by timesnownews.com -- Former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who skipped bail in Japan and fled to Beirut, is due to be summoned by Lebanon's public prosecutor next week, an official said Friday. The Lebanese authorities have already stressed that Ghosn -- who holds the French, Lebanese and Brazilian nationalities -- had entered the country legally and that Beirut had no extradition agreement with Japan. An official speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity said a summons was expected to be handed to Ghosn next week, as a result of Interpol issuing a "red notice" against him.

"The Lebanese judiciary is obliged to hear him. But it can still decide whether to arrest him or let him remain free," the official said, adding that Ghosn could be heard on January 7 or 8. Ghosn, once Japan's best paid corporate executive, was arrested in November 2018 and has been under house arrest since April, facing multiple charges of financial misconduct. Claiming the Japanese judiciary was "rigged" and that he would not receive a fair trial, Ghosn skipped bail on December 30 and flew to Beirut on a private jet. The exact circumstances of his escape remain unclear. The 65-year-old is due to talk to the press in Beirut next week. "I have not fled justice -- I have escaped injustice and political persecution," said Ghosn in a December 31 statement. An Interpol 'red notice' is a request to law enforcement across the world to provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. It is not an arrest warrant. Japan is probing how Ghosn was able to slip out and Turkey has also detained seven individuals over Ghosn's transit through Istanbul, where he changed private jets on his way to Lebanon. Ghosn, who was born in Brazil, is well connected in Lebanon, where he owns stakes in several major business ventures and firms.

GHOSN AS STAR

by Luke Coppen catholicherald.co.uk - More Catholics, more saints, more popular piety – but more persecution of Christians What will happen to the Church in the coming decade? Only God knows, but it’s still worth considering what may lie ahead in the 2020s. Here are 10 things that might happen in the next 10 years – some more likely than others.

Demographic change

If current trends continue, the Church will grow by roughly 15 million souls a year, taking the total number of Catholics beyond the 1.4 billion mark by the end of the 2020s (the highest figure in history). Most of the growth will be in Africa and Latin America, with some two million more Catholics each year in Asia. The table of the top 10 countries with the most Catholics is likely to change. The Democratic Republic of Congo, currently 10th, is likely to rise up the rankings, while Italy, France and Spain slip down. Meanwhile, the Church in the Amazon region will begin implementing the recommendations of last October’s synod of bishops. The synod proposed radical measures such as ordaining married deacons to the priesthood in order to provide the sacraments to far-flung communities. The wider Church will be watching closely to see whether Catholicism can stage a comeback in a territory where it has lost much ground.

Rising anti-Christian persecution

According to the charity Open Doors, each year around 4,000 Christians are murdered for their faith, 2,600 are detained without trial and 1,200 church buildings are attacked. There is, sadly, no reason to think this will change. Indeed, these figures may rise if (as seems likely) global instability increases. Given their lack of powerful defenders, Christian minorities from Egypt to Indonesia will continue to suffer persecution, ranging from petty discrimination to lethal violence. Expect religious freedom to shrink further in China and India, the world’s most populous

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.