Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky, that Romania and Ukraine would consult weekly on expected grain volumes, as Romania tries to limit imports. Solsky told reporters it was obvious the situation required quick decisions, adding: "We understand these decisions must be comfortable for Romanian farmers and ... we wait for the European Commission."
GRAIN DEAL HANGS IN BALANCE
The European Commission has announced plans to offer farmers in eastern and central Europe compensation for some products if the unilateral import bans are lifted, but the countries affected want the list of products widened. Poland went further than others by initially banning the transit of Ukrainian grain and food products through its territory. Warsaw agreed on Tuesday to lift the measures, and transit traffic resumed on Friday. But Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the support measures offered by the Commission were too little, too late, after the government approved 10 billion zlotys ($2.38 billion) of aid for Polish agriculture. Black Sea grain exports are more significant for Kyiv than exports to eastern Europe, and talks are under way on the status of the Black Sea Grain Initiative deal agreed last July to create a safe shipping channel. The initiative unblocked three Ukrainian Black Sea ports five months after Russia's invasion, and was designed to alleviate a global food crisis as well as to support Ukraine. Russia says it has agreed to extend the deal only until May 18 even though Kyiv and its allies say the terms of the agreement stipulate that it should continue beyond that date. Worried about its ability to ship grain from its Black Sea ports, Ukraine has stepped up exports via ports on the Danube River that flows though central and southeastern Europe. "Undoubtedly, the Danube Cluster has become a critical element of global food security in the face of limited operation of Black Sea seaports," Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook.

Russian official warns of 'uncontrollable' arms race - RIA
(Reuters)/Fri, April 21, 2023
A Russian official warned on Friday of an "uncontrollable" arms race involving multiple nuclear powers, the state-owned RIA news agency said. "In essence, we are witnessing a missile arms race with consequences that are hard to predict. Tens of billions of dollars are being invested in improving missile technology. This process is taking on an uncontrollable character," Grigory Mashkov, ambassador-at-large, was quoted as saying. RIA said Mashkov referred in a magazine interview to China's rapid expansion of its missile systems and to the nuclear capabilities of Israel, India and Pakistan.
Atomic scientists said in January that the "Doomsday Clock" - a notional measure of the risk of mankind's extinction - had ticked closer to midnight than ever before as a result of rising nuclear tensions since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia has claimed four regions of Ukraine as its own territory and placed them under its nuclear umbrella, in moves condemned as illegal by most countries at the United Nations. President Vladimir Putin has said repeatedly that Russia would use all means at its disposal to defend its "territorial integrity". In February, Putin announced Moscow was suspending the New START treaty with the United States, which limits each side's deployed nuclear warheads, saying Washington was trying to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia in Ukraine. Earlier, RIA quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying a "vacuum" could arise in strategic stability once New START expires in 2026. It was not clear whether this was a ministry statement or a comment from Mashkov's interview. RIA also quoted the ministry as saying Moscow needed to build up its tactical missile capabilities including in its Kaliningrad region, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

Romania will not ban Ukrainian grain imports, awaits EU decision
BUCHAREST (Reuters)/Fri, April 21, 2023
Romania will not unilaterally ban the import of Ukrainian grain and will wait for the European Commission to enforce measures to help central and eastern European farmers, Agriculture Minister Petre Daea said on Friday. However, Romania and Ukraine will consult weekly on expected grain volumes, seeking to limit imports, Daea said after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart, Mykola Solsky, in the capital, Bucharest. Romania is the only one of five central and eastern European states that has stopped short of banning imports of Ukrainian grains, while tightening controls at border checkpoints. "I think it is necessary we wait ... to see what the Commission decides, and then we will meet again to establish long-term rules, because Romania and Ukraine are large grain producing countries," Daea told reporters. Solsky said it was obvious the current situation required "quick decisions". "We understand these decisions must be comfortable for Romanian farmers and ... we wait for the European Commission," he said through a translator. With access to its own Black Sea ports blocked and later limited by Russia's invasion, Ukraine has had to find alternative shipping routes for its farm products. Millions of tons of grains and oilseeds, cheaper than those produced in the European Union and exempt from customs tax, ended up in neighbouring states, distorting demand and prices of local products. The European Commission said on Wednesday it would take emergency "preventive measures" for wheat, maize, sunflower seeds and rapeseed, compensating local farmers and only allowing grain to enter the five countries from Ukraine if they were set for export to other EU members or the rest of the world. This measure, contingent upon Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia withdrawing their unilateral import bans, would run until the end of June.
However, the five countries expect the Commission to widen the list of products to include milk, poultry and honey.

Why Sudan's conflict matters to the rest of the world
Associated Press/April 21, 2023
Fighting in Sudan between forces loyal to two top generals has put that nation at risk of collapse and could have consequences far beyond its borders. Both sides have tens of thousands of fighters, foreign backers, mineral riches and other resources that could insulate them from sanctions. It's a recipe for the kind of prolonged conflict that has devastated other countries in the Middle East and Africa, from Lebanon and Syria to Libya and Ethiopia. The fighting, which began as Sudan attempted to transition to democracy, already has killed hundreds of people and left millions trapped in urban areas, sheltering from gunfire, explosions and looters. A look at what is happening and the impact it could have outside Sudan.
WHO IS FIGHTING?
Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, head of the armed forces, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces that grew out of Darfur's notorious Janjaweed militias, are each seeking to seize control of Sudan. It comes two years after they jointly carried out a military coup and derailed a transition to democracy that had begun after protesters in 2019 helped force the ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir. In recent months, negotiations were underway for a return to the democratic transition. The victor of the latest fighting is likely to be Sudan's next president, with the loser facing exile, arrest or death. A long-running civil war or partition of the Arab and African country into rival fiefdoms are also possible. Alex De Waal, a Sudan expert at Tufts University, wrote in a memo to colleagues this week that the conflict should be seen as "the first round of a civil war." "Unless it is swiftly ended, the conflict will become a multi-level game with regional and some international actors pursuing their interests, using money, arms supplies and possibly their own troops or proxies," he wrote.
WHAT DOES THE FIGHING MEAN FOR SUDAN'S NEIGHBORS?
Sudan is Africa's third-largest country by area and straddles the Nile River. It uneasily shares its waters with regional heavyweights Egypt and Ethiopia. Egypt relies on the Nile to support its population of over 100 million, and Ethiopia is working on a massive upstream dam that has alarmed both Cairo and Khartoum. Egypt has close ties to Sudan's military, which it sees as an ally against Ethiopia. Cairo has reached out to both sides in Sudan to press for a cease-fire but is unlikely to stand by if the military faces defeat. Sudan borders five additional countries: Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, Eritrea and South Sudan, which seceded in 2011 and took 75% of Khartoum's oil resources with it. Nearly all are mired in their own internal conflicts, with various rebel groups operating along the porous borders. "What happens in Sudan will not stay in Sudan," said Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group. "Chad and South Sudan look most immediately at risk of potential spillover. But the longer (the fighting) drags on the more likely it is we see major external intervention."
WHAT EXTERNAL POWERS ARE INTERESTED IN SUDAN?
Arab Gulf countries have looked to the Horn of Africa in recent years as they have sought to project power across the region. The United Arab Emirates, a rising military power that has expanded its presence across the Middle East and East Africa, has close ties to the Rapid Support Forces, which sent thousands of fighters to aid the UAE and Saudi Arabia in their war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Russia, meanwhile, has long harbored plans to build a naval base capable of hosting up to 300 troops and four ships in Port Sudan, on a crucial Red Sea trading route for energy shipments to Europe. The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit with close ties to the Kremlin, has made inroads across Africa in recent years and has been operating in Sudan since 2017. The United State and the European Union have imposed sanctions on two Wagner-linked gold mining firms in Sudan accused of smuggling.
WHAT ROLE DO WESTERN COUNTRIES PLAY?
Sudan became an international pariah when it hosted Osama bin Laden and other militants in the 1990s, when al-Bashir had empowered a hard-line Islamist government. Its isolation deepened over the conflict in the western Darfur region in the 2000s, when Sudanese forces and the Janjaweed were accused of carrying out atrocities while suppressing a local rebellion. The International Criminal Court eventually charged al-Bashir with genocide. The U.S. removed Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after the government in Khartoum agreed to forge ties with Israel in 2020. But billions of dollars in loans and aid were put on hold after the 2021 military coup. That, along with the war in Ukraine and global inflation, sent the economy into free-fall.
CAN EXTERNAL POWERS DO ANYTHING TO STOP THE FIGHTING?
Sudan's economic woes would seem to provide an opening for Western nations to use economic sanctions to pressure both sides to stand down. But in Sudan, as in other resource-rich African nations, armed groups have long enriched themselves through the shadowy trade in rare minerals and other natural resources. Dagalo, a one-time camel herder from Darfur, has vast livestock holdings and gold mining operations. He's also believed to have been well-paid by Gulf countries for the RSF's service in Yemen battling Iran-aligned rebels. The military controls much of the economy, and can also count on businessmen in Khartoum and along the banks of the Nile who grew rich during al-Bashir's long rule and who view the RSF as crude warriors from the hinterlands. "Control over political funds will be no less decisive than the battlefield," De Waal said. "(The military) will want to take control of gold mines and smuggling routes. The RSF will want to interrupt major transport arteries including the road from Port Sudan to Khartoum."Meanwhile, the sheer number of would-be mediators — including the U.S., the U.N., the European Union, Egypt, Gulf countries, the African Union and the eight-nation eastern Africa bloc known as IGAD — could render any peace efforts more complicated than the war itself. "The external mediators risk becoming a traffic jam with no policeman," De Waal said.

Heavy gunfire in Sudan as Eid ceasefire calls ignored
Agence France Presse/April 21, 2023
Sudan's warring forces battled Friday with heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country, as they ignored appeals by world powers for an end-of-Ramadan ceasefire. More than 300 people have been killed and thousands wounded since the fighting erupted Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who is commonly known as Hemeti. The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said that overnight, as the Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the Muslim Ramadan month of fasting began, "several areas of Khartoum were bombed" and reported "shelling and clashes" for the sixth straight night. Khartoum has seen some of the fiercest fighting with air strikes and tanks firing in densely packed districts, with most of its five million people sheltering at home in baking heat without electricity, food or water. Communications are heavily disrupted. Both U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called separately for a ceasefire of "at least" three days to mark Eid, as explosions and gunfire resounded in Khartoum. The RSF, a powerful force formed from members of the Janjaweed militia that led years of extreme violence in the western Darfur region, said they would commit to a 72-hour ceasefire starting at dawn (0400 GMT). But, like two previous declared 24-hour ceasefires, it failed to take hold.
The crackle of intense gunfire continued Friday morning, with columns of black smoke rising across the capital.
'Nightmare scenario' -
For the first time since hostilities began a week ago, Burhan appeared on television. "For Eid this year, our country is bleeding: destruction, desolation and the sound of bullets have taken precedence over joy," he said in a pre-recorded video, which showed him sitting behind a desk in military uniform.
"We hope that we will come out of this ordeal more united... a single army, a single people... towards a civilian power." The International Crisis Group (IGC) warned urgent steps were needed to stop a descent into "full-blown civil war", warning "the nightmare scenario that many feared in Sudan is unfolding."
The World Food Programme warned the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people -- one-third of the population -- need aid. It has suspended its Sudan operations after the killing of three WFP workers on Saturday. Burhan and Daglo's bitter dispute centred on the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan's democratic transition. Civilians are becoming increasingly desperate with thousands risking the dangerous streets to flee Khartoum, with many reporting streets strewn with corpses. International efforts are being planned for the potential evacuation of citizens, including with the United States deploying forces for the possible airlift of U.S. embassy staff.
Hospitals shelled
Medics have warned of a catastrophe, with over two-thirds of hospitals in Khartoum and neighbouring states rendered "out of service" by the fighting, the doctors' union said. Four hospitals in Obeid in North Kordofan state had also been "shelled". The World Health Organization said it had reports of almost 330 people killed and 3,200 wounded across Sudan, but medics fear the death toll is likely to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals. Burhan and Daglo toppled autocratic president Omar al-Bashir together in April 2019 following massive protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.
In October 2021, they again worked together in a coup to oust the civilian government installed after Bashir's downfall, derailing an internationally backed transition to democracy. "With neither Burhan nor Hemeti appearing ready to back down, the situation could get much worse," the ICG think tank said, adding that while some analysts thought the army would succeed in on its "home turf" in Khartoum, the risk of an all-out conflict remained. "Even if the army eventually does secure the capital, and Hemeti retreats to Darfur, a civil war could well follow, with potentially destabilising impact in neighbouring Chad, the Central African Republic, Libya and South Sudan," the ICG added.

Biden 2024 campaign announcement coming as soon as next week
Associated Press/April 21, 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden will formally announce his 2024 reelection campaign as soon as next week, three people briefed on the discussions said. The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said they were not aware that a final decision on timing had been made, but that Biden had been eyeing Tuesday, April 25, four years to the day since the Democrat entered the 2020 race. The upcoming announcement is expected to be in the form of a video released to supporters. Biden, 80, has repeatedly said he intends to run for a second term but advisers say he has felt little need to jump into campaigning because he faces no significant opposition to his party's nomination. It'll be a markedly different experience from four years ago, as when Biden was written off by much of the political establishment until he consolidated support as the candidate Democrats believed was best positioned to defeat then-President Donald Trump while the coronavirus pandemic raged. This time around, he will have to juggle the challenge of running for reelection while also running the country. Biden in recent months has been focused on implementing the massive infrastructure, technology investment and climate laws passed during his first two years in office and drawing a sharp contrast with Republicans as Washington gears up for a fight over raising the nation's borrowing limit. Aides believe those priorities will burnish his image ahead of his reelection campaign. The president, already the oldest person ever elected the job, will also need to contend with voter concerns about his fitness for the job. He has brushed aside those concerns, telling voters to "watch me," and aides say he plans to mount a robust campaign ahead of what they expect to be a close general election owing to the country's polarization, no matter who emerges as the GOP standard-bearer. Biden has summoned top Democratic donors to Washington next week for what was expected to be a dinner with him and a strategy session with his chief political advisers. The Washington Post first reported on the expected timing of the announcement.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 21-22/2023
Question: “Since God withholds forgiveness, can we?”
GotQuestions.org?/April 21/2023
Answer: The Bible speaks a great deal about forgiveness, both God’s forgiveness of sinful human beings and the forgiveness that human beings should have for each other. But they are not two separate, unrelated issues of forgiveness; rather, they are vitally linked. Intimacy with God and day-to-day cleansing are dependent on our forgiveness of others (Matthew 6:12), and our forgiveness of others is to be patterned on and an example of God’s forgiveness of us (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). So, this question is an important one.
We need to make an effort to understand God’s forgiveness of us if we are going to forgive others in a way that reflects God’s forgiveness. Sadly, in recent decades the word forgiveness has taken on a connotation of “psychological freedom” instead of freedom from sin, and this has brought some confusion about the whole concept of what it means to forgive.
It is true that the forgiveness God extends to us is conditional upon our confession of sin and repentance. Confession involves agreeing with God about our sin, and repentance requires a change of mind concerning the wrong attitude or action and a change in behavior that evinces a genuine willingness to forsake the sin. Sin remains unforgiven unless it is confessed and repented of (see 1 John 1:9; Acts 20:21). While this might seem a difficult condition for forgiveness, it is also a great blessing and promise. Confession of sin is not an act of self-condemnation but of seeking God’s provision of the remedy for sin in forgiveness through Christ.
God’s requirement that we confess and repent of sin does not mean God is unwilling or unready to forgive. He has done everything on His part to facilitate forgiveness for us. His heart is willing, not wanting anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9), and He has gone to the most extreme lengths imaginable to provide the means by which He can forgive us. Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God freely offers us that forgiveness.
Scripture says to forgive others as we have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32) and love one another as we are loved (John 13:34). We should be willing and ready to extend forgiveness to anyone who comes to us confessing his sin and repenting (Matthew 6:14–15; 18:23–35; Ephesians 4:31–32; Colossians 3:13). Not only is this an obligation, but it should be our delight. If we are truly thankful for our own forgiveness, we should have no hesitancy in granting forgiveness to a repentant offender, even if he wrongs us and repents again and again. After all, we, too, sin again and again, and we are thankful that God forgives us when we come to Him with a true repentant heart of confession.
That brings us to the question at hand: should we forgive a person who does not confess his sin and is not repentant? To answer this properly, the term forgiveness needs some explaining. First, what forgiveness is not:
Forgiveness is not the same as forbearance. To forbear is to patiently endure a provocation, overlook a slight, or maintain self-control in the face of frustration. Forbearance causes us to weigh someone’s sinful action or attitude with love, wisdom, and discernment and choose not to respond. Scripture uses various words for this quality: patience, longsuffering, endurance, and, of course, forbearance (see Proverbs 12:16; 19:11; 1 Peter 4:8).
Forgiveness is also not forgetting. God does not suffer from amnesia about our sin. He remembers very clearly; however, it is not a remembering to condemn us (Romans 8:1). King David’s adultery and Abraham’s lying—these sins are recorded for all time in Scripture. God obviously did not “forget” about them.
Forgiveness is not an elimination of all consequences. Even when we are forgiven by Christ, we may still suffer the natural consequences of our sin (Proverbs 6:27) or face the discipline of a loving Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:5–6).
Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is a commitment to pardon the offender. Feelings may or may not accompany forgiveness. Feelings of bitterness against a person may fade with time without any forgiveness being extended.
Forgiveness is not the private, solitary act of an individual heart. In other words, forgiveness involves at least two people. This is where confession and repentance come in. Forgiveness is not only about what happens within the offended person’s heart; it is a transaction between two people.
Forgiveness is not selfish; it is not motivated by self-interest. We do not seek to forgive for our own sakes or to relieve ourselves from stress. We forgive out of love of God, love of neighbors, and gratefulness for our own forgiveness.
Forgiveness is not the automatic restoration of trust. It is wrong to think that forgiving an abusive spouse today means the separation should end tomorrow. Scripture gives us many reasons to distrust those who have proved themselves untrustworthy (see Luke 16:10–12). Rebuilding trust can only begin after a process of reconciliation involving true forgiveness—which, of course, involves confession and repentance.
Also, importantly, forgiveness offered and available is not the same as forgiveness given, received, and transacted. This is where the word forgiveness on its own with no qualifier is often used differently from, and beyond, how God’s Word uses it. We tend to call the attitude of forgiveness—being willing to forgive—“forgiveness,” just the same as the actual transaction of true forgiveness. That is, in popular thinking, as long as a person is open to granting forgiveness, he has already forgiven. But this broad definition of forgiveness short-circuits the process of confession and repentance. Forgiveness offered and forgiveness received are entirely different, and we don’t help ourselves by using a catch-all word for both.
If this is what forgiveness is not, then what is it? An excellent definition of forgiveness is found in the book Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns:
God’s forgiveness: A commitment by the one true God to pardon graciously those who repent and believe so that they are reconciled to him, although this commitment does not eliminate all consequences.
General human forgiveness: A commitment by the offended to pardon graciously the repentant from moral liability and to be reconciled to that person, although not all consequences are necessarily eliminated. (Crossway Books, 2008, p. 55).
Biblically, full forgiveness is not just something that the offended person offers; it requires that the offender receives it, bringing reconciliation to the relationship. First John 1:9 shows that the process of forgiveness is primarily to free the sinner; forgiveness ends the rejection, thus reconciling the relationship. This is why we must be willing to forgive others—if we aren’t willing to forgive, we refuse to allow others to enjoy what God has blessed us with. Modern pop psychology has wrongly taught that “forgiveness” is one-sided, that reconciliation is unnecessary, and that the purpose of this unilateral forgiveness is to free the offended person of feelings of bitterness.
While we must not harbor bitterness in our hearts (Hebrews 12:15) or repay evil for evil (1 Peter 3:9), we should make sure we follow God’s lead and not extend forgiveness to the unrepentant. In short, we should withhold forgiveness from those who do not confess and repent; at the same time, we should extend the offer of forgiveness and maintain an attitude of readiness to forgive.
Stephen, as he was being stoned to death, illustrates the principle of forgiveness. Echoing Jesus’ words from the cross, Stephen prays, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60; cf. Luke 23:34). These words show a definite willingness to forgive, but they do not indicate a completed transaction of forgiveness. Stephen simply prayed that God would forgive his murderers. Stephen held no bitterness, and, when and if his murderers repented, he wished them to be forgiven—what a wonderful example of loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).
The Bible commands the counter-intuitive action of feeding our enemy when he is hungry (Romans 12:20). There is nothing to say we must automatically forgive our enemies (or trust them); rather, we are to love them and work for their good.
If “forgiveness” is given prematurely without the prerequisites of confession and repentance, then the truth has not been dealt with openly by both parties. If the offender doesn’t acknowledge his sin, then he really does not understand what it means to be forgiven. In the long run, bypassing confession or repentance doesn’t help the offender to understand the significance of sin, and it precludes a sense of justice, causing the offended person to battle even more against bitterness.
Here are some key guidelines for godly forgiveness:
- acknowledge the fact of evil (Romans 12:9)
- leave vengeance to the Lord (verse 19)
- leave no room for bitterness, revenge, grudges, or retaliation
- have a heart ready to forgive at a moment’s notice
- trust God to give you the ability to overcome evil with good, even to love and feed an enemy (verses 20–21)
- remember that God has instituted governing authorities, and part of their God-given role is to be “God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4). One reason you don’t have to avenge yourself is that God has authorized government to provide justice.

Netflix’s Black Cleopatra Exposed
Raymond Ibrahim/American Thinker/April 21/2023
By having her depicted as a Black woman, Netflix’s “Queen Cleopatra” is creating a stir. Because all four of my grandparents were Coptic Egyptian, and because the Copts are “acknowledged as the remaining descendants of the civilisation of the Ancient Egyptians, with Pharaonic origins,” I cannot resist but offer my two cents. First, this business has been going on for quite a long time. One of my very first college research papers (still in my possession, from 1993) was dedicated to debunking this widespread and entrenched claim that ancient Egyptians were black—as in sub-Saharan African Black.
On the one hand, one can sympathize with the motive behind this claim: to give sub-Saharan Africans a source of pride, to present them as one of the first, great civilizations. On the other hand, you cannot warp the truth—that is, foist a lie—without negative consequences.
For starters, those who claim ancient Egypt was Black commit precisely that one sin they supposedly most abhor: cultural appropriation. Ancient Egypt was Egyptian; to claim otherwise, to attribute its achievements to another race or people, is not just an unconscious, but very conscious, form of cultural appropriation. Little wonder not a few Egyptians are vexed. One prominent lawyer is even suing Netflix for “blackwashing history.”
The idea that ancient Egypt is a Black civilization can be connected to another, very commonplace mistake: thinking that Africa, in its entirety, is a Black continent. Although on the same land mass, Black Africa and Egypt are, it is often forgotten, separated by the world’s largest desert, the Sahara. Historically, and even today, this inhospitable and desiccated region was immensely difficult to traverse. There was, moreover, very little incentive for anyone to go on such a life-threatening trek. Conversely, even though Europe and North Africa are separated by a sea, thanks to the ancient invention of boats, the Mediterranean served as an easily crossed bridge between the two continents all throughout antiquity. Hence why Egypt was an important part of the Greco-Roman world.
In short, and despite how they all appear on a map, Europe and Egypt had an infinite more amount of commerce than did Egypt and sub-Saharan Africa, despite the fact that the latter two are on the same continent and therefore appear closer to one another.
By the way, this is also why the term “African-American” is fraught with ambiguities. Although everyone understands and means by it an American of Black descent, what about people like me? I’m an American, and my bloodline traces directly back to Egypt—which is in Africa. Does that not make me a bonafide African-American?
Such are the confusions brought on by euphemisms: the seven-syllable term “African-American” was apparently coined because the more straightforward “Black” was deemed offensive (apparently to overly sensitive whites, as I’ve yet to meet a Black person offended by that term). As a result, precision in communication is lost. It’s the same with the term “Asian.” Although Asia is the largest continent and hosts many different races, today, when someone says so-and-so is “Asian,” they have one very specific race in mind—the Sinic race. Meanwhile, Hindus, Arabs, Armenians, Georgians, Turks, et al are left without a continent, since anyone who hears that so-and-so is “Asian” will never think that one of these is meant. But I digress; returning to Netflix’s Queen Cleopatra, here we point out what should be obvious: not only are Egyptians not racially Black—which I know from personal, familial, and travel experience—but Cleopatra wasn’t even Egyptian. She was Greek, specifically Macedonian, a descendant of Alexander the Great’s general, Ptolemy I. Little wonder that former Egyptian Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass insists that Netflix’s depiction of Cleopatra “is completely fake. Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was blonde, not black.” (Witness the outraged denial in this brief video to the revelation that another Egyptian queen, Nefertiti, was also not quite so “African” looking.)
Incidentally, in order to get beyond the obvious objection—If modern day Egyptians are not Black, how could their ancestors have been?—the cultural appropriators have long insisted that modern day Egyptians “lightened up” following the seventh century Arab conquest and comingling of Egypt.
In reality, according to recent DNA tests, it appears that, if anything, the opposite is true—ancient Egyptians were lighter, not darker, than their modern day descendants. Apparently the ancients looked more like Levantine peoples: Syrians, Lebanese, etc.
I close by confessing a certain surprise that Netflix’s Cleopatra is receiving any criticism at all. In our post-truth era, where openly falsifying reality receives zero protest, there are already countless films which depict well-known and beloved characters turned Black—including historical figures, such as the formerly pale Anne Boleyn, a fifteenth century queen of England.
As such, who would’ve thought that depicting Queen Cleopatra—who, after all, hails from Africa (“case closed, she’s Black!”)—would cause any backlash?

No Cleopatra was not black — here are the facts
Dr. Zahi Hawass/Arab News/April 21, 2023
The “docudrama” Queen Cleopatra, which purports to be a historically accurate account of the life and reign of the ruler of the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt in the first century BC, will be released on Netflix on May 10.
The series, produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, the wife of American actor Will Smith, has already attracted much controversy for the decision to cast the black British actress Adele James in the title role.
Cleopatra was not black. As well documented history attests, she was the descendant of a Macedonian Greek general who was a contemporary of Alexander the Great. Her first language was Greek and in contemporary busts and portraits she is depicted clearly as being white.
The evidence for Cleopatra’s true heritage is overwhelming – and not, as Pinkett Smith has said in defense of the show, “highly debated.”
The actress playing Cleopatra has offered this advice to the show’s many critics: "If you don't like the casting, don't watch the show." It is advice that I, and I suspect countless Egyptians, intend to take.
There are many words that could be used to describe the falsehood at the heart of this series, and headlines in newspapers around the world – from the US to Egypt and Greece – have carried several of them, including “historical revisionism,” “cultural appropriation,” and “black-washing.”
The protests are not motivated by racism. As the Egyptian lawyer Mahmoud Al-Semary, who has launched a legal bid to have access to Netflix blocked in Egypt, has pointed out, this is outrage provoked by a form of cultural identity theft.
None of these statues, including the one we found, which was made of alabaster, gives any indication that Cleopatra was black.
Al-Semary has accused Netflix of an attempt to "promote the Afrocentric thinking ... which includes slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity.” He makes a sound case.
I met Pinkett Smith in 2006. At the time I was the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, and she and I were named by Time magazine as being among “the 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming our world.”
I went to the ceremony at the Lincoln Center in New York and, at dinner, sat at a table with both Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. I invited Smith to come to Egypt and, 11 years later, in company with most of the members of his family, but not his wife, he did.
That, as it now turns out, was a pity. As one talking head in the film says, “I remember my grandmother saying to me, ‘I don’t care what they tell you in school, Cleopatra was black’.”
But, as all the evidence shows, she wasn’t.
One need only look at all the known statues of Cleopatra VII, such as the head of the queen that I and fellow archaeologist Kathleen Martinez found inside the Temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria, during our search for Cleopatra’s tomb.
None of these statues, including the one we found, which was made of alabaster, gives any indication that Cleopatra was black.
During our excavation inside the temple, we also found a large number of coins bearing the face and name of Cleopatra. Again, not one of the depictions supports the decision of the producers of the series to portray their queen as black.
There is a similar lack of evidence for Cleopatra having been black to be found in a depiction on the facade of the temple at Dendera, which shows her with the goddess Hathor and her child Caesarion, the son of Caesar.
Why is this series appearing now? It is, perhaps, timed to take commercial advantage of the current contention among some in the black American community that their origins lie in ancient Egypt.
I can’t say if this is true or not. If there were evidence to support this theory, I would accept it completely, but there is no such evidence.
The truth as we know it can be found in the many scenes depicted in temples throughout Egyptian history. Here we see the pharaohs smiting the enemies of Egypt and, in front of them, all of the people of the surrounding regions, including Nubia, Libya and Mesopotamia.
Luckily for historians and archaeologists, the ancient Egyptian artists were sticklers for detail – examine the faces, and the racial characteristics of each of the figures are clearly shown.
This can be seen in one of the great scenes that was found during our excavation and conservation inside the tomb of Ramses II in the Valley of the Kings. It shows the sun god Ra on his boat and, standing in front of him, people of four clearly identifiable races: Egyptians, Africans, Libyans and Asiatics.
In February it was announced that black American comedian Kevin Hart had cancelled an upcoming show in Egypt, because of controversy over Afrocentric remarks he had made previously, claiming that the kings of Egypt had been black Africans.
I was unhappy about the cancellation because dialogue between all of us is very important. If we could have met, I’d have explained to Hart that the people from the Nubian Kingdom of Kush did indeed come to Egypt as conquerors who ruled for about a century, from 744 to 656 BC, but they were not, as has been repeatedly and wrongly claimed, the originators of pharaonic civilization.
A few years ago, I went to Philadelphia to give a lecture at the University of Pennsylvania on the origins of the ancient Egyptians and, such is the interest in this subject, the lecture was sold out. I said there were three opinions on the subject.
Some scholars say that the first ancient Egyptians came from Asia and Africa. As evidence they cite the shape and color of the people in the Nile Delta today, who are white, while the color of the people in Upper Egypt is darker. They also suggest that the grammar in hieroglyphic script is similar to that in Arabic and Hebrew.
There is a similar lack of evidence for Cleopatra having been black to be found in a depiction on the facade of the temple at Dendera, which shows her with the goddess Hathor and her child Caesarion, the son of Caesar.
The second opinion was published by Cheikh Anta Diop, from Senegal, who claimed that the ancient Egyptians were of black origin, and pointed to statues of Tutankhamun and Ramses, which had been carved from dark stone. He also said that the grammar in hieroglyphic script was similar to some African languages, but a UNESCO conference in Paris attended by many Egyptologists dismissed the theory as lacking real evidence.
The third opinion is based on the excavation of Naqada in Upper Egypt by the British archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie, who is regarded as the father of Egyptology and a pioneer in systematic archaeological investigation. After excavating a predynastic cemetery, Petrie concluded that the remains buried there were of the people who had made the Egyptian civilization.
If we look at the archaeological evidence from Asia and Africa, it is clear that this pharaonic civilization occurred only in Egypt. The ancient people of Africa, although blessed similarly with the bounty of the Nile and even better weather, left nothing behind them.
Cleopatra was not black, and I would welcome the opportunity to teach Pinkett Smith about a woman whose achievements and story were sufficiently dramatic not to require politically motivated embellishment in the retelling of them.
When Cleopatra took the throne in 51 BC after the death of her father, Egypt was severely damaged, significantly in debt and experiencing high inflation. The Nile had recently flooded more destructively than usual, political power lay in the hands of Rome and the feelings of anger and rebellion among the Alexandrians toward the pharaoh had reached fever pitch.
Cleopatra rose to the occasion, entering the political arena with a strong character, a sharp mind and, it has to be said, feminine charms that she did not hesitate to exploit, as witnessed by her relationships with and manipulation of the Romans Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Cleopatra had several private tutors who prepared her to rule Egypt, but she also pursued academic interests of her own, such as science and philosophy, and could be said to have been a pioneer in the field of women’s rights. Unlike her forebears, Cleopatra learned the native language of Egypt, as well as Greek and other tongues.
Cleopatra, then, was many things, and well deserving of having her story told to modern audiences, but one thing she most definitely was not was black.
It is a shame that Netflix has categorized this new series as a docudrama, rather than a pure drama, because no one who knows anything about ancient Egypt can possibly take it seriously.
**Dr. Zahi Hawass is Honorary Chairman, Antiquities Coalition Advisory Council, Egyptologist and Former Minister of Antiquities of Egypt, a position he served twice. He is also the Director of Excavations at Giza, Saqqara, Bahariya Oasis, and the Valley of the Kings. He has been involved in several important archaeological projects. He led the search for the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony on the premises of a Ptolemaic temple near Alexandria. (Source: Antiquities Coalition)

تقرير من موقع كايتستون يتناول وضعية اللاجئين المسيحيين السوريين والعراقيين المأساوي في مخيمات تركيا وتخلي دول الغرب عنهم
طالبو اللجوء العراقيون والسوريون المسيحيون الذين تم التخلي عنهم
أوزاي بولوت/ معهد جيتستون/ 21 نيسان/2023
Turkey: The Abandoned Iraqi and Syrian Christian Asylum Seekers
Uzay Bulut/ Gatestone Institute/April 21, 2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/117584/117584/
Iraqi and Syrian Christian asylum seekers, stuck in Turkey for years, suffer from countless problems such as their children's lack of education, severe poverty, lack of religious liberty, lack of work permits, restricted freedom of movement, the hostility of some Muslims against their faith, and rejections of their asylum applications by Western governments.
"Although the European Union says the full amount has been allocated and more than 4 billion euros have been disbursed, the Turkish government has taken issue with the pace and manner of the payments, which have gone to refugee-serving organizations rather than government accounts." — Migration Policy Institute, April 8, 2021.
Even though Syrian and Iraqi Christian asylum seekers in Turkey face harassment, poverty and discrimination, the asylum applications of many Iraqi and Syrian Christians are rejected by Australia, Canada, the US and other Western countries. Why?
Around 22,000 Iraqi and Syrian Christian asylum seekers currently live in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. They have been exposed to genocide, terrorism, war crimes and crimes against humanity in their home countries. Where are the Western governments?
So, what has happened to the 6 billion euros given by the EU to Turkey so that Turkey would help refugees more? If such a huge amount of money has been granted to Turkey to provide more for refugees, why are so many refugees and asylum seekers still suffering under horrible conditions in the country? And who are these organizations referred to as "refugee-serving"? Have they taken the money, embezzled it, spent it, and it wasn't enough? The international community, including the EU, urgently needs more transparency regarding how the money has been spent and how many refugees and asylum seekers have benefited from it.
Why not issue non-refugee visas? Especially as, according to figures reportedly released by the Biden Administration, 5.5 million illegal migrants have crossed the Mexican border into the US as well as "more than 414 million lethal doses" of fentanyl just in 2022.
Currently, asylum seekers need humanitarian visas to be resettled in the West. But many Christian asylum seekers are educated or have skills, so they would be qualified to receive work permits to reside in Western countries. They hope to safely migrate for work, using their skills to provide for their families and live dignified lives.
Where are the UN, international women's organizations, the International Rescue Committee and children's rights organizations? These asylum seekers are facing extinction in their homelands, suffering in places such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and hoping someday to find safety in the West.
Iraqi and Syrian Christian asylum seekers, stuck in Turkey for years, suffer from countless problems such as their children's lack of education, severe poverty, lack of religious liberty, lack of work permits, restricted freedom of movement, the hostility of some Muslims against their faith, and rejections of their asylum applications by Western governments. Pictured: Kahramanmaras refugee camp, built to house 11,500 people from Syria, photographed on September 19, 2019 in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)
The Christians of Iraq and Syria have for decades suffered from persecution and instability caused by oppression by the Ba'ath regimes, the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the outbreak of Sunni-Shiite fighting in 2006, al-Qaeda terrorism, the 2014 genocide by ISIS, ongoing Turkish airstrikes on Iraq and Syria, and in many cases, pressures and harassment at the hands of their Muslim neighbors. All this persecution has forced many of them to leave their home countries and seek asylum elsewhere.
According to a report by Open Doors:
"Iraq is home to a number of traditional Orthodox and Catholic churches, but all are seriously affected by intolerance, discrimination and persecution from local leaders, government authorities and Islamic extremist groups....In the Nineveh Plains region, church leaders have been kidnapped in the past; those speaking out against local militias or political leaders are particularly at risk."
Since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the country's Christian community has dwindled from around 1.5 million to fewer than 200,000. The persecution of Christians peaked with the takeover of large areas of Iraq by ISIS in 2014.
After ISIS captured the Iraqi city of Mosul in June of 2014, Christians were given the option to either convert to Islam, pay taxes (jizya), leave, or be killed. ISIS marked Christian homes with the Arabic letter "N," for Nasrani, or Christian. Two months later, in August 2014, ISIS took control of Christian towns in the Nineveh Plains, resulting in a second wave of mass displacement, according to a report by the University of Minnesota.
In Syria, Christians also continue to face severe persecution. Open Doors reports:
"Christians in Syria still grapple with daily persecution that may become violent, despite the public threat from so-called Islamic State having largely subsided.... Sharing the gospel is very risky, and church buildings have often been completely destroyed. The abduction of church leaders continues to have a considerably negative impact on Christian communities.
"The number of Christians in the country continues to decrease, as many have fled conflict and persecution.
"All Syrians and Iraqis have experienced hardship in the past decade, but Christians have faced more than most. In many regions, they were targeted by Islamic militants – losing their jobs, their homes and even their lives. Many had to flee, displaced either within Syria or abroad."
Many persecuted Christians from Iraq and Syria, since they were forced to leave their home countries, are still looking for a new homeland.
At present, approximately 5,000-6,000 Iraqi and Syrian Christian asylum seekers live in Turkey, waiting to be resettled in the West. Many arrived in Turkey during the 2014 genocide by ISIS. They are currently living in 35 cities in Turkey, as the government has spread them across the country.
The Iraqi Christian Relief Council (ICRC) went to Turkey in late February to interview Christian families from Iraq and Syria on camera for an upcoming documentary on the refugee crisis. The author spoke with ICRC and its founding president, Juliana Taimoorazy.
Forgotten, abandoned people
Iraqi and Syrian Christian asylum seekers, stuck in Turkey for years, suffer from countless problems such as their children's lack of education, severe poverty, lack of religious liberty, lack of work permits, restricted freedom of movement, hostility of some Muslims against their faith and rejections of their asylum applications by Western governments.
A major problem they face is their children's inability to receive an education in Turkey. Middle East Christians deeply value education, but when their children try to go to school in some of the smaller Turkish towns, many are bullied for being Christian and for not speaking Turkish. Some of them go to makeshift schools that are not accredited in Turkey. Most, therefore, do not go to school at all.
In Iraq and Syria, the Christians who fled were mainly professionals, such as teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers and business owners. In Turkey, however, they are just asylum seekers with minimal rights and – important in the Middle East – they feel it is "a loss of dignity". Although many are educated and capable, they cannot get work permits, so they cannot legally work. They, therefore, cannot provide for their families and struggle from extreme poverty.
Some resort to begging in the streets or borrowing money from families or neighbors – then end up in debt. In some instances, their relatives try to help, but most, even in the West, are refugees themselves and can only offer minimal help, if that.
The neighborhoods are bad, the homes are damp and infested with cockroaches. They cannot afford heat. Sometimes two families live together in one apartment with no privacy.
Many are ill, but many do not have access to healthcare.
They cannot travel freely: even to go from one town to another, they must first get permission (an official document) from state authorities.
Single mothers
Single mothers try to be both the mother and the father. Their husbands have either died or left their families because they were unable to handle the terrible situations that their families were going through. Unfortunately, there have been some cases reported of women not having a choice but to sell their bodies to provide for their families – but they say that goes against their faith, their morals, and everything they were raised to defend.
Hostility to Christians
In some towns, the asylum seekers are not able to socialize with locals: they are discriminated against for being Iraqi or Syrian and Christian. In smaller towns, because of the hostile environment against Christians, parents fear sending their daughters alone outside even to go shopping.
As most live in small towns, they are afraid of saying they are Christian. They hide their faith for fear of persecution and avoid open worship.
When asylum seekers live in the same neighborhood with Muslim refugees or migrants from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, they fear them as well. In bigger cities, their lives are a bit better: people are somewhat kinder and friendlier towards Christians and foreigners.
Turkey's responsibility towards Christian asylum seekers and refugees
The "EU-Turkey deal," signed in March 2016, refers to the "statement of cooperation" between EU states and the Turkish government. According to it, Turkey would receive €6 billion to improve the humanitarian situation faced by refugees there. In December of 2020, the European Union paid the final installment of a €6 billion fund to Turkey to host refugees.
According to a 2021 report by the Migration Policy Institute, however:
"The European Union agreed to provide 6 billion euros in humanitarian assistance, education, health care, municipal infrastructure, and socioeconomic support for Syrian refugees in Turkey between 2016 and 2019. Although the European Union says the full amount has been allocated and more than 4 billion euros have been disbursed, the Turkish government has taken issue with the pace and manner of the payments, which have gone to refugee-serving organizations rather than government accounts. In 2020, the European Union committed to providing an additional 485 million euros to see some programs continue through 2021."
So, what has happened to the 6 billion euros given by the EU to Turkey so that Turkey would help refugees more? If such a huge amount of money has been granted to Turkey to provide more for refugees, why are so many refugees and asylum seekers still suffering under horrible conditions in the country? And who are these organizations referred to as "refugee-serving"? Have they taken the money, embezzled it, spent it, and it wasn't enough? The international community, including the EU, urgently needs more transparency regarding how the money has been spent and how many refugees and asylum seekers have benefited from it.
Since 2018, the government of Turkey has been in charge of refugee work. The Turkish government authorities are thus responsible for the wellbeing of those asylum seekers.
In 2018, the U.N. refugee agency handed over the management of registration procedures for refugees in Turkey to the country's migration authority.
Turkey's Directorate General of Migration Management itself now oversees the registration of refugees and determines their status. Any foreigner seeking international protection in Turkey first has to apply to the local offices of the Turkish migration authority.
Hence, the government officials of Turkey could help asylum seekers and refugees more. They could provide them with healthcare including medicines and mental health therapy. And they could lodge Christian asylum seekers in cities and towns that are more tolerant towards Christians and other non-Muslims.
Asylum applications rejected by the West
Even though Syrian and Iraqi Christian asylum seekers in Turkey face harassment, poverty and discrimination, the asylum applications of many Iraqi and Syrian Christians are rejected by Australia, Canada, the US and other Western countries. Why? The Iraqi Christian Relief Council is launching an effort to discover the reason.
Around 22,000 Iraqi and Syrian Christian asylum seekers currently live in Lebanon Jordan, and Turkey. They have been exposed to genocide, terrorism, war crimes and crimes against humanity in their home countries. Where are the Western governments?
Why not issue non-refugee visas? Especially as, according to figures reportedly released by the Biden Administration, 5.5 million illegal migrants have crossed the Mexican border into the US as well as "more than 414 million lethal doses" of fentanyl just in 2022.
Currently, asylum seekers need humanitarian visas to be resettled in the West. But many Christian asylum seekers are educated or have skills, so they would be qualified to receive work permits to reside in Western countries. They hope to safely migrate for work, using their skills to provide for their families and live dignified lives.
Western governments and international human rights organizations could cooperate with and form partnerships with other organizations such as the Iraqi Christian Relief Council to help asylum seekers and refugees urgently and effectively.
Rt. Rev. Bashar Warda, the Archbishop of Irbil, the capital of Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, said in London in 2019:
"Christianity in Iraq, one of the oldest Churches, if not the oldest Church in the world, is perilously close to extinction. Those of us who remain must be ready to face martyrdom."
Referring to ISIS jihadists that displaced Christians from their historic homelands in Iraq, the archbishop said:
"Our tormentors confiscated our present while seeking to wipe out our history and destroy our future. In Iraq there is no redress for those who have lost properties, homes and businesses. Tens of thousands of Christians have nothing to show for their life's work, for generations of work, in places where their families have lived, maybe, for thousands of years."
The archbishop criticized Britain's Christian leaders of failing to do enough in defense of the vanishing Christian community in Iraq.
Nearly four years after the archbishop's plea, nothing has changed. Where are the UN, international women's organizations, the International Rescue Committee and children's rights organizations? These asylum seekers are facing extinction in their homelands, suffering in places such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and hoping someday to find safety in the West.
**Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute. She is also a research fellow for the Philos Project.
© 2023 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19550/turkey-iraqi-syrian-christian-refugees

Troubled times for the Taliban and their neighbors
Luke Coffey/Arab News/April 21, 2023
The Taliban’s relationship with Afghanistan’s neighbors received a lot of attention on the international stagein the past week. A high-level meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia, China, Pakistan, and Iran, along with their de facto Taliban counterpart, took place in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. A readout from the meeting highlighted concerns that several terrorist groups in Afghanistan “continue to pose a serious threat to regional and global security.”
Meanwhile, the communique issued after last week’s G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan contained a whole section about Central Asia containing a strong emphasis on “the destabilizing effect the situation in Afghanistan” is having on the region. While a G7 statement on Central Asia is not unprecedented, it is certainly unusual, and illustrates how precarious the situation is in the region.
Ever since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, relations between Kabul and the Central Asian republics have been a mix of pragmatism, complexity, and difficulty. The three Central Asian republics that share a land border with Afghanistan — Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan — have taken a slightly differing approach to engaging with the Taliban.
The most enthusiastic country out of that group has been Uzbekistan. Although Tashkent maintained cordial relations with the Afghan governments of Presidents Karzai and Ghani after 2001, its informal engagement with the Taliban started years before Kabul fell. Uzbekistan and Afghanistan share an important land border. Both countries have a history of trade. In recent years Uzbekistan has been one of Afghanistan’s most important transit gateways to global markets. Therefore, Uzbekistan’s approach to engaging with the Taliban has been based more on pragmatism than ideology. The secular government in Tashkent has little in common with the fundamentalist regime in Kabul.
At the other end of the spectrum, Tajikistan has taken a more standoffish approach when dealing with the Taliban. Statements from senior officials in Tajikistan have repeatedly expressed concern over the proliferation of international terrorist groups in Afghanistan. Since coming to power, the Taliban have placed Jamaat Ansarullah, a Tajik extremist group with the stated goal of overthrowing the government in Dushanbe, in charge of patrolling the Afghan border with Tajikistan. Dushanbe has also expressed concern about the targeting of Tajik minority groups in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power. During Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s, Tajikistan played an important role supporting the Northern Alliance, the main opposition group to the Taliban. Today, Tajikistan plays a similar role in supporting the National Resistance Front, the modern-day successor to the Northern Alliance.
Even for those countries that have gone out of their way to have good relations with the Taliban, strains are starting to emerge.
Even for those countries that have gone out of their way to have good relations with the Taliban, strains are starting to emerge. For example, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have raised concerns about the Taliban’s construction of the so-called Qosh Tepa canal in Afghanistan. This canal, expected to be 100 meters wide and 285 kilometers long, will divert a significant amount of water from the Amu Darya River upstream from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource in Central Asia. There are concerns that the Taliban’s canal project will harm the already fragile agriculture situation and exacerbate the water crisis in Central Asia.
There is also an ongoing dispute between the Taliban and both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan over the status of planes and helicopters that previously belonged to the Afghan military. As the Taliban marched on Kabul, dozens of military planes and helicopters flew hundreds of fleeing Afghans to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The Taliban want those aircraft returned but so far both countries have been reluctant to comply.
Even the Uzbek-Taliban relationship is having problems. Afghanistan imports 60 percent of its electricity from Uzbekistan. This year, Uzbekistan temporarily cut off electrical supply to Afghanistan because of alleged nonpayment by the Taliban. Although this was a temporary move by the Uzbeks, it came at the coldest time of winter during an acute humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Clearly this was a sign of Tashkent’s growing frustration with the Taliban.
In the same way that the Taliban are realizing it’s far easier being an insurgency movement than it is governing a country, the countries of Central Asia are realizing that relations with the Taliban are far more complicated than they had originally hoped. While the situation in Afghanistan before the Taliban’s reemergence was not perfect, it was predominantly a security problem that Central Asia could contain. Now, Central Asia must deal with on-going security issues, which in the context of transnational terrorism are arguably worse under the Taliban, and a major humanitarian crisis.
This combination of a severe humanitarian crisis and the proliferation of transitional terrorist groups in Afghanistan has the potential to spill over into Central Asia. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the countries of the G7 along with Russia, Iran, and China have all expressed their concerns about the situation in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Considering that this group of countries can rarely agree on any single issue, this common ground on the deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan should be a wakeup call for the Taliban — not to mention the international community.
• Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
Twitter: @LukeDCoffey