Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 26-27/2023
Iran says willing to swap prisoners with United States
AFP/26 June 2023
Iran said on Monday it was hoping indirect talks with the United States could lead to a "positive" outcome for a prisoner swap. Iran announced earlier this month that it was engaged in Oman-mediated talks with its arch-nemesis the United States over its nuclear deal and a possible prisoner exchange. "We are negotiating for the release of Iranian citizens through parties who play a role in good faith," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on Monday. "We have to see if the American government is ready to make a final decision in this regard," he told reporters, adding that Tehran hoped "to witness such a positive event". At least three Iranian-Americans are being held in Iran, including businessman Siamak Namazi, arrested in October 2015 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage. The other two are venture capitalist Emad Sharqi, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges, and Morad Tahbaz, who also holds British nationality, and was jailed for 10 years for "conspiring with America". In the past two months, Iran released six European citizens and recovered an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, who was convicted of terrorism and imprisoned in Belgium. Kanani's comment came following media reports that Washington and Tehran were close to an interim deal to replace the 2015 nuclear accord. The two sides have denied these reports. Known as the JCPOA, the accord granted Iran much-needed sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear deal before it collapsed in 2018 after Washington unilateral pullout. In recent days, the two capitals have denied media reports that they were close to reaching an interim deal to replace the 2015 accord. Efforts to revive the accord have so far failed to yield results. Stop-start talks that began in April last year to restore the nuclear deal have yet to bear fruit. Tehran and Washington cut diplomatic ties in 1980 following the Islamic revolution in Iran.

Tehran: We expect the governments of Iraq and the Kurdistan region to fulfill their responsibilities
NNA/26 June 2023 
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani confirmed that his country expects the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to fulfill their responsibilities towards maintaining border security, according to "Russia Today". He said, "Based on the good neighborly relations with Iraq and the recent security agreement regarding the Kurdistan region, we expect the Iraqi government and the regional government to fulfill their responsibilities towards maintaining border security." He stressed that his country "does not trust the US government, because it is pursuing a policy of stirring up disputes in the region." Regarding the continuation of clashes in Iraqi Kurdistan, he said: "The clashes between opposition groups and the arming of these groups show that they are separatist terrorist groups, and their continued presence on the borders undermines the stability of the region." He continued: "We expect the Iraqi government and the regional government to assume responsibility based on good-neighborly relations between the two countries. There is a road map and a timetable for disarming these groups and removing them from the border area."

President al-Assad : Western attempts to impede Syrian State’s efforts to restore security and stability on all its territory will not succeed
Damascus, SANA/26 June 2023
President Bashar al-Assad held Monday political talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin on relations between Syria and Russia and coordination between them, especially in the light of recent developments. The talks also dealt with issues of combating terrorism and joint efforts between the two countries in the file of the return of Syrian refugees to their country. President al-Assad underlined that all the Western attempts to impede the Syrian State’s efforts to restore security and stability on all its territory will not succeed, and that these efforts are proceeding in accordance with the aspirations of the Syrians for recovery and stability. His Excellency reiterated Syria’s support for the Russian position regarding the situation in Ukraine and its rejection of all Western attempts hostile to Moscow in this context. Vershinin conveyed to President al-Assad warm greetings from President Putin and his satisfaction of the distinguished level of relations between Syria and Russia. He noted the importance of taking action in a new phase of international relations in light of USA concern and its Western allies of losing political and economic control at the global level. Vershinin praised the significant diplomatic victories that Syria has recently achieved at the Arab and world level. Additionally, the Deputy Foreign Minister stressed the importance of Syrian-Russian coordination in international forums and joined efforts against terrorism. The diplomat expressed his country’s continued support for Syria to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Israel OK's plans for thousands of new settlement homes, defying White House calls for restraint
JERUSALEM (AP)/June 26, 2023
Israel’s far-right government on Monday approved plans to build over 5,000 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Israeli media said, a move that threatened to worsen increasingly strained relations with the United States.
The decision defied growing U.S. criticism of Israel’s settlement policies. It also raised tensions with the Palestinians at a time of rising violence in the occupied territory. Multiple Israeli media outlets said the Defense Ministry planning committee that oversees settlement construction approved some 5,700 new settlement homes. The units are at various stages of planning, and it was not immediately clear when construction would begin. COGAT, the defense body in charge of the planning committee, did not respond to requests for comment. The international community, along with the Palestinians, considers settlement construction illegal or illegitimate and an obstacle to peace. Over 700,000 Israelis now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem — territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state.
“The Netanyahu government is moving forward with its aggression and open war against the Palestinian people,” said Wassel Abu Yousef, a Palestinian official in the West Bank. “We affirm that all settler colonialism in all the occupied Palestinian territories is illegitimate and illegal.”Peace Now, an anti-settlement watchdog group, said Israel has now approved over 13,000 settlement housing units this year. That is nearly three times the number of homes approved in all of 2022 and marks the most approvals in any year since it began systematically tracking the planning procedures in 2012. Israel’s government, which took office in late December, is dominated by religious and ultranationalist politicians with close ties to the settlement movement. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a firebrand settler leader, has been granted Cabinet-level authority over settlement policies and has vowed to double the settler population in the West Bank. The Biden administration has been increasingly outspoken in its criticism of Israel’s settlement policies. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the settlements “an obstacle to the horizon of hope we seek” in a speech to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. On Monday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S. was “deeply troubled” by the reported decision to build more settlement homes. “The United States opposes such unilateral actions that make a two-state solution more difficult to achieve,” he said. Despite the criticism, the U.S. has taken little action against Israel. In a sign of its displeasure, the White House has not yet invited Netanyahu for a visit — as is customary following Israeli elections. And this week, the U.S. said it would not transfer funds to Israeli institutions for science and technology research projects in the West Bank. The decision restored a longstanding policy that had been canceled by the pro-settlement Trump administration. Ahead of Monday's vote, Israeli Cabinet Minister Issac Wasserlauf, a member of the far-right Jewish Power party, played down the disagreements with the U.S. “I think the alliance with the U.S. will remain,” he told the Army Radio station. “There are disagreements, we knew how to deal with them in the past.”Simcha Rothman, another far-right member of the governing coalition, accused the Biden administration of having a “pathological obsession” with the Israeli government.  Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing in Israel’s 75-year history, has made settlement expansion a top priority. Senior members have been pushing for increased construction and other measures to cement Israel’s control over the territory in response to a more than year-long wave of violence with the Palestinians. Last week, four Israelis were killed by a pair of Palestinian gunmen who opened fire next to a Jewish settlement. Monday's approvals included 1,000 homes announced by the government last week in Eli, the scene of the shooting. Israel expanded its military activity in the West Bank in early 2022 in response to a series of deadly Palestinian attacks. Over 135 Palestinians have been killed in fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year. Roughly half of them were affiliated with militant groups, though Israel says that number is much higher. But Palestinian stone-throwers and people uninvolved in violence were also killed. Some 24 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians claim all three territories for a future independent state.
Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and claims it as part of its capital — a claim that is not internationally recognized. It says the West Bank is disputed territory whose fate should be determined through negotiations, while Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Two years later, the Hamas militant group overran the territory.

Russia-Ukraine war latest: Kremlin reportedly threatened Wagner families as soldiers marched to Mosco
Niamh Cavanagh·Reporter/Yahoo News/June 26, 2023
The leader of the Kremlin’s shadowy private army, the Wagner Group, rebelled against top military officials over the weekend after a Russian rocket attack killed dozens of his soldiers. In a dramatic show of force against his own government, Yevgeny Prigozhin led his soldiers toward Moscow on a “march for justice” to remove what he labeled as Russia’s incompetent and corrupt senior military leadership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized Prigozhin’s “armed mutiny,” accusing him of “treason.” Hours later Prigozhin, just 125 miles from the capital, announced he was going to turn around. “Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our convoy around and going back to our base camps, according to the plan,” he declared in an apparent deal to end the insurrection.
Here are the latest developments.
Russian intelligence threatened Wagner families, say U.K. security forces
British security forces told the Telegraph on Monday that Russian intelligence services had threatened harm to the families of Wagner leaders who were participating in the mutiny. This new information could be a potential explanation as to why Prigozhin called off the march to Moscow.
Insights from British intelligence also claim that Putin is now looking to absorb Wagner soldiers into the country’s military and dismiss all top Wagner commanders. The report cited a British intelligence assessment that about 8,500 Wagner fighters were involved in the mutiny, contradicting public reports that the number was closer to 25,000.
Sergei Shoigu makes 1st public appearance since Wagner mutiny
Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, was seen for the first time since the weekend insurrection. The appearance is notable, as a key plank of Prigozhin’s uprising was the removal of Shoigu, the Associated Press reported.
The video, published to the Telegram social media platform, shows the military chief inspecting soldiers in Ukraine — clearly meant to suggest that Russia had moved past the Wagner conflict.
Following Shoigu’s public appearance, Prigozhin released a statement where he defended his 24-hour-long uprising. In the 11-minute long audio clip, the Wagner chief claimed the march was due to an “injustice” that was carried out - referring to Friday's attack on a Wagner camp killing an estimated 30 soldiers.
Prigozhin to move to Belarus under deal to end mutiny
According to Reuters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Prigozhin is to move to Belarus after its president, Alexander Lukashenko, brokered a deal between Putin and the mercenary chief. Lukashenko had offered to mediate the deal, with Putin’s approval, as he has known Prigozhin personally for two decades.
Peskov added that Prigozhin would receive amnesty despite orchestrating the armed mutiny and that the soldiers who had taken part would also not face any criminal action.
Russia’s political situation past ‘tipping point,’ says Chinese commentator in deleted tweet
A well-known Chinese journalist stated that Russia would not be able to return to what it was before the armed mutiny, the Telegraph reported.
Hu Xijin, the former editor in chief of the Chinese-government-affiliated Global Times, had been commentating on Prigozhin’s insurrection and Russia’s political situation. In the now-deleted tweet, Hu wrote: “[Prigozhin’s] armed rebellion has made the Russian political situation cross the tipping point. Regardless of his outcome, Russia cannot return to the country it was before the rebellion anymore.”
Hu’s comments were a stark contrast to the Chinese government’s neutral stance on Russian politics. In what appeared to be a backtrack, Hu later posted: “Prigozhin quickly stopped and the rebellion was stopped without bloodshed, which obviously narrowed the impact on Putin’s authority, although not to zero.”

Wagner ‘shot down seven Russian aircraft and killed 13 airmen’ during coup attempt
Joe Barnes/The Telegraph/June 26, 2023
Wagner Group mercenaries shot down seven Russian aircraft and killed 13 airmen during the failed coup attempt, according to Russian military bloggers. ‌Video footage shared widely on social media after the armed rebellion against Moscow on Saturday appeared to show the wreckage of a Russian Air Force Ilyushin-22 in a rural area of southern Russia. ‌The aircraft, most likely to have been used as an airborne command and communications centre, was allegedly shot down by an air defence system deployed by Wagner forces. All 10 of its crew were killed in the crash, according to Moscow Calling, a Russian Telegram channel with almost 90,000 followers. Russia’s defence ministry has not commented on the loss of the aircraft, and the cause of the crash is not independently verifiable. ‌Footage captured of the incident appeared to show the jet hurtling to Earth after being hit with a rocket or missile fired from ground-based forces.‌ Irina Kuksenkova, a correspondent for Russian state-controlled Channel One, said the plane came nowhere near the city of Voronezh. ‌It was reported that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the mercenary group, had offered to compensate the dead crew’s relatives to the tune of 50 million roubles (around £466,000). ‌Video also emerged of the wreckage of a Ka-52 helicopter in the Talovsky district of the Voronezh region. Pictures appeared to show a smouldering wreck in a field‌. A Russian blogger said the helicopter had been shot down by Wagner and that its crew had been killed. A Russian Mi-8MTPR-1, a scarcely-available electronic warfare helicopter, was also reportedly downed by Wagner force near the village of Pavlovsk in the Voronezh region. Footage of the apparent crash site showed a plume of thick black smoke rising into the blue skies above the rural area in southern Russia. An aerial image of the scene appeared to show the aircraft flattened on the ground, only its rotors and tail still intact. ‌Two more of the aircraft were said to have been shot down in the Wagner march on Moscow, which ended when Prigozhin brokered a deal to end the situation.
The Wagner forces were reportedly armed with a Strela-10 air defence system, a Soviet-era surface-to-air missile system, reportedly used to engage the Russian helicopters. An Mi-8 transport helicopter and Mi-35 gunship were also brought down. The crews of each of the downed helicopters, apart from those aboard the Ka-52 gunship, walked away, according to Mil Info Live, Russian Telegram channel. ‌Rybar, an authoritative Russian military blogger, said: “For comparison, since the beginning of the counter-offensive, the armed forces of Ukraine have not managed to shoot down a single one of our aircraft.”

Russian strikes kill 13 in rebel-held Syria
Agence France Presse/June 26/2023
Russian air strikes have killed at least 13 people in rebel-held northwest Syria, the deadliest attack on the country this year, a war monitor said. At least nine civilians, including two children, were among the dead, with most killed at a fruit and vegetable market in Jisr al-Shugur in the Idlib region. "These Russian strikes are the deadliest in Syria this year and amount to a massacre," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Russian forces which back President Bashar al-Assad's regime were responding to rebel drone strikes over the past week that killed four civilians including two children, according to the Observatory. Saad Fato, 35, a laborer who survived the strike on the market, told AFP he helped efforts to try to rescue the wounded. "Russians shells rained on us," he said, recounting that he was unloading tomatoes and cucumbers at the time of the attack. "It was indescribable, seeing the dead, the wounded," he said, his hands still covered with their blood. An AFP correspondent at the scene saw plumes of black smoke rising from the site and ambulances, their sirens wailing, rushing the wounded from the market to hospital. The Syrian Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday evening that its armed forces had "cooperated" with the Russian air force in retaliation for attacks over the past few days that killed civilians in Hama and Latakia provinces. The operation targeted "terrorist positions" in Idlib province, killing dozens and destroying arms depots and drones, said the statement carried by Syria's official news agency SANA.
'Direct attack'
Six civilians died in Jisr al-Shughur and three rebel fighters were killed nearby by Russian air strikes, said Abdel Rahman, whose group relies on a network of sources inside Syria. Another three civilians, including two children, and one rebel fighter were killed in a strike on the outskirts of Idlib city, said Abdel Rahman. That fighter was a member of the Turkistan Islamic Party, a Uyghur-dominated jihadist group, he said, adding that the parents of the dead children also belonged to that group. At least 30 civilians were wounded in Sunday's strikes, said Abdel Rahman, who added that the death toll was likely to rise. Ahmed Yazigi of the civil defense in Jisr al-Shughur earlier reported that the strikes killed nine people, without specifying whether the toll included fighters. Yazigi called the assault "a direct attack on the popular market which provides a basic source of income for farmers". Syria's war has killed more than half a million people and forced around half of the country's pre-war population from their homes. The Assad regime, with Russian and Iranian support, has clawed back much of the ground lost early in Syria's conflict which erupted in 2011 when it brutally repressed pro-democracy protests. Russia has over the years repeatedly struck Syria's last pocket of armed opposition to the regime in the northwest. But deadly attacks on civilians had been limited so far this year until the latest Russian strikes. On Saturday, a Russian airstrike killed two civilians in the Idlib region.

Russian jets step up strikes on rebel enclave in Syria’s northwest, civilians killed
The Arab Weekly/June 26/2023
Russian jets bombed villages and towns near the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on Sunday, killing at least nine civilians and wounding dozens in a major flare-up of violence in the country’s last opposition stronghold, witnesses and rescuers said. War planes flying at high altitude, which tracking centres said were Russian Sukhoi jets, dropped bombs on a vegetable market in Jisr al-Shughour while it was crowded with shoppers ahead of the Muslim Eid feast, leaving at least nine dead and 30 injured, the Western-backed White Helmets emergency response group said. Witnesses and rescuers said jets also hit villages in the mountainous Jabal al Zawya region and the western outskirts of Idlib city, which fall within a buffer zone carved out by Russia and Turkey that ended major fighting nearly five years ago. No immediate comment was available from Russia nor its allies in the Syrian army, whose artillery pounded rebel areas in the countryside west of Aleppo. During past outbreaks of fighting, Damascus and Russia have said they only target insurgent groups and deny indiscriminate attacks on civilians. More than four million people live in the densely-populated opposition-held northwest along the Turkish border. Most were driven there by successive Russian-led campaigns that regained territory seized by rebels. Damascus has in recent rounds of Russian-brokered talks with Ankara demanded that Turkey withdraw a formidable military presence in the last foothold of the Syrian rebellion. Turkish troops based in the region have held back Russia and Damascus from a final assault to wrest back control of the enclave. Tensions have mounted in recent days with Damascus sending reinforcements along front lines to confront the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the main opposition group in the region, which it blames for mounting renewed attacks on army outposts. Damascus says the group was behind a drone strike on Friday that targeted the city of Qardaha, close to Russia’s Hmeimim air base in the coastal province of Latakia. Moscow has grown impatient with Turkey, a major backer of the rebels, saying it is not doing enough to evict jihadists from the buffer zone, diplomatic sources said.

Moscow lifts Wagner mutiny security measures
Associated Press/June 26/2023
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since a mercenary uprising demanded his ouster, inspecting troops in Ukraine Monday in a video released by his ministry. He's the first of three powerful Russian leaders whose diverging interests led to the Wagner Group occupying a Russian city and marching on the capital to be seen since the revolt ended Saturday. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin have made no public statements since then. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin announced an end to the "counter-terrorism regime" imposed on the capital Saturday, during which troops with machine guns patrolled the streets and tore up roads leading into the city. The Defense Ministry released a video showing Shoigu flying in a helicopter and then attending a meeting with military officers at a military headquarters in Ukraine, showing the minister for the first time since Prigozhin declared a "march of justice" to oust the defense minister late Friday, during which the mercenaries captured the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and then marched on Moscow. The rebellion ended on Saturday when Prigozhin ordered his troops back. The Kremlin said it had made a deal that the mercenary chief will move to Belarus and receive an amnesty, along with his soldiers. The mutiny marked the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin in more than 20 years of rule.

Netherlands, Belgium join int'l probe into crimes against Yazidis in Syria and Iraq
Associated Press/June 26/2023
The Netherlands and Belgium have joined an international investigation into atrocities committed against the Yazidi minority in Syria and Iraq, the European Union's judicial cooperation agency said Monday. The Joint Investigation Team was established by France and Sweden in October 2021 and supported by The Hague-based Eurojust to identify and prosecute foreign extremists who targeted Yazidis during the armed conflict in Syria and Iraq. Eurojust said the teamwork already has borne fruit, including in France, where a Yazidi victim of a French jihadist couple was identified. That led to to charges of genocide and crimes against humanity being added to an existing case. The joint investigation team is part of a broader international effort to mete out justice for atrocities targeting Yazidis, a minority considered heretics by the Islamic State militant group. A United Nations probe concluded in 2021 that crimes committed against Yazidis by Islamic State extremists amounted to genocide. IS attacked the heartland of the Yazidi community at the foot of Sinjar Mountain in August 2014. During the weeklong assault, IS killed hundreds of Yazidis and abducted 6,417, more than half of them women and girls. Most of the captured adult men were likely eventually killed. Women and girls were considered commodities for rape and servitude. Prosecutions of returning foreign militants for crimes against Yazidis already are underway in Europe. A German woman was convicted last week of keeping a Yazidi woman as a slave during her time with the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, and sentenced to nine years and three months in prison. The state court in the western city of Koblenz convicted the 37-year-old woman of crimes against humanity, membership in a foreign terrorist organization and being an accessory to genocide, German news agency dpa reported. Authorities have identified her only as Nadine K. in line with German privacy rules. In February, Dutch authorities announced that they were prosecuting a woman who traveled from the Netherlands to join IS on a charge of slavery as a crime against humanity. The woman allegedly used a Yazidi woman as a slave in Syria in 2015. The case marked the first Dutch trial of an alleged IS member for crimes against a Yazidi victim.

Hollywood mogul acknowledges 'excessive' gifts to Netanyahu in 2nd day of testimony
Associated Press/26 Jun 2023 08:45
A billionaire Hollywood mogul took the stand for a second day on Monday in Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial, acknowledging that the long list of champagne, cigars and jewelry he systematically gave to the Israeli prime minister may have been excessive. Arnon Milchan, whose production credits include "Pretty Woman," "12 Years a Slave," and "Bohemian Rhapsody," is a key witness in one of three cases brought against Netanyahu. Prosecutors are trying to prove that Netanyahu committed fraud and breach of trust. Milchan, 78, has been testifying by videoconference from Brighton, England, which is near where he is based. Prosecutors hope his testimony, which began Sunday and is expected to last some two weeks, will provide details about the abundance of gifts given to Netanyahu and his wife. The gifts, the prosecutors maintain, led to favors from Netanyahu that advanced Milchan's interests. Netanyahu's lawyers have said Milchan's gifts were friendly gestures. In his first day of testimony, Milchan described a friendship that included some gifts to the Netanyahus that turned into regular requests and "transformed into a routine." He said the routine became so frequent that he and the Netanyahus developed code words for the gifts. Cigars were known as "leaves," champagne was known as "roses," and luxury dress shirts were nicknamed "dwarves." He said he had instructed his aides to give the Netanyahus "whatever they want" and was assured by the prime minister that there was nothing illegal going on. On Monday, Milchan said the gifts didn't affect his friendship with the Netanyahus until a police investigation was opened and at which point, he said he realized the gifts were "excessive."Asked whether he had ever refused a request for gifts, Milchan said: "Not that I remember."Milchan also again stressed that he considered the Netanyahus friends, but recounted that he told police he felt uncomfortable that his gifts were not reciprocated. According to the indictment against Netanyahu, Milchan gave Netanyahu and his wife a "supply line" of lavish gifts valued at nearly $200,000. The indictment accuses Netanyahu of using his influential perch to assist Milchan to secure a U.S. visa extension by drawing on his diplomatic contacts, including former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Prosecutors also accuse Netanyahu of working to push legislation that would have granted Milchan millions in tax breaks.
Milchan testified Monday that he had turned to Netanyahu and others for help about the visa extension. He said Kerry called him one day and met with him at a hotel. Describing Kerry as a good friend, he said he was told Kerry could not help. The prosecution and defense lawyers have been questioning Milchan in a hotel conference room in Brighton. While no journalists are allowed there, Netanyahu's wife Sara, on a private visit to Britain, sat in for a second straight day.
Prosecutors have demanded that Sara Netanyahu not make eye contact with Milchan, fearing she could sway the witness. The testimony is being aired in a Jerusalem courtroom for judges and other lawyers — who can also ask questions of Milchan — and for journalists and other attendees to watch. Netanyahu, who has attended some of the hearings during his trial, was at the courtroom both on Sunday and Monday. Milchan, who is not charged in the case, greeted him in Hebrew over the two-way video broacdcast, using Netanyahu's nickname: "Shalom, Bibi!" Milchan is testifying in one of three cases being brought against Netanyahu. The other two, which include charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, accuse Netanyahu of exchanging regulatory favors with powerful media moguls for more positive coverage.
Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, claiming he is the victim of a witch hunt orchestrated by a liberal media and a biased justice system. Netanyahu's legal woes have dogged him politically, putting his fitness to rule while on trial at the center of a political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls five times in under four years. They also have fueled accusations by critics that Netanyahu is pushing a contentious government plan to overhaul Israel's judiciary as a way to escape the charges. Netanyahu denies those accusations. The trial, which began in 2020 and has still not heard from Netanyahu himself, has featured more than 40 prosecution witnesses, including some of Netanyahu's closest former confidants who turned against the premier. Witness accounts have shed light not only on the three cases against Netanyahu but also revealed sensational details about his character and his family's reputation for living off the largesse of taxpayers and wealthy supporters. Milchan's aide, Hadas Klein, testified last year that the Netanyahu family "loves gifts." The idea of a plea bargain has repeatedly surfaced, but prosecutors for now appear determined to see the trial through, despite reports last week that the judges warned them that the more serious crime of bribery will be hard to prove.

Iraq soldier, three suspected IS fighters killed in army raid
Agence France Presse26 June 2023
An Iraqi soldier was killed and an officer wounded during a counter-terrorism raid in Iraq that also killed three suspected Islamic State group fighters, Baghdad's security forces said. Sunday's military operation in Kirkuk province, north of the Iraqi capital, targeted "three figures of the terrorist group Daesh in the Turkelan region," the security forces said in a statement, using the Arab acronym for IS jihadists. After the suspected IS members were identified, Iraqi troops approached and a clash erupted, added the statement late Sunday. The jihadists "were surrounded and killed, the explosive belts they were wearing were detonated", it said. IS jihadists seized swathes of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014, declaring a "caliphate" which they ruled with brutality before their defeat in late 2017 by Iraqi forces backed by a U.S.-led military coalition. Despite the setbacks, the extremist group can still call on an underground network of fighters to carry out attacks on both sides of the porous border, the United Nations says. On June 11, three Iraqi soldiers were killed and four others wounded in a pre-dawn attack west of Kirkuk blamed on IS. In April, the international coalition set up to fight the Sunni Muslim extremists said there had been a reduction in IS attacks in both Iraq and Syria. In March, a senior Iraqi military official said IS had between 400 and 500 active fighters in the Shiite-majority country.

Egypt's president gives highest honor to visiting Indian PM
Associated Press/26 June 2023
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has bestowed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Egypt's highest honor as the two countries tightened their partnership. El-Sissi welcomed Modi at the presidential palace in Cairo with the Order of the Nile, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. The leaders signed a declaration elevating Egyptian-Indo ties to a "strategic partnership," which means the two nations agreed to intensify their cooperation and hold periodic talks, the statement said. Egypt and India share deep ties that date back to the 1950s, when they played key roles in founding the Non-Aligned Movement, which sought an alternative path at the height of the Cold War. Modi, who arrived in Cairo on Saturday, is the first Indian prime minister to pay a state visit to Egypt in more than two decades. His two-day stop came six months after el-Sissi was in New Delhi as an official guest at India's Republic Day parade. Modi also invited the Egyptian leader to attend a summit of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing countries, which India will host in September. Following his talks with el-Sissi, Modi visited the famed Pyramids of Giza and a historic mosque, Cairo's Al-Hakim, which was recently renovated with the help of the India-based Dawoodi Bohra community. He also paid tribute to Indian soldiers who died in World War I and are buried in the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo. Modi's trip to Egypt has focused on strengthening bilateral ties. The prime minister said both countries have been moving swiftly to increase bilateral trade to $12 billion annually within five years. Trade exchange between the two nations reached $6 billion in last year, a 13.7% increase from $5.3 billion in 2021, according to Egypt's statistics bureau. The two governments also signed agreements in the fields of agriculture, archaeology, antiquities and competition law, said Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman for India's external affairs ministry. "My visit to Egypt was a historic one. It will add renewed vigor to India-Egypt relations and will benefit the people of our nations," Modi wrote on Twitter before departing to New Delhi. Earlier this year, both countries agreed to boost trade cooperation. India, the world's most populous country, is one of the top five importers of Egyptian products, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas, salt, cotton, inorganic chemicals and oilseeds. Major Indian exports to Egypt include cotton yarn, coffee, herbs, tobacco, lentils, vehicle parts, ships, boats and electrical machinery. El-Sissi and Modi, who came to power in their countries in 2014, have in recent years cultivated a closer relationship. Over the last 16 months, they have resisted pressure from the West to condemn the Russian war in Ukraine. Both Egypt and India have decades-old ties with the Kremlin. "There is a change in the global geopolitical and geoeconomic atmosphere wherein both countries wish to play a defining role," India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said during a visit to Cairo in September. "Egypt's geostrategic location acts as a connecting link between Africa, West Asia, the Mediterranean, and Europe and is also an important country from the Indo-Pacific point of view." Modi arrived from the United States, where he held talks with President Joe Biden and top administration officials, addressed Congress and met with top American executives. His meeting with el-Sissi came as global attention focused on a brief rebellion by the head of the Wagner Group, seen as the greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more than two decades in power. Neither leader commented on the Russian crisis.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wins strong second term promising major reforms
CNN/26 Jun 2023
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of Greece’s center-right New Democracy party, has won a second four-year term as prime minister. Mitsotakis is now set to return to the prime minister’s office in a stronger position with his party’s resounding victory in Sunday’s elections, which were dominated by financial stability and cost-of-living issues. “We have high targets that will transform Greece,” a triumphant Mitsotakis said in his victory speech, promising that “major reforms” would soon be under way. “I will not tolerate any arrogance,” he added. With nearly 100% of the vote counted, New Democracy had garnered over 40% of the vote. Its main opposition, leftist party Syriza trailed far behind in the preliminary results with over 17%. A total of eight parties, including centrist PASOK-KINAL and leftist KKE, have crossed the 3% threshold to enter the Greek parliament. Smaller fringe parties ranging from the far-left to the far-right have also made the cut. “Mitsotakis has been rewarded by voters as the leader who has led Greece out of a severe debt crisis and three international bailouts back into a growth path. Someone who has kept, at least some, of his pledges which is more than many in Greece had previously done,” said Nick Malkoutzis, senior political analyst at Macropolis. It was the second general election in Greece in five weeks, after New Democracy scored a victory in May surpassing all expectations but fell short of winning an outright majority. Mitsotakis, at the helm during the Covid-19 pandemic and Europe’s energy crisis, had positioned himself as a safe pair of hands to boost growth in difficult global circumstances. His government staged a stunning turnaround in the economy, now on the brink of returning to investment grade on the global market for the first time since it lost market access in 2010. New Democracy’s bid for reelection focused on measures to consolidate Greece’s economic recovery, promising a 3% annual growth, tax cuts and curbing unemployment. “We were laggards when it came to growth back in 2019 and now we are one of the best-performing economies in the eurozone,” Mitsotakis recently told CNN. Greece’s former prime minister Alexis Tsipras - who had struggled to deliver on economic recovery promises while in office - fell short of convincing voters, along with his leftist Syriza party.
The migration debate
Sunday’s vote came days after a shocking shipwreck in Greek waters. At least 82 people were left dead and hundreds more unaccounted for when an overcrowded migrant boat capsized and sank of the coast of Pylos. The deadly wreck drew criticism of authorities’ response and halted the election campaign as Greece’s caretaker government announced three days of mourning. But it did little to dent Mitsotakis’ lead, who in a CNN interview last month described his migration policy as “tough but fair”, a message that appears to have resonated with voters. During his election campaign, Mitsotakis vowed to further extend a 35-kilometer fence at the Greek-Turkey border, to block migrants trying to enter Greece. Syriza has also toned down its tune on migration with its leader Tsipras at a pre-election debate agreeing to keep the fence, distancing himself from the open-arms policy toward refugees he has been advocating for years. “The migration debate in Greece is different than anywhere else in Europe,” said Malkoutzis. “Greeks largely feel that its, militarily powerful neighbor Turkey is weaponizing migration to question Greece’s territorial sovereignty publicly. Therefore migration issues are linked to Greece’s national causes and no parties want to, or can afford to, seem to be taken those lightly.”A series of Greek governments have been criticized by international bodies for their handling of migration policy. Conditions in Greek migrant camps have been decried by human rights organizations, particularly following the 2015 refugee crisis, when more than 1 million people entered Europe through the country. In the past year, New Democracy has also faced a wiretapping scandal, growing concerns over the rule of law and public outcry at the aftermath of the country’s worst-ever train crash that left at least 57 people dead. But these only temporarily rocked New Democracy’s public approval ratings.
More reforms
Mitsotakis won the 2019 elections by branding himself as a liberal reformist, promising to reignite the Greek economy and change its image as Europe’s problem child in the wake of an eight-year depression that saw its economy shrink by 25% - the worst contraction in a developed economy since the end of World War II. Fueled by May’s initial election results, Greek bonds and stocks have rallied with optimism that a pro-investment government could prevent financial backsliding. “Strong leadership and political stability is what the markets and investors are looking for,” said Wolfgango Piccoli, co-president at financial advisory firm Teneo. Mitsotakis has also pledged reforms in the judiciary, health and education, and promised further cuts in the country’s bloated public sector.
Disruptive voices
A lack of a strong vision by main opposition parties seems to have contributed to Mitsotakis’ landslide win. With main opposition parties emerging from the latest election greatly weakened, potential questions over a lack of plurality of mainstream voices are resurfacing, along with questions for future accountability and transparency. “The lack of a strong mainstream opposition certainly creates a void and one that the government will have to handle carefully,” said Vassiliki Georgiadou, a professor of political science at Panteion University in Athens. The biggest surprise in Sunday’s vote is the entry to parliament of the little known, strongly anti-migrant Spartans party, backed by disgraced former lawmaker Ilias Kasidiaris, who is currently serving a prison sentence of over 13 years for membership in a criminal organization. He is a former leading member of Golden Dawn, a neo-Nazi party that gained popularity during Greece’s financial crisis. Other fringe far-right entries to the race included the nationalist party Greek Solution and the ultra-religious, anti-abortion Niki. The three together have secured for the far right a bloc of more than 30 seats. The eight-party parliament will also include a party on the far left, Course for Freedom, led by a former Syriza official. “The fringe voices are likely to cause disruption. Particularly in issues to do with nationalism, migration and foreign policy,” said Georgiadou. “But despite the populist cacophony, Mitsotakis’ strong victory provides the new government a clear mandate to govern.”

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 26-27/2023
Why Muslims Torched and Slaughtered Christian Students in Uganda
Raymond Ibrahim/June 26/2023
On the evening of June 16, 2023, Islamic terrorists stormed a private high school in Uganda, where students were closing the night by singing Christian hymns. Over the next 90 minutes, the Muslim invaders committed unspeakable horrors against the Christians—murdering, in the end, at least 42 people, 37 of them teenage boys and girls.
Most of the boys were burned alive. Locked in their dormitory, the Muslim terrorists poured fuel on and set the building on fire. Some of the boys were so “charred beyond recognition” that investigators had to use DNA samples from relatives to identify them.
Most of the girls were hacked and stabbed to death with machetes and knives. An investigative team which visited the site reported that “It was a devastating and upsetting scene. Lots of dried blood is still on the ground outside the girls’ dormitory.” As for the incinerated boys’ dormitory, “the smell of death is unmistakeable—beds have been reduced to wire mesh with pieces of flesh still stuck to them.”
While the media and “experts” continue to allot the usual materialist reasons for Muslim atrocities against Christians—from land disputes and “grievances” to “climate change”—there is no doubt that this massacre was entirely fueled by Islam’s hate for the non-Muslim, the infidel.
For starters, the terrorists were heard to holler Islam’s ancient war-cry, the takbir—“Allahu Akbar”—which immediately positions the attack in a jihadist paradigm. Although many continue to translate that Arabic phrase as “Allah is great,” which suggests Muslim piety and awe, it actually means “Allah is greater,” and is cried out during violent jihads on infidels precisely as a way to say, “See, my god, Allah, is greater than your god—as evidenced by the fact that I am triumphing over and killing you!”
The terrorists further made a concerted effort not to kill any Muslim that might be intermingled with the Christian students. In the words of a survivor: “The rebels asked for Muslims among the students, but there were none. The rebels said they do not kill fellow [Muslim] believers. [Then] they slaughtered every student in their sight using pangas [machetes], axes, and sharp objects.”
As documented in my 2016 article titled, “Prove You’re Muslim or Die,” separating Muslims from Christians during a jihadist raid, and then butchering only the Christians, is not only a very common practice—with examples from Bangladesh, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, and even the U.S.—but further underscores that the attack was entirely about religion, namely, killing Christians—and only Christians.
There are even less obvious aspects to this attack that emphasize Islam’s role: it occurred on a Friday. For those paying attention, Friday is the one day of the week when Muslims, both professional terrorists and regular individuals, are most prone to lash out against infidels. Friday, of course, is also the one day of the week when Muslims gather to pray in mosques and get close to their god and his prophet—and where they invariably hear fiery sermons against infidels.
This phenomenon, incidentally, further highlights how utterly different Christianity and Islam are from one another: most Christians, on leaving church on Sunday afternoon, are probably at their most peaceful towards their fellow man—whereas Muslims, on leaving mosques on Friday, appear to be at their most murderous towards their fellow (though “infidel”) man.
Ugandan authorities are blaming the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)—an Islamic terror group linked to the Islamic State—for the high school massacre, which occurred near the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where ADF is based.
In reality, however, the amount of “professional” terror groups in Africa is burgeoning, morphing, and allying with one another—Boko Haram and Fulani in Nigeria, JNIM in Burkina Faso, Al Shabaab (the youth) in Somalia, Al Shabaab (separate from the Somalis) in Mozambique, and so many more—all often under the Islamic State’s umbrella.
Not only does this make it difficult to determine exactly who is responsible, but it creates something of a distraction: the issue is not this or that terror group—which have been coming and going since the time of Muhammad—but that Islam breeds terrorism. This is amply demonstrated through the behavior of “regular” Muslims all throughout Africa.
In Uganda alone, a Christian-majority nation with a mere 12% Muslim population, not a single month goes by without several incidents of “every day” Muslims slaughtering or terrorizing Christians (see Ugandan entries in my monthly “Muslim Persecution of Christians” reports). Below, for example, are some of the incidents to be reported in just May, 2023:
A Muslim student slaughtered a Christian student in his dorm for “sharing Christ with Muslims.”
A Muslim man, angered at his wife’s conversion to Christianity, starved her—in keeping with sharia’s prescriptions for punishing apostate women—before trying to feed her to wild animals. At one point, he too cried out, “Allahu akbar!”
Muslims nearly beat another convert to Christianity to death. From a hospital bed, he recounted how they had tried “to force me to confess that Jesus is not the Son of God, and that Allah is the only God to be worshipped and Muhammad is His prophet. I refused to renounce Jesus as the Son of God. They started beating me up.”
Again, keep in mind that Uganda’s Muslim population is only 12%.
Worst of all, for anyone paying attention, the June 16 massacre of Christian students, far from being some sort of aberration, is reflective of just how bad things have gotten, and not just in Uganda, but all throughout sub-Saharan Africa, wherever there are meaningful Muslim populations living alongside Christians. This includes a full-blown genocide of Christians in Nigeria.

The Wagner Mutiny and the Dismal End of the Remaining Soviet Fallacy in Russia
Charles Elias Chartouni/Face Book/June 26/2023
The Wagner rebellion far from being an isolated military and political event, ushers a new dynamic that tendentially questions the post Soviet political, geopolitical and ideological foundations of the Russian Republic. The post communist legacy was never able to extract itself from Bolshevism, its ethos, violence, arbitrary exercise of power, oligarchic entrenchments and criminality. To boot, the imperial stature of a dismal State that turned out to be a collection of power centers arbitrated by ideology, bloody autocrats and organized criminality is coming to an end, burying the legacy of Czarist Russia and its ability to federate power around Moscow and its emblematic aura. The war in Ukraine unveiled the compounded and evolving inconsistencies of the Russian federation, the weakness of the central government, its midget economic, managerial and military stature, and inability to operate a functional governance.
The Czar who pretended to be the guarantor of stability and functional statehood, displays his true features: a mafioso who runs a third world dictatorship with nuclear armament, who is incapable to run a war of choice he has elicited with no other reasons than his psychotic delusions, self concocted fallacies, imperial delirium, and a ragtag army tantamount to the criminal groups he enlisted in his neighborly and international power projections (Prigozhin, Kadyrov, the praetorian guard, the FSB thugs and killers….). The miseries are displayed in the open to contemplate and ponder, how long this fallacy is likely to endure, with its cohort of criminal oligarchs, ragtag army, vassal Orthodox Church, and the brutal breakdown of legitimacy brought about by the latest developments.
I wonder whether the war with Ukraine is likely to continue, when, Yevgeny Prigozhin,one of its major protagonists and leading actors on the Russian side, denounces the web of lies behind its declaration, moral arbitrariness and criminal irresponsibility exhibited throughout the war sequences. One wonders, whether the Russians coming to terms with the egregious moral betray are willing to array themselves behind an absurd war, the unending follies of a criminal autocrat, his court jesters and criminal oligarchic associates who were drawing on the war ongoing tragedies. Hegel calls the unfolding of this kind of events “List der Vernunft" (Cunning of Reason), whereby they end up realizing their unintentional objectives. The instrumentalisation of the complicit Wagner Group and its arbitrary dismissal were the catalysts behind the moral denunciation of a criminal war undertaking, the Russian State falsehoods and structural defects, and the demise of the post Soviet political narrative. The Russian fallacy retains one strategic asset, its nuclear arsenal, and the remainders of Bolshevism: official dissembling, violence, cynicism, criminality and moral depravation.

Biden's Endless Gifts to China
Robert Williams/Gatestone Institute/June 26, 2023
The gifts the Biden Administration has already given the Chinese Communist Party in just two years have been nothing short of exorbitant -- and often to the detriment of the US.
The Biden Administration intends to spend more than half a trillion dollars on "clean energy and climate action over the next decade", according to the US Department of Energy. That amount would reportedly include projects for climate change and investments in renewable energy, such as solar panels and wind turbines.
The problem is: these policies are all gifts to China.
In solar energy... China produces between 70% and 98% of the world's silicon-based raw material and other components for solar panels -- a solid world monopoly.
"Most solar panels are imported, with three-quarters of the imports originating from Chinese subsidiaries manufacturing in Southeast Asia.... the US... fell to just 0.5% in 2017." — USA Facts, August 16, 2022.
Not enough is being invested in the manufacturing of solar panels in the US... The solar cells will mainly be coming from China.
The Biden Administration has placed a massive bet on electric vehicles. The goal is that 50% of new vehicles sold in the US should be electric by 2030. Electric vehicles need lithium-ion batteries. China has almost a global monopoly on producing them.
The average cost of raw materials, including lithium, nickel and cobalt, was more than $8,000 per electric vehicle in June 2022. That amount represented an increase of more than 140% since 2020, resulting in the cost of producing an electric vehicle being 125% more to that of an internal combustion vehicle. How many American consumers can afford such expensive cars? Furthermore, electric vehicles have a tendency to burst into flames. None of these problems seems to bother the Biden Administration.
There are several problems with wind turbines. One is that the US still relies on foreign imports to make them, including from -- China. Another is that wind turbines endanger wildlife, such as birds and whales.
The Biden Administration has also set a goal to "achieve a carbon-pollution-free electricity sector by 2035." All these measures clearly hobble the US and reduce its power to compete, while China, already the world's largest user of fossil fuels, has announced that by 2030, its carbon dioxide emissions will peak... China last year built more new coal-fired power plants than the rest of the world combined -- the equivalent of two new coal-fired plants per week.
The proposal [by the Environmental Protection Agency to limit how much carbon dioxide US coal- and gas-fired power plants may emit] means that US electric power plants would have to transform the way that they operate, either costing them billions in new equipment, or closing them down entirely.
All these Biden policies seem almost custom-tailored to reduce America's ability to compete internationally, while giving China even more room to grow its economy and gain an even greater edge over the US.
[A]ccording to John Kerry, the Biden Administration's "climate envoy," whatever the US does unilaterally, without similar action by China and other major economies, is utterly pointless. Kerry admitted in January 2021 that even if the US were to have zero carbon emissions, "almost 90 percent of all of the planet's global emissions come from outside of US borders. We could go to zero tomorrow and the problem isn't solved."
The Biden administration intends to spend more than half a trillion dollars on "clean energy and climate action over the next decade." Meanwhile, China last year built more new coal-fired power plants than the rest of the world combined -- the equivalent of two new coal-fired plants per week.
The gifts the Biden Administration has already given the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in just two years have been nothing short of exorbitant -- and often to the detriment of the US. They have included cancelling the China Initiative that was countering CCP espionage on American soil; allowing the CCP spy-balloon to leisurely hover over America's major nuclear and military sites while gathering sensitive information to send back to Beijing in real time; permitting CCP interests (there are no private interests in China) to buy up American farmland -- especially near US military bases -- also with the potential of controlling the distribution of food inside the US or manipulating the crops; poisoning to death more than 100,000 Americans -- each year -- with fentanyl and other drugs; placing at least six CCP police stations inside American cities; sidestepping Chinese accountability for lying about the origins and transmissibility of COVID-19; condoning the data-gathering and propagandizing of American children by TikTok; doing nothing as the CCP and established naval and other military facilities in the Pacific, Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Africa, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, Mexico, Argentina, and has established a significant presence on both sides of the Panama Canal. The Biden Administration has also sat back and watched as the CCP not only installed itself throughout Latin America but also in Caribbean, as well as establishing a military training facility on Cuba's north shore.
Now, the Biden Administration intends to spend more than half a trillion dollars on "clean energy and climate action over the next decade", according to the US Department of Energy. That amount would reportedly include projects for climate change and investments in renewable energy, such as solar panels and wind turbines.
The problem is: these policies are all gifts to China.
In solar energy, according to S&P Global, China produces between 70% and 98% of the world's silicon-based raw material and other components for solar panels -- a solid world monopoly. According to the US Department of Energy:
"Since President Biden took office, nearly $5 billion in solar manufacturing investments have been announced, including 47 manufacturing plants. Altogether, these investments are enough to power an additional 7 million homes per year."
It will take an extremely long time before the US can produce anything that remotely matches China's current monopoly, which is why the Biden administration's policy will benefit China for years to come.
According to USA Facts:
"Most solar panels are imported, with three-quarters of the imports originating from Chinese subsidiaries manufacturing in Southeast Asia. Despite heavy import tariffs, the US has not kept pace with global solar manufacturing growth and lost 80% of its global market share from 2009 to 2019. In 2004, the US accounted for about 13% of global solar panel shipments but fell to just 0.5% in 2017."
Additionally, not enough is being invested in the manufacturing of solar panels in the US. The lapse has caused the energy research firm Wood Mackenzie to question whether the US market will be able to meet the Biden administration's lofty environmental goals. Solar cells will mainly be coming from China.
In addition, the Biden Administration has placed a massive bet on electric vehicles. The goal is that 50% of new vehicles sold in the US should be electric by 2030. The problem is: that also directly benefits China. Electric vehicles need lithium-ion batteries. China has almost a global monopoly on producing them. China, in 2020, manufactured 76% of global lithium-ion battery capacity. The US produced 8%. Another problem is that electric vehicles are expensive -- just replacing the battery-pack of a vehicle can cost up to $18,000 -- and prices are currently soaring.
The average cost of raw materials, including lithium, nickel and cobalt, was more than $8,000 per electric vehicle in June 2022. That amount represented an increase of more than 140% since 2020, resulting in the cost of producing an electric vehicle being 125% more to that of an internal combustion vehicle. How many American consumers can afford such expensive cars? Furthermore, electric vehicles have a tendency to burst into flames. None of these problems seems to bother the Biden Administration.
When it comes to wind energy, according to the US Department of Energy:
"The Administration has set an ambitious goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, enough to power 10 million homes, support 77,000 jobs, and spur investment across the supply chain. The Department of Energy, through President Biden's clean energy plan, has supported this initiative with nearly $50 million in research, development and demonstration funding."
There are, however, several problems with wind turbines. One is that the US still relies on foreign imports to make them, including from -- China. Another is that wind turbines endanger wildlife, such as birds and whales.
The Biden Administration, furthermore, has set the goal of reaching a 50-52% reduction in carbon emissions from 2005 levels in 2030 and economy-wide "net-zero" greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Biden Administration has also set a goal to "achieve a carbon-pollution-free electricity sector by 2035." All these measures clearly hobble the US and reduce its power to compete, while China, already the world's largest user of fossil fuels, has announced that by 2030, its carbon dioxide emissions will peak.
China last year built more new coal-fired power plants than the rest of the world combined -- the equivalent of two new coal-fired plants per week. China, in fact, according to the energy data organizations Global Energy Monitor and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, quadrupled the amount of new coal power approvals in 2022 compared to 2021.
Finally, as part of the Biden Administration's climate change policies, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a program to limit how much carbon dioxide US coal- and gas-fired power plants may emit.
The proposal means that US electric power plants would have to transform the way that they operate, either costing them billions in new equipment, or closing them down entirely.
All these Biden policies seem almost custom-tailored to reduce America's ability to compete internationally, while giving China even more room to grow its economy and gain an even greater edge over the US.
It should also be recalled that, according to John Kerry, the Biden Administration's "climate envoy," whatever the US does unilaterally, without similar action by China and other major economies, is utterly pointless. Kerry admitted in January 2021 that even if the US were to have zero carbon emissions, "almost 90 percent of all of the planet's global emissions come from outside of US borders. We could go to zero tomorrow and the problem isn't solved."
*Robert Williams is a researcher based in the United States.
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Cause for celebration in states that suffered Wagner’s brutality
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/June 26, 2023
Yevgeny Prigozhin was one of Vladimir Putin’s closest confidants from the earliest days of his presidency, which makes the developments of the past days profoundly damaging for the president’s authority. Far from the rejuvenated Soviet empire Putin aspired to on the eve of his Ukraine invasion, Russia today resembles a diminished and chronically unstable banana republic.
As recently as a decade ago, post-Soviet Russia wielded little diplomatic influence in the Middle East and Africa. Moscow’s current dominant position across these areas had been wholly due to Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary organization.
Wagner came wading in to shore up Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in Syria, enabling the Damascus regime to re-entrench itself throughout much of western Syria as Wagner planes reduced entire cities and regions to bones and rubble. Wagner likewise came bloodily marching into the Libyan morass. There were even fears in Lebanon of Moscow and Wagner exploiting the political chaos to leverage the establishment of additional Mediterranean military bases.
In recompense for Wagner’s services, the revenue-hungry Prigozhin frequently negotiated control of oil reserves, and mines for precious minerals and resources. In Central African Republic Wagner received unrestricted logging rights and control over gold mines. Gold was also the key prize in Sudan, where Wagner sided with the paramilitary leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, fueling the bloodshed there with weapons funneled through the Darfur region.
Across West Africa, Wagner unleashed a major propaganda campaign against French and Western influence, facilitating the group’s maneuverings to become the powerbroker of choice. In the guise of waging an anti-militancy campaign alongside the Malian army, Wagner is culpable in the indiscriminate murder of hundreds of civilians, making the security situation infinitely worse.
Putin also appointed Prigozhin to run massive cyber-troll farms, spreading disinformation, undermining democratic processes and staging cyberattacks against critical infrastructure. Some experts believe that these activities at the time of the 2016 US presidential election played a significant role in swinging the vote in favor of Donald Trump.
In the Ukraine conflict, however, Prigozhin massively overplayed his hand. After the cream of his elite forces were butchered in the Bakhmut meat grinder, tens of thousands of convicts were thrown into the mix as cannon fodder. As the death toll soared, it was widely assumed that Prigozhin’s foul-mouthed attacks on the Ministry of Defense had Putin’s tacit approval, including threats that “those who don’t give us ammunition will be eaten alive in hell.”
The events of the past few days not only constituted a real-time diminution of Russia’s global prestige, but also exposed the Wagner mercenaries as dangerous and unpredictable liabilities.
Nevertheless, after Prigozhin occupied the key city of Rostov and deployed his tanks toward Moscow, Putin denounced him as a traitor who had delivered “a stab in the back to our troops and the people of Russia.”
With Prigozhin now to be exiled in Belarus, it is inconceivable that Wagner can survive as an independent entity. Fighters whose loyalty isn’t in question are likely to be subsumed within the moribund control of Moscow’s myriad security apparatuses. Having witnessed the monster he created marching upon the gates of Moscow, Putin is unlikely to repeat the mistake of allowing any ally or paramilitary movement to enjoy such autonomy.
Although Prigozhin has gained messianic popularity among nationalist Russians frustrated with the failures of conventional military leaders, the seizure of tens of millions of dollars of Wagner funds, and severance of his official connections, appear to render him a spent force. Given the unaccountable tendency of Kremlin critics to carelessly fall out of upper windows, or come into contact with fatal toxins, how long will Prigozhin even be allowed to remain alive, exiled in a state that has become an appendage of Mother Russia?
The events of the past few days not only constituted a real-time diminution of Russia’s global prestige, but also exposed the Wagner mercenaries as dangerous and unpredictable liabilities. Consequently, Bashar Assad in Syria, Khalifa Haftar in Libya, Dagalo in Sudan, and all the other dictators and warlords who relied on Wagner for military muscle will be nervously wondering what this means for them. Distracted as he is with a losing war in Ukraine, would Putin even desire to retain fingers in so many pies in these unstable and problematic locations? A sanctions-encumbered Iran can’t secure Syria on its own, so the status quo there could quickly unravel.
When paramilitary armies are allowed to mushroom to a size at which they can outgun the regular army, it is difficult to envisage any happy ending. Such militias are originally created to compensate for glaring weaknesses or lack of ideological zeal within the army, but their establishment exacerbates the underlying problems by further undermining the army’s prestige and monopoly over the use of force — so the logical end-point for such movements is to confront and ultimately forcibly replace the army.
In Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen we have exactly this scenario, with massive Iran-backed militias. Iraq’s Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi has nearly doubled in size to about 230,000 fighters in the past couple of years, with a significantly expanded $2.7 billion budget and large parts of the economy under its control — making Iraq truly a militia state. Developments in Russia have remarkable parallels with events in Sudan, where the army and an armed-to-the-teeth paramilitary organization embarked upon war against each other, at catastrophic cost to the country.
When militia movements are allowed to recruit tens of thousands of fighters and deploy multimillion-dollar budgets, their commanders will never be satisfied with being an uncouth appendage of the army; they will always seek to convert paramilitary muscle and ill-gotten wealth into supreme political power.
Such entities will continue to act as a murderous sword wielded over our heads until — as with Prigozhin — menaces such as Hassan Nasrallah, Dagalo, Esmail Qaani and Qais Al-Khazali are consigned to irrelevant and ignominious exile.
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

What Tehran’s diplomacy tells us about future of Saudi-Iranian ties
Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami/Arab News/June 26, 2023
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan paid a visit to Tehran on June 17. He met his Iranian counterpart as well as President Ebrahim Raisi. The visit came in response to an invitation by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
There are several observations that could be made about the visit and other matters related to the trajectory of Saudi-Iranian relations and the latest progress on the nuclear talks between Iran and the West.
The first observation is related to the arrival of the Saudi foreign minister at the headquarters of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the red-carpet treatment handed out to him. Despite this hospitality, there was a problem regarding the Saudi flag, which was positioned in the wrong manner. Photos were taken both before and after the flag’s position was changed.
The second observation, which is more important in my viewpoint, was the venue of the press conference of the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers after the deliberations they held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Those attending the press conference were asked to wait in a hall that was named after Qassem Soleimani, with the former Quds Force commander’s picture hanging on the wall. In fact, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has hosted many press conferences at this venue.
However, the status of Saudi-Iranian relations and the role Soleimani played in the region — which is one of the contentious issues between the two countries — should have attracted the attention of the Iranian side. Therefore, the Saudi officials accompanying the foreign minister refused to hold the press conference at this venue. The conference was moved elsewhere, showing the Iranians’ flexibility. But we also know that the Iranian side did not want to miss this point-scoring opportunity, which is a very negative indication.
The third and final observation pertains to the press conference itself. The Iranian foreign minister spoke of what happened during the deliberations that preceded the conference, as well as the importance of normalizing relations between the Kingdom and Iran. When it was the turn of the Saudi foreign minister to speak, he read a written text about what he wanted to raise during his Tehran visit. It was a political message in the first place, which mentioned the most important issues concerning both sides, particularly for the Saudis, such as the building of confidence, noninterference in other countries’ internal affairs and ensuring the region’s security, stability and development. This is in addition to mentioning the importance of boosting ties between the two nations.
In my view, this marks the start of a new phase. It was an unusual press conference that broke long-established traditions. The Saudi foreign minister delivered a clear message from the Saudi side, and this is very important. I hope that Tehran grasps the essence of this message. Yet, finally, the conference lasted nearly 10 minutes and the attending journalists, who were moved from the old, disputed hall to the new one, were not given the chance to pose any questions.
Let us now move onto the possible bottlenecks in Saudi Arabia-Iran relations despite the optimism. One would have expected the Iranian side to tread carefully to ensure all protocols were met. However, Iran in haste announced the name of the proposed Saudi ambassador to Tehran and at the same time circulated the name of the proposed Iranian ambassador to Riyadh. This was done without receiving official approval from both sides — a clear violation of diplomatic protocol.
It would be too simplistic to say that this was a mistake on the part of the Iranian side, given the importance of the matter, so a number of important questions arise: Why did the Iranians violate this diplomatic protocol? Is the Iranian leadership becoming overwhelmed by the pace of progress in Tehran’s relations with the Kingdom, particularly the positive messages and gestures from the Saudi side? Are the hard-liners wanting to derail Saudi-Iranian relations, as ties with Riyadh conflict with their anti-Saudi rhetoric? Is there something sinister at play, with attempts to divert the recent optimism over Saudi-Iranian relations? The answer to the last question may be in the affirmative, given that Iranian media outlets recently returned to their negative campaign against the Kingdom.
In addition, could it be the case that the Iranian lapse of diplomatic protocol and continuation of media tirades against the Kingdom are linked to the meeting between the E3 (France, Germany and the UK) and Iran in the UAE to discuss the Iranian nuclear program. Or is this Iranian behavior related to the Biden administration’s purported mini or interim nuclear deal offer?
Not addressing the outstanding issues would be disastrous and would take the region back to square one.
The latter could explain the Iranian behavior. As I have mentioned previously, Iran’s decision to sign a deal with the Kingdom is most likely to be tactical rather than strategic, with it needing economic opportunities to breathe life back into its dying economy and to end its regional and international isolation. On the other hand, the Saudi side is very sincere in its move, which is in harmony with the recent Saudi foreign policy approach. With a possible nuclear deal on the horizon, whatever its length or details, there would be no need for Iran to stick to the deal signed with the Kingdom and abide by diplomatic protocols in its words and deeds.
Even though this purported nuclear deal is likely to face opposition in the US Congress, and cause issues for the Democrats leading up to the 2024 presidential election, what is missed are the negative implications for the region. Not addressing the outstanding issues — Iran’s ballistic missiles program, belligerent behavior and financing and training of proxies — would be disastrous and would take the region back to square one. This is a strategic blunder that needs to be avoided. Saudi and Gulf voices need to be listened to rather than dismissed by the US, as happened in the past.
*Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulami is president of the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah). Twitter: @mohalsulami

Putin’s Russia isn’t finished. It may just have become even more dangerous
Sherelle Jacobs/The Telegraph/June 26, 2023
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, two doomsday scenarios have come to capture the imagination of the West. One is that, thanks to climate change, our planet will explode into a retributive blaze reminiscent of the Book of Revelation. The other is that we are on the cusp of inventing an artificial intelligence that will opt to destroy humanity after performing some impenetrable cost-benefit calculation.
Our attitude to the threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, by contrast, borders on the flippant. It is striking that the Wagner Group’s abortive coup was greeted with neither trepidation nor a sober assessment of the potential fallout. Much of the West looked on with a kind of awe, as pundits confidently pronounced the end of Putin’s reign. This was swiftly followed by a scratching of heads when Yevgeny Prigozhin called his rebellion off.
This speaks to a strange blind spot in the West. We have become hopelessly complacent about the existential threat posed by an enigmatic and dangerous country that is in many ways beyond our ability to comprehend. Hollywood is more interested in psychopathic robots than exploring the Russian “soul”. Despite the war in Ukraine, there is strikingly little interest in the Russian elite’s long-standing self-conception as the bringer of the apocalypse, traceable back to the medieval era and a recurring theme in the country’s philosophy and literature.
Even despite the eruption of the Ukraine war there is remarkably little interest in the Russian elite’s distinctive brand of apocalyptic messianism. (Whereas the Western apocalyptic tradition dreads humanity’s extinction at the hands of an external threat, the Russian elite has, since the medieval era, ambivalently imagined Mother Russia itself as the anti-Christ and bringer of End Times in philosophy, film and literature. The fascist Russian regime’s bizarre railing against Ukrainian “Nazism” thus seems not merely ironic, but a chilling fulfilment of the homegrown prophesy that Russia is doomed to become the very thing that it fears; the outbursts of Moscow TV pundits who demand “why should a world without Russia exist?” are part of a deeply entrenched nihilistic tradition.)
It has become easy to dismiss the idea that nuclear-armed Russia might still pose a super-catastrophic threat to humanity. Rudimentary analysis of recent events would suggest Putin’s position has never been weaker. Wagner’s mutiny has demolished Putin’s authority. Military morale has been seriously damaged, and Putin may have no choice but to redirect resources to stave off further rebellions at home. The view that the Russian spectre that haunted the West for much of the 20th century is set to be vanquished in a final deranged act of self-immolation seems not to be an unreasonable one.
But are we really so confident that the threat is essentially over? Are we so certain that the Kremlin has been neutralised by its own incompetence? Or could Saturday be a turning point of a far more dangerous sort?
The first worrying scenario is that Putin knows that his political status is terminal – and that this tempts him into escalating the Ukraine war in a manner that truly does risk triggering another world war. It has been asserted that what Putin fears more than anything else is coming to a grisly end akin to Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gadaffi. He is believed to have gone mad with fury at the death of the latter, watching footage of his violent death on a loop. With restive warlords threatening his authority, and the International Criminal Court having issued a warrant for his arrest, one can’t help but wonder whether such an end has taken on a new vividness for Putin.
If so, he could well be tempted to use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine in a desperate bid to change the dynamics of the war in his favour. Indeed, we ought to take his transfer of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus and pursuit of upgraded and new ranges of nuclear missiles extremely seriously. We should also be open to the theory that the Kremlin has fundamentally altered its nuclear strategy from basic deterrence to a regional aggressive stance. Nor can we ignore the risk of the Kremlin shifting its red lines over Western assistance to Ukraine – not least in its heightened paranoia that foreign agents could be encouraging its leaders on the battlefield to go rogue.
But Putin is not the only factor here. A second potentially devastating scenario involves Russia’s warlords running amok. The Russian president has sought to run the country like a mafia corporation, keeping the capitalist barons who seized control of its resources and infrastructure in the Yeltsin era in check, by guaranteeing their protection against each other while threatening them with kompromat. But his permissive attitude to the privatisation of security means he now risks being held hostage by rebel armies over which he has little control.
While these militias are just as wealthy as oligarchs (Wagner, which offers African governments security in exchange for resource contracts is a good example), they also have serious military power. And many want to escalate Russia’s war in Ukraine. Both the Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, and Alexander Khodakovsky, a Russian militia commander in Donetsk, have called for the Kremlin to use nuclear weapons against Kyiv.
What if Putin hangs on, or is even strengthened by Saturday’s events? History teaches us that leaders who survive coup attempts and mercilessly crush opponents can go on to enjoy long and terrifying reigns (Hafez al-Assad’s 18-year stint after ending a failed coup in 1982 in Syria comes to mind). The Russian middle class’s revulsion for the likes of Prigozhin is quite probably stronger than its horror towards Putin. Although the Russian media has been more outspoken than usual, lecturing the Kremlin that it has put military expedience before domestic stability, ordinary Russians who are terrified of a re-run of the civil war of 1917 to 1923 seem keen for armed units that are not part of the official security forces to be disarmed.
The risk in this scenario is that Putin carries on leading Russia down the path of slow physical and psychological disintegration – only to delay a final point of explosive reckoning further down the line. Unable to terminate the conflict, he may seek to endure a war of attrition as long as possible, in the hope that there is a change of administration in Washington. He may look to continue anaesthetising a frustrated middle class with corrosive myths of Dionysian Russia’s manifest destiny to destroy an Apollonian liberal order in which Russia can never exist. In other words, he will continue to preside over a ticking time bomb scenario in which nothing is resolved.
The West’s enemies will be preparing for all eventualities. We can be certain that a disintegration of the Russian Federation will be exploited by China. Beijing is already heavily invested in Russia’s easternmost republics. It may feel emboldened to increase its influence in places like the republic of Buryatia, a Siberian region on the border with Mongolia, which has long harboured ambitions of independence.
The West cannot afford to bury its head in the sand. Whatever happens as a result of the Wagner coup, there are few outcomes which would seem to be positive for peace or stability. It’s time to take the threat to civilisation seriously.