English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 06/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

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Bible Quotations For today
Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them
Saint John 14/21-27/:”They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 05-06/2021
Lebanon's Officials And Politicians Are Lebanon's Worst Enemies/Elias Bejjani/June 06/2021
Health Ministry: 191 new Corona cases, 6 deaths
Hassan urges citizens to remain alert
Will Lebanese Banks Pay 'Fresh Dollars' to Depositors?
Berri Stresses He Won't Back Down from His Initiative
Judge Bitar refers to recently published information about port explosion as 'mere media analyses'
Report: Missile, Bomb Attack Ruled Out in Port Blast Probe
Alloush: Presidency Not Responding to Berri's Initiative, Hariri May Quit
Lebanon appeals to UN to keep Hariri murder court going
Hariri: Sad decision to stop train of justice
Sit-in at Sassine Square coincides with emigrants' stand abroad: To preserve Lebanese national identity
FPM: We are committed to a government of specialists headed by Hariri, open to any government that the Lebanese agree to
Hashem on depositors' money: Explicit, clear decisions are required
Jumblatt, Rudakov meet in Mukhtara
Economic committee, Fahmy discuss issue of exporting to Saudi Arabia
Abdel Samad during a Lions' honoring ceremony of distinguished journalists: We are in need of a free, responsible & positive word; country is collapsing, so we cry out for immediate action today
Lebanon beats Sri Lanka in World Cup qualifiers

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 05-06/2021
Iran’s election watchdog to review barring of candidates
Khamenei equates abstentionists with ‘enemies of Islam’
Does Hamas see its interests better served with Barghouti released or in Israeli jail?
Morocco’s chief diplomat meets senior Libyan officials to bridge differences
Tunisian media mogul Nabil Karoui announces hunger strike in jail
Iraqi, Afghan translators abandoned to their fates
At least 13 civilians killed in attack in Burkina Faso
Nigerian telecoms firms suspend Twitter access after directive industry body
Russia's Sechin warns of oil shortage amid drive for green energy
Turkish Drone Strike Kills 3 Civilians in Iraq Refugee Camp
U.S. Envoy: Syrians Face 'Senseless Cruelty' if Border is Shut
Putin Says Wants to Find Ways with Biden to Improve Ties
Trump Blasts Facebook Ban, Teases Return to White House

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 05-06/2021
Islamic Republic: Welcome to Iran's Fake Democratic Elections/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 05/2021
Algerian president stresses ‘strategic partnership’ with Turkey to put pressure on France/Saber Blidi/The Arab Weekly/June 05/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 05-06/2021
Lebanon's Officials And Politicians Are Lebanon's Worst Enemies
Elias Bejjani/June 06/2021
Sadly Lebanon's officials- rulers, as well as the political class including the political parties dictators with no one exception are mere puppets, selfish, narcissists, serve the occupier blindly and practically are all enemies for both Lebanon and the Lebanese people. They are a replicate of both the Trojans and for the Iscariot.
الحكام واصحاب شركات الأحزاب كلن وإضافة إلى أنهم ادوات بيد المحتل واغطيه له هم اعداء لبنان والشعب اللبناني أين منهم الإسخريوتي

Health Ministry: 191 new Corona cases, 6 deaths
NNA/June 05/2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced, on Saturday, the registration of 191 new Corona infections, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases todate to 541,423.It also indicated that deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours.

Hassan urges citizens to remain alert
NNA/June 05/2021
Caretaker Public Health Minister Hamad Hassan tweeted today on the decrease in the number of Corona cases in the country, saying: "We want to keep the number of infections low, establish a low level of outbreak and struggle to survive. We must not give our backs to the virus and its prevention. Follow the programs of the Ministry of Public Health, the daily vaccination and the weekly marathon. I urge you, let us be alert!"

Will Lebanese Banks Pay 'Fresh Dollars' to Depositors?
Naharnet/June 05/2021
After the Central Bank issued a memo asking Lebanese banks to pay monthly fresh dollar sums to depositors, questions arose on whether the banks will abide by the decision, especially after they reportedly said in a leaked letter that they lack the ability to do so. Quoting informed banking sector sources, the al-Anbaa news portal of the Progressive Socialist Party said “the $400 sum will be divided between $200 paid from the Central Bank’s obligatory reserve and $200 paid from banks’ own money.”The Central Bank will also pay the other $400 that is supposed to be dispensed in Lebanese lira and according to the Sayrafa platform rate, which stands at LBP 12,000 against the dollar at the moment, the sources added. “Some banks have expressed reservations that they cannot secure the $200 in cash, but the Central Bank has insisted on the demand,” the sources revealed. “Accordingly, banks will abide by the circular, and if they don’t abide, they will face measures,” the sources went on to say, also revealing that “banks had sought to pay only $150 before being obliged by the Central Bank to pay $200.” Earlier in the day, the Central Bank issued a memo to banks to monthly pay every depositor $400 in “fresh” cash as well as the equivalent of $400 in Lebanese lira at the Sayrafa platform rate. A leaked letter sent by the Association of Banks in Lebanon to Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh meanwhile said that "banks cannot pay any cash sums in foreign currency no matter how low the sums may be." The letter carries the date of Thursday, June 3 while the Central Bank’s memo was issued on Friday, June 4. "Banks' foreign currency liquidity at the correspondent banks is still negative by more than $1 billion," ABL explained, adding that "any cash withdrawals can only be provided through lowering banks' obligatory reserve at the central bank.”

Berri Stresses He Won't Back Down from His Initiative
Naharnet/June 05/2021
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has emphasized that he “will not accept this paralyzed situation,” stressing that his government formation initiative is still ongoing and that he will not back down from it. “This initiative will not surrender and will continue to exert strenuous efforts and seek to overcome all the obstacles that are keeping Lebanon in its aggravating disastrous situation,” Berri said in remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper published Saturday. “It is enough to have a look at the country’s situation and the abyss that the Lebanese have fallen into,” he added.“Will they (politicians) act and hear the sound of people’s hunger and pain?” the Speaker went on to say.

Judge Bitar refers to recently published information about port explosion as 'mere media analyses'
NNA/June 05/2021
In an issued statement today, the Judicial Investigator into the Beirut Port explosion crime indicated that some media outlets have reported information regarding the cause of the blast which has been excluded from among the three hypotheses that might have led to the explosion.Therefore, the statement clarified that the Judicial Investigator has not specified any particular hypothesis, adding that what was mentioned in the media are mere analyses.

Report: Missile, Bomb Attack Ruled Out in Port Blast Probe
Naharnet /June 05/2021
The investigations into the August 2020 mega-explosion at Beirut port are making progress and the indictment will be issued within a few months, informed sources said.
“The probe has reached new evidence,” the sources told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Saturday. “Investigative judge Tarek al-Bitar has received the report of the French investigators, who ruled out the theory that the Beirut port was targeted by a missile or an explosive device that caused the blast,” the sources added. The sources also revealed that there is “serious and accurate evidence” as to how the explosion happened.

Alloush: Presidency Not Responding to Berri's Initiative, Hariri May Quit
Naharnet/June 05/2021
The Presidency and its team are “not responding” to Speaker Nabih Berri’s initiative for the formation of the new government, al-Mustaqbal Movement deputy head Mustafa Alloush said. “We will wait until Speaker Berri says that this initiative has ended in order to say that it is no longer one of the options,” Alloush added in a radio interview. Clarifying that the option of PM-designate Saad Hariri’s resignation “has been on the table since more than three weeks,” the Mustaqbal official said “this choice became serious a month ago.”He added that the issue of Mustaqbal’s resignation from parliament “could be discussed anew,” but that the priority now is for Hariri’s possible resignation.

Lebanon appeals to UN to keep Hariri murder court going
The Arab Weekly/June 05/2021
The STL is estimated to have cost between $600 million and $1 billion since it opened in 2009.
BEIRUT--Lebanon on Friday urged the United Nations to urgently consider “alternative means” to fund a UN-backed court on its ex-premier Rafik Hariri’s murder that may close over a cash crunch. “Taking into account the ongoing acute crises that Lebanon suffers from… (we) would be grateful to Your Excellency for urgently exploring different and alternative means of financing” the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab wrote in a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres. The STL, set up to try suspects in the 2005 killing of Hariri, said this week it risks closure by the end of July without a cash injection. The court based in the Netherlands on Thursday cancelled the opening of a new trial of a convicted suspect that had been set for June 16 “due to lack of funds.” The STL is estimated to have cost between $600 million and $1 billion since it opened in 2009. It draws 51 percent of its budget from donor countries and the rest from Lebanon, which is grappling with its deepest economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. The World Bank said this week that Lebanon’s financial downturn is likely to rank among the world’s worst since the mid-19th century. In his appeal, Diab called on UN member states to keep the court alive. “The most painful consequences of the cessation of the STL’s work lie in the reflection of a fragmented and incomplete justice,” he said. “While we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the STL, we firmly believe that these financial difficulties should not hinder the completion of its work to the end,” Diab added.
Impunity from justice
Sunni billionaire Hariri, who had stepped down as Lebanon’s prime minister in October 2004, was killed in a February 2005 suicide blast targeting his armoured convoy. The attack in Beirut also killed 21 other people and injured 226. Born from a United Nations Security Council resolution, the STL last year sentenced Hezbollah suspect Salim Ayyash in absentia to life imprisonment over the 2005 truck bombing. The tribunal was meant to begin next week another trial for Ayyash, who remains on the run, in a separate case over three attacks targeting Lebanese politicians between 2004 and 2005. Responding to news of the trial’s cancellation, the families of victims who died in the attacks warned against impunity from justice. “We are killed twice: first, through assassination… and then as a result of the deliberate assassination of the trial,” said a woman speaking on behalf of the Hawi family at a joint news conference.
“If the court closes its doors, the family of martyr George Hawi will sue every official either in the tribunal or in the United Nations who caused delays in our case,” she said.

Hariri: Sad decision to stop train of justice
NNA/June 05/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri's press office issued a statement this evening, regretting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's decision to suspend trials in the cases of the assassination of Martyr George Hawi and the assassination attempts against the two former ministers, Marwan Hamadeh and Elias Murr, and some matters related to the trial of Martyr PM Rafic Hariri. "Due to the inability of the Lebanese state to fulfill its obligations in light of the stifling economic and financial crisis witnessed by our people, and the failure of the international community to pay its dues, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has decided to suspend the trial in the cases of the assassination of Martyr George Hawi and the assassination attempts against the two former ministers, Marwan Hamadeh and Elias Murr, as well as other issues related to the trial of Martyr Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and his companions," the statement said.
"It is a sad decision that the train of justice stops when we need it the most, and it is painful for the reasons to be financial. Therefore, we call on the Lebanese government to pay the financial contribution it owes, and we call on the international community to assume its responsibilities, and fulfill its obligations in these humanitarian issues of international justice, especially since we fear that abandoning the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would denote an abandonment of justice and human right to opinion expression and conviction practices as stipulated in the laws of the United Nations, a matter that would encourage political assassination, impunity and the establishment of the law of the jungle in a country like Lebanon that is drowning in a sea of crises," the statement underlined. "Based on our belief in justice and our conviction in freedom and democracy, we call on the Lebanese state to pay its due financial contribution, and we appeal to friendly and brotherly countries to provide the financial obligations to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, because its work would put an end to political murders, establish the principle of non-impunity and promote a culture of justice and defense of the human being and his right to life," the statement concluded.

Sit-in at Sassine Square coincides with emigrants' stand abroad: To preserve Lebanese national identity
NNA/June 05/2021
A number of activists staged a sit-in at Sassine Square this evening which coincided with a stand by some expatriates residing outside Lebanon, calling for "preserving our Lebanese national identity and not to remain hostages of the mafia and militia alliance," NNA correspondent reported.
After playing the national anthem, participants chanted slogans and raised banners calling for "accountability for all officials, independence of the judiciary, accountability for those involved in the Beirut Port blast, punishment of all the corrupt and thieves who brought the country to its current situation..."Demonstrators also urged citizens to "take to the street to express their anger towards their daily sufferings, particularly since more than half of the Lebanese people have become below extreme poverty line."

FPM: We are committed to a government of specialists headed by Hariri, open to any government that the Lebanese agree to
NNA/June 05/2021
The Free Patriotic Movement's political council issued a statement today following its periodic electronic meeting headed by its Chief, MP Gebran Bassil, in which it expressed "great concern that the delay in forming an effective rescue government would lead to reaching the point of no return in the path of financial collapse, resulting in livelihood risks and social unrest."The council renewed the call on Prime Minister-designate, Saad Hariri, to "perform his constitutional and national duties, by presenting a government line-up that takes into account constitutional principles and charter rules, and to agree on it with the President of the Republic, so it would take its way to confidence in Parliament and adhere to a reform ministerial statement that the Lebanese are awaiting on the basis of the French initiative and the requirements of the International Monetary Fund." Re-affirming FPM's commitment to a government of specialists headed by Hariri, the council declared that it remains open to "any government that the Lebanese agree on," but it definitely rejects "any coup against the constitution by bypassing the equality component and establishing new norms." The FPM political council considered that "in the event of failing to form a government, and in light of the accelerating decay in the structure of institutions, and the caretaker government's failure to carry out its duties in conducting business as required by this stage, the option of shortening the mandate of the Parliament Council will become a mandatory act, even if that will cause more time-wasting while Lebanon is in dire need of expediting the adoption of reform laws." In this connection, the FPM council called on the parliamentary blocs to discuss the proposed law submitted by the 'Strong Lebanon Bloc' to rationalize subsidies and provide a financing card for needy families to benefit from.
It also reiterated its conviction that "the President of the Republic should call for a dialogue meeting in which parliamentary blocs would participate to discuss options and priorities for reform, complete the formation of the executive authority, and address the fateful challenges facing the Lebanese, as they affect their existence and the position of their country in light of external variables that will soon impose a new fait accompli." "It is in the interest of the Lebanese to have a unified vision in reading the changes, and a unified position that answers the questions posed by every Lebanese about the best political and economic system in the new phase of our history," the council statement underlined. Over the Central Bank's decision to give depositors part of their money in various banks, the FPM political council deemed this step as being in line with the spirit of the recent State Shoura Council's decision, denouncing herein the reaction of the Association of Banks in refusing to give depositors some of their rights that are protected by the constitution and the laws, noting that the banks have accumulated profits in billions and have liquidity in their accounts outside Lebanon. Meanwhile, the council urged the Banque du Liban to "assume its responsibilities in controlling the monetary mass to curb manipulation of the exchange rate of the Lebanese lira," and the Ministry of Finance to "carry out its duties in terms of securing the necessary funds to finance the opening of the needed credits for the purchase of electricity fuel, gasoline, diesel, medicines and flour, since the absence of these materials will lead to a real and justified social revolution, at which point the Free Patriotic Movement will call on its supporters to join."

Hashem on depositors' money: Explicit, clear decisions are required
NNA/June 05/2021
Member of the "Development and Liberation" Parliamentary Bloc, MP Qassem Hashem, said in a statement via social media today: "Once again, those in charge of depositors' money fascinate us by their improvised and sometimes absurd decisions to deceive people of returning their money, even through some crumbs and ambiguous mechanisms and by way of circumventing rights by reducing the mandatory reserve rates, whereas in reality, they are putting a hand on people's money to justify wasting these rights later."Hashem stressed that "clear and explicit decisions are required," adding that "legal mechanisms must be put in place to preserve the depositors' money, even if drawn from the assets of everyone who caused the waste of this money, be it the Central Bank or commercial banks, instead of distracting and playing on people's nerves while protecting the perpetrators...""How long will these policies remain," he questioned, adding that "they have brought nothing but calamities and devastation to Lebanon and the Lebanese!"

Jumblatt, Rudakov meet in Mukhtara
NNA/June 05/2021
Progressive Socialist Party Chief, Walid Jumblatt, met today in Mukhtara with Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Rudakov, in the presence of MPs Bilal Abdullah and Wael Abu Faour, as well as former Minister Ghazi Aridi and a number of senior party officials.The general political situation in Lebanon and the region topped their discussions. Jumblatt held a luncheon in honor of the Russian diplomat.

Economic committee, Fahmy discuss issue of exporting to Saudi Arabia
NNA/June 05/2021
The Parliamentary Economic Committee, headed by Representative Farid Bustani, met Saturday morning with the Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmy at the Ministry’s headquarters, to discuss the issue of exporting to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Conferees reportedly discussed the best ways to enhance trust between the Kingdom and Lebanon. Minister Fahmy assured the delegation of following up on this matter, as he attaches great importance to the damage inflicted on agricultural crops and industrial exports.The two parties agreed to pursue the issue, whereby today's meeting will be followed by contacts with Lebanese officials and other Gulf parties.

Abdel Samad during a Lions' honoring ceremony of distinguished journalists: We are in need of a free, responsible & positive word; country is collapsing, so we cry out for immediate action today
NNA/June 05/2021
The International Lions Clubs Association (District 351: Lebanon - Jordan - Palestine) honored journalists from various media outlets, in a celebration held last Thursday at the "Lions' House of Giving - Melvin Jones Hall - Sin El Fil", under the patronage of caretaker Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd. In her word on the occasion, Abdel Samad praised the "initiative of honoring media figures who demonstrate high levels of professionalism, objectivity, impartiality and positivity in dealing with crises despite the difficult circumstances we live in," hoping that Lebanon will rise and that the state will succeed in honoring the many more Lebanese distinguished talents and capabilities. "We are in a dire and critical situation, but we can get out of it in the presence of remarkable media professionals, and we must work hand in hand, whether with media institutions, media professionals or civil society, in order to improve Lebanon's image in terms of freedom of opinion and expression," she asserted. Abdel Samad referred to the Information Ministry's success in introducing "fundamental amendments to the media law", noting that "after 11 years, we finalized the draft media law, thanks to the Administration and Justice Parliamentary Committee, and before it to the Media and Communications Parliamentary Committee, which helped in presenting the media law in its final form to the Parliament Council's General Assembly." She commended herein the role of played by MP Ghassan Mokheiber, "Maharat Foundation" and all media professionals. "We also held, in the Ministry of Information, consultative dialogue meetings related to the media law, so we thank the media institutions, media professionals, civil society, specialists and unions that helped in drawing up the final notes and recommendations for said law," she added.
"This law proposal was based on three basic principles, whereby we emphasized in the first principle that the law should be comprehensive and unified, for it is not possible to separate electronic media from other types of media, because the sector is a media sector, regardless of the different visual, audio, written and digital mediums. In the second principle, we emphasized respect for international conventions, including freedom of opinion and expression, so we must all work to improve the image of freedom of opinion and expression. Likewise, we based importance on responsible freedom. We agreed in Parliament on the need for freedom to be responsible, and we ask for this freedom at a time when we are witnessing social, political and economic fragmentation and chaos. Unfortunately, the political crisis is what caused the economic issues and the deteriorating situation, so we need a free, responsible and positive word that can shed light on solutions to these problems," Abdel Samad underlined. She stressed that "the solution is not in the hands of those in power, but rather those outside it," adding that "the country is collapsing before us, sector by sector, so we cry out to all the people concerned with the solution to act today, for each day of delay costs us a year of ruin and destruction which would be difficult to overcome." Abdel Samad thanked the Lions Clubs for their valuable initiative and congratulated the honorees, hoping that this country will remain a beacon of free media, vigor and liveliness. It is to note that the ceremony included a briefing on the status of the Lebanese media between past and present, followed by the presentation of awards to the honored journalists. The ceremony also shed light on the media coverage of the Lions Club Association 351 this year, particularly its "Return to Residence" campaign launched by the Association after the August 4th blast, with the aim of restoring a large number of damaged buildings in the area of Beirut and its suburbs. At the end, Abdel Samad was presented with an honorary shield in appreciation of her relentless efforts and generous contributions while serving in her position as Information Minister.

Lebanon beats Sri Lanka in World Cup qualifiers
NNA/June 05/2021
The Lebanese national football team defeated Sri Lanka 3-2 (first half 3-1) in the match that took place between them this morning in South Korea, in the first stage of the Asian Group H qualifiers, qualifying for the World Cup Qatar 2022 and the Asian Cup in China 2023. Lebanon is set to compete, respectively, with Turkmenistan and South Korea. It is worth noting that if Lebanon wins one of the two matches, it will qualify for the Asian Cup finals and continue to the World Cup.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 05-06/2021
Iran’s election watchdog to review barring of candidates
The Arab Weekly/June 05/2021
Iranian supreme leader said on Friday some of the candidates rejected from this month’s presidential election had been “wronged” and unfairly maligned online.
TEHRAN – Iran’s Guardian Council said on Friday that the vetting body will soon announce a review of candidates barred from this month’s presidential vote following the supreme leader’s intervention. “The orders of the Supreme Leader are final and his ruling must be obeyed. The Guardian Council will soon announce its opinion, acknowledging that it is not immune to error,” council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodai said in a tweet. Iran’s supreme leader said on Friday some of the candidates rejected from this month’s presidential election had been “wronged” and unfairly maligned online.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on Iran’s affairs, last month endorsed the watchdog’s rejection of several prominent moderate and conservative candidates for the June 18 vote, including former parliament speaker Ali Larijani. On Friday, Khamenei said some of the disqualified candidates had been treated unfairly during the vetting process. “Some candidates were wronged. They were accused of untrue things that were unfortunately spread throughout the internet too. Protecting people’s honour is one of the most important issues. I call on the responsible bodies to restore their honour,” he said in a televised speech. Several of the rejected candidates had faced attacks online, with some social media posters accusing them of having close relatives living in “hostile” Western countries. Immediately after Khamenei’s statement, one leading moderate candidate, former central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, tweeted that he hoped some of the rejected politicians would now be reinstated. But the Guardian Council soon afterwards said its decision to ban the candidates had not been affected by any rumours against them and the prohibitions still stood. “While emphasising the preservation of the dignity of individuals and condemning the desecration of the candidates and their families, the Council urges media outlets to respect confidentiality,” it said. The decision to ban the candidates boosted the prospects of hardline judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, an ally of Khamenei, though it may also dent the clerical rulers’ hopes of a high turnout amid discontent over an economy crippled by US sanctions. Iranian voters will have a choice between seven candidates, five hardliners and two low-key moderates, in the election. Pragmatist incumbent President Hassan Rohani is legally barred from running for a third term. The election is likely to reinforce Khamenei’s authority at home at a time when Tehran and six powers are trying to revive their 2015 nuclear deal Washington exited three years ago. Allies of Khamenei have placed the responsibility for Iran’s economic problems squarely on the US government and said that Washington cannot be trusted to fulfil any accord.

Khamenei equates abstentionists with ‘enemies of Islam’
The Arab Weekly/June 05/2021
The presidential election campaign kicked off on May 28, without fanfare and in an atmosphere of indifference, as many say the result is a foregone conclusion.
TEHRAN--Iran’s supreme leader Friday urged voters to turn out for this month’s presidential election, warning that staying away would mean doing the work of the “enemies of Islam”. Iranians are set to elect a successor to President Hassan Rouhani on June 18 amid widespread discontent over a deep economic and social crisis. “Some want to give up the duty to participate in the election with absurd reasons,” Khamenei said, in a televised speech. “It is the will of the enemies, the enemies of Iran, the enemies of Islam and the enemies of religious democracy.” The presidential election campaign kicked off on May 28, without fanfare and in an atmosphere of indifference, as many say the result is a foregone conclusion. Khamenei last week made similar calls urging people not to heed calls to boycott the poll. The opposition based outside Iran is running a campaign on social media networks calling for people to stay away from the polls, using hashtags in Farsi such as #NototheIslamicRepublic. “It has been said that some people are reluctant to go to the ballot box due to the pressures on their livelihoods, which we all know and experience,” Khamenei said, adding that such problems are solved “by making the right choice, not by not choosing”. He also quoted the Islamic republic’s late founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, saying that, under certain circumstances, to abstain from voting is “one of the worst deadly sins”. Iran’s conservative-dominated Guardian Council approved seven candidates — five ultraconservative and two reformists — to run from a field of about 600 hopefuls. Ultraconservative judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, who took 38 percent of the vote in the 2017 presidential election, is widely seen as a favourite. Rouhani, who is constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term, has warned of the risk of low turnout. A record 57 percent of Iranians stayed away from parliamentary elections in February last year in which thousands of candidates, many of them moderates and reformists, were barred from running. According to a survey by Netherlands-based independent polling organisation Gamaan, about 78% of Iranians say they do not intend to vote, while only 12% say they will. The survey also shed light on the changes within Iranian society and the political attitudes of Iranians. About 53% of Iranians describe themselves as “regime change” proponents, 26% advocate for “structural transformations and a transition away from the Islamic Republic,” while only 13% support “the principles of the Revolution and the Supreme Leader” and 8% seek “reforms within the framework of the Islamic Republic”.

Does Hamas see its interests better served with Barghouti released or in Israeli jail?
The Arab Weekly/June 05/2021
The militant group’s goal remains primarily political as it tries to convey the impression of an inclusive and non-factional organisation.
GAZA/ RAMALLAH – Palestinian political circles are sceptical about the serious intent of Hamas to exchange Marwan Barghouti for Israeli prisoners in a deal it reportedly seeks to reach with Tel Aviv. The militant group would prefer to compete with Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas in the electoral elections rather than face a staunch opponent like Bargouti, analysts say. Sources in the Hamas movement insist that Barghouti is at the top of the Hamas list of names that it will negotiate indirectly with Israel. Analysts doubt Hamas’ credibility, however, and classify its professed intentions as part of internal electoral manoeuvres aimed at improving the image of the radical Palestinian movement abroad. Barghouti’s alliance with the former leader of the Fatah movement, Nasser al-Kudwa in a joint list, will affect the course of the legislative elections. Abbas has already dismissed Kudwa from the membership of Fatah and its central committee. Hamas is said to hold four Israelis, two of whom are soldiers who were captured during the Israeli war on Gaza in the summer of 2014 (without disclosing their fate or health), while the other two had entered Gaza in unclear circumstances during the past few years.
Hamas is demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the four Israelis. Earlier, the Palestine Liberation Organisation announced that Hamas had requested the lists of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. It noted that Hamas had not consulted the official Palestinian body in charge of detainees about the deal that the Iranian-backed Islamist movement is trying to clinch for the exchange of prisoners. Sources say there is speculation about unprecedented concessions made by Hamas to Israel in order to make possible a prisoner exchange. The Head of the Prisoners and Former Prisoners’ Affairs Authority, Qadri Abu Bakr, said that there are “currently 5,000 Palestinian prisoners in 23 Israeli jails, 22 of which are within the Green Line (Israel) and Ofer Prison inside the 1967 territories (West Bank).”
Abu Bakr made it clear that no consultations with the Palestinian authorities have occurred over the reported prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. On April 7, Israel called for the immediate resumption of indirect talks regarding the return of two Israeli civilians and the remains of two Israeli soldiers from Gaza. The request came in a statement put out by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Hamas said that it might be ready to move forward on this issue, in an indication of its weak negotiating position, analysts say. Political sources said that Hamas responded to the Israeli offer, in light of the increasing pressures it faces, as well as the receding margin of manoeuvre of its mediators in advancing the prisoners’ issue. Last April, Hamas chief Yahya al-Sinwar announced his movement’s readiness to offer Israel a “partial counterpart” in exchange of the release of Palestinian detainees, as part of an initiative described by the militant movement as “stemming from humanitarian considerations.”Observers say that Barghouti’s imprisonment is actually an advantage for Hamas, as the militant Palestinian faction sees Mahmoud Abbas as a weak figure who will not offer it serious competition as head of its rival Fatah movement. It is in its interests that the status quo continues so that it can hope for a landslide victory in next elections.
Others believe that Hamas is seeking to take advantage of Barghouti’s release from prison within its deal with Israel to highlight its influence on Palestinian politics. Besides, it has nothing to lose as it is not interested in vying for the position of president. Its main goal remains to dominate the parliament, the legislative council as the main lever of the executive authority. Palestinian affairs expert, Tariq Fahmy, said that Hamas wants to send a message to the international community that its decisions are not determined by its interests as a faction. Vis à vis the Palestinian public, it is seeking to reinvent itself so as to achieve its objectives in any future elections, whenever they are held, and try to boost its political clout if the various parties agree to form a government of national unity. Talking to The Arab Weekly, Fahmy added that Barghouti’s release would mean that he will be a strong contendant against President Mahmoud Abbas, especially if he allies himself with Kudwa. The same would happen in the case of an alliance with the head of the Democratic Reform Movement, led by Muhammad Dahlan. That would have significant fallouts within the Fatah movement and spark complications that are likely to indirectly serve Hamas’ interestsy.
He pointed out that Hamas seeks to avoid the mistakes it made when finalising the deal for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, when it limited the exchange to its members only, before Israel arrested a large number of them again. It now seeks to make the expected deal more credible at the domestic and international levels. Barghouti’s popularity may help Hamas expand its popular base in the West Bank after it was able to impose its control over the Gaza Strip, in addition to the fact that the Bargouti himself does not have major differences with Hamas at either the political nor military level.
Palestinian political analyst, Imad Omar, pointed added there is unanimity among Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on including Barghouti on the list of detainees to be released. Thus Hamas is forced to accept that, Baragouti’s case especially has become a Palestinian national concern separate from the long-running disputes between the various factions. Omar told The Arab Weekly that Hamas is said to have included a number of veteran detainees on its list, such as those sentenced to life terms and capital punishment and belonging to different factions. Most notable among these is Ahmed Saadat, secretary-general of the Popular Front. Therefore Hamas’ goal remain primarily political as it tries to convey the impression of an inclusive and non-factional organisation.

Morocco’s chief diplomat meets senior Libyan officials to bridge differences
The Arab Weekly/June 05/2021
The talks in Rabat are the latest in several inter-Libyan dialogues held in the North African kingdom since September.
RABAT--Morocco’s foreign minister met on Friday with two senior Libyan officials as part of ongoing efforts to find a political solution to the crisis in the war-torn country, his ministry said. Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita met separately with Khalid al-Mishri, head of the High Council of State based in the Libyan capital Tripoli, and eastern powerbroker Aguila Saleh, speaker of Libya’s parliament, as part of “Morocco’s efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis,” a statement said. The statement also emphasised Morocco’s “unwavering support for enhanced communication and dialogue between the various parties to establish stability and peace in this brotherly Maghreb country.”The two men arrived on Thursday to take part in a new round of talks on key institutional appointments in Libya, according to Morocco. They also attended several meetings with Moroccan officials, including the Speaker of Morocco’s House of Representatives Habib Al-Malki, and the Speaker of the House of Councillors Hakim Benchamach. In a statement to the media, Saleh emphasised Morocco’s role, saying that the country’s efforts had helped in the formation of a single, executive authority consisting of a presidential council and a government of national unity that is now operational in Libya. Mishri, on his part, noted Morocco’s role in the peace process that suddenly ended years of bloody conflict. Morocco’s support has been “decisive in bringing together points of view between the different parties and the outcome of consensus likely to pave the way for a final political settlement of the Libyan crisis,” the head of the Tripoli-based High Council of State said. Previous Libyan discussions hosted by Morocco have centred on positions including Libya’s central bank governor and the heads of the electoral commission, the anti-corruption commission and the Supreme Court. The talks in Rabat are the latest in several inter-Libyan dialogues held in the North African kingdom since September. Libya is seeking to extricate itself from a decade of chaos and conflict that followed the toppling of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in the 2011 NATO-backed uprising. A formal truce signed last October set in motion a UN-led process that led to the creation of an interim government tasked with unifying the country’s divided institutions, launching reconstruction efforts and preparing for December polls.Germany will host a new set of peace talks later this month in Berlin, with Libya’s transitional government due to attend.

Tunisian media mogul Nabil Karoui announces hunger strike in jail
The Arab Weekly/June 05/2021
Former presidential candidate is detained over money laundering and tax evasion allegations, which he claims are “politically driven”.
TUNIS--Tunisia’s Qalb Tounes party leader and media executive Nabil Karoui will start a hunger strike in jail in protest over his continued “arbitrary detention despite the end of the legally mandated period of pre-trial custody,” his lawyers said Saturday. Karoui, who he is detained over tax evasion and money laundering allegations, had come second in the 2019 presidential election behind current president Kais Saied. Qalb Tounes lawmaker Oussama Khlifi told a news conference in parliament last month that Karoui was “hostage” to a “political ploy” and that his preventive detention since December exceeded the legal time by several weeks. According to Tunisian law, suspects can be held in preventive detention for up to six months. A judge can extend the time but the suspect has a right to appeal. Karoui’s party has led the second largest bloc in parliament after the October 2019 parliamentary elections and has since allied itself with Ennahdha party. Qalb Tounes is part of Islamist-led parliamentary blocs that support the Hichem Mechichi government. During his presidential election campaign that same year, Karoui spent more than a month in prison over money laundering and tax evasion charges stemming from a 2017 investigation. He was arrested again in December 2020 over the same affair. Himself and his party supporters have claimed his prosecution was “politically driven”.“We call for the immediate liberation of Nabil Karoui and an end to political harassment and forced detention,” Khlifi told reporters. Last April, and in a separate case, a Tunisian court has ordered Karoui to pay a six million-euro fine for failing to pay customs dues, the prosecution said. The case, opened in 2012, concerns “failure to make customs declarations on revenues from export operations”, Dali said, without giving details.
Karoui, 57, is the founder of private channel Nessma TV, partly owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Iraqi, Afghan translators abandoned to their fates
The Arab Weekly/June 05/2021
Many of the translators who were essential to the US and British presence in Iraq and Afghanistan are being abandoned and they and their families are facing a dangerous future.
LONDON--Armies serving abroad do not just need weaponry and logistics. More often than not they simply cannot function without the support of local interpreters. Throughout the long and bitter conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of these individuals have worked alongside Western soldiers and officials, translating not simply words but also the complex cultures of which the European and American military were all too often largely ignorant. The interpreter’s work might have had perks in a time of chaos, such as reasonable, reliable pay and some access to the goods and services that supported occupying armies. However, these individuals also ran risks, not least because some at least of their fellow citizens regarded them as turncoats, traitors supporting occupying powers. As the last US troops prepare to pull out of Afghanistan and the American deployment in Iraq and Syria is being further run down, many of the translators who were essential to this presence are being abandoned and they and their families are facing a dangerous future. Schemes that once relocated interpreters, offering them new lives in the countries whose armies they had served have mostly run out. For those working for the last remaining Western forces, the future is suddenly bleak.
Shared information
Bel Trew, the Middle East correspondent of the UK’s Independent newspaper has interviewed despairing Iraqi interpreters who have hustled their families to hopefully safe locations while they themselves have gone into hiding. Eight of the translators said they fear for their lives after being employed by a subcontracting company to work with British special forces at Camp Taji, about 40 kilometres north of Baghdad. From 2018 until the pandemic hit in March last year, they were translating for British advisers who ran training programmes for Iraqi special forces at the base. The men claim their personal information, which was requested on behalf of British forces last March, was then shared with the Iraqi security forces without their consent. As a result it ended up in the hands of powerful Iranian-backed Shia militia groups which violently oppose the presence of foreign forces and have repeatedly threatened Iraqis who work with them. The plight of interpreters hired by the Americans seems little better. Personal information given as requested to the administration at the Union III headquarters of the US-led coalition, ended up being published by the Iranian-backed militia news agency Sabreen, according to a report last year in the Washington Post. The data included home addresses and even the types of car the translators drove. Last October, the same news agency put out a specific threat against interpreters working for the British. Moreover, it seems clear that the invective against Iraqis working for coalition forces has become the stronger since the US assassination of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi lieutenant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in an airstrike outside Baghdad airport early last year. A further threat has been a demand from militias that, in return for their safety and large sums of money, Iraqi translators working for foreign forces should become informers.
One of the eight translators who spoke to the Independent received in an envelope three AK-47 bullets, representing each member of his family including his child, with a message that read: “You will not have mercy from us.” Another said that a group of strange men appeared on his road in a white SUV and began questioning his neighbours about his work. “They were watching the house. They knew my name. It was at that point I decided to leave my house, and send my wife and kid away. I haven’t seen them since then. I can’t walk in the streets. I’m caged,” he said.
The problem for the interpreters working with British forces is that they have missed out on a 2007 special protection scheme put in place after several were kidnapped, tortured and killed, along with their families. That scheme allowed Iraqi civilian employees who had helped the British military during the war to be given one-off payments and exceptional indefinite leave to relocate to the UK or resettle somewhere else. However, unlike a similar British scheme in Afghanistan, which is still running, the programme for Iraqis has closed. The dilemma for the Iraqi interpreters is compounded by the fact that they were not employed directly by the British military but by military subcontractors. This has enabled London to distance itself from the translators, while denying that their details were shared with anyone except Iraqi security forces, to enable their access to a UK base. However, it would very much appear that the official sharing of that information has enabled it to fall into the hands of militias bent on punishing the translators. Questions in the British parliament and lobbying by human rights campaigners are currently meeting little response from the UK ministry of defence and the interior ministry, the Home Office.
Death limbo
The translators complain they are in limbo, “waiting to be killed”. “When we started working for the British” one of them explained to the Independent, “they told us we were ‘part of the family’, but they have abandoned us. We don’t care where we go, we just want to be relocated somewhere safe. Even animals have rights in the UK. We would like the basic rights the animals in your country get. I don’t ask more than that.” In Afghanistan, with just weeks to go until US and NATO troops complete their withdrawal, translators who worked for foreign forces are also desperate to leave the country. Embassies have issued thousands of visas to Afghan interpreters and their immediate families, but many have had their applications declined, some told AFP for reasons that were never fully explained. “When an imam is not safe in a mosque or a 10-year-old girl is not safe in her school… how can we be safe?” asks Omid Mahmoodi, an interpreter attached to US forces between 2018 and 2020. His work in Kabul and the southern Taliban bastion of Kandahar ended after he failed a routine polygraph test and he has since been refused a US visa. Even though scientists agree there is little evidence lie-detector tests are reliable, they are still used by the United States, particularly when hiring people in sensitive roles. Campaigners say those who have been dismissed by foreign forces deserve to have their visa cases reconsidered, as the Taliban will treat them all as collaborators.
“They are tracking us,” said Mahmoodi. “The Taliban will not pardon us. They will kill us and they will behead us.”Omar, is another translator who fears that unless he leaves the country, he will not evade the Taliban for long.
He worked for the US embassy for around ten years, but his contract was terminated after he also failed a polygraph test. “I regret working for the US. It was the biggest mistake of my life,” said Omar, who asked AFP not to use his full name.
While dozens of interpreters have been killed and tortured over the past two decades by militants, threats also come from even closer to home. “My own uncle and cousins call me an agent of America,” Omar said. At a protest in Kabul last week, 32-year-old Waheedullah Hanifi said French officials turned down his bid for asylum after telling him they did not believe he was in danger. He appealed in 2019 but has still not heard the outcome. He worked with the French military between 2010 and 2012, when Paris pulled out its combat troops. “We were the voice… for the French troops in Afghanistan and now they have left us to the Taliban,” said the father of two.
He is now terrified of being hunted down.
“If I stay in the country, there is no chance of survival for me. The French army has betrayed us.” For those who have been given passage out of Afghanistan, the fight to protect loved ones they have had to leave behind continues. Jamal, 29, an interpreter for British forces, was shot twice during operations before being granted residency in Britain in 2015 where he settled in Coventry.Six years later, his wife has only just been given clearance by the UK to join him. His father, who worked as a groundskeeper on a British military base, remains in Lashkar Gah, the scene of intense fighting between the Taliban and government forces in recent months. “When you’ve worked for the British army, when you’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with the British army, you expect something,” said Jamal.

At least 13 civilians killed in attack in Burkina Faso
NNA/ Xinhua/June 05/2021
At least 13 civilians were killed and two others injured on Friday night in an attack by armed gunmen in the Commune of Markoye in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, Xinhua learned from a security source. A police officer said on condition of anonymity that the assailants had also taken away cattle from the the village of Tadaryet in the commune of Markoye.The Burkinabe army has begun a sweep in the area, according to a military officer. The official news agency AIB reported that "the terrorists had been repelled" during the sweep.

Nigerian telecoms firms suspend Twitter access after directive industry body
Reuters/NNA/June 05/2021
Nigerian telecoms firms have shut down access to Twitter after a regulatory directive, an industry body said on Saturday, a day after the government said it would suspend the U.S. social media giant indefinitely. Nigeria said on Friday it had indefinitely suspended Twitter's activities, two days after the company removed a post from President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish regional secessionists in the West African country.

Russia's Sechin warns of oil shortage amid drive for green energy
Reuters/NNA/June 05/2021
Igor Sechin, the head of Russian oil major Rosneft, said on Saturday the world was facing an acute shortage of oil due to underinvestments amid a drive for alternative energy.He also told an online session of St Petersburg's economic forum that a court order to deepen carbon cuts for Shell was a new form of risk for oil majors.

Turkish Drone Strike Kills 3 Civilians in Iraq Refugee Camp
Agence France Presse/June 05/2021
Three civilians were killed Saturday in a Turkish drone attack on a refugee camp in northern Iraq in an area Turkish President recently threatened to "clean up," a Kurdish lawmaker said. Rashad Galali, a Kurdish MP from Makhmur, told AFP the strike targeted "a kindergarten near a school" in the U.N.-supported camp that houses Kurdish refugees from Turkey. "Three civilians were killed and two wounded," he said. Earlier this week Erdogan compared Makhmur to the Mount Qandil region along Iraq's eastern frontier, where Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has rear bases. "The issue of Makhmur is as important to us as Qandil... because Makhmur has become the incubator of Qandil... and if we don't intervene the incubator will continue producing (terrorists)," he said. "If the United Nations does not clean up this district, we will take care of it in our capacity as a U.N. member state," Erdogan warned. Turkish troops have maintained a network of bases in northern Iraq since the mid-1990s on the basis of security agreements struck with the now-ousted regime of dictator Saddam Hussein. The PKK has waged a rebellion in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey since 1984 that has claimed more than 40,000 lives. The PKK maintains rear bases in northern Iraq, from where they train their fighters and launch attacks on Turkey which has hit back with air attacks and the occasional ground incursion into Iraq. Saturday's drone attack came hours after five Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters were killed in a clashes with the PKK in the Mount Matin district of northern Dohuk province, an official said. Serbast Lazkin, deputy minister for peshmerga affairs in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, said two peshmerga fighters were also wounded in the clash. The People's Defense Forces (HPG), the armed wing of the PKK, accused the peshmerga of entering "a conflict zone in Matin" between it and Turkey "which wants to occupy Iraqi Kurdistan"."These peshmerga movements are a stab in the back for the PKK and we refuse their entry into an area under our control," it said in a statement.
The PKK's pan-Kurdish agenda has often put it at odds with Iraq's autonomous Kurdish government, which has sought to maintain good relations with Ankara. The peshmerga affairs ministry has called on "everyone to respect the borders of Kurdistan and to refrain from endangering its security and stability."
The federal government in Baghdad has taken a stronger line, condemning repeated air and ground incursions into Iraq by Turkish forces.

U.S. Envoy: Syrians Face 'Senseless Cruelty' if Border is Shut
Associated Press/June 05/2021
The closure of a final humanitarian border crossing into Syrian could cause "senseless cruelty" to millions of Syrians, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Friday, renewing a call for the U.N. Security Council to extend authorization for the delivery of cross-border humanitarian assistance.U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made the comments at the end of a three-day visit to Turkey, which included a trip to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing — the sole remaining access point for humanitarian aid to enter conflict-ravaged Syria.Russia, which is Syria's closest ally, has limited cross-border transfers of humanitarian aid in recent years, insisting that the Syrian government should control all assistance to the millions of Syrians in need. International crossing points were reduced at Russia's insistence to the single border station leading from Turkey to Syria's rebel-held northwest. "If this border crossing is closed, it will cause senseless cruelty," Thomas-Greenfield told reporters. "Without this border crossing, (Syrians) would die." The United States is seeking the reauthorization of U.N. access at Bab al-Hawa and the reopening of other border crossings before the current U.N. Security Council mandate for humanitarian aid deliveries expires on July 10. There is strong support in the 15-member council for maintaining and even adding border crossings, but Russia holds the key. "We call on the rest of the Security Council to renew this mandate so that we can stop the suffering and help those in desperate need," she said. "We want the U.N. to bring food to starving children and protection to homeless families. We want the U.N. to be able to deliver vaccines in the middle of a global pandemic." Thomas-Greenfield said she would meet with her Russian counterpart and other members of the Security Council to press for the extended access and the reopening of other border crossings. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also plans to discuss the issue with the Russian foreign minister, she said. "In my engagement with (the Russian ambassador to the U.N.), I will share with him what I saw on the border, the concerns that people have, the worry that they have that this one lifeline that they have for the community and assistance might be closed," she said. Thomas-Greenfield met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Ibrahim Kalin, the presidential spokesman and top aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during her stay in Turkey, which hosts some 4 million Syrian refugees. Ankara and Washington once considered each other strategic partners, but ties steadily deteriorated in recent years over differences on Syria, Turkey's cooperation with Russia, and Turkish naval interventions in the eastern Mediterranean that U.S. officials have described as destabilizing. "We have a nuanced, strategic relationship with our NATO ally, Turkey. We agree on some areas and we disagree on others. Maintaining humanitarian cross-border access into Syria is one place where our values are completely aligned." Thomas-Greenfield said. At Bab al-Hawa on Thursday, Thomas-Greenfield announced nearly $240 million in additional U.S. humanitarian funding through the U.S. Agency for International Development to support Syrians and countries hosting Syrian refugees.

Putin Says Wants to Find Ways with Biden to Improve Ties
Agence France Presse/June 05/2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he hoped to improve deeply damaged relations with the United States when he holds his first summit with U.S. counterpart Joe Biden later this month. The face-to-face meeting in Geneva on June 16 comes amid the biggest crisis in ties between the two countries in years, with tensions high over a litany of issues including hacking allegations, human rights and claims of election meddling. "We need to find ways to regularize these relations," Putin told the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, adding that bilateral ties are currently at a "low level."Usually joined at the forum's main session by other world leaders, the Russian president was alone on the stage on Friday with a moderator and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, participating via videolink. "We have no disagreements with the United States," Putin said. "They only have one disagreement: they want to hold back our development, they talk about it publicly." Speaking to Russia's Channel One television later in the day, Putin said he did not expect any breakthrough in Geneva but said it would be good to discuss topics of mutual interest. "I expect a positive result," said Putin, 68.The two previously met in 2011, when Biden served as vice president and Putin was prime minister. Putin said he remembered that meeting, praising the 78-year-old US leader as a "very experienced" and "careful" politician. Since taking office in January, Biden has ramped up pressure on the Kremlin, and his comments likening Putin to a "killer" were met with fierce criticism in Moscow.
- 'That's nonsense' -
The Biden administration imposed new sanctions over what U.S. authorities say was Russia's role in the massive SolarWinds cyber attack and alleged meddling in the 2020 presidential election. Biden said he is also "looking" at possible retaliation after the White House linked Russia to a cyberattack against global meat processing giant JBS. Putin said on Friday that those claims were "risible." "I've heard about some meat processing plant. That's nonsense," he said. "I think U.S. security services should establish who this blackmailer is. Not Russia for sure," Putin added. Washington has also harshly criticized Moscow for the near-death poisoning and subsequent imprisonment of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Putin on Friday signed a law barring "extremist" groups from participating in parliamentary elections, with a court in Moscow holding a hearing next week as it considers whether to assign the label to Navalny's organizations. Critics have denounced the law as the latest move to crack down on Russia's opposition ahead of elections in September for Russia's lower house State Duma. The diplomatic crisis with the United States has resulted in a mutual expulsion of diplomats, with Moscow prohibiting the US embassy from employing foreign nationals, practically halting its consular services. Putin vaunted at the forum that the first line of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany has been completed, despite strong U.S. opposition.  The United States and several European countries have deeply opposed the construction of the pipeline, arguing that it will increase European dependence on Russia for critical gas supplies and increase Moscow's geopolitical clout.
'Difficult point' -
Putin also suggested that European nations should pay for Russian gas in euros, rather than dollars, part of a wider effort by Moscow to reduce its reliance on the dollar. Markus Ederer, the EU ambassador to Russia, said at the forum on Thursday that Moscow's relations with the European Union were also at "the most difficult point" since the Cold War. "If you listen to what Sergei Lavrov says, you can come to the conclusion that Russia doesn't value relations with the EU," the German diplomat added, referring to Russia's foreign minister. The Saint Petersburg International Forum, often referred to as Russian Davos, is the country's main showcase for investors and brings together business and political leaders. It is one of the largest offline events held in Russia and the world since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, although the number of participants was restricted to 5,000, nearly four times fewer than when it was last held in 2019.

Trump Blasts Facebook Ban, Teases Return to White House
Agence France Presse/June 05/2021
Facebook has banned former U.S. president Donald Trump for two years, saying he deserved the maximum punishment for violating platform rules over a deadly attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol. The punishment will be effective from January 7, when Trump was booted off the social media giant, and comes after Facebook's independent oversight board said the indefinite ban imposed initially should be reviewed. "Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr. Trump's suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols," Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg said in a post. In updating its policies, Facebook also said it will no longer give politicians blanket immunity for deceptive or abusive content based on their comments being newsworthy. At the end of Trump's two-year ban, Facebook will enlist experts to assess whether his activity on the platform still threatens public safety, according to Clegg. "If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has receded," Clegg said. When Trump's suspension is lifted, he will face strict sanctions that could rapidly escalate to permanent removal for rule-breaking, according to Clegg. Last month, the independent oversight board said Facebook was justified in ousting Trump for his comments regarding the deadly January 6 rampage at the US Capitol but that the platform should not have applied an "indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension."
Trump denounces 'insult' -
Trump said in a statement the ban was an "insult" to voters, renewing his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. "They shouldn't be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing," Trump said. Trump also took a jab at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who attended a White House dinner with the former president in 2019. "Next time I'm in the White House there will be no more dinners, at his request, with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife," Trump said. "It will be all business!" Zuckerberg has long maintained private companies should not be the arbiters of truth. "American democracy doesn't belong to Silicon Valley; it belongs to the American people," Clegg said in a podcast with Richard Reeves of the Brookings Institution. "And it's the legislators and politicians of this country who in the end have to govern the rules that prevail." Some activists criticized Facebook for even opening the door to reinstating Trump. Angelo Carusone of left-leaning watchdog Media Matters for America called Facebook's move dangerous, saying if Trump is reinstated, "the platform will remain a simmering cauldron of extremism, disinformation and violence." Activists in a group that calls itself The Real Facebook Oversight Board said: "Facebook shouldn't have needed a $130 million Oversight Board and a team of law professors to tell them dictators and authoritarians were running wild on their platform." White House press secretary Jen Psaki, when asked about the Facebook decision, said a social media platform which is disseminating information to millions of Americans, "has a responsibility to crack down on disinformation... whether it's about the election or even about the vaccine." Trump was suspended from Facebook and Instagram after posting a video during the attack by his fired-up supporters challenging his election loss, in which he told them: "We love you, you're very special."The oversight panel had called on Facebook to justify why his ban should be permanent. "The steps Facebook has committed to today will contribute to greater clarity, consistency and transparency in the way the company moderates content, and promote public safety, defend human rights and respect freedom of expression," the board said in a release.
- Immunity revoked -
As part of its new policy, Facebook will step back from its "newsworthiness" exception which allowed false information from Trump and others to circulate. Facebook will begin publishing the "rare instances" in which offending posts are tolerated, and will not treat content posted by politicians differently from content posted by anyone else, according to Clegg. New York University Stern Center deputy director Paul Barrett welcomed the move. "Donald Trump illustrated how a political leader can abuse social media to undermine democratic institutions such as elections and the peaceful transfer of power," he said.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 05-06/2021
Islamic Republic: Welcome to Iran's Fake Democratic Elections
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/June 05/2021
The unelected Guardian Council has a history of arbitrarily disqualifying reform-minded candidates, women and those who are perceived as disloyal to the principles of the state and the Islamic revolution, from running for office.
Out of 592 individuals who registered to run as candidates in the Iranian regime's 13th presidential election, the unelected Guardian Council only approved seven individuals to run for the presidency.
Of course, for the ayatollah, the elections are "flawless" because his regime gets to pick who runs.
Instead of condemning the mullahs for this charade of fake elections, the Biden administration -- after feathering the nests of American enemies such as Russia and China -- continues to try to make a deal that will not be kept, shower Iran's regime with masses of money it demands from America's hard-working taxpayers, and lift sanctions to further empower yet another corrupt and predatory regime.
Do not be deceived by any narrative that suggests the Iran's political system is democratic or that the people of Iran freely or fairly get to elect their president. Out of 592 individuals who registered to run as candidates in the Iranian regime's presidential election this month, the unelected Guardian Council only approved seven individuals to run for the presidency. Pictured: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani casts his ballot for the presidential elections in Tehran on May 19, 2017.
Iran's presidential "elections" will be held in less than three weeks. Do not, however, be deceived by any narrative that suggests the mullahs' system is democratic or that the people of Iran freely or fairly get to elect their president.
Iran's mullahs claim that the Islamic Republic is a "democratic" system of governance. Iran's Supreme Leader recently boasted about the Islamic "democracy," the regime's political system and people's crucial role in influencing and shaping the political establishment:
"The Islamic Revolution transformed the rule of a country from a despotic monarchy into a popular, democratic republic run by the people. Today, the nation of Iran rules over its own destiny. It is the people who choose. They may make a right choice or a wrong choice, but it is they who choose. This is very important."
In reality, though, the Iran is an authoritarian, theocratic regime masquerading as a democracy. The ordinary people of Iran do not run the system and have no influence whatsoever in choosing who will be their leaders.
To clarify, let us begin with the top position in the Islamic Republic: the Supreme Leader. The Supreme Leader of Iran is not elected. This position is held by an ayatollah who enjoys the final say in the nation's domestic and foreign policy issues; who is the chief of Iran's military institutions including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its elite branch the Quds Force and the paramilitary group Basij, and who also appoints the IRGC's senior cadre and generals and the head of the judicial system.
Next in line are the positions of the president and members of the parliament (Majlis) in the Iranian regime. The President of the Islamic Republic basically does not have power. He acts as a puppet for the Supreme Leader and the IRGC, and facilitates their achieving their parochial and ideological goals, both regionally and internationally. One example, for instance, is the 2015 nuclear deal that the Iranian president reached with the US Obama administration and getting sanctions lifted for the Iranian regime.
When it comes to the positions of the president and the parliamentarians in Iran, Article 16 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic stipulates:
"In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the country's affairs must be administered by reliance on the public vote, and through elections. These will include the election of the president, the deputies of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis), the members of the councils, and other such institutions, or through a referendum in such instances as are determined in other articles of this document."
The Iranian regime, however, has incorporated another article in its Islamic constitution that basically diminishes the power of people's vote. Article 9 of the Islamic Republic's constitution states:
"The qualifications of the candidates for presidency, with respect to the conditions set forth by the constitution, must be confirmed by the Guardian Council prior to the general elections and approved by the leader for the first term".
The Guardian Council is an unelected body made of 12 unelected members who are appointed directly (six members) or indirectly by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The other six members are nominated by the head of judiciary who, in return, is appointed by the Supreme Leader.
The unelected Guardian Council has a history of arbitrarily disqualifying reform-minded candidates, women and those who are perceived as disloyal to the principles of the state and the Islamic revolution, from running for office.
As a result, the so-called democratic elections of the Iranian regime come down to the Iranian people getting to vote only on a few individuals who have already been selected and approved by the regime's mullahs. Out of 592 individuals who registered to run as candidates in the Iranian regime's 13th presidential election, the unelected Guardian Council only approved seven individuals to run for the presidency.
Nevertheless, with a straight face, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out on May 2:
"All elections held by the Islamic Republic have been totally flawless. There might have been certain issues and offenses, but none of them had a significant impact on the result of elections. Those who raise fraud claims do so because of being defeated."
Of course, for the ayatollah, the elections are "flawless" because his regime gets to pick who runs.
Instead of condemning the mullahs for this charade of fake elections, the Biden administration -- after feathering the nests of American enemies such as Russia and China -- continues to try to make a deal that will not be kept, shower Iran's regime with masses of money it demands from America's hard-working taxpayers, and lift sanctions to further empower yet another corrupt and predatory regime.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
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Algerian president stresses ‘strategic partnership’ with Turkey to put pressure on France
Saber Blidi/The Arab Weekly/June 05/2021
The Algerian president sees little reason to worry about Islamist parties and rejects current protest organisers as a “minority”.
ALGIERS - Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has sent veiled messages to France implying his country’s willingness to establish a strategic partnership with Turkey to ease pressures sparked by the tense relations with Paris, especially in light of the lack of serious French intent to settle the contentious issue of history and common memory between the two countries. The irony seems to be that the Algerian president, in his attack on the French colonial legacy in his country, presents the Turkish model of investment as an alternative, somehow ignoring that the Ottomans themselves, were a colonial power in Algeria and that one of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan priorities is to revive the Ottoman project, as a formula for dealing with the former Ottoman provinces, especially those situated on the Mediterranean basin.
Tebboune told the French magazine Le Point, that, “Algeria has excellent relations with Turkey, which has invested about $5 billion in Algeria with no political strings attached. Anyone who is annoyed by this relationship should just invest in our country.”
According to the Algerian Agency for the Promotion of Investments, Turkey has overtaken France and become the leading foreign investor in the country with investments reaching about $4.5 billion dollars. Furthermore, more than 800 Turkish companies are active in Algeria in various sectors.
Analysts saw in Tebboune’s statements an explicit message from the Algerian president to the French who are unhappy with Turkish expansion in Algeria, especially in the economic and cultural fields.
While there is a consensus in Algeria over condemning the French colonial era (1830-1962) and the ambiguous relations between the two countries since independence, the Algerian-Turkish relations enjoy a kind of favourable bias from official circles and those close to them.
This accommodating attitude vis à vis Turkey has not been dampened by warnings against what is described as “soft Turkish colonialism,” a tool that Erdogan is notorious for using in his drive to revive the past glories of the Ottoman Empire and rule its old colonies.
In his interview with the French weekly, Tebboune did not express any alarm or wariness over the risk of the return of the forces of political Islam supported by Turkey in next parliamentary elections scheduled for a this month, as he believes the Islamist ideology is no longer a source of concern for the country’s authorities. He said, “Islamism as an ideology, that has tried to impose itself in the 1990’s in our country, will not exist anymore in Algeria.” He was alluding to the change in political attitudes of Islamist parties as a result of the bloody legacy of the Black Decade (1990-2000). The lexicon used by Tebboune suggests that he has firm assurances over the intent of active Islamist parties and that he does not mind working with them if they put up a good performance during the parliamentary elections.
Some analysts believe that the experience of the bloody decade taught the Islamists to avoid confrontation with the authorities and shift their strategy to infiltration of the system from the inside.
Tebboune pointed out as an illustration of his argument to the approach followed by Islamist parties that participated in the executive bodies and official institutions from the mid-1990s to 2011. He was referring to Brotherhood parties that sat in parliament and took part in previous governments, led by the Peace Society Movement (Hams).
The Algerian president stressed that Turkish-backed political Islam does not hinder development in Algeria.
It is expected that Turkey will be one of the most important destinations scheduled on Tebboune’s agenda, after the global health crisis subsides, along with Qatar, Tunisia, Italy and Russia. It seems according to analysts that by waving the Turkish card and emphasising that Ankara is an ally, Tebboune wants to put pressure on the French and to remind them of the unresolved issue of history and common memory, as he stressed that, “Algerians expect a full recognition of all the crimes.”
He said that in the history of French colonisation of Algeria “there were three painful stages: the start of colonisation, with the extermination during forty years of whole tribes and villages … Then there was the period of spoliation when land was confiscated from Algerians and distributed to Europeans, including the horrors of May 8, 1945 and their 45,000 dead. Then, there was the war of liberation when Algerians took up arms to free their country.”Although Tebboune has expressed little interest in clinging to power and ruled out running for reelection, he seemed to welcome plans to launch a presidential political party that would draw forces loyal to him, especially organisations, associations and civil society activists and independent candidates for parliamentary elections, who are expected to win a large segment of the seats in the new parliament.
But Tebboune excluded the possibility of opening any political dialogue in the country, especially with the radical opposition and the protest movement. He rejected the description of the ongoing protests as a popular Hirak.
“I do not use the word (Hirak) because things have changed. The only Hirak in which I believe is the blessed and authentic Hirak, that had assembled millions of Algerians in the street. That Hirak chose the path of reason by taking part in the presidential election.”
he organisers of current protests “are a minority that wants to go to a transitional phase with unknown consequences and I will not succumb to the pressure of the minority.”