English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For March 26/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today

Temptation of Jesus By The Devil In The Wilderness
Luke 04/01-13: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours. ’Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” ’Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you”, and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 25-26/2021

Elias Bejjani/Visit My LCCC Web site/All That you need to know on Lebanese unfolding news and events in Arabic and English/http://eliasbejjaninews.com/
Health Ministry: 3,560 new Corona cases, 61 deaths
Wazni signs decree to cover the purchase of 1.5 million doses of Astrazeneca vaccine
First Batch of AstraZeneca Vaccine Arrives in Lebanon
Abiad: Emergency Units at RHUH Over Congested due to Financial Situation
Army Major Nemr’s killing adds to a series of unexplained murders in Lebanon
Rahi receives a congratulatory letter from Pope Francis on the occasion of his tenth election anniversary
US Embassy Releases Shea's Remarks from Baabda
President Aoun congratulates the Maronite Patriarch on the anniversary of Annunciation and his inauguration as Patriarch
Israel Offers to Help Lebanon Hospitals with Respirators
Hariri after meeting Rahi: I accepted the Patriarch's dinner invitation, we deliberated over the government formation issue
Hariri Discusses Latest Lebanon Developments with Shea
Berri meets with Griot, Rochdi
Report: Saudi-French-American Mobility after Failed Govt Talks
Bitar Questions Four Beirut Port Officials
Fahmy at the Arab Interior Ministers Council’s 38th Session: Lebanon needs you more than ever
IMF says new Lebanese government is ‘critical’ to implement reforms
The power of my brother Lokman’s spirit is stronger than his killers’ arms/Rasha al Ameer/Arabia/March 25/2021
The courage of a cardinal: Patriarch Rai stares down those who hold Lebanon hostage/Andrew Doran/The Hill/March 25/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 25-26/2021

Netanyahu short for right-wing coalition, would need Arab support
Israeli PM Netanyahu appears to fall short of election win
Petroleum distribution terminal in Saudi Arabia’s Jazan hit by projectile
Saudi Arabia intercepts, destroys 8 explosive Houthi drones targeting civilian areas
‘No to Islamic Republic’: Iran opposition seeks to unify in anti-regime campaign
Iran-backed Houthis must decide if they are with or against Yemeni people: US
US President Biden says he plans to run for reelection in 2024
Islamic State kills hundreds in massacres across the Sahel
Iran Hits Out at IAEA Chief After Secret Nuclear Sites Warning
Suez Canal Suspends Traffic as Bid to Refloat Grounded Ship Hits Trouble
Saudi Official Denies Death Threat Made to UN Investigator
European Diplomats Visit Libya in Show of Support for Unity Govt
Navalny Allies Raise Health Concerns about Jailed Kremlin Critic
Pro-Ankara Syrian Militia in Libya Starting to Withdraw
AstraZeneca Says Vaccine 76% Effective in Updated U.S. Trial Data
 

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 25-26/2021

Gulf-Israeli Economic Cooperation Can Benefit the Palestinians/Orde Kittrie and Varsha Koduvayur/The National Interest/March 25/2021
Global community needs to discard its failed narrative to guarantee peace in Yemen/Baraa Shiban/Al Arabiya/March 25/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 25-26/2021

Elias Bejjani/Visit My LCCC Web site/All That you need to know on Lebanese unfolding news and events in Arabic and English/http://eliasbejjaninews.com/

Health Ministry: 3,560 new Corona cases, 61 deaths
NNA/March 25/2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced, on Thursday, the registration of 3,560 new Corona infections, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 452,281. It also indicated that 61 deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours.

Wazni signs decree to cover the purchase of 1.5 million doses of Astrazeneca vaccine
NNA/March 25/2021
Caretaker Finance Minister, Ghazi Wazni, signed today a decree to transfer an appropriation from the general budget reserve to the budget of the Ministry of Public Health, to cover the cost of purchasing one and a half million doses of Astrazeneca vaccine, whereby the first shipment of this quantity will arrive during the first week of April.

First Batch of AstraZeneca Vaccine Arrives in Lebanon
Associated Press/March 25/2021
The first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in Beirut on Wednesday. The government had said it would delay administering them until the vaccine was cleared for use by international health regulators following concerns about possible blood clotting. The European Union's drug regulatory agency subsequently said last week the vaccine does not increase the overall incidence of blood clots and the benefits of using it outweigh the possible risks. Lebanon had secured 2.73 million shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the WHO-led platform and ordered more directly through the company. A vaccination campaign began in Lebanon last month, with over 970,000 people registered to be vaccinated and some 156,000 doses already administered. A private Lebanese company, PharmaLine, will meanwhile import a million doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V and will make it available for companies and institutions for a fee of $38 for two shots.

Abiad: Emergency Units at RHUH Over Congested due to Financial Situation
Naharnet/March 25/2021
Director of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Doctor Firas Abiad said on Thursday that the Covid and non-Covid Emergency Departments at the hospital are severely congested because patients delay visiting their doctors for financial reasons, thus exacerbating health situation to the need for hospitalization. “The Covid Emergency Department(ED) at RHUH is severely congested. This is not new and has been the situation for weeks. What is new is that the other non-Covid ED has become severely congested as well, and is now only receiving life threatening cases,” said Abiad on Twitter. “As the financial situation worsens, some private hospitals are demanding exuberantly high cash deposits before admitting patients, driving more vulnerable cases to public hospitals. At RHUH, aid by international organizations allows affordable access to care,” he added.
Abiad said that the rise in Covid cases in Lebanon has resulted in the allocation of more hospital resources, such as nurses and beds, to Covid cases. “Less beds are available to non-Covid patients, compromising their care. This has been noted worldwide in countries experiencing a Covid surge,” he noted. “Some patients delay going to their doctor for financial reasons, or to avoid exposure to Covid,” he stated, adding that “they come to ER when their condition worsens. Congested ER means further delays. When the patient is finally seen, the needed care is usually more extensive and expensive as well.”Abiad warned that “the situation will get worse, as more doctors and nurses leave, subsidies dwindle, and more people become vulnerable,” he said, voicing that hospitals do not break down under the pressure of increasing demand.

Army Major Nemr’s killing adds to a series of unexplained murders in Lebanon
Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/25 March ,2021
Lebanese Army Major Jad Nemr’s killing is added to a list of recent unexplained assassinations and murders in Lebanon, with speculation suggesting the crimes are linked to the Beirut Port explosion, money laundering or cross-border smuggling.
Nemr was killed in his house in Ballouneh on Mount Lebanon. Nemr was serving in the Lebanese Army's Border Regiment to prevent smuggling and illegal entry and exit. Security data indicated that Army Major Jad Nemr was shot in the forehead, eliminating the hypothesis of suicide.
Lokman Slim
Last month, the security forces in Lebanon found the body of prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim shot to death after he went missing the previous day in the country's southern region. His body was transported to a hospital in Sidon where a forensic coroner said the activist had received four bullets to the head and one to his back, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).
Colonel Skaf and Colonel Abou Rjeily
On December 20, 2020, a retired customs officer, Mounir Abu Rjeily, was found killed, but although the case was investigated, and raised questions about similar murder when Colonal Joseph Skaf was killed three years previously, no conclusion was made.
After the Beirut port explosion, a leaked document showed that Skaf was the first to warn of the danger of the storage of ammonium nitrate at the site.
Antoine Daher
On June 4, 2020, Antoine Daher was found dead in the parking garage of his home in Hazmieh. Dagher was a Group Ethics and Fraud Risk Manager at Byblos Bank. According to the National News Agency (NNA), he was hit in the head with a sharp tool that fractured his skull. Dagher, who was in his 60s, died instantly. People close to the victim stated that he “was working on sensitive files by virtue of his position in the bank.”
Joseph Bejjani
On December 21 2020, Joseph Bejjani was found dead in his car in front of his house in Kahala, a security zone where many military centers and the Ministry of Defense are located. Kahala is also in an area close to the presidential palace.
Bejjani worked for the telecommunications company “Alfa” and was also a photographer approved by the Army Command, but according to close associates, he did not work as a photographer, but rather photography was a hobby. The sources also confirmed that Bejjani did not receive a salary from the army. Media circulated information saying that Bejjani had pictures that he gave to the French investigation team covering Beirut's port explosion. However, his family later denounced those claims and added that he worked for the army command occasionally and had good relations with its officers. He would have passed any sensitive photographs he had to Army Command, and not the French.
Antoine al-Hayek
In March of 2020, Antoine al-Hayek was killed inside his small market in the town of Miyeh, on the outskirts of Sidon, in southern Lebanon. The National News Agency reported that Hayek was killed on the spot as a result of being shot in the head. Al-Hayek was one of Amer al-Fakhoury's assistants in the Khiam detention camp during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. Lebanese officials accused al-Fakhoury of torturing prisoners in the 1990s at a prison run by the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army. Hayek's death came days after the military court in Lebanon acquitted al-Fakhoury, an American who was jailed for months in Lebanon. A US military helicopter transported Fakhoury from Washington's embassy in Beirut to Cyprus, and from there to the United States.

Rahi receives a congratulatory letter from Pope Francis on the occasion of his tenth election anniversary
NNA/March 25/2021 
Pope Francis sent Thursday a congratulatory letter to Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros al-Rahi, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his election as Patriarch of the Antioch and the Maronite community. Papal Ambassador to Lebanon, Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, read out the letter following the ceremonial Mass presided over by the Patriarch marking the occasion in Bkirki today, in presence of the Maronite Church bishops and clerics. In his letter to al-Rahi, the Pope said: "I gladly extend my congratulations to you, along with my warm wishes and prayers on the occasion of the feast of your Patron Saint, Our Lady of the Annunciation. I also share your joy and thanksgiving. I ask the God of Mercy to bestow upon you of His power to carry out the tasks of your episcopal mandate in the service of your Patriarchate and the Universal Church, especially during this uncertain period imposed by the epidemic, asking for the intercession and protection of the Virgin Mary. From the depth of my heart and with great affection, I grant you the apostolic blessing that I give with all devotion." Patriarch al-Rahi also received a letter of congratulations from the Secretary of State of the Vatican City, His Excellency Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in which he stated: "On the occasion of the celebration of your Patron's Day, I offer you my fraternal best wishes and join you in my prayers for all your intentions."In turn, the Vatican State Secretary for Public Affairs, Archbishop Edgar Pina Barra, also sent a congratulatory message to al-Rahi, in which he said: "My best and warm wishes I convey to you through my prayers, and I ask, Your Beatitude, to accept my highest reverence and sincerest feelings."

US Embassy Releases Shea's Remarks from Baabda
Naharnet/March 25/2021
The US embassy in Beirut published the remarks of the US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea at Baabda Palace during her meeting with President Michel Aoun. The Press release stated that on Thursday, March 25, Ambassador Dorothy Shea met with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace, and with Prime Minister-Designate Saad Hariri at Center House. The following remarks were delivered from Baabda Palace: I would like to begin by thanking his Excellency President Aoun for receiving me here this morning at Baabda Palace. Today, during our meeting, we discussed the importance of –and indeed the urgency of—forming a government that is committed to and able to implement reforms. The United States has continuously reiterated its commitment to stand by and support the people of Lebanon. Right now, there is a need for courageous leaders, who are ready to put aside their partisan differences and work together to rescue the country from the multiple crises and self-inflected wounds it is facing. I am confident that you can do this. Just last night I spoke with a number of young political activists from across the spectrum and it was clear that they want a government that takes responsibility for their country. They want judicial independence. They want the rule of law. They want to root out endemic corruption that robs the country and its people of precious resources it so desperately needs. And, they also said they wanted to see the elections that are scheduled next year to take place on time. But let’s focus on the here and now. I know your government, your leaders are trying to form a government. And I would just say, respectfully, for anyone who has been placing demands on forming this government that your people so desperately need, and if those demands have resulted in blocking that government formation, I would ask: now that we are almost eight months without a fully-empowered government, isn’t now the time to let go of those demands? To begin compromising?It’s important to focus on building a government, not blocking a government. Thank you.

President Aoun congratulates the Maronite Patriarch on the anniversary of Annunciation and his inauguration as Patriarch
NNA/March 25/2021
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, contacted Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros El-Rahi, today, congratulating him on the Annunciation and on the tenth anniversary of his inauguration as Patriarch of Antioch and the East for the Maronite community. --- {Presidency Press Office}

Israel Offers to Help Lebanon Hospitals with Respirators
Naharnet/March 25/2021
Israel has expressed its willingness to provide hospitals in Lebanon with ventilators to treat Coronavirus patients, according to German News Agency on Thursday. According to Israeli media, the offer came from the Director-general of the Israeli Health Ministry Hezi Levi "due to the severe shortage of such devices in Lebanon,” he said. Levi said that after the Beirut port explosion, Israel offered to provide the Lebanese government with humanitarian help, but Lebanon refused to receive this aid. Israel had offered to provide humanitarian aid to Lebanon after the explosion, through foreign channels, as the two countries have no diplomatic relations. On Wednesday, the Syrian government offered 75 tons of oxygen to Lebanon during a visit by its caretaker health minister in response to a request for Covid-19 assistance. On Wednesday, Lebanon recorded 3,856 new cases of coronavirus and 53 deaths, which raised the total to 448,721 and 5,903 deaths.

Hariri after meeting Rahi: I accepted the Patriarch's dinner invitation, we deliberated over the government formation issue
NNA/March 25/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visited the Patriarchate in Bkirki this evening, accompanied by former Minister Ghattas Khoury, where they were received by Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, in the presence of former Minister Sajaan Azzi. Following the meeting, Hariri said: "I responded to the Patriarch's invitation to dinner, and we reviewed recent developments with regards to the government formation issue...You know that his Beatitude's visit is important to me, because I am keen on listening to his viewpoints, especially during these difficult days. God willing, we shall continue our talk after dinner. "

Hariri Discusses Latest Lebanon Developments with Shea
Naharnet/March 25/2021
PM-designate Saad Hariri met the US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea at the Center House on Thursday where discussions highlighted the latest political developments and the general situation in Lebanon and the region, his press office said. The meeting was held in the presence of Hariri adviser, ex-minister Ghattas Khoury.Shea had later held talks with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace and stressed the “urgency of—forming a government that is committed to and able to implement reforms,” the US embassy said in a press release.

Berri meets with Griot, Rochdi
NNA/March 25/2021
House Speaker Nabih Berri received today at Ain al-Tineh Palace United Nations Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Resident Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator, Najat Rochdi, with the general situation and the latest developments, particularly at the political and humanitarian levels, topping their discussion. In the afternoon, Berri met with French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Griot, upon her request, where they tackled the general prevailing conditions in the country, especially the details related to the government dossier and the obstacles preventing the cabinet formation. During the encounter, emphasis was made on the need to expedite the formation of a government through which Lebanon would be able to address its crises, according to what was stipulated in the French initiative. Following their one-hour meeting, the French ambassador left without making a statement.

Report: Saudi-French-American Mobility after Failed Govt Talks
Naharnet/March 25/2021
After talks on a cabinet formation broke down in Lebanon, diplomatic mobility between the Saudi, French and US ambassadors expanded in a bid to “control indolence in Lebanon,” media reports said on Thursday.
A “common vision” between the three sides has not been reached yet, a diplomatic source following up closely on the Lebanese crisis told privately-owned Akhbar al-Yawm news agency. He said the aforementioned “triangle (Saudi Arabia, France and the US) is still working towards reaching a common vision before launching a specific initiative." “The three concerned countries have a different background and vision in approaching the Lebanese file, but their intention is to reach a common ground to build and launch this initiative,” said the source on condition of anonymity. On Wednesday, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari held separate talks with the ambassador of France Anne Grillo, and the United States Dorothy Shea. Media reports said there was a general dissatisfaction with the performance of Lebanese leaders amid more economic and financial collapse for the small Arab country. Bukhari, Grillo and Shea had earlier each held a meeting with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace at the latter’s invitation. One day earlier, talks between Aoun and PM-designate Saad Hariri on a cabinet formation faltered. Hariri made the announcement following a short meeting with Aoun. The source told Akhbar al-Yawm there was a “slim hope” during Aoun’s meeting with Bukhari, noting that Aoun "is preparing for something" but wants the US and French motivation. On the plan Aoun has in mind, the source said he could suggest a middle ground between him and Hariri, expecting the details to mature in the next few days.

Bitar Questions Four Beirut Port Officials
Naharnet/March 25/2021
Lead investigative judge into the Beirut port blast, Tarek al-Bitar, on Wednesday interrogated four detained port officials. The National News Agency identified them as the port’s Director General Hassan Qureitem, Operations Director Samer Raad, cargo department head and hangars officer Mustafa Farshoukh, and guard chief Mohammed al-Aouf. The move raises the number of detainees questioned by Bitar to 18 out of 25. Bitar will continue his interrogations on Friday and the questioned detainees will include Customs chief Badri Daher, NNA added.

Fahmy at the Arab Interior Ministers Council’s 38th Session: Lebanon needs you more than ever
NNA/March 25/2021 
Caretaker Interior and Municipalities Minister, Mohamad Fahmy, on Thursday, participated virtually via “Zoom Application” in the thirty-eighth session of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, during which he delivered a word on behalf of Lebanon.
Expressing greetings from “bleeding Lebanon,” Fahmy began by saying: “I am sure that you are aware of all the details related to the tragic situation in Lebanon, whether at the economic, financial, monetary, social, daily living, and security level, as we have come to the brink of the collapse of the safety net in order to protect Lebanon and the Lebanese and its residents, including the Syrian and Palestinian brothers, whose number exceeds half the population of Lebanon.”He added: “You know that Lebanon has always been, and still remains the first line of defense in confrontation of terrorism, to preserve the security of all our countries. However, Lebanon can no longer bear these security burdens in light of its current economic conditions. Lebanon desperately needs you to stand by it and help it and its security apparatuses, as you have always done, particularly since the terrorist cells have begun to reorganize themselves, and to establish networks and groups on social media to destabilize our societies, not to mention the daily violations of the Zionist enemy.”“Lebanon is adamant on upholding Arab solidarity and fortifying all national security systems in our countries,” Fahmy underscored.
Referring to the daily sufferings of Lebanese citizens, Fahmy reiterated that Lebanon is in need of its Arab brethrens more than ever, as it is now threatened with dispersion and extinction. “There is no other way to confront the challenges facing our societies but through our unity, solidarity and collaboration,” Fahmy underlined, stressing that the Arab brotherly states are “the first refuge and the last hope for Lebanon.”

IMF says new Lebanese government is ‘critical’ to implement reforms
Reuters/Published: 25 March ,2021
A new Lebanese government with a clear mandate is essential to implement badly needed economic reforms to pull the country out of financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday. Foreign donors have said they will not bail out the state, which is drowning in debt, unless Lebanese politicians tackle graft and waste - the root causes of the collapse. “It is critical that a new government be formed promptly with a strong mandate to implement the necessary reforms,” said IMF spokesman Gerry Rice in a scheduled press conference. “The challenges facing Lebanon and the Lebanese people are exceptionally large, and that reform program is badly needed.” Saad al-Hariri was designated prime minister in October but has since been at loggerheads with President Michel Aoun over the formation of a cabinet. A meeting last week to discuss a new cabinet ended in a public repudiation. Rice added that there were currently no program discussions between the IMF and Beirut, only technical assistance with the Ministry of Finance and some state-owned enterprises. He said further contacts are expected during the fund’s virtual Spring Meetings that kick off next week. The outgoing cabinet has stayed on in a caretaker capacity since quitting in August on the back of the port explosion that killed 200 people and destroyed swathes of Beirut.

The power of my brother Lokman’s spirit is stronger than his killers’ arms
Rasha al Ameer/Arabia/March 25/2021
رشا الأمير: قوة روح أخي لقمان سليم هي أقوى من سلاح قاتليه

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/97317/rasha-al-ameer-the-power-of-my-brother-lokmans-spirit-is-stronger-than-his-killers-arms-%d8%b1%d8%b4%d8%a7-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d9%82%d9%88%d8%a9-%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%ad/

On February 3, at around half past eight p.m. Beirut time, the professional killers sent to execute Lokman Slim, my brother, accomplished their mission in Niha, which is part of the area in southern Lebanon where the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) operates under resolution 1701.
The well-trained hired gunmen drove for around 22 miles to confuse the investigators and left Lokman’s body riddled with six bullets on a country road in Addousieh.
My brother’s assassination was reported around the world and generated a wave of anger and sorrow; the talented writer, analyst, researcher, and friend was greatly loved. Anyone who dealt with him knew how precious he was. Magnanimous Lokman did not deserve these cowardly and heinous six bullets in the brain and heart. He deserved to be an accomplished leader who would join with the educated and talented dreamers to architect a respectable, peaceful, and prosperous Middle East.
As soon as “they” heard the “good” news, the instigators rejoiced, although they probably never understood who their well-read, sophisticated “enemy” was. One tweet hastily written in clumsy Arabic by Jawad Nasrallah, son of Hassan, said, “The loss of some is in fact profit and unfortunate kindness,” followed by the hashtag “No Regret.”Although the tweet was deleted, its author remains immune and protected by the armed “victorious” party he is a member of – Hezbollah – which has its own deputies in the Lebanese parliament, ministers in the government, and an appetite to continue destroying and intimidating anyone who dares say “no” to the nefarious ambitions of their backers: the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Hezbollah celebrates my brother’s death
The shrewd armed group that hijacked the country is celebrating the death of my brother. They continue to make haste in stifling the pursuit of justice related to the Beirut Port hecatomb as they torpedo any sort of judicial progress capable of holding the guilty parties accountable. Nonetheless, it is an open secret who bears the responsibility. It is clear that the nitrate imports Hezbollah facilitate is used by their allies in Syria. Their firm opposition to prosecuting the only Rafik Hariri killer designated by the international court offers a sharp example of their distaste for judicial proceedings.
A long-lasting tradition of hypocrisy and lies helps the Lebanese branch of the ruling Iranian party hide behind the shambles of an agonizing state that is bleeding and begging for the last blow. But no coup de grace is in sight. Humiliation, looting, and death – these are what the ruling lords have in store. If they ever hear words like accountability, state of law, or human rights, they smile ironically! Armed and powerful dictators do not bother with these kinds of “absurdities!” Off with the head of whoever resists their mighty will.
“Let the investigators do their work, let the judges judge, and do not accuse us without evidence,” they would say. However, no such evidence ever does come forward. The killers simply continue “playing around” as they bask in their imperviousness to justice.
Alas, the Lebanese judiciary is one of the “masks” and alibies they more recently discovered. They play on this string with mastery and are adept in the art of juggling contradictions and conspiracies, although they took violent stands against the Hariri tribunal. The tormented state they now fully control can interrogate neither the hired killers nor the instigators of the February 3 murder.
Criminals generate fear, terror, and power. Criminals in our part of the world govern tirelessly. They give discourse for hours and meet with elected presidents or ministers. But criminals are no judges even though they are convinced that they are above the law.
“Killers kill, looters loot, and those who stay silent will stay silent,” wrote Lokman in his elegant Arabic. Although the world is observing Lebanon’s agony, it is also absorbed with its own medical, economic, and social problems generated by the pandemic. The world will not come to rescue a lawless country enveloped in a murky fog. Now that the whole region is burning, saving parts of the small country may not be possible; finding the instigators of Lokman’s murder may need a long-term political, judicial, and ethical effort.
No accountability in sight for Lokman Slim
Despite where he is now, my hero would have liked to lead our paths to a more just Middle East. Therefore, we would like to imagine a transparent, respected court that would not only punish the assassins – minors in the hierarchy – but the whole system that is mining and ruining millions of lives in this tortured MENA region. These courts have existed in history – at Nuremberg, Rwanda, Srebrenica – and should exist again. The “joyous” killers should bend under the weight of their crime and not laugh or ridicule common sense accountability.
Lokman would have liked to see the ruling armed party and its docile valets lose their leverage and join the simplest realities of a normal country, with a state of peace and law, justice, memory at work, good books, electricity, clean water, fast internet, public transportation, communal gardens, modernity, and delicious food and drinks. When Nazism was defeated and hope was no longer a mirage, the world hammered for years the slogan of “never again.” But yet, every day the world forgets its promises and accepts the unacceptable: Mass murder, exoduses of biblical proportions, and crippling despair.
Genocides, murders, and displacements are happening on a daily basis under our eyes. The instigators of this colossal tragedy can’t be interlocutors of elected politicians who believe in law and accountability.
Lokman, son of Selma Mirshak and Mohsen Slim, husband of Monika Borgmann, brother of Hadi, friend of hundreds of decent people all around the world, was executed in a horrendous way five weeks ago. No accountability is in sight. But we the minoritarian Justs, who believe that politics is compatible with ethics, listen to his deafening murmur: “Arms for arms, although it is not the strength it is the spirit.” Your spirit and strength will be our shining stars in our times of darkness.
 

The courage of a cardinal: Patriarch Rai stares down those who hold Lebanon hostage
Andrew Doran/The Hill/March 25/2021
أندرو دوران/شجاعة البطريرك الراعي الحامل بشجاعة وإيمان لواء التحرير من القوى الظلامية الإيرانية التي تحتجز بلده لبنان وتأخذه رهينة

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/97293/97293/
“We are Christians. We want peace with everyone.” These words were recently uttered by the highest ranking Catholic in the Middle East, Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, in response to a question about whether he favored peace with Israel. An otherwise innocuous public utterance such as this might not merit attention but for the context. In Lebanon, Hezbollah murders for far less. It was not the first time Cardinal Rai challenged Hezbollah or Lebanon’s corrupt political class, though he is the most prominent figure to do so and to stand with the millions of Lebanese who long to be free of the grip of Hezbollah, Iran and Lebanon’s elites.
There was a time decades ago when young people traveled from Beirut to Jerusalem to play soccer, when poets and scholars and sojourners moved freely from Lebanon to present-day Israel – a land sacred to all the Abrahamic peoples – and back.
All of this seems a distant memory now. Lebanon is perhaps the Arab country that most resembles the West — indeed, that most resembles Israel. Yet as much of the Middle East moves toward normalization of relations with Israel – and ultimately the many benefits, including economic, that will follow – Lebanon moves in the opposite direction.
Lebanon’s venal political class is hostage to Hezbollah, to Iran and to corruption. They have betrayed the youth of Lebanon, who for nearly 18 months have taken to the streets to call for reform. On Feb. 27, thousands of Lebanese – not only Christian but also Sunni, Shia and Druze – gathered to hear Patriarch Rai speak with a courage that they cannot hear elsewhere in Lebanon.
From the balcony of the patriarchal residence at Bkerke, Cardinal Rai’s call for “neutrality, sovereignty and stability,” a clear refutation of Hezbollah and Lebanon’s principal captor, Iran. Iran’s illegal missile buildup through its terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, by some estimates is 150,000. This is not only a violation of United Nations Resolutions 1701 and 1559, which call for the sovereignty of Lebanon and the disarmament of militia groups; it threatens Lebanon’s very survival.
For the Iranian regime, Lebanon is a pawn to be sacrificed if there is war with Israel. Hezbollah’s missiles, now reportedly equipped with precision-guided weapons, can inflict significant harm in Israel, mostly to civilians. Israel has clearly stated that it will respond by destroying Hezbollah and, unavoidably, much of Lebanon with it. It is this crisis that looms over all the crises of Lebanon: the financial collapse, the failure of the central government, over a million Syrian refugees. Still, the most urgent demands of the people are to avoid “chaos, hunger and oppression,” as Rai put it — and the voice of Cardinal Rai is the strongest in Lebanon.
Religious leaders delving into political matters might cause westerners to bristle, though it calls to mind Hungary’s primate, Cardinal Jozsef Mindszenty, or even Pope John Paul II, who traveled behind the Iron Curtain to his native Poland — an act of nonviolent defiance that nonetheless exposed the weakness of Soviet-bloc communism. Like those two before him, Cardinal Rai is not only an advocate for his flock – one of the last substantial Christian presences in the Middle East – but also an advocate for all who oppose Iran’s dark hegemony.
Nor is it the first time Rai has ventured onto a perilous limb for Lebanon and peace. In 2017, he traveled to Washington, D.C., and publicly implored the U.S. government to help Lebanon “negotiate permanent peace,” adding that Lebanon seeks “friendship with those on our border and beyond.” The Biden administration has an opportunity to answer his call for peace, however challenging it might be.
There is a sense that the U.S. will eventually undertake negotiations to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). No deal with Iran can be comprehensive if it ignores Iran’s illegal missile buildup on Israel’s border. The Biden administration has vowed to resume U.S. engagement with the international community. This should begin with the United Nations and the enforcement of UN Resolutions 1559 and 1701, as Iran’s violations of both risks sparking a wider regional war, the consequences of which are certain to be terrible. The Biden administration should also work with allies and partners in the West and Middle East to address the untenable status quo.
The state of war with Israel provides justification for Hezbollah’s illegal weapons. Self-defense, they argue, is needed against “the Zionist entity.” But Israelis are about as keen to renew war in Lebanon as Americans are to expand the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq, which are thousands of miles away; for Israel, the threat from Iran’s terrorist proxy is immediately on their border. It is a seemingly intractable problem. Perhaps, as with the Soviet Union, the solution will begin not with weapons but with the voice of a Catholic prelate without any divisions at his command.
Cardinal Rai surely knows the risks of confronting Iran with his calls for neutrality and peace. His recent speech underscores the urgency for U.S. diplomatic engagement at the highest levels and that of its partners and allies, as well as the international community.
NYT host: Rubio's support for Amazon union part of 'culture war'...
Few countries perplex policymakers more than Lebanon, riddled as it is with paradoxes. Nowhere in the Middle East (outside Israel) will one see the level of gender equality, religious and cultural diversity, and higher education opportunities that exist in Lebanon. Lebanon’s children are educated in Arabic, French and English and grow up to excel in business, academia, the professions and the arts.
At the same time, it is hostage to Iran and Hezbollah, to illegal missile buildups and corruption and a state governed by incompetent kleptocrats. There is freedom of thought and speech — unless one crosses Hezbollah and Iran. Everyone knows the price.
*Andrew Doran served on the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State from 2018-21. He is currently a senior research fellow with the Philos Project.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 25-26/2021

Netanyahu short for right-wing coalition, would need Arab support
Jerusalem Post/March 25/2021
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be able to form a government, according to preliminary results from 97% of the regular polling stations reported by the Central Elections Committee unless he gains support from the Arab-Islamist Ra'am Party. Netanyahu's bloc of Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism and the Religious Party was found to have won 59 seats along with Yamina, two short of a majority. Ra'am's leader Mansour Abbas has collaborated in the past with Netanyahu and pro-Likud advocates are already working to legitimize the formation of a coalition with Arab support in the media. Abbas has justified working with Netanyahu and other Zionist parties if he can, in exchange, gain benefits for the Arab community which faces poor infrastructure, a growing murder rate and high unemployment. According to the preliminary results, Netanyahu's Likud won 30 seats, Yesh Atid 18, Shas 9, Blue and White 8, United Torah Judaism, Yamina and Labor 7, New Hope, Yisrael Beytenu, the Religious Zionist Party 6 and Meretz 5. After initial indications that the Ra'am (United Arab List) Party had not crossed the 3.25% electoral threshold, current results give it five seats and the Joint List six.  Exit polls were mostly inconclusive throughout the dramatic post-election night. The three channels - 11, 12 and 13 - initially called a victory for Netanyahu's Likud assuming Bennett, who immediately said he would do what is right for the country, joins the coalition. Central Elections Committee head Orly Ades said preliminary results of the normal polling stations would be announced later in the day. Only after that, the Central Elections Committee will begin counting some 450,000 double envelopes, which are ballots from hospitals, nursing homes, emissaries, soldiers, prisoners and special polling stations for returnees at Ben-Gurion International Airport and for the sick and quarantined from COVID-19.

Israeli PM Netanyahu appears to fall short of election win
The Associated Press/25 March ,2021
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prospects for victory in Israel’s latest election appeared to move out of reach on Thursday, as the nearly-complete vote count showed him and his right-wing allies falling short of a parliamentary majority.
With 99.5 percent of the votes counted, Israel’s election commission showed both Netanyahu’s allies and those determined to topple him without a clear path to forming a government. The remaining uncounted votes were unlikely to change the results.
Tuesday’s vote, Israel’s fourth parliamentary elections in two years, was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule while under indictment. But neither the pro-Netanyahu camp nor his highly fragmented opponents gained 61 of the required 120 seats in parliament.
Netanyahu and his allies had a projected 52 seats compared to 57 held by his opponents. In the middle are two undecided parties: Yamina, a seven-seat nationalist party headed by a former Netanyahu lieutenant, and Raam, an Arab Islamist party that won four seats. Neither Naftali Bennett of Yamina nor Mansour Abbas of Raam has committed to either camp. Deep divisions between the various parties will make it difficult for either side to gain a majority. Arab parties have never joined a governing coalition, and for nationalist parties, such an alliance is anathema. Bezalel Smotrich, a Netanyahu ally and head of the far-right Religious Zionist party, said Thursday that “a right-wing government will not be established with support from Abbas. Period. Not on my watch.” Gideon Saar, a defector from Netanyahu’s Likud who now heads a six-seat party committed to ousting him, said “it is clear that Netanyahu does not have a majority to form a government under his leadership. Action must now be taken to realize the possibility of forming a government for change.” The Likud, which won the most seats of any party, fired back, saying such a bloc would be anti-democratic. It compared Netanyahu’s opponents to the clerical leadership in Israel’s arch-enemy Iran, which vets candidates for high office. Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, said that the stalemate is Israel’s “worst political crisis in decades.”“It’s apparent that our political system finds it very difficult to produce a decisive outcome,” Plesner said. He added that inherent weaknesses in Israel’s electoral system are compounded by “the Netanyahu factor”: a popular prime minister struggling to stay in power while under indictment. “Israelis are split right down the middle on this question.” Several of Netanyahu’s opponents have started discussing advancement of a bill to disqualify a politician under indictment from being tasked with forming a government, a measure aimed at barring the long-serving prime minister from office. A similar bill was floated after the March 2020 elections, but was never passed. Netanyahu is on trial for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three cases. He has denied any wrongdoing and has dismissed the charges as a witch-hunt by a biased law enforcement and media. Despite the charges against him, Netanyahu’s Likud party received around a quarter of the votes, making it the largest party in parliament. A total of 13 parties received enough votes to enter the Knesset — the most since the 2003 election — and represent a variety of ultra-Orthodox, Arab, secular, nationalist, and liberal factions.
A final tally of the votes was expected to be completed by Friday.

Petroleum distribution terminal in Saudi Arabia’s Jazan hit by projectile
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/26 March ,2021
There was an attempted attack on a petroleum products distribution terminal in Saudi Arabia’s Jazan with a projectile, causing a fire at one of the terminal’s tanks, according to the kingdom’s Ministry of Energy.
An official spokesman at the Ministry of Energy said that the incident took place at 09:08 pm local time on Thursday and that the attack with a projectile did not result in any casualties. “The spokesman stressed that the Kingdom strongly condemns this cowardly attack against vital installations. The attack does not only target the Kingdom, but also petroleum exports, the stability of energy supply to the world, freedom of world trade, as well as the global economy,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the Energy Ministry spokesperson as saying. “It also affects maritime traffic and exposes coasts and territorial waters to serious environmental consequences,” the spokesperson added. Saudi Arabia’s air defenses had intercepted and destroyed at least eight explosive drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis targeting civilian areas in the Kingdom overnight Thursday, the Arab Coalition confirmed in a statement.

Saudi Arabia intercepts, destroys 8 explosive Houthi drones targeting civilian areas
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/March ,2021
Saudi Arabia’s air defenses have intercepted and destroyed eight explosive drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis targeting civilian areas in the Kingdom, the Arab Coalition confirms in a statement. One of the five drones targeted the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait, the coalition added, while a sixth drone targeted Najran. During the overnight attacks, the Houthi militia attempted to target the universities of Jazan and Najran, according to official statements. The coalition said that the Houthis also launched a ballistic missile from Sanaa that landed in al-Jawf inside Yemen. On Monday, Saudi Arabia offered the Houthis a ceasefire deal which would also include reopening Sanaa airport and allow fuel and food imports through Hodeidah port. The next day the Houthis launched a drone attack on an airport in southern Saudi Arabia.

‘No to Islamic Republic’: Iran opposition seeks to unify in anti-regime campaign
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/26 March ,2021
An online campaign launched by Iranian dissidents that calls for the removal of the regime in Tehran has gained traction in recent days, with Iranians in and out of the country voicing their opposition to the clerical regime. The campaign, named “no to the Islamic Republic,” was launched earlier this month by over 600 anti-regime Iranians in and out of the country, including political activists, artists, athletes, and academics. The campaign demands the removal of the clerical regime, which the campaigners say is the “main obstacle to achieving freedom, prosperity and democracy” in Iran. Some social media users in Iran have expressed support for the campaign by posting photos with the words “no to the Islamic Republic” written on paper or on their hands. Supporters of the campaign inside Iran include relatives of Iranians who were killed by the regime. In a video shared online, several mothers whose sons were killed by security forces joined the campaign and also announced their boycott of Iran’s presidential elections in June. The Iranian opposition typically urges Iranians to boycott elections, arguing that they do not bring about change and only serve to legitimize the regime. This belief is partially due to Iran’s vetting process for candidates, under which only candidates who are approved by the regime can run for election. Manouchehr Bakhtiari, who has been an outspoken critic of the regime inside Iran since his son Pouya was killed in anti-government protests in November 2019, also expressed his support for the campaign in a video shared on Instagram. Bakhtiari urged all Iranians to join the campaign in the video. The main aim of the campaign – which is unlikely to have any instant impact on the regime in Tehran – appears to be establishing common ground between Iranians who oppose the clerical regime. Iran’s former crown prince Reza Pahlavi, a major opposition figure, voiced his support for the campaign, tweeting: “I too have joined and support the #No2IR campaign started by activists inside Iran.”The campaign “transcends any political party or affiliation,” Pahlavi wrote, adding that “we can transform it into an inclusive national movement.”On Wednesday, Iran’s last queen, Farah Pahlavi, joined the campaign by tweeting a photo of herself holding a sign that reads “no to the Islamic Republic.”Renowned exiled Iranian musicians, including Dariush Eghbali, Faramarz Aslani, and Ebi, were among the non-political figures who have supported the campaign.

Iran-backed Houthis must decide if they are with or against Yemeni people: US
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/25 March ,2021
The Iran-backed Houthis must decide if they are with or against the people of Yemen, the US State Department said Thursday. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a call with Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalek Saeed and welcomed Yemen's support for a "comprehensive, nationwide ceasefire and UN-led political talks," a statement from Blinken's office read. Blinken also commended the Yemeni premier for his efforts to ease the suffering of Yemenis, "including authorizing the arrival of four fuel ships at Hodeidah port to help mitigate the fuel shortage facing the country and get much-needed help to the people of Yemen." The top US diplomat stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire and a "durable and inclusive peace agreement to enable full economic recovery and to address the humanitarian crisis." Yemen's government has voiced its willingness to reach a political solution to the yearslong war; however, the Iran-backed Houthis continue to escalate their cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and their offensive in Marib. The State Department told Al Arabiya that it did not recognize Iran's ambassador to "the Houthis," which they claim is their envoy to Yemen. Washington also called on the Houthis to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in Yemen.

US President Biden says he plans to run for reelection in 2024
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/25 March ,2021
US President Joe Biden said Thursday he expected to run for reelection in 2024 in his first press conference since taking office over two months ago. “My plan is to run for reelection,” Biden said, adding that he expected Vice President Kamala Harris to be his running mate because “she’s doing a great job.”But Biden said he was a firm believer in fate and said a lot could happen in the next four years. Asked if he expected to run against former President Donald Trump, Biden said: “I don’t even think about it. I have no idea.”Biden, 78, is the oldest president to serve. Throughout his first press conference, Biden took several jabs at his predecessor and blamed him for most of the country’s current problems. A majority of the questions Biden took from journalists focused on immigration and domestic affairs.
Foreign policy
The only foreign policy topics touched on were Afghanistan, China and North Korea. On Afghanistan, Biden said he imagined the US would be out of Afghanistan by next. However, he provided ambiguous answers when asked if the US would follow through on plans to withdraw its troops by the May 1 deadline in the deal reached under the Trump administration. “It's not my intention to stay there for a long time,” Biden said. The president added: “We will leave. The question is when we leave.” As for China, Biden criticized Beijing for violating international laws for fair trade. He also assured Americans that China would not become the leading country in the world. “That's not going to happen on my watch because the United States is going to continue to grow.”

Islamic State kills hundreds in massacres across the Sahel
Cales Weiss/FDD's Long War Journal/March 25/2021
Islamic State’s claim of responsibility for the March 15 assault on Malian troops near Tessit, which left at least 33 soldiers dead.
Fighters from the Islamic State’s local wing, commonly referred to as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), have reportedly perpetrated a series of recent massacres across the Sahel. Almost 300 people are believed to have been killed in these attacks.
Yesterday, militants purportedly belonging to ISGS attacked three separate villages in Niger’s Tahoua region. Estimates on the death toll have varied with the Nigerien government officially reporting at least 137 people were killed. Local sources, however, have reported as many as 176 people were left dead by the militants. It is possible this number will continue to rise as local officials continue to search the area. According to one local official, “armed men arrived on motorbikes and shot at everything [that] moved.” Photos purportedly from the villages additionally show burned livestock and buildings, indicating total destruction of the villages. While on March 15, suspected members of ISGS attacked a bus carrying civilians near the town of Banibangou in Niger’s Tillaberi region. The jihadists then raided a nearby village, killing more civilians and burning down granaries. The Nigerien government initially reported that at least 58 people were killed in those attacks. This number, however, has since risen to at least 66 people. That same day, ISGS launched a coordinated assault on a Malian military position near Tessit in the country’s northern Gao region.
In the Islamic State’s official claim for that operation, it stated its men killed 33 soldiers after it targeted a military convoy near Tessit. Mali has since confirmed the Islamic State’s number, adding that an additional 14 soldiers were also wounded. Malian authorities further contradicted the Islamic State’s communique by instead reporting that it was an outpost in the locale that was indeed attacked by the jihadists. Al-Jazeera also reported that the jihadists targeted the base on technicals and motorbikes, a common tactic used by Sahelian jihadists. Locals, however, reported at the time that Malian troops were ambushed as they travelled between Tessit and another nearby village. ISGS has been particularly active in the Tessit area in recent weeks. That area also recently saw clashes between ISGS and al Qaeda’s local branch, the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), earlier this month. These recent massacres follow similar attacks on two villages in Niger’s Tillaberi region in January that left at least 105 people dead. No group has claimed those assaults, but ISGS is widely suspected. The Islamic State’s recent mass killings also come just a month after French President Emmanuel Macron stated that ISGS “has lost its grip and has suffered many losses” during his speech at the G5 Sahel summit in N’Djamena, Chad. And just days before the massacres, the overall commander of France’s Operation Barkhane, Gen. Marc Conruyt, also touted that his men “continue to strike blows against ISGS.” It is clear, however, that even though it has suffered tactical losses ISGS has shown the ability to withstand both a coordinated military offensive against it and efforts by JNIM to drive it out of various parts of the Sahel.

Iran Hits Out at IAEA Chief After Secret Nuclear Sites Warning
David Brennan/NewsWeek/March 25/2021
Iran has complained about International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi's recent interview with Newsweek, terming the IAEA chief's remarks "non-constructive" and urging him to focus on his responsibilities related to the beleaguered Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's representative to the IAEA and other Vienna-based international bodies, told reporters Wednesday that Grossi's intervention risked undermining the work of the IAEA and shifting attention from the JCPOA, the state-run Press TV reported. Grossi told Newsweek on Tuesday that the IAEA has concerns about reported secret nuclear facilities in Iran, where enriched uranium is being processed outside the bounds of the JCPOA, which in 2015 capped the level of enrichment and size of stockpile Tehran is allowed. Tehran has expanded enrichment and stockpile far beyond that allowed under the JCPOA, following former President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the deal in 2018 and impose subsequent sanctions. The Iranian regime has said it is willing to return to full compliance, but only if President Joe Biden rescinds all Trump-era sanctions and commits to full participation in the accord. The IAEA is currently investigating two sites where traces of man made uranium were found. There are concerns that Iran may be conducting nuclear weapons research at the two facilities, one of which is believed to be a heavy water plant near Arak and the other a uranium enrichment plant near Natanz. "Detailed and technical discussions'' are needed to establish the location of Iran's undeclared uranium, Grossi told Newsweek. The issue, he said, is "totally connected" to the future of the JCPOA. "We need to know what was going on there, we need to know exactly what kind of activities were taking place there, and we need to know if there was material, where is this material now?" Grossi said. "Because it hasn't been declared. This necessitates a very detailed and technical discussion, which was not taking place." But Grossi's remarks were met with a frosty response in Tehran. "Such interviews will only damage the IAEA's credibility before Iran and Iranians, and will eliminate the chance for the success of the IAEA chief's next initiatives on the basis of interaction and good faith," Gharibabadi told reporters Wednesday. "We do not need to complicate it with such strange positions," Gharibabadi added, referring to the JCPOA. "The issues are interconnected, and Iran will organize its measures and interactions with the IAEA and its director general with regard to other factors. "Do not cling to over-two-decade-old allegations as a cover-up to justify your deliberate failure to address important issues of proliferation, including the nuclear dossier of the Israeli regime!" Gharibabadi said.
*Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, opens the IAEA Board of Governors meeting at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on March 1, 2021.
 

Suez Canal Suspends Traffic as Bid to Refloat Grounded Ship Hits Trouble
Agence France Presse/March 25/2021
The owners of a giant container vessel blocking the Suez Canal said Thursday they were facing "extreme difficulty" refloating it, prompting Egypt to suspend navigation through one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said it was trying to refloat the Panama-flagged MV Ever Given, a 400-metre (1,300-foot) long vessel which veered off course and ran aground in a sandstorm on Tuesday. Satellite pictures released by Planet Labs Inc show the 59-metre wide container ship wedged diagonally across the entire canal. Japanese ship-leasing firm Shoei Kisen Kaisha said it owned the giant vessel and was facing "extreme difficulty" trying to refloat it. "In co-operation with local authorities and Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, a vessel management company, we are trying to refloat (the ship), but we are facing extreme difficulty," Shoei Kisen Kaisha said in a statement on its website. "We sincerely apologise for causing a great deal of worry to ships in the Suez Canal and those planning to go through the canal." As shipping specialists warned it could take days or even weeks to budge the vessel, the Suez Canal Authority announced it was "temporarily suspending navigation". Maritime sources told AFP Thursday that a new dredger had been deployed to speed up the operation while northern convoy ships remain docked in the waiting areas of the canal. Satellite pictures released by Planet Labs Inc show the 59-metre wide container ship wedged diagonally across the entire canal. "We've never seen anything like it before," said Ranjith Raja, Middle East oil and shipping researcher at international financial data firm Refinitiv. "It is likely that the congestion... will take several days or weeks to sort out as it will have a knock-on effect on other convoys."
'Days, maybe weeks'
The blockage has already hit world oil markets. Crude futures surged six percent on Wednesday as traders assessed the likely impact on deliveries. Broker Braemar warned that if tug boats are unable to move the giant vessel, some of its cargo might have to be removed by crane barge to refloat it. "This can take days, maybe weeks," it said. The vessel's managers, Singapore-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), said its 25 crew were unhurt and the hull and cargo undamaged. A MarineTraffic map showed large clusters of vessels circling as they waited in both the Mediterranean to the north and the Red Sea to the south. Historic sections of the canal were reopened in a bid to ease the bottleneck, with dozens of ships waiting at both ends of the waterway. The waterway drastically shortens travel between Asia and Europe because it prevents vessels from having to navigate around southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope. The Singapore-to-Rotterdam route, for example, is 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles) and up to two weeks shorter than going around Africa. It is an "absolutely critical" route because "all traffic arriving from Asia goes through the Suez Canal," said Camille Egloff, a maritime transport specialist at Boston Consulting Group.  Nearly 19,000 ships passed through the canal last year carrying more than one billion tonnes of cargo, according to the SCA. Egypt earned $5.61 billion in revenues from the canal in 2020.

Saudi Official Denies Death Threat Made to UN Investigator
Agence France Presse/March 25/2021
A Saudi official on Thursday denied he threatened UN investigator Agnes Callamard following her probe into journalist Jamal Khashoggi's 2018 murder, after the United Nations confirmed she was issued a death threat. At a meeting with UN officials in Geneva in January 2020, a senior Saudi official threatened twice to have Callamard "taken care of" if she was not restrained by the United Nations, the Guardian newspaper reported this week. Without naming the Saudi official, Callamard -- the UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions -- told the British newspaper that the comment was perceived by her Geneva-based colleagues as a "death threat". Awwad Alawwad, the head of Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Commission, on Thursday said Callamard and UN officials believed he had made the threat. "I reject this suggestion in the strongest terms," Alawwad, who is the kingdom’s former media minister, wrote on Twitter. "While I cannot recall the exact conversations, I never would have desired or threatened any harm upon a UN-appointed individual, or anyone for that matter. "I am disheartened that anything I have said could be interpreted as a threat." There was no immediate comment from Callamard. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva, confirmed that "the details in the Guardian story about the threat aimed at Agnes Callamard are accurate".The UN body had informed Callamard about the threat, he added. Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic who wrote for The Washington Post, was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The gruesome murder by Saudi agents tarnished the reputation of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and plunged the kingdom into its biggest diplomatic crisis in years. Callamard's report, published in June 2019, concluded that there was "credible evidence" that top Saudi officials, including Prince Mohammed, were liable for the killing. Late last month, Washington released a long-delayed intelligence report that accused Prince Mohammed of approving Khashoggi's murder. The report drew a rebuke from Riyadh, which insists he was killed in a "rogue operation" by a Saudi hit squad. But Washington stopped short of sanctioning the crown prince. Callamard called US inaction against Prince Mohammed "extremely worrisome". "It is extremely, in my view, problematic if not dangerous to acknowledge someone's culpability and then to tell that someone that we won't do anything," Callamard said. Earlier this month, Reporters Without Borders said it had asked a German court to investigate "crimes against humanity" by Prince Mohammed over the killing. The criminal suit, which seeks an inquiry by prosecutors under Germany's international jurisdiction laws, alleges systematic persecution of Khashoggi and other Saudi journalists.

European Diplomats Visit Libya in Show of Support for Unity Govt
Agence France Presse/March 25/2021
The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy were in Tripoli to meet their Libyan counterpart Thursday in a show of support for the war-torn country's newly formed unity government. The joint visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Germany's Heiko Maas and Italy's Luigi Di Maio comes 10 days after the formation of an interim government to lead Libya to December elections. Oil-rich Libya descended into chaos after dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, resulting in multiple forces vying for power. Fighting only came to a halt last summer, and a formal ceasefire in October was followed by the establishment of a new Government of National Unity (GNU) led by interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah. The new transitional executive emerged from a complex UN-sponsored process launched in November, and its members were confirmed by Libya's parliament on March 10. The country had been divided between two rival administrations: the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, and its rival in the east loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar. Libya's population of seven million, sitting atop Africa's largest proven crude oil reserves, faces a dire economic crisis with soaring unemployment, crippling inflation and endemic corruption. Another key challenge will be ensuring the departure of an estimated 20,000 mercenaries and foreign fighters still in the country, whose presence Dbeibah has called "a stab in our back".
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he "remains deeply concerned" that "foreign elements" continue to operate in the North African country, in a report discussed by Security Council members on Wednesday.

Navalny Allies Raise Health Concerns about Jailed Kremlin Critic
Agence France Presse/March 25/2021
Allies of jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny on Thursday demanded information about his health and whereabouts after Russia's prison service said his condition was stable but prevented lawyers from meeting with him. Navalny, 44, was jailed last month on old embezzlement charges, sparking large protests, an outcry from rights groups in Russia and abroad and condemnation from Western governments. His lawyers on Wednesday sounded the alarm over his health in one of Russia's most notorious prisons and demanded immediate access, saying he had complained of back pain and numbness in his legs. The prison service told news agencies Thursday that medics had carried out checks the day before on inmates in the Vladimir region outside Moscow, including on Navalny. "According to the results of the examination, his state of health was assessed as stable and satisfactory," the Federal Prison Service (FSIN) said. Navalny's chief of staff Leonid Volkov responded that lawyers had returned to Pokrov, the provincial town outside the Russian capital where Navalny is being held, but were denied access. He added that FSIN's message suggested that Navalny was in hospital and that "something very bad is happening to him". Navalny was jailed in February for two-and-a-half years in a move his allies said was a pretext to silence his criticism of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The United States and the European Union have slapped sanctions on Russia for jailing Navalny and also for orchestrating a poisoning attack against him last year. He was detained in January on his return to Russia from Germany where he had been recovering from exposure to the Soviet-designed nerve toxin Novichok.
Protests planned
On Wednesday, Navalny's lawyer Olga Mikhailova said he had complained of back pain and that one of his legs had become numb. She added that he had visited a neurologist who said there was nothing wrong with Navalny and prescribed him ibuprofen. One of the trained lawyer's allies, Maria Pevchikh, who heads investigations at his Anti-Corruption Foundation, said Navalny's supporters believed his "life is in danger". Navalny is serving out his two-and-a-half year sentence 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Moscow in a penal colony infamous for harsh discipline. In his first message from Penal Colony No.2 in Pokrov earlier this month, Navalny described the facility as "a real concentration camp," and said he was "surprised" by the poor conditions. Navalny has been a thorn in the Kremlin's side for nearly a decade by probing corruption among officials and staging large protests throughout Russia. His detention at a Moscow airport in January sparked protests that saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets across the country. Navalny's allies this week launched a campaign seeking his release and announced plans to stage what they said would be "modern Russia's biggest protest."
 

Pro-Ankara Syrian Militia in Libya Starting to Withdraw
Agence France Presse/March 25/2021
Pro-Ankara Syrian militia deployed in Libya have started to withdraw, a French diplomatic source said on Thursday, describing the move as "encouraging". "This is one of the encouraging gestures that we have seen. There are movements (of the Syrian militia forces) that have been seen and noted," said the source, who asked not to be named. The Syrian militia forces' presence in Libya alongside Turkish troops has repeatedly angered France, which has called for all mercenaries to leave the country including Russians.
 

AstraZeneca Says Vaccine 76% Effective in Updated U.S. Trial Data
Agence France Presse/March 25/2021
British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca on Wednesday revised down by three percentage points the effectiveness of its Covid vaccine after American authorities raised concerns that results reported from its US trial were outdated. The company now says its vaccine is 76 rather than 79 percent effective at preventing any kind of symptomatic Covid.  It remains 100 percent effective against severe Covid, it added. The move came after an independent panel of experts appointed to supervise the trial expressed concern that AstraZeneca had failed to include updated data in its initially released figure. The US National Institutes of Health then issued a highly unusual statement asking AstraZeneca to work with the panel and issue a new press release. "We look forward to filing our regulatory submission for Emergency Use Authorization in the US and preparing for the rollout of millions of doses across America," said Mene Pangalos executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals research and development. The new figure is based on 190 people who fell sick among 32,449 trial participants across the United States, Peru and Chile, two-thirds of whom received the vaccine while the rest received a placebo.
The previous figure was based on 141 cases, with a cut-off in mid-February. The company added there are 14 additional or probable Covid cases left to be adjudicated.
Bumpy rollout
Depending on whether these occurred in the vaccine or placebo group, the final efficacy figure could go up or down a few percentage points. The company added the vaccine efficacy in people 65-years-old and over was 85 percent, but the statistical range for this figure -- anywhere between 58 and 95 percent -- make it less meaningful and the sample size was not mentioned. Eight cases of severe Covid occurred -- all in the placebo group. AstraZeneca was an early frontrunner in the global race to develop a Covid vaccine, and was heavily favored by the United States, which ordered 300 million doses -- more than its first orders for Moderna's and Pfizer's shots. But a series of communications blunders eroded US agencies' confidence. The US now has three authorized vaccines -- Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson -- and should have enough supply to more than cover the adult population by the end of May.
However, authorization by the Food and Drug Administration -- considered the gold standard regulator -- would go a long way to calm global doubts over the AstraZeneca vaccine. Several European countries paused rollout of the shot over potential blood clot risks before later resuming its use.
The European Medicines Agency deemed the vaccine safe and said it was not associated with blood clotting generally -- but added it could not rule out a link to two highly rare forms of clotting, and suggested these risks be mentioned on a warning label. The AstraZeneca vaccine is still seen as vital to vaccinating the world because of its low price and the fact it can be stored long term at fridge temperatures. It uses an adenovirus that causes colds in chimpanzees, modified so it can't replicate, to carry the gene for a key protein of the coronavirus into human cells. The cells then produce that protein on their surface, training the immune system should it encounter the real virus.
 

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 25-26/2021

Gulf-Israeli Economic Cooperation Can Benefit the Palestinians
Orde Kittrie and Varsha Koduvayur/The National Interest/March 25/2021
Palestinians may be the unexpected beneficiaries of Israel’s improving relations with the Arab world.
The United Arab Emirates recently announced plans to invest $10 billion in Israel targeting key sectors such as energy, water, and healthcare, a reminder of the exceptionally enthusiastic and wide-ranging normalization occurring between Israel and the Emirates. Three other Arab states—Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan—forged ties with Israel after the UAE led the way.
While Israel’s normalization with these countries is mutually beneficial, Palestinians may be the unexpected beneficiaries of Israel’s improving relations with the Arab world. Though Palestinian leaders were vociferous critics of Israel’s normalization deals, Israeli-Gulf business cooperation could potentially boost the Palestinian economy at a critical time– should Palestinian leaders allow it to do so.
Economic cooperation is one of the many mutual interests driving Jerusalem’s nascent ties with its Gulf neighbors, alongside a shared antipathy to Iran. Unofficial estimates provided by the Tony Blair Foundation for Middle East Change peg Israeli-Emirati trade at least $1 billion as of 2019, with Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen estimating that annual trade between the two countries will reach $4 billion within three to five years, a leading UAE businessman predicting $5 billion per year, and Israel’s Finance Ministry estimating it will eventually reach $6.5 billion per year.
Key areas of Emirati-Israeli cooperation are expected to include joint development of solar power, investments in research and development, and food security. Additionally, trade issues related to cyber-security, medicine, and agriculture will be of high interest.
There are several ways in which Palestinian entrepreneurs and workers could play a valuable role in those transactions. For example, trilateral partnerships might bring together Gulf Arab capital, cutting-edge Israeli technology, and Palestinian entrepreneurs, workers, and researchers. Many Palestinians have a working proficiency in Hebrew, in addition to speaking Arabic and being a part of Arab culture, so they could facilitate partnerships between Israelis and Gulf Arabs.
Finding ways to encourage their involvement could benefit both the Palestinians and the broader region. Emirati officials have hinted that this is part of their vision. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the UAE’s economy minister, has discussed how Emirati-Israeli economic deals and initiatives can positively impact the Palestinians. To implement this vision, Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain should—with facilitation from Washington—pursue initiatives to include Palestinian industry and business sectors into some UAE-Israel and Bahrain-Israel cooperative efforts. There are two existing and successful programs that could provide a template for how such cooperation could work.
The Middle East Regional Cooperation Program (MERC) was established in 1981 to promote research cooperation between Egyptian and Israeli scientists after their two countries signed the Camp David Accords. The U.S.-funded program expanded in 1993 to include cooperation between scientists from Israel and Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
MERC projects focus on agriculture, water conservation, the environment and health. These are fields in which similar challenges are faced by the United States, including especially the Southwest with its climate similarities to the Middle East. In several of these fields, including especially water conservation and health, Israeli researchers are at the world’s cutting edge. As a result of these factors, many of MERC’s research findings have directly benefited the U.S. economy as well as U.S. foreign policy. For example, a series of MERC projects have developed new methods for detecting (and thus combating) costly agricultural viruses in plants that are grown in the U.S. as well as the Middle East.
Partnerships with Palestinian researchers have been among the largest recipients of MERC funds. Several of the most successful projects have involved cooperation between researchers from Israel, the West Bank, and one or more Arab states.
In the wake of Israel’s peace agreements with the UAE and Bahrain, efforts should be made to encourage and facilitate UAE and Bahraini funding of such cooperative trilateral research and its potential commercial spinoffs.
Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs) are another existing initiative that could provide a template for how Palestinians could benefit from Israel’s improving relations with the broader Arab world. QIZs were established by Congress in 1996 to foster regional economic integration. This initiative allows Egypt and Jordan, Israel’s first peace partners, to export products to the United States duty-free so long as the products contain Israeli inputs. As of 2019, Egypt had fifteen QIZs and Jordan had thirteen, which together accounted for over $1 billion in exports per year and provided a livelihood for some three hundred thousand people.
Though conceived to promote regional economic integration, QIZs have also shaped regional trade with the United States. In 2019, roughly one-third of exports to the United States from Egypt were from QIZs. While the vast majority of current QIZ products are clothing, the zones would reportedly also be a good fit for other manufacturing based on Israeli research and development. Assuming it can be done in a way that does not cost American jobs, creative expansion of the QIZ concept could be used to encourage additional Arab states to make peace with Israel, to incentivize trilateral Israeli/Arab/Palestinian economic partnerships, and to assist the United States to diversify its supply chains away from China to Middle Eastern countries which offer relatively comparable supplies of labor.
Creating meaningful Palestinian jobs would be a winning proposition with stabilizing effects for the whole region. Palestinian unemployment is 26.6 percent according to World Bank estimates, with the West Bank at 18.2 percent and Gaza at 48.5 percent. The Palestinian Authority’s obstructionism has been a major contributor, with the PA refusing for most of last year to accept monthly tax transfers from Israel as a protest against Israel’s now-suspended plans to annex West Bank territory. The Israeli government put the annexation plan on hold once the UAE inked its deal with Israel, and the PA began accepting transfers in November 2020 after a six-month halt that resulted in tens of thousands of PA employees having their salaries slashed during the global pandemic.
Ultimately, any plan for Gulf-Israeli-Palestinian economic cooperation will hinge on Israeli and Palestinian leaders’ willingness to allow such collaboration. And given the PA’s track record of rejectionism, which feeds into Israel’s hesitation to make concessions, such willingness may not materialize. But the opportunity is there and it would be in the interest of Gulf, American, and Palestinian leaders to support the economic development of the Palestinians. They should not hesitate to make use of these current models that, with some creative thinking, can become new and enhanced programs delivering real results for the people of the region.
**Orde Kittrie is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and law professor at Arizona State University. He previously served for ten years as a U.S. State Department attorney. Follow him on Twitter @ordefk. Varsha Koduvayur is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where she focuses on the Persian Gulf. Follow her on Twitter @varshakoduvayur. FDD is a nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.

Global community needs to discard its failed narrative to guarantee peace in Yemen
Baraa Shiban/Al Arabiya/March 25/2021
Announced Monday, Saudi Arabia’s initiative for a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen is yet another attempt to cease all military operations and start a political process that can bring an end to the ongoing Yemeni conflict that has been stuck in an unceasing quagmire of negotiation.
This announcement is not the first of its kind, the Arab coalition announced in 2020 a unilateral ceasefire that lasted for almost two months before it collapsed due to the Houthis insurgency and constant missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemeni cities.
Like the former initiative, the new proposal has the prospects of success and failure – the outcome of which is entirely based on how the Iran-backed Houthi militia will respond to it. So far, the reaction by Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam is not encouraging.
The international community welcomed the Saudi initiative, and statements issued by London, Washington, Brussels and the UN show a positive reaction by western governments, but it takes more than welcoming statements to achieve peace in Yemen.
Over every round of peace talks, the international community has consistently leveraged the Yemeni government and Arab coalition into giving concessions – but the same has not been true for the Houthis. This dynamic has created an imbalance in the peace track led by the UN envoy. It is time for this to stop: The international community needs to create leverage on the Houthis in order to guarantee the success of the Saudi initiative.
The international community’s failed narrative
In reviewing statements issued by the UN Envoy and the discussions on Yemen at the international level, it is impossible to fail to notice the huge gap between diplomats and the reality faced by people living on the ground.
On March 3 the US special envoy to Yemen met with the Houthis in Oman and presented a road map that was meant to set the roadmap for a political settlement in Yemen. This came after President Biden announced on February 4 that he will stop all support to offensive operations by the Arab coalition stressing that “this war has to end.” The announcement was celebrated by aid groups and human rights organizations, but in reality is reflective of an ongoing disingenuous narrative that has framed the Yemen conflict. By merely ending support for Arab coalition operations, this narrative assumes, the war will end. The UK-based charity Oxfam went as far to accuse the British government of prolonging the war in Yemen for not following suit with the Biden administration.
While western media outlets remained plastered with headlines celebrating what was deemed to be a way to end the war, the story on the ground is more complex.
The Houthis, since early January, have been launching a sustained assault on the Marib governorate, an attack which threatens to displace more than 1.5 million people who have found refuge in the region. The Houthis have also hit the main city of Marib with ballistic missiles and armed drones more than 90 times since February. In the areas they control, the Houthis have executed more than 24 senior tribal leaders, despite some of them being former allies. The latest was tribal leader Mohammed Abu Shawarib from Amran province, north of Sanaa.
The Houthis have become more violent and oppressive since the killing of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in late 2017. Since then, they have launched a brutal campaign to prevent all political parties from operating or running activities. No political party is operating today from Sanaa. In a capital that once hosted all Yemenis from all backgrounds there is no longer breathing space for any voice other than the Houthis. Activists, journalists, and women groups have been targeted and jailed by the Houthis security apparatus.
In December 2020, the United States designated the Houthis top security commander in Sanaa, Sultan Zabin, under the Magnitsky act for running a network responsible of detaining, torturing and raping women activists. He was later sanctioned by the UN Security Council for the same reason. Sultan Zabin remains in Sanaa, recruiting people to fight for the Houthis in Marib. Marib is not the only battlefront for the Houthis. Just three days after they met the US special envoy to Yemen, the Houthis launched 10 armed drones against Saudi Arabia. These attacks, carried out on March 19 and targeting Saudi Aramco oil facilities in the Kingdom’s capital of Riyadh, were carried out using Iranian-made or Iranian-supplied weapons, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir later said.
The celebrations and statements issued by aid groups and human rights campaigners on Yemen reflect how short-sighted and ill informed such groups can be. Repeating one narrative and running media campaigns doesn’t change the truth.
Two approaches, one conflict
Like the UN envoy, the US special envoy is reaching a roadblock. This is because it is trying to resolve a different conflict than the real conflict Yemenis face.
The prevalent international discourse suggests that the conflict is simply a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with Yemeni groups fighting as proxies. Since his appointment as UN Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths has been trying to strike a deal between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia away from the rest of the Yemenis who are witnessing the Houthis’ war machinery first-hand. He believes that giving the Houthis enough incentives will eventually result in halting their attacks on Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Yemenis will happily join the peace deal since they are paid by the Saudis.
For the Yemenis, the Houthis are a theological armed movement that is struggling to coexist within the Yemeni political framework. Their transnational ambitions threaten to destabilize Yemen for decades to come. There is no political solution without exerting military pressure on the Houthis – enough pressure to bring them to the negotiating table.
The international community should realize that military force is necessary to prevent the Houthis from further conquests. Many Yemenis are looking to the international community to help them restore the state institutions and start rebuilding Yemen, and not legitimizing the rule of militias. Caving into the Houthis demands without security military concessions is a recipe for chaos, not stability.
The Saudi initiative is simplifying the narrative for the international community and giving them the chance to view the conflict through the Yemeni lens. The Houthis will continue their violent trend and soon violate the ceasefire and launch missiles inside and outside Yemen.
The international community can seize on the opportunity and take serious steps to prevent the Houthis from foiling peace efforts once again, or they can sit back and watch the Houthis drag Yemen back into the conflict.