LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 08/2019

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.april08.19.htm

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Bible Quotations For today
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 06/16-21: “‘Whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
’
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on April 07-08/19
Faith, Hope And Persistence Do Miracles
President Aoun to Tunisian TV: For adopting a unified Arab stance towards the Arab Israeli conflict
Aoun: Arab Spring was More of an Arab Hell
Berri before the Parliaments of the World: What is taken by force or granted can only be recovered through unity and resistance
Foucher says France is loyal to Lebanon and will continue its commitment
Bassil tours Zgharta, visits museum of Joseph Karam, tomb and foundation of late President Mouawad
Maronite Patriarch: Blind Officials Causing People's Misery
U.S. Mulling Sanctions Against Berri's Inner Circle
Khalil: No Taxes on the Poor in State Budget
Jumblat in Jab at Hizbullah Arms as Tensions Rise
Bassil Expresses 'Real Fear' over 'Displacement of Native Residents'
Tension Between Jumblatt-Hezbollah Affects Health Minister’s Visit to Rashaya
Bou Saab Says U.S. Must Opt for Dialogue, Not Sanctions, with Hezbollah
Beirut Hosts Middle East Social Media Festival
Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel Outlines Three Key Components of Nation Rescue
Hankache Takes Part in Metn Sit-in to Protest Controversial Power Project
Prosecutors Request Questioning of Carlos Ghosn's Wife

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 07-08/19
U.S. to Designate Elite Iranian Force as Terrorist Organization
Qatar Papers' Exposes Doha’s Funding of Muslim Brotherhood in Europe
Russia Sponsors Talks in Damascus Between Regime, Opposition in Daraa
Syria: Regime, Opposition Forces Exchange Fire, Scores Killed
Griffiths Arrives in Sanaa, Attempts to Save Stockholm Agreement
Ptolemaic Tomb Unveiled in Egypt’s Sohag
Palestinians denounce Netanyahu’s annexation pledge
Netanyahu Vows to Annex West Bank Settlements after Vote
Key Dates in Israel since Its Creation in 1948
Guterres Visits Palestinian Refugee Camp in Jordan
Erekat to Asharq Al-Awsat: Trump Is Telling The world 'What Was Taken by Force Can Be Kept By Force'
Erdogan's Party to Demand Total Recount of Istanbul Ballots
Sudan Protesters Rally outside Army HQ for 2nd Day
U.N. Calls for 'Urgent' Libya Truce to Evacuate Civilians, Wounded
U.S. Pulls Some Troops Out of Libya amid Unrest
Haftar Forces Announce Tripoli Air Raid, Govt. Fighters Declare Counterattack

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 07-08/19
Faith, Hope And Persistence Do Miracles/Elias Bejjani/April 07/2019
Key Dates in Israel since Its Creation in 1948/Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 07/19
We Come Together to Fight/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/April 07/19
Bibi vs. Benny: A Conversation on the Eve of Israel's Elections/Ehud Yaari, Tal Shalev, and David Makovsky/The Washington Institute/April 07/19
Trump’s blacklisting of Iran’s Guards bodes tougher US oil sanctions, more IDF air strikes in W. Iraq as well as Syria/DEBKAfile/April 07/19
Flooding crisis highlights Iranian regime’s incompetence/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/April 07/19
Putin remaking the world in his image/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/April 07/19
Erdogan will be haunted by local election defeats/Yasar Yakis/Arab News/April 07/19
Turkey: Erdogan Pledges to Convert Byzantine Cathedral Hagia Sophia into a Mosque/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/April 07/19

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on April 07-08/19
Faith, Hope And Persistence Do Miracles
Elias Bejjani/April 07/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73575/elias-bejjani-faith-and-persistence-do-miracles/
John 09:39: “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”
On the sixth Lenten Sunday, our Maronite Catholic Church cites and recalls with great piety Jesus’ healing miracle of the blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus. This amazing miracle that took place in Jericho near the Pool of Siloam is documented in three gospels:
Mark 10/46-52.
John 9/1-41.
Matthew 20/:29-34.
Maronites in Lebanon and all over the world strongly believe that Jesus is the holy and blessed light through which believers can see God’s paths of righteousness. There is no doubt that without Jesus’ light, evil darkness will prevail in peoples’ hearts, souls and minds. Without Jesus’ presence in our lives we definitely will become preys to all kinds of evil temptations.
John 09:5: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world”.
In every community, there are individuals from all walks of life who are spiritually blind, lacking faith, have no hope, and live in dim darkness because they have distanced themselves from Almighty God and from His Gospel, although their eyes are physically perfectly functional and healthy.
Meanwhile the actual blindness is not in the eyes that can not see because of physical ailments, but in the hearts that are hardened, in the consciences that are numbed and in the spirits that are defiled with sin.
John’s Gospel gives important details about what has happened with Bartimaeus after the healing miracle of his blindness. As we read in the below enclosed Biblical verses that after his healing Bartimaeus and his parents were exposed to intimidation, fear, threats, and terror. But he refused to succumb or to lie.
He held verbatim to all the course details of the miracle, bravely witnessed for the truth and loudly proclaimed his strong belief that Jesus who cured him was The Son Of God.
His faith made him strong, fearless and courageous. The Holy Spirit came to his rescue and spoke through him.
Romans 8:26: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans”
Sadly our contemporary world hails atheism, brags about secularism and persecutes those who have faith in God and believe in Him.
Where ever we live, there are opportunists and hypocrites like some of the conceited crowd members that initially rebuked Bartimaeus, and tried with humiliation to keep him away from Jesus, but the moment Jesus called on him they changed their attitude and let him go through.
Meanwhile, at the present time, Christian believers do suffer dire persecution in many countries on the hands of ruthless oppressors, Jihadists and rulers who refuse to witness for the truth.
But despite of all the dim spiritual darkness, thanks God, there are still too many meek believers like Bartimaeus who hold to their faith no matters what the obstacles or hurdles are.
Lord, enlighten our minds and hearts with your light and open our eyes to realize that You are a loving and merciful father.
Lord Help us to take Bartimaeus as a faith role model in our life.
Lord help us to defeat all kinds of sins that take us away from Your light, and deliver us all from evil temptations.

President Aoun to Tunisian TV: For adopting a unified Arab stance towards the Arab Israeli conflict
Sun 07 Apr 2019/NNA - President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, emphasized the need for adopting a unified Arab position towards the Arab-Israeli conflict. "I always call for non-despair, and we have to think well of tomorrow," he said. The President called on the Arab countries "to develop a unified, right decision which could form an approachable path, after a good distance was made towards peace following the Arab initiative of peace presented by the late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in Beirut in 2002, namely the land-for-peace initiative."However, Aoun warned: "If the land no longer exists, it is natural that peace will also be lost, for land and peace are an indivisible unity."President Aoun's words came in an interview with the Tunisian Television, conducted during his presence in Tunisia to attend the Arab Summit and broadcasted today. Touching on the relationship between Lebanon and Tunisia, Aoun described it as "strong and based on common values that respect the freedom of belief and the right to disagree...and freedom of opinion as stipulated by democratic principles." He said he was pleased to visit this country for the second time after his first visit in the late 1980s "during the six-party committee that was formed to address the crisis in Lebanon but did not succeed in its pursuit following the intervention of foreign hands."The President asserted that "the similarities between the two countries are many, including the ability to override the effects of war, and the awareness of the Tunisians by giving the opposition to democracy despite the difficulties and setbacks," noting that "Tunisia remained on the right track." Aoun recalled the "special place" that Lebanon occupied in the heart of the late Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba and the Lebanese interaction with him in this context. He also recalled the late President's remarks about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the need to adopt the principle of "take and demand", where he advised the Palestinians, when negotiating with the Israelis, to take what they could and then demand the rest. "This advice is very important, but difficult to adopt today, for he have lost everything...We lost Jerusalem, and the Golan is about to be lost," Aoun said, fearing that next it would be the turn of Lebanon's Shebaa farms and Kfar Shouba hilltops. Asked about the conflict in Syria, the President said that he continuously calls for peace. "Therefore, the war must stop first and dialogue should be resumed, which would contribute to respecting the common interests of the countries," he said. Aoun cited the reasons for most of the wars as being "economic, with a tendency of one party to have control over the other," stressing that the most important thing is to work to stop them.Turning to Tunisia's Arab Summit decisions, President Aoun expressed his belief that it bears a new reality, especially in wake of the impact of the two strong shocks in Jerusalem, and in the Golan and Lebanon's Shebaa farms and Kfar Shouba hilltops. "The shock of Jerusalem is inflicted on Arabs and Muslims throughout the world, and the second affects two countries together, Lebanon and Syria...If we do not have the necessary awareness of this issue and its consequences, then that is a disaster!" exclaimed Aoun.

Aoun: Arab Spring was More of an Arab Hell
Naharnet/April 07/19/President Michel Aoun has announced that the Arab Spring that swept through several Arab countries was more of an “Arab hell.”“The Arab Spring was more of an Arab hell due to the emergence of terrorism and because the region is still suffering from the repercussions of this terrorism,” Aoun said in an interview with the Tunisian national channel. “Syria used to be called Arabs’ beating heart, but what have we done to this heart? If you are against the regime you cannot kill the people. The Syrian people are the victim,” the president added. “The war in the region must stop and there should be a return to dialogue, which would contribute to the respect of the countries’ common interests,” Aoun went on to say. Commenting on U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the president said: “Jerusalem was lost, the Golan is also being lost and we’re afraid that the Lebanese Shebaa Farms and Kfarshouba Hills will be next.”

Berri before the Parliaments of the World: What is taken by force or granted can only be recovered through unity and resistance
Sun 07 Apr 2019/NNA - Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, warned Sunday of the upcoming phase following the American President's decision to consider Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to legitimize the occupation of the Syrian Golan, stressing that "what is taken by force, or granted, cannot be recovered but by unity and resistance."Berri's words came in his delivered speech this afternoon at the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) Conference held in the Qatari capital, Doha. "There are a lot of pressing issues in the Middle East, which we cannot ignore, foremost of which is President Trump's decision to consider Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and now his decision of American legislation for Israel's occupation and breach of the Syrian Golan Heights," he said. The Speaker considered it the Union's responsibility "to condemn the use of live sniper bullets by Israel to kill children, women and old people, and protesting men demanding the right of return, in addition to the policy of house demolitions, the displacement of families and stripping them of their ID cards at Israeli checkpoints, the establishment of settlement belts around Jerusalem, the construction of dozens of settlements in the Palestinian territories, the transfer of the rest of the Palestinian areas to a large prison, in addition to dozens of detention centers..." "These Israeli crimes resemble the hands of crime that bombed the Abbassiya Mosque in southern Lebanon in 1978, and the two Qana massacres by Israeli artillery batteries in 1996 and Israeli warplanes against civilians in 2006," deemed Berri, declaring herein his support for the proposal made by the Arab Group. It is to note that Speaker Berri's speech was highly appreciated by conferees, on which a number of heads of Arab councils congratulated him. During yesterday's opening session, the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, stressed in his address the importance of investment and education to achieve development. He asserted that "ignorance raises intolerance and that there is no justice without the rule of law." He also called for "adherence to international law," noting that "the differences in our systems do not exempt us from the obligation to respect human rights," underlining the "role of parliamentary diplomacy in promoting dialogue." For her part, IPU President Gabriela Cuevas Baron spoke in her address of "peace and respect for the law", referring to "the increasing number of terrorist acts that trigger concern for the security situation."

Foucher says France is loyal to Lebanon and will continue its commitment
Sun 07 Apr 2019/NNA - French Ambassador to Lebanon, Bruno Foucher, stressed Sunday "France has always remained faithful to Lebanon, in the good and difficult stages of its history." "Security cooperation falls within the broader context of assisting Lebanon in the issue of the displaced at the Brussels Conference II, and in economic development at the Cedar Conference," Foucher added. "This assistance does not come without charge, which in itself lies in the interest of Lebanon to achieve the radical reforms that are expected by the international community and France, especially in the electricity sector and other fields," the diplomat went on. Foucher praised the "Lebanese armed forces and other security services," stressing that "the daily dedication and professionalism of these forces constitute a guarantee not only for the stability of the country, but also for our security, and these forces, in cooperation with other security services, allow us to hope for a better future." The French Ambassador's words came in his address at the annual celebration held by the Association of Lebanese Lords of Honor, "Légion d'honneur", in commemoration of French army veterans, the Lebanese and French residing in Lebanon, which was held at the Lebanese Automobile and Touring Club in Kaslik (ATCL).

Bassil tours Zgharta, visits museum of Joseph Karam, tomb and foundation of late President Mouawad
Sun 07 Apr 2019/NNA - Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Minister, Free Patriotic Movement Chief Gebran Bassil, toured Sunday the district of Zgharta, where he had a series of functions and stopovers during a long, marathon day. Bassil began his visit by joining FPM's youth sector in Zgharta in a hike, accompanied by Presidential Advisor Pierre Raffoul, and planted a Cedar tree in their name. Addressing the youth members, Bassil wished them steadfastness in their land, "the land of their fathers and ancestors". Bassil then visited the museum of the late Lebanese hero, Youssef Bek Karam, in the neighborhood of Zgharta, accompanied by MP Michel Mouawad, FPM partisans and supporters, where he received a briefing of the museum's contents, its historical and national importance, and the distinguished role of the late Youssef Karam in Lebanese national political life. Bassil's next stopover was at the tomb of Martyr President Rene Mouawad at the Church of "Our Lady of Zgharta", where he paid tribute to his memory and prayed for the comfort of his soul. After that, everyone toured the old neighborhoods of Zgharta, where MP Moawad briefed Minister Bassil on the difficult conditions and problems facing its citizens, "which constitute a threat to their identity," stressing "their need for the State's support and care." Bassil, Mouawad and the accompanying delegation then moved to the Rene Mouawad Foundation, where they toured its various sectors: economic development, health and social care, education and human development, agriculture and rural development, as well as local authorities and decentralization. The tour also included visits to the Dairy Lab, the Social Development Center for Youth, the Agricultural Center and the Rene Mouawad Technical Institute.
Bassil seized the opportunity to highlight the importance of partnership between the private sector, non-governmental organizations and the Lebanese State to open new markets for the Lebanese products. Bassil then visited along with his accompanying delegation the Monastery of Ashash, where they had a closer look at its historical value and reconstruction phases. During a luncheon banquet held in their honor at the Monastery, Bassil said: "We harbor great pride for this ancient edifice that must be preserved, as is the case here." "Our problem sometimes is that we do not know the value of our inheritance....every stone and every work that was achieved is very diffucult to re-do, which gives it significant value....We have inherited the land and the values, but I am not sure if we have preserved them....We hope to pursue our efforts and that the community would meet us, because we know the value of the land and its protection of the village and the people....We hope that the young will work to preserve it for a better partnership between society, politics and spiritual community," Bassil corroborated.

Maronite Patriarch: Blind Officials Causing People's Misery
Kataeb.org/Sunday 07th April 2019/Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi criticized the "blind" politicians who are causing the people's misery, saying that they are turning a blind eye to the growing needs of the Lebanese. “Those politicians are only seeing their own interests, being careless towards the economic, financial and social crises facing the country,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday sermon. The Patriarch deplored the failure to introduce any tangible reforms one year after the CEDRE conference, warning that negligence and delay are gnawing at Lebanon’s reputation, credibility and transparency in front of the international community. “Fighting corruption remains at the heart of these reforms, provided that it starts targeting the top and down until the base, and that it halts the squandering of public funds in all its forms,” he stressed.

U.S. Mulling Sanctions Against Berri's Inner Circle
Kataeb.org/Sunday 07th April 2019/The United States is mulling the possibility of imposing sanctions on the inner circle of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri against the backdrop of his ties with Hezbollah and Iran, a report revealed on Saturday. The measures could target officials in Berri's political party as well as its financial backers, The National newspaper quoted knowledgeable sources as saying. In a bid to avoid American censure and minimize the scope of any sanctions, Berri is dispatching MP Yassine Jaber and his media adviser, Ali Hamdan, to Washington to meet with U.S. officials, the report noted. “The truth is that Hezbollah and Amal are one,” a senior White House official told The National, adding that Berri's party and high-level associates were under scrutiny. “This must stop. Nabih Berri continues to be Iran's man in Lebanon. He is Hezbollah's main line of political support. U.S. economic targeting and sanctions will increase until Berri goes – or changes, which is unlikely. As long as Berri remains in power the country will suffer," the source said. Another source with knowledge of the discussions taking place in Washington said the Trump administration “would not be fooled by diplomatic posturing or deception” from Berri.

Khalil: No Taxes on the Poor in State Budget
Naharnet/April 07/19/Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil on Sunday stressed that the electricity plan which is expected to be approved by the government on Monday will be based on “clarity and respect for the public funds,” reassuring that no taxes will target low-income citizens in the new state budget. “We’re concerned with the success of the electricity plan in Lebanon and we’re open to reaching a real achievement in this file, seeing as we would consider it an achievement for all Lebanese and not for a certain minister, party, movement or group,” Khalil said in a speech in the town of al-Taybeh. He added: “In this state budget, there will be no taxes targeted against people’s living conditions, there will be no taxes against the low- and middle-income classes and this is settled.”Reassuring over the new wage scale and the salaries of pensioners, Khalil said: “The gains that were achieved through people’s sweat and struggle and the stability of the lives of these people will not be touched.”

Jumblat in Jab at Hizbullah Arms as Tensions Rise
Naharnet/April 07/19/Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat has criticized Hizbullah’s controversial arsenal of weapons in a veiled way as tensions continued to surge between the two parties. After pro-Hizbullah media outlets said the party’s ties with Jumblat had been “severed,” the latter stressed that “the security and defensive decisions in the face of the enemies should be exclusively in the hands of the Lebanese Army.” According to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, tensions between the two parties have affected a visit by pro-Hizbullah Health Minister Jamil Jabal to the Rashaya region. “The PSP initially decided to boycott the visit before opting for participation in order not to ‘leave the arena,’” a source close to Jumblat told the daily in remarks published Sunday. “Hizbullah made a security deployment in the vicinity of Jabaq’s meetings and rallied its allies in the Druze arena in order to secure the visit’s success,” the source added. The source also revealed that the Industry Ministry will issue a statement clarifying why Industry Minister Wael Abu Faour has revoked a license for the establishment of a cement factory in the Ain Dara area, noting that the minister’s decision was “technical and not political.”Abu Faour’s decision in addition to Jumblat’s stances on the Syrian regime are reportedly the reasons behind the current tensions.

Bassil Expresses 'Real Fear' over 'Displacement of Native Residents'
Naharnet/April 07/19/Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil has expressed fresh concerns over the possibility of naturalizing Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. “The real fear is over naturalization and the displacement of the native residents,” Bassil said during a tour of Beirut’s first and second electoral districts.“The refugees might be naturalized and the native residents would leave their neighborhoods and lose their jobs,” Bassil warned. The minister has repeatedly warned against the naturalization of refugees in Lebanon and most recently he accused donors at the Brussels international conference of “pressing to prevent the return of refugees” to their country. “Such conferences fund the stay of the refugees where they are and we want them to fund their repatriation,” Bassil charged.

Tension Between Jumblatt-Hezbollah Affects Health Minister’s Visit to Rashaya
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 7 April, 2019/Tension prevailed lately over relations between Hezbollah and leader of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Jumblatt, mainly over criticisms launched by the Druze leader against the Syrian regime and over his policy towards the file of Syrian refugees. A war of words currently rules the Hezbollah-Jumblatt relationship: media outlets linked to the Shiite Party launched campaigns against Jumblatt, who then indirectly lashed out at the party’s weapons, saying that the Lebanese Army should solely confront Lebanon’s enemies. Such tension influenced Saturday the visit of Health Minister Jamil Jabak to Rashaya. Jabak is affiliated with Hezbollah, but he asserts that his ministry is a “Lebanese Health Ministry and not a Hezbollah Health Ministry.”On Saturday, the PSP had decided to boycott Jabak’s visit, but, a source close to Jumblatt told Asharq Al-Awsat that the party later decided not to “abandon the scene” to Hezbollah. “The PSP cancelled a ceremony to launch an institute for cardiac catheterization, which Jabak was supposed to inaugurate during his Saturday’s visit,” the source said. According to the sources, Hezbollah members were deployed near areas where Jabak held the meeting in Rashaya, while the PSP spread its supporters in the Druze area. On Saturday, the Health Minister was welcomed in Rashaya by Industry Minister Wael Bu Faour, who is a member of the PSP. In the presence of Jabak, Bu Faour delivered a statement in which he praised Jumblatt for his aid and efforts to develop and boost the health sector in the Druze area. For his part, Jabak called on the executive and legislative authorities to work together for “supporting the hospital sector in Lebanon.” It was surprising that during his visit to Rashaya on Saturday, Jabak visited Hezbollah’s allies, including some political figures that have differences with the PSP. The Health Minister met with former MP Faisal Daoud and MP Talal Arslan.

Bou Saab Says U.S. Must Opt for Dialogue, Not Sanctions, with Hezbollah
Kataeb.org/Sunday 07th April 2019/Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab said that dialogue would help deal with the Middle East challenges, stressing that it would prove more successful than sanctions. Speaking at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa in Jordan, Bou Saab stressed the need to deal differently with Lebanon given that it is a "mosaic country", saying that the U.S. should reconsider its approach on Hezbollah and opt for dialogue with the group. "I believe the policy on Lebanon with that regard is not going to be paying off," he said. "Lebanese people know how to handle the situation internally without creating another civil war in Lebanon. No-one should or could be pressing us in one direction that may create instability in my country," he added. "We are talking with the Americans. We are having dialogues with them and we are explaining the situation," Bou Saab noted. "Hezbollah they are Lebanese, they are part of the Lebanese community, the have mayors, they have elected members of the Parliament, they are in the government."

Beirut Hosts Middle East Social Media Festival
Beirut - Viviane Haddad/Asharq Al Awsat/April 07/19/Beirut is scheduled to host next week the Middle East Social Media Festival, bringing together social media experts, business people and senior university students. The two-day event, which will be held at the Movenpick Hotel in Beirut, consists of a conference on Friday and workshops the next day. It is being sponsored by LinkedIn. “Like every other year, we stress the right use of social media” platforms, Joe Ghantous, the founder of Right Service, which is organizing the event, told Asharq Al-Awsat. Among the event’s highlights is the Middle East Social Media Award (MESMA) that is dedicated to recognize social media excellence in the Middle East. It rewards individuals and brands in various categories from the country the Festival is held in, who are using social media for business in fresh and innovative ways. Ghantous said that the award will be given to names and entities that have left a positive impact on social media, gaining huge followers. Among the nominees are journalist Dima Sadek in the category of Best Public Figure, several universities, including the American University of Beirut and Saint Joseph University, in the category of Best in Education, and Elie Saab and other designers in the category of Best in Fashion. Other categories include Best Fashion Influencer – among its the nominees are Joelle Mardinian and Nour Arida - and Best Celebrity, which has nominees as Cyrine Abdel Nour, Elissa and Ragheb Alama.

Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel Outlines Three Key Components of Nation Rescue
Kataeb.org/Sunday 07th April 2019/Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel on Sunday highlighted the key components that are needed to save the country, warning of the repercussions that their absence would entail. “Patriotism, competence and integrity are all that is needed to save and revive Lebanon. When these components are lost, the outcome is predetermined,” Gemayel wrote on his Twitter page.

Hankache Takes Part in Metn Sit-in to Protest Controversial Power Project
Kataeb.org/Sunday 07th April 2019/Kataeb MP Elias Hankache on Sunday took part in a sit-in staged by the residents of Mansourieh, Ain Saade, Beit Mery and surrounding Metn villages to protest the controversial high-voltage power lines project. “We have been provoked by the use of force stipulated in the government's power plan to ensure the installation of the controversial high-voltage power lines in Mansourieh,” Hankache told LBCI. Residents condemned the insistence on going on with the controversial project, which is part of the new power plan put forth by the Energy Ministry despite its health hazards, reiterating their demand to install the lines underground. The committee also deemed it as shameful to stipulate the use of force against residents should they try to disrupt the installation works. Residents called for adhering to international standards and cautionary measures when implementing the project the project, saying that lines must be kept at least 220 meters away from residential areas and schools. The residents pledged to defend their health safety and that of their children, affirming that their stance is just. Protests have been staged in the area since 2011 to denounce plans for high-voltage power lines which, according to subsequent energy ministers, are needed to tackle the country’s electricity crisis as the project aims to connect a power plant in Mkalles to one in Bsalim.

Prosecutors Request Questioning of Carlos Ghosn's Wife
Kataeb.org/Sunday 07th April 2019/Japanese prosecutors have requested that Carole Ghosn, wife of former Nissan executive chief Carlos Ghosn, would be questioned as part of an investigation probing the possible embezzlement of funds by her husband, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday. Prosecutors are suspecting that Ghosn had illicitly transferred part of Nissan's funds to a company chaired by his wife to purchase a yacht and a boat. The prosecutors request would enable judges to summon Carole Ghosn for a mandatory questioning after she had previously refused to make a voluntary testimony. Carlos Ghosn was arrested again on Thursday on charges of siphoning off Nissan's funds to enrich himself; his mobile phone, documents, notebooks and diaries, along with his wife’s passport and mobile phone were confiscated by prosecutors, as his lawyer confirmed. Meanwhile, Carole Ghosn headed to Paris to urge the French government to help her husband, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. "I think the French government should do more for him. I don't think they've done enough. I don't think he's had enough support and he's calling for assistance. As a French citizen, it should be a right", Ghosn’s wife told the newspaper.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on April 07-08/19
U.S. to Designate Elite Iranian Force as Terrorist Organization
Reuters/April 07/19/The United States is expected to designate Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps a foreign terrorist organization, three U.S. officials told Reuters, marking the first time Washington has labeled another country's military a terrorist group. The decision, which critics warn could open U.S. military and intelligence officials to similar actions by unfriendly governments abroad, is expected to be announced by the U.S. State Department, perhaps as early as Monday, the officials said. It has been rumored for years. Iran threatened to fire back at such a move, saying that it may also put the U.S. military on its terror list. “If the Revolutionary Guards are placed on America’s list of terrorist groups, we will put that country’s military on the terror blacklist next to Daesh (ISIS),” Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of parliament’s national security committee, said on Twitter.

Qatar Papers' Exposes Doha’s Funding of Muslim Brotherhood in Europe
Paris – Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 7 April, 2019/A recent book titled Qatar Papers, authored by French journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot, revealed the extent of Qatar’s murky history of funding the Muslim Brotherhood, in Europe. The two investigative reporters base their 295-page book on a plethora of official documents and testimonies that shed light on Doha’s extensive funding of Islamist groups in order to promote MB ideology. Even though its 14 chapters mainly focused on France’s experience, the read underlines the MB’s expansionist ambition seeking to fuel religious extremism all over Europe.It also uncovers evidence that cheques and money transfers from Qatar have been used to underwrite more than 140 projects around Europe. It is worth noting that investigations included six different European countries next to French cities. The book also documents payments of €72 million to groups in seven European countries. Tariq Ramadan, a contentious Islamist thinker and well-known MB figure in Europe who spent eight months in jail over rape allegations, is cited by the book for having strong ties with a Qatari charity foundation. According to the book, Ramadan was paid €35,000 a month as a consultant to the Qatar Foundation, a body set up by Qatari royals. Just before his arrest early last year that saw Ramadan under criminal investigation, bank documents show that he withdrew €590,000 from Qatari bank accounts. Even more alarmingly, documents found in the Swiss home of Youssef Nada, a formerly prominent MB leader, set out a strategy for co-opting mayors and other local bodies as tools of influence. They highlighted French intelligence warnings about Qatari support for the L'Union des organisations islamiques de France, an umbrella body in France.
Apart from the funds directed to leading MB figures in France and Switzerland, institutions such as Mucivi, or Le Musée des civilisations de l'Islam, a museum in Geneva that openly displays MB propaganda were financed by Qatar.

Russia Sponsors Talks in Damascus Between Regime, Opposition in Daraa
Daraa - Riyad al-Zein/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 7 April, 2019/The Central Negotiations Committee in the city of Daraa held a meeting with senior officials from the Syrian regime and the National Security Office in Damascus a few days ago. The meeting took place at the request of Russia and in fulfillment of the promises made by regime officials to the committee and areas where demonstrations were carried out recently. The meeting was attended by Head of the General Security Directorate Ali Mamlouk, Defense Minister Major Gen. Ali Ayoub, Head of the Information Branch at the military Intelligence Major-General Kifah al-Milhem, in addition to a number of officers in the regime's army, according to sources. While members of the delegation in Daraa included a number of former leaders from opposition factions, including Abu Munther al-Dahni, a former leader in the city of Daraa al-Balad, Abu Murshid al-Bardan, a former leader in the “Army of the Revolution,” a representative of the settlement factions Tafas town, located north of Daraa, Lawyer Adnan al-Musalima from Daraa al-Balad, Eng. Yarub Abu Suaifan from al-Shajara town and other representatives for Jasim and Nawa areas, located in Daraa’s western countryside.Notably, the negotiating delegation from Daraa represents areas where anti-regime demonstrations have recently taken place. The meeting focused on the delegation’s request to implement the articles of the full settlement agreement reached with the Russian side during the negotiations in the southern region. Among these articles are expelling Iranian militias from south Syria, preventing it from having influence in the region, stopping arbitrary and individual arrests of civilians or people who have signed the settlement agreement, removing massive barricades from towns and cities included in the agreement and ending the presence of all military manifestations; such as military headquarters and barriers in markets and populated areas, according to meeting sources. The delegation also discussed the detainees’ issue, the fate of those missing in prisons and civilians arrested by the regime forces after entering the area following the settlement agreement. Its members also requested withdrawing lawsuits against people who were part of the settlement agreement, returning university students, employees, doctors, engineers and lawyers to their unions and workplaces without complications and addressing the issue of postponing military service for university students. Sources explained that regime officials who attended the talks stressed their willingness to address all these problems, starting with the detainees’ issues. They will start with releasing detainees after the settlement agreement and providing information about those missing, sources said.

Syria: Regime, Opposition Forces Exchange Fire, Scores Killed
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 7 April, 2019/At least 15 people were reported killed on Sunday in shelling by regime and opposition forces in northwestern Syria, a monitoring group reported. The northwest is the last major foothold of insurgents opposed to Bashar al-Assad. According to Reuters, last year Damascus was poised to mount an offensive into the northwest, raising fears of a humanitarian catastrophe. The assault was postponed following a deal between Moscow and Ankara that included the creation of a “demilitarized zone”. However, the agreement has recently come under strain:: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 45 people had been killed in the last five days alone, most of them by regime shelling of rebel-held areas. On Sunday, regime shelling killed seven people in rebel-held Nerab, the Observatory and the pro-opposition TV station Orient reported. Also, three more people were killed in rebel-held Saraqeb, civil defense rescue workers said on a Twitter feed. The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Britain, Canada, the United States, Italy, and Japan on Saturday noted “with mounting concern the escalation in Syrian military activity in the de-escalation zone in Idlib over recent weeks”, according to a communique issued on Saturday after a Group of Seven meeting, Reuters reported.

Griffiths Arrives in Sanaa, Attempts to Save Stockholm Agreement
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 7 April, 2019/UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrived in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, on Sunday in a new attempt to save the stalled Stockholm Agreement. A source at Sanaa's airport told DPA, on condition of anonymity, that Griffiths and his accompanying delegation arrived and were received by Houthi officials.The UN envoy did not give any details for journalists regarding his visit. Griffiths is set to meet with Houthi leaders and offer a new plan for implementing the first phase of the UN-brokered agreement in key port city of Hodeidah. Major General Michael Lollesgaard, the head the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) in Hodeidah, will accompany Griffiths in the expected meetings.

Ptolemaic Tomb Unveiled in Egypt’s Sohag
Cairo - Fathiya al-Dakhakhni/Asharq Al-Awsat/ April,07/ 2019/Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has announced the discovery of a tomb in the city of Akhmim in Sohag governorate thought to be from the early Ptolemaic period. Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anany said in a press conference he held in Sohag on Friday that the tomb was built for a man named Tutu and his wife, a musician called Ta-Shirit-Iziz. It was discovered when authorities found smugglers digging illegally for artifacts, he said. Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities which sits within the ministry, described the burial chamber as a "beautiful, colorful tomb". "The tomb is made up of a central lobby, and a burial room with two stone coffins. The lobby is divided in two", he said. "It shows images of the owner of the burial room, Tutu, giving and receiving gifts before different gods and goddesses". "We see the same thing for his wife, Ta-Shirit-Iziz, with the difference that (we see) verses from a book, the book of the afterlife", he added. Two mummies were on display outside the shallow burial chamber. Around 50 mummified animals, including mice and falcons, were also recovered from the tomb.

Palestinians denounce Netanyahu’s annexation pledge
The Associated Press, Jordan/Sunday, 07 April 2019/ Israel’s leader will face a “real problem” if he follows through with his election campaign promise to annex Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Foreign Minister said Sunday. Riad Malki told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Jordan that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge was likely aimed at rallying his nationalist base in the final stretch of a tight race. He added that Palestinians would “resist” such a policy if carried out. “If Netanyahu wants to declare Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank, then you know he has to face a real problem, the presence of 4.5 million Palestinians, what to do with them,” Malki said. He said Israel cannot expel the Palestinians. Malki added: “We will stay there, the international community has to deal with us.” The Palestinian FM accused the US of encouraging Netanyahu by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and, more recently, recognizing Israel’s 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights. In a prime-time interview Saturday, Netanyahu was asked why he hadn’t annexed some of the larger Jewish settlements in the West Bank during his current term. “The question you are asking is an interesting question, whether we will move to the next stage and the answer is yes,” he said. “We will move to the next stage, the imposing of Israeli sovereignty,” Netanyahu added. Netanyahu has promoted Jewish settlement expansion in his four terms as prime minister, but until now refrained from presenting a detailed vision for the West Bank, viewed by Palestinians as the heartland of a future state. It would mark a dramatic shift for Netanyahu, ahead of Tuesday’s balloting. Annexing settlements would all but end any chance of a two-state solution with the Palestinians and potentially push the sides toward a single, binational state. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also expressed concerns about America’s “illegitimate decisions” in the region. “We see the solution in dialogue between countries, because unilateral actions will never lead to anything good,” he said.

Netanyahu Vows to Annex West Bank Settlements after Vote
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 07/19/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins the upcoming general election. His comments come just days before the closely-fought April 9 poll and could be seen as an appeal to rightwing voters, who do not believe in the feasibility of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. "I will apply (Israeli) sovereignty, but I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and isolated settlements," he said in an interview with Channel 12 television. Settlements built on land occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War are deemed illegal by the international community and their ongoing construction is seen as a major barrier to peace. Annexation could prove to be the death knell for the two-state solution. Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said Netanyahu's statement on annexation was "not surprising."
"Israel will continue to brazenly violate international law for as long as the international community will continue to reward Israel with impunity, particularly with the Trump administration's support," he said on Twitter. In an interview broadcast Friday, Netanyahu said he told U.S. President Donald Trump he would not remove settlements or people as part of a future American peace plan."I said there shouldn't be the removal of even one settlement" from the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu told Israel's Channel 13 television. More than 400,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements as part of Israel's military occupation of the territory, where more than 2.5 million Palestinians live. A further 200,000 Israelis live in settlements in occupied east Jerusalem, over which Israel has already implemented full sovereignty.
'A close race'
Washington is expected to unveil proposals for Israeli-Palestinian peace sometime after Tuesday's Israeli election in which Netanyahu is seeking a fifth term. The Israeli prime minister was asked by Channel 13 if he was familiar with the details of the U.S. plan, replying he knew "what should be in it."
Along with settlements, "our ongoing control of all the territory west of the Jordan" River was a further condition set by the Israeli premier for any U.S.-led peace initiative. Netanyahu said he informed Trump not "even one person" would be evicted from a settlement. The US president on Saturday was cautious about the outcome of Israel's upcoming election, calling it a close race between "two good people.""How is the race going by the way? How is it, who's going to win the race? Tell me, I don't know," Trump asked the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas. "Well, it's going to be close -- I think it's going to be close. Two good people," he said, referring to Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz. The latest polls place Netanyahu and ex-military chief Gantz neck and neck, but give the former the advantage in his ability to form a coalition government. While Netanyahu has a close relationship with the U.S. president, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas cut off relations with Washington after Trump declared the disputed city of Jerusalem Israel's capital in December 2017. The Palestinians say the U.S. government's pro-Israel bias meant it could no longer lead peace negotiations between them and Israel, while U.S. officials argue their plan will be fair. Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts have been at a standstill since 2014, when a drive for a deal by Barack Obama's administration collapsed.

Key Dates in Israel since Its Creation in 1948
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 07/19
/Here are some milestones in the history of Israel, founded more than seven decades ago.
Born through war
Israel is created in May 1948, formed out of British-ruled Palestine three years after the end of World War II, when the Nazis killed more than six million Jews.
Israel comes under an immediate assault by neighboring Arab countries but repulses them. More than 760,000 Palestinians are driven out or flee, becoming refugees.
In 1956, Israel attacks Egypt alongside Britain and France, which are seeking to overturn the nationalization of the strategic Suez Canal.
They eventually withdraw under pressure from both the United States and the then Soviet Union.
In June 1967, Israel wins a crushing victory over its Arab neighbors in the Six-Day War, seizing the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. In 1973, Egypt and Syria launch a surprise attack on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur to try to win back their lost territories, but are repulsed.
Peace treaties
In 1978, Israel and Egypt agree on peace terms after talks brokered by the United States. The Camp David accords are the first peace agreement between Israel and an Arab state. They are signed in 1979 by Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, who is assassinated two years later by Islamists opposed to the deal. A second peace accord, with Jordan, will follow in 1994.Invasion of Lebanon
In 1978 and again in 1982, Israel invades civil war-wracked Lebanon in a bid to halt cross-border attacks by Palestinian militants. Israeli-backed Lebanese militia kill hundreds of civilians in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps. Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon until 2000.
In 2006, after the abduction of Israeli soldiers by Hizbullah, Israel launches a devastating offensive in Lebanon.
Intifadas
The first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, erupts in 1987. It ends in 1993 when Israel agrees to limited Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza as an interim step towards a comprehensive peace agreement. The deal is sealed with an historic handshake between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who is assassinated two years later by a Jewish extremist. The second intifada breaks out in 2000 when right-wing Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon pays a provocative visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in annexed east Jerusalem. The Israeli army reoccupies much of the West Bank in a series of large-scale military operations and begins building a separation barrier between the two communities that in places cuts deep into occupied territory. The intifada ends in 2005.
War in Gaza
In 2005, Israel withdraws all troops and settlers from Gaza after 38 years of occupation. It imposes a crippling blockade after Islamist group Hamas seizes control in 2007. In November 2012, it kills a top Hamas commander in a missile strike, triggering eight days of violence in which more than 170 Palestinians and six Israelis are killed. In 2014, Israel launches a new operation against Gaza, in which 2,251 Palestinians and 74 Israelis are killed.
Trump's support
In 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in office since 2009, forms a new government considered the most right-wing in Israeli history.
In December 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a declaration condemned by the Palestinians who regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. In May 2018, Washington transfers its embassy to Jerusalem on the 70th anniversary of Israel's creation.
In March 2019, Trump formally recognizes Israel's 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights, again breaking with decades of international consensus.

Guterres Visits Palestinian Refugee Camp in Jordan
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 7 April, 2019/UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday met with the staff of the Jordan office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) during a visit the Baqa' camp for Palestinian refugees, north of Amman. The Secretary-General also met with students of the UNRWA Parliament and camp representatives and interacted with young students in human rights and science classes, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. Guterres highlighted the importance of continuing to fund UNRWA's vital services to millions of Palestine refugees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl voiced commitment to offering education to 122,000 students currently studying in UNRWA schools in Jordan. According to SPA, he said that the Agency is currently investing in important efforts to rehabilitate schools in the Kingdom, in order to improve the educational conditions of tens of thousands of students.

Erekat to Asharq Al-Awsat: Trump Is Telling The world 'What Was Taken by Force Can Be Kept By Force'
Dead Sea - Najlaa Habriri/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 7 April, 2019/ Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's (PLO) Executive Committee Saeb Erekat asserted on Saturday that decisions of the current US administration undermine Palestinian-related resolutions adopted since the end of World War II. “There is no economic development in the absence of security, stability and peace. Those looking for peace and security have no choice but to end the Israeli invasion, to achieve the independence of the Palestinian States with east Jerusalem as its capital, and to solve the issues of refugees and the release of prisoners and detainees,” Erekat told Asharq Al-Awsat. The PLO spokesperson was speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, which kicked off in Jordan on Saturday in the presence of more than 1,000 participants from more than 50 countries.
Commenting on the policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration, Erekat considered that they undermine what institutions and international resolutions had established since 1945, through decisions taken by the United Nations, Security Council, General Assembly, UN Charter, Human Rights Council and the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. “Through his policies, Trump says that what was taken by force can be kept by force,” Erekat said. He explained that such policies lead to one question: “What happens after ISIS?”Erekat also said that Trump’s decisions concerning the region and its people might lead to violence, chaos and extremism. On Saturday, the WEF witnessed a dispute between Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi and Oman’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah over the issue “of assurances that Israel needs.”Bin Abdullah said that Israel needs assurances about its future, and that Arabs need to remove all of Israel’s concerns and fears. However, Safadi responded by saying that Arabs are committed to the peace deal that recognizes Israel. “What more assurances do the Israelis need? The problem is not with lack of assurances, the problem is with the continued Israeli occupation,” he noted.

Erdogan's Party to Demand Total Recount of Istanbul Ballots
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 07/19/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party said Sunday it will demand a recount of all ballots cast in Istanbul during last week's mayoral election won by an opposition candidate. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) will make the demand by 5 pm (1400 GMT), its vice president Ali Ihsan Yavuz said. A recount is already under way in several of Istanbul's 39 districts. On Saturday, a party spokesman said the AKP would accept the results of local election recounts in Istanbul as well as Ankara, no matter which party is declared the winner. The AKP won most votes nationwide in last Sunday's election, but results showed the ruling party lost Ankara and was also narrowly defeated in Istanbul in what would be one of their worst setbacks in a decade and a half in power. Electoral authorities are conducting a recount in scores of districts in Ankara and in Istanbul where tallies showed the opposition CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu with a very slim lead over the AKP. Losing Istanbul would be a blow to Erdogan, who built his political career as mayor of the city before becoming prime minister and later president.

Sudan Protesters Rally outside Army HQ for 2nd Day
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 07/19/Thousands of Sudanese held a second day of protests Sunday outside the army's headquarters in Khartoum and in the vicinity chanting slogans against President Omar al-Bashir's government, witnesses said. Chanting "peace, justice, freedom" they massed outside the army headquarters which also houses Bashir's official residence and the defence ministry, many of them having spent the night there. "After what we did yesterday, we will not leave this area now until our mission is accomplished," said protester Osama Ahmed, who spent the night outside the compound. "We won't leave this area until he steps down," he said, referring to Bashir. Some protesters also blocked a nearby bridge linking Khartoum with the northern Bahari district with rocks causing huge traffic jams, witnesses said. On Saturday, thousands of men and women launched the biggest anti-government rally since protests first erupted in December, reaching for the first time the fortified army headquarters. The army did not intervene but riot police who converged near the compound fired tear gas at protesters to disperse them, and some of the demonstrators hurled rocks at them, witnesses said. And in a separate demonstration on Saturday a protester died in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, police said. Officials say 32 people have died since protests erupted in the east African country on December 19 after a government decision to triple the price of bread. Human Rights Watch has put the death toll to 51 including medics and children. Sudan's protests have escalated into nationwide demonstrations against Bashir's government, with protesters accusing it of mismanaging the economy, leading to soaring food prices and regular shortages of fuel and foreign currency. Bashir has acknowledged that the economic concerns raised by protesters were "legitimate," but he imposed an emergency rule on February 22 after an initial crackdown failed to rein in the protests. Protest organisers had chosen April 6 for the rally outside the army headquarters as it marked the 1985 uprising that toppled the then regime of president Jaafar Nimeiri.

U.N. Calls for 'Urgent' Libya Truce to Evacuate Civilians, Wounded
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 07/19/The U.N. made an "urgent" appeal Sunday for a two-hour truce in the southern suburbs of Tripoli to evacuate wounded and civilians as Libyan forces of strongman Khalifa Haftar pushed to take the capital. UNSMIL, the U.N. mission in Libya, called on "all armed parties in the Wadi Rabi area, Al-Kayekh, Gasr Ben Ghachir and Al-Aziziya to respect a humanitarian truce ( between 1400 and 1600 GMT) to secure the evacuation of wounded and civilians by rescue teams and the Libyan Red Crescent."

U.S. Pulls Some Troops Out of Libya amid Unrest
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 07/19/The U.S. military said Sunday it had temporarily pulled some of its forces out of Libya amid an upsurge of fighting in the North African country. "Due to increased unrest in Libya, a contingent of U.S. forces supporting U.S. Africa Command temporarily relocated from the country in response to security conditions on the ground," it said in a statement. It did not detail how many military personnel had been withdrawn from Libya. Forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar were pressing on at the weekend with an offensive on the capital Tripoli, seat of the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). U.S. Africa Command, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, said its mission in Libya involves "military support to diplomatic missions, counter-terrorism activities, enhancing partnerships and improving security across the region."It said it would "continue to monitor conditions on the ground in Libya and assess the feasibility for renewed U.S. military presence as appropriate.""The security realities on the ground in Libya are growing increasingly complex and unpredictable," said U.S. Marine Corps General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of U.S. Africa Command. "Even with an adjustment of the force, we will continue to remain agile in support of existing U.S. strategy."Libya has struggled since the 2011 overthrow of strongman Moammar Gadhafi which left dozens of militia to fill the void and ally with either the GNA or the rival administration in the east backed by Haftar. In the renewed fighting, forces backing the GNA have launched air strikes on Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) around 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Tripoli. Tripoli residents fearing that large-scale fighting could break out have begun stocking up on food and petrol.

Haftar Forces Announce Tripoli Air Raid, Govt. Fighters Declare Counterattack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 07/19/Forces of Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar said Sunday they carried out their first air strike on a suburb of Tripoli, where loyalist fighters announced a "counteroffensive" to defend the capital. The announcement of the air raid was made on the Facebook page of the "media office" of Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army as fighting raged around 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Tripoli. Forces loyal to Haftar have pressed on with their assault since Thursday despite international calls to halt hostilities. In the capital, the spokesman for forces loyal to the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), Colonel Mohamed Gnounou, said that counteroffensive "Volcano of Anger" was aimed at "purging all Libyan cities of aggressor and illegitimate forces."Libya has struggled to counter unrest since the 2011 overthrow of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, leaving dozens of militia to fill the void and ally with either the GNA or a rival administration in the east backed by Haftar. GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj on Saturday accused Haftar of betraying him and warned of a "war without a winner."

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 07-08/19
We Come Together to Fight
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/April 07/19
At the turn of the 19th century, internationalism, as an antithesis for nationalism, was born in Europe. Many historic notables have advocated the political ideology, such as the English manufacturer and free trade campaigner Richard Cobden and one of the greatest orators of their generation John Bright. Their legacy was dominated by promoting free trade policies and Liberal internationalism under the notion that open markets benefit all traders.
Bright and Cobden had walked in the footsteps of Adam Smith, especially on advocating free trade as an antidote to tension among states, malign nationalism and protectiveness and hostility. Instead, countries would focus on common interests.
Liberal internationalism, at the time, was driven by strong convictions and the moral philosophy underpinning the good in mankind.
Socialists, as opposed to 19th-century English statesmen, also experienced a self-styled version of internationalism, best reverberated by their slogan “workers of the world, unite!”
The world first witnessed socialist internationalism in 1864 with intellectuals, labor radicals and unionists at the helm and with Karl Marx and the Russian revolutionary anarchist, Mikhail Bakunin, writing its manifesto.
Internationalist values had promised that the interests of the overwhelming majority will be taken care of without the hampering of timeworn borders and loyalties. French political and economic theorist Henri de Saint-Simon, for his part, had championed internationalism as the product of technological advances and the new industrial age.
In his argument, scientific and technological revolutions that connect together the far-flung countries of the world would be enough to appease mankind and dispel poverty and misery.
A project such as the construction of the Suez Canal (which was built later) had met this overall purpose.
Through free trade, a revolution against class systems, the realizing of global trade infrastructure, internationalism flourished as an ideology based on connection and communication. But today, a growing populist trend is working to bring about the creation of an isolationist internationalism.
On Monday, April 8th, Milano will serve as a launchpad for populism with Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini slated to host nationalist parties from 20 different countries, forming an electoral alliance for the upcoming European Parliament election in May.
Salvini had visited Warsaw to meet with former Polish Prime Minister, Jarosław Kaczyński, with the purpose of uniting European nationalist into a single front. Even before, the Italian politician had openly backed the yellow vests movement in France and incited against an “awful government and president” leading Paris.
Former White House Chief Strategist and Trump campaign Steve Bannon, who also served as the chairman of the Trump campaign, had been touring Europe in an effort to establish an internationalist tradition curated by Europe’s nationalists. All those who put their country ‘first’ have found themselves at home with Bannon’s political project.
To this date, Salvini and Bannon have failed to explain how Europe’s free market could be reconciled with nationalism, which is rooted in isolationism.
Embracing a “nationalist internationalism,” an inherent oxymoron, is ludicrous-- open borders, for instance, is the mantle on which internationalism builds and which nationalism categorically fights.
Salvini, a great fan of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, might find it difficult to get along with Poland, which is still holding on to its long-standing grievances against the Russian Bear.
The likes of Bannon and Salvini still have a whole lot of work set before them to prove how they plan on making Trump’s “America First” policy work together with Putin’s “Russia First.”
What nationalists are promoting as a “different” internationalism will most likely lead to conflict, if not wars. It outright advertises alt-right patriotism and encourages isolationists at a time the world is worrisome of an expanding vacuum in power.
It is worth noting that Salvini, who has openly washed his hands of Europe, the Euro, globalism and free trade, had started his political career alongside Umberto Bossi, former leader of the Northern League, a party seeking autonomy or independence for Northern Italy or Padania.
At the time, the Northern League was looking to shed Italy’s economically ailed east—a skewed manifestation of John Paul Sartre’s “hell is other people.”

Bibi vs. Benny: A Conversation on the Eve of Israel's Elections
Ehud Yaari, Tal Shalev, and David Makovsky/The Washington Institute/April 07/19
Three veteran political observers discuss the status of each campaign and what a victory by either side might mean for Israeli policy.
On April 4, Ehud Yaari, Tal Shalev, and David Makovsky addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Yaari is the Institute’s Lafer International Fellow and an award-winning commentator for Israeli television. Shalev is the chief political correspondent for the Israeli web portal Walla News. Makovsky is the Institute’s Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and director of its Project on Arab-Israel Relations. The following is a rapporteur’s summary of their remarks.
EHUD YAARI
Israel’s April 9 elections are about one thing: a referendum on the leadership of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, whose weaknesses have become the main strength of his opponent, former military chief of staff Benny Gantz. Rather than presenting a detailed platform of its own, Gantz’s Blue and White Party is running largely on the disgust that many voters feel for the prime minister. Netanyahu’s presumed intention is to see what happens after the elections and, if tasked with forming the next government, try to enact pending legislation (the so-called “French Law”) that would give him immunity from prosecution on a looming corruption indictment. Alternatively, he could seek a plea bargain. To remain prime minister, Netanyahu does not need his Likud Party to win the most votes. More important are the half a dozen right-wing parties teetering near 3.25 percent of the national vote, the threshold required to enter parliament. If they fall short of that mark, the prime minister’s planned coalition could lose hundreds of thousands of votes. The direction of major Israeli foreign policy issues is not at stake in these elections. Rather, the outcome will determine whether right-wingers can fulfill their intention to reverse the judicial revolution that has recast courts as a check on parliament, a movement instigated by former Supreme Court justice Aharon Barak. The best outcome may be a grand coalition that includes Netanyahu and Gantz, but it is unclear whether Blue and White would be willing to join. Such an alliance would allow more initiative on the Palestinian issue. Netanyahu himself advocated for this result before the pending indictment was announced in February. If a narrow right-wing government emerges instead, Israel will drift further toward a nationalistic approach, including limits on judicial power and unilateral moves in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. For Blue and White to prevail, the party would need to woo at least some right-wing Jewish voters and moderate Arab factions. Much uncertainty persists, with polls indicating that as many as 35 percent of Israelis still do not know how they will vote.
TAL SHALEV
This election has featured two important developments: the creation of Blue and White and the preliminary indictment against Netanyahu. Neither development appears to have significantly hurt Netanyahu’s chances of winning, however. Gantz’s transformation into a top candidate in three months is impressive, as is his formation of an all-star security team capable of undermining one of Netanyahu’s key strengths. More than any other opponent in recent years, the general has gotten close to being deemed just as “suitable” for the office of prime minister as Netanyahu. Yet the vast majority of Blue and White voters are from the center-left; few have been pulled from the right. As for the indictment, Netanyahu’s base seems willing to forgive. He has also been strengthened since the previous elections by President Trump’s actions, namely, moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israel’s control over the Golan Heights, and leaving the Iran nuclear deal. Many people—even those who do not support the prime minister—believe Netanyahu is in a different league from Gantz in terms of cultivating such close relationships with world leaders. Leading up to election day, Netanyahu has been running a vicious but brilliant campaign. Early on, Blue and White stumbled for a couple weeks as its campaign team learned how to work together. The party has since emphasized the need to garner the largest share of the vote and convince left-wing Israelis to choose a centrist government instead of casting ballots for leftist parties. Yet this strategy will be fruitless unless Blue and White can cobble together a bloc with enough seats to form the next government. Party leaders believe that if they defeat Netanyahu’s Likud by more than five seats, then aftershocks will ensue, since it would be the first time in a decade that such a gap has opened. The prime minister therefore has to be careful, closing this gap without wasting votes from smaller right-wing parties poised on the 3.25 percent threshold. Key things to watch for immediately after the election include the results for Moshe Feiglin, a former Likud member who has become a Netanyahu enemy and has run on a platform of legalizing marijuana, pursuing a harsh libertarian agenda, and rebuilding a temple in a Jerusalem location where mosques now stand. If Netanyahu wins, he will do everything he can to keep Feiglin out of his coalition.The Netanyahu camp is also concerned about President Reuven Rivlin, who is responsible for choosing which candidate gets to form the government after the elections. Usually, this decision is based on which candidate is most capable of assembling a majority coalition, but Rivlin can use a different metric if he so desires.
DAVID MAKOVSKY
The main subtext of these elections is that not many people are moving between the right and left blocs, with the exception of Feiglin. Thus, the large number of undecided voters may not be very significant if these individuals hail from within a given bloc rather than the narrow margin between the right and center.
The right/left divide in Israel has transitioned to a right/center divide since the second intifada. In 1992, the two main left-wing parties, Labor and Meretz, won fifty-six seats, but polls indicate they will win only 18-19 this year. In contrast, the lowest tally for the center-left in recent years was fifty-three seats, and Blue and White is currently projected to win fifty-eight. At the same time, this means that even after forming an all-star team and watching the attorney-general announce a preliminary indictment against Netanyahu, the party has only managed to boost the center-left by five seats.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has refashioned the Likud and eliminated its more liberal elements. Taking advantage of demography and the declining number of secular Israelis, he has broadened Likud’s base by casting it as a coalition of outsiders. Specifically, he has fostered antagonism toward the old elite, particularly the courts; criticized those who sympathize with Arabs; delinked the Palestinian issue from collaboration with other regional states; and permitted West Bank construction outside the settlement blocs. He also has the power of incumbency on his side, along with his proven ability to attract support from powerful foreign leaders such as Trump and Vladimir Putin.
In contrast, the center believes that Israel must take steps to preserve the possibility of peace with the Palestinians even if negotiations are impossible at the moment. This includes prohibiting further settlements outside the West Bank security barrier.
On that note, the Trump peace plan has a very steep hill to climb regardless of who wins the elections. Even if Gantz prevails, he is unlikely to back any plan that the Palestinians can easily reject, and he will presumably request consultations on the plan’s contents before it is released. If Netanyahu wins, the pending indictment process and the composition of his presumed coalition will make him beholden to the right. Accordingly, if Washington presents its peace plan and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas immediately rejects it, Netanyahu might push for selective annexations in the West Bank and encourage Trump to support these moves. The Trump administration could go either way on peace diplomacy. If the president feels his plan is doomed to fail, he will likely stop it from being released. Alternatively, he may decide that releasing it is the best way to help create political space for a grand coalition in Israel.
This summary was prepared by Basia Rosenbaum.
The Policy Forum series is made possible through the generosity of the Florence and Robert Kaufman Family.

Trump’s blacklisting of Iran’s Guards bodes tougher US oil sanctions, more IDF air strikes in W. Iraq as well as Syria
موقع دبيكا: ادراج ترامب للحرس الثوري الإيراني على قوائم الإرهاب سيترافق مع عقوبات أكثر صرامة على النفط والمزيد من الغارات الجوية الإسرائيلية على غرب العراق ووكذلك على سوريا
DEBKAfile/April 07/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73613/%D9%85%D9%88%D9%82%D8%B9-%D8%AF%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%83%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A8-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84/
President Donald Trump’s planned designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization on Monday, April 8 , will add to US steps for maximizing the economic pressure on Iran in the coming two months.
It is the first time a government military entity has been branded terrorist. The US can expect Iran to retaliate at once by proclaiming the American army a global terrorist organization on a par with the Islamic State and calling on allied regimes to follow Tehran’s example, such as, for instance, Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Closer to home, Syrian President Bashar Assad, Hizballah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and the pro-Iranian militia conglomerate in Iraq, may well act in solidarity with Iran, in which case, violent clashes may erupt between the proxies Iran has scattered across the Middle East and US forces. Conscious of the threat, on Friday, April 5, American army units in the region were placed on the alert for Iranian-orchestrated reprisals.
DEBKAfile’s military analysts suggests that Trump’s latest move against the IRGC may take practical form in various ways:
1-Does it mean that that US forces are henceforth licensed to attack IRGC forces in their different regional sectors of operation? Or was it a general directive to open the door for such attacks in the future?
2-More realistically, blacklisting the IRGC as a terrorist organization is likely to bear more significantly on the Corps economic power, rather than its military functions. The Guards are not only Iran’s most powerful security organization, with control over its missiles and nuclear programs; they also rule essential sections of the economy, with responsibility for the country’s oil exports and import of energy products. The IRGC, moreover, manages the mechanisms set up with foreign governments, such as China, Russia, Turkey, Iraq and some western Europeans, to bypass or blunt the existing US sanctions against Iran. Therefore, Trump’s next action against the IRGC is likely to be the tightening of oil sanctions, which is expected to be announced on May 8, to mark the first anniversary of his decision to take the US out of the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran. Those sanctions will be made more painful by Washington recalling the waivers granted to a number of nations, such as India, China and Iraq, allowing them to purchase certain quantities of Iranian oil while it was under embargo. Three weeks ago, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told an energy conference in Houston that the purpose of the administration’s sanctions against Iran was to “drive Iran’s oil exports down to zero.”
3-Israel will be empowered to step up its aerial assaults on Iranian forces in Syria and extend them to western Iraq, where pro-Iranian Iraqi Shiite militias have piled up under IRGC command.

Flooding crisis highlights Iranian regime’s incompetence
د. ماجد رافي زاده: أزمة الفياضانات في إيران تسلط الضوء على عدم كفاءة النظام الملالوي
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/April 07/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73616/dr-majid-rafizadeh-flooding-crisis-highlights-iranian-regimes-incompetence-%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%A3%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A9/
One important indicator that can show whether a political establishment is competent and efficient in governing a country is to examine the way it responds to, manages and controls domestic emergencies and crises.
Iran has been hit with flash floods in the last few weeks. At least 26 of the country’s 31 provinces, including about 1,900 cities and villages, have been struck by major flooding. The first flood hit the northeastern part of Iran on March 19, the second disaster occurred in the western and southwestern parts of the country on March 25, and the flash floods have continued to swamp various parts of the west and southwest.
In the last two weeks, the death toll has reached 62, according to the head of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization, who believes the number of fatalities will continue to rise.
Roughly a third of Iran’s roads have been disrupted by the floods. Behnam Saeedi, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Organization, who spoke on Iranian state TV, said: “Seventy-eight intercity roads have been blocked, as many as 2,199 rural roads and 84 bridges have been washed away.” He added that: “Across 15 provinces, 141 rivers burst their banks and around 400 landslides were reported.”
The Iranian government’s response has been totally inadequate, with the mishandling of the crisis and lack of preparedness evident. Many of the flood-stricken areas have witnessed no relief. The Red Crescent’s provincial director, Sarem Rezaee, pointed out that they have simply lost communication with many locations, adding: “We have requested emergency help from neighboring provinces but at present no one can do anything.”
Instead of giving their full support to the flood-stricken people, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has opened fire in several affected villages, killing at least one person and wounding several. The IRGC fears that the frustration and anger of the impacted people, who have not received assistance from the government, might turn into a new driver for widespread protests and demonstrations, which could endanger the hold on power of the ruling clerics.
Ironically, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei applauded the “outstanding” assistance provided to the affected people. He praised “high-ranking officials and military commanders” for their “presence and coordination,” even though several of the regime’s own politicians have criticized the IRGC and reported that government officials have not even visited many of the affected areas.
While many government sectors have seen their budgets decrease this year, it appears the only institution that has seen a noticeable increase is the IRGC and its affiliated organizations
President Hassan Rouhani’s administration has also been playing the blame card or making absurd promises to the public in order to evade accountability, criticism and responsibility. Rouhani has pledged that the government will compensate all those who have been impacted by the flash floods. However, while the damage inflicted on cities, villages and farms is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, the Iranian regime only allocated about 130 billion rials ($1 million) for crisis management.
While many government sectors have seen their budgets decrease this year, it appears the only institution that has seen a noticeable increase is the IRGC and its affiliated organizations. Increasing the IRGC’s budget, while cutting other crucial relief and emergency programs, shows that the regime prioritizes empowering its military institutions and deploying hard power over assisting its own citizens.
In addition, Rouhani has been pointing a finger at the US in order to explain why people who are impacted by the floods are not receiving aid.
Hardliners and moderates alike have been placing the blame on “foreign” forces and interventions. For example, Brig. Gen. Gholamreza Jalali, the head of the Passive Defense Organization, blamed the “interference of foreigners” for the floods. Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has also attacked the Trump administration on Twitter, suggesting that Washington is responsible for the victims’ suffering. But the Iranian leaders have failed to shed light on some of the crucial underlying reasons behind this crisis.
In addition to the regime’s emphasis on overspending on its military and hard power rather than relief programs, the floods can also be attributed to the government’s mismanagement of urban planning, its efforts to make profits by pursuing housing projects near rivers, and the widespread deforestation and exploitation of forests and mines for the benefit of the IRGC, its companies and high-level officials.
In conclusion, Iran’s flood disaster shows the regime’s mishandling of the crisis, its lack of preparedness, incompetence in governing the country, and obsession with allocating much of the nation’s budget to its military rather than relief and emergency programs, which would provide assistance to its citizens.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Putin remaking the world in his image
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/April 07/19
As NATO celebrates its 70th anniversary, we are watching in real time as Western states withdraw from historic international commitments — and Russia, Iran and other opportunists rush in to occupy these vacated arenas. NATO represents one of the West’s greatest successes in guaranteeing 70 years of peace across a continent previously plagued by incessant wars, but the prospects of maintaining the European strategic balance have never looked more precarious than they do today. Russian expansionism has been most pernicious along Europe’s eastern frontiers: Annexing parts of Ukraine and Georgia; Arctic encroachment near Norway’s borders; saber-rattling against Baltic republics; and speculation that President Vladimir Putin could impose a union with Belarus as a ploy to retain power. Moscow has waged campaigns to undermine democratic election processes, promote European far-right populists, and assassinate enemies seeking refuge abroad. NATO has consistently failed to produce any form of credible deterrent to these bellicose Russian actions.
As liberal Europe is progressively eclipsed — demographically and economically — by emerging powers, Western nations are colluding in their own downfall: Withdrawing from regions of influence and allowing the ascendancy of isolationist and xenophobic trends, while international peacekeeping and legal institutions slide into decrepitude. Although US President Donald Trump demands that European states contribute more to NATO’s upkeep, he has arguably done as much to undermine NATO as Putin himself, with his anti-multilateralism rhetoric and inexplicable fascination with authoritarian dictators hostile to Western values.
For two decades after the USSR’s demise, Moscow was largely absent from the Middle East and Africa. Nevertheless, Putin exploited the failure of Arab states and the West to impose a solution in Syria to wade in himself and become the de facto dominant power in Damascus. Russia colluded with Tehran and Ankara to secure Bashar Assad’s future role, rendering UN-sponsored talks irrelevant. Amidst Western strategic confusion in the region, Gulf states and other Arab nations like Lebanon and Iraq are increasingly looking to Moscow as the de facto superpower.
Egypt’s recent $2 billion deal to purchase Russian SU-35 fighter jets is one of many indicators of growing North African military reliance on Moscow. Nearly 80 percent of Russia’s African military sales are to Algeria, while Tunisia enjoys close intelligence and energy ties. Moscow is reported to be decisively backing Khalifa Haftar’s headlong western advance across Libya, while Russian mercenaries were invited into Sudan by a regime struggling to contain popular protests. In many cases, Moscow has exploited commercial inroads to reinforce its military posture, securing a presence in Libyan, Syrian, Sudanese and Eritrean ports. “Moscow and its private military contractors are arming some of the region’s weakest governments and backing the continent’s autocratic rulers,” commented the Africa director of one Washington think-tank: “This engagement threatens to exacerbate current conflict zones.”
When a bully gets away with his transgressions, he inevitably pushes the boundaries of what he can get away with ever further
On the US’s own doorstep, Trump’s approach toward Venezuela has been noisy. However, prospects are dwindling for the immediate removal of President Nicolas Maduro, who exploits anger about the accumulated impact of US sanctions. Meanwhile, Russia is opportunistically deepening its influence, including with a new military helicopter pilot training facility and by sending dozens of “military advisers” to Caracas. Trump’s halting of funding to certain Latin American states will, meanwhile, counterproductively hamstring efforts to address the chronic instability driving mass migration. And, whenever US funding is cut, Russia is unceasingly ready to step in. Although we can’t exclusively blame Moscow for Brexit, the rise of Trump, or the emergence of far-right forces across Europe, Putin must be gloating that, each time, he has been meddling on behalf of the winning parties. Few observers expect Putin to meekly step down from power at the end of his current (and supposedly final) presidential term in 2024, although it remains an open question precisely how he intends to undermine Russia’s political system in order to stay in the driving seat.
The world nervously views Putin’s Russia as an all-powerful behemoth, yet Russia’s gross domestic product is less than a 10th of that of the EU or US. Its non-oil economy has stagnated under Putin and the warning signs are there that the president’s megalomaniacal delusions of grandeur could give rise to the same imperial overstretch that caused the USSR to implode. Advancing hegemonic ambitions in fragile nations without promoting good governance and stability will only leave Moscow bearing the onerous burden for a succession of Syria-style failed states.
NATO’s value was always in its deterrent capacity, making new European wars unthinkable. However, in failing to prevent Russian aggression in Eastern Europe’s farthermost regions, while lacking any kind of decisive response to Putin’s meddling in the exercise of Western democracy, a fragmented and rudderless Europe has left itself exposed to future malevolent Russian actions. When a bully gets away with his transgressions, he inevitably pushes the boundaries of what he can get away with ever further.
An increasingly introverted West is psychologically unprepared for the implications of an ever more bellicose Russia, which is hell-bent on sabotaging the values and institutions that underpin European democracy. It is difficult to see routes for avoiding the coming East-West confrontation. Yet, while one side clearly relishes the prospect of such a test of strength, the other is too occupied with its internal squabbles and bickering to even acknowledge the threat.
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Erdogan will be haunted by local election defeats
Yasar Yakis/Arab News/April 07/19
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered an important setback in last week’s elections. It lost in three important cities: Istanbul, Ankara and Adana. However, the ruling party objected to the published results, claiming there were irregularities and asking for a recount. With a view to motivating his supporters, Erdogan repeatedly said during the election campaign: “Who loses Istanbul, loses Turkey.” This is because, economically, politically and culturally, Istanbul is Turkey’s major power.
The main reason for the loss of these major cities is economic. Erdogan declared, therefore, that the AKP will assess the results and take measures accordingly. But this article will focus on the foreign policy implications of the elections.
As a result of successive miscalculations, the ruling party has cast a shadow on its relations with many countries in the region and beyond; relations with the US being one of them. Some of Turkey’s problems with America have been dragging on for years, such as the question of the extradition of the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has been living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania for more than 20 years. Another issue — Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system — has now become pressing because of the impending delivery of the first batch in July.
The US has repeatedly informed Turkey that, if these missiles are deployed, it will not deliver its state-of-the-art F-35 fighter aircraft to Ankara. However, about 800 of the aircraft’s components are manufactured by Turkish companies and, for some of them, they are the sole manufacturer. US company Lockheed Martin, which is the mother company for the F-35, has already started to look for alternatives to manufacture the components.
The US is sending contradictory messages to Turkey. While US Vice President Mike Pence has been threatening Ankara with not delivering the F-35s, a Pentagon spokesman used a different narrative. He said last week that the delivery and activities regarding the operational capacity of the F-35s have been suspended, but added: “Our dialogue with Turkey is still going on.” Furthermore, the Pentagon last week announced that one more F-35 is being sent to Arizona for the training of Turkish pilots. There are now three F-35s that have been delivered to Turkey and their pilots’ training continues without interruption.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu participated in a NATO meeting in Washington on Thursday and was able to see for himself the degree of resentment against Turkey’s S-400 missiles deal. He did his best to explain the logic of Turkey’s purchase, but to what extent he was able to persuade his interlocutors remains unclear.
As a result of successive miscalculations, the ruling party has cast a shadow on its relations with many countries in the region and beyond; relations with the US being one of them. Controversy between Turkey and the US continues in Syria too. During talks with his Turkish counterpart, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed support for the ongoing negotiations regarding northeast Syria, but — hinting at Turkey’s intention to carry out a military operation to the east of the Euphrates— warned of the “potentially devastating consequences” of such a move. Before the March 31 elections, Turkey’s planned military operation was an incentive to boost the votes of the nationalist electorate. If this was the real motive, Turkey may now give up this idea because of its incalculable consequences. The supply of weapons and ammunition to the Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) continues unabated, despite Turkey’s strong objection.
To counterbalance Turkey’s shaky relations with NATO — or to add insult to injury —Erdogan will on Monday visit Russia. Together with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he will co-chair a High-Level Cooperation Council meeting and hold a tete-a-tete meeting. Most probably Syria and the “S-400 versus F-35” question will dominate the talks, because they are the stickiest problems and there has been little progress on either. There are media reports about another visit by Erdogan to Russia on April 21, but this time to Crimea to attend, upon Putin’s invitation, the inauguration of a mosque in Simferopol. If this visit takes place, it will be an important deviation from Turkey’s policy, which does not recognize Crimea’s annexation by the Russian Federation.
With this invitation, Putin may have wished to demonstrate his solidarity with Erdogan on the question of the International Islamic Brigade, composed of Crimean Tartars, which he considers a terrorist organization. The establishment of this organization was supported by Erdogan in August 2015. This visit will definitely contribute to strengthening Turkish-Russian relations, but will antagonize the US and Ukraine, with whom Turkey maintains good relations.
Erdogan will try to reduce the backlog of official visits that he had to postpone because of the elections, but the results of the votes will haunt the minds of his interlocutors for both the strengths and weaknesses of Turkey’s democracy and judiciary.
*Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkey and founding member of the ruling AK Party. Twitter: @yakis_yasar

Turkey: Erdogan Pledges to Convert Byzantine Cathedral Hagia Sophia into a Mosque
أوزاي بولوت/معهد جيتستون: الرئيس التركي أردوغان يتعهد بتحويل الكاتدرائية البيزنطية آيا صوفيا إلى مسجد
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/April 07/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/73625/uzay-bulut-gatestone-institute-turkey-erdogan-pledges-to-convert-byzantine-cathedral-hagia-sophia-into-a-mosque%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84%D9%88%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%B9%D9%87%D8%AF/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14018/turkey-erdogan-hagia-sophia-
"When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, virtually all of the city's surviving cathedrals and churches were — after being desecrated and thoroughly plundered — forcibly seized and turned over to the Turks' religious establishment to be converted to mosques and used as Muslim properties." — Dr. Alexandros K. Kyrou, professor of history, Salem State University.
Nine other former Hagia Sophia churches are either being used as mosques already or are in the process of being renovated for this purpose. The youngest of these, in Trabzon, was converted into a mosque in 2013. — Ersoy Soydan, assistant professor of communications at Kastamonu University and author of Churches and Monasteries in Turkey
Sadly, Turkey's Greek community as a whole, let alone that of Istanbul by itself, is not sizeable enough to oppose or protest infringements on their historic cathedral. The 1914-1923 genocide of Greek Christians in Anatolia, and subsequent atrocities against the survivors -- such as the 1955 anti-Greek pogroms in Istanbul -- have almost completely wiped out the region's Greek populace.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently announced plans to convert the Hagia Sophia museum, originally a Byzantine cathedral, into a mosque. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Addressing a rally ahead of the March 31 municipal elections in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to convert the Hagia Sophia museum, originally a Byzantine cathedral, into a mosque.
Erdogan repeated this statement the following day during a televised interview. "Hagia Sophia will no longer be called a museum," he declared. "Its status will change. We will call it a mosque."
Erdogan took the opportunity to respond to foreign officials critical of his intention to violate the former church by venting against Israel.
"Those who remain silent when Al Aqsa mosque is attacked, trampled [and] its windows smashed cannot tell us what to do about the status of Hagia Sophia," he said, referring to clashes between Palestinian-Arab rioters and Israeli police on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the holiest site in Judaism and the location of the Al Aqsa mosque.
Hagia Sophia, however, has nothing to do with either Al Aqsa or Israel. Destroying churches to use as mosques is also not new to Turkey, both during and preceding Erdogan's rule. Islamic supremacists have, in fact, been engaging in this practice since the Turkish invasion and takeover of Asia Minor in the 11th century.
Hagia Sophia (Greek for "Holy Wisdom") was built in the 6th century in Constantinople -- today's Istanbul -- and remained the world's largest cathedral for nearly 1,000 years, until the Ottoman Turks conquered the city and looted it.
Dr. Alexandros K. Kyrou, professor of history at Salem State University, recounts:
"When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, virtually all of the city's surviving cathedrals and churches were — after being desecrated and thoroughly plundered — forcibly seized and turned over to the Turks' religious establishment to be converted to mosques and used as Muslim properties. The conquering sultan, Mehmet II, personally oversaw the conversion of Hagia Sophia. Crosses were demolished and exchanged for crescents, altars and bells were destroyed, icons were burned or hacked to pieces, mosaics and frescoes depicting Christian imagery were plastered over, and most of the cathedral's priests were killed or enslaved. In time, four colossal minarets were erected to surround Hagia Sophia, producing the iconic image that has come to be globally associated with Ottoman Constantinople and Turkish Istanbul...
"Indeed, the purpose for the construction of the massive minarets that now tower over Hagia Sophia was to project to the world Islam's triumph over Christendom's greatest empire, city, and church. The capture of Hagia Sophia confirmed and symbolized in the Ottomans' imagination their belief in the superiority of their state and faith over all other nations and all religions, a putative affirmation of their providential role and destiny in history. Hence, the Ottomans formally dedicated their greatest, most celebrated single piece of loot — Hagia Sophia — as Great Fatih Mosque, or 'Great Conquest Mosque.'"
The Turkish Republic, established in 1923, changed the name of Constantinople to Istanbul in 1930, and, under the first president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, turned the city's Hagia Sophia mosque into a museum in 1935 -- but not back to a church. For at least the last six years, however, Turkish officials have been talking about their desire to reconvert it into a mosque.
In 2013, Turkey's then-deputy prime minister, Bülent Arınç, told reporters that he hoped to see Istanbul's Hagia Sophia Museum used as a mosque. In 2016, Turkish authorities announced that readings from the Koran would be broadcast from Hagia Sophia during Islam's holy month of Ramadan, spurring the government to appoint a permanent imam who would lead five daily Islamic prayers at the site.
The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is not the first former Hagia Sophia church (and later museum) to be converted into a mosque in Turkey. According to Ersoy Soydan, assistant professor of communications at Kastamonu University and author of Churches and Monasteries in Turkey, nine other former Hagia Sophia churches are either being used as mosques already or are in the process of being renovated for this purpose. The youngest of these, in Trabzon, was converted into a mosque in 2013.
Sadly, Turkey's Greek community as a whole, let alone that of Istanbul by itself, is not sizeable enough to oppose or protest infringements on their historic cathedral. The 1914-1923 genocide of Greek Christians in Anatolia, and subsequent atrocities against the survivors -- such as the 1955 anti-Greek pogroms in Istanbul -- have almost completely wiped out the region's Greek populace.
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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