LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

April 20/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.april20.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

Jesus woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Where is your faith?
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 08/22-25:"One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A gale swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, ‘Where is your faith?’ They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’

We speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts
First Letter to the Thessalonians 02/01-12:"You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully maltreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition.
For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. You remember our labour and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was towards you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you should lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on April 20/16

Professor Walid Phares Versus Mercenaries/Elias Bejjani/April 19/16
Bibi says Golan is Israel’s forever, what about the West Bank/Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/April 19/16
Relation between September Attacks and Saudi Arabia…A Repetitive Series/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/April 19/16
Why Obama is visiting a different Saudi Arabia this time/Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/April 19/16
Moving Saudi-US relations beyond mutual ambivalence/Andrew Bowen/Al Arabiya/April 19/16
The benefits of demarcated borders/Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/April 19/16
Why are Muslim countries poor/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/April 19/16
Revisiting the Assad files/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/April 19/16/
Celebrating Terrorism, Palestinian Style/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April 19/16
Germany: Humor, Sultan Style/Stefan Frank/Gatestone Institute/April 19/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on April 20/16

Professor Walid Phares Versus Mercenaries

Iran regime set up Hezbollah cell in UAE, court hears
Hezbollah condemns 'Israel's scheme to divide Syria' following PM's vow to keep Golan
No Deal Yet in Lebanese-Australian Child Custody Case
Central Bank Governor: Lebanon to Abide by U.S. Anti-Hizbullah Law
Police Arrest 8-Member Armed Robbery Gang
Report: Nasrallah Fails to Strike Sadr-Maliki Reconciliation Deal
Indian Group with Close Ties to Israel Operates in Lebanon
Berri Says Parliamentary Elections to be Held on Time
Franjieh, Jones take up current developments
Fadlallah: Internet dossier to remain open till involved persons be tried
Abou Faour, Ogero Chief Clash as Telecom Committee Relies on Judiciary in Internet Scandal
Change and Reform bloc: Salam is asked to find effective solution to State Security ordeal
Mustaqbal Slams Campaign against Mashnouq: All Linked to Illegal Internet Must Be Held Accountable

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on April 20/16

Retired steel workers protest in Iran capital for third day
Sunni cleric tortured in Iran prison
US: Golan Heights are not part of Israel
Bibi says Golan is Israel’s forever, what about the West Bank?
Putin and Obama in ‘intense talks’ on Syria truce
Syria truce shattered amid calls for talks
Shame on you!’ Mideast envoys in rare UN clash
Chinese envoy to visit Syria, Iran in peace bid
Syria Regime Says Open to Talks on 'Broader Unity Government'
Kuwait Says Some Oil Output Restored as Strike Enters Day 3
Kerry: Iran has Seen Only $3 bn Returned since Nuke Deal
France inks deals worth $2 billion with Egypt
Obama administration to push Mideast peace until end
Saudi women’s right to drive back in Shoura Council debate
Spain arrests Moroccan in Mallorca 'linked' to ISIS group
Jordan halts plan to install cameras at Jerusalem holy site
Afghan Taliban attack central Kabul, at least 28 dead
EU to provide humanitarian funding for refugees in Greece

Links From Jihad Watch Site for April 20/16
Toronto Star publisher: Segment of Canadian media peddling “flat-out racism & bigotry” against Muslims in Canada.
Islamic State introduces fines for not knowing the Qur’an well enough.
Muslims enraged over video of migrant girl kneeling at Pope’s feet, say it humiliates Muslims.
Biden slams Netanyahu hours after Jerusalem jihad massacre.
Video: Muslim migrants riot, throw stones at police and tear down Greek border fence.
Ireland to review requirement that all students who take Arabic secondary school exam must study “Holy Koran”.
Kabul: Taliban target security team protecting government VIPs, murder at least 28.
UK prison imams freely spreading jihad and hatred of infidels, women, gays.
Video: Robert Spencer on how Islam killed free speech in 30 years.
Raymond Ibrahim: The Muslim Will vs. the Western Way.
“Massive diversity” among Islamic State jihadis, many have PhDs, master’s degrees, MBA’s.
Sweden: Flagship “integration” soccer tournament for Muslim migrant youths turns into riot.
Hugh Fitzgerald: Miroslav Volf of Yale, or Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani.
Jerusalem: Muslims bomb bus, injuring 20.
Ohio: Muslim who plotted to attack U.S. Capitol for the Islamic State ruled competent to stand trial.
Video: Robert Spencer on Is Islam a Religion of Peace?.
13-year-old Muslim boy from Germany caught on Turkish-Syrian border trying to join the Islamic State.
India: Muslim mob attacks Hindu procession with stones, burns shops and vehicles, three dead.

Iran regime set up Hezbollah cell in UAE, court hears
Tuesday, 19 April 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran
Agents of the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) set up a terrorist Hezbollah cell in the United Arab Emirates in association with agents of the Lebanon-based terrorist Hezbollah group, a top UAE court heard on Monday.A prosecution witness told the Federal Supreme Court, presided over by Judge Falah Al Hajeri, the sleeper cell had worked in the UAE since 2004 until it was busted in 2013, when it turned active, Gulf News reported. “The terrorist cell used sex and alcohol to recruit a group of agents including H.A.S.H., an Emirati who communicated classified information to Hezbollah spies,” the witness told the court. The witness added the defendant passed on information about government, security, military and economic institutions as well as UAE’s arms deals with various countries to the Hezbollah agents. The man, the witness said, also furnished sensitive information about political, security and business leaders to the Hezbollah agents. “The intelligence services of Iran and Hezbollah gathered the information with a view to targeting sensitive locations in the UAE,” the witness told the court. Another witness told the court the terrorist Hezbollah cell grouped seven members — two Emiratis, four Lebanese and a Canadian-Egyptian woman. “The Emirati men were photographed naked and under the influence of alcohol and the clips were later used to recruit them by the intelligence of Iran and Hezbollah,” the witness told the court. The witness added the woman was an engineer in a major oil company and passed on classified information about oil and gas fields. “The woman also worked as a freelance photographer with two magazines, furnished pictures and information about Emirati leaders to the Hezbollah agents,” the witness said. The court adjourned the hearing to May 23. The General Prosecutor earlier told the court that the accused established and managed an international group belonging to Lebanon-based Hezbollah without official permission or licenses. Earlier this month, three men charged with setting up an affiliate of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group in the UAE were sentenced to six months in prison to be followed by deportation. The men were found guilty of setting up an office of the militant group in the UAE and carrying out commercial, economic and political activities without licenses, the Federal Supreme Court ruled.

Hezbollah condemns 'Israel's scheme to divide Syria' following PM's vow to keep Golan
Jerusalem Post/April 19/16/The Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah fiercely denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pledge to hold to onto the Golan forever, saying that the vow is evidence of Israel's "expansionist character." "This move affirms the Zionist aggression against our nation and its people," the group stated on Monday, referring to Netanyahu's declaration about the Golan Heights. "It shows that the only way to face the enemy is by resistance, using all possible means to struggle, first and foremost through popular uprising as we have seen today when the Golan's inhabitants resisted the Zionist meeting in the area," Hezbollah added. According to the terror organization, Netanyahu's pledge demonstrates that the "Zionist movement constantly acts to intervene in Syria's affairs and strives to divide Syria and cut the occupied Golan from it through cooperation with terror elements or on its own." The organization continued adhering to its contentious policy against Arab States, Saudi Arabia in particular, by attacking their indifference toward Netanyahu's statement about the de-facto annexation of the Golan Heights. "Where do the Arab League and the Arab states stand in regard to this attack on the sovereignty of an Arab state?" the organization wondered, accusing some of the states of supporting terror organizations, thereby serving the interests of "the new Zionist aggression."During a first-ever cabinet meeting held on the Golan Heights on Sunday, Netanyahu declared: “The Golan Heights will always stay in Israeli hands; Israel will never leave the Golan Heights.” Following Hezbollah's condemnation, Iran released a harsh reaction of its own. The Iranian Foreign Ministry denounced the Israeli move and declared that the Golan is occupied Syrian land that must be returned to Syria.

No Deal Yet in Lebanese-Australian Child Custody Case
Associated Press/Naharnet/April 19/16/
The Lebanese father of two children at the heart of a high-profile custody dispute has said he will not drop attempted kidnapping charges against his estranged Australian wife, who tried to take the children from him two weeks ago. Sally Faulkner has been jailed in Lebanon along with prominent Australian TV journalist Tara Brown and Brown's three-person camera crew on charges relating to a botched attempt to seize Faulkner's two children on their way to school in Beirut. Another four suspects, two Britons and two Lebanese, have also been detained and charged. The father, Ali al-Amin, said he does not "have anything against Sal," but does not want to drop charges. Faulkner has previously said al-Amin took the children from Australia to Lebanon without her permission. Police brought Faulkner and Brown to a courthouse in a Beirut suburb to be questioned by Judge Rami Abdullah, but the two were led out after just five minutes and returned to the women's jail where they are being held. Al-Amin and an official from the British Embassy had met with the judge earlier. The judge postponed his inquiry until Wednesday to allow lawyers to continue negotiations. Lawyers involved in the case say the parties are being asked to come up with a comprehensive deal before the case reaches court. Al-Amin indicated Monday that he wanted to negotiate separately with Faulkner and was put off by the idea of amending the charges against the other suspects as part of a comprehensive deal. "They're trying to link everything up with (Faulkner) but I don't have time for that," said Ali. "The kids are good, that's the most important thing. And everything else, we'll see what happens." Faulkner's lawyer, Ghassan Moughabghab, told The Associated Press that al-Amin's legal team halted negotiations on Saturday and was not making concessions. "He said he is not in a hurry," the lawyer said. Joe Karam, who is representing the two Britons, said "any peaceful agreement will benefit everyone."Adam Whittington, a former British police officer, is alleged to have masterminded the botched operation to seize the children, ages 3 and 5, then smuggle them out of the country by boat to Cyprus. He heads the Britain-based Child Abduction Recovery International. Whittington has said Australia's Channel 9 network financed the operation, depositing over $100,000 in fees to his company's account. Brown's Channel 9 crew was in Beirut when Faulkner sought to take away the children. Karam said his other client, Greg Michael, entered a hospital for a second time over the weekend after suffering a "crisis" and showed physical symptoms. "He is receiving fair treatment," Karam added. The suspects also face charges filed by Al-Amin's mother, who was struck and knocked to the ground during the incident two weeks ago. Al-Amin said she suffered a head injury but was recovering. The nine suspects face up to 15 years in prison if tried and convicted of the charges, the judge said last week.

Central Bank Governor: Lebanon to Abide by U.S. Anti-Hizbullah Law
Naharnet/April 19/16/Beirut will abide by a U.S. law that imposes sanctions on banks that knowingly do business with Hizbullah, Lebanon's central bank governor has said. Riad Salameh told The Associated Press in an interview that bank officials are now studying regulations issued on Friday in Washington by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act on Dec. 18. Since then, Lebanese officials and bankers have been flying to Washington to discuss the move with American officials. Hizbullah, a group that has members in parliament and the Cabinet, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States. Many in Lebanon are worried that the U.S. legislation will have negative effects on the Lebanese banking sector, which is one of the most active industries in the country. Several Lebanese bankers and the head of the Lebanese banking association did not return AP's requests for interviews. Salameh's comments at the Banque Du Liban headquarters in Beirut on Monday came three days after the U.S. treasury department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, issued regulations aimed at implementing the Hizbullah financing prevention act. "Our departments are studying the regulations so that there will be commitment by the banking sector to the law in accordance with the regulations," Salameh said. Asked whether banks dealing with Hizbullah Cabinet ministers or legislators who get paid from the state will be affected, Salameh said that the law covers "significant transactions" and does not mention salaries. The U.S. regulations say Washington will target those "knowingly facilitating a significant transaction or transactions for" Hizbullah and those "knowingly facilitating a significant transaction or transactions of a person identified on the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked persons." OFAC's list includes names of officials, businessmen and institutions that the U.S. says are linked to Hizbullah. The list includes Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasarallah and top military commander Mustafa Badreddine as well as some businessmen. The list also includes the group's Al-Manar TV and Al-Nour Radio. Nasarallah said in December 2015, when the law was signed, that his group does not deal with Lebanese or foreign banks. "We have no money in Lebanese banks, neither in the past nor now," Nasarallah said in a speech. "We don't transfer our money through the Lebanese banking system." Salameh said that he was discussing with Lebanese banks how to implement the law in "a way that does not harm the Lebanese people."On Friday, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington that "these regulations are a continuation of the U.S. Government's efforts against Hizbullah and they give the U.S. Government additional sanctions authorities to go after this terrorist organization and its support apparatus worldwide."He added that "the safety, soundness, and security of the Lebanese financial system is a great priority to the United States, and the U.S. Government will act only on the strongest evidence and the most solid evidence in our efforts to isolate Hizbullah from the international financial system.""We'll do it in such a way that will support the Lebanese economy, that will support the Lebanese financial system, and will not target innocent people," Kirby said. Speaking about the Lebanese economy and financial conditions, Salameh said financial flows "toward Lebanon are still positive." He added that bank deposits rose more than four percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. He that the there is no demand to transfer Lebanese pound to U.S. dollars. The pound has been pegged to the U.S. dollar for more than two decades. "All this shows that there is confidence and we rule out any (financial) crash in Lebanon," Salameh said.

Police Arrest 8-Member Armed Robbery Gang
Naharnet/April 19/16/The Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch and the judicial police of the Mount Lebanon town of Jdeideh have arrested an armed robbery gang, the ISF said in a communique released Tuesday. Police said the members of the gang - two Lebanese nationals, five Syrians and a Palestinian - committed the robberies on April 16-17 in different areas of Mount Lebanon Governorate. The suspects admitted to investigators that they had carried out the acts, said the communique. The ISF urged their victims to inform police to take the appropriate legal measures against them. General Security Arrests Lebanese for Selling Arms to Terror Groups. Naharnet/April 19/16/The General Security announced on Tuesday the arrest of a Lebanese national on suspicion of belonging to terrorist groups and for communicating with terrorists. Y.M. confessed to selling weapons and explosives to these groups and smuggling them to Syria. He was aided by other Lebanese nationals, identified as H.M., A.Y., B.T., F.S., and F.A. He has since been referred to the concerned judiciary and efforts are underway to apprehend his accomplices.

Report: Nasrallah Fails to Strike Sadr-Maliki Reconciliation Deal
Naharnet/April 19/16/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has failed to reconcile powerful Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr with former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Tuesday. The newspaper quoted an Iranian diplomat as saying that the efforts exerted by Nasrallah to bridge the gap between al-Sadr and al-Maliki, also a Shiite, have not yielded results.Nasrallah has recently met with al-Sadr in Beirut in an effort to resolve the inter-Shiite conflict in Iraq. An emergency session of Iraq's parliament descended into chaos last week, preventing a vote on a new cabinet amid a row over political blocs controlling key government posts. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called in February for change to the cabinet so that it includes That kicked off the latest chapter in a months-long saga of al-Abadi proposing various reforms that parties and politicians with interests in the existing system, mainly al-Maliki's supporters, have sought to delay or undermine. Al-Sadr later took up the demand for a technocratic government, organizing a two-week sit-in that put al-Abadi under pressure to act, but also supported the course of action he wanted to take. Sadr, the scion of a powerful clerical family, relented after al-Abadi presented his first list of nominees at the end of March, but has yet to react to the most recent developments in efforts to replace the cabinet.

Indian Group with Close Ties to Israel Operates in Lebanon
Naharnet/April 19/16/The Indian Mahindra industrial group has been granted a consultative role by the United Nations on building three industrial cities in Lebanon but the $16.9 billion global federation of companies has huge activities in Israel and some in the military field, al-Akhbar daily reported on Tuesday.
According to the website of Mahindra group, which is based in Mumbai, Mahindra Special Services Group has been selected by The Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute (IEICI) as its Homeland Security (HLS) partner. Israel's HLS industry has initiated and implemented homeland security solutions and know how acquired through decades of combating internal security and terror threats. IEICI is an Israeli government agency that works under the supervision of the Labor Ministry, said al-Akhbar. In April 2015, Information technology group Tech Mahindra also partnered with U.S.-Israeli Comverse Inc to set up a research and development center in Israel. The venture into Israel by Tech Mahindra, which is part of the $16.5 billion Mahindra conglomerate that employs 200,000 people in 100 countries, was the latest sign of booming ties between the countries since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. Al-Akhbar warned that the consultation role played by Mahindra in Lebanon paves way for the country's enemies to operate freely in Lebanese territories. Industry Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, a Hizbullah member, told the newspaper that his ministry has not been involved in the negotiations with Mahindra. “We should make sure that there is a contract between the company and the Israeli army before taking any step,” he said. “If we find out that the firm has such relations, then we will contact the United Nations Industrial Development Organization," the minister added.
UNIDO said in January that it launched together with the Industry Ministry the project to develop the three industrial zones in the eastern Bekaa Valley and in the South.The project, funded by the Italian government, “will focus on helping solve problems relating to business infrastructure, attract investment, foster skilled manpower, and facilitate the growth of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),” it added.

Berri Says Parliamentary Elections to be Held on Time
Naharnet/April 19/16/Speaker Nabih Berri has said that the parliamentary elections will be held on their due date based on the electoral law that would be available at time. If the rival parliamentary blocs failed to strike an agreement, then the elections would be held based on the 1960 law, Berri told As Safir daily published on Tuesday. Despite his remarks, the speaker said that he has not yet lost hope on the possibility to reach a deal on a new draft-law. Berri stressed that the municipal polls, which are scheduled for next month, and the parliamentary elections are not intertwined. In November 2014, lawmakers extended their mandate until June 2017. Only two lawmakers voted against the extension, but 31 boycotted the session altogether in protest over the controversial decision. Parliamentary elections were originally scheduled for mid-2013, but MPs approved a 17-month extension of their mandate on May 31, 2013. “I had backed the extension for the parliament (term) the last time, although I wasn't enthusiastic about it, for a single fundamental reason, which everyone is aware of,” Berri told As Safir. Berri said his support for the extension came as a result of his respect for the Constitution after al-Mustaqbal Movement chief Saad Hariri objected to holding the elections.

Franjieh, Jones take up current developments
Tue 19 Apr 2016/NNA - Marada Movement head MP Sleiman Franjieh met on Tuesday at his Bnachai residence US Ambassador to Lebanon Richard Jones, with talks between the pair reportedly dwelling on most recent developments. Culture Minister Raymond Areiji and Toni Sleiman Franjieh were present during the meeting.

Fadlallah: Internet dossier to remain open till involved persons be tried
Tue 19 Apr 2016/NNA - The head of Parliament's Media and Telecommunications Committee, MP Hassan Fadlallah said on Tuesday that the illegal Internet network dossier will not be closed before sanctioning those who have been involved. The MP said Defense Ministry has denied knowledge about the fiber optics cable, and stressed the need to discuss this issue during the Cabinet session. "The government commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr is following up on this issue," he added, reiterating the need to reveal the truth. Fadlallah called on Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb, to take part in the next session scheduled on May 4. For his part, Telecom Minister, Boutros Harb, indicated that he was convinced Ogero's Abdul Menhem Youssef should be accused of the illegal internet networks, stressing that the final word is that of the judicial authorities. Public Health Minister, Wael Abu Faour, did not share Harb's opinion, maintaining that Youssef's contraventions are confirmed. "I have presented too many evidences, and we do have documents but unfortunately I did not bring them with me to the session. We at least confirm that Youssef had known about the networks," he corroborated. "It is a historic mistake that must be corrected, when an employee disobeys the law," he said. For his part, MP Qassem Hashem pointed out that the Defense Ministry ended its inquiry and submitted its report to the concerned military court.
"Investigations won't end soon; things have ramified," he said.

Abou Faour, Ogero Chief Clash as Telecom Committee Relies on Judiciary in Internet Scandal
Naharnet/April 19/16/A parliamentary committee that witnessed a slight clash between Health Minister Wael Abou Faour and OGERO Telecom chief Abdul Menhem Youssef over the thorny file of the illegal internet network confirmed reports that the equipment had entered Lebanon through legal crossings.
MP Hassan Fadlallah, the head of the committee, confirmed that the equipment for the illegitimate internet networks had entered the country through legal crossings but via fake documents. “The illegal internet file will not be closed,” he said after the committee meeting. “We insist on finding the influential people who stand behind the issue,” said the lawmaker. He also stressed that it was up to the judiciary to probe and issue a ruling on the case, saying the committee does not have the power to reveal the identity of the suspects involved in the scandal. “We are just lawmakers who are tasked with holding others accountable,” he added. A mild clash was reported during the committee meeting between Abou Faour and the OGERO Telecom chief. Abou Faour had demanded that Youssef be banned from attending the meetings “because he is a suspect in the case.”Reports said Youssef was escorted outside the meeting, a claim which was shortly denied by the Ogero chief who said that he voluntarily left. Earlier on Tuesday, Defense Minister Samir Moqbel had stressed that the internet network used by the Lebanese Army is not infiltrated nor does it have anything to do with the illegal networks that have been uncovered lately. “The Lebanese army gets its internet services from licensed and legal networks,” said Moqbel to An Nahar daily. “The army's network is not infiltrated,” he added. Moqbel pointed out that he “submitted to the State Prosecutor Samir Hammoud and Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr a report that had been prepared by the army after it concluded the necessary investigations on whether it has links to the illegal network or if its communications system is infiltrated.”Moqbel stressed that the army is not responsible for the illegal import of the network equipment. On the other hand, the Defense Minister said that the French President told him during his visit to Lebanon last week that his country will provide Lebanon with an aid for the army worth 15 million euros. The army can purchase the equipment needed. Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb revealed last month that around four illegal internet stations have been proven to exist in the mountainous terrains of al-Dinnieh, Ayoun al-Siman, Faqra and Zaarour. Suspects involved in the case and believed to be associated with the state-owned telecommunications company Ogero were arrested on Monday over possible links to the networks. Early in March, the parliamentary media committee unveiled what it described as a “mafia” that are taking advantage of internet services by installing internet stations that are not subject to the state control. The owners of these stations are buying international internet bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices. It has been reported that government departments were using the services of illegal internet providers including the Lebanese army. Reports said that wireless internet towers and technical equipment were placed illegally in some mountainous terrains including Tannourine, al-Dinnieh, Sannine and al-Zaarour. Smuggled internet services initiate risks namely the possibility of security breach as it lacks the basic control standards exposing Lebanon's security to third parties including Israel.

Change and Reform bloc: Salam is asked to find effective solution to State Security ordeal
Tue 19 April 2016/NNA - The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc urged Prime Minister, Tammam Salam, to find an effective solution to the ordeal of the State Security agency, stressing that government's decision to link security apparatuses to each other is "an achievement.""Relating the item on the State Security to the rest of the items relevant to the security agencies is an achievement per se, since this should prevent any discretionary interpretation," former minister Salim Jreissati told reporters following the bloc's regular meeting held at MP Michel Aoun's Rabieh residence. "The Prime Minister is asked to find an effective solution in order to curb the exacerbation of the issue," he said. In remarks on the unauthorized internet networks, Jreissati indicated that numerous complaints had been filed against Ogero's Abdul Menhem Youssef. "If he was removed from his post as previously requested by our bloc, none of this would have happened.""Besides, the support [Youssef] is enjoying from a ministerial side has become flagrant (...) it is time to put an end to this through law enforcement," he underlined. Moreover, he reiterated that an new election law and the state budget were priority to the bloc, highlighting the obligation to hold onto the Constitution's National Pact. Jreissati, who also underscored the cracks and conflicts inside "what is left" of March 14 camp, did not fail to renew calls to join relentless efforts to venture into securing the return of displaced Syrians to their homeland.
 

Mustaqbal Slams Campaign against Mashnouq: All Linked to Illegal Internet Must Be Held Accountable
Naharnet/April 19/16/The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc condemned on Tuesday the campaign directed against Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, while also demanding that all those involved in the illegal internet file be held accountable for their actions.
“Investigations in this issue should continue to the end and it should not be pushed under the rug,” it demanded after its weekly meeting. It said that the illegal network was uncovered by the Telecommunications Ministry and Ogero company. It therefore warned against “allowing those who have certain interests in the file to meddle in the investigations to veer them off course.”“This requires that judicial, security, and media authorities adopt a transparent and unbiased investigation,” said the bloc. This issue should be kept away from political, financial, and media intervention “that are aimed at targeting honorable officials and employees and blaming them” for the illegal network, remarked the Mustaqbal bloc. It gave the example of the campaign against Ogero director Abdul Menhem Youssef. The bloc demanded that investigations be sped up and that the case be referred to concerned courts “because the court is the only side that is able to settle petty political scores.” A dispute broke out on Tuesday at parliament's telecommunications committee between Health Minister Wael Abou Faour and Youssef after the minister demanded that the latter be banned from such meetings “because he is a suspect” in the illegal internet file. Suspects involved in the case and believed to be associated with the state-owned telecommunications company Ogero were arrested on Monday over possible links to the networks. In March, the parliamentary media committee unveiled what it described as a “mafia” that are taking advantage of internet services by installing internet stations that are not subject to the state control. Commenting on the campaign against Mashnouq, the Mustaqbal bloc defended the minister “who, since assuming his post, performed his duties out of keenness on all Lebanese.”“The campaign against him by petty sides does not serve the state or its institutions, which should serve all and which some sides are working on destroying,” it added. A war of words had erupted on Twitter between Mashnouq and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat over a number of corruption files. The MP had uncovered a number of corruption issues linked to the squandering of funds of the Internal Security Forces and the involvement of security agencies in the human trafficking ring that was recently discovered in Jounieh. On Monday, he had warned of an organized campaign by those affiliated to Mashnouq against the judicial police in an attempt to replace its head Naji al-Masri by another figure. Mashnouq had frequently warned via Twitter against making attacks against the ISF, in an indirect reference to Jumblat.

Retired steel workers protest in Iran capital for third day
Tuesday, 19 April 2016/NCRI/National Council of Resistance of Iran/- Retired Iranian steel workers protested for a third straight day on Tuesday outside the Iranian regime’s Majlis, or Parliament, in Tehran demanding their overdue pensions. The protest by retired workers of Iran’s Steel Industry began at 7.30 am local time. Protesters chanted “We want justice,” adding that they would not halt their protests until their demands were met. The regime’s suppressive state security forces were heavily present and attempted to prevent local people from joining the rally. On Monday the retired steel workers held a similar protest outside the Majlis which began at 8 am. An hour later some 50 suppressive security forces on motorbikes took up positions in the vicinity of the Majlis to prevent an escalation of the protest. One of the protesters said: Security agents confiscated the mobile phones of several women who were filming and photographing the rally. The police and plainclothes agents also prevented other people from getting near to the site of the rally and joining the protesters. Another protester pointed out that some 85,000 retired steel workers are owed two months of their pensions. He added: The Steel Industry Pension Fund is incapable of paying its debt, and this fund will soon go bankrupt.On Sunday around 5000 retired workers of the Steel Industry and their families gathered in front of the parliament to protest a delay in payment of their pensions and other insurance problems. Many of them had gone to Tehran from Isfahan, central Iran. The protesters carried placards with their demands. According to the protesters, in the past five years they have been deprived of some dividends such as those they ought to have received for hard labor and having children and a spouse. According to reports from Tehran, the Iranian regime dispatched hundreds of repressive forces from its special units and plainclothes agents to the place of the protest. The regime’s forces controlled the streets nearby, including where Shafa Yahyaian Hospital is located, and prevented people and vehicles from stopping in nearby streets. The state-run Javan newspaper acknowledged on April 14 that the pensions of retirees have been usurped from them. Quoting a retiree it wrote that one month of his pension is lost through multiple delays. This retiree said: “At the beginning our pensions were deposited at the beginning of the month much like everyone else. It was around a year or a year and a half ago that our wages were delayed for up to 16 months.”Javan wrote: “The delay in depositing retirees’ pensions and employees’ wages is a new scenario that initiated one or two years ago and this puts pressure on the retirees.”On April 11 more than 10,000 truck drivers in Bandar Abbas, Shiraz, Isfahan and Yazd went on strike to protest an increase in heavy taxes and corruption in the state Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization. Mr. Abbas Davari, Chair of the Labor Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), on April 12 hailed the striking drivers and called on all transportation syndicates and labor unions, as well as other defenders of labor rights to support the striking drivers in Iran. He urged the Iranian people, especially the youths, to support and to express their solidarity with the hardworking truck drivers and their families. "While the Iranian regime spends billions of dollars of Iranian people’s wealth on its warmongering interventions and export of terrorism to the region and its nuclear and missile programs, the deprived class of the society only reaps poverty, misery, the pillage of their wages, and oppression," said a statement by the NCRI Labor Committee.

Sunni cleric tortured in Iran prison
Tuesday, 19 April 2016 /NCRI/National Council of Resistance of Iran/ – An Iranian Sunni cleric has sent out a letter from prison in Zahedan, south-eastern Iran, reporting tortures inflicted on him. Molavi Noureddin Kashani has been imprisoned in Zahedan Prison for over 30 months, during which time he has been brutally tortured both physically and psychologically. He was arrested on August 7, 2013 by the Iranian regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on his way back to his home from a morning prayer's sermon. It is believed that the regime has not actually prosecuted him for specific charges, and his case has been held in a state of limbo. One report said he has been unofficially accused of killing agents of the regime's suppressive state security forces (police).

US: Golan Heights are not part of Israel
Reuters, Ynetnews/Published: 04.19.16 / Israel News
US State Department spokesman, 'territories are not part of Israel,' Vice President Joe Biden says settlements leading Israel towards a 'one-state reality.'Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Department Spokesperson, John Kirby, sought to clarify the US position on the status of the Golan Heights on Monday night which he said has been "longstanding and is unchanged."Stressing his reluctance to "react to everything that's said at cabinet meetings" or "to every bit of rhetoric," Kirby declared, before a group of reporters at the State Department in Washington, that "Every administration on both sides of the aisle since 1967 has maintained that those territories are not part of Israel." Kirby went on to say that the conditions under which the Golan Heights should be returned should be decided through negotiations between the respective parties. "And obviously, the current situation in Syria makes it difficult to continue those efforts at this time," Kirby said. The comments came one day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu covened a goverment meeting on the Golan Heights and vowed that they "will forever remain under Israeli sovereignty."Also on Monday, US Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged "overwhelming frustration" with the Israeli government and said the systemic expansion of Jewish settlements was moving Israel toward a dangerous "one-state reality" and in the wrong direction. Addressing J Street's annual gala, Biden said despite disagreements with Israel over settlements or the Iran nuclear deal, the United States had an obligation to push Israel toward a two-state solution to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. "We have an overwhelming obligation, notwithstanding our sometimes overwhelming frustration with the Israeli government, to push them as hard as we can toward what they know in their gut is the only ultimate solution, a two-state solution, while at the same time be an absolute guarantor of their security," Biden said. Biden said his recent meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas left him discouraged over the prospects for peace at present.
"There is at the moment no political will that I observed among Israelis or Palestinians to move forward with serious negotiations," Biden said, "The trust that is necessary to take risks for peace is fractured on both sides." He said both Palestinians and Israelis needed to tamp down rhetoric that fueled violence and actions that undermined confidence in negotiations.
Efforts by the Palestinian Authority to join the international criminal court were "only damaging moves that take us further from the path to peace," he said. For Israel's part, Biden said the "steady, systematic expansion" of Jewish settlements on occupied land wanted by the Palestinians moved "Israel in the wrong direction.""They are moving toward a one-state reality and that reality is dangerous," Biden said, warning that moving in that direction would mean an endless cycle of conflict and retribution. Biden condemned the bombing of a bus and attack on another in Jerusalem on Monday by "misguided cowards" and offered prayers to the injured and their families. Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry echoed Biden's remarks, also addressing J Street's gala. “We will continue to try to advance a two-state solution, the only solution, because anything else will not be Jewish, and it will not be democratic.”

Bibi says Golan is Israel’s forever, what about the West Bank?
Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/April 19/16
As soon as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that the Golan Heights will remain part of Israel forever, voices on the Right, including within his own party, began encouraging him to make a similar declaration about the West Bank.Yet Netanyahu will never make such a declaration.
Why? According to international law, the statuses of the Golan Heights and of the West Bank are essentially identical. They are either disputed or occupied territories (depending on which side of the debate you are on) over which Israel took control in 1967, and are potentially part of negotiations to settle the Israeli-Arab conflict. Israel’s official position under international law has been consistent that it is prepared to return some, but not all, territories, such as the return of Sinai to Egypt, the withdrawal from Gaza, and Likud, Labor and Kadima prime ministers’ negotiations over the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
How much land would be returned, when and under what security conditions has been heavily in dispute as well as the status of east Jerusalem, and currently, very few political officials are discussing actually making any transfers. However, under Israeli domestic law, there has been a significant difference for some time. In 1981, Israel under prime minister Menachem Begin extended its law to the Golan. It went one step further with east Jerusalem, fully annexing it. It never took either action regarding the West Bank. At the time, Begin was believed to have made the controversial move regarding the Golan, but not the West Bank, not only on the basis of ideology, but also in light of Syria opposing negotiations with Israel even if the Palestinians eventually negotiated, to test peace with Egypt and to assuage settlers having to leave Sinai. Also, extending Israeli law to the Golan would not mean extending Israeli law to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, as it would have in the West Bank. That means that since 1981, IDF military orders have governed the West Bank, while Israeli law has governed the Golan. That, along with the large number of Palestinians in the West Bank, has made the two areas’ interactions with Israeli society quite different. The Oslo Accords also are still functioning in the West Bank, implying some sort of territorial compromise, whereas no similar bilateral instrument has come into existence regarding the Golan. The ongoing Syrian civil war, the proximity of Islamic State to Israel’s borders and what many predict will be the break-up of Syria highlight the type of neighbor that borders the Golan, as opposed to Israel’s easterly and more orderly neighbor, Jordan. While several prime ministers, including Netanyahu in 1998 and 2010, made efforts to reach peace with Syria by relinquishing all or part of the Golan, there have been no similar efforts since 2011 and no one is even discussing it as a possibility with the civil war raging. In contrast, there have been multiple Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations since then and unrelenting international pressure to restart negotiations, even as the issue is temporarily off the domestic agenda in Israel as long as the so-called third intifada continues. So under international law, if Netanyahu is ready to declare the Golan to be part of Israel forever, legally there is no difference between the Golan and the West Bank. But the demographic, cultural, historical and current geopolitical differences are massive.
And so while Netanyahu may be prepared to take a new globally controversial stand on the international law status of the Golan, the chances he will do so regarding the West Bank are close to zero.

Putin and Obama in ‘intense talks’ on Syria truce
Reuters, Washington Tuesday, 19 April 2016/Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama agreed on Monday to continue building closer coordination on Syria, including through their intelligence services and defense ministries, the Kremlin said. The White House said Obama and Putin had an "intense conversation" by telephone that covered both Syria and Ukraine. During the call, the Kremlin said Putin stressed the need for the moderate opposition to distance itself swiftly from ISIS and the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. He also stressed the need to close Syria's border with Turkey, "from where fighters and arms supplies for the extremists make their way in", the Kremlin said. Russia has repeatedly raised the issue of the border, across which, according to Russia, militants are crossing from Turkey into Syria. Obama stressed that progress on Syria needed to be made "in parallel" to progress on political transition to end the conflict there, the White House said in a release. Syrian peace talks came close to collapse on Monday, with the mainstream opposition announcing a pause in talks being held in Geneva. The Kremlin said Obama thanked Putin for Russia's help in freeing American citizen Kevin Dawes, who had been in captivity in Syria. The U.S. State Department had said previously Russia played a role in his release. The two presidents also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine, with Putin expressing the hope that with the new Ukrainian government "will finally start taking concrete steps towards implementing the Minsk agreements", the Kremlin said. Obama urged Putin to take steps to end the significant uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine and stressed the importance of moving forward with full implementation of the agreements, the White House said in a release. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in a daily press conference that the two presidents did not talk about the two Russian warplanes that the US military said last week flew simulated attack passes near a US guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea.

Syria truce shattered amid calls for talks
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Tuesday, 19 April 2016/Syria’s main opposition on Tuesday lamented a crumbled truce, calling for major powers to meet on the crisis, as Russia urged for peace talks to continue. The chief coordinator of the main opposition bloc, Riad Hijab, called on Tuesday for major powers to urgently meet to re-evaluate a truce that he said was no longer in place and said there could be no talks while the Syrian people continued to suffer.“We are waiting for the International Syrian Support Group to take decisive measures against the one who is killing the Syrian people,” Riad Hijab told reporters, saying the powers had to assess the cessation of hostilities that had “ended”.As far as the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) was concerned, they were “out” of the negotiations, he said, although some HNC experts would remain for meetings. “There will be no solution with President Bashar al-Assad in power, he is dreaming,” he said, adding that he, and other officials were planning to leave Geneva on Tuesday. Russia unequivocally supports the continuation of Syrian peace talks in Geneva, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, commenting on the decision by the mainstream Syrian opposition to take a pause in the negotiations.
“We believe this (the peace talks) is a necessary condition,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with journalists. “The need to continue this dialogue and maintain the ceasefire regime was stressed yesterday during the telephone conversation between President Putin and President Obama.”
The Western-backed opposition High Negotiations Committee said in a letter to rebel fighters that government military advances meant a ceasefire was effectively over and it was calling a postponement in the talks. Meanwhile, fighting intensified Tuesday in northern and central Syria as government forces sought to repel rebel advances on a government stronghold. Rebels and activists reported fighting in rural parts of northern Latakia province, a government stronghold, one day after rebels launched a new offensive against government forces because of what they said were repeated ceasefire violations. Al-Manar TV, affiliated with the pro-Assad Lebanese Hezbollah group, said government forces pushed rebel forces from areas they seized a day earlier. Rebel groups posted videos of Talet al-Malik, Nahshaba and other areas in Jabal al-Akrad they claimed were seized during their new push. (With Reuters and AP)

‘Shame on you!’ Mideast envoys in rare UN clash
The Associated Press, United Nations Tuesday, 19 April 2016/The Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors engaged in a rare shouting match in the UN Security Council on Monday, reflecting Israel's growing consternation at the upsurge in Palestinian attacks against civilians and Palestinian frustration at the failure to achieve its dream of a truly independent state.Israel's Ambassador Danny Danon started the heated exchange at the end of his speech during Monday's monthly council meeting on the Middle East. Looking across the council table at Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour, he demanded: "Will you condemn Palestinians who commit terror attacks against Israelis?" Mansour, whose initial response was not heard because his microphone was off, retorted when it was turned on: "We condemn the killing of all innocent civilians including Palestinian civilians. Do you do the same?"In this image made from a video provided by UNTV, Israel's Ambassador Danny Danon, center, and Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour, not pictured, speak to one another at an United Nations Security Council meeting Monday, April 18, 2016, at United Nations headquarters. (UNTV via AP) During Israel's war against Gaza militants in 2014, more than 2,200 Palestinians were killed, including hundreds of civilians, according to UN figures. Since the current wave of unrest began in September, Palestinian attackers have killed 28 Israelis and two Americans and at least 189 Palestinians have been killed. On Monday, a bus exploded in Jerusalem wounding at least 15 people in what police were calling a "terror attack." Palestinians have accused Israel of using excessive force against assailants, and in some cases, killing innocent civilians. Neither Danon nor Mansour got an answer to their initial question, but the Israeli ambassador wasn't giving up. Danon accused the Palestinians of teaching "hatred" in schools and naming streets after "terrorists" and demanded that these practices stop. "You pay the families of terrorists," he said. "You glorify terrorism. Shame on you for doing that."Mansour shot back: "We don't." Danon, undeterred, went on: "Shame on you for glorifying terrorism." Mansour retorted: "Shame on you for killing thousands of Palestinian children." After another heated exchange, China's UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi banged his gavel and told the Israeli ambassador to continue with his statement. But Danon ignored him, again shouting at Mansour, saying: "You cannot condemn terrorism. You cannot say it here ... Shame on you for not being able to say it." Mansour responded but his microphone was turned off. When it was turned on, he shouted back: "Let my people be free. You are occupiers. You are colonizers. Leave us alone."The Israeli-Palestinian exchange followed a briefing to the Security Council by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who said the latest killings "have only deepened the divisiveness, hatred and grief" on both sides. Mansour said the Palestinians are moving ahead on a Security Council resolution that would address illegal Israeli settlements and aim at de-escalating the volatile situation, rebuilding trust and moving toward "a just, lasting, comprehensive peace." Danon reiterated that when the Palestinians end their "campaign of hate and violence," and teach respect for all people in their schools, "they will find a partner ready to work with them for the promise of peace."China's Wang, obviously annoyed at the shouting match, urged all to speakers to "keep order in this chamber in order to reflect the solemnity of the question we are discussing."

Chinese envoy to visit Syria, Iran in peace bid
Reuters, Beijing Tuesday, 19 April 2016/China's new special envoy for the Syria crisis will visit Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia to push for a peaceful solution of conflict there, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, the latest diplomatic effort by Beijing in the region. While relying on the region for oil supplies, China tends to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely the United States, Britain, France and Russia. But China has been trying to get more involved, including recently hosting both Syria's foreign minister and opposition figures, though at different times. China appointed Xie Xiaoyan, a former ambassador to Iran, as its special envoy for Syria last month, and he is in Geneva participating in peace talks, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing.When he has finished there, he will go to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran, she added. “Xie is going to "have a deep exchange of views with relevant parties on pushing for a political solution to the Syria crisis", Hua added. She provided no other details. Xie this month praised Russia's military role in the war, and said the international community should work harder together to defeat terrorism in the region.

Syria Regime Says Open to Talks on 'Broader Unity Government'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 19/16/Syria's regime is prepared to discuss the creation of a new unity government at peace talks in Geneva but President Bashar Assad's fate remains off limits, its lead negotiator told AFP Tuesday. Assad's chief representative in Geneva, U.N. ambassador Bashar al-Jafaari, had during previous rounds of peace talks insisted that any discussion of a political transition in Syria was premature. "A broader unity government is the only topic of discussion here," Jafaari said in the interview with AFP. "It is not in our jurisdiction, it is not within our prerogatives to discuss the fate of President Bashar Assad."Jafaari made the comments a day after the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) suspended its formal participation at the U.N.-brokered talks in protest at escalating violence and continuing restrictions on humanitarian access in Syria. But the HNC pledged to remain in Geneva and may continue to meet informally with mediators outside the U.N. compound. Despite the setback, U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters on Monday that the government's readiness to even discuss political transition in Syria amounted to progress. "Indeed, there is one major improvement in what we used to have: everybody agrees the word 'political transition' is the point of the agenda," he said. He said huge divides exist in terms of how each side defines political transition, but there is "no doubt about the need" to tackle the subject. However, prospects for a breakthrough on the crucial issue of Assad's future remain dim. The HNC has insisted that the president must go and cannot be part of any transitional or interim government. The opposition rejected an idea, floated during talks with de Mistura, that Assad remain the ceremonial head of a transitional body that would include three vice presidents of the HNC's choosing. And Jafaari told AFP that Damascus was also unequivocally against such a proposal. That idea "will never be discussed in any upcoming session because it is not within the authority of the negotiators in Geneva," he said. De Mistura insisted the negotiations would continue, even as rising violence around the northern Syrian city of Aleppo further threatened a fragile ceasefire on the ground. The truce brokered by the United States and Russia and declared on February 27 led to a sharp decline in bloodshed in the five-year conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions.
De Mistura is set to meet the ceasefire monitoring taskforce later Tuesday after talks with two smaller opposition groups that are independent of the HNC.

Kuwait Says Some Oil Output Restored as Strike Enters Day 3
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 19/16/A strike by oil workers that has slashed Kuwait's output entered its third day on Tuesday but the state oil firm said it had managed to restore some affected production. Kuwait Petroleum Corp. spokesman Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Sabah said output was now running at 1.5 million barrels per day -- 50 percent of normal output -- against 1.1 million bpd when the strike first erupted on Sunday. Sheikh Khaled said a crude gathering centre in the north of the emirate had been put back into production and that the company had plans to reopen three more. He did not specify how they were being staffed but on Sunday the cabinet gave orders for KPC to recruit contractors from abroad to operate some of its facilities in defiance of the indefinite strike called by the Kuwait oil workers union over planned wage cuts. The stoppage in the OPEC oil cartel's fourth largest producer has helped world prices to recover after a sharp fall on Monday following the failure of major producers to reach agreement on a proposed output freeze. At around 0700 GMT on Tuesday, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was up 35 cents at $40.13 a barrel, while Brent crude for June rose 34 cents to $43.25. Besides the fall in Kuwait's crude production, refining also dropped from 930,000 bpd to 520,000 bpd and natural gas output dropped to 620 million cubic feet (17.6 million cubic metres) from 1.3 billion cubic feet (36.8 million cubic metres). Sheikh Khaled said the strike had not affected exports or domestic supplies as the emirate was using its strategic storage. Late on Monday, acting oil minister Anas al-Saleh again appealed to striking workers to return to work and pledged that their wages will not be cut. The workers have said they will not end their action until the government scraps plans to cut their benefits and incentives under a new payroll scheme, and privatise parts of the oil sector. KPC said on Sunday that reserves of petrol and derivatives were sufficient to meet domestic demand for 25 days and that strategic reserves could cover a further 31 days.

Kerry: Iran has Seen Only $3 bn Returned since Nuke Deal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/April 19/16/Iran has so far seen only around $3 billion in previously frozen assets returned since it struck a nuclear deal with world powers, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday. The extent to which Tehran stands to gain from the agreement to place its nuclear program under tight controls has been a matter of fierce debate since Iran signed the accord last year. In the United States, Republican opponents of the deal have alleged that it will allow Iran to get its hands on more than $100 billion with which it could fund "terrorism" against American allies. Meanwhile, in Iran, officials have complained that the country has yet to see much benefit from the end of nuclear sanctions, as banks and private companies have been slow to renew ties with the former pariah. The U.S. administration has been trying to find its way between the competing claims, insisting it has met its side of the bargain in lifting sanctions while vowing it will not tolerate Iranian backsliding. And so Kerry, who is to meet with his Iranian counterpart Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in New York on Tuesday, hit back against critics of the deal, insisting their figures are wrong. "Remember the debate over how much money Iran was going to get?" he said to delegates at a dinner hosted by the progressive pro-Israel group J Street. "Sometimes you hear some of the presidential candidates putting out a mistaken figure of $155 billion. I never thought it would be that. "Others thought it would be about $100 billion, because there was supposedly about $100 billion that was frozen and so forth," he continued. "We calculated it to be about $55 billion, when you really take a hard look at the economy and what is happening," he said, giving the usual State Department estimate. "Guess what folks. You know how much they have received to date? As I stand here tonight, about $3 billion." The United States has not had diplomatic relations with Tehran since April 1980, but Kerry got to know Zarif while negotiating the nuclear deal, and the two speak fairly regularly. Tuesday's meeting in New York will be the pair's first face-to-face encounter since January 16, when they met in Vienna to formally implement the accord. Iranian officials have since begun to complain the United States has not lived up to its side of the agreement, as sanctions aimed at its missile program and financing of militias abroad have continued. But Washington has also pointed the finger, warning that it retains the right to impose new sanctions if Iran's ballistic missile tests breach separate United Nations resolutions not covered by the nuclear deal.

France inks deals worth $2 billion with Egypt
Reuters, Paris Tuesday, 19 April 2016/France signed several deals worth about 2 billion euros ($2.26 billion) with Egypt during a visit by French President Francois Hollande to Cairo, the French president’s office said on Monday.The deals included a satellite communications contract agreed upon following discussions between the two presidents and their defense ministries, the Elysee said. The military telecommunications satellite is expected to be built by France’s Airbus Space Systems and Thales Alenia Space. French energy Engie firm said earlier that it also signed LNG and renewable energy contracts during the visit.

Obama administration to push Mideast peace until end
AFP Tuesday, 19 April 2016/The United States will push for a two-state peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians until the end of President Barack Obama’s mandate, Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday.
Speaking in Washington to J Street, a progressive pro-Israel group, Kerry said attacks like Monday’s on an Israeli bus by a suspected Palestinian bomber only underlined the need for a negotiated solution. “Despite the fact that we have spent time and effort to try to get there for these past few years I can tell you that for these next nine months we will not stop working to find a way,” Kerry said. Obama’s second and final term is due to come to an end in January, and many reports suggest that hardliners in Israel are content to wait the administration out in the hope the next will prove more sympathetic. Kerry, however, insisted that pro-peace factions among both populations understand the importance of a viable Palestine alongside a secure Israel as the only basis for peace and democracy in the region. “And so we will continue to advance the two state solution as the only solution, because anything else will not be Jewish and it will not be democratic,” he declared, to applause from J Street invitees. International attempts to coax Israeli and Palestinian leaders back into talks have been moribund for months, amid a surge in both Israeli settlement building and Palestinian knife attacks and, as of Monday, a bombing.

Saudi women’s right to drive back in Shoura Council debate
Saudi Gazette, Riyadh Tuesday, 19 April 2016/Two Saudi Shoura Council members reopened discussion on women driving in the country. Shoura member Haya Al-Minai said she is proposing to amend Article 36 in the Traffic Law to state that driving is an equal right for men and women. “I hope that our proposal to amend the Traffic Law will be voted on in the next Shoura Council meeting. Giving women the right to drive will increase their productivity,” said Al-Minai. She said the success of women in municipal council elections is proof that women have the potential to contribute to the development of the Kingdom. “Women occupying leading positions is no longer considered a cultural taboo. Women’s right to drive was proposed three years ago but the Shoura Council voted against it. However, I expect a different result this time around,” said Al-Minai. As long as women conform to the Islamic regulations and the Traffic Law, they should have the full right to drive, she added. Another Shoura member Latifa Al-Shaalan echoed similar views. Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, was quoted as saying in a recent interview that Saudi society is proud of its mothers, daughters and sisters and it does not discriminate or undermine their capabilities to be pioneering members of society. “A total of 20 women won municipal council elections this time. More and more women are working in various sectors and industries. A Saudi woman is now able to have any job she wishes in any sector and field of work. We do not have any obstacles,” said Prince Muhammad.

Spain arrests Moroccan in Mallorca 'linked' to ISIS group
AFP | Madrid Tuesday, 19 April 2016/Spanish police said Tuesday they had detained a Moroccan man in the Mediterranean island resort of Palma de Mallorca suspected of recruiting militants for ISIS. “A police probe revealed that the accused had close contact with established terrorists involved with Daesh who are currently located in Syria,” they said in a statement using a synonym for ISIS. They added that the man used virtual platforms to recruit new militants for Syria and Iraq, “encouraging them and facilitating their trip to the conflict zone so that they could join the ranks of Daesh.”The operation was launched as part of a probe opened by Spain’s National Court, which specialises in extremism cases.
Spanish police regularly announce the detention of people suspected of having links with militant groups, although it is unclear exactly how many have been held so far this year.

Jordan halts plan to install cameras at Jerusalem holy site
The Associated Press, Amman Tuesday, 19 April 2016/Jordan's prime minister on Monday said his government has decided to call off a plan to install surveillance cameras at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, derailing a US-brokered pact to ease tensions at the volatile hilltop compound.
The decision came just days before the Jewish holiday of Passover — a time of increased activity at the site. The spot is revered by Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount, and Muslims, who call it the Noble Sanctuary. It has been a frequent scene of violence in the past. In a deal brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Jordan offered to install the cameras last fall after clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces. The Palestinians had accused Israel of secretly plotting to take over the site — a charge Israel strongly denies — while Israel pointed to videos showing Palestinian protesters using the mosque as cover while throwing stones and firecrackers at police. The idea was that transparency by both sides would help ease tensions. But the plan quickly ran into trouble, with the Palestinians objecting to Israeli demands to place cameras inside the mosque. The Palestinians also said that Israel would use the cameras to spy on them. Jordan's prime minister, Abdullah Ensour, told the state-run Petra News Agency that Jordan was calling off the plan due to Palestinian concerns. "We were surprised since we announced our intention to carry out the project by the reactions of some of our brothers in Palestine who were skeptical about the project," he said. "We have found that this project is no longer enjoying a consensus, and it might be controversial. Therefore we have decided to stop implementing it."The Jordanian decision could deal an embarrassing blow to Kerry, who had hailed the deal when it was announced in October and pushed behind the scenes in recent months for the sides to wrap it up. In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said it's "unfortunate" that Jordan decided to call off the plan to install the surveillance cameras. He could not say whether Kerry had any plans to revisit the idea with Jordanian authorities. "We still see the value in the use of cameras," Kirby told reporters.
"I can't tell you at this time that we're going to you know, be assertive in terms of trying to have it revisited," he said. "But it doesn't mean that we've changed our minds with respect to the value of that as a tool to increase transparency. There was no immediate reaction from Israel. But the Palestinian minister for Jerusalem affairs, Adnan Husseini, said "I think it's a wise decision and we are with any decision taken by Jordan, I think Jordan studied the issue wisely and took all the issues into consideration until they reached this wise decision."The site is revered by Jews as the location where the biblical Temples once stood. Today, it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. Under a decades-old arrangement, Jews are allowed to visit the site, but not pray there. Increased visits to the compound last fall by Jewish nationalists, coupled with some restrictions on Muslim access, set off clashes that quickly escalated into months of violence across Israel and the West Bank.

Afghan Taliban attack central Kabul, at least 28 dead
Reuters | Kabul Tuesday, 19 April 2016/A major Taliban suicide bomb and gun attack on a government security office in central Kabul during rush hour on Tuesday killed at least 28 people and wounded more than 320, a week after the militant group announced a spring offensive. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the assault “in the strongest possible terms” in a statement from the presidential palace, only a few hundred meters away from the scene of the blast in the Afghan capital. The insurgency led by the Afghan Taliban has gained strength since the withdrawal of most international combat troops at the end of 2014, and the Islamist group is believed to be stronger than at any point since it was driven from power by U.S.-backed local forces in 2001. Police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said civilians and members of the Afghan security forces were among the dead and wounded. The brazen attack began with a suicide car bomb and security forces and militants then exchanged gunfire, Reuters witnesses near the scene said. The Taliban said on their Pashto-language website that they had carried out the suicide bombing on “Department 10”, an NDS (National Directorate of Security) unit which is responsible for protecting government ministers and VIPs. They said a suicide car bomber blew up the main gate at the front of the office, allowing other fighters, including more suicide bombers, to enter the heavily guarded compound. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a separate statement that the attackers were engaged in a gunbattle with Afghan security forces inside the building. It was not immediately possible to verify the details of the Taliban’s claim with government officials. The Islamist group often exaggerates details of attacks against government and military targets. A thick plume of black smoke was seen rising from the area near the sprawling U.S. embassy complex immediately after the blast. Warning sirens blared out for some minutes from the embassy compound, which is also close to the headquarters of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.

EU to provide humanitarian funding for refugees in Greece
AP | Athens Tuesday, 19 April 2016/The European Commission says it will be providing 700 million euros in emergency humanitarian funding for Greece until 2018 to help it deal with the massive refugee crisis that has seen tens of thousands of people stranded in the country – the first time such funding has been used to help a European Union member. The funding, announced Tuesday, will be given to aid organizations that will work with the Greek government in providing assistance such as food, shelter, medical and educational services for refugees. Christos Stylianides, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said he was in Athens signing agreements allocating the first 83 million euros to eight aid organizations, including UNHCR, the Danish Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and the international Red Cross.
 

Relation between September Attacks and Saudi Arabia…A Repetitive Series
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/April 19/16
Accusations alleging relation between Saudi Arabia and the renowned September 11, 2001 attacks are not new. They disappear to show up again every once in a while and so on. Perhaps the latest was what the “New York Times” has revealed regarding a draft law discussed by the US Congress, which accuses Saudi Arabia of being involved in these attacks. Regardless that these claims are not based on any fact or legal evidences, they aim at destabilizing the unity between the two key allies against terrorism and shaking confidence between the two parties. The question is how do you want to win the war while you question your major ally against your common enemy? Thirteen years ago, and precisely in July 2003, arguments regarding the same report have started. Back then, the late Prince Saud al-Faisal said in statements to “American Morning” program on CNN: “We want to review this report for two reasons. The first reason is that if it contains accusations against Saudi Arabia, we would like to respond since we are certain that we are not condemned of any charges. The second reason is that if it contains information on possible supporters and funders for terrorism, we want to know who they are in order to deal with the matter.”Since then, the report has been used in an opportunistic manner that is not suitable with the relation between the two strategic allies.Moreover, some view this report as part of the US presidential elections, which involve parties that could benefit from this dispute in the coming elections. The bad news is that some of those who reviewed the report have been using it to give negative, subjective and directed statements against Saudi Arabia, without explaining the reasons behind these negative statements and accusations. Therefore, Saudi Arabia has not been able to respond to these accusations or deny them, which is one of the rights of any accused party. So how come if that party is a major ally for the United States in countering terrorism? It is worth mentioning that from September attacks up till today, al-Qaeda’s damages and attacks on Saudi Arabia, its citizens, officials, government and even its royal family, exceed what it has done to USA in 2001.
Is not this an adequate proof that al-Qaeda is an enemy for the Kingdom first? How can they imagine that Saudi Arabia is protecting an organization, which is aiming at killing and destabilizing it? If 15 of the terrorists who carried out September attacks are Saudis, it definitely is not an excuse to let the Kingdom bear their brunt forever. For instance, the French Prime Minister has stated earlier that five thousand Europeans have been fighting in line with ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and he added that this number was likely to increase up to 10 thousand militants by the end of 2015. Thus, is it fair to accuse the governments of these extremists and let them bear the brunt of them joining one terrorist organization? Nevertheless, is it possible that a country like Tunisia, which fights terrorism by the time it is struggling from terrorist actions on its land, is borne by hundreds of extremist Tunisians who decided to flee their country and join ISIS?
Riyadh wants to know details about these terrorists and details on who supported and funded them, not only to protect the United States and the whole world from their menace but also to protect itself from this terrorism that targets the Kingdom in the first place. In addition, and just like these accusations are not based on any facts; as much as they are unviable predictions since they contradict with the legal and institutional basics of the United States, Saudi Arabia will not deal with invalid and illegal claims. What raises concerns here is that whenever the officials of the two countries try to build and empower trust walls, someone comes and tries to break them or put holes in them, which makes efforts to fight terrorism useless. Notably, those who benefit the most from these attempts are the extremists themselves, who are targeted by the whole world and especially by Saudi Arabia. Here comes the major role Barack Obama’s administration should play in order to tighten relations between the two allies and halt any attempt to destabilize strategic relations between Riyadh and Washington, at least to prove that their historic strategic alliance is not subjected to any threat and to make sure both countries benefit from this relation, not only one of them.

Why Obama is visiting a different Saudi Arabia this time
Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/April 19/16
It's amazing how much can change in two years, and it is more amazing when we talk about a country where change has been historically slow, which has always been the case in Saudi Arabia. However, a changed kingdom is exactly what US President Barack Obama is going to witness upon arriving in Riyadh this week. In March 2014, President Obama visited the late King Abdullah. At the time, the ailing monarch's health condition was suffering, and the same applied to the otherwise extremely healthy Saudi-US relations. What was poisoning the waters between Riyadh and Washington at the time were the latter’s insistence on backing Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood (a group classified as a terrorist organization by the Saudis and most GCC countries), the mishandling of the crisis in Syria particularly after Mr. Obama's U-turn on punishing the Assad regime for using chemical weapons and most notably, the US administration's fondness of Iran which, a few months later, materialized into a controversial nuclear deal. The agreement has left the regime in Tehran (which Obama himself described as a state sponsor of terror) unshackled for the first time in over 30 years.
President Barack Obama, right, meets with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office of the White House on Sept. 4, 2015. (AP)
Furthermore, there were serious questions at the time relating to the succession in Saudi Arabia, as well as severe tensions between the Gulf allies themselves (namely with the State of Qatar) and in the region as a whole which was still suffering from the turbulence caused by the 2011 Arab Spring. However, there was no resource-exhausting war in Yemen and oil was still selling at over $100 per barrel; so the kingdom was in an excellent shape economically. Much has happened since King Abdullah passed away and King Salman ascended to the throne at a time when oil prices fell to less than half of what they were selling at prior to his demise. The Houthi militia overthrew the legitimate government of President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi in Yemen and threatened the southern border of Saudi Arabia, which led to a war which remains ongoing.
This certainly hasn’t been the first time ties between Washington and Riyadh have been put to the test. This alliance – which has always been built on mutual interests, respect and a similar determination to bring peace and prosperity to the region – will endure. Meanwhile, the threats imposed by ISIS intensified and despite the fact that this terrorist group has attacked the kingdom repeatedly, many critics absurdly would like us to believe that Riyadh is secretly supporting the same group which seeks to eradicate it. Furthermore, unlike what Obama had hoped, Iran didn't show any sign of changing its destabilizing behavior in the region as a result of the nuclear deal.
The outcome of all these challenging conditions, as well as a number of wrong decisions and lack of proper external communication, has seen Riyadh suffering from severely negative international media coverage which didn't only bring criticism to the table, but even doubts that the country itself could remain intact.
However, not only did the kingdom withstand the storm, but it came out much stronger. Of course, this was mainly due to the fact that much of the pessimism was manufactured and speculative. However, one can't ignore that it is also due to the incredible stamina and willingness to take the plunge, which was and still is being displayed by the new breed of Saudi policymakers, namely Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman -- who is the king's son, the country's defense minister and the head of its Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA).
Indeed, of all that has been accomplished by King Salman since January 2015, the one thing that has had a tremendous impact on this fresh, new vibe in the Kingdom was his determination to settle the issue of succession and empower the youth once and for all.
The result? Well, President Obama arrives to Riyadh to attend a GCC meeting that has transcended most of the rifts of the past. He is also arriving to a capital city which is now home to an unprecedented military alliance of more than 30 Muslim countries which are actively cooperating to combat terrorism, eradicate its funding and present a counterterrorism ideological narrative.
Just a few days ago, the Saudi cabinet issued new regulations which now prevent the kingdom's Commission of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (commonly referred to as the "religious police") from pursuing and detaining people; a decision that has resulted in much praise both internally and even externally from extremely critical bodies, such as Human Rights Watch. Furthermore, observers tend to forget that it's within the past 18 months that women were allowed to vote and participate in municipality elections for the first time ever. The Kingdom's Shoura Council has revisited the controversial ban on women driving. In addition, Saudi markets are now open to foreign investment and, as revealed by HRH the Deputy Crown Prince in his recent Economist interview, the investment opportunity will eventually also include the "crown jewel:" Saudi Aramco.
‘Damned if you do, damned if you don't’It is sad, however, that Riyadh seems to always be in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. Indeed, one can't help but ridicule recent reports which have labeled all of the above (and the many more) achievements of the new Saudi government as merely a nationwide "face-lift" prior to Obama's upcoming visit.
First of all, this will be Mr. Obama's last scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia as US President and the time he has left in the White House is too little to expect any major changes in policy or attitude. Now, while relations with the current administration might have had its ups and downs, this certainly hasn’t been the first time ties between Washington and Riyadh have been put to the test. The reality is that this alliance – which has always been built on mutual interests, respect and a similar determination to bring peace and prosperity to the region – will endure.
But most importantly, and as will clearly emerge when the Saudi government announces its vision for the future on April 25, the reforms were done – and will always be done – for no reason other than to ensure the sustained prosperity and wellbeing of the country's citizens and residents.
Indeed, one doesn't set a long-term plan to rid the nation of its dependence on oil, to diversify the economy and create new job and investment opportunities for a nation that is predominantly young and ambitious, merely to serve a PR strategy. Nor will these policies deny the fact that there is much work that still needs to be done in terms of women rights, judicial reforms, media and labor issues. The truth is that Saudi Arabia is undergoing a transformation, and whoever becomes the next US president will certainly have the advantage of working with a young, dynamic, outward-looking government that is determined to succeed and is truly leading the region once again.

Moving Saudi-US relations beyond mutual ambivalence
Andrew Bowen/Al Arabiya/April 19/16
Nearing the end of his presidency, President Obama’s visit to the Gulf this week is a symbolic final gesture before he leaves office in January of his commitment to his Gulf partners over a year since he hosted a number of the GCC leaders at Camp David. However, Obama’s frank words in his interview with The Atlantic underline a leader who is equally deeply skeptical of his Gulf counterparts and of the post-1979 Washington consensus on America’s strategic position in the region. Arriving in Riyadh, Obama will be offering a mixed message: continued American investment in the GCC’s security but a message of change as well: Washington and the GCC should be looking beyond the waters of the Arabian Gulf to Iran to build a more secure region and to address regional challenges. The President will convey this message to an understandably skeptical audience who he’s had at best an ambivalent relationship with these past eight years.
Darker Realities
This message though obscures darker realties that Obama has often been to dismissive of. As Obama has made the bet that empowering the “moderates” in Iran over the longer-term will reap eventual rewards, President Putin and Ayatollah Khamenei are currently playing a more insidious game to the detriment of Washington and its allies. With Iran expanding its ballistic missile program, the Iranian leadership is focused more on a contest for regional hegemony than “sharing” the neighborhood with its Gulf neighbors. The failure to reach a production freeze in Doha this past Sunday underscores how Khamenei and Rowhani are unwilling to make any concessions to improve relations with their Gulf neighbors in their efforts to revive Iran’s regional position. While the Summit may not resolve the larger strategic differences between President Obama and his Gulf partners, it isn’t a completely ceremonial exercise President Obama seems unwilling to digest this reality in fear of unraveling his legacy, and instead will be coming to the summit with no real deliverables. Obama’s more inclined to pontificate and to discuss the tactical minutiae of their relations (increased security assistance and more bureaucratic inventions that give the appearance of deep cooperation) than to substantively address his regional partners’ strategic concerns. In the final months of his presidency, the President isn’t interested in bridging these strategic differences beyond cosmetic concessions. It’s not a surprise then the US presidential elections garner more interest than the sitting President’s own stay in the Kingdom: will the next American President have a more sanguine view of Iran? Will a President Clinton come to the 2017 Gulf summit with a strategy to contain Iran’s rising regional aggression and expansion?
Summit potential
While the Summit may not resolve the larger strategic differences between President Obama and his Gulf partners and 2017 is on the horizon, the Summit isn’t completely a ceremonial exercise. It’s an opportunity to address regional challenges such as Syria and Yemen. With Washington considering recalibrating again its approach to address Da’esh’s growth, this Summit is an opportunity to discuss options for deeper GCC security involvement in the military campaigns in Syria and Iraq to counter the extremist group. Moscow’s enhanced regional role could also be examined and how the GCC states and the US can work to counter-balance Russia’s support for President Assad. President Obama could also discuss how the US can better work with the Gulf states to deepen their conventional and asymmetric capabilities in the face of the deepening threat Iran poses to their security.
Obama will push for further integration and inter-operability of the GCC’s security architecture and will also discuss how the US can more effectively support and work with its Gulf partners in regional military campaigns and operations (this follows in line with the President’s belief that the GCC states should take more responsibility of their regional security). Beyond purely hard power issues, the summit is an opportunity for President Obama to discuss with his counterparts states in transition such as Egypt, Tunisia, and to a more complicated degree, Libya and how the US and the GCC can work together to more effectively ensure these states’ prosperity and stability. While its unlikely that the visit will move their respective relations beyond mutual ambivalence, Obama has an opportunity to re-establish some level of trust after his sharp comments in The Atlantic so that he can have a better working relationship with the GCC states in the final months of his presidency and importantly leave his successor more stable ground for a deeper relationship.

The benefits of demarcated borders
Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/April 19/16
An American proverb says: “Good walls make good neighbors.” The same goes for demarcated borders, such as the recent demarcation of maritime borders between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The latter has long been keen on demarcating borders with its neighbors, such as a deal with Kuwait in 2000 to divide a neutral zone. This was preceded by a deal with Qatar in 1992, with Oman in 1991, and with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1974. The first such agreement was with Bahrain in 1958. The fact that each deal was signed in a different Saudi area may be an unintended symbol of the extension of relations between Gulf countries. Despite their borders, their people can move to any Gulf city due to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) guarantees on freedom of travel and work. After signing a border agreement with UAE founder Sheikh Zayed al-Nahyan, the late Saudi King Faisal reportedly said: “Abu Dhabi’s borders end here in Jeddah.” This spirit resolved any subsequent problems demarcating borders and implementing agreements in areas with massive oil resources. More importantly, Riyadh quickly registered such deals at the Arab League and the United Nations, thus avoiding dangerous problems caused by oil companies. The kingdom was also keen to seize the appropriate political moments to demarcate its borders with undemocratic countries such as Yemen and Iraq, which were highly influenced by their leaders’ moods. Saudi King Salman’s proposed bridge linking his country and Egypt will alter the region’s policies, economy and geography
Demarcating borders with Iraq was the most complicated given competitive bilateral relations from the days of the Hashemites in Iraq until the era of late President Saddam Hussein. The deal was finalized at the start of the Iran-Iraq war, and all relevant documents were submitted to the United Nations. It was also not easy to reach agreement with Yemen given complicated bilateral ties, but a binding deal was finalized 2003. Riyadh not only demarcated its borders with its immediate neighbors, but also with those across the Gulf and the Red Sea. There is a maritime border agreement with Iran, and another with Sudan. The former has benefitted both countries by avoiding disagreements over oil and gas deposits, particularly amid current bilateral tensions due to Tehran’s hostile policies.
Tiran and Sanafir
Riyadh is keen on excellent ties with Egypt. The lack of a border agreement could raise disputes, even among brothers. Nevertheless, some are asking: “Why now, when the Tiran and Sanafir islands have been under Egyptian control for three quarters of a century?” There are four reasons. Firstly, the timing is appropriate as bilateral relations are at their best, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has the popularity and ability to take such a decision. Secondly, Riyadh has become the most important regional power, and it is time for it to bear its responsibility in this sensitive region, where Israel possesses power and influence that it does not deserve. Thirdly, Saudi King Salman’s proposed bridge linking his country and Egypt will alter the region’s policies, economy and geography. It is also best for the islands to be returned to Saudi sovereignty. Fourthly, demarcated borders make for good neighbors. No one knows how many gas and oil reservoirs there are in the Gulf of Aqaba and south of it - that could lead to future disputes without clear borders. The details of the demarcation agreement were not revealed, but knowing the Saudis’ style of signing deals and negotiating, they would not miss a single detail. An example of this is the agreement in which the Saudi-Jordanian border, which the British drew, was amended in 1965 when Saudi Arabia gave up tens of kilometers of its coast to lengthen Jordan’s coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba. Riyadh also gave up a considerable area of the Sirhan Valley to Jordan. The deal obliges the division of resources discovered in these areas. Perhaps there is a similar clause in the Saudi-Egyptian agreement to handle future possibilities.

Why are Muslim countries poor?
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/April 19/16
One of the favorite tropes of radical Islamists is that Muslims all over the world are being oppressed and held back by Western Crusaders and Zionists. The reason why more than 1 billion Muslims live in poverty and deprivation cannot be anything but the fault of evil forces who wish to undermine Islam.
This, I have argued again and again, is nonsense and wishful thinking. Though there are systematic imbalances in the global economic system which are greatly unfavourable to many Muslim countries, those same imbalances strongly favor other Muslim countries: think of all the wealth of Muslim countries and geopolitical power that brings. And if the reason why so many Muslims are poor and oppressed, why are they just as poor and even more oppressed in just those countries with the largest natural resources? Is it Zionists and Crusaders that treat like slaves millions of Pakistani and Bangladeshi migrant construction workers in the Muslim countries? Is it Zionists and Crusaders who kill Muslim civilians in droves, in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and so many other countries? But the true reasons for the state in which the Muslim world finds itself today are rather closer to home: the venal, corrupt leaders, but also, our indolent, passive societies. And last, but not least, is it Zionists and Crusaders who plunder the wealth of Muslim countries? Perhaps that was once the case, in the heyday of Western colonial expansion in the Middle East. But that was well over half a century ago. The world has moved on. And now those countries are plundered by their own political and military leaders. The Pakistani example is particularly close to my heart – as I very familiar most of the players. But in a country with some of the worst illiteracy and poverty rates in the world, its leaders over last few decades from all parties have mangled to buy some of the most expensive real estate in the world in London and elsewhere not just for themselves but for their children as well.
Alleviating poverty
Now leaders from all over the world have been caught up in scandals. But say what you want about the Chinese politburo, they have first made their country wealthy, and only after started pilfering away public funds. They have built their country’s infrastructure, they have built one of the best education systems in the world, have raised hundreds of millions of people out of poverty through sheer hard work, not just with the good luck of having ample natural resources, and built the world’s second-most important economy – and then they took a few million dollars here and there for themselves and their families.
Now compare this to Muslim leaders. In countries that 50 years ago were in much, much better shape than China, three generations of leaders have plundered their countries dry of billions, have destroyed some very good education systems in the process, and have kept getting into wars which precipitated the destruction of whatever infrastructure was left from the colonial era. So who do we have to blame for the woes of the Muslim world? Do you still believe it is the fault of colonial powers and American neo-imperialism? It would be convenient if that were the case. Especially since that way we are excused from doing anything about it ourselves. But the true reasons for the state in which the Muslim world finds itself today are rather closer to home: the venal, corrupt leaders, but also, our indolent, passive societies. Building wealthy, developed societies requires hard work, dedication, integrity, and commitment to making a good life for all of us in our societies. Too many Muslims would rather skip all that and just blame someone else for why their country is not as dynamic as China, or as wealthy as the West.

Revisiting the Assad files
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/April 19/16/As the Geneva talks on the Syrian conflict resumed, the New Yorker revealed documents that show President Bashar al-Assad’s responsibility for mass murder and torture. However, this did not obstruct the talks, nor the Syrian regime holding a charade of parliamentary elections. There is schizophrenia in terms of how Western politicians and media outlets deal with Syria. For example, for an international channel to broadcast a detailed report on the significant documents that the New Yorker published, then broadcast news of regime celebrations over the elections without noticing the inconsistency between these two developments, exposes negligence regarding the approach toward anything related to Syria.
Complicity
The world has grown accustomed to the regime’s mass murder. Meanwhile, international talks completely resemble the empty celebration over the farcical elections. At this point, we deserve it when Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad says Assad’s departure will never happen.
Scare-mongering over what would replace the regime if it fell becomes the justification for remaining silent over its violations. Media coverage of the elections was neutral in its language, to the extent of collusion. Scare-mongering over what would replace the regime if it fell becomes the justification for remaining silent over its violations.

Celebrating Terrorism, Palestinian Style
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/April 19/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7879/palestinians-celebrating-terrorism
The Palestinian jubilation over yesterday's terror bombing in Jerusalem, the first of its kind since the suicide bombings during the Second Intifada more than a decade ago, is yet another reminder of the growing radicalization among Palestinians.
The major obstacle to peace with Israel remains the absence of education for peace with Israel. In fact, it is safe to say that there never was a real attempt on the part of Palestinian leaders and factions to prepare their people for peace with Israel. On the contrary, the message they send to their people remains extremely anti-Israel.
This casts doubt on the Palestinian leadership's and people's willingness to move toward peace and coexistence with Israel.
Shortly after the Jerusalem bus terror explosion attack on April 18, a number of Palestinian factions rushed to issue statements applauding the "heroic operation" and urging Palestinians to pursue the path of armed struggle against Israel.
The Palestinian jubilation over the terror attack, the first of its kind since the suicide bombings during the Second Intifada more than a decade ago, is yet another reminder of the growing radicalization among Palestinians. This radicalization is mostly attributed to the ongoing anti-Israel incitement and indoctrination by various Palestinian factions and leaders.
Not surprisingly, the first Palestinian group to applaud the Jerusalem bus attack was Hamas.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that his movement "welcomes the Jerusalem operation and considers it a natural response to Israeli crimes, especially extra-judicial executions and the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque."The Hamas spokesman was in fact echoing similar charges made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who declared that Palestinians will not allow Jews to be "defiling the Aqsa Mosque with their filthy feet."How can anyone blame Hamas for making such accusations against Jews when Abbas, Israel's peace partner, was the first to come out against tours by Jews to the Temple Mount? It is worth mentioning that Abbas's allegations came only a few weeks before the eruption of the "Knife Intifada" in early October.
Another Hamas leader, Hussar Badran, also praised the terror attack. He said his movement was determined to pursue the resistance to "expel the occupation from our Palestinian lands."When Hamas leaders talk about "expelling the occupation from the Palestinian lands," they mean that Israel should be eliminated and replaced with an Islamist empire.On Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV, broadcaster Mohamed Hamed was so happy and excited to hear about the Jerusalem terror attack that he decided to salute the perpetrators.
Other Palestinians who are not necessarily Hamas supporters took to social media to praise the terror attack and call for more. On Twitter, many Palestinian activists created hashtags called #Bus12 and #TheRoofoftheBusGoesFlying to celebrate the terror attack.
Reflecting the state of jubilation over the Jerusalem terror attack, Palestinian cartoonists quickly joined the chorus of those celebrating the "heroic operation" against Israeli civilians. One of them, Omayya Juha, responded quickly by drawing a cartoon featuring a Palestinian woman celebrating the terror attack by ululating and handing out candies.Palestinian cartoonist Omayya Juha celebrated the April 18 terrorist bombing of a Jerusalem bus by quickly drawing a cartoon featuring a Palestinian woman celebrating the terror attack by ululating and handing out candies in front of the burned-out bus.
Within hours of the attack, Palestinian factions seemed to be competing with each other over who would issue the most supportive statement of the terror explosion. Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) reacted by issuing separate statements applauding the Jerusalem bus blast. They said it marked a "qualitative development" in the intifada. The two groups vowed to continue killing Israelis as part of an effort to "escalate" the intifada. Later, another group called the Popular Resistance Committees issued its own statement in which it threatened "more painful strikes against the Zionist enemy."
Even Abbas's Fatah faction went to great pains to justify the terror attack. In an initial response to the attack, Fatah spokesman Ra'fat Elayan used Hamas's words to comment on the bus blast: "This is a natural response to Israeli practices against our people, including arrests, killings and recurring incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque."Later in the evening, there were reports that some Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip, took to the streets to express their joy over the terror attack. The public statements of the Palestinian leaders and groups after the Jerusalem terror attack are yet another sign of how they continue to incite their people against Israel. These are the type of statements that prompt Palestinian men and women to grab a knife (or in this case an explosive device) and set out to kill the first Jew they run into.
The major obstacle to peace with Israel remains the absence of education for peace with Israel. In fact, it is safe to say that there never was a real attempt on the part of Palestinian leaders and factions to prepare their people for peace with Israel. On the contrary, the message they send to their people remains extremely anti-Israel.
The incitement, threats and fiery rhetoric will only lead to more violence. For now, all indications are that the Palestinians are headed towards upgrading the "Knife Intifada" to a wave of bombings against civilian targets inside Israel. Judging from the reactions of the various Palestinian factions and activists, support for terror attacks against Israel is so widespread among Palestinians that they are prepared to celebrate the bombing of a bus carrying civilians. This casts doubt on the Palestinian leadership's and people's willingness to move toward peace and coexistence with Israel.
**Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based Jerusalem.
 

Germany: Humor, Sultan Style
Stefan Frank/Gatestone Institute/April 19/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7878/german-satire-erdogan
Translation of the original text: Deutschland: Humor nach Art des Sultans
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has granted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's demand for the criminal prosecution of comedian Jan Böhmermann, for a poem he wrote insulting Erdogan. Böhmermann is accused of violating a German law forbidding the "slander of institutions and officials of foreign states" -- an offense carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Erdogan once acquitted Sudanese President Omar al Bashir of genocide allegations: "Muslims cannot carry out genocide." Erdogan was expressing an attitude widespread among German politicians and journalists: crimes are not crimes when Muslims commit them. Rarely is a Muslim despot or demagogue criticized in Germany; meanwhile no one has inhibitions about vilifying Christianity.
The signal that the German federal government has repeatedly sent to Turkey: We are totally dependent on and cannot live without Turkey. Is it really a surprise that Erdogan's megalomania is increasing?
"The 'cultural sensitivity' practiced in liberal societies has nothing to do with sensitivity or thoughtfulness. It arises from the fear of violence." — Henryk M. Broder, journalist and author.
Who would have thought that there is still a law in Germany that makes "lèse majesté" (offending the dignity of a monarch) a punishable crime? And that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now benefiting from just that -- and that it could plunge Germany into a (further) "national crisis."
The terms "national crisis" and "governmental crisis" have been coming up again and again. In light of all the massive problems Germany has, this one is about a poem in which a cabaret performer and comedian, Jan Böhmermann, recently insulted the Turkish President. Erdogan has called for Böhmermann's head and, as of last week, has Chancellor Merkel on his side.
The story began in March, when a German regional television station aired a music video during a satirical show, in which repression and human rights violations under Erdogan were pilloried in a humorous way. The Turkish government summoned the German ambassador and demanded that the video be removed from the internet and never be shown again. Germans thereby learned that the German ambassador is regularly summoned to Ankara -- three times so far this year. According to reports, the Turkish government once complained about teaching material in Saxony's schools that dealt with the Armenian genocide.
From the German satire video about Turkey's President Erdogan.
The revelation that Erdogan is so easy to insult inspired some people to see if they could go the extra mile. Cabaret artist Jan Böhmermann published an "Offensive Poem" (its actual title) on ZDF Neo, a tiny state-run entertainment TV channel with a market share of 1%. It contained speculations about the Turkish president's digestive and sexual preferences. AFP reports that, "In his 'libelous poem', which, as comedian Jan Böhmermann smilingly announced on television, openly exceeds the limits of free speech in Germany, Böhmermann accused Erdogan of having sex with goats and sheep, among other things."
Böhmermann apparently mixed these unsubstantiated claims with (as an example) truthful statements on the oppression of minorities in Turkey (Erdogan wanted to "get Kurds, cut Christians," he said).
Preemptive Surrender
In a preemptive surrender, which many Germans view as the real scandal, ZDF immediately deleted the broadcast from its Internet archives -- before Erdogan could even complain. "The parody that satirically addresses the Turkish President does not meet the quality requirements the ZDF has in place for satire shows," the station explained of this step. "For this reason, the passage was removed from the program." This, as ZDF program director Norbert Himmler said, occurred "in consultation with Jan Böhmermann." The limits of irony and satire were exceeded in this case
ZDF editors now criticize this course of action, and are asking for the piece to be accessible in the archives once again.
Chancellor Merkel -- who is not otherwise known to react quickly to crises -- tried to appease Erdogan shortly after the broadcast of the program. In a telephone conversation with Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu, she called the poem "deliberately hurtful" and "unacceptable." She probably hoped to settle things without having explicitly to apologize, which many Germans from across the political spectrum would resent. But Erdogan has no intention of settling down. He called for the criminal prosecution of Böhmermann. The public prosecutor's office in Mainz is already investigating due to several complaints against Böhmermann and the managers of ZDF.
Laws from the German Empire
Laws, some of which date back to the German Empire, complicate the issue. Hardly any German has ever heard of them, but they have suddenly become relevant. In Germany, the term "abusive criticism" has primarily been familiar to lawyers; the fact that gross affronts are prohibited in Germany is probably obvious to many citizens. However, little known -- and much less accepted -- is a law from 1871, which makes the "slander of institutions and officials of foreign states" an offense carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison.
On April 14, Angela Merkel announced that she is granting the Turkish President's demand for prosecution against Böhmermann -- against the objections of her coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
In Germany, justice should decide such a case, not the government, says Merkel. But many commentators believe this justification to be hypocritical; after all, Erdogan supposedly already filed lawsuits as a private individual at the Court in Mainz. What Merkel will now enable is another court case for "lèse majesté." The Berlin Tagesspiegel writes:
"The majority of Germans are against the fact that she [Merkel] is complying with Recep Tayyip Erdogan's majesty demands in this way. 'Majesty' is, therefore, the appropriate term, because penal code section 103 from the year 1871 is for lèse majesté. So it comes from a time when we were still driving carriages and had an emperor. And the Turks had a sultan."
Many also consider Merkel's decision to be particularly absurd because on the same day, the Chancellor announced that she wants to abolish the law on lèse majesté "by 2018."
Through her decision, Merkel signaled that the Turkish President's "honor" is more important than that of normal German citizens, who can only take ordinary legal action when they are slandered, and who do not enjoy the privilege of an extended "protection of honor" for "princes."
Erdogan has managed to extend what he already practices in Turkey to Germany. A few months ago, when nobody in Turkey had even heard of Jan Böhmermann, Die Welt reported:
"Paragraph 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to four years for insulting the head of state, has become the most common political offense. As a CHP party inquiry revealed, 98 people were arrested for this reason in the first ten months of last year. 66 were indicted, and 15 were kept in custody. The number of preliminary proceedings is unknown; human rights activists estimate several hundred. 'With these reactions, Erdogan shows how justified this criticism is,' said CHP human rights politician Sezgin Tanrikulu of Die Welt. 'A regime that responds to all criticism with criminal proceedings is moving toward a dictatorship.'"
The Turkish penal code -- now in Germany?
"Crimes Against Humanity"
The Turkish government called the slander of Erdogan a "serious crime against humanity." The choice of words is reminiscent of how Erdogan once acquitted Sudanese President Omar al Bashir of genocide allegations in Darfur: "Muslims cannot carry out genocide." Erdogan at the time was expressing an attitude often widespread in the West: crimes are not crimes when Muslims commit them. This also seems to be the view of many German politicians and journalists; rarely is a Muslim despot or demagogue criticized in Germany, while at the same time, no one in Germany has any inhibitions about vilifying Christianity or the Church.
It is this double standard, among other things, that Mathias Döpfner, CEO of the major German publishing house, Axel Springer, denounced in an open letter to Böhmermann, which was published in the daily newspaper Die Welt. In it, Döpfner calls for "solidarity with Jan Böhmermann." He also writes:
"First, I want to say: I think your poem succeeded. I laughed out loud. So it's important to me to say that, because in the past few days, there hasn't been a single article about your text -- whether accusatory or taking your side -- that didn't first (and at the same time captatio benevolentiae) emphasize how tasteless and primitive and insulting your satire about Erdogan was."
According to Döpfner, it's "as if you were to accuse a Formula 1 car manufacturer of having fast cars." Being offensive is certainly the goal, and has a useful consequence: "It is very revealing what reactions your satire triggered. A focal point and a turning point." Döpfner evokes various works by German artists, comedians, and cartoonists that are solely about mocking Christians and their faith. "When it comes to the provocation of religious or, more precisely, Christian feelings, anything goes in Germany," says Döpfner. However, if someone offends Erdogan, that leads to "a kind of national crisis."
Döpfner remembers how in Turkey, Erdogan proceeded against freedom of speech, minorities, and equality for women by force, and mentions the "excessive and reckless violence of the Turkish army" against the Kurds. Why, of all things, does insulting Erdogan cause such turbulence in Germany? Döpfner writes:
"For the small compensation of three billion euros, Erdogan regulates the streams of refugees so that conditions do not get out of control in Germany. You have to understand, Mr. Böhmermann, that the German government apologized to the Turkish government for your insensitive remarks. In the current situation, they are simply 'not helpful' -- artistic freedom or not. You could easily call it kowtowing. Or as Michel Houellebecq phrased it in the title of his masterpiece on the self-abandonment of the democratic Western world: submission."
Kowtowing to Turkey
Erdogan, who also campaigned in Germany during Turkish elections, appears to consider Germany an appendage of his Great Ottoman Empire. He calls out to Turks in Germany: "Assimilation is a crime against humanity." He has great power in Germany. This is not only based on German organizations like the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), which is controlled by the Turkish government, but above all on his ability to provoke upheaval in Germany if he wants. That Chancellor Merkel has delegated even more power to Erdogan in this situation, by imploring him to prevent hundreds of thousands of migrants in Turkey from heading for Europe, has made the situation even worse -- particularly because she has explained over and over that this is the only solution to the migrant crisis.
Merkel considers it indecent when Europeans secure their own country's borders based on current laws, but she gives Erdogan full reign to proceed with migrants at his discretion.
The signal that the German federal government has repeatedly sent to Turkey in the past is: We are totally dependent on and cannot live without Turkey. Is it really a surprise that Erdogan's megalomania is increasing?
Someone needs to say: No, we do not need Turkey that badly. But regrettably, this response is not in sight. Instead, Germany and Europe will submit again to the sultan.
Böhmermann's television appearances were canceled; he fears for his life and is under police protection.
The Fear in the West
The German journalist and writer Henryk M. Broder has long criticized the capitulation of the West in the face of dictators and Muslim rioters. In 2006, he published the book, Hurray, We Surrender! On the Desire to Buckle. Asked by Gatestone Institute for his thoughts on current events, Broder wrote:
"Appeasement is an English word, but part of German political culture. It is founded on the saying: the wise give in. Indeed, it is not the wise who give in, but the weak, who dispense their inferiority as wisdom. If the Pope is offended by tasteless caricatures, he writes a letter to the editor, or he says nothing. But he does not threaten violence; he certainly doesn't have any suicide bombers he could send out.
"The 'cultural sensitivity' practiced in liberal societies has nothing to do with sensitivity or thoughtfulness. It arises from the fear of violence. The threat scenario built up over years is not without effect. No artist wants to live as Salman Rushdie does, under a fatwa, or to be made a prisoner in his own home, like Kurt Westergaard.
"What you classify as 'tasteless' is a matter of risk assessment. You can explain the current situation with an old Jewish joke: Two Jews are taken to a concentration camp. They see an SS man. 'Moshe,' says one of the Jews, 'ask what they're planning to do with us.' 'Don't be stupid, Shlomo.' answered the other. 'We shouldn't provoke them; the Germans might get angry.'"
***Stefan Frank, based in Germany, is an independent journalist and writer.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved.