English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For November 29/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For today
Mary Visits Elizabeth
Luke 01/39-45: In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Question: "What does the Bible say about thankfulness/gratitude?"
GotQuestions.org/November 27/2020
Answer: Thankfulness is a prominent Bible theme. First Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Did you catch that? Give thanks in all circumstances. Thankfulness should be a way of life for us, naturally flowing from our hearts and mouths.
Digging into the Scriptures a little more deeply, we understand why we should be thankful and also how to have gratitude in different circumstances.
Psalm 136:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.” Here we have two reasons to be thankful: God’s constant goodness and His steadfast love. When we recognize the nature of our depravity and understand that, apart from God, there is only death (John 10:10; Romans 7:5), our natural response is to be grateful for the life He gives.
Psalm 30 gives praise to God for His deliverance. David writes, “I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. . . . You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever” (Psalm 30:1-12). Here David gives thanks to God following an obviously difficult circumstance. This psalm of thanksgiving not only praises God in the moment but remembers God’s past faithfulness. It is a statement of God’s character, which is so wonderful that praise is the only appropriate response.
We also have examples of being thankful in the midst of hard circumstances. Psalm 28, for example, depicts David’s distress. It is a cry to God for mercy, protection, and justice. After David cries out to God, he writes, “Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I will give thanks to him in song” (Psalm 28:6-7). In the midst of hardship, David remembers who God is and, as a result of knowing and trusting God, gives thanks. Job had a similar attitude of praise, even in the face of death: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21).
There are examples of believers’ thankfulness in the New Testament as well. Paul was heavily persecuted, yet he wrote, “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him” (2 Corinthians 2:14). The writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28). Peter gives a reason to be thankful for “grief and all kinds of trials,” saying that, through the hardships, our faith “may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
The people of God are thankful people, for they realize how much they have been given. One of the characteristics of the last days is a lack of thanksgiving, according to 2 Timothy 3:2. Wicked people will be “ungrateful.”
We should be thankful because God is worthy of our thanksgiving. It is only right to credit Him for “every good and perfect gift” He gives (James 1:17). When we are thankful, our focus moves off selfish desires and off the pain of current circumstances. Expressing thankfulness helps us remember that God is in control. Thankfulness, then, is not only appropriate; it is actually healthy and beneficial to us. It reminds us of the bigger picture, that we belong to God, and that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). Truly, we have an abundant life (John 10:10), and gratefulness is fitting.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 28-29/2020

Nothing In The Terrorist Hezbollah is Lebanese/Elias Bejjani/November 29/2020

Health Ministry: 1696 new cases of Corona, 11 deaths
US dollar exchange rate: Buying price at LBP 3850 selling price at LBP 3900
Rahi presents Pope Francis with a report on the prevailing situation in Lebanon and the region

Macron’s Letter to Aoun Stresses Discontent With Obstacles Hindering Govt Formation
Kubis on Forensic Audit: Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating
Hizbullah Condemns Killing of Iranian Scientist
Higher Judicial Council to Seek Prosecution of Interior Minister
Fahmi Says His Criticism ‘Awakened’ the Judiciary
Syria Urges Lebanon Judiciary to Uncover Circumstances of Bsharri Crime
Lebanon to Reopen Monday, Hassan Asks if There's Been a Lockdown
Sami Gemayel: You will not hold yourself accountable!
Fahmi: If my honesty has awakened some in the judiciary, then this is what is required
Public Works Ministry: All drainage channels have been cleared, operational teams on alert
Bcharre Deputies: We are keen on maintaining the district a role model in abiding by laws, respecting others
42 UfM Member States declare ‘International Day of the Mediterranean’
Taymour Jumblatt: To approve relevant law proposals on protection of women
Abdel Samad: To join efforts to prevent gender-based violence
Geagea: Executive authority is called to assign any company specialized in forensic audit

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published
 on
November 28-29/2020

Israeli minister says ‘has no clue’ who killed Iranian nuclear scientist
Iran’s army blames US along with Israel for Iranian nuclear scientist’s assassination
Israeli embassies on high alert following Iranian retaliation threats: Reports
Belgium court charges Iranian diplomat with 20-year prison term over terrorism
Syria says assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist a ‘terrorist’ act
Ethiopian PM: military has completed operations in the Tigray region
Pope Francis installs new cardinals, including first African-American
Security forces fire tear gas at Paris protest against police violence
Four killed in Nagorno-Karabakh blast, Azerbaijan blames Armenia
US Aircraft Carrier Deploys to Gulf
US Pentagon Chief Makes Rare Visit to Somalia
Khamenei weighs in with threat of retaliation for the Fakhrizadeh killing
Khamenei Calls for 'Definitive Punishment' In Revenge For Slain Scientist
Iran Accuses Israel of Killing Nuclear Scientist
US Sanctions Chinese, Russian Firms over Iran
UNHCR: Sudan Needs $150 Million to Help Ethiopian Refugees
Iraq: Six Killed During Clashes between Rival Protesters
In Syria, Yarmuk Residents Plan Return to War-Torn Palestinian Camp
Travel Agents in Mideast, Africa Say UAE is Blocking Visas
Egypt's al-Sisi discusses Nile waters and regional security during South Sudan visit


Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 28-29/2020

Syrian Refugees and the Question of Returning/Akram Bunni/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 28/2020
The Otherness of a Closet Collectivist/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 28/2020
EU: New Pact on Migration and Asylum/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/November 28/2020
Abraham Accord recognises a new paradigm. So should the Nobel Prize/Damien McElroy/The National/November 28/2020

 

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 28-29/2020

Nothing In The Terrorist Hezbollah is Lebanese
Elias Bejjani/November 29/2020
Sadly, the majority of our Lebanese politicians, so falsely called political parties, as well as the Terrorist Hezbollah’s hand picked subservient appointed top officials, and in particular the Christian ones are mere Trojans.
They are betraying the peace loving Lebanese people, and marginalizing their deeply rooted great and rich history of 7000 years.
They are evilly practicing with no conscience or shame all sorts of  mean Dhimmitude, cowardice, Taqiyya, Deception, treason, political prostitution, ethical meanness, stupidity, and ignorance.
Like Judas Iscariot the majority of these Christian Trojans in particular have sold Lebanon and its people as well as the martyrs, values, and existence with less than thirty pieces of silver.
They, and with no shame or fear of Almighty God and His Last Day of Judgment are currently hailing the Terrorist Hezbollah’s crimes, invasions and wars and feeling sorry not for the victims but for the Hezbollah killers.
These Lebanese deviated Leaders, politicians, corrupted officials and so called political parties are disastrous on all levels and in all domains.
In reality these leaders and politicians are the actual enemies of Lebanon and its people.
In a bid to save and liberate our beloved Lebanon from Both the Iranian terrorist Hezbollah, and at the same time from the current ruling officials and rotten political we call for the implementation of all the UN resolutions that address Lebanon's crisis,

The Armistice Treaty signed with the State Of Israel as well the UN Resolutions 1701, 1559 and 1680

These four resolutions secure in their articles:

The Liberation of our beloved Lebanon and the reclaiming of its confiscated independence, freedom and sovereignty.
The Disarming of all armed militias, Lebanese and non Lebanese and whatever their names and claims are.
Gives the Lebanese Army and all other Lebanese legitimate armed forces to be the sole armed Lebanese units on the entire Lebanese soil>
Gives the Lebanese army solely to take control of the Lebanese borders with both Syria and the state of Israel as well as Lebanon's maritime borders
May Almighty God Bless and safeguard Lebanon and its loving peace people.


Health Ministry: 1696 new cases of Corona, 11 deaths
NNA/November 29/2020
The Ministry of Public Health announced, on Saturday, that 1696 new Corona cases have been reported, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 125,637.
It also indicated that 11 death cases were also registered during the past 24 hours.

US dollar exchange rate: Buying price at LBP 3850 selling price at LBP 3900
NNA/November 29/2020
The Money Changers Syndicate announced in a statement addressed to money changing companies and institutions, Saturday’s USD exchange rate against the Lebanese pound as follows:
Buying price at a minimum of LBP 3850.
Selling price at a maximum of LBP 3900.
 

Rahi presents Pope Francis with a report on the prevailing situation in Lebanon and the region
NNA/November 29/2020
Pope Francis met today with Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, who visited him in the Vatican and presented him with a detailed report on the prevailing conditions in Lebanon and the region.
The Patriarch renewed his invitation to the Holy See to visit Lebanon, in light of the special importance and significance it carries for the Lebanese in general, and for Christians in particular. During the encounter, Patriarch al-Rahi briefed the Pope on the risks and challenges facing Lebanon, in wake of regional developments and the internal political crisis, especially the stalled government formation. He added that the ongoing political crises have created a bitter economic reality that has caused an increase in the number of underprivileged families and a wide migration among the youth, in addition to the repercussions of the tragic Beirut port explosion which destroyed a large part of the capital in which Christians reside, "who did not feel any solidarity nor practical responsibility on part of the concerned official authorities and the government." The Patriarch also touched on the issue of Lebanon's "active neutrality", which constitutes "a return to Lebanon's true and basic identity, and provides a gateway to political stability and economic advancement in all its sectors, and allows Lebanon to re-open to the countries of the East and the West. In turn, Pope Francis renewed his support for Lebanon and solidarity for its people, stressing his constant prayers for them. Following the visit, Patriarch al-Rahi described it as "very fruitful and excellent," adding that he felt the Pope's positive reaction to the invitation to visit Lebanon that he loves.

 

Macron’s Letter to Aoun Stresses Discontent With Obstacles Hindering Govt Formation
Beirut - Mohammed Shukair/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
A letter sent by French President Emmanuel Macron to President Michel Aoun on the occasion of Lebanon’s Independence Day reflected Paris’ discontent with the obstacles hampering the formation of a new government.
Political opposition sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the letter sent by Macron to congratulate Lebanon on the 77th anniversary of its independence, emphasized the need for the parties involved in the cabinet formation to commit to their obligations in the road map and secure the birth of a strong government. The same sources noted that Macron called on Aoun to shoulder his responsibility and respond to the demands that were raised by the Lebanese people in their uprising more than a year ago. The sources in the opposition saw that the French administration was moving along two paths: The first is internal, and aims to clarify the reasons that still impede the practical implementation of Macron’s initiative; and the second is external, through contacts with regional countries and other actors in the international community, in light of Tehran’s unwillingness to intervene to facilitate the birth of the government.
The sources emphasized that Paris would not remain silent and would be forced to announce its position at the appropriate time. This Ex-PM Saad Hariri delay revealing his next step in case the formation of the government continues to be obstructed, according to the sources. The opposition sources also accused Aoun of wanting to rule the country alone and insisting on acting on most thorny issues as he used to behave during his tenure as prime minister of the military government in the late 1980s.


Kubis on Forensic Audit: Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating
Agence France Presse/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis said Lebanon’s parliament vote in favor of a sweeping financial audit of the state institutions can only be judged when it is genuinely put into implementation. “A strong political signal from the parliament, endorsing a broad forensic audit,” said Kubis, adding “the proof of the pudding is in the eating and it starts with the first bite.”Media reports on Saturday voiced doubts about the actual intention of political leaders in Lebanon to implement the audit, which if conducted, would reveal the extent of their involvement in corruption. Lebanon's parliament voted Friday in favour of a sweeping financial audit of state institutions, a week after a consultancy firm terminated its contract to audit the central bank over missing data. The International Monetary Fund and France are among creditors demanding an audit of Lebanon's central bank as part of urgent reforms to unlock financial support, as the country faces a grinding economic crisis. But the central bank has claimed that provisions including Lebanon's Banking Secrecy Law prevent it from releasing some of the necessary information, a charge the justice ministry and legal experts have disputed.
Parliament on Friday voted to rule out this justification, clearing the way for the forensic audit to take place, Speaker Nabih Berri said after the parliament session. "The accounts of the central bank, government ministries... financial institutions, municipalities and all other (public) assets are equally subject to a forensic audit without hindrance or the excuse of bank secrecy (laws)," he was quoted as saying by state media. Berri said the decision came in response to President Michel Aoun's calls for parliament to facilitate the audit process. New York-based Alvarez and Marsal scrapped its agreement with the government last week, saying the central bank had failed to hand over the required information. The move sparked widespread criticism of Lebanon's authorities. The country, which defaulted on its debt this year, is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades and is still reeling from a devastating explosion at the port that gutted entire neighbourhoods of Beirut on August 4. Both are widely blamed on government corruption and incompetence. Lebanon is in desperate need of donor funds and talks with the IMF have been on hold since July pending reforms. The forensic audit of the Banque du Liban (BDL) is one of the main points of the government's economic rescue plan, approved at the end of April. Several officials, including the finance minister, have said the government is expected to replace Alvarez and Marsal with another consultancy firm soon.

Hizbullah Condemns Killing of Iranian Scientist
Naharnet/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
Hizbullah said early Saturday that it "strongly condemns the terrorist operation that led to the martyrdom of the distinguished scientist and university professor Mohsen Fakhrizadeh."The movement added that it asks "God Almighty" to elevate him to the highest ranks "alongside his predecessors of martyrs and scholars, especially those who were treacherously martyred at the hands of Zionist and international gangs of murder and terrorism".The killing of Fakhrizadeh is the latest in a series of assassinations of nuclear scientists in Iran in recent years that the Islamic republic has blamed on Israel.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was "martyred" after being seriously wounded when assailants targeted his car and engaged in a gunfight with his bodyguards outside the capital Tehran on Friday, according to Iran's defence ministry.

Higher Judicial Council to Seek Prosecution of Interior Minister
Naharnet/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
The Higher Judicial Council announced Friday that it will ask the state prosecutor to “take the appropriate legal measure against the interior minister” over his latest remarks about the judiciary. In a statement issued after an extraordinary meeting, the Council said it has taken its decision in agreement with the heads of the Shura Council and the Audit Bureau. In a statement issued overnight Thursday, the Council had described caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi’s remarks as “totally unacceptable, intolerable and incorrect.”In a live interview on MTV, Fahmi had claimed that “95% of judges are corrupt.”

Fahmi Says His Criticism ‘Awakened’ the Judiciary
Naharnet/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
After accusing the majority of the judicial authority in Lebanon of “corruption,” caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi said on Saturday that his criticism has “awakened some in the judiciary.”“Let the criticism be, and let them prosecute ... if my frankness has awakened some in the judiciary, this is required in order to begin with forgotten cases of the people and the oppressed in prisons,” Fahmi stressed. On Friday, the Higher Judicial Council announced that it will ask the state prosecutor to “take the appropriate legal measure against the interior minister” over his latest remarks about the judiciary.
In a statement issued after an extraordinary meeting, the Council said it has taken its decision in agreement with the heads of the Shura Council and the Audit Bureau. The Council had described Fahmi’s remarks as “totally unacceptable, intolerable and incorrect.”In a live interview on MTV, Fahmi had claimed that “95% of judges are corrupt.”

Syria Urges Lebanon Judiciary to Uncover Circumstances of Bsharri Crime
Agence France Presse/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, called on Lebanon’s judiciary in a statement “to play its role in uncovering all aspects of the unfortunate accident that claimed the life of a Lebanese citizen in the town of Bsharri,” and to “put an end to incitement, racist language and the exploitation of this individual incident.”An official source at the ministry told the Syrian news agency SANA that his country has followed up “with concern the unfortunate accident in Lebanese town of Bsharri, which claimed the life of a Lebanese citizen,” he said, extending condolences to the family of the victim.
He called “on the competent judiciary to carry out its role with full transparency to uncover all the details, putting an end to incitement, racist language and the exploitation of this individual incident.”Last week, a Syrian was accused of shooting dead a Lebanese resident in Bsharri, sparking widespread tension and hostility. “While highly appreciating the voices raised in Lebanon against political exploitation of this incident, Syria calls on the government and concerned Lebanese authorities to prevent exploitation of this incident to abuse Syrian refugees,” added the source. At least 270 Syrian families have Bsharre as hostility towards them mounted over the murder allegedly committed by a Syrian national, the UN refugee agency said Friday.

Lebanon to Reopen Monday, Hassan Asks if There's Been a Lockdown
Naharnet/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan lamented Friday that an ongoing lockdown that has been running for 12 days has failed to bring down the rate of coronavirus infections in Lebanon, as caretaker Economy Minister Raoul Nehme announced that the country will reopen on Monday.
“The rate of positive tests is still the same at 15%. We were hoping to slash it to 12% or 10%,” said Hassan after a meeting for the country’s anti-coronavirus ministerial committee. “Has there been really a general lockdown?” Hassan wondered, noting that “what has been achieved as to upping the level of readiness is adding 60 beds at public hospitals and 34 beds at private hospitals.”“This number is below the needed level and below the aspirations of the Ministry of Public Health,” he decried. As for the reopening plan, Hassan said the ministerial committee will meet on Sunday to “devise a plan that caters to the Lebanese public and the level of our mutual understanding.”“I don’t know until when we will keep betting on people’s commitment and society’s awareness,” he added. “We have not achieved the lockdown we were hoping for and a plan for a gradual reopening that would be evaluated weekly should be devised, while adding some deterring points in order to curb the spread of coronavirus,” Hassan went on to say. Answering a reporter’s question, the minister said the Interior Ministry has performed an “extraordinary effort” while urging greater cooperation from “the other security agencies and municipalities.”The caretaker economy minister meanwhile announced that the country will be reopened but called on citizens to “abide by the precautionary measures.”


Sami Gemayel: You will not hold yourself accountable!
NNA/November 29/2020
Kataeb Party Chief, Sami Gemayel, tweeted Saturday over yesterday's general parliament session, saying: "From the electoral law play and illusionary heroic acts to the theatrical part where all are demanding forensic audit into their deals...the people have had enough of their daily sufferings and need no further humiliation by insulting their intelligence! They know very well that you will not hold yourselves accountable...What will actually benefit them is that you leave so that they can save their future and build a new Lebanon."

Fahmi: If my honesty has awakened some in the judiciary, then this is what is required
NNA/November 29/2020
"If my frankness has awakened some in the judiciary, then this is what is required in order to start addressing the people's forgotten cases and the issues of the oppressed in prisons," Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Mohammed Fahmi, said on Saturday.
"Let there be criticism, and let there be a lawsuit," Fahmi concluded.

Public Works Ministry: All drainage channels have been cleared, operational teams on alert
NNA/November 29/2020
The Public Works and Transport Ministry's press office confirmed, in an issued statement today, that all drainage pipes and water channels on the highways have been cleared and opened in anticipation of the heavy rainfall.
The statement, thus, referred to the inaccuracy of some videos circulated via social media, showing rainwater flooding on most public roads and tunnels on international highways. "The percentage of rainfall, according to the Meteorological Department at Rafic Hariri International Airport, reached 30 mm in the areas north of Beirut and Jounieh in less than an hour, while it was estimated in the southern areas from the airport to Khaldeh at 12 mm," the statement said. It explained that "the density of water in some areas adjacent to the international highway caused flooding in the direction of the highway in the Jounieh region." The statement concluded by stressing that the Ministry's operational teams are on alert and ready to respond to any emergency on the highways.

Bcharre Deputies: We are keen on maintaining the district a role model in abiding by laws, respecting others
NNA/November 29/2020
In a joint statement issued by Bcharre District Deputies Strida Geagea and Joseph Ishaq on Saturday, they affirmed that all the necessary contacts with the official authorities were undertaken to uncover the circumstances of the murder of Citizen Joseph Aref Taouq, which led to the immediate arrest of the perpetrator and initiating investigations into the unfortunate incident.
"As a result of this murder, some immediate reactions occurred in Bcharre, which were not in line with the values and morals of the people of Bcharre, but we chose to maintain silence in wake of the grave and painful incident," the statement said. "However, as representatives of the Bcharre Casa, we can never remain silent about the random actions and movements that are still taking place to-date, which are in violation of every law and order, particularly implicating Syrian workers in Bcharre," the MPs asserted.
"The issue of Syrian workers is already proposed for discussion at all times, yet it concerns the people of Bcharre altogether...and it ought to remain a continuous discussion in an open, scientific and practical spirit with everyone. However, having chaotic and masked groups impose their opinion by force on the rest, undermining the stances of the majority of Bcharre's citizens, is a completely different matter...Moreover, these groups, and this is the most dangerous part, have gone beyond all limits by violating the sanctity of the homes, properties and businesses of the rest of the Bcharre citizens, which is totally unacceptable," the MPs underscored in their issued statement.
Accordingly, and in their capacity as representatives of the people of Bcharre in Parliament, Deputies Geagea and Ishaq urged the concerned official authorities, whether judicial or security, to take all the required measures to put an end to the chaos in the district of Bcharre. "We are very keen on ensuring that Bcharre remains an example across Lebanon in abiding by the laws and respecting others, and that Bcahrre remains a model for the republic of right, justice and order, and a model for a truly strong republic," the MPs' statement concluded.

42 UfM Member States declare ‘International Day of the Mediterranean’
NNA/November 29/2020
The 42 UfM Member States declared the ‘International Day of the Mediterranean’ at yesterday’s UfM Regional Forum. The fifth edition of the Forum was a special one, as it happened 25 years after the launch of the Barcelona Process. Coinciding with the anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration of 1995, which laid the foundations for the creation of the Union for the Mediterranean, the creation of the ‘International Day of the Mediterranean’ was announced yesterday and will be observed on 28 November every year. The celebration’s aim is to help foster a common Mediterranean identity and raise awareness of the efforts undertaken across the region by stakeholders on a daily basis to enhance cooperation and integration in the Euro-Mediterranean area. The cultural dimension will also be an important component as it will provide an occasion to hold events, exhibitions and festivals across the region with a view to strengthening ties between the two shores, promoting intercultural exchange and dialogue, and embracing the diversity of the region. The 5th Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Regional Forum was held virtually under the title ‘25years: Building a Stronger Mediterranean’. Ministers also agreed to particularly direct efforts in the coming year towards further integrating economies through the promotion of trade and investment, encouraging climate actionand sustainable models for growth, and supporting digital transformation whilst maintaining the UfM’s longstanding focus on both women’s empowerment and employment, especially amongst young people.—UfM

Taymour Jumblatt: To approve relevant law proposals on protection of women
NNA/November 29/2020
"Democratic Gathering" Chief, MP Taymour Jumblatt, tweeted Saturday on the issue of violence against women, saying: "The least that can be done in order to protect women and their rights, is to continue to work and exert pressure to pass relevant law proposals, from determining the age of marriage, to the necessary amendments to Law No. 293 relating to the protection of women and family members against domestic violence, far-reaching the mother's right to grant citizenship, and most importantly, a civil law on personal status."

Abdel Samad: To join efforts to prevent gender-based violence
NNA/November 28/2020
"According to a poll conducted by Lebanon's Ministry of Information, 75% support the inclusion of a penalty in the media law to protect female journalists. We should work together, governments, multinationals, and civil society to fight against and prevent gender-based violence," tweeted Caretaker Information Minister, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, on Saturday, marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Geagea: Executive authority is called to assign any company specialized in forensic audit
NNA/November 28/2020
Lebanese Forces Party Leader, Samir Geagea, issued a communique on Saturday, calling on the executive authority to assign a new company specialized in forensic audit as soon as possible.
"After the decision taken by the Parliament Council in its session held yesterday, in which it stressed the need to conduct the forensic audit in the Central Bank and in various ministries and departments of the state, public institutions and independent funds, and following its issued decree that the effects of banking secrecy do not apply to forensic audit, the ball has become in the hands of President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and the caretaker cabinet," Geagea said in his statement.
He then added that "the executive authority (the president of the republic and the resigned government) is invited to appoint a new specialized company to subject the Central Bank and state institutions to forensic auditing as soon as possible."
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 28-29/2020

Israeli minister says ‘has no clue’ who killed Iranian nuclear scientist
Israeli cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi said on Saturday he had “no clue” who was behind the killing of a top Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran. “I have no clue who did it. It’s not that my lips are sealed because I’m being responsible, I really have no clue,” Hanegbi, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told N12’s Meet the Press. Prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated east of the capital Tehran on Friday, Iran’s defense ministry confirmed in a statement. Fakhrizadeh died in hospital due to injuries sustained during a shoot-out between his bodyguards and “armed terrorists” Friday afternoon, the statement said. The statement described Fakhrizadeh as the head of the defense ministry’s “Research and Innovation Organization.”The defense ministry did not accuse any parties of involvement.

Iran’s army blames US along with Israel for Iranian nuclear scientist’s assassination
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/November 28/2020
The head of Iran’s army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said “the criminal hands” of the United States and Israel were clearly seen in the assassination of a top nuclear scientist in Tehran on Friday, the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported on Friday. “The criminal hand of the United States, the evil Zionist regime… are clearly seen in this crime,” Mousavi said. Fakhrizadeh, one of Iran’s most prominent nuclear scientists was assassinated on Friday in an attack on his car outside Tehran, the defense ministry said earlier on Friday. He was "seriously wounded" when assailants targeted his car before being engaged in a gunfight with his security team, the ministry added. He later succumbed to his injuries and died in the hospital. Iranian officials vowed to avenge the slain scientist and pointed the finger of blame at Israel. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has claimed there were "serious indications of (an) Israeli role" in the assassination. Meanwhile, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami said: “Severe revenge and punishment for the perpetrators of this crime is on the agenda,” according to Iranian media. Israel “designed and directed” Fakhrizadeh’s killing, Salami alleged. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it was not commenting on the attack on the Iranian nuclear scientist.
US-Iran tensions
Whoever is responsible for the attack, it is certain to escalate tension between Iran and the United States in the final weeks of Trump's US presidency. Trump, who lost his re-election bid on Nov. 3 and leaves office on Jan. 20, has repeatedly accused Iran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons. Trump pulled the United States out of a deal under which sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear program. President-elect Joe Biden has said he would restore it. A US official confirmed earlier this month that Trump had sought from military aides a plan for a possible strike on Iran, but had decided against it at that time. The scientist's assassination comes nearly a year after Iran and the US stood on the brink of war when an American drone strike killed a top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
It comes just as President-elect Joe Biden stands poised to be inaugurated in January and will likely complicate his efforts to return America to a pact aimed at ensuring Iran does not have enough highly enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon. That deal, which saw Iran limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, has entirely unraveled after President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord in 2018.
Who is Mohsen Fakhrizadeh?
Fakhrizadeh, once described by Netanyahu as the father of Iran's nuclear weapons program, had been travelling in a car near Absard city in Tehran province's eastern Damavand county. He has long been described by Western, Israeli and Iranian exile foes of Iran’s clerical rulers as a leader of a covert atomic bomb program halted in 2003. Iran has long denied seeking to weaponize nuclear energy. He had the rare distinction of being the only Iranian scientist named in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 2015 “final assessment” of open questions about Iran’s nuclear program and whether it was aimed at developing a nuclear bomb. Fakhrizadeh was named in a 2007 UN resolution on Iran as a person involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities. An IAEA report the following year also referred to him briefly. Iranian media rarely mention him. In 2007, the semi-official Mehr News Agency described him as a scientist working for the Defense Ministry and a former head of the Physics Research Centre, a body also mentioned in the IAEA’s report. Some Iranian websites said he was a university professor. But Western analysts acknowledged that little is publicly known about Fakhrizadeh, described by Albright’s think tank as a nuclear engineer who has overseen a number of projects related to weaponization research and development. The IAEA had said in 2002-2003, Fakhrizadeh was the executive officer of the so-called AMAD Plan, which according to its information conducted studies related to uranium, high explosives and the revamping of a missile cone to accommodate a nuclear warhead. “If Iran ever chose to weaponize (enrichment), Fakhrizadeh would be known as the father of the Iranian bomb,” a Western diplomat who is critical of Iran’s nuclear program had told Reuters.
- With Agencies

Israeli embassies on high alert following Iranian retaliation threats: Reports
Reuters/November 28/2020
Israel put its embassies around the world on high alert on Saturday after Iranian threats of retaliation following the killing of a nuclear scientist near Tehran, Israeli N12 news reported on Saturday. A spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the ministry did not comment on matters of security regarding its representatives abroad.Iran has blamed Israel for the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who died on Friday after gunman ambushed him in his car.
 

Belgium court charges Iranian diplomat with 20-year prison term over terrorism
Rawad Taha & Omar Elkatouri, Al Arabiya English/Published: 28 November ,2020.
An Iranian diplomat suspected of masterminding a state-sponsored bomb attack against an exiled Iranian opposition group in France was charged with a 20-year prison term by Belgium’s prosecution. “For the Iranian diplomats suspect in this case, a 20-year prison term. For the couple found in possession of the bomb, an 18-year prison term, and for the fourth suspect, a 15-year prison term. For these last three suspects, the federal prosecutor requested also the withdrawal of their Belgian nationality.”, said Belgium’s court spokeswomen. The Iranian diplomat and three other Iranians went on trial in Antwerp, Belgium on Friday for planning to bomb a 2018 meeting in France of an exiled opposition group, the first time an EU country has put an Iranian official on trial for terrorism. Belgian prosecutors charged Vienna-based diplomat Assadolah Assadi and the three others with planning an attack on a rally of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The rally’s keynote address was given by US President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Assadi was the third counselor at Iran’s embassy in Vienna. French officials have said he was in charge of intelligence in southern Europe and was acting on orders from Tehran. Tehran has repeatedly dismissed the charges, calling the attack allegations a “false flag” stunt by the NCRI, which it considers a terrorist group. Assadi has not commented on the charges. His lawyer has said Assadi would explain himself at his trial. Assadi warned authorities in March of possible retaliation by unidentified groups if he is found guilty, according to a police document obtained by Reuters. Authorities say the attack was thwarted by a coordinated operation between French, German and Belgian security services. Assadi was arrested while on holiday in Germany and handed over to Belgium, where two of his suspected accomplices had been arrested with half a kilo of the explosive TATP and a detonator. According to documents reviewed by Reuters, Belgian authorities believe Assadi brought the explosives from Tehran to Vienna on a commercial flight. “The attack plan was conceived in the name of Iran and under its leadership. It was not a personal initiative by Assadi,” Jaak Raes, head of the Belgium’s state security service (VSSE), said in a letter to the prosecutor dated Feb. 2, 2020. France said Iran’s intelligence ministry was behind the plot and expelled an Iranian diplomat. The EU froze the assets of an Iranian intelligence unit and officials. European countries have blamed Iran for other suspected plots against dissidents, including two killings in the Netherlands in 2015 and 2017 and a foiled assassination in Denmark. Iran has denied involvement, saying the accusations were intended to damage EU-Iran relations.

+wires.
 

Syria says assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist a ‘terrorist’ act
Reuters/November 28/2020
Syria's Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad accused Israel and “those who supported it” on Saturday of being behind the killing of Iran's top nuclear scientist, an act he said would only fuel more tensions in the region. Mekdad was quoted by state media as telling the Iranian envoy in Damascus that Syria was confident Iran would confront what he called the “terrorist act” behind the killing on Friday of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the country's top nuclear scientist.

Ethiopian PM: military has completed operations in the Tigray region
Reuters/November 28/2020
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that military operations in the northern Tigray region have been completed, shortly after he announced federal troops had seized full control of the regional capital of Tigray on Saturday evening. “I am pleased to share that we have completed and ceased the military operations in the Tigray region,” Abiy tweeted. Ethiopian federal forces have taken “full control” of the Tigray region’s capital Mekelle, the prime minister and the military’s chief of staff said on Saturday evening. Authorities had said earlier that government forces were in the final stages of an offensive in the region and would take care to protect civilians in Mekelle, a city of 500,000 people. There was no immediate comment from the Tigrayan forces in the northern region, who have been fighting government troops for the past three weeks. “The federal government is now fully in control of the city of Mekelle,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement posted on his Twitter page. That followed a statement saying the same from the army chief of staff, Birhanu Jula, on the military’s official Facebook page. Claims from all sides are difficult to verify since phone and internet links to the region have been down and access has been tightly controlled since fighting began on Nov. 4. Earlier on Saturday, a diplomat in direct contact with residents, and the leader of Tigrayan forces said federal forces had begun an offensive to capture Mekelle. The government had given the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) an ultimatum that expired on Wednesday to lay down arms or face an assault on the city. Thousands of people are believed to have died and around 43,000 refugees have fled to neighboring Sudan during the conflict. The northern region of Tigray also borders the nation of Eritrea. Abiy accuses Tigrayan leaders of starting the war by attacking federal troops at a base in Tigray. The TPLF says the attack was a pre-emptive strike.

Pope Francis installs new cardinals, including first African-American
Reuters/Published: 28 November ,2020
Pope Francis on Saturday installed 13 new cardinals, including the first African-American to hold the high rank, further expanding the pontiff’s impact on the group that will one day elect his successor. The cardinals were installed in a ceremony, known as a consistory, that was markedly slimmed down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of the usual thousands, only 10 guests per cardinal were allowed in St. Peter’s Basilica as the pope gave the men their ring and traditional red hat, known as a biretta. Nine of the 13 are under 80 and eligible under Church law to enter a secret conclave to choose the next pope from among themselves after Francis dies or resigns. It was Francis’ seventh consistory since his election in 2013. He has now appointed 57 percent of the 128 cardinal electors, most of whom share his vision of a more inclusive and outward-looking Church. Thus far, he has appointed 18 cardinals from mostly far-flung countries that never had one, nearly all of them from the developing world. In Saturday’s consistory, Brunei and Rwanda got their first cardinals. While Europe still has the largest share of cardinal electors, with 41 percent, it is down from 52 percent in 2013 when Francis became the first Latin-American pope. With each consistory, Francis has increased the chances that his successor will be another non-European, having beefed up the Church in places where it is either a tiny minority or where it is growing faster than in the stagnant West.
The nine new electors come from Italy, Malta, Rwanda, the United States, the Philippines, Chile, Brunei and Mexico. In his homily, Francis told the men to keep their eyes on God, avoid all forms of corruption, and not succumb to a “worldly spirit” that can accompany the prestige and power of their new rank.
Everyone in the basilica except the pope wore a mask. Each new cardinal removed theirs when they knelt before him to be invested. Wilton Gregory, the 72-year-old archbishop of Washington, DC, becomes the first African-American cardinal at a time the United States is examining race relations after a spate of police killings of unarmed Black people. Gregory made headlines in June when he blasted President Donald Trump’s visit to a Catholic shrine in Washington, after police and soldiers used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear protesters so Trump could be photographed in front of a historic Washington church holding a Bible. Gregory said he found it “baffling and reprehensible that any Catholic facility would allow itself to be so egregiously misused and manipulated.”Catholic conservatives condemned Gregory and sided with Trump.In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Gregory said he wanted to find common ground with US President-elect Joe Biden despite disagreements on issues such as abortion. Gregory was one of a handful of new cardinals who were quarantined for about 10 days in their rooms in the Vatican guest house where the pope also lives. Cardinals from Brunei and the Philippines could not travel and will receive their ring and hat from a papal delegate. Four non-electors over 80 were given the honor after a long service to the Church. The most prominent is Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, an Italian-American who has worked around the world and is one of the Church’s top experts on immigration.


Security forces fire tear gas at Paris protest against police violence
Reuters/November 28/2020
Security forces fired tear gas at a protest march against police violence in Paris on Saturday after masked protesters launched fireworks at their lines, put up barricades and threw stones. Thousands of people across France marched in protest and demanded a free press after film of police beating a Black music producer fanned anger about a draft law that is seen as curbing the right of journalists to report on police brutality. In Paris, protesters set street furniture on fire and clashed with police as they tried to block access to certain streets. In Lille, Rennes, Strasbourg and other cities thousands more protested against the draft bill that makes it a crime to circulate images of police officers in certain circumstances, which opponents say limits press freedom. Many carried placards with slogans like “Who will protect us from the police,” “Stop police violence,” and “Democracy bludgeoned. The journalists’ organizations and civil liberty groups who organized the marches were joined by extreme-left militants, environmental activists and yellow vest protesters, who have been protesting against government policies for two years. Several so-called “black block” groups, who fought with police and smashed shop windows during the yellow vest protests, also took part.


Four killed in Nagorno-Karabakh blast, Azerbaijan blames Armenia
AFP/November 28/2020
Four Azeri civilians died Saturday after their car hit a landmine planted by retreating Armenian soldiers in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general said. The incident occurred in a village in Fizuli district, a statement said. “The mine was planted by the Armenian armed forces during their retreat,” the statement said, adding that it was an anti-tank mine. The statement called the incident a “new type of provocation” from Armenia. Running along the border with Iran, Fizuli was among the districts claimed by Armenian fighters in a 1990s war that saw separatists declare independence over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and several surrounding territories. Azerbaijan recaptured Fizuli in renewed clashes over Karbakh that started in late September and continued for six weeks, claiming more than 4,000 lives. The ex-Soviet rivals signed a Moscow-brokered peace deal on November 9, ending weeks of heavy fighting and documenting that Armenia will surrender to Baku several territories that were under separatists’ control for more than three decades.

 

US Aircraft Carrier Deploys to Gulf
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was deployed to the Gulf this week according to the US Department of Defense. The US Navy confirmed on Saturday that the deployment was not related to any specific threat. Also, the CNN reported on Friday that the move came days before Iran's top nuclear scientist was killed. It said the aircraft carrier may remain in the region until January, when President-elect Joe Biden takes office. For her her, spokeswoman for the US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said: “There were no specific threats that triggered the return of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group." Commander Rebecca Rebarich added that the redeployment was related to a US drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan, Reuters reported. “This action ensures we have sufficient capability available to respond to any threat and to deter any adversary from acting against our troops during the force reduction,” she noted.

US Pentagon Chief Makes Rare Visit to Somalia
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
The Pentagon's acting defense secretary has made a rare visit to Somalia, where US forces have been assisting in the fight against Qaeda affiliate al-Shabab. In a brief statement, the Pentagon said Christopher Miller, who was installed as acting defense secretary Nov. 9 when President Donald Trump fired Mark Esper, met Friday with US troops in Mogadishu to express appreciation for their work and to reiterate the US commitment to combating extremist groups. Just hours after Miller's visit, the Somali government announced that a suicide bombing in Mogadishu killed at least seven people, and al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility. Trump is expected to order a withdrawal of most or all of the 700 US troops based in Somalia before he leaves office Jan. 20, according to The Associated Press. Miller has been in the Middle East and parts of north Africa this week on his first international trip as acting defense secretary. Miller, who previously headed the National Counterterrorism Center, has not been nominated by Trump for Senate confirmation as Pentagon chief.

 

Khamenei weighs in with threat of retaliation for the Fakhrizadeh killing
DEBKAFile/November 28/2020
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council held an emergency meeting on Saturday, Nov. 28 following the assassination on Friday of Mohsen Akhrizadeh, the architect of Iran’s secret nuclear arms and missile programs. Senior military commanders were present
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei followed President Hassan Rouhani and other top officials in assigning the blame for the killing to the Israeli Mossad and threatening retaliation. They all promised to carry on his work and strike back at his killers – “at the proper time,” as President Hassan Rouhani qualified. The emergency security meeting was undoubtedly taxed with making good on the threats to punish the purported culprit, named as the “Zionist regime.” It was no less urgent to identify and lay hands on the killers and plug the gaping holes exposed in the country’s security, through which a large team of assassins was able to kill Iran’s closely-guarded nuclear program supremo in a surprise ambush on a highway near Tehran. At least two vehicles were involved in the attack. According to the semi-official news agency Tasnim, “terrorists blew up another car” before firing on a vehicle carrying Fakhrizadeh and his bodyguards. He was traveling in an armored car which, most sources agree, was evidently blown up by a truck bomb before – or after – the gunmen jumped out and fired automatic weapons in a shootout with his bodyguards. Casualties are likely. The killers appear to have readied a separate vehicle for their getaway. Israel, the White House, Pentagon, US State Department and CIA have all declined to comment on the episode, as have Biden’s transition team. However, if it was indeed the work of the Mossad, a scenario which may never be confirmed or proven, it would indicate the presence of an extensive clandestine network of agents planted in the Islamic Republic which may be surmised to have enlisted local anti-regime elements for the operation.
Eight years ago, a director of Iran’s main uranium enrichment site at Natanz was killed in a blast from a magnetic bomb placed on his car. He was at least the fifth Iran’s nuclear scientist killed in apparent targeted attacks in two years, which Israel never acknowledged. Then, too, in February, 2012, the Islamic regime held Israel responsible and sought to wreak vengeance. It did so by activating its foreign network of terrorist cells to try and assassinate Israeli diplomats in Bangkok, Delhi and Tbilisi. That network was developed by Qassem Soleimani, the al Qods chief, whom the Americans killed in Baghdad in 2018. Fakhrizadeh shared with him the rank of brigadier general of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. The blast in New Delhi that month set a car ablaze and injured four people, including an Israeli Embassy driver and a diplomat’s wife. The device in Georgia was discovered and safely defused. In both incidents, “sticky bombs” were attached to cars by magnets. The attempted bombing in Bangkok eight years ago was another flop, but it had consequences that brought the attacks and counter-attacks full circle to the present day. Indeed, two days ago, Thailand handed over to Tehran three Iranians as part of a prisoner swap for the release of the British-Australian scholar Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who was charged with espionage and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Tehran refrained from naming the three released men. It turns out, however, that they were none other than the men convicted in Thailand of targeting Israeli diplomats in a 2012 bomb plot, as part of the revenge offensive for the deaths of Iranian nuclear scientists. That plot also misfired when their bomb blew up accidentally and the conspirators were caught and sentenced to jail on various charges – though not terrorism. It so happens, that on Thursday, the day before Fakhrizadeh’s death, those failed bombers were given a heroes’ welcome on their arrival in Tehran. While Israel is on high alert in case Iran follows through on its threats of retaliation for the top nuclear scientist’s death, it is obvious to both that an extreme response would trigger a full-scale war, which would not serve either of their interests during the transition to a new presidency in the White House – especially when Iran is hoping to be granted an opening to diplomacy by the Biden presidency. Notwithstanding the Islamic regime’s losses, US sanctions and the wars waged against its proxies, its rulers persevere in their march toward a nuclear bomb and dominance in the region. This persistence too is a form of retaliation.

Khamenei Calls for 'Definitive Punishment' In Revenge For Slain Scientist
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised on Saturday to retaliate for the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist and said his nuclear work would continue. In a statement published on Khamenei's official site, he described Mohsen Fakhrizadeh as “the country’s prominent and distinguished nuclear and defensive scientist.”Khamenei further stressed that Iran’s first priority after the killing was the “definitive punishment of the perpetrators and those who ordered it.” Earlier Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed Israel for the killing. Rouhani said that Fakhrizadeh’s death would not stop its nuclear program, which was reiterated by Khamenei as well. We will respond to the assassination of Martyr Fakhrizadeh in a proper time,” Rouhani said. He added: “The Iranian nation is smarter than falling into the trap of the Zionists. They are thinking to create chaos.”Iran’s civilian nuclear program has continued its experiments and now enriches uranium up to 4.5%, far below weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to The Associated Press.

Iran Accuses Israel of Killing Nuclear Scientist

Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani on Saturday accused Israel of killing the country’s top nuclear scientist, accusing it of acting as a "mercenary" for the US. "Once again, the wicked hands of the global arrogance, with the usurper Zionist regime as the mercenary, were stained with the blood of a son of this nation," Rouhani said in a statement on his official website. Iran generally uses the term "global arrogance" to refer to the US, AFP reported. Rouhani said the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is a major loss, vowing to take revenge on the right time. Iran's defense ministry earlier announced that Fakhrizadeh died after being seriously wounded when "assailants" targeted his car and engaged in a gunfight with his bodyguards outside the capital Tehran on Friday. Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday that there were "serious indications of an Israeli role" in the assassination. Remarkably, Fakhrizadeh was considered one of Tehran's most prominent nuclear scientists. The US slapped sanctions on him in 2008 for "activities and transactions that contributed to the development of Iran's nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once described him as the father of Iran's nuclear weapons program. Also, The New York Times said a US official and two other intelligence officials confirmed Israel was behind the attack, without giving further details, according to AFP. The assassination comes less than two months before US President-elect Joe Biden is to take office. The latter has promised a return to diplomacy with Iran after Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and began re-imposing crippling sanctions.

US Sanctions Chinese, Russian Firms over Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
The US on Friday announced economic sanctions on Chinese and Russian companies that Washington said had supported the development of Iran's missile program. The four firms, accused of "transferring sensitive technology and items to Iran's missile program," will be subject to restrictions on US government aid and on their exports for two years, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. The sanctions, imposed Wednesday, were against two Chinese-based companies, Chengdu Best New Materials and Zibo Elim Trade, as well as Russia-based Nilco Group and Joint Stock Company Elecon. "We will continue to work to impede Iran's missile development efforts and use our sanctions authorities to spotlight the foreign suppliers, such as these entities in the PRC (China) and Russia, that provide missile-related materials and technology to Iran," Pompeo added. President Donald Trump withdrew the US in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal established three years prior under then-President Barack Obama. Trump has since reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran in what he calls a campaign of "maximum pressure."The Trump administration has also since shown its determination to sanction any foreign country or company that does not comply with its Iran policies.

UNHCR: Sudan Needs $150 Million to Help Ethiopian Refugees
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
Sudan needs $150 million in aid to cope with the flood of Ethiopian refugees crossing its border from conflict-stricken Tigray, the UN refugee agency chief said Saturday during a visit to a camp. The Tigray conflict broke out on November 4 between Ethiopia's federal forces and leaders of the region's ruling party. Sudan has since hosted more than 43,000 Ethiopian refugees fleeing from the intense fighting into one of its most impoverished regions. "Sudan needs $150 million for six months to provide these refugees water, shelter and health services," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi at Um Raquba camp, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the border. Grandi called on "donors to provide Sudan with these resources as soon as they can". Between 500 and 600 refugees are still crossing the border each day, AFP reported. Sudan has sought to provide help to accommodate the mass refugee influx as it struggles with its own deep economic crisis. Some 65 percent of Sudan's nearly 42 million people live below the poverty line, according to government figures. As the Tigray fighting rages, Grandi also voiced concern over the fate of tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees living in Ethiopia for decades. "We don't have access to them," he said, urging the Ethiopian government to authorise visits by the United Nations.

Iraq: Six Killed During Clashes between Rival Protesters
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
The toll from clashes among rival protesters in Iraq's southern hot spot of Nasiriyah rose to six dead, medics told AFP Saturday, as other cities imposed security measures. Violence erupted on Friday between the dwindling members of the October 2019 anti-government protest movement and supporters of populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, who had called on his followers to hit the streets in a show of force. In the southern city of Nasiriyah, anti-government activists accused Sadrists of shooting at them and torching their tents in their main gathering place of Habboubi Square. Clashes continued into the night, with medics reporting a total of six dead by Saturday morning, five of them from bullet wounds, and at least 60 wounded. But on Saturday morning, anti-government protesters were already back in the square to rebuild their camp, an AFP reporter there said. Authorities sacked the city's police chief, launched an investigation into the events and imposed an overnight curfew in Nasiriyah. Other cities also introduced security measures, with Kut and Amara further north setting new movement restrictions. Nasiriyah was a major hub for the protest movement that erupted in October 2019 against a government seen by demonstrators as corrupt, inept and beholden to neighboring Iran. It was also the site of one of the bloodiest incidents of the uprising, when more than three dozen died in protest-related violence on November 28 last year. The deaths sparked outrage across Iraq and prompted the resignation of then-prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. His successor, Mustafa al-Kadhemi, has sought to reach out to protesters and set June 2021 as a date for early elections -- a major demand of the youth-dominated movement.

In Syria, Yarmuk Residents Plan Return to War-Torn Palestinian Camp
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 28 November, 2020
When Syrian authorities said they would allow returns to the war-ravaged Yarmuk camp for Palestinian refugees in southern Damascus, Issa al-Loubani rushed to sign up and quickly started repairing his home. Hundreds of former residents have already requested permission to go back to the settlement, home to 160,000 Palestinian refugees and some Syrian families before the conflict broke out in 2011. More than 400 families have returned in the last few months because they cannot afford to rent homes elsewhere after years of displacement, the United Nations said in early November.
Loubani, who first left in 2012, is determined to join their ranks even if the windows of his wrecked apartment are still covered with plastic sheeting. "Our flat needs major work, but it's better than paying rent," said Loubani, who has been living in a Damascus apartment with his wife and daughter.
"We still need electricity, running water, and to clear rubble from the streets" before moving back in, the 48-year-old Palestinian refugee told AFP from Yarmuk. Syrian government and allied forces retook the camp in 2018 from ISIS. But two years on, reconstruction has been slow and the scars of war remain visible. The walls of Loubani's building are pockmarked with bullet holes. Neighboring blocks have had their facades blown off or seen their balconies cave. Some structures have collapsed entirely following years of bombardment and heavy fighting. Loubani's wife, Ilham, finds an old photo from their wedding in the rubble-strewn alley. "That's Umm Walid," she says, pointing to one of the guests in the picture. Founded in 1957 with tents for Palestinians who fled or were ousted from their homes with the establishment of Israel, Yarmuk grew into a bustling neighborhood. In 2012, around 140,000 residents fled as clashes raged. Those who stayed faced severe shortages of food and medicine under a withering years-long government siege. ISIS entered the area in 2015, bringing further suffering to remaining residents until militants were forced out three years later. This month, the Damascus municipality said residents could register to return to Yarmuk if their homes were structurally sound. Some 600 families have already signed up, said Mahmoud al-Khaled, a Palestinian who heads a committee that clears rubble in the camp. But the civil engineer who grew up in Yarmuk said less than half of the buildings were currently safe for reoccupation. The 430 families that have already returned despite difficult living conditions rely heavily on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). Around 75 percent of UNRWA's 23 premises in Yarmuk, including 16 schools, need to be completely rebuilt, and all three of its health centers have been destroyed. To compensate, the organization sends a mobile health clinic to the camp once a week and provides buses to transport children to schools in Damascus. A month ago, Syrian Shehab al-Din Blidi returned to his home -- one of the few apartments in Yarmuk largely spared by the fighting. Its cozy living room with bright paint and upholstered armchairs stands in stark contrast with the wasteland outside. "If we had waited for electricity, water and sewage to return, we would have perhaps" had to wait for a year before coming back, Blidi said. With little outside help, he said it was up to residents to fend for themselves. "Reconstruction requires efforts from several countries," Blidi said. "In the meantime, we have to make do." The 60-year-old has managed to secure some electricity for his flat through a long cable connected to a power source beyond the camp. With no running water, he buys large bottles from outside Yarmuk and stores them at home. But for camp residents displaced to Idlib -- the last major opposition bastion, in northwestern Syria -- returning is nearly impossible. "No one in the (opposition-held) north can register to return or even reach Yarmuk," said Ahmad Khormandi, who left the camp when ISIS entered in 2015. He and his family now live in a displacement camp in Idlib province near the border with Turkey. The 43-year-old Palestinian told an AFP correspondent in northwestern Syria that he fears arrest if he returns to Yarmuk. But even if he were allowed back, he said, returning to live in his home would be impossible. "I don't have the means to fix my house," he said.

 

Travel Agents in Mideast, Africa Say UAE is Blocking Visas
Associated Press/November 28/2020
Travel agencies in countries across the Middle East and Africa say the United Arab Emirates has temporarily halted issuing new visas to their citizens, a so-far unexplained ban on visitors amid both the coronavirus pandemic and the UAE's normalization deal with Israel.
Confusion over the UAE visa ban targeting 11 Muslim-majority nations, in addition to Lebanon and Kenya, swirled after a leaked document from Dubai's state-owned airport free zone surfaced this week, declaring restrictions against a range of nationalities.
Emirati authorities have not acknowledged the suspension that comes as the UAE welcomes Israeli tourists for the first time in history, the coronavirus pandemic surges across the region and those searching for work in the federation of seven sheikhdoms increasingly overstay their tourist visas amid a cascade of business shutdowns and lay-offs. Citing an order from the country's immigration authorities, the note to companies operating in Dubai's airport free zone announced a pause in issuing all new employment, long and short-term visit visas "until further notice" from countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iraq and Tunisia, without offering a reason. Those already holding visas would not be affected, it said. The revelation has gripped social media feeds and news outlets worldwide, underscoring the UAE's global status as magnet for expat workers and visitors who outnumber locals nearly nine to one in the country. When asked by The Associated Press about the order, the country's immigration department said it's "not aware of any formal list of nationalities requiring visa suspension." Dubai's airport free zone confirmed the veracity of the document to the AP and said it was waiting for further clarification from officials. Meanwhile, across the region, agencies and authorities say their citizens are forbidden from entering the UAE. Travel agents in Pakistan said the UAE has barred single men under the age of 50 from the country, although those traveling with family can still obtain visas. Last week, Pakistan's foreign office said it had "learnt that the UAE has temporarily suspended the issuance of new visit visas" in a move "believed to be related to the second wave of COVID-19."
Bestways Travel company south of Islamabad was skeptical. "With such specific age and gender limits, obviously this has nothing to do with the coronavirus," agent Jamchit Agha said. He said it was more likely tied to security concerns, or fears about young men overstaying visas to find jobs in Dubai, the region's financial hub. Dubai relies on millions of low-paid expat workers from Southeast Asia.
Several travel companies across Afghanistan also claimed the UAE had stopped issuing visas to citizens, without offering any explanation. In Kenya, speculation has spread that the country landed on the UAE's blacklist over a spate of fake certificates showing negative results on coronavirus tests used to travel to the UAE, resulting in 21 arrests Thursday. Four travel agencies in the capital Nairobi said they were seeking clarification from Emirati authorities after dozens of tourist visas were rejected. Travel Shore Africa, one of the agencies, said 40 of its clients bound for Dubai had been blocked from boarding their flight last-minute on Thursday. Two travel agents in Lebanon, a country that has sent legions of skilled workers to the UAE as its own economy plunged, confirmed visa applications were currently on hold except for those with a foreign passport or residency in a third country. Both companies have stopped issuing visas until they receive clear instructions. Travel agents in Damascus have struggled over the past two weeks to understand why Syria had been removed from a list of countries eligible to apply for visas online. One agent assumed the omission was a technical glitch until a colleague told him that authorities had also stopped issuing visas to Syrians. Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Sahaf said Iraq has not been officially informed of an Emirati travel ban against its citizens, but the country was aware of the reported blacklist and is following up through diplomatic channels. An employee at Dubai's budget airline, FlyDubai, in Baghdad said the company was taking far fewer visa applications, pending instructions expected next week. Saeed Mohammed, an agent at Arabian Nights Tours in Dubai, said he frequently faces difficulties obtaining UAE entry visas for Iranians, Turkish citizens and those from Yemen's rebel-held capital due to simmering political tensions. The UAE's recent normalization deal with Israel, which now allows Israelis to visit the emirate's skyscraper-studded cities visa-free, has cast a spotlight on a changing Middle East. Gulf leaders have come to see Israel, a former enemy, as a key ally against the shared threats of Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. Despite long-standing visa troubles, Mohammed said he's never seen the 100% visa rejection rate of the past week, with some dozen visitor visas denied each day from Yemen, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and other countries. "We can only assume that there has been some change in the law, but in reality, no one knows," he said. Mohammad Hosseini, Iran's Chargé d'Affaires in the UAE, wrote on Twitter Thursday that he's following up with the Emirati Foreign Ministry after hearing the visa ban applies to 13 countries "temporarily and until further notice." A travel agent in Tehran said Iranians hadn't received visas to enter the UAE since early August. One travel agent in Istanbul said she wasn't at all surprised by the ban, especially given the UAE's growing trend of rejecting Turkish visas over the past few months — the result of a political rivalry, not the coronavirus, she added.

Egypt's al-Sisi discusses Nile waters and regional security during South Sudan visit
The Associated Press/November 28/2020
In the first visit by an Egyptian president to South Sudan, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said he and President Salva Kiir discussed regional security and the usage of Nile waters, but he didn’t mention the country currently at the heart of either issue, Ethiopia.
The statement after Saturday’s meeting made no mention of the deadly conflict inside neighboring Ethiopia, which is also in a dispute with Egypt over a massive dam that Addis Ababa is nearing completion on the Blue Nile.
El-Sissi in the statement said he and Kiir discussed maximizing the usage of Nile waters, which he said should be a source of hope and national development. His government has described Ethiopia’s dam project as an existential threat to Egypt, which relies on the Nile for most of its water supply.
Ethiopia says the dam is needed for development and poverty alleviation. Talks among Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on the dam have been challenging as issues including the mediation of any disputes have yet to be agreed on.
The region has been watching to see whether Egypt would try to take advantage of Ethiopia’s current instability as Ethiopia’s federal government clashes with the country’s heavily armed northern Tigray region.
Egypt’s president also said he’s asking the international community to lift sanctions on South Sudan, which is slowly recovering from five years of civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people. The implementation of a peace deal is behind schedule. For his part, South Sudan’s president said he stressed the importance of dialog in dealing with issues affecting regional security and the “responsibility of Africans to seek African solutions to African problems.”


The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 28-29/2020

Syrian Refugees and the Question of Returning
Akram Bunni/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 28/2020
The international conference on Syrian refugees that was recently held in Damascus did not add anything new. Its decisions seem to be nothing more than ink on paper, not only because it belittled the problem’s humanitarian and moral considerations and demonstrated that its political objective is to whitewash the regime, or because international participation was sparse- major Arab and Western countries still prioritize compliance with the international conditions for the safe return of refugees along with a political transition that is in line with the Geneva Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 2254. It’s because the majority of the refugees themselves are frightened of returning to a homeland where nothing awaits them but more burdens, deprivation and various dangers that threaten their lives and their children’s safety.
How could a refugee return when he sees, with his own eyes, that still, after all the atrocities it had perpetrated, the regime takes people for fools and has made an art out of duping to evade accountability for the displacement of the Syrian people? It claims the hardship they are facing, which it is primarily responsible for, was elicited to interfere with the country and divide it; that is the result of the economic blockade and Islamic terrorism, not its arbitrary and unruly violence and its extremely destructive and belligerent campaign to maintain its grip on power and its privileges. It does so to avoid responsibility for the destruction and displacement and the declining economy and living standards, claiming that destruction, corruption, and extortion are not behind this crisis. It is the result of Lebanese banks seizure of Syrians’ deposits, which it became apparent do not add up to more than a few billion dollars, some of which had been withdrawn during the Lebanese crisis’ early stages.
What incentive could compel refugees to return in light of the prevalence of a firm conviction that nothing positive is on the horizon and that there is no hope for salvation in the near future, or even for improved security conditions and the provision of the basic needs? The issues of political persecution and arbitrary arrest have yet to be resolved, so how could the refugees who are sure that the future will be even darker, the majority, return? How could they comeback while the tyrannical structure is still place, one that they know will not manage to govern, after all the crimes it had perpetrated, without escalating its violence, terrorism and assault on human rights?
Without a doubt, the attempts Russia has made since it launched the initiative in 2018 have contributed to the return of a few hundred of the 6.6 million refugees, most of them from Lebanese camps, where their suffering is exacerbating, they are subjected to an array of forms of harm, humiliation and accusations, and they live in harsh conditions, with their mobility and ability to work extremely constrained. Nevertheless, they will not be compelled to return so long as their memories are brimming with dozens of examples of families who had returned to the country only for the men to disappear into intelligence agency basements and from them to find out that there is no hope for retrieving the homes and lands that had been stolen by the regime’s thugs, especially in the areas that were besieged for long periods. Most disturbing is when these properties are seized by sectarian groups intending to occupy neighborhoods and towns as part of a project for demographic change, turning them into homogeneous security outposts where this sectarian mind-set pervades.
Despite Syrian refugees’ suffering in Turkey, one can feel that most of them see staying there as the least painful option than that awaiting them in their country. It is preferred, despite the declining living conditions and employment opportunities, the refugees’ awareness of the exploitation of their tragedy, which Turkey manipulates to draw international and European financial aid and realize its ambition of establishing a safe area along its borders.
They would rather stay despite Tukey sucking the life out of their bodies, constraining the capitalists and skilled workers among them, and even plunging their youths into battles that do not concern them. This is especially true after authoritarian delusions of victory make everything permissible to those who bear arms, turning them into absolute rulers who can, with impunity, decide the fate of people’s lives and property. This is evident from the abundance of stories about the severity of the fighters’ assaults and the variety of their transgressions, whether allied with the regime or the opposition... Stories about fighters subjecting innocent citizens- for trivial reasons- to violations of their dignity, extortion, assault and murder with total impunity... A student who was left to die at the gates of a university after being severely beaten by those responsible for his life and security ... A girl who was killed just because she rejected a gunman who tried to seduce her at a security checkpoint... A father who was forced to kill his three young daughters so they would not be violated or humiliated… A family that was still consumed by despair at its inability to secure the ransom demanded in exchange for its kidnapped son…
Finally, how can refugees return, having fled hardship, unemployment, and the inability to access the most basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and medicine? How can they return after suffering from water scarcity and electricity cuts, after being abused and humiliated in pursuit of a little fuel or gas?! Isn’t it natural that they recall the images of their brothers back home before returning? Isn’t it reasonable from them to remember that their compatriots back home live in extreme poverty or even close to going hungry, or contemplate the state of their county’s education and health services; to think of what would await them after more than half of the schools and health facilities had been partially or totally destroyed and the best doctors and the best-educated had emigrated?! Should they return to join those waiting in long queues to access their basic needs or detained in the iron cages erected on the grounds of bakeries’ waiting areas under the pretext of organizing the queues formed by those seeking a morsel of bread? Should they return to deprive their families and loved ones of the money they can afford to send them from abroad, knowing that these families and loved ones cannot survive without it?!
One does not need to speak to Syrian refugees to uncover the depth of their yearning for their homeland and to return to their homes. One can feel it in the enthusiasm induced by good news about their country, in eyes that tear up in agony over the aggravation of their family and loved ones’ suffering. It can be seen in their spirits, brimming with pain and perhaps hopelessness, especially after salvation became more complex following the authoritarian security regime’s so-called victory; after its sectarian grip on the levers of the state and its control over people’s lives strengthened; and the country became hostage to the interests of external factions; after neither Syria’s interests nor the rights of its sons and their future are taken into account any longer.

The Otherness of a Closet Collectivist
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 28/2020
The international conference on Syrian refugees that was rece
All through his brief political career, Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, has mused about what he sees as his “otherness”. In his latest book “A promised Land” he claims that people saw him as someone “from everywhere and nowhere, a combination of ill-fitting parts like a platypus or some imaginary beast.”
However, even if that were true, Obama’s “otherness” could be found elsewhere. To start with, he was the first person to win the US presidency after a brief stint in public office as a junior senator. (His successor Donald Trump didn’t have even that). Obama was also the first person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize without having done anything for peace or war. With “A Promised Land” he reveals another aspect of his “otherness.” He becomes the first US president to write not one but three autobiographies. Even then, his new book, 768 pages long in the American edition, is presented as only the first volume with a second yet to be written. Taken together, Obama’s three autobiographies break the record set by President Ulysses S Grant with his 1,100 pages long memoirs.
A good chunk of the present book is a rehash of Obama’s two previous offerings “Dreams of My Father” and “Audacity of Hope” that covered his childhood and youth. Here, too, he maintains an air of mystery about his formative years in Indonesia. He is equally parsimonious in describing the influences that shaped his worldview. He says he read anything and everything, from Marx and Marcuse to Foucault and Virginia Woolf but does not say what he learned from them.
Obsessed with his “otherness”, Obama relates how he had to decide whether to develop himself as a black figure or a white one, finally deciding on the former. Having prioritized his “blackness” he then decided to act as a white man, thus “understanding” why some “whites” had an “emotional almost visceral reaction to my presidency.”
He also writes that his “very presence in the White House triggered a deep-seated panic.” Although he offers no evidence, the pirouette enables him to claim victimhood, something fashionable in recent US history. That in turn, helps him dismiss criticism of his presidency as racism.
Yet, he writes: “My conviction that racism was not inevitable may explain my willingness to defend the American ideal.”
Even then, it is hard to know where Obama stands on anything.
In discussing issues, he uses what one might call “on the one hand-on the other hand” stratagem. In some fields, for example foreign policy, he terms that “leading from behind. But, then he ends up a control freak. He relates one incident when, on official visit to Brazil, aides informed him that US air command sought his orders to bomb targets in Libya although he had announced that European allies, Britain and France, were in the lead there.
In Iraq, US field commanders could not use Apache helicopter gunships against terrorist forces without Obama’s clearance.
Obama mocks suggestions by some critics that he may be a closet socialist, as if being socialist were dishonorable. But then, on possibly unguarded moments, he reveals his penchant for collectivism.
He praises “the collectivist spirit, a thing we all wish for- a sense of connection that overrides our differences.” Repeating the claim of collectivists from Plato to Mao Zedong, he claims that “regulatory state has made American lives a hell of a lot better.” It was in that spirit that Obama tried to set up a state-controlled health sector, some 14 percent of the US GDP, with what he calls “Obamacare.” He speaks of “community rights” while in the Bill of Rights, rights are granted to individual citizens.
Obama’s “collectivist spirit” goes even further. He calls on the American youths to “match the reality of America with its ideals.” In even more hyperbolic tones he talks of “remaking the world, to bring about an America that finally aligns with all that is best in us.”
Such phrases put him in the category of socio-political engineers who think they could remake the world by exercising power. They do not realize that Frankenstein and Pygmalion are, in fact, the same story indicating the risks of such engineering.
Obama doesn’t say why he didn’t manage to do any of that during his presidency.
The good news is that Obama never decided who he really was and what he really wanted besides being liked by as many as possible. Writing about the initial phases of his quest for the presidency he wonders that he may have been motivated by “raw hunger, blind ambition wrapped in the gauzy language of service.”On being told that he had received the Nobel Peace Prize, he asks “For what?” But he doesn’t put that question to those who gave the prize. Instead, he plays the game by making a speech. Making speeches, of course, was what he liked best. His speech covered everything from saving the planet to the need for transgender washrooms.
Describing himself as “a conservative in temperament but not in vision” he implicitly admits that he lacked the courage of his assumed convictions.
Donald Trump makes a cameo appearance in the story as an orange ghost that gave Obama some unhappy moments with a campaign to prove Obama wasn’t born in the US. Obama claims Trump was motivated by chagrin as his two attempts at getting building contracts from the government had been dismissed by the White House. Obama writes: “For millions of Americans spooked by a black man in the White House, he (Trump) promised an elixir for their racial anxiety.”
The book has tidbits about other leaders and political figures, all designed to cut them in size and lengthen the shadow of Obama’s grandeur. Obama says he admires the Queen of England and found India’s Sonia Gandhi attractive. But David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, was a rich boy who never experienced poverty. French President Nicolas Sarkozy was a “bantam cock”. Russian President Vladimir Putin, “physically unremarkable”, reminded Obama of Al Capone. Russian stop-gap President Dmitri Medvedev was a bad liar. Chinese President Hu Jintao was a boring bureaucrat with endless notes.
Obama describes Joe Biden, his Vice President, as “decent, honest and loyal” but not a luminary let alone a potential leader. He also reveals that Biden opposed the killing of terror chief Osama Bin Laden.
“A Promised Land” doesn’t make it clear to whom was America promised and ends with the killing of Bin Laden. An account of what Obama didn’t or couldn’t do remains for the next volume. The Guantanamo Bay camp remains open, although Obama promised to close it in first year of his tenure. The promise to create a Palestinian state in the same first year remains unfulfilled. The so-called “Arab Spring” became a disaster. The “Grand Bargain” with the mullahs of Tehran fizzled into a tragi-comic number. The “redline” set in Syria became pink and then disappeared altogether. The oceans that were supposed to recede haven’t. Putin who was supposed to be contained, is still land grabbing while China, now under Xi Jinping is claiming world leadership. US military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan continues and Obama has entered history as the president who killed more people by drone attacks in more countries than any other president. At home, have-a-lot had even more under Obama while the have-little ended up with less. Even racist attacks and gun violence reached peaks never seen before while Obama made speeches, traveled around the world and mused about his “otherness.”

EU: New Pact on Migration and Asylum
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/November 28/2020
The question at the core of the internal EU conflict over migration in Europe is not practical but political: whether the EU should take any migrants at all. On that question, the European Commission and the Central and Eastern European countries could not be further apart.
The proposed system invariably gives rise to multiple questions about the practical viability of the proposed system. Will frontline states become efficient at screening migrants? Will the planned increased border control work? How, exactly, are widespread, years-long people-smuggling and human trafficking by gangs who profit immensely from it, going to be stopped?
"The big gamble is that you are betting on all members states each living up to their part of the responsibility.... it only takes a few states not living up [to] their commitments and then the entire system breaks down." — Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, professor of migration and refugee law at the University of Copenhagen, euronews.com, October 8, 2020.
"[W]e must ensure that the external borders of the EU and the Schengen Area remain perfectly sealed along all sections... Though it appears under a different name in the European Commission's new package of proposals on migration and asylum, the migrant quota is still there, and Hungary opposes it, along with Poland and the Czech Republic." — Zoltan Kovacs, Hungary's Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations.
According to Zoltan Kovacs, Hungary's Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations, "Though it appears under a different name in the European Commission's new package of proposals on migration and asylum, the migrant quota is still there, and Hungary opposes it, along with Poland and the Czech Republic." (Photo by Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images)
The European Commission has proposed a new Pact on Migration and Asylum for the European Union in the hope that it will solve the deep-seated political crisis that the issue of migration continues to pose in the EU.
The European Union remains fundamentally divided over the question of migration into the continent and has been so for years. During the 2015 migration crisis, when EU leaders agreed to relocate 160,000 migrants and refugees from camps in Italy and Greece, assigning each EU member state a fixed quota, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic refused to receive migrants. The refusal prompted the European Commission, in 2017, to start proceedings against the three countries at the Court of Justice of the European Union. In April 2020, the Court ruled that Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic had broken EU law by refusing to participate in the EU's relocation agreement.
Migration into the continent continues apace and has even increased. According to the EU's own statistics:
"In 2019, 676 300 asylum seekers applied for international protection in the 27 current Member States of the European Union (EU-27), up by 11.2 % compared with 2018. This was the first time the number of asylum applications increased year-to-year since 2015."
(In 2015, a record number of 1.3 million asylum seekers applied for asylum in an EU country).
The European Commission's new proposal is based on three main elements: The first is "more efficient and faster procedures". For the first time, entering the EU will include:
"... a pre-entry screening covering identification of all people crossing the EU's external borders without permission or having been disembarked after a search and rescue operation. This will also entail a health and a security check, fingerprinting and registration in the Eurodac database... As part of this border procedure, swift decisions on asylum or return will be made, providing quick certainty for people whose cases can be examined rapidly".
This means that frontline states, such as Italy and Greece, will have to shoulder the burden of screening and checking migrants, thereby making the entire initial asylum procedure more taxing, at least for Italy and Greece.
The second element of the Pact is:
"Fair sharing of responsibility and solidarity: Member States will be bound to act responsibly and in solidarity with one another. Each Member State, without any exception, must contribute in solidarity in times of stress, to help stabilize the overall system, support Member States under pressure and ensure that the Union fulfils its humanitarian obligations".
The solidarity principle is at the core of the political conflict with Central European countries in the EU over migration -- with what critics seem to feel are overbearing authoritarian overtones -- but the Commission evidently continues to insist that they have struck the right balance with the new Pact. According to Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for home affairs:
"...I think we are finding the right balance where we show solidarity towards migrants, asylum seekers and between member states, but that we're also clear that those who are not eligible to stay - they have to be returned.
"It's obvious to everybody that ad hoc solidarity is not enough. So we need a proper system, but we need a proper system which also answers the pressure that member states can be under."
In seeking to alleviate some of that "pressure," the new migration pact allows member states to opt out of the migrant relocation scheme, on condition that those member states instead take on the responsibility of returning migrants that are not granted asylum in the EU to their countries of origin.
According to Politico, however:
"A country that decides to sponsor returns would have eight months to implement them, and it would even be able to decide which nationality of migrants it wants to try to return. But if it fails to implement the returns, it would have to take in refugees instead — and it would not have a choice when it comes to their nationality".
This stance means that countries such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic might still end up having to take migrants, if they fail to keep within the time limit. What, however, if they still refuse?
The third element is a change in the way that the EU cooperates with the non-EU countries, where migrants originate. According to the Commission:
"The EU will seek to promote tailor-made and mutually beneficial partnerships with third countries. These will help address shared challenges such as migrant smuggling, will help develop legal pathways and will tackle the effective implementation of readmission agreements and arrangements. The EU and its Member States will act in unity using a wide range of tools to support cooperation with third countries on readmission".
This means, presumably, that the EU will try to work with countries of origin to stop the widespread -- and highly profitable -- trafficking and smuggling of migrants into Europe, something that has largely been unsuccessful thus far.
Finally, the Commission also promises:
"The management of external borders will be improved. The European Border and Coast Guard standing corps, scheduled for deployment from 1 January 2021, will provide increased support wherever needed."
The proposed system invariably gives rise to multiple questions about its practical viability: Will frontline states become efficient at screening migrants? Will the planned increased border control work? How, exactly, are widespread, years-long people-smuggling and human trafficking by gangs who profit immensely from it, going to be stopped?
As a professor of migration and refugee law at the University of Copenhagen, Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, has pointed out:
"The big gamble is that you are betting on all members states each living up to their part of the responsibility. Frontline states have to take a bigger role in the initial reception; other member states in terms of later relocating asylum seekers or taking responsibility for returning those rejected. But it only takes a few states not living up [to] their commitments and then the entire system breaks down."
The above are practical questions relating to management of migration. However, the question at the core of the internal EU conflict over migration in Europe is not practical but political: whether the EU should take any migrants at all. On that question, the European Commission and the Central and Eastern European countries could not be further apart. According to Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson:
"Migration has always been and always will be part of our societies. What we are proposing today will build a long-term migration policy that can translate European values into practical management. This set of proposals will mean clear, fair and faster border procedures, so that people do not have to wait in limbo. It means enhanced cooperation with third countries for fast returns, more legal pathways and strong actions to fight human smugglers. Fundamentally it protects the right to seek asylum".
Central European countries have no wish to accept any migrants at all.
"[W]e must ensure that the external borders of the EU and the Schengen Area remain perfectly sealed along all sections," wrote Zoltan Kovacs, Hungary's Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations, in response to the European Commission's proposal. "Though it appears under a different name in the European Commission's new package of proposals on migration and asylum, the migrant quota is still there, and Hungary opposes it, along with Poland and the Czech Republic," he added.
It does not seem as if the EU, even with this new pact, is about to resolve the political conflict over migration anytime soon.
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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Abraham Accord recognises a new paradigm. So should the Nobel Prize
Damien McElroy/The National/November 28/2020
UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Oval Office, in September, 2020. Courtesy MOFAIC
Nobel Peace Prize winners are, in truth, a mixed bag, but it is safe to say that few come with more flint than David Trimble. A law lecturer and politician who rose within the sectarian establishment in Northern Ireland, Mr Trimble made hard-hearted calculations to grasp the promise of peace in his homeland in the 1990s. As a laureate he has now invoked his right to make a nomination for next year’s peace prize. He has put forward the names of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is one facet of the growing engagement with the Abraham Accord, since the UAE and Bahrain's decision to normalise relations with Israel in September.
Mr Trimble privately cites how his own experience has shaped his thinking on the accord. He believes it can “break the logjam” that has accumulated from the decades-long, slow-burning collapse of the Middle East Peace Process.
Britain’s Brexit clique has fallen as London senses Biden changes the global political weather
Lockdowns will further widen political divisions in the West
This is unacceptable to Mr Trimble. As his citation for the prize stated, it is the factor of time that can weigh most heavily to prolong conflicts. “I know from my own experience how dangerous, damaging and corrosive are decades of violent ill will between two neighbours,” he said.
The Abraham Accord is the product of our time. It is doubtful it would have come so soon if it were not for the approach taken by US President Donald Trump vis-a-vis the Middle East. As one of Mr Trimble’s close associates said last week in a commentary on the Nobel prize nomination, peace does not come from virtue signalling but from hard-headed calculations around grasping practical solutions when they are available.
It is important to remember that the UAE has stressed its determination to support the Palestinian right to statehood and dignity.
As the officials around US President-elect Joe Biden have repeatedly stressed, there is no opportunity to turn back the clock to four years ago and proceed as if nothing had happened. It was then that John Kerry, America's top diplomat during former president Barack Obama's second term, said that there was no road to peace that did not lie through the Middle East Peace Process. But pursuing alternatives cannot be written off as people fooling themselves. In any case, Mr Kerry has been named climate change envoy in the incoming Biden administration, leaving it to others in a new State Department team under Antony Blinken to take on the Peace Process portfolio. Think tanks in Washington and elsewhere have said there is going to be engagement with the Abraham Accord when the new administration gets its policies for the region into sync in 2021.
For a start, the opportunity for peace between the people of Abrahamic faiths is about a cold entente under treaty deals. But it also comes to the world as a broader opportunity.
All sides agree that this is not an agreement that is defined in contradistinction with Iran. If the Abraham Accord goes on to set the political and strategic weather in the region, it should provide an incentive for Tehran
Another of Mr Trimble’s associates, the historian Lord Bew, convened a panel last week featuring the UAE, Bahraini and Israeli ambassadors to London to talk about the accord from their perspective. The audience got a first-hand briefing of all the strands of thought that the participants in the accord are bringing to the process. The idea that it would be a “warm peace” featured prominently.
Mansoor Abulhoul, the UAE ambassador to the UK, stressed that the opening for the strategic breakthrough stemmed, first of all, from the potential for annexation of the West Bank as the latest stage in the failure of existing initiatives. Furthermore, the shift in the paradigm has opened up space to work together on the pursuit of regional stability and fighting the spread of extremism and radicalisation.
At the point of impasse, it is reasonable to ask what the next 50 years will look like and how to build bridges to a future of prosperity and shared progress.
The UAE and Israel are two dynamic economies with plenty of shared interests. Co-operation in the fields of science and technology is already the focus of the joint exchanges. And it is fascinating to see this start to roll out.
In London, as the place of corporate deal origination, there is an uptick of interest on both sides to working together. The Israelis see the close ties between the UK and the Gulf countries as a key incentive of the normalisation promised under the Abraham Accord.
For Bahrain, the cultural tolerance it has tried to engender with Israelis has been a process more than a decade in the making. Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain's ambassador to the UK, underlined this by referencing the Peace to Prosperity Summit, which his country hosted last year and which provided the momentum for the accord.
The challenges stemming from Iran's bellicosity across the Arabian Gulf have been especially acute. But all sides agree that this is not an agreement that is defined in contradistinction with Iran. Indeed, in the fullest sense, if the Abraham Accord goes on to set the political and strategic weather in the region, it should provide an incentive for Tehran. The regime there could engage with regional change by seeing this as a platform for resolving differences.
Normalisation is, first and foremost, about the countries themselves – and it revolves around narratives of peace and prosperity. Dialogue and dynamism are the keys for it to succeed.
*Damien McElroy is the London bureau chief of The National