English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For July 21/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.july21.20.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Bible Quotations For today
Jesus Stresses the Importance Of persistence in life
Luke 11/05-08: “And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.” And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.”I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 20-21/2020
Ministry of Health: 46 new coronavirus infections
46 New COVID-19 Cases in Lebanon
MoPH: 3 coronavirus cases among returnees on 18/7/2020
IAEA grants Lebanon two PCR testing laboratories
Health Minister chairs meeting over stricter measures to curb coronavirus spread
Young Lebanese Doctor Dies of COVID-19
Abdel Samad: May the soul of Lebanon's angel Dr. Loai Ismail rest in peace
Baabda Palace witnesses array of political, diplomatic, and university meetings
Al-Rahi Urges Unity to Reach 'U.N. Resolution' on Lebanon Neutrality
Ibrahim from Center House: Hariri is keen on Lebanon, its stability and prosperity
Judge Orders Preventive Assets Freeze of Central Bank Governor
Ghajar Says Power Cuts to Ease before Midweek
Security Sources: Lebanese Detained in Cyprus Not Linked to Hizbullah
Fahmi Launches Awareness Campaign over COVID-19
Diab chairs meeting of ministerial committee for the follow-up of waste file
Diab cables Sisi congratulating him on July 23 revolution commemoration
Diab meets military charter group delegation, Secretary General of Lebanese-Syrian Supreme Council
Hariri receives Tarraf
Transfer of authority of Spanish brigade
Bukhari receives phone call from Berri checking on Saudi Monarch's health
Minister of Information broaches role of media with World Bank advisor, Modern University delegation
ICMP welcomes appointment of members of Lebanon National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared
AUB President Dr. Fadlo Khuri addressees AUB Community
Bassil muddles Lebanese debate on neutrality, provokes Palestinian pushback
Qatar's Hezbollah funding exposed by whistle-blower contractor/Damien McElroy/The National/July 20/2020
 

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 20-21/2020
Syria Reports Israeli Air Raids on Capital/Associated Press
Iran executes man convicted of spying for CIA, Mossad
Iran increasingly obsessed with China deal, blames Israel for controversy
Statement from International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752 on Iran delivering flight recorders
Tehran pressures Kadhimi with accusations of involvement in Soleimani’s assassination
UAE's Amal Spacecraft Rockets toward Mars in Arab World 1st
Turkey Urges 'Immediate' End to Haftar Support in Libya
Arbil Denies Handing Syria Kurd Official's Niece to Turkey
Top Democrats 'Gravely Concerned' over Foreign Interference in U.S. Election
Israel Probes Palestinian Jerusalem Governor over 'Terrorism'
Egypt Parliament Greenlights Possible Intervention in Libya
Troubled Trump to Relaunch His Coronavirus Briefings
 

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 20-21/2020

Remembering the AMIA Bombing: Why It Matters 26 Years Later/Toby Dershowitz/FDD/July 20/2020
Tehran Consolidates Hardline Gains At Home While COVID-19 Spreads/Behnam Ben Taleblu and Saeed Ghasseminejad/Radio Farda/July 20/2020
Turkey’s Bar Associations Become the Latest Target of Erdogan’s Iran-Inspired “Reform”/Aykan Erdemir and Philip Kowalski/Policy Brief/July 20/2020
Why last weekend’s G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors mattered/Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/July 21, 2020
Egypt’s strong military message to Turkey, Tunisia/Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/July 21, 2020
UN reform essential but unlikely to happen/Chris Doyle/Arab News/July 21, 2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on July 20-21/2020

Ministry of Health: 46 new coronavirus infections
NNA/July 21, 2020
The Ministry of Public Health announced on Monday 46 new coronavirus infections, which raised the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 2,905.
28 cases were locally detected and 18 among returnees.

46 New COVID-19 Cases in Lebanon
Naharnet/July 20/2020
Twenty-eight residents and 18 expats tested positive for COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Monday. One more fatality was also recorded, raising the death toll to 41, while the new cases raise the country’s overall tally to 2,905 -- among them 2,100 local cases and 1,562 recoveries.
Twelve of the local cases were recorded in Baabda district, seven in Beirut, two in Tyre district and one in each of Monteverde, Mayrouba, Bijjeh, Jdeidet Mijdlaya, Chtaura, al-Saksakiyeh and Kfarfila.

MoPH: 3 coronavirus cases among returnees on 18/7/2020
NNA/July 21, 2020
The Ministry of Public Health on Friday announced the results of PCR tests that were conducted on July 18, 2020, at Beirut airport. According to the Ministry, one passenger aboard a flight arriving from Brussels, one aboard a flight arriving from Riyadh, and one aboard a flight arriving from Doha, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. It is to note that all the other flights that arrived in Beirut on that day were found virus-free.

IAEA grants Lebanon two PCR testing laboratories
NNA/July 21, 2020
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will grant Lebanon two fully-equipped PCR laboratories to be delivered to Hariri Governmental University Hospital, and the Military Hospital, under the auspices of Minister of Public Health Dr. Hamad Hassan. The announcement was made following a meeting on Monday at Hassan’s office with Director General of the Lebanese Atomic Energy authority, Dr. Bilal Nassouli, and other concerned officials. For his part, Hassan said that the grant falls within the framework of cooperation between Lebanese institutions and departments to achieve the most ideal goal in protecting the society from the Coronavirus pandemic, “whether at the extreme peak of the first wave or later in the second wave." “The laboratory to be provided to Hariri Hospital will raise its capacity to conduct two hundred PCR tests daily; this grant comes in a timely manner in line with the increasing number of Covid-19 patients, the increasing number of visitors from abroad arriving in the country through Rafic Hariri International Airport, as well as the increasing field checks by the Ministry of Health,” Hassan said.

Health Minister chairs meeting over stricter measures to curb coronavirus spread
NNA/July 21, 2020
Minister of Public Health, Hamad Hassan, on Monday indicated that Lebanon has entered a critical stage as it stands on the threshold of the Covid-19 local spread phase. Hassan added that those who fail to abide by isolation terms could face the possibility of being transferred to a quarantine center. The Minister made these remarks during a meeting he chaired at the Ministry of Public Health to determine stricter measures to curb the community spread of coronavirus.

Young Lebanese Doctor Dies of COVID-19
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 20/2020
Lebanese physician Louay Ismail, 32, died Monday at the Nabih Berri state-run hospital in Nabatieh due to COVID-19 complications, the National News Agency said. Ismail, who hailed from the Tyre district town of al-Zalloutiyeh, had been a shift doctor at the emergency room of the Lebanese Italian Hospital in Tyre. “He showed coronavirus symptoms two weeks ago and underwent three PCR tests all of which came out positive. He was quarantined for seven days before being transferred four days ago to the Nabih Berri state-run hospital after suffering severe pneumonia,” NNA added. “He underwent the applicable treatments there before passing away,” the agency said. Ismail's death is Lebanon's first medical sector fatality from the pandemic. Health Minister Hamad Hasan mourned the young doctor, describing him as the "martyr of duty."
Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad for her part mourned Ismail in a tweet, describing him as “Lebanon’s angel.”“He died after contracting the virus from one of the patients. He dedicated his time and life to help others in the face of coronavirus,” she said. “Our white army is working silently. Aid the medical sector in the war against the virus through abiding by the measures,” the minister added, stressing that “precaution is necessary” and that “the disease is not a joke.”Firas Abiad, head of Beirut's Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the main public hospital treating COVID-19 patients in Lebanon, said: "Today we mourn Dr. Loay, our young colleague, who fell while doing his duty, treating a patient with #Covid19." "We have taken an oath and are willing to sacrifice all for our patients. Yet this does not take away the heartache or make the loss tolerable," Abiad tweeted. Lebanon had on Sunday reported 84 more coronavirus cases, raising the overall tally to 2,856. That tally included 40 deaths and 1,515 recoveries. The country has gradually lifted lockdown measures and opened Beirut airport to commercial flights at the start of July, after a closure of more than three months.
Over the past two weeks, the daily infection rate has risen, with dozens of new cases announced each day. In the highest such increase, the government announced 166 new cases on July 12, including 131 sanitation workers.
At the height of summer, some beaches and bars are again thronging with people. The health minister on Monday warned of a possible return to lockdown over "people's behavior" and non-compliance with social distancing. The pandemic arrived with Lebanon already mired in its worst economic crisis in decades and many fearing the health sector could not cope with a spike in cases. On Sunday, Abiad wrote on Twitter: "As the cases increase, more will need hospitalization... Are hospitals ready?"

Abdel Samad: May the soul of Lebanon's angel Dr. Loai Ismail rest in peace
NNA/July 21, 2020
Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, on Monday tweeted, "May the soul of Lebanon's angel, Dr. Loai Ismail, rest in peace, who has met his fate after contracting the coronavirus from one of the patients. He [Dr. Ismail] devoted his time and life to help others in the face of the Coronavirus."Minister Abdel Samad added: "Our white army is working silently. Help the medical apparatuses in the fight against the coronavirus. Abide by preventive measures."
The Minister added the following hashtags to her post: #prevention-is-necessary #disease-is-not-a-joke

Baabda Palace witnesses array of political, diplomatic, and university meetings
NNA/July 21, 2020
President Michel Aoun received, Foreign Affairs Minister, Nassif Hitti, today at Baabda Palace, and was briefed on the results of his visit to Rome and the Vatican, and the talks he held with officials of the Italian Government and in the Holy See.
Minister Hitti stated that the officials he met renewed support for Lebanon and their desire to help it, and keep pace with the reforms undertaken by Lebanon, which the international community relies on. Hitti also pointed out that Italian officials reaffirmed their support for the international forces operating in the South, while preserving their roles and tasks. “As for the Vatican, officials stressed the importance of Lebanon, the diversity it represents and its role in its surroundings and the world, and the necessity of providing all kinds of support and keeping pace with Lebanon to get out of the current crisis it is going through. The Holy See also stressed the desire to support Catholic schools in Lebanon, according to the initiative announced recently” Minister Hitti said. The Foreign Affairs Minister concluded that the meeting also tackled the upcoming visit of French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Laudrian, to Beirut and the topics to be discussed, noting that developments in the region and their repercussions on Lebanon were also discussed during the meeting.
MP Elias Bou Saab:
President Aoun met the former Minister, MP Elias Bou Saab, and discussed with him current developments. The suffering that the Lebanese are going through in this period at various levels, and some social and educational initiatives that are being implemented were also discussed. Bou Saab said that he felt from President Aoun that, after examining the various causes of corruption, real reform is necessary in the country as it begins with a transparent investigation and auditing of financial accounts, especially those in the Central Bank, and that the President is determined to proceed with until the end.
National Cedar Medal, Dr. Joseph Jabra:
In addition, the President awarded the President of the Lebanese-American University, Dr. Joseph Jabra, the National Cedar Medal, (Rank of Officer), in recognition of his educational and university tenders during his presidency of the university.
A ceremony was also held at the Presidential Palace, which was attended by Dr. Jabra, his wife, former Minister Bou Saab, former Minister Salim Jreissati, General Director of the Presidency of the Republic, Dr. Antoine Choucair, the new LAU President, Dr. Michel Mouawad, a number of members of the Board of Trustees, vice-presidents, and the family of Dr. Jabra.
Protocol Director-General, Dr. Nabil Shedid, read the reasons for granting the medal to Dr. Jabra:
“We gather today at the Presidential Palace, to honor a thinker, and role model, who has always defended the authority of the word, the values of thought, and the authority of reason. Today, His Excellency the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, honors Dr. Joseph Jabra, the former President of the Lebanese American University (LAU), who spared no effort in raising brilliant generations. This is something that deserves the appreciation of the university family, in which it was known to be competitive, and insisting on high excellence.
In this message which Dr. Jabra chose, he looked to the high horizons, and it was not easy, in a country where there were many difficulties. In spite of this, our generations, who have descended from this university, that Dr. Jabra presided over since 2004, have succeeded with excellence.
Thanks to his perseverance in giving, in the name of Lebanon’s knowledge, his harvest became abundant. He contributed to the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine at LAU, as well as the engineering colleges there, in addition to many positions he held, the last of which was the President of the International Association of American Universities and Colleges.
Honorable Doctor Joseph Jabra,
In appreciation of your bids in the name of Lebanon, His Excellency President Michel Aoun decided to grant you the National Cedar Medal (Rank of Officer). May your tender continue to serve the role model”.
Dr. Jabra’s Word:
It is an “Honor” that I may not be worthy of, but it, in the depth of meaning it carries, “An assignment”, which showed me as obligated to abide by its rules, to be truly a “Lebanese in the service of Lebanon”.
Your Excellency,
It is the feeling itself that overwhelms me, that feeling that has not abandoned me since I left the country aboard a boat heading to the United States of America to pursue my higher education, which is, What motivated me to return, in fulfillment of my homeland, in which I was endowed with the grace of life, adding to the chain of blessings of the relationship with man, with the giving land, and with faith, and most importantly, with loyalty ... All of this resembled a debt that I always had to strive to pay off.
Compliance came to a decision to take over the Presidency of the Lebanese American University and carry a banner to move it forward, to be, on the level of the sophistication that distinguished Lebanon in the region, which made Lebanon among its followers and from its universities, a destination for everyone who chose to make the path of his future, and build a successful tomorrow.
I spent sixteen years on this mission, which cleared my conscience and my feelings of love for Lebanon, and that I should strive to give this country and its good people a part of what I have, so I worked through my responsibilities to make the LAU a messenger for the true Lebanon abroad. A sincere team helped me in my endeavor, who is present with me here today and believes in Lebanon, as we see it, so we established branches of the Alumni Association numbering nearly fifty, which spread to all parts of the world, reflecting a beautiful image of Lebanese youth, left.
In the minds of Lebanon’s history and present that its people want and dream about.
We have also strengthened the academic system and fed it with the best educational capabilities. We expanded colleges, increased their numbers, and put our academic and medical capabilities, especially the College of Medicine, in the service of our hospital, and we were not satisfied.
Thanks to the effort of this team, our organization proved its social commitment, and it was at the forefront of those facing the spread of the Corona epidemic, through our mobile clinic that toured all parts of our country and conducted laboratory examinations in thousands for free, as a contribution from us to bear a portion of the responsibility placed on each of us, so that we can keep our aura which our ancestors devoted to us.
It is Lebanon, to which you have sought, Your Excellency, despite all the political and economic difficulties facing the country. However, I am confident that you, with your will and wisdom, are able to overcome the ordeal, and overcome its effects.
Trust, Mr. President, that higher education is essential to the journey of rescue and planning for tomorrow, as it has always been like this, and so it will continue.
Hence, the importance of your personal care for this sensitive file, to protect it from all interference and preserve it from parasites, as it is a trust that we are responsible of, but rather it is “Trust” entrusted to us, and we must strive to carry it, for by higher education we guarantee our country and our children a path of progress towards a brighter tomorrow, and we achieve for Lebanon the development it needs to remain a pillar of a civilization that was launched by men who worshiped science and humanity.
And the service of higher education will remain.
Many thanks to everyone who sought so that the President of the country grants me the National Cedar Medal, of the rank of officer. I especially mention His Excellency Minister Elias Bou Saab, Nada Taraby, Dr. Salim Sfeir, President of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, Dr. Christian Osei. I also thank all of you for attending my family and my cousins, members of the Board of Trustees of the Lebanese American University, my fellow colleagues, Vice-Presidents, Dr. Michel Mouawad, President-elect of LAU. In conclusion, this medal, crowns my educational career, and obliges me to continue to serve my country wherever I go. My sincere thanks and deep appreciation to you, Mr. President, for this pride, which will be my greatest honor throughout my life”.
Minister Bou Saab:
Then, Minister Bou Saab thanked President Aoun for his initiative and generous gesture which shows his interest in education and his absolute belief that homelands are built with proper education. About Dr. Jabra’s distinguished career, MP Bou Saab stressed that history will bear witness to the fingerprint that Dr. Jabra left in his accomplishments during his assumption of LAU Presidency, which became one of the most important Lebanese Universities, and during this period he was able to transform the difficult days, which the country is passing through, to victory.
“We believe, as we have learned from your Excellency, that we will not give up under any circumstances, and we will win over every crisis we face. Lebanon is coming on better days and will be stronger, and we rely on universities and the educational sector, to help achieve history” Bou Saab added.
President Aoun:
For his side, the President expressed happiness for Dr. Jabra’s imitation of this medal in the name of all the Lebanese, in appreciation of his gifts and sacrifices.
“Because he is a man who deserved a lot and gave his life to serve science. Without knowledge, no progress can be achieved, neither for individuals nor for homelands. Therefore, we have realized what distinguishes Dr. Jabra, and stands behind his professional giving which made him realize his dream, which he will deliver to future generations. Only he who understands the value of something knows how to guide it” President Aoun asserted.
After the ceremony, a traditional photo was taken.
A phone call with “La Francophonie” Secretary-General:
On the other hand, President Aoun called the Secretary-General of the International Organization of “La Francophonie”, Louise Mushikiwabou, and discussed with her the general situation, thanking her for the support which Lebanon receives from the organization in the current difficult circumstances.
Ms. Mushikiwabou expressed the organization’s support to Lebanon and its willingness to provide what is needed to help the country overcome the difficulties it faces.—Presidency Press Office

Al-Rahi Urges Unity to Reach 'U.N. Resolution' on Lebanon Neutrality
Naharnet/July 20/2020
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday hoped all Lebanese will show a “unified stance” on his calls for neutrality. “We hope all Lebanese will show a unified stance in order to reach a resolution from the Security Council and the U.N. stipulating that Lebanon has an active neutral system that should be respected by all countries,” said al-Rahi during a meeting with a Kataeb Party delegation in Diman. “It would then respect itself and become a state that is strong through its institutions and army and it would defend itself against any foreign aggression,” the patriarch added. Stressing that “certainly we and Israel are in a state of constant animosity,” al-Rahi said “active and positive neutrality is our responsibility all.”“It is a huge responsibility, especially that Lebanon was the hospital, hotel, tourism and freedom of Arabs and its neutrality allowed it to gain these labels, but when we engaged in alliances, parties and military acts we became fully isolated from Arabs and the West,” the patriarch added.

Ibrahim from Center House: Hariri is keen on Lebanon, its stability and prosperity
NNA/July 21, 2020
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri received this afternoon at the Center House, the General Director of the General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim.
After the meeting, Ibrahim said: “I had the honor today to meet with former Prime Minister Hariri and I think that there is no reason to say why I visit him. This visit to him is normal, it is not the first time and will not be the last. I come constantly to this honorable house and visit Prime Minister Hariri. There is no reason to be surprised or ask about my presence in this house.”
Question: Today, you are visiting the Center House while there is confusion around what Prime Minister Hassan Diab said “concerning comments we got from the Arab brothers" and that some people conveyed these comments. It seemed that after your tour, you conveyed them to the prime minister, especially since all communication is cut between him and the Arab countries. Were you the link?
Ibrahim: First, Prime Minister Hariri, whether he is in the government or in the opposition, is keen on Lebanon, its stability and prosperity, and this is not strange for the Hariri family and not only for former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. It is inherited from martyr Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Furthermore, the relations between Prime Minister Diab and the Arab countries are not cut, and there are certainly contacts taking place between them. The prime minister expressed his surprise at this matter and said that he did not and does not implicate anyone, and specifically not Prime Minister Hariri. He did not accuse Prime Minister Hariri, who is the keenest on Lebanon, its stability and prosperity and we all know that.
Question: Did you reach a result in your tour?
Ibrahim: I previously said that I did not ask for help, but rather asked for the creation of a common economic space between us and the countries that I visited, in order to secure trade exchange or a common economic interest between Lebanon and the countries I visited.
Question: Did you reach any result?
Ibrahim: Hopefully, we will reach a result.
Question: Why did you take this tour now and why you in particular?
Ibrahim: I think that all of Lebanon knows that we are going through a difficult economic and financial crisis and we had to react. As for why me, you have to ask the person who asked me to do this.
Question: During your visit to the Saudi Ambassador, it was said that the Saudi response is that Lebanon should return to the Arab lap, and then other matters would be discussed. It looked as if Saudi response to your request would lead to responses from the other Arab countries
Ibrahim: I already said that I accepted the invitation of the Saudi ambassador, and what happened between me and him remains between us, and I am not used to meeting anyone and then announce the minutes of the meeting.
Question: It was said that the meeting with the Saudi ambassador was not encouraging and positive?
Ibrahim: What was said and what happened during the meeting are two different things.
Question: What did you tell Prime Minister Hariri today?
Ibrahim: I came to visit him as usual.

Judge Orders Preventive Assets Freeze of Central Bank Governor
Naharnet/July 20/2020
Judge Faisal Makki on Monday ordered the preventive freeze of the real estates and assets of governor of Central Bank of Lebanon Riad Salameh, in connection with a request filed by lawyers and activists of The People Want to Reform the System group.The lawyers were named as Hassan Bazzi, Haitham Ezzo, Jad Tohmeh, Joseph Wanis, Pierre Gemayel, Francois Kamel and Basel Abbas. From June 11-13, after the Lebanese pound hit a new low on the black market, protests in Lebanon rallied against Salameh's failure to halt the depreciation.

Ghajar Says Power Cuts to Ease before Midweek
Naharnet/July 20/2020
Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar said on Monday that power supply is going to notably improve after weeks of power cuts that saw much of the country plunge into darkness, adding to the gloom of a deepening economic and financial crisis in the country. “Various Lebanese regions will see gradual but notable improvement in power supply before Wednesday, which eventually will lead to less consumption of fuel,” said Ghajar at a joint press conference with Economy Minister Raoul Nehme. Ghajar who had blamed the wide power cuts over the past month on two faulty fuel shipments involving the Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach, said the government is taking all necessary measures to avoid similar problems. For his part, Nehme slammed fuel traders saying: “There is a fuel crisis in the country and instead of following the ministry’s legal mechanism, traders follow the principle of blackmail.”The cuts, stretching in some cases to 20 hours a day, have led generator providers to shut down their machines for several hours a day to ration existing fuel. As a result, traffic lights in Beirut have been turned off and hospitals have struggled to make sure their surgeries and other work can continue without interruption.
Lebanese people, however, already pay for generators that provide backup power through the daily outages, and electricity prices cannot be increased before the state is able to provide round-the-clock electricity.

Security Sources: Lebanese Detained in Cyprus Not Linked to Hizbullah
Naharnet/July 20/2020
Security sources denied on Monday reports claiming that a Lebanese detained on Sunday in Cyprus over drug dealing charges reportedly belongs to Hizbullah, MTV station said. The sources spoke to MTV on condition of anonymity, stressing that the suspect, identified by his first initials as G.D., is not a member of Hizbullah. Al-Arabiya TV reported on Sunday that authorities in Cyprus have extradited to the United States a Hizbullah member accused of drug dealing. Cyprus' supreme court had on May 29 upheld an order to extradite a suspected Hizbullah member to the U.S. on money laundering charges, according to official media. A five-judge bench unanimously dismissed an appeal against a decision by a lower court in September 2019 to extradite the man, identified only by his surname Diab, the Cyprus News Agency said. The suspect was wanted by authorities in Florida for alleged money laundering crimes.

Fahmi Launches Awareness Campaign over COVID-19
Naharnet/July 20/2020
In light of an uptick in Lebanon’s COVID-19 cases, Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi launched a campaign to raise awareness on preventing the virus spread noting that police will impose “strict” measures to enforce protection, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. In remarks to the daily, Fahmi said security forces will be required to “advise and guide people ignoring restrictions,” warning them that they could be hit with fines if they do not abide by the protection measures. The Minister urged media outlets to “raise the level of awareness about the dangers of evading protection measures against coronavirus.”Fahmi said although fines on people ignoring restrictions are a burden in light of a difficult economic and social crisis, “but it is their duty to feel national responsibility to protect themselves and others.”He said “neither the State nor the society are capable of bearing the consequences on the medical sector and Lebanese economy if this virus spirals out of control.” Lebanon recorded 84 new cases of coronavirus raising the total number to 2856, 1515 recoveries and 40 deaths since February 1 when the first COVID-19 case was detected.

Diab chairs meeting of ministerial committee for the follow-up of waste file
NNA/July 21, 2020
Prime Minister, Dr. Hassan Diab, chaired in the evening a meeting of the ministerial committee for the follow-up of the waste file. The meeting was attended by Ministers of Environment and Administrative Development, Demianos Kattar, Interior and Municipalities,Mohammad Fahmi, Public Works and Transport, Michel Najjar, Public Health, Hamad Hassan, Agriculture and Culture, Abbas Mortada, in addition to Director General of the Lebanese Presidency, Antoine Choucair, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Judge Mahmoud Makie, head of Reconstruction and Development Council Nabil Al Jisr, and PM Advisor, Assaad Eid.
The Minister of Environment presented the report prepared by the technical committee, and PM Diab asked attendees to provide observations before submitting the report before the Council of Ministers.-- PM Press Office

Diab cables Sisi congratulating him on July 23 revolution commemoration
NNA/July 21, 2020
Prime Minister, Dr. Hassan Diab, cabled Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and his Egyptian counterpart Dr. Mustafa Madbouli, to congratulate them on the occasion of the July 23 revolution commemoration, wishing more progress and prosperity for the Egyptian State and reaffirming the deep brotherly relations and cooperation between the two countries and peoples. Premier Diab also sent a cable to King Philip of Belgium and to his Belgian counterpart Sophie Wilmès, to congratulate them on the occasion of the Belgian National Day, praising profound and excellent relationships linking both countries and looking forward to strengthening them in the future.--PM Press Office

Diab meets military charter group delegation, Secretary General of Lebanese-Syrian Supreme Council
NNA/July 21, 2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab received today a delegation from the Military charter group, which included retired officers Mounir Akl, Elias Atamesh, Asad Al-Hashem, Fares El-Khoury, Ghassan Mahfouz, Adnan Darwish, George Saikaly, Abdo Sagheer, Hamad Haidar and Samir Jaber, in the presence of PM Advisor, Brigadier General Talal Doughan. After the meeting, Akl said: "We discussed with the Prime Minister the economic, financial and living conditions, and we demanded that the first step towards a solution be holding accountable corrupt officials, thieves and those who have appropriated state funds. We support the self-made Premier who works day and night to mend the situation in the country after being left with a burning fire ball in hand... PM Diab is striving to move the country forward, but people must point out what is right and what is wrong; the government is leaving no stone unturned, with the assistance of all parties, but unfortunately some groups with special agendas are working to get in the way of the State’s and government’s path. We were engaged in the military movement and are still the spearhead for defending rights and demands in order to secure a decent living for the citizens and for hungry people, for incomes no longer meet all the needs. But this does not happen by attacking public and private property, blocking roads, burning tires, breaking banks, and restricting liberty. We ask the people who are interested in the advancement of the country to act in a peaceful way, point out what is right and criticize what is wrong. Is this government that has been in place for four and a half months only responsible for the hunger that has struck the people? It is responsible for corruption, theft and looting of public funds? Of course not, since the government is responsible for disclosing the names of thieves and corrupt people, and putting them on trial. This is our demand”. Later on, PM Diab met with the Secretary General of the Lebanese-Syrian Supreme Council, Nasri Khoury, in the presence of PM Advisor, Khodor Taleb, with talks touching on the conditions of the displaced Syrians.—PM Press Office

Hariri receives Tarraf
NNA/July 21, 2020
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri received this afternoon at the Center House the Ambassador of the European Union to Lebanon Ralph Tarraf, who said that “the meeting focused on local and regional developments and the constructive role played by Prime Minister Hariri in the various issues raised.”--Hariri Press Office

Transfer of authority of Spanish brigade
NNA/July 21, 2020
The Transfer of Authority Ceremony for UNIFIL Spanish Brigade BRILIB XXXII on successful completion of a tenure of Eight months was organized in HQ UNP 7-2 in Marjayoun. The Chief Guest of the ceremony was UNIFIL Force Commander Major General Stefano del Col. Due to ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, the ceremony was conducted at much smaller scale than usual, with very limited number of attendances.The Spanish Brigade 'The Legion - Rey Alfonso XIII'' came to Lebanon from the southern part of Spain, Almeria. This is the Fourth time that this battalion has taken part in the United Nation Peace keeping Mission with 600 troops, presently this brigade is being commanded by Brigadier General Marcos Llago Navarro. During last six months, the brigade has achieved immense popularity for its support to the local public. The brigade assisted the local population by various projects funded by both UNIFIL and the Spanish government. These investments were made in the fields of healthcare, municipal development, education and building up of infrastructure for the local villages. Special emphasis was made to improve the education infrastructure as the Commander believes that the children will be the future of Lebanon and all efforts were made so that they get an encouraging environment for honing their skills and shaping the future. In this regard in the past six months, the brigade has also taken an endeavour to teach Spanish to local population.
In terms of operations during its tenure of service, the brigade has successfully implemented the Security Council resolution 1701 in its AOR in coordination with all multinational battalions of UNIFIL SECTOR EAST and LAF. The troops under this brigade has kept a continuous watch to ensure peace and stability in the region. One of the most important achievements, which needs special mention, is the increased cooperation between UNIFIL units and LAF units of 7th Brigade and 5th regiment which has been achieved by a series of joint trainings and joint patrols.
During his speech, the Force Commander of UNIFIL highly appreciated the great professionalism and efforts of outgoing brigade in ensuring peace and stability in south of Lebanon. He also congratulated them for their successful tenure and gave best wishes to the brigade for their future endeavours.
The incoming brigade BRILIB XXXIII 'The Airborne Infantry Regiment- N?poles 4' is being commanded by Brigadier General Luis Jes?s Fern?ndez Herrero. The brigade is joining the UNIFIL for the fourth time. Brigadier General Luis Jes?s Fernandez Herrero, himself, has served twice, in 2007 and 2010, in UNIFIL before this mission. All the preventive measures related to COVID-19 virus spread were followed during the ceremony.

Bukhari receives phone call from Berri checking on Saudi Monarch's health
NNA/July 21, 2020
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid bin Abdullah Bukhari, on Monday received a phone call from House Speaker, Nabih Berri, to check on the health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, as per a statement by the Saudi Embassy, following the announcement of the Royal Court that the Saudi Monarch has been admitted to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital for medical examinations for gall bladder inflammation. Speaker Berri wished the Saudi Monarch speedy recovery, statement added. In turn, Ambassador Bukhari highly appreciated and thanked Speaker Berri for his sincere brotherly sentiments, stressing that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King is in good health.

Minister of Information broaches role of media with World Bank advisor, Modern University delegation
NNA/July 21, 2020
Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, on Monday welcomed at her ministerial office World Bank advisor, Dr. Mounir Hamza, with whom she discussed the latest developments, as well as the important role of media and the modernization of public administrations. Minister Abdel Samad separately met with a delegation from the “Modern University for Management and Science”, headed by President of the University’s Board of Trustees, Dr. Hatem Alameh. Following the meeting, Dr. Alameh indicated that the meeting had been an occasion to brief Minister Abdul Samad on the University’s activities, especially amid the current difficult circumstances. "Universities are currently going through a very difficult situation,” he said. “We are joining forces with the benevolent figures in this country to seek the best means out of the crisis,” he added. Alameh then stressed the importance of joining forces between the media and education sectors to get students ready for today’s challenges, especially in light of the current collapse and its devastating effect on the high rate of unemployment.

ICMP welcomes appointment of members of Lebanon National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared
NNA/July 21, 2020
The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) has welcomed in a statement on Monday the appointment of the members of the Lebanon National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared, who have been sworn in before the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun.
“These appointments underline recognition of the importance of resolving the issue of missing persons as an opportunity to assert state responsibility, and thus enhance confidence in public institutions on this issue,” said ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger. “As the only international organization working exclusively on the issue of missing persons, ICMP stands ready to support Lebanon’s efforts to address this issue in an effective and impartial way, and to help families of the missing to secure truth and justice.”For years, family associations and civil society have worked to keep the missing persons issue in public view, and together with NGOs they have called on the authorities to launch a sustained and comprehensive process to account for the missing. In 2019, Lebanon passed Law 105 for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons, and the appointment of the members of the Commission marks the next important step in addressing the issue. ICMP is a treaty-based intergovernmental organization with Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its mandate is to secure the cooperation of governments and others in locating missing persons from conflict, human rights abuses, disasters, organized crime, irregular migration and other causes and to assist them in doing so. It is the only international organization tasked exclusively to work on the issue of missing persons. It has helped governments to develop legislation to enable families of the missing to assert their rights; and has assisted governments in the excavation of more than 3,000 mass graves using advanced forensic techniques, and in the scientific identification of tens of thousands of missing persons from around the world, using cutting-edge DNA methods.—ICMP

AUB President Dr. Fadlo Khuri addressees AUB Community
NNA/July 21, 2020
In a message sent to the AUB community this morning, President Fadlo R. Khuri considered that “this past week was an exceptionally difficult one as we were forced to lose 850 members of our community, with 650 staff laid off and 200 more whose contracts will not be renewed or who will retire and not be replaced. Over the past months, we have worked diligently to identify where job reduction could be realized without jeopardizing operations and allowing AUB to remain affordable, all while continuing to provide transformative education and world-class patient care. These efforts, led by the administration and in collaboration with the Workers and Staff Syndicate of AUB, substantially reduced the number of jobs lost from those previously predicted to 850. At the same time, we rapidly built an expanded social safety net, whereby we are paying between 6-24 months of severance pay based on a sliding scale of years of service, continuing to pay for the AUB education of the departing employees’ children in undergraduate programs until their graduation, maintaining all funding of school education for one year, and offering much-needed health benefits.”
“Due to several factors, most layoffs came from our medical center and they came from all ranks, including the prior senior management team. AUBMC did not maximize accrual of adequate reserves over the past decade and mobilized slowly to sufficiently control costs once the Lebanese financial crisis began to accelerate in 2019. The medical center was being developed to provide Lebanon and the peoples of the region with world-class patient care on an expanded, state-of-the-art level, a mission we will cautiously resume once Lebanon and the region’s economies stabilize. In this vastly diminished economy, AUBMC has a substantial over-staffing problem in many units, which is unsustainable and had to be urgently addressed. AUBMC Director Joe Otayek and Interim Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (FM) Dr. Ghazi Zaatari, along with an entirely new, homegrown leadership team, are committed to a more sustainable, strategic, and compassionate approach to both the medical center and our historic
medical school. We are confident they will set AUBMC and FM on the right path”, he added. Khuri said that “we fully understand the dire impact of the layoffs given the disastrous state of Lebanon’s economy, but it was precisely those circumstances that made it impossible for AUB to avoid this severe measure. Before reaching this point, every avenue was explored to cut costs and increase efficiency on campus and at the medical center, including closure of underperforming university units. Additional funding support was sought from the US and Lebanese governments and from private foundations and individuals. Those in top leadership positions and some higher-paid faculty and staff members have been giving back 10-20% of their salary for months. I myself have been giving back 25% of my salary since mid-November 2019. Capital construction projects have been canceled or delayed, non-critical maintenance deferred, university travel eliminated, and hiring frozen.”
“It is always important to acknowledge where we could have done better. The reality is that letting this many people go from the AUB family was never going to be easy. Leaving one’s home and family because of external economic factors is even more painful. The manner of the departures, especially at AUBMC, could and should have been better handled, and some confusion and pain could have been avoided. Many have questioned the presence of the army and police at AUBMC. To be clear, the security presence was made necessary after credible external threats were received earlier in the week, which led to recommendations for high-level security. The safety of the personnel, the patients, the students, and the general public was and will always be of paramount priority. We therefore reluctantly abided by these recommendations. We recognize that this security presence should have been better managed. We will learn from this experience but as we always do, these are things we own and will build on”, he continued.
“In these heartbreaking times, we must all set aside our differences and work together to strive towards a better tomorrow. Our greatest concerns at this time include carefully restoring morale, especially at AUBMC, empowering our precious human assets while we continue to educate the best and brightest, serve our community, carry out groundbreaking research, and provide world-class care at our medical center. We must do this all while balancing the budget, with a disproportionate amount of our revenues now being generated in a collapsing Lebanese economy, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and deep global recession.”Khuri concluded: “As I have stated repeatedly over the past five years, we must strive to first help ourselves in order for others to believe we are worth helping. That is true for AUB, for the higher education and healthcare sectors in Lebanon and the Arab world, and more than likely for the peoples of the region. AUB has always been a vital institution for Lebanon, the region, and beyond. Its community has repeatedly come together in the face of monumental challenges. We now must again rely on the strength of our community to emerge from this unprecedented series of crises. We need our outstanding AUB Board, faculty, staff, students, alumni community, and friends to stand by us, continue to give generously whenever they can, feel free to criticize thoughtfully, but also to truly partner with us in building a better, more sustainable, and more inclusive AUB.”—AUB
 

Bassil muddles Lebanese debate on neutrality, provokes Palestinian pushback
The Arab Weekly/July 20/2020
BEIRUT – Palestinian factions condemned on Sunday statements by the president of Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement (PMF) Gebran Bassil that Palestinian refugees hinder his country’s efforts to preserve “neutrality.”In a statement, the Alliance of Palestinian Forces in Lebanon, which includes most Palestinian factions, called to confront “all the malicious media campaigns that smack of racism, hatred and hatred.” The Palestinian factions also rejected their being put on the same footing as Israel.
After meeting with Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rai in the northern village of Al-Diman on Sunday, Bassil said that “neutrality can succeed if neighbouring countries recognise the principle and apply it by removing unpredictable foreign elements at home.”Bassil said Palestinians in Lebanon are among “unpredictable” foreign elements, without elaborating further. “We are with neutrality that will help Lebanon maintain its unity and defend it from attacks by Israel,” Bassil said.
“Neutrality is required from us and others, and is a form of strategic positioning,” he added. The PMF’s leader also said that both internal and external conditions should be in place and that there should be national commitment to neutrality. During mass sermon in Diman earlier in the day, Rai reiterated his call for Lebanon to adopt a neutral stance, which he said is not a sectarian, factional or foreign proposal “but rather a recovery of our identity and basic nature, and a path of salvation for all Lebanese with no exception.” The patriarch said the system of neutrality requires the presence of a strong state with a strong army, institutions and judiciary capable of defending itself, preserving the unity of its people and creating political stability and economic growth. “My hope is that a real simple understanding of the concept of an active system of neutrality will be achieved through scientific intellectual dialogues that reveal its legal, national and political meaning, and its importance for stability and prosperity,” he said. The Shia camp, particularly the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and the Amal movement, have yet to comment on Rai’s call for neutrality. The Higher Islamic Shia Council chief Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, however, hit back on Sunday. He said neutrality does not differentiate between the West and the East, accusing some parties of sympathising with “traitors and collaborators” under various pretexts in order to tarnish the image of the “resistant Lebanon that triumphed over the Zionist enemy.”He also warned against losing sight of national and ethical interests and the means of rescuing Lebanon from regional and international tensions that seek to tear it apart.

Qatar's Hezbollah funding exposed by whistle-blower contractor
Damien McElroy/The National/July 20/2020
Consultant claims he was involved in months of negotiations with Qatar over hundreds of thousands of euros to suppress devastating dossier
A whistle-blower has claimed that he earned tens of thousands of euros from Qatar for hiding a dossier that documented the country's support for Hezbollah. German press have reported that the security consultant was offered a total payment of €750,000 (Dh3.1 million) to suppress the information he had gathered about Qatar's illicit support for terrorism. The man, identified only as Jason, said he spent several months in negotiations in 2019 with a Qatari emissary in Europe.
A German business executive who was reported to have witnessed some of the meetings said information had been passed to the Qataris that provided "transparency" in the "fight against certain critical, anti-Israeli networks". Six meetings took place between the consultant and the Qataris before the talks broke down. Jason reportedly believed that he could receive a payment of €10m from Qatar to buy the evidence he had compiled. He said the information offered Qatar an opportunity to purge "shady people in their own ranks", including a top-ranked general in Doha.
In a familiar pattern tracked to Qatar's funding for the Muslim Brotherhood, the money to Hezbollah was funnelled through the country's charity sector. Outfits like Qatar Charity have bankrolled a variety of groups politically active throughout Europe.
As a political and military entity, Hezbollah has been proscribed around Europe with Germany and Britain becoming the latest countries to add the group to their banned list. Under an outline deal considered by both the consultant and the Qatari representative, the man would have taken monthly payments to maintain a line of communication with the Qatari general, by whom he was also being paid, to build up more information on his activities.
Jason also reportedly had first-hand information on arms deals by Qatar with Eastern European armament factories that would have caused the country further embarrassment. "[Jason] came across some embarrassing information while based in Doha," he said. "There was an alleged arms deal with war material from Eastern Europe that was supposed to be handled by a company in Qatar. And there were alleged money flows from several rich Qataris to exiled Lebanese people that involved money flows from Doha to Hezbollah." In the first half of 2019 the leak of the dossier in the German press would have been highly embarrassing for Qatar as it pressed forward with its construction programme for hosting the 2022 World Cup. With Hezbollah on official terror lists in the US and Europe, the country's diplomatic standing would have been compromised, according to Jason's account of his conversations with the Qatari envoys.
Qatar spends tens of millions of euros in Europe to support institutes and organisations that have drawn concerns over the risk of radicalisation. Doha maintains friendly ties with Hezbollah's patron Iran, which in turn has suffered a blow after European security agencies exposed Tehran's intelligence network run by its embassies in Germany, Belgium and France.
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 20-21/2020
Syria Reports Israeli Air Raids on Capital
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 20/2020
The Syrian military said the country's air defenses responded on Monday to Israeli air raids in south Damascus that caused only material damage, and residents said loud explosions rocked the capital. It was not clear what the targets were. The air raids, which came just before 10 p.m. (1900 GMT), continued for more than 15 minutes. Residents reported hearing at least four explosions in the capital. A military official quoted in Syrian state media said the attack was carried out by Israeli jets that took off from the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 war. The unnamed official said air defenses responded and downed most of the missiles. He said the attack caused material damage only. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the country's civil war, said the suspected Israeli strikes targeted government and Iranian militia posts. Israel rarely comments on such reports, but is believed to have carried out scores of raids targeting Iran's military presence in Syria. In the past two months alone, Syria has accused Israel of carrying out at least eight air raids on its territory. The last reported strikes came in late June. Iran is a key ally of the Syrian government in the nearly decade-long civil war. Israel views Iran as a regional menace and has vowed to prevent any permanent Iranian military buildup in Syria, particularly near the frontier. In recent months, Israeli officials have also expressed concern that Hizbullah, an Iran-backed Lebanese group that operates in Syria, is trying to establish facilities to produce precision-guided missiles. Tensions have also risen along the Israel-Lebanon border. The strikes Monday came a day after Syrians voted in government-held areas to elect a new parliament. The vote is the third to take place in Syria since the civil war began in March 2011. It has killed more than 400,000, displaced half the country's population and caused more than five million to become refugees, mostly in neighboring countries.

Iran executes man convicted of spying for CIA, Mossad
AFP/July 20, 2020
Tehran (AFP) - Iran on Monday executed a former translator convicted of spying for the US and Israel, including helping to locate a top Iranian general killed later by the Americans, the judiciary said. The killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport in January brought decades-old arch enemies Iran and the United States to the brink of conflict. The judiciary's Mizan Online website said Mahmoud Mousavi Majd's death "sentence was carried out on Monday morning over the charge of espionage so that the case of his betrayal to his country will be closed forever". Its spokesman said earlier this month that Majd had been sentenced to death for spying on "various security fields, especially the armed forces and the Quds Force and the whereabouts and movements of martyr General Qasem Soleimani". Majd had been found guilty of receiving large sums of money from both the US Central Intelligence Agency and Israel's Mossad, said the spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili. Soleimani headed the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran retaliated against the United States for his death by firing a volley of ballistic missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq, but US President Donald Trump opted against responding militarily. While the attack on the western Iraqi base of Ain Al-Asad left no US soldiers dead, dozens suffered brain trauma.
'American dollars'

Majd was arrested about two years ago and was not directly involved in the killing of Soleimani, according to a statement the judiciary issued in June. Majd had migrated to Syria in the 1970s with his family and worked as an English and Arabic language translator at a company, Mizan said. When war broke out, he chose to stay in the country while his family left. "His knowledge of Arabic and familiarity with Syria's geography made him close to Iranian military advisers and he took responsibilities in groups stationed from Idlib to Latakia," the site added.

Iran increasingly obsessed with China deal, blames Israel for controversy
Jerusalem Post/July 20/2020
Iran accuses the US State Department, members of the former Pahlavi monarchy and Israel of being against the China deal.
Iran is obsessed with getting a deal with China at any cost. It is so obsessed, it has directed its media to begin to blame Israel and “the Zionists” for any controversy at the heart of its discussions with China.
The reality is that Iran’s own populists, led by former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had raised alarms about the Iranian regime selling out to Beijing. Then Iran’s propaganda machine turned its ire on the “monarchists,” blaming dissidents abroad for the problem. Now it zooms in on its usual scapegoat: Israel.
How do we know this? Iran’s media had several front-page stories on Sunday slamming Israel, including this newspaper, for making its China deal controversial. What is the controversy? Iran is trying to come to a multi-decade agreement with China.
Critics allege Iran will give China major concessions and deals in an effort to get around US sanctions. Meanwhile, Iran’s allies, such as Hezbollah, are also focused on a deal with China for Lebanon.
The first article at Tasnim News Agency over the weekend says Iran is shifting to a Beijing strategy because China also wants to pressure the US: “China’s growing cooperation with Iran in various fields is a symbol of change in Beijing’s strategy against Washington.” The world has completely changed, Iran says, and many countries no longer listen to US demands or unilateral policies, and “countries are willing to confront the US.
Next, Tasnim quotes Majid Reza Harari, head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, to discuss the agreement. The article is titled: “The role of the Zionist regime in the media controversy against the 25-year agreement [with China].” The article notes that Iran-China discussions about a longer agreement date back to 1997. In addition, the issue of a 25-year deal is merely symbolic. The countries may have other addenda to their deal, such as a free-trade zone or work at the Port of Jask, the report says.
Iran accuses the US State Department, members of the former Pahlavi monarchy and Israel of being against the China deal. “My analysis is that the reasons for these rumors is that it relates to Israel’s long-term economic interest in the Middle East,” Harari says. Israel’s partnership with China has been jeopardized, he says, adding: “We certainly see such an alliance against this agreement in the world.”
Iran’s road map in this respect looks back to history and argues China never attempted to colonize Iran, unlike the UK or other countries. Harari argues that China’s treatment of Iran is, therefore, a better track record than the US or UK. He also notes that the current government in Tehran is oriented toward the West and would prefer a deal with France if they could get it. He says it would be welcome if China would build thousands of kilometers of high-speed trains in Iran and if China and Iran could work on 5G and other technologies.
It is clear from the report that Iran is moving cautiously and thinking about many angles of the potential Iran-China deal. However, the Iranian regime is seeking to pin some of the blame on Israel now, in addition to the US, Saudi Arabia, “monarchists” and also local populists.

Statement from International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752 on Iran delivering flight recorders
July 20, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom, members of the International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of Flight PS752, today issued the following statement:
“While we welcome the delivery of Flight PS752’s recorders to France’s Civil Aviation Safety Investigation and Analysis Bureau, this is long overdue, and is only a step towards completing the safety investigation.
“We reiterate our demand for Iran to conduct a full, transparent, and independent flight safety investigation in accordance with international standards.
“The Coordination Group will continue working to ensure transparency, accountability and justice, including reparations, for the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy.”

Tehran pressures Kadhimi with accusations of involvement in Soleimani’s assassination
The Arab Weekly/July 20/2020
BAGHDAD - Iran has suggested it has evidence of the involvement of the Iraqi intelligence service, when it was headed by current Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, in the US raid early this year near Baghdad airport that killed its infamous general, Qassem Soleimani.
The new claim came ahead of Kadhimi’s scheduled (and temporarily postponed) visit to Saudi Arabia as part of his first foreign tour, which is also to include Iran, the United States and other countries. The accusations coincided with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s visit to Baghdad.
The Kata’ib Hezbollah militia in Iraq had previously directly accused Kadhimi of personal involvement in the raid that had killed Soleimani and his aide, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was the de facto field commander of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Iraq. Tehran, however, has not formally endorsed this accusation. Iraq watchers know well that the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia is an Iraqi proxy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and that its positions express the positions of Iranian hard-liners.
Following the unofficial announcement at the beginning of this month of Kadhimi’s intention to visit Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United States, Iraqi media controlled by the IRGC began circulating a list of five officers of the Iraqi intelligence service they said were involved in planning Soleimani’s assassination.
Iran is perceived as the master puppeteer of a wide spectrum of Iraqi media that it controls through the so-called Islamic Radio and Television Union affiliated with the IRGC, which is also active in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.
This Iranian media escalation reached a feverish peak on the eve of Zarif’s official visit to Baghdad Sunday. Iranian diplomats announced that Tehran has “compelling evidence that two Iraqi officials, along with a number of employees,” were involved in planning Soleimani’s assassination.
Observers believe that the goal of Iran’s escalation is to intimidate Kadhimi before he embarks on his visits to Saudi Arabia and the United States. For Tehran, the Iraqi prime minister appears serious about strengthening his government’s relations with Riyadh and Washington, both of which Tehran consider enemies.
Iranian diplomats have suggested that Tehran will bring up the issue of Soleimani’s assassination and of those involved in it during Kadhimi’s visit to the Iranian capital in the next few days. A diplomatic source said that Soleimani’s assassination is one of the items on the agenda of security talks between Tehran and Baghdad during Kadhimi’s visit. Judging by the latest Tehran-instigated media campaign in Iraq against the Kadhimi government, observers believe that Iran will not hesitate to blackmail Kadhimi if it senses any resistance or insurrection on his part.
With previous Iraqi heads of government, Tehran has always used the carrot and stick approach. But, this time, experts believe, it may have to resort to new language if it wants to maintain good relations with Kadhimi, who seems to have already picked other options than blind obedience to Tehran.
Iraqi political sources say that Iran cannot accept the reality of widespread Iraqi popular rejection of the policies of all its allies in Baghdad, which was clearly expressed in the October 2019 uprising in which hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shias chanted slogans against Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollay Ali Khamenei and demanded an end to Iran’s negative influence in their country.
The sources pointed out that the card of the October uprising may be used by Kadhimi as an effective weapon in his dealings with Iran, provided he fortifies his internal flanks by ensuring the military establishment’s loyalty to the state.
Observers believe that Iran is aware of the depth of its crisis in Iraq after the Iraqi Shia street during the October uprising shattered the myth that Tehran is the protector of the Shia sect. Iraqi observers distinguish between two types of Iranian response to the significant change in Iraqi Shias’ mood — a change caused by the behaviour of the parties and militias loyal to Iran. On the one hand, there is the response of the Iranian state, represented by President Hassan Rohani and Zarif. On the other, there is the response of Iran of the Islamic Revolution, represented by Khamenei and the IRGC.
The Iranian state wants to maintain Tehran’s hegemony in Iraq through soft power, using diplomatic tools, economic penetration and quiet influence in politics, but revolutionary Iran insists on using noise and chaos to maintain its grip on Iraq, as it looks at it through the eyes of Iraqi militia leaders who see themselves as above the law and say thatKadhimi is just America’s agent who wants to revitalise relations with Saudi Arabia.
Many Iraqis do not hear about the state-based Iran because of all the din made by revolutionary Iran through its proxy media in Iraq against the United States, Saudi Arabia and Kadhimi and his government. For his part, Kadhimi needs a magical formula to manage Tehran’s complex influence in Iraq, according to observers who believe that the Iraqi prime minister should be patient in order to avoid falling into the trap of an early confrontation that Iran wants to draw him into with the goal of bringing down his government.
Zarif arrived in Baghdad very early Sunday morning, even before Iraqi official circles were up and about, on a visit whose timing is causing controversy. It came about 48 hours before Kadhimi’s scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia, which was postponed after the Saudi monarch was hospitalised.
Despite what appeared to be a busy schedule for Zarif in Baghdad, including meetings with the heads of government, the republic and the parliament, as well as with a spectrum of political leaders, including Ammar al-Hakim, leader of al-Hikma Movement, and Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Badr Organisation, Zarif’s statements were brief. Political discussions between Iraq and Iran taking place through official delegations are usually kept strictly confidential.
Kadhimi reiterated his country’s steadfast stance in seeking to assert its balanced and positive role in making peace in the region. “Iraq seeks to assert its balanced and positive role in making peace and progress in the region, which will bring all of its people more stability, prosperity and sustainable development,” he said as he received Zarif. In turn, Zarif affirmed that “Iran is highly interested in the upcoming visit of the Iraqi Prime Minister to Iran, to start a new phase of cooperation between the two countries.”Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein stressed in the press conference he held with his Iranian counterpart that Iraq is working to safeguard Iraq from international tensions and seeks to protect Iraqi sovereignty. “A strong Iraq means a strong region, and we seek balanced relations with all of our neighbours according to Iraq’s national interest and the principle of non-interference in internal affairs,” he added.
 

UAE's Amal Spacecraft Rockets toward Mars in Arab World 1st
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 20/2020
A United Arab Emirates spacecraft rocketed into blue skies from a Japanese launch center Monday at the start of a seven-month journey to Mars on the Arab world's first interplanetary mission. The liftoff of the Mars orbiter named Amal, or Hope, starts a rush to fly to Earth's neighbor that is scheduled to be followed in the next few days by China and the United States.At the space center in Dubai, people watching were transfixed by the liftoff, then cheered and clapped, with one woman with offering a celebratory cry common for weddings. Amal blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' H-IIA rocket on time at 6:58 a.m. (2158 GMT Sunday) after being delayed five days by bad weather.
Mitsubishi later said the probe successfully separated from the rocket and was now on its solo journey to Mars. The probe was sending signals that would be analyzed later but everything appeared good for now, Omran Sharaf, the UAE Mars mission director told journalists in Dubai about an hour and a half after liftoff. Amal is set to reach Mars in February 2021, the year the UAE celebrates 50 years since the country's formation. In September that year, Amal will start transmitting Martian atmospheric data, which will be made available to the international scientific community, Sharaf said. "The UAE is now a member of the club and we will learn more and we will engage more and we'll continue developing our space exploration program," UAE Space Agency chief Mohammed Al Ahbabi told a joint online news conference from Tanegashima.
At Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center in Dubai, Emirati men in their traditional white kandora robes and women in their black abayas watched the liftoff. As its stages separated, a cheer went out from men seated on the floor. They began clapping, one using his face mask, worn due to the coronavirus pandemic, to wipe away a tear.
"It was great to see everything going according to schedule today. It looks like things are all on track. It's a huge step in terms of space exploration to have a nation like the UAE taking that giant leap to send a spacecraft to Mars," said Fred Watson, Australia's astronomer-at-large. "Being on route to a planet like Mars is an exceptional achievement." A newcomer in space development, the UAE has successfully put three Earth observation satellites into orbit. Two were developed by South Korea and launched by Russia, and a third — its own — was launched by Japan.
A successful mission to Mars would be a major step for the oil-dependent economy seeking a future in space, coming less than a year after the launch of the first UAE astronaut, Hazzaa Ali Almansoori. He spent over a week at the International Space Station last fall. The UAE has set a goal to build a human colony on Mars by 2117.
"It sends a very strong message to the Arab youth that if the UAE is able to reach Mars in less than 50 years, they could do much more," Sharaf told The Associated Press on Sunday as his colleagues prepared for the launch.
The Emiratis also acknowledged it represented a step forward for the Arab world, the home of mathematicians and scientists for centuries before the wars and chaos that have gripped wide swathes of it in recent times. "So the region has been going through tough times in the past decades, if not centuries," Sharaf said. "Now we have the case of the UAE, a country that's moving forward with its plans, looking at the future and the future of region also."
For its first Mars mission, the UAE chose partners instead of doing it all on its own. "Developing a spacecraft is not easy even if there is ample funding," said Junya Terazono, an astronomer at Aizu University. Emirati scientists worked with researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, University of California, Berkeley, and Arizona State University. The spacecraft was assembled at Boulder and transported to Japan as the two countries looked to expand their ties with the rich and politically stable Middle Eastern nation. The Amal spacecraft, along with its launch, cost $200 million, according to Sharaf. Operation costs at Mars have yet to be divulged. Amal, about the size of a small car, carries three instruments to study the upper atmosphere and monitor climate change while circling the red planet for at least two years. It is set to follow up on NASA's Maven orbiter sent to Mars in 2014 to study how the planet went from a warm, wet world that may have harbored microbial life during its first billion years, to the cold, barren place of today. Hope also plans to send back images of weather changes.
Japan has long collaborated with the U.S. and other partners in defense and space technology, and the resource-poor country has traditionally kept friendly ties with Middle Eastern countries. Japan's launch services are known for accuracy and an on-time record, but the providers are working to cut costs to be more internationally competitive. Two other Mars missions are planned in coming days. China aims to explore the Martian surface with an orbiter and rover and to search for water and ice with a launch expected around Thursday. The U.S. plans to send a rover named Perseverance to search for signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil samples for return to Earth. Liftoff is targeted for July 30. Japan has its own Mars mission planned in 2024. It plans to send spacecraft to the Martian moon Phobos to collect samples to bring back to Earth in 2029.

Turkey Urges 'Immediate' End to Haftar Support in Libya
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 20/2020
Turkey on Monday urged an "immediate" end to the support for rebel commander Khalifa Haftar in Libya after trilateral talks held in Ankara between Libyan, Maltese and Turkish officials. Turkey earlier this year stepped up its support for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) after Haftar launched an offensive in April 2019 to seize the capital. Libya has been entrenched in chaos since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi with rival political and armed groups battling for control. Haftar is backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates -- countries with whom Turkey's relations are strained -- as well as Russia. "It is essential that all kind of help and support given to putschist Haftar, which prohibits ensuring Libya's peace, tranquility, security and territorial integrity, ends immediately," Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said. His comments came after a meeting with the interior ministers of Libya and Malta at the defense ministry in the Turkish capital. Haftar's backers should "stop supporting an unrealistic and wrong project," GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashaga said, according to a Turkish defense ministry translation. "The international community should prioritize the preservation of a united Libya," Malta's Interior Minister Byron Camilleri said, joined by Akar and Bashaga. After the GNA signed security and maritime agreements with Turkey last year, Ankara's military support including drones helped it re-impose control over Libya's northwest.

Arbil Denies Handing Syria Kurd Official's Niece to Turkey
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 20/2020
Iraqi Kurdish authorities on Monday denied handing over to Turkey the niece of an influential Syrian Kurdish official wanted by Ankara, as claimed by her family. The interior ministry in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region dismissed the accusation from the family of Dalia Mahmoud Muslim, echoing an account given by official Turkish news agency Anadolu. Citing security sources, Anadolu reported Saturday that the 21-year-old had "handed herself in" to Turkish security forces on July 15 in a southern province of Turkey. Dalia Mahmoud Muslim is the niece of Saleh Muslim, longtime co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), political arm of the main Syrian Kurdish militia, the People's Protection Units (YPG). The YPG is viewed as a "terrorist" group by Turkey and an offshoot of its outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Iraqi Kurdish authorities said the young woman "had left the Women's Protection Units (the YPG's female equivalent) and started a relationship with a PKK fighter known as Toul Hadan, living in Bitlis," Turkey. "Both of them have decided to leave the PKK," the interior ministry said in a statement. Dalia Mahmoud Muslim traveled "clandestinely" to Turkey to hand herself over to Turkish authorities, it said. On Sunday, her father, Mahmoud Muslim, said Iraqi Kurdish authorities bore "responsibility for her kidnapping or for handing her over to Turkish intelligence", adding that any comments attributed to her were "false" and obtained "under pressure."Writing on Facebook, he said his daughter had traveled to neighboring Iraq's Kurdish region six months ago for medical treatment and had been preparing to return to Syria when she was "handed over to the Turkish authorities."Saleh Muslim was himself briefly detained in Prague in 2018 and Turkey demanded he be extradited, on the basis of a Turkish arrest warrant issued two years earlier over an attack in Ankara that killed 29 people in February 2016. He denied any link to the attack and was released. The Kurds established a semi-autonomous administration -- viewed with hostility by Ankara -- in the vast stretches of northeastern Syria that border Turkey during the ongoing civil war. Iraqi Kurdish authorities, dominated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), see the PKK as rivals and been unable to uproot them from their northern Iraqi bases. The PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, has long used the rugged terrain of northern Iraq as a rear base to attack Turkey, which in turn has set up military positions inside Iraqi territory.

Top Democrats 'Gravely Concerned' over Foreign Interference in U.S. Election
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 20/2020
Senior U.S. Democrats demanded an urgent intelligence briefing for lawmakers from the FBI on Monday over what they said was a concerted foreign campaign to spread disinformation to interfere in November's election.
"We are gravely concerned, in particular, that Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign interference campaign, which seeks to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity, public debate, and the presidential election in November," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Senate's senior Democrat Chuck Schumer and two others in a letter.

Israel Probes Palestinian Jerusalem Governor over 'Terrorism'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 20/2020
Israel is investigating the Palestinian governor of Jerusalem over suspected "terrorism", in the first such allegation against the often-arrested leader, his lawyer said Monday. Adnan Ghaith has been arrested by Israeli security forces more than 10 times over the past two years, but typically over the minor offense of engaging in "illegal" political activities in the disputed city. He has generally been released within a day or two. But Ghaith's lawyer Mohammed Mahmoud told AFP that in addition to political offenses the governor was being probed over "planning an act of terrorism," and not expected to be released soon. Under Israeli law, a broad range of offenses fall under the terrorism umbrella, and the probe does not necessarily mean Ghaith is suspected of plotting an act of violence. It was the first time Ghaith was the subject of a terrorism investigation and Israel's powerful domestic security agency, the Shin Bet, was involved in the case, Mahmoud said. The Shin Bet did not immediately respond to a query about the investigation. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP that Ghaith had been arrested at his east Jerusalem home on Sunday.  "He is being questioned by security forces," Rosenfeld said. Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community. It considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see the eastern sector as the capital of their future state. Israel bans all Palestinian Authority activities in the city. As a result, the PA has a minister for Jerusalem affairs and a Jerusalem governor located in Al-Ram, just on the other side of an Israeli wall that separates the city and the occupied West Bank. Ghaith has repeatedly been arrested for allegedly carrying out PA activities in east Jerusalem, including for working to ensure Palestinians in the city had access to essential services in the battle against coronavirus.

Egypt Parliament Greenlights Possible Intervention in Libya
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 20/2020
Egypt's parliament on Monday greenlighted a possible deployment of troops outside its borders, after President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke of potential military operations in neighboring Libya. The parliament unanimously approved "the deployment of members of the Egyptian armed forces on combat missions outside Egypt's borders to defend Egyptian national security ... against criminal armed militias and foreign terrorist elements," it said in a statement.

Troubled Trump to Relaunch His Coronavirus Briefings
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 20/2020
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he will soon resume his televised coronavirus briefings, signalling a bid to regain control of the message when public dismay at his handling of the pandemic risks sinking his reelection bid. A fierce surge of COVID-19 case in populous states like Florida and Texas is straining Trump's sunny insistence that the virus will just "disappear" to its breaking point. Polls show public trust in his management of the crisis plummeting and predict a drubbing by Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the election in just over 100 days.
Trump, a lifelong real estate salesman and more recently reality TV performer, says the real problem is that Americans just aren't hearing the right news. So probably from Tuesday, he will resume the regular evening televised briefings from the White House that he did until late April -- often finding himself accused of giving confusing or misleading information. "I think it's a great way to get information out to the public," he told reporters. "We're doing very well in so many different ways."Trump acknowledged a "big flare-up" of cases across the south and west of the country but once again distanced himself from responsibility for the problem, underlining that the disease is also ravaging "Mexico, Brazil, many countries in Europe, all over, Russia.""When you watch the news, the local news, and you see it, and it's, it's like all about the United States. They never like to talk about what's going on in the world," he said.
Trump said the briefings would focus on good news regarding vaccine development and therapeutics. "We think we're doing very well in that regard," he said. "I think I'm going to be bringing in some of the great companies that are working very successfully.""We're really coming up with some very good answers," he said.
- PR fiasco -
Trump has great faith in his ability before the cameras. He has transformed the image of the U.S. presidency during his first term with unprecedented streams of press conferences, tweets and rallies. But his previous spell as the nation's pandemic-spokesman in chief ended badly in late April. Trump often turned what were billed as opportunities to provide the anxious public with information into testy exchanges with reporters in the White House briefing room. He finally ditched the events after a PR fiasco where he mused on air about the possibility of injecting household disinfectant to combat COVID-19. He later said he had been speaking "sarcastically," although there was no evidence of that at the time.
- Polls slide -
The president has consistently sought to play down the severity of the health crisis, hoping that voters will instead focus on what he touts as his good management of the economy. In an interview with "Fox News Sunday," he once again claimed that the virus, which has killed more than 140,000 Americans and caused massive economic disruption, would somehow go away by itself. "I'll be right eventually," he said. But with the virus on the rebound, he finds himself accused of failing to lead. Biden has opened a double-digit lead in election polls, and an ABC/ Washington Post poll released Friday showed nearly two-thirds of Americans mistrust Trump on the coronavirus. Trump, nevertheless, appears to be looking forward to his chance to get back to the briefing room podium. "We had very successful briefings. I was doing them and we had a lot of people watching, record numbers watching. In the history of cable television, there's never been anything like it," he said.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 20-21/2020
Remembering the AMIA Bombing: Why It Matters 26 Years Later
Toby Dershowitz/FDD/July 20/2020
Alberto Nisman, the tireless Argentine prosecutor who led the decade-long investigation into the bombing of the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center in downtown Buenos Aires, once told me that when Argentina’s president Nestor Kirchner asked him to take on the case, he said to the president that he would only do so under one condition. “What is that condition?” the president asked. Nisman answered, “That I be allowed to take the investigation wherever the evidence leads.”
In Argentina, such independence is far from a given. Prior to Nisman taking over the case, Judge Juan Jose Galeano was removed from office and impeached for mishandling the investigation into the bombing.
Nisman’s investigation had found that Iranian officials at the highest levels of government had planned and directed the bombing, whose youngest victim, Sebastian Barreiro, was only five years old. He died holding his mother’s hand as they walked in front of the building. The oldest victim, Faiwel Pablo Dyjament, was a 73-year-old tailor. Eighty-three others were killed in the attack on the community center.
Based on Nisman’s granular investigation, in 2007, INTERPOL issued red notices, akin to wanted-persons notices, requesting law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest perpetrators of the bombing when they travel internationally. Five red notices against Iranian officials and one against a Lebanese Hezbollah official remain in force today.
Iran and Lebanon have never turned over the accused to stand trial. Argentina does not allow trials in absentia. Justice has not been served.
Nisman had come to suspect something was amiss. In 2015, he exposed a cover-up involving then-President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. For this, Nisman ultimately paid with his life. He was found murdered the day before he was to present evidence to the Argentine Congress contending that Cristina Kirchner sought to whitewash Iran’s role in the deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s history.
In 2017, federal judge Claudio Bonadio found—based on the case Nisman had built—that there was preliminary evidence that Kirchner, as president, and 11 others, sought to erase Iran’s role in the bombing in exchange for expanded trade and perhaps other benefits. His finding came after she left the presidential palace and became a senator, where she received partial immunity and avoided incarceration. The trial is still pending and there is doubt as to whether it will ever take place.
Remembering the AMIA bombing still matters 26 years later because Argentina has not entirely come to terms with holding accountable those responsible for the attack. Although last year Argentina finally designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and froze assets of Hezbollah financiers—an important step—the terror group continues to operate in northern Argentina and in the porous Tri-Border Area with Paraguay and Brazil, where the AMIA bombers reportedly entered the country prior to the attack. Argentina needs to step up and actively thwart Hezbollah’s malign activities.
It matters because, notwithstanding the evidence of Iran’s role in masterminding the attack, then-President Kirchner’s government signed in 2013 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tehran that would have created the appearance of jointly investigating the bombing—akin to an arsonist “investigating” the fire he had himself set. If implemented, the MOU might have caused the red notices to be lifted. INTERPOL should not lift the red notices until the accused stand trial. And an Argentine court found the MOU itself to be unconstitutional.
It matters because in 2013, INTERPOL suspiciously placed “caveats” or “waivers” on the red notices, such that they acted more like flashing yellow lights than true red lights. When the accused travel, their notices could be overlooked. Indeed, since 2007, red notice holders and those with Argentine arrest warrants implicated in the planning and directing of the AMIA attack have traveled with impunity to more than 20 countries. Law enforcement should ensure the red notices are enforced.
It matters because as vice president, a position she now holds, Mrs. Kirchner has sought to unwind the legal case against herself and others implicated in the cover-up by placing close associates in positions of power to achieve precisely that.
It matters because while Alberto Fernandez in 2015 dismissed portrayals of Nisman’s murder as a suicide—he said, “no one in Argentina thinks it was suicide, absolutely no one, least of all Cristina Fernández de Kirchner”—he has, since his election to the presidency in 2019, done a 180. Fernandez is heard on Netflix in early 2020 saying, “until now no serious evidence has appeared saying Nisman was killed.” Moreover, in recent months, new Fernandez appointees have reportedly interfered with the ongoing investigation. The president is mindful that it was Mrs. Kirchner who originally planted the discredited theory that Nisman committed suicide, hours after the prosecutor was found dead.
If Nisman committed suicide, there would be no need to hold anyone accountable. If he had been murdered, questions about who ordered the murder and who carried it out would need to be answered; culprits would have to be held accountable. Argentine officials have sought to sew confusion about the murder, but these questions must be answered in a transparent process.
It matters because Argentina’s current minister of security, Sabina Frederic, said that the prior administration’s designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization amounts to “buying a problem we don’t have.” Fortunately, federal judge Miguel Angel Guerrero of Misiones, who has jurisdiction over this, extended the designation for one more year, freezing financial assets belonging to Hezbollah, the Barakat clan and other Hezbollah operatives. He and President Fernandez deserve recognition for this. However, given the all-too-frequent threats made to judges, prosecutors and witnesses, the Argentine government must now ensure the safety of the judge who made that determination and ensure it is robustly enforced.
It matters because Nisman’s investigation into the AMIA bombing provides a roadmap for law enforcement to understand Iranian penetration of Latin America—and, indeed, the entire Western Hemisphere.
And it matters because the 85 victims of the AMIA bombing, along with all of Argentina, deserve to have those who planned and executed the bombing—and those who sought to cover up Iran’s role—held accountable.
There are signs that President Fernandez is seeking to make amends by reaching out to Jewish communities both domestically and abroad. His outreach is hopeful. But on this 26th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in the country’s history and with the backdrop of so many cover-ups in the past, we owe it to the AMIA victims to ensure his outstretched arm produces real justice, not just one more cover-up.
*Toby Dershowitz is senior vice president at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonpartisan think tank focusing on national security issues. Follow her on Twitter @tobydersh.

Tehran Consolidates Hardline Gains At Home While COVID-19 Spreads
Behnam Ben Taleblu and Saeed Ghasseminejad/Radio Farda/July 20/2020
Iran experienced its highest-ever record of coronavirus-related deaths in just one day earlier this month, bringing the official number of reported deaths since late February to more than 13,000. These deaths follow a widely reported second peak of confirmed coronavirus infections from early June. Despite this trend, as well as Iran’s status as a regional hub for the virus, the Islamic Republic has not used the pandemic as an opportunity to moderate its behavior or improve the function of government at home.
It’s tempting to see the Islamic Republic’s response to COVID-19 as mere incompetence, perhaps best exemplified through various city-wide lockdowns that were short-lived. But this ignores the strongly opportunistic and ideological streak in many Iranian officials who are pressing ahead with their longstanding revolutionary, Islamist, and authoritarian agendas, all of which puts the regime’s interest ahead of the national interest.
Nowhere is this clearer than the Islamic Republic’s treatment of its own citizens. As reported in June, Iranian police have been increasing their crackdown on citizens posting pictures on social media in violation of Islamic social mores and the country’s mandatory hijab, or headscarf, policy. Later that month, hardliner lawmakers in parliament entertained the idea of enacting a nationwide ban on Instagram. Between a quarter to over one-half of the population uses Instagram, which is not blocked like Facebook, Twitter, or Telegram. With Iranians spending longer hours at home (and assumedly more time online) due to the pandemic, their limited privacy and freedom is again coming under attack.
Spurning U.S. offers of humanitarian assistance, earlier this year Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insinuated that Washington was behind the virus
The extent of the crackdown, however, far surpasses aggressively policing social media and making arrests. The employment of lethal force to settle political scores is also occurring. Just days ago, Human Rights Watch reported that Iranian courts upheld a death penalty order for three protestors who partook in demonstrations in 2019. The case has prompted massive social recoil online, but the Iranian judiciary has not formally repealed the sentence to date. To make matters worse, all three men were reportedly tortured while in custody. And in April, lethal force was used against protestors in prison who were rioting against the potential spread of Coronavirus in jails. According to Amnesty International, 35 prisoners were killed. Media outlets like Radio Farda have documented the concerns of Iranian prisoners who fear they and their cellmates have been exposed to the virus. Tehran has largely ignored their fears.
Instead, the Islamic Republic has opted to use this time to promote a dangerous troika of conspiracy theories, disinformation, and pseudoscience. Spurning U.S. offers of humanitarian assistance, earlier this year Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insinuated that Washington was behind the virus and that the U.S. is led by “charlatans and liars.” Other Iranian officials have said their country is ready and willing to offer Americans its own assistance. Khamenei’s explanation for the growth of the virus in the West? A “failure of the western social philosophy,” one of his favorite talking points. Such thinking helps to explain the rejection of help from the internationally renowned Doctors Without Borders, as well as the decision to tout potential Russo-Iranian cooperation against the coronavirus.
Other predictable talking points from the Iranian elite include the allegation that the virus may have been an American biological weapon, a point made by Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
One casualty of such thinking is that pseudoscience is set to be institutionalized in higher education in Iran. The regime is mandating that university-level medical students take classes in what Tehran calls “Islamic medicine” or “traditional medicine.” Earlier this year, proponents of such medicine endorsed grossly unscientific remedies to deal with the coronavirus. These reportedly ranged from drinking camel urine to even placing a violet oil-soaked cotton-ball into the anus at night.
Iran has been hesitant to go into a full nationwide lockdown, hoping to continue its strategy of promoting regional and non-oil trade to outlast the Trump administration’s maximum pressure policy
Similarly, Iran’s Basij paramilitary, an arm of the IRGC, has developed a so-called coronavirus scanner. According to reports, the machine could allegedly detect the virus within 100 meters during a five-second scan. The claim, as well as the haphazard machine itself, faced significant pushback from within the scientific community in Iran.
In this context Iranian authorities have focused on the coronavirus almost exclusively through the lens of regime security. As first noted by scholars of Iranian security policy, several months ago, Tehran created a new base dubbed the Imam Hassan Headquarters to oversee and coordinate state responses to those afflicted by COVID-19. By placing the IRGC – which is well versed in domestic suppression – at the commanding heights of Iran’s COVID-19 management, Tehran is signaling that it is prepared to use these forces to crush any potential protests related to the regime’s handling of the coronavirus that aren’t bought-off through the headquarters’ various charitable activities. It is also seeking to promote sympathy and support for the IRGC inside Iran, calling those IRGC members who have died from the virus “martyrs.”
Still, some protests have continued, albeit in more localized pockets and on a smaller scale. The lingering grievances, coupled with the regime’s botched response to the disease, are causing some politicians to raise the specter of wider protests in the near future. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claimed in April that a full lockdown would hurt the economy and bring the “hungry” into the streets.
Thus, Iran has been hesitant to go into a full nationwide lockdown, hoping to continue its strategy of promoting regional and non-oil trade to outlast the Trump administration’s maximum pressure policy. Even prior to the onset of COVID-19, Iran’s economy was already reeling. The pandemic thus served as an accelerant to both foreign and domestic sources of pressure on the country’s economy. That is why Rouhani, when facing new data in July, again linked the policy option of a lock-down to producing more protests. Even members of Rouhani’s own government, such as the minister of health, are warning about an economically driven revolt led by lower-income Iranians.
This reality offers the Trump administration an opportunity to press its message about the incongruence between the actions of the Iranian government and the demands and needs of the Iranian people. In its messaging toward the Iranian people, Washington should highlight more than just Iran’s botched response to the coronavirus. By underscoring Iran’s conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and domestic repression, it should show how even during a pandemic, the Islamic Republic has failed to put, for lack of a better phrase, “Iran first.”
*Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington D.C., where he covers Iranian political and security issues. *Saeed Ghasseminejad is a senior Iran and financial economics advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP). Follow Saeed on Twitter @SGhasseminejad.

Turkey’s Bar Associations Become the Latest Target of Erdogan’s Iran-Inspired “Reform”
Aykan Erdemir and Philip Kowalski/Policy Brief/July 20/2020
The Turkish parliament passed a controversial law on July 11 to allow the creation of multiple bar associations in each of Turkey’s 81 provinces, amending the existing system that stipulates only one association per province. This move by Turkey’s ruling Islamist-ultranationalist coalition is its latest attempt to bring bar associations and their national umbrella organization under greater government control by institutionalizing an Iran-inspired system that will favor pro-regime lawyers.
A lawmaker from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) claimed in June that the new law is necessary because “bar associations were no longer able to function properly following a 13-fold increase in the number of lawyers in Turkey.” The AKP purports the reforms will lead to a more democratic and pluralistic system while addressing the dysfunctional aspects of the current system. Unimpressed by such promises, 78 out of 80 bar associations signed a statement opposing the reforms and organized protests ahead of the vote in parliament.
In reality, the reforms are aimed at reducing the power of Turkey’s staunchly pro-secular bar associations and increasing the relative weight of associations in smaller provinces, where Erdogan has greater sway. Under the existing system, Turkey’s three biggest bar associations, located in the country’s most populous cities – Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir – elect 221 of the 477 delegates to the national umbrella association. The new law will bring the total number of delegates down to 26. This move to disempower the largest associations is retaliation for their vocal criticism of the government’s breaches of human rights and the rule of law.
During deliberation of the bill in parliament, an opposition lawmaker accused the new law of creating “parallel bar associations.” By allowing multiple bar associations in provinces with over 5,000 registered lawyers, the new law will split them along political lines. That, in turn, will allow prosecutors and judges to favor defense teams comprising members of pro-government bar associations, punishing lawyers who belong to independent bar associations.
The Turkish government’s move appears to have been modeled after the Islamic Republic’s machinations to strengthen its hold over the Iranian judicial system. Prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Iranian bar association was highly regarded both at home and abroad, in a manner comparable to its associates in countries such as France and the United Kingdom. The revolution led to growing pressure on independent lawyers, whom the theocratic government suspected of being secular and pro-Western. Since then, the Islamic Republic has had a history of appointing pro-government clerics to top judicial positions, none of whom had any formal legal training or academic background in law. In 2001, the Iranian regime created a parallel body of lawyers called the Legal Advisors of the Judiciary, which works directly under the supervision of the judiciary. In May, the Islamic Republic prepared a draft bill aiming to further undermine the country’s independent bar association by creating yet another parallel institution, namely, “the Supreme Council for the Coordination of Lawyers’ Affairs.”
Given the disastrous state of Iran’s justice system, critics are right to fear where Erdogan’s judicial reforms will lead. The creation of multiple bar associations will further erode the rule of law and due process in Turkey and significantly weaken Turkish dissidents’ ability to defend themselves against the government-controlled judiciary’s politically motivated charges. The growing convergence between Erdogan’s Turkey and Iran should be a wake-up call to Western policy makers and analysts who expect Ankara to provide a counterweight to the Islamic Republic’s malign influence in the Middle East and beyond.
*Aykan Erdemir is a former member of the Turkish parliament and senior director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where *Philip Kowalski is a research associate. For more analysis from Aykan, Philip, and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Aykan and Philip on Twitter @aykan_erdemir and @philip_kowalski. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Why last weekend’s G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors mattered
Cornelia Meyer/Arab News/July 21, 2020
Amid the EU summit in Brussels and controversy about Huawei’s involvement in the rollout of the 5G infrastructure in the UK and elsewhere, last weekend’s meeting of the G20’s finance ministers and central bank governors was largely overlooked by the international media — especially as it came on the heels of the big banks in the US reporting their Q2 earnings. It was an important meeting nonetheless: While the tone of the finance ministers and central bank governors may not grab headlines, what they discussed was vital to the global economy, especially when faced with the economic fallout of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The ministers and central bank governors said that though the outlook was still depressed due to the pandemic, they expected economic activity to pick up. They reiterated their commitment to support emerging, developing and low-income economies.
In line with the focus of Saudi Arabia’s presidency of this year’s G20, the ministers reiterated that inclusive and sustainable growth stood front and center of their agendas. They also stressed that monetary and fiscal policies would be deployed for as long as they were needed to deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic.
The meeting also endorsed policies decided during their April 15 gathering, where they focused on the actions taken by multilateral development institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank Group and regional development banks. They stated they endeavored to “address the vulnerabilities in low income countries due to the pandemic,” and enhance “coordination among international organizations to maximize their impact and optimize the use of resources.”
This may sound like lip service, but these multilateral organizations will provide $200 billion to cash-strapped developing countries. Ayman Sejiny, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, one of three private sector entities of the Islamic Development Bank, based in Jeddah, observed: “The G20 were vital in ensuring the seamless cooperation of multilateral and bilateral lending communities to support developing countries throught the COVID-19 induced economic turmoil.”
What is particularly important here is the debt service moratorium for the poorest countries and the fact that the G20 secured the concurrence of the Paris Club, where officials from debtor nations try to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor nations.
So far, 42 have applied to benefit from the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), and the total sum involved equates to $5.2 billion. The G20’s clout with major commercial financial institutions also means that there is pressure on them to find accommodations with debtor nations, be it in the framework of the London Club or elsewhere. The foundations for the above were laid in April. However, one cannot overemphasize how important the G20 and also the B20 are in this context. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get the international community to speak with one voice, as the US and China go toe to toe on many geopolitical and economic issues. (The latest wrangling over the participation of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei in the buildout of the 5G infrastructure, is a case in point, as is the US withdrawal from the WHO or the UN’s Paris Agreement on climate change.)
The pandemic is a global problem necessitating global solutions. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had warned that the poorest countries might be among the worst affected by its economic fallout, which makes it all the more important that the world stands together when it comes to COVID-19 response packages.
There may be disagreement on reallocating special drawing rights in the IMF, how long the debt moratorium should last in for, or whether it should be extended to more countries (The World Bank would like to see the DSSI extended through 2021 and the scope of the deal broadened).
Wherever you have many participants in a discussion, you will always have many competing voices. The fact these issues are being discussed means there is global concern, which is positive.
It is lucky that Saudi Arabia holds the G20 presidency for 2020, because the Kingdom has influence and can bridge the gap between great powers when they do not see eye to eye. The weakest of the weak are in desperate need for the world to come together in their support, which is what seems to be happening.
• Cornelia Meyer is a business consultant, macro-economist and energy expert. Twitter: @MeyerResources

Egypt’s strong military message to Turkey, Tunisia
Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy/Arab News/July 21, 2020
The drums of war on the Libyan-Egyptian border are not beating in the way we are familiar with. Their echo is resonating everywhere in the world. Although not conventional, these drums of war are growing louder and louder.
Last month, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi warned of the readiness of his country’s army to intervene both within and outside its borders, in a clear reference to the conflict in neighboring Libya. By saber-rattling on Egypt’s western border with Libya, El-Sisi wanted to send clear and strong messages to all: The Egyptian forces are ready to enter any confrontation, and with any party, in order to protect Egypt’s national security.
“Any direct intervention in Libya will be aimed at securing the border,” the president said, adding that “any direct intervention by Egypt now has international legitimacy,” and that “some think they can trespass on the Sirte or Al-Jufra front lines. This, for us, is a red line. As long as the neighboring countries are stable, Egypt is stable. This is what the distant and near history has taught us, and so did the Egyptian military doctrine, which only intervenes if asked. This happened in the 1948 war in Palestine against Zionist gangs and in the 1991 war for the liberation of Kuwait.”
Egypt has always prioritized Egyptian security first and then Arab security in shouldering its responsibilities and playing its national role, not caring about losses and profits, in support of its well-established values, principles and doctrine.
History is now repeating itself, with Turkey’s flagrant threat to Egypt’s red lines, both in Libya and in the Mediterranean.
El-Sisi’s saber-rattling on Libya, urging his military to be ready to carry out any mission outside the country and beating of the drums of “war preparedness,” is well grounded. As per the Egyptian military doctrine, Egypt will never be the initiator or the aggressor. We are not lost on the high price we paid for our commitment to this doctrine during the Six-Day War in 1967. Egypt then adhered to the calls and demands of the Arab leaders not to be the initiator of war, so Israel surprised us with its strikes. Egypt, by now asserting its readiness and preparedness for war, is not saying that war is coming. However, it is trying to send various signals on a large number of fronts. The first signal is purely political, as Egypt seeks during this period to restore its great and positive role in the Arab and African regions. The participation of the Egyptian president and state officials in more than one political meeting in this context confirms this point.It goes without saying that political and diplomatic meetings need strong support. The Egyptian military’s strength — it is ranked ninth in the world according to the Global Firepower Index — comes in support of the political stature that Egypt is now building.
“Oh Egypt, your golden sun has returned,” is not just a song title by the iconic Lebanese singer Fairuz, but is also a reality imposed by the events since 2014, with an important and vital presence established at all levels. A large number of the countries of the world now support what the Egyptian state is instilling in Libya through its continuous calls for peace and legitimacy there. Another reality that solidifies and emphasizes the prominent role that Egypt plays in our time is its just position on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
The second signal is internal, addressed to the Egyptian people. The strength of the Egyptian military has become clear to the Egyptians after criticism of the government’s spending priorities. A large group of Egyptians were criticizing the issue of the country spending so much money on weapons they described as unused, referring in this context to the purchases of French Rafale aircraft, Mistral-class German ships and others. They advised the Egyptian state to instead direct this spending to some dying sectors, such as health and education.
These critics lack a clear vision, as they have been unable to see what the Egyptian leadership is trying to prove by balancing spending on important and vital services with spending on armaments, which has become a necessity in this volatile region.
President El-Sisi’s parading before the armed forces undoubtedly sent a message of reassurance to the Egyptian people, who are now well aware of the strength of their army and its ability to tackle the many dangers it faces during this period.
Following the Jan. 25, 2011, revolution, Egyptians were left with doubts about the strength of their army and its ability to face threats to national security. The Muslim Brotherhood, which ruled Egypt between 2012 and 2013, is to be blamed for kindling these doubts, which the new government, El-Sisi and the military leaders have tirelessly tried to suppress. The Egyptian people regained confidence in their army after seeing it on many occasions, on televisions and in newspapers, parading with their new equipment and weapons. The most recent exhibition was when El-Sisi visited the military detachment in Egypt’s western region near the border with Libya.
The readiness to fight at any time or place and under any circumstances is a well-established doctrine of the Egyptian army. The image of the Egyptian government, people and army standing united sends a very important message of deterrence to anyone who believes that confrontation with Egypt is easy or who wants to exploit a fictitious division of opinions on the nature of the tasks and priorities of the Egyptian state. All Egyptians stand united, in heart and soul, when it comes to their security. The message of deterrence is very important as Egypt already has a shield to protect it and a sword on the necks of those who are thinking of attacking it by land or sea. Egypt also has a strong diplomacy that is globally effective, can clarify the Egyptian right before all forums, and ensure international legitimacy for all its actions.
As per the Egyptian military doctrine, Egypt will never be the initiator or the aggressor.
Finally, by showcasing its readiness to fight anywhere, at any time, Egypt is sending a signal to foreign countries and to the Turkish and Ethiopian leaderships in particular. Egypt and its military will never be silent about threats to its national security, whether at the territorial level in Libya or at the level of water rights amid the continuing Ethiopian procrastination and prevarication during the GERD negotiations.
The signals are not only military, but also political, which is characteristic of the Egyptian administration today, as it can operate on many fronts with the same efficiency and adeptness.
*Dr. Abdellatif El-Menawy is a critically acclaimed multimedia journalist, writer and columnist who has covered war zones and conflicts worldwide. Twitter: @ALMenawy
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point-of-view

UN reform essential but unlikely to happen
Chris Doyle/Arab News/July 21, 2020
The Second World War was not even over when the UN Charter was written. The conference that opened in San Francisco in April 1945 was where the Charter was created and formally signed by the 50 participating nations. Now, three-quarters of a century later, the UN is a body of 193 members. Its founding aim was to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” — a mighty ambition, coming after two global conflicts had destroyed generations across the planet.
How has this body fared? Has it achieved the lofty aims of its progenitors, or even got close? Was this too naive an ambition?
It is easy to carp and pass judgment. Countless conflicts have ensued, with terrible consequences, some within just a few years of that San Francisco gathering, like the Korean War. Yet, for all the tensions and rivalries, not least during the Cold War era, a third world war has yet to erupt. And those few occasions that did take us to the brink — such as the Cuban Missile Crisis — were largely a result of accident and miscalculation, rather than any serious desire for world domination.
The UN should take credit for its role in evading a third world war thus far. Back at the height of the Cold War, the Security Council was frequently the forum where fevered tensions were calmed. The US and Soviet Union could deploy the veto to cancel each other out diplomatically, but also use it for face-saving purposes.
This hardly gets pulses racing in the peace-making fraternity, but it should not be downplayed. It must not be forgotten and cast aside as one rips apart the organization’s inglorious failings. One must also be candid about expectations of keeping peace across the world when so many conflict fault lines, historical grievances and ancient antipathies prevail.
The other cautionary point is that any such body is only ever as effective as its members allow it to be. Rifts and division paralyze the UN, as we witness today over Syria and Libya. The vetoes of the permanent five members of the Security Council can be viewed as a necessary evil to keep the UN from breaking up. These nations have protected their separate interests but also their allies from censure or action. All too frequently, critics claim that the UN failed over, say, Palestine or Iraq, when really it is individual states to blame.
The credit column must also include the phenomenal aid, relief and development efforts. Many UN agencies operate in the harshest of circumstances, saving the lives of millions. Is it always sound value for money? No, frequently not, but agencies such as UNICEF, the UN Development Program, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees are irreplaceable in delivering aid at scale. Often they succeed despite the UN’s bureaucracy and the bickering and interference of its members.
Not all UN agencies have hit the heights. The UN Human Rights Council is not fit for purpose. Member states are hardly going to be impartial judges and juries on their own behavior. Accountability in international relations remains weak to nonexistent, with the International Criminal Court (ICC) chastised for having only indicted African figures in its short history. Many will wait to see if the ICC dares to probe Israelis for war crimes.
Palestine has to rank as one of the UN’s greatest failures. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) gave birth to the state of Israel with the 1947 UNGA 181, the partition resolution. More than seven decades later, the UN has yet to welcome the state of Palestine as a full member. The US, in particular, has, since 1967, gone to extraordinary lengths to shield Israel from legitimate charges of war crimes. But have the other nations done enough to counter this?
Other notable failures include Rwanda and Darfur. Many are rightly still haunted by the failure of the UN and other parties to do anything to prevent these genocides. They are a stain on the UN’s record that cannot be wiped away.
The UN has suffered its fair share of humiliations, but perhaps none worse than during the wars that saw the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. In 1995, Bosnian Serbs held 400 UN observers hostage and used them as human shields. Even though Srebrenica was declared a UN safe zone, 7,000 men and boys were massacred in just a few days under the noses of UN peacemakers.
One would like to think that this anniversary will spark a serious effort to renew and reform this great body. It will not happen. Past efforts have withered away. The permanent members are not going to give up their veto or risk diluting this golden power by offering it out to too many other states. Increasingly, the UN risks becoming an irrelevance as rival actors ignore international law and diplomacy in their nakedly raw quest for supremacy. Can the UN also handle the mega-threats of our age? Transnational terrorism and organized crime have proved too much. One can only hope that the UN can bring nations together to address climate change, but who would bet on it?
One would like to think that this anniversary will spark a serious effort to renew and reform this great body.
The UN also needs to address perhaps its greatest failing. The UN Charter itself memorably starts with, “We the peoples of the United Nations…” This remains a manifest falsehood. The peoples of the UN do not have a say. This is a body of states, whose leaders take the decisions. It serves their interests, not the people's and, in particular, those of the major powers. It is not remotely democratic, neither are many of its members.
Herein lies the challenge. How, over the next quarter of a century, can the behemoth of the UN metamorphose into a body relevant to the challenges of the times and in touch with the peoples of each continent? Many might ask whether it can adapt at all. But, if it wants to survive, it surely has to.
*Chris Doyle is director of the London-based Council for Arab-British Understanding. Twitter: @Doylech