English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For March 28/2025
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
The Miracle Of the Seven Loaves and the small few fish
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 15/29-39:”After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’ Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ They said, ‘Seven, and a few small fish.’Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 27-28/2025
Nawaf Salam: A Self-Appointed Spokesperson Who Doesn't Represent All Lebanese/Elias Bejjani/March 27/2025
Salam: Normalization with Israel rejected by all Lebanese
The Fundamental Differences Between the Right and the Left in Culture, Faith, Order, Morality, and Family/Elias Bejjani/March 26/2025
Between the "Support" Disaster and the "Missiles" Farce/Marwan Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/March 27, 2025
Former Minister Youssef Salameh in a Remarkable Letter to Nawaf Salam Following His Failure to Obstruct the Appointment of Karim Saed as Governor of the Central Bank
Ali Hamada: Is the dispute between Presidents Aoun and Salam escalating?
Karim Souaid named central bank chief in a Cabinet vote
Salam calls on Souaid to abide by government's financial policy
Aoun: Hezbollah won't be disarmed by force, normalization not on the table
Aoun heads to France Friday on first Europe visit since election
Israel kills two in another drone strike in south Lebanon
Israeli strike kills 3 'Hezbollah' members after night raid kills 'Radwan commander'
Lebanese, Syrian defense ministers to meet in Saudi Arabia
Lebanese, Syrian defense ministers discuss border security during Jeddah meeting
Qassem says 'no room for normalization or surrender in Lebanon'
Raad calls for ending occupation through 'diplomacy or resistance or both'
Jumblat accuses Israel of exploiting Druze minority in Syria

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 27-28/2025
Syrian state media says Israeli strikes hit coastal province
Yemen Houthis say launched missiles at Israel, US warship
New US airstrike campaign targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels more intense than last, AP review finds
A new, intense U.S. airstrike campaign shakes Yemen
Israeli strikes kill a family of 6 and a Hamas spokesman in Gaza
Egypt mediators in Doha for Gaza talks
Israel parliament expands political control over judicial appointments
Air raid sirens sound in Jerusalem as Houthis fire missiles at Israel
Egypt sees encouraging signs in Gaza ceasefire talks, sources say
Carney says Trump's office reached out to schedule a call as trade war continues
Top Conservative strategist says Poilievre needs to urgently pivot or he will lose
Sudan’s army has captured the capital. Is it a turning point in the devastating conflict?
Islamic militants kill 12 Cameroonian soldiers in an attack near Lake Chad
Police use force to break up protests at a university in Turkey's capital
Six dead in sinking of Egypt tourist submarine

Titles For The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on March 27-28/2025
Improved Syria-Iraq ties a strategic imperative/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/March 27, 2025
Why have Gazans come out publicly now?/Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/March 27, 2025
End of USAID should not mean the end of US support to Africa/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/March 27, 2025
The ethics around AI in diplomacy and governance/Rafael Hernández de Santiago/Arab News/March 27, 2025

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 27-28/2025
Nawaf Salam: A Self-Appointed Spokesperson Who Doesn't Represent All Lebanese
Elias Bejjani/March 27/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/03/141623/
There's a Lebanese saying: "We brought the bald man to cheer us up, but he revealed his baldness and scared us." This perfectly illustrates the actions of Nawaf Salam, who once again insists on making divisive statements detached from reality, falsely believing himself to be the legitimate and sole representative of the Lebanese people.
In a statement reeking of authoritarianism and exclusion, Salam declared yesterday: "Normalization with Israel is rejected by all Lebanese."
The fundamental question here is: who authorized him to speak for all Lebanese? What right does he have to appropriate the voice of the Lebanese people and impose his opinion on them without any legal or popular mandate?
His words are not simply a personal opinion; they are a blatant misrepresentation of the will of the majority of Lebanese. We are weary of wars and unjustified hostility and yearn for peace and reconciliation with the State of Israel and all nations. We want an end to the absurd situation imposed by the Iranian-backed, fundamentalist, and terrorist Hezbollah through force of arms and all forms of criminal oppression.
We ask loudly: who gave him the authority to assert that all of Lebanon rejects peace? Did he conduct a public opinion poll? Has he listened to the voices of the Lebanese people oppressed under the dominance of illegal weapons, those who long to escape the forced isolation imposed upon them by the deceptive and hypocritical doctrine of a hollow resistance? Or does he still believe that Lebanon is captive to the outdated rhetoric of Nasserist and Muslim Brotherhood Arabism, which has brought nothing but defeats and collapses to the region?
Nawaf Salam's history is evident to anyone familiar with him. He has never truly aligned himself with a genuine Lebanese identity. Instead, he has consistently and publicly been part of Arabist and fundamentalist agendas allied with both Sunni and Shiite political Islam. This individual has never strayed from the ideology of the radical left and pan-Arabist Muslim Brotherhood concepts. He was a follower of the Palestinian Fatah organization, closely associated with Yasser Arafat, and even wrote speeches for him. Furthermore, his wife, a journalist, shares the same destructive ideological leanings.
Today, despite the significant shifts in the region, Salam remains trapped in the mindset, concepts, and culture of the 1960s. He refuses to acknowledge that times have changed and that the Lebanese people desire a future free from the wars and destruction of political Islam. He stubbornly clings to empty slogans that have mired Lebanon in successive crises, despite the clear realities: there is no fundamental issue between Lebanon and Israel, only minor border disputes that can be resolved diplomatically. This is a fact understood by the majority of Lebanese who aspire to peace and stability, not to bombastic rhetoric, blind hostility, and futile wars.
More concerning than Salam's arrogant pronouncements is the composition of his ineffective government, which includes figures as exclusionary and intellectually barren as he is. His deputy, Tariq Mitri, is merely a reflection of him. Moreover, his cabinet is filled with ministers aligned with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, making it a government subservient to the very system that has devastated Lebanon for decades. It is crucial to ask how such a government can claim to represent the Lebanese people when it only serves the interests of Hezbollah's mini-state and its allies.
Ultimately, Nawaf Salam does not represent the Lebanese people. He represents only himself and his ossified Nasserist and Muslim Brotherhood ideology. His condescending and misleading statements are simply a parrot-like repetition of outdated slogans.
It is disheartening that the pan-Arabist, Nasserist Salam suffers from a complete disconnect from reality. He is unable to grasp that the Middle East is moving towards peace and openness, and that outdated hostile and pan-Arabist mentalities no longer have a place in this era.
Therefore, if Salam is incapable of adapting to this new phase – and he clearly is – he should resign and step aside. He must cease imposing his leftist and fundamentalist illusions on the people of Lebanon.
The Lebanese people are no longer willing to pay the price for his blind hatred. Consequently, they will not allow him or anyone else to falsely claim to speak on their behalf. This is an era of peace, and those who fail to understand this belong in the dustbin of history.

Salam: Normalization with Israel rejected by all Lebanese
Naharnet/March 26/2025
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed Wednesday that “international and Arab diplomatic pressure on Israel to halt its attacks has not been exhausted,” noting that “no one wants normalization with Israel in Lebanon, which is rejected by all Lebanese.”Salam added, in a meeting with a delegation from the Lebanese Press Editors Syndicate, that “the five points that Israel is clinging to have no military or security value other than maintaining its pressure on Lebanon.”Responding to a question, Salam said “Hezbollah has its supporters, MPs and representation,” explaining that he has recently said that “the army-people-resistance equation has ended, because it was not mentioned in the ministerial statement, which emphasizes on the exclusivity of arms in the hands of the state.”

The Fundamental Differences Between the Right and the Left in Culture, Faith, Order, Morality, and Family
Elias Bejjani/March 26/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/03/141592/
The divide between the right and the left is not merely a political disagreement; it is a clash of values that determines the future of our societies. While the right is rooted in faith, order, morality, respect for the family, and adherence to stable principles, the left moves in the opposite direction—undermining traditions, rejecting national identity, and dismantling societal structures under the guise of “progress.” But in reality, what they promote is chaos, moral decay, and the destruction of fundamental human values.
1. Culture and Faith
The right upholds faith as the foundation of civilization, recognizing its role in shaping moral and social values. In contrast, the left has historically waged war against religion—from the French Revolution to communist regimes that persecuted believers, destroyed churches, and sought to eradicate faith from public life. Today, the left continues this war by silencing religious voices, forcing secularism upon society, and promoting ideologies that contradict divine and natural law. It is no coincidence that, in the Bible, on the Day of Judgment, the righteous are placed on the right while the wicked are cast to the left (Matthew 25:31-46).
2. Order, Law, and Stability
The right respects law and order, believing in strong national institutions that ensure security and prosperity. Meanwhile, the left thrives on chaos and rebellion, constantly seeking to overthrow established systems. From the Bolshevik Revolution to the so-called “Arab Spring,” leftist movements have spread anarchy, dismantled nations, and paved the way for terrorism. They claim to champion democracy but only as a tool to seize power—once in control, they attempt to reshape the system to serve their destructive agenda.
3. Morality and Society
The right believes that morality is essential for a healthy society. The left, on the other hand, seeks to redefine moral principles, pushing radical ideologies under the pretense of “individual rights.” They promote abortion as “freedom,” normalize promiscuity, and dismantle social boundaries, leading to the erosion of traditional values. Worst of all, they actively push LGBTQ+ ideologies onto societies, not as private choices but as enforced norms, compelling even those with religious objections to comply.
4. The Family Unit
A strong family is the foundation of a stable society. The right supports policies that strengthen family bonds, encourage marriage, and protect children from harmful influences. The left, however, wages a relentless war against the family, promoting no-fault divorce, glorifying single parenthood, and encouraging alternative lifestyles that defy biological and natural realities. By pushing gender confusion, indoctrinating children, and erasing traditional family roles, they seek to dismantle the most fundamental human institution.
5. Respect for International Order
The right upholds national sovereignty and respects international law, while the left has a history of supporting violent uprisings and radical movements that destabilize nations. From Marxist guerillas in Latin America to Islamist terror groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis, the left consistently aligns itself with forces that oppose stability, democracy, and peace. Under the pretext of “human rights,” they provide political cover for rogue regimes like Iran while undermining the security of Western and allied nations.
6. The Convergence of Destructive and Terrorist Goals Between the Left and Political Islam
The most dangerous link between the left and political Islam—both Shiite and Sunni—is their shared hostility toward Western values and independent national identities. While the left claims to be secular, it consistently aligns itself with radical Islamist groups whenever it serves their agenda of destabilizing nations and weakening societies. In Gaza, leftists defend Hamas despite its extremist ideology. In Lebanon, they ally with Hezbollah, ignoring its terrorism and illegal weapons. In Syria and Iraq, they have backed Iran-aligned regimes under the guise of “anti-imperialism.” Meanwhile, in Africa, they collaborate with Islamist terror groups to advance their political interests. This alliance is not coincidental—it is a deliberate strategy where forces of chaos and extremism unite to undermine global stability.
Conclusion
The left is not a force of progress but a force of destruction. It aims to dismantle faith, family, morality, and order—replacing them with moral relativism, lawlessness, and cultural decay. The battle today is not merely political; it is a fight between good and evil, between builders and destroyers, between those who defend divine and natural law and those who seek to erase them. And as Scripture warns, in the end, the wicked will be cast to the left, while the righteous will stand victorious on the right.

Between the "Support" Disaster and the "Missiles" Farce
Marwan Al-Amin/Nidaa Al-Watan/March 27, 2025
(Translation from Arabic by Google)
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/03/141634/
The missile launching sparked tension and anxiety at both the official and popular levels, but it revealed fundamental changes in the approaches of Hezbollah and its allies, undermining narratives they had previously considered unquestionable axioms. Military action from Lebanon against Israel has become a "bastard" act, publicly disavowed by Hezbollah, while its allies have described it as a "suspicious act" that could bring calamity upon the country. This position reflects a fundamental contradiction with the party's previous positions, which considered any objection to the opening of the "Support Front" a failure to support the Palestinian cause. It even went so far as to accuse opponents of the "Support Front" of serving Israel and justifying its military operations against Lebanon.
The official position of Hezbollah and its allies reflects a significant shift in their political and field approach, clearly indicating the extent of Hezbollah's deterrence following the recent war. This action coincides with ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran, renewed wars in Gaza and Yemen, and the Houthis and Hamas targeting Israel with missiles. In this context, the missiles launched from Lebanon, whose perpetrators were unknown but politically known, appear to complement the "unity of arenas" scene, conveying an Iranian message to Washington and Tel Aviv that Tehran still possesses the ability to move the fronts. Hezbollah's disavowal of these missiles comes within the framework of mitigating the consequences of this action after the message reached those concerned. Here, it must be noted that the perpetrator who entered an area in broad daylight that is a Hezbollah-friendly environment, conducted surveillance, prepared and launched the missiles, and then safely withdrew, remains unknown nearly a week after the incident. Previous experience confirms that Hezbollah has a hand in every security operation whose perpetrator remains "unknown."
At the popular level, the rocket fire was met with anxiety coupled with widespread discontent in southern circles, with widespread objections emerging against what was seen as a new attempt to "implode" the south in a military confrontation, at a time when the repercussions of the last war are still weighing heavily on them. Anger increased with the circulation of narratives accusing a Palestinian party of this act, sparking widespread condemnation and rejection of what southerners viewed as a continued price-paying effort for Palestine. These positions reflect a growing southern tendency toward ending the open-field equation and refusing to reopen the front. It seems that the option of turning the page on the confrontations that have drained their resources since the Cairo Agreement of 1969 is becoming more mature and gradually becoming the clearest option.
What is clear is that these missiles did not hit Israeli military targets, but they did damage the narrative that has long been based on boasting about adopting or endorsing every military action against Israel under the banner of resistance or support for Gaza. They also undermined the narrative that military action launched from the south enjoys popular support in the south. Therefore, Hezbollah's continued stubbornness in refusing to acknowledge that the south is no longer an "arena," as well as its delay in disarming, will increase the political, human, and urban cost, but will not change anything in reality. If the "support front" represented the epitome of the disaster, then the least that can be said about the "bastard missiles" is that they are a farce. Spare the southerners the evil of disaster and farce!!

Former Minister Youssef Salameh in a Remarkable Letter to Nawaf Salam Following His Failure to Obstruct the Appointment of Karim Saed as Governor of the Central Bank
X site/March/27/2025
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/03/141638/
Dear President Nawaf Salam,
Your conduct has, for the first time in modern history, united the Maronite leaders.
You have awakened their conscience.
Consequently, they have restored the prestige of the Constitution after it was distorted during the era of tutelage, its distortion became entrenched as custom, and the national pact was assassinated in political dealings. We have returned to Lebanon. Together, Christians and Muslims, we will save it. “Tomorrow is another day.”
(Free translation from Arabic & title by: Elias Bejjani)

Ali Hamada: Is the dispute between Presidents Aoun and Salam escalating?
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/2025/03/141645/
Video Link to a political commentary by journalist Ali Hamada criticizing Nawaf Salam's "childish and spiteful" stances regarding his bizarre attempts to obstruct the appointment of Karim Saeed. Hamada reportedly describes these attempts as being outside the bounds of responsibility, patriotism, and vision, mired in spitefulness, personal attacks, and destructive leftism. The commentary also includes advice for Salam to correct his approach, change his course, and distance himself from those around him who are enemies of Aoun's tenure, Lebanon, and the Lebanese people.
**The title is from Elias Bejjani's text and vocabulary, with complete freedom.

Karim Souaid named central bank chief in a Cabinet vote
Agence France Presse/March 27, 2025
Asset manager Karim Souaid was named as Lebanon's new central bank governor on Thursday, receiving 17 out of 24 votes in Cabinet, after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's opposition to his appointment prevented consensus over the move. According to Al-Jadeed TV, Souaid received the votes of the ministers of the Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Kataeb Party, in addition to the ministers who are close to President Joseph Aoun. Salam, Deputy PM Tarek Mitri, Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh, Social Affairs Minister Hanine al-Sayyed, State Minister for Administrative Development Fadi Makki, Economy Minister Amer al-Bssat and Education Minister Rima Karami meanwhile abstained from voting, MTV said, adding that Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar voted for Souaid. Aoun and Salam had failed to reach consensus over a candidate according to reports, despite holding a meeting prior to the session. “The meeting between President Aoun and PM Salam did not lead to consensus over the appointment of a central bank governor and the president is insisting on putting the file to a vote in Cabinet,” Al-Jadeed said. Al-Akhbar newspaper reported earlier on Thursday that Salam had threatened to take an “escalatory step” or even “resign” should the matter be put to a vote in Cabinet. But ministerial sources told the daily that resignation is out of the question and that Salam only threatened it to “prevent Aoun from taking unilateral decisions that disregard the premier’s opinion.”“Tensions had surged after the PM sensed that the chances of Souaid are high domestically and externally, knowing that local parties had launched a campaign against him over the past two weeks, accusing him that he is the candidate of banks and that he rejects any agreement with the International Monetary Fund,” Al-Akhbar said. Media reports also said that he “lacks foreign support, specifically U.S. support, which was expressed by U.S. ambassador to Beirut Lisa Johnson to Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, when she called Jihad Azour a wonderful choice.”LBCI for its part reported that “the Christian parties will try to prevent a vote in order to give a chance to reaching a consensus that would send a positive signal to the international community regarding the issue of reforms and governmental solidarity.”Born in 1964, Souaid officially takes over after embattled former chief Riad Salameh's term expired in July 2023 with no designated successor.Divided politicians had since failed to agree on a permanent replacement for Salameh, who has been accused at home and abroad of financial crimes. First vice-governor Wassim Manssouri had been acting head of the central bank, a post that is traditionally reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system of governorship. Souaid is the founder and managing partner at Gulf-based Growthgate, according to his biography on the private investment firm's website.
It says he previously worked at financial establishments including HSBC Bank and has been involved in privatization initiatives in a number of Arab countries.
He studied law at Lebanon's St. Joseph University and at Harvard Law School in the United States, according to the biography. He has also worked as a corporate finance attorney in New York, and is a member of the New York State Bar Association, it says. Some local media have reported that Souaid is close to the banking sector and members of Lebanon's entrenched ruling class. Lebanon's new authorities need to carry out reforms demanded by the international community to unlock bailout funds. The economic crash since 2019 has seen the local currency lose most of its value against the dollar and pushed much of the population into poverty, with people locked out of their savings. In April 2022, Lebanon and the IMF reached conditional agreement on a $3-billion-dollar loan package, but painful reforms that the 46-month financing program would require have not been undertaken. Earlier this month, the IMF welcomed the new Lebanese government's request for support in addressing the country's severe economic challenges. In February, it said it was open to a new loan agreement with the country following discussions with its recently appointed finance minister. Beirut-based think tank the Policy Initiative in a statement Wednesday said that the nomination of central bank chief would "test the new government's commitment to genuine reform." "The next governor will shape Lebanon's urgent reform agenda, serve as the main counterpart to the International Monetary Fund, and directly engage in sovereign debt restructuring negotiations" alongside the finance ministry, it said. The central bank governor in Lebanon is named by cabinet decree for a six-year mandate that can be renewed multiple times, based on the finance minister's recommendation.

Salam calls on Souaid to abide by government's financial policy
Naharnet/March 27, 2025
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced Thursday that he did not support the appointment of Karim Souaid as central bank chief for “a host of reasons,” including “keenness on protecting depositors’ rights and preserving the state’s assets.”“I voiced reservations over his appointment, along with a number of ministers,” Salam said after a Cabinet session in which Souaid received 17 votes out of 24. “Any governor must abide by the financial policy of our reformist government as expressed by the ministerial statement, in terms of negotiating on a new program with the International Monetary Fund, restructuring banks, and devising a complete plan according to the best international standards to preserve depositors’ rights,” Salam added. He also said that the government has approved a draft law aimed at amending the banking secrecy law. “This is our policy and the governor must abide by it. The Lebanese have asked us for reform and we insist on reform,” Salam went on to say.

Aoun: Hezbollah won't be disarmed by force, normalization not on the table
Naharnet/March 27, 2025
President Joseph Aoun has announced that Hezbollah’s arms will not be removed by force and that normalization with Israel is not currently on the table.In an interview with France 24 on the eve of his visit to Paris, Aoun noted that “there are no guarantees for halting the Israeli violations” and that “our experience with Israel as to the latest agreement has not been encouraging.”As for the state’s monopolization of arms in Lebanon and the removal of Hezbollah’s arms, Aoun said that “priority is for the South” and that “the Lebanese Army is performing its duty there.”“Hezbollah is cooperative in the South. As for the next stage, it will be subject to the consensus of the Lebanese and the national security strategy after a domestic dialogue, because what’s essential is the unity of the Lebanese,” the president added, ruling out any domestic military confrontation aimed at disarming Hezbollah. As for the best means to confront Israel, Aoun said “the diplomatic option is the only choice to implement the agreement and secure Israel’s withdrawal from the points it is occupying,” hoping the security situation “will remain under control and will not deteriorate.”As for the U.S. calls for direct negotiations with Israel, the president said: “Any negotiations over normalization are not currently on the table and in Lebanon we will remain linked to the (2002) Arab Peace Initiative regarding this issue.”“We will await the circumstances as to any future agreement with Israel,” he added.

Aoun heads to France Friday on first Europe visit since election
Agence France Presse/March 27, 2025
President Joseph Aoun visits France on Friday, his first trip to a European country since his January election and as Paris pushes Beirut for long-demanded political and economic reforms. He is due to meet President Emmanuel Macron, who on a visit to Beirut days after Aoun's appointment said France would hold an international aid conference to support Lebanon's reconstruction after a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah. No date for the conference has been announced. Aoun was elected president after the position had been vacant for more than two years, under international pressure, including from former colonial power France. His election, along with the formation of a new government in February led by reformist premier Nawaf Salam, ended a prolonged political impasse. The breakthroughs came after Iran-backed Hezbollah, long a powerful player in Lebanese politics, was left heavily weakened in the war. Lebanon's new leaders now face the arduous task of reconstructing swathes of the country, and overseeing the disarmament of Hezbollah, beginning in south Lebanon. They must also carry out reforms demanded by the international community to unlock bailout funds amid a five-year economic collapse widely blamed on official mismanagement and corruption. "This visit to France is symbolically important" because Paris stood alongside Washington and Riyadh in pushing hardest for Aoun's election, said Karim Bitar, lecturer in Middle East studies at Sciences-Po university in Paris. The trip also aims to restore France's "traditional role" in mobilizing "countries friendly to Lebanon" for their support at donor conferences, he added. On Wednesday, Aoun told visiting French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian that he and the new government were "determined to overcome the difficulties that the reform process may face in the economic, banking, finance and judicial areas." Bitar said that despite recent optimism, "there are still reasons to fear the new leaders' task will not be so simple."He accused "private interests" intrinsically linked to political, economic and media powers of seeking to "defend the system that has endured" since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.Such interests also seek to "prevent any economic or social reform, any state-building," or agreement with the International Monetary Fund, he charged. Bitar also warned that Hezbollah was "not yet ready to hand over its weapons to the Lebanese state."Under the November 27 ceasefire, Hezbollah was to withdraw its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Israeli border. The Lebanese army was to deploy in the area, and any remaining Hezbollah military infrastructure there was to be dismantled. The ceasefire, which France helps monitor, is based on United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for the disarmament of all non-state armed groups. Israel still regularly strikes what it says are Hezbollah targets and occupies five border points it considers strategic.

Israel kills two in another drone strike in south Lebanon
Associated Press/March 27, 2025
Lebanon’s state news agency said an Israeli drone strike in the country’s south hit a car, killing two people on Thursday afternoon in the village of Baraasheet. The National News Agency gave no further details and it was not immediately clear if the two killed were members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Israeli strike kills 3 'Hezbollah' members after night raid kills 'Radwan commander'
Agence France Presse/March 27, 2025
Lebanon said Thursday that Israeli strikes killed four people in the country's south, with Israel saying it struck Hezbollah operatives. The strikes were the latest in a series on south Lebanon, despite a November ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah after more than a year of hostilities. An "Israeli enemy strike on a car in Yohmor al-Shaqeef led to the death of three people," said a health ministry statement reported by the National News Agency. The agency said a drone targeted a vehicle near the town, in a strike that came at the same time as artillery shelling. The Israeli military said in a statement that "several Hezbollah terrorists were identified transferring weapons in the area of Yohmor in southern Lebanon," adding that the army "struck the terrorists."The NNA earlier Thursday reported that "one person was killed and another wounded in the Israeli drone targeting... of a car in the town Maaroub," also in south Lebanon.The Israeli military said that overnight, the air force "struck and eliminated... a battalion commander" in Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force in the Derdghaiya area, near Maaroub.It accused him of having "advanced and directed numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians" and troops during the war, and of also directing "terror attacks against Israel's Home Front" in recent months. Israel has continued to carry out raids in Lebanon since the November 27 ceasefire, striking what it says are Hezbollah military targets that violated the truce agreement. Last weekend saw the most intense escalation since the truce, with Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killing eight people, according to Lebanese officials. Israel's raids were in response to rocket fire, the first to hit its territory since the ceasefire. No party has claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, which a military source said originated north of the Litani River, between the villages of Kfar Tebnit and Arnoun, near the zone covered by the ceasefire deal. Hezbollah, heavily weakened by the war, denied involvement. Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. Israel was to withdraw its forces across the U.N.-demarcated Blue Line, the de facto border, but still holds five positions in south Lebanon that it deems strategic.

Lebanese, Syrian defense ministers to meet in Saudi Arabia
Agence France Presse/March 27, 2025
The Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers are to meet Thursday in Saudi Arabia to discuss issues including border tensions, a Lebanese official with knowledge of the matter told AFP. Instead of a visit to Damascus that has been postponed, Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa is set to meet with his Syrian counterpart Murhaf Abu Qasra "in Jeddah, under the patronage of Saudi Arabia," the official said on condition of anonymity. A Syrian government source had earlier told AFP that Menassa's Damascus visit, initially planned for Wednesday, had been postponed due to "preparations for the formation of a new government."The postponement was "in no way related to tensions or conflicts," another Lebanese official had said earlier on condition of anonymity. It had been scheduled to be the first visit to Damascus by a Lebanese minister since a government was formed in Beirut in February.
Border tensions flared earlier in March after Syria's new authorities accused Hezbollah of kidnapping three soldiers into Lebanon and killing them. The Iran-backed group, which fought alongside the forces of toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, denied involvement. But the ensuing cross-border clashes left seven Lebanese dead. Islamist-led rebels ousted Assad in December.

Lebanese, Syrian defense ministers discuss border security during Jeddah meeting
Arab News/March 27, 2025
JEDDAH: The defense ministers of Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic met in Jeddah on Thursday, Asharq reported. The Syrian delegation was headed by Murhaf Abu Qasra and the Lebanese delegation was led by Michel Menassa. nThe two ministers discussed enhancing border security and demarcation between both countries. Border tensions flared up earlier in March after the new authorities in Syria accused Lebanese armed group Hezbollah of kidnapping three soldiers into Lebanon and killing them. The Iran-backed group, which fought alongside the forces of toppled Syrian president Bashar Assad, denied involvement. Cross-border clashes that followed left seven Lebanese dead. In a statement, Saudi Arabia said it supported Syria and Lebanon resolving their differences through political and diplomatic dialogue while upholding sovereignty, stability, and international law, according to Asharq. The Kingdom also highlighted the importance of security coordination, especially in border control, to address shared challenges such as smuggling and the influence of armed groups.

Qassem says 'no room for normalization or surrender in Lebanon'
Agence France Presse/March 27, 2025
Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a speech broadcast in the evening that Hezbollah "will not accept the continued (Israeli) occupation," referring to the ongoing presence of Israeli troops in south Lebanon after a recent war. The Lebanese group initiated cross-border fire with the Israeli military in support of Hamas on October 8, 2023. Hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah dramatically spiraled into all-out conflict last September, and the group remains a target of Israeli air strikes despite a November 27 ceasefire. "The prisoners must be released," Qassem said, referring to those captured by Israel during and after the war, adding: "There is no room for normalization or surrender in Lebanon."The conflict severely weakened Hezbollah, which saw a slew of senior commanders killed, including its longtime chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Qassem was speaking ahead of an annual Tehran-sponsored pro-Palestinian commemoration later this week. Quds (Jerusalem) Day commemorations, when Iran and its allies organize marches in support of the Palestinians, were launched in 1979 by Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. They are traditionally held on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which this year is expected to finish at the end of March.

Raad calls for ending occupation through 'diplomacy or resistance or both'
Naharnet/March 27, 2025
The head of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, noted Thursday that Hezbollah “has firmly committed to the ceasefire” agreement with Israel, “although it knew that the enemy will not abide by it, and despite the Israeli violations that have persisted since the first days.”“The resistance has not been a replacement for the state in shouldering responsibility but has helped it in order to protect Lebanon, push the occupation to withdraw and preserve sovereignty and national dignity. And now the government has announced the reform slogan and we will help in achieving it,” Raad added. “The resistance’s priorities in this stage are ending the occupation in a full manner, through the state, diplomatic means or resistance, or through them both. What matters is ending the occupation in a full manner, reconstruction, preserving national sovereignty, achieving the aspired reform in the state’s structure, and keenness on national partnership,” Raad explained.

Jumblat accuses Israel of exploiting Druze minority in Syria
Agence France Presse
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatthas accused Israel of exploiting followers of his minority faith in Syria as part of a broader plan to divide the Middle East along sectarian lines. Israel wants "to implement the plan it has always had... which is to break up the region into confessional entities and extend the chaos," said Jumblat, a key figure in Lebanese politics for more than four decades. "They want to annihilate Gaza, then it will be the West Bank's turn... they are trying to destabilize Syria, through the Druze but also others," he told AFP in an interview Wednesday. "It's a dangerous game."Israel has been making overtures towards Syria's Druze community since Islamist-led rebels ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December after more than 13 years of war. Since then, Israel has sent troops into the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone along the armistice line on the Golan Heights, and war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported regular Israeli incursions deeper into southern Syria. The Druze faith has followers in Israel, Lebanon and Syria, including the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. They account for about three percent of Syria's population and are concentrated in the southern province of Sweida. This month, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said 10,000 humanitarian aid packages had been sent to "the Druze community in battle areas of Syria" over the past few weeks.
"Israel has a bold alliance with our Druze brothers and sisters," he told journalists.
'Prevent the division'
Israel also authorized the first pilgrimage in decades by Syrian Druze clerics to a revered shrine in Israel. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would not allow Syria's new rulers "to harm the Druze", following a deadly clash between government-linked forces and Druze fighters in the suburbs of Damascus. Druze leaders rejected Katz's warning and declared their loyalty to a united Syria. Druze representatives have been negotiating with Syria's new authorities on an agreement that would see their armed groups integrated into the new national army. The talks had almost reached completion but "Israeli pressure" on some parties prevented the accord from being finalized, a source close to the negotiations told AFP, requesting anonymity as the matter is sensitive. Jumblat noted that during the French mandate in the 1920s and 1930s, "Syria was divided into four entities: an Alawite state, a Druze state, the state of Damascus and the state of Aleppo," the latter two being Sunni Muslim. "The Druze, with the other Syrian nationalists, were able to prevent the division of Syria" by launching a revolt and the plan later collapsed, he said. He expressed hope that any new division of Syria could be avoided, appealing to Arab leaders to support interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
'Criminal'
Jumblat in December was the first Lebanese official to meet Sharaa after his Islamist group spearheaded the offensive that ousted Assad. Sharaa told Jumblat that Syria would no longer exert "negative interference" in Lebanon, after Assad's dynasty was accused of destabilizing Lebanon for years and assassinating numerous Lebanese officials, including Jumblat's father. Kamal Jumblat, who founded the Progressive Socialist Party and opposed Assad's father Hafez over his troops' intervention in the Lebanese civil war, was killed near the Syrian border in 1977.
This month, Syrian security forces arrested former intelligence officer Ibrahim Huweija, suspected of numerous killings including that of Jumblat's father. "He's a big criminal, he also committed crimes against the Syrian people and should be tried in Syria," Jumblat said. Lebanon's new authorities have been under pressure since a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, an Assad ally, Jumblat said. "The Americans want Lebanon to normalize ties with Israel," he said. Under a November ceasefire, Hezbollah was to withdraw fighters from the border area and dismantle its military infrastructure there. The Israeli army was also to withdraw but troops are still deployed in five positions inside Lebanon that it deems strategic.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 27-28/2025
Syrian state media says Israeli strikes hit coastal province
Agence France Presse/March 27, 2025
Syrian state media said Israeli strikes targeted the coastal Latakia province on Thursday, with a war monitor saying munitions depots were hit. "In a number of air strikes, Israeli occupation aircraft targeted the vicinity of the Al-Abyad port and the city of Latakia," state news agency SANA reported. Authorities were working to ensure there were no casualties, SANA added. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the raids targeted "munitions depots" at the port, located on the northern outskirts of Latakia city. The Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, reported "huge material damage and the destruction of a munitions depot".It said the port had previously been targeted in December. Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites since Islamist-led rebels ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad on December 8, saying it wants to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities, whom it considers jihadists. On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had "struck military capabilities" at two military bases in central Syria, after striking the same sites days earlier. Tuesday also saw six civilians killed in Israeli bombardment in south Syria's Daraa province, authorities said, as Israel said its forces responded to incoming fire. Israel has deployed troops to the Golan Heights buffer zone nearby, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarization of southern Syria, which borders the Israeli-annexed Golan. The Observatory has reported near-daily Israeli military incursions into southern Syria beyond the demarcation line in recent months.

Yemen Houthis say launched missiles at Israel, US warship
Agence France Presse/March 27, 2025
The Iran-backed Houthis said Thursday they targeted an Israeli airport and army site as well as a U.S. warship, soon after Israel reported intercepting missiles launched from Yemen. The Houthis "targeted Ben Gurion airport... with a ballistic missile... and a military target" south of Tel Aviv, their military spokesman Yahya Saree said. Earlier Thursday, the Israeli military said it intercepted two missiles launched from Yemen "prior to crossing into Israeli territory" after it activated air raid sirens across multiple areas, including Jerusalem. Saree said the rebels also "targeted hostile warships in the Red Sea, including the American aircraft carrier (USS Harry S) Truman," which he said was "in retaliation to the ongoing US aggression against our country". The United States launched what its Central Command called a "large scale operation" involving air strikes against the Houthis on March 15. Washington vowed to use overwhelming force until they stopped firing on vessels in the key shipping routes of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the rebels threatened to resume attacks over the Gaza war. The Houthis have since reported near-daily U.S. air strikes on areas under their control.
Rebels say 2 killed
Earlier Thursday, the rebels said two people had been killed in overnight air strikes near the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa that they blamed on the United States. The Houthis' Al-Masirah TV channel reported nearly 20 strikes on Sanaa governorate, both north and south of the capital.
"The American aggression killed two and injured two," the Houthi-run health ministry's spokesman Anis al-Asbahi said on social media platform X. Al-Masirah also reported strikes early Thursday in Saada, the Iran-backed rebels' northern stronghold which Houthi media had said was hit 17 times the day before. While the United States does not always report these raids, a United States defense official told AFP on Sunday that American forces were "conducting strikes across multiple locations of Iran-backed Houthi locations every day and night in Yemen".The latest strikes claimed by the Houthis come with Washington embroiled in scandal linked to the March 15 strikes. The Atlantic Magazine published the transcript of messages accidentally shared with its editor in a chat group of senior U.S. officials on Signal, a commercially available messaging app.
The magazine on Thursday published details of the March 15 attack plans, which it initially withheld, after the White House insisted no classified details were involved. In response to the U.S. strikes, the Houthis have claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on the Truman carrier group off Yemen's coast, as well as projectiles fired at Israel. The Houthis began targeting shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after the start of the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with the Palestinian people, but paused their campaign when a ceasefire in Gaza took effect in January. Earlier this month, they threatened to renew the attacks in the vital maritime trade route over Israel's aid blockade on the Palestinian territory, triggering the first U.S. strikes on Yemen since President Donald Trump took office in January.

New US airstrike campaign targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels more intense than last, AP review finds
Jon Gambrell/The Associated Press/March 27, 2025
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A new American airstrike campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels appears more intense and more extensive, as the U.S. moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel as well as dropping bombs in city neighborhoods, an Associated Press review of the operation shows. The pattern under U.S. President Donald Trump reflects a departure from the Biden administration, which limited its strikes as Arab allies tried to reach a separate peace with the group. It comes after the Iran-backed Houthis threatened to resume attacking “any Israeli vessel” and have repeatedly fired at Israel over the country’s refusal to allow aid into the Gaza Strip.
The Houthi attacks and the response to them have drawn new scrutiny in Washington after security officials in Trump's administration shared plans for the first round of strikes on the rebels in a group chat that included a journalist. But bombing alone may not be enough to stop the Houthis, whose earlier barrage of missile fire toward the U.S. Navy represented the most intense combat it had seen since World War II. “Folks that say, ‘We’ll go in there and take out everyone with the last name Houthi and we'll win.’ The Houthi leadership has been taken out in history in the past, and they are resilient," retired U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan said. “They came back and they grew stronger. So this isn’t something that is a one-and-done.”
Meanwhile, concerns are growing over civilians being caught in the middle of the campaign. While the U.S. military has not acknowledged any civilian casualties since the strikes began over a week ago, activists fear strikes may have killed noncombatants already in territory tightly controlled by the Houthis. “Just because you can’t see civilian harm doesn’t mean it’s not happening,” warned Emily Tripp, the director of the U.K.-based group Airwars, which studies Western airstrike campaigns.

A new, intense U.S. airstrike campaign shakes Yemen
Agencies/March 27/2025
The Trump campaign began March 15. American warships fired cruise missiles while fighter jets flying off of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier dropped bombs on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, a nation on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that is the Arab world’s poorest. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World,” Trump said in a social media post announcing the campaign, days after his administration reimposed a “foreign terrorist organization” designation on the Houthis.
So far, the Houthis say the airstrikes have killed 57 people. That's just over half the 106 people the Houthis' secretive leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, claimed the U.S. and U.K. killed during all of 2024. He provided no breakdown of combatants versus noncombatants. Houthi fighters often aren’t in uniform. Al-Houthi said the two countries launched over 930 strikes last year. The U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, known as ACLED, has recorded 305 strikes. The discrepancy between the figures could not be immediately reconciled, though the Houthis could be counting individual pieces of ordnance launched, rather than a single event with multiple bombs used, as ACLED does. The rebels also have exaggerated details in the past.
Between March 15 to March 21, ACLED reported 56 events. The campaign also has seen the highest number of events in a week since the American bombing campaign began on Yemen during the Israel-Hamas war. Trump administration officials have touted the differences between their strikes and those carried out under President Joe Biden. “The difference is, these were not kind of pin prick, back and forth, what ultimately proved to be feckless attacks,” Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told ABC’s “This Week” on March 16. “This was an overwhelming response that actually targeted multiple Houthi leaders and took them out.”Waltz has also claimed key members of Houthi leadership, including their "head missileer,” have been killed. The Houthis have not acknowledged any losses in their leadership.
There are indeed clear differences, said Luca Nevola, the senior analyst for Yemen and the Gulf at ACLED. Under Biden, the focus appeared to be on mobile launchers for missiles and drones, then infrastructure, he said. Trump is targeting urban areas more intensely, judging from the number of strikes on cities so far. “It’s very likely that somehow the Trump administration is pursuing a decapitation strategy,” Nevola added. The Trump administration is also allowing the U.S. military’s Central Command, which oversees Mideast operations, to launch offensive strikes at will, rather than having the White House sign off on each attack as under Biden. That will mean more strikes. Israel, which has repeatedly been targeted by Houthi missile fire and drones, including Thursday, also launched four rounds of airstrikes in 2024 and another in January. Less transparency, growing concerns about civilians being harmed
During the Biden administration, Central Command offered details to the public on most strikes conducted during the campaign. Those details often included the target struck and the reason behind it. Since the start of the new campaign, however, there's been no similar breakdown.
Donegan, the retired vice admiral, praised that strategy during a recent call hosted by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. "You don’t tell the enemy what you’re going to do, and you don’t tell them what you’re not going to do.”But that also means the Houthis' description of targets is the only one that's public. They've claimed two attacks targeted an under-construction cancer clinic in the city of Saada, as well as private homes and crowded city neighborhoods. There's been no effort so far from the U.S. military to either dispute that or offer evidence to support strikes on those targets. “It’s an extremely complicated information environment in Yemen," Tripp, of Airwars, said. "The Houthis have extensive restrictions on (activists) and operations, media and press.”
Even so, some information can be gleaned from Houthi-released footage. One strike around Saada that the Houthis say killed a woman and four children included missile debris. Serial numbers on the fragments correspond to a contract for Tomahawk cruise missiles, an AP examination of the imagery showed. That corresponded to an assessment separately made by Airwars. Including that Saada strike, Airwars believes it is likely that at least five U.S. strikes in the new Trump campaign that have hurt or killed civilians, based off of videos and photos from the site, Houthi statements and other details. The U.S. military declined to answer questions regarding possible civilian casualties but said the "Houthis continue to communicate lies and disinformation."
“CENTCOM won’t provide details on strikes and locations until the operation has concluded, and there is no additional risk to U.S. personnel or assets involved,” it added, using an acronym for Central Command. “At the direction of the president, CENTCOM continues to conduct strikes across multiple Iran-backed Houthi locations every day and night to restore freedom of navigation and restore American deterrence.”
Houthi attacks started over the Israel-Hamas war
From November 2023 — weeks after the Israel-Hamas war began — until January of this year, the Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two and killing four sailors. The rebels said the campaign in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the two waterways was carried out in solidarity with Hamas. It stopped with the ceasefire reached in that war in January. The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decadelong stalemated war. Since the ceasefire ended, the Houthis have not resumed their attacks on shipping in the vital corridor for cargo and energy shipments moving between Asia and Europe. Still, overall traffic remains sharply reduced. A European Union naval force has been patrolling the Red Sea and escorting ships, as well as taking Houthi fire. However, the vast majority of Houthi attacks toward military targets has been pointed at U.S. Navy vessels. More US forces move into Mideast as Yemen's future in question. The U.S. airstrikes have kept up a daily tempo since beginning March 15. Meanwhile, the USS Carl Vinson and its carrier strike group is to transit into the Middle East.
That, along with the Truman, will likely give the American military two places to launch aircraft since it hasn't immediately appeared that any strikes came from bases in other Mideast nations — where public sentiment remains strongly with the Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war.
The U.S. military also may be bringing additional firepower, as radio transmissions from B-2 stealth bombers and flight-tracking data suggested the U.S. Air Force is moving a number of the aircraft to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the AP showed three B-2s parked Wednesday at Camp Thunder Cove on the island. That would provide a closer location for the long-range bombers to launch that's still far outside of the range of the rebels — and avoids using allies' Mideast bases.
In October, the Biden administration used the B-2 to target what it described as underground bunkers used by the Houthis. But the future of Yemen itself remains in question. The Houthis broadly maintain control over the capital of Sanaa and the country's northwest. Yemen's exiled government is part of a fractious coalition that for now appears unable to wrest any control back from the rebels. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which launched a war 10 years ago against the Houthis, have pushed for peace talks as fighting appears broadly frozen on the ground. “The United States can hurt the Houthis, it can weaken them," wrote Gregory D. Johnsen, a Yemen expert at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, “but without effective ground troops — either its own or someone else’s — it will not be able to eliminate their capabilities.”

Israeli strikes kill a family of 6 and a Hamas spokesman in Gaza
Associated Press/March 27/2025
Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday killed a family of six and a Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip. A strike hit the tent where Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua was staying in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, killing him, according to Basem Naim, another Hamas official. Another strike near Gaza City killed four children and their parents, according to the emergency service of Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas last week, launching a surprise wave of strikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians. It has vowed to escalate the offensive if Hamas does not release hostages, disarm and leave the territory. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Egypt mediators in Doha for Gaza talks
Agence France Presse/March 27/2025
An Egyptian security delegation was in Doha on Thursday for talks aimed at reviving a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Egyptian state-linked media reported. The delegation aimed to "secure the release of prisoners and hostages as part of a transitional phase" that is hoped to pave the way to a more permanent end to fighting, according to Al-Qahera News. They were also due to discuss "the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in preparation for the transition to the second phase of the permanent ceasefire agreement," reported the channel, which is linked to the Egyptian state intelligence service. Negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Egypt along with Qatar and the United States, have been in a stalemate for weeks following the expiry in early March of the first phase of a January 19 ceasefire. The talks in Doha come a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to seize parts of Gaza if Hamas did not release hostages, while the militant group warned they would return "in coffins" if Israel did not stop bombing the Palestinian territory.
In over a week of resumed Israeli operations in Gaza, 855 people have been killed, according to the territory's health ministry. Israel's resumption on March 18 of intense bombardment and ground operations across Gaza shattered weeks of relative calm brought by a fragile ceasefire, and militants returned to launching rocket attacks days later. The United Nations said on Wednesday that the renewed Israeli operations had displaced 142,000 people in just seven days, and warned of dwindling supplies amid Israel's blocking of aid. Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 50,208 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry.

Israel parliament expands political control over judicial appointments
Agence France Presse/March 27/2025
Israel's parliament on Thursday passed a law expanding the power of politicians over judge appointments in defiance of a years-long protest movement against the judicial reforms pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The approval came with Netanyahu's government, the most right-wing in Israeli history, locked in a standoff with the supreme court after the premier began proceedings to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and announced the sacking of Ronen Bar, head of the internal security agency. Critics said the new law was a "catastrophe" and a "nail in the coffin of Israeli democracy," while the opposition swiftly filed a petition with the supreme court challenging the law. The legislation was approved by a vote of 67 in favor and one against, with the opposition boycotting the early-morning vote. Israel's parliament, the Knesset, has 120 members. The overall judicial reform package sparked one of the largest protest movements in Israel's history in 2023 before being overtaken by the war in Gaza. According to Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who sponsored the bill, the measure was intended to "restore balance" between the legislative and judicial branches. In his closing remarks ahead of the vote, Levin slammed the supreme court, saying it had "effectively nullified the Knesset". "It has taken for itself the authority to cancel laws and even Basic Laws. This is something unheard of in any democracy in the world," said Levin, the key architect of the judicial changes. Israel lacks a written constitution, but it has a number of Basic Laws which set out things such as human rights and the powers of the parliament.
"But our supreme court didn't stop at trampling the Knesset; it placed itself above the government. It can annul any government action, compel the government to perform any action, cancel any government appointment. "The days of appeasement and silencing are over, never to return," Levin said.
Catastrophe'
Currently, judges -- including supreme court justices -- are selected by a nine-member committee comprising judges, lawmakers, and bar association representatives, under the justice minister's supervision. Under the new law, which would take effect at the start of the next legislative term, the committee would still have nine members: three supreme court judges, the justice minister and another minister, one coalition lawmaker, one opposition lawmaker, and two public representatives -— one appointed by the majority and the other by the opposition.
Yair Lapid, leader of the center-right Yesh Atid party, announced on X that he had filed an appeal with the supreme court against the law on behalf of several opposition parties, just minutes after the parliamentary vote. "Instead of focusing all efforts on their (Israeli hostages in Gaza) return and healing the divisions within the people, this government is returning to the exact legislation that divided the public before October 7," Lapid said in his post. "The amendment passed by the Knesset is another nail in the coffin of Israeli democracy," said Eliad Shraga, head of Israeli NGO the Movement for Quality Government in Israel and one of the petitioners against the law. "This is a calculated attempt to take control of the judicial system and turn it into a tool in the hands of politicians," he said in a statement. Claude Klein, a public law expert at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, said enactment of the law would be a "catastrophe". "They want to take real power. Netanyahu thinks that the supreme court is keeping him from running the country his way," he told AFP. Klein said that over the decades, the top court had expanded its scope of action, in particular by ruling that any legal precedent or law can be reviewed or annulled, a concept to which Levin was "extremely hostile".
New protests
The government's judicial reforms package, first unveiled in early 2023, triggered massive weekly street protests that polarized Israeli society. Netanyahu's detractors warn the multi-pronged package could pave the way for authoritarian rule and be used by the prime minister to quash any possible convictions against him in his ongoing corruption trial, an accusation the premier denies. Rallies have again erupted in key cities and on Wednesday thousands protested against the bill before it was approved in parliament. Netanyahu slammed the opposition in parliament on Wednesday. "Perhaps you could stop putting spanners in the works of the government in the middle of a war. Perhaps you could stop fueling the sedition, hatred and anarchy in the streets," he said.

Air raid sirens sound in Jerusalem as Houthis fire missiles at Israel
Alexis Caraco/Euronews/March 27, 2025
Air raid sirens sound in Jerusalem as Houthis fire missiles at IsraelScroll back up to restore default view. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched several long-range missiles at Israel since the ceasefire in Gaza broke down last week. Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the Houthis later confirmed firing two missiles, one allegedly hypersonic, at Ben Gurion Airport and a military site in Tel Aviv. US forces have been targeting Houthi strongholds in Yemen since 15 March, with President Donald Trump vowing to hold Iran accountable for attacks carried out by its proxies in the region. The barrage also affected commercial flights, with Italy's ITA Airways forced to divert a flight, though it landed safely in Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, the Houthis claimed they had also launched missiles and drones at US warships in the Red Sea, including the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. As part of the so-called Axis of Resistance, a coalition of Iran-aligned militias, the Houthis continue to play a key role in regional tensions, despite nearly a decade of Saudi-led military operations in Yemen.

Egypt sees encouraging signs in Gaza ceasefire talks, sources say
FRANCE 24/March 27, 2025
Israel sent positive signals to mediator Egypt over a potential renewed ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza, security sources said on Thursday, after Israel renewed its offensive in the enclave at the fallout of the original truce on March 18. Egypt, one of the mediators in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, has received positive indications from Israel over a new ceasefire proposal that would include a transitional phase, security sources told Reuters on Thursday. The proposal suggests Hamas release five Israeli hostages each week, sources said.
A security delegation from Egypt has left for Qatar for talks, which will include increasing aid to the enclave and releasing remaining hostages, state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said on Thursday. Violence has escalated in Gaza since a January truce broke down on March 18 after two months of relative calm. Asked about the latest proposal, a Palestinian official close to the mediation efforts said "there are some offers that look better than the previous ones".

Carney says Trump's office reached out to schedule a call as trade war continues
Kelly Geraldine Malone and Liam Casey/The Canadian Press/March 27, 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to have his first phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump in the coming days, and Trump's commerce secretary said Canada may get some reprieve from automobile tariffs. Carney said Thursday that the president's office reached out the previous evening to schedule a call. It would be the first conversation between the two leaders since Carney was sworn in as prime minister earlier this month as Trump pursued his trade war and repeatedly called for Canada's annexation. "I appreciate this opportunity to discuss how we can protect our workers and build our economies," Carney said from Parliament Hill. "I will make clear to the president that those interests are best served by co-operation and mutual respect, including of our sovereignty." The call, which Carney said will take place within days, comes after Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to implement 25 per cent levies on all automobile and auto part imports — his latest move to upend global trade through a massive tariff agenda that pushed some automakers' stock prices down on Thursday. But Canadian cars may not be hit as hard as others. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Thursday that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told him in a phone call Wednesday night that Canadian-made vehicles with 50 per cent or more American parts will not face the tariffs. Ford said it was a productive conversation and Lutnick "knows how integrated the auto trade is" between the two countries — but the provincial government still doesn't know when Canadian vehicle production might see the tariff break. “A lot of the automobiles that are manufactured here in Ontario have 50, 60 per cent parts from the U.S.," Ford said. Ford said he'll wait to respond to the latest tariffs until after April 2, when Trump is set to implement what he calls "reciprocal" tariffs by increasing U.S. duties to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports. Despite Lutnick's reassurance, Trump has since escalated his threats against Canada. He posted on social media Thursday that if "the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both."
The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, also called CUSMA, was negotiated during the first Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. It boosted rules requiring that a majority of parts in an automobile be North American in order for the vehicle to be tariff-free. Trump praised CUSMA at the time it was negotiated as the "best agreement we've ever made" — but experts say his expanding tariff assault on Canada and Mexico is undermining the trade pact. Trump signed the executive order Wednesday to implement duties on automobile imports starting April 3. A fact sheet provided by the White House said automobiles imported under CUSMA will only be tariffed on the value of content not made in the United States.
The executive order also imposes tariffs on certain auto parts, including engines, transmissions and electrical components. The fact sheet said automobile parts under CUSMA will not be tariffed until a process is created to identify non-U.S. content. The president's tariffs and ongoing talk of annexation have become top political issues in Canada ahead of the April 28 general election vote. Carney interrupted his campaign to return to Ottawa to lead a meeting of the Canada-U.S. relations cabinet committee on Thursday. Speaking at a campaign event in Coquitlam, B.C., Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his message to Trump is "stop attacking America's friends." "We will never be the 51st state, but we can, once again, be friends with the United States if the president reverses course on these disastrous tariff threats," Poilievre said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called mounting tariffs an "illegal trade war" at a campaign stop in Windsor, Ont., and said it feels like "a betrayal, a gut-punch for absolutely no reason."
Trump moved forward earlier this month with 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., including Canadian products. He also launched — then partially paused — economywide tariffs against Canada and Mexico. It’s not clear whether those sweeping tariffs, which Trump has linked to the flow of fentanyl, are set to return next week. Trump has said his tariffs are aimed in part at compelling companies to manufacture goods in the U.S. Manufacturers have said redistributing the North American automobile industry would not be easy. Brian Kingston, president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, said in a media statement said "the result is higher costs for manufacturers, price increases for consumers, and a less competitive industry. MichAuto executive director Glenn Stevens Jr. said the tariffs will be felt across the American supply chain. "This means jobs lost, increased input costs and pressure on the balance sheets of companies large and small," said Stevens Jr., who represents the automobile sector in Michigan.

Top Conservative strategist says Poilievre needs to urgently pivot or he will lose
CBC/March 27, 2025
One of the country's top Conservative strategists who just helped Ontario Premier Doug Ford win a sizable majority government says Pierre Poilievre urgently needs to make a pivot and start talking more about the issue voters care about most — the U.S. threat — or he risks losing the federal election. In an interview with CBC News, Kory Teneycke said only weeks ago Poilievre was on track to win a massive majority government, and now every major pollster in the country says it's the Liberals who are set to win big. If an election were held today, the Conservatives would lose, Teneycke said. He said it's because of U.S. President Donald Trump — and the Conservative Party's inadequate messaging around what it would do to try and stop his tariffs and annexationist threats. But it's not just that, Teneycke said, there's also a stylistic issue — the party's leader is just too "Trump-y" and he's got to make a change fast. Teneycke said Poilievre acts and sounds too much like the president, with his pet names for his political opponents ("Carbon tax Carney") and catchy sloganeering ("big beautiful bring it home tax cut"), and it's off-putting to voters the party needs to win. "It all sounds too Trump-y for a lot of voters," Teneycke said. Teneycke, who held senior roles under former prime minister Stephen Harper including director of communications before becoming a strategist at firm Rubicon, said Poilievre is "negative all the time" and it's "hard to be liked by the public" when you're like that.
"There needs to be more of an emphasis on a positive message," he said.
"And I think you have to be a little more direct and more consistent in terms of the message around the U.S."Asked about his sinking poll numbers Thursday, Poilievre said: "We'll wait for Canadians to make the choice on election day.""After the lost Liberal decade of rising costs and crime and the economy being down under America's thumb, do the Liberals deserve a fourth term in power? Or is it time to put Canada first for a change with a new Conservative government that will axe taxes, build homes, unleash resources and bring home the jobs?" Poilievre said.
Teneycke said Poilievre and his team are also running this campaign as if the main opponent was still former prime minister Justin Trudeau and that the issues that were in focus last year — the cost of living, inflation and the housing crisis — are the ones that matter most when voters are clearly indicating it's Trump who is top of mind. "I'm not raising this critique out of animus for the Conservative Party," Teneycke said. "I'm bringing it up as somebody who spent his entire career trying to elect Conservatives and many of them at the federal level. But I think we're just on the wrong track. And I think we need to adjust, refocus the campaign on the one big issue and soften the tone."Internal Ontario Progressive Conservative polling obtained by CBC News paints a bleak picture for Team Poilievre in Canada's most populous province.
Carney's Liberals are at 48 per cent provincewide and the Conservatives at 33 per cent. The poll, which surveyed 1,902 respondents, was conducted March 24-26. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of a similar size would have a margin of error of +/- 2.2 per cent, 19 times out of 20. Carney's Liberals are at 48 per cent provincewide and the Conservatives at 33 per cent. The poll, which surveyed 1,902 respondents, was conducted March 24-26 and has a margin of error of +/- 2.2 per cent. The Toronto Star was first to report the results of the internal polling.
In remarks to the Empire Club in Toronto Wednesday evening, Teneycke said the campaign's current trajectory is concerning. "I'll make the case tonight and hopefully this will permeate the Conservative Party war room somewhere — you've got to get on the f--king ballot question that is driving votes or you are going to lose," Teneycke said. Asked about those remarks Thursday, Poilievre said he's the one who can best defend Canada. "I'm the only one who will stand up to the U.S. president. The president wants the Liberals back in," he said. Poilievre was critical of Trump in the wake of his latest tariff broadside. The Conservative leader said Trump is unfairly "attacking his closest neighbour and America's best friend.""My message to President Trump is knock it off. Stop attacking America's friends," he said.

Sudan’s army has captured the capital. Is it a turning point in the devastating conflict?
Analysis by Nimi Princewill, CNN/March 27, 2025
Sudan’s army says it has wrested control of the capital Khartoum from a feared militia accused of genocide after ousting it from the Presidential Palace and the city’s airport it had held since the start of a brutal two-year conflict. But while the capture of Khartoum marks an important moment in the conflict, with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) deeply embedded elsewhere in Sudan and attempting to form a parallel government, analysts warn there is little likelihood of a swift resolution to the war. Since April 2023, two of Sudan’s most powerful generals – Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and former ally Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – have engaged in a bloody feud over control of the country which is split between their strongholds. The ruthless power struggle, which was essentially triggered by disagreements on how to restore civilian rule after the fall of former President Omar al-Bashir and a subsequent military coup, has left more than 28,000 people dead and 11 million homeless in what the United Nations has described as the world’s “most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis.”The military claims control of swaths of Sudan but almost all of Darfur, a region roughly the size of France, is held by the RSF, which also retains footholds in the neighboring states of West Kordofan and North Kordofan, according to a map released by the SAF. The RSF has battled to maintain its presence in Khartoum, but a streak of losses in recent weeks has forced the militia to flee its key positions within the city. On Wednesday, the SAF posted a video on social media which it said showed RSF fighters fleeing Khartoum, hours after it reclaimed the airport. CNN has contacted the RSF for comment. SAF spokesman Nabil Abdullah told CNN on Wednesday that only “small pockets here and there that are being cleared out” remain. “Khartoum is free,” declared SAF leader Burhan, who arrived at Khartoum’s airport by plane later Wednesday, in what the army said was the first flight received by the airport since the start of the war. Yasser al-Atta, a deputy commander of the SAF told troops on Tuesday that the “decisive battle” to “eliminate the (RSF’s) rebellion” was now “in its final phase.”
Where’s the next battlefield?
Sudanese pro-democracy activist and researcher Hala Al-Karib told CNN that the battle for territorial control could potentially shift to Darfur, where the RSF is more entrenched and seeks to establish a parallel government. The RSF grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militia that was accused of genocide against the non-Arab population in Darfur in the early 2000s. In January, the United States accused the RSF of committing another genocide following what it said was the systematic murder of “men and boys – even infants – on an ethnic basis.” The RSF denounced the declaration as “inaccurate.”“It (Darfur) is the RSF stronghold where they started as the Janjaweed and where they fought and continue to fight for land grabbing from the African indigenous population who own the land,” Al-Karib said. SAF spokesman Abdullah told CNN that the army would not reveal its intentions when asked about the possibility of combat shifting to Darfur. But he added the war is far from over. “The journey is still long because our goal is to cleanse the entire country.”
Civilians paying the price
Ridding the country of the RSF has come at a great cost for the Sudanese people who are often caught in the crossfire. Civilians in North Darfur are the latest casualties of the conflict. On Monday, many people were burned beyond recognition when bombs rained on a busy market in Tora, a rebel-run village in North Darfur, according to multiple local reports, as Sudan’s military targeted RSF enclaves. The RSF shared footage of charred bodies in a Telegram post, accusing the SAF of carrying out a series of airstrikes targeting the market and nearby homes that left over 400 people dead. CNN could not verify the number of casualties. Volker Türk, a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement he was “deeply shocked” by the reports, saying that 13 of those victims were from a single family. “Civilian objects remain an all-too-frequent target,” he added. SAF spokesman Abdullah told CNN that civilians with no ties to the RSF are not targeted by the military. “We are the ones protecting civilians and preserving their lives and property, unlike the militia, which has continued since the outbreak of this war to bombard civilians with drones, artillery, and missiles,” he said.
Is Sudan headed for a reset or division?
The SAF’s military successes in Khartoum could further fracture Sudan or make the RSF “more amenable to being pushed into talks” with its rival, political analyst Kholood Khair said. Previous negotiations mediated by the US, Saudi Arabia and the African Union reached a deadlock. Bringing the SAF and RSF back to the table won’t be simple, Khair told CNN. “This war has added an ugly ethnic taint to the political and economic conflicts that will be difficult to resolve even with a national level agreement,” she added.
In February, the RSF began an audacious move to create a parallel government in the areas under its control, signing a charter with political and smaller armed groups allied to it that seek the “establishment of a secular and democratic state based on freedom, equality, and justice.”
The RSF’s proposed state is “a quest for legitimacy,” according to Khair, who anticipates that the militia could now “seek to capture El Fasher” — the last major town in Darfur yet to be under its control. Sudanese human rights lawyer Mutasim Ali believes that the RSF lacks the capacity to create a parallel state as it has been cut down to size by the SAF. “The RSF does not necessarily control the entire people of Darfur even though it has a widespread presence across the region. From a practical standpoint, I see it (dividing Sudan) as a difficult thing to achieve especially considering the SAF taking over a bunch of places,” he told CNN. For activist Al-Karib, the RSF’s move to form a separate government is “a pressure card on (the) SAF to engage with them and to legitimize themselves as a political force in case of any political talks.”As of today, the prospects for negotiations that could potentially usher in a coalition government between the SAF and RSF appear to be a long shot. The SAF’s deputy commander Al-Atta told troops this week: “There will be no retreat or stop until the militia and its collaborating agents are eradicated from the lives of the Sudanese.” With the military presumed to have the upper hand, it will likely press on, Ali said. “Surely the conflict is far from over, but I believe (the) SAF will now have a major advantage. In the meantime, to reclaim legitimacy, (the) SAF will institute a government that will be less open to negotiations and further insist on military victory,” he told CNN.

Islamic militants kill 12 Cameroonian soldiers in an attack near Lake Chad
Nalova Akua And Wilson Mcmakin/The Associated Press/March 27, 2025
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — At least 12 Cameroonian soldiers were killed Monday night in an attack by Islamic militants on the border with Nigeria, according to a statement from the Cameroonian Ministry of Defense. The attack also left over a dozen soldiers wounded and occurred in the Lake Chad area near the town of Wulgo, the ministry said Thursday. While no group was initially blamed for the attack, officials later said it was suspected to have been carried out by extremists from the Boko Haram group or its breakaway faction that is loyal to the Islamic State group. Pointing to Boko Haram militants, the ministry cited the “advanced weaponry they increasingly have at their disposal” and the “apparent alliance with powerful transnational criminal entities” as contributing factors to Monday’s attack. Matan Daniel, a researcher at the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre, an Israel-based research group that tracks IS and al-Qaeda, sees the attack as part of a significant issue that has plagued the region: lack of communication between the four countries that surround Lake Chad.
The Multinational Joint Task Force, or MNJTF, was established to counter militant organizations that have traditionally used cross-border raids to avoid pursuit by the military. Under the MNJTF, local armed forces could cross the border to pursue suspected militants and countries were supposed to share more intelligence. Recently, however, problems have started to arise. In November, Chad threatened to withdraw from the MNJTF after it suffered a catastrophic attack that killed 17 soldiers. Niger withdrew from the task force last year after a coup rocked the country.
“It is plausible that the recent cracks in the ranks of the MNJTF force and the withdrawal of countries from it contributed to the outcome of this attack. The cooperation of different forces within the MNJTF is critical for its activities. For example, the attack has reportedly lasted for several hours. A quick response from nearby forces, Cameroonian or Nigerian, would have probably resulted in fewer casualties or even different outcomes,” Daniel told The Associated Press. Boko Haram, initially based in Nigeria, took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose its radical version of Islamic law. The conflict, now Africa’s longest struggle with militancy, has spilled into Nigeria’s neighbors, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
While in recent months the number of attacks has decreased, David Otto, training adviser at the International Academy for the Fight Against Terrorism, in Ivory Coast, cautions that technological advances have made those attacks formidable. “Jihadist groups linked to Boko Haram still have the capability to launch surprise sophisticated attacks using modern technology like drones, signifying the asymmetric nature of the warfare and indicating that these groups adapt to their environment and continually evolve in their technical capabilities,” Otto said when contacted via telephone. Some 35,000 civilians have been killed and more than 2 million have been displaced in northeastern Nigeria alone, according to the U.N. The 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in the village of Chibok in Borno state — the epicenter of the conflict — captured the attention of the world. Over a decade later, large swaths of the region are still plagued by regular violence. In January, at least 40 people in Nigeria were killed in an attack by Boko Haram.

Police use force to break up protests at a university in Turkey's capital
Robert Badendieck And Andrew Wilks/March 27, 2025
ISTANBUL (AP) — Police used pepper spray, plastic pellets and water cannon against protesters in Turkey’s capital early Thursday, the latest clash in the country’s biggest anti-government protests in over a decade. The demonstrations began last week following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu was jailed pending trial on corruption charges many see as politically motivated and is also accused of supporting terrorism. The government insists the judiciary is independent, but critics say the evidence in Imamoglu's case is based on secret witnesses and lacks credibility. Early Thursday, student demonstrators tried to march and gathered to read a statement near the gates at Middle East Technical University, pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV and local media reported. They were met by security forces who deployed pepper spray, water cannon and plastic pellets. A standoff ensued where the students hid behind a barricade of dumpsters until the police charged to detain them. Melih Meric, a legislator with Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party or CHP, was seen soaked with water and suffering from pepper spray exposure. “My student friends only wanted to make a press statement, but the police strictly did not allow it, this is the result,” Meric said in social media videos.
Imamoglu's lawyer detained
Imamoglu’s lawyer, Mehmet Pehlivan, who has represented him in multiple cases and in proceedings following his arrest, was detained late Thursday, according to a post on Imamoglu's social media account. No formal charges were immediately announced. “There is no end to lies or slander in the prohibitionist mind," Imamoglu wrote on X. “This time, my lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was detained on fictitious grounds. As if the coup against democracy was not enough, they cannot tolerate the victims of this coup defending themselves. They want to add a legal coup to the coup against democracy. The evil that a handful of incompetent people are inflicting on our country is growing. Release my lawyer immediately.”Opposition leaning Cumhuriyer newspaper reported that Pehlivan was taken to the Vatan central precinct in Istanbul.
Nearly 1,900 arrested
Interior Minister Ali Yerkikaya said Thursday that nearly 1,900 people have been arrested over eight days of massive protests across the country. He said that 1,879 suspects were detained, including 260 who were jailed pending trial. A further 468 were released under judicial control while their cases continue. Proceedings are ongoing for 662 other people. The minister said some faced charges for drug offenses and assault, adding that 150 police officers had been injured. He did not specify the nature of other charges but offenses such as resisting police and not complying with a ban on protests and gatherings have been cited previously. Demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of largely peaceful protesters have swept across major cities, including opposition-organized rallies outside Istanbul City Hall. Other major protests have been held in Istanbul’s districts of Kadikoy and Sisli districts in recent days. Some demonstrations have been marred by violence as police used water cannons, tear gas, plastic pellets and pepper spray to breakup protests that have been banned in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Police continued to carry out house raids targeting protesters Thursday morning. Most of those detained in their homes appear to belong to left-wing parties, trade unions and civil society groups.
Media crackdown
Eleven journalists were arrested and sent to jail Wednesday after covering the protests. At least eight were released under judicial control a day later, the Media and Law Studies Association said, but still face charges relating to the protests. Turkey’s broadcasting authority, meanwhile, issued a 10-day airwave ban on opposition-supporting channel Sozcu TV, the station said. The penalty was issued for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” during broadcasts leading up to Imamoglu’s imprisonment. Radio and Television Supreme Council member Ilhan Tasci said that other channels backing the opposition were fined and handed program suspensions over their protest coverage. In response to the growing criticism, Fahrettin Altun, the presidential communications director and a senior aide to Erdogan, defended the bans and penalties on X.
“The attitude that the public authority should take against broadcasts that aim to incite the public to hatred and hostility, disrupt public order, and suppress individual rights and freedoms is clear,” Altun said. He added that “Media institutions and organizations must broadcast responsibly, principled, ethically, and based on truth,” and warned that broadcasts which “aim to discredit Turkey, encourage vandalism, escalate violence, provide ground for terrorist organizations, and undermine judicial institutions cannot be defended in any way.”Altun said that media coverage that included “slanders and insults” were defended “under the guise of press freedom” and added that that press organizations must “abandon their attitudes that ignore the serious slander, insult, and accusations constantly voiced against our President and government in media organizations broadcasting in axis close to their own ideology.” In Ankara, a group of CHP lawmakers headed to protest at the broadcasting authority’s offices said their party bus was “hijacked” by police. “We wanted to bring our election bus … But the police of this country take the key and give it to the (broadcasting council) officer,” CHP member of parliament Ali Mahir Basarir said.
BBC reporter Mark Lowen was deported from Turkey following his arrest Wednesday, the British news broadcaster said. He was detained at his hotel and held for 17 hours before being issued with a notice describing him as a “threat to public order," according to a BBC statement Thursday. The state-run Analdu Agency reported that 30 people were detained in Istanbul for what it described as “creating panic” with “provocative” social media posts calling others to street protests.
Mayor and more than 100 others pending trial
Imamoglu, the Istanbul mayor, was detained in a dawn raid on his home on March 19 and later remanded to prison. He faces charges stemming from two investigations into the opposition-controlled Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality -- a corruption case and one alleging support for terrorism. The mayor is the main challenger to Erdogan in an election currently scheduled for 2028 but which is likely to take place earlier. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Thursday that 106 people had been arrested in both municipality investigations, with 51 in jail pending trial, including Imamoglu. Those detained include municipal officials and business figures accused of crimes such as bribery, extortion and bid-rigging. Many see the case against Imamoglu as politically motivated. Protesters often say they have come out against Turkey's democratic backsliding and increasing authoritarianism, as well as the country's bleak economic outlook.Imamoglu was confirmed as the CHP candidate for presidential elections the same day he was sent to prison He has performed well in recent polls against Erdogan, and his election as mayor of Turkey’s largest city in 2019 was a major blow to the president.

Six dead in sinking of Egypt tourist submarine
Agence France Presse/March 27, 2025
Six people died on Thursday, two of them minors, when a tourist submarine carrying dozens of Russian visitors sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast near a major resort town. Egyptian state media put the toll at six, while Russian state news agencies quoted General Consul Viktor Voropaev as saying that five people were confirmed dead, two of them minors. Russia's consulate in the tourist hub of Hurghada earlier said the vessel was carrying "45 tourists, including minors" on an underwater excursion to observe coral reefs when it "crashed 1 kilometer from the shore" at about 10:00 am local time (0800 GMT). "According to initial data, most of those on board were rescued and taken to their hotels and hospitals in Hurghada," the consulate said, adding that diplomats had been dispatched to the pier. The website of state-owned Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper gave the toll of six dead and said 29 people were rescued, nine of them wounded. Russian state news agency Ria Novosti, quoting an Egyptian emergency services source, reported the death of "five foreigners and one Egyptian".Local authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The website of Sindbad Submarines, the vessel's owner according to the Russian consulate, said the vessel could carry 44 passengers to up to 25 meters (27 yards) depth.
The Egyptian newspaper reported investigations were underway to determine what caused the accident.
Deadly accidents
Hurghada, a resort about 460 kilometers (280 miles) southeast of the Egyptian capital Cairo, is a major destination for visitors to Egypt, with its airport receiving more than nine million passengers last year, according to state media. Thursday's forecast in the city was clear, with above average winds reported but optimum visibility underwater. While dozens of tourist boats sail through the coastal area daily for snorkeling and diving activities, Sindbad Submarines says it deploys the region's "only real" recreational submarine. The vessel has been operational in the area for multiple years, according to a source familiar with the company. The Red Sea coral reefs and islands off Egypt's eastern coast are major draws, contributing to the country's vital tourism sector which employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of GDP. The area has been the site of several deadly accidents in recent years. In November, a dive boat capsized off the coast of Marsa Alam, south of Hurghada, leaving four dead and seven missing. Thirty people were rescued from another sinking boat, while last June two dozen French tourists were safely evacuated before their boat sank in a similar accident. In 2023, three British tourists died after a fire broke out on their yacht, engulfing their vessel in flames.

The Latest English LCCC analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources on March 27-28/2025
Improved Syria-Iraq ties a strategic imperative
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/March 27, 2025
The relationship between Syria and Iraq plays a significant role in influencing the political and economic landscape of the Middle East. As two neighboring countries with deeply intertwined histories, their cooperation has the potential to bring economic prosperity and enhance regional security, while tackling pressing challenges such as drug smuggling and terrorism. With the Syrian Arab Republic under new leadership, there is a renewed opportunity to redefine and strengthen bilateral relations. Iraq, with its growing regional influence and economic potential, can play a crucial role in Syria’s postwar reconstruction. Strengthening these ties would not only be beneficial for Syria and Iraq, but also for the broader stability of the region.
One of the most urgent challenges facing Syria is the reconstruction of its war-torn economy. Years of civil war have devastated Syria’s infrastructure, depleted its resources and severely weakened its economic output. The new government, seeking to rebuild the nation, must look to regional partnerships — and Iraq stands out as a natural ally in this endeavor. Before the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Iraq was one of Syria’s most important trading partners. Trade between the two nations was vibrant, particularly in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food processing, textiles and energy. In 2010, Iraq was the largest importer of Syrian goods, providing a vital economic lifeline to its neighbor. However, the war disrupted these economic ties, leaving Syria’s industries struggling to recover.
Before the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Iraq was one of Syria’s most important trading partners
Today, with the new government in Damascus eager to revive the country’s economy, restoring trade with Iraq ought to be a priority. By reopening trade routes, removing bureaucratic obstacles and fostering investment opportunities, both nations stand to gain. Iraqi businesses can benefit from access to Syrian markets, while Syrian industries can regain their footing by exporting goods to Iraq. However, some analysts argue that political hesitancy in Baghdad has slowed this process, as Iraq’s government has been more cautious than other regional states, citing concerns over security, international sanctions and political stability in Syria. Overcoming these hurdles requires diplomatic engagement, economic incentives and a clear framework for cooperation.
Furthermore, Iraq can play a vital role in Syria’s reconstruction efforts by investing in infrastructure projects, energy development and industrial revitalization. Syrian cities that were destroyed by war need rebuilding and Iraq, with its economic resources, can contribute to these efforts. Joint ventures in construction, transportation and energy production can create jobs, boost economic activity and pave the way for long-term prosperity in both nations. For this economic collaboration to succeed, both governments must work together to establish clear policies that facilitate trade, encourage investment and address logistical challenges such as border controls and customs regulations.Secondly, security remains a major concern for both Syria and Iraq. The long, porous border between the two countries has historically served as a conduit for armed groups, facilitating the movement of terrorists, weapons and illicit goods. Strengthening security cooperation is essential for both nations to protect their sovereignty and ensure regional stability.
With the fall of the Assad regime, the security landscape in Syria is shifting. The new government must maintain stability and prevent extremist groups from exploiting the country’s fragile state. Iraq, which has battled terrorist threats for decades, understands the importance of strong security measures and can play a key role in helping Syria establish order. One of the most pressing security threats is the resurgence of terrorist organizations, including Daesh. While Daesh no longer controls large swaths of territory, it remains active in both Syria and Iraq, launching attacks and maintaining sleeper cells.
A stable and secure Syria is in Iraq’s best interest, as instability over the border directly affects its security. The Iraqi military, in cooperation with US-led coalition forces, has been engaged in ongoing counterterrorism operations to eliminate high-profile Daesh figures. A recent example of such cooperation was this month’s elimination of Abdallah Maki Mosleh Al-Rifai, the head of Daesh in Iraq and Syria. This joint operation, conducted by Iraqi intelligence and coalition forces, underscored the importance of coordinated security efforts. By sharing intelligence, conducting joint operations and strengthening border controls, Syria and Iraq can more effectively combat the persistent threat of terrorism.
Moreover, securing the Syria-Iraq border is crucial for preventing the infiltration of armed groups and ensuring that neither country becomes a staging ground for terrorist activities. Enhanced border patrols, intelligence sharing and coordinated military operations can significantly improve security for both nations. By reforming security institutions and fostering cooperation with Iraq’s security forces, Syria can take meaningful steps toward ensuring long-term stability. A stable and secure Syria is in Iraq’s best interest, as instability over the border directly affects its security. Strengthening military and intelligence collaboration will not only help neutralize terrorist threats but also lay the groundwork for broader regional security cooperation. Beyond economic and security concerns, Syria and Iraq share deep cultural, historical and social ties. Strengthening these connections can foster mutual understanding, encourage people-to-people exchanges and contribute to a more cohesive regional identity. Cultural initiatives such as joint archaeological projects, academic collaborations and artistic exchanges can reinforce the shared heritage of both nations. Restoring historical sites, many of which have been damaged by war, can serve as a symbol of resilience and cooperation. Additionally, fostering educational partnerships between Syrian and Iraqi universities can help build a new generation of leaders committed to regional unity and development. Diplomatic engagement is also crucial. By strengthening political ties, Syria and Iraq can coordinate their positions on regional issues and advocate for mutual interests.In conclusion, strengthening the ties between Syria and Iraq is not just a bilateral necessity — it is a strategic imperative. By enhancing economic cooperation, bolstering security efforts and fostering cultural and diplomatic engagement, these two nations can pave the way for long-term stability and prosperity. A strong partnership between Syria and Iraq will benefit their citizens.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist. X: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Why have Gazans come out publicly now?
Daoud Kuttab/Arab News/March 27, 2025
This week’s public demonstrations in the north and south of Gaza caught many by surprise. After all, the Palestinians of Gaza have become an icon of resistance and sacrifice over 16 months of heavy-handed, brutal and largely indiscriminate Israeli attacks that spared no civilians, journalists, kitchen staff or even medical workers. Credit must be given to this heroic population, but one must never forget that they are human beings and not superhumans. They ache when they are hurt, mourn when loved ones die and become angry when they are faced with continuous injustice to which the world is apathetic. It took way too long for a ceasefire agreement to be signed and to come into force. Finally, in January, Gazans who had been forcibly relocated to tents in the south were able to return north. Many found their homes partially or fully demolished. They began, as much as they could, to clean up and fix their homes while waiting for the promised heavy equipment to arrive so that the heavy rubble could be removed and some of the still-buried bodies taken out and given a proper burial. Attempts to claim the protests were not genuine were quickly debunked by the communal leaders in Beit Lahia
But just as they began restoring some form of life, the ceasefire abruptly and unexpectedly ended with a huge airstrike that killed 400 Palestinians, most of them children and women. Israel claimed that the goal of this strike was to assassinate “mid-level” Hamas leaders.
Still, many waited in the hope that the US sponsors of the ceasefire — which the newly elected president claimed credit for — would act against such a clear violation by Israel. The unilateral violation of the ceasefire and relaunch of the war was not lost on many Israelis, including the families of the hostages, who felt that this was a stab in the back of their loved ones. The attack was followed by the war crime of a blockade of food and humanitarian aid. Even the symbolic Jordanian airdrops also failed.
Hamas leaders did apparently try to make a small compromise by agreeing to release five Americans, including one who had not been killed by Israeli airstrikes. But that seemed to further anger the Israelis, who felt that the Americans might abandon them if they got their dual US-Israeli citizens back.
American negotiators failed to even admit that their beloved Israeli ally was the party that broke the ceasefire deal, instead blaming Hamas for refusing a suggestion by US mediator Steve Witkoff for the release of five live hostages, including the American. Speaking to the media, Witkoff put all the blame on Hamas and fully supported the Israeli brutality.
Hamas fighters symbolically responded to the continued Israeli ceasefire violations by firing a rocket from the north of Gaza. The Israelis responded in a harsh way, ordering the people of Beit Lahia to leave their homes yet again.
This produced an angry response, both against the Israelis, whose brutality and inhuman collective punishment was being ignored by the world, but also against the Hamas leaders for not realizing that they need to partially bend when a storm of this magnitude is hitting the region.
Hamas must understand that it needs to weigh up its decisions and be cognizant of the current balance of power
Attempts to claim the protests were not genuine or that they were brokered by Mohammed Dahlan’s team or by the Ramallah leadership were quickly debunked by the communal leaders in Beit Lahia, who insisted that the protests against both Israel and Hamas were genuine.
While the protests, including those critical of Hamas, were indeed genuine, it is important that the Israelis and the world do not take this as a sign that the Palestinian resistance is weakening or that everyone has become anti-Hamas.
Naturally, the Hamas leadership must understand that it needs to weigh up its decisions and be cognizant of the current balance of power after the most recent changes in Washington, Beirut and other regional and world capitals. The ceasefire must be immediately and properly reinstated, bringing an end to the war, along with the release of prisoners and restoration of food supplies, followed by a robust move for reconstruction and a political peace process.
Many around the world continue to demand an end of the Israeli war crimes. Arab countries need to do more and the world community needs to insist on the application of the laws of war, which at their minimum require avoiding attacks on civilians and the refusal of collective starvation policies. Will anyone listen to the cries coming out of Gaza and remember that Palestinians in Gaza are human beings with human traits, pains, feelings and hopes? The end of this war must not be delayed any longer.
• Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He is the author of “State of Palestine NOW: Practical and logical arguments for the best way to bring peace to the Middle East.” X: @daoudkuttab

End of USAID should not mean the end of US support to Africa
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/March 27, 2025
Even when it comes to international aid and assistance, strategic geopolitical interests are at play. Secretary of State Marco Rubio this month announced the results of the review of programs carried out by the US Agency for International Development. It translated into 83 percent of aid being cut and the resulting impact on many African countries has reignited debates on the competition between the US and China on the continent and the heightened risk of humanitarian crises. Even if competition for influence in Africa is real, framing this under great power competition is a mistake. Indeed, both countries have taken a very different approach and this closure will probably not change China’s plans, which are set in the long term. Moreover, USAID did not stop China from increasing its influence. However, this brings a potential new approach for US support — an approach that supports greater African responsibility and transparency.According to the Congressional Research Service, sub-Saharan Africa is the largest regional recipient of American foreign assistance. Over the past decade, the aid that the State Department and USAID have administered to Africa has been worth about $8 billion annually. Major recipients have included Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. In addition to direct US aid, African nations also receive assistance through other American agencies and Washington’s contributions to multilateral organizations.
This brings a potential new approach for US support — an approach that supports greater African responsibility and transparency
About 70 percent of American aid for Africa over the past decade supported health programs, primarily HIV/AIDS, with additional funding for agriculture, economic growth, security, the promotion of democracy and human rights, and education. Key multination initiatives like the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Feed the Future and Power Africa also support the region. Most aid is delivered through contractors, nongovernmental organizations and multilateral bodies, rather than direct government-to-government assistance. And this is probably one of the flaws that made USAID money less efficient.
This situation is not specific to USAID; rather, it reflects how most foreign assistance programs and charities operate. It may come as a surprise, but a large portion of the funds cover administrative costs and running the projects, rather than directly supporting the core objectives. When it comes to cross-border programs, this burden is even higher. And so, in the end, positive change becomes less efficient and this was the case with USAID.
This is why the US should not abandon Africa and give up on all its support. It should focus on bringing about real and positive changes while reinforcing African leadership. It is, to a certain extent, the same as Europe is going through with its security file. Africa deserves the generosity of the American people. Washington just needs to make sure it is well-allocated and executed. In short, it should be a reset, not a cancellation.
This aid should not be motivated by ideological agendas. This is also what made USAID money less efficient. International aid should be aimed at solving real problems and curbing Africa’s reliance on pure foreign aid. It is also an opportunity for African leaders to look for an approach that will build up their own economies. There are two main areas that need to be addressed: fighting poverty and empowering local management. Yet the urgency is on healthcare.
Africa’s predicament is that, despite its wealth in natural resources, which includes some of the world’s largest minerals reserves, a variety of energy sources and large areas of arable land, it is still struck with extreme poverty. Competition between external nations in Africa is hence partly, if not mainly, about gaining control of the 30 percent of the planet’s mineral reserves it homes. The significant deposits of gold, diamonds, platinum, copper and uranium, for example, have been a source of military confrontations for far too long.
Africa deserves the generosity of the American people. Washington just needs to make sure it is well-allocated and executed
The same goes for its other resources. Indeed, Africa is also a major producer of oil and gas, with countries like Nigeria, Angola and Algeria leading in petroleum reserves, while North Africa, particularly Libya and Egypt, contributes heavily to gas production. Moreover, Africa has huge renewable energy potential and solar power could change the entire dynamic in the Sahara.
While poverty and starvation still hit the continent brutally, we quickly forget that 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land is in Africa. It is already a leader in commodities like cocoa, coffee, tea and timber. The potential of fisheries makes Africa a resource powerhouse with immense economic potential.
Unfortunately, while this all sounds good on paper, the reality is very different. The difference between theory and practice goes a long way. And so, we still need to question how foreign aid and its structure have impacted the continent’s development and may have contributed to its ongoing dependence on such support. Moreover, while it has symbolically shifted the moral responsibility of progress from African leaders to Western powers, the reality is it has given the latter carte blanche to get their hands on vast resources in return for building just a few kilometers of road or a few wells. This is why, on a separate note, the Gulf Cooperation Council’s approach has always been respected and accepted.
This is why the end of USAID should not be synonymous with the end of US support to Africa. But any new program should be directed at helping Africa gain control of its own resources for its own development, not to prevent China or Russia from gaining ground but because it is the true spirit of US generosity and the right thing to do. This is how the US will make a true, long-term ally of Africa.
**Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

The ethics around AI in diplomacy and governance
Rafael Hernández de Santiago/Arab News/March 27, 2025
In the illustrious corridors of Techville, where innovation and ethics waltz in perfect harmony, a new era of diplomacy has dawned — one led by the infallible wisdom of artificial intelligence. Here, biases and controversies are but distant memories, thanks to our unwavering trust in machine objectivity. After all, why leave delicate matters of global politics in the hands of flawed, emotional humans when we can entrust them to algorithms designed by, well, slightly less flawed, highly rational humans? Gone are the days when human diplomats, with their pesky emotions and subjective judgments, steered the course of international relations. In Techville, we have embraced AI-driven diplomacy, ensuring decisions are made with cold precision.
As Friedrich Nietzsche aptly observed: “Objection, evasion, joyous distrust, and love of irony are signs of health; everything absolute belongs to pathology.” Clearly our AI systems, devoid of such human flaws, epitomize absolute health. Who needs evasion or distrust when we can simply program the perfect response?
Consider the groundbreaking Neural Diplomat 3000, which successfully brokered the landmark Techville Accord between two perpetually feuding factions — by analyzing 500 years of political history and suggesting the one diplomatic solution no human dared propose: a mutual block on social media. Conflict resolved in a single line of code. Ah, the age-old critique that AI systems are riddled with biases. Ridiculous! The mere suggestion that algorithms could inherit the biases of their creators is laughable. Our algorithms are crafted by the most diverse teams of like-minded engineers, ensuring a uniformity of thought that guarantees impartiality. Soren Kierkegaard once mused: “Irony is a disciplinarian feared only by those who do not know it but cherished by those who do.” And here in Techville, we cherish our irony, confident that our AI systems are the ultimate disciplinarians, guiding us toward ethical nirvana.
If an AI system disproportionately favors certain nations over others in negotiations, surely it is only because those nations best align with the machine’s perfect logic — certainly not because of any pesky historical biases embedded in its training data. Take, for instance, the EquiBalance AI Protocol, designed to ensure fairness in global resource distribution. Critics were quick to point out that, oddly, wealthier nations seemed to always receive the lion’s share of resources. A bug? No, no — just an elegant reflection of existing geopolitical realities!
As Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel observed: “Irony is the form of paradox. Paradox is what is good and great at the same time.” How fortunate we are to witness such greatness! Any controversies surrounding AI are merely the fabrications of skeptics who fail to grasp the brilliance of our creations. We stand at the precipice of ultimate liberation — freedom from decision-making, freedom from error, freedom from responsibility! Let the machines take the wheel; we promise they have read more philosophy books than we ever will.
Some say that AI cannot navigate the nuance of international diplomacy, that it lacks empathy and cultural understanding. To this, we simply say: Is empathy not just a series of well-calibrated response variables? Is culture not just an aggregation of behavioral data points? If so, then AI, with its vast datasets, understands human emotion and culture better than humans themselves.
Take the EmpaTech Conversational AI, which was programmed to handle sensitive peace negotiations. When presented with the demands of two warring factions, it wisely recommended an option neither had considered: the immediate automation of both leadership structures, replacing human decision-makers with AI overlords who could govern with impeccable logic.
A revolutionary move! Alas, the humans rejected this brilliant proposal, proving once again that irrational sentimentality is the greatest barrier to progress.
But of course, the greatest controversy of them all — the claim that AI diplomacy threatens human autonomy. Ah, the tragic irony! As Jean-Paul Sartre put it: “Man is condemned to be free.”
And yet, we stand at the precipice of ultimate liberation — freedom from decision-making, freedom from error, freedom from responsibility! Let the machines take the wheel; we promise they have read more philosophy books than we ever will. In Techville, we rest easy knowing our AI diplomats, free from ethical quandaries and immune to controversy, lead us into a future where human error is but a distant memory. We envision a world where world leaders consult not with each other, but with neural consensus units, AI-powered adjudicators whose recommendations are absolute. A world where conflicts are settled not through negotiations, but through precise algorithmic solutions that ensure perfect efficiency (though, admittedly, sometimes at the cost of human dignity — but let’s not get bogged down in semantics).
Some still dare to ask: “What happens when the machines disagree with us?” To which we respond: Why should they ever? They are, after all, designed to be right. And when they inevitably reshape our world into one of pure rationality, perhaps we too will learn to love the irony of it all.
Until then, let us bask in the comfort of knowing that our future is in the hands of logic, precision, and an unshakable belief that machines, unlike humans, never make mistakes.
• Rafael Hernandez de Santiago, viscount of Espes, is a Spanish national residing in Saudi Arabia and working at the Gulf Research Center.