English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For March 26/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Healing Miracle Of The Blind Man
John/09/01-41/: And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him. Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 25-26/2023
Healing miracle of the blind beggar/Elias Bejjani/March 26/2023
US Warns Situation in Lebanon Cannot Persist
US Court Orders Iran to Payout $1.68 Bln to Families over 1983 Beirut Bombing
Outrage in Lebanon after PM’s last-minute decision to delay daylight savings
Al-Rahi presides over 'Annunciation Feast': We expect officials to acknowledge before God & the people their responsibility for the state's...
Lebanese Patriarchate unable to comply with postponement of Daylight Saving Time
Lebanon's Daylight Saving Time change defies global protocol
Lebanese Presidency file focus of Geagea-Bukhari meeting
OGERO central shutdown: Intentional sabotage or employee negligence?
unexpected tariffs hike
Bassil urges anti-establishment president, warns against 'partitioning' adventures
Mikati: It saddens me what the issue of daylight saving time has reached
Gathering of Lebanese Businessmen & Women: We are committed to Universal Daylight Savings Time
Corm conducts field inspection of suspended telecom exchange stations, supervises process of filling oil & diesel, repairing generators to ensure...
Wadih El-Khazen after meeting Al-Rahi: Let us assist him in passing this critical stage
Bayram to chair Index Committee meeting upcoming Thursday to discuss increase in salaries, transportation allowances for private sector employees
Energy Minister concludes his participation in 'Water Conference' held in New York: Water diplomacy helps countries prevent conflicts in the...
Geagea, Bukhari convene, confirming that Saudi-Iranian agreement would positively impact Lebanon
Siniora, Bukhari discuss prevailing conditions, bilateral relations
Saad Hariri: With the passing of Samir Al-Khatib, Lebanon lost a man whose business imprints are evident in various regions
Hajj Hassan heads to Syria to partake in Arab agricultural quartet summit
Rise in fuel prices

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 25-26/2023
Vatican: Sharp Rise in Assaults on Christian Religious Men in Jerusalem
Death Toll from US Strikes on Pro-Iran Targets in Syria Rises to 19, Says Monitor
Iran-Backed Fighters on Alert in East Syria after US Strikes
Biden Warns Iran after Tit-for-Tat Strikes in Syria
Netanyahu Calls on Major Powers to Increase Pressure on Iran
Roxham Road, asylum-seeker destination, busy after Biden-Trudeau pact
Stunned faces and heartbreak for migrants heading to Roxham as they learn Canada will likely send them back
Putin and Erdogan held phone call, discussed grain deal
Ukraine Latest: Erdogan Urges ‘Immediate Cessation’ of Conflict
UN accuses Russia, Ukraine forces of 'summary executions' of prisoners
Hungary: Criticism makes it hard to cooperate with West
Palestinian Journalists Syndicate Denounces Hamas’ Arrest, Assault of Colleague
Large asteroid to zoom between Earth and Moon

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 25-26/2023
The Growing Power of the China-Iran Alliance Thanks to the Biden Administration/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 25, 2023
Xi and Putin’s letters to the world: A diplomatic epistolary/Dr. Diana Galeeva/Arab News/March 25, 2023
What does Netanyahu hope to achieve with his European tour?/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/March 25, 2023
Saudi Arabia and Greece share many commonalities/Alexis Konstantopoulos/Arab News/March 25, 2023
Arab world needs to get to grips with its water problem/Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/March 25, 2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 25-26/2023
Healing miracle of the blind beggar
Elias Bejjani/March 26/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73575/elias-bejjani-faith-and-persistence-do-miracles/
John 09:39: “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”
On the sixth Lenten Sunday, our Maronite Catholic Church cites and recalls with great piety Jesus' healing miracle of the blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus. This amazing miracle that took place in Jericho near the Pool of Siloam is documented in three gospels:Mark 10/46-52. John 9/1-41 Matthew 20/:29-34.
Maronites in Lebanon and all over the world strongly believe that Jesus is the holy and blessed light through which believers can see God's paths of righteousness. There is no doubt that without Jesus' light, evil darkness will prevail in peoples' hearts, souls and minds. Without Jesus' presence in our lives we definitely will become preys to all kinds of evil temptations.
John 09:5: "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world".
In every community, there are individuals from all walks of life who are spiritually blind, lacking faith, have no hope, and live in dim darkness because they have distanced themselves from Almighty God and from His Gospel, although their eyes are physically perfectly functional and healthy. Meanwhile the actual blindness is not in the eyes that can not see because of physical ailments, but in the hearts that are hardened, in the consciences that are numbed and in the spirits that are defiled with sin.
John's Gospel gives important details about what has happened with Bartimaeus after the healing miracle of his blindness. As we read in the below enclosed Biblical verses that after his healing Bartimaeus and his parents were exposed to intimidation, fear, threats, and terror. But he refused to succumb or to lie.
He held verbatim to all the course details of the miracle, bravely witnessed for the truth and loudly proclaimed his strong belief that Jesus who cured him was The Son Of God. His faith made him strong, fearless and courageous. The Holy Spirit came to his rescue and spoke through him.
Romans 8:26: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans"
Sadly our contemporary world hails atheism, brags about secularism and persecutes those who have faith in God and believe in Him. Where ever we live, there are opportunists and hypocrites like some of the conceited crowd members that initially rebuked Bartimaeus, and tried with humiliation to keep him away from Jesus, but the moment Jesus called on him they changed their attitude and let him go through. Meanwhile, at the present time, Christian believers  do suffer dire persecution in many countries on the hands of ruthless oppressors, Jihadists and rulers  who refuse to witness for the truth. But despite of all the dim spiritual darkness, thanks God, there are still too many meek believers like Bartimaeus who hold to their faith no matters what the obstacles or hurdles are. Lord, enlighten our minds and hearts with your light and open our eyes to realize that You are a loving and merciful father. Lord Help us to take Bartimaeus as a faith role model in our life. Lord help us to defeat all kinds of sins that take us away from Your light, and deliver us all from evil temptations.
NB: The Above Piece was first published in 2016, republished with minor changes 

US Warns Situation in Lebanon Cannot Persist
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf warned Lebanese officials on Friday that the situation in their country cannot persist amid the crippling economic, living and political crises it is enduring. Leaf had arrived in Beirut as part of a tour of the region that includes Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia. A State Department statement said she would stress to Lebanese officials the pressing need to elect a president, form a government and carry out economic reforms that would restore stability in Lebanon. Leaf met with parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib MIkati, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and head of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblatt. The International Monetary Fund had warned on Thursday that Lebanon was in a very dangerous situation a year after it committed to reforms it has failed to implement and said the government must stop borrowing from the central bank. "One would have expected more in terms of implementation and approval of legislation" related to reforms, IMF mission chief Ernesto Rigo said from Beirut, noting "very slow" progress. Lebanon signed a staff-level agreement with the IMF nearly one year ago but has not met the conditions to secure a full program, which is seen as crucial for its recovery from one of the world's worst financial crises. Without implementing rapid reforms, Lebanon "will be mired in a never-ending crisis," the IMF warned in a written statement after Rigo's remarks. Following her meeting with Berri, Leaf told reporters that she informed him that the situation in Lebanon cannot persist, urging an agreement with the IMF over a solution as soon as possible. Her talks with FM Bou Habib tackled the impact the Saudi-Iranian deal to restore relations would have on the region, said local media.

US Court Orders Iran to Payout $1.68 Bln to Families over 1983 Beirut Bombing
New York/ Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
A federal judge in New York ordered Iran's central bank (Bank Markazi) and a European intermediary on Wednesday to pay out $1.68 billion to family members of troops killed in the 1983 car bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon. US District Judge Loretta Preska said a 2019 federal law stripped Bank Markazi, the Iran central bank, of sovereign immunity from the lawsuit, which sought to enforce a judgment against Iran for providing material support to the attackers, according to Reuters. The Oct. 23, 1983, bombing at the Marine Corps barracks killed 241 US service members. Victims and their families won a $2.65 billion judgment against Iran in federal court in 2007 over the attack. Six years later, they sought to seize bond proceeds allegedly owned by Bank Markazi and processed by Clearstream to partially satisfy the court judgment. Clearstream Banking SA is based in Luxembourg and is parent to the company Deutsche Boerse AG. Iran’s Bank Markazi has argued that the lawsuit was not allowed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which generally shields foreign governments from liability in US courts. Preska said the 2019 law authorizes US courts to allow the seizure of assets held outside the country to satisfy judgments against Iran in terrorism cases, "notwithstanding" other laws such as FSIA that would grant immunity. A Luxembourg court in 2021 ordered Clearstream not to move the funds until a court in that country recognizes the US ruling. Clearstream has appealed that decision.
In January 2020, the US Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling in the families' favor, and ordered the case to be reconsidered in light of the new law, adopted a month earlier as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. A US Supreme Court ruling in April 2016 referred to three cases, including the American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, the 1996 Khobar Towers truck bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 US service members and the 2001 bombing of Sbarro Pizza Restaurant in Jerusalem. In 2018, Iran filed a lawsuit with the Hague-based ICJ against the United States based on the Treaty of Amity signed between the two sides on 15 August 1955, seeking to have sanctions against Tehran lifted. The United States had tried to argue that Iran could not base claims at the World Court on a 1955 bilateral friendship pact. However judges found the treaty, signed decades before Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution and the sharp deterioration in ties with Washington, could be used as a basis for the court’s jurisdiction.

Outrage in Lebanon after PM’s last-minute decision to delay daylight savings
Arab News/March 25, 2023
BEIRUT: An abrupt decision by Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to postpone the start of daylight saving time by one month has turned into a major political dispute, overshadowing the country’s dire economic crisis.Despite repeat IMF warnings over the state of the Lebanese economy, the latest political controversy surrounding the postponement from March 25 to April 21 is dominating debate in the country. The dispute over daylight saving time also involves religious and sectarian differences, and comes as Muslims mark the holy month of Ramadan. It means those fasting must break their fasts an hour earlier than planned.Lebanese institutions on Saturday took divergent positions on the move. One media outlet said that it “will not abide by the decision and will commit to the universal time.”
According to one political observer, the dispute reflects a “political vacuum, given that an absurd decision was explained in a sectarian way.” This dispute “showed the loss of confidence in the ruling political class and the scale of randomness that political action in Lebanon can slip into.”
The postponement caused confusion among institutions working with other states, notably the international airport, banks and mobile phone networks that automatically adjust to daylight savings each year.
Airlines were forced to reschedule flights, and the two major mobile networks in the country sent a written message to subscribers, asking them to “manually adjust the time on their mobile phones before the midnight of Saturday-Sunday, to avoid the time change on their screens.”
Secretary General of Catholic Schools Father Youssef Nasr said: “Private educational institutions and the Federation of Private Educational Institutions will abide by Mikati’s decision until it is reversed.”
Mikati’s move was met with sarcasm on social media platforms. One political activist said: “We are in the republic of wasting time.”
Another said: “It looks like Lebanon’s connection to the global system is not important.”Other warned that the decision “was taken by leaders who do not acknowledge the presence of others in the country.”
Free Patriotic Movement MP Saeed Nasr said in a press conference: “Such decision leads to many problems and disruptions in software, applications and electronic devices that rely on daylight saving time in their operations, thus resulting in errors in setting times and dates, delaying production and delivery processes, which could possibly affect banks and SWIFT payments.
Meanwhile, amid political dispute over the postponement — with opposition to the move led by FPM MPs and MP Nadim Gemayel — the Lebanese Cabinet is scheduled to hold a session on Monday to discuss boosting salaries and incentives following a collapse in the wages of public and private sector employees. Retired army members are likely to protest in Riad Al-Solh Square in central Beirut during the Cabinet meeting, following a similar move earlier this week.
Veteran representatives said that the call to protest came after negotiations with the government failed to meet their basic demands, especially fair and legal wages and an increase in medical and educational benefits.

Al-Rahi presides over 'Annunciation Feast': We expect officials to acknowledge before God & the people their responsibility for the state's...
NNA/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided this morning over the Mass of the Annunciation in the "Church of Our Lady" in Bkirki. In his religious sermon marking the occasion, the Patriarch said: "It is no coincidence that both Muslims and Christians chose to mark the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, by an official decree dated October 27, 2010, as a joint national holiday...For all, she is a 'mother', the most generous and holiest of mothers, who gathers her sons and daughters and unites them." He added that the saints and utopians in Lebanon's history lived in the past in full communion, deep union with God and heroic unity with all people, and they lived that way with the power of love in their hearts. "The situation of our people in Lebanon today is tragic: economically, financially, socially and morally, with most of them living on their preserved faith...This tragedy stems, as everyone knows and acknowledges, from poor political performance, corruption, the worship of narrow and factional interests, and the disregard for the oppressed people...," al-Rahi went on. "Here are the fields of our work and our mission: fueling the dynamism of spiritual, pastoral, and apostolic work; and having more solidarity in helping our people financially, morally, and in daily-living, and striving in various ways to strengthen the unity between those involved in politics and the civil authorities, urging them to assume their duties after acknowledging their mistakes, their failures, and their direct responsibility for the impoverishment, humiliation, displacement, and death of citizens in their homes due to their hunger, and the inability to buy medicine and hospitalization, and their desperation to commit suicide due to their inability to secure food and water for their children," the Patriarch added regretfully. "These officials are expected to acknowledge, before God and the people, their responsibility for the destruction of the state and the republic by their refusal to elect a president for the republic, and by their obstruction of the regularity of constitutional institutions," al-Rahi firmly underscored.

Lebanese Patriarchate unable to comply with postponement of Daylight Saving Time
LBCI/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
In a surprise move that was made without consulting with other Lebanese entities and without regard for international standards, the current Prime Minister of Lebanon, Najib Mikati, has decided to postpone the implementation of daylight saving time (DST) for one month. This decision has caused confusion and damage both domestically and internationally. As a result, the Maronite Patriarchate, its archdioceses, and affiliated institutions are unable to comply with the decision. Therefore, they will observe the time by setting the clock forward one hour at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 27, 2023. The statement was issued by the Media Office of the Patriarchal See in Bkerke, under the direction of His Beatitude and Eminence Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi. This decision will have a significant impact on the Lebanese people's daily routine, including school and work schedules, transportation, and businesses that operate with different time zones. Lebanon's Daylight Saving Time is usually observed between the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October, where clocks are set forward by one hour to extend daylight hours in the evening. This sudden postponement announcement has caught many people by surprise, as it is not a common occurrence. However, the statement made by the Patriarchate implies that the decision may not be recognized by some Lebanese institutions. The situation is likely to cause confusion and inconvenience for the Lebanese people, and it remains to be seen whether there will be any further developments regarding this decision.

Lebanon's Daylight Saving Time change defies global protocol
LBCI/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
Lebanon's recent decision to change its Daylight Saving (DST) Time in less than 48 hours has caused controversy as it goes against global protocols. All countries rely on a fixed global DST, with each country following the same protocol throughout the year. While it is possible for a country to abandon its DST and unify it during the year, this decision is not taken lightly and requires approval from an international body. The international network time protocol (NTP) is used to change time zones and is not subject to populist decisions. The International Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) coordinates time differences between all countries, and any changes must be made according to the NTP protocol.

Lebanese Presidency file focus of Geagea-Bukhari meeting
LBCI/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
On Friday, Lebanese Forces party leader, Samir Geagea, met with Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, in Maarab to discuss the Lebanese presidency file. Although no names were mentioned, both sides emphasized the importance of expediting the completion of this entitlement and bringing a sovereign and reformist president unrelated to political alignments. Bukhari reiterated that Saudi's stance towards Lebanon remains unchanged and that the Saudi-Iranian agreement will positively impact the country. He also warned about the dangers of not holding presidential elections and stated that the Saudi-Iranian agreement included a mutual desire to resolve disputes through peaceful dialogue and diplomacy. He also stressed that the Kingdom's hands are extended as always to cooperation and dialogue with the countries of the region and the world in everything that would preserve the security and stability of the region.

OGERO central shutdown: Intentional sabotage or employee negligence?
LBCI/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
On Saturday, eleven OGERO central stations shut down simultaneously, prompting an immediate investigation by the administration to uncover the reason behind the outage, according to OGERO's director general, Imad Kreidieh. After contacting LBCI, Kreidieh revealed that the preliminary investigation showed that one of Ogero's employees gave the order not to refuel with diesel on Friday as it usually happens to the Ras Beirut Central, which connects Lebanon to the outside world, and the network that connects Ogero to the Alfa and Touch networks. According to Kreidieh, this means that the intention is to sabotage, announcing to sue everyone who participated in deliberately halting the centrals from working. In response to the shutdown, the OGERO workers’ union announced an open strike on Friday, completely stopping work and refusing to report to their work centers due to what they called neglect of their demands and salary adjustments. However, Caretaker Telecommunications Minister Johnny Corm acknowledged his openness to meeting the demands of OGERO employees in a previous statement, but with their strike announcement, he refuses to negotiate with them, stating that they will not hold Lebanese citizens’ captive. In an interview with LBCI, Corm emphasized that he is responsible for citizens, even if the OGERO workers’ union does not consider to follow his instructions. Kreidieh and Corm will coordinate on Monday to file a complaint against anyone implicated in the intentional shutdown of the OGERO central stations.

unexpected tariffs hike
LBCI/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
In recent days, some car importers in Lebanon paid tariffs based on a dollar rate of LBP 45,000. However, they were later surprised by a decision from the Finance Minister, Youssef Khalil, to revert the customs dollar rate for cars to LBP 8,000, despite some importers having already paid tariffs based on a rate of LBP 15,000 per dollar. This has caused confusion and chaos for both car importers and citizens, as this country now has three different dollar rates for car tariffs. Traders and citizens are left confused due to the improvisation and arbitrary decisions made by officials who succumb to the repercussions in hindsight, resorting to tinkering. Why did the Finance Minister decide to revert to a rate of LBP 8,000 per dollar for car tariffs? According to his letter on tariffs, the reason is the inability to modify imported car tariffs. A decision cannot change these tariffs from the Finance Minister alone but requires a decision from the Cabinet. This means the customs dollar rate will remain at LBP 8,000 for both new and used cars. The letter also notes that the cars subject to the LBP 8,000 tariffs dollar rate were shipped to Lebanon before March 1, regardless of their entry date into the tariffs area.

Bassil urges anti-establishment president, warns against 'partitioning' adventures
Naharnet/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has said that the FPM wants “a president who would confront the establishment to stop its crimes, not one who would be part of it and a continuation of its course.”“His decisions should come from his head, not from others. We want a president who would turn Lebanon into an axis instead of placing it on the axes of conflicts that do no concern it. We want a president who would confront nations and reject the stay of the displaced and refugees, one who does not remain silent if threatened by an ambassador,” Bassil added, during the FPM’s annual dinner. “We want a president who knows that the presidency is a responsibility, work, exhaustion and sleepless nights. He needs to have a knowledge of all files, from economy to finance and laws, and to understand that the presidential palace is a workplace and not a casino,” Bassil went on to say.
Separately, Bassil warned against “any partitioning adventure that some might think of.”“Lebanon cannot be partitioned and it can do without more failed experiences and tried adventures. Christians are not an experiment field for the conspiracies of some parties, and on our part we will not only reject that but will rather confront and prevent any sabotage scheme on the ground that would lead to destruction,” the FPM chief added. “At the same time we reject the postponement of broad decentralism under the false excuse that it is partitioning or federalism,” Bassil went on to say.

Mikati: It saddens me what the issue of daylight saving time has reached
NNA/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for "electing a president for the republic and bringing in a specialized team that can receive this load, deal with it, and get the country out of its ordeals," stressing that he "is unwilling to return to the Grand Serail, contrary to what some people believe." In response to a question about postponing daylight savings time until April, he said: "It saddens me that the matter has gone in this direction, and what has been decided has been decided." He also stressed that he "is determined to save the academic year." Mikati denied the political and media distorting statements about the International Monetary Fund Mission Chief, Ernesto Rigo's declaring that there was a failure on part of the government in the reform process, saying: "What happened is the opposite. Mr. Rigo seemed to understand what the government did in this regard."

Gathering of Lebanese Businessmen & Women: We are committed to Universal Daylight Savings Time
NNA/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
Lebanese Businessmen & Women's Gathering (RDCL) announced today that it "adheres to the Universal Daylight Saving Time, in line with the interest of the private sector in its relations with its global partners, and to maintain the regularity of work in computers, electronic programs and banking operations, as well as to save energy consumption for companies and the public.""Enough with our persistence in isolating Lebanon from the world," they said in a statement today. It added: "The private sector operates on the international timing system, which connects it technically, financially, and operationally with the world. The recent abrupt and unjustified decision to postpone daylight saving time for lebanon cannot be followed, as it would create chaos and confusion especially at the airport with international flights, in addition to internet servers, computers, swift and banking systems and much more. This would lead to high financial and operational risks, which the private sector cannot accept without proper justification." "Such decisions would need to be debated and prepared in advance as to mitigate all the potential risks. We must stop isolating Lebanon from the world, its own laws and regulations, and global best practice," the statement underlined. "We have decided to adhere to international standards, and to stick to the daylight saving time switch on time with international partners as of tonight," the statement declared. "Moreover, daylight saving times has multiple benefits in terms of energy consumption (which lebanon is in dire need of), and other countless environmental and social benefits," the statement concluded.

Corm conducts field inspection of suspended telecom exchange stations, supervises process of filling oil & diesel, repairing generators to ensure...
NNA/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
The Ministry of Tele-Communications announced in a statement today that with the aim of resolving the problems that occurred on the Ogero network in some Lebanese regions after the employees' union announced their general strike starting Friday, Tele-Communications Minister, Eng. Johny Corm, immeidately conducted a field inspection of the suspended telecom exchage stations, overseeing the process of filling oil and diesel, repairing generators, and securing all supplies for many telecom exchange units, in order to ensure the continuity of the "Ogero" service in all regions.
In this context, the Caretaker Tele-Communications Minister made contacts in order to ensure operations in telecom exchange units and gave instructions to deal with matters immediately without any delay, especially those that have a significant impact on navigation so as to ensure the continued productivity of all telecom exchanges that were affected by the employees' strike. Corm also contacted the "Alfa” and “Touch” companies, asking them to fill diesel fuel and carry out maintenance operations for the generators belonging to Ogero, so that the failure of these generators would not be a reason for the cessation of cellphone service for the Lebanese. The Minister stressed that he fully understands the demands of the employees and that he was seeking all available means to secure their rights. However, he emphasized that he was not about to deprive 5 million Lebanese of internet service and let the sector perish. Corm urged the employees to be aware of the importance of this facility, especially since all sectors in Lebanon are directly linked to it, adding that he will demand the imposition of severe penalties on employees who deliberately suspend this public utility.

Wadih El-Khazen after meeting Al-Rahi: Let us assist him in passing this critical stage
NNA/March 25/2023
Maronite General Council Dean, former Minister Wadih El-Khazen, met today with Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, following the Annunciation Mass in Bkirki. On emerging, El-Khazen said: "This religious occasion is dear to the hearts of the believers because of its significance and the good tidings it bears in the feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, as the mandate of His Beatitude contributed to its crystallization and distinction." He added, "We appreciate His Beatitude's sermons on such occasions, which make us voluntarily contemplate their expressive meanings, and he is the one to exert great efforts to keep Lebanon a center of polarization for the world." "I thanked the Patriarch for the guidance he provides, and the difficulties he suffers from, as he carries the concerns of the nation with the firmness of faith, and continues with his relentless determination to reach a day when our beloved homeland will rise from its long slumber," El-Khazen went on. He added: "Let us help him pass through this stage filled with various dangers, because the only way out of the ordeals we are living through today is to be aware of what is being plotted against us..." El-Khazen concluded: "Our only response is more unity and holding on to the spirit of national reconciliation based on understanding and balance, resorting to consultation and dialogue, rejecting all forms of exclusivity, marginalization and isolation, and implementing consensual democracy, all of which are titles that preserve the rights of everyone and prevent tyranny and domination of one group over another."

Bayram to chair Index Committee meeting upcoming Thursday to discuss increase in salaries, transportation allowances for private sector employees
NNA/March 25/2023
Caretaker Minister of Labor Mustafa Bayram will chair upcoming Thursday at 1:00 p.m. at the Labor Ministry, a meeting of the Index Committee to continue looking into ways to improve salaries and transportation allowances in the private sector.

Energy Minister concludes his participation in 'Water Conference' held in New York: Water diplomacy helps countries prevent conflicts in the...
NNA/March 25/2023
Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water, Dr. Walid Fayyad, concluded today his visit to New York, where he delivered Lebanon's official speech at the Water Conference that was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York between March 22 & 24, 2023. On the last day of the conference, Fayyad had valuable interventions as a keynote speaker in an interactive dialogue on "cross-border cooperation, international cooperation, and cross-sectoral cooperation in the water field, including scientific cooperation".Additionally, Fayyad participated in two sideline events, the first organized by the League of Arab States and ESCWA under the headline, “The Joint Commitment of the Arab Region to Accelerate the Achievement of Water Security for Sustainable Development”, and the second organized by the Egyptian Republic under the headline: “From COP27 to the United Nations Water Conference 2023: Action on Water Adaptation and Resilience (AWARe) Changing the Rules of the Game in the Water Action Agenda”. He also attended a side event organized by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, in partnership with the World Bank, the World Food and Agriculture Organization and the United Nations Development Program, entitled: "Water for Sustainable Development - The Saudi Experience"; in addition to another side event patronized by the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Linda Adams, and the Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, under the headline: "Stronger through Water", which included speakers from the US federal government and the local government of New York City, and focused on reviewing local and international initiatives in the field of water security. According to an issued statement, the interventions of Minister Fayyad focused on the Lebanese national concern and the economic and social sufferings that Lebanon is going through, explaining the situation in a scientific and objective way with the aim of helping to reach the desired solutions as soon as possible, and through the best means leading to the return of advancement to the country's various sectors. Fayyad also touched on the technical side of water issues and related technologies and scientific research, without neglecting the geopolitical dimension of the region and the challenges facing cross-border cooperation in the field of water. “Countries using water diplomacy can help prevent conflicts and create an environment for peaceful and constructive cooperation in the management of shared water resources," Fayyad underlined, adding that "diplomatic tools such as bilateral and multilateral agreements, negotiation and mediation, can actually help improve transparency and trust between countries, facilitate the exchange of data and explore the potential for mutual benefits, thus fostering joint cooperation and partnership."He emphasized in his delivered words that the "main principles of water diplomacy include the sustainable development of water resources, collaborative and participatory decision-making processes, and the peaceful settlement of disputes." "We must continue our efforts to encourage transboundary water cooperation and strengthen water diplomacy. Through our collective efforts, we can create sustainable solutions to manage this precious resource, ensuring that it continues to meet the needs of all who depend on it, now and in the future," Fayyad maintained. On water security, Fayyad highlighted three main factors in this regard, which revolve around the availability of water, its price and cost, as well as its sustainability. Fayyad also praised the conclusions of the COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, which placed water at the center of the climate change agenda and its narratives, and welcomed "Egypt's initiative to propose the appointment of a UN envoy on water issues and the establishment of a new center at the United Nations for this purpose, which would activate water diplomacy."Finally, Fayyad expressed Lebanon's aspiration to build on the outcome of the Sharm el-Sheikh conference and to participate in the upcoming COP28 to be held in the United Arab Emirates.

Geagea, Bukhari convene, confirming that Saudi-Iranian agreement would positively impact Lebanon
NNA/March 25/2023
Lebanese Forces Party Chief, Samir Geagea, met Saturday in Maarab with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Al-Bukhari, in the presence of "Strong Republic" bloc memnber, MP Melhem Riachy. According to a statement following the two-hour meeting, it indicated that the lengthy discussion touched mainly on the Lebanese presidential dossier without tackling any candidate's name, emphasizing the need to expedite the completion of this entitlement and bring in a reformist sovereign president from outside the current lineups. It was also underlined that the Kingdom's postion is steadfast towards Lebanon and will not change, and therefore the country will not witness a negative reflection of the Saudi-Iranian agreement, but rather it will be positively affected. "As for Saudi Arabia's role in the Five-Year Committee, it is known that it is in the interest of Lebanon and its sovereignty," the statement asserted.
During the Maarab meeting, Ambassador Bukhari warned of the consequences of failing to hold the presidential elections in Lebanon, stating that "the Saudi-Iranian agreement included the common desire of both sides to resolve differences through communication and dialogue via peaceful means and diplomatic tools," stressing that "the Kingdom's hand is extended, as always, for cooperation and dialogue with the countries of the region and the world, in everything that would preserve the security and stability of the region.""Therefore, the Kingdom's efforts aim to secure an international safety net to face challenges and dangers, in order to safeguard the principle of coexistence and Lebanon's message in its Arab and international environment," the Saudi diplomat maintained. "Lebanon is a founding member of the League of Arab States. Hence, protecting its people and saving its identity is linked to Arab national security and regional and international peace,” Bukhari underscored.

Siniora, Bukhari discuss prevailing conditions, bilateral relations
NNA/March 25/2023
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora received in his office this afternoon, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Al-Bukhari, with talks touching on the current situation and bilateral relations between the two countries.

Saad Hariri: With the passing of Samir Al-Khatib, Lebanon lost a man whose business imprints are evident in various regions
NNA/March 25/2023
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri tweeted today on the loss of Lebanese Engineer Samir Al-Khatib, saying: "With the passing of Engineer Samir Al-Khatib, I lost a great friend, and Lebanon lost a man whose fingerprints are attested by the various Lebanese regions. I ask God Almighty in this holy month to rest his soul in His vast gardens and to grant his family patience and solace...We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return."

Hajj Hassan heads to Syria to partake in Arab agricultural quartet summit
NNA/March 25/2023
Caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Abbas Haj Hassan, left today for Syria at the head of a ministerial delegation to partake in the Arab agricultural quartet summit, which will be held on Sunday & Monday in the capital, Damascus, with the participation of the Iraqi, Jordanian and Syrian ministers of agriculture. The summit will be held under the headlime, "Towards Achieving Agricultural Economic Integration".The two-day meeting of ministers will tackle the results reached in the quadripartite meetings held during the past year in Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan, and ways to enhance trade exchange and food security, mechanisms to support regional projects, confront climate challenges and land degradation, and improve agricultural produce in the four countries.

Rise in fuel prices
NNA/March 25/2023
The price of 95- and 98-octane gasoline tanks have increased by 37,000 Lebanese pounds on Saturday, diesel oil by 33,000 Lebanese pounds, and gas by LBP 23,000.
Accordingly, the new prices are as follows:
- 95-octane gasoline: LBP 1,977,000
- 98-octane gasoline: LBP 2,024,000
- Diesel: LBP 1,824,000
- Gas: LBP 1,286,000

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 25-26/2023
Vatican: Sharp Rise in Assaults on Christian Religious Men in Jerusalem
Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
Father Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land and Guardian of Mount Zion, has urged the Israeli government to hold aggressors accountable in the wake of the sharp rise in attacks on Christian religious figures and holy sites in Old Jerusalem by extremist Jewish settlers. Other church officials demanded international intervention since the “Israeli authorities aren’t tackling this phenomenon seriously.” John Munayer, a researcher from Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, said that Armenian Christian religious men have been most subject to aggression given that they reside in a town near the Jewish quarter. Assyrians are also facing harsh attacks, they are being spat on and pushed to the ground, Munayer added. “They have become hesitant of walking on the street.”The coordination committee of the Jerusalemite Churches revealed in a report that a priest complained that he has been spat on no less than 90 times since the beginning of the year. The purpose behind these attacks is obvious “to send away the Christians left in Jerusalem,” the committee added. Christians represented a quarter of Jerusalem residents one hundred years ago and half of the Arab residents in 1948. This has dropped to one percent today, around 12,500 individuals. Jerusalem is the second most important Christian landmark as it is the place of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The number of Christians has dropped remarkably following the Israeli occupation in 1967. The Patriarchs and Heads of Local Churches of Jerusalem issued a statement in December on the current threat to the Christian presence in the Holy Land before the formation of Benjamin Netanyahu’s current government. “Since 2012 there have been countless incidents of physical and verbal assaults against priests and other clergy, attacks on Christian churches, with holy sites regularly vandalized and desecrated, and ongoing intimidation of local Christians who simply seek to worship freely and go about their daily lives,” the statement read. These tactics are being used by such radical groups in a systematic attempt to drive the Christian community out, it added. The Russian Foreign Ministry called for bringing to justice the Israeli officials responsible for the attack against the Church of Gethsemane in Jerusalem. The Ministry added that these offensive behaviors can only cause profound concern, stressing that the number of anti-Christian incidents has grown at an alarming pace recently, as churches, cemeteries of various Christian denominations, clergy, and monks, have become targets for such attacks. “We are convinced that there is no justification and that there can never be any justification, for such criminal acts, and hope that the Israeli authorities will provide an unequivocal assessment of what happened and take comprehensive measures to bring perpetrators to justice and prevent the recurrence of such attacks in the future.”

Death Toll from US Strikes on Pro-Iran Targets in Syria Rises to 19, Says Monitor
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
The death toll in US air strikes on pro-Iran installations in eastern Syria has risen to 19 fighters, a Syrian war monitor said on Saturday, in one of the deadliest exchanges between the US and Iran-aligned forces in years. The US carried out strikes in eastern Syria in response to a drone attack on Thursday that left one American contractor dead, and another one wounded along with five US troops. Washington said the attack was of Iranian origin. The retaliatory strikes by the US on what it said were facilities in Syria used by groups affiliated to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps left a total of 19 dead, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The war monitor said air raids killed three Syrian troops, 11 Syrian fighters in pro-government militias and five non-Syrian fighters who were aligned with the government. The monitor's head Rami Abdel Rahman could not specify the nationalities of the foreigners. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the toll. The initial exchange prompted a string of tit-for-tat strikes. Another US service member was wounded, according to officials, and local sources said suspected US rocket fire hit more locations in eastern Syria. President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran that the United States would "act forcefully" to protect Americans. Iran has been a major backer of President Bashar al-Assad during Syria's 12-year conflict. Iran's proxy militias, including Lebanese group Hezbollah and pro-Tehran Iraqi groups, hold sway in swathes of eastern, southern and northern Syria and in suburbs around the capital. Tehran's growing entrenchment in Syria has drawn regular Israeli air strikes but American aerial raids are more rare. The US has been raising the alarm about Iran's drone program.

Iran-Backed Fighters on Alert in East Syria after US Strikes
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
Iran-backed fighters were on alert in eastern Syria on Saturday, a day after US forces launched retaliatory airstrikes on sites in the war-torn country, opposition activists said. The airstrikes came after a suspected Iran-made drone killed a US contractor and wounded six other Americans on Thursday. The situation was calm following a day in which rockets were fired at bases housing US troops in eastern Syria. The rockets came after US airstrikes on three different areas in Syria’s eastern province of Deir Ezzor, which borders Iraq, opposition activists said. “The calm continues as Iran-backed militiamen are on alert out of concern of possible new airstrikes,” said Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor. President Joe Biden said Friday that the US would respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel after US forces retaliated with airstrikes on sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The strikes followed an attack Thursday by a suspected Iran-made drone that killed a US contractor and wounded five American service members and a US contractor. “The United States does not, does not seek conflict with Iran,” Biden said in Ottawa, Canada, where he was on a state visit. But he said Iran and its proxies should be prepared for the US “to act forcefully to protect our people. That’s exactly what happened last night.” Activists said the US bombing killed at least four people. In Iran, domestic media outlets quoted a spokesman for the nation’s Supreme National Security Council, Keivan Khosravi, as saying that Tehran would immediately respond to any US attack on Iranian bases in Syria. “Any excuses-seeking attitude for attack on bases that are established at the request of the Syrian government, will immediately face an answer,” Khosravi was quoted as saying. Khosravi rejected US charges that Iran is behind attacks on American bases in Syria, suggesting they are attacks against “illegal occupation of part of Syria.”
A statement issued late Friday by the Iranian Consultative Center in Syria warned the US not to carry out further strikes in Syria. Otherwise, “we will have to retaliate." It warned that "it will not be a simple revenge.” The center, which speaks on behalf of Tehran in Syria, said the US airstrikes targeted places used to store food products and other service centers in Deir Ezzor. It said the strike killed seven people and wounded seven others without giving the nationalities of the dead. An official with an Iran-backed group in Iraq said the strikes killed seven Iranians. The Observatory raised the death toll from the US strikes to 19, saying they were killed in three locations, including an arms depot in the Harabesh neighborhood in the city of Deir Ezzor, and two military posts near the towns of Mayadeen and Boukamal. Iran-backed militia groups and Syrian forces control the area, which also has seen suspected airstrikes by Israel in recent months allegedly targeting Iranian supply routes. According to US officials, two simultaneous attacks were launched at US forces in Syria late Friday. Officials said that based on preliminary information, there was a rocket attack on the Conoco plant, where US troops are stationed, and one US service member was wounded but is in stable condition. At about the same time, several drones were launched at Green Village, in Deir Ezzor province where US troops are also based. One official said all but one of the drones were shot down, and there were no US injuries there. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been suspected of carrying out attacks with bomb-carrying drones across the wider Middle East. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the American intelligence community had determined the drone in Thursday’s attack was of Iranian origin, but offered no other immediate evidence to support the claim. The drone hit a coalition base in the northeast Syrian city of Hasakeh. Iran relies on a network of proxy forces throughout the Mideast to counter the US and Israel, its arch regional enemy. The US has had forces in northeast Syria since 2015, when they deployed as part of the fight against the ISIS group, and maintains some 900 troops there, working with Kurdish-led forces that control around a third of Syria. The US under Biden has struck Syria previously over tensions with Iran — in February and June of 2021, as well as August 2022. Syria’s conflict that began in 2011 has left nearly half a million people dead.

Biden Warns Iran after Tit-for-Tat Strikes in Syria
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran that the United States would "act forcefully" to protect Americans, after the US military carried out air strikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation for an attack in Syria. Later, officials said that another US service member was wounded on Friday in the latest tit-for-tat strike between Iran-backed forces and US personnel in Syria. That comes on top of seven casualties on Thursday, which Washington blamed on a drone of Iranian origin, and included an American contractor being killed and five US troops and another contractor being wounded. Suspected US rocket fire on Friday targeted new areas in eastern Syria, according to two local sources, with no casualties reported. Pro-Iranian forces in Syria said in an online statement late Friday that they have a "long arm" to respond to further US strikes on their positions. Although US forces stationed in Syria have been attacked with drones before, deaths are rare. "Make no mistake: the United States does not ... seek conflict with Iran, but be prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people," Biden told reporters during a visit to Canada. Asked whether there should be a higher cost for Iran, Biden replied: "We’re not going to stop." The Pentagon had said US F-15 jets on Thursday attacked two facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the US strikes had killed eight pro-Iranian fighters. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the toll. Iran's state Press TV said no Iranians had been killed and quoted local sources as saying the target was not an Iran-aligned military post, but that a rural development center and a grain center near a military airport had been hit.

Netanyahu Calls on Major Powers to Increase Pressure on Iran
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged major international powers to step up pressure and increase deterrence against Iran. According to the Israeli premier’s Facebook page, Netanyahu, who is on an official visit to London, discussed with his British counterpart, Rishi Sunak, the Iranian nuclear file, and praised Britain’s firm position on the issue. The two sides also agreed to launch a strategic dialogue to enhance cooperation in the fields of security, intelligence and economy, and pointed to the threats posed by Tehran to regional stability. In addition, Netanyahu and Sunak touched on common security and defense challenges, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two leaders discussed the “grave” concern of Britain and Israel over Iran’s destabilizing activity, and agreed to work closely together to manage the risks of nuclear proliferation. Prior to his meetings in London, Netanyahu visited Rome as part of his diplomatic campaign that seeks to persuade Western countries to oppose a return to the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement. A statement by the British Prime Minister’s office said Sunak welcomed Netanyahu at 10 Downing Street on Friday “for talks on strengthening the close partnership between the United Kingdom and Israel.”“The two leaders welcomed the signing of the UK-Israel 2030 Roadmap this week, which will drive our bilateral relationship forward and commit £20m in funding for joint science and technology projects over the next decade,” it stated. It also said Sunak expressed his solidarity with Israel in against terrorist attacks in recent months, and that the United Kingdom would always stand by Israel and its ability to defend itself. The statement continued: “At the same time, the PM outlined international concern at growing tensions in the West Bank and the risk of undermining efforts towards the two-state solution. He encouraged all efforts to de-escalate, particularly ahead of the upcoming religious holidays.”Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators rallied on Friday outside Downing Street, protesting contentious planned judicial reform by Netanyahu’s hardline government. Netanyahu has faced weeks of escalating protests inside Israel over the judicial reform program, which would increase politicians’ power over the courts. Several Western countries, including the United States and Germany, expressed their concern over the plan, while Britain has not commented publicly on the issue.

Roxham Road, asylum-seeker destination, busy after Biden-Trudeau pact
Christinne Muschi, Anna Mehler Paperny and Carlos Osorio/CHAMPLAIN, New York/TORONTO (Reuters)
Asylum seekers warned by police they could be sent back continued to walk into Canada through the unofficial United States border crossing into Quebec at Roxham Road a day after the two countries amended a 20-year-old asylum pact trying to stem the influx. U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced changes to the Safe Third Country Agreement on Friday after a record number of asylum seekers arrived in Canada via unofficial border crossings, putting pressure on Trudeau to address it. The Safe Third Country Agreement, signed in 2002 and which came into effect in 2004, originally meant asylum seekers crossing into either Canada or the United States at formal border crossings were turned back and told to apply for asylum in the first "safe" country they arrived in. Now it applies to the entire 6,416-km (3,987-mile) land border. Under the revised pact, anyone who crosses into either country anywhere along the land border and who applies for asylum within 14 days will be turned back. Roxham Road, which had become a notorious unofficial crossing for asylum seekers into Canada, closed at midnight on Saturday. But dozens crossed anyway, including one group with a baby and a toddler just after midnight. Police took them into custody, warning them they could be turned around. Police unveiled a new sign near the dirt path linking New York State with the province of Quebec, informing people they could be arrested and returned to the United States if they crossed. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which polices ports of entry, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which polices the rest of the border, referred questions about enforcement to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, a federal government department.
The department referred questions about enforcement back to the CBSA and RCMP, saying in a statement the two bodies will "work together to uphold Canada’s border integrity." Quebec RCMP did not immediately respond on Saturday morning to questions about what will happen to people intercepted at Roxham Road. A 30-year-old man from Pakistan, who did not want to be identified, said he had taken a taxi from New York City. "I don’t have anywhere to go," he said.
He crossed into Canada. Confusion reigned at a bus station early on Saturday, where about 25 people from Venezuela, Haiti, Ecuador and Peru milled about, wondering what to do next. One told Reuters he had heard about the new rules on the bus; another had heard on arrival. The new deal's stated aim is to promote orderly migration and ease pressure on communities overwhelmed by a spike in asylum seekers who crossed at places like Roxham Road to avoid being turned back at official entry points. But enforcing the amended agreement by apprehending people who cross anywhere along the land border could be a logistical nightmare and put people at risk, critics say. If the purpose of this change is to deter irregular crossings, said University of Toronto law professor Audrey Macklin, "it will simply fail."When asylum seekers crossed at Roxham Road they wanted to be caught by authorities because they knew that was the way to file refugee claims. If the incentive becomes evasion, critics fear, people will be driven underground and toward riskier modes of travel. They will want to sneak into the country and hide for two weeks before claiming refugee status.
"This will divert people into more dangerous, more risky, more clandestine modes of entry across 6,000 kilometres of border," Macklin said. "That’s just a job-creation program for smugglers."

Stunned faces and heartbreak for migrants heading to Roxham as they learn Canada will likely send them back
CBC/March 25, 2023
At 4 a.m. on Saturday morning, two buses from New York City arrived at a gas station in Plattsburgh, N.Y., where groups of migrants carrying luggage and determined to cross into Canada disembarked with no knowledge of the closure of Roxham Road. Their faces were stunned as two taxi drivers, who had shown up only to give them the news, told them they could not drive them there. They were four hours too late. They had boarded their buses unaware that by the time they arrived in Plattsburgh, the city closest to the illegal border crossing, they would not be able to follow in the footsteps of the thousands of migrants seeking new lives in Canada who had crossed there before them. The temperature was –4 C and several of the migrants wore only hoodies. They shivered and looked at each other in disbelief, pleading with the drivers to take them to Roxham Road anyway. The drivers said a United States government directive had come down that they were not to drive them to the illegal crossing after midnight. Olivier Nanfah, a 42-year-old Cameroonian man, said he had spent his entire savings crossing more than a dozen countries to flee persecution, then trying to find work in the U.S. before he decided to try his luck in Canada, only to be told his last hope, Roxham Road, was closed.
"It's awful. I have nowhere else to go," he said. Nanfah and a dozen other migrants from countries including Ecuador, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo gathered in another gas station next door to warm up and try to understand their predicament.
Eventually, at around 6 a.m., some taxi drivers agreed to take most of the migrants who arrived by bus to Roxham. Nanfah and several others crossed Saturday morning, but, according to the details of the modified Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), announced Friday, they could be brought back to the U.S.
Nanfah said he wanted his story to be told so people could understand the hardships asylum seekers crossing at Roxham have faced. After Nanfah's father was killed in a nearby village, he said it became clear he and his family would be targeted. Nanfah walked from Cameroon to Equatorial Guinea in two weeks, then got a visa to fly to Brazil. He then made his way north on foot and by bus to the United States. He crossed the Darien jungle, where three of the 25 people in his group died because of how taxing the trek was. "I saw people die in front of me," Nanfah said, people who were younger than him — 28, 35, around those ages, he said. His wife and 11 kids are home in Cameroon, hoping they can come join him once he finds a safe place for them all. The couple's eldest, a daughter, is 18, their youngest: twins barely a year old.
Nanfah hasn't seen them in nearly two years.
"No one should have to not see their family like this, no one," he said.
The last hours of Roxham Road
Earlier in the evening, shortly after the changes to STCA were announced and scheduled to take effect at midnight, Roxham Road was quiet. Groups of people continued to arrive as they had for the past weeks, months and years. Few knew then that the crossing would be barred off by midnight and how lucky they were to arrive when they did. At 6 p.m., a black SUV with New Jersey plates came speeding down Roxham Road on the United States side of the border. A group of 11 Turkish men got out and rushed down the dirt path where an RCMP officer informed them they would be arrested for crossing illegally. They nodded and were led to a ramp outside a warehouse building where they'd be processed before being driven to a shelter by bus. A man named Kenny Gas, a mechanic and Uber driver who lives on Staten Island, had driven them from an airport outside of New York City. "It's not right, what they do," Gas said of the deal between Canada and the U.S. to effectively close the popular illegal border crossing for migrants south of Montreal. Originally from Turkey, Gas has been driving Turkish migrants to Roxham Road from New York, who hear about him through word of mouth. "They spent all that money to get here. Now, all of a sudden they're closing their doors," he said. After that, the trickle of cars became a stream. People from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Botswana, Malaysia, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad, Colombia and Haiti — families, single men, mothers alone with their young children. One woman, Pamela Memengi Maiala, arrived carrying her four-month-old baby in a car seat and her five-year-old, Jefte, at her side. Jefte waited with the baby as she went to get their roughly 10 suitcases and bags. Several people scrambled to help carry them the rest of the way, but once she got to the little dirt path, Maiala stopped.
One group of migrants passed her by, walking onto the path without hesitating, but Maiala stayed put with the baby and Jefte at her feet. She didn't move forward for about 30 minutes. She stared at the RCMP agent on the other side, at the people waiting outside to be processed, rubbed Jefte's back and adjusted his jacket hood. Every once in a while she drew deep sighs, answered questions from journalists, but her expression stayed the same — as if playing back her and her children's journey up to this point. Maiala's responses were brief. She spoke a bit of French and some Portuguese she had picked up in Brazil, the first country she and Jefte landed in on Oct. 23, 2021. Her first language is Lingala. The baby was born on their way north and she became sick from the pregnancy, she said. When she heard the path to Canada would be closing, she decided to pack up and make it in time for the deadline. Arriving was a relief, she said. At around 11:20 p.m., she picked up her things, her baby, joined a large group on the path and walked across.Mahamed Yusef Niazi was carrying his seven-month-old daughter Sahaba, when he and his wife Taiba Nuri got out of a black van at the end of Roxham Road.
Niazi was smiling.
"I feel better in Canada," he said, steps away from entering the country. He explained that he and Nuri left Afghanistan after the Taliban regained control of the country. The couple first travelled to Iran, then back to Afghanistan, then to Pakistan, Brazil, through South America to Mexico and then the U.S. And at 9:02 p.m. Friday, they walked into Canada. At midnight, two RCMP officers took the wrapping off of a new sign that said, "Stop. Do not cross. It is illegal to enter Canada from here. You will be arrested and may be returned to the United States."A van from Warwick, N.J., carrying six Haitian nationals pulled up a few minutes late. For a while, it wasn't clear if the group would be let in. They were made to wait outside for about 30 minutes, before finally being let inside. One man from Pakistan showed up an hour later and a small group at 3:15 a.m., who were also let inside. RCMP officers present would not say whether those people would be sent back to the United States after being processed in the warehouse. Tyler Provost, a taxi driver from Plattsburgh, made two trips to the Roxham crossing Friday night. He shook his head opening the trunk of his van. Provost said cab drivers had been given a directive from the U.S. government to stop driving migrants to Roxham after midnight. "A lot of people have called us already crying and saying they can't get here 'til, like, the 27th and stuff. So it's just going to ruin a lot of people's lives. It's not. It's not going to help," he said.

Putin and Erdogan held phone call, discussed grain deal
MOSCOW (Reuters)/Sat, March 25, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said on Saturday. Erdogan thanked Putin for his "positive attitude" in extending the Black Sea grain deal and expressed his "understanding of the Russian side's principled position to achieve the full implementation of the second part of the agreement, removing barriers for Russia's agricultural products," the Kremlin said in a statement. Russia laid out conditions on Monday for agreeing to any further extension of the Black Sea grain deal, and Putin said that Moscow could send free grain to African countries if those conditions were not met. Putin and Ergodan "expressed satisfaction with the positive dynamics of trade and economic relations, the successful implementation of joint strategic projects in the energy sector, including gas supplies and the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey," the Kremlin said. They also discussed the normalisation of Turkish-Syrian relations, it said.

Ukraine Latest: Erdogan Urges ‘Immediate Cessation’ of Conflict
Bloomberg News/March 25, 202
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, “highlighted the importance Turkey attaches to the immediate cessation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through negotiation,” according to a readout from Ankara.Poland’s prime minister said the appetite for an 11th round of EU sanctions was waning in some European capitals that he didn’t specify by name, despite repeated urging by Ukraine for more measures. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff quickly called for “no softening” of sanctions against Moscow.
Zelanskiy on Friday discussed financing from donors for projects to rebuild the country with a World Bank delegation visiting Kyiv. Official creditors have extended Ukraine’s debt repayment standstill until 2027, while the war-ravaged country receives an emergency aid program under the International Monetary Fund. Russian troops shelled a humanitarian aid distribution point in Kherson, leaving two people hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, the state regional administration said on Telegram. The incident comes a day after a Russian missile destroyed a “point of invincibility” — a location set up by Ukraine’s government to provide free basic services to residents — in the city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine. The strike killed five, including three elderly women. Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff said on Telegram that Chasiv Yar and Toretsk, near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region were shelled by Russia with one fatality reported in each town. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin, thanking Russia’s president for helping to facilitate another extension of the Black Sea safe-transit deal for Ukrainian grain exports, according to a readout from Ankara. Erdogan highlighted the importance of “the immediate cessation” of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations, according the readout.
A Kremlin readout made no reference to efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Russia said the pair also discussed Syria, and normalization process of Syria-Turkey relations.
Hours after Poland’s prime minister said there’s waning interest in parts of Europe about imposing additional sanctions on Moscow, Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff warned against wavering resolve. “There must be no softening for sanctions against Russia,” Andriy Yermak wrote on Twitter and Telegram, saying that “severe sanctions provide security” and that there must be no “manipulations” on the subject of food security. “We need to expand sanctions and to approach in detail the issue of firms used by the enemy to find ways, albeit complicated, to get components for weapon production,” Yermak posted in Ukrainian. Germany wants EU nations to introduce end-user controls on technological and electronic goods that Russia could be using for military purposes in Ukraine, the country’s economy minister said. It’s part of the EU focus on clamping down on the circumvention of ten rounds of sanctions on Russia.
“We have looked at the export data for many states of the former Soviet Union, and many of the countries bordering Russia,” Robert Habeck told reporters in Copenhagen. “It is very, very striking with the movement of lorries over the years, and all of a sudden it has quadrupled since the beginning of the sanctions.”Mateusz Morawiecki said the appetite for an 11th round of EU sanctions against Russia is waning in some European capitals as the focus turns to fully implementing measures imposed in the ten previous rounds. Nevertheless, the Polish prime minister told Radio RMF that an 11th round of measures against Moscow was still possible within two months, and that he’s “optimistic” the bloc will ramp them up. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly called for more sanctions against Russia, including on Thursday during a speech by video link to an EU leaders. “The protraction with new European sanctions packages is becoming unpleasant,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine plans to double its transit fee for Russian oil that passes through its territory in the Druzhba pipeline to eastern Europe, Kommersant reported, citing sources it didn’t identify. The proposal would increase the tariff as of April 1 to €27.20 per ton ($29.30) through the pipeline’s southern branch, which delivers oil to Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic, the newspaper reported. Ukrtransnafta JSC blamed the increase on the cost of repairing infrastructure damaged by Russian missile strikes, it said. The Kremlin’s months-long assault on Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine “has largely stalled” as a result of “extreme attrition” in Russian forces there, the UK defense ministry said, adding that Kyiv’s forces have also suffered heavy casualties. The situation has also likely been made worse by tensions between Russia’s defense ministry and the Wagner mercenary group, both of whom contribute troops to the effort to take the Donestsk town, the ministry said in a Twitter thread. Russia has likely shifted its focus toward Avdiivka, south of Bakhmut, and to the Kremina-Svatove sector in the north, aspiring mostly to stabilize its front line, the UK said. The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said Russian forces conducted limited attacks along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kremina line on Friday. Ukraine’s army is unable to start a new offensive against Russia in the nation’s east because of a shortage of necessary weapons, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Japan’s largest newspaper. “We can’t launch [a counteroffensive] yet. Without tanks, artillery and HIMARS, we cannot send our brave soldiers to the front lines,” Zelenskiy told the Yomiuri Shinbun, according to the Russian news agency Tass.
He also again noted Ukraine’s shortage of ammunition, hammering home a point made repeatedly. Ukraine’s group of official creditors have extended a debt repayment standstill until 2027, while the war-ravaged country receives an emergency aid program under the International Monetary Fund.
The agreement came among other financing assurances given Thursday by the group, a key step to unlocking billions of dollars the nation needs to weather Russia’s invasion, now in its second year.
The creditor plan follows an IMF staff-level agreement secured earlier this week for a $15.6 billion package, setting up the first loan to a nation at war in the institution’s 77-year history. President Joe Biden said he “doesn’t take lightly” the prospect of a growing alliance between China and Russia but countered that the US is making gains in strengthening international opposition to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. “We have significantly expanded our alliances. I haven’t seen that happen with China and Russia or anybody else in the world,” Biden said Friday, days after visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Putin in Moscow that saw the two nations pledge to deepen ties. The Kremlin has dialed back plans for a further offensive in Ukraine this spring after failing to gain much ground and will focus on blunting a new push by Kyiv’s forces expected to begin soon. The Kremlin is seeking to sign up as many as 400,000 contract soldiers this year to replenish its ranks, according to people familiar with the planning who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t public.

UN accuses Russia, Ukraine forces of 'summary executions' of prisoners
Agence France Presse/March 25, 2023
The United Nations said it was "deeply concerned" by what it said were summary executions of prisoners of war by both Russian and Ukrainian forces on the battlefield. The allegations came shortly after Kyiv accused Russian forces of killing a captured Ukrainian serviceman who was filmed saying "Glory to Ukraine" before being shot dead. The head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, said that her organization had recently recorded killings by both sides. "We are deeply concerned about (the) summary execution of up to 25 Russian prisoners of war and persons hors de combat by the Ukrainian armed forces, which we have documented," Bogner said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday. "This was often perpetrated immediately upon capture on the battlefield," she said. "While we are aware of ongoing investigations by Ukraine authorities into five cases involving 22 victims, we are not aware of any prosecution of the perpetrators," she added. Bogner also expressed "deep" concern over the alleged executions of 15 Ukrainian prisoners by Russian armed forces after their capture. She said the Wagner mercenary group, which claims to be leading Russia's assault for Bakhmut -- the longest and bloodiest battle of the war -- was responsible for 11 of those killings. Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of mistreating prisoners of war since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded a year ago. In response to the U.N. report, Kyiv's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was "unacceptable" to hold the "victim of aggression" responsible.
'They broke us'
One U.N. report issued Friday claimed Ukrainian military personnel had subjected prisoners of war to death threats, mock executions or threats of sexual violence. Some beatings were "purely retaliatory," it said. "In some cases, officers beat POWs saying: 'This is for Bucha'," the mission reported detainees as saying, referring to a town near Kyiv where Russian forces were accused of widespread atrocities. "Before questioning, they showed me an axe handle covered in blood as a warning," the report quoted a Russian POW as saying. "The questioning lasted for about an hour and they used electricity six times, whenever they thought I was lying," the detainee said, according to the report. Ukrainian POWs quoted in the report said they were subjected to torture, sexual violence, a lack of food and water and denied medical attention. They said they were tortured and ill-treated to extract information or as a form of punishment, the mission said. Ukrainian prisoners reported being beaten with shovels, stabbed, subjected to electric shocks and strangled. "Some of them lost their teeth or fingers, had their ribs, fingers or noses broken," the report said. "They did not just beat us, they broke us. They used their fists, legs, batons, tasers. There were POWs who had their arms or legs broken," one man was quoted as saying. The Ukrainian parliament's human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said Friday that he was "surprised" by the allegations against Ukrainian troops and said he had not been informed of them in advance. On Telegram, he wrote that he wanted to "know the facts and the indisputable arguments on which the conclusions" of the U.N. report were based. In a separate statement on Friday, Kyiv's Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the U.N. monitors for their work but emphasized that Ukraine "expects that the UN mission will avoid any steps that may be interpreted as equalizing the victim and the aggressor."

Hungary: Criticism makes it hard to cooperate with West
UNITED NATIONS/AP/March 25, 2023
The West’s steady criticism of Hungary on democratic and cultural issues makes the small European country’s right-wing government reluctant to offer support on practical matters, specifically NATO’s buildup against Russia, Hungary’s foreign minister said. In an interview with The Associated Press, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also said Friday that his country has not voted on whether to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO because Hungarian lawmakers are sick of those countries' critiques of Hungarian domestic affairs. Lawmakers from the governing party plan to vote Monday in favor of the Finnish request but “serious concerns were raised" about Finland and Sweden in recent months "mostly because of the very disrespectful behavior of the political elites of both countries towards Hungary,” Szijjártó said. “You know, when Finnish and Swedish politicians question the democratic nature of our political system, that’s really unacceptable,” he said. A vote on Sweden is harder to predict, Szijjártó said. The EU, which includes 21 NATO countries, has frozen billions in funds to Budapest and accused populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban of cracking down on media freedom and LGBTQ rights. Orban’s administration has also been accused of tolerating an entrenched culture of corruption and co-opting state institutions to serve the governing Fidesz party. In a European Parliament resolution, EU lawmakers declared last year that Hungary had become “a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy” under Orban’s nationalist government and that its undermining of the bloc’s democratic values had taken Hungary out of the community of democracies. That criticism raised objections within Hungary and made it hard for the government to support Finland and Sweden's bids to join NATO, Szijjártó said. Skeptics insist that Hungary has simply been trying to win lucrative concessions. When it comes to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Szijjártó said that his country's advocacy of peace does not mean accepting that Russia would keep the territory it currently controls. "You know, stopping the war and sitting around the table does not mean that you accept the status quo," he said. "When the war stops and the peace talks start, it’s not necessary that the borders would be where the front lines are. We know this from our own history as well ... Cease-fire has to come now." As for relations with the United States, Szijjártó said they had a heyday under former President Donald Trump. His government found things more difficult under President Joe Biden. In perfect, nearly unaccented English, Szijjártó explained that Hungary is “a clearly rightist, right-wing, Christian Democratic, conservative, patriotic government.” He then went on in terms that would be familiar to millions of Americans. “So we are basically against the mainstream in any attributes of ours. And if you are against the liberal mainstream, and in the meantime, you are successful, and in the meantime, you continue to win elections, it’s not digestible for the liberal mainstream itself,” he said. “Under President Trump, the political relationship was as good as never before.”Key to that relationship was Trump's acceptance of Hungary's policies toward its own citizens. The government has banned the sharing of materials with minors that it regards as a display or promotion of homosexuality or gender reassignment. The law has been condemned by human rights groups and politicians from around Europe as an attack on Hungary’s LGBT community. Szijjártó said Trump was more welcoming of such measures than the Biden administration. “He never wanted to impose anything. He never wanted to put pressure on us to change our way of thinking about family. He never wanted us to change our way of thinking about migration. He never wanted us to change our way of thinking about social issues,” Szijjártó said. He also said Trump's attitude toward Russia would be more welcome by some parties today. During Trump's term in the White House, Russia did not start "any attack against anyone," Szijjártó said.

Palestinian Journalists Syndicate Denounces Hamas’ Arrest, Assault of Colleague
Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 March, 2023
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate strongly condemned the arrest and assault of Hani Abu Rizk, a correspondent of Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda newspaper, by Hamas police during his filming of people marking the advent of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Al-Saraya Square in Gaza City. In a statement, the Syndicate voiced deep concern over the incident. It said police were aware that Abu Rizk was a journalist when they assaulted him. It held the police fully responsible for the “brutal attack” that violates freedom of journalistic work, demanding an apology. Abu Rizk is a journalist who covers humanitarian stories and the sufferings of people in the Gaza Strip. He covered a story about how Hamas movement police had demolished the house of a Palestinian man in the Gaza Strip. Abu Al-Saeed Al-Masry, a cancer patient, was living in a residential complex with his brothers. A local businessman bought the complex, but Al-Masry refused to sell his home because of his medical condition. A Hamas court ruled in favor of the businessman and ordered the immediate evacuation of the home and that compensation be paid to the owner, who still refused to sell. The police ultimately carried out the court order and demolished the home, forcibly evicting the owners. Abu Rizk was attacked for covering the story. He was summoned by Hamas police and arrested. The Syndicate expressed its rejection of the assault and arrest, saying it will take all necessary action to avert similar acts from happening again. It called on rights groups to condemn the attack and pressure Hamas to ensure that it would not commit them again.

Large asteroid to zoom between Earth and Moon
Agence France Presse/March 25, 2023
A large asteroid will safely zoom between Earth and the Moon on Saturday, a once-in-a-decade event that will be used as a training exercise for planetary defence efforts, according to the European Space Agency. The asteroid, named 2023 DZ2, is estimated to be 40 to 70 meters (130 to 230 feet) wide, roughly the size of the Parthenon, and big enough to wipe out a large city if it hit our planet. At 19:49 GMT on Saturday it will come within a third of the distance from the Earth to the Moon, said Richard Moissl, the head of the ESA's planetary defense office.
Though that is "very close", there is nothing to worry about, he told AFP. Small asteroids fly past every day, but one of this size coming so close to Earth only happens around once every 10 years, he added. The asteroid will pass 175,000 kilometres (109,000 miles) from Earth at a speed of 28,000 kilometres per hour (17,400 miles per hour). The moon is roughly 385,000 kilometers away. An observatory in La Palma, one of Spain's Canary Islands, first spotted the asteroid on February 27. Last week, the UN-endorsed International Asteroid Warning Network decided it would take advantage of the close look, carrying out a "rapid characterization" of 2023 DZ2, Moissl said. That means astronomers around the world will analyse the asteroid with a range of instruments such as spectrometers and radars. The goal is to find out just how much we can learn about such an asteroid in only a week, Moissl said. It will also serve as training for how the network "would react to a threat" possibly heading our way in the future, he added.
'Scientifically interesting' -
Moissl said preliminary data suggests 2023 DZ2 is "a scientifically interesting object", indicating it could be a somewhat unusual type of asteroid. But he added that more data was needed to determine the asteroid's composition. The asteroid will again swing past Earth in 2026, but poses no threat of impact for at least the next 100 years -- which is how far out its trajectory has been calculated. Earlier this month a similarly sized asteroid, 2023 DW, was briefly given a one-in-432 chance of hitting Earth on Valentine's Day 2046. But further calculations ruled out any chance of an impact, which is what normally happens with newly discovered asteroids. Moissl said 2023 DW was now expected to miss Earth by some 4.3 million kilometres. Even if such an asteroid was determined to be heading our way, Earth is no longer defenceless. Last year, NASA's DART spacecraft deliberately slammed into the pyramid-sized asteroid Dimorphos, significantly knocking it off course in the first such test of our planetary defences.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 25-26/2023
The Growing Power of the China-Iran Alliance Thanks to the Biden Administration
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/March 25, 2023
The deal grants China significant rights over the Iran's resources and help to Iran in increasing its oil and gas production. Leaked information revealed that one of the terms is that China will be investing nearly $400 billion in Iran's oil, gas and petrochemicals industries. In return, China will get priority to bid on any new project in Iran that is linked to these sectors.
China will also be able to pay in any currency it chooses.
The Biden administration's failure to lead is effectively handing the US over to China, Russia and Iran on a platter, actively creating a new world order with China at the top and the US potentially wherever China wants.
Where is our commitment to a "Manhattan Project" to strengthen our defense? Why is the requested defense budget for 2024 only 3.2% higher than the 2023 budget? This means in real terms, factoring in the current inflation of 6%, that the current defense budget is a cut. Worse, it comes in below the budget increases planned for the Environmental Protection Agency (19%), Department of the Interior (12%), and Department of Veterans Affairs (5.4%). In 2022, US defense spending as a percentage of GDP was 3.1%, compared to the 8% of GDP it was in 1970.
Thanks to the monumental serial ineptitude of the Biden Administration, China's President Xi Jinping, backed by his troika of oil suppliers -- Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran -- doubtless feels on the verge of fulfilling his fondest dream: Displacing the US as the world's leading superpower. The saddest part is that the reason is us: Why are we deliberately not protecting our Republic?
Iran and China have become more empowered and emboldened than ever. The Chinese Communist Party and the ruling Islamist mullahs of Iran have been violating US sanctions without facing any consequences from the Biden administration. Pictured: Iran's then Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (right) and China's top diplomatic official, Wang Yi, at the signing of the China-Iran comprehensive strategic 25-year partnership agreement on economic and security cooperation, in Tehran, Iran on March 27, 2021. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
Thanks to the extremely dubious leadership of the Biden Administration, Iran and China have become more empowered and emboldened than ever. The Chinese Communist Party and the ruling Islamist mullahs of Iran have been conveniently violating US sanctions without facing any consequences from the Biden administration.
Since the Biden administration assumed office, here are a few of the critical developments: First, China rose to be a leading player in the Middle East. Beijing recently brokered an agreement between two of its major oil suppliers: Iran and Saudi Arabia. According to Deutsche Welle:
"China has cultivated strong economic and political ties with both Riyadh and Tehran in recent years. Saudi Arabia is China's largest oil supplier, with trade between the two countries amounting to $87 billion (€81 billion) in 2021. Commerce between Iran and China, meanwhile, was worth more than $16 billion in the same year, with Tehran depending on the Asian giant for as much as 30% of its foreign trade."
It should be noted that in 2019 and 2020, Iran's oil exports decreased to fewer than 200,000 barrel a day, representing a decline of roughly 90%. This shift took place after the Trump administration decided not to extend its waiver for Iran's eight biggest oil buyers: China, India, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea. In 2021, however, immediately after the Biden administration took office, China ramped up its oil imports from Iran, increasing them from 200,000 a day to nearly one million barrels a day. In other words, Iran is exporting approximately five times more oil than at its nadir in 2019 and 2020.
Central Asian countries are also continuing to trade with Iran. The sale of oil accounts for more than 80% of Iran's export revenues, therefore the regime relies heavily on oil exports.
China also signed a 25-year strategic partnership deal with Iran; presently the agreement is in its early stages of implementation. According to it, China will continue to import oil from Iran despite US sanctions. According to the Tehran Times:
"For his part, the Chinese foreign minister approved of his Iranian counterpart's views expounded in his op-ed published in China's Global Times. Wang said the Iranian foreign minister's views show the promising horizon in relations between Tehran and Beijing. The top Chinese diplomat underlined his country's readiness to expand cooperation with Iran in financing, energy, banking and cultural sectors despite... sanctions..."
The deal grants China significant rights over the Iran's resources and help to Iran in increasing its oil and gas production. Leaked information revealed that one of the terms is that China will be investing nearly $400 billion in Iran's oil, gas and petrochemicals industries. In return, China will get priority to bid on any new project in Iran that is linked to these sectors.
China will also be able to pay in any currency it chooses.
The growing partnership between China and Iran is not only going to assist the Iranian regime to skirt US sanctions; it also enables the ruling mullahs to gain access to funds, empower its militia and terror groups in countries around region and continue advancing its race towards nuclear weapons.
During the Biden Administration, the power of both Iran and China will continue to grow. "Biden is a complete joke with regard to foreign policy," U.S. Senator Rick Scott pointed out.
"Biden would rather have ice cream with somebody than stand up for Americans... It's a disaster. I mean, Biden's a clown. Biden's never been a serious person. He's just a talker. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, that's all he's ever done."
Scott also cited former President Barack Obama's reported warning: "Don't underestimate Joe's ability to fuck things up."
The Biden administration's failure to lead is effectively handing the US over to China, Russia and Iran on a platter, actively creating a new world order with China at the top and the US potentially wherever China wants.
Where is our commitment to a "Manhattan Project" to strengthen our defense? Why is the requested defense budget for 2024 only 3.2% higher than the 2023 budget? This means in real terms, factoring in the current inflation of 6%, that the current defense budget is a cut. Worse, it comes in below the budget increases planned for the Environmental Protection Agency (19%), Department of the Interior (12%), and Department of Veterans Affairs (5.4%). In 2022, US defense spending as a percentage of GDP was 3.1%, compared to the 8% of GDP it was in 1970.
Thanks to the monumental serial ineptitude of the Biden Administration (here, here, here, here, here, here and here), China's President Xi Jinping, backed by his troika of oil suppliers -- Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran -- doubtless feels on the verge of fulfilling his fondest dream: Displacing the US as the world's leading superpower. The saddest part is that the reason is us: Why are we deliberately not protecting our Republic?
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
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Xi and Putin’s letters to the world: A diplomatic epistolary
Dr. Diana Galeeva/Arab News/March 25, 2023
In literature, the term “epistolary novel” refers to a work of fiction written in the form of letters or other documents. On the eve of the recent meeting between the leaders of China and Russia in Moscow, the heads of both states wrote articles for newspapers in each other’s countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s piece was published in Jenmin Jibao (People’s Daily), and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Russian Gazette).
I believe we can apply the epistolary concept to analyzing the discourses by the leaders of the two states in these articles, which can be seen as letters to the peoples of both nations as well as to the world. I will focus on “diplomatic epistolary” to explain why Xi was in Moscow and what rationale this reveals in Russian-Chinese relations.
Of his expectations for the meeting with Xi in Russia, Putin noted that they had already met about 40 times and that Russia associated “great expectations” with the visit of the Chinese leader.
“This is also a great opportunity for me to see a good old friend with whom we have the warmest relationship,” he wrote.
According to Putin, relations between the two countries “have reached the highest level in their entire history and continue to grow stronger.”
More specifically, in terms of bilateral relations, by the end of 2022, trade between the two countries had doubled, he said, and reached $185 billion, which is a new record. Russia now expects it to pass the $200 billion mark not in 2024 — as previously predicted — but this year, while the share of settlements in national currencies is growing and relations “are becoming even more sovereign.”
The Power of Siberia gas pipeline is, Putin said, “without exaggeration” the “deal of the century,” while the volumes of oil and coal supplied by Russia to China have increased. In 2022, two bridge crossings between Russia and China were built in border regions across the Amur River.
On geopolitics, Putin said that Russia, China and their allies stand for “the formation of a world order based on international law” and not on certain “rules” that serve the needs of the “golden billion.” He considers the Chinese “Global Security Initiative” to be consistent with Russian approaches.
The Russian president also highlighted the US declarations of Russia as an “immediate threat” and China as a “strategic competitor.”
The Russian-Chinese alliance represents a close strategic partnership — geopolitically, economically, militarily, and politically.
Putin expressed gratitude to China for its “balanced line in connection with the events taking place in Ukraine, for understanding their background and real reasons.” He welcomed the willingness of Beijing to play a “constructive role in resolving the crisis.”
Regarding Western activities in the Asia-Pacific region, he said NATO was trying to “give its activities a global scope.” He expressed his belief that “some forces are persistently striving to split the common Eurasian space into a network of ‘exclusive clubs’ and military blocs” but added that “no one will be able to achieve this.”
Xi wrote that his visit to Russia was “aimed at strengthening friendship, cooperation, and peace” and noted that during his meetings with the Russian leader they “set the tone for the sustainable development of bilateral relations.”
He said that Russia and China both adhere to the concept of “eternal friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation” and relations between the countries are based on the principles of “non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-direction against third parties.”
The bilateral relationship serves as “a standard of interstate relations of a new type,” according to Xi, and “multipolarity, economic globalization and the democratization of international relations” is an “irreversible trend.”
Beijing’s previously announced plan for resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “reflects to the maximum the unity of the world community’s views on overcoming the Ukraine crisis,” the Chinese leader said.
These letters are illustrative, firstly, of the close ties between the two leaders, who consider themselves “good old friends” with the “warmest relationship.” On the issue of bilateral relations, the “unlimited” partnership that was declared in a joint statement on Feb. 4, 2022, will continue, as China described these relations as being at a “historic high.” This is not a formal alliance but surely represents a close strategic partnership — geopolitically, economically, militarily, and politically.
Secondly, after emerging as the most “sensational” mediator in the Middle East, brokering the recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Beijing might be heading toward another diplomatic victory by potentially brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine, after suggesting a 12-point plan to end the conflict.
During the Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concerns when he met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. “The secretary was quite blunt in warning about the implications and consequences of China providing material support to Russia or assisting Russia with systematic sanctions evasion,” officials said.
Wang nonetheless stated that China would be introducing a “peace plan” for Ukraine and Russia, in addition to maintaining relations with Europe.
Overall, these letters to the world reveal a clear message that peace negotiations will probably take place under Beijing’s aegis in the short term, and relations between Russia and China will be maintained at their “highest” levels in the medium term.
According to the philosopher Confucius: “Politics should be beautiful.” To what extent this partnership between China and Russia will turn out to be “beautiful,” and to what extent the messages from the two leaders form a “diplomatic epistolary,” remains to be seen.
*Dr. Diana Galeeva is a former academic visitor to St. Antony’s College, Oxford University (2019-2022). Twitter: @Dr_GaleevaDiana

What does Netanyahu hope to achieve with his European tour?
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/March 25, 2023
Benjamin Netanyahu has always felt more comfortable spending time outside of Israel than in it. This might sound odd for someone who has built his entire career on a rather extreme nationalist version of Zionism.
He spent a considerable part of his formative years in the US, at a time when Israel’s politics, society and economy were dominated by the left in all its shades. Being born into a family with deep roots in the intellectual right, a position that during his youth was rather ostracized and marginalized in Israel, his place of refuge was mainly America.
At one point he even changed his surname to Nitai, suggesting that he was making it easier for Americans to pronounce. Some suggested he was not comfortable with his Israeli identity and contemplating settling elsewhere.
Throughout his political career, it has been hard to tell exactly what he stands for. The gap between his rhetoric and his policies is impossible to explain. Has it all been power for the sake of power, led by opportunism, or have there been some ideological foundations underpinned by a value system to support a leader who is mainly a pragmatist?
In his heyday, his intelligence and charisma, combined with media skills and a manipulative nature, propelled him to become the most powerful politician Israel had seen for a very long time. However, what we have witnessed since he returned to the prime minister’s office in December last year is a pale version of that man.
Deep down he must know that his sixth government is a cynical aberration, even for someone whose cynicism and political buccaneering have played a major part in his becoming the longest serving prime minister in the country’s history.
His actions and body language tell of someone who understands that he has run out of ideas and people to fool. He must also have realized by now that, beyond a relatively small number of supporters among the “Bibist” cult of loyalists, he has lost all credibility. The hundreds of thousands of people across the country, and abroad, who are protesting against his current administration’s actions are a constant reminder of this. In search of some refuge from the insanity of this situation, Netanyahu has become a frequent flier, heading off on weekends abroad. However, these escapist trips could hardly be described as offering any respite from his troubles.
What might be hurting him most about these many visits abroad since forming his latest administration, is the cold shoulder — frozen, even — with which he is being met. Inspired by former US President Ronald Reagan and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Netanyahu, who has always fashioned himself as a statesman of the first order and as having Churchillian qualities, has been greeted by lukewarm receptions from his hosts and heated protests in the streets. He might once have been propped up by his self-aggrandizing pose, but nowadays hardly anyone in the world he visits even remotely falls for this.
These weekend excursions will not save him from the constitutional crisis and upheavals that are of his own making. Nor will they save him from his corruption trial.
And if his government continues its program of so-called judicial reforms, which are bound to destroy the very fabric of his country’s democracy, he might find himself not only under siege by protesters at home, but also a pariah in all the capitals in which he and, not least, his wife have long been used to enjoying luxurious weekends.
In fact, one of the big mysteries during the short time that Netanyahu’s current coalition has been in power is why he insists on traveling abroad at all. It only fuels more anger at home, while overseas he receives lectures in democracy from world leaders wherever he goes.
Like any Israeli leader, the kudos that come from a visit to the White House are his dream, but Washington is currently in no hurry to invite an Israeli prime minister who is undermining one of the major pillars of the bond between the two countries: Their shared liberal-democratic values.
In a year during which Israel is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its independence, there might, under normal circumstances, have been little doubt that a celebratory meeting between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu would take place. However, neither officials in Washington nor America’s Jewish community care to be associated with someone who is taking the Jewish state to a very dark place at this stage in its short history.
Instead, the White House, in a public rebuttal to the Israeli government, has expressed its support for President Isaac Herzog’s continuing efforts to seek a solution to the constitutional crisis that is consistent with democratic principles.
Common sense would seem to dictate that while his government is following a path that involves legislating for the most radical constitutional changes, which will eliminate both elements of the expression “liberal democracy,” and while masses of people are protesting in the streets, the Israeli prime minister should limit his time abroad and concentrate on resolving this domestic crisis before it escalates any further.
Instead, almost every weekend, accompanied on most occasions by his wife, Sarah, and a sizable entourage, Netanyahu packs his suitcase and heads for yet another world capital. In the very short time this government has been in office, he has already been to Paris, Rome, Berlin and, most recently, London.
These excursions make use of specially chartered aircraft, and many pilots are said to have refused to fly them in protest against the judicial coup. Netanyahu is spending entire weekends in luxurious hotels, although his official meetings are usually very short.
It is difficult to figure out what is he trying to achieve. Is he trying to keep on playing the big statesman and, by doing so, project power? Is it about avoiding the harsh realities at home? Or has he become blind to the fact that he is not welcome abroad, nor among at least half of the population at home? The answer is probably a bit of all of the above.
If in the past Netanyahu — and equally, if not more so, his wife — found solace in other countries away from the thorny front lines of Israeli politics, where they were embraced by Jewish communities abroad and enjoyed the perks of official visits bestowed upon them by their hosts in accordance with diplomatic protocols, which allowed him to convey to Israelis that their prime minister was a respected player on the world stage, then all of that is now a distant memory, confined to the past alongside Netanyahu’s hopes for a political future.
These weekend excursions will not save him from the constitutional crisis and upheavals that are of his own making. Nor will they save him from his corruption trial. Sadly, the only thing they will do is help to tear Israeli society apart.
Under these circumstances, what is desperately needed is for a child to cry out, as Netanyahu’s motorcade zooms through the streets of yet another European capital: “The Emperor has no clothes!”
That child might add that this particular emperor also has no shame.
*Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg

Saudi Arabia and Greece share many commonalities
Alexis Konstantopoulos/Arab News/March 25, 2023
Each year, March 25 marks the insurrection of the Greek people against the Ottoman Empire and the rebirth of an ancient and great nation-state, the cradle of European civilization. Today, we celebrate the 202nd anniversary of that day in Riyadh with our Saudi partners and friends.
Our countries share much in common. Both modern Saudi Arabia and Greece have origins in ancient and distinguished civilizations, and both are committed to peace, stability, security, and development in the region. Because of this, Greece attaches considerable importance to the strategic relationship it has forged with the Kingdom.
Thanks to the successful visits of our prime minister to Riyadh in October 2021 and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Athens in July 2022, the last two years have been extremely fruitful in the promotion of our bilateral ties. Our leaders set up a Strategic Partnership Council that will allow for annual summits, while seven different sub-committees will be working throughout the year to explore further opportunities in government and business.
During the last year, over 20 government-to-government and business-to-business agreements and memoranda of understanding have been signed between Greece and Saudi Arabia. They have built a framework of cooperation in fields such as renewable energy, infrastructure and connectivity, culture, sports, science, healthcare, shipping, and many other sectors. Greek and Saudi businesses are increasing their synergies in mutually beneficial projects while exploring additional opportunities since our economies have many complementarities.
Both modern Saudi Arabia and Greece have origins in ancient and distinguished civilizations.
Another very promising development was the formal setting up of our Greek-Saudi Business Council last October in Athens with the participation of many prominent businesspeople, such as its two chairpersons, Lubna Al-Olayan from Saudi Arabia and Achilleas Konstantakopoulos from Greece. This council, backed by our relevant chambers of commerce, will guide our private sectors to explore and better seize the many opportunities across a variety of business fields.
Saudi Arabia has embarked on a significant reform program through Vision 2030, which is changing the face of the country at an impressive speed. Greece, with its expertise, is eager to participate and support Saudi Arabia in its future course. In a nutshell, Greek enterprises in the fields of construction, consultancy, logistics, design, engineering, project management and others, are very interested in being part of Vision 2030. At the same time, there are significant opportunities for investment from Saudi Arabia to Greece in the fields of infrastructure, tourism, energy, renewable energy sources, information and communication technologies, health, and logistics.
For example, in the field of energy, Greece could easily become a hub for transporting energy from the Gulf toward Europe, as well as a bridge between the Arab world and the European continent. An extra support mechanism in this direction is EU funding, part of the Greek National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which allows for significant investments in the fields of innovation and green energy. These are expected to exceed €44 billion ($47 billion) by 2030 through 21 actions financed by the aforementioned funding. As far as the hydrogen energy sector is concerned, there are also many opportunities for cooperation. Hydrogen is going to be an important part of our country’s energy mix and a key to the decarbonization of our economy.
Greece is also an ideal investment destination, as it offers access to all markets in the EU, the wider Mediterranean area, the Middle East and North Africa. The Greek government has also created the necessary legislative framework for attracting strategic foreign investments by very recently voting on an array of lucrative incentives.
We will continue to work closely together in all fields and support each other as strategic partners. As we celebrate Greek Independence Day, we know that our Saudi friends are celebrating with us.
*Alexis Konstantopoulos is the Greek ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Arab world needs to get to grips with its water problem
Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/March 25, 2023
This week, the global community observed World Water Day, which coincided with a midterm review of the UN’s Water Action Decade. The occasion served to raise awareness of, and draw attention to, the water scarcity issues the world is facing, and to promote the security and sustainability of the planet’s freshwater resources.
After all, safeguarding our dwindling water supplies underpins many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the success of which is under serious threat given concerns about the adequate availability of, and access to, clean water, and the effects of diminished and unsafe water supplies on, for example, health and food security.
Occasions such as this provide opportunities for leaders, governments, businesses, and communities to reflect on what progress has been made on the issue, and to determine whether the planet needs urgent interventions to speed up the progress on efforts to ensure universal access to clean, safe drinking water and proper sanitation. For the Arab world in particular, however, time is quickly running out.
The Middle East and North Africa region contains 11 of the 17 most water-stressed countries on the planet. This affects nine out of 10 children in a region that has the world’s highest fertility rates.
About 60 percent of the region’s water needs are met by imports, a figure that will continue to rise as the population increases. In the next decade, for instance, the average per capita share of Nile waters will decrease by a quarter in a region where agriculture accounts for 80 percent of water use, and nearly half of potable water is unaccounted for or “lost” as a result of leakages, which diminish the overall quality of life.
It has been projected that by 2050, hundreds of millions of people across the Arab world will suffer absolute water scarcity; some in North Africa are already feeling the effects of this which is the most water scarce sub-region, with only 1.4 percent of the world’s renewable freshwater reserves.
Throw in the myriad crises that converge in a perennially fragile part of the world, along with threats to water from climate change and plastic pollution, and intense water scarcity quickly transforms into a geopolitical issue which, if poorly handled, will trigger or prolong conflicts, endanger food security, and spark massive displacements.
In a region marked by conflict, sectarian tensions, uprisings, transnational crime and terror, concerns about droughts and dry riverbeds might seem relatively insignificant. Yet, for many centuries, access to abundant water resources has played a key role in safeguarding human security in the region.
The scarcity of water is primarily a result of the natural aridity resulting from a warm desert climate plus limited surface water and groundwater supplies, which make it very challenging, but not impossible, to meet local water needs.
Unfortunately, climate change is exacerbating the region’s vulnerability, potentially making its water insecurity a threat multiplier that will intensify the dysfunction in a fragile water cycle, and undermine sustainable development and progress in efforts to address issues such as health, hunger, equality, jobs, education, industry, natural disasters, and peace.
Without serious intervention, unprecedented cooperation and concerted efforts to confront this worsening crisis, poverty-stricken, conflict-ravaged countries will be the hardest-hit by unmitigated water scarcity and its devastating effects on the region’s development, economic competitiveness, long-term stability, food and energy security, and habitability.
No one will be spared. Even though countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are not the biggest polluters, the irony is that they stand to suffer the most from runaway climate change.
Some experts predict the next major conflict in this region will be about water; which is not such a far-fetched idea given that civil wars have already been sparked by tensions over scarce resources. Sudan, Eritrea and Syria have experienced outright conflicts or flare-ups in violence either driven by resource scarcity, or intensified by it. Such wars are likely to increase in frequency and scale, creating migratory waves that will add to the pressure on dwindling resources in the places that take in refugees, exporting instability to previously “safe” and habitable zones.
Integrated water development and management must be top global priorities if we are to achieve sustainable water, food, and energy security.
Worse yet, all of the major water sources in the region cross borders. If we couple this with political landscapes fraught with tensions, and the fact that water is not only a finite resource but also a major commodity, it could easily trigger conflicts between countries.
In Turkiye, the construction and filling of the Ilisu Dam on the Tigris not only exacerbated tensions between the Turkish government and the Kurdish minority in Mardin province, it also raised concerns in downstream Iraq. Southern governorates, in particular, saw their share of Tigris water drop by more than 50 percent, adding the problem of water shortages to a combination of low rainfall and depleted soils that have halted the cultivation of rice, corn, sesame and cotton.
These stresses have dovetailed with other fragilities in Iraq that have sparked waves of protests over a three-year period, signaling the kind of future in store for the Euphrates-Tigris River basin, which is shared by Turkiye, Syria, Iraq and Iran, and portending yet another source of regional strain.
A similar scenario is playing out across the Red Sea. Near century-old tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia remain high over the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo believes will shrink its share of Nile waters. The two countries have failed to make headway in direct and brokered talks; to Egypt, any disruption to the flow of the Nile constitutes an existential crisis, given the river’s strategic importance to a country in which 96 percent of the total land area is desert.
Fortunately, the issue of water scarcity in the region is not yet a hopeless situation. There are still a number of great opportunities to address the growing scale of water insecurity issues - for example by promoting equitable, resilient transboundary water relations, while countries individually work to reduce their dependence on dwindling precious groundwater supplies.
In addition, policies can be implemented and interventions mounted to ensure uninterrupted access to potable water for all in society, alongside efforts to adapt or mitigate the water-related effects of climate change.
A failure to build on the momentum of the intensifying global climate fight would risk plunging the most water-scarce region in the world into chaos.
For now, the biggest challenge remains restoring the equilibrium between what is available and what the region consumes by protecting the natural replenishment of the water sources that underpin food and energy security, industrialization, competitiveness, regional integration, and improvements to the quality of life.
It can only be hoped that the first UN Water Conference in 50 years, which took place in New York this week, will deliver a much-needed wake-up call that can drive collective action among governments, regional blocs and global development organizations.
Water should also be a top item on the agenda during the UN Climate Change Conference, COP28, in Dubai this year, turning it from a source of apprehension into a vehicle for cooperation that can transcend conflict, reduce regional tensions, overcome shared challenges, and promote common interests.
Integrated water development and management must be top global priorities if we are to achieve sustainable water, food and energy security while ensuring green and inclusive growth for all.
*Hafed Al-Ghwell is a senior fellow and executive director of the Ibn Khaldun Strategic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, and the former adviser to the dean of the board of executive directors of the World Bank Group. Twitter: @HafedAlGhwell