LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 28/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias/english.march28.17.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today
Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 06/47-56/:"When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Some people have deviated and turned to meaningless talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions
First Letter to Timothy 01/01-08/:"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions. Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published On March 27-28/17
Ontario-based relief group, IRFAN-Canada linked to Hamas heads to court to get off Canada’s terrorist list/Stewart Bel/National Post/March 27/2017
Israeli Air Force Holds Joint Exercise With United Arab Emirates, U.S. and Italy/Gili Cohen/Haaretz/March 27/17
WhatsApp: Scapegoat for London’s security lapses/DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis March 27, 2017
When the Law Opposes the Truth Rather Than Protects It/Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/March 27/17
Muslim Brotherhood Front Group Seeking Removal of Listing as a "Terrorism Entity"/Thomas Quiggin/Gatestone Institute/March 27/17
Travelling without my laptop/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/March 27/17
How Bahrain’s progressives lost their shadow/Sawsan Al Shaer/Al Arabiya/March 27/17
We must act to sponsor goodness/Khaled Almaeena/Al Arabiya/March 27/17
Westminster attacker, the WhatsApp fan/Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/March 27/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published On March 27-28/17
Lebanese Cabinet Approves State Budget, Lebanon's First in 12 Years
Arab FMs 'Unanimously' Approve Solidarity with Lebanon Clause
Kataeb Slams 'Gross Failure' to Pass Electoral Law, Warns on Electricity Plan
Aoun to Commissioner Hahn: International community must aid Lebanon with crisis of Syrian refugees
Aoun Travels to Amman Tuesday for Arab Summit
Berri convenes with European delegation, Ambassador of Sultanate of Oman and Riachy
Geagea Says Aoun and Hariri to Protect Gulf Ties, Rejects Proportional Representation
Report: Hizbullah Commanders, Fighters Killed in Syria
Aoun Appoints Bou Saab as International Cooperation Adviser
Report: Hizbullah Commanders, Fighters Killed in Syria
Judge Sets Date for Trials in Tripoli Mosques Bombings
Education minister calls on President Aoun to lead vote law debate
Report: Lebanon's Electricity File on Front Burner
Jumblat: Save Lebanon's Electricity Sector from Corruption
Raad after visiting Lahoud: Stay optimistic about new electoral law
Abi Khalil in water conference: Will gather efforts to provide safe relation among water, energy, food
Janjanian: LF supports hybrid law
Aswad says birth of new election law imminent
Kabbani: Our visit to Norway was important for oil file
Ezzeddine discusses bilateral relations with Turkish Ambassador
LAF: Syrian national referred to judiciary for ISIS affiliation
Hamadeh convenes with Hahn, discusses Brussels Conference
Salam receives Hahn
LAF lifts blockade off of Hamoudiyeh town
Hahn visits Hariri: Lebanon did a great job and deserves to be supported
Khalil receives Abu Khalil, Shorter
Finianos meets Shoukair

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published On March 27-28/17
More Syrian Rebels, Families Leave City of Homs under Deal
Syria Force Halts Push on IS-Held Dam for Repairs
Syrian Democratic Forces take ISIS-held airport near Euphrates dam
Iraqi forces launch renewed attack on Mosul’s Old City
Iraq Forces Launch Renewed Attack on Mosul's Old City
Kremlin Slams Anti-Corruption Protests as 'Provocation'
Kremlin Critic Navalny Ordered Jailed for 15 Days after Protest
Sudan's Bashir to Attend Arab Summit
Hamas Partially Reopens Gaza Crossing after Assassination
King Salman meets Jordan’s King Abdullah ahead of Arab summit
Pence revives talk of Tel Aviv embassy move to Jerusalem

Links From Jihad Watch Site for March 27-28/17
UK: Muslim pol says London jihadi was “violent Christian before he was a violent Muslim”
Florida: Muslim prof teaches Islam as fact, Christian student disagrees, gets suspended, police report filed
France’s Hollande says his final mission is to ensure that “populism, nationalism and extremism cannot win”
London jihad murderer was receiving welfare checks
Australia: Muslim leader says people who leave Islam should be put to death
Iowa State University asks students to write about 9/11 jihad attacks from jihadis’ perspective
Pakistani government: Facebook heeded its demand and has removed 85% of “blasphemous” material
Pakistan asks Facebook and Twitter to identify Pakistanis outside country who post anti-Islam material
Muslim countries to press at UN for “legal options” against “blasphemy” on social media
FBI agent “didn’t try to stop” Garland jihad attackers — did FBI want Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer dead?
Jamie Glazov Moment: How Not to Blame Islam for the Jihad in London
UK: Muslim rape gang victim whose life was destroyed slams Rotherham authorities

Links From Christian Today Site For March 27-28/17
Muslim and Christian wall of defiance along Westminster Bridge
Prince George to attend Christian private school
Westminster attacker was a 'violent Christian before he was a violent Muslim'
What is the battle for Mosul about and why does it matter?
Church lawyer jailed for stealing £4million to fund lavish holidays
Traitors to the motherland': Church slams Mexico companies bidding for Trump wall contracts
Lord Carey: 'I'm praying for jailed Marine A Sergeant Blackman'
Republicans in disarray as Trump fails to repeal Obamacare

Latest Lebanese Related News published On March 27-28/17
Lebanese Cabinet Approves State Budget, Lebanon's First in 12 Years
Naharnet/March 27/17/The Cabinet on Monday approved the 2017 state budget, the country's first budget in 12 years, referring it to parliament for final ratification.
“The Cabinet approved the draft state budget and the deficit was greatly decreased through the debate that took place today,” Information Minister Melhem Riachi told reporters after the session. “After the president and the premier return from the Arab Summit on Thursday, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil will visit PM (Saad) Hariri at the Grand Serail and will hold a press conference to announce all the details, numbers, the budget deficit, the decrease in the deficit, the numbers of the budget, the revenues and the expenditure,” Riachi added. “The session did not witness any dispute and the discussion took time because it involves numbers,” the minister noted. Lebanon has not approved a state budget since 2005 due to political differences between the rival parties.

Arab FMs 'Unanimously' Approve Solidarity with Lebanon Clause
Naharnet/March 27/17/Arab foreign ministers meeting in Jordan on Monday “unanimously” approved a clause about “solidarity with Lebanon” that is expected to be included in the draft closing statement of the upcoming Arab Summit. Al-Jadeed television said the clause was unanimously approved due to “Lebanese diplomatic efforts and increased Arab understanding.” According to information obtained by al-Jadeed, “several Gulf countries played a key role in securing consensus over this decision.”Lebanon meanwhile “maintained its reservations over clauses labeling Hizbullah as a terrorist organization in the resolution that condemns the Iranian interference in the internal affairs of the Arab countries,” al-Jadeed said. Lebanon's delegation to the meeting was led by Foreign Ministry secretary general Charbel Wehbe. “We hope the joint Arab action will be based on the principle of the (League) charter, especially in terms of respecting the particularities of each Arab state and refraining from interfering in its internal affairs,” Wehbe told the meeting. Lebanon's ties with the Arab Gulf states have witnessed tensions in recent years in connection with the policies of Hizbullah and its backer Iran in Lebanon and the region.

Kataeb Slams 'Gross Failure' to Pass Electoral Law, Warns on Electricity Plan
Naharnet/March 27/17/The Kataeb Party on Monday lashed out at the ruling political class over its “gross failure to pass a fair electoral law that guarantees correct representation.”
Authorities are “disregarding all electoral deadlines, which would destroy all the foundations of the democratic life in the country and hijack the people's will to change and their aspirations for a civilized state governed by justice, order and law,” Kataeb's political bureau said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting. Separately, the party warned the government against “implementing electricity plans that lead to the same results of the previous plans,” noting that “the ideal solution is liberating production and not suggestions that increase public debt and the financial burdens on the state's treasury.” And referring to this week's Arab Summit in Jordan, Kataeb stressed the need for “full commitment to Lebanon's neutrality and to the relevant U.N. resolutions” and the need to “steer the country clear from the regional axes that have only brought the country woes, conflicts and domestic strife.”

Aoun to Commissioner Hahn: International community must aid Lebanon with crisis of Syrian refugees
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - President Michel Aoun convened at Baabda Palace on Monday with Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, whereby he asserted that Lebanon is going to attend the Brussels conference on April fifth, and ask for a solution to the Syrian refugee crisis, whom the Lebanese state encouraged to return to their country. Aoun's meeting was also attended by EU Ambassador in Lebanon, Christina Lassen. "Lebanon has offered all sorts of care and support for Syrian refugees, and the country continues to suffer from the negative repercussions of this displacement economically, socially and in security, which demanded that the international community, particularly European states, help [Lebanon] out of its current reality," said Aoun. He went on to confirm that the Lebanese state highly supported a political solution to the Syrian crisis. Hahn, in turn, relayed to the President the appreciation of European states for the care that Lebanon offered to Syrians. He highlighted the importance of working on the return of Syrians to their homeland as soon as a permanent political solution was reached. The EU official welcomed Lebanon's participation in upcoming conference with a delegation to be headed by PM Saad Hariri. He equally welcomed the recent election of a new head of state for Lebanon, asserting that this revived the political life in Lebanon, and reactivated EU aid for the country in various fields.

Aoun Travels to Amman Tuesday for Arab Summit
Naharnet/March 27/17/President Michel Aoun will head a delegation to Jordan on Tuesday to partake in the 28th Arab League summit which will be held in Amman, and to hold talks with several Arab leaders, media reports said on Monday. Prime Minister Saad Hariri will accompany Aoun and so will Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and Minister of Economy and Trade Raed Khoury. Reports said that Khoury has already flown to Amman on Sunday to participate in the meetings of the Arab economy ministers. Bassil is also set to head there before the President to take part in the Arab foreign minsters' preparatory meetings ahead of the summit which begins on Wednesday near the Dead Sea. The President is set to hold talks with several Arab leaders, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi.

Berri convenes with European delegation, Ambassador of Sultanate of Oman and Riachy
Mon 27 Mar 2017 /NNA - House Speaker, Nabih Berri, convened at his Ayn Teeneh residence with Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, along with an EU delegation in the presence of EU Ambassador in Lebanon, Christina Lassen. Discussion focused on Lebanese-European relations and the projects funded by the EU in Lebanon, as well as the Syrian refugee crisis. Separately, Berri met with the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman, Badr bin Mohammed bin Badr Munziri, who came on a protocol visit. Information Minister, Melhem Riachy, also discussed the general situation in Lebanon with the Speaker.

Geagea Says Aoun and Hariri to Protect Gulf Ties, Rejects Proportional Representation
Naharnet/March 27/17/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed Monday that President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri will do everything needed to prevent any deviation from the Arab and Gulf stances at the upcoming Arab Summit in Jordan. “President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who will represent entire Lebanon at the Arab Summit, will take into consideration the interests of the Lebanese people and the higher interest of the Lebanese state,” Geagea said in an interview with LF's website. “They will do everything needed to prevent a new deviation from the Arab and Gulf stances, given the common ties and interests between Lebanon and the Gulf states,” he added. “They will spare no effort to put Lebanon's higher interest before any other interest,” the LF leader reassured. He noted that the president and the premier do not represent “any group or camp at the Arab Summit, but rather all Lebanese.”“They will not let the Lebanese people pay a very hefty price for the stances of a certain Lebanese group that are not compatible with the constitution, the principle of the state, or the higher Lebanese interest,” Geagea added. Turning to the issue of the electoral law, the LF leader said his party rejects a law fully based on the proportional representation system. “Regardless of whether it is based on Lebanon as a single electorate or on 13 or 15 electorates, it is equivalent to numerical democracy, which contradicts with the spirit of the Taef Accord, the National Pact and coexistence in Lebanon,” Geagea warned. “We are rejecting proportional representation based on this explanation... The objective behind promoting a law fully based on proportional representation is the implementation of a veiled numerical democracy,” he cautioned, referring to a perceived threat to Lebanon's so-called consensus democracy system, which aims to prevent the domination of the larger religious communities in the political process. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on proportional representation but al-Mustaqbal Movement and Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat have both voiced reservations. Mustaqbal has argued that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds while Jumblat has warned that such an electoral system would “marginalize” the minority Druze community whose presence is concentrated in the Chouf and Aley areas. The political parties are meanwhile discussing a so-called hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all system.

Report: Hizbullah Commanders, Fighters Killed in Syria
Naharnet/March 27/17/Syrian opposition factions destroyed a Hizbullah military position and killed a number of its commanders and fighters in the town of Qamhana in central Syria's Hama district on Sunday, Sky News Arabia reported Monday. According to field sources, the opposition fighters targeted the position with guided missiles, which led to the destruction and the killing of all Hizbullah fighters inside, asserting that among them were field commanders, according to Sky News. On Saturday, opposition factions managed to counter a large-scale military offensive by Iranian government and armed forces in the northern Hama countryside. The opposition said in a statement that the government forces tried to regain control of al-Sakher checkpoint but turned back after suffering heavy losses. The opposition pointed out that the clashes resulted in the death of a number of government forces, and the destruction of a tank. The developments coincide with the battle in Raqqa, led by Syria's Democratic Forces, to restore the city from the grip of the Islamic State group. On Sunday, the US-backed Democratic Forces of Syria controlled a military airport, which was subordinate to the IS, and is located near the largest dam in Syria on the Euphrates River.

Aoun Appoints Bou Saab as International Cooperation Adviser
Naharnet/March 27/17/President Michel Aoun on Monday appointed former education minister Elias Bou Saab as international cooperation adviser, the Presidency said in a statement. Bou Saab, who represented Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement in Tammam Salam's government and has good ties with Gulf officials, will be tasked with “communicating with countries and international bodies, organizations and funds that are helping Lebanon and contributing to various economic and developmental projects,” the Presidency added. Bou Saab is one of the founders of the American University in Dubai (AUD) and he helped in funding the television station OTV, AlMada.org news site and Sawt Al Mada radio station which are affiliated with the FPM. He was the municipal chief of Dhour El Choueir in 2009-2012. His wife is the famous singer Julia Boutros.

Report: Hizbullah Commanders, Fighters Killed in Syria
Naharnet/March 27/17/Syrian opposition factions destroyed a Hizbullah military position and killed a number of its commanders and fighters in the town of Qamhana in central Syria's Hama district on Sunday, Sky News Arabia reported Monday. According to field sources, the opposition fighters targeted the position with guided missiles, which led to the destruction and the killing of all Hizbullah fighters inside, asserting that among them were field commanders, according to Sky News. On Saturday, opposition factions managed to counter a large-scale military offensive by Iranian government and armed forces in the northern Hama countryside. The opposition said in a statement that the government forces tried to regain control of al-Sakher checkpoint but turned back after suffering heavy losses. The opposition pointed out that the clashes resulted in the death of a number of government forces, and the destruction of a tank.
The developments coincide with the battle in Raqqa, led by Syria's Democratic Forces, to restore the city from the grip of the Islamic State group.
On Sunday, the US-backed Democratic Forces of Syria controlled a military airport, which was subordinate to the IS, and is located near the largest dam in Syria on the Euphrates River.

Judge Sets Date for Trials in Tripoli Mosques Bombings
Naharnet/March 27/17/Head of the Higher Judicial Council Judge Jean Fahd set a May 12, 2017, date to begin trials in the 2013 double bombings of al-Salam and al-Taqwa mosques in the northern city of Tripoli, the State-run National News Agency reported on Monday. On August 23, 2013, two car bombs exploded outside the al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques in Tripoli, leaving 45 people dead and more than 800 injured. In 2016, Lebanon's court indicted two Syrian intelligence officers in the bombings who supervised the operation. The first is a captain in the Syrian Intelligence Palestine Branch Mohammed Ali Ali and the official in the Political Security Division Nasser Jouban. The indictment issued arrest warrants against the suspects and a permanent investigation to uncover the identities of involved senior officials who gave orders and orchestrated the attack. Investigations have shown that the orders originated from a senior security branch in the Syrian Intelligence.

Education minister calls on President Aoun to lead vote law debate
The Daily Star/Naharnet/March 27/17/BEIRUT: Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh Monday urged President Michel Aoun to lead the debate on the new electoral law. Hamadeh said in remarks to a local radio station that a hybrid vote law presented by the Lebanese Forces, Progressive Socialist Party and the Future Movement "meets the desired results." "All the components are correctly represented in [the electoral law proposal], which leaves space for the independent to express [their viewpoints]," the minister told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5). The hybrid law proposal presented by the Future, LF and PSP calls for 60 MPs to be elected on the basis of proportional representation and the remaining 68 MPs on a winner-take-all system. Hezbollah and the Amal Movement have been lobbying for the endorsement of a proportional law that treats Lebanon as a single electoral constituency. Parliamentary elections were originally scheduled to take place between May 21 and June 21, but political deadlock is expected to delay elections beyond June. Aoun had said he preferred a parliamentary vacuum over extending lawmakers’ terms or holding the elections based on the 1960 electoral law. Parliamentary elections were last held in 2009 and the terms of MPs were extended twice, in 2013 and 2014. Hamadeh also called for an agreement on a new electoral law based on a package proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri. "The first step would be by establishing a commission to abolish political sectarianism and the formation of a Senate," he said.

Report: Lebanon's Electricity File on Front Burner
Naharnet/March 27/17/The cabinet will convene on Monday to address Lebanon's 2017 draft budget plan, amid reports that it will also dwell on the electricity file following a new project presented by Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil, the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported. The project under the title “Power Saving Plan” does not take into consideration an earlier request of the Lebanese Forces party to privatize the sector, “but bears a resemblance to a former plan put by Abi Khalil's predecessor (Jebran Bassil) that decided to hire two Turkish power generating vessels under the pretext of overcoming part of the shortage,” said the daily. Ministerial sources said Abi Khali has no intention of introducing any amendments to Bassil's plan, and that he will suggest the cabinet approves renting three Turkish ships instead of two. The estimated cost of chartering the ships costs Lebanon's treasury LBP 864 trillion, adding to the cost of providing fuel for the operation of these vessels, in addition to the cost of purchasing electricity from a company that generates solar energy, it added. Abi Khalil reportedly insists on the decision to lease the Turkish vessels before June, “under the pretext for a need to improve electricity supply before the summer season as Lebanon prepares to receive about 1.5 million tourists and a large number of Lebanese who wish to spend the summer vacation in their country, adding to the shortage in supply as the result of the presence of a large number of displaced Syrians,” said the daily. The parliamentary blocs represented in the cabinet have started, since Sunday, studying the plan's details, said al-Hayat.

Jumblat: Save Lebanon's Electricity Sector from Corruption
Naharnet/March 27/17/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat voiced calls on Monday to save Lebanon's notoriously ineffective and costly electricity sector from plagued “corruption” and described the persisting power crisis as the result of failed political polices a “crime.”“Stop dividing electricity spoils and save Lebanon's electricity sector from shabbiness, corruption and those avaricious for money and politics. What is happening today is a crime,” said Jumblat on his Twitter account. “All the matter needs is a clear decision to build a new power plant with $1 billion, equal to the annual deficit. We might as well stop distributing (leasing power generating) Turkish ships,” lamented Jumblat. The Democratic Gathering leader's comments came after reports that energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil suggested a new project to lease three power generating Turkish vessels, instead of two already present in Lebanon, to supply the country with needed power before the summer season begins. The step comes amid anticipations that Lebanon expects to receive favorable number of tourists this year. When Minister Jebran Bassil was energy minister, Lebanon leased two Turkish power generating vessels to make up for the the Electricite du Liban's deficit. Media reports said the estimated cost of chartering the ships costs Lebanon's treasury LBP 864 trillion, adding to the cost of providing fuel for the operation of these vessels, in addition to the cost of purchasing electricity from a company that generates solar energy. The cabinet is set to convene on Monday to tackle the draft budget plan and study the plan submitted by Abi Khalil to improve electricity production. Lebanon is plagued with frequent power cuts because of outdated and damaged infrastructure. Local generator companies have filled the gap by providing power when state electricity cuts off -- but they often charge exorbitant prices. The poor condition of the state's power infrastructure has been a major source of public frustration, and featured prominently in recent protests that saw thousands gather in central Beirut.

Raad after visiting Lahoud: Stay optimistic about new electoral law
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - A delegation from Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc, headed by MP Mohammad Raad, visited on Monday former President Emile Lahoud at his Yarze residence. Raad told the press that this was a routine visit aimed at benefiting from Lahoud's political experience on the eve of the Arab Summit. The MP urged all Lebanese to remain optimistic about a new electoral law to be decreed soon. He described the law as one based on proportionality, which could provide stability to the entire nation.

Abi Khalil in water conference: Will gather efforts to provide safe relation among water, energy, food
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - Energy and Water Minister, Cesar Abi Khalil, said, "We will gather all efforts to secure a sustainable governance for the link among water, energy and food."Minister Abi Khalil on Monday opened Sixth Week for Water conference that was organized by the Mediterranean Network for Basin Organizations, in presence of MPs, ministers, ambassadors and international figures, at Le Royal hotel in Dbayeh.The conference will focus on the results of Climate Change conference. It will last for two days and will be concluded by a tour across the locations of Shabrouh dam in upper Keserwan.

Janjanian: LF supports hybrid law
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - "Lebanese Forces" bloc member, Deputy, Chant Janjanian, stressed on Monday that his bloc "supports the hybrid law," adding that negotiations were still ongoing to agree on a law that satisfies all sides. The MP told the "Voice of Lebanon" radio that the 1960 law or any other law similar to it would not provide fair representation. On the other hand, he confirmed that "LF supports the privatization of the electricity sector," stressing the need to stop squander and corruption in public facilities, especially in customs and airport to provide funding of the series scale issue.

Aswad says birth of new election law imminent
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - Member of Parliament, Ziad Aswad, said on Monday that the birth of a new electoral law was imminent, disclosing agreement on a new set of law-texts. "The obsession being expressed by some sides concerning a new law is unjustifiable," the lawmaker told the Voice of Lebanon radio station, blaming these very same obsessions for obstructing agreement on a new law rather than the issue of illicit arms. "The best law is the one that's capable of liberating the Lebanese from all sorts of chains.""The Free Patriotic Movement attempted to put together a program that satisfies the requirements of majority and proportionality based election laws," he added. Moreover, the lawmaker refused blaming the FPM for the prevailing electricity crisis in Lebanon, saying that the problem was inherited from previous years.
"Some sides wish to get the electricity company bankrupt in an attempt to privatize the sector," Aswad concluded.

Kabbani: Our visit to Norway was important for oil file
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - MP Mohammad Kabbani said that the visit made by the Lebanese parliamentary delegation to Norway was important as "we discussed the cooperation in favor of benefiting from the experience of Norway concerning the issue of oil and gas."MP Kabbani's stance came Monday after a meeting between the delegation headed by Kabbani and Norwegian Ambassador, Lene Natasha Lindt. Both sides agreed to follow up on said issue by letting an international Norwegian expert visit Lebanon.

Ezzeddine discusses bilateral relations with Turkish Ambassador
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - State Minister for Administrative Development, Inaya Ezzeddine, met at her office with Ambassador of Turkey, Cagatay Erciyes, with talks centering on bolstering cooperation between both countries. The top officials also discussed crucial political and economic files pertaining to Lebanon and the region.

LAF: Syrian national referred to judiciary for ISIS affiliation
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - The Lebanese Armed Forces-Orientation Directorate issued on Monday the following statement: "The Intelligence Directorate referred to specialized judiciary Syrian national Moayad Ahmad Al Waw for belonging to the terrorist organization ISIS in the outskirts of the town of Arsal, and participating in attacks on LAF units in 2014 in said town."

Hamadeh convenes with Hahn, discusses Brussels Conference
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - Minister of Education and Higher Learning, Marwan Hamadeh, met on Monday with Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, and discussed all aspects of Lebanese-European cooperation, particularly the issues of education and the effects of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon. EU Ambassador, Christina Lassen, and an accompanying delegation also attended the meeting. The officials also discussed preparations for upcoming Brussels Conference, to take place on April fifth, which is expected to be a turning point in international support for Lebanon.

Salam receives Hahn
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - Former PM Tammam Salam on Monday received at his residence in Beirut Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, accompanied by EU Ambassador in Lebanon Christina Lassen, and discussed with him overall developments in Lebanon and the region.

LAF lifts blockade off of Hamoudiyeh town
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) which cordoned off the town of Hamoudiyeh, west Britel, lifted the blockade on Monday afternoon. Units from the LAF had earlier cut-off all roads leading to said village and patrolled the surrounding area since the early morning hours.
The army did not seek wanted persons deep within the town.

Hahn visits Hariri: Lebanon did a great job and deserves to be supported
NNA/March 27/17/ The President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri received today at the Grand Serail the EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn, accompanied by the Head of the EU Delegation in Lebanon Christina Lassen, in the presence of Hariri's advisors Nadim Mounla and Mazen Hanna. After the meeting, Hahn said: "We had very fruitful meetings this morning with President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Hariri and Education Minister Marwan Hamade. I think it was important to have this exchange. I came to Lebanon once again to acknowledge and commend everything the country has done to cope with the refugees' crisis. The country did great work, particularly its citizens.
When it comes to Lebanon, I think it is important to express our gratitude to the ordinary citizens and the host communities for what they have done and what they have suffered because it is not easy to accommodate such a challenge.
The European Union started to support Lebanon from the onset of the crisis and so far we have provided more than one billion Euro and will continue. The mission today and tomorrow is also dedicated to prepare, with our Lebanese partners and friends, the conference that will be held next week in Brussels to see how we can further continue in our joint efforts, to find a political solution for Syria and to help affected countries in the region, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and others to cope with this crisis.
It is equally important to take care of our neighbors, and to invest, as was the clear request of the Prime Minister, in the country. That is why we had to look into all the opportunities, how we can further stimulate the country in terms of foreign investments. There are many opportunities and potentials that we have to look into in the future, on the trade side but also in vocational training in order to prepare skilled labor workforce for investors, which we believe is extremely important.
So for us Lebanon did a great job and deserves to be supported. But once again our understanding is that this should be seen as an investment, which means to get something in return, and this doesn't necessarily mean money, but to have stability in the region, peace, prosperity and in particular to give the citizens perspective for the future so they are not forced to migrate.
In that respect we looked into a lot of opportunities and we just had a very fruitful discussion with the Prime Minister on the issue of applying for concession loans. This was not only shared by him but even pushed and this is an opportunity to get co-subsidized by the European Union and attractive loans with interest rate of less than 2% compared to seven or eight % which would be the ordinary interest rate. This is something very attractive and can be seen as a further stimulation of the economy.
Once again we had very fruitful discussions and tomorrow I will have the opportunity of some field visits in the security sector and the health sector, which are also extremely important. There will also be an opportunity to look into a waste treatment facility, something which is crucial to the country. I come from Austria, where people are sensitive about environment. We have incineration plants inside the city of Vienna and one of them is a sightseeing attraction because it was designed by an artist and today many tourists are visiting this incineration plant which is feeding electricity in Vienna. There is no air pollution, only steam is coming out of the chimney. So there is technology which guarantees the best way to deal with waste and even hazardous waste. And I would like to convince people here to apply this most updated technology which is already available and we would be more than happy to help the country invest in this kind of technology in the interest of the people. Landfills are not the best solution. They are outdated. And this country is not very big so one should look into alternatives and again it is another opportunity to create a business case. We are looking into solutions that will help all of us have peace, stability and prosperity in the country. And if we have it here, we will have it in the wider region."
Asked about programs to resettle Syrian refugees from Lebanon to EU countries, he said: Next week we will sit together and discuss issues. But my understanding, and I have seen this in Turkey, is that the huge majority of refugees are very keen, for understandable reasons, to move back to their home territory and not only home country. That is why we have to look for a political solution for Syria and give people the opportunity to move back. This is in our interest, because if there is a vacuum, it could be filled by anybody. And we should help people move back and this can only be done if there is a reliable sustainable peace in Syria".
Moratinos
Hariri received the Former Foreign Minister of Spain Miguel ?ngel Moratinos, in the presence of the Spanish Ambassador to Lebanon Milagros Hernando.
Moroccan Ambassador
He also received the Moroccan Ambassador to Lebanon Mohamad Grine.
After the meeting, Grine said: "It is a protocol visit to Prime Minister Hariri where we exchanged views on how to develop the relations between our two countries and improve them on all levels."
He also discussed the general situation and the developments in Lebanon with former MP Fares Souaid and Radwan Sayyed in the presence of Hariri's Chief of Staff Nader Hariri.
He also met with a delegation from the association of veterans of the Lebanese armed forces, headed by retired Major Othman Othman.

Khalil receives Abu Khalil, Shorter
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - Public Finance Minister, Ali Hasan Khalil, on Monday received at his office Energy and Water Minister, Cesar Abu Khalil, and discussed with him the preparations for the proposed power plan, knowing that the cabinet will discuss such issue during its session tomorrow at Baabda Palace. Separately, Minister Khalil received British Ambassador, Hugo Shorter, and discussed with him the British aid to Lebanon in light of displaced Syrians issue.

Finianos meets Shoukair
Mon 27 Mar 2017/NNA - Public Works and Transportation Minister, Youssef Finianos, on Monday received at his office State Minister for Human Rights Affairs, Ayman Shoukair, and discussed with him developments at the political, economic and social levels. Minister Finianos met later on with MPs Wael Abu Faour, Nabil Nicholas, Ali Ammar and Abbas Hashem, and others.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published On March 27-28/17
More Syrian Rebels, Families Leave City of Homs under Deal
Associated Press/Naharnet/March 27/17/Syrian state TV says another group of rebels with their families are leaving the last opposition-held neighborhood in the central city of Homs under a Russia-brokered deal with the Damascus government. The TV says Monday's round of evacuations from al-Waer neighborhood is the second one so far and involves 466 people — including 129 fighters. The opposition fighters agreed to leave al-Waer after years of siege and bombardment at the hands of pro-government forces. They were guaranteed safe passage to rebel-held parts of northern Syria.
The evacuations are expected to last weeks, after which the government will be able to claim control over the entire city for the first time in years. Some opposition activists have criticized the agreement, saying it aims to displace 12,000 al-Waer residents, including 2,500 fighters.

Syria Force Halts Push on IS-Held Dam for Repairs
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 27/17/US-backed Syrian fighters on Monday paused their offensive for a key dam held by the Islamic State group to allow a technical team to enter the complex, a spokeswoman said. There have been fears about the integrity of the dam after fighting in the area forced it out of service on Sunday, following earlier UN warnings that a collapse would be "catastrophic."With air support from the US-led coalition against IS, the Syrian Democratic Forces are fighting to seize the town of Tabqa and the adjacent dam on the Euphrates River, as part of their battle for the jihadist's stronghold in nearby Raqa. "To ensure the integrity of the Tabqa dam... we have decided to stop operations for four hours beginning at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT)," SDF spokeswoman Jihad Sheikh Ahmed said in a statement. "This is to allow a team of engineers to enter the dam and carry out their work," she added. The IS-held structure was forced out of service on Sunday after its power station was damaged, a source there told AFP. The UN has warned that damage to the dam "could lead to massive scale flooding across Raqa and as far away as Deir Ezzor" province downstream to the southeast with "catastrophic humanitarian implications."The source at the dam told AFP on Monday that a technical team "will assess the level of damage and repair what is needed so that the dam can resume its operations, after it was put out of service yesterday." IS issued warnings through its propaganda agency Amaq on Sunday that the dam could collapse "at any moment". The US-led coalition said Monday it was "taking every precaution" to ensure the structure's integrity. The SDF had also denied the dam was damaged, and said military operations around it were being conducted "slowly and with precision". The alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters launched its offensive for Raqa city in November, seizing around two thirds of the surrounding province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. At their closest point, they are just eight kilometres (five miles) from the city, to the northeast. But they are mostly further away, 18-29 kilometres from Raqa.

Syrian Democratic Forces take ISIS-held airport near Euphrates dam
AFP, Beirut Monday, 27 March 2017/A US-backed alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters took full control Sunday of the Tabqa military airport in the country's north from ISIS, a spokesman said. The advance comes as the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance prepares for an assault on the militant group's de facto Syrian capital Raqqa, some 55 kilometers (35 miles) east of Tabqa. The SDF is seeking to effectively encircle Raqqa city before attacking the stronghold. "The Syrian Democratic Forces have full control of Tabqa military airport and operations to clear and demine are under way in order to secure the airport fully," spokesman Talal Sello told AFP. The SDF entered the airport earlier Sunday, with Sello saying the alliance's forces were engaged in fierce clashes with ISIS. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, which also confirmed the airport's capture, said the SDF fighters were backed by US-led coalition strikes. US forces airlifted SDF fighters behind ISIS lines around Tabqa earlier this week in advance of the assault, which is also targeting the town of Tabqa and the nearby Tabqa dam, Syria's largest.

Iraqi forces launch renewed attack on Mosul’s Old City
AFP, Baghdad Monday, 27 March 2017/Iraqi forces launched a renewed attack against militants in Mosul’s Old City on Monday, a senior commander said. The United Nations has warned that 400,000 people are “trapped” in the central Mosul area under siege-like conditions, as Iraqi forces battle ISIS for the city’s west. “Federal Police and Rapid Response Division units began to advance today on the southwestern axis of the Old City,” Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat, the commander of the federal police, said in a statement. Jawdat said that one of their targets is Faruq Street, which runs near the Al-Nuri mosque. ISIS Chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only known public appearance at the mosque after ISIS seized Mosul in 2014, calling on Muslims to obey him. Iraqi forces have been operating in the area of the Old City for several weeks, but they have faced tough resistance and progress in the area has been slow. ISIS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since retaken much of the territory they lost. Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake Mosul, the country’s second city, in October, retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely-populated west.

Iraq Forces Launch Renewed Attack on Mosul's Old City
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 27/17/Iraqi forces renewed their assault Monday against jihadists in Mosul's Old City, after days in which the battle was overshadowed by reports of heavy civilian casualties from air strikes. Iraqi forces began the massive operation to retake west Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) group last month and have recaptured a series of neighbourhoods, but the battle poses a major threat to civilians in the city. Iraqi officials and witnesses have said air strikes took a devastating toll on civilians in the Mosul Al-Jadida area in recent days, but the number of victims -- said by some to number in the hundreds -- could not be independently confirmed. "Federal Police and Rapid Response Division units began to advance today on the southwestern axis of the Old City," Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat, the commander of the federal police, said in a statement. Jawdat said that one of their targets is Faruq Street, which runs near the Al-Nuri mosque. IS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only known public appearance at the mosque after IS seized Mosul in 2014, calling on Muslims to obey him. Iraqi interior ministry forces have been operating in the area of the Old City for several weeks, but they have faced tough resistance and progress in the area has been slow. The Counter-Terrorism Service, which along with the Rapid Response Division is one of two special forces units spearheading west Mosul operations, has made faster progress in areas further west. But the Old City -- a warren of narrow streets and closely-spaced buildings in which the UN said 400,000 people still reside -- poses unique challenges in terms of the difficulty of advancing as well as the danger to civilians.
- Heavy toll on civilians -Brigadier General Yahya Rasool, the spokesman for Iraq's Joint Operations Command, said that interior ministry units have deployed snipers to target IS jihadists using civilians as human shields. However, Iraqi forces have also frequently fired mortar rounds and unguided rockets during the battle for Mosul -- weapons that pose a much greater risk to residents of areas where fighting is taking place. The battle has already taken a heavy toll on civilians, pushing more than 200,000 to flee in addition to others who have been killed or wounded in the fighting. An AFP photographer saw civil defence personnel and volunteers digging through the remains of houses to recover the dead in Mosul al-Jadida on Sunday. The remains of at least 12 people -- among them women and children -- were placed in blue plastic body bags. Rasool said that the defence ministry has opened an investigation into the reports that strikes killed civilians in west Mosul. The US-led coalition against IS has indicated that it may have been responsible for at least some of the civilian deaths. "An initial review of strike data... indicates that, at the request of the Iraqi security forces, the coalition struck (IS) fighters and equipment, March 17, in west Mosul at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties," it said in a statement on Saturday. But that only addresses one day, while Iraqi officials referred to strikes carried out over several days. On Sunday, US Central Command chief General Joseph Votel called recent civilian deaths in Mosul a "terrible tragedy". "We are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened and will continue to take extraordinary measures to avoid harming civilians," he said in a statement.

Kremlin Slams Anti-Corruption Protests as 'Provocation'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 27/17/The Kremlin on Monday condemned anti-corruption protests organised by opposition activist Alexei Navalny as a "provocation" and claimed minors were offered money in case they were arrested while demonstrating."Essentially what we saw yesterday in several places -- probably especially in Moscow -- is a provocation and a lie," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters of Sunday's protests in Russian cities, in which more than 1,000 people were arrested. He said youths had been "promised financial rewards in the event of their detention by law enforcement agencies" during the protests. He did not give a source for this information when asked by journalists, while describing it as a "fact". Thousands of people rallied in Moscow and other Russian cities Sunday in protests organised by Navalny, a lawyer turned Kremlin critic and activist who has announced his 2018 presidential bid. Navalny urged supporters to take to the streets in protest after his team published a report alleging that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev controlled a vast property empire through a net of obscure foundations. More than a thousand people were detained on Sunday in Moscow and hundreds more in other cities across Russia after most municipal authorities refused to grant permission for the protests. Peskov said without mentioning Navalny by name that the Kremlin is worried that "some people will continue using (politically) active people... to their own ends, calling them to illegal and unauthorised actions." Asked what the Kremlin thinks about the scale of protests -- by far the biggest to rock Russia in years -- Peskov said he "neither overestimates nor underestimates this scale."

Kremlin Critic Navalny Ordered Jailed for 15 Days after Protest
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 27/17/A Russian court on Monday sentenced Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to 15 days behind bars after ruling he had resisted police during an anti-corruption protest Sunday in Moscow. Judge Alesya Orekhova at a district court in Moscow said Navalny was "guilty" and would spend 15 days in jail, and also fined him for holding the unauthorized rally that drew thousands to Moscow city center, an AFP correspondent in the courtroom said.

Sudan's Bashir to Attend Arab Summit
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 27/17/President Omar al-Bashir will attend an Arab League summit in Amman this week, Sudan's foreign minister said Sunday, despite a top rights group urging Jordan to deny him entry. Bashir is wanted by The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged genocide and war crimes related to the conflict in war-torn Darfur. "President Omar al-Bashir will participate in the Arab summit in spite of his hectic schedule," Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told the official SUNA news agency. Ghandour said Bashir was attending the Arab League's annual summit as Jordan's King Abdullah II insisted that he come. "President Bashir has never fled from ICC, and he will continue executing his responsibilities," Ghandour said. New York-based Human Rights Watch has called on Jordan, an ICC member, to deny entry to Bashir or arrest him if he comes for the summit, which begins on Wednesday near the Dead Sea. "Jordan would be defying its international obligations as an ICC member if it allows Bashir to visit without arresting him,” said Elise Keppler, associate international justice director at HRW in a statement. "Welcoming an ICC fugitive would undermine the Jordanian government’s recent efforts to strengthen the country’s rule of The Hague-based court issued arrest warrants for Bashir in 2009 and 2010, but he has so far evaded arrest and steadfastly denies the charges related to conflict in Darfur. The conflict in Darfur, a region the size of France, erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, accusing it of marginalising the region economically and politically. At least 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur and another 2.5 million displaced since the conflict erupted, the United Nations says.In 2015, South Africa refused to arrest Bashir when he attended an African Union summit there, claiming he had immunity as the head of an AU member state.The ICC will hold a public hearing on April 7 to probe whether South Africa -- a signatory to the Rome Statute of the world war crimes court -- failed in its duty in refusing to do so.

Hamas Partially Reopens Gaza Crossing after Assassination
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 27/17/Hamas authorities partially reopened the crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel Monday, after a one-day closure following the assassination of one of the group's leaders. "From Monday morning, travel through the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing will be permitted temporarily for some categories," a statement from Iyad al-Bozum, a spokesman for the interior ministry in the Palestinian enclave, said. Anyone would be allowed to enter Gaza, the statement said, but those leaving would remain restricted to senior politicians, the sick and families of prisoners. The latter two groups would be age-limited -- only those under 15 and over 45. Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, closed the crossing totally Sunday after blaming the Jewish state for the assassination of one of its senior officials. Mazen Faqha, 38, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen Friday, with Hamas officials blaming the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and its "collaborators." He was killed by four bullets from a pistol equipped with a silencer on Friday. Islamists Hamas did not give details on the reason for closing the crossing, though there was speculation authorities may be seeking to prevent those responsible for the killing from leaving. Israel has not commented on the shooting.According to Hamas, Faqha formed cells for the Islamist group's military wing in the West Bank cities of Tubas, where he was born, and Jenin. Faqha's funeral on Saturday drew thousands of Hamas supporters into the streets with chants of "revenge" and "death to Israel."Ismail Haniya, until recently head of Hamas in Gaza, and Yahya Sinwar, who replaced him as leader, headed the procession. The Erez crossing is the only one between Gaza and Israel for people. Another crossing with Israel, Kerem Shalom, is used for goods and remained open on Sunday, Palestinian officials said. The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade. Palestinian militants in Gaza and Israel have fought three wars since 2008. Gaza's sole crossing with Egypt has also remained largely closed in recent years.

King Salman meets Jordan’s King Abdullah ahead of Arab summit
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya Monday, 27 March 2017/Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz arrived in the Jordanian capital of Amman on Monday and is scheduled to hold a summit meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan. The King was received by the King of Jordan at the Marka Military Airport along with a number of princes and ministers. The Royal Court’s statement stated earlier that the visit comes from the “fraternal ties between Saudi and Jordan, where they will discuss bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them in all aspects and discuss regional and international issues of common concern.”During the Saudi King’s visit, 15 agreements and an economic and trade memorandum worth up to 4 billion riyals will be signed. The proposed agreement marks the beginning of a new economic era between the two countries, the Jordan Chamber of Commerce earlier said. King Salman will also lead the Kingdom’s delegation in the 28th Arab Summit, which is scheduled to be held in Jordan on Wednesday. The official delegation accompanying the King includes Minister of State and Cabinet's Member Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq bin Fauzan Al-Rabiah, Minister of State and Cabinet's Member Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Said, Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Minister of Transport Sulaiman bin Abdullah Al-Hamdan, and Chief of General Intelligence Khaled bin Ali Al-Humaidan.

Pence revives talk of Tel Aviv embassy move to Jerusalem
By Reuters Monday, 27 March 2017/US Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday revived talk of the possibility the United States may move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, saying President Donald Trump was seriously considering the matter. During the 2016 US presidential campaign, Trump’s team spoke often about moving the US embassy to Jerusalem. But since taking office, the contentious issue appears to have moved to the backburner. “After decades of simply talking about it, the president of the United States is giving serious consideration to moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Pence said in a speech to the influential, pro-Israel US lobbying group AIPAC. Israel regards Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital and wants all countries to base their embassies there, though Israeli politicians also understand that moving the U.S. embassy there could be destabilizing.
Also read: Moving US embassy to Jerusalem may change the course of action. The relocation is strongly opposed by many US allies as the Palestinians also claim the city as their capital. The final status of Jerusalem is supposed to be determined via direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
If the United States were to relocate its embassy, it would be seen as an explicit recognition of Jerusalem belonging to Israel, potentially pre-determining the outcome of eventual peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The US Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed Trump’s pick to be ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer allied with the Israeli right, who favors moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published On March 27-28/17
Ontario-based relief group, IRFAN-Canada linked to Hamas heads to court to get off Canada’s terrorist list
Stewart Bel/National Post/March 27/2017
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=53728
TORONTO — A Muslim relief group allegedly linked to Hamas has launched a legal challenge in Federal Court in an attempt to be taken off the Canadian government’s list of “terrorist entities.”
The International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy Canada has asked to be removed from the terrorist list and also wants the entire listing process struck down as unconstitutional.
This is the second time the Mississauga, Ont.-based group has gone to court in the hope of being de-listed. It last tried in 2014 but the case was discontinued the following year.
Fifty-three factions — including al-Qaida, ISIL and Hezbollah — are currently on Canada’s list of designated terrorist groups, which effectively makes them illegal organizations.
IRFAN-Canada’s troubles with the government began in 2011 when its charity status was revoked after federal auditors concluded it was an “integral part” of the Hamas fundraising network.
Investigators had also found videos at the group’s office that “demonize Israel, characterize the Arab-Israeli conflict as a religious war, appeal for all Arab and Muslim nations to join in the struggle against Israel and glorify martyrdom,” the Canada Revenue Agency wrote.
In 2012, Justin Trudeau, then a candidate for the Liberal leadership, was criticized for speaking at a Toronto Islamic conference sponsored by the group. Two years later IRFAN-Canada was added to the federal list of terror groups.
According to the Public Safety Canada website, between 2005 and 2009, the non-profit “transferred approximately $14.6 million worth of resources to various organizations with links to Hamas.” The listing was reviewed by the Liberal government on Nov. 11, 2016 but it was not removed.
The court application filed in Ottawa on Feb. 24 said IRFAN-Canada was seeking an order setting aside a decision made by the Minister of Public Safety on Dec. 22 denying its request to be taken off the list.
“IRFAN-Canada did not directly or indirectly assist Hamas,” the application said. “The case against IRFAN-Canada is built around unproven and unreliable assertions of links or associations.”
It said IRFAN-Canada was a humanitarian organization that had “aided thousands of Palestinian orphans” and provided “basic human needs to help the most vulnerable.”The nine-page application also said the former IRFAN-Canada executive director, Rasem Abdel Majid, had suffered “financial and reputational loss as a result of the listing.”He lost his job, cannot operate a personal bank account and “has been subject to increased scrutiny and detention during travel despite being 73-years-old and having no criminal record.”
Public Safety Canada declined to comment. Hamas is a Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings.

مناورات عسكرية مشتركة بين دولة الإمارات وايطاليا وأميركا وإسرائيل
Israeli Air Force Holds Joint Exercise With United Arab Emirates, U.S. and Italy
Gili Cohen/Haaretz/March 27/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=53724
The Israel Air Force began a joint exercise on Monday in Greece that included dozens of aircraft from foreign armies. Dubbed Iniohos 2017, an official report for the Greek air force noted that the air forces of Israel, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Italy participated in the exercise. The training patch for the exercise includes the flags of the countries along with the slogan "Act with Awareness."
The Iniohos 2017 exercise is due to be wrapped up next Thursday. Photos from the past several days show F-16 aircraft from the United Arab Emirates alongside an American Air Force transport plane at the Greek air force base. The American army reported that it had dispatched 12 F-16C airplanes and close to 220 crew members to participate in the exercise. The joint exercise, according to a U.S. army report, is strengthening ties among the participating countries, maintain[ing] joint readiness and interoperability," the news release stated.
This is not the first time that the Israel Air Force has cooperated with its UAE counterpart. Last year, Israeli pilots participated in the Red Flag training exercise in the United States in which pilots from Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Spain also participated.
Israel and the UAE do not have official diplomatic relations although there are reports in foreign media from time to time of unofficial contacts or of contacts that remain secret. In addition, the Israel Defense Forces is expanding its joint training with other foreign armies. Last week, F-16s participated in joint training in Cyprus and were seen in the skies over Paphos.
Next November, a wide-scale exercise will take place in Israel with the participation of representatives of foreign countries including India, the United States, Poland and Italy. As reported in Haaretz, the air force is outsourcing management of this international flagship exercise and is therefore seeking to hire the services of a civilian company.
Several months ago, Israel Air Force Commander Amir Eshel said: "[Israel] is in a peak year of cooperation with foreign armies in Israel and abroad. In November, the largest aerial exercise will be held here, with nine countries."
Israel maintains broad cooperation with the Greek air force and also participated in the current exercise in the two prior years in connection with which it sent fighter aircraft for joint training in Greece. Just last week, it was reported that in connection with a visit to Greece, Brig. Gen. Erez Meisel, the head of the foreign relations department in the planning division, had signed a cooperation agreement with his Greek counterpart.
In the past, a senior officer described the cooperation between the countries as strategic and noted that the countries have common interests, both military and economic. About six months ago, a squadron of Yanshuf and Yasur helicopters participated in a joint exercise in Greece that rehearsed landing on Mt. Olympus, among other operations.
The commander of the squadron that participated in the training, identified only as Lt. Col. Gilad, told Haaretz at the time that it involved a flight under conditions with which the Israeli pilots are not familiar. "We only have Mt. Hermon and there the mountains simulate countries where we might land one day."

WhatsApp: Scapegoat for London’s security lapses
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis March 27, 2017
British Home Secretary Amber Rudd Sunday, March 26, attacked WhatsApp for refusing intelligence services and police access to its encrypted messaging service, used by Khalid Masood three minutes before his terrorist rampage in London last Wednesday. She presented this opacity as an impediment to the investigation into his deadly attack and to the prevention of terror in general
Khalid Masood was shot dead after killing four people including a policeman when he rammed his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then tried to force his way into parliament. Referring to his use of WhatsApp’s End-to-End encryption service to communicate with an unknown person minutes before the attack, Rudd said “We need to make sure that organizations like WhatsApp – and there are plenty of others like that - don’t provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other.”
This argument does not really hold water, debkafile’s cyber experts and security sources explain.
1. Western intelligence agencies - certainly the US, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand members of the “Five Eyes” – have found ways of hacking into the “inaccessible” encrypted messages carried by such services as WhatsApp and Skype. After the 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California, the FBI, when denied the passcode for an iPhone used by one of the perpetrators, found another way to get into the phone.
2. If the British MI5 domestic intelligence agency knows when Masood posted his message and its length, his cell phone must be in their hands and in working order. “Communication research” and “communication mapping” can therefore be performed to obtain the addresses he called, how frequently and his location when he made the calls. Even if all is messages can’t be fully recovered from the cell phone, the information can be extracted from the operator.
The important Islamist terrorist organizations, especially ISIS, are tech-savvy enough to be aware that the British Home Secretary’s arguments against WhatsApp were made of whole cloth. They will be happy to deduce that she was attempting to cover up the major flaws in her government’s counterterrorism setup that came to light in the Westminster attack. This impression was reinforced by Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu when he said it may never be possible to fully determine Masood’s motives.
ISIS, which claimed the attack by its “soldier,” will also conclude from the comments by the Home Minister and the police chief that the British authorities are at a loss for any leads to the terrorist’s connections, accomplices, support system or a network, which may be secretly preparing the next attack.
Sunday night, a 30-year old man was arrested in Birmingham, Masood’s last place of residence, on suspicion of “preparation of terrorist acts.” He is one of two men in custody, the 12th to be arrested in connection with the investigation after nine others were released.
Regarding the overall battle against Islamist terror, a major obstacle is the failure of Western intelligence agencies to set up technological, organizational, commercial or even “patriotic” working relationships with the Internet majors, such Google, Microsoft and Facebook (which also owns WhatsApp).
During the Obama presidency, the two groups drew further apart, especially after WikiLeaks exposed the extent to which such US agencies as NSA intruded on individual privacy, or planted malware in exported US-made servers as secret monitors on a global scale.
The complaints of “inaccessible” services are irrelevant and outdated in an era marked by the explosion of universally accessible information and the advantages it offers hostile terrorist organizations against counterintelligence agencies. It is vitally important for those agencies to catch up with the high-tech giants’ capabilities and for governments to adjust regulations for making it worth while for those giants to play ball whether for patriotic motives or financial gain, and establish relations of trust.
As for the security shortcomings exposed by the Westminster attack, five are the most glaring:
1. UK intelligence and security services had no advance warning.
2. The entire area around Parliament and Downing Street lacked basic security protection and presented terrorists with several soft targets. This part of London is the location of impressive national monuments and unique landmarks that draw millions of visitors as well as housing a foremost international financial center. Its lack of security is hard to comprehend.
3. A gate for vehicles to the parliament building was left open and undefended for a time during the deadly attack.
4. The security detail responsible for Prime Minister Theresa May appears on video to have lost its cool over getting her into the right car after bundling her out of the House to the car park.
5. The River Thames bridges, which are major transport conduits in central London, are completely unguarded.

When the Law Opposes the Truth Rather Than Protects It
Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/March 27/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=53715
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10118/canada-islamophobia-censorship
Would we be allowed to ask who ISIS are inspired by?
Would they be allowed to say that the perpetrator was a Muslim?
Would they be allowed to say that there is a tradition of violence within the Islamic religion which has sadly permitted just such actions for a rather long time. Or would they have to lie?
The Canadian government suffers from many things. Among them is bad timing.
On Thursday of last week, the Canadian Parliament voted through a blasphemy law specifically designed to protect Islam. As Al-Jazeera was happy to report on Friday, the previous day's vote condemned "Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination." The non-binding motion that the Parliament passed also requested that a Parliamentary committee should launch a study to look at how to "develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia". The motion passed by 201 votes to 91.
It is just as well for those 201 Canadian legislators that they were debating all this in their distinguished national Parliament rather than the mother of all Parliaments. For had these legislators been in the House of Commons in Westminster, their thoughts may have taken on a sharper focus.
For one day earlier, the British House of Commons lived through an example of rampant Islamism rather than "Islamophobia". And although nobody in Westminster decided to turn into a crazy Muslim-hating bigot, they did manage to see what a hateful Muslim bigot could do when armed with the simple weapons of a knife and a motor vehicle.
The Canadian Liberal MP Iqra Khalid, who introduced the motion in Canada, proclaimed that the introduction of a de facto Islamic blasphemy law in Canada was needed because "We need to continue to build those bridges among Canadians, and this is just one way that we can do this." Hours before she said that, one of Khalid's co-religionists was using a bridge built more than a hundred and fifty years earlier for a very different purpose.
Khalid Masood of Birmingham chose to use an older bridge to drive at high speed into crowds of Londoners and tourists. On his rampage, he managed to injure people from 11 countries. He succeeded in killing Kurt Cochran, an American on holiday in London with his wife to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. He also killed Aysha Frade, a British national of Spanish and Cypriot descent who had been walking across Westminster Bridge to pick up her two young daughters from school. He also killed Leslie Rhodes, a 75-year old retired window-cleaner, described by a neighbour, who sat at his bedside in hospital as he died, as "the nicest man you ever met."
After this carnage, so similar to the vehicle attacks in recent years in Germany, Israel and France, the 52-year old Khalid Masood ran at the Houses of Parliament and stabbed to death Police Constable Keith Palmer, 48. As all this unfolded, the Houses of Parliament in Westminster were put into lockdown. As with the Islamist attack on the Parliament building at Ottawa in 2014, the assailant got disturbingly close to the very centre of power in the land before being shot dead.
After deliberately driving a car into crowds of people in London last week, Khalid Masood crashed the vehicle into the fence surrounding Parliament, and stabbed a police officer to death. (Image source: Sky News video screenshot)
So, we come to the central problem of what the Canadian Parliament did at the same time that the British Parliament was being assaulted. What are we allowed to say about this? Or at least what would we be allowed to say in Canada?
So far, we know that the perpetrator of the London attack was a 52-year old convert to Islam who appeared to have been influenced by Wahhabism, but whose particular aims or intentions remain, for the time-being, unknown. Unlike the murderers of British soldier Lee Rigby in 2013 (one of whom carried on his person a note to his children with numerous Quranic references explaining why he was doing what he was doing, and why it was right) Khalid Masood appears to have left no note. Nor has any suicide-video yet emerged.
But it is not unreasonable to speculate that he was motivated or inspired by ISIS. The group has claimed his attack for their side of the terror ledger and the style of the attack certainly conforms to the type called for by the group. But beyond this, what are we allowed to say? Or what would we be allowed to say in Canada?
Would we be allowed to ask who ISIS are inspired by? The question must linger. It must be hovering over the mind of many a Canadian journalist as they ponder the terrorist attacks that have previously taken place in their country and wonder how they would go about reporting an attack such as that in Westminster last week.
Would they be allowed to say that the perpetrator was a Muslim? Would they be allowed to say that he was a convert? Would they be allowed to mention the Wahhabi point? Or would this tread into the realm of the "Islamophobia". Let us assume that they would be allowed to mention these things in print. Would they be allowed to go any farther? Would they be allowed to ponder in opinion columns or quote people in reportage who said that Masood and indeed ISIS had not got their ideas from nowhere? Would they be allowed to say that there is a tradition of violence within the Islamic religion, which has sadly permitted just such actions for a rather long time. Or would they have to lie?
History suggests that when the law makes it illegal to tell the truth, a reliable portion of people can be called upon to lie. So it has been in the past. And so it will be with Canada. So it would be anywhere once the law became an opponent of truth rather than the protector of it.
Thanks to the Canadian Parliament and their lack of curiosity about a deeply opaque but ambitious word ("Islamophobia"), the Canadian press and public will have to stop certain inquiries into the truth about the events of our time. Who -- apart from the good legislators of Canada -- could possibly believe that the world will benefit from such censoring? And at such a time as this? To adopt a well-known expression: those whom the gods would destroy they first make ignorant.
**Douglas Murray, British author, commentator and public affairs analyst, is based in London, England.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Muslim Brotherhood Front Group Seeking Removal of Listing as a "Terrorism Entity"
Thomas Quiggin/Gatestone Institute/March 27/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10117/irfan-canada-terrorism
The application for judicial review made by IRFAN and Majid also attempts to distance themselves from the Muslim Brotherhood. This seems a bit difficult. Hamas itself was founded as the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Article Two of the Hamas Charter.
This support for Hamas goes back to at least 1992.
The International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (IRFAN) has been listed as a terrorism entity in Canada since 2014. It was also identified as a Muslim Brotherhood front group during testimony to the Canadian Senate along with the Muslim Association of Canada, the National Council of Canadian Muslims and Islamic Relief Canada.
The listing as a terrorism entity followed the Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) 2011 revocation of their charitable status after a multi-year investigation showed that IRFAN had been funding Hamas, otherwise known as the Muslim Brotherhood in the Palestinian territories. The CRA also made it clear that IRFAN was the successor organization to the Jerusalem Fund for Human Services (JFHS) which had also been funding Hamas. The CRA also observed that IRFAN was deliberately constructed to circumvent the Government of Canada so that it could fund Hamas after the Government of Canada refused to grant the JFHS charitable status.
In December 2016, IRFAN found out that its appeal the Minister of Public Safety to have the terrorism listing lifted was rejected.
On February 24, 2017, IRFAN and its former manager, Rasem Abdel Majid applied to the Federal Court of Canada for a judicial review of the Minister's decision to maintain the terrorist entity listing. IRFAN listed 27 different grounds for why its supporters believe the terrorist designation should be lifted. Extracts from the motion state that:
(16) IRFAN-Canada did not directly or indirectly assist HAMAS. (...)
(17) There is no evidence that IRFAN-Canada attempted to advance the goals of HAMAS or any other organization affiliated with HAMAS.
(19) The listing briefing makes various irrelevant references to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Union of Good. (...) There is no evidence that the Muslim Brotherhood controlled any of IRFAN's partner organizations or beneficiaries.
Unindicted Co-conspirators in a US Based Terrorism Funding Trial
Both IRFAN-Canada and the Canadian based Jerusalem Fund for Human Services (JFHS) were listed as unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Relief Fund terrorism funding trials in the USA, which resulted in multiple convictions.[1] They were listed as the "Jerusalem Fund, aka IRFAN" and were specifically noted as "individuals/entities that are and/or were part of the Global HAMAS financing mechanism."
Funding Hamas since 1992
In February 2001, IRFAN-Canada assumed the activities and pursuits of the Jerusalem Fund for Human Services (JFHS) according to the Canada Revenue Agency. This included keeping the same General Manager, Rasem Abdel Majid (AKA Abou Basem).[2] The terrorism funding money in question was sent to Hamas.
This support for Hamas goes back to at least 1992. On October 2-3, 1993, five leading members of the U.S. Palestine Committee met at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Philadelphia USA for a conference. As it turns out, the meeting was monitored by the FBI, which was already deeply suspicious of the intent of the individuals involved in the meeting. Wiretaps of this meeting were entered into evidence at the 2007 trial of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), which resulted in convictions and heavy sentences for funding terrorism. The recipient of the funding was Hamas. At the meeting, the role of the Canadian-based Jerusalem Fund for Human Services was discussed.
A Canadian present at this meeting, Rasem Abdel Majid/Abou Basem discussed the fund-raising for Hamas in Canada, which had already been successful. It should be noted that Rasem Abdel Majid was the manager of the Jerusalem Fund for Human Services as well as being the manager for IRFAN throughout the life span of both organizations. The following conversation which concerned funding for Hamas was wiretapped and placed into evidence[3] at the HLF trial:
Abdel Halim Al Ashqar: We heard about Jerusalem for Human Services but we didn't hear from our brothers at the (Islamic) Association (for Palestine) about what they do. So, I hope that media and public activism in Canada is mentioned if there is something prepared. It might be first opportunity for some of the brothers to meet people from Canada.
Abdel Halim Al Ashqar ...Now, the second question, brother Abou Basem, is for Canada: how much do you raise annually?
Abou Basem: ... m. The first half of this year [we raised] 214,000.
Abdel Halim Al Ashqar: [How about] last year?
Abou Basem: This is for '93. From now until June '93, we raised 214,000. In 1992 [we raised] 167 for the entire year.
The Muslim Brotherhood Connection
The application for judicial review made by IRFAN and Majid also attempts to distance themselves from the Muslim Brotherhood. This seems a bit difficult. Hamas itself was founded as the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Article Two of the Hamas Charter. Additionally, the Holy Land Relief trials also produced a series of judgements which clearly identified Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood has being financially linked to a number of other actors in the funding conspiracy, including the Islamic Society of North America and the North American Islamic Trust. IRFAN/JFHS were listed as unindicted co-conspirators in this trial and were listed as part of the "Global HAMAS financing mechanism." To round this off, Senate Testimony in Canada noted IRFAN has been a Muslim Brotherhood front group as stated at the outset of this article.
Public Safety Canada
According to a March 9, 2017 article titled "Canadian Charity Fights to Remove 'Terrorist' Label," Public Safety Canada spokeswoman Karine Martel declined to comment on the situation, citing pending litigation. She did state, however, that "The Crown will be participating in that proceeding and addressing the issues raised in court,"
The lawyers representing IRFAN and Rasem Abdel Majid are Yavar Hameed, of Hameed Law of Ottawa and Faisal Mirza of Faisal Mirza Professional Corporation of Mississauga.
Tom Quiggin, a court qualified expert on terrorism and practical intelligence, is based in Canada.
[1] See page 3/27 of the CRA report/letter dated 14 December 2010 (file number 3001490). RE: Audit of Registered Charity: International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (Canada). (Accessed on 27 February 2017).
[2] See footnote 7 on page 3/27 of the CRA report/letter dated 14 December 2010 (file number 3001490). RE: Audit of Registered Charity: International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (Canada). (Accessed on 27 February 2017).
[3] Audio file: MTGB 19931002 8.WAV, GOVERNMENT EXHIBIT, Philly Meeting – 15 3:04·CR·240-G U.S. v. HLF, et al. Page 5 of 16 in the written transcript.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Travelling without my laptop
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/March 27/17
Traveling by plane used to be a beautiful personal experience in the past as we used to welcome dear ones and bid them farewell at the airport gates. Those days are long gone as airports today are like military barricades packed with armed personnel and surveillance cameras. Security forces also board planes as innocent passengers to counter any potential threats. Truth be told, threats posed by unstable people, from mentally ill patients to terrorists, are as old as flying by plane. In 1955, an American airplane on a domestic flight in the US was blown up. It is believed that someone put a bomb in his mother’s luggage to kill her and obtain the insurance payout. There are those who have discovered how easy it is to hijack planes and how it is the best and easiest way to make news across the globe, once the plane crashes. In the 1960s and afterwards, most airplanes were hijacked by Cubans and not Arabs. Later in the 1970s, Arab and Palestinian leftist organizations realized the efficiency of hijacking planes to attract global attention to their cause. However, this tactic backfired and turned the perpetrators into terrorists in the world’s eyes. The recent ban on carrying laptops and tablets in cabin baggage during flights from some countries in the Middle East to the US does not mean anything to me and perhaps to most passengers. Banning laptops is an addition to a long list of banned items, which include creams, perfumes and water bottles. We can live without all of these during the 13-hours flight to New York.
The man who carried out the recent terrorist attack in London was 52 years old. He was a Christian who converted to Islam and was originally Jamaican. His profile lacks all the characteristics of a typical terrorist
Gadgets onboard
Since we’re allowed to carry our cellular phones, our tool of connecting with the world, in the cabin, then it’s not difficult to give up on the rest of equipment. If cellular phones will be included in the ban – and this is possible – then some of us will think for a long time before they board a plane as phones have become part of everyone’s life, probably as essential as kidney and lungs. However, the important question we forget to ask is: Are terrorist threats serious enough for measures being taken affecting passengers’ lives across the world and ruining the aviation industry? There is certainly a war going on between terrorists and some governments, primarily the United States. All sorts of weapons are being used in this war and aviation is the number one target. During an event, an expert on terrorism said there was an ISIS cell meeting in Raqqah in Syria talking about carrying out a massive terrorist attack in the US, similar to the September 11 attacks.
Intelligence inputs
According to this expert, when relevant parties received intelligence information about this plan, the participants at the meeting were targeted. This particular story may not be true but it is almost certain that terrorists target flights because it is an easy way to achieve their objectives. There is no doubt that terrorists have succeeded in besieging the aviation industry that currently has lot of security concerns. Banning passengers traveling from certain Middle Eastern countries from carrying certain items may make security officials feel a sense of relief but it will not deter terrorists who mastered deceitful tactics from achieving their goals. Terrorists no longer fit that old profile of a Muslim Middle Eastern teenage boy. Everything is possible these days. The man who carried out the recent terrorist attack in London was 52 years old. He was a Christian who converted to Islam and was originally Jamaican. His profile lacks all the characteristics of a typical terrorist.The world has failed to eliminate terrorism because the latter is not only about arms but also carries an ideology. Developing technology was the only hope left to counter it and diminish its role. However even technology has failed and has ended up becoming the terrorists’ tool to recruit people and direct operations from afar.

How Bahrain’s progressives lost their shadow
Sawsan Al Shaer/Al Arabiya/March 27/17
The Ministry of Justice in the Kingdom of Bahrain has filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve the National Democratic Action Society (Waad) on grounds that it committed legal violations. Waad is one of the political groups, which has based its work on the principles of democracy and the civil state. It is part of the progressive enlightenment movement that struggled since it was in exile under the name of the National Liberation Front, a leftist and communist party. After it was established, Waad declared it was one of the opposition groups. Practices are what test any political group’s speeches and loyalty to principles. Political elites are always preaching us when they criticize “authoritarian acts,” practices of individuals, and stances of other political parties. Actions are also supposed to reflect the principles on which these parties were formed and the latter are thus supposed to devote themselves to serve these values often conveyed through their speeches. Daily practices should strive to harmonize rhetoric of the political groups and influence how they choose their alliances and electoral lists. Their rhetoric should also match their position vis-à-vis regarding laws and regarding women-related affairs, expatriates’ civil rights and pluralism, diversity and non-discrimination. “The perfect speech” must harmonize with the civil state that these parties – including religious ones – aspire for. Even religious parties’ doctrines claim that they will not monopolize authority and that they accept pluralism, support women’s civil rights and reject discrimination. During the past 14 years, since the formation of political parties was allowed, and permitted them to fully engage in political activities in Bahrain. We have witnessed varying degrees of schizophrenia related to groups’ rhetoric and practices. Many groups simply made statements that contradicted with their performances. Let’s bear in mind that those who clash with the state and take up arms against it are preachers of a religious state that’s led by an Iranian religious reference whom they view as infallible
Progressive of democratic
The most shocking of these were the practices of movements that promote themselves as “progressive” or “democratic.” Bahrain was shocked by this just as much as the Lebanese people were shocked with the stances of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which allied with Hezbollah – which is loyal to Iran.
With this alliance, the FPM contradicted the principles and values on which it was formed. The Bahraini group Waad has done the same. During an event announcing its vision, Waad said: “We, in the National Democratic Action Society, Waad, adhere to the concept of the democratic civil state which is the constitutional national state that’s based on the diversity of political groups and the diversity of ideological movements. This civil state is the opposite of the single-party state which practices are based on forced discrimination among citizens based on their tribal affiliation, religion and sect.”
Based on all this, we must ask where are all these civil principles when it comes to the alliance with religious parties, which operate based on narrow sectarian basis? For instance, a Shiite group has rejected other Shiites because their religious reference does not harmonize with the reference of the founders of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society. How can you aid and help groups, which have been formed upon principles that violate and oppose your own principles? Waad also claimed that it is the state’s duty and right to intervene to put an end to whatever breaches the country’s security. “Since maintaining security is one of the state’s essential tasks, then it’s also the state’s right to intervene to stop whatever harms security and to reinforce the principle of ‘security for all’ according to the principles of human rights,” it said. Then it glorified all those killed while clashing with security forces and called them “martyrs,” thus contradicting its internal system and principles which it had previously announced. Let’s bear in mind that those who clash with the state and take up arms against it are preachers of a religious state that’s led by an Iranian religious reference whom they view as infallible.
Winning seats
Look at these contradictions or rather this schizophrenia related to these movements that claim they are progressive and civil. These movements have gone astray and fell apart while working hard to gain popularity or win parliamentary seats in the future. The rhetoric of religious parties contradicts with their practices in terms of pluralism and civil state-related matters. We understand this contradiction despite the fact that it is flagrant. The first thing these religious groups greatly failed at was related to their partisan formation. These groups’ founders belong to the same sect or rather belong to the same part of the same sect but still failed to be diverse. For instance, the Islamic Minbar, i.e. the Muslim Brotherhood, is made up of Sunnis but the group failed to include a single Salafist among their ranks. The Salafist movement did the same when it established its political party. Shiite parties, including Al-Wefaq and the Islamic Action Society, have done the same as they are both Shiites but there are sharp disagreements between them. However, why do groups which claim to end religious, ethnic and sectarian differences, throw themselves in the midst of religious groups? What else makes them do so other than the fact that they are movements which have lost their shadow.

We must act to sponsor goodness
Khaled Almaeena/Al Arabiya/March 27/17
“Sponsors will be fined and punished for failure to renew muqeem or resident cards of their employees on time,” according to a recent ruling of Jawazat (General Directorate of Passports). The punishment will include suspension of electronic services being provided to the sponsors. According to the new regulations, the punishments would be doubled in case the violations were repeated. Also, there was a report that sponsors should not keep the passports of their expatriate employees. Some employers have implemented this ruling, but many have dithered. This measure, however, is redundant as the sponsor still has a life and death hold over his employees. Let us not fool ourselves. The present sponsorship system is totally outdated and is a form of slavery. I write this again and again as a citizen who does not want his country to be flayed in media reports. It’s always the poor employee who is at fault. There are cases where employees have not been paid for two years. We should not allow some of our ruthless and greedy citizens to spoil the image of our country. I have said this before and I will say it now. I don’t want the curse of any oppressed on our people and country. Their cases in the Labor court are lying in either a moribund state or the hearing gets put off repeatedly with the sponsors failing to appear, and their constant pleas for help go unanswered. The modus operandi runs like this. For a transfer, many of the employers ask for a large sum and if not paid they go and register the employee as “huroob”. In some cases, the employee is coming to the office daily with no knowledge of his “precarious” status. In a heartbreaking case, an employer asked for SR30,000 to remove the huroob while the poor man’s wife was dying of cancer in a hospital. Some kind-hearted Saudis collected the money to pay. In another case, a court in Riyadh had cleared an expatriate of all charges against him but the sponsor still held his iqama and did not relent even though the poor man was suffering from a heart problem and living in misery.
Suffering to philanthropy
Hundreds of similar cases exist. For we repeatedly hear such cases, with varying degree of suffering, and many generous acts of philanthropy. And I would suggest that the Minister of Labor himself, along with a group of righteous citizen, the Director General of Passports, and members of the Human Rights Commission, visit deportation centers to see and hear for themselves from those detained there. This is very crucial for obtaining an accurate report that will help us resolve this issue once and for all. We can emulate Qatar in reforming the sponsorship system. They planned the reforms and then acted on it. Last December, Qatar abolished the kafala (sponsorship) system and implemented new reforms to improve workers’ rights. The new law replaces the kafala system with a modernized, contract-based system that safeguards worker rights and increases job flexibility, freedom and protection to Qatar’s salaried workforce. We cannot continue like this. We have to put a stop to this and until affirmative action is taken from the top nothing will be done. We should not allow some of our ruthless and greedy citizens to spoil the image of our country. I have said this before and I will say it now. I don’t want the curse of any mazloom (oppressed) on our people and country.

Westminster attacker, the WhatsApp fan
Mashari Althaydi/Al Arabiya/March 27/17
It turned out that ISIS terrorist Khalid Masood, who brutally killed people on the famous Westminster Bridge in London last week, had used WhatsApp two minutes before carrying out the attack. The British police said it could not access the message Masood sent because it was encrypted.
The messaging service has recently bragged about the updates of its famous app as it is trying to keep up with other companies – such as Snapchat and Telegram – providing similar services. Whatsapp had informed its clients that messages and calls are secured with end-to-end encryption, even if the caller is wanted by the authorities. They did not rudely say this but that’s the bottom line. Britain is “the mother of democracy” in the world and the attack by Masood, ISIS’ criminal and the ignorant man who had converted from Christianity to Islam, was carried out near one of the oldest parliaments in the world. When symbols of the London government criticize internet companies for not cooperating with British security agencies, in order to protect people’s lives, then this means the situation is really serious. Such companies have formed global lobbies and have little conscience. All they care about is making money and increasing the number of subscribers because the latter will mean increasing the company’s profit. It is a vicious circle of money and chaos. These companies always try to put their interests first by exploiting fake liberal excuses in order to protect themselves and enhance their presence in the social media industry, which makes hundreds of billions in profit. Such companies have formed global lobbies and have little conscience. All they care about is making money and increasing the number of subscribers because the latter will mean increasing the company’s profit
Technology for security
In an interview with BBC and in an article published in The Sunday Telegraph, British interior minister Amber Rudd scolded WhatsApp and similar companies for not cooperating with security authorities. Rudd said completely encrypting messages via services like WhatsApp “is completely unacceptable,” adding that organizations like WhatsApp and others must “not provide a secret place for terrorists to communicate with each other.” Rudd also said these companies must “recognize that they have a responsibility to engage with government.” According to the Sunday Telegraph, Rudd said: “Each attack confirms again the role that the internet is playing in serving as a conduit, inciting and inspiring ¬violence, and spreading extremist ¬ideology of all kinds.”In an interview with the Sunday Times, Britain’s foreign secretary Boris Johnson escalated the attack on internet companies and condemned their “disgusting failure” to remove militant websites. He also criticized web firms for running advertisements alongside videos with extremist content – in reference to an ad of a company that sells cars and spare parts displayed near the video of the Westminster terrorist attack.
Threat is growing as a result of the “chaos” spread by companies which only care about making profit worth hundreds of billions. These companies are aided by financial, media and political blocs that blindly defend them by resorting to empty excuses related to liberalism and “absolute” individual freedom.
What’s noticeable though is the growing resentment in the West on all this, and not against Arab governments. The West invented these technologies, and “he who summoned the demon must dismiss it.” How? They know better, and they are more capable.