Baghdad (AP) QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA — Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport Friday, Iraqi television and three Iraqi officials said. The strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, the officials said. Their deaths are a potential turning point in the Middle East and are expected to draw severe retaliation from Iran and the forces it backs in the Middle East against Israel and American interests. The PMF blamed the United States for an attack at Baghdad International Airport Friday. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. or Iran.

A senior Iraqi politician and a high-level security official confirmed to the Associated Press that Soleimani and al-Muhandis were among those killed in the attack. Two militia leaders loyal to Iran also confirmed the deaths, including an official with the Kataeb Hezbollah, which was involved in the attack on the U.S. Embassy this week. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said al-Muhandis had arrived to the airport in a convoy to receive Soleimani whose plane had arrived from either Lebanon or Syria. The airstrike occurred as soon as he descended from the plane to be greeted by al-Muhandis and his companions, killing them all. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject and because they were not authorized to give official statements. The senior politician said Soleimani’s body was identified by the ring he wore.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter –Najwa Kassem, a star television presenter on Arabic news channels Al Arabiya and Al Hadath, passed away on Thursday morning at her home in Dubai. Major General Khalil Al Mansoori, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police for Criminal Investigation Affairs has ruled out any criminal suspicion in the death of Najwa Kassem, as all indications and initial medical examination have confirmed that the death of the Lebanese media, anchor at Al Arabiya, was normal. She died as a result of a heart attack, he added, noting that Dubai Police have taken the usual procedures that include examination by forensic experts at forensic evidence. Mansouri confirmed that the Dubai Police’s inspection and investigations found nothing suspicious in the circumstances that preceded the death of the Lebanese media, ruling out any criminal suspicion.

This article does NOT represent the opinion of khazen.org. We are in contrary supportive of the work of Carlos Ghosn and his amazing turnaround of the companies he has led. 

by Michael Wayland — cnbc.com — Former General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz believes ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn’s ego contributed to the executive’s fall from grace and current status as an international fugitive. Lutz, who said he’s known Ghosn for a number of years, said the embattled executive suffers from a “god complex” as well as “CEO disease,” where a person believes they are omnipotent and “above the law” because of their power. “That type of personality does tend to pretty easily slip over the line and do things that the rest of us would not do because they think they’re so important and so well connected and of such vast importance to the economy that no one would ever call them on it,” Lutz, a well-known outspoken automotive icon, said Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” Ghosn, who simultaneously led three automakers as part of the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance, on Monday secretly fled Japan, where he was under strict house arrest, to Lebanon to escape what he called a “rigged” justice system. Ghosn on Thursday said he alone arranged for his departure out of Japan, refuting media reports that members of his family assisted in the plan.

Authorities search Ghosn’s Toyko residence to determine how he escaped Ghosn, who is reportedly a citizen of Brazil, France and Lebanon, was awaiting trial after being accused in Japan of financial misconduct and misuse of corporate resources for personal gain. He has denied any wrongdoing. Lutz said he wasn’t saying Ghosn is “guilty as charged,” however he would be “extremely surprised if this was the result of a carefully planned conspiracy and he was, in fact, totally innocent.” “He was a control freak; needed to amass enormous power,” Lutz said. “I mean, being an effective CEO of three or four car companies at the same time, since we all, no matter how great we are, we only have 24 hours a day, some of which is devoted to sleep, it’s impossible to really exercise those duties in a good way without really delegating most of it.”

Sara Al Shurafa, Gulfnews — Dubai: News has been circulating online that U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter, Tiffany, is getting married this month to her Lebanese boyfriend Michael Boulos. An engagement celebration invitation card, presumed to be genuine, was first published by a Lebanese local news outlet. This invite then went viral on social media […]

By Alexander Smith and Aziz Akyavas – nbcnews— ISTANBUL — Seven aviation workers, including four pilots, have been detained for questioning in Turkey in connection to former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan, where he was awaiting trial, Turkish officials said Thursday. Ghosn, 65, was ousted from Nissan last year and accused of a series of financial misdeeds, including the alleged concealment of tens of millions of dollars in income. He was expected to stand trial in April but managed to flee Japan despite being under tight surveillance, showing up in Lebanon this week. The news came as Lebanese officials said they had received a “Red Notice” through the international policing organization Interpol, calling on them to arrest him. The former auto chief was born in Brazil but holds a Lebanese passport and has family ancestry, as well as a home, in Beirut. It’s unclear how he managed to slip the net in Japan, but media reports said he traveled to Lebanon via Turkey. On Thursday, the Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement that it had arrested the seven people for questioning. These included four pilots of a “private airlines company,” the company manager and two ground staff, according to the statement, which only identified the people by their initials.

Also Thursday, Lebanese Justice Minister Albert Serhan told The Associated Press that his country had received the Interpol notice for Ghosn and that the country “will carry out its duties.” Previously, Lebanese officials had said that he entered the country legally. Red Notices are issued by one country to another via Interpol, which only passes them along and has no power to enforce the request. “A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant,” Interpol points out on its website. 400 protesters in Hong Kong arrested after thousands join New Year’s Day rally Reports, rumors and speculation have swirled as to how Ghosn made his escape. An unverified report by the Lebanese television channel MTV claimed that he had been spirited away in a large musical instrument case, possibly for a double bass, after a band played at his home in Tokyo.

By John Bacon — USA TODAY — An uneasy calm enveloped the U.S. Embassy in Iraq on Thursday as new images from the scene revealed extensive damage following days of sometimes violent protests by Iranian-backed militia members and their supporters. The photos show a burned and charred reception area, smashed windows and vandalized rooms left behind by supporters and members of the Iranian-trained Hashed al-Shaabi military network, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported, and the embassy was not evacuated.

The Pentagon sent hundreds of troops to the region, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would delay a trip to Central Asia and Europe to focus on the “the ongoing situation in Iraq and ensure the safety and security” of Americans there. “We’ll continue cooperation (with Iraq) to hold Iran and its proxies responsible,” Pompeo said. The embassy protest erupted Tuesday, two days after U.S. airstrikes killed at least two dozen Iran-backed fighters in Iraq.Demonstrators shouting “Death to America!” smashed their way into the embassy compound and set fire to a reception area as U.S. combat helicopters swooped over the complex. Militia leaders with the Popular Mobilization Forces ultimately ordered supporters to retreat, declaring the demonstration a win in the battle to expel U.S. troops from Iraq. “After achieving the intended aim, we pulled out from this place triumphantly,” said Fadhil al-Gezzi, a militia supporter. “We rubbed America’s nose in the dirt.” Protests are nothing new in Baghdad, but most have targeted the Iraqi government and what Sunni Iraqis view as meddling by Iran’s Shiite government.

Beirut (AFP) – Inside a Lebanese bank, a woman screams for her salary. A man pounds his fist on the marble counter, demanding the teller release $200. In crisis-hit Lebanon, this is the new normal. “It’s a shocking experience,” said Khaled Taki, a 68-year-old consultant whose bank last week refused to hand him any dollars from his account. “You have money in the bank, you go there to get it, and they tell you: No.” A grinding liquidity crunch has hit Lebanon, where unprecedented protests since October 17 have railed against the political class and a deepening economic crisis. Since September, banks have restricted the amount of dollars that can be withdrawn or transferred abroad. Although no formal policy is in place, most have arbitrarily capped withdrawals at around $1,000 a month, while others have imposed tighter restrictions. With ordinary depositors bearing the brunt of these measures, bank branches have transformed into arenas of conflict. Fistfights, shouting and tears abound, as cash-hungry clients haggle tellers to release money trapped under informal capital controls. Security personnel pace nervously, eying angry customers. Large crowds form near the ATMs outside until the machines suddenly stop dispensing cash. “I have seen a woman begging — literally begging the bank employee — and going on the floor and kissing it, asking for her money,” said Taki. But “the banks don’t care,” he said. “They have your money, and they will give it to you when they want to, just like a father giving his son a weekly allowance.”

Trapped dollar savings –

by retuers — Carlos Ghosn met Lebanon’s president after his escape from Japan, where he was smuggled out of house arrest by a private security company, two sources close to Ghosn said on Wednesday (Jan 1). One of the sources said Ghosn was greeted warmly by President Michel Aoun on Monday after flying into Beirut via Istanbul. In his meeting at the presidency, Ghosn thanked Aoun for the support he had given him and his wife Carole while he was in detention, the sources said. He now needs the protection and security of his government after fleeing Japan, they added. A media advisor to the president’s office denied the two men had met. The sources said the Lebanese ambassador to Japan had visited him daily while he was in detention.

“PURE FICTION”

While some Lebanese media have floated a Houdini-like account of Ghosn being packed in a wooden container for musical instruments after a private concert in his home, his wife called the account pure fiction when contacted by Reuters. They said a private security firm oversaw the plan, which was three months in the making and involved shuttling Ghosn out via a private jet to Istanbul before pushing onward to Beirut, with even the pilot unaware of Ghosn’s presence on board. “It was a very professional operation from start to finish” said one of the sources. The other source said Ghosn was in good health. In a written statement, Ghosn said after his arrival that he had “escaped injustice and political persecution” and would begin communicating with media next week. Sources close to him said he was unwilling to share details of his escape so as not to jeopardise those who aided him in Japan. He is staying at the home of a relative of his wife, but plans to return soon to a gated villa in the upscale Beirut neighbourhood of Achrafieh, one of the sources said.

by bbc.com — Carlos Ghosn, the multi-millionaire former boss of Nissan, spent months preparing to stand trial on financial misconduct charges. At least, that was what the Japanese authorities were led to believe. He posted 1bn yen (£6.8m; $8.9m) in bail in April. He was monitored by a 24-hour camera installed outside his house. His use of technology was heavily restricted and he was banned from travelling abroad. Then, in a move that left Japan red-faced and his own legal team baffled, he appeared in Lebanon on New Year’s Eve. “I have escaped injustice and political persecution,” he declared in a statement. “We were completely caught by surprise. I am dumbfounded,” his lawyer, Junichiro Hironaka, told a crowd of reporters in Tokyo shortly after learning of Mr Ghosn’s flight. “I want to ask him, ‘How could you do this to us?'”

Another pressing question is: how did he do it at all?

A musical escape?

One Lebanese TV channel – MTV – reported that Mr Ghosn had fled his court-approved residence in Tokyo with the assistance of a paramilitary group who were disguised amongst a band of musicians. It said the band had performed at his house and, shortly after they had finished, the 65-year-old hid himself in a large musical instrument case which was then hurried to a local airport. If this really happened, it may have been a tight squeeze even for Mr Ghosn, whose height is reported at 5ft 6in (167cm). According to the MTV story, he then flew to Turkey, before arriving in Lebanon on a private jet. The broadcaster provided no proof for this theory which, unsurprisingly, spread rapidly across social media. But donning a spy-movie disguise is not beyond Mr Ghosn. In March, in a bid to throw journalists off his scent, he left prison disguised as a construction worker. He was quickly identified, mocked in the media, and his lawyer soon apologised for the “amateur plan”.

The role of Carole Ghosn

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said on Wednesday that all public consular operations were suspended, a day after Iran-backed militias and their supporters stormed its outer perimeter, setting fires, throwing rocks and smashing surveillance cameras. “Due to militia attacks at the U.S. Embassy compound, all public consular operations are suspended until further notice. All future appointments are canceled. U.S. citizens are advised to not approach the embassy,” it said in a statement.

by foxnews.com — The siege outside of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad came to an end Wednesday afternoon after dozens of pro-Iran militiamen and their supporters withdrew from the compound. The two-day crisis started early Tuesday, when, in an orchestrated assault, hundreds of protesters stormed the embassy compound, one of the most heavily fortified U.S. diplomatic missions in the world. The violent protests, which included smashed windows and sprayed graffiti on the embassy’s walls, were said to be in protest of the deadly U.S. airstrikes that targeted an Iran-backed militia over the weekend, killing 25 fighters. In turn, those strikes had been in response to a rocket attack on an Iraqi Army base that killed a U.S. contractor and injured several American troops. The protests prompted the Pentagon to send hundreds of additional troops to the Middle East. Officials said more than 650 paratroopers are already on their way to Kuwait, and roughly 4,000 more have been told to pack their bags for a possible deployment. The Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of state-allied militias — many backed by Iran — called on its supporters to withdraw in response to an appeal by the Iraqi government, saying “your message has been received.”

by famagusta-gazette.com —The Lebanese have been desperately trying to invest their bank deposits in real estate and gold to escape a possible haircut in the near future. Lebanon has witnessed in the past few months a shortage in U.S. dollar, caused by an economic slowdown and the drop in cash injections from the Lebanese abroad. Hence, banks have imposed restrictions on the withdrawals of depositors and the conversion of the Lebanese pound to the U.S. dollar, creating great panic among people about the future of their savings. “Demand for real estate has increased tremendously since the start of the dollar crisis,” Mazen Moharam, CEO of Moharam and Itani Developers, told Xinhua. But the luck in acquiring an apartment or any other real estate property depends, to a great extent, on developers’ need for money, Moharam said. “If developers are indebted to banks, they may accept checks … and deposit these checks in their accounts to settle their loans to banks,” he explained. However, developers not in need of money are not selling for fear of a possible haircut of their deposits, said Raja Makarem, chairman and founder of Ramco Real Estate Advisors. “In this case, developers prefer to keep their properties instead of depositing higher amounts of money in banks,” he added. Meanwhile, people in Lebanon have also been trying to invest in gold but jewellers say they refuse payments by credit card or check. “We have a great demand for gold but we cannot sell gold in return for virtual money such as checks or credit cards,” Yasser Younes, owner of a jewellery shop in Verdun, told Xinhua. “We only sell for cash,” he said. Two other jewellers, respectively in Hamra and ABC mall, also confirmed the cash-only payments in gold transactions, adding credit cards and check payments are only accepted for regular fashion jewellery items such as pendants.