English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 04/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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15 آذار/2023
Bible Quotations For today
Jesus said to them, 3It is I; do not be
afraid
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 06/16-21/:”When evening
came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a boat, and started across
the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The
lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about
three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the
boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I; do not be
afraid.’Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat
reached the land towards which they were going.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 03-04/2023
Memorial of the discovery of
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem / May 3
Lebanon Launches ‘National Survey’ Campaign to Register Syrian Refugees
Bukhari Concluding His Tour in Maarab: To Meet Without Delaying the Finalization
of the Presidential Contest
Saudi Arabia ‘does not accept’ presidential vacuum threatening Lebanon’s
stability: envoy
Bukhari meets Berri, urges quick election of president
Saudi Ambassador tackles latest local developments with Darian
Sami Gemayel warns of 'abyss' after meeting Bou Saab
Berri slams Geagea, insists on foreign positivity towards Franjieh
Constitutional Council suspends law extending municipalities' term
Lebanese chef puts French twist on childhood flavors
TotalEnergies says to explore for gas in Lebanon waters
The latest on Lebanon's Central Bank governorship
Exploring e-banking in Lebanon: Investor requests and ABL’s response
European judicial delegation hears Abu Asali's testimony, postpones Salameh's
hearing session
Mikati chairs meeting over Beirut airport status, follows up on fresh
developments with Grand Serail visitors
Canada supports WFP Lebanon in expanding its assistance to vulnerable families
through National Social Safety Net
Refugee registration: Faytroun municipality takes initiative amidst national
survey campaign
Under the Kafala System, migrant workers face challenges accessing healthcare
Syrian refugees fearful as Lebanon steps up deportations
Young Palestinians in Lebanon dream of a future abroad
UNESCO Beirut celebrates World Press Freedom Day 2023: “Freedom of expression is
a driver for all other human rights”
What is Iran's latest game plan in Lebanon?/Raghida Dergham/The National/May
03/2023
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 03-04/2023
Pope meets Moscow Church official
after puzzling peace 'mission' comment
Iran's president holds rare meeting with Assad in Syria
Syria touts for Gulf tourists amid emerging Arab rapprochement
Ukraine says it has nothing to do with Kremlin drone attack
Russia Says Downed Drone Attack on Putin’s Kremlin Residence
Kremlin Says Putin Survived Overnight Assassination Attempt
Video appears to show drone attack on the Kremlin after Russia accused Ukraine
of trying to assassinate Putin
US Navy: Iran Seizes Oil Tanker in Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Revolutionary Guard seizes tanker in Strait of Hormuz
Reports Point to Reinstallation of IAEA Surveillance Cameras in Iranian Nuclear
Sites
Daughter of Iranian-German Sentenced to Death Urges Berlin to Pressure Tehran
Israeli FM Addresses Rapprochement with Europe to Confront Iran
The US Air Force has retreated from Taiwan without a shot fired
Israel says it is discussing possible direct Haj flights to Saudi Arabia
Over a year of relentless Israeli-Palestinian violence
Israel razes homes of alleged Palestinian attackers
Israeli airstrike in Gaza kills 1 after prisoner's death
US strike targets senior al-Qaeda leader in NW Syria -statement
Blinken and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Discuss Sudan Ceasefire
Egypt Renews Calls for Ceasefire in Sudan
Air Strikes Heard in Sudan’s Capital After More Truce Pledges
Denmark to Reduce its Military Presence in Iraq
Contacts Intensify over Syria’s Return to Arab League
UN, US Envoys to Yemen Kick off New Regional Tour
Ceasefire Agreed after Death of Palestinian Hunger Striker
Gold gains on weaker dollar ahead of Fed rate verdict
Titles For
The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 03-04/2023
Ancient Coptic
Church Torched in Egypt/Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/May 03/2023
Politicized Intelligence Community: Danger to a Democracy/Pete Hoekstra/Gatestone
Institute./May 3, 2023
Who Was Sudan’s Siwar Al-Dahab?/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/May, 03/2023
Nuclear Waste Is Misunderstood/Madison Hilly/The New York Times/ May, 03/2023
Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 03-04/2023
Memorial of the discovery of
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem / May 3
Today's saint website / May 03 / 2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/117909/117909/
In the year 326, Saint Helena, the mother of King
Constantine the Great, went to Jerusalem to uncover the tomb of the Savior and
His Holy Cross. And in agreement with St. Makarios, Bishop of Jerusalem. I
emptied the effort in the excavation until the excavators uncovered a cave in
which they found three crosses. And since the parchment that Pilate attached to
the cross of the Savior was separated from it, he did not know which of the
three crosses was the cross of the Savior. By divine inspiration, Saint Makarios,
the patriarch, recognized him by putting him on an honorable, sick woman whom
the doctors were unable to heal, and she was on the verge of death, so she was
cured immediately. And that was in the presence of the king and in front of a
large crowd. They were all amazed and glorified God. Then they found the nails
with which the Savior's hands and feet were nailed together with the parchment
that was on His cross. So the queen split the cross into two parts and sent one
of them to her son, King Constantine, who preserved it in the Church of
Constantinople. And I put the other in Jerusalem for visitors to honor. This is
what Eusebius Constantine mentioned in his history (book 3 p. 25). Helena and
her son Constantine built a luxurious church over the tomb of Christ, which is a
masterpiece in construction. Its construction began in the year 326 and ended in
the year 335. The blessing of the Holy Cross is with us. Amen!
Lebanon Launches ‘National Survey’ Campaign
to Register Syrian Refugees
Beirut /Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
The Lebanese Interior Ministry kicked off on Tuesday a “national survey”
campaign to enumerate and register Syrian refugees in the country. The survey is
part of a series of new measures aimed at setting legal guidelines for the
refugees’ stay in the country. The move comes in wake of political pressure from
Lebanese parties wanting to return the refugees back to their homes. Interior
Minister Bassam Mawlawi ordered governors and head of municipalities to kick off
the survey and register the Syrians. He ordered the officials against processing
any official document for Syrians without first ensuring that they are
registered legally in the country. No property will be rented to Syrians without
proof being presented that they are registered in the municipality and possess a
residency permit. The survey will also cover all businesses run by Syrian
refugees to determine that they have legal permits to operate their businesses.
Mawalwi urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to inform
Syrians that their refugee status does not constitute a residency permit in
Lebanon. He called on it to provide the General Security Directorate with
detailed information about the Syrians in the country.
The latest measures were announced amid a growing political and government
campaign to return the Syrians back to their country. The Lebanese Forces vowed
to “enforce all legal measures to prevent the integration of Syrians” in
Lebanon. MP George Adwan said the refugee issue is a “national affair that
concerns everyone.” “We must draft all laws that prevent their integration and
everyone must cooperate to that end,” he added in televised remarks. Moreover,
he urged Arab countries to set as a condition the return of refugees to their
homeland even before Syria’s membership in the Arab League is reinstated. The
Free Patriotic Movement had years ago demanded the return of the refugees to
Syria. Other political parties are now joining it, along with Christian church
authorities that view their stay in Lebanon as burden on society in a country
that is already suffering an unprecedented economic crisis. Catholic church
authorities in the Bekaa urged the Lebanese state to speed up the accurate and
comprehensive survey of all non-Lebanese residents, specifically Syrians. They
must determine how the Syrians entered the country and why they are staying
here. All non-Lebanese workers must legalize their presence in the country and
abide by the laws and pay taxes they owe to the state. They noted that now that
calm has been restored nearly throughout Syria, refugees, who came to Lebanon
for security purposes and who are residing in camps, must have their names
registered ahead of their return to their homeland. Moreover, the church
authorities demanded the deportation of all non-Lebanese, regardless of their
nationality, who do not have legal papers and who are residing in the country
illegally.
Bukhari Concluding His Tour in Maarab: To Meet
Without Delaying the Finalization of the Presidential Contest
Al Markaziyah/Wednesday 03 May 2023/Google Translation)
The day after his return to Beirut from Riyadh, the Ambassador of the Custodian
of the Two Holy Mosques to Lebanon, Walid bin Abdullah Bukhari, visited the
Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Abd al-Latif Darian, at the
headquarters of Dar al-Fatwa. According to Bukhari's tweet, "the meeting was an
occasion during which they reviewed the latest developments in the Lebanese
arena, especially the presidential election and the importance of achieving it,
in addition to a number of issues of common concern." According to Dar al-Fatwa,
Bukhari, who congratulated him on Eid al-Fitr, stressed "constant contact with
Dar al-Fatwa, the religious and national reference that guarantees the unity of
Lebanon and its people." promising future." Derian: For his part, the Grand
Mufti of the Republic affirmed that "the role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in
Lebanon is essential, as it is in the Arab and international region," and he
believed that "the election of a president for the Republic and the stability,
prosperity and development of Lebanon is a responsibility that rests with the
Lebanese first and then on the Arab brothers and friendly countries who They
support and provide assistance when the Lebanese will is sincere and serious in
reaching solutions for the interest of the country and the citizen. Mufti Darian
urged "the officials involved in the process of electing a President of the
Republic to transcend their own interests in the interest of Lebanon, Mr. Free,
the Arab future, identity and belonging," and considered that "any settlement in
this framework, whether local or external, must be worked on to restore respect
for the state, its institutions, and its sovereignty in all domains". He pointed
out that "Dar Al-Fatwa welcomes any internal or external endeavor to end the
Lebanese tragedy, in which the citizen pays a heavy economic, living, social and
security price that exceeds the capacity of the Lebanese." Mufti Derian
expressed "Lebanon and its people's keenness on brotherly cooperation with the
Kingdom and its leadership, which always works to preserve Lebanon and its Arab
and civilized role in this region, as it strives to carry the issues of Arabs
and Muslims everywhere in the world."
Berri: Buhari also visited Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh. After
the meeting, the Saudi ambassador said: We do not accept the ongoing
presidential vacuum that threatens the stability and unity of the Lebanese
people. Bukhari added, "The Saudi position stresses the need to expedite the
election of a president for the Lebanese Republic who is capable of achieving
what the brotherly Lebanese people aspire to."
Geagea: In the afternoon, Al-Bukhari met with the head of the "Lebanese Forces"
party, Samir Geagea, at the party's headquarters in Maarab, in the presence of a
member of the "Strong Republic" bloc, MP Pierre Bou Asi. The meeting discussed
"the political developments in the country, especially the presidential
election, as the Kingdom's position was clear in terms of considering the
presidential elections a Lebanese sovereign matter, and it is up to the Lebanese
to decide who will be the next president, and the Kingdom stands behind the
Lebanese people in their choices," according to a statement by Geagea's media
office. After the meeting ended, Al-Bukhari stated: "We call on the
parliamentary blocs and political forces to assume their historical
responsibility and meet without delay in achieving the presidential elections."
Saudi Arabia ‘does not accept’ presidential
vacuum threatening Lebanon’s stability: envoy
Najia Houssari/Arab News/May 03, 2023
BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Lebanon on Wednesday said it was vital
Lebanese political leaders elected a new president as soon as possible to
safeguard the crises-hit country’s stability. After meeting Parliament Speaker
Nabih Berri, envoy Walid Al-Bukhari highlighted the need to “expedite the
election of a president capable of fulfilling the aspirations of the Lebanese
people.”He added: “We do not accept the ongoing presidential vacuum that
threatens the stability and unity of the Lebanese people.”
Returning from a vacation in Saudi Arabia, Al-Bukhari on Wednesday held talks
with several Lebanese officials.
In a tweet following discussions with Lebanon’s grand mufti, Sheikh Abdellatif
Deryan, at Dar Al-Fatwa, Al-Bukhari said: “The meeting was an opportunity for us
to review the latest developments on the Lebanese scene, especially the
presidential deadline and its importance in addition to a number of issues of
mutual interest.”According to Deryan’s office, the Saudi ambassador had noted
the “constant communication with Dar Al-Fatwa, the religious and national
reference that guarantees the unity of Lebanon and its people.” Al-Bukhari
pointed out the Kingdom’s support for Lebanon, its institutions, and
Islamic-Christian coexistence, and hoped the nation would “witness stability and
a promising future.” Deryan said: “Saudi Arabia’s role in Lebanon is essential,
as it is in the Arab and international arena. “Electing a president and
stabilizing Lebanon, as well as its prosperity and development, are
responsibilities that fall on the Lebanese first and foremost, and then on the
Arab brothers and friendly countries that support and provide assistance. “Any
settlement related to the election of the president, local or external, must be
worked on to restore respect for the state, its institutions, and sovereignty in
all fields.”The presidential vacuum in Lebanon has entered its seventh month
after MPs failed to secure a quorum during 12 attempted voting sessions.
Political division between Hezbollah and its allies, and also the opposition and
reformists continue to prevent a solution to the matter.
The economic crisis gripping Lebanon has led to the collapse of its national
currency and pushed more than half of the population into poverty. “Dar Al-Fatwa
welcomes any internal or external endeavor to end the Lebanese tragedy in which
citizens pay high economic, living, social, and security prices that exceed the
capacity of the Lebanese. “Lebanon and its people are keen to have brotherly
cooperation with the Kingdom and its leadership, which always works to preserve
Lebanon and its Arab and cultural role in this region, as well as strives to
defend the issues of Arabs and Muslims everywhere in the world,” Deryan added.
In a statement on Tuesday, the US State Department also urged “a solution from
within Lebanon and not from the international community” to elect a president
“free from corruption and capable of unifying the country.”
Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the State Department, said: “The US urges
political leaders in Lebanon to act urgently to elect a president to unify the
country and adopt the necessary reforms quickly to save the economy from its
crisis. “Lebanese leaders should not put their personal interests and ambitions
above the interests of their country and people.
“Lebanon needs a president who is free from corruption and capable of unifying
the country and implementing fundamental economic reforms, including those
required to secure an agreement on a program with the International Monetary
Fund,” Miller added.
Separately, Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, met Gebran Bassil,
head of the Free Patriotic Movement. According to his media office, the Iranian
envoy “informed Bassil of the Iranian-Saudi negotiation process and points of
agreement,” and reiterated “Iran’s stance not to intervene in the internal
Lebanese affairs and support whatever the Lebanese agree upon.” Internal
attempts to reach a compromise between the political forces have failed.
Suleiman Franjieh is still the only presidential candidate backed by Hezbollah
and the Amal Movement, while most of the Christian forces and reformists in
Lebanon are against the choice.
Parliament Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab has been meeting political leaders for
days to hold a parliamentary dialogue. After talks with Sami Gemayel, head of
the Kataeb Party, he said: “We have to start with the basics first, meaning that
we have to define the role of the president before suggesting names. “Timing is
very important, and we can’t wait forever to find a solution. I am holding these
meetings with this in mind.”
Gemayel said: “We are open to any solution that would take us to a new phase
based on the sovereignty of the state, the freedom of the decision-making
process in the country, and the establishment of a strong economy.
“However, we will oppose any solution that leaves the country in its current
state. The problem is with the party that always imposes its decision on the
Lebanese and prevents any possibility to advance.
“Electing Suleiman Franjieh, head of the Marada Movement, will be a continuation
of the past six years because of his political stance, and will lead to the
death of Lebanon and the migration of its young people. We will oppose this
choice through various means available.”
Bou Saab also visited the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi and met the Tajadod
parliamentary bloc, which includes the opposition presidential candidate Michel
Mouawad. He also met Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces.
Lebanese Forces MP Ghassan Hasbani questioned the point of the dialogue “at a
time when, for Hezbollah, it’s either Suleiman Franjieh or the presidential
vacuum.”
The Maronite Archbishops Council urged the Lebanese deputies, “to benefit from
the regional and international positive signs regarding the window available to
elect a new president and avoid whatever would undermine the hopes of the
Lebanese to overcome the series of devastating crises afflicting their lives due
to the difficulty of electing a president.”
Bukhari meets Berri, urges quick election of
president
Naharnet/Wed, May 3, 2023
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari on Wednesday held talks in Ain el-Tineh
with Speaker Nabih Berri. “The Saudi stance emphasizes the need to speed up the
election of a president for the Lebanese republic who would be able to achieve
the aspirations of the brotherly Lebanese people,” Bukhari said after the
meeting. The National News Agency said the talks tackled “the general
situations, the political developments and the bilateral relations between
Lebanon and the kingdom.”Earlier in the day, Berri had called for unity in order
to “finalize our national junctures, rescue Lebanon, protect it and immunize it
against existential threats.”“Through unity no force in the world would be able
to defeat Lebanon, while through divisions and fragmentation we would be
subjecting the country to numerous dangers,” the Speaker added.
Saudi Ambassador tackles latest local developments with Darian
NNA/Wed, May 3, 2023
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, on Wednesday said via his Twitter
account: “The Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, His Eminence Sheikh Abdel Latif
Darian, on Wednesday welcomed at Dar al-Fatwa headquarters the Ambassador of the
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Lebanon, Walid bin Abdullah Al-Bukhari. The
meeting had been an occasion during which both men reviewed the latest
developments on the Lebanese arena, especially the presidential election and the
importance of achieving it, in addition to a number of issues of common
interest.”
Sami Gemayel warns of 'abyss' after meeting Bou Saab
Naharnet/Wed, May 3, 2023
Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel said Wednesday that he can't head into "the abyss" of
six more years of humiliation by electing a president who won't make a change.
"We are open to any solution," Gemayel stressed, after he met with Deputy
Speaker Elias Bou Saab, part of an "exploratory tour" the latter had started to
discuss the presidential and political crisis with Lebanese leaders.
"We are not the problem, the problem is the side imposing its decisions on the
Lebanese and obstructing any chance of growth," Gemayel said. Bou Saab had met
last week with Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad and met this week with Lebanese Forces
leader Samir Geagea, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Tajaddod MPs Michel
Mouawad and Fouad Makhzoumi. "My initiative aims at building bridges and not at
electing a specific president," Bou Saab said after meeting Gemayel. He had
considered on Tuesday after meeting al-Rahi that the "real problem" is not the
name of the president but the fact that parties are not willing to communicate.
Berri slams Geagea, insists on foreign positivity towards Franjieh
Naharnet/Wed, May 3, 2023
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri doesn't have a plan B and his only plan is
supporting Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh for presidency, he told al-Joumhouria
in remarks published Wednesday. Berri had said last week that foreign
indications are positive concerning the election of Franjieh, a statement that
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea rejected. "His denial doesn't matter and
will not change the facts," Berri said, insisting that what he said was true,
and that neither the French nor the Saudis have denied it. "Geagea seems tense
these days, he is refusing dialogue, legislation in Parliament, and Cabinet
sessions, and he wouldn't respond to presidential settlement efforts," he added.
On another note, Berri said that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein
Amir-Abdollahian did not interfere with the presidential file during his visit
to Beirut, denying media reports that claimed that Abdollahian had asked
Tehran’s allies in Lebanon to consider ending their support for Franjieh’s
presidential nomination."Abdollahian did not ask Amal and Hezbollah anything of
that sort," Berri said.
Constitutional Council suspends law extending municipalities' term
Naharnet/Wed, May 3, 2023
The Constitutional Council has issued a ruling suspending the implementation of
the law that extended municipalities’ term, media reports said. The Council will
“study the filed appeals and issue its final ruling in the coming weeks, knowing
that the term of municipalities will expire at the end of May,” MTV reported.
The Kataeb bloc, the Tajaddod bloc and Change MPs had filed Friday an appeal
against the law, a day after a delegation from the Lebanese Forces bloc appealed
against the same law. Earlier this month, Parliament voted to extend the terms
of local officials, paving the way to postpone municipal elections for up to a
year for a second time. Lebanon’s municipal elections were originally slated for
May last year but were postponed for a year because they coincided with
parliamentary elections, which brought in a dozen reformist lawmakers running on
anti-establishment platforms. Opposition and reformist groups would likely
continue this momentum and win additional seats if local elections were held, as
living conditions across the country continue to deteriorate. They have called
for municipal elections to take place as planned in May, and most have boycotted
the parliament session in which the law was passed.
Lebanese chef puts French twist on childhood flavors
Agence France Presse/Wed, May 3, 2023
"My mum doesn't agree with what I do here: at home, we don't eat like this,"
laughs Alan Geaam, the first Lebanese chef to earn a Michelin star in Paris. The
self-taught chef believes that promoting Lebanon's culinary riches means
combining them with some of "the elegance and refinement" of French cuisine.
At his self-titled restaurant in the well-heeled 16th district of Paris, the
tabbouleh comes in three different textures, there are trompe-l'oeil peanuts
made from foie gras, and super-light baklava with seasonal fruits. "You don't
get a Michelin star with traditional Lebanese cuisine," said Geaam, who earned
his in 2018. "Tabbouleh has been made for a thousand years, no one has touched
it. Today, this cuisine needs rejuvenating," he told AFP. The traditionally
closed and snobbish world of French gourmet food has been slowly prized open to
foreign influences in recent decades.But cooks like Geaam show how the
influences cut both ways in fine-dining establishments, with foreigners putting
French twists on their native recipes.
TotalEnergies says to explore for gas in Lebanon waters
Agence France Presse/Wed, May 3, 2023
French firm TotalEnergies has signed a contract to begin drilling and exploring
for gas this year in waters off crisis-hit Lebanon, the company said in a
statement. "TotalEnergies in agreement with its partners Eni and QatarEnergy has
signed a firm contract with Transocean to hire the drilling rig that will drill
an exploration well on Block 9 offshore Lebanon, as soon as possible in 2023,"
the group said. "This is a new key step in the preparation of the operations,"
TotalEnergies added. The announcement follows the signing in October of a
landmark border agreement between Lebanon and Israel that opens up lucrative
offshore gas fields for the eastern Mediterranean neighbors. Beirut divided its
exclusive economic zone at sea into 10 blocks, and Block 9 was part of the area
disputed with Israel. Block 9 contains the so-called Qana field or Sidon
reservoir. There are still no proven gas reserves in the field that straddles
the maritime border, but a 2012 seismic study by the British firm Spectrum
estimated recoverable gas reserves in Lebanon at 25.4 trillion cubic feet.
Lebanese officials have announced higher estimates. Many politicians in Lebanon
have pinned hopes of a way out of crisis on gas exploration, but analysts have
said Beirut, which is in deep financial crisis, cannot count on gas alone to
bail it out. In January, the Lebanese government had said that Qatar entered a
consortium with Italy's Eni and TotalEnergies to explore for offshore gas in
waters near Israel. The deal saw the gas-rich Gulf country's state-run
QatarEnergy receive a minority 30 percent stake in two blocks of Lebanon's
exclusive economic zone, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati had said at the
time. Eni and TotalEnergies will both retain 35 percent shares in the blocks
after Russia's Novatek relinquished its minority stake in 2022. Lebanon has been
caught in an economic quagmire that has plunged much of its population into
poverty and been described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern
history.
The latest on Lebanon's Central Bank governorship
LBCI/Wed, May 3, 2023
The Central Bank's first deputy Governor, Wassim Mansouri, attended recent
financial meetings on behalf of Governor Riad Salameh, who could not
participate. The latest of these meetings was with the Arab Monetary Fund in
Rabat. However, Mansouri's participation is aimed at ensuring that Lebanon's
seat in financial meetings remains active. Thus, some sources underlined that
Mansouri's attendance does not indicate a change in his stance regarding
assuming the governor's duties in case the position becomes vacant at the end of
July. Additionally, sources mentioned that Mansouri is looking for a mechanism
that would allow him to evade Article 25 of the Monetary and Credit Law, which
states that in case of a vacancy in the governor's position, the first deputy
governor assumes the governor's duties until a new governor is appointed.
Moreover, sources revealed that Mansouri and the other three deputy governors
are united in their refusal to assume any of the governor's duties if the
position becomes vacant. The same sources further stated that this refusal is a
protest against the officials' failure to address the current situation and
their attempt to shift the financial and monetary crisis onto the deputy
governors. The sources also mentioned that if the officials were serious, they
would first elect a president and form a new government to appoint a new
governor and establish financial and monetary policies. They said if that proves
impossible, the current government, even if resigned, could appoint a competent
governor and work with him/ her to establish financial and monetary policies.
Currently, negotiations are ongoing behind the scenes to agree on a name. The
appointment of a governor for the Central Bank after Salameh's term ends in July
is not just a local matter but of great interest to the United States. This
issue could be a crucial pressure point to accelerate the election of a
president and the formation of a government.
Exploring e-banking in Lebanon: Investor requests and ABL’s
response
LBCI/Wed, May 3, 2023
Twenty questions were directed by the members of the Parliamentary Economic
Committee to the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL), represented by its
President Salim Sfeir and other members, requesting written answers,
particularly regarding the restructuring of the banking sector.
In this context, it is rumored that five license requests for what is known as
e-banking have been submitted to Banque Du Liban. Firstly, what is e-banking?
These requests have been made by investors residing outside of Lebanese
territories. This has raised the ire of ABL, which is trying to find legislation
to protect the banking sector from actions that may alter the bank concept,
which benefits both citizens and the country. Banking sources asked what
e-banking means. For example, are these investors opening an office in Beirut
and dealing only with fresh money transfers? Have the sources of the money these
investors plan to invest been confirmed, and have they never been on a
blacklist? Banking sources stated that the concept of the bank that must
continue to be applied is to have branches in multiple regions, to deploy ATMs,
and to offer banking services and offers such as loans and others.
European judicial delegation hears Abu Asali's testimony, postpones Salameh's
hearing session
LBCI/Wed, May 3, 2023
On Wednesday, the European judicial delegation listened to the Director of
Organization and Development at Banque du Liban (BDL), Raja Abu Asali's
testimony under the supervision of Beirut First Investigating Judge Charbel Bou
Samra, who is in charge of implementing European judicial writs.
However, the hearing session of the BDL Governor's brother, Raja Salameh, which
was scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed to Thursday at the request of
Salameh's lawyer and the approval of French judge Aude Buresi. The hearing
session of Minister of Finance, Youssef Khalil, will take place on Friday,
noting that the Minister was not notified, until now, of the date of the session
in accordance with the norms.
Mikati chairs meeting over Beirut airport status, follows up on fresh
developments with Grand Serail visitors
NNA/Wed, May 3, 2023
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Wednesday chaired a meeting at the
Grand Serail to discuss the status of Beirut airport. Speaking in the wake of
the meeting, Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Ali Hamieh,
said: "We held a meeting earlier today, chaired by Premiere Mikati, and attended
by concerned sides at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut. The meeting
dealt with several matters such as periodic maintenance of the airport (…). The
allocation of twenty percent of the airport’s revenues was also discussed, i.e.
the passenger traffic fees, which was approved by the House of Parliament back
in August 2022, yet the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has not obtained a
single dollar from it to-date. This fee secures approximately USD 160 to 170
million for the public treasury, and twenty percent of this amount secures
development within the airport.”Hamieh went on to indicate that the meeting had
also discussed the need to increase the number of General Security staff, as
well as inspections inside and outside the airport premises. Mikati separately
met with Caretaker Minister of Education, Judge Abbas Al-Halabi, with whom he
discussed an array of ministerial affairs. The Prime Minister then met with
Caretaker Minister of Youth and Sports, George Kallas, who visited him in the
company of a delegation representing the Lebanese community in the State of the
Congo. The delegation extended an invitation to Lebanese delegations to
participate in the Francophone Games that will take place this summer in
Kinshasa, provided that the Lebanese community will cover all the expenses and
costs of the Lebanese delegation participating in the aforementioned games.
Canada supports WFP Lebanon in expanding its assistance to vulnerable families
through National Social Safety Net
NNA/Wed, May 3, 2023
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of CAD $35
million (US$25.9 million) from the Government of Canada to support cash
assistance to vulnerable Lebanese via the National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP)
and to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA).
Canada’s contribution will go towards supporting the most vulnerable families in
Lebanon who are going through a daily struggle amidst one of the world’s worst
financial crises. The contribution will also allow WFP to provide technical
assistance to MoSA to boost social safety nets that have become critical to
large segments of the society. Importantly, Canada’s funding will continue to
enable WFP to provide practical training to social workers on gender which
allows for mainstreaming gender and social inclusion in safety nets. As Lebanon
enters its fourth year of a severe financial crisis, increasing inflation and
currency depreciation have pushed about 1.46 million Lebanese people into high
levels of food insecurity and in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. “Canada
is committed to helping the most vulnerable Lebanese families cope with the
on-going crises, including rising food insecurity, by securing their access to
an inclusive and gender-responsive social safety net via our contribution to WFP.
As part of Canada’s additional contribution, we expect government authorities to
work with the relevant stakeholders to integrate the country’s existing social
safety net programs, including by establishing a unified social registry,” says
Her Excellency Stefanie McCollum, Ambassador of Canada to Lebanon. In
turn, the Minister of Social Affairs in the Caretaker Government, Dr. Hector
Hajjar, expressed his thanks to the donor countries for supporting social
assistance programmes in Lebanon, especially the National Poverty Targeting
Programme (NPTP). NPTP was established in the Ministry of Social Affairs 12
years ago and is currently reaching about 75,000 families with fresh dollars
monthly, implemented with technical support from the World Food Programme (WFP).
Hajjar added: “Our goal is to lay the foundations for a national strategy for
social protection with an automated and interdependent executive arm that
extends to all the most vulnerable segments of society, and to work
transparently with our local and international partners to achieve this goal. As
for today, all thanks are due to Government of Canada and its people for this
contribution to support the National Poverty Targeting Programme, and we urge
the League of Arab States and foreign countries to stand by us in this ordeal.”
“We are grateful for the people and Government of Canada for their continuous
support as it is a lifeline for families who are finding their purchasing power
diminishing each day making it impossible to cope with inflation and high food
prices,” says WFP Representative and Country Director in Lebanon Abdallah
Alwardat. “We remain as committed as ever, during this critical time, to
strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Social Affairs and strengthening
together the social safety nets in the country.”
Since 2014, together with the Ministry of Social Affairs, WFP with the support
of generous donors has been the backbone of sustaining the food assistance
component of the National Poverty Targeting Programme (NPTP). Just last month,
WFP reached 371,000 Lebanese through the NPTP.
Canada has been supportive of WFP’s work in Lebanon for many years. This new
contribution brings Canada’s total support towards WFP assistance for vulnerable
people in Lebanon via the National Poverty Targeting Program to US $33.65M.
Refugee registration: Faytroun municipality takes
initiative amidst national survey campaign
LBCI/Wed, May 3, 2023
It is not the first time that the municipality of Faytroun has resorted to a
comprehensive survey of Syrian individuals and families in the town. It is
trying once again to verify the number of refugees residing there, record lease
contracts, and obtain identification documents for both tenants and employees
working for business owners and professions. There are no significant issues in
the Keserwan town of Faytroun. No camps or informal housing units exist, and
most Syrian families live in rented houses. What the municipality of Faytroun is
doing does not necessarily apply to all towns so far, and there are no exact
numbers of municipalities participating in this workshop. However, following the
announcement by Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam al-Mawlawi to launch a
national survey campaign across the country with registration as a requirement
for completing refugee formalities, every municipality will find itself
concerned with this issue and will start the census and survey process.
Under the Kafala System, migrant workers face challenges
accessing healthcare
LBCI/Wed, May 3, 2023
The kafala system is a legal framework outlining relationships between migrant
workers and their employers. In Lebanon, migrant workers are sponsored by an
employer, who directs the terms and conditions under which they work. According
to the charity providing humanitarian medical care, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF),
this step leaves migrant workers "vulnerable to exploitation and abuse and
restricts their access to healthcare." Based on the charity and the latest data,
Lebanon hosts around 135,000 migrant workers. Most are from Ethiopia,
Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines, and most are women
working in private homes as domestic workers. "Many patients, mostly women, have
highlighted the poor and unhealthy conditions in which they live and work,
leading to negative impacts on their wellbeing," expressed Hanadi Syam, MSF
medical referent for the migrant workers' project. Syam added that there is an
urgent need to reform the Kafala system. With the rising inflation, many people,
including migrant workers, now find healthcare access challenging. "Most of our
patients who do not live in their employers' houses stay in unsanitary or
overcrowded homes, and many turn to destructive behaviors as a coping
mechanism," said Nour Khoury, MSF psychologist. "They tell us about the
difficulties of coping with the socioeconomic crisis and with their daily lives,
but also about experiencing violence, forced labor, and sometimes even torture,"
Khoury added. Under the Kafala system, employers are legally bound to provide
health insurance for domestic workers, but this only includes hospitalization in
work-related accidents. Based on MSF, this makes health services limited for
many migrant workers in Lebanon. Further, employers often can not afford to pay
their salaries, while other migrant workers are obligated to flee because they
face exploitation or violence. Meanwhile, many migrant workers who want to be
repatriated cannot leave the country without the proper documents.
Syrian refugees fearful as Lebanon steps up deportations
Associated Press/Wed, May 3, 2023
Lebanese officials are cracking down on Syrian refugees against the backdrop of
a worsening economic crisis and political stalemate, an escalation that has
caused a panic among Syrians in the country. In recent weeks, the army has
raided refugee camps and set up checkpoints to review the documentation of
non-Lebanese citizens, arresting and in many cases deporting Syrians found not
to have legal residency, according to refugees and humanitarian organizations.
"People aren't sleeping in their houses … and are afraid even to go to work,"
said a woman originally from the Syrian province of Idlib who is living in
Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. Her husband was deported on April 10, along with
28 other men, after a raid on an apartment building in the Beirut suburb of
Jounieh, she said, and she hasn't heard from him since.
Like other Syrians interviewed for this story, the woman spoke on condition of
anonymity out of fear of reprisals. Her 4-year-old son asks where his father is
every day, she said. She fears her husband has been put in one of Syria's
detention centers because — like many men who fled to Lebanon — he was wanted
for dodging mandatory army service. Pressure has increased in other ways.
Municipalities have put in place restrictive measures such as curfews for
Syrians. The Interior Ministry announced Tuesday that it ordered municipalities
to survey and register their Syrian populations and make sure they are
documented before permitting them to rent property.
It also asked the U.N. refugee agency to revoke refugee status from Syrians who
go back and forth between Lebanon and their war-torn country. Last week, a
committee of government ministers demanded that UNHCR hand over detailed
personal information on refugees in its database. Lebanon hosts some 805,000
registered Syrian refugees, whose official status in theory protects them —
although those who fail to keep their residency papers up to date can face
deportation. The actual number of Syrians living in Lebanon after fleeing their
country's 12-year-old civil war is believed to be much higher as Lebanon's
government ordered the United Nations to halt new registrations in 2015.
Government officials have given varying estimates of the number of Syrians in
the country, ranging from 1.5 million to more than 2 million. Lebanon is
believed to have a population of around 5 million to 5.5 million citizens, but
no census has been held for nearly a century. Since Lebanon's economic meltdown
began in 2019, officials have increasingly called for a mass return of Syrians,
saying they are a burden on the country's scarce resources and that much of
Syria is now safe. The rhetoric has grown increasingly heated; a federation of
trade unions recently declared a "National Campaign to Liberate Lebanon from the
Syrian Demographic Occupation."
In recent interviews with local media, caretaker Social Affairs Minister Hector
Hajjar claimed that refugees make up 40% of Lebanon's population, which "no
country in the world would accept."
Hajjar told The Associated Press that Lebanon's government can ensure that
Syrians who qualify as refugees would not be deported, by exchanging data with
the U.N. refugee agency. He referred questions about deportations to General
Security, the agency in charge of enforcing immigration laws. Spokespeople for
the agency and the Lebanese military did not respond to requests for comment and
neither has made public statement on the deportations. The U.N. refugee agency
said it has observed an increase in raids taking place in Syrian communities and
has received reports of Syrians being deported, including registered refugees.
It said it "takes reports of deportations of Syrian refugees very seriously."
U.N. officials did not give a number of confirmed deportations. The Access
Center for Human Rights, a group tracking conditions of Syrian refugees, said it
documented at least 200 deportations in April. The United States, one of the
Lebanese Army's largest donors, has expressed concerns about the deportations to
Lebanese officials, said a spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut who spoke
on condition of anonymity as per regulations. Refugee returns should be
"voluntary, safe, and dignified," the spokesperson said. "We have questions
about the procedures followed in recent deportations and the extent to which
those criteria were met."The anti-refugee campaign comes against the backdrop of
stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and a six-month
deadlock in electing the country's next president.
Meanwhile, several Arab countries have moved towards a rapprochement with Syrian
President Bashar Assad. Refugee returns have been on the agenda of recent
regional talks, including a meeting of top diplomats in Jordan on Monday to
discuss a political solution to Syria's civil war.
Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said
refugees are serving as a scapegoat for Lebanese politicians at a time of
heightened public anger over their failure to deal with the country's economic
and political crises. Refugees are "sort of the punching bag that shows up when
everyone needs one," he said. He suggested the crackdown could also be linked to
Lebanon's ongoing presidential deadlock. A leading presidential candidate,
Suleiman Franjieh, is close to Damascus and has promised to use his connections
to broker a deal for refugee returns. His likely rival, army chief Gen. Joseph
Aoun, may be "trying to showcase his ability to forcibly return the refugees,"
Hage Ali said. Lebanese authorities have periodically deported Syrians over the
past few years, citing a regulation that allows for Syrians who entered without
legal authorization after April 2019 to be forcibly removed.
However, past deportations mostly involved small numbers and were carried out
under formal procedures, giving the U.N. and human rights groups a chance to
intervene and, in some cases, halt them.
In contrast, recent months have seen increasing reports of the Lebanese Army
summarily deporting those believed to be in the country illegally. Human rights
organizations have cited cases of returning refugees being detained and tortured
in Syria, allegations Lebanese authorities deny. A Syrian from Idlib who, along
with his brother, was among those arrested in the April 10 raid in Jounieh, said
the army dropped off the men in a mountainous area in the no-man's land between
the Lebanese and Syrian borders. He and some others managed to cross back into
Lebanon on foot. Others, including his brother, were caught. The last
communication he received from his brother, he said, was a voice message on
April 11, saying: "They brought us back and dropped us off in the same place and
they're going to turn us over to Syria."
Many Syrians are lying low, hoping the anti-refugee campaign will blow over.
"Many of us are scared that we could be next," said another Syrian refugee in
the Bekaa. "Six of my friends were deported in the last raid."For some, the
pressure campaign has had its intended effect. A young woman living in the Bekaa
said that after her camp was raided and dozens of men were deported, her family
decided to return to the Syrian city of Raqqa, which remains outside the control
of the Damascus government. "There is no security (there). We don't have a house
or any money," she said. "But we don't have another choice."
Young Palestinians in Lebanon dream of a future abroad
Agence France Presse/Wed, May 3, 2023
In Lebanon's impoverished Palestinian refugee camps, young people say they dream
of leaving a struggling country where their families took refuge generations ago
and where their futures remain bleak. Nirmeen Hazineh is a descendant of
survivors of what Palestinians call the Nakba -- the "catastrophe" -- when more
than 760,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes by the 1948 war
over Israel's creation. She proudly considers herself from Jaffa -- now south of
Tel Aviv -- and talks as if she has lived there all her life, instead of in the
ramshackle Shatila refugee camp south of Beirut. "Emigration has become the main
solution for young people," said Hazineh, 25. "Whoever you speak to, they'll
tell you 'I want to leave', whether legally or illegally, it doesn't matter."
Lebanon has been grappling with a devastating economic crisis since late 2019.
Most of the population is now in poverty, according to the United Nations, and
many Lebanese have quit the country for better prospects abroad. Hazineh is a
sociology graduate but is not allowed to practice in her field, as Lebanon bars
Palestinians from working in 39 professions, including as doctors, lawyers and
engineers. Instead she helps to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs, which
add to the daily misery of Shatila. "There is a kind of despair among young
people in the camp," said Hazineh, who despite the difficulties maintains a
radiant smile.She said she wanted to live "in a country that respects me, that
gives me a chance, a job".
Camp horrors
Tiny Lebanon hosts an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, according to UNRWA,
the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, while almost double that number are
registered for the organization's services. Most Palestinians, including more
than 30,000 who fled the war in neighboring Syria after 2011, live in one of
Lebanon's 12 official camps, now bustling but impoverished urban districts.
Shatila is a warren of tumbledown homes where tangled electricity cables criss-cross
tight alleyways. Once a stronghold of Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation
Organization, Shatila became synonymous with horror in September 1982, when
Christian militiamen allied with Israel massacred between 800 and 2,000
Palestinians there and in the adjoining Sabra camp. The PLO moved to Tunis that
year, and later in the 1980s, pro-Syrian militias waged war on the Palestinian
leader's remaining supporters in the camps. Portraits of Arafat still line the
streets, along with Palestinian flags and posters of militants killed in
violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Walid Othman, 33, says he spends his spare time in political activism with the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is banned in Israel.
His grandparents fled the village of Nahf, in the Acre region, 75 years ago. His
parents were then driven from Lebanon's Tal al-Zaatar refugee camp, which
Christian militiamen razed early in the country's 1975-1990 civil war. Othman
said he would have liked to study political science and dedicate his life to
"defending the Palestinian cause on an international level".But he had to stop
his studies because of "the difficult economic situation" and instead became a
blacksmith.
'No prospects'
In Lebanon, Palestinians' "denied right to own property... further complicates
employment and income generation activities", said Dorothee Klaus, director of
UNRWA affairs for Lebanon. Lebanon says restrictions on Palestinians are
justified by their right to return to their country. In neighboring Syria, some
400,000 Palestinians are registered with UNRWA, where they have access to the
job market. In Jordan, more than half of the around 10 million population is of
Palestinian origin, while some 2.3 million Palestinians are registered with
UNRWA but have the same rights as Jordanians. "With no prospect of meaningful
future", Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have "attempted to migrate whenever
possible", Klaus said. But their travel documents "may not be recognized", and
they may be "required to file visas related to stateless persons", she added.
Mohammad Abdel Hafiz, whose family also hails from near Acre, lamented that
Palestinians in Lebanon "don't even enjoy the most basic rights". "Everybody is
born in a country, while we are born where our heart is," said the 29-year-old,
who volunteers for the Palestinian civil defense in Shatila. As he zips through
its alleys on his moped, he dreams of leaving, but his chances of getting a visa
to a Western country are slim. And he is haunted by the memory of three young
camp residents who drowned when a boat carrying would-be migrants sank off the
Lebanese coast last year. "They died because they wanted to have a future,"
Abdel Hafiz said. "Here, our aim is just to survive."
UNESCO Beirut celebrates World Press Freedom Day 2023: “Freedom of expression is
a driver for all other human rights”
NNA/Wed, May 3, 2023
The UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Beirut celebrated today World Press
Freedom Day 2023, with the kickoff of a regional conference, in partnership with
HE the Minister of Information, Mr. Ziad Makary and with the support of the Gulf
Center for Human Rights. The Conference is placed under the global theme
“Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other
human rights”, signifying the enabling element of freedom of expression to enjoy
and protect all other human rights. This year’s 30th anniversary celebration of
World Press Freedom coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Over the course of two days, the conference will
gather media professionals, academics, and human rights activists from the Arab
region along with media students from Lebanese universities and from other Arab
countries, to highlight the link between press freedom, freedom of expression as
the necessary precondition for the enjoyment of all other human rights, towards
the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Roundtables will
focus on key themes such as freedom of expression as a keystone for human safety
and right to life, the crucial importance of press freedom in upholding human
rights and the impact of its limitations on all fundamental freedoms, the role
of press freedom in ensuring access to reliable information on the internet and
its impact on women and vulnerable groups.
Makary
Speaking at the opening session, Minister of Information Ziad Makary, expressed
“respect, appreciation and thanks to all those working in the press of all
kinds.” “On this occasion, I would like to point out that the Ministry of
Information had launched, on World Press Freedom Day, the Samir Kassab
Photography Award in order to shed light on the case of this photographer who
was kidnapped in Syria while on duty in 2013”, he said. “This is an invitation
to the international community to help us reveal his fate.”
“World Press Freedom Day is perhaps the only international day which is not
linked to an official holiday for workers in the sector, because the press is
the heartbeat of society, and if it were to stop, society would die. Three
decades have passed since the United Nations General Assembly declared the date
of May 3 as World Press Freedom Day, based on the recommendation of the UNESCO
General Conference in 1991, and since that time we have been striving to
preserve the freedom, independence and pluralism of the press, and journalists
are still subjected to oppression, pressure, killing, extortion, harassment,
kidnapping, electronic attacks and other tools to silence the free speech, in
different parts of the world. However, despite all the sacrifices, hardships,
and obstacles, the free press still stands to defend the rights of society: it
is the voice of ordinary people, and it is the voice of truth in the face of the
oppressor.”
“Accordingly, it is our duty as the official authorities to protect the freedom
of the press, regardless of the difference and division in political opinions.
Respect for pluralism is one of the pillars of democracy that we praise.
Acceptance of the other opinion is the noblest thing that people can live up to.
This freedom is firstly preserved through laws that protect the freedom of the
press and the safety of journalists and enable them to obtain the necessary
information to carry out their work in a scientific and objective manner, and
through awareness of their rights and methods of protecting them from the
dangers that threaten them.”
“Therefore, since the beginning of my term in the Ministry of Information, I
have been keen to guarantee these rights through a new drafting of a modern
media law, in cooperation with the UNESCO office, that guarantees the safety of
journalists and freedom of expression, abolishes jail sentences and regulates
the profession of journalism in a way that guarantees professional rights, in
the hope that the Lebanese economy will soon recover and journalists will get
their economic and social rights.”
“We believe that media professionals, academics, jurists, trade unions, civil
society organizations and non-governmental organizations are our partners in the
cause of defending freedoms. Hence, we find it necessary to take their
suggestions, concerns and aspirations into account and include them in the
amendments that we will soon submit to the Parliaments. What we aspire to is
complete and responsible freedom, a freedom that has no limits except for what
constitutes a threat to society, such as false and misleading news and hate
speech that fuels division.”
“You all know that Lebanon is going through stifling economic, social,
environmental, and institutional crises. However, as a Lebanese citizen in the
first place, I am proud that our country still enjoys, to a large extent, the
blessing of freedom of expression. This freedom of expression is the backbone of
journalism. There is no free press, and therefore no accountability, no dreams,
no ambitions, without freedom of expression. Today, I make a special appeal to
journalists to uphold freedom of expression and defend it, no matter how much
effort it takes. In a time when we lose everything, let us fight to preserve
freedom of expression, and with it we move forward towards restoring our
economic and societal health in Lebanon.”
Wronecka
From her side, UN Special Coordinator to Lebanon Joanna Wronecka said: “I am
pleased to join UNESCO and all of you on this World Press Freedom Day to pay
tribute to the critical work and sacrifices by journalists and media workers in
Lebanon, in the region and around the world and to recognize the big impact they
have on our daily lives. Our meeting today in Beirut is symbolic because of the
influential role the media has played historically in Lebanon. It is very
important to safeguard this image of openness in Lebanon and the space it offers
for press freedoms and freedom of expression.”
“During the past two decades, the media realm has evolved and expanded
considerably worldwide. New media and technologies are on the rise reaching more
people. Traditional press and audiovisual media are also seeking new horizons.
But the mission at the heart of this plethora of media outlets remains one and
the same, to keep people informed.”
“Democratic societies cannot thrive and develop without an active and free
press. A free press allows people to exercise their right to know, expand and
diversify their knowledge and make educated decisions. A free press not only
informs people, it empowers society as a whole by making information and
developments that affect their lives accessible to all, even making it possible
for people to hold their authorities accountable when necessary. Its role is
critical in shedding light on human rights violations and enabling marginalized
groups, such as women, persons with disabilities and vulnerable people by making
their voices heard and their needs and rights understood.“
“During the past 30 years, since the UN began marking World Press Freedom Day,
progress has been made in recognizing the importance of press freedom and
implementing it. Nevertheless, many challenges remain and need to be addressed.”
“Journalists still find themselves threatened or targeted for doing their job.
At the global level, at least 67 media workers were killed in 2022, a 50 per
cent increase over the previous year. Others faced enforced disappearance,
kidnapping, arbitrary detention, legal harassment, and digital violence, with
women particularly being targeted. Governments and national authorities must do
more to stop such crimes and ensure the protection of journalists.”
“Freedom of expression, which is enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights as the right to “seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”, is in many
cases restricted and under attack, which in turn impacts the fulfillment of
other human rights of individuals. “
“The media needs a conducive environment to flourish. This is only possible when
it is backed by the necessary laws and legal structures. Last week, the Ministry
of Information and UNESCO proposed a new enhanced version of the media law in
Lebanon that aims to strengthen the media landscape, is aligned with
international standards, and ensures freedom of speech and the protection of
journalists. I hope the Lebanese Parliament will give this matter the urgency it
deserves by expediting the adoption of this new modern and progressive media
law.”
“Meanwhile, the unprecedented socio-economic crisis in Lebanon has also deeply
affected media institutions and journalists. Sometimes we forget that while
reporting on hardships, conflict and adversity, the journalists can themselves
be equally affected. This brings us back to the main issue: reforms. The
Lebanese authorities need to urgently put in place and implement necessary
reforms to steer Lebanon back towards a path of recovery that will address the
needs of all sectors of society, including the media.”
“Another big challenge is the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation
that sometimes contribute to the spread of hate speech and hostility. It is the
duty of journalists to stand up for the truth, to share verified information and
counter the spread of fake news. This can only be possible by giving the media
the necessary freedom and access.”
“Press freedom comes with a big responsibility. Media Ethics that is centered on
truth and accuracy, independence, humanity and accountability is essential to
have the right influence on people. If not exercised responsibly, press freedom
can sow divisions instead of solidarity, can spread hatred instead of tolerance
and understanding, which can be very dangerous in fragile societies. ““Looking
ahead, the media has a central role to play in building back a better future in
Lebanon and the region. For the UN, the media is an important partner in
promoting worldwide priorities, including the Sustainable Development Goals that
offer the prospect for a more prosperous world. Being the closest to the people,
the media can relay their hopes and aspirations and open the windows to
information and knowledge.”
Farina
“I am really honored to welcome you all very warmly to the celebrations of World
Press Freedom Day for 2023” noted Costanza Farina, Director of the UNESCO
Multisectoral Regional Office in Beirut. “Allow me first of all to convey my
gratitude to HE the Minister for the robust partnership and his engagement with
UNESCO on key strategic media related topics, very recently on the enhanced
media law, which we hope to see being deliberated soon in Parliament. I also
wish to extend my personal appreciation to the UN Special Coordinator for
Lebanon for her presence here today and for the support and good auspices which
have always guided our collaborations.”
“You may recall that in 1993, exactly 30 years ago, the UN General Assembly
proclaimed 3 May as World Press Freedom Day. This proclamation marked the
beginning of substantial progress towards enabling a free press and freedom of
expression around the world. Celebrated every 3rd of May, this year’s theme for
the Day is “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for
all other human rights”, signifying the enabling element of freedom of
expression to enjoy and protect all other human rights.”
“The international anniversary of World Press Freedom Day led by UNESCO has just
concluded a few hours ago. It was celebrated yesterday in NY at the UN
Headquarters Member States, Governing bodies, and with partners from the UN,
media, academia, and civil society. I am very proud that also Lebanon is joining
the world and is hosting celebrations to reflect on the status of Press freedom
and how we can collectively contribute to its progress."
The UNESCO Director shared the news about the new three laureates of the 2023
UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, which had just been announced.
Three Iranian women journalists, namely Ms Niloofar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi and
Narges Mohammadi had been awarded the prize by the Jury at the international
celebrations in New York. Ms Farina then quoted Ms Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO
Director-General, who on that occasion said:
“Now more than ever, it is important to pay tribute to all women journalists who
are prevented from doing their jobs and who face threats and attacks on their
personal safety. Today we are honoring their commitment to truth and
accountability”.
Excellencies,
“Over the past 30 years, World Press Freedom Day celebrations have taken us on a
journey, giving prominence to the right to free expression and emphasizing
various aspects of press freedom’s importance. However, in the face of multiple
crises, media freedom, journalist safety, and freedom of expression, as well as
other human rights are increasingly under attack. As we enter the final decade
to meet all countries’ ambitions for the Sustainable Development Goals and to
fulfil the commitments made by every Member State of the United Nations to the
future of the planet, World Press Freedom Day is a call to recenter and reaffirm
freedom of expression, as a necessary precondition for the enjoyment of all
other human rights.”
“And indeed, we have witnessed globally substantial progress on press freedom
over the last 30 years with end of one-party or military rule in many countries,
with the growth of Internet as significant enabler of both freedom of expression
and press freedom, while also acknowledging at the same time more recent
backsliding in many countries, including some well-established democracies.
The collapse of the traditional business model for media in many countries is an
aggravating element, as advertising resources flock to social media platforms.
Allow me now to highlight a few key strategic factors in this wide media
ecosystem, factors which I hope will be debated and discussed today and tomorrow
during this event.”
“First, we should distinguish clearly between media – professionally collected
and curated news information, including investigative journalism – regardless of
how it is distributed – and the “chatter” that dominates social media. We should
reaffirm the important notion of information as a public good which is what
UNESCO has always been promoting. Second, the “real” media are particularly
important in the current environment since automated processes of most social
media platforms (driven by their business models which rely on engagement or
“clicks”) privilege disinformation and possibly hate speech whereas professional
media should do the opposite and help counter that. Third, let me also focus on
the importance of freedom of expression/media freedom both in their own right
and as an underpinning of all other human rights, namely:
-Press freedom as a driver of participation: we need information and the ability
to speak freely to participate – this, in turn, lies at the very heart of
democracy which is a core means to guarantee all rights
-Press freedom as a driver of accountability: media can expose wrongdoing and
hence can hold all actors to account;
-Press freedom as an underpinning of culture, which is ultimately about
expressing cultural values, science and education (like academic freedom), all
of which also depend on the freedom to express oneself; this is the core of
UNESCO’s mandate;
-Press freedom specifically in relation to the environment and the need for open
debates about how to combat climate change, so as to arrive at viable and
effective solutions.”
“This year’s Special 30th anniversary celebration of World Press Freedom Day is,
therefore, a call to re-focus on press freedom, as well as independent,
pluralistic, and diverse media, as necessary key to the enjoyment of all other
human rights.
This anniversary is also special as it also coincides with the 75th anniversary
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I wish to thank the colleagues
from the OHCHR and the Gulf Center for Human Rights, for their support and
engagement in the preparation of todays event. Allow me to express my gratitude
and appreciation to the key speakers who have graciously accepted to be with us,
some had to travel long distances. And also wish to thank all the participants
and experts: we are delighted to host colleagues, students and professionals
from 8 Arab countries (Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and
Palestine).
A warm welcome also to my UNESCO colleagues who are here representing 3 UNESCO
Offices in the Arab region. I look very much forward to the deliberations of the
various panels and I encourage all the distinguished participants to really be
proactive and engage in the different sessions.”
“To conclude, I will quote Ms Andrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director General which
yesterday in NY said: 30 years after the first World Press Freedom Day, we can
see how far we have come and how far we still have to go. So let this Day be an
opportunity to renew our commitment, within international organizations, to
defending journalists and through them press freedom.”
What is Iran's latest game plan in Lebanon?
Raghida Dergham/The National/May 03/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/117914/117914/
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian visits the village of Maroun
El-Rass on the Lebanon-Israel border with Hezbollah members and The
Iranian regime has lately sought to appear moderate, including by softening the
revolutionary tone and threatening rhetoric adopted by its proxies in the Middle
East, and by supposedly deepening their political integration in their
respective countries. Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy, is an example of this new
thinking in Tehran. What the regime seems to be doing in the process is using
the strategy of a spider, which ensnares its prey by spinning a web around it
and keeping it alive and fresh for later consumption.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian’s visit to Lebanon over the
weekend was an indication that Tehran will continue propping up Hezbollah, while
seemingly engaging with the Lebanese state, its leading parties and members of
parliament, in an apparent recognition of the country’s democratic process.
However, Mr Amirabdollahian’s visit included a meeting with Hezbollah chief
Hassan Nasrallah and concluded with a visit to the Lebanese-Israeli border
without prior clearance from the authorities in Beirut. In doing so, he
demonstrated an Iranian policy towards the Lebanese government that is based on
the following principles: non-recognition of Lebanese sovereignty; preserving
Hezbollah’s weapons and doctrine as they are, with the proxy being Iran’s
military, regional and strategic ally, and the main arm of the regime and its
regional projects.
Iranian officials seldom ask for permission from Lebanon before visiting the
country. They arrive without invitation, simply informing Lebanese officials
that they are on their way. This is what happened when Mr Amirabdollahian made
his weekend trip – his first since his meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister
Prince Faisal bin Farhan to implement their bilateral agreement. It’s worth
noting that key provisions in the agreement, signed in Beijing in March, include
a commitment to not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries in the
region and to respect their sovereignty.
Iran’s logic adopted an expanded scope of the agreement with an emphasis on
resolving the crisis in Yemen first. During his meetings with Lebanese
officials, Mr Amirabdollahian conveyed that Tehran is ready to help resolve the
Yemen crisis, sending a message that Saudi Arabia has priorities in Yemen that
Iran is responding to. On other issues, such as Lebanon, he offered no
indication that Iran will provide assistance in solving its problems, which are
mainly the outcomes of Hezbollah’s positions, whether on its insistence on
maintaining Iranian arms and acting as a state within a state, and taking orders
from Tehran; or on influencing its other ally, the Assad regime, to commit to
the safe return of Syrian refugees to their country.
Mr Amirabdollahian did convey his country's supposed willingness to provide
Lebanon with oil grants and assistance in electricity generation. However, he
knows Lebanon doesn’t want to expose itself to US sanctions in the process.
The Lebanese stop in the foreign minister's tour of Arab countries was meant to
emphasise Iran’s prominence as a regional actor that decides freely who to help
and when to do so. For this reason, he reiterated in his meetings that if the
dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis fails to resolve the Yemen crisis,
Iran would be ready to intervene to persuade the Houthis to do what is
necessary.
Mr Amirabdollahian told Lebanese officials that what matters to Iran is that
Lebanon elects a president, appoints a prime minister and forms a government to
restore normality. Practically, however, he didn’t say whether the presidency
card is negotiable. Indeed, amid negotiations with Saudi Arabia about
Hezbollah's regional roles, Iran’s priority remains a reinforcement of its
proxy’s position in Lebanon and Syria.
A noteworthy event during his visit was a meeting he convened at the Iranian
embassy, which included certain parliamentary blocs and excluded others, to show
that Iran's new diplomatic approach is to engage with the Lebanese on
parliamentary, social and grassroots levels. However, the meeting revealed a
deep-rooted weakness, particularly as Mr Amirabdollahian affirmed upon his
arrival in Beirut that Tehran will continue to impose the formula of "the Army,
the People, and the Resistance”, which effectively removes the state's authority
over its entire territory.
All this means that those suggesting that the regime could choose to disengage
from Hezbollah or dismantle its networks are rushing to false conclusions.
Re-integrating Syria into the region will require complex feats of diplomacy
'Strategic trust' forms the basis of China's relationship with the Arab world
Palestinian rockets won't counter extremism in Israel
The same can be said about the assumptions regarding Syria and its strong
relations with the Iranian regime. Some have expressed hope that this
relationship will break down for logical reasons, including Syrian President
Bashar Al Assad's need to assert his authority over his country instead of
deferring to Iranian influence, and to benefit from Arab financing of
reconstruction if he decides to break these ties. However, limiting ties with
Iran or Hezbollah won’t be easy.
Meanwhile, the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon continues to fester with few
solutions in sight. Lebanon has hosted almost 2 million refugees despite
challenges of its own, since the Syrian civil broke out more than a decade ago.
But the Assad regime appears not to want their return, almost as if the fact
that these refugees are being supported by the international community relieves
the regime of its political burden.
The responsibility for the crisis lies also with Hezbollah, which has played a
key role in displacing these refugees in the first place, including by
destroying their villages in Syria and preventing their return. The UN’s
bureaucratic fecklessness and policies adopted by some European governments are
other reasons for inaction on the issue – as is the failure of the Lebanese
government and its politicians to deal with the problem.
What is happening in Lebanon today requires Arab vigilance so that these
refugees don’t face the same fate as the Palestinian refugees, whose return to
Palestine has become nearly impossible. The return of Syrians to their country
could prove even more difficult unless a comprehensive regional and
international strategy is adopted to address the various elements of this
crisis.
The Lebanese-Syrian frontier is of utmost importance, too, not only in terms of
the need to control smuggling but also to demarcate the land and sea borders
between Lebanon and Syria. Closing the border is a measure rejected by several
Lebanese parties, including Hezbollah, which is still present militarily inside
Syria. Herein lies the surreal paradox that brings us back to the Iranian
regime’s contributions to both the Syrian and Lebanese crises.
While the immediate priority for Saudi Arabia and Iran is to end the Yemen
conflict, Iran's policies towards Lebanon and Syria must be quickly addressed
before tensions in Lebanon turn into a catastrophic war.
*Published: April 30, 2023
Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on May 03-04/2023
Pope meets Moscow Church official after puzzling peace 'mission'
comment
VATICAN CITY (Reuters)/Wed, May 3, 2023
Pope Francis on Wednesday spoke to a top member of the Russian Orthodox Church
(ROC) days after the pontiff made an intriguing though puzzling comment about
the Vatican being involved in a mission to try to end the war in Ukraine.
Metropolitan (bishop) Anthony, effectively the ROC's number two, was given pride
of place at Francis's general audience in St. Peter's Square and then was the
first taken to greet the pope at the end. He spent longer chatting with Anthony
than with others. On his return from a trip to Hungary on Sunday night, Francis
was asked by a reporter whether Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and ROC
officials could accelerate a Ukraine peace process and arrange a meeting between
the pope and Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There is a mission in course now
but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it," the pope
responded. Francis added that he had spoken about Ukraine with Orban and with
Metropolitan Hilarion, the chief representative of the Russian Orthodox Church
in Budapest and Anthony's predecessor as head of the ROC's external relations.
But his words appeared to take both Kyiv and Moscow by surprise, with both
saying they knew nothing about any papal peace initiative in the works. Neither
the pope nor the Vatican press office have elaborated on the comments since.
Anthony has had meetings with other Vatican officials but it was unclear if he
would have a private audience with the pope during his visit to Rome. Francis,
86, has said previously that he wants to visit Kyiv but also Moscow on a peace
mission. The supreme head of the ROC, Patriarch Kirill, is a close ally of Putin
and fully backs the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a bulwark against a West he
describes as decadent. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met the pope at
the Vatican last week and said he had discussed a "peace formula" put forward by
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. He also said he had repeated a standing
invitation for the pope to visit Kyiv.
Iran's president holds rare meeting with Assad in Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)/Wed, May 3, 2023
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Wednesday met Syrian President Bashar Assad in
Damascus in a bid to boost cooperation between the two allies, state media
reported. Tehran has been a main backer of Assad's government since an uprising
turned into a full-blown war in March 2011 and has played an instrumental role
in turning the tide in his favor. Iran has sent scores of military advisers and
thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the Middle East to fight on
Assad's side. With the help of Russia and Iran, Syrian government forces have
controlled large parts of the country in recent years. In an interview with
pan-Arab television channel Al-Mayadeen, Raisi called for reconstruction efforts
and for refugees who fled the country's war to return to the country. Raisi, who
is a leading a high-ranking political and economic delegation in a two-day visit
to Syria, was received on arrival at Damascus International Airport Wednesday by
Syrian Economy Minister Samer al-Khalil. “Syria’s government and people have
gone through great hardship," Syrian state media quoted Raisi telling Assad
during the meeting. "Today, we can now say that you have overcome all these
problems and were victorious despite the threats and sanctions imposed against
you.” He is also set to visit the Sayida Zeinab and Sayida Ruqayya shrines, both
holy sites in Shiite Islam, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a
monument dedicated to Syrian soldiers killed in battle.
The last Iranian president to visit Syria was President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in
2010. The Iranian president's visit comes as some Arab countries, including
regional powerhouses Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have been opening up to Assad and
their foreign ministers have visited Damascus in recent weeks. Syria’s foreign
minister also visited the Saudi capital of Riyadh in April, the first such visit
since the two countries cut relations in 2012. In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia,
a main backer of Syrian opposition fighters, reached an agreement in China to
re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of
tensions. The reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia is likely to have
positive effects on regional states where the two countries fought proxy wars,
including Syria. Syria was widely shunned by Arab governments over Assad’s
brutal crackdown on protesters and the breakdown in relations culminated with
Syria being ousted from the Arab League in 2011. The conflict has since killed
nearly half a million people and displaced half of Syria’s pre-war population of
23 million. “America and its allies failed on all fronts against the resistance,
and could not achieve any of their goals,” Iran’s new ambassador to Syria
Hossein Akbari told Iran’s state news agency on Tuesday. Like Syria, Iran is
under western sanctions, which alongside decades of mismanagement, has plunged
its national currency to new lows. Months of anti-government protests failed to
unseat ruling clerics and return to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers,
which lifted sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program.
In 2015, Iran’s currency was trading at 32,000 rials to the dollar when it
signed a nuclear accord with world powers. In February it hit a record low of
600,000. The Iranian president's visit also comes a week after its Minister for
Road and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash met Assad in Damascus, where he
delivered a message from the Iranian president supporting the expansion of
economic relations between the two countries, according to Iran’s state news
agency. Iran’s military presence in Syria been a major concern for Israel, which
has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment along its northern border. Israel has
carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of
Syria in recent years — but rarely acknowledges them. Since the beginning of
2023, Syrian officials have attributed a dozen strikes on Syrian territory to
Israel, the latest of which came early Tuesday and put the international airport
of the northern city of Aleppo out of service.
Syria touts for Gulf tourists amid emerging Arab
rapprochement
DUBAI (Reuters)/Wed, May 3, 2023
Overlooked by a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad and offering sticky
sweets, a Syrian tourism booth in Dubai is trying to seize on an emerging
rapprochement with Arab states to win back Gulf tourists it lost during more
than a decade of war. "We are now aiming to regain the tourism income from (Gulf
Cooperation Council countries) to Syria. We used to have millions of our friends
and brothers from GCC countries in Syria, especially in summer," Nedal Machfej,
Syria's deputy tourism minister, told Reuters at the Arabian Travel Market
exhibition in Dubai. Some Arab states, including GCC members the United Arab
Emirates and Saudi Arabia, are increasingly rebuilding ties with Damascus,
reversing years of isolation over Assad's crackdown on protests in 2011 and the
ensuing civil war. Assad in March visited the UAE and sources have told Reuters
that Saudi Arabia plans to invite Assad for a visit soon.
Machfej said Syria had 1.5 million visitors last year, a third of which were
tourists. Around 10% of those tourists were from western Europe, he added. This
year Syria is aiming for 3 million visitors, he said. Tourism ministry data
shows 385,000 visitors came to Syria in the first quarter this year, 40,000 of
which were non-Arab foreigners. Tourism dried up with the outbreak of war, which
has killed hundreds of thousands of people and badly damaged cultural sites
including Aleppo's old city and the ancient ruins of Palmyra. Syria's economy is
also in a bad way, including a dramatic fall in the currency's value since 2019.
Machfej said the country wants to use tourism to increase foreign currency
inflows, but named Syria's wartime allies as its main future markets. "We are
aiming to open new markets especially in Iran, Russia, China and in neighbouring
countries also," he said. Syria is building new hotels in seaside locations to
cater to GCC family tourism, a website for electronic visas is coming soon and
the private sector is talking to tour operators in Jordan and Lebanon to
re-instate previously popular multi-country package tours, he said. "We have to
deal with each other, with neighbouring countries to benefit all," he said. Gulf
states along with Egypt, Iraq and Jordan have been discussing Syria's possible
return to the Arab League, but no agreement has been reached. Although fighting
has largely stopped, some territory remains out of Assad's control and Israel
still carries out strikes in Syria against what it says are Iran-linked targets.
"After 10-11 years of war, Syria is a very safe country for tourism," Machfej
said, although acknowledging the Israeli strikes. "(Israel is) trying to target
the Syrian economy," he said. "Disrupting the movement of relations that have
started, the diplomatic openness that has begun for Syria."
Ukraine says it has nothing to do with Kremlin drone attack
KYIV (Reuters)/Wed, May 3, 2023
A senior Ukrainian presidential official said on Wednesday that Kyiv had nothing
to do with any drone attack on the Kremlin, and that such actions achieved
nothing for Kyiv on the battlefield and would only provoke Russia to take more
radical action. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in comments sent to
Reuters that the allegation that Kyiv was behind the attack, and Russia's arrest
of alleged Ukrainian saboteurs, could indicate Moscow was preparing for a
large-scale "terrorist" attack against Ukraine in coming days. "Of course,
Ukraine has nothing to do with drone attacks on the Kremlin. We do not attack
the Kremlin because, first of all, it does not resolve any military tasks,"
Podolyak said. Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of attacking the Kremlin with
drones overnight in a failed attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin. Podolyak
said: "In my opinion, it is absolutely obvious that both 'reports about an
attack on the Kremlin' and simultaneously the supposed detention of Ukrainian
saboteurs in Crimea.. clearly indicates the preparation of a large scale
terrorist provocation by Russia in the coming days."
Russia Says Downed Drone Attack on Putin’s Kremlin
Residence
Bloomberg News/May 3, 2023
Russia said it defeated an attack by a pair of drones on President Vladimir
Putin’s residence in the Kremlin in Moscow Tuesday night, blaming the attempt on
Ukraine. The drones were disabled and crashed in the Kremlin without causing
injuries or damage, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin was not in the
Kremlin at the time, his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said, according to RIA
Novosti. Still, it called the assault “an attempt on the life of the president.”
It didn’t provide any evidence for the attack and there was no immediate comment
from Ukraine. Russia “reserves the right to take retaliatory measures when and
where it considers necessary,” the statement said. If confirmed, an attack on a
complex that for centuries has symbolized Russian official power would be a
dramatic step in bringing the threat of war home to the country. Since Putin
ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Russian missiles and
drones have repeatedly struck the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other cities,
including as recently as this week.
Military Parade
The Kremlin’s claim comes as the country prepares to celebrate Victory Day on
May 9, a major holiday in Russia marking the Soviet triumph in World War II.
Peskov said Putin will participate in a Red Square military parade on that day.
About a dozen cities around Russia have canceled parades and other public
activities for May 9, citing unspecified security concerns. Many canceled
fireworks. Shortly before the Kremlin statement was released, Moscow city
authorities issued an order banning the use of drones in the capital, state-run
Tass news service reported said. Starting last year, Russia deployed
anti-aircraft weapons in and around the capital to step up protection. In recent
months, there have been several reports of drones of various sizes crashing in
regions outside Moscow.
Kremlin Says Putin Survived Overnight Assassination Attempt
Allison Quinn/The Daily Beast/May 3, 2023
The Russian presidential administration said Wednesday that the Kremlin was
attacked by drones overnight in an attempt on President Vladimir Putin’s life.
Moscow residents had reported hearing two explosions behind Kremlin walls
shortly after 2 a.m. local time, after which the lights went out. Footage shared
by residents in a local Telegram channel captured the incident, as smoke was
seen filling the sky above the Kremlin. Videos also appeared to show part of the
Kremlin on fire. Now, authorities say it was a brazen attack by Ukraine using
two drones, both of which they say have been destroyed. No injuries were
reported, according to the TASS news agency. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
said Putin was not at the presidential residence at the time. The Kremlin,
describing the incident as a “planned terrorist attack” and “assassination
attempt on the president of Russia,” is now threatening to take “retaliatory
measures.”A spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied that
the country was behind any attack on the Kremlin and accused Moscow of
deliberately “escalating the situation ahead of May 9,” when Russia routinely
flaunts its military prowess to mark Victory Day. “Separately, the phrasing by
the terrorist state is surprising. A terrorist attack is houses destroyed in
Dnipro and Uman, or a rocket attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk, and many
other tragedies,” Zelensky spokesman Serhii Nykyforov said. The alleged
assassination attempt comes after Russia’s pro-war hawks have spent months
demanding the military unleash more brutal attacks against Ukraine, claiming
military commanders have been held back from doing so. Many Russian lawmakers on
Wednesday seized on news of the incident at the Kremlin to re-up that demand.
“Terrorists have settled in Kyiv, and, as you know, negotiations with them are
meaningless. They need only to be destroyed, quickly and mercilessly. It’s time
to launch a missile attack on Zelensky’s residence in Kyiv,” United Russia
lawmaker Mikhail Sheremet said in comments to Russian state media. “I’m ready to
give the coordinates: 11 Bankova Street, where the so-called administration of
the president of Ukraine is located.”Kremlin propagandists also burst into
hysterics, with Margarita Simonyan, the editor in chief of RT, suggesting on
Telegram that the alleged attack is just the pretext Moscow needs to go scorched
earth on Ukraine: “Maybe now it will start for real?”It is unclear how a
Ukrainian drone could have made it through Russia’s air defenses and into the
heart of the capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin on Wednesday banned drone
flights in the city without a special government permit. The incident comes just
days before Russia’s main Victory Day parade on Red Square, an event that
authorities reportedly fear could be disrupted by drone attacks. Independent
Russian media reported last week that utility workers have been ordered to
patrol the streets of Moscow in search of any bombs or drones ahead of the
event.
Video appears to show drone attack on the Kremlin after
Russia accused Ukraine of trying to assassinate Putin
Sophia Ankel/Business Insider/May 3, 2023
Russia accused Ukraine of orchestrating a drone attack on the Kremlin on
Wednesday. Russian media said it viewed the alleged attack as an attempt on
Putin's life, Reuters reported. Putin was not there at the time and there was no
damage to the Kremlin, Russian officials said.
A video that appears to show a drone strike on the Kremlin is being circulated
on social media after Russia accused Ukraine of trying to assassinate Russian
President Vladimir Putin. The Russian state news outlet RIA said two drones
attacked Putin's residence in the Kremlin citadel in the early hours of
Wednesday but were disabled by Russian defenses. Ukraine denies it had anything
to do with the strike on Kremlin, saying such an attack would achieve nothing,
the BBC reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was photographed
on an official visit to Finland earlier on Wednesday. Putin's spokesperson,
Dmitry Peskov, said the Russian leader was not in the Kremlin at the time of the
alleged attack, The Guardian reported. His schedule was unaffected by the
incident, Peskov added. "Two unmanned aerial vehicles were aimed at the Kremlin.
As a result of timely actions taken by the military and special services with
the use of radar warfare systems, the vehicles were put out of action," the
Kremlin press service said in a statement, Reuters reported. "We regard these
actions as a planned terrorist act and an attempt on the president's life,
carried out on the eve of Victory Day, the May 9 Parade, at which the presence
of foreign guests is also planned," the statement added. May 9 is a major
holiday in Russia that commemorates the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and is
usually marked with a military parade in front of the Kremlin. Unverified
footage circulating online shows what appears to be a drone exploding over the
citadel. Below it, appears to be decorations for the upcoming parade. The video
was first posted on a group for residents of a neighborhood that faces the
Kremlin across the Mosvka River, Reuters reported. Another unverified video
shows the top of the citadel in flames.
The Kremlin said there were no victims and material damage. It also said "the
Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it
sees fit," according to Reuters.
US Navy: Iran Seizes Oil Tanker in Strait of
Hormuz
Asharq A-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
Iran seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday,
the second-such capture by Tehran in recent days, the US Navy said. The Navy's
Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Niovi. It said Iran's
Revolutionary Guard seized the ship. The Navy published pictures of a dozen
Guard vessels surrounding the tanker. Those ships “forced the oil tanker to
reverse course and head toward Iranian territorial waters off the coast of
Bandar Abbas, Iran,” the Navy said. “Iran’s actions are contrary to
international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” the 5th
Fleet said in a statement. “Iran’s continued harassment of vessels and
interference with navigational rights in regional waters are unwarranted,
irresponsible and a present threat to maritime security and the global economy.”
Last week, Iran seized an oil tanker carrying crude for Chevron amid wider
tensions between Tehran and the US over its nuclear program. The Advantage Sweet
had 23 Indians and one Russian on board.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard seizes tanker in Strait of
Hormuz
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/Wed, May 3, 2023
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker
in the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second-such capture by
Tehran in under a week amid heightened tensions over its nuclear program. The
taking of the oil tanker Niovi renewed concerns about Iran threatening maritime
traffic in the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a
fifth of all crude passes. It also comes amid the disappearance of a crude oil
tanker in southeast Asia believed to be carrying Iranian crude oil amid reports
it may have been seized by the U.S.
The U.S. Navy published surveillance footage shot by an aerial drone of about
dozen Guard vessels swarming the tanker around 6:20 a.m. The drone had been on a
routine patrol in the area and saw the seizure, though the Navy did not receive
a distress call from the Niovi itself, 5th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins
said. Those Guard ships “forced the oil tanker to reverse course and head toward
Iranian territorial waters off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran,” the Navy said.
“Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional
security and stability,” the 5th Fleet said in a statement. “Iran’s continued
harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional
waters are unwarranted, irresponsible and a present threat to maritime security
and the global economy.”Iran's state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged the Guard
seized the vessel, but offered no motive. Shipping registries show the Niovi as
managed by Smart Tankers of Piraeus, Greece. A woman who answered the phone at
the firm declined to immediately comment on the seizure. The Niovi had been
coming from dry-dock repairs in Dubai, bound for Fujairah on the eastern coast
of the United Arab Emirates without carrying any cargo, according to the data
firm Refinitiv. Last week, Iran seized an oil tanker carrying crude for Chevron
Corp. of San Ramon, California, amid wider tensions between Tehran and the U.S.
over its nuclear program. The Advantage Sweet had 23 Indians and one Russian on
board. Iran has accused the Advantage Sweet of colliding with another vessel,
while offering no evidence to support its claim. Iran has offered a variety of
unsupported claims in the past when seizing foreign-flagged ships amid tensions
with the West.
The taking of the two tankers in under a week comes amid the disappearance of
the Marshall Island-flagged Suez Rajan, which had been in the South China Sea
off Singapore for over a year after a report alleged it to smuggling sanctioned
Iranian crude oil. Tracking data for the Suez Rajan last showed it off East
Africa, moving in a direction that could take it to the Americas. The Financial
Times, as well as the maritime intelligence firm Ambrey, both have reported the
Suez Rajan was seized on order of American authorities. The ship's manager has
not responded to queries from The Associated Press about the status of the ship.
U.S. officials also have not commented. However, the Greek Ministry of Maritime
Affairs acknowledged Wednesday recently sending a warning to Greek ships in the
Mideast to be on alert when going through the Persian Gulf. The ministry did not
say what prompted the warning. The seizure by Iran of the two ships in the last
week was the latest in a string of ship seizures and explosions to roil the
region.
The incidents began after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the
United States from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran
drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of
economic sanctions. They've continued under President Joe Biden and as
diplomatic efforts at finding a way back to the accord remain stalemated. Also,
the U.S. Navy has blamed Iran for a series of limpet mine attacks on vessels
that damaged tankers in 2019, as well as for a fatal drone attack on an
Israeli-linked oil tanker that killed two European crew members in 2021.
Tehran denies carrying out the attacks, but a wider shadow war between Iran and
the West has played out in the region’s volatile waters. Iranian tanker seizures
have been a part of it since 2019. The last major seizure before recent days
came when Iran took two Greek tankers in May 2022 and held them until November.
In the wider Mideast, Iranian-backed militias in Syria have carried out attacks
on U.S. forces, including one that killed a contractor in March. The U.S.
responded with airstrikes. It also has deployed A-10 Thunderbolt IIs into the
region, as well as announced the presence of a guided-missile submarine in
recent weeks. Since the collapse of the nuclear deal, Iran now enriches uranium
closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. The head of the International Atomic
Energy Agency has warned Tehran has enough of a uranium stockpile to build
“several” nuclear weapons if it chooses. Iran long has insisted its program is
for peaceful purposes, though the IAEA and Western intelligence agencies believe
Tehran had a secret military nuclear program through 2003. Iran also has
restricted the ability of IAEA inspectors to monitor its program. However, the
IAEA on Wednesday acknowledged that “work is ongoing” to reinstall monitoring
equipment at Iranian nuclear sites following a March visit by its
director-general to Tehran. The agency did not elaborate and Tehran did not
acknowledge the work.
Reports Point to Reinstallation of IAEA
Surveillance Cameras in Iranian Nuclear Sites
London – Tehran – Vienna – Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
The Arms Control Agency (ACA) reported that the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) began reinstalling cameras at certain nuclear facilities in Iran
under an agreement reached with Tehran in March. At the beginning of March, IAEA
Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi reached an agreement with Iranian
officials to restart surveillance cameras at several nuclear sites and increase
inspections at the Fordow facility. After Grossi’s return, Tehran said that
there was no agreement regarding the installation of new cameras in Iran’s
nuclear facilities. The IAEA director-general had told reporters at Vienna
airport upon his return from Tehran that the two parties had agreed to
re-install all additional surveillance equipment, such as surveillance cameras,
which had been placed at the nuclear sites under the 2015 deal with the major
powers, and which Tehran had removed in stages. The report of the
Washington-based ACA, does not point to the number of surveillance cameras that
Tehran has agreed to install. No comment was made by the IAEA and the Iranian
Atomic Energy Organization in this regard. ACA quoted Grossi as saying in an
interview with PBS NewsHour on Apr. 1 that the agency is “starting with the
installment of cameras” and the “reconnection of some online monitoring
systems.” He said the process will take a few weeks and will increase the
agency’s visibility into Iran’s nuclear program. He also described the
reinstallation of the surveillance equipment as a “deescalation” of the tensions
over Iran’s nuclear program, ACA reported. It is not clear whether the recent
agreement between Grossi and Tehran includes the delivery of surveillance camera
recordings, that is, the process that Tehran has rejected since its abandonment
of the “additional protocol” attached to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in
February 2021.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani sent a new warning message to
the IAEA at his weekly press conference on Monday regarding comments made by
agency officials about Tehran’s commitment to the recent agreement. “We do not
see raising such issues in the media as useful. We recommend agency officials to
avoid the media. Given the recent agreement and Iran’s reception of IAEA
delegations, they should be allowed to confirm issues in their natural and
technical tracks,” Kanaani noted, as quoted by ISNA. The Iranian Foreign
Ministry spokesman said on Monday that the diplomatic track was still open,
stressing that his country continued to exchange messages through various means.
He added that Tehran “is ready to complete the nuclear negotiations while
preserving its red lines.”At the same time, Kanaani warned the Western parties
against triggering the “snapback” mechanism stipulated in the nuclear agreement,
which allows those parties to the re-impose, or “snapback” all sanctions if Iran
failed to comply with the agreement.
Daughter of Iranian-German Sentenced to Death
Urges Berlin to Pressure Tehran
Berlin - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
The daughter of Iranian-German dual national Jamshid Sharmahd, who is sentenced
to death, has urged the German government to exert more efforts to rescue her
father. Gazelle Sharmahd urged the German government to pressure the Iranian
authorities or else Tehran would be convinced that “we don’t have a red line”.
She added that until now there is no serious response from the government that
would interest the leadership in Iran or make it refrain from executing Jamshid.
Gazelle told Deutschlandfunk on Tuesday that “Berlin remained ineffective in her
father’s case for a long time”. Berlin should have acted two and a half years
ago when her father was abducted and now “it is too late”, according to Gazelle.
She added that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is exerting more
efforts compared to her predecessor but “unfortunately, words aren't enough”.
Iran's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of Sharmahd. The Tehran
Revolutionary Court in February sentenced Sharmahd, 67, to death after being
held responsible for involvement in a “terrorist” attack and accused of
cooperating with foreign intelligence agencies. These allegations can't be
confirmed. Iran usually executes the death sentence by hanging. Baerbock said
the decision was “unacceptable” and called on Iran “to reverse this arbitrary
sentence immediately”. Sharmahd also has a US residency. Sharmahd's arrest was
announced in 2020 through an Intelligence Ministry statement that described him
as “the ringleader of the terrorist Tondar group, who directed armed and
terrorist acts in Iran from America,” according to Reuters.
Israeli FM Addresses Rapprochement with Europe to Confront Iran
Brussels - Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has said that Europe is finally coming to
Israel's side on Iran. Cohen held consultations with senior European officials
in Brussels as part of Tel Aviv's efforts to push the EU to take a more
assertive policy with Iran, according to the Times of Israel website.
Cohen said that he discussed with the President of the European Parliament,
Roberta Metsola, the importance of the EU designating the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. Cohen said on his Twitter
account that he discussed with Metsola ways to promote a determined fight
against Iranian nuclear plans. He said Europe "understands the danger of the
Iranian reign of terror now more than ever," adding that economic and political
sanctions should be expanded to include other entities. On Monday, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel's top priority was preventing Iran
from acquiring a nuclear weapon and confronting Tehran's "proxies" in the
region. Meanwhile, 25 members of the Knesset withdrew their signatures from a
letter recommending the Foreign Ministry supports the independence of "South
Azerbaijan" in northwestern Iran. Initially, a group of 32 lawmakers from
parties supporting Netanyahu supported the demands of some Azeri parties
opposing Iran to establish the "South Azerbaijan" state. Israeli Intelligence
Minister Gila Gamliel tweeted that she had persuaded the deputies who signed the
recommendation to retract the letter. She said that she was informed of the
so-called proposal to support the movement for autonomy, and the members of the
Knesset were convinced to back down." The minister asserted that fighting the
regime of religious extremism is a common desire of many countries. The
recommendation angered the Iranian media, but the authorities did not comment.
It also prompted angry reactions among the nationalist parties in Iran,
including supporters of the Shah's son, Reza Pahlavi, who visited Israel last
month at the invitation of Gamliel. In a tweet, Reza Pahlavi described the
Israeli lawmakers' statement as a "verbal assault on Iran's territorial
integrity," saying it was "unacceptable and a service to the interests of the
anti-Iranian Islamic Republic regime." He added that the letter was "in total
conflict with the positions communicated to me by Israeli leaders and senior
government officials during my recent meetings with them."
The US Air Force has retreated from Taiwan without a shot
fired
David Axe/The Telegraph/May 3, 2023
The US Air Force is the biggest and most powerful air force in the world: but
maybe not for long. The service is struggling through twin crises – one of
money, another of belief in itself – that could narrow its aerial advantage.
At best, the USAF might emerge a smaller but still world-leading force. At
worst, it might cede its lead to its most dangerous rival, the Chinese People’s
Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). It has already made something that looks
awfully like a retreat from the Western Pacific, withdrawing squadrons in the
face of the growing Chinese menace. The USAF isn’t the only American armed
service that’s shrinking while its Chinese adversary is growing. After wasting
billions of dollars on ships that don’t work, the US Navy is contracting even as
Xi Jinping’s fleet is expanding.
The Air Force’s problem is similar. A quarter-century ago, the USAF committed to
spending much of its $250 billion annual budget on the Lockheed Martin-made F-35
Lightning II stealth fighter – a plane which has been beset by cost overruns and
reliability problems.
The $400-billion project has eaten the Air Force. The idea, when the F-35 was
new, was for the USAF to have nearly 1,800 of the stealthy fighters by this
point. Instead, it has fewer than 500.
Every dollar the USAF feeds the F-35 program is a dollar it can’t spend on
planes that are affordable and reliable. For two decades, since the F-35 first
flew, the Air Force has bought too few new planes. That forced the service to
fly its older planes for longer than their designers intended. Those old jets
are finally wearing out, and there aren’t enough new ones to fully replace them.
The math has been brutal for the world’s biggest air force, which today operates
around 5,200 aircraft of all types. That’s 1,300 more aircraft than the Russian
air force has, and 3,200 more than the PLAAF has. The Russian air force is tied
up, and losing planes fast, in Russia’s war on Ukraine. But the Chinese air
force has all its strength available for a possible attack on Taiwan, and is
adding hundreds of new planes every year. Meanwhile, the USAF is retiring many
aircraft and pulling others out of the Western Pacific, increasingly letting the
local airpower balance tip towards China. The aircraft the USAF plans to cut
completely in just the next few years include the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet
(aka the “Warthog”) and the F-15C/D Eagle air-superiority fighter, generally
seen as the best fighter in the world in the pre-Stealth era. Some 260 Warthogs
and 220 Eagles will go to the boneyard. The USAF also plans to lose roughly 100
of its 220 powerful F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bombers, and even 30 of its 180
F-22 Raptor stealth superfighters, currently the last word in fighter
technology. In all, more than 600 fighters could get the axe before 2030. That
might not be a problem if the USAF were buying enough new jets to replace them.
But projected budgets cover just 300 or so new F-35s and 100 upgraded
Boeing-made F-15EX Eagle IIs. The F-22’s replacement, the secretive “Next
Generation Air Dominance” jet, won’t join the force until the 2030s.
The USAF fighter fleet could shrink from around 1,900 planes to 1,700 planes in
the next few years – a contraction of American air power on a scale that hasn’t
occurred in decades. The Chinese air force’s steady growth underscores the risk
in this reduction. While the USAF sheds its oldest F-22 Raptors, the PLAAF is
acquiring its own J-20 stealth fighter. The J-20 is said to be a true
fifth-generation plane the equal of America’s F-35 or even the Raptor. China is
building a dozen or more J-20s every year. Some 200 are thought to have been
built so far, but these are of differing batches with varying levels of
technology and the number actually in front-line service is probably
considerably smaller. The retirement of old jets isn’t the only factor in the
USAF’s retreat from the Western Pacific. When the service announced, last year,
that it would shutter both F-15C/D squadrons at Kadena airbase in Japan –
currently the main American fighter hub for a war over Taiwan – the F-15s’ 40
years of constant flying and worsening airframe fatigue weren’t the only
factors.
Kadena lies just 350 miles northeast of Taiwan, and roughly the same distance
from the Chinese coast. The sprawling base is within range of hundreds of
Chinese non-nuclear ballistic missiles. A study by the California think-tank
RAND calculated that just 34 of those missiles could render Kadena unusable. A
January war game organized by the Washington DC-based Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) resulted in the USAF losing 200 fighters in the
missile barrage preceding a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. American long-range
bombers – including the new B-21 Raider, scheduled for its first flight later
this year – could be critical to a successful defense of Taiwan, CSIS found, but
short-range fighters were all but irrelevant in all of the scenarios the
think-tank gamed out. They never even got a chance to take off as Chinese
missiles rained down.
The Air Force’s solution to this dilemma is to remove the permanently-based
fighter squadrons from bases near China. Visiting squadrons might stop over at
Kadena only briefly before spreading out their jets to smaller outlying
airfields, where USAF planners assume they’d be safer from Chinese barrages.
What’s perhaps most galling about this decision is that the Chinese air force
weighed the same problem – and came up with a totally different solution.
Chinese air bases are vulnerable to American and Taiwanese missiles, just as
American airbases are vulnerable to Chinese missiles. But instead of pulling out
the hundreds of fighters it has positioned for a war over Taiwan, the PLAAF dug
in.
In recent years, the Chinese have built hundreds of reinforced, bunker-like
hangars at the airfields closest to Taiwan. These hardened aircraft shelters
help protect aircraft from missile attacks. By contrast, the USAF has built just
15 hardened shelters at Kadena. During a possible war in the Western Pacific,
the Chinese air force clearly aims to stand and fight. By contrast, the USAF
decided to retreat before the first shot was even fired. In assuming that
fighters no longer matter in a war with China, the Air Force is doubling down on
its own failure to build enough new fighters to maintain its overall strength.
The organization that should be the biggest advocate for US air power instead
has been making the case against air power. There are practical steps the USAF
could take to preserve its air-power advantage, especially against China. The
quickest and cheapest is to return permanently-based fighters to Kadena – and
spend a few billion dollars building a protective shelter for each plane it
plans to stage from the base. Over the medium term, the solutions get pricier.
The USAF should hang on to every viable fighter it has for as long as it can.
Maybe those 40-year-old F-15C/Ds are ready to retire. But not everyone agrees
that the oldest F-22s should face the axe. And the plan to cull half the
workhorse F-15E Strike Eagle fleet has been met with amazement. Sure, these
older planes cost more to upgrade and maintain than factory-fresh jets do. But
newly-made jets cost too much up front for the Air Force to buy them in the
numbers it needs. How is grounding hundreds of fighters in order to afford a few
pricey new ones justifiable if it means the United States surrendering the sky
to China? Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The
Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive
offer.
Israel says it is discussing possible direct Haj flights to Saudi Arabia
JERUSALEM (Reuters)/Wed, May 3, 2023
Israel voiced hope on Wednesday that Saudi authorities would admit direct
flights for its Muslim citizens who want to make the Haj pilgrimage, which takes
place next month, in what would mark another step toward normalising relations.
Saudia Arabia signalled approval for Israel's U.S.-sponsored forging of ties
with Gulf neighbours United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020 but has held off
on following suit, saying Palestinian goals for statehood should be addressed
first. Any such prospects have been further clouded, however, by Riyadh's
strains with U.S. President Joe Biden, its recent fence-mending with regional
rival Iran - a foe of Israel - and the rise of Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right
Israeli government. Netanyahu's centrist predecessor, Yair Lapid, said on March
10 that, as prime minister last year, he secured Saudi consent for what would be
the first direct Haj flights from Israel, some 18% of whose population are
Muslim.
Riyadh has not offered confirmation.
Asked whether the direct flights would happen for next month's pilgrimage to the
holy Saudi city of Mecca, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said a request had
been submitted. "This issue is under discussion. I cannot tell you if there is
any progress," he said in an interview with Israel's Army Radio. "But with that,
I am optimistic that we can advance peace with Saudi Arabia." The Biden
administration last June predicted there would be direct charter flights from
Israel to Saudi Arabia for the Haj. But a senior U.S. official briefed on the
matter told Reuters on Wednesday that it was "unclear" if the flights would go
ahead. Muslims from Israel and the Palestinian territories currently travel to
Mecca through third-party countries, which can spell additional expense and
bother. Saudi Arabia has been allowing Israeli airlines to overfly it to UAE and
Bahrain since 2020, a corridor that it and next-door Oman have since expanded to
include other destinations.
Over a year of relentless Israeli-Palestinian
violence
Agence France Presse/Wed, May 3, 2023
A truce announced Wednesday by Gaza militants followed a deadly exchange of
cross-border fire, sparked by the death in Israel of a Palestinian hunger
striker.
AFP looks back at worsening violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since
last year:
- March-May 2022: deadly attacks in Israel -
On March 22, 2022, a convicted Islamic State sympathizer goes on a stabbing and
car-ramming rampage in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, killing four
people.
A week later, a West Bank Palestinian opens fire at passers-by in the
ultra-Orthodox Jewish city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, killing five people
including an Arab-Israeli police officer.
On April 7, a gunman from Jenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank, kills
three people and wounds more than a dozen others in a popular Tel Aviv nightlife
district.
On May 5, two assailants swing axes at passers-by in the ultra-Orthodox city of
Elad, killing three people are wounding four.
- West Bank crackdown -
The spate of deadly attacks causes outrage in Israel, which responds with over
2,000 raids in 2022 on the West Bank, targeting particularly the militant
bastions of Jenin and Nablus.
On May 11, veteran Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh dies after being shot
in the head while covering clashes between the Israeli army and militants in
Jenin.
On October 25, Israeli raids leave five Palestinians dead in Nablus.
- August: Gaza strikes -
On August 5, Israel launches three days of artillery and air strikes against the
Islamic Jihad group in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, accusing it of planning
attacks in Israel.
At least 49 Palestinians are killed including 17 children.
Islamic Jihad launches hundreds of rockets in retaliation.
- 2023: surge in violence -
An Israeli "counter-terrorism operation" on January 26, 2023 leaves 10
Palestinians dead.
A day later, a Palestinian gunman kills seven Israelis outside a synagogue in
annexed east Jerusalem.
On February 6, Israeli forces kill five people, including suspected Hamas
militants, during clashes in the West Bank town of Jericho.
Four days later, two Israeli children and a student are killed in a car-ramming
attack on a bus stop in east Jerusalem.
On February 22, the Israeli army carries out its deadliest West Bank incursion
in nearly 20 years, killing 11 Palestinians including a teenager in Nablus.
A raid on March 7 in Jenin leaves six Palestinians dead.
In April, an Israeli woman and her two daughters are killed in a shooting in the
West Bank.
- February 26: settler rampage after attack -
On February 26, two Israeli settlers are shot dead as they drive through the
northern West Bank town of Huwara.
That evening, hundreds of settlers in the town go on the rampage, torching
Palestinian homes and cars and throwing stones.
- April 5: Al-Aqsa standoff -
Israeli police on April 5 storm the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east
Jerusalem's Old City, sparking clashes in Islam's third-holiest site during the
Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, with some worshippers armed with stones and
fireworks. The UN chief and Muslim leaders express shock at a video showing
police clubbing people on the floor. Palestinian militants in the blockaded Gaza
Strip respond by firing a barrage of rockets at Israel. Rockets are also fired
by suspected Palestinian militants in Lebanon. Israel on April 7 bombards both
Gaza and southern Lebanon at dawn.
May 2: hunger striker's death
Khader Adnan, a 45-year-old Palestinian prisoner, dies from hunger strike on
Tuesday, nearly three months after being detained over alleged ties to Islamic
Jihad.Gaza militants trade fire with Israel following his death, with one
Palestinian killed and five others wounded in an Israeli air strike.
Israel razes homes of alleged Palestinian attackers
Agence France Presse/Wed, May 3, 2023
Israeli troops carried out demolitions Wednesday of the homes of two
Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly attacks on Israelis in the occupied
West Bank last year.The army said the demolitions targeted the homes of Mohammed
Souf, 18, accused of a "car-ramming and stabbing attack" which killed three
Israelis last November, and Younis Hilan, accused of fatally stabbing an Israeli
the previous month. Souf's uncle, Mostafa, denounced the demolitions as
"collective punishment". "This is the occupation's policy which we, as
Palestinians, are familiar with and used to. We were sure this would happen,
because we have been through collective punishment before," he told AFP. Hilan's
father Jalal stressed that the stabbing carried out by his son in the
Palestinian village of Al-Funduq, west of the city of Nablus, "wasn't my fault".
He said he had expected the army to raze only the one floor of the family home
in which his son had lived, but complained they had demolished another floor
too. The army said that during the demolition of Hilan's home "suspects hurled
rocks and rolled burning tires at the soldiers."Israel, which has occupied the
West Bank since 1967, routinely demolishes the homes of individuals it blames
for attacks on Israelis. Human rights activists say the policy amounts to
collective punishment, as it can render non-combatants, including children,
homeless. But Israel says the practice is effective in deterring some
Palestinians from carrying out attacks.
Israeli airstrike in Gaza kills 1 after
prisoner's death
Associated Press/Wed, May 3, 2023
At least one person was killed and five others injured in an Israeli airstrike
in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials said Wednesday, after hours of
fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the coastal enclave
following the death of a prominent hunger-striking prisoner. A tense cease-fire
held hours after Palestinian militants launched around 100 rockets into southern
Israel late on Tuesday. The Israeli military said it bombed tunnels, arms
production sites and military installations belonging to the Hamas militant
group in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said
Hashil Mubarak, 58, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. His family
said he was injured by falling debris and died at the hospital. The cross-border
fighting was some of the most intense since an 11-day war in 2021 between Israel
and Palestinian militants in Gaza. It came hours after Khader Adnan, a leader in
the Islamic Jihad militant group, died in Israeli custody after a nearly
three-month hunger strike, prompting Palestinians to launch a general strike and
protests in the West Bank and Gaza. Adnan is credited with helping introduce the
practice of protracted hunger strikes by Palestinian prisoners as a form of
protest, primarily against the practice of administrative detention, a measure
Israel uses to detain people without charge or trial. The spike in violence is a
test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, its most right-wing
ever, whose members have called for a tough line against Palestinian violence.
Government members leveled criticism at their own leadership's response to
rocket fire from Gaza. Orit Struck, a Cabinet minister with the Religious
Zionism party, told Kan public radio that Israel did not "exact a toll.""We
needed to level a few buildings in Gaza, and some chief terrorists needed to
join their friend who died in jail," she said. In the occupied West Bank, the
focal point for Israeli-Palestinian violence over the last year, Israeli troops
destroyed the houses of two Palestinians who carried out deadly attacks against
Israeli civilians in October and November. Israel says home demolitions are
meant to deter future attackers, but critics say they amount to collective
punishment against the families of assailants and only exacerbate tensions with
Palestinians. The military said it destroyed the house of Mohammed Souf in the
northern West Bank town of Haris. The 18-year-old Palestinian killed three
Israelis in a stabbing and car-ramming attack in a Jewish settlement in November
before he was killed at the scene. The army also said it leveled the West Bank
home of a Palestinian man arrested on suspicion of stabbing an Israeli man in
October. Shalom Sofer later died of his wounds. Israel and Palestinians in the
West Bank have been locked in an escalating bout of fighting for the past year.
About 250 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and 49 people have been
killed in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
US strike targets senior al-Qaeda leader in NW Syria
-statement
DUBAI (Reuters)/Wed, May 3, 2023
The United States carried out a strike on northwest Syria on Wednesday targeting
an unnamed al-Qaeda leader, the Central Command said in a written statement. "At
11:42 a.m. local time on May 3rd, U.S. Central Command forces conducted a
unilateral strike in Northwest Syria targeting a senior Al Qaeda leader," it
said, without giving a name or specifying whether the leader had been killed.
The strike comes just days after Turkey announced that its forces had killed the
Islamic State group's head in the same zone in northwest Syria, where
Turkish-backed rebels hold sway. Residents of the area, which mostly consists of
hilly plains dotted with shrubbery and boulders, told Reuters that they heard
three loud blasts that sounded like air strikes. The White Helmets, a rescue
force in opposition-held parts of Syria, said an unidentified drone had carried
out a strike in the northwestern province of Idlib and killed a sheep herder.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former Syrian offshoot of al-Qaeda, holds swathes of
territory in northwest Syria and its civilian branch also controls civil
administrations in the area.
Blinken and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Discuss
Sudan Ceasefire
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry
discussed extending and expanding the ceasefire in Sudan during a call on
Tuesday, the State Department said. "The Secretary and the Foreign Minister
agreed to continue close US-Egypt consultation regarding ongoing efforts to
achieve a durable cessation of hostilities in Sudan," State Department
spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Egypt Renews Calls for Ceasefire in Sudan
Cairo - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
Egypt renewed on Tuesday calls for a ceasefire in Sudan, as clashes between the
Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) persisted. Foreign Minister
Sameh Shoukry stressed his country’s firm stance that urges a ceasefire and the
importance of all parties committing to the truce.
He met with envoy of the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan Ambassador
Dafallah Haj Ali at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Cairo. According to the
FM’s spokesman, Ahmed Abu Zeid, the envoy delivered a message from Chairman of
Sovereignty Council and army commander Abdel Fattah al Burhan to Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the latest developments in Sudan. He also
expressed gratitude to Egypt for receiving the Sudanese fleeing the war. Shoukry
said Egypt views the Sudanese crisis as an internal affair, stressing the need
for international and regional parties to respect Sudan’s sovereignty. The FM
added that Cairo had made its stance clear at meetings on Sudan held the Arab
League, African Union and United Nations Security Council. Shoukry briefed his
guest on the contacts he held on Sudan with the foreign ministers of several
influential countries. Also on Tuesday, the FM discussed the developments in
Sudan in a telephone call with High Representative of the European Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. The officials discussed the
humanitarian situation in the country and ways to support neighboring countries
who are receiving the displaced. Borrell praised Egypt’s efforts to reach a
ceasefire in Sudan since the very beginning of the crisis, Abud Zeid added. He
also underlined its efforts to evacuate Europeans and other foreign nations
through its territories in addition to hosting Sudanese citizens. The officials
agreed to maintain communication in order to reach a solution to the crisis.
Air Strikes Heard in Sudan’s Capital After More Truce Pledges
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
Air strikes were heard in Khartoum on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said, even as
warring factions agreed to a new seven-day ceasefire from Thursday, undermining
chances for a lasting truce that would help ease a deepening humanitarian
crisis. United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths arrived in Port Sudan to
"reaffirm" his commitment to the Sudanese people. His spokesperson said
improving humanitarian access through guarantees of safe passage would be a
priority. The conflict has also created a humanitarian crisis, with around
100,000 people forced to flee with little food or water to neighboring
countries, the United Nations said. Aid deliveries have been held up in a nation
where about one-third of people already relied on humanitarian assistance. A
broader disaster could be in the making as Sudan's impoverished neighbors
grapple with the influx of refugees. Previous ceasefire agreements between the
army and a paramilitary force, whose power struggle erupted into full blown
conflict in mid-April, have ranged from 24 to 72 hours, but none have been fully
observed. South Sudan's foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that
mediation championed by its president, Salva Kiir, had led both sides to agree a
weeklong truce from Thursday to May 11 and to name envoys for peace talks. The
current ceasefire was due to expire on Wednesday. It was unclear, however, how
army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support forces
(RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo would proceed. Army jets have been
bombing RSF units dug into residential districts of the capital region. Conflict
has also spread to Sudan's western Darfur region that is still recovering from
brutal civil war dating back 20 years. The commanders of the army and RSF, who
had shared power as part of an internationally backed transition towards free
elections and civilian government, have shown no sign of backing down, yet
neither side seems able to secure a quick victory. Fighting now in its third
week has engulfed Khartoum - one of Africa's largest cities - and killed
hundreds of people. Sudan's Health Ministry reported on Tuesday that 550 people
have died and 4,926 have been wounded. Foreign governments were winding down
evacuation operations that sent thousands of their citizens home. Britain said
its last flight would depart Port Sudan on the Red Sea on Wednesday and urged
any remaining Britons wanting to leave to make their way there.
Denmark to Reduce its Military Presence in
Iraq
Copenhagen/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
Denmark will reduce its military presence in Iraq starting in early-2024 and
instead focus on the Baltic countries, offering NATO a battalion to defend the
region, the Nordic country's Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said on
Tuesday. "We must be prepared for the Danish presence in the Baltics to be
long-term, and there is a need for balancing between having soldiers on the
ground and being ready to deploy them from Denmark," Poulsen said. Denmark will
withdraw one of its security and escort units of about 105 soldiers in Iraq as
of February next year, but will continue to provide staff and advice to NATO's
mission in Iraq, the defence ministry said. Denmark will donate military
equipment and financial support to Ukraine worth 1.7 billion Danish crowns ($250
million), Poulsen added.
Contacts Intensify over Syria’s Return to Arab League
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
Amman, Damascus - Mohammed Khair al-Rawashdeh and Asharq Al-Awsat
Jordan kicked off a series of contacts with Arab countries and officials in wake
of its hosting of a meeting of regional envoys on Monday to discuss Syria’s
return to the Arab League.The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Syria. Soon after their departure from Amman,
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi held a series of telephone talks with
his counterparts in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait,
Morocco, Lebanon, Algeria and Tunisia. A Jordanian Foreign Ministry statement
said Safadi briefed them on the details of the "first meeting between Arab
countries and Syria since the eruption of the Syrian crisis." The meeting marked
the beginning of a "new political path in efforts to resolve the crisis" by Arab
countries, it added. Damascus is slowly returning to the Arab fold after being
ostracized over President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on a peaceful 2011
uprising that descended into a yearslong war. However, as Assad consolidated
control over most of the country in recent years, Syria’s neighbors have begun
to take steps toward rapprochement. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the
meeting on Monday came as a follow-up to talks with Arab Gulf countries, Jordan,
Iraq and Egypt held in Saudi Arabia last month and focused on a "Jordanian
initiative to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis." Saudi Arabia is
set to host the next Arab League summit later in May.
Jordanian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Monday’s talks discussed the
possibility of a vote on reinstating Syria’s membership in the Arab League.
Countries that have reservations over or oppose Syria’s return could be offered
the choice to abstain from the vote, added the sources.
Such an option could facilitate reaching such a major decision that is Syria’s
return to the organization and ending the boycott against it, they continued.
This, in turn, could influence the international stance, while Syria is also
expected to take tangible steps in ending the war. It remains to be seen what
steps Damascus will take to resolve the conflict in exchange for its return to
the Arab League. Jordan’s initiative to end the crisis is based on the
"step-for-step" approach. One of the main issues that were discussed on Monday
was Syria’s smuggling of drugs to the region, with demands being made that it
crack down on the illegal activity that has become a threat to the countries of
the region. The gatherers on Monday agreed to form a political-security work
team comprised of Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi officials. They would be tasked
with determining the sources of drug production in Syria and the sides that are
running the smuggling operations to Jordan and Iraq and taking the necessary
measures to put a stop to the activity. Safadi telephoned Arab League
Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Tuesday to brief him on Monday’s meeting.
Aboul Gheit said he was looking forward to discussing the Syrian crisis during
the organization’s upcoming meetings, said an Arab League statement. Meanwhile,
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad is set to travel to Baghdad on Saturday
at the invitation of his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein. Informed sources in
Damascus said he will meet with President Abdul Latif Rashid, Prime Minister
Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi during his
two-day visit, reported Syria’s Al-Watan newspaper.
UN, US Envoys to Yemen Kick off New Regional Tour
Aden - Ali Rabih/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
United Nations envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg and United States’ envoy to Yemen
Tim Lenderking kicked off this week a new tour of the region to support Saudi
Arabia and Oman’s efforts to restore peace in the war-torn country. Grundberg
arrived in Yemen’s Sanaa on Monday for talks with the Iran-backed Houthi
militias. Lenderking, meanwhile, traveled to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the
Omani capital, Muscat. Houthi media said Grundberg met with their coup council
leader Mahdi Mashat and other officials. They discussed the latest developments
related to the peace efforts. Mashat alleged that “the facts have proven that
the US and Britain are obstructing all attempts to achieve peace in Yemen,”
reported the Houthi-affiliated Saba news agency. Whenever the Houthis and Saudi
Arabia “reach understandings, the US immediately dispatches its ‘cursed’ envoy
to the region to obstruct all efforts,” he added. Observers dismissed his
remarks as a reflection of the Houthis’ undermining of solutions proposed by
regional and international mediators to resolve the conflict. The Houthis are
instead seeking to achieve political and economic gains, while refusing to offer
any fundamental concessions, starting with abandoning their arsenal of Iranian
weapons. Mashat relayed to Grundberg Houthi warnings to the international
community, including European countries, that the US and Britain are keen on an
escalation in Yemen. He warned that such a move would incur consequences, in
what was understood as a threat to American and Britain interests in the region.
The US State Department had said that Lenderking would travel to Oman and Saudi
Arabia where he will hold talks with Yemeni, Saudi, Omani and international
partners to discuss their coordinated efforts to further ongoing talks. The
United States is working closely with the UN, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and other
partners to build on the UN-mediated truce, which has delivered the longest
period of calm since the war began, to support an inclusive, Yemeni-led
political process that permits Yemenis to shape a brighter future for their
country, the State Department said.
Ceasefire Agreed after Death of Palestinian Hunger Striker
Asharq A-Awsat/Wednesday, 3 May, 2023
A Palestinian hunger striker died in Israeli custody on Tuesday, sparking an
exchange of fire between Israel and armed groups in Gaza, before three
Palestinian officials said the sides had agreed to a ceasefire. Earlier, Israeli
jets struck in Gaza as armed groups there fired rocket barrages toward Israel in
response to the death of Khader Adnan, a prominent political leader of the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad faction, following an 87-day hunger
strike in an Israeli prison.
Adnan, who was awaiting trial, was found unconscious in his cell and taken to a
hospital, where he was declared dead after efforts to revive him, Israel's
Prisons Service said. He was the first Palestinian hunger striker to die in
Israeli custody in more than 30 years. Hundreds of people took to the streets in
the occupied Palestinian territories to rally and mourn Adnan's death, which
Palestinian leaders described as an assassination. In Gaza, an umbrella group of
armed Palestinian factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed
responsibility for a series of rocket salvos fired towards Israel during the
day.
The Israeli military said it identified at least 30 rocket launches that set off
sirens in southern Israel including in Ashkelon, about 14 km (9 miles) north of
Gaza, and sent people running to bomb shelters. Two rockets landed in the small
Israeli city of Sderot just east of Gaza, wounding three people, including a
25-year-old foreign national who Israel's ambulance service said sustained
serious shrapnel wounds. Late on Tuesday, plumes of smoke spiraled into the
night sky and explosions could be heard as the Israeli military said it hit
targets across Gaza including weapons manufacturing sites and training camps of
Hamas, the group that governs Gaza. Islamic Jihad spokesman Tareq Selmi said
fighting had ended by dawn Wednesday. Two Palestinian officials said Egypt,
Qatar and the United Nations helped secure a "reciprocal and simultaneous"
ceasefire that largely seemed to hold. Adnan first grabbed international
headlines and inspired solidarity protests over a decade ago, when he staged a
66-day hunger strike against his administrative detention. That galvanized
hundreds of other prisoners to join the strike, which ended with a deal for his
release. He was later arrested again. With violence surging over the past year
and the Israeli military launching near-nightly arrest raids in the West Bank,
the number of Palestinians in administrative detention has swelled to the
highest number in two decades.
Gold gains on weaker dollar ahead of Fed rate
verdict
Reuters/May 03/2023
Gold extended gains on Wednesday on a weaker dollar and lower yields amid wider
economic uncertainty, while investors positioned for the Federal Reserve's
interest rate decision. Spot gold was 0.4% higher at $2,024.19 per ounce by 1:10
p.m. EDT (1710 GMT), after touching a fresh high since April 14. US gold futures
rose 0.5% to $2,033.50. Prices eased after data showed US private employers
boosted hiring in April, but soon reversed course as 10-year Treasury yields
slid and a 0.5% dip in the dollar index boosted bullion's appeal overseas. Gold
broke out of its recent range, maintaining a strong correlation with the US
dollar and yields, said Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper. "Concerns
regarding US regional banks and the debt ceiling suggest further price
volatility is in the offing."The Fed's rate decision is expected at 2:00 p.m.
EDT, with markets pricing in an 85% chance of a 25-basis-point hike.
The central bank could also signal a pause in its 14-month tightening cycle, as
policymakers balance the need to slow inflation against risks ranging from bank
failures to the possibility of a US debt default as soon as next month. "We're
back and forth all morning about what is (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell going to
say," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures. If they hint
at a pause to rate hikes, gold should rally significantly, or if they indicate
hikes are still coming, gold will probably be sold off, Haberkorn added.
Non-yielding bullion, a customary safe haven against inflation and economic
uncertainty, draws lower demand when higher interest rates boost returns on
competing assets with yields. Gold prices had gained 1% in April as the US
banking crisis spurred a flight to safety. Silver fell 0.2% to $25.35 per ounce,
platinum shed nearly 1% to $1,055.15, while palladium dropped 0.2% to $1,426.46.
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
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on May 03-04/2023
Ancient Coptic Church Torched in Egypt
Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/May 03/2023
Yet another Coptic Christian church has been consumed by flames (images follow).
On Mar. 29, 2023, a massive fire broke out in the Church of the Virgin,
Archangel Michael, Abu Sefein and Saint Anba Karas in Assyut, Egypt. Sections of
it were reportedly “ancient.”
According to a statement from the diocese, “The fire occurred around 4 a.m. and
completely consumed the church and its appurtenances, as it was built of wood,
as well as the ancient church, which consists of walls and a wooden ceiling.”
Fortunately, no lives were lost in the conflagration.
According to the diocese’s statement—which was issued immediately after the
catastrophe, that is, without waiting for professional investigations or
forensics—the fire was due to a “leaky gas bottle.” This may well be true, but
considering that some one thousand Coptic churches have been intentionally set
aflame and/or bombed in Muslim Egypt since the 1970s, it is, of course,
difficult to completely ignore arson as a possible culprit.
That said, whereas open arson attacks on Coptic churches have dwindled of late,
“accidental” fires, such as this most recent one, have become commonplace. The
most lethal one occurred last August, 2022, when the Church of Abu Seifein in
Cairo caught fire during morning mass. At least 41 Christians—18 of whom were
children—were killed in the flames.
As now so then: minutes after it broke out, officials immediately attributed the
fire to faulty wires, etc. Arson was, without any real investigation, ruled out.
There have been many other such examples—indeed, a total of 10 other Coptic
churches “caught fire” in just the same month (of August) that the Church of Abu
Seifein did. Most recently, on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, a fire broke out in and
“devoured” a church in the Giza Governorate. It was blamed on a small candle
left on a votary stand. However, images from surveillance cameras clearly show
that “the candle ignited suddenly and in an unusual way.”
It should also be noted that sometimes, after officials conclude that a church
fire was due to some accident, it comes out that arson was indeed the true
cause. On Aug. 16, 2022, the Church of Saint Mary the Egyptian in Alexandria
caught fire. Although it too was instantly attributed to “natural causes,” at
least one eyewitness saw someone on the balcony of a residential building
adjacent to the church hurl some combustible substance onto the church, causing
the fire.
Even so; even if all of these fires are truly accidental, products of leaky
pipes and faulty wires, the government of Egypt and its discriminatory practices
against Christianity are still largely to blame. Since the Arab-Islamic conquest
of Egypt, and well into the Ottoman era, severe restrictions, based on sharia
stipulations, have made it next to impossible for Christians not only to build
but to repair churches. Although a 2016 law was heralded as repealing these
draconian stipulations, practically speaking, and as many Copts have noted,
little has changed. Till this day, most Coptic churches in Egypt are shoddily
built, cramped, and poorly wired.
As even the New York Times once reported:
The Copts have long complained about being the victims of discrimination on the
basis of their religion. One aspect of that discrimination are government
restrictions on the construction, renovation and repair of churches in the
largely Muslim country. These restrictions have left many of the buildings in
disrepair and made them fire hazards.
The torched Church of Abu Seifein, where 41 Christians were killed, was not, for
example, a true church but rather “a four-story residential building in a narrow
alley in the Imbaba neighborhood” where two apartments on the top floors were
gradually transformed into a church. Little wonder that its Christian
worshippers were unable to “escape through narrow doors, ill-equipped to
facilitate emergency exit to the alleyways of the Giza neighborhood outside.”
When Copts do implore the authorities for much needed repairs and receive
permission—as when the dilapidated ceiling of a church recently began to
collapse, causing hazardous conditions for worshippers—local Muslims riot and
officials rescind their permission. (According to sharia, churches must never be
repaired but left to crumble over time.)
Finally, it’s worth noting that, although there are about 120,000 mosques and
over one million prayer halls in Egypt, and only some 5,200 churches, it is
always and only churches that one hears are “catching fire” in Egypt.
Shall one conclude that, for some inexplicable reason, the Copts are somehow
especially careless with their churches—quite the opposite: churches are so
precious to them precisely because they are so few and restricted—or is
something else clearly afoot?
Politicized Intelligence Community: Danger to
a Democracy
Pete Hoekstra/Gatestone Institute./May 3, 2023
Teixeira, if convicted, is facing a lengthy prison sentence. Morrell, meanwhile,
remains an esteemed national security figure who has members of the press
defending his actions, even though they had an impact on the last election.
Beyond Morrell, none of the other signatories of the letter has suffered any
negative consequences for choosing to use the stature they gained by virtue of
being high ranking, cleared individuals to politicize national security. While
one cannot condone the alleged activities of Mr. Teixeira, one can understand
his confusion at being a part of an Intelligence Community where the leadership
has allowed itself to become a partisan appendage of the Democratic Party and,
instead of suffering consequences, is rewarded. Former Director of National
Intelligence John Ratcliffe called the letter "election interference," said it
had damaged national security by unjustly framing another country, Russia, and
stated that Secretary of State Antony Blinken should either resign or be
impeached. Why then are we surprised when a 21-year-old leaks classified
information? The big shots are not afraid to trade on their reputations or
access to highly classified information, and they are not held accountable for
their actions. Even though he should have known better, maybe Teixeira thought
he would not be held accountable either?
The deception and political activities of these intelligence professionals — and
their complicit media enablers — need to be exposed and reported. Every single
one of these 51 individuals who signed the Hunter Biden laptop letter should
lose their security clearance if they still have one.
Those serving in government or on appointed federal boards or commissions should
be removed from those positions immediately. Lastly, Congress needs to hold
hearings into the culture of the Intelligence Community that lets these types of
individuals serve without fear of accountability. It then needs to expose and
rip out the rot that has infected the Intelligence Community and get it out of
domestic politics and refocused on foreign threats to our great nation.
Recently, former acting CIA Director Michael Morrell (pictured) testified to the
House Judiciary Committee that he organized and wrote the now infamous and
debunked letter, signed by 50 former senior national security officials,
suggesting that emails from Hunter Biden's laptop were Russian disinformation,
because he wanted Joe Biden to win the presidency. (Image source: Abovfold/Wikimedia
Commons)
Recently Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, was
arrested by the FBI and charged with unlawfully retaining and transmitting
national defense information classified at the highest level. As reported in
numerous media outlets, the documents in question relate to the war in the
Ukraine and other sensitive topics, including surveillance on allies and
adversaries alike. Teixeira reportedly copied, photographed, and leaked hundreds
of pages of highly classified U.S. government secrets to gain admiration and
influence among a group of teen-aged boys he befriended on Discord, a popular
online platform favored by gamers.
Recently, former acting CIA Director Michael Morrell testified to the House
Judiciary Committee that he organized and wrote a letter signed by 50 former
senior national security officials, suggesting that emails from Hunter Biden's
now infamous laptop were Russian disinformation, because he wanted Joe Biden to
win the presidency. He reportedly also had an interest in being appointed CIA
Director in the Biden administration, a hope that was crushed when Oregon
Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat and member of the Senate Intelligence Committee,
called him a "torture apologist" and said his nomination would be a
"nonstarter."While he did not, like Teixeira, leak classified information,
Morrell used his insider access and status as former acting CIA Director to gain
standing, and in this instance, influence voters in the 2020 election. Morrell's
now infamous and debunked letter, orchestrated at the behest of the Biden
campaign, would be used by then-candidate Biden just days after it was
published, to deflect and dismiss claims about international influence peddling
and other misconduct on Hunter's laptop in the presidential debate.
Teixeira, if convicted, is facing a lengthy prison sentence. Morrell, meanwhile,
remains an esteemed national security figure who has members of the press
defending his actions, even though they had an impact on the last election.
Beyond Morrell, none of the other signatories of the letter has suffered any
negative consequences for choosing to use the stature they gained by virtue of
being high ranking, cleared individuals to politicize national security.
Consider the commentary by national security lawyer Jonathan Turley. He recently
wrote about the 51 members of the Intelligence Community using their venerated
positions to mislead the American public and influence a presidential election.
Not only were they never held accountable in a negative sense, they have instead
been rewarded for their subterfuge. Alleged leaders of this influence operation,
Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, now serve as Secretary of State and as
National Security Advisor, respectively. Another, David Buckley, served as the
Staff Director for the January 6th Committee in the House of Representatives,
and Jeremy Bash now co-chairs a commission investigating America's actions
during the war in Afghanistan. A number have landed lucrative contracts as
national security analysts with the complicit media that willingly regurgitated
their bogus letter.
All things considered, the current foreign policy apparatus of the Biden
administration is better thought of as a political protection operation than a
national security operation. The January 6th Committee, far from looking at any
number of legitimate security failures, devolved into a partisan political
endeavor. And the Afghanistan Commission will not surprise anyone if it somehow
"manages" to find no fault with Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan,
but instead faults Biden's predecessors as the administration already has tried
to do with its rewrite of history.
As noted by The Wall Street Journal editorial board, these national security
leaders used their reputations and access to classified information to influence
a presidential election. "These 51 officials have done more to damage the
credibility of the CIA and the FBI than anything Donald Trump has said. Ditto
for the complicit media," the Journal editorial board wrote.
Adam Schiff, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, lied on the House
floor by saying he had information that implicated President Donald Trump in a
Russian collusion scheme. Schiff never had any information. He just used his
reputation as House Intelligence Committee Chairman to lend credence to this
false premise, presumably to help impeach a president. He never suffered any
real repercussions and is in fact seeking a promotion to be the next U.S.
Senator from California.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper denied that the Intelligence
Community leaked information meant to damage President-elect Donald Trump in
January of 2017. Months later, he finally told the truth and admitted it was the
Intelligence Community that had cast the incoming president under a cloud of
suspicion. He himself had briefed Jake Tapper on the phony dossier. The
consequences for Clapper for deceiving Trump and the American people were —
nothing. In fact, Clapper still serves as a compensated national security
analyst for CNN, having enriched himself by undermining incoming President Trump
in 2017 and by helping elect Joe Biden in 2020 through deceit. Why then are we
surprised when a 21-year-old leaks classified information? The big shots are not
afraid to trade on their reputations or access to highly classified information,
and they are not held accountable for their actions. Even though he should have
known better, maybe Teixeira thought he would not be held accountable either?
While one cannot condone Teixeira's alleged activities, one can understand his
confusion being a part of an Intelligence Community where the leadership has
allowed itself to become a partisan appendage of the Democratic Party and,
instead of suffering consequences, is rewarded.
Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe called the letter
"election interference," said it had damaged national security by unjustly
framing another country, Russia, and stated that Secretary of State Antony
Blinken should either resign or be impeached.
A politicized Intelligence Community is a corrupt Intelligence Community, and it
must be addressed before there is more damage done to the American people's
trust in our government. The deception and political activities of these
intelligence professionals — and their complicit media enablers — need to be
exposed and reported. Every single one of these 51 individuals who signed the
Hunter Biden laptop letter should lose their security clearance if they still
have one. Those serving in government or on appointed federal boards or
commissions should be removed from those positions immediately. Lastly, Congress
needs to hold hearings into the culture of the Intelligence Community that lets
these types of individuals serve without fear of accountability. It then needs
to expose and rip out the rot that has infected the Intelligence Community and
get it out of domestic politics and refocused on foreign threats to our great
nation.
Then we will finally be able undo what these individuals have done to destroy
the fabric, integrity, and reputation of our Intelligence Community and move
beyond the sorry state in which it now exists.
*Peter Hoekstra was US Ambassador to the Netherlands during the Trump
administration. He served 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives
representing the second district of Michigan and served as Chairman and Ranking
member of the House Intelligence Committee, and is a Distinguished Senior Fellow
at Gatestone Institute.
© 2023 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Who Was Sudan’s Siwar Al-Dahab?
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/May, 03/2023
Commenting on my previous article, “The Lesson from Sudan,” someone intelligent
asked me: Could Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Sudan’s Army
Commander, become Field Marshal Siwar al-Dahab 2.0? And then he added: the Siwar
al-Dahab who was a man of action, not an idealist, and Burhan could do so with
Arab and international support and protection.
Another question was added to the question. Could Rapid Support Forces Commander
Lieutenant General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, be the new
Siwar al-Dahab? However, the issue here is that militias do not ordinarily
operate that way, and both men are fighting a battle that will leave them in
either the palace or the grave.
Thus, amid talk of mediation efforts to initiate a dialogue between the two men
at the head of the warring factions, the question is: Could Burhan announce that
his role is to eliminate the militia and then safeguard the transition?
Will Burhan declare that if the army restored control on the ground, it would
immediately begin withdrawing from the political scene, guaranteeing political
stability and really becoming Siwar al-Dahab, by handing power over to a
civilian government?
This proposal may seem idealistic, but I am merely thinking out loud. It is an
attempt to open horizons in our thinking about this perilous crisis. Could
Burhan make such a declaration and commit to it, thereby dealing a real blow to
Hemedti outside the field of battle?
Could Burhan score a political point, peacefully, that carries more weight than
any military blow could? Indeed, victory is often realized through political
savvy rather than cannon barrels. Could Burhan do it and put the RSF commander
in an extremely awkward position internationally?
Could Burhan do it to become a genuine savior, rescuing the state, giving the
republic’s army its prestige back, and putting the onus to support him on the
international community and the Arabs? Most importantly, he would be rectifying
the sins of Bashir and the Muslim Brotherhood, clearing the army’s name and
obliging historians to a crucial contribution it made to safeguarding the state.
Today, what we need is for the Sudanese state to win. It is not about Burhan or
Hemedti. In his interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, the latter reiterated claims
that the army and Burhan are extensions of the Bashir regime, referring to them
as “remnants of the defunct regime” and “the coup forces.”
As I already said, the same question could be asked of Hemedti. However, the RSF
has not achieved decisive results on the ground. So far, Hemedti’s men have been
most effective at propaganda, exploiting social media and media outlets by
announcing victory “live.”
Asked if he believed that parties would again return to the Framework Agreement
during his interview with this newspaper, he replied: “Yes, this will happen
after the defeat or surrender of the coupist commanders of the armed forces.
This is a vow we made before our people and we do not renege on vows.”
I doubt it, as does everyone else following the developments in Sudan; such
journalistic skepticism is perfectly natural, and it stems from what we have all
seen from the militias of our region. Thus, I repeat the question. Can Hemedti
pledge to withdraw from the scene? I doubt it, as he is fighting for the
survival of a militia, not a state. Thus, the question becomes whether Burhan
will ensure the victory of the Sudanese state. Will he become the first serious
and upright officer since Siwar al-Dahab? Will Burhan win this round through an
unequivocal commitment, allowing Sudan to take a significant step toward winning
this dangerous battle by ensuring the survival of what remains of its state?
Nuclear Waste Is Misunderstood
Madison Hilly/The New York Times/ May, 03/2023
On a visit in February to the site of the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in
Japan, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York did something
refreshing: She discussed radiation exposure and nuclear waste without fanning
fear. The radiation she got from her visit — about two chest X-rays’ worth — was
worth the education she received on the tour, she told her 8.6 million Instagram
followers. She then spoke admiringly of France, which, she said, “recycles their
waste, increasing the efficiency of their system and reducing the overall amount
of radioactive waste to deal with.”
Progressive lawmakers, along with environmental groups like the Sierra Club and
Natural Resources Defense Council, have historically been against nuclear power
— often focusing on the danger, longevity and storage requirements of the
radioactive waste. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders
of Vermont said, “It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me to add more
dangerous waste to this country and to the world when we don’t know how to get
rid of what we have right now.” Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts echoed
these concerns and pledged not to build any new nuclear plants if elected
president.
So it’s no surprise that many Americans believe nuclear waste poses an enormous
and terrifying threat. But after talking to engineers, radiation specialists and
waste managers, I’ve come to see this misunderstanding is holding us back from
embracing a powerful, clean energy source we need to tackle climate change. We
must stop seeing nuclear waste as a dangerous problem and instead recognize it
as a safe byproduct of carbon-free power.
Why is nuclear so important for reducing carbon emissions? The countries that
have cleaned up their electricity production the fastest have generally done so
with hydroelectric power, nuclear, or a combination of the two. The distinct
advantage of nuclear is that it requires little land and can reliably produce
lots of power regardless of weather, time of day or season. Unlike wind and
solar, it can substitute directly for fossil fuels without backup or storage.
The International Energy Agency believes it’s so crucial that global nuclear
capacity must double by 2050 to reach net-zero emissions targets.
For this reason some US investors, policymakers and even the movie director
Oliver Stone are calling for greatly expanding our nuclear capabilities. The
Inflation Reduction Act is now rolling out credits for the 54 plants currently
in operation and incentives for new ones worth tens of billions of dollars.
States across the country are overturning decades-old bans on nuclear
construction and exploring investment opportunities. A demonstration project in
Wyoming is underway to replace a retiring coal plant with a nuclear reactor.
There are many legitimate questions about the future of nuclear — How will we
finance new plants? Can we build them on time and under budget? — but “What
about the waste?” should not be one of them.
One of our few cultural references to nuclear waste is “The Simpsons,” where it
appeared as a glowing green liquid stored in leaky oil drums. In reality,
nuclear fuel is made up of shiny metal tubes containing small pellets of uranium
oxide. These tubes are gathered into bundles and loaded into the reactor. After
five years of making energy, the bundles come out, containing radioactive
particles left over from the energy-making reactions.
The bundles cool off in a pool of water for another five to 10 years or so.
After that, they are placed in steel and concrete containers for storage at the
plant. These casks are designed to last 100 years and to withstand nearly
anything — hurricanes, severe floods, extreme temperatures, even missile
attacks. To date, there have been no deaths, injuries or serious environmental
releases of nuclear waste in casks anywhere. And the waste can be transferred to
another cask, extending storage one century at a time.
With this kind of nuclear waste, I’m not referring to water containing the
radioisotope tritium that nuclear plants regularly release. Antinuclear activist
groups like to scaremonger about this, despite the fact that you’d need to drink
over a gallon of the treated water being released from Fukushima to get the
equivalent radiation exposure of eating a banana.
But what about the spent nuclear fuel — isn’t it radioactive for hundreds of
thousands of years? The way radiation works, the waste products that are the
most radioactive are the shortest-lived, and those that last a long time are far
less dangerous. About 40 years after the fuel becomes waste, the heat and
radioactivity of the pellets have fallen by over 99 percent. After around 500
years, the waste would have to be broken down and inhaled or ingested to cause
significant harm.
Compare this to other hazardous industrial materials we store in less secure
ways that don’t become less toxic over time. Take ammonia: It is highly toxic,
corrosive, explosive and prone to leaking. Hundreds of ammonia-related injuries
and even some fatalities have been reported since 2010, and we continue to
produce and transport millions of tons of it annually by pipelines, ships and
trains for fertilizer and other uses.
Yet because nuclear waste seems to pose an outsize risk in the imaginations of
many — especially those who lived through the Cold War — the conversation veers
toward permanent solutions, like burying it deep underground in a facility like
the proposed Yucca Mountain project in Nevada. There may be other benefits to
consolidating spent fuel in a central facility, but safety is not the primary
concern.
By failing to construct such a facility, some worry that we’re saddling the next
generation with the burden of waste management. But as a young person in my 20s
expecting a child this year, I feel very comfortable with the way we manage
nuclear waste, with making more of it and with passing this responsibility on to
our kids. I hope my daughter’s generation will inherit many new nuclear plants
making clean power — and the waste that comes with them.The waste should really
be a chief selling point for nuclear energy, particularly for those who care
about the environment: There’s not very much of it, it’s easily contained, it
becomes safer with time and it can be recycled. And every cask of spent nuclear
fuel represents about 2.2 million tons of carbon, according to one estimate,
that weren’t emitted into the atmosphere from fossil fuels. For me, each cask
represents hope for a safer, better future.