English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For April 27/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today

And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 06/12-19/:”Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them..

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 26-27/2021

MoPH: 642 new coronavirus cases, 29 deaths
Aoun discusses latest developments with Rahi
Aoun chairs meeting at Baabda Palace over KSA’s decision to ban agricultural imports, drug smuggling from Lebanon
Aoun Warns against 'Incitement' and False Corruption Accusations
Foiled drug shipment to Saudi Arabia was packed in Syria, not Lebanon: Sources
Bassil Urges Reformist Govt., Advises EU against 'Political' Sanctions
Hungarian FM meets Wehbe, says Lebanon is in more need of help than sanctions and meddling
Israel ready to make greater sea territory demands in Lebanon border talks
Judge Lichaa Seals Offices of Mecattaf Firm, Sidelining Ghada Aoun
Berri Urges End to 'Political Absurdity, Narrow Interests'
Lebanon battles swarms of locusts after wind changes direction
Hassan, Land Transport Union discuss need to accelerate vaccination of drivers
Swiss Embassy, Health Minister inaugurate paediatric service of Beirut Governmental Hospital - Quarantine on Wednesday
Aouni Kaaki re-elected as Press Syndicate Dean, Soulage as deputy dean
The questions that Bassil doesn’t answer/Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weeklt/April 26/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 26-27/2021

Third round of US-Iran talks on nuclear deal later this week: EU
CIA denies US media report of Iraq meeting between agency director, Iranian officials
US senator tells John Kerry to resign from Biden administration after Zarif recording
Iran again unveils masses of small kamikaze drones
Iran’s secret tapes: Is Iran’s Zarif really sidelined by the IRGC?
Iran FM Zarif bemoans IRGC, Soleimani overreach in leaked interview
Britain’s PM slams new sentence for dual national in Iran
35 year anniversary of Chernobyl disaster, world's worst nuclear accident
Israel Removes East Jerusalem Barricades after Violent Protests
Israel advised to remove petrochemical plant in Haifa within 10 years
Israel Closes Gaza Fishing Zone over Rocket Fire
Spokesman: Israel to deport dozens of African Hebrews
Covid Wave Stalking Yemen Strikes Fear in Hospitals
Thai prime minister fined $190 for not wearing face mask
Jihadists kill 31 soldiers in NE Nigeria: Military sources
Russian court orders Navalny group to suspend activities
 

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 26-27/2021

Biden's Betrayal of Afghanistan/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/April 26, 2021
Will Communist China Dominate the Middle East?/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/April 26/2021
Spain’s hosting of Polisario leader exacerbates tensions with Morocco/Mohamed Alaoui/The Arab Weeklt/April 26/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on April 26-27/2021

MoPH: 642 new coronavirus cases, 29 deaths
NNA/April 26/2021  
642 new coronavirus cases and 29 deaths have been recorded in Lebanon in the past 24 hours, as announced by the Ministry of Public Health on Monday.

Aoun discusses latest developments with Rahi
NNA/April 26/2021  
The Patriarch of Antioch and the rest of the East, Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, confirmed after his meeting with President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, at Baabda Palace this morning, that "There is no basic justification for not forming a government in light of the current situation”. Patriarch Rahi also stressed the need for "Not clashing with responsibilities because this will not form a government but will only exacerbate the problems".
The Maronite Patriarch pointed out that the government is the backbone of the state, and it is not permissible to be absent in these days, as more than half of the Lebanese people have become poor, stressing that Lebanon cannot be a gateway for smuggling which loses its civilized face.
The Patriarch arrived at Baabda Palace at nine o'clock in the morning, where President Aoun received him for an hour and a half, during which general affairs and latest developments were tackled.
Patriarch Rahi’s Statement:
“We condemn any attack on the media, but on the other hand, I confirm what the Minister of Information indicated also that the media people must know their limits. Some of them behave in an inappropriate manner and others use social media and allow themselves to direct offense to people. I salute you as the media, because the Church says that the media is a gift from God to humanity, so the media has made the globe one village.
Today I was honored to meet the President of the Republic, and I came to thank him for his visit to congratulate the occasion of the glorious Easter holiday, and we in turn today congratulate the Orthodox Easter. During the meeting, the main issue was discussed, which is the need to form a government, and to overcome the difficulties facing this composition, because there is no basic justification for not forming a government in light of the current situation.
The country is collapsing day after day, the government is the backbone of the country, and when the backbone in the body collapses, all its organs collapse and decay. We should not bicker with responsibilities, for that does not lead to the formation of a government, but rather exacerbates the problems.
During the meeting, many issues were also addressed, and the consequences of not forming the government, such as the increase in poverty and hunger for than half of the Lebanese people were below the poverty line, at a time when the middle class in Lebanon until 1980 was 80%. Today the middle class has disappeared, and this is evidence of the collapse of Lebanon.
During the meeting, discussions were held on the topic of the judiciary and its independence, and to conduct judicial formations. We stressed the dignity of the judiciary, the judge's dignity, integrity and freedom, with this judge not belonging to any of the groups, and the need not to interfere in the affairs of judges, so that a judge can act according to his conscience and justice.
The issue of smuggling, which distorts Lebanon’s face was one of the topics that were raised during the meeting. Especially since Lebanon has become a gateway for drugs and the smuggling of Captagon pills to the Gulf via Saudi Arabia, which has closed the door on us. We know that 80% of our agricultural products are exported to the Gulf, and today a meeting will be held in Baabda Palace on this subject. We cannot bear this, for the state agencies are responsible, but where are the monitoring agencies? Lebanon cannot be a center for smuggling and its eastern and northern borders remain open to entry and exit for that. Lebanon cannot be a transit, as well. We saw this yesterday to Saudi Arabia and then to Greece. This is not Lebanon’s civilized face. I know that all these matters are carried by President Aoun in his heart, but we have to say that all of this harms the dignity of the Lebanese. The big victims are the farmers who suffer at one time from natural factors, and at other times from diseases, then locusts, and today the suffering increased as a result of smuggling. Agriculture is an essential component of the Lebanese economy. And I stress here that when dealing with any administrative, judicial or institutional problem, we must not wear be sectarian. This is not acceptable. We want to live in a diverse society and respect each other and this diversity. The media has a major role in this regard, by stopping shipping. We want to live comfortably away from these tensions. You, as media professionals, have to contribute to that, by putting out the fire and not feeding it with fuel".
Questions & Answers:
Question: "After this meeting with President Aoun, during which the formation of the government was emphasized, is it possible for you to communicate with the parties concerned, including the prime minister-designate?"
Answer: "I do not mediate with anyone. My talk is with all people and officials whom I demand to form the government without entering into any mediation with anyone or providing any solutions. We practice our work within limits, but our importance and the importance of the Church in general is that we remain in contact with everyone”.
Question: Are there any signs of an imminent dissolution within the framework of forming the government?
Answer: "There must be close solutions, especially since there is a move on more than one level. The prime minister-designate recently visited the Vatican, and before that, Russia. This move indicates that there is a follow-up on this issue."
Answer: "Regardless of the issue of drug smuggling, there is a view that says that the intensification of the siege has led to more smuggling, and there are those who say that you are defending the temple dealers. What do you say in this regard?"Answer: "Where there is poverty, there is terrorism. When poverty increases, the paths open for people to engage in terrorism and work with terrorists, and poverty leads to theft and murder. It is well known that poverty is the door to all terrorism and all problems in the state. I told you that even in 1980, 80% of the Lebanese were from the middle class, and we were enjoying stability during that period. Hunger leads to aggression. The issue today is that smuggling takes place through Lebanon, and the monitoring agencies are "closing their eyes" or they are not aware, or that there is someone covering this matter. This is another topic, and it is not allowed”.
In response to a question, Patriarch Al-Rahi affirmed that "The Vatican and Bkerke do not attack anyone, but rather they attack us”.

 Aoun chairs meeting at Baabda Palace over KSA’s decision to ban agricultural imports, drug smuggling from Lebanon
NNA/April 26/2021  
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, stressed the need for strictness in combating smuggling operations and those behind them, stressing Lebanon's keenness to maintain the best relations with brotherly Arab countries, protect security and stability in them, and not to endanger their safety and their children to any danger.
The President called for the completion of the process of purchasing "Scanners" to be placed at the crossings scheduled since July 2020, for which a decree was issued, as soon as possible to help customs observers carry out the tasks required of them.
For his part, Prime Minister Dr. Hassan Diab affirmed that “The Lebanese state will carry out its duties in terms of more strictness to prosecute drug smuggling networks”, expressing Lebanon's keenness on better relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and with all the Gulf states and Arab countries. Premier Diab said “We are definitely with the Kingdom in fighting the smuggling networks with their Lebanese and Saudi branches and their strings extended in many countries, and with the prosecution of those involved, whether they are Lebanese or Saudis, or from any country”, hoping for the cooperation of the agencies in the two countries and in all Arab countries, to pursue and dismantle the smuggling networks.
The positions of President Aoun and PM Diab came during a meeting held this afternoon in Baabda Palace, devoted to discuss the decision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to stop agricultural imports from Lebanon.
The meeting took several decisions, most prominent of which is to request the discriminatory public prosecutor to complete and follow up the necessary investigations to uncover everything related to the smuggling of narcotic substances in shipments of vegetables and fruits that entered the Lebanese territories, and to request the military and security forces, customs and relevant departments to be strict and not tolerate at all in the procedures leading to preventing smuggling of all kinds from the Lebanese borders and to any party, and assigning the Minister of Interior and Municipalities to communicate and coordinate with the relevant authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to follow up research into the procedures to discover the perpetrators and prevent the recurrence of such condemned practices.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Zeina Akar, Foreign and Expatriate Minister, Charbel Wehbe, Finance, Ghazi Wazni, Economy and Trade Raoul Nehme, Interior and Municipalities Mohammad Fahmy, Industry Imad Hob Allah, Agriculture and Culture Abbas Mortada, and Prosecutor General of Discrimination Judge Ghassan Oweidat.
Also participating in the meeting were: Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, Director General of the Internal Security Forces Major General Imad Othman, Director General of State Security Major General Tony Saliba, Director General of Public Security at the Agency Brigadier General Elias Al-Bisri, Assistant Director General of State Security Brigadier General Samir Sinan, Director Intelligence Brigadier General Antoine Kahwagi, Head of the Information Branch in the Internal Security Forces, Brigadier Khaled Hammoud, Director of Information at the General Directorate of Public Security Brigadier General Yusuf Al-Medawar, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Customs Brigadier Asaad Al-Toufaily, Director General of Customs in charge of Mr. Raymond Khoury, Director General of Agriculture Eng. Louis Lahoud, Head of the Bekaa Growers and Peasants Association Mr. Ibrahim Tarshihi, President of the Syndicate of Importers and Exporters of Vegetables and Fruits Mr. Naeem Khalil, the officer in charge of following up the file of drug smuggling to Saudi Arabia, Lieutenant Antoine Kozaily, Director General of the Presidency of the Republic, Dr. Antoine Choucair, and the security and military advisor to the President of the Republic, Brigadier General Boulos Matar.
Statement:
After the meeting, Presidency Director General, Dr. Antoine Choucair, read tge following statement: “His Excellency the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, chaired a meeting today, Monday, at the Baabda Palace, devoted to discuss the decision of the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in preventing the entry of Lebanese agricultural products into their lands or transit through them.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Dr. Hassan Diab, ministers of defense, interior, municipalities, finance, foreign affairs, agriculture, economy, trade and industry, the discriminatory public prosecutor, leaders of the military, security and customs agencies, and a number of stakeholders in the agricultural sector, including farmers and exporters.
His Excellency the President started the meeting by referring to the danger of smuggling drugs, fuel and other materials, because this is costing Lebanon dearly, and the recent smuggling operation to Saudi Arabia confirms this, knowing that Lebanon is keen not to endanger the safety of the Arab countries and their sons.
President Aoun inquired about the reasons for the delay in purchasing "Scanners" to place them at the crossings, despite the decision taken since July 2020 to purchase the devices and the issuance of a decree to that effect, calling for the completion of the purchase process as soon as possible to help customs observers carry out the tasks required of them. In addition, President Aoun stressed the need for the military, security and customs agencies to be strict in combating smuggling operations and those behind them, stressing Lebanon's keenness to maintain the best relations with all countries, especially the brotherly Arab countries, and to protect security and stability in them.
Then Prime Minister Diab said: “It is normal that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the right to protect its citizens from social ills, including drugs. This is the right of all Gulf states, Arab countries, and countries of the world.
Drug smuggling is a global issue, from which all countries suffer in the face of global gangs, mafias and networks.
Lebanon also faces these mafias, our society is suffering, and the state is fighting the spread of drugs.
In fact, this issue requires cooperation between all countries to confront the danger of spreading drug trafficking, smuggling and abuse.
Brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia surprised us with the decision to stop importing agricultural materials from Lebanon.
Of course, the Lebanese state, and the Lebanese, do not accept any harm to the Saudi brothers, and we are keen on the best relations with the Kingdom. We certainly are with the Kingdom in fighting the smuggling networks with their Lebanese and Saudi branches and their strings extended in many countries, and with the prosecution of those involved, whether they are Lebanese or Saudis, or from any country.
Therefore, we hope for cooperation of the services in the two countries and in all Arab countries, to pursue and dismantle the drug smuggling networks.
We affirm our keenness to maintain the best relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and with all the Gulf states and Arab countries, and our keenness to protect our societies from the scourge of drugs, their trade and smuggling.
We are confident that the Kingdom and all the Gulf countries know well that stopping the import of Lebanese crops does not prevent drug smuggling that uses different routes, and that cooperation between us helps to control these networks.
Consequently, we are also confident that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are keen on Lebanon, especially in light of the crisis it is going through at this stage, and that they will not be a cause of increasing the suffering of the Lebanese.
We are betting on the wisdom of the brothers in KSA and the Gulf states, and the Lebanese state will carry out its duties in terms of more militancy in the pursuit of drug smuggling networks”.
Then the meeting addresses the circumstances that accompanied the Saudi decision and the measures to be taken to address its repercussions, and they concluded the following:
First: Emphasizing Lebanon's keenness on the strength of fraternal relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and condemning everything that might prejudice its social security or the safety of the brotherly Saudi people, especially the smuggling of prohibited and narcotic materials to its lands, especially since Lebanon categorically refuses to have its land, sea and air facilities as a road or transit route for such disgraceful and harmful crimes against humanity.
Second: Requesting the discriminatory public prosecutor to complete and follow up the necessary investigations to uncover everything related to the smuggling of narcotic substances in shipments of vegetables and fruits that entered Lebanese territory, and the parties behind their export to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in accordance with the laws and regulations in force, the most severe penalties are imposed on the perpetrators, planners, implementers and negligence, provided that Saudi officials are informed of their results as soon as possible.
Third: Requesting the military and security forces, customs and the concerned departments to be strict and not be lenient at all in the procedures aimed at preventing smuggling of all kinds from the Lebanese borders and to any destination, especially shipments sent to the Gulf states, and to ensure that they are free of any prohibited goods.
Fourth: Requesting the Lebanese exporters to adhere to the rules of foreign trade based on the credibility of the exported goods in terms of their origin, type and quantities in addition to the information related to them and to scrutinize the products that are exported in order to preserve Lebanon's reputation on the one hand and on the other hand to keep their agricultural and industrial products clean and free of any punitive materials. According to the laws in force.
Fifth: Requesting the Minister of Finance to follow up the implementation of Decree No. 6748 of 30/07/2020 related to the mandatory system for inspecting and controlling containers, goods and vehicles at Lebanese border facilities, especially launching a public tender for the establishment of this system under all customs conditions after the necessary conditions books have been prepared.
Sixth: Assigning the Minister of Interior and Municipalities to communicate and coordinate with the relevant authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to follow up research into the procedures to uncover the perpetrators and prevent the recurrence of such condemned practices.
Seventh: Instructing the Ministers of Finance, Economy, Trade, Industry and Agriculture to review the mechanisms and procedures that are followed in the foreign trade process and to propose the necessary amendments to the legal texts currently in force to ensure the good and safety of Lebanese exports, in coordination with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture.
Eighth: Instructing the Minister of Finance to prepare a report detailing the needs, requirements, and equipment necessary to improve the performance and readiness of the General Directorate of Customs.
Finally: Wishing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reconsider the decision to prevent the entry of Lebanese agricultural products into Saudi Arabia or to cross its lands. The meeting stressed that Lebanon was and will remain a brother who is keen on the safety of its Arab brothers”.-- Presidency Press Office

Aoun Warns against 'Incitement' and False Corruption Accusations
Naharnet/April 26/2021  
President Michel Aoun on Monday cautioned that “incitement during crises would aggravate them.”He also warned against “holding responsible those who have nothing to do with corruption and the waste of public money” because that would “deviate attention from the real culprits.”Aoun, who was speaking during a meeting with a Syrian Social Nationalist Party delegation, added that “the Lebanese should be united in order to pull Lebanon out of the current crisis.”He also said that a host of factors have worsened the current economic crisis, such as “the Syrian crisis, the displacement of the Syrians, the coronavirus pandemic, the port explosion, the adopted financial policy and finally the locust crisis.”

Foiled drug shipment to Saudi Arabia was packed in Syria, not Lebanon: Sources
Nahed Youssef & Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/26 April ,2021
Millions of Captagon pills seized by Saudi Arabian security agents last week were packed and shipped from Syria to Lebanon before making their way to the Kingdom, sources familiar with the matter told Al Arabiya on Monday. Pomegranate stuffed with the amphetamine pills was found in a fruit shipment coming from Lebanon. Saudi Arabia quickly issued a ban on all produce from Beirut as a result of the foiled move, with Saudi authorities demanding that Lebanese officials do more to prevent drug smuggling. But the sources familiar with the foiled shipment said it originally came from Syria before smugglers altered the “origin” description in order for the shipment not to be “thoroughly” inspected. Lebanese shipments are reportedly not subject to strict inspection at the Port of Beirut. Sources also revealed that the seized Captagon shipments belonged to a person from the Aitan family and another two brothers from the Suleiman family. The sources told Al Arabiya that Lebanon’s Customs arrested four people involved in the smuggling while the remaining suspects fled to Syria and Turkey. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun called for an emergency meeting to discuss the Saudi ban and drug smuggling. There was reportedly a war of words between the economy minister and agriculture minister over who was to blame for the smuggling during the meeting. Captagon is used by fighters at war because of the effects it can have to fight tiredness. It has widely been made and exported illegally from Lebanon and, more recently, Syria and Iraq.

Bassil Urges Reformist Govt., Advises EU against 'Political' Sanctions
Naharnet/April 26/2021  
Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Monday said the formation of a new government is “required, necessary and urgent” in order to “carry out the reforms and not to prevent them.”Foreign “sanctions are desired if they are based on firm legal and reformist bases, not on unjustified political justifications,” Bassil said after a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó at the FPM’s headquarters in Sin el-Fil. “Imposing sanctions on reform obstructors not only helps in the formation of the government but also in reform,” Bassil added. “Europe can help us by taking measures against individuals or entities who misused public money in Lebanon… and it can freeze the smuggled funds and prosecute those who carried out corruption and money laundering operations,” the FPM chief went on to say.

Hungarian FM meets Wehbe, says Lebanon is in more need of help than sanctions and meddling
NNA/April 26/2021  
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Charbel Wehbe, on Monday met with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto. Minister Wehbe described the meeting as "honest and friendly”, adding that it mainly broached the conditions that Lebanon currently endures at the economic, political, and financial levels, in addition to the sufferings of Lebanese students abroad. For his part, Szijjarto stressed that the security of the Middle East was of paramount importance for Hungary and for Europe as a whole. “We are well aware that security and stability in the Middle East will not be achieved apart from stability in Lebanon, and we consider that the government formation issue is an internal matter that must be agreed upon by the Lebanese parties themselves without any foreign meddling,” Szijjarto said. He went on to dismiss external meddling as bad for Lebanon. “We do not believe that the external pressure, which is being practiced against the biggest Christian party in Lebanon, is a good thing,” he exclaimed, stressing that Lebanon is in more need of help instead of sanctions and foreign interference. “It is our responsibility to support Christians in all the countries of the world, so I assure you that the Maronite community in Lebanon can count on our support in the future,” he added. Szijjarto pledged more support from international organizations to Lebanon in a bid to combat the phenomenon of migration, assist refugees, and prevent illegal immigration from Lebanon. “We commend Lebanon for sheltering millions of refugees, providing them with all the necessary supplies, but we also believe that refugees must return to their homeland at the absence of the reasons that had led to their migration in the first place,” Szijjarto concluded.

Israel ready to make greater sea territory demands in Lebanon border talks
Jerusalem Post/April 26/2021
Israel prepared to respond to increased demands from Lebanon by claiming more than double the area of the Mediterranean Sea that is currently in dispute, according to a map obtained by The Jerusalem Post on Monday. The map shows what the Energy Ministry has called “Line 310,” or the red line, which extends significantly further north than Israel’s starting negotiating position, the blue line on the map. Israel and Lebanon began US-mediated negotiations on their maritime border in October, which were the first talks between the countries in 30 years. The countries hope that settling the border would encourage further gas exploration in the area. Israel already pumps significant amounts of gas from the Mediterranean, but Lebanon has yet to do so. The Lebanese delegation would not speak directly to the Israelis in the talks at Naqoura, a UN base on the Israel-Lebanon border, and faced significant pressure from Hezbollah to abandon the negotiations. After four rounds of talks, negotiations stopped in November. Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz accused Lebanon of changing its position seven times, presenting “positions that add up to a provocation.”
The blue and green lines on the map represent the countries’ official positions, as submitted to the UN. The disputed area starts from the countries’ border on the Mediterranean Sea and is 5 km. to 6 km. wide on average. The area originally under dispute would be about 2% of Israel’s economic waters.During negotiations, Lebanon increased its demand with a line extending much further south, increasing the disputed area from about 860 sq.km. to 2,300 sq.km. Two weeks ago, Lebanese Public Works and Transport Minister Michel Najjar said the government had signed a decree expanding its exclusive economic zone in the Mediterranean Sea to the extent presented in the negotiations, adding that it would be submitted to the UN. “We will not give up any inch of our homeland, or a drop of its waters or an inch of its dignity,” he said. Steinitz then ordered that Israel make maximalist demands of its own to counter the Lebanese claims, and the Energy Ministry drew up the map with the new line. “This wasn’t our original intention, but the moment Lebanon moved forward with submitting their line, we prepared to submit ours, which, in symmetry with theirs, encroaches on hundreds of kilometers of Lebanon’s economic waters,” a ministry source said Monday. Israel’s new line is based on the maritime borders between Cyprus and Lebanon. “It doesn’t promote a solution, but it creates symmetry,” the source said. Lebanese President Michel Aoun has yet to sign the decree expanding Lebanon’s maritime borders and submit the new map to the UN. As such, Israel has withheld its map, “out of a real desire to give continued negotiations a chance,” the Energy Ministry source said. Last week, following a meeting with Aoun, US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale said negotiations between Israel and Lebanon “have potential to unlock significant economic benefits for Lebanon.”“This is all the more critical against the backdrop of the severe economic crisis the country is facing,” he said.The Energy Ministry source expressed hope that under the Biden administration the talks will restart and be productive.
Reuters contributed to this report.

Judge Lichaa Seals Offices of Mecattaf Firm, Sidelining Ghada Aoun
Naharnet/April 26/2021
Judge Samer Lichaa has become in charge of the file of the Mecattaf money exchange company, media reports said. Lichaa has ordered judicial police to seal the firm’s offices with red wax ahead of carrying on with investigations in the case, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Monday. “This means that the case has practically become in his hands and that Judge (Ghada) Aoun no longer has the right to enter into the company’s premises and tamper with its belongings,” the daily added. Lichaa had been recently tasked by the state prosecutor to be in charge of the important financial files that had been in the hands of Judge Aoun.Aoun has rebelled against the state prosecutor’s decision and staged several controversial raids on the company’s office in Awkar, which has sparked political and judicial controversy in the country.The judge has since been referred to judicial inspection over her actions in the Mecattaf case and also over other cases.

Berri Urges End to 'Political Absurdity, Narrow Interests'
Naharnet/April 26/2021
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Sunday lashed out at what he called “political absurdity” in Lebanon. In a statement, Berri saluted “the Ramadan uprising of the Palestinian people at the al-Aqsa Mosque and in the neighborhoods of the city of Jerusalem.”He added that it represents a call “for us in Lebanon, and across the (Arab) nation, to raise awareness about the importance of consolidating national unity and stopping political absurdity.”Berri also called for stopping “the sacrifice of nations and national and nationalistic principles in return for narrow personal and partisan interests.”

Lebanon battles swarms of locusts after wind changes direction

Jerusalem Post/April 26/2021
By REUTERS APRIL 26, 2021 12:58Army helicopters are spraying agricultural land in northeast Lebanon to help farmers battle swarms of locusts that flew to the country in what a UN agency said was a "very rare" event caused by a change in the wind direction.
The agriculture ministry, which is on full alert, said on Monday large numbers of the locusts had been destroyed. There have been no big farming losses so far but there are concerns that more swarms could be blown to the south of Lebanon, caretaker agriculture minister Abbas Mortada told Reuters.
"We managed in little time to destroy huge numbers but some have escaped and there are large quantities still, mostly in the Hermel area of Marjaheen," Mortada said.The locusts, which threaten crops, are the latest addition to a long list of challenges faced by Lebanon, which is battling its worst financial crisis in decades. The Baalbek-Hermel region in the northeast has mostly livestock farming with a few cherry plantations affected by the locusts so far whereas Lebanon's south has more agricultural land. "We are ready for anything that may occur," Mortada said. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation said the occurrence was unusual for the area but that a change in wind direction had blown the locusts in from Saudi Arabia to Jordan and onwards to Syria and Lebanon. "It is a very rare occurrence... the breeding grounds were on the Red Sea coast, Saudi Arabia's northern coast, so they were blown in through Jordan and Syria," Maurice Saade, the FAO representative in Lebanon, said. "But so far it is under control and I certainly see nothing to panic about," he said.

Hassan, Land Transport Union discuss need to accelerate vaccination of drivers
NNA/April 26/2021 
Caretaker Minister of Public Health, Dr. Hamad Hassan, on Monday discussed with a delegation representing the Land Transport Union, headed by Bassam Tleis, the pressing need to accelerate the administration of Covid-19 vaccine to drivers, especially that buses, minivans, and public cars are among the most common means of spreading the Coronavirus infection . Separately, the Minister welcomed Nurses Syndicate head, Mirna Doumit, who explained that talks with Hassan mainly touched on the best means to halt the emigration of members of the nursing sector from Lebanon.

Swiss Embassy, Health Minister inaugurate paediatric service of Beirut Governmental Hospital - Quarantine on Wednesday
NNA/April 26, 2021
The paediatric service of Beirut Governmental Hospital Quarantine, destroyed by the 4th August explosion in Beirut, was reconstructed by Switzerland. On Wednesday 28th April 2021, the paediatric service will be handed over to HE the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Hamad Hasan, by HE Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, Ambassador of Switzerland in Lebanon. The Beirut’s port explosion on August 4th 2020 took a heavy toll on human lives and caused massive destruction in the surrounding of the port. Public facilities were destroyed. Among these was the Governmental Hospital Quarantine, a reference public hospital for paediatrics in Lebanon, annually treating about a thousand children and babies from a socially and economically vulnerable population, including refugees. Its capacity to provide healthcare came to a halt. Quality healthcare for socially and economically vulnerable children. As an immediate response to the blast, Switzerland ensured the continuity of healthcare for vulnerable children in Beirut: a few days after the explosion, an emergency, temporary facility for children and mothers was set up in the severely damaged Saint George Hospital. Patients of Hospital Quarantine were referred to Saint George for hospitalization with Switzerland’s financial support. One month later, the rapid repairs provided by Switzerland in the main building of Hospital Quarantine allowed a temporary paediatric unit to open and receive children again in a safe environment. In parallel, Switzerland reconstructed a full-fledged paediatric service at Beirut Governmental Hospital Quarantine. This self-implemented project, whereby the Embassy of Switzerland directly tendered the works to a local architect and construction firm, allowed for a rapid and effective reconstruction. The rebuilt paediatric service provides the same number of beds as before the explosion, and a high-quality environment for specialized paediatric healthcare. A new operation theatre reserved for paediatric chirurgical interventions was added. Children will start to be treated in the new service in the next days. 6 million USD for Swiss post-blast response. As part of its response to the blast, Switzerland also supported the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent / Lebanese Red Cross. It further rehabilitated 19 public schools damaged by the explosion. The schools were handed over in March to the Government of Lebanon. They will provide a quality physical environment to more than 7’000 children. In total, Switzerland committed 6 million USD to help Lebanon overcome the blast. This post-blast response comes in addition to Switzerland’s long-term efforts to support vulnerable groups of all nationalities in Lebanon. Swiss international aid in Lebanon amounts to more than 20 million USD yearly and concentrates in the areas of education, income, protection, migration, water, sanitation, conflict prevention and peace promotion. The handover ceremony will take place at Beirut Governmental Hospital Quarantine on Wed 28th April 2021 at 3 pm. It will bring together representatives of the hospital administration, the Ministry of Public Health, the United Nations, the Embassy of Switzerland and the media.—Swiss Embassy

Aouni Kaaki re-elected as Press Syndicate Dean, Soulage as deputy dean
NNA/April 26, 2021
Press Syndicate Dean, Aouni al-Kaaki, has been re-elected for a third term as Syndicate head, while Al-Joumhouria Newspaper Editor-in-Chief, Georges Soulage, was elected as his deputy. Dr. Talal Hatoum was elected as the Syndicate’s Secretary, and Professor Asaad Maroun as its Treasurer.
The electoral general assembly of the Press Syndicate on Monday held a plenary session at 11.00 am, April 26, 2021, at the Press Syndicate for this purpose. Given that the number of candidates did not exceed the number of seats at the Syndicate Council, the head of the electoral office, Aouni al-Kaaki, announced the victory of the entire list by acclamation.

The questions that Bassil doesn’t answer
Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weeklt/April 26/2021
Gebran Bassil, son-in-law of Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who was subjected to US sanctions under the Magnitsky Corruption Act, is trying to save his political future. The man lives in a world of illusions.
He simply believes that Hezbollah will make him president of the republic, just as it did with Michel Aoun in 2016. He does not realise that he has no political future and that it even if it is possible to conceive test tube babies, it is not possible to breed politicians that way. There are test tube babies but no test tube politicians.Gebran Bassil will never understand this equation as he thinks the people of Lebanon are idiots. He forgets that the majority of the Lebanese and the majority of Christians, at the present time, do not belong to the so-called “Aounist Movement” which has impoverished the Lebanese and isolated Lebanon from its Arab neighbours after it handed over the country to “Hezbollah”, that is to the “Islamic Republic” of Iran.
Apart from the give-and-take and the tragically comical behaviour of Judge Ghada Aoun, who attacked a money exchange and money transfer company in the Awkar area near Beirut in a way that violated all laws and customs, Gebran Bassil cannot snap free of several complexes that determine his behaviour. At the top of the complexes that drive his actions is the one about Saad Hariri, who was recently in the Vatican, where he was received by Pope Francis and held talks with senior officials of the Holy See, such as Secretary of State Cardinal Parolan, who is the quasi-prime minister of the Vatican.
It is not a coincidence that Pope Francis received Lebanese Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri, who had shortly before been in Moscow, while Gebran Bassil had to content himself with meeting the Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai.
The meeting with the patriarch was nothing but a contrived encounter, especially since Rai could not refuse to receive the head of a Lebanese Christian party.
Bassil does not realise that the Maronite patriarch is saying what the Vatican does not say, regarding the neutrality of Lebanon or the holding of an international conference to save what can be saved in a country that entered a period of complete collapse several months ago. Perhaps what the president’s son-in-law does not realise is that the Maronite patriarch has the minimum level of political awareness that allows him to know what Hezbollah is all about, as well as the type of relationship which that party keeps with Gebran Bassil and his ilk.
The president’s son-in-law defended himself extensively, throwing accusations left and right, in a speech he gave on Saturday, betraying a lack of awareness that the Vatican is interested in Lebanon as a whole. It is interested in the country’s Christians as well as Muslims. Bassil refuses to realise that the Vatican’s choice to receive moderate Sunni Muslim Saad Hariri did not come out of a vacuum.
Rather, it was due to the fact that Pope Francis knows exactly what is at stake in the region and knows that a moderate Muslim is better and closer to him than a Christian extremist. The Vatican rejects all that has to do with extremism, be it Christian or Islamic. This is what prompted Pope Francis to visit Iraq last month, after he ascertained that the Shia Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is working with President Barham Salih to confront extremism in all its forms.
This extremism is what threatened the Christians of Iraq and continues to threaten them. The same extremism threatens the Christians of Lebanon, whom Michel Aoun has played an important role in displacing since 1988. This was when he entered Baabda Palace for the first time as head of an interim government whose mission was limited to electing a president to succeed President Amin Gemayel, whose term in office had ended in September of that year.
Gebran Bassil does not understand that the world has changed, that the Crusades are a thing of the past, and that he cannot restore the rights of Christians with the weapons of Hezbollah that are wielded by a sectarian militia whose elements are Lebanese but affiliated with Iran. There are questions that the president of the republic and his son-in-law are ignoring as they try to appear in the guise of heroic Christian saviours …Among these questions: Why isn’t there any electricity in Lebanon even though they have controlled the ministry of energy for 12 years?
Moreover, why doesn’t Gebran ask Bassil where has the money spent on electricity gone after vanishing in thin air? The volume of the money in question is estimated at about fifty billion dollars. If Gebran Bassil had a minimum level of political awareness, he would have addressed the issue of drug smuggling to Saudi Arabia via Lebanon.
The kingdom decided to stop importing vegetables and fruits from Lebanon and to prevent everything that comes from Lebanon from passing through its territory.
This is a huge disaster for Lebanon, which hence gradually loses all that makes it a viable country. There is a Saudi feeling that a war is being waged against the kingdom. Drowning it with drugs is part of this war, in which Lebanon has become one of the links. This Saudi feeling is 100% correct. What did Lebanon, which has been awaiting the formation of a government of specialists for six months, do to dispel this feeling? What is certain is that it did nothing and would not do anything.
What cannot be ignored, in any Arab country, is that Gebran Bassil decided to be the voice of the “Islamic Republic” in the Council of the League of Arab States when he was minister of foreign affairs.
The Arabs know this just as they know that Lebanon lives in a Hezbollah era, with the duo Michel Aoun – Gebran Bassil at the helm.
That’s all the story. What is required of this “era” is to destroy Lebanon sector by sector, starting with banking and ending with agriculture.
Such destruction is an integral part of the process of imposing Iranian control over Lebanon. The election of Michel Aoun as President of the Republic on October 31, 2016, was a key episode in this process of imposed domination.
In the end, what can be expected from an “era” that does not know the meaning of Lebanon becoming isolated from the Arab world nor the fact the current US administration’s concern about Lebanon is limited to the mere survival of some of its institutions, such as the army and the internal security forces,… until a future stage in which Washington can pay some attention and show interest in the country. This is a stage that may or may not come in a world that resents extremism in all its forms, including Christian extremism that is best expressed by the so-called Aounist Movement in Lebanon.
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 26-27/2021

Third round of US-Iran talks on nuclear deal later this week: EU
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/26 April ,2021
The third round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran will take place this week, the European Union announced on Monday. “Participants will continue their discussions in view of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA and on how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA,” a statement from the EU read. EU Political Director Enrique Mora will chair the talks, which are being held in Vienna. The Biden administration has been intent on returning to the 2015 nuclear deal brokered by then-President Barack Obama. But sanctions imposed by the Trump administration have made it difficult for President Joe Biden and his team, led by Special Envoy Rob Malley, to return to the previous deal. Since the beginning of the month, European officials along with Russian and Chinese diplomats have engaged in shuttle diplomacy between the US and Iran. Washington, Tehran and the mediators in Europe have cited progress during the first two rounds of talks; however, disagreements are still present over what sanctions the US will lift on Iran. A step-by-step approach, which Iran reportedly pitched, has been ruled out, according to a senior State Department official. The deal on the table now includes a return to full compliance by the two countries simultaneously to the JCPOA. Biden will face stiff opposition and legal roadblocks at home as Republicans ramp up their efforts to stall a return to the now-defunct JCPOA agreement. Republicans argue that the deal was flawed and must include Iran’s support for militias and proxies in the Middle East and its ballistic missile program. Neither of the two issues was in the 2015 deal. Israeli officials are also scheduled to land in Washington later this week to discuss the ongoing negotiations over a new deal. Tel Aviv has voiced its opposition to a new deal that does not address Iran’s malign activity and support for terrorist proxies in the region.

CIA denies US media report of Iraq meeting between agency director, Iranian officials
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/26 April ,2021
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) denied reports Monday that the agency’s director had recently met with Iranian officials during a covert trip to Iraq. An article published by an American foreign policy publication reported that CIA Director Bill Burns traveled to Baghdad “in recent days,” where he met with officials from Tehran at the home of Iraq’s foreign minister, Fuad Hussein. The original article cited “multiple Iraqi sources on the ground” who were unnamed. The White House and State Department referred questions to the CIA. A CIA spokesperson said the report was false. Burns, a veteran US diplomat, was recently tapped by Biden to lead the intelligence agency after he spent decades at the State Department. And he is no stranger to behind-the-scenes meetings. Years before the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Burns carried out secret negotiations with Iranian officials on behalf of the Obama administration. Last week, The Associated Press reported that he made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan shortly after President Joe Biden announced that US troops would entirely withdraw by Sept. 11. In Kabul, Burns reportedly discussed the country’s readiness to combat terrorism following the US withdrawal. The AP also reported that Burns “reassured Afghan officials that the US would continue to be engaged in counterterrorism efforts.” The CIA has not commented on the reported trip to Kabul either.

US senator tells John Kerry to resign from Biden administration after Zarif recording
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/26 April ,2021
A US senator Monday called on former Secretary of State John Kerry to immediately resign from the administration’s National Security Council, citing his record of “working against American national security interests.”Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican, took to the Senate floor to blast Kerry, currently Washington’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. “I rise today on the Senate floor to call for the resignation of John Kerry as a member of the Biden Administration’s National Security Council,” he said, adding that this was his first time as a senator calling on someone to resign. Sullivan criticized Kerry as “arrogantly killing American jobs” in the energy sector “in the name of climate goals.” In his a diatribe, the senator blasted Kerry’s “arrogant and callous way” of telling Americans that they should “move on to better jobs.”“John Kerry’s record of undermining working families and working against American national security interests is too much to bear. He needs to go,” Sullivan said. Kerry is leading the Biden administration’s fight against climate change, which has been criticized by many in the US for prioritizing environmental goals over American jobs and the economy. Sullivan said the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” were comments in a leaked audio recording of Iran’s top diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif. Zarif was heard saying that during the Obama administration - when Kerry was the top US diplomat - the latter informed him that Israel had launched 200 attacks on Iranian forces in Syria. “If this is true … he should resign or he should get fired by the president of the United States. Enough is enough,” Sullivan said.
 

Iran again unveils masses of small kamikaze drones

Jerusalem Post/April 26/2021
The Islamic Republic has also created a new radar for drones, according to Press TV.
It appears that it’s not a regular week in Iran unless the country is showing off more drones and warning about how it can strike at Israel or everywhere else in the Middle East. People are taking notice as well because US Central Command head Kenneth McKenzie has warned that US air superiority has suffered due to Iran’s drone threat.The latest is a ceremony where Iran showed off a series of small drones, some of which look like the usual Iranian kamikaze drones, often modelled after their Ababil series. This type of drone, as well as the Qasef, have been exported to Yemen. Tehran said this week that “the Iranian Army Ground Force has unveiled seven domestically-developed high-tech military achievements, including air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and electronic warfare devices.”
Iran has also created new radar for drones, according to Press TV. “The Taha 1400 system uses directional antennas to intelligently cover a wide area of ​​operation, and maintains the flight safety of various drones in the enemy’s locale. The system is smart and light, a low-voltage consumer and can be installed quickly and easily. Finally, a land-based jamming system used for countering hostile drones and remote-controlled systems were among the new military achievements unveiled on Sunday.”
Iran also says it has a new Ground Forces Ranesh-1 (Propulsion-1) micro turbojet engine, which can be used in various drones, single-seat light aircraft, a wide array of missile systems, and unmanned boats. “The turbojet engine is light enough to generate high-speed thrust, runs on different types of fuel, has a high service ceiling compared to piston engines, can carry payloads, and can considerably boost the flight endurance record in a variety of drones," it said.
The other home-grown products included self-protection and drone-mounted TIAM 1400 system for detection of the enemy’s radars and air surveillance.
Iran recently showed footage of a US aircraft carrier it said its drones were able to photograph. The country has said drones are its “trump card” against the US. A top Iranian general warned “the Zionists” recently after tensions.
This came after rumors of a drone attack on a ship off Syria and after Iranian backed groups in Iraq used a drone to attack a US facility in Erbil. Iran has numerous articles boasting about its drone exports to the Houthis in Yemen as well. Iran’s latest little army of drones that can swarm and carry out kamikaze attacks ostensibly illustrate that the Islamic Republic can field a mass of drones with a 400 km. range and warheads of between 5 kg. and 15 kg. Iran used a drone swarm to attack Saudi Arabia in September 2019. It is unclear if these latest small drones actually work or how they are guided, propelled or launched.

Iran’s secret tapes: Is Iran’s Zarif really sidelined by the IRGC?

Jerusalem Post/April 26/2021
Leaked tapes appear to show Zarif claiming that Russia wanted to sabotage the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015. Leaked recordings are the latest twist in a strange saga that appears to pit Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani was undermining him and the Iran deal while working with Russia, he supposedly said on the tapes. The tapes appear to show Zarif claiming that Russia wanted to sabotage the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015. Soleimani sought to “demolish our achievement,” he said. Iran allowed Russia to use Iranian airspace to bomb Syria and move military equipment via Iran, Zarif said. This, together with Iranian forces being deployed to Syria, supposedly all went on without the knowledge of the Iranian government.
The leaked tapes lead to one of several conclusions. They seem to cater to a Western worldview that depicts Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani as “moderates” who are confronting the “hard-liners” in the IRGC and the Supreme Leader’s Office. The leaks appear timed to encourage this view as the US considers reentering the Iran deal. The leaks also depict an Iranian government that cannot be trusted because Zarif is the smiling face of the regime but doesn’t actually represent its policies. This could aid Western countries as they sign deals with Zarif, and then Iran can pretend it violates the deals because only the Foreign Ministry signed them. This aids Iran’s “good cop, bad cop” approach, where the regime pretends it has a shadow government that conducts different policies than the regime agrees to.This is sort of like the bait and switch Iran does in Lebanon, where it uses Hezbollah’s “armed wing” to do one policy, while the Lebanese government gets funding from the West.
Is Tehran’s latest narrative that it now has its own internal “Hezbollah,” known as the IRGC, and that Iran’s “armed wing” does one thing, while the “political wing” does something else? This appears crafted to let Iran carry out illegal behavior and have plausible deniability.
Another option is that Zarif is lying on the tapes. He often lies to Western audiences, so lying about not knowing what Soleimani was doing could be part of the program.
A third option is that the tapes were leaked purposely to undermine Zarif by showing he insulted a powerful martyr-like Soleimani. The US killed Soleimani in January 2020.
THE CLAIMS on the tapes don’t mesh with reality, however, since Russia has backed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran deal. Why would Moscow want to sabotage the deal?
The argument that Russia is a bogeyman harming the JCPOA would seem to make it look like the deal was a US success and that Washington needs to reenter it to confront Moscow. This ridiculous logic presents Russia as against the JCPOA, while the deal manifestly helps Iran and Russia.
Let’s take the Zarif leaks as they appear. What they tell us is that Zarif has no real power and cannot be relied upon. It means the US and other countries should negotiate directly with the IRGC and bypass the Foreign Ministry.
If the IRGC overrules government decisions and conducts its own policy, then it should be dealt with rather than the plausible deniability of the cutout at the Foreign Ministry. If Zarif’s “hands are tied,” then he should be ignored.
Iran International, a British-based Persian television station headquartered in London, examined Zarif claims.
“Zarif said that Soleimani intervened in his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, adding that Soleimani would never accept a demand by Zarif,” the report said. “‘He would not accept to refrain from using the Iranian national airline for transportation to Syria.’”
Zarif seemed to claim his role in Iranian foreign policy was basically “nil.” However, Zarif has purposely tried to show he was close to Soleimani. He has also sought to demonstrate how close he is to the IRGC. In October 2017, he tweeted: “Today, Iranians – boys, girls, men, women – are ALL IRGC; standing firm with those who defend us and the region against aggression and terror.” So is Zarif lying? Is he a charlatan? Is he a manipulator? Or is he just naïve?
THERE ARE now no good options for interpreting Zarif. Either he has no power, or he purposely leaked this tape to improve his chances for a chair as a professor at some Western university when he leaves office. Otherwise, his regime is simply totally incompetent, and he cannot be trusted to articulate its policy.
There is no reading of this tape in which Zarif should ever be seen as a player in Iran’s foreign policy again. Yet he likely will be because these stunts have come and gone in the past. He once even pretended to resign.
The Zarif imbroglio comes after a similar battle between Iran’s Press TV and Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Last week, Araghchi slammed Press TV over its sourcing for a story on the Iran deal, mocking it as not being informed.
“I don’t know who the ‘informed source’ of Press TV in Vienna is, but s/he is certainly not ‘informed,’” he tweeted. The embarrassing incident with Araghchi weakened the Foreign Ministry’s image.
Zarif’s even greater embarrassment should demolish the whole ministry, as well as anyone’s pretense that they can talk to the ministry and get a straight answer. Of course, this should undermine the Islamic Republic’s negotiations in Vienna.
But it also might lead to Western powers running to “strengthen the moderates” by caving in to Zarif’s demands. In such a scenario, it might be worth asking if this was all just an act designed to bring the US back to the table. Iran’s administration has already tried to use its upcoming elections as a way to encourage America to move faster, warning that “hard-liners” might win. Iran is a sophisticated country and regime. Unlike Turkey, a top-down authoritarian and fascist one, Iran’s regime is willing to use more cunning and complex approaches. But overall, the regime is not divided between hard-liners and moderates; it is only hardliners. The question may be whether there are hard-hardliners or other hard-liners. The pretense that there is some mythical good part of the Iranian regime is only sung by Zarif at Western think tanks, his natural habitat. And now it has also been heard about in ostensibly secret recordings.

Iran FM Zarif bemoans IRGC, Soleimani overreach in leaked interview

Jerusalem Post/April 26/2021
The Iranian foreign minister complained about how he was forced to act for military interests instead of diplomatic ones.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed discontent with the influence the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps has over diplomatic affairs, expressing rare criticism of former IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, in an interview leaked by Iran International and The New York Times on Monday. Zarif stated during the interview with Iranian journalist Saeed Laylaz that Iran was pursuing a "cold war" strategy. The foreign minister added that he was forced by Soleimani to pursue diplomacy which would further Iran's military interests in the region, but that he was never "able to ask Soleimani to do something that would serve my diplomatic moves," according to the report. Soleimani was assassinated by the United States in a drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. The foreign minister also complained about Soleimani's refusal to stop using Iran's national airline to transport arms to Syria, saying that flights to Damascus increased by six times due to pressure by the former Quds Force commander. Zarif lamented that Iran placed priority on military operations, with his influence on Iranian foreign policy being "nil." Throughout the interview, he reiterated that government policy was ruled by military interests, with government officials having little power in the face of demands by the military. He stressed that the military's intervention in diplomacy was "not worth it," according to Iran International. The foreign minister additionally claimed that a visit by Soleimani to Russia after the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal was intended to torpedo the deal. "That trip was made upon Moscow's initiative without the Iranian Foreign Ministry having any control over it. Its objective was to destroy the JCPOA," said Zarif, according to the British-based Persian television station. Zarif claimed later in the interview as well that Russia had tried to thwart the JCPOA deal and that he had needed to use "rude and non-diplomatic language" in talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Concerning Iran's operations in Syria, Zarif claimed that he was kept in the dark, saying that "It was former US foreign secretary John Kerry who told me Israel had launched more than 200 attacks on Iranian forces in Syria." Iran International cast doubt on the likelihood that this claim was true, as Israeli airstrikes in Syria had previously been reported in international media. The foreign minister claimed that he also was kept in the dark about the ballistic missile strike on Ain al-Assad last year, which was carried out in response to the assassination of Soleimani, as well as about the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane by the IRGC during the missile strike. “I said, ‘If it was hit by a missile, tell us so we can see how we can resolve it,’” Zarif said about a meeting that took place shortly after the plane was downed, according to The New York Times. “God is my witness; the way they reacted to me is as if I had denied the existence of God.” According to the Times, Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, called the leak of the interview "unethical politics" and said that the leaked portions did not express Zarif's true feelings about Soleimani. The leak led to critics calling for the foreign minister's resignation and concerns by supporters that it could negatively impact his aspirations in the upcoming presidential elections in Iran. The report comes as Iran conducts talks with the US and European nations in Vienna in an attempt to return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Britain’s PM slams new sentence for dual national in Iran
The Arab Weekly/April 26/2021
LONDON—Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday hit out at reports that dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been sentenced to an extra year in prison in Tehran. “I don’t think it’s right at all that Nazanin should be sentenced to any more time in jail… I think it’s wrong that she’s there in the first place,” he said, adding that London was working “very hard” to secure her release. The Iranian-British woman long held in Tehran has been sentenced to another year in prison, her lawyer said Monday, drawing immediate criticism from Britain in the high profile case that has prompted international condemnation of Iran. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has already served a five-year prison sentence in the Islamic Republic. Her lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, said that she received the second sentence on a charge of spreading “propaganda against the system” for participating in a protest in front of the Iranian Embassy in London in 2009. State media in Iran did not immediately acknowledge the sentence. Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, told the BBC the court’s decision was a bad sign and “clearly a negotiating tactic” by the Iranian authorities. Her sentencing comes amid ongoing negotiations in Vienna over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson immediately condemned the new sentence. “I don’t think it is right at all that Nazanin should be sentenced to any more time in jail,” he said. “I think it is wrong that she is there in the first place and we will be working very hard to secure her release from Iran, her ability to return to her family here in the U.K., just as we work for all our dual national cases in Iran.”Johnson added: “The government will not stop, we will redouble our efforts, and we are working with our American friends on this issue as well.” Johnson and his office declined to elaborate on that comment. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab bluntly called Iran’s sentence “a totally inhumane and wholly unjustified decision.”“We continue to call on Iran to release Nazanin immediately so she can return to her family in the UK,” he said in a statement. “We continue to do all we can to support her.”The latest twist in Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case comes as Britain and Iran negotiate a long-running dispute over a debt of some 400 million pounds ($530 million) owed to Tehran by London. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the late Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi paid the sum for Chieftain tanks that were never delivered.
While Iran has denied any connection to the tank payment, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family and their supporters have linked the two. “It is devastating to see Nazanin once again being abusively used as bargaining chip,” said Tulip Siddiq, who serves as Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s local parliament member. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of plotting the overthrow of Iran’s government, a charge that she, her supporters and rights groups deny. While employed at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, she was taken into custody at the Tehran airport in April 2016 as she was returning home to Britain after visiting family. Rights groups accuse Iran of holding dual-nationals as bargaining chips for money or influence in negotiations with the West, something Tehran denies. Iran does not recognize dual nationalities, so detainees like Zaghari-Ratcliffe cannot receive consular assistance. A UN panel has criticised what it describes as “an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals” in Iran. Authorities had released Zaghari-Ratcliffe from prison on furlough last March because of the surging coronavirus pandemic and she had been detained in her parents’ Tehran home since.

35 year anniversary of Chernobyl disaster, world's worst nuclear accident

Jerusalem Post/April 26/2021
In 2016, the UN General Assembly designated April 26 as International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day, recalling the long-term consequences of the disaster that continue to this day. Monday, April 26 marks the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the worst nuclear disaster in history, which saw a massive radioactive cloud spread throughout parts of the Soviet Union. Centered near the city of Pripyat in what is now Ukraine, the disaster occurred after a safety test went wrong, making it unstable and leading to a chain reaction, exploding the reactor core. The nuclear cloud spread for around nine days throughout the region. To this day, only one other nuclear disaster in history – the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan – is comparable, both being the only incidents to be rated the highest number, seven, on the International Nuclear Event Scale, though Japan's then-prime minister Naoto Kan noted the disaster was different as it did not release as large of an amount of radiation, according to Reuters.  The exact death toll of the disaster is unknown, as while two people were killed in the original explosion itself, many more died throughout the following months from radiation poisoning and many more throughout the following years of cancer. According to a 2006 article published in the academic journal Nature, the death toll in the USSR alone was estimated to reach around 4,000, while extending into Western Europe, that number could be even higher, with some studies ranging from 16,000 to even 60,000.
This disputed death toll is due to how widespread the radiation's effect was, as well as how long it will last.  The incident has had a significant impact on the world, creating debate on the use of nuclear power and safety management. It has also become a major part of global cooperation, and since 1986, the United Nations and major NGOs have launched over 230 different research and assistance projects in the fields of health, nuclear safety, rehabilitation, environment, production of clean foods and information, according to the UN's website.  The disaster also underlined lack of faith in the Soviet Union, and according to some scholars, such as Harvard's Ukrainian history Prof. Serhii Plokhy, had set in motion the collapse of the Soviet Union as a whole. It has also become an icon of popular culture, with the site becoming the set pieces of many works of fiction and entertainment. In fact, in 2019, the BBC reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had plans to turn the area into a tourist attraction. But while the disaster itself is long gone, the damage continues to this day. As noted by Nature, many areas around the reactor and beyond are still affected by the radiation. The most prevalent type of radioactive isotope in the disaster, caesium-137, has a half-life of around 30 years, so much of the areas left abandoned by the blast could get better in the coming years, but many areas could be radioactive for centuries to come, like the 30 kilometer exclusion zone around the reactor itself. Other problems persist as well, such as wildfires, as the forests contaminated by the radiation are prone to catching fire during dry seasons. As a result of this and winds, these fires can spread the radiation further. In 2020, these fires spread to the point that some radiation actually reached Kiev, but not to the extent that it would threaten human life, according to the UN's nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency. In 2016, the UN General Assembly designated April 26 as International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day, recalling the long-term consequences of the disaster that continue to this day, 35 years later.

Israel Removes East Jerusalem Barricades after Violent Protests
Agence France Presse/April 26/2021
Israeli police have allowed Palestinians to gather in a flashpoint plaza outside Jerusalem's walled Old City, in a move apparently aimed at easing tensions after days of clashes.The staired plaza outside Damascus Gate in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem is a traditional gathering spot for Palestinians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Jerusalem, a perennial powder-keg of religious tension, has seen some of its worst violence in years over recent days, triggered in part by an Israeli decision to block Palestinians from gathering on the Damascus Gate steps following prayers. But as crowds were building in the plaza on Sunday, police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai ordered the barricades be removed. The decision came "following consultations with local leadership, religious leadership, situation assessments, while taking into consideration the shop owners who need to make a living, and in order to lower the level of violence," a spokesman told AFP. "Our forces are still deployed on the ground, and we won't let violence resurge," the spokesman said. Hundreds of Palestinians, including male youths who tossed the barricades to the side, held celebratory rallies in the plaza, watched over by police. Minor scuffles erupted after some of the revelers began waving Palestinian flags, moves which prompted police to storm the plaza. AFP reporters saw several young Palestinians being detained by police. But the plaza remained open, with police maintaining a heavy presence in the area into the early hours Monday. Samir Gheith, a 66-year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem, said people had been looking forward to gathering at Damascus Gate during Ramadan after it was closed last year due to coronavirus restrictions.  "I think they don't want to see us be happy," he told AFP, referring to the initial decision to barricade the plaza. "But then they came to understand that they needed to put a stop to all these tensions," he said.
'Death to Arabs'
There have been nightly disturbances since the start of Ramadan on April 13. A series of videos posted online have shown young Arabs attacking ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Jewish extremists taking to the streets to bully Arabs. Tensions rose on Thursday when far-right Israeli demonstrators, enraged by a wave of Palestinian attacks on Jews in Jerusalem, marched to the Old City with chants of "death to Arabs". More than 100 Palestinians were wounded in clashes with police and dozens were arrested. The violence was the worst in years between Israeli police and Palestinians in the disputed Holy City, with Palestinians throwing stones and bottles at officers, who responded with stun grenades and water cannon. Skirmishes broke out again on Friday after Muslim worshippers left Jerusalem's revered Al-Aqsa mosque following night prayers. Palestinians had also targeted Jewish passers-by and motorists in and around east Jerusalem during the night riots, beating them and stoning their cars, with many of the attacks being posted on social media. Jewish extremists in return took to the streets to bully Arabs, with police arresting dozens involved in the attacks. Overnight Friday into Saturday, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired dozens of rockets at southern Israel, with the military wing of Hamas, the Islamist rulers of the Palestinian enclave, voicing support for the east Jerusalem protesters. In the early hours of Monday, the Israeli army said at least four rockets had been fired from Gaza towards Israel, of which two were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system. Two of them exploded inside the Gaza Strip, the army said.

Israel advised to remove petrochemical plant in Haifa within 10 years

Jerusalem Post/April 26/2021
The recommendations of the committee, headed by Prof. Avi Simhon, Head of the National Economic Council in the Prime Minister's Office, would end Bazan Group's oil refinery operations in Haifa. Israel must remove the petrochemical chemical plants in Haifa within 10 years, according to a new target set by an executive committee established by the government. The recommendations of the committee would end Bazan Group’s oil-refinery operations in Haifa, long accused of releasing significant amounts of pollution to the environment around Haifa Bay. Bazan’s operations date back to before the establishment of the state in 1948. The committee is headed by Prof. Avi Simhon, chairman of the National Economic Council in the Prime Minister’s Office. The plan is open to public comment for two weeks, after which changes will be examined by the government. It suggests that the plants be dismantled even before 10 years if conditions allow. Haifa Bay, with its petrochemical plants, oil refineries and industrial chemical plants, along with Israel’s largest port, is one of the country’s main centers of environmental pollution. The plan recommends rezoning the land in a way that would enable the sustainable development of the bay area and turn it into a residential- and employment-oriented zone. The plan is subject to meeting the minimum energy needs necessary to ensure functional continuity after the cessation of activities. “The Haifa metropolitan area is in a state of decline in relation to all districts and subdistricts in the State of Israel... It is clear that the presence of the petrochemical industry in the heart of Haifa... deters residents and businesses from settling in the area and is, therefore, a factor that hinders its economic and urban development,” the report said.Following the report’s publication, Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said: “The closure of these factories is in [Israel’s] health and environmental interest and also in the economic interest. The removal of hazardous materials and the cessation of pollutant emissions will lead to the opening of new businesses, the establishment of green industries and more people moving to the area. “By closing the petrochemical plants, our clear position is that any new industrial infrastructure to be built in Haifa Bay should be clean, without the use of polluting fossil fuels, such as natural gas. This is the only way for the economy to switch to renewable energies and create sustainable jobs.”“We have stood by the residents of Haifa Bay all along with an environmental and just position, in the face of capitalists and various bodies that have tried to torpedo the move,” Gamliel said. “We must now ensure that all relevant parties continue the implementation process, including the Finance Ministry and the Israel Lands Authority, to support the public and environmental interest and to ignore the pressures exerted on the members of the committee.” The plan earned the approval of Israeli environmental advocates. “Finally, the state has learned to move toward the end of the era of oil refining in the Haifa metropolitan area,” said Adam Teva V’Din (Israel Union for Environmental Defense). “Our position is to act quickly and resolutely to shut down the refining industry long before the decade ends, and we expect the government to set a binding deadline. The reduction of pollution and the improvement of environmental protection and public health must be uncompromisingly ensured.” Attorney Sarit Golan-Steinberg, chairwoman of the Haifa Bay Area Cities Association, said: “Within the excellent recommendations that appear in the draft, the recognition that the Haifa metropolitan area is declining, and the setting of concrete steps to save it, is the conservative target of about a decade, when it is clear that this can be done within five years. “Unfortunately, some of the CEOs and officials in the Finance, Energy and the Economy ministries tried to prevent the recommendations for closing Bazan. We have two weeks of struggle to amend the recommendation so that it includes a firm statement with a final date for the closure of the petrochemical industry in Haifa Bay.”

Israel Closes Gaza Fishing Zone over Rocket Fire
Agence France Presse/April 26/2021
Israel said Monday it is closing the fishing zone off the already blockaded Gaza Strip, preventing trawlers from going out to sea, after repeated rocket attacks on the Jewish state. The move comes after the Israeli army said five rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel overnight, two of which were intercepted by its air defenses. "The fishing zone in the Gaza Strip would be completely closed until further notice," said COGAT, the Israeli military body that administers civilian affairs in Palestinian territories including the occupied West Bank. The measure was "due to the continuation of the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip towards the State of Israel during the night", it said in a statement. Israel would hold the Islamist Hamas movement which controls Gaza "accountable for all that is done in and from the Gaza Strip towards Israel", COGAT said. Hamas "will bear the consequences for the violence committed against the citizens" of Israel, it said. Salvos of rockets were also fired at Israel from Gaza overnight Friday and again overnight Saturday, prompting Israel to carry out retaliatory air strikes on the coastal enclave. Israel, which has imposed a blockade on Gaza for more than a decade, had set the fishing zone for the coastal enclave at 20 nautical miles following the Oslo peace accords in the 1990s. But over the years Israel has reduced the size depending on tensions with Hamas.In September the fishing zone was set at 15 nautical miles after an agreement between Israel and Gaza's rulers.
 

Spokesman: Israel to deport dozens of African Hebrews
Ilan Ben Zion/Associated Press/April 26, 2021
Dozens of members of a polygamous, vegan sect in Israel have received deportation orders from the government, the group's spokesman said Monday, despite much of the community having received permanent residency under arrangements with Israel. The community, which numbers around 3,000 people, is comprised of Black Americans whose founders moved to Israel in the 1960s and believe they are descendants of an ancient Israelite tribe. Most live in the southern desert town of Dimona. Prince Immanuel Ben-Yehuda, spokesman for the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, said the Interior Ministry had given notice to at least 46 families that they must leave the country within 60 days, calling it a “shock to the system.”The African Hebrew Israelites began arriving in Israel in 1969, following Ben Carter, a Chicago steelworker who renamed himself Ben Ammi Ben Israel and claimed to be God’s representative on earth. But Israel wasn’t sure what to make of the newcomers, who arrived on tourist visas, adopted Hebrew names and a West African style of dress. The government was unsure whether they qualified for citizenship under the country’s “Law of Return,” which is granted to almost any Jew who requests it.
The Interior Ministry granted many members of the community temporary residency in 1992 and permanent residency status in 2003. Many members study in Israeli schools and serve in the military. “For quite some time, we’ve had a number of members of the community with different levels of immigration status, some of us have full citizenship, some taken permanent residency, some have temporary residency, and some have no status whatsoever,” said Ben-Yehuda. He said the community has been working for years with Israeli authorities to sort out the legal status of those without permanent residency.
The Population and Immigration Authority said in a statement that in 2003, 1,200 African Hebrew Israelites were found eligible for residency, and that in the years afterward the office received other requests from people who were not members of the community. “All those who were not included in the list of community members and didn’t meet the criteria received a negative reply and in effect are residing illegally in Israel for a long period and must leave according to the law,” the authority said in a statement. It added that those who had received deportation letters were entitled to appeal. Ben-Yehuda said the community would appeal the decision. “We’re here because we chose to be here to build this country and give our energy to the improvement and the betterment of this nation, so it’s quite a bit disheartening in that respect,” he said.

Covid Wave Stalking Yemen Strikes Fear in Hospitals
Agence France Presse/April 26, 2021
Sitting by his wife's graveside, Musheer Farhan recalls how she was turned away from three hospitals over fears she had coronavirus, although she was heavily pregnant and suffering from breathing problems. Balqees and her unborn child eventually died in the fourth hospital she had been taken to in the war-torn country's capital Sanaa, leaving behind her husband and an infant son. The 31-year-old was effectively a victim of a second wave of the pandemic in the country -- already on its knees amid a war in its seventh year -- that is leading doctors to refuse treatment to those suspected of infection. Along with medics' uncertainty over how to treat suspected Covid-19 cases, hospitals lack critical supplies, including oxygen, and are blighted by frequent power cuts.  The Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who seized the capital from the government in 2014 and control much of the north, do not release data on infections. But the toll from Covid-19 has become a hot topic in Sanaa, with evidence mounting of a spike in cases in the past month across the country, including the south which is under the control of the internationally recognized government. Farhan said Balqees arrived at the fourth hospital too late to be saved. "She entered the examination room, I went to buy medication, and I came back to find her lifeless body," he told AFP. "The obstetrician and anesthesiologist refused to perform an operation to save the mother, and the baby, over fears she had coronavirus."
'Emergency'
Yemen's long conflict between the government -- supported by a Saudi-led military coalition -- and the Iran-backed Huthis has left tens of thousands of people dead and pushed millions to the brink of famine. The United Nations calls it the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with over four million people displaced and two-thirds of Yemen's 30-million population dependent on aid. The country, long the most impoverished in the Arabian Peninsula, is on the brink of total collapse.  Schools, factories and hospitals have been destroyed, many children recruited as soldiers, and countless people have lost their livelihoods. Despite the pandemic, outside the overstretched hospitals, life in Sanaa seems normal, with markets bustling and mosques crowded with worshippers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It is rare to see anyone wearing a mask, and precautionary health measures are nonexistent. "There is no official data, no official communication, and the results of tests aren't published," a humanitarian worker familiar with the health situation in Yemen said of the rebel-held areas. Cases reported in the south began escalating in mid-March, prompting a warning from the country's coronavirus committee of a public health "emergency". But there is also mounting evidence of an uptick in infections in the capital, the source said. "Public hospitals are close to being full. At private hospitals, the situation is unclear."
Stigma and rumors
"People are often reluctant to go to hospital when they have Covid-like symptoms," the source added. "People are concerned about the stigma, sometimes they don't believe they will be treated. They are afraid because of rumors and don't trust the medical system." Huthi health authorities did not respond to AFP's request for comment. Officially, Yemen has recorded 6,137 coronavirus cases, including 1,187 deaths, but numbers are likely dramatically higher. Last month, Yemen received its first shipment of Covid-19 vaccines via the Covax program, which aims to ensure equitable access to the jabs.
The 360,000 AstraZeneca doses arrived in the southern port city of Aden, Yemen's de facto capital, where the internationally recognized government is based. Ishraq al-Sibai, spokeswoman for Yemen's national Covid-19 emergency committee, said 10,000 doses were handed over to the World Health Organization to transport to Sanaa for rebel-held areas. But she cast doubt on whether the Huthis would use the jabs to inoculate medical staff, saying: "Perhaps they'll use it to vaccinate Huthi officials." For Farhan, a 35-year-old who works for a security firm, it is all too late and the death of his wife -- who doctors said eventually tested negative for Covid-19 -- was all too avoidable. "My wife just needed some quick assistance to help her breathe and save her and our baby," he said.

Thai prime minister fined $190 for not wearing face mask
NNA/April 26, 2021
Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was fined 6,000 baht ($190) on Monday for breaching rules aimed at containing the coronavirus by not wearing a face mask, the governor of Bangkok said. "I informed the prime minister this was a violation of rules", Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang wrote on his official Facebook page. The move came after a photograph of Prayuth appeared on his Facebook page showing him not wearing a mask in a meeting. The photograph was later removed. The prime minister made an inquiry to city hall about the restrictions, which specify that masks should be worn at all times outside residences, prompting his fine, said Aswin.—Reuters

Jihadists kill 31 soldiers in NE Nigeria: Military sources
NNA/April 26, 2021
At least 31 Nigerian soldiers were killed when IS-aligned jihadists ambushed a military convoy escorting weapons and overran a base in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, military sources told AFP Monday.
Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), arriving in around 20 vehicles, attacked the convoy on Sunday in the town of Mainok outside the regional capital Maiduguri, killing troops and seizing weapons before storming a nearby base, the two sources said. ---AFP

Russian court orders Navalny group to suspend activities
NNA/April 26, 2021
A Russian court on Monday ordered jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation and its regional network to suspend all their activities, the group said.The foundation said in statements on social media that the court had upheld a request from Russian prosecutors to suspend its activities pending a decision on designating it as "extremist". ----AFP

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 26-27/2021

Biden's Betrayal of Afghanistan
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/April 26, 2021
[U]nder the terms of the Doha deal former US President Donald Trump negotiated with the Taliban in the Gulf state of Qatar last February, the withdrawal of US forces was contingent on the Taliban renouncing violence, as well as ending its long-standing support for Islamist terror groups like al-Qaeda.
[A]s a recent US Treasury report has concluded, the Taliban has maintained its links with al-Qaeda, as well as other Islamist terrorist organisations. The report stated that al-Qaeda is "gaining strength in Afghanistan while continuing to operate with the Taliban under the Taliban's protection." It adds that the group "capitalizes on its relationship with the Taliban through its network of mentors and advisers who are embedded with the Taliban, providing advice, guidance, and financial support."
Now the Taliban has responded to Mr Biden's overly generous offer to withdraw all US forces by September -- in spite of the Taliban's abject failure to honour their side of the bargain -- by threatening to launch a fresh offensive against the US and its Nato allies.
Speaking shortly after the President made his announcement, a senior Taliban commander warned, "We are prepared and already present in the battlefield; our fighters are ready to target Nato troops as the trust deficit widens after Biden delayed US troops' withdrawal."
Despite these devastating setbacks, the Taliban has been quietly confident that it would ultimately prevail, ever since former US President Barack Obama made his disastrous U-turn in Washington's Afghan policy in 2009, and made his unilateral announcement that he was withdrawing all remaining American combat troops by the end of 2014.
Taliban leaders have always argued that, in keeping with previous generations of foreign invaders, Washington would eventually lose interest in the conflict and withdraw.
[A]s the Taliban's attitude has revealed, the terror group has no serious interest in concluding a peace deal with Kabul, preferring to resort to its previous tactic of seizing control of the country through violence and intimidation.
Certainly, as a recent Pentagon report has highlighted, without the support of US and other Nato allies, the Afghan government has little chance of prevailing against the Taliban once the withdrawal has completed.
John Sopko, the Pentagon's special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, last month warned that, without US support, the Afghan government "probably would face collapse."
The only realistic outcome is that, once the Taliban have retaken control of the country and implemented its brand of medieval religious authoritarianism, al-Qaeda will re-establish its terror bases in the country and use them as a base to launch a fresh wave of attacks against the West.
As the Taliban's attitude has revealed, the terror group has no serious interest in concluding a peace deal with Kabul, preferring to resort to its previous tactic of seizing control of the country through violence and intimidation.
The only logical conclusion to be drawn from US President Joe Biden's ill-judged decision to withdraw the last remaining US troops from Afghanistan is that it will lead to the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies once more seizing control of the country.
That is certainly how the Taliban leadership is viewing the Biden administration's decision, as within hours of Mr Biden making his televised appearance to announce the withdrawal, the Taliban was claiming victory in the country's long-running civil war.
More than that, the Taliban even had the nerve to claim that, by completing the withdrawal of US forces by September 11, Washington was reneging on the peace deal negotiated with the previous Trump administration last year, which stipulated that all American troops, together with other Nato forces, would be withdrawn by the end of next month.
In fact, under the terms of the Doha deal former US President Donald Trump negotiated with the Taliban in the Gulf state of Qatar last February, the withdrawal of US forces was contingent on the Taliban renouncing violence, as well as ending its long-standing support for Islamist terror groups like al-Qaeda.
The reality is that the Taliban has made no serious attempt to fulfil either of these conditions, even though the US began reducing its troop strengths immediately after the agreement was signed in February last year.
Instead, the terror group has continued with its nationwide campaign of violence against the Afghan people, enabling it to seize large swathes of the country as forces loyal to the democratically-elected government of President Ashraf Ghani have proved incapable of mounting a credible defence.
In addition, as a recent US Treasury report has concluded, the Taliban has maintained its links with al-Qaeda, as well as other Islamist terrorist organisations. The report stated that al-Qaeda is "gaining strength in Afghanistan while continuing to operate with the Taliban under the Taliban's protection." It adds that the group "capitalizes on its relationship with the Taliban through its network of mentors and advisers who are embedded with the Taliban, providing advice, guidance, and financial support."
Now the Taliban has responded to Mr Biden's overly generous offer to withdraw all US forces by September -- in spite of the Taliban's abject failure to honour their side of the bargain -- by threatening to launch a fresh offensive against the US and its Nato allies.
Speaking shortly after the President made his announcement, a senior Taliban commander warned:
"We are prepared and already present in the battlefield; our fighters are ready to target Nato troops as the trust deficit widens after Biden delayed US troops' withdrawal.
"The Taliban are a true political entity in the Islamic emirate and we are already victorious in the war and our victory compelled the US to sign a deal with the Taliban."
The Taliban's refusal to cut its ties with Osama bin Laden's terrorist organisation was the initial reason for the US-led invasion of Afghanistan back in 2001 after al-Qaeda took advantage of the protection it received from the Taliban to plan and execute the devastating September 11 attacks -- the worst terrorist atrocity ever carried out on American soil.
The invasion resulted in the overthrow of the Taliban and the end of its barbaric rule, and destroyed al-Qaeda's terrorist infrastructure, while bin Laden was forced to flee to neighbouring Pakistan, where he was eventually hunted down and killed by an elite team of US special forces in 2011.
Even after it suffered these devastating defeats, the Taliban still refused to renounce its ties with al-Qaeda, to the extent that it has spent the past two decades involved in a brutal conflict with US coalition forces, costing the lives of tens of thousands of Taliban fighters.
Despite these devastating setbacks, the Taliban has been quietly confident that it would ultimately prevail ever since former US President Barack Obama made his disastrous U-turn in Washington's Afghan policy in 2009, and made his unilateral announcement that he was withdrawing all remaining American combat troops by the end of 2014.
Taliban leaders have always argued that, in keeping with previous generations of foreign invaders, Washington would eventually lose interest in the conflict and withdraw. As the old Taliban saying goes, "you may have all the watches, but we have all the time."
And so, thanks to Mr Biden's capitulation, it has come to pass, with the Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies set to reclaim the control of the country after 20 years in the wilderness.
Mr Biden has attempted to defend what amounts to his administration's abject surrender to the Taliban on the grounds that the time has come to end America's longest war, while arguing that the announcement will increase the pressure on both the Taliban and the beleaguered Afghan government to conclude the peace deal which was supposed to be the most important outcome of the Doha process.
Yet, as the Taliban's attitude has revealed, the terror group has no serious interest in concluding a peace deal with Kabul, preferring to resort to its previous tactic of seizing control of the country through violence and intimidation.
Certainly, as a recent Pentagon report has highlighted, without the support of US and other Nato allies, the Afghan government has little chance of prevailing against the Taliban once the withdrawal has completed.
John Sopko, the Pentagon's special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, last month warned that, without US support, the Afghan government "probably would face collapse."
The US intelligence community's 2021 Threat Assessment published last week reached a similar conclusion, stating that "the Afghan Government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support."
These are damning assessments of both the ability of the Afghan government to defend itself without Western support, as well as the Biden administration's decision to abandon the country in its hour of need.
The only realistic outcome is that, once the Taliban have retaken control of the country and implemented its brand of medieval religious authoritarianism, al-Qaeda will re-establish its terror bases in the country and use them as a base to launch a fresh wave of attacks against the West.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2021 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Will Communist China Dominate the Middle East?
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/April 26, 2021
"The connection between the BRI and the strategic partnerships it creates in the region... allows it to gradually take over the region without creating tensions with the U.S. or the West. In other words, the BRI is a sophisticated Chinese plan to transfer hegemony from the West and the U.S. to China without war or conflict". — Dr. Mordechai Chaziz, author of the book China's Middle East Diplomacy: The Belt and Road Strategic Partnership.
"China has signed documents on Belt and Road cooperation with 19 Middle East countries," Wang told Al Arabiya during his visit to Saudi Arabia, one of the six countries he visited on his tour, "and carried out distinctive collaboration with each of them.... China is ready to .... expand new areas of growth such as high and new technologies." The other countries Wang visited were Turkey, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Bahrain.
"In the last five years, as China has grown increasingly concerned with transit through the Suez Canal, China has invested billions of dollars in Egypt.... President Sisi has made at least six trips to Beijing since taking office in 2014, compared to just two trips to Washington". — Jon B. Alterman, Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 23, 2021.
China has made "comprehensive strategic partnerships" with both Saudi Arabia and UAE, as well as now Iran, through signing a 25-year comprehensive strategic agreement on economic and security cooperation with Tehran. The agreement also reportedly includes an expansion of military assistance, training and intelligence-sharing.
"China and the countries agreed that the sovereign independence and national dignity of all countries should be respected..." Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in summing up his trip. Meanwhile Wang overlooked the fact that China had originally offered the world similar assurances in 1984 regarding the retention of Hong Kong's political and economic system for 50 years after the 1997 return of the territory to Mainland China's sovereignty, only to renege on this commitment 27 years ahead of the scheduled end of the "one country, two systems" arrangement in 2047.
Wang also managed to overlook that China broke its 2015 commitment not to "militarize" artificial islands that Beijing had been building in the Spratly Islands chain in the South China Sea and which it is now surrounding with "fishing boats", threatening the nearby Philippines. The foreign minister also apparently forgot that China has never honored at least nine of the commitments it made when it joined the World Trade Organization, its nuclear testing commitments and its commitment to the Vatican in appointing bishops.
"China's communist leaders have repeatedly promised major reforms or policy shifts to gain entrance into international agreements only to roll back those reforms as soon as they get what they want." — Chris Tomlinson, business columnist, Houston Chronicle, 2016.
As China vies for more international influence to become the world's greatest power by 2049 -- militarily, economically, technologically and politically -- the Middle East is likely to become crucial, whether the US prioritizes it or not.
After Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's almost week-long recent tour of the Middle East, there can be little doubt that China is actively seeking to expand its influence in the region, not only economically but also militarily, diplomatically and politically, actively challenging the long-standing role of the United States as a dominant power in the region.
China's influence in the Middle East has been growing for years, especially through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a gigantic global infrastructure and economic development project that Chinese President Xi Jinping launched in 2013. Its aim is, it appears, to build an economic and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond. This mega development and investment initiative seeks dramatically to enhance China's global influence from East Asia to Europe by making countries worldwide increasingly dependent on China.
"Strategically, the BRI is how China is seeking to collapse Western-American dominance in the [Middle East] region peacefully" according to Dr. Mordechai Chaziz, author of the book China's Middle East Diplomacy: The Belt and Road Strategic Partnership.
"The connection between the BRI and the strategic partnerships it creates in the region... allows it to gradually take over the region without creating tensions with the U.S. or the West. In other words, the BRI is a sophisticated Chinese plan to transfer hegemony from the West and the U.S. to China without war or conflict"."China has signed documents on Belt and Road cooperation with 19 Middle East countries," Wang told Al Arabiya during his visit to Saudi Arabia, one of the six countries he visited on his tour, "and carried out distinctive collaboration with each of them."
"As it fosters a new development paradigm, China is ready to share with Middle East countries its market opportunities, work with Arab countries to actively prepare for the China-Arab states summit, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and expand new areas of growth such as high and new technologies."
The other countries Wang visited were Turkey, Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Bahrain.
China is already the largest trading partner for most countries in the region, including some of its principal partners: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia was China's top crude oil supplier in 2020, beating Russia. China has made "comprehensive strategic partnerships" with both Saudi Arabia and UAE, as well as now Iran, through signing a 25-year comprehensive strategic agreement on economic and security cooperation with Tehran. The agreement also reportedly includes an expansion of military assistance, training and intelligence-sharing.
Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China is also the biggest foreign investor in the region, building infrastructure to the tune of billions of dollars. Although Egypt was not part of Wang's travel itinerary, it, too, forms an important part of the BRI for China. According to Jon B. Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies:
"In the last five years, as China has grown increasingly concerned with transit through the Suez Canal, China has invested billions of dollars in Egypt. Chinese firms are helping construct Egypt's new administrative capital in the desert outside of Cairo, and they are developing a Red Sea port and industrial zone in Ain Sukhna. President Sisi has made at least six trips to Beijing since taking office in 2014, compared to just two trips to Washington."
At first glance, some leaders in the Middle East might regard China as well-suited to dominate their region, which, apart from Israel, consists of more-or-less authoritarian states that share China's views on state sovereignty, non-interference and human rights, and that seem to reject an international order based on democratic values, as led by the US.
"China and the countries agreed that the sovereign independence and national dignity of all countries should be respected, and independent and diverse ways of development should be promoted," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in summing up his trip. According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency:
"They agreed to oppose interfering in other countries' internal affairs and slandering other countries under the guise of human rights, safeguard the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international law, multilateralism, and international equity and justice, Wang said."Meanwhile Wang overlooked the fact that China had originally offered the world similar assurances in 1984 regarding the retention of Hong Kong's political and economic system for 50 years after the 1997 return of the territory to Mainland China's sovereignty, only to renege on this commitment 27 years ahead of the scheduled end of the "one country, two systems" arrangement in 2047.
Wang also managed to overlook that China broke its 2015 commitment not to "militarize" artificial islands that Beijing had been building in the Spratly Islands chain in the South China Sea and which it is now surrounding with "fishing boats", threatening the nearby Philippines. The foreign minister also apparently forgot that China has never honored at least nine of the commitments it made when it joined the World Trade Organization, its nuclear testing commitments and its commitment to the Vatican in appointing bishops.
"China's communist leaders have repeatedly promised major reforms or policy shifts to gain entrance into international agreements only to roll back those reforms as soon as they get what they want," noted business columnist Chris Tomlinson presciently in 2016.
China's deepening ties with Middle Eastern countries beyond trade should concern the US, especially as the Biden administration has recently taken steps to deprioritize the region, thereby opening the door to Chinese domination. "If you are going to list the regions Biden sees as a priority, the Middle East is not in the top three," said a former senior national security official and close Biden adviser to Politico.
"It's Asia-Pacific, then Europe, and then the Western Hemisphere. And that reflects a bipartisan consensus that the issues demanding our attention have changed as great power competition [with China and Russia] is resurgent."
Apparently not satisfied with strategic and economic cooperation, China also suggested taking on a greater role in mediating between Israel and the Palestinians. "Nothing represents equity and justice in the Middle East more than a sound solution to the question of Palestine and earnest implementation of the two-state solution," said Wang in an interview with the Saudi newspaper Al Arabiya.
"We support active mediation by the international community toward this objective and holding an authoritative international meeting on this matter when conditions are ripe. In its presidency of the UN Security Council this May, China will encourage the Security Council to fully deliberate on the question of Palestine to reaffirm the two-state solution. We will continue to invite peace advocates from Palestine and Israel to China for dialogue. We also welcome Palestinian and Israeli representatives to China for direct negotiations".
As China vies for more international influence to become the world's greatest power by 2049 -- militarily, economically, technologically and politically -- the Middle East is likely to become crucial, whether the US prioritizes it or not.
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2021 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Spain’s hosting of Polisario leader exacerbates tensions with Morocco
Mohamed Alaoui/The Arab Weeklt/April 26/2021
RABAT - Spain’s hosting of Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali for medical treatment has exacerbated tensions with Morocco.
These tensions first arose at the end of last year after Madrid announced its rejection of the US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara. Morocco said Sunday that it had summoned Spain’s ambassador to Rabat Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner Rodríguez to protest Spain’s welcoming of Ghali. The Moroccan foreign ministry said, in a statement, that it had asked the Spanish ambassador “to provide clarifications” about his country’s reception of the Polisario chief.
Moroccan and Spanish media reported Saturday evening that Rabat had summoned the Spanish ambassador after Madrid received Ibrahim Ghali for treatment over a coronavirus infection. The ministry expressed its regret “for the position of Spain, which hosts on its soil the leader of the separatist (Polisario) militia, accused of committing serious war crimes and gross violations of human rights.”The ministry expressed disappointment over the attitude of Spain in “hosting a leader of a separatist militia (Polisario) who is accused of war crimes and gross violations to human rights,” describing Madrid’s stance as “contrary to the spirit of partnership and good neighbourliness in regard to a fundamental issue for the Moroccan people (the Saharan province).”
The statement also accused the Spanish authorities of admitting Ghali with a false passport and identity and ignoring several lawsuits against him before Spanish courts on accusations of “war crimes and human rights violations.”
It added, “Spain’s position is surprising and raises legitimate questions, including the admission of Ibrahim Ghali in Spain secretly and with a forged passport”.
It continued, “why did Spain choose not to inform Morocco of the matter? And why did it choose to admit him with a false identity? And why has the Spanish judiciary not yet responded to the numerous complaints lodged by the victims?”
The leader of the Polisario is wanted by Spanish courts for crimes of torture, rape, forced detention and kidnapping in Spain. He entered the country with a false identity in order to avoid having to face problems by the Spanish judicial system.
On Saturday, Moroccan media broadcast video recordings of three Sahrawis, two men and a woman, who used to live in the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria.
In these recordings, the three individuals demanded that the Spanish authorities arrest Ghali and try him on charges of “human rights violations” and “torture”.
In the video recording, the Sahrawi woman said that, as a “victim of these crimes,” she had previously filed a lawsuit against Ghali in Spain. Lawyer and Sahara issue expert Nawfal Bouamri, told The Arab Weekly, that the Spanish Public Prosecutor in Madrid had, nearly ten years ago, requested that Ghali be appear before the courts. Since then, the Polisario leader was unable to enter Spain until last Thursday. Bouamri added that the request for his arrest is hence legally founded. A diplomatic source told The Arab Weekly that Morocco expects from Spain a clear position on this issue that has triggered tensions between Rabat and Madrid. It also expects Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya to translate her words into deeds having described Morocco as a “partner” and a “friend”, and work to create the proper atmosphere for the high Spanish Moroccan joint committee to meet soon. The committee’s session has been postponed more than once at the request of Morocco. This sparked speculations about the existence of a silent crisis between the two countries over the Sahara issue. On Thursday, Gonzalez admitted, after news reports were published about the matter, that Brahim Ghali was in Spain. But she denied that Ghali’s admission to a Spanish hospital could be reason for conflict with Morocco, which she said is a “friendly” country and a “special partner” of Spain.
Moroccan analysts see an irony in Spain’s backing of separatism in Morocco while fighting it at home, in places such as Catalonia or the Basque Country.
Political writer Mohamed Hamrouche wondered what would have been Madrid’s reaction if Rabat decided, to reciprocate by hosting, for instance, Catalan independence leader Carlos ​Bogdemont. Political analyst Mohamed Lekerini believes that this incident will further strain the relations between the two countries, although Spain is trying to safeguard its relations and interests with both Morocco and Algeria, the main backer of the Polisario Front. But analysts believe Madrid’s position is tenuous and it might be forced in the future to take sides with one of the two parties, especially since the problem has to do with a priority issue in Spain’s foreign policy. Lekerini did not rule out seeing Morocco take “more drastic steps”, adding that “if Morocco’s territorial integrity is violated, this may push it to sever diplomatic relations between the two countries, as we have recently witnessed a major change at the level of decisions taken by Moroccan diplomacy, which is becoming more daring and more decisive when it comes to issues affecting the higher interests of Morocco.” Spain is a major trading partner of Morocco and the two countries also collaborate on sensitive issues related to security, immigration and terrorism.Even in times of tensions, Madrid seems keen to speak in a positive tone about bilateral relations, so as not to lend credence to speculations about a possible break in diplomatic relations between the two countries.