[Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is planning an executive order that would ease rules governing exports of military equipment, and could announce it as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday, four sources familiar with the discussions said.
The sources, some in government and some in industry, said they expected the order would be similar to legislation proposed by Trump's national security adviser, Michael Waltz, last year when he was a Republican member of the House of Representatives.
If it had become law, the bill backed by Waltz in 2024 would have amended the U.S. Arms Export Control Act to increase the minimum dollar amounts that trigger a congressional review of arms exports to other countries. They would increase to $23 million from $14 million for arms transfers, and rise to $83 million from $50 million for the sale of military equipment, upgrades, training and other services.
The thresholds are higher for members of NATO as well as for close U.S. partners Australia, Israel, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. For those transactions, Congress must be notified 15 days in advance of a transfer, compared to 30 days for most other countries.
During his first term, Trump often expressed frustration with members of Congress delaying foreign arms sales over human rights or other concerns.
In 2019, he infuriated many lawmakers, including some fellow Republicans, by declaring a national emergency because of tensions with Iran. That allowed him to sweep aside a long-standing precedent for congressional review of major weapons sales and complete the sale of over $8 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
At the time, members of Congress had been blocking sales of military equipment to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for months, angry about the civilian toll from their air campaign in Yemen, as well as human rights abuses such as the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey.
[ShabelleMedia] Somalia’s al-Shabaab ... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them... is a heightened terrorist threat because of its collusion with Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... s, the top US general for Africa said Thursday.
The US military began an expanded campaign targeting the terrorist group in Somalia shortly after US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... took office.
Last weekend, the US military carried out an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... Saturday in Somalia, killing several ISIS operatives, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said.
AFRICOM Commander Gen. Michael Langley said that the US was hitting al-Shabaab "hard."
"The president and secretary of defense have given me expanded authorities," Langley told politicians at a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing. "I now have the capability to hit them hard," he said.
The Trump administration has delegated authorities from the president through the secretary of defense down to the operational commander for quicker decision-making. This is in contrast to the Biden administration, which required White House approval before strikes.
In the US campaign to deter Yemen’s Houthis, Joint Staff Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich previously said this "allows us to achieve a tempo of operations where we can react to opportunities that we see on the battlefield in order to continue to put pressure on the Houthis."
[IsraelTimes] Hundreds of Algerians join a rare demonstration in solidarity with Palestinians, authorized by the North African country’s authorities, an AFP correspondent says.
At least 800 people gathered in front of the Algiers headquarters of the Islamist party Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), which had called the demonstration.
They massed in the capital’s Mouradia neighborhood not far from the presidential palace just after the Friday afternoon prayers, the correspondent says.
“Rage, rage, we’re heading to the embassy,” some protesters shout, determined to make their way to the diplomatic mission of key Israel backer the United States, but held at bay by the police.
Though Algiers has been historically known for its stance in support of the Palestinians, demonstrations are seldom authorized.
“This vigil has been organized to break the oppression and silence,” says MSP leader Abdelali Hassani Cherif, calling on the authorities to “allow the people to express their position.”
He later calls on the crowd to disperse silently, saying, “We don’t want Algerians to clash, we want them to unite for the good of Palestine.”
[HodhodYemenNews] The commander of the EU’s Red Sea naval defence operation has distanced his mission from daily US strikes on Yemen, as tension between the Americans and the Sana’a government led by Ansarullah grows.
“We are not fighting the Houthis,” Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview with The National at the headquarters of the EU Naval Force Operation Aspides in the Greek city of Larisa. “We are dealing with their actions against the shipping industry, and we are protecting global common goods like the freedom of navigation, and the sea farers’ lives. We have never injured any Yemenis during all these actions that we have taken in that area.”
He added, ” We don’t believe that this problem can be solved only with military actions. In the long run, we need to have the Yemenis on our side.”
“We are not supporting attacks on Yemeni soil,” he added. “So that’s a huge difference in how we do things.”
Aspides is “totally different” from Washington-led efforts, according to Admiral Gryparis, although his forces co-ordinate with a separate US-led military operation in the area, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to avoid friendly fire incidents and to preserve ammunition by not doubling up on responses to an incoming threat.
“We are not part of the Gaza conflict. We are not supporting either the Israelis nor the Palestinians,” he said. “We are trying to stay focused on this exact mission and also to describe our mission to the neighbouring countries, and also to pass significant and relative messages to the Houthis on what exactly we are doing.”
He affirmed that Europe still needs the trade routes through the Red Sea, and thus is in need “to build something more sustainable.”
Half of Europe's trade transits the Red Sea. So what, exactly, are you doing? Letting the US fight your war while dipping your fingers in lemon water and complaining about the smell of our language? Oh well I guess, as they say in France, allahu akbar.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] The civil war in Sudan has reached a turning point - after two years of trench warfare, government forces have begun to push back rebel troops along the entire front line. The sharp strengthening of the ruling faction is associated with the emergence of a strong patron for Khartoum.
Saudi Arabia, which played the role of mediator between the central government and the rebels for more than two years, eventually sided with the government camp, which led to a rapid change in the balance of power.
However, the Saudis' joy at the success of their new protégés was overshadowed by the fact that Iran has been on the side of the de facto ruler of Sudan, the chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, for at least six months. At the same time, he enjoys the same favor with official Khartoum as the royal court.
A somewhat paradoxical situation has developed: countries that were formally (even taking into account the cautious detente) on opposite sides of the barricades suddenly found themselves in the same militant camp in Africa, and even bet on the same leader.
True, the Sudanese are in no hurry to choose a main ally, because with great victories new well-wishers appear. Sometimes even more powerful.
"LOW INTENSITY"
The civil war in Sudan has been ongoing since 2023, although its roots go back to 2019, when the “eternal president” Omar al-Bashir was overthrown.
The leading role in the coup was played by the then commander of the national armed forces, al-Burhan, and the head of the Sudanese commandos, Muhammad Hamdan Daglo.
It was they, according to the conspirators' plan, who were supposed to ensure a peaceful transfer of power to a new government that would be "cleansed" of al-Bashir's agents of influence. However, the effect was the opposite: yesterday's allies became sworn enemies and by 2021 they plunged the country into civil war.
Despite the low intensity of fighting compared to other African crises, the conflict was bloody. Over 20,000 people died in two years, and more than 14 million were displaced – with the total population of the country being 50 million.
The number of countries involved in the conflict is also striking.
Although officially only Sudanese factions are conducting military operations, behind them are Arab and African partners; foreign intelligence services (including, for example, Ukrainian military intelligence), private military companies and groups of volunteer adventurers from all over the world.
In this sense, the civil war in Sudan has rightfully received the additional name “international”.
BIG BREAK
For a long time, there was no clear favorite in the conflict - fortified areas changed hands, and in the capital there were months-long positional battles. However, this year the initiative passed into the hands of al-Burhan's supporters.
By early April, government forces had managed to drive the rebels out of the capital and regain control of several large military bases and arsenals.
The supporters of the rebel General Daglo abandoned not only Khartoum, but also the White Nile and Al-Gezira regions, collapsing the front in several places at once and demonstrating their inability to hold territory outside their traditional areas of influence.
With the liberation of the capital, the question of who should be considered the legitimate force in Sudan disappeared by itself. Al-Burhan was able to act no longer as the leader of the opposing faction, but as the first person of the transitional period.
Notably, al-Burhan's offensive operations have featured prominently in Iranian-made drones that Khartoum secretly purchased from Tehran through intermediaries.
It was Iranian UAVs that were used en masse by government troops during assault operations, as well as for aerial reconnaissance and artillery adjustment, which allowed them to achieve first a tactical, and then a strategic advantage over Daglo's units.
Interesting.
The operational data received from the Saudis about the rebels’ plans also played a role – the royal secret services supplied al-Burhan’s headquarters with information practically in real time. This allowed them to anticipate many of the maneuvers of Daglo’s forces and, for example, to disrupt the counterattacks in Al-Gezira.
US INTEREST
Of course, the Saudis and Iranians decided to intervene in the conflict not just like that, but out of dry political calculation. Both Tehran and Riyadh are striving for the Red Sea, trying to turn Sudan into another entry point for their own regional ambitions. And to achieve this goal, they are using all available trump cards.
The Saudi leadership boasts of its peacekeeping contribution, in particular the 2023 Jida Declaration, which allegedly allowed al-Burhan's supporters to gain time and saved government troops from being quickly defeated by the rebels.
The Saudis also subtly remind us that official Khartoum still has another "debt" to pay. It was thanks to Riyadh's intercession that American sanctions were lifted from Sudan in 2017, which allowed the national army to be rearmed and staffed, and the officer corps to be trained.
In fact, many of the commanding officers who later joined al-Burhan owe their careers to Riyadh.
However, Iran also has something to counter Saudi influence with.
The Sudanese army is in dire need not only of Iranian ammunition and drones, but also of experienced operators and military advisers to suppress the remaining pockets of resistance of General Daglo's supporters. And Tehran is ready to help - in exchange for most-favored-nation status.
Khartoum itself does not want to interrupt the “diplomatic upswing” in the dialogue with Iran, which began in July 2024 after a seven-year break. After all, in addition to military aid, Tehran promises investment and assistance in industrial development, which is especially important for strengthening al-Burhan’s power in post-war Sudan.
However, for now the government camp is in no hurry to make a choice between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and is extremely evasive in answering behind-the-scenes questions about which of its Middle Eastern friends made the greatest contribution to the return of the Sudanese capital.
Commander al-Burhan is interested in maintaining an equidistant position from all key sponsors. Especially since, in addition to the Saudis and Iranians, the "support group" of official Khartoum includes Egypt, Russia, Turkey, Jordan, China and a number of European countries. It is impossible to please everyone at once a priori.
Moreover, recently the United States has been trying to join the government camp.
The White House, which had not been particularly interested in events in Sudan, suddenly issued a "black mark" to the rebels, accusing them of genocide, and imposed tough personal sanctions on General Daglo. And in doing so, it gave a great diplomatic gift to the al-Burhan camp.
Washington's sudden nobility is explained simply: it is important for the United States to prevent Iran from becoming excessively strong in the Red Sea, since this could significantly increase the effectiveness of privateering actions by pro-Iranian proxy groups directed against Israel, as well as create a threat to the security of the US naval group in the region.
At the same time, Washington does not plan to openly help the Saudis “conquer” Sudan, so as not to give Riyadh another reason to imagine itself as a regional superpower and thereby maintain the overall controllability of the Saudi elites.
#2
Black boys are in danger. So they have to join gangs and carry (illegal) knives to protect themselves. Because black boys are in danger. What sort of danger? Danger from black boys in gangs carrying knives. It all sound a bit chicken & eggy.
In a story snatched straight from the tabs
For our times, COBRA: Bucket of Crabs,
In which mannish pixie
Dream minister nixie
Goes native,
["No, wait!"]
Stab stab stabs.
[IsraelTimes] Newsletter sent out by career services group includes link to ‘Stop Gaza Genocide’ document, prompting outcry from Jewish education advocates
New York City’s department of education on Friday said it had launched an investigation after a department office sent out an anti-Israel toolkit that included “antisemitic language.”
“Today, a troubling oversight was brought to my attention, in which an offensive political toolkit was hyperlinked in one of our published newsletters,” New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a statement. “The inclusion of this toolkit violates our policies on political neutrality and uses hateful, antisemitic language.”
The link to the toolkit was sent out in a Spring newsletter from the department’s Office of Student Pathways on April 1. The office prepares public school students for post-school careers.
In the newsletter, beneath an icon for the Holocaust Center for Humanity,
…which is in Seattle…
were resources for “facilitating supportive conversations.” One of the resources was a link that read, “Scripts to contact representatives.” The link led to a Google doc titled “Stop Gaza Genocide Toolkit,” from the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, according to images that Jewish teacher advocates shared with The Times of Israel.
The toolkit surfaced after a source in the public school system shared the newsletter with the EndJewHatred advocacy group, said Michelle Ahdoot, an activist with the group. EndJewHatred publicized the newsletter, leading to the chancellor’s statement.
“Israel is on a total rampage of death and destruction,” the toolkit said, urging readers to call Congress to protest.
“There will be NO REST for Congress while they fund and enable genocide. Blood is on their hands,” the document said.
The document included images of protests, information about “money from pro-Israel groups,” protest graphics for social media, links to flyers to print out and information about attending protests.
“Israel is mass murdering Palestinian families with our tax dollars,” the document said.
The toolkit backed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel, calling for boycotts of companies including McDonald’s, Disney and Domino’s Pizza,
Why those three?
as well as the Israeli companies Ahava, SodaStream and Elbit. A graphic showed the Sabra hummus company’s logo dripping blood over the word “killer.”
🚨 OUTRAGEOUS:
NYC Public Schools included a link to a horrific “Stop Gaza Genocide” toolkit in an official student newsletter, falsely labeled as a contact resource.
A spokesperson for the education department confirmed the details of the toolkit to The Times of Israel.
“This language is hurtful to many in our Jewish community, and we deeply apologize,” Aviles-Ramos said. “Once leadership became aware of this link, we immediately ordered its removal and have already begun conducting a thorough investigation as to how this was added to a [New York City Schools] communication.”
The text of the newsletter said it was sent to people who had been involved with the Office of Student Pathways. It wasn’t clear how many people received the message.
Jewish public school advocates have long argued that antisemitism is rampant in the school system and pushed for reforms.
“This is a prime example of how embedded this hate is in New York City public schools and how the administration has failed to oversee all of the diffent components within New York City to ensure that the hate’s not spreading,” said Tova Plaut, a co-founder of the New York City Public School Alliance, a Jewish advocacy group.
[Rudaw] Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that Ankara does not want confrontation with Israel in Syria, a day after his ministry called Israel the “biggest threat” to regional security.
“We don't want to see any confrontation with Israel in Syria because Syria belongs to Syrians. Syria does not belong to Turkey, Syria does not belong to Israel. We can not talk on behalf of the Syrians,” Fidan told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.
Fidan said that if Syrians choose to cooperate with certain countries or reach understandings with Israel, it is their own decision.
A day earlier, Turkey’s foreign ministry accused Tel Aviv of being “the biggest threat” to regional security with its attacks on "the territorial integrity and national unity of countries.” The comments were in response to Israel saying Ankara plays a “negative role” in the region and is “aggressive” towards Syria’s Kurds.
Israel has carried out multiple strikes on Syrian infrastructure since the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad last December. Most recently on Wednesday, Israel targeted sites near the Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) in Barzeh, north of Damascus, as well as the Hama military airport and the strategic Tiyas Air Base, widely known as T4, in Homs.
Fidan said that Israel’s strikes were impeding Syria’s ability to fight terrorism.
“Unfortunately, Israel is taking one by one out all these capabilities that the new state can use against ISIS [Islamic State] and other terrorist threats,” he said.
“So basically, what Israel is doing in Syria is not only threatening the security of Syria, but also is paving the way for future instability of the region. I don't think that is good for Israel's future in the region,” Fidan added.
Ankara appears to have strong leverage with the new government in Damascus.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Thursday said that Turkey is doing its “utmost to have Syria as a Turkish protectorate,” adding “we don't think that it was good when Syria was an Iranian proxy” and “we don't think that Syria should be a Turkish protectorate.”
[IsraelTimes] As Israel carries out major airstrikes against a key base in Syria that Turkey is reportedly looking to turn into its own military facility, a senior Israeli official says that “we are not looking for conflict with Turkey. And we hope they’re not looking for a fight with us.”
“At the same time, we don’t want Turkey establishing itself on our borders,” says the official.
“Establishing military bases, naval and air bases under Turkish protection is something we want to prevent,” says the official.”
“There are red lines.”
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[IsraelTimes] The Trump administration advanced the sale of more than 20,000 US-made assault rifles to Israel last month, according to a document seen by Rooters and a source familiar with the matter, pushing ahead with a sale that the administration of former president Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. You're a lyin' dog-faced pony soldier... had delayed over concerns they could be used by bully boy Israeli settlers.
The State Department sent a notification to Congress on March 6 for the $24 million sale, saying the end user would be the Israeli National Police, according to the document.
The rifle sale is a small transaction next to the billions of dollars worth of weapons that Washington supplies to Israel. But it drew attention when the Biden administration delayed the sale over concerns that the weapons could end up in the hands of Israeli settlers, some of whom have carried out attacks on Paleostinians in the West Bank.
The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities accused of committing violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has seen a rise in settler attacks on Paleostinians.
On his first day in office on January 20, Trump issued an executive order rescinding US sanctions on Israeli settlers in a reversal of US policy. Since then, his administration has approved the sale of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel.
The March 6 congressional notification said the US government had taken into account "political, military, economic, human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... , and arms control considerations."
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment when asked if the administration sought assurances from Israel on the use of the weapons.
The rifle sale had been put on hold after Democratic politicians objected and sought information on how Israel was going to use them. The congressional committees eventually cleared the sale but the Biden administration kept the hold in place. His administration had repeatedly insisted that the only hold in place on Israeli weapons was one on a shipment of 2,000 lb bombs that it was concerned would be used in densely populated areas in which would harm civilians.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, oversees the Israeli police force. The Times of Israel in October 2023 reported that his office has put "a heavy emphasis on arming civilian security squads" in the aftermath of the October 7 onslaught.
[IsraelTimes] The Hamas terror group says it will not be moving living Israeli hostages out of areas in the Gaza Strip that the IDF has ordered to be evacuated in recent days.
The IDF has issued evacuation orders for the entire Rafah area, Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood and other areas in the Strip’s north.
“Half of the living Israeli prisoners are located in areas in which the Israeli occupation army has requested to be evacuated in recent days,” claims Hudhaifa Kahlout — known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
“We have decided not to transfer these prisoners from these areas, and to keep them under strict security measures, which are extremely dangerous to their lives,” Abu Obeida says in his statement, which is issued in Arabic, Hebrew and English.
He says that “if the enemy is concerned about the lives of these prisoners, they must immediately negotiate their evacuation or release.”
“The Netanyahu government bears full responsibility for the lives of the prisoners. Had they been concerned about them, they would have adhered to the agreement signed in January. Most of them would probably be in their homes today,” Abu Obeida adds.
Hamas has previously said it would execute hostages if Israeli troops are seen approaching areas where they are being held. In August, Hamas murdered six hostages in Rafah as Israeli forces were operating nearby.
Hamas has been lying about the number of still living Hostages and plans to use this to blame the IDF and cover their lies?
SIDE NOTE:
A friendly reminder to the Hamas supporting idiots out there.
There wouldn't be any Hostages, if Hamas had not attacked to start with, on the Oct. 7th.
Hamas, with Palestinian militant group help, attacked from Gaza. They MURDERED over 700 Israeli unarmed civilians, which included 36 children, and also murdered 79 persons visiting from other nations in the process.
Then Hamas in the process took 250+ Israelis as hostages.
The few 600 to 1 exchanged hostages, tell us Hamas and the Palestinian captors have been RAPING, TORTURING & STARVING and refusing basic medical aid to them and the kids being held hostage.
Yes! They have been raping children.
So any time I see a Pro-Hamas/Gaza protest.
I only see idiots supporting Pedophiles, Rapists, and Murdering Sadists.
[IsraelTimes] A “senior Israeli official” briefing reporters on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to Hungary says Jerusalem is in contact with multiple countries about taking in Palestinians from Gaza.
While the US is reportedly not actively working to advance President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and permanently relocate all of its Palestinians, Israel is very serious about it, the “senior Israeli official” says, claiming that several countries are interested.
“They want something in return — not necessarily money, but also strategic matters,” the “senior Israeli official” says.
“We want to free the hostages and eliminate Hamas and then there is a possibility for wide-scale emigration,” he claims, citing an unspecified poll that found 60% of Gaza’s roughly 2 million residents are interested in emigrating.
Israeli officials insist that Gazans won’t be forced to leave, but critics of the initiative argue that it amounts to white-washed ethnic cleansing.
Arab countries have fervently refused US and Israeli requests to take in Palestinians, arguing that Gazans should be allowed to remain on their land and warning that allowing such an initiative under these conditions will simply export the conflict into their borders.
Jerusalem has yet to publicly commit that those who leave Gaza will be allowed to return. A small group of Gazans who reportedly left last month for work in Indonesia reportedly had to sign onto a declaration acknowledging that they might not be able to return due to the security situation.
“Gaza is in ruins — because of Hamas, not because of us,” the “senior Israeli official” asserts.
He adds that Israel may “hold onto territory” in Gaza, even though it is not interested in permanently occupying the Strip.
While Israel will retain overall security control over Gaza, it wants to transfer control of the Strip to a “consortium of Arab countries” led by the Gulf states who would manage the Strip until further notice, he says.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and others have all expressed willingness to take part in the post-war management of Gaza but they have also all conditioned such assistance on Israel granting a foothold in the Strip to the Palestinian Authority in order to create a pathway to an eventual two-state solution.
Netanyahu has long rejected these conditions and his continued insistence that Arab countries will foot the bill regardless has infuriated them.
[IsraelTimes] Karim Souaid says bank must counter money laundering, restructure banking system as he begins task of repairing economy battered by decades of corruption and war
Lebanon’s new central bank governor vowed Friday that the institution will fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism and will work independently away from political intervention.
Karim Souaid, who was speaking after officially taking office in Beirut, added that he will work on restructuring the banking sector, public debt, and returning money to depositors.
Lebanon’s economy has been witnessing its worst crisis in its modern history since 2019 and the state must implement reforms demanded by the international community. Such reforms are needed to unlock international aid, and on top of that, Israel’s 14-month war with Hezbollah caused what the World Bank estimates was $11 billion in damages and economic losses.
Lebanon’s crisis is rooted in decades of corruption by the country’s political and financial leaders that drained state resources and eventually led to a run on the banks in 2019 after which people have lost access to their deposits. The situation has since been made worse with COVID-19, the massive Beirut port blast in August 2020, and the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Since the historic meltdown began Lebanon has been running on a cash economy and in October, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, an international anti-money laundering watchdog, placed Lebanon on its “grey list.”
“We will work on implementing international laws on top of them combating money laundering and supporting terrorism,” Souaid said. The former asset manager added that banks in Lebanon should recapitalize by pumping new money and those that cannot and don’t want to can merge with other lenders. He said that the priority will be to return deposits starting with people who have small accounts. He said the return of deposits should be the responsibility of the banks, the central bank, and the state.
Souaid said the central bank will study all economic recovery plans put forward by previous governments to help the small nation get out of the crisis.
Wassim Mansouri, who had been acting central bank governor since July 2023, said the central bank’s reserves stood at $10.727 billion at the end of March.
Souaid succeeds Riad Salameh, the embattled former governor of 30 years whose term ended with several international corruption cases lodged against him for embezzlement and other financial crimes. Salameh was appointed in 1993 when Lebanon was scrambling to bounce back after a 15-year civil war.
[Rudaw] Kurdish forces began withdrawing from Aleppo on Friday, as per an agreement struck with Damascus.
"A partial withdrawal of our forces has already been completed; the remaining units will be redeployed in a phased and orderly manner over the coming days," the People’s Protection Units (YPG) said in a statement.
The first convoy of the YPG, which forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ) left two Kurdish neighbourhoods in Aleppo under the supervision of the Syrian defense ministry and went east, across the Euphrates River, Syrian state media SANA reported.
The withdrawal is part of an agreement struck on Tuesday with the new authorities in Damascus for SDF-affiliated internal security forces (Asayish) to take over security of two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo city - Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood - while the other forces leave.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based war monitor, said on Tuesday that the Asayish in Aleppo "will be transformed into public security forces" and will be placed "under the administration of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria."
The forces that remain in the neighbourhoods will work in coordination with the Ministry of the Interior, according to Bedran Ciya Kurd, an advisor to the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava).
The YPG said they and the YPJ "will continue to adapt our posture in line with the strategic requirements of the new phase."
The SDF signed a landmark agreement with interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on March 10 to integrate the SDF into the Syrian state apparatus. The agreement recognizes the Kurds as an integral part of Syria, includes a countrywide ceasefire, and stipulates the return of displaced Syrians to their hometowns.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
...46th president of the U.S. 
