LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 09/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
But this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus
Letter to the Philippians 03/07-14:”Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on August 08-09/2019
Dr. Walid Phares Comments In Two Twitters On The USA Beirut Embassy Statement
Military Judge Stops Looking into al-Basatin Suit Pending Appeal Fate
Hariri from Baabda: Solutions Imminent, Good News Soon
Hariri upbeat over Cabinet meeting prospects
PSP Says U.S. Statement Reflects Concern over Bid to 'Subdue Judiciary'
Bassil: Militias Always Resort to Intelligence Agencies and Embassies
Hizbullah Bloc Condemns 'Foreign Interferences' after U.S. Embassy Statement
Army: Lebanese side demonstrated enemy violations during tripartite meeting
UNIFIL: Del Col chairs regular tripartite meeting
Report: Salameh Talks to Arab, Western Capitals to Avert 'Any Financial Threat'
Lebanese Politician Naufal Daou: Hizbullah And Iran Control Our Political Decision-Making Process By The Power Of Their Weapons
Lebanese English-Language Daily Publishes Blank Edition over Crisis
Ibrahim meets Labor Minister, US Ambassador
Othman meets Richard, US Congress senior officials

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 08-09/2019
Trump accuses France’s Macron of sending ‘mixed signals’ to Iran
US tells commercial vessels to send Gulf transit plans in advance
Iran says US Gulf mission will ‘increase insecurity’
Syrian Regime Rejects US-Turkish Safe Zone Plan
Abbas Stresses to Congressional Delegation his Rejection of US Dictates
Israel says soldier stabbed to death in West Bank
Dragnet for terrorists who stabbed an IDF soldier to death at Gush Etzion
Manhunt Underway after Israeli Soldier Stabbed to Death
UN envoy regrets collapse of ceasefire in northwest Syria
Syrian govt: US-Turkish deal is an attack on Syria
Iraq Launches 'Will of Victory-3'
Kashmir an ‘internal affair,’ India tells Pakistan
India’s Modi: Changes in Kashmir will free it from ‘terrorism’
Hundreds of poor migrant workers flee Kashmir under lockdown
Russian military says 2 dead, 4 injured by rocket explosion
UK plans fast-track visa to attract scientists after Brexit
Jailed PKK leader says he is ready for solution with Turkish state
Pakistan suspends train service to India as Kashmir dispute continues
Hanoi says China ships have left disputed sea after month-long standoff
Venezuela government to skip Barbados talks to protest US sanctions
Volcano near Tokyo erupts, prompting warnings
Magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Turkey’s southwest

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 08-09/2019
Dr. Walid Phares Comments In Two Twitters On The USA Beirut Embassy Statement/Dr. Walid Phares/August 08/2019
Syrian Opposition Website Reveals Precise Locations Of Iranian Backed Shi’ite Militia Bases In Deir Al-Zour/MEMRI/08 August/2019
What Are the Implications of the Recent Contacts the United Arab Emirates Has Had With Iran?/Micheal Young/Carnegie MEC/August 08/2019
Analysis/ Egypt Praised for Economic Reforms, but Millions of Egyptians Barely Survive/Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/August 08/2019
Killing Free Speech in France, Germany and on the Internet/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/August 08/2019
A moment of truth for Trump as survivors of religious persecution visit White House/Tala Jarjour/Arab News/August 08, 2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on August 08-09/2019
Dr. Walid Phares Comments In Two Twitters On The USA Beirut Embassy Statement
Dr. Walid Phares/August 08/2019
1-The statement by the US embassy in Lebanon towards the latest "incidents" and the legal process in the country are current US official policy. No need to imagine other layers. It mirrors, on a smaller scale, the Trump Administration's approach to events in Venezuela. Up to the Lebanese to move wherever direction they wish, to regain their freedom.
2-Just organize a massive demonstration against Hezbollah's domination so that whatever attention is left worldwide would pay attention to you. Right now, no one knows, no one cares. Sorry for the bluntness, but after decades of experience...

Military Judge Stops Looking into al-Basatin Suit Pending Appeal Fate
Naharnet/August 08/2019
Military Examining Magistrate Marcel Bassil has decided to stop looking into the lawsuit filed over the al-Basatin incident pending a ruling from the Beirut civilian court of appeals, which is mulling the possibility of recusing Bassil for lack of jurisdiction, the National News Agency reported on Thursday. “Judge Bassil’s decision comes in line with the text of Article 125 of the civilian trials penal code,” NNA said. Defense lawyer for several defendants, Nashaat al-Hasaniyeh, had filed a request to recuse Bassil, the agency noted.

Hariri from Baabda: Solutions Imminent, Good News Soon
Naharnet/August 08/2019
Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Thursday sounded an upbeat tone regarding the possibility of resolving the row over the deadly Qabrshmoun incident in the coming days. “The meeting was very positive and the solutions are imminent,” said Hariri after talks with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace. “I’m more optimistic than before and God willing, you will hear good news soon,” Hariri added. General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who is playing a mediation role, had joined the meeting between the two leaders. LBCI television meanwhile reported that Ibrahim met with MP Talal Arslan following the Baabda meeting.Quoting unnamed sources, LBCI said “the atmosphere is positive and in light of  the outcome of Maj. Gen. Ibrahim’s contacts the next step will be decided.”“Either the contacts manage to reach a solution, under which the Cabinet would convene Friday or Saturday, or else things would return to square one,” the sources added. Ibrahim later headed to Ain el-Tineh for talks with Speaker Nabih Berri, according to media reports. A Cabinet session was abruptly adjourned in the wake of the Qabrshmoun incident and the Council of Ministers has not convened since that meeting. Two bodyguards of State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib were killed in the incident and his party has insisted that the case should be referred to the Judicial Council, a demand opposed by the Progressive Socialist Party and its allies.

Hariri upbeat over Cabinet meeting prospects
Georgi Azar/ Annahar/8 August 2019
Political infighting over the case has forced Hariri to paralyze the government, as the Progressive Socialist Party's feud with the Free Patriotic Movement escalates.
BEIRUT: A day after the U.S embassy in Lebanon called for impartiality in the Qabrshamoun judicial review, Prime Minister Saad Hariri expressed "optimism" in breaking the month-long Cabinet deadlock.
Speaking following his meeting with President Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace Thursday, Hariri signaled an end in sight, saying "good news" will be announced soon. Political infighting over the case has forced Hariri to paralyze the government, as the Progressive Socialist Party's feud with the Free Patriotic Movement escalates. On Wednesday, the U.S embassy called for a "fair and transparent judicial review" of the deadly Qabrshamoun incident "free of political interference," adding that "any attempt to use the tragic June 30 event in Qabr el-Shamoun to advance political objectives should be rejected."

PSP Says U.S. Statement Reflects Concern over Bid to 'Subdue Judiciary'

Naharnet/August 08/2019
The Progressive Socialist Party on Thursday voiced support for the statement issued by the U.S. embassy in Beirut regarding the Qabrshmoun incident. “The statement reflects the West’s concern over what is happening in Lebanon, from the attempt to subdue the judiciary and blatantly interfere in its affairs to the attempt to fabricate a file that does not match the results of the investigations,” the PSP said in a statement reported by LBCI television. The embassy statement said that the United States “supports fair and transparent judicial review without any political interference.”“Any attempt to use the tragic June 30 event in (Qabrshmoun) to advance political objectives should be rejected. The U.S. has conveyed in clear terms to Lebanese authorities our expectation that they will handle this matter in a way that achieves justice without politically motivated inflammation of sectarian or communal tensions,” the statement added. The Free Patriotic Movement, Hizbullah and some of their allies have slammed the statement as an “interference” in the affairs of Lebanon and its judiciary.

Bassil: Militias Always Resort to Intelligence Agencies and Embassies
Naharnet/August 08/2019
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Wednesday launched a vitriolic attack on political rivals, describing them as anti-state “militias.” “They built their castles with extortion money and the state's money and from selling arms and drugs and yet they're accusing us of corruption,” Bassil said during an FPM ceremony. “Militias are always linked to foreign forces, they gather and ally against the state and they always resort to intelligence agencies and embassies,” Bassil added, in an apparent jab at the Progressive Socialist Party and the U.S. embassy in Lebanon. The U.S. embassy had earlier in the day issued a statement in which it stressed that “any attempt to use the tragic June 30 event in (Qabrshmoun) to advance political objectives should be rejected.”“We will not allow a Druze-Christian problem in Mt. Lebanon and we are working steadily for partnership and we won’t back down no matter how much lies they spread,” Bassil added. Referring to the Qabrshmoun incident, Bassil said “the road was blocked and an attack occurred against ministers and MPs visiting their regions and people.”“The facts are clear and any military, judicial or criminal judiciary will not be able to evade them,” he added. “We will not take permission from anyone to enter into our houses in Mount Lebanon and we will not tolerate the presence of feudal fiefdoms,” Bassil went on to say. “Today you are witnessing the approach of the militia versus the approach of the state,” he added.

Hizbullah Bloc Condemns 'Foreign Interferences' after U.S. Embassy Statement

Naharnet/August 08/2019
Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc on Thursday decried “foreign interferences” in Lebanon’s affairs, a day after the U.S. embassy in Beirut issued a rare statement regarding the Qabrshmoun incident. “Experiences have proved that the exchange of tirades and bickering among the parties cannot produce a solution or resolve a problem, and that foreign interferences in the domestic affairs are condemned, whatever their source may be, because they do not serve the national interest or care about the country’s welfare,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting. “In the face of the continuous economic deterioration in the country, we call for devising the appropriate solutions to resume the country’s functioning and we urge everyone to cooperate to achieve the public interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese,” the statement added. Hizbullah's media department issued a statement later on Thursday, describing the U.S. move as "a blatant and insolent interference in Lebanese internal affairs" and "a severe insult to the state and its constitutional and judicial institutions."The U.S. embassy statement issued Wednesday said that Washington “supports fair and transparent judicial review without any political interference.” “Any attempt to use the tragic June 30 event in (Qabrshmoun) to advance political objectives should be rejected. The U.S. has conveyed in clear terms to Lebanese authorities our expectation that they will handle this matter in a way that achieves justice without politically motivated inflammation of sectarian or communal tensions,” the statement added.The Progressive Socialist Party has accused ministers and judges loyal to President Michel Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement of meddling in the judiciary in a bid to dictate the outcome of the probe.

Army: Lebanese side demonstrated enemy violations during tripartite meeting

NNA -Thu 08 Aug 2019
A regular tripartite meeting took place at the UN position in Ras al-Naqoura today, under the chairmanship of UNFIIL Commander Major General Stefano Del Col, in presence of a delegation of Lebanese army officers chaired by General Amine Farhat, the Lebanese army indicated in a statement on Thursday. "The Lebanese side renewed commitment to preserving security stability along the southern borders in coordination with the UNIFIL, as well as to avoiding any escalation in accordance with resolution 1701 and its provisions," the statement read. It added that during the meeting, the Lebanese side had demonstrated the Israeli enemy violations of Lebanon's land, airspace and waters, and called upon the UN and the international community to condemn and work on ceasing these breaches. Moreover, the Lebanese side maintained that the enemy must pull out from Shebaa farms, Kfarshouba hills and the northern part of al-Ghajar town, and highlighted Lebanon's full right to its sea water.

UNIFIL: Del Col chairs regular tripartite meeting
NNA - Thu 08 Aug 2019
UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col today chaired a regular Tripartite meeting at the UN position in Ras Al Naqoura on Thursday. A statement by the UNIFIL indicated that "discussions focused on the situation along the Blue Line, air and ground violations as well as other issues within the scope of UN Security Council resolution 1701 and related resolutions."It added: "Noting that the situation in the UNIFIL area of operations remains calm, Major General Del Col underlined the importance of proactive initiatives to further strengthen the security infrastructure along the Blue Line as a step towards sustainable peace.""We must believe that peace is possible; and indeed, peace can begin from you in the tripartite," the UNIFIL head stated, noting that the onus was on the parties to take advantage of UNIFIL’s facilitation to move forward in this direction. To that end, Del Col called for creating renewed momentum in the Blue Line marking process by working on non-contentious Blue Line points as a "constructive confidence-building measure" that could be leveraged to resolve in parallel the contentious areas so that the Blue Line could be marked in its entirety. He added that continued use of UNIFIL’s liaison and coordination mechanism -- especially when planning to carry out works in or around contentious or sensitive areas -- would reduce points of friction, ease tension and significantly contribute to the overall calm prevailing between the parties on the ground. The UNIFIL head also reiterated his call on the parties that any activity close to the Blue Line should be predictable, with sufficient prior notification to allow for coordination, so as to avoid misunderstandings and prevent incidents. Tripartite meetings have been held regularly under the auspices of UNIFIL since the end of the 2006 war in south Lebanon as an essential conflict management and confidence building mechanism.

Report: Salameh Talks to Arab, Western Capitals to Avert 'Any Financial Threat'
Naharnet/August 08/2019
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh has communicated with several Arab and Western capitals in an attempt to avert "any possible threat, especially to the monetary situation," a media report said. "Salameh explained the current situation to the Arab and foreign officials whom he communicated with, urging them to stand by Lebanon in this critical period and to find technical monetary solutions regardless of the local and foreign political crises," Nidaa al-Watan daily reported on Thursday. "The governor sensed the presence of limited and specific solutions, amid Arab and international dismay over the Lebanese government's policies and the disputes of its components," the newspaper added. "Some Arab countries are mulling the possibility of depositing significant sums of money in Banque du Liban but are at the same time expressing certain reservations," the daily said.

Lebanese Politician Naufal Daou: Hizbullah And Iran Control Our Political Decision-Making Process By The Power Of Their Weapons
MEMRI/August 08/2019
Lebanese journalist and politician Naufal Daou, a member of the March 14 Alliance, said in an August 5, 2019 interview on LDC TV (Lebanon) that Lebanon's political decision-making process is controlled undemocratically by Hizbullah, which he said represents Iran and its interests. He said that Hizbullah imposed itself on Lebanon by force, but that there is resistance to this among the Lebanese people, who he said oppose the current reality. Naufal Daou: "The political decision-making [process] is held undemocratically by Hizbullah. Hizbullah has forced itself into power using its weapons, just as the Syrian occupation had forced itself on Lebanon using its weapons. This did not prevent the existence of resistance among the Lebanese, which prevented the Syrian occupation from swallowing the country entirely.
"Today, the Iranian occupation of Lebanon, which is manifest in Hizbullah's armed control of the country, holds the political decision-making [process] and runs daily life here, but there is resistance on the part of the people, who oppose this."

Lebanese English-Language Daily Publishes Blank Edition over Crisis
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 8 August, 2019
The Daily Star, Lebanon's only English-language newspaper, protested on Thursday the country's deteriorating economic and political conditions by refraining from publishing news articles. Each page of Thursday’s edition bore a single phrase referring to one of the country's problems, including government deadlock, rising public debt, increasing sectarian rhetoric and unemployment. The back page had a photo of the cedar tree, a national symbol, with a caption reading: "Wake up before it's too late!" Lebanon has been in the grip of an economic crisis for months, and the government has not met since a deadly June 30 shooting in a Mount Lebanon village amid demands to refer the case to the Judicial Council. The country’s national debt is also hovering around $85 billion, or 150 percent of gross domestic product. “Despite the worsening political, economic, financial and social problems, there is still time to save the country. This requires a collaborative effort from all sides and sacrificing for the good of the country,” the newspaper said on its website. The daily's Lebanon and online editor Joseph Habboush said Thursday's move sought to convey alarm to the ruling class. "We wanted to deliver a warning to the politicians and officials that the situation has reached an alarming level," he said. In October last year, the country's oldest newspaper An-Nahar printed an entirely blank issue to protest a political deadlock over forming a cabinet.

Ibrahim meets Labor Minister, US Ambassador
NNA - Thu 08 Aug 2019
General Security Chief, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, met Thursday with Minister of Labor, Kamil Abu Sleiman, with whom he discussed the current general situation and the issue of foreign workforce in Lebanon. Ibrahim later met with US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, and an accompanying delegation of the Senate Committee on Intelligence. Talks reportedly touched on the latest local and regional developments in addition to the bilateral cooperation between the General Security and the US apparatuses.

Othman meets Richard, US Congress senior officials

NNA - Thu 08 Aug 2019
Internal Security Forces (ISF) Chief, Imad Othman, on Thursday received at his Barracks office US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, and an accompanying delegation of the US Congress senior officials. Talks reportedly touched on the general security situation in the country.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 08-09/2019
Trump accuses France’s Macron of sending ‘mixed signals’ to Iran

Reuters, Washington/Thursday, 08 August/2019
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said no one is authorized to speak to Iran on behalf of the United States and he accused French President Emmanuel Macron of sending “mixed signals” to Tehran over possible talks. “I know Emmanuel means well, as do all others, but nobody speaks for the United States but the United States itself,” Trump said in a series of tweets. It was not immediately clear what Trump was referring to, but a report earlier this week said Macron had invited Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to this month’s G7 summit to meet Trump. A French diplomat denied the report on Wednesday.

US tells commercial vessels to send Gulf transit plans in advance
Reuters, Dubai/Thursday, 8 August 2019
The US maritime agency has told US-flagged commercial vessels they should send transit plans in advance to American and British naval authorities if they intend to sail in Gulf waters following several incidents over tankers involving Iran. The seizure of commercial vessels and attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz have unsettled shipping lanes that link Middle Eastern oil producers to global markets. The United States, which has increased its military forces in the region, has blamed Iran for blasts on several tankers near the Strait, a charge Tehran denies. Britain said on Monday it was joining the United States in a maritime security mission in the Gulf to protect vessels after Iran seized a British-flagged tanker. “Heightened military activity and increased political tensions in this region continue to pose serious threats to commercial vessels,” the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) said in an advisory on Wednesday. “Associated with these threats is a potential for miscalculation or misidentification that could lead to aggressive actions,” it added. Ships should also alert the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations in the event of any incident or suspicious activity. It warned they could face interference to their global positioning systems (GPS). MARAD said in at least two incidents involving commercial vessels and Iran since May 2019 ships had reported interference with their GPS and “spoofed” communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be US or other warships. It advised crews to decline Iranian forces permission to board if the safety of the ship and crew would not be at risk but said they should not forcibly resist any boarding party. Traffic through the Strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes, has become the focus for a standoff between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump quit a 2015 nuclear pact and re-imposed sanctions on Tehran. Iran says the responsibility of securing these waters lies with Tehran and other countries in the region. “The maritime coalition that US is trying to form will create more instability and insecurity,” Iran’s Defense Minister Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency on Thursday during phone calls with his counterparts from Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. Washington is lobbying other nations to join the coalition along with Britain, which has the largest naval presence in the area after the United States. Britain’s P&O Cruises said it had cancelled cruises around Dubai and the Gulf because of the increased tensions.

Iran says US Gulf mission will ‘increase insecurity’
AFP, Tehran/Thursday, 8 August 2019
Iran’s Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on Thursday that the formation of a US-led flotilla in the Gulf would “increase insecurity” and any Israeli involvement would have “disastrous consequences” for the region. Tehran and Washington have been locked in a battle of nerves since US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran last year and re-imposed sanctions. Tensions have soared in the region, with drones downed and tankers mysteriously attacked in Gulf waters. Washington and its Gulf allies have accused the Islamic republic of the tanker attacks, which Tehran denies.
In response, the US has been seeking to form a coalition whose mission- dubbed Operation Sentinel - it says is to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Gulf. Britain, which already has warships on protection duty in the Gulf after a UK-flagged tanker was seized by Iranian Revolutionary Guards, has said it will join the planned operation. But other European countries have kept out, for fear it might harm European efforts to reach a negotiated settlement with Iran. Iran has seized three tankers in the Gulf since last month, including the British-flagged vessel. The ship seizures came after British Royal Marines helped to impound a tanker carrying Iranian oil off the British overseas territory of Gibraltar on July 4, alleging it was destined for EU-sanctioned Syria, an accusation Iran denies.

Syrian Regime Rejects US-Turkish Safe Zone Plan
Asharq Al Awsat/Thursday, 8 August, 2019
The Syrian regime said on Thursday that an agreement between Ankara and Washington over northeastern Syria represented a "blatant attack" on Damascus's territorial unity and a "dangerous escalation". The agreement setting up a joint operation center to manage a safe zone at the Turkish border showed "American-Turkish partnership in the aggression against Syria", state news agency SANA cited a foreign ministry source as saying. The US-Turkish "aggression" represented "a dangerous escalation and a threat to peace and stability in the area," the source added, according to The Associated Press.
Damascus said the planned zone "serves Turkey's expansionist ambitions," accusing both Ankara and Washington of violating its sovereignty. A senior Syrian Kurdish official welcome the deal. "This deal may mark the start of a new approach but we still need more details," Aldar Khalil told AFP on Thursday. "We will evaluate the agreement based on details and facts, not headlines," he noted. In recent weeks, Turkish media have repeatedly shown images of military convoys heading for the border area, carrying equipment and fighting units.

Abbas Stresses to Congressional Delegation his Rejection of US Dictates
Ramallah - Kifah Zboun/Asharq Al Awsat/Thursday, 8 August, 2019 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received at his office in Ramallah on Wednesday a delegation of Democrats from the US Congress despite his boycott of the Trump administration since December 2017. Abbas told the delegation, which was headed by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, that he insists on a two-state solution in line with international resolutions. He expressed his rejection of the “US dictates and decisions related to Jerusalem, refugees, borders and security.”He also noted that Israel “has not respected the bilateral agreements signed under international legitimacy, and insists on destroying them, prompting the Palestinian leadership to halt their implementation.” The delegation members, for their part, supported the two-state solution and peace achievement, while Abbas answered questions regarding the possibility of achieving peace between the Palestinians and Israel.
A committee formed and chaired by Abbas will meet to put a plan and suspend the agreements signed with Israel. The committee decided to continue its work away from the media spotlight in order to come up with a peaceful and applicable plan. There is no time frame for the committee, which is set to submit recommendations to the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). It has begun working to implement a decision taken by Abbas late July to suspend all agreements with Israel, a few days after Israel destroyed more than 100 Palestinian housing units in Wadi Homs, east of Jerusalem. "We will not bow to dictates and imposing a fait accompli by force in Jerusalem and elsewhere," Abbas said back then. “There is no peace, no security and no stability in our region and the whole world without our Palestinian people receiving their full rights,” Abbas added. The Oslo agreement and its security and economic implications are being tackled. However, this is not the first time that the Palestinian leadership announces such decisions.

Israel says soldier stabbed to death in West Bank
Reuters, Ofra/Thursday, 8 August 2019
An Israeli soldier was found stabbed to death near a Jewish settlement outside the Palestinian city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the military said. Israeli media said the soldier was missing before he was found killed and his body left by the side of a road. The military’s statement did not provide any such details nor accuse anyone in the killing. It described the soldier as a Jewish seminary student. Hebron and surrounding Israeli settlements have often been a flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.

Dragnet for terrorists who stabbed an IDF soldier to death at Gush Etzion
DebkaFile/August 08/2019
An 18-year old Yeshiva student, who had just joined up for military service, was found dead with stab wounds early Thursday, Aug. 8 in Gush Etzion. The family has been informed. The IDF reported in a communique: When on Wednesday night, the victim’s family reported he had been out of contact for several hours, search teams were sent out to scour the neighborhood. Before dawn, his body was found abandoned at the entrance to Kibbutz Migdal Oz with lethal stab wounds. He has since been named as Dvir (Yehuda) Sorek, nearly 19, resident of Ofra, whose grandfather Rabbi Binyamin Herling was murdered by terrorists at Mt. Eval in 2001.Details of the attack are being investigated, although the young soldier was obviously abducted and murdered by terrorists. He was a resident of the Binyamin region and a student at the Migdal Oz Yeshiva. He had registered for military service but not yet had a chance to undertake any duties. Extensive IDF, Police and Shin Bet teams have spread out through Gush Etzion and its environs and set up roadblocks in the hunt for the terrorists who are believed to have gone to ground at a prepared hideout.

Manhunt Underway after Israeli Soldier Stabbed to Death
Asharq Al Awsat/Thursday, 8 August, 2019 -
An Israeli soldier's body was found with multiple stab wounds near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank south of Jerusalem on Thursday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was killed by a Palestinian attacker. The incident sparked a manhunt by security forces and risked boosting Israeli-Palestinian tensions weeks ahead of September 17 Israeli polls. It occurred between Bethlehem and the flashpoint city of Hebron in the West Bank. "Today in the early morning hours, a soldier's body was found with stabbing marks on it adjacent to a (Jewish) community north of Hebron," Israel's army said in a statement, while not immediately accusing anyone. Troops, police and the Shin Bet intelligence agency were searching the area, it said. Netanyahu called it "a serious stabbing attack." He said security forces are now in pursuit to capture the attacker, he said in a statement. Newly drafted 19-year-old Dvir Sorek was a student at a yeshiva -- or Jewish seminary -- in the settlement of Migdal Oz, near where the body was found. He was in a program that combined military service with religious study, the seminary head told Israeli public radio. Israeli police were blocking access to the area around where the body was found on Thursday and medics were at the scene, an AFP correspondent said. The body appeared to have been located around 30 to 40 meters outside the gate of the settlement. Thursday's incident came at a sensitive time, with Israel heading towards a general election on September 17. It also occurred just ahead of Eid al-Adha holiday. Netanyahu is widely seen as wanting to avoid a major flare-up in either the West Bank or the Gaza Strip before the elections, but he will also likely face political pressure to act firmly.

UN envoy regrets collapse of ceasefire in northwest Syria
Reuters, Geneva/Thursday, 8 August 2019
The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Thursday regretted the collapse of a ceasefire in the northwest, saying that fresh violence threatens the lives of millions after more than 500 civilians were killed since late April. Pedersen noted the agreement between the United States and Turkey deal announced on Wednesday to set up “safe zone” in northeast Syria. “Humanitarian actors are increasingly concerned by statements suggesting a possible military intervention, which would have severe humanitarian consequences in an area that has already witnessed years of military activity, displacement, droughts and floods,” he said in a statement. On Thursday, the Syrian government said that an agreement between Turkey and the United States over northeastern Syria represented a “blatant attack” on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial unity and a “dangerous escalation.”

Syrian govt: US-Turkish deal is an attack on Syria
Reuters, Beirut/Istanbul/Thursday, 8 August 2019
The Syrian government said on Thursday that an agreement between Turkey and the United States over northeastern Syria represented a “blatant attack” on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial unity and a “dangerous escalation.”The agreement setting up a joint operation center to manage a strip of territory at the Turkish border showed “American-Turkish partnership in the aggression against Syria,” state news agency SANA cited a foreign ministry source as saying. The US-Turkish “aggression” represented “a dangerous escalation and a threat to peace and stability in the area.”Turkey and the United States said on Wednesday that they agreed to establish a joint operation center in Turkey to coordinate and manage a planned safe zone in northern Syria. After three days of talks in Ankara, the two countries said the safe zone on Syria’s northeast border with Turkey should be a “peace corridor,” and that every effort would be made so that Syrians displaced by war can return to their country.

Iraq Launches 'Will of Victory-3'
Baghdad- Hamza Mustafa//Asharq Al Awsat/Thursday, 8 August, 2019
After the US Defense Department announced that ISIS has reemerged in Iraq and Syria, Iraqi forces have launched “Will of Victory-3” operation against ISIS operatives in Diyala, al-Anbar, Nineveh, and Kirkuk provinces. A recent report by a Pentagon inspector general warned that despite losing its territorial “caliphate, ISIS solidified its insurgent capabilities in Iraq and was re-surging in Syria.” The report noted that ISIS has been able to regroup and sustain operations in Iraq and Syria in part because the armed forces of both countries “remain unable to sustain long-term operations, conduct multiple operations simultaneously, or hold territory that they have cleared of ISIS militants.”Iraqi officials acknowledge the existence of ISIS sleeper cells and recruitment of new members despite the military victory over the organization in 2017, as recently disclosed by the head of Hawks intelligence unit of the Interior Ministry. However, Iraqi experts and officials shrug off Western and US fears of ISIS reemergence similar to 2017. Expert on armed groups, Hisham al-Hashemi, told Asharq Al-Awsat that ISIS remnants have been active in the axis west of Saladin, southern Nineveh, and northern Anbar, and another northeast of Diyala and eastern Saladin, and southern Kirkuk, however, its resurgence west of Iraq is different than that east of Iraq. He explained that its structure in western Iraq is predominantly of local tribes unlike eastern Iraq, where militants of non-local tribes constitute a clear majority. He noted that confessions of ISIS remnants arrested in 2018 and 2019 showed that the majority of them had a negative opinion on ISIS' approach and doctrine, adding that they only joined the terrorist organization for financial reasons. Hashemi declared that Iraq requires a clear strategic support, which the government can’t seem to acknowledge the need for. It considers reconciling with the Iraqi people as its only strategic and practical support. The mere military defeat of ISIS in areas of the Sunni majority to the west and east of Iraq is vital, however, it does not make any radical difference if stabilization, reconstruction programs, and issues of displaced citizens are not addressed as planned. Meanwhile, Military Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense announced the infiltration and dismantling of an ISIS cell near Mosul. The Directorate issued a statement indicating it had conducted a qualitative operation against an ISIS terrorist cell in al-Karama neighborhood on the right side of Mosul. All elements of the cell were arrested, as investigations revealed they were planning to carry out terrorist operations. Authorities seized their possessions including memory cards containing important information and documents, in addition to books promoting ISIS rhetoric.

Kashmir an ‘internal affair,’ India tells Pakistan
AFP, New Delhi/Thursday, 8 August 2019
India on Thursday hit back at nuclear rival Pakistan’s downgrading of diplomatic ties over its clampdown on Kashmir, saying its decision to strip the restive region of its autonomy was an “internal affair.”India stripped Kashmir of its special status in the constitution on Monday and brought the region under its direct rule, angering Pakistan which has a competing claim to the Muslim-majority state. Pakistan responded by downgrading its diplomatic ties with India Wednesday, announcing that it would expel the Indian envoy and suspend trade as the row between the neighbors deepened. The countries have fought two wars over Kashmir. “The recent developments pertaining to Article 370 are entirely the internal affair of India,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “Seeking to interfere in that jurisdiction by invoking an alarmist vision of the region will never succeed.”New Delhi slammed Pakistan’s actions as “alarmist,” adding that its move would boost economic development in the Himalayan region. The diplomatic spat came as media reports said more than 500 people were rounded up in the latest crackdown in Indian Kashmir, which is under a strict curfew to suppress any unrest in response to the loss of autonomy. University professors, business leaders, and activists were among the 560 people taken to makeshift detention centers – some during midnight raids – in the cities of Srinagar, Baramulla, and Gurez, the Press Trust of India and the Indian Express reported. The detentions came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to address the nation on the radio later Thursday to explain his Hindu nationalist government’s decision. Tens of thousands of Indian troops are enforcing the lockdown which includes no internet or phone services, and are allowing only limited movement on streets usually bustling with tourists flocking to the picturesque valley. Experts warn that the valley is likely to erupt in anger at the government’s shock unilateral move once the restrictions are lifted, which could come as soon as the Muslim festival of Eid on Monday. Late Wednesday India’s aviation security agency advised airports across the country to step up security as “civil security has emerged as a soft target for terrorist attacks” on the back of the Kashmir move.

India’s Modi: Changes in Kashmir will free it from ‘terrorism’
The Associated Press, New Delhi/Thursday, 8 August 2019
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the nation on Thursday night that he stripped Kashmir of its statehood and special constitutional status in order to free the disputed Himalayan region of “terrorism and separatism.”Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government imposed an unprecedented security lockdown and a near-total communications blackout in the Muslim-majority region since Sunday night, arresting more than 500 people. Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and its archrival Pakistan, although each controls only a part of it and rebels have been fighting Indian rule in the portion it administers for decades.
This week, India downgraded the divided region from statehood to a territory, limited its decision-making power and eliminated its right to its own constitution. In a nationally broadcast speech, Modi described the changes for Jammu and Kashmir, as the region is formally known, as historic. He assured its residents that the situation will soon “return to normal gradually,” although he gave no specifics.
Modi said the “mainstreaming” of the Kashmiri people with the rest of the nation would expedite development and create new jobs with investment from public and private companies. He accused neighboring Pakistan of using the past arrangement “as a weapon to incite people of the region against India.”“I have complete faith under this new system we all will be able to free Jammu and Kashmir of terrorism and separatism,” Modi said. Pakistan responded to India’s action by saying it would downgrade diplomatic ties with New Delhi, expel the Indian ambassador and suspend trade and a key train service with India. Prime Minister Imran Khan told Pakistan’s National Security Committee that his government will use all diplomatic channels “to expose the brutal Indian racist regime” and human rights violations in Kashmir, the government’s statement said. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Islamabad is not considering any military action, looking instead at its political and legal options.
State-run All India Radio, which reported on the arrests without details, also said that cross-border firing by Indian and Pakistani troops hit the Rajouri sector of the Indian-controlled Kashmir late Wednesday. Many people there remain holed up in their homes. Activist Ali Mohammed told broadcaster New Delhi Television that he has been organizing ambulances to carry sick poor people to hospitals in Srinagar, the main city in India’s portion of Kashmir, since residents can’t even use phones to ask for medical help. “It’s hell,” a patient told the television channel. Modi’s national security adviser Ajit Doval visited the region on Wednesday to assess the law and order situation in the country’s only Muslim-majority state where most people oppose Indian rule. The insurgency that began in 1989 and India’s ensuing crackdown have killed more than 70,000 people. A petition was filed meanwhile in India’s top court challenging the lockdown. Opposition Congress party activist Tehseen Poonawalla said he expected the Supreme Court to hear his petition Thursday seeking immediate lifting of curfew and other restrictions, including blocking of phone lines, internet and news channels in Kashmir.
He also sought the immediate release of Kashmiri leaders who have been detained, including Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. India said it regretted Pakistan’s steps and said in a statement that “the intention behind these measures is obviously to present an alarming picture to the world of our bilateral ties.”The External Affairs Ministry said it was not surprising that Pakistan has negatively perceived India’s decision to end Kashmir’s special status as Islamabad “has used such sentiments to justify its cross-border terrorism.’”Describing India’s latest steps in Kashmir as an internal matter, the statement urged Pakistan to review its decision to downgrade ties so that normal channels for diplomatic communications are preserved. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said authorities were considering a proposal to approach the International Court of Justice against India for its action. He condemned the imposition of communications blackout and security clampdown, saying “Kashmir has been converted into the world’s biggest jail” by India by forcing people to stay at homes.
“They are taking such actions in a panic,” he said. “They (India) have touched something they don’t know how to get out of it,” Faisal said. He said actions taken by India in the divided Kashmir region were even being opposed by the Indian opposition and media. He said someone in India challenged the move about change in Kashmir’s status. Faisal said Pakistan never shut doors for talks with India in the past but India never positively responded to such offers from Islamabad. “Only they can say what they want now,” he said. He said Pakistan had apprised Washington and many other countries about India’s actions. “We will continue to extend political diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiris people in their struggle” aimed at getting right of self-determination, he said. An uneasy calm prevailed along the Line of Control in Pakistan’s part of Kashmir, where people living in border villages were awaiting government instruction to migrate to safer places, although some residents had already moved to nearby towns. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence over control of Kashmir. The first war ended in 1948 with a UN-brokered cease-fire that left Kashmir divided and promised its people a UN-sponsored referendum on the region’s future. Pakistan said it would ask the United Nations to pressure India to reverse its decision. The government in Islamabad also said it would give diplomatic, political and moral support to people living in Kashmir and their “right of self-determination.”

Hundreds of poor migrant workers flee Kashmir under lockdown

The Associated Press, Jammu /Thursday, 8 August 2019
Hit by a complete security lockdown in Kashmir, hundreds of poor migrant workers have begun fleeing the Himalayan region to return to their far-away villages in northern and eastern India. Some complained on Wednesday that their Kashmiri employers didn’t pay them any salary as security forces began imposing tight travel restrictions over the weekend and asked them to leave their jobs. Authorities in Hindu-majority India clamped a complete shutdown on Kashmir as they scrapped the Muslim-majority state’s special status, including exclusive hereditary rights and a separate constitution, and divided it into two territories. The Kashmir region is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed by both. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars, two of them over control of Kashmir, since they won independence from British colonialists in 1947. Pakistan announced Wednesday that it is downgrading its diplomatic ties with India and suspending bilateral trade in response to New Delhi’s decision to reduce Kashmir’s special status. On Wednesday, workers crowded the railroad station at Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir state, as they waited for trains bound for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. They carried their belongings on their heads and under their arms, tied in bedsheets. Worker Jagdish Mathur said many people walked for miles (kilometers) on a highway and hitched rides on army trucks and buses from Srinagar to Jammu, a distance of 260 kilometers (160 miles). “We haven’t eaten properly for the past four days,” said Mathur, adding that he doesn’t have money to buy a rail ticket to take him to his village in eastern Bihar state. “The government should help me.”Surjit Singh, a carpenter, told the New Delhi television channel that he was returning home because of Kashmir’s security lockdown. Every year, tens of thousands of people travel to Kashmir from various Indian states looking for work, mainly masonry, carpentry and agriculture. Whenever the security situation deteriorates, they return homes. Insurgent groups have been fighting for Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Pakistan denies.

Russian military says 2 dead, 4 injured by rocket explosion
The Associated Press, Moscow/Thursday, 8 August 2019
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that two people died and four others were wounded when a rocket engine exploded during a test. The ministry said the explosion occurred at a military shooting range in the northwestern Arkhangelsk region, causing a fire. It said a total of six servicemen and civilian engineers were injured, and two of them later died of injuries. Reuters reported that a short-term spike in radiation levels in Severodvinsk was recorded after the explosion, TASS news agency cited a spokeswoman for authorities in the northern city as saying. The Defense Ministry said earlier that radiation levels were normal. The explosion followed a massive fire that erupted Monday at a military ammunition depot near Achinsk in eastern Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk region. The blaze triggered powerful explosions that continued for about 16 hours, killing one person, injuring another 13 and forcing over 16,500 people to flee their homes.

UK plans fast-track visa to attract scientists after Brexit
The Associated Press, LondonThursday, 8 August 2019
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he plans to introduce a new fast-track visa to attract more of the world’s best scientists to the UK. Johnson said on Thursday he wanted to “ensure our immigration system attracts the very best minds from around the world.” Few details were announced. Johnson said the government would work with the scientific community on the new visa, “with a view to launching it later this year.”Britain is facing its biggest immigration shakeup in decades after it leaves the EU, currently scheduled to happen on Oct. 31. After Brexit, EU citizens will lose the automatic right to live and work in the UK, and Britons to settle in the bloc’s 27 remaining nations. That has sparked fears Britain may face shortages in key job areas.

Jailed PKK leader says he is ready for solution with Turkish state
Reuters, Istanbul/Thursday, 8 August 2019
Jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan said he is ready for a solution on the Kurdish issue and that he could stop the conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish militants within a week, his lawyers said in a statement on Thursday. Ocalan is the founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which launched a separatist insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. He has been in jail in western Turkey since 1999. According to the statement, he also said the Turkish government needed to do what is necessary for the solution to take place and that Kurds do not need a separate state.

Pakistan suspends train service to India as Kashmir dispute continues
Reuters, Islamabad/Thursday, 8 August 2019
Pakistan said on Thursday it would suspend a rail service linking it to India, as relations with its arch-rival continue to sour over the contested Kashmir region. “We have decided to shut down Samjhauta Express,” railways minister Sheikh Rasheed told a news conference on Thursday, in reference to the train running to India’s capital New Delhi from the Pakistani city of Lahore.“As long as I am railways minister, Samjhauta Express can’t operate.” On Wednesday, Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic ties with nuclear-armed rival India, announcing that it will expel the Indian envoy and suspend trade in a deepening row over New Delhi’s move to tighten its grip on disputed Kashmir.

Hanoi says China ships have left disputed sea after month-long standoff

AFP, Hanoi/Thursday, 8 August 2019
A fleet of Chinese ships has left Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, Hanoi said on Thursday, ending a tense month-long standoff in the resource-rich waterway claimed by both sides and others.
A Chinese survey vessel and several accompanying ships entered the waters around the Spratly Islands early last month, drawing ire from Hanoi, the US and the EU over Chinese increasing aggression in the resource-rich seas. Hanoi on Thursday confirmed the vessels had left its exclusive economic zone, after weeks of repeated demands to vacate. “On August 7, 2019, the group of Haiyang 8 vessels belonging to China ended its geological survey operation and left Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone,” foreign affairs ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters. She added that Vietnam has been “expressing and showing goodwill to use dialogue with relevant countries to solve disputes.”Beijing has not confirmed the presence of its ships in the area. China claims the majority of the South China Sea, often invoking its so-called nine-dash line as a supposed historic justification to the waters, which are a key global shipping route. It is accused of deploying warships, arming outposts and ramming fishing vessels in the sea, which is also contested by Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. On a trip to Thailand last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Southeast Asian nations to push back against Chinese “coercion” in the sea. The US earlier called for an end to China’s “bullying behavior” after reports of the survey ship in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone emerged. This week the EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini said the bloc was concerned over “increasing tension” in the area and slammed China’s “militarization” in the waterway.

Venezuela government to skip Barbados talks to protest US sanctions

Reuters, Caracas/Thursday, 8 August 2019
Venezuela's government will skip a round of Norway-brokered talks on Thursday and Friday to protest a new set of US sanctions meant to force President Nicolas Maduro from power, the Venezuelan information ministry said on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump on Monday imposed a freeze on Venezuelan government assets in the United States and blocked US citizens from conducting business with Maduro’s government, increasing pressure on him to quit. Maduro’s government said its delegation was withdrawing from the round of talks in Barbados aimed at resolving Venezuela's political crisis with allies of opposition leader Juan Guaido. The two sides began meeting there in July to seek a resolution to the political stalemate. “Venezuelans have noted how the leader of the opposition delegation, Juan Guaido, has celebrated and promoted these actions that are harmful to national sovereignty,” the information ministry said in a statement. “Venezuela is willing to review the mechanisms of this process such that its continuation is effective and in tune with the interests of the people,” the ministry added. Legislator Stalin Gonzalez, a member of the opposition delegation, accused the government of backtracking on its commitment to the dialogue, which began in Oslo in May. “They've spent days saying they believe in peace and in the Oslo mechanism, (but) they fear the possibility of true political change in the country,” Gonzalez wrote on Twitter. Guaido, who has been recognized by more than 50 countries including the United States as Venezuela's legitimate leader, at a rally on Wednesday said the sanctions are “penalties for those who steal and profit from misery.”In January, Guaido invoked the constitution to assume a rival interim presidency on the grounds that Maduro's 2018 re-election was fraudulent. He said on Wednesday that Maduro could help the country by abandoning the presidential palace, Miraflores, “that way the sanctions will be lifted tomorrow.”

Volcano near Tokyo erupts, prompting warnings

AFP, Tokyo/Thursday, 8 August 2019
A volcano near Tokyo has erupted for the first time in four years, throwing ash and smoke nearly two kilometers into the sky and sparking warnings not to approach the mountain. Mount Asama, some 140 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of the Japanese capital, exploded overnight and prompted the national meteorological agency to raise its alert level to three out of five, meaning people should avoid the crater. The agency warned that large rocks and fast-moving flows of hot gas could affect a radius of four kilometers from the crater and that nearby towns could be hit by smaller rocks and ash depending on prevailing winds. An agency official told AFP on Thursday that gas was still being thrown into the air but at a “normal” level. “We don’t see activity picking up,” he said. Mount Asama last erupted in June 2015. There were no injuries in the small eruption.

Magnitude 6.5 earthquake hits Turkey’s southwest

Reuters, Ankara/Thursday, 8 August 2019
An earthquake of 6.5 magnitude rocked Turkey’s southwestern city of Denizli, the country’s earthquake observatory said on Thursday. It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any casualties. The Kandilli observatory said the earthquake took place 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) underground. The USGS said the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.8.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 08-09/2019
Syrian Opposition Website Reveals Precise Locations Of Iranian Backed Shi’ite Militia Bases In Deir Al-Zour
أماكن توزع مستودعات الميليشيات الإيرانية في محافظة دير الزور
MEMRI/08 August/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/77343/memri-syrian-opposition-website-reveals-precise-locations-of-iranian-backed-shiite-militia-bases-in-deir-al-zour/
On July 30, 2019, the Syrian opposition website Ein Al-Porat published a report on its Facebook page detailing the locations of the Shi’ite militias supported by Iran in the Al-Mayadin and Deir Al-Zour region in eastern Syria. The report indicates the locations of the bases and storehouses of these forces and provides details about the weapons in their possession, as well as aerial photographs. According to the report, active in the area are Fatemiyoun militia forces, comprised of Shi’ites of Afghan origin, members of the Iraqi Al-Nujaba movement, and Hizbullah-Lebanon – all of which are U.S.-designated terror organizations. Also stationed in the area are forces of the Baqir Brigade, a Syrian militia loyal to Iran, which in the past has declared its intention to confront the American forces in Syria.[1] The report also reveals that there are anti-aircraft missiles, shoulder-fired missiles, and guided missiles in the region as well. Some of the missiles are aimed at the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are stationed on the opposite bank of the Euphrates River.
On July 2, 2019, the site published a similar report, specifying the locations of Iraqi and Lebanese Shi’ite militias supported by Iran in the Al-Bukamal area on the Syria-Iraq border.[2] These areas are of strategic importance to Iran due to their proximity to the border with Iraq, and because control over them will help Iran to realize its goal to achieve territorial contiguity from its domain up to the Mediterranean Sea and because of the presence there of American forces, which support the Kurdish forces in the area.[3]
The following is a translation of the report:[4]
1-Al-Mayadin: A Fatemiyoun militia base with 75 armed men who are also in possession of vehicles. Their mission: To patrol the city’s suburbs at night to prevent attacks from the desert.
2- Al-Mayadin: An Al-Nujaba movement base. There are approximately 100 men armed with heavy and light weapons. Their mission: To run the city of Al-Mayadin. They were sent at the instruction of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) [command] in Damascus.
3-Airport in Deir Al-Zour: Weapons storehouse which was taken over by the Iranian militias, following instructions from IRGC [command] in Damascus.
4-Deir Al-Zour: Weapons storehouses of the Iranian militia on Bur Sa’id Street, which house Iranian-manufactured missiles that were smuggled in [to Syria]. The area is closely guarded and under surveillance.
5-The city Al-Mayadin: The Baqir weapons base. There are about 100 armed men, including senior Iranian commanders, with heavy weapons, guided missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and the latest 4×4 vehicles. Their mission: To provide [weapons] to the Shi’ite militias located on the opposite bank of the Euphrates River.
6-Mahkan village-Al-Mayadin: A base situated in an agricultural area on the banks of the Euphrates, which is used by Iranian militias. There are four missile launchers aimed at Diban village, which is under the control of the SDF.
7-Mahkan village-Al-Mayadin: An Iranian militias’ base, where there are about 40 operatives with weapons, night vision equipment, and vehicles. Their mission: To surveil the movements of the SDF operatives posted on the parallel bank (the Jazira-Diban village axis).
8-The city of Al-‘Asharah on the banks of the Euphrates River: A Fatemiyoun militia base in the city of Al-‘Asharah where there are about 80 men armed with heavy and light weapons, including anti-[aircraft missiles], missile launchers, and shoulder-fired missiles.
9-Dahiyat Al-Assad-Deir Al-Zour: A Hizbullah-Lebanon militia base where there are about 40 armed fighters, and 15 of the latest 4×4 vehicles carrying anti-aircraft weapons of 12, 14.5, and 23 millimeters.
10-Dahiyat Al-Assad-Deir Al-Zour: An IRGC base in Deir Al-Zour where there are guided missiles and mortar shells. Their mission: To provide [weapons] to all the Iranian militias in Deir Al-Zour Province.
11-The city of Al-Muhassan, in the rural area of Deir Al-Zour: an Iranian militias’ base on the banks of the Euphrates, where there are 70 armed operatives who are citizens of various countries, four missile launchers, and shoulder-fired missiles aimed at Jadeed Ekedat village.
[1] Nedaa-sy.com, April 7, 2018.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8162 Syrian Opposition Website Reveals Precise Locations, In Al-Bukamal, Syria, Of Iran-Backed Shi’ite Militias’ Military Outposts And Weapons Depots, July 9, 2019.
[3] See MEMRI Special Dispatch 7790 Syrian Opposition Websites: Iran Consolidating Its Presence In Eastern Syria, West Of Euphrates, To Form Continuum From Iran, Through Iraq And Syria, To Mediterranean, December 4, 2018.
[4] Facebook.com/euphrateseye, 30/7/2019.
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What Are the Implications of the Recent Contacts the United Arab Emirates Has Had With Iran?
Micheal Young/Carnegie MEC/August 08/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/77358/77358/
*Joe Macaron | Fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, D.C.
The United Arab Emirates’ opening to Iran is tactical rather than strategic and is primarily a message to the Trump administration as their relationship has recently turned sour on several issues, including the U.S. rapprochement with Qatar. While it is true that the UAE’s economy—mainly Dubai’s—cannot afford a confrontation with Iran, the Emiratis’ calculation was that President Donald Trump would not confront Iran or protect navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and would seek to begin talks with Tehran. Hence their move seems preemptive.
There are three implications for the UAE’s opening to Iran: First, it undermines the core of the Trump administration’s strategy in the Middle East—an Arab-Israeli alliance against Iran, driven by a flawed Israeli-Palestinian deal—and it complicates the U.S. attempt to form a Gulf maritime coalition. Second, it tests the strong Saudi-UAE alliance, leaving Riyadh alone with Bahrain to rhetorically challenge Iran and with little option but to compromise with the Houthis in Yemen. And third, it might indicate a turning point for what has been an interventionist Emirati foreign policy.
*Fatima Alasrar | Policy analyst specializing in Yemen and the Gulf
For the time being, the United Arab Emirates is avoiding conflict with Iran and its militias in Yemen. The Iran-backed Houthis’ attacks on Saudi Arabia, which have been growing bolder and more deadly, as well as what appears to be Tehran’s attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf, have revealed Iran’s inclination to escalate with impunity. Tehran sent a strong message to the Gulf states that they would be the first to lose should the United States pursue military action, instead of diplomacy, with Iran. The subsequent seizure of oil tankers and inability to secure their release demonstrated that Washington is neither in a position to pressure Iran to deescalate nor to protect its allies in the region.
Furthermore, the United States has not been clear or consistent in its strategy with regard to Iran, choosing diplomatic overtures at times and threatening military action at others. Within this context, and given the high economic cost the UAE could pay if Iran and its allies decide to target it as they have the Saudis, Abu Dhabi, which tends to play a leading role in the UAE’s foreign policy, had no choice but to open this diplomatic door with its rivals in Tehran. And the UAE’s military drawdown in Yemen and deescalation around the port of Hodeida were gestures of goodwill that it was directing at Iran.
*Hussein Ibish | Senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, D.C.
The United Arab Emirates’ outreach to Iran makes perfect sense. Despite frequent claims to the contrary, the UAE has never sought a U.S.-Iran conflict, instead advocating for realistic and achievable policy changes rather than unachievable regime change in Tehran. And, while Emirati officials have welcomed the U.S. administration’s campaign of “maximum pressure” against Iran, they have been quietly warning for almost a year that there has to be a political track to translate the pressure into improved Iranian conduct.
The UAE’s longstanding concerns that it could become a primary target in any military conflict with Iran were underscored by Iran’s recent campaign of low-intensity “maximum resistance” warfare, which appears to have included the targeting of UAE oil tankers. Combined with the UAE’s decision to draw down its military presence in Yemen, all this logically leads to the UAE’s unilateral outreach to try to translate Iran’s new vulnerability into policy gains and add badly-needed carrots in dealing with Tehran to the well-established sticks.
*Ahmed Nagi | Nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut
The United Arab Emirates’ decision to revive its relationship with Iran will enable it to ensure that Iran and those aligned with it do not pose a security threat to Emirati interests. It has been reported that the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, for example, have the ability to target the UAE with their weapons. Meanwhile, such an opening will also help secure shipping lanes, energy exports, and external investment for the UAE, especially at a time when tensions are increasing in the Persian Gulf.
Internally, such step is in line with the preferences of Dubai’s leadership, which has not been happy with the military approach adopted by the UAE in its foreign policy, regarding this as danger for the country’s interests. In recent years there have been differences in viewpoints between the two key states of Abu Dhabi and Dubai over the nature of the relationship with Iran and other related issues in the region, including the Yemen war. While Abu Dhabi has viewed most of those issues through a security lens, Dubai has tended to look at them through the lens of the UAE’s economic interests.
In addition, the UAE’s strategy toward Iran will most likely be reflected in its relations with Iran’s allies in the region. For instance, in Yemen the UAE-backed southern separatists and the Houthis will find a way of reaching new understandings under the sponsorship of the UAE and Iran, respectively.

Analysis/ Egypt Praised for Economic Reforms, but Millions of Egyptians Barely Survive
زفي برئيل/هآرتس: في حين يتم الإشادة بمصر لإصلاحاتها الإقتصادية فإن ملايين من المصريين بالكاد يجدون قوتهم اليومي
Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/August 08/2019

http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/77354/%d8%b2%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%a6%d9%8a%d9%84-%d9%87%d8%a2%d8%b1%d8%aa%d8%b3-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d8%ad%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%aa%d8%aa%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%a8%d9%85%d8%b5%d8%b1/
While IMF (The International Monetary Fund) dishes out compliments, more than a third of Egypt's population lives on less than $2 a day.
It’s been many years since Egypt got so many compliments on the management of its economy. An executive summary published by the International Monetary Fund at the end of July leaves no room for doubt – Egypt is en route to improving its economy.
“Egypt has successfully completed the three-year arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility and achieved its main objectives. The macroeconomic situation has improved markedly since 2016, supported by the authorities’ strong ownership of their reform program and decisive upfront policy actions,” the report says.
The report, which was written in advance of the last payment of the $12 billion loan that Egypt received from the IMF in 2016, particularly stresses the lowering of inflation from 30 percent to 14 percent, the reduction in unemployment, a reduction in the public debt to GDP (Gross domestic product) ratio and the need to “keep public debt on a downward trajectory.” The elimination of most fuel subsidies, which passed with almost no public protest, the growth in foreign currency balances, and more effective tax collection along with giant projects like the new administrative capital being built near Cairo have boosted state revenues significantly.
But like with every such report, it must be read not only to see the sunny side of the Egyptian economy, but also its gloomier aspects.
According to a report by the government’s statistical agency, 32 percent of Egypt’s 99 million people live at the poverty line, and 6.2 percent live in extreme poverty. The definition of the poverty line is income of less than $2 a day per person, and extreme poverty is defined as a dollar a day. Poverty figures indicate that the percentage of poor people has doubled since 2000, and has climbed 5 percent since 2015.
According to an analysis by Egyptian economists, the increase in poverty is not only due to price increases since the reforms began, but mainly due to the movement of the Egyptian pound against the dollar, which more than doubled the value of the dollar and thus the price of imported goods in Egyptian pounds. This dramatic fluctuation caused the Egyptians’ purchasing power to diminish sharply, while salaries – even after the compensation that was paid mainly to civil servants – not only failed to keep up with inflation, but were eroded by 20 percent.
This income depreciation was particularly hard on middle class families, some of which found themselves skirting the poverty line. A recent article on Lebanon’s Raseef 22 website described Egypt as a “sad nation,” mainly because of people’s economic situation.
It’s hard to learn about the economic pressure from government media outlets, which are subject to scrutiny and censorship. But the average Egyptian does not need the newspapers to learn about his situation. He feels it every day when he queues in front of the government bakeries that sell pitas at a discount, or when he pays a lot more Egyptian pounds to fill his gas tank. “Falafel costs 3 pounds and koshari [street food made from macaroni batter] costs 10 pounds. A person who wants to eat this basic food has to spend 22 pounds a day,” one Twitter user wrote. “How can you live like this?”
There is difficulty developing the private sector because the military controls a significant number of projects and it doesn’t let private companies compete fairly for market share in the manufacturing or construction sectors. While privatization is a key element of the economic reform program, its implementation is sluggish – either because the military is unwilling to give up the companies it owns, or because of the fear that privatization will make large blocs of workers redundant, leaving them to join the millions of other jobseekers.
Since much of Egyptian GDP depends on domestic consumption, and given consumers’ shrinking income and purchasing power, it is hard to believe Egypt will realize its 8 percent growth target, and the conservative forecast of 5.5 percent next year is also doubtful.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi is calling on his citizens to be patient, saying the light is just around the corner and the failures of previous regimes cannot be corrected in a day. But he has been in power for six years and the public’s patience is running out.
His regime is considered stable, parliament is under his control, the army is with him, the United States and Saudi Arabia support him and gas production in the Mediterranean assures him of economic backing. But the regime of Hosni Mubarak was similarly stable before the Arab Spring flooded Egypt with boiling lava.

Killing Free Speech in France, Germany and on the Internet
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/August 08/2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14678/free-speech-france-germany-internet
In early July, France's National Assembly adopted a draft bill designed to curtail online hate speech. The draft bill gives social media platforms 24 hours to remove "hateful content" or risk fines of up to 4% percent of their global revenue. The bill has gone to the French Senate and could become law after parliament's summer recess. If it does, France will be the second country in Europe after Germany to pass a law that directly makes a social media company censor its users on behalf of the state.
Knowing that a mere Facebook post could end you up in front of a judge in court is very likely to put a decisive damper on anyone's desire to speak freely.
If Facebook's agreement with France is replicated by other European countries, whatever is left of free speech in Europe, especially on the internet, is likely to dry up fast.
While Facebook eagerly claims to be fighting hate speech online, including claiming to have removed millions of pieces of terrorist content from its platform, according to a recent report from the Daily Beast, 105 posts of some of Al Qaeda's most notorious terrorists are still up on Facebook, as well as YouTube.
When will Facebook -- and YouTube -- make it a priority to remove material featuring the terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki, whose incitement has inspired actual terrorists to kill people?
In May, France called for increasing government oversight over Facebook. Now Facebook has agreed to hand over to French judges the identification data of French users suspected of hate speech on its platform, according to France's Secretary of State for the Digital Sector, Cédric O.
Previously, according to a Reuters report, "Facebook had refrained from handing over identification data of people suspected of hate speech because it was not compelled to do so under U.S.-French legal conventions and because it was worried countries without an independent judiciary could abuse it". Until now, Reuters noted, Facebook had only cooperated with the French judiciary on matters related to terrorist attacks and violent acts by transferring the IP addresses and other identification data of suspected individuals to French judges who formally demanded it.
Now, however, "hate speech" -- as speech that fails to comply with current political orthodoxy is conveniently labelled -- appears to have become comparable to terrorism and violent crime. How autocratic, yet Cédric O apparently loves it: "This is huge news, it means that the judicial process will be able to run normally".
It is highly probable that other countries will want to have a similar agreement with Facebook; it also appears likely that Facebook would comply. In May, for instance, as France was debating legislation that would give a new "independent regulator" the power to fine tech companies up to 4% of their global revenue if they do not do enough to remove "hateful content" from their network, Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg commented: "I am hopeful that it [the French proposal] can become a model that can be used across the EU".
France is the first and so far only country to have entered into such an agreement with Facebook.
The new agreement could signal the de-facto end of free speech on Facebook for French citizens. Self-censorship in Europe is already widespread: a recent survey in Germany showed that two thirds of Germans are "very careful" about what topics they discuss in public -- Islam and migrants being the most taboo. Knowing that a mere Facebook post could end you up in front of a judge in court is very likely to put a decisive damper on anyone's desire to speak freely.
French authorities are already in the process of setting an extremely public example of what can happen to those who use their freedom of speech on the internet. Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally Party, was recently ordered to stand trial and could face a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($85,000) for circulating "violent messages that incite terrorism or pornography or seriously harm human dignity". In 2015, she had tweeted images of atrocities committed by ISIS in Syria and Iraq to show what ISIS was doing.
If Facebook's agreement with France is replicated by other European countries, whatever is left of free speech in Europe, especially on the internet, is likely to dry up fast.
In early July, France's National Assembly adopted a draft bill designed to curtail online hate speech. The draft bill gives social media platforms 24 hours to remove "hateful content" or risk fines of up to 4% percent of their global revenue. The bill has gone to the French Senate and could become law after parliament's summer recess. If it does, France will be the second country in Europe after Germany to pass a law that directly makes a social media company censor its users on behalf of the state.
Also in early July, in Germany -- where the censorship law, known as NetzDG, also requires Facebook to remove content within 24 hours or face fines of up to 50 million euros -- the Federal Office of Justice imposed a €2 million regulatory fine on Facebook "for the incomplete information provided in its published report [the publication of its transparency report for the first half of 2018 required under NetzDG] on the number of complaints received about unlawful content. This provides the general public with a distorted image both of the amount of unlawful content and of the social network's response".
According to Germany's Federal Office of Justice, Facebook does not inform its users sufficiently of the option to report "criminal content" in the specific "NetzDG reporting form":
"Facebook has two reporting systems in place: its standard feedback and reporting channels on the one hand, and the 'NetzDG reporting form' on the other. Users who wish to submit a complaint about criminal content under the Network Enforcement Act find themselves steered towards the standard channels, since the parallel existence of standard channels and the 'NetzDG reporting form' is not made sufficiently transparent, and the 'NetzDG reporting form' is too hidden...Where social networks offer more than one reporting channel, this must be made clear and transparent to users, and the complaints received via these channels are to be included in the transparency report. After all, procedures to handle complaints of unlawful content have a considerable impact on transparency."
In response, Facebook said: "We want to remove hate speech as quickly and effectively as possible and work to do so. We are confident our published NetzDG reports are in accordance with the law, but as many critics have pointed out, the law lacks clarity."
While Facebook claims to be fighting hate speech online, including claiming to have removed millions of pieces of terrorist content from its platform, according to a recent report from the Daily Beast, 105 posts of some of Al Qaeda's most notorious terrorists are still up on Facebook, as well as YouTube.
The terrorists include Ibrahim Suleiman al-Rubaish, who was imprisoned for more than five years in Guantanamo Bay for training with al Qaeda and fighting alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan against the United States, and Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born terrorist, both killed by American drone strikes. According to one US counter-terrorism official, speaking in September of 2016:
"If you were to look at people who had committed acts of terrorism or had been arrested and you took a poll, you'd find that the majority of them had some kind of exposure to Awlaki."
Awlaki was preaching and spreading his message of jihad in American mosques as early as the 1990s. At the Masjid Ar-Ribat al-Islami mosque in San Diego, between 1996-2000, two of the future 9/11 hijackers attended his sermons. He is also reported to have inspired several other terrorists, such as the Fort Hood terrorist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, with whom he exchanged emails, and the Tsarnaev brothers, who bombed the 2013 Boston marathon. Apparently, that sort of activity does not bother Facebook: The Daily Beast reportedly found the videos through simple searches in Arabic using only the names of the jihadists.
That Facebook appears to be "creatively" selective in how it chooses to follow its own rules is nothing new. As previously reported by Gatestone Institute, Ahmad Qadan in Sweden publicly raised funds for ISIS for two years. Facebook only deleted the posts after the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) approached Facebook. In November 2017, Ahmad was sentenced to six months in prison for using Facebook to collect money to fund weapons purchases for the ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra terror groups and for posting messages calling for "serious acts of violence primarily or disproportionately aimed at civilians with the intention of creating terror amongst the public."
In September 2018, Canadian media exposed that a Toronto terrorist leader, Zakaria Amara, while serving a life sentence for plotting Al Qaeda-inspired truck bombings in downtown Toronto, nevertheless had a Facebook page on which he posted prison photos and notes about what made him a terrorist. Only after Canadian media outlets contacted Facebook to ask about the account did Facebook delete Amara's account "for violating our community standards."
When will Facebook -- and YouTube -- make it a priority to remove material featuring the terrorist Awlaki, whose incitement has inspired actual terrorists to kill people?
*Judith Bergman, a columnist, lawyer and political analyst, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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A moment of truth for Trump as survivors of religious persecution visit White House

Tala Jarjour/Arab News/August 08, 2019
For the second year running, the United States Department of State has hosted an international meeting for government officials, religious leaders and community representatives, as well as professionals concerned with religion. The 2019 Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom was hailed as “the largest human rights ministerial ever held at the United States State Department,” by US Vice President Michael Pence.
The opening session of the three-day event in Washington, D.C., last month featured welcoming remarks by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and, on the final day, a presidential address delivered by Pence. In between, a series of presentations and plenary sessions included high-profile speakers, representatives of a large number of religious communities and charities, as well as US government officials concerned with religious affairs and interreligious relations.
Invited speakers included members of religious communities who have experienced forms of persecution because of their religions or beliefs. Some speakers had experienced persecution personally or through close family members. The version of the program published online listed these speakers as “survivor” and identified each only by their country and religion in parentheses, such as “(Sudan, Muslim),” “(New Zealand, Muslim)” or “(Eritrea, Christian).” It is not clear why the names of the survivors were omitted, while those of ministers, UN officials and representatives of international organizations were not.
One survivor, Nadia Murad, was identified by name, alongside the parenthetical country-religion note “(Iraq, Yazidi).” The Nobel Laureate spoke on the first day of the event, along with three unnamed survivors: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim from Pittsburgh, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, respectively. In the video recording of the session, the guests are introduced as survivors of violent attacks that targeted religious groups in the past year. They are Rabbi Jeffrey Myers; Yamini Ravindran, the legal and advocacy officer of the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka; and Dr Farid Ahmed, whose wife was killed as she was attempting to help injured people in one of the mosque shootings in Christchurch on March 15, 2019.
Their experiences underscore, according to Sam Brownback, US ambassador at large for international religious freedom, the notion that “religious persecution is, tragically, not a thing of the past,” and that a majority religion in one country is the minority in another.
A highlight took place on the second day, when the speakers identified as survivors visited the Oval Office. The international guests stood behind President Donald Trump as he delivered a short speech from his desk. Media representatives watched and listened, as the world was told there were 27 survivors in the room. The meeting appeared to be carefully coordinated, as most such events typically are, down to the scripted short speeches by Trump, Ambassador Brownback and one of the guests, introduced as "Reverend Samson from Burma," who spoke for approximately 40 seconds.
Surviving Boko Haram, Daesh, imprisonment camps and the oppressive chaos of war leaves marks on the human body, even when the soul is comforted by religious faith.
When Trump initiated what appeared to be a spontaneous conversation with his staff, members of the group interjected with individual pleas, apparently unrehearsed, on behalf of their communities and relatives. This part seemed unplanned, but necessary. The president listened, even when his staff appeared to be hurried for time, to everyone who came forward with a request for help in one region of the world or another. He gave the impression of being engaged, even when not displaying familiarity with the particular plea.
It would be difficult to determine whether Trump was genuinely moved or just wanted to appear sympathetic to this diverse group of people during a week in which his exclusionary remarks about minority members of Congress were drawing strong criticism and dominating the headlines. What we do know, however, is that when one’s pressing plea is a matter of life or death, the listener’s political motivation becomes of secondary importance.
This incident was in many ways similar to the regular appearances by the current occupant of the Oval Office, flanked by elegantly dressed individuals and facing the cameras. But in stark contrast to the smiling faces normally seen supporting President Trump, the faces in this gathering told stories of suffering that no elegance can hide. Surviving Boko Haram, Daesh, imprisonment camps and the oppressive chaos of war leaves marks on the human body, even when the soul is comforted by religious faith. Deep pain, like love, is difficult to hide.
The final day of the ministerial focused on government action. According to the Department of State’s website, government officials from around the globe and representatives of international organizations discussed new commitments to protecting the freedom of religious belief and “developing innovative responses to persecution on the basis of religion.”
It is not clear whether there will be a third installment of this global gathering in the upcoming election year. But if the conversation that took place in the Oval Office on July 17 is any indication, then let us hope future recommendations will extend to supporting survivors, individuals and communities alike, as they attempt to live with unimaginable loss.
*Tala Jarjour is author of “Sense and Sadness: Syriac Chant in Aleppo” (OUP, 2018). She is currently Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London and Associate Fellow of Pierson College at Yale.