English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 07/2023
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
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15 آذار/2023
Bible Quotations For today
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with
its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.
Letter to the Colossians03/01-11/:"If you have
been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated
at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things
that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in
God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed
with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly:
fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On
account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These
are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.But now you
must get rid of all such things anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive
language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have
stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with
the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its
creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in
all!"
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 06-07/2023
Lebanon to soon see breakthrough in
presidential file: report
Qataris rally support for Gen. Aoun nomination in Lebanon talks
Bukhari after meeting Jumblatt: Sustainable solutions come from within Lebanon,
not from outside
Skaf after meeting with Bassil: Only serious internal moves will curb any
external effort to impose a president
Khalil says all BDL transactions during his tenure were 'legal'
3.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Lebanon: Bhaness Center
The Ugly Truth: How Does the Government Plan to Repay Depositors?
MEPs call for an independent investigation into Beirut Blast, urge need for
sanctions
From tents to apartments: A look at Syrian refugee residences in Lebanon
Culture Minister from Beirut's National Museum: Martyrs of May 6 & the righteous
who followed them call upon us to love Lebanon, live for it, die for...
Fayyad meets with Iraqi Prime Minister, thanks him for Iraq's continued support
in supplying Lebanon with oil
Makhzoumi meets with European Parliamentary delegation: State institutions
cannot be regulated without a president of the republic
RDCL elects six new members of its board of directors and achieves gender parity
Lebanon: The Clique and The Presidency, A Question of Life and Death
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on May 06-07/2023
King Charles III crowned at London's
Westminster Abbey
The death toll from the 16 Israeli targeting of Syria rose to 8, including 3 of
the pro-Iranian militias
Iran hangs Iranian-Swedish man over 2018 attack killing 25
Israeli army kills 2 Palestinians in West Bank raid
Tens of thousands join protests against Israeli judicial overhaul
Ukraine has trained an army of 10,000 drone pilots ahead of anticipated
counteroffensive, minister says
Russia's deadly attack leaves city facing up to its bloodiest day
American leaders must understand Russia's war with Ukraine is a threat to our
security
US, KSA say Sudan warring sides to start talks
Titles For
The Latest
English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 06-07/2023
Is Israel facing the Iranian threat on its own? Arab moves reflect a sober
assessment of the regional balance of power./Joanthan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/May
06/2023
The EU's Endless Appeasement of the Ruling Mullahs of Iran/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone
Institute/May 06, 2023
King Charles: visionary, bridge builder, sword dancer/Prince Khalid bin Bandar
bin Sultan Al-Saud/Arab News/May 06/2023
How Charles III can Make Britain Great Again!/Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/May
06/2023
Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on May 06-07/2023
Lebanon to soon see
breakthrough in presidential file: report
LBCI/May 06/2023
Diplomatic sources from the French capital confirmed to Al Joumhouria what they
describe as “the serious and active approach that the movement related to the
presidential file is taking, which would give the Lebanese an opportunity to
achieve an imminent breakthrough in the presidential file.”
This article was initially published in, translated from the Lebanese newspaper
Al Joumhouria. In response to a question, it said: “The priority is the
immediate election of a President,” avoiding addressing any of the names
circulated for the Presidency. An official reference confirmed to Al Joumhouria,
“In the horizon of the current movements, what actually establishes the opening
of a wide niche in the wall of optimism, which until recently was completely
blocked, through which a serious opportunity for a presidential decision and an
end to the anomalous situation in the position of the first presidency can be
accessed by electing a president over the next few weeks.” And the same
reference reveals that information it has, and is concealing, makes it approach
the assertion that “from now until next June 15, there will be a president,”
meaning “a lot has gone, and only a few remains.”
Qataris rally support for Gen. Aoun nomination
in Lebanon talks
Naharnet /May 06/2023
Qatar has renewed its attempt to convince the Lebanese parties to endorse the
presidential nomination of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, several
newspapers said on Saturday. Qatari official Jassem Al-Thani has held meetings
with political leaders in Lebanon in which he called on the opponents of
Suleiman Franjieh's nomination to throw their support behind Aoun's candidacy,
the reports said. A settlement involving Aoun's election would enjoy the "needed
Arab and international cover," Al-Thani reportedly told those he met with.
Bukhari after meeting Jumblatt: Sustainable solutions come
from within Lebanon, not from outside
LBCI/May 06/2023
Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, discussed on Saturday the general
situation with the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, in
Clemenceau. The meeting was also attended by head of the Democratic Gathering
bloc, MP Taymour Jumblatt, and MP Wael Aobu Faour. "We have always emphasized
that sustainable solutions come from within Lebanon, not from outside," Bukhari
said before leaving.
Skaf after meeting with Bassil: Only serious internal moves
will curb any external effort to impose a president
NNA/May 06/2023
Free Patriotic Movement Chief, MP Gebran Bassil, met today with MP Ghassan Skaf
at his residence, during which talks touched on the general situation in the
country and the presidential elections dossier. Following the meeting, Skaf
considered that “the outside moves are due to internal stagnation and the
feeling of regional and international states' of officials’ indifference to the
suffering of citizens and their distraction with personal matters.”He added,
“Today we are witnessing a decline in the level of external interference in
favor of the Lebaneseization of the presidential entitlement, in wake of the
actual internal movement we have begun..."Skaff continued: "Based on the
positive and open atmosphere that I sensed with Minister Basil, I sincerely
address all the other parties, especially those who are contributing, with or
without knowledge, to obstructing the accomplishment of the presidential
election by softening positions, easing conditions, and showing a little
humility and a lot of responsibility."
Khalil says all BDL transactions during his tenure were
'legal'
Agence France Presse/May 06/2023
European investigators have grilled Lebanon's finance minister as part of a
probe into the wealth of the country's central bank chief, his former boss, a
judicial official told AFP. Youssef Khalil is a former central bank official who
worked under Riad Salameh for almost three decades.
The caretaker minister answered "more than 100 questions" in three hours said
the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to
speak to the press. "Khalil answered the questions and said all transactions
that took place at the central bank during his tenure were legal," he said, as
the investigators wrapped up a two-week visit. Salameh, 72, is part of Lebanon's
political class widely blamed for a crushing economic crisis that began in late
2019 and which the World Bank has dubbed one of the worst in recent history.
The European investigators from France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany are
looking into allegations of financial misconduct, including possible money
laundering and embezzlement. Salameh faces such allegations in separate probes
in Lebanon and abroad, with investigators examining the fortune he has amassed
during three decades in the job. For procedural reasons, the delegation
submitted questions to a Lebanese judge, who put them to Khalil in their
presence, a judicial source previously told AFP. They questioned him about
topics including Forry Associates Ltd, a British Virgin Islands-registered
company listing Salameh's brother Raja as its beneficiary. Forry is suspected of
brokering Lebanese treasury bonds and Eurobonds for a commission, which is then
allegedly transferred to bank accounts abroad. Khalil denied knowing "how to buy
Eurobonds, or holding information about Forry's accounts," the official said.
The delegation questioned Salameh's brother Raja in Beirut on Thursday, after he
had failed to appear three times. They asked him 140 questions over six hours,
mostly about his personal bank accounts and those of Forry. Riad Salameh denied
any central bank funds had gone to the company. On Thursday, the investigators
also quizzed Nada Makhlouf, an employee of Deloitte which has audited the
central bank's finances since 1994. In March 2022, France, Germany and
Luxembourg seized assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a move linked
to a French probe into Riad Salameh's wealth. In February, Lebanon charged
Salameh with embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion as part of its own
investigation. The domestic probe was opened following a request for assistance
from Switzerland's public prosecutor looking into more than $300 million in fund
movements by the Salameh brothers. In March, European investigators questioned
Lebanon's central bank chief, who denies wrongdoing and whose tenure ends in
July, in Beirut. He has also been summoned for a hearing in France on May 16.
3.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Lebanon: Bhaness Center
LBCI/May 06/2023
The National Center for Geophysics in Bhannes said on Saturday that a 3.4
magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale hit Lebanon, with Keserwan as its
epicenter.
The Ugly Truth: How Does the Government Plan to Repay
Depositors?
LBCI/May 06/2023
After examining how depositors' funds vanished in the previous report, the most
critical question remains:
Is there any hope of recovering them?
First, we need to know that:
- 88% of all accounts in banks here are small deposits, meaning less than
$100,000.
- 12% of the accounts belong to large depositors.
Today, the latest version of the government's plan states that it will return
$100,000 to each depositor, whether large or small.
In this way, the small depositors, or the 88%, will have all their funds
returned.
How? According to the plan, the bank will take your balance as of March 31,
2022, and repay you $100,000 in US dollars, to be distributed over a period to
be determined later. If your bank cannot secure dollars, it will repay you in
Lebanese pounds at the market exchange rate.
However, there is a crucial condition; you must not have transferred your funds
from LBP to USD after October 2019 at the 1,500 rate, or else your deposit will
be considered "ineligible." In this case, you will be refunded in LBP at an
exchange rate lower than the market rate. The cost of recovering amounts up to
$100,000 is about $21 billion. According to the plan, banks have the resources
to cover the mentioned amount, including the reserves at the Central Bank of
Lebanon. This is assuming that the central bank can maintain what remains of
these reserves and not deplete them further. Thus, the government's plan
considers small deposits and amounts, or $21 billion out of the total deposits
of $93.5 billion, to be addressed. But what about the larger deposits? To be
continued...
MEPs call for an independent investigation into Beirut
Blast, urge need for sanctions
LBCI/May 06/2023
Four MEPs from the centrist group Renew Europe, namely Christophe Grudler,
Dacian Ciolos, Salima Yenbou, and Georgos Kyrtsos, visited Lebanon on a
fact-finding mission to renew solidarity with the Lebanese people.
In a press release, it stated that the delegation of Renew Europe MEPs (Members
of the European Parliament) visited Lebanon to assess the fight against
corruption since the adoption of the resolution they pushed at the European
Parliament in September 2021, which described the situation to be "a man-made
disaster caused by a handful of men across the ruling political class." "Our
twenty meetings on corruption in Lebanon have taught us a lot. Europe must
absolutely help Lebanon get out of the abyss, save its democracy and its dear
people before it is too late. We maintain our position that the responsibility
in the current crisis is a shared one, across all political groups," they
stated. In a press release, the MEPs underlined, regarding the investigation of
the Beirut Port explosion, the need to have an independent international
investigation to find the reasons and the people responsible for the explosion.
"We cannot accept impunity on Europe's doorstep, and this starts with respecting
an independent judiciary," it stated. Regarding sanctions, they called on
European Institutions to implement a "robust" sanctions regime against corrupt
politicians, businessmen, bankers, and those involved in large-scale corruption
and blocking democratic life. It added that EU institutions and judicial
authorities of the EU Member States to "name and shame" those who "abused their
power and influence to develop corrupt practices," as many of them have assets
in Europe illegally. The press release urged the Governor of the Central Bank
and "some of his aides" to "face the courts for their actions, which have cost
their countries billions. The parliamentarians' visit also aimed to stand in
solidarity with the MPs to protect the essential role that Lebanon's Parliament
plays in democratic life, urging Lebanese political parties to fill the
institutional vacuum to accelerate the needed program with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the fight against corruption. The Renew Europe group
also stated that they would ask for a debate with a resolution in the European
Parliament regarding "the situation in Lebanon, three years after the explosion
in the port of Beirut" as soon as their return to Europe.
From tents to apartments: A look at Syrian refugee
residences in Lebanon
LBCI/May 06/2023
In Lebanon, there are three types of residences for Syrian refugees: rental
housing, camps, and what are known as informal camps scattered from north to
south. It should be noted that this type of informal camp is more prevalent in
certain regions, which include:
The Akkar plain and the Akkar outskirts.
The northern Bekaa Valley extends to the western Bekaa Valley.
The Keserwan coast, specifically in Tabarja.
According to a survey conducted by Statistics Lebanon, there are approximately
4,000 informal camps, each with between 8 and 300 tents, housing refugees who
have entered Lebanon either legally or illegally.
Camp 021 is one of five camps in the Saadnayel area of the Bekaa Valley.
According to Statistics Lebanon, around 8.5% of refugees are not included in the
statistics because their places of residence are not identified or distributed
in remote and uninhabited areas. The United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees has thrown the ball in the court of the Lebanese government. UNHCR
sources considered that all the camps are makeshift tent settlements established
informally, especially in rural areas, collective housing, or even in
residential apartments in cities, due to the Lebanese government's policy of
rejecting the establishment of official camps.
Culture Minister from Beirut's National Museum: Martyrs of
May 6 & the righteous who followed them call upon us to love Lebanon, live for
it, die for...
NNA/May 06/2023
Caretaker Minister of Culture, Judge Muhammad Wissam Al-Murtada, in partnership
with “LeBAM”, the Lebanese Band Association for the Promotion of Music headed by
former deputy, Attorney Ghassan Moukheiber, organized today a musical concert on
the internal staircase of the National Museum in Beirut marking the occasion of
Martyrs’ Day, which was attended by a group of officials, diplomats, social
activists and cultural figures. In his word during the event, Minister Murtada
said, “Perhaps our meeting today on the steps of time whose eras and monuments
are composed here, to revive a great historical day, with a beautiful concert,
is a practical response to all attempts that seek to distort the national
present that is suffering from ailments...”He added: “People need a glimmer of
hope, if culture does not secure it for them, their tomorrow will fall on the
rubble of the present. That is why we always insist on a positive outlook,
confident that the difficult stages in the lives of peoples are nothing but a
summer cloud that will quickly pass as much as the people cling to their faith
in their homeland.” Paying tribute to the memory of the fallen martyrs, Murtada
considered that “the martyrs of the sixth of May and those who followed them
were among the righteous who penetrated death into eternity in the memory of the
nation,” noting that they “call on us to preserve the truth for which they were
martyred...to love Lebanon, live for it, die for its unity, and always work to
save it from the clutches of traps and conspiracies...”
Appreciating the musical performance marking the occasion, the Culture Minister
said: “As for LeBAM, how wonderful is this verbal and spiritual mixture between
the homeland and music, which, through the symbolism of its name, and the energy
of our dear friend Ghassan Moukheiber, constitutes one of the glimmers of hope
that should overflow to fill the nights of the nation...I may not be
exaggerating if I say that with the diversity of its musicians and their
instruments and the consistency of their melodies and voices, they broadcast the
true scenario of Lebanon, which is diverse in unity and one in diversity, as I
have mentioned on several occasions.”Murtada concluded by indicating that “LeBAM
is a musical group that has the image of the homeland, so let us listen to it
with contemplation and joy in the hope that the homeland will return to being a
land that has the shape of music and its impact that revives souls.”Moukheiber
then presented Murtada with a shield in the name of the Association, "as a token
of gratitude for his tireless activity for the development of culture in Lebanon
and for his support of music through the Lebanese Association, LeBAM."
Finally, tre band, led by Maestro Serghei Bolum, played Lebanese, Arab and
foreign folklore musical tunes and melodies to celebrate the occasion.
Fayyad meets with Iraqi Prime Minister, thanks him for
Iraq's continued support in supplying Lebanon with oil
NNA/May 06/2023
Caretaker Minister of Energy and Water, Dr. Walid Fayyad, met today in Baghdad
with Iraqi Prime Minister, Eng. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in an official protocol
acquaintance meeting, with talks centering on the pioneering role of Iraq in the
Arab world and “the return of a strong Iraq".
Fayyad thanked the Iraqi Prime Minister, on behalf of the Lebanese, for his
country’s continuous support in providing Lebanon with Iraqi oil, proposing the
possibility of "strengthening and developing the joint partnership through
renewing the agreement and increasing the quantity to serve the relationship and
its continuity between the two brotherly countries.”Discussions also tackled the
possibility of importing an additional quantity on commercial terms that would
facilitate the implementation of Lebanon's electricity plan within the framework
required to reach 12 hours of power supply per day, applying the highest
standards of transparency and censorship. The opportunity to reactivate the oil
pipeline, refinery and storage tanks by creating a strategic partnership in the
Mediterranean basin also featured high during their talks. It is to note that
Minister Fayyad is currently present in the Iraqi capital to partake in the 3rd
Baghdad International Water Conference at the official invitation of his
counterpart, Minister of Water Resources, Dr. Aoun Diab Abdullah.
Makhzoumi meets with European Parliamentary delegation:
State institutions cannot be regulated without a president of the republic
NNA/May 06/2023
"National Dialogue" Party Chief, MP Fouad Makhzoumi, met today at his Central
Beirut office with a European Parliamentary delegation, including former
Romanian Prime Minister, Member of the European Union, Dacian Siolos; Member of
the Defense Committee of the European Union, MP Christophe Grodler; Member of
the French Foreign Affairs Committee, MP Salima Yanbo, and MP Georgios Christos,
in the presence of his Political Advisor Carol Zwein, and Deputies Bilal Al-Hushaimi,
Elias Estphan, Adeeb Abdel-Masih, Raji Al-Saad and Journalist Ali Hamadeh.
The meeting was a chance to continue the discussions that were started with the
European delegation during the Lebanese deputies’ visit headed by MP Makhzoumi
to Stockholm, Brussels and Washington last April, especially regarding the
presidential elections in Lebanon amidst the prevailing deadlock and the sharp
divisions over this dossier. The deputies briefed the European delegation on the
reform road map they had prepared, reaffirming the need to elect a president of
the republic from outside the corrupt system and not to impose any candidate on
the Lebanese. “What is required is a rescue, sovereign president with a clear
and effective reform program,” they underlined, noting that “state institutions
cannot be regulated without a president of the republic and a prime minister who
possesses the same specifications, rendering the implementation of reforms and
reaching an agreement with the IMF as top priority.” The deputies renewed "their
adherence to agreement with the IMF, which is a mandatory pathway for reforms
and the only means to restore the international community's confidence in
Lebanon and the country’s relations with the Gulf States and Saudi Kingdom that
offer Lebanon all care and support."
RDCL elects six new members of its board of directors and
achieves gender parity
NNA - Beirut, May 6, 2023
The general assembly of the Lebanese Leaders Association (RDCL) was held on
Friday, May 5, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. at ESA Business School - Clemenceau, Beirut.
The purpose of this assembly was to approve the accounts of the association for
the year 2022, as well as to present to the members the main past and future
activities. Furthermore, this assembly aimed to elect six new members of the
board of directors, replacing the members whose terms had expired according to
the association’s bylaws.
With a legal quorum of 89%, the accounts of the association were approved, and
six new members of the board of directors were elected, namely Ms. Chrystelle
Boustani appointed as membership officer, Ms. Joumana Saddi Chaya, appointed
outreach officer, and Ms. Dalia Jubaili, as well as Mr. Cyrille Arida, appointed
as vice president, Mr. Nadim Daher, appointed as treasurer, and Mr. Jean Tawile,
appointed as secretary-general of the gathering. The new elected members join
Mr. Nicolas Boukather president of RDCL, Mr. Farid Homsi, Mr. Fateh Bekdache,
Ms. Hadia Minkara Safieddine, Ms. Joumana Dammous Salame, and Ms. Roula Zahar.
Moreover, Mr. Ghassan Mohkheiber was appointed lawyer of the association, and
Doumani & Co. appointed auditors.
On this occasion, Mr. Maxence Duault, director general of ESA Business School,
delivered a welcoming speech in which he praised the relentless efforts of
Lebanese leaders association RDCL, despite all the difficulties and crises that
Lebanon is facing, to continue their activities and help the country overcome
its challenges. He also expressed his respect for the association’s continued
commitment to saving Lebanon, while praising the organization of these exemplary
elections.
For his part, Mr. Nicolas Boukather, president of RDCL, thanked the members and
ESA Business School for its hospitality, while emphasizing the important and
historical partnership between the two institutions. Boukather also announced
that membership in RDCL is now open to non-Lebanese business leaders, citing Mr.
Maxence Duault as the first “Friend of RDCL”. Boukather also expressed his
gratitude to the six outgoing members of the board for their work and efforts in
helping develop RDCL and accomplish its mission, considering that everything
RDCL has achieved so far is the result of the collective work of the board
members, with the help of other members of the association. Furthermore,
Boukather hoped that the principles followed by the legal, active, transparent,
and digitalized private sector, become a model to follow in the public sector.
On the other hand, Mr. Khalil Dinguinzli, Lebanon Director of the European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), who was the guest of honor at the
assembly, mentioned the numerous activities carried out by the EBRD in various
sectors, with the aim of helping Lebanon obtain financing again and regain its
economic health. He urged the present members not to waste time or hope, and to
continue their efforts and work for the country's recovery and pressure to
acheive a conclusive deal with the International monetary fund (IMF) without
which trust can not be restored. He also expressed his appreciation for
everything that Lebanese business leaders association members and private sector
have been able to accomplish on their own, without access to proper finance, by
meritously building a better and more prosperous future for Lebanon.
Regarding the achievements of the association in 2022, the outgoing
secretary-general, Fadi Sawaya, presented a detailed report highlighting the
main activities and partnerships of RDCL during the past year, including the
launch of the ASPIRE project, that proposes a recovery roadmap for Lebanon in
partnership with the economic organisations; the signature of agreements with
ESA, ALBAC, TIF USAID, and others; as well as RDCL's participation in EXPO DUBAI
2022; and recently allowing non-Lebanese to join; in addition to the opening of
chapters in Dubai and France. The financial report was presented by the
treasurer, Nadim Daher, and was approved by the auditors and the members. Daher
considered that 2022 was a pivotal year for the association, as it was marked by
many fundamental changes. Furthermore, he revealed that the association
increased its members’ number by an average of 75% in the last two years,
indicating that RDCL works in order to double the number of its members in the
next two years.
It is worth mentioning that RDCL used an electronic voting process for its
elections for the first time since its foundation. In this regard, a special
software was developed in collaboration with the "Children Cancer Center," with
the active support of survivors who helped organize the elections. In this
context, the association decided to donate the cost of the development of this
software to the “Children Cancer Center," with the aim of mutual support and
cooperation. The implemented electronic voting process aimed to avoid any kind
of fraud or falsification. A company specialized in information security and
programming potech was tasked with verifying the proper functioning of the
program, and ensuring its compliance with the highest international standards of
electoral integrity and confidentiality, securing the system from hacking and
ensuring cybersecurity, and assuring proper software functioning and smooth
electoral process.
*RDCL Press Release
Lebanon: The Clique and The Presidency, A
Question of Life and Deat
Asharq Al Awsat/May 06/2023
It seems clear that the odds of Haret Hreik and Paris’ candidate being elected
are lower than they have ever been. None of the domestic players, most notably
among the local Christian forces, have walked back on their opposition to the
Shiite Duo’s candidate, Sulieman Franjieh. And four of the five global actors
following the situation in Lebanon, the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and
France (the only exception), remain determined to avoid playing the naming game.
These countries have maintained their commitment to their criteria for
supporting a candidate. They are still determined to see the election of the
reformist candidate that Lebanon needs to carve a way out of its economic and
social, as well as political, crises. However, the fact that they have not
budged has not pushed the parties supporting Franjieh to concede yet. Instead,
they have made it clear that they will fight this battle to the end, as
demonstrated by the recent statements of the leader of Hezbollah’s parliamentary
bloc, Mohammed Raad. Deputy Raad laid out Hezbollah’s criteria and benchmarks
bluntly. "It may take a long time for them to understand the truth. However,
this is their concern, as the presidential election is tied to paving the
strategic path that Lebanon will take." He added: "There can be no laxity in
choosing the person who represents a guarantee for our security, sovereignty,
and interests. A candidate who does not take orders from our enemies on the
phone, that is what we are patiently striving for."
In essence, Raad has reverted back to conspiratorial rhetoric and painted his
rivals as traitors. He spoke of what he called projects for the domination of
the region launched from Lebanon, winking at the 2019 October 17 uprising, and
presenting his intransigence as a punishment for their actions that manifests-
as he put it of course- the steadfastness of the people he represents.
Meanwhile, the press has reported that Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri insists
on his candidate, even after all of the domestic and international demands that
a compromise figure be agreed upon. By digging their heels in, Berri and Raad
have affirmed that the ruling clique has little appetite for reversing its
position in what it considers a pivotal matter and is preparing for a bone
breaking battle. The ruling clique clinging to its candidate so strongly,
despite the broadening obstacles undermining his prospects, shows the gravity of
the crisis it would face if it fails to impose a president from among its ranks
on the Lebanese. This is the first time that this clique faces the risk of
losing a member, including prominent ones, since it came to rule the country
after the end of the civil war and took control of the state and its
institutions. This is the first time it is threatened with losing its privileges
within state institutions, and this is the first presidential election that
could put its political future and its ability to draw future support in
jeopardy. This clique does not relinquish its gains. Regardless of how severe
the tragedy of the Lebanese people becomes, it will not settle on a unifying
nationally agreed upon candidate rather than one who represents its narrow
partisan or sectarian interests. It will do everything it can to protect every
member. Though they may quarrel amongst themselves, all members know that
allowing any one of them to fall would leave the others following him like
dominos. It would spell the beginning of the end of its grip over the state.
Moreover, this clique, by insisting on the imposition of its representatives in
every leadership position and ministry, is also impeding the rise of a new
political class that is not linked to the memory of the civil war and sectarian
conflicts and can breathe new life into Lebanese politics. And so, no outsider
can be allowed to ascend to key positions. This is a question of life and death.
These are people who came to power through a civil war, and they will not give
it up because of the ballot box
Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports
And News published on May 05-06/2023
King Charles III crowned at London's
Westminster Abbey
Reuters/May 06/2023
King Charles III was crowned on Saturday in Britain's biggest ceremonial event
for seven decades, a sumptuous display of pageantry dating back 1,000 years. In
front of a congregation of about 100 world leaders and a television audience of
millions, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Anglican
Church, slowly placed the 360-year-old St Edward's Crown on Charles' head as he
sat upon a 14th-century throne in Westminster Abbey. The historic and solemn
event dates back to the time of the 74-year-old's predecessor William the
Conqueror in 1066. Charles' second wife Camilla, 75, will be crowned queen
during the two-hour ceremony, which while rooted in history, is also an attempt
to present a forward-looking monarchy, with those involved in the service
reflecting a more diverse Britain and leaders from all faiths. For a nation
struggling to find its way in the political maelstrom after its exit from the
European Union and maintain its standing in a new world order, its supporters
say the royal family provides an international draw, a vital diplomatic tool and
a means of staying on the world stage. "No other country could put on such a
dazzling display - the processions, the pageantry, the ceremonies, and street
parties," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. Despite Sunak's enthusiasm, the
coronation takes place amid a cost of living crisis and public scepticism,
particularly among the young, about the role and relevance of the monarchy.
Saturday's event was on a smaller scale than that staged for Queen Elizabeth in
1953, but still sought to be spectacular, featuring an array of historical
regalia from golden orbs and bejewelled swords to a sceptre holding the world's
largest colourless cut diamond. Charles automatically succeeded his mother as
king on her death last September, and the coronation is not essential but
regarded as a means to legitimise the monarch in a public way. The king and
queen left Buckingham Palace for the abbey in the modern, black Diamond State
Jubilee Coach accompanied by cavalrymen wearing shining breastplates and plumed
helmets. Hundreds of soldiers in scarlet uniforms and black bearskin hats lined
the route along The Mall, the grand boulevard to Buckingham Palace. Tens of
thousands ignored the light rain to mass in a crowd more than 20 deep in some
places to watch what some saw as a moment of history. "The split second glance
of seeing the king is really important but I think the whole day as well ... the
idea of the nation coming together. You very much feel the pride in the nation,"
said Mark Strasshine after the royal coach went by. However, not all were there
to cheer Charles, hundreds of republicans booed and waved banners reading "Not
My King". More than 11,000 police were deployed to stamp out any attempted
disruption, and the Republic campaign group said its leader Graham Smith had
been arrested along with five other protesters. "It is an unequal and out of
date system because it has a hereditary billionaire individual born into wealth
and privilege who basically symbolises the inequality of wealth and power in our
society," said lawmaker Clive Lewis, who was among the anti-monarchy protesters.
GREAT AND GOOD
Inside the abbey, bedecked with flowers and flags, politicians and
representatives from Commonwealth nations took their seats alongside charity
workers and celebrities, including actors Emma Thompson, Maggie Smith, Judi
Dench and U.S. singer Katy Perry.
The death toll from the 16 Israeli targeting
of Syria rose to 8, including 3 of the pro-Iranian militias
London/Asharq Al-Awsat/06 May/2023
An officer with the rank of lieutenant of the regime forces succumbed to his
wounds, which he sustained on May 2, as a result of the Israeli air raids on the
Neirab military airport in the countryside of Aleppo. The dead man was from the
village of Ram Terza in the Qadmous countryside of Tartous governorate. The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the death toll rose to 8,
including 3 members of the pro-Iranian militia of non-Syrian nationality, and 5
officers of the regime forces, as a result of the Israeli strikes on the Aleppo
International Airport, the Neirab Military Airport, and the Defense Factories
area. The air force in al-Safira, in the eastern countryside of Aleppo. Thus,
the “Syrian Observatory” has counted 16 times during the year 2023 during which
Israel targeted Syrian territory, 11 of them by air and 4 by land, which
resulted, in total, in the injury and destruction of about 34 targets, including
weapons and ammunition depots, headquarters, centers and mechanisms. These
strikes killed 47 soldiers, in addition to injuring 28 others, of varying
degrees. The dead are: 17 of the regime forces, including officers. And 18 of
the militias affiliated with Iran are of non-Syrian nationalities. And 5 from
the Iranian Revolutionary Guard militia. And 4 of the Iranian-affiliated
militias of Syrian nationality. And 3 of the Lebanese "Hezbollah". In addition
to the killing of two civilians and the fall of a number of wounded. The targets
were distributed as follows: 5 for Damascus and its countryside, 5 for Quneitra,
1 for Hama, 1 for Tartous, 3 for Aleppo, 3 for As-Suwayda, 2 for Daraa, and 2
for Homs.
Iran hangs Iranian-Swedish man over 2018 attack killing 25
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)/Sat, May 6, 2023
Iran executed an Iranian-Swedish dual national Saturday accused of masterminding
a 2018 attack on a military parade that killed at least 25 people, one of
several enemies of Tehran seized abroad in recent years amid tensions with the
West.
Farajollah Cha’ab, also known as Habib Asyoud, had been a leader of the Arab
Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, an Arab separatist movement that
has conducted oil pipeline bombings and other attacks in Iran's oil-rich
Khuzestan province. That group had claimed the 2018 attack in its immediate
aftermath. Cha'ab's execution comes as a Swedish court last year sentenced an
Iranian to life in prison over his part in the 1988 mass executions in Iran at
the end of its war with Iraq. Tehran, which has used prisoners as bargaining
chips in negotiations with the West, reacted angrily to that sentence.
Meanwhile, tensions also remain high between Iran and the West over its rapidly
advancing nuclear program as well — and at least one more prisoner with Western
ties faces a possible execution. The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency
confirmed Cha'ab's execution by hanging in a lengthy statement. It identified
him as the leader of the militant group and alleged without providing evidence
that he had ties to Swedish, Israelis and U.S. intelligence services. It accused
his group of killing or wounding 450 people over the years, including multiple
attacks on government offices and other sites. It also included state television
interviews with Cha'ab, a feature of many Iranian trials that activists long
have described as coerced confessions. It also clearly identified Iranian
intelligence officers as being behind Cha'ab's abduction, saying that its
“unknown soldiers” captured him in Turkey in November 2019. Iran has used
similar ruses to capture its enemies abroad, including the exiled journalist
Ruhollah Zam who was executed in 2020.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom condemned Cha'ab's execution.
“The death penalty is an inhumane and irrevocable punishment, and Sweden,
together with the rest of the (European Union), condemns its use under all
circumstances,” he said in a statement. Sweden’s Nordic neighbors Finland and
Norway also strongly condemned the execution, underlying their stance against
the death penalty. “I am appalled,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights separately condemned the execution,
referring to Cha'ab's closed-door trial as “grossly unfair.”“This is an example
of the Islamic Republic’s state terrorism," said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the
group's director. “We expect that the EU and Swedish government show adequate
reaction to the murder of their citizen. Killing a hostage must not be
tolerated.” Tensions already had escalated between Iran and Sweden over the life
imprisonment of Hamid Noury, an Iranian convicted in Sweden of committing grave
war crimes and murder during the final phase of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
The end of the war saw mass executions of an estimated 5,000 Iranian prisoners,
including those from an exiled opposition group and others.
The 2018 attack in Iran targeted a military parade in Ahvaz in Khuzestan, the
chaos captured live on state television. Militants disguised as soldiers opened
fire, killing at least 25 people and wounding over 60 others in the deadliest
attack to strike Iran in years. A spokesman for the separatist group claimed the
assault shortly after in a televised interview. The Islamic State group also
claimed the attack, though it offered factually incorrect details about the
assault. In recent months, Iran has carried out other executions after the
months of unrest over the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following
her arrest by the country's morality police. In January, Iran executed a former
high-ranking defense ministry official and dual Iranian-British national accused
of spying. Also facing a possible execution is an Iranian-German national who
lived in California, a man Iran describes as planning a 2008 attack on a mosque
that killed 14 people and wounded over 200 others, as well as other assaults
through the little-known Kingdom Assembly of Iran and its Tondar militant wing.
His family long has said he was captured by Iranian intelligence in Dubai, the
United Arab Emirates. Iran is one of the world’s top executioners.
Israeli army kills 2 Palestinians in West Bank raid
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP)/Sat, May 6, 2023
Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians during a military raid in the occupied
West Bank on Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. A local armed group
said the pair were militants. The deadly raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp near
the city of Tulkarem was the latest in Israeli-Palestinian violence that has
surged since last year. The ministry and Tulkarem's branch of Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, a militant group with connections to President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah
party, identified the pair as Samer El Shafei and Hamza Kharyoush, both aged 22
years. The Israeli military said the two gunmen were suspected of carrying out a
shooting attack at a nearby Israeli settlement earlier this week. An Israeli
civilian was injured and vehicles were damaged during the shooting at the Avnei
Hefetz Jewish settlement. Videos circulated on social media purportedly showed
the lifeless bodies of the two gunmen lying on a tin roof as what appear to be
Israeli security forces searched them. At one point, one of the members of the
Israeli forces tried to flip one body as he partially took off the dead man's
jeans. Palestinian media, citing witnesses, said soldiers left after ensuring
the two were dead. The deaths raised to 104 the number of Palestinians killed by
Israeli forces in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since the start of the year.
Israel has been staging near-nightly arrest raids into West Bank villages, towns
and cities for more than a year in an operation prompted by a wave of
Palestinian attacks against Israelis last year. Israel says the raids are meant
to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. The Palestinians see
the attacks as further entrenchment of Israel’s 56-year, open-ended occupation
of lands they seek for a future independent state. Some 250 Palestinians have
been killed by Israeli fire since the raids were launched. Israel says most have
been militants, but stone-throwing youth and people not involved in the
confrontations have also been killed. During that same time, nearly 50 people
have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.
Tens of thousands join protests against
Israeli judicial overhaul
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)/Sat, May 6, 2023
Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday for a demonstration against a
contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary, demanding the changes to
be scrapped rather than delayed. The protests have been held on a weekly basis
for most of the year and they continued despite Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu announcing in March that he was postponing the proposals to reach a
compromise agreement. Organizers of the protests, now in their 18th week, say
they want to ramp up the pressure on Netanyahu’s government and lawmakers after
the parliament resumed its work this week following a month-long recess. In Tel
Aviv, Israel's commercial hub and epicenter of the protests, protestors held a
large banner addressing Netanyahu that read, “You will never be a dictator!” The
plan would give Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, and his
partners in Israel’s most hardline coalition in its history the final say in
appointing judges. It would also give parliament, which is controlled by
Netanyahu’s allies, authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit the
court’s ability to review laws. The plan plunged Israel into one of its worst
domestic crises, ripping open longstanding societal rifts and creating new ones.
While the freeze in the legislation eased tensions somewhat, Netanyahu’s allies
are pushing him to move ahead on the overhaul. The talks underway, meant to
forge a path out of the crisis, do not appear to have produced any results.
Broad swath of Israeli society, including business leaders and the booming tech
sector have criticized the proposed changes. Military reservists threatened not
to show up for duty if the plan was approved. Tens of thousands of people,
largely secular, middle-class Israelis, have regularly joined mass protests
against the plan.
Ukraine has trained an army of 10,000 drone pilots ahead of
anticipated counteroffensive, minister says
Alia Shoaib/Business Insider/Sat, May 6, 2023
Ukraine's deputy prime minister said the "Army of Drones" initiative had raised
$325 million. Ukraine is expected to launch its anticipated counteroffensive to
retake land occupied by Russia. Ukraine said it had trained 10,000 drone pilots
and raised hundreds of millions of dollars for drones ahead of the
long-anticipated spring counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Russia.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's deputy prime minister and minister for innovation,
said on Thursday that the pilots had been trained as part of the Army of Drones
project, which is part of the fundraising platform Unite d24.
"We have recently completed the first part of the UAV pilot training project;
10,000 pilots have been trained during this time," Fedorov said. "That is, the
Drone Army is about the comprehensive development of the UAV sector, both from
the point of view of production and from the point of view of their use." He
said that the crowdfunding initiative had raised $325 million, with donations
coming in from 110 countries around the world. The project plans to launch 60
companies to produce attack drones, he added.
Drones have played a key role in the conflict, with both sides using them for
reconnaissance and to drop bombs or grenades. Both sides have also used
longer-range drones to strike targets deeper into each other's territories.
Russia this week accused Ukraine of being behind an alleged drone attack on the
Kremlin, which Ukraine has denied. Some experts have accused Russia of staging a
false-flag attack. Ukrainian officials have previously noted that drones will be
critical in the efforts to take back territory occupied by Russia. "We will win
faster and with fewer losses if we have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands
of reconnaissance and combat drones," Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to
Ukraine's minister of internal affairs, previously told Newsweek. "We need
combat aviation which has been discussed a lot recently. And also, as I say
often — this war is a war of drones, they are the super weapon here."
Russia's deadly attack leaves city facing up to its bloodiest day
Roland Oliphant/The Telegraph/May 6, 2023
Earth hitting a coffin makes a hollow thump, not unlike that of the distant
artillery fire that rolled across one of Kherson’s cemeteries on Friday morning.
Suddenly, blasts sounded somewhere closer by and, at a bark from their foreman,
the gravediggers shovelled faster. Were they hurrying to beat the shelling, or
because another hearse was already making its way along the long row of freshly
dug graves? It was probably both. At least 23 people were killed and 46 injured
in an artillery attack on central Kherson on Wednesday. In the aftermath,
Ukrainian authorities announced a 56-hour curfew starting on Friday evening. The
victims had to be buried quickly. Wednesday’s attack was the city’s bloodiest
single day since Russian forces began bombarding it from the opposite bank of
the Dnipro five months ago, and clearly aimed at civilians. The targets were a
busy supermarket, a railway station from which an evacuation train was about to
depart, and residential buildings. The families who gathered to bury them on
Friday were still in shock.
Serhii Lozinsky was driving home with his wife, Vita, and daughter, Anna, when
the shells landed on top of the ATB supermarket. He stamped on the accelerator
and jerked the wheel around to get them to safety. “I remember saying ‘Don’t
drive so fast’,” said Anna, who was in the back seat. “At that moment there were
more explosions.”Serhii was killed at the wheel by a shard of shrapnel. Vita had
to seize the wheel from her dead husband and try to find the brakes. How she
stopped the car, she doesn’t quite remember.
“Half his head was gone,” said Kolya, his 26-year-old son, who spent two hours
guarding the body after his mother and sister had been taken to hospital.
“He never hurt anyone. He was a fisherman. He just liked to fish. Why did they
have to kill him?” A few feet away, and only an hour earlier, Larissa Fedotkina
had laid her son Andrei to rest. The 31-year-old electrical engineer was part of
a three-man maintenance crew repairing a damaged power line when the shelling
began. “They couldn’t hear anything because of the heavy equipment they were
using. They didn’t stand a chance,” said Mrs Fedotkina, who runs the city’s
rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities.
Andrei’s death was a bitter blow.
He had only just recovered from wounds suffered in a previous shelling in March.
While he was in hospital, two other members of his team were killed when their
vehicle hit a mine. His elder brother disappeared early in the war, and Mrs
Fedotkina does not know whether he is alive. His wife, Andrei’s sister-in-law,
hugged Mrs Fedotkina and her husband throughout the ceremony. “I didn’t think
I’d do this publicly. I just wanted it to be the three of us. But yesterday
strangers began knocking on my door, asking to see ‘Andrei’s mum’,” she said
after his grave was filled in. It turned out he had been popular and much loved
at work. “I don’t even know some of these people. But they cried today,” she
said. “I’ve invited all of them to my place for the memorial. Not some café or
restaurant. My place. For my son I’ll cook with my own hands.” The people of
Kherson – those who remain, at least – are accustomed to explosions. Since the
southern city was liberated in November, it has been shelled relentlessly by
Russian troops on the opposite bank of the Dnipro river. But the tempo of
fighting has surged in recent days as speculation grows about a coming Ukrainian
counteroffensive.
A sense of foreboding increased when Ukrainian authorities announced the weekend
curfew. Residents have been ordered to stay indoors and travel in and out of the
city banned. The only exception is the daily evacuation train, which has
continued to run despite Wednesday’s attack. Those with tickets will be able to
call the police for a lift to the station. The official reason is to root out
Russian saboteurs. But most people here suspect something else is going on.
Rumours of a counteroffensive in the south have been growing for weeks and the
artillery battles audible from the city centre suggest fighting at the front has
already intensified. On Friday there seemed to be little shelling in the city
itself, but intense battles could be heard nearby all day. From the cemetery,
smoke could be seen rising on the horizon. At one point a large grey drone flew
over the funeral parties in the direction of the gunfire.
Most of the shelling appeared to be concentrated to the southwest, where
Ukrainian and Russian forces are struggling for control of islands in the Dnipro
river delta, and northeast, towards the destroyed Antonovsky bridge.
Despite the dangers, both families the Telegraph spoke to on Friday vowed to
stay in the city. Mrs Fedotkina’s centre is still open and supporting families
of children with autism and Down syndrome. She has a duty to them, she says.
“We’re not going anywhere. I need to look after my mother. For the next three
months, 40 days at least, we definitely must be here,” said Kolya, a flash of
defiance in his voice. Then he sighed. “What else is there left to do?”
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American leaders must understand Russia's war with Ukraine
is a threat to our security
AJ Morris/USA TODAY/May 6, 2023
It was supposed to take three days.
Western intelligence agencies, warily watching a massive Russian military
buildup on the borders of Ukraine for the second winter in as many years, were
virtually unanimous in their 2022 assessments. The Russian military would
control Ukraine in three days. As the war passes its 430th day, Ukraine remains.
Bolstered by the most significant Western strategic unification since World War
II, Ukraine has managed not only to remain, but to inflict what one British
intelligence officer described as “World War One levels of attrition” on
invading Russian forces.
Ukraine can win this war: Putin's war is driven by his fears of Russia's
decline. That gives Ukraine a path to victory. To say that this invasion has
been the most significant geopolitical event since the end of the Cold War may
be an understatement. Policy makers across Europe understand this all too well,
almost universally echoing the importance of this moment in time. Francois
Delattre, the French ambassador to Germany, perhaps sums it up best with a
recent comment to The New York Times in which he says, “The war has sent
Europeans back to basics, to questions of war and peace and our values.”
The world is watching what's happening in Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has commented with similar gravity, using the word
“zeitenwende,” meaning epochal turning point, to describe his country’s
strategic reassessment of the importance of military hard power in light of the
Ukraine war. Europe is not the only party watching closely. China studies the
Russian successes and failures with rapt attention, understanding that this is a
tectonic geopolitical moment. As reported recently by Reuters, more than 100
articles so far, published in 20 journals throughout the Chinese military
intelligence apparatus, discuss lessons learned and applications to China’s own
military and strategic goals. They know that, as goes Russia’s invasion, so too
may go any designs China has on Taiwan. Florida governor and presidential
hopeful Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, does not appear to share the world’s concern.
His recent comments have described Russia’s invasion as a “territorial dispute,”
saying recently that, “We cannot prioritize intervention in an escalating
foreign war over the defense of our own homeland.”A ploy for conservative
coverage: Ron DeSantis says he's fighting 'woke' companies like Disney. But it's
just a PR move.
Such a viewpoint, which polls say many Americans support, reflects an alarming
lack of complete understanding about the stakes at play.
Finland and Sweden understand the stakes. Prior to the invasion, 20% of
Finland’s population was interested in joining NATO. Weeks after Russian tanks
rolled into Ukraine, support jumped to 70%. Both countries understand that, for
Putin, this is not a territorial dispute. This is, in Putin’s own words, an
existential fight for Russia’s future. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your
favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your
device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from
your app store.
Finland recently joined NATO and Sweden is applying for membership. They
understand what many analysts have concluded, which is that if Russia succeeds
in Ukraine, that it may only be a matter of time before Putin tries to plug one
of the four geographic “Achilles heels” remaining in Russian territorial
defense. One is the Sulwaki gap in Lithuania, the other is the Bessarabian gap
in Moldova. An invasion of Lithuania would trigger an Article 5 NATO response,
costing the United States far more than it currently sends to Ukraine.
Putin knows Russia is running out of time
Lithuianian aid to Ukraine is a stark reflection of this reality. In terms of
GDP percentage, their 0.65% of GDP donated outpaces the 0.37% provided by the
U.S. and comes in third behind Latvia’s 0.98% and Estonia’s 1.07%. All three top
donors share a border with either Russia or Belarus.
For the Russians, these geographic gaps represent the only way to guarantee
their physical safety from an invading land force. Ukraine is seen as a valuable
stepping-stone on the way to this strategic goal, and Russia is running out of
time to make it happen. What happened after Russia invaded? Sex traffickers
moved in to exploit vulnerable women. Putin knows this, which is why despite
being in the midst of a demographic crisis that finds his country’s birth rate
at 1.5% and his population lower than it was when the Soviet Union fell in 1991,
he doubled down on his invasion and ordered the mobilization of 300,000 men.
This decision, postponed until it was past due from a military perspective and
full of domestic political costs, underscores the importance Putin places on
success in Ukraine. It is why, despite 200,000 casualties and the loss of
roughly half his main battle tank fleet, Putin continues his invasion. For Putin,
this is not a territorial dispute. It is a zero-sum game. Understanding this is
crucial in the approach the United States takes to both its own security and the
security of the world order it has been the backbone of since 1945. To
misunderstand it, or to take half measures to address it, could cost more than
the United States is already giving. America tried to be isolationist before
1917. Two World Wars was the cost to learn the lesson that, if you don’t support
your friends, eventually you’ll have to go rescue them. Ron DeSantis, and all
Americans, ignore this lesson to our possible detriment.
You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers
on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion
newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.
*This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Russia's Ukraine war
threatens US security: Don't forget the stakes
US, KSA say Sudan warring sides to start talks
Agence France Presse/May 06/2023
The U.S. and Saudi governments confirmed direct talks between the warring
Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces would start in Jeddah on Saturday,
even as fighting showed little signs of abating in the Sudanese capital.
A joint U.S.-Saudi statement welcomed the "start of pre-negotiation talks" and
urged sustained global support to quell fighting. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
and the United States urge both parties to take in consideration the interests
of the Sudanese nation and its people and actively engage in the talks toward a
ceasefire and end to the conflict," the statement said. Hundreds have died in
nearly three weeks of fighting between forces aligned with Sudan's de facto
leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the regular army, and his
deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid
Support Forces (RSF). Multiple truces have been reached since the fighting
erupted on April 15, but none has been respected. The army confirmed late Friday
it had sent envoys to Saudi Arabia to discuss "details of the truce in the
process of being extended" with its paramilitary foes. Burhan had given his
backing to a seven-day ceasefire announced by South Sudan on Wednesday, but
early on Friday the RSF said they were extending by three days a previous truce
brokered under U.S.-Saudi mediation. The U.S.-Saudi statement noted the efforts
of other countries and organisations behind this weekend's talks, including
Britain, the United Arab Emirates, the League of Arab States, the African Union
and other groups. In Khartoum, witnesses reported continued air strikes and
explosions on Friday, including near the airport. The fighting raged despite a
threat of sanctions from U.S. President Joe Biden against those responsible for
"threatening the peace, security, and stability of Sudan" and "undermining
Sudan's democratic transition." The north African country suffered decades of
sanctions during the rule of autocrat Omar al-Bashir, ousted in a palace coup in
2019 following mass street protests. "The violence taking place in Sudan is a
tragedy -- and it is a betrayal of the Sudanese people's clear demand for
civilian government and a transition to democracy. It must end," Biden said.
Children at risk
The conflict has killed about 700 people so far, mostly in Khartoum and the
western Darfur region, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data
Project. The U.N. children's agency, UNICEF, warned Friday that "the situation
in Sudan has become fatal for a frighteningly large number of children."
Spokesman James Elder said UNICEF had received reports from a trusted partner --
not yet independently verified by the United Nations -- that 190 children were
killed and 1,700 wounded during the conflict's first 11 days. He said the
figures had been gathered from health facilities in Khartoum and Darfur since
April 15, meaning that they only cover children who actually made it to
facilities in those areas. "The reality is likely to be much worse," Elder said.
Aid workers have struggled to get much-needed supplies to areas hit by violence.
According to the International Medical Corps, at least 18 aid workers have been
killed amid the fierce urban fighting. The U.N. Human Rights Council said it
would hold a special session next Thursday "to address the human rights impact
of the ongoing conflict." U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines
said Thursday that Washington expected the conflict to continue for a long time.
The fighting was "likely to be protracted as both sides believe that they can
win militarily, and have few incentives to come to the negotiating table", she
told a Senate hearing. Nearly 450,000 civilians have already fled their homes
since the fighting began, the International Organization for Migration said,
including more than 115,000 who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.
International mediation
The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was preparing for an outflow of 860,000
people, adding that $445 million would be needed to support them just through
October. Haines said the conflict had exacerbated already dire humanitarian
conditions, "raising the spectre of massive refugee flows and aid needs in the
region." The U.N. warned that if the fighting continued, it could raise the
already large number of Sudanese threatened by hunger and malnutrition by as
many as 2.5 million. "That raises the number to a total of 19 million people in
the next three to six months," said Farhan Haq, a spokesman for U.N. chief
Antonio Guterres. Mediation efforts have multiplied since the conflict began.
Speaking from the Ethiopian capital, Burhan's envoy Dafaallah al-Haj vowed that
"shortly the government of Sudan is going to put an end to this rebellion",
referring to the RSF. The RSF is descended from the Janjaweed, a militia
unleashed by Bashir in Darfur, leading to war crimes charges against the former
leader and others. After a joint coup in October 2021 that upended a fragile
transition to civilian rule, Burhan and Daglo have engaged in a power struggle
-- most recently over the RSF's integration into the regular army -- which has
now flared into bloody violence.
The Latest LCCC English analysis &
editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on May 06-07/2023
Is Israel facing the Iranian threat on its own? Arab moves reflect a
sober assessment of the regional balance of power.
Joanthan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/May 06/2023
In a briefing to defense reporters in mid-April, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
noted that under his stewardship, Israeli attacks on Iranian infrastructure had
significantly increased.
“Since I took office,” Gallant said, “in the first quarter of 2023 we doubled
the rate of attacks in Syria.”
Israel’s current actions in Syria take place in the context of a rapidly
shifting regional strategic picture, in which the imperative of facing down an
emboldened Iran is becoming both increasingly urgent and increasingly complex.In
his briefing, Gallant outlined a clear strategic perception of developments, at
the center of which was the Iranian notion of “unification of the arenas.” This
phrase, which occurs frequently in statements by Iranian leaders and in pro-Iran
regime propaganda, refers to Tehran’s use of the various proxies and franchises
that it has assembled around Israel in a single, coordinated effort.
Israel can no longer assume that an escalation against Gaza will remain confined
to a dual contest between Israel and the Hamas authority that rules that area.
Similarly, action against Iranian proxies in the West Bank may produce a
response from pro-Iran elements in Lebanon; friction over the Temple Mount/al-Haram
al-Sharif in Jerusalem may lead to a response from Gaza, and so on.
There are already a number of examples of how this dynamic applies in practice.
Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021 was triggered after Hamas and Islamic
Jihad in Gaza launched missiles from the Gaza Strip in response to events
related to the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In that instance, however, the
Palestinian front could still be seen as a single, separate arena, taking in
Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.
The more ominous incidents, suggesting a more significant widening of the
circle, have taken place over the last two months. They were the dispatch by
Lebanese Hezbollah of an operative carrying a sophisticated explosive device
from Lebanon on March 15, with the intention that the device be detonated in
Israel, and the launching with Hezbollah’s and Iran’s permission of a barrage of
rockets from south Lebanon by Hamas on April 6.
Israel entering era of multi-front threats
Israel thus confronts, as the defense minister put it, the “end of the era of
limited conflicts… We are facing a new security era in which there may be a real
threat to all arenas at the same time.”
IN THIS regard, it is worth noting that the circle should not necessarily be
widened to include only Lebanon and Syria. Iran’s seeding of missile capacities
among its franchise militias in western Iraq over recent years has been widely
reported.
The systems in question – Zelzal, Fateh-110 and Zolfaqar missiles – bring Israel
within range. The Zolfaqar, for example, has a claimed range of 750 km. The
distance from al-Qaim on the Iraq-Syria border to Tel Aviv is 632 km. The
current Iraqi government of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani rests on the support of the
Iranian franchise militias and turns a blind eye to their activities.
From the point of view of command and control, Tehran today possesses a
contiguous structure and area of de facto control stretching all the way from
the Iran-Iraq border to Lebanon, the Mediterranean and the Syria-Israel border.
Because of the relative stability of Jordan and Israel’s control of the Jordan
Valley, this area does not have a contiguous link to the West Bank. But in both
Gaza and the West Bank, Iran has franchises available for activation.
This archipelago of militias, backed and armed by a powerful state, is what
would be activated against Israel, in the event that the multi-front war
discussed by the defense minister were to take place.
Gallant’s claim that Israeli activity on the Syrian front has increased since he
took office appears borne out by the facts. According to the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights (SOHR), as quoted in the Saudi Sharq al Awsat newspaper, Israel
struck Syria nine times between March 30 and April 29.
The observatory, which maintains an extensive network within Syria, reported
that six attacks were conducted from the air and three from the ground. Nine
Iran-associated personnel were killed in the strikes, according to SOHR. These
included five Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operatives, including a
senior officer; two members of Lebanese Hezbollah; and two members of the Syrian
Resistance Brigades for the Liberation of the Golan (an IRGC franchise militia
recruiting from among residents of the Golan area).
SOHR suggested that the strikes resulted in the destruction of about 23 targets,
including weapons and ammunition depots, and vehicles. The observatory concluded
that this level of breadth and intensity of Israeli strikes is indeed without
precedent. Another attack, at the Aleppo airport, took place since the
publication of the SOHR report.
It appears that Israel is seeking to maintain deterrence and demonstrate the
balance of capacities vis-a-vis Iran by intensifying activities – but on one
front only, that of Syria. Whether this will prove sufficient to break the
growing confidence on the Iranian side – evidenced by the recent incidents in
Megiddo, in northern Israel, and south Lebanon – remains to be seen.
Israel becoming increasingly isolated on diplomatic front
PARALLEL DEVELOPMENTS on the diplomatic front may also play a role. If Israel
was once able to see itself as part of an emergent anti-Iranian regional front,
such a notion now appears remote. Indeed, Arab diplomacy appears now to be
pushing in a direction in which Israel could find itself increasingly isolated
in its determined stance against Iran.
In Amman this week, the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq
and, notably, Syria, took part in a joint meeting. This was the first visit of
Syria’s foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, to Jordan since the outbreak of civil
war in Syria in 2011. The meeting was the latest sign of the return of the Assad
regime to the Arab diplomatic fold and the efforts by a number of Assad regime
to the Arab diplomatic fold and the efforts by a number of Arab states currently
underway to re-legitimize the regime.
In a statement following the meeting, the Arab foreign ministers pledged, among
other things, to “support Syria and its institutions in any legitimate efforts
to expand control over its lands, impose the rule of law, end the presence of
armed and terrorist groups on Syrian lands, and stop foreign interference.”
Regarding support for Assad’s endeavors in advancing the rule of law, this
author’s capacity for irony concedes defeat, and there is nothing to add.
Substantively, however, such statements reflect an effort to revive
Arab-centered diplomacy and to meet the Iran-led regional alliance halfway, in a
spirit of cooperation.
From this point of view, the Amman meeting is the latest downstream effect of
the UAE’s and Saudi Arabia’s rapprochement with Tehran. So even as Israel finds
it necessary to escalate in Syria, the main states of the Arab world are moving
in precisely the opposite direction.
Arab moves reflect a sober assessment of the regional balance of power. The
traditional centers of Arab diplomacy have concluded that their American patron
is no longer interested in a substantial regional presence. They are therefore
seeking a new equilibrium.
Israel, which the Islamic regime in Tehran has marked for destruction, has no
such option. The result is that Jerusalem now faces the prospect of continuing
efforts to halt and roll back the Iranian regional advance not as part of a
coalition but rather alone.
The extent of Tehran’s ambitions means that efforts by Arab diplomacy to
reconcile with it may well be short-lived. In the interim, Israel will need to
use its superior physical capacities to continue to disrupt, frustrate and deter
Iran’s regional project, despite a distinctly less advantageous diplomatic
environment. Achieving such a task and rebuilding deterrence against an
emboldened Tehran may well require action beyond the specific confines of Syria.
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-742131?fbclid=IwAR2O4meKmItVx7GTX6VgQESYRnj7hPe9gSi288PINYvhRE8XhDvRZaKAqy4
The EU's Endless Appeasement of the Ruling
Mullahs of Iran
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 06, 2023
The beneficiaries of EU's increased trade with Iran are most likely the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The
EU's trade with Iran, which helps increase the Iranian regime's revenue, is
doubtless making it easier for the theocratic establishment to provide weapons
to Russia...
The Iranian regime has, in fact, set up a specific route across the Caspian Sea
in order to supply large quantities of munitions to Russia... "posing a growing
challenge for the U.S. and its allies as they try to disrupt cooperation between
Moscow and Tehran," according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Iranian regime is simultaneously profiting from its trade with the EU and
from its weapons sales to Russia, thereby empowering Russian President Vladimir
Putin to escalate his war against Ukraine.
In spite of the Iranian regime's increasing involvement in the war against
Ukraine, the European Union appears more than happy to continue appeasing the
Iran's ruling mullahs, which should officially be considered an accomplice to
war crimes committed by Russia.
While the mullahs has been busy supporting Russia against Ukraine, the EU has
also been busy increasing its trade with Iran. According to the latest report by
the Financial Tribune:
"Iran and the European Union's 27 member states traded €5.23 billion worth of
goods in 2022, registering a 7.95% rise compared with the year before.
"New data released by Eurostat show Germany was the top trading partner of Iran
in the EU region during the period, as the two countries exchanged €1.86 billion
worth of goods, 8.56% more than in 2021.
"Italy came next with €713.17 million worth of trade with Iran to register a
13.32% rise. The Netherlands with €445.57 million (down 7.61%) and Spain with
€378.46 million (up 12.67%) were Iran's other major European trade partners.
"Croatia registered the highest growth of 48.84% in trade with Iran during the
period under review and was followed by Bulgaria with 44.13%."
What is crushing is that the EU is cognizant of the fact some of its technology
exports to Iran can be used for dual purposes: military and civilian. As the
Jerusalem Post reported:
"Germany exported €1.2 billion worth of goods to Iran from January to the end of
October in 2022. Germany exported €275 million worth of machines and engineering
technology to Iran in 2021. Germany's non-transparent export regulations do not
permit disclosure of the nature of the goods and material sold to Iran - some of
which has been used for dual-use purposes (military and civilian aims) over the
decades."
The beneficiaries of EU's increased trade with Iran are most likely the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The
EU's trade with Iran, which helps increase the Iranian regime's revenue, is
doubtless making it easier for the theocratic establishment to provide weapons
to Russia as well. Iran also reportedly sent troops to Crimea to assist Russia
in its attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure and civilian population, and to
increase the effectiveness of the suicide drones Iran supplied to Russia.
The Iranian regime has, in fact, set up a specific route across the Caspian Sea
in order to supply large quantities of munitions to Russia. An April 25 report
by the Wall Street Journal stated:
"Russian ships are ferrying large quantities of Iranian artillery shells and
other ammunition across the Caspian Sea to resupply troops fighting in Ukraine,
Middle East officials said, posing a growing challenge for the U.S. and its
allies as they try to disrupt cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.
"Over the past six months, cargo ships have carried more than 300,000 artillery
shells and a million rounds of ammunition from Iran to Russia..."
The Iranian regime, probably because it knows that the European Union will not
take any action, is ratcheting up its engagement and weapons exports to Russia.
Sky News also reported on this issue in March, writing:
"Iran has secretly supplied large quantities of bullets, rockets and mortar
shells to Russia for the war in Ukraine and plans to send more, a security
source has told Sky News.
"The source claimed that two Russian-flagged cargo ships, departed an Iranian
port in January bound for Russia via the Caspian Sea, carrying approximately 100
million bullets and around 300,000 shells.
"Ammunition for rocket launchers, mortars and machine guns was allegedly
included in the shipments.
"The source said Moscow paid for the ammunition in cash."
The Iranian regime is simultaneously profiting from its trade with the EU and
from its weapons sales to Russia, thereby empowering Putin to escalate his war
against Ukraine.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated
scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and
president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has
authored several books on Islam and US Foreign Policy. He can be reached at
Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
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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.
King Charles: visionary, bridge builder, sword
dancer
Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud/Arab News/May 06/2023
The coronation of King Charles is a moment for everyone around the world to
reflect on this important moment of transition, but it is especially significant
for those nations, like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where we also have a
monarchy.
Although the nature and role of the monarchy in our two countries are different,
they share some significant and positive aspects. In both countries, being
monarch reflects a profound commitment on behalf of an individual to leading his
people, and in both countries that is demonstrated by the long-term view taken
by monarchs to the interests and needs of their people. One example would be
King Charles’ life-long interest in the environment, where for many years he led
the way in thinking imaginatively about how to protect the natural inheritance
of the people of Britain and the world, while also looking to secure and enhance
its built inheritance. This forward-looking vision now looks impressively
prescient, and is increasingly being reflected around the world, not least in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2021 our Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman,
announced the Middle East Green Initiative, with a promise to reduce emissions
from hydrocarbons by more than 60 per cent. The following year he followed this
up by committing to plant 50 billion trees across the Middle East, and the
funding to do so.
Another area of increased cooperation between the two nations is in supporting
traditional arts and craft schools, through a network of Schools for Traditional
Arts set up by King Charles in Saudi Arabia, one in Jeddah and the other at the
extraordinary historic site of AlUla.
Charles has shown leadership and understanding with an impact far beyond his own
country.
This shared understanding between monarchies perhaps explains why King Charles
has made so many visits to Saudi Arabia over the years. These visits have been
very important for Saudis like myself with a personal connection to both
countries, but also reflect his life-long belief in building connections across
national and religious borders. They also demonstrate his lighthearted side.
While visiting in 2014, he found time to participate in an Ardah, a traditional
Saudi sword dance, alongside members of our royal family. By all accounts he
acquitted himself very well, but most of all it showcased his determination,
which we can see in his numerous visits to many other parts of the world, to
embrace and understand cultures other than his own. In this respect also, King
Charles has shown leadership and understanding with an impact far beyond his own
country. While, as he himself has acknowledged, his role must necessarily change
following his accession to the throne, his ability to bring the nations and the
peoples of the world closer together will be undiminished.
So on Saturday, my British wife, my two daughters and I will be eagerly
anticipating the coronation, as it will be a moment to reflect not only on the
enduring institution that is the British monarchy, not just on the impressive
individual who is now taking up the mantle of monarchy, but also on the
deepening and enduring ties between our two countries. In terms of economic and
security ties we have never been closer, but also as our country has in recent
years become easier to visit, there are more and more ties between individual
Britons and Saudis, and a greater understanding between us as a result.
As Saudi ambassador to the UK, I would like to wish His Majesty King Charles a
long, prosperous and happy reign. But also to thank him for all he has already
done over his long life of service to build bridges between our two nations.
*HRH Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud is the Saudi ambassador to the
UK.
How Charles III can Make Britain Great Again!
Faisal J. Abbas/Arab News/May 06/2023
Back in 2016, I had just finished writing my book about London, a reflection on
nearly a decade living in the UK capital in which I conclude that the
18th-century English man of letters Samuel Johnson was correct: “When a man is
tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can
afford.”
But that was then and this is now. Seven years after Britain voted to leave the
EU, if anything it is London and the UK that are tired.
We now know that much of that Brexit campaign was based on lies, and many of
those who voted for it are suffering from buyers’ remorse. The latest opinion
polls suggest that only 33 percent of the British people believe the country was
right to leave the EU, while 55 percent now believe it was a catastrophic
mistake. And given what has happened since the 2016 referendum, who can blame
them? It is true that the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine have
unavoidably blighted the British economy, but every other country suffered those
effects too. While they have largely recovered, the OECD predicts that the
British economy will be the worst-performing in the G7 for the next two years,
and last month the Bank of England’s chief economist told the British people
they would simply have to accept that they were poorer than before.
Meanwhile the revolving door of 10 Downing Street has not exactly been conducive
to domestic political stability. Theresa May was shown the door in 2019 for
failing to deliver Brexit, and replaced by Boris Johnson. After three
controversial years and “party-gate,” Johnson gave way to Liz Truss — whose
mercifully brief 45-day period in office was the shortest in British political
history, and was memorably compared to the shelf life of a supermarket lettuce.
The current incumbent, Rishi Sunak, has at least restored calm, but Thursday
night’s local election results suggest that he too is likely to be shown the
door at the next general election, probably in October 2024.
“With British domestic politics in turmoil, there is no better time for the
country to play its trump card: soft power, history and tradition, as
represented by a popular and effective monarch.”Internationally, the British
Empire is of course long gone. Members of its replacement, the Commonwealth,
particularly Australia and the Caribbean islands, are increasingly resistant to
having a foreign head of state. The much vaunted “special relationship” with the
US seems to be dependent on the mood of the serving president. And since
Britain’s departure from the EU, many countries are coming to view it as a
secluded island off the coast of Europe. If that all sounds like doom and gloom
… well, it is. But it need not be. As world leaders gather in London for
Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III, could it be that the new monarch has
what it takes to (to borrow a phrase) Make Britain Great Again?
The British people certainly seem to think so. While the approval ratings of
most political leaders tend to decline the longer they spend in office, those of
King Charles are moving in the opposite direction. A poll in March suggested
that 39 per cent of British people thought he would be a good king, but the same
poll this week had that number increasing to 62 percent.
With British domestic politics in turmoil, there is no better time for the
country to play its trump card: soft power, history and tradition, as
represented by a popular and effective monarch. Few people know more about
national “brands” than Simon Anholt, the leading international authority on the
images of countries. And Anholt is unequivocal. As he told Arab News in an
interview last November, an effective monarchy is good value for taxpayers
money. “What they actually return to the country’s image in terms of pure brand
value is in the order of billions. People love monarchies, especially people who
don’t live in monarchies themselves. Without the monarchy, the UK would be
significantly less interesting to people than it is.” So how can King Charles
make a difference? First, there is his lifelong passion for protecting the
environment. Liz Truss may not have lasted long as prime minster, but she was in
office long enough to prevent the new king from attending the COP27 climate
change conference in Egypt in November. That, as I wrote at the time, was
unwise. COP28 in Dubai at the end of this year is an opportunity to remedy it
with the attendance of the new king, and it need not stop there. The Saudi and
Middle East Green Initiatives are another opportunity for the king to leverage
both his environmental credentials and the lasting Middle East relationships
forged while he was heir to the throne, all to Britain’s advantage.
“Without the monarchy, the UK would be significantly less interesting to people
than it is.”
Simon Anholt
Broader connections with the Gulf are another area rich with promise. As the UK
and European trade policy expert Paul McGrade told Arab News in January, while
Britain has struggled since Brexit to reach free trade agreements with countries
around the world, the GCC’s doors are open. “The Gulf states become more
important than ever, not just for energy, but for the markets that they
represent, the investment and the partnerships that they’re looking to build,”
he said. After finally understanding the rising importance of the GCC, The EU
has just nominated Luigi Di Maio as its first special envoy to the Gulf states.
With all due respect to the former Italian foreign minister, but King Charles
can do a better job for Britain, even with his eyes closed. As Simon
Anholt observed: “The data very clearly shows the number one reason why people
admire a country is because they think it contributes something to humanity and
the planet.” Who better to personify that role for his country than King
Charles?
• Faisal J. Abbas is Editor-in-Chief of Arab News. Twitter: @FaisalJAbbas