LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 20/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else
Acts of the Apostles 04/05-12:”The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is “the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.” There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on July 19-20/2019
US sanctions Hezbollah leader, offers reward for information leading to him
US offers US$7 million reward to find Hezbollah operative wanted for 1994 attack on Buenos Aires Jewish centre
Unidentified aircraft targets IRGC and Hezbollah military camp in Iraq
US sanctions two leaders of Iranian-linked militias in Iraq
Parliament Approves State Budget after 'Settlement' Reached with Retired Servicemen
Hariri 'Very Dismayed' over Some Budget Cuts but 'Won't Resign'
U.S. Marine Corps Commander Visits Lebanon
Hamas Envoy: Party Committed to Civil Peace in Lebanon
Bukhari: NEOM Sees Sixty Thousand Job Opportunities for Lebanese
Report: Fatah 'Bans' Protests Outside Palestinian Refugee Camps
Retired Lebanese soldiers in tense standoff with army during benefit cuts protest
Lebanese Efforts Underway to Convince US against Reducing UNIFIL Funding
Lebanese Losing Faith as Politicians Fumble over Economy
Palestinians Angered with Decisions of Lebanon’s Labor Ministry

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 20-21/2019
Iran seizes British tanker in Strait of Hormuz, UK government calls emergency meeting
US demands Iran free seized ship, vows to protect Gulf oil lifeline
US aware of reports Iran seized a British oil tanker - White House
Trump on Iranian drone: ‘No doubt about it... we shot it down’
US vows to shoot down any Iran drones that fly too closely to its ships
Gibraltar Extends to August 15 Detention of Iranian Tanker
Several Killed, Scores Wounded in Blast Outside Kabul University
Israel Unearths Remains of Rare Ancient Mosque
Shin Bet Arrests Network that Transfers Money from Gaza to West Bank
Abu Rudeineh: Saudi, Egyptian, Jordanian Efforts Foiled 'Deal of the Century'
Bolton May Discuss in Tokyo US Request for Japan to Join Military Coalition in Gulf
Bahrain Exposes Incitement, Fabrications by Qatar’s Al Jazeera
Egypt: At least 20 killed in airstrikes in northern Sinai
Iraq Kurds identify suspected shooter of Turkish diplomat
Turkish jets strike Kurdish rebels after diplomat’s death
ISIS claims suicide bombing that killed 2 in Egypt’s Sinai

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 19-20/2019
The 'Slow Death' of Palestinians in Lebanon/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/July 19, 2019
Muslim Jihadis Gang-Rape, Torture, and Murder 60-Year-Old Christian Virgin/Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine
Erdoğan's American Gamble/Erdoğan's American Gamble
The Trade-Off Between Jobs and Inflation Disappears/Noah Smith/Bloomberg/July 19/2019
Iran's Trojan Army Faces Challenge in Iraq/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/July 19/2019
Why the Islamic Republic is so unpopular with Iranians/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 19, 2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on July 19-20/2019
US sanctions Hezbollah leader, offers reward for information leading to him
Reuters/Friday, 19 July 2019
The US Treasury on Friday placed sanctions on a senior Hezbollah operative it said coordinated the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires, offering a $7 million for information leading to him. “We are targeting Salman Raouf Salman, who coordinated a devastating attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina against the largest Jewish center in South America 25 years ago and has directed terrorist operations in the Western Hemisphere for Hezbollah ever since,” said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

US offers US$7 million reward to find Hezbollah operative wanted for 1994 attack on Buenos Aires Jewish centre
Agence France-Presse/July 19/2019
Washington also slapped sanctions on Salman Raouf Salman as it marked the 25th anniversary of the bombing which killed 85 people. The United States on Friday offered a US$7 million reward to find a Hezbollah operative accused of masterminding a deadly 1994 attack on a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires, as it vowed to pursue the group worldwide. The United States also imposed sanctions on the senior Hezbollah figure, Salman Raouf Salman, in tandem with his blacklisting by Argentina as it marks the 25th anniversary of the bombing, which killed 85 people. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was visiting Argentina on the anniversary of the attack, along with ministers from several Latin American nations visiting Buenos Aires for talks on counterterrorism. The State Department said it would give US$7 million to anyone who provides information that leads to the location of Salman, also known as Salman al-Reda.
The Treasury Department said Salman masterminded the 1994 attack and “has directed terrorist operations in the Western Hemisphere for Hezbollah ever since”. “This administration will continue to target Hezbollah terrorists who plot horrific murderous operations and indiscriminately kill innocent civilians on behalf of this violent group and its Iranian patrons,” said Sigal Mandelker, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Iran is the primary sponsor of Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim militant movement and political party that waged a guerilla campaign against Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. Salman has been reported to have joint Lebanese and Colombian citizenship, allowing him to move more easily across Latin America. Asked where he is believed to be now, a senior administration official said: “We think he is probably somewhere in the Middle East.” The Treasury designation will freeze any assets he may have in the United States and criminalise any help to him, although Hezbollah as a whole is already under heavy US sanctions. A State Department official said that the United States has been encouraging Latin American nations to follow the US model in blacklisting groups and individuals as terrorists – as seen in Argentina’s decision on Salman.

Unidentified aircraft targets IRGC and Hezbollah military camp in Iraq
Arab News/Friday, 19 July, 2019
DUBAI: An unmanned aircraft dropped explosives on a base belonging to Iran-linked Shiite paramilitary groups in northern Iraq on Friday, killing at least one person, the army and paramilitary sources said. The Iraqi military said in a statement a drone had dropped a grenade onto the base in northern Salahuddin province, wounding at least two people, but gave no further details. Paramilitary sources in the area and a Baghdad-based paramilitary leader said one person had been killed in the attack which took place in the early hours of Friday morning. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. A security source said two explosions hit the base, one targeting an ammunition depot belonging to an Iranian-backed group. The incident took place amid heightened tension between the US and Iran. Iraq is seen as a potential arena for any violent regional confrontation between the two foes because of the presence of Iran-backed Shiite Muslim paramilitary groups operating in close proximity to bases hosting US forces. Daesh militants, also enemies of the Shiite paramilitaries, operate in the area where the base is located and in many remote areas of northern Iraq, despite the group having lost its sway over territory. It has claimed attacks against Iraqi forces in recent months. Several Iraqi bases hosting US forces were hit by a number of rockets a few weeks ago in unclaimed attacks in which no one was hurt. Washington is pressing Iraq's government to rein in Iran-backed paramilitary groups which it says pose a threat to US interests in Iraq. The US has blamed Iran for attacks on several oil tankers in the Gulf. Tehran denies any involvement.

US sanctions two leaders of Iranian-linked militias in Iraq
Tommy Hilton, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 19 July 2019
The US added two leaders of Iranian-linked militias in Iraq to its sanctions list on Thursday, designating them under the Magnitsky Act as “perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption.”Rayan al-Kildani and Waad Qado both lead militias part of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) with close ties to Iran.Al-Kildani, the leader of the 50th “Babylon” Brigade, is accused by the US of “serious human rights abuse.”Based in Iraq’s northwestern Ninewa Province, the 50th Brigade is accused by the US Treasury of looting, extortion and intimidation of the local population, making it “the primary impediment to the return of internally displaced persons to the Ninewa Plain.”The US Treasury alleges that al-Kildani can be seen cutting the ear off a handcuffed detainee in a video that circulated in May, 2018. Qado, the leader of the 30th Brigade, is accused of commanding the brigade while it conducted similar human rights abuses including extortion, kidnapping, and rape. Both al-Kildani and Qado are members of ethnic minorities: al-Kildani is a Christian, while Qado is a member of the Shabak minority who live around Mosul. Both their militias operate as part of the PMUs, the Shiite-majority militias formed in 2015. Although the PMUs are officially led by the Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi, deputy commander Jamal Jaafar al-Ibrahimi, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, is widely seen as the real leader. Al-Mohandes heads the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, which has been recently accused of carrying out a drone attack on Saudi Arabia and has close ties with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Alongside al-Kildani and Qado, two former governors of Iraqi provinces were also sanctioned for corruption. Nawfal Hammadi al-Sultan, the former governor Ninewa Province, and Ahmed al-Jubouri, the former governor of Salah al-Din province, both received sanctions for corruption and bribery. “The United States is taking action against four individuals in Iraq implicated in serious human rights abuse or corruption,” said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “We will continue to hold accountable persons associated with serious human rights abuse, including persecution of religious minorities, and corrupt officials who exploit their positions of public trust to line their pockets and hoard power at the expense of their citizens,” Mandelker added.

Parliament Approves State Budget after 'Settlement' Reached with Retired Servicemen
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 19/2019
Parliament on Friday approved the 2019 state budget after three days of heated parliamentary debate.The budget was passed with 83 votes in favor, 17 against and one abstention. Speaking after the bill was approved, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said "reforms need an effort" and that he understands "protesters' demands.""But we are trying to do the impossible in a difficult situation," he added. Hoping the 2020 budget will be passed within the constitutional timeframe, Hariri said that had it not been for the political settlement that led to President Michel Aoun's election, there would not have been an electoral law nor a state budget. As for the political crisis over the Qabrshmoun incident, Hariri said the standoff can be resolved through the "wisdom" of Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, Lebanese Democratic Party chief Talal Arslan and all the parties. Protesters rallying against the austerity budget had earlier in the day stormed a security cordon outside parliament. The protesters, mostly army veterans, pushed past barricades, walking over them and making their way closer to the heavily guarded parliament building. Some protesters scuffled with security forces but soldiers were deployed to separate between them. The protesters had gathered every day since Tuesday as lawmakers met for final discussion on the budget ahead of a vote. Speaker Nabih Berri stressed during the session that "no one can storm parliament," noting that he had communicated with the Army Command which told him that it will "take the necessary measures." "Thieves! Thieves!" the angry protesters shouted, addressing officials. "They could solve this issue (the deficit) by looking at rented property; they can solve it by looking at coastal properties," protester Fadi Abdullah told The Associated Press, referring to raising and collecting taxes on expensive real estate. "We cannot stay silent and pay for their mistakes. They should do drastic reforms. Everything that's in the interest of the army they don't do. They do the opposite."A "settlement" was later reached between lawmakers and the veterans after which the protests abated and a protest tent was removed.
Under the settlement, parliament approved a state budget article imposing an income tax on the retired servicemen as per the latest text that was devised by the finance parliamentary committee. A spokesman for the retirees, Brig. Gen. George Nader, said the veterans are still rejecting the cuts included in the budget but have decided to file an appeal before the Constitutional Court. "The rights of those who have disabilities and the families of martyrs will not be touched," Nader said, after meeting a number of officials during the parliamentary session. Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab later said that only an LBP 3,000 cut will affect the salaries of retired servicemen below the rank of colonel. The budget is aimed at averting a financial crisis in heavily indebted Lebanon. But it has been met with criticism for failing to address structural problems. Instead, the budget mostly cuts public spending and raises taxes.

Hariri 'Very Dismayed' over Some Budget Cuts but 'Won't Resign'
Naharnet/July 19/2019
Prime Minister Saad Hariri was “very dismayed” on Friday as parliament started voting on the articles of the 2019 state budget, media reports said. “He walked out of parliament’s hall before returning and he considers himself to be targeted politically through the budget’s debate, which took aim at several state institutions that are politically loyal to him,” MTV reported. Radio Voice of Lebanon (93.3) said the premier lamented that he was “targeted” through the budget cuts of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, OGERO, the Interior Ministry and the loans of the High Relief Commission. “The finance committee endorsed the recommendations of the Justice Ministry and the defense minister without taking into consideration the recommendations of the ministries that are loyal to al-Mustaqbal Movement,” the radio network quoted Hariri as saying. The network’s correspondent in parliament meanwhile denied reports claiming that Hariri intends to resign. Ex-PM and Tripoli MP Najib Miqati meanwhile walked out of the session in protest at the cuts targeting the CDR, the Interior Ministry and OGERO. “There is blatant targeting and it is unacceptable to deal with things in this manner,” he said in a tweet. The budget is aimed at averting a financial crisis in heavily indebted Lebanon. But it was met with criticism for failing to address structural problems. Instead, the budget mostly cuts public spending and raises taxes. Despite the criticism, lawmakers began voting on each article of the bill in a closed session on Friday amid scuffles outside between security forces and protesters led by army veterans.

U.S. Marine Corps Commander Visits Lebanon
Naharnet/July 19/2019
The Commander of United States Marine Corps Forces Central Command, Lieutenant General Carl E. Mundy, and U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth H. Richard visited Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) installations on Friday and met with senior officials, the U.S. embassy said.
In his meetings, General Mundy “highlighted the U.S. government’s partnership with Lebanon, which provided nearly $300 million of security assistance in 2018,” the embassy said in a statement. The Lieutenant General also reaffirmed U.S. support for the Lebanese Armed Forces in their capacity as “the sole, legitimate defender of Lebanon,” the statement said. Mundy’s visit follows a series of joint military and security training exercises in Lebanon, such as Resolute Response, which have “increased professionalism, capabilities, and collaboration with the LAF,” the statement added.

Hamas Envoy: Party Committed to Civil Peace in Lebanon
Naharnet/July 19/2019
Member of Hamas political bureau Izzat Al-Rashak arrived in Beirut on Friday after being tasked by Hamas political bureau chief, Ismael Haniyeh, to monitor the situation of Palestinian refugees against the backdrop of Lebanon’s Labor Ministry concerning non-Lebanese workers, the National News Agency reported. NNA said Rashak is tasked to follow up on the humanitarian and social conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, as well as on Lebanese-Palestinian relations, following the labor ministry’s recent measures on the h"I will discuss bilateral relations and the situation in Palestinian refugee camps in light of the peaceful protests against the Ministry of Labor's measures," Rashak said, stressing commitment to safeguarding Lebanon's sovereignty, security, and stability whilst "guaranteeing a decent life for Palestinian refugees pending their return home." "Hamas is committed to civil peace in Lebanon and is keen on strengthening Lebanese - Palestinian fraternal relations for the best interest of both countries," he added. Palestinian refugees protested Tuesday in the streets of Beirut and in refugee camps against the labor ministry cracking down on businesses employing foreign workers without a permit. Last month, the ministry gave companies a one-month deadline to acquire the necessary work permits.After the grace period expired last week, it started inspections, closing down non-compliant establishments and issuing others with warnings.

Bukhari: NEOM Sees Sixty Thousand Job Opportunities for Lebanese
Naharnet/July 19/2019
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari stressed that the Lebanese-Saudi relations are considered one of the most significant inter Arab relations, stressing that the Saudi foreign policy is keen on Lebanon’s stability and prosperity, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday. “The recent visit of the former Lebanese PM to the Kingdom and their meeting with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques affirmed this policy and it was necessary to preserve it,” Bukhari said in an interview with the daily. He said the meeting was positive and has reflected a promising future for the Lebanese-Saudi relations.
On Monday, Lebanon’s ex-PMs Tammam Salam, Fouad Saniora and Najib Miqati met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz in Jeddah. On lifting the travel ban of Saudis to Lebanon, Bukhari said that “between 150,000 and 200,000 Saudi nationals will be traveling to Lebanon,” this summer. On the work opportunities for Lebanese in SA, he said: “The new mega city NEOM project announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, sees 60,000 jobs for the Lebanese in the next economic cities in the Kingdom.”He stressed that the initiative of Kingdom 2030 vision includes investment opportunities between Lebanon and the Kingdom that may be a rescue project for any country.

Report: Fatah 'Bans' Protests Outside Palestinian Refugee Camps
Naharnet/July 19/2019
The Fatah Movement has assured on Friday that the “Palestinian National Authority in Ramallah” has given its directives to prevent any protests at the decision of the Lebanese Labor Ministry outside the premises of the Palestinian refugee camps, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday. Fatah sources told the daily that only “peaceful” protests are allowed inside the camps, and that burning tires has also been banned. “Fatah has contacted the Lebanese security agencies making it clear they did not call for a sit-in near Imam Ali Mosque in Tarik al-Jadiedh after Friday’s prayers,” they clarified. “The directives of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership were given to cooperate fully with the security authorities to control any imbalance. The official Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue is ongoing to find a solution that satisfies all sides," concluded the sources. Palestinian refugees protested Tuesday in the streets of Beirut and in refugee camps against the labor ministry cracking down on businesses employing foreign workers without a permit. Last month, the ministry gave companies a one-month deadline to acquire the necessary work permits. After the grace period expired last week, it started inspections, closing down non-compliant establishments and issuing others with warnings.

Retired Lebanese soldiers in tense standoff with army during benefit cuts protest
Arab News/Agencies/July 19/2019
BEIRUT: Retired Lebanese soldiers on Friday came close to clashing with the country’s army when weeks of protests over planned benefit cuts reached boiling point in the capital Beirut. Dressed in military uniforms, large numbers of veterans attempted to force their way through barricades set up to stop demonstrators reaching the city’s parliament building where a final vote on a controversial draft austerity budget was taking place. A military source told Arab News that the Lebanese army leadership had decided to block access to Najma Square, in Beirut’s Central District, where Parliament members were sitting. But former soldiers, joined by the parents of army martyrs and activists from the Sabaa and Communist parties, surrounded the building in nearby streets before attempting to push through barbed wire, concrete and metal barriers erected by the Lebanese army and the Internal Security Forces. The protesters, waving Lebanese and army flags, got as far as the entrance to Maarad Street, on which Parliament is located, putting them in direct confrontation with the Lebanese troops. Ten brigades of reinforcements were drafted in to help push back the veterans before protest leaders eased tensions by calling for a retreat to a nearby square to avoid any further clashes. The meeting to vote on the 2019 draft budget came after a marathon three days of discussions. Before entering the parliamentary session, Lebanese Minister of Defense Elias Bou Saab said that “misleading the retired soldiers” would be “harmful to the image and demands of the protesters” and called on them to carry out “peaceful demonstrations.” He added that there had been mixed and confused messages regarding benefit cuts.
However, retired Brig. Gen. Georges Nader had vowed that protesters would not back off until the vote on their benefits was dropped. Discussing the protests in Parliament, Samy Gemayel, president of the Phalange party, objected to the reduction in the army budget, to which Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said: “This has been concluded on the bases of an understanding with the army and the military establishment.”
MP Paula Yacoubian said that “retired soldiers are trying to storm Parliament,” to which Berri said: “Those who want to storm Parliament have not yet been born.”The row had centered on a controversial article concerning amendments to the country’s income tax act, and Lebanese Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil insisted on defending it. He said: “It does not cost the retired soldiers, for instance, more than 3,000 Lebanese pounds ($2) per month. This amount rises to 400,000 pounds for brigadiers.” He added: “Which country in the world gives a retiree 85 percent of his salary?”
After a meeting between the minister and Nader in Parliament, the retired brigadier general went out to reassure the veterans that cuts from their salaries in respect of medicine and income tax would be reduced. Less intense protests continued for more than three hours before Parliament approved the relevant article in the budget.
Meanwhile, Berri had started the Parliament session by reading a resignation submitted by Hezbollah MP Nawaf Musawi.

Lebanese Efforts Underway to Convince US against Reducing UNIFIL Funding
Beirut - Khalil Fleihan/Friday, 19 July, 2019
Lebanon’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations has intensified its efforts with permanent members of the Security Council and countries participating in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to convince Washington to reconsider a decision to reduce its funding for the peacekeeping force. Lebanese diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday that Washington suggested a 10 percent decrease, or $8.4 million. in its funding. The sources said that the US had suggested a similar cut last year, but Beirut succeeded in convincing Washington to reconsider its decision. The annual UNIFIL budget is $487 million with the US contribution accounting to 7.28 percent of the sum, they added. “Washington might reduce its funding for UNIFIL to force Lebanon to impose state sovereignty over all Lebanese territories,” they remarked. The sources added that a leading diplomat at the US Embassy in Lebanon had recently visited the Foreign Ministry and met with Lebanon's Director of Political and Consular Affairs Ghadi Khoury to discuss the extension of the UNIFIL mandate. “Khoury reiterated that Beirut wishes to renew the mandate for one year, as practiced since 2007,” the sources said. Washington has been pressuring Lebanon to reduce the Hezbollah party’s influence in the country. Last month, Lebanese President Michel Aoun called upon the Security Council to extend UNIFIL's mandate without cutting its budget or modifying its mission.

Lebanese Losing Faith as Politicians Fumble over Economy
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 July, 2019
For days, Lebanese TV stations have been blanketed with live coverage as lawmakers held heated debate over a controversial austerity budget meant to salvage the flailing economy, with protests outside parliament and critics denouncing its focus on tax hikes and wage cuts. Mohammed Badran, sitting in his barber shop empty of customers, couldn't be bothered to watch. Those officials don't even know how much bread costs, he scoffed. "They basically don't know anything about us." The 33-year-old hair stylist — his hair spiked stylishly in front — sat idle in his salon in central Beirut with the TV tuned to Quranic recitals. Badran said things have gotten worse the past four years. Taxes, utility bills and prices have increased, while his income hasn't changed. Once, he kept about three quarters of his earnings; now he pockets only about a quarter, he said. "Things have been turned upside down," Badran said, according to The Associated Press.
As the economic crisis deepens in Lebanon, so has the public's distrust in the ability of the old political class, widely viewed as corrupt and steeped in personal rivalries, to tackle major reform. Many fear a Greek-style bankruptcy, without the European Union to fall back on and with potentially more violent social unrest in the small country wedged between war-torn Syria and Israel.
A new budget that reduces public debts, improves governance and reforms infrastructure could unlock some $11 billion in aid promised to Lebanon last year by European countries. But after weeks of delay amid haggling among the government and lawmakers, the result is a bill that mostly taps into the pockets of average Lebanese, while critics say it does little to tackle structural issues and deeply entrenched corruption at the root of the crisis. The final vote on the budget is expected Friday, unless more delays occur. It is expected to pass overwhelmingly. Still, during three days of live-televised debate this week, a line of lawmakers took to the podium to rail against it — most of them members in the government that designed it. In his speech Thursday, the finance minister snapped back, saying they were treating the budget like an "abandoned baby" no one would admit to fathering.
Critics said the theatrics were designed to absorb public anger over an economic slump that has hit hard.
Growth reached an all-time low of 0.2 percent last year. It slowed further after the Central Bank halted subsidized housing loans through commercial banks, contracting the real estate market, a main engine for growth since 2012. The budget deficit reached 11 percent of GDP, up from 8.6 percent in 2017, and public debt stands at 150% of GDP, one of the highest in the world. Fuel imports have increased, further deepening a trade deficit. The downturn has impacted the country's trusted banking sector. The Central Bank's foreign assets have receded by around $6 billion since last year, as it props the currency pegged to the dollar. Deposit growth has been the lowest since 2005 as some people transfer savings abroad.
Meanwhile, some businesses have liquidated and shops have closed. More apartments are up for sale, deflating prices. The budget submitted to the parliament aims to bring the deficit for 2019 down to 7.6 percent, though the International Monetary Fund projects it will likely be at 9.75 percent.
Last year, the government hiked the value-added tax to finance a pay increase it promised to public sector workers. This year's proposed new budget cuts pay and benefits for government workers and freezes public sector hiring for three years. The VAT hike remains in place, and other taxes are also increased.
Economist Jad Chaaban said the anxiety around a potential Greek-style bankruptcy has allowed government officials to push an emergency fix rather than enact major changes, such as progressive taxes or debt restructuring. The real problem, he said, is the political elite, which treats the public sector as a jobs source for supporters and covers up corruption that enriches them and drives up debt. Commercial banks are largely owned by ruling politicians and profit from holdings of public debt.
Chaaban and other critics say officials have tried to divert bitterness over the economy by campaigning against the nearly 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, calling for their return and clamping down on illegal labor. For Badran, economic hardship has curbed even the simplest of dreams. He dropped plans to build a solarium at his salon. After 14 years of owning his shop, he still lives with his parents, unable to afford marriage. In the last year, his profits maxed at $500 a month in the face of increasing bills, rent and costs. Like all Lebanese, he pays one electricity bill to the government and a separate one to a private generator provider to fill in during daily power cuts caused by the decrepit infrastructure. "Ever since I can remember, there has been no electricity, no water. Now I am 33 years old, and we still complain of the water and electricity," Badran said. "Look next door, in Syria, there is war and all that, and it has electricity and water. Here, we have charlatans."
With mounting costs — hair gel prices have gone up by 30 percent, for example — he has cut back on supplies for the salon as well as personal spending. Most of his young, stylish clientele have also cut back, coming to his shop once a month instead of three times. Once the new budget passes, Badran said he'll likely have to raise his prices for the first time in years, adding to the burden on his regulars, many of whom already work two jobs. "I have been buttering up my clients so as not to lose them," he said. Along one street in the busy commercial neighborhood of Mar Elias, known for its jewelry stores, at least four shops had "For Sale" signs in the window. Among them was emptied-out family gold shop. Maha, a 34-year-old, staffed the shop with her uncle on a recent day. The family still has its wholesale gold business but can't keep running an idle retail shop, they said. Both refused to give their last name to protect the family's commercial reputation and private plans. Maha said only the middle class feels the economic pain since the wealthy and government officials stash their money abroad. "People ask why we don't protest. Look around us what happened when people protested?" she said. "Look at Egypt, or even worse Syria. We will end up in a worse place."

Palestinians Angered with Decisions of Lebanon’s Labor Ministry
Beirut - Youssef Diab/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 July, 2019
Assurances by the Lebanese Minister of Labor, Camille Abu Sleiman, did not succeed in alleviating the anger of the Palestinian refugees, who rejected his recent decision to crackdown on foreign workers who do not hold a work permit. Calls through loudspeakers inside the camps asked for the resumption of street movements and expressed Palestinian anger over the minister’s insistence on his decision. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on his compatriots to calm down and allow the Palestinian Authority to discuss the issue with the Lebanese government. In a press conference on Thursday, Abu Sleiman vowed to facilitate the granting of work permits for Palestinian refugees, saying that the “Lebanese labor law protects Palestinian workers.”He noted that his ministry’s plan was not specifically directed at Palestinians, but sought to combat undocumented labor in accordance with Lebanese labor law, which requires non-Lebanese workers to have work permits. Meanwhile, senior Palestinian official Azzam al-Ahmad met in Beirut with MP Bahia Hariri, the head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, with whom he discussed the repercussions of the Labor Ministry’s new measures. Al-Ahmad emphasized that contacts were underway to contain the crisis and prevent any escalation or attempts to exploit it to undermine the country’s stability. “This issue cannot be resolved except by dialogue. President Mahmoud Abbas was clear in his speech during the meeting of the Executive Committee. He asked me to come to Lebanon to discuss the matter with the concerned Lebanese officials,” he added. Bahia Hariri, for her part, underlined that Prime Minister Saad Hariri was working closely with the labor minister, adding that an agreement was reached on a rapid mechanism that would take into account the specificity of the Palestinians, as stated in the labor law.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 19-20/2019
Iran seizes British tanker in Strait of Hormuz, UK government calls emergency meeting
Arab News/With Agencies/July 19, 2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/76826/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d8%b1%d8%b3-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a-%d9%8a%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%86-%d8%a7%d8%ad%d8%aa%d8%ac%d8%a7%d8%b2-%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%82%d9%84%d8%a9-%d8%a3%d8%ac%d9%86%d8%a8/
TEHRAN: Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Friday they had confiscated a British tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz for breaking "international maritime rules," while a US official told CNN that Iran had seized a second tanker, the British-owned, Liberian-flagged MV Mesdar, according to reports. The Stena Impero tanker "was confiscated by the Revolutionary Guards at the request of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organisation when passing through the strait of Hormuz, for failing to respect international maritime rules," the Guards' official website Sepahnews announced. The UK government convened an emergency COBRA meeting to formulate its response and a foreign ministry spokesperson said: "We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf."
Prime Minister Theresa May's office declined to comment.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office relayed a statement from foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, in which he appeared to confirm the seizure of a second vessel. He said: “I’m extremely concerned by the seizure of two vessels by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz. “I will shortly attend a COBRA meeting to review what we know and what we can do to swiftly secure the release of the two vessels - a British-flagged vessel and a Liberian-flagged vessel. “Their crews comprise a range of nationalities, but we understand there are no British citizens on board either ship. “Our Ambassador in Tehran is in contact with the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve the situation and we are working closely with international partners. “These seizures are unacceptable. It is essential that freedom of navigation is maintained and that all ships can move safely and freely in the region.” Refinitiv data showed the Stena Impero was a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk. It showed the vessel's destination as the Saudi port of Jubail on the Gulf. The map tracking the ship's course showed it veering off course with a sharp turn north at about 15:17 GMT on Friday and heading towards the Iranian coast.
Meanwhile, the head of the UK Chamber of Shipping said on Friday that further protection must be provided for merchant vessels after the seizure. "We condemn unreservedly the capture of Stena Impero as she transited the Strait of Hormuz earlier today," the Chamber's chief executive, Bob Sanguinetti, said in a statement. "This incident represents an escalation. Whilst we call for measured response, it is also clear that further protection for merchant vessels must be forthcoming to ensure enhanced security to guarantee free flow of trade in the region."  The Stena company responsible for the ship also released a statement, which read: "Stena Bulk and Northern Marine Management can confirm that at approximately 1600 BST on 19th July, UK registered vessel Stena Impero (built 2018, 49,683 DWT) was approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz while the vessel was in international waters. We are presently unable to contact the vessel which is now heading north towards Iran. "There are 23 seafarers aboard. There have been no reported injuries and their safety is of primary concern to both owners and managers. The priority of both vessel owner Stena Bulk and ship manager Northern Marine Management is the safety and welfare of the crew. Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier this month accused the UK of “piracy” after the Royal Marines and Gibraltarian police seized a tanker believed to be carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria on July 5, and the Iranian government has demanded its immediate release. The ship was detained on suspicion it was breaking European sanctions by taking oil to Syria.

US demands Iran free seized ship, vows to protect Gulf oil lifeline
Reuters/July 19, 2019
DUBAI: The US on Thursday demanded Iran immediately release a vessel it seized in the Gulf and a US military commander in the region said the US would work “aggressively” to ensure free passage of vessels through the vital waterway. Responding to an announcement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that they had seized a foreign tanker smuggling fuel, the US State Department insisted Iran had to free the ship and its crew and stop harassing vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The US blames Iran for a series of attacks on shipping since mid-May in the world’s most important oil artery, accusations Tehran rejects but that have raised fears the long-time foes could stumble into war. “The United States strongly condemns the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy’s continued harassment of vessels and interference with safe passage in and around the Strait of Hormuz,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email to Reuters. “Iran must cease this illicit activity and release the reportedly seized crew and vessel immediately.”Refinitiv data showed that the last signal received from the vessel was on Sunday when it was in the Strait of Hormuz off the Iranian island of Qeshm, heading toward Oman from Larak Island. It was reported on Wednesday that shipping companies were hiring unarmed security guards for voyages through the Gulf as an extra safeguard. US Central Command chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, meanwhile, said Washington was talking to several countries about ensuring freedom of navigation in the Gulf and would work “aggressively” to find a solution to enable free passage. He was speaking in Riyadh at a news conference. Also on Thursday, Britain urged Iran to ease tensions in the Gulf on Thursday and Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt told a defense conference Britain had “always, and we will continue, to protect shipping and the free flow of goods in that area.”

US aware of reports Iran seized a British oil tanker - White House
Reuters, Washington/Friday, 19 July 2019
The United States is aware of reports that Iran seized a British oil tanker and it will work with its allies and partners to defend against Iran, a White House National Security Council spokesman said on Friday. “We are aware of reports that Iranian forces seized a British oil tanker,” spokesman Garrett Marquis said.“The US will continue to work with our allies and partners to defend our security and interests against Iran’s malign behavior,” he added.

Trump on Iranian drone: ‘No doubt about it... we shot it down’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 19 July 2019
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that there's "no doubt" that the US shot down the Iranian drone, after two opposing scenarios about the incident emerged from Tehran and Washington. “No doubt about it, no -- we shot it down,” Trump said in the Oval Office. His National Security Advisor John Bolton added: “There is no question that this was an Iranian drone.”Iran’s state television on Friday aired footage it said disproved US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the US Navy has destroyed an Iranian drone in the Gulf. The video published by the Revolutionary Guards showed aerial views of warships. The television station said the drone had captured the footage and the timing notations showed the drone was still filming after Washington said it had been downed in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said on Thursday that the drone had flown to within 1,000 yards (900 meters) of the US warship Boxer and had ignored “multiple calls to stand down.”With agencies

US vows to shoot down any Iran drones that fly too closely to its ships
Reuters, Washington/Friday, 19 July 2019
The United States will destroy any Iranian drones that fly too closely to its ships and has “clear evidence” that it shot down such a drone on Thursday, a senior Trump administration official said on Friday. “If they fly too close to our ships, they’ll continue to be shot down,” the official told reporters at a briefing. Iran on Friday denied President Donald Trump’s claim that a US warship destroyed an Iranian drone near the Arabian Gulf in another escalation of tensions between the two countries less than a month after Trump nearly launched an airstrike. The Iranian military said all its drones had returned safely to their bases and denied there was any confrontation with a US vessel the previous day. The country’s Revolutionary Guard said on its website it would release before-and-after images from the drone — it did not say when — to prove it was not destroyed. “We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else,” tweeted Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Trump on Thursday said the USS Boxer took action after an Iranian drone closed to within 1,000 yards of the warship and ignored commands to stay away. The president accused Iran of “provocative and hostile” action and said the US acted in self-defense.

Gibraltar Extends to August 15 Detention of Iranian Tanker
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 July, 2019
Gibraltar will continue to impound an Iranian oil tanker until August 15 after its supreme court granted a 30-day extension to authorities, the Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper said. The paper said Gibraltar’s Attorney General, Michael Llamas, had confirmed the decision. The Grace 1 was seized earlier this month by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria. British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said Britain would facilitate the release of the Grace 1 if Iran gave guarantees that the tanker would not go to Syria, once the issue had followed due process in Gibraltar’s courts. On Thursday, Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo held a “constructive and positive” meeting with Iranian officials in London to discuss the tanker. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Saturday that Britain will facilitate the release the ship if Iran can provide guarantees the vessel will not breach the sanctions. Iran has vowed to respond to what it calls Britain’s “piracy” over the seizure of the tanker and warned of reciprocal measures. Last week, London said three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but backed off when confronted by a Royal Navy warship. Iran denied that its vessels had done any such thing.

Several Killed, Scores Wounded in Blast Outside Kabul University
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 July, 2019
A deadly bomb exploded outside the Kabul University in the Afghan capital on Friday. At least eight people were killed, while almost 33 were wounded, according to police and health officials, the Associated Press (AP) reported. A number of the wounded are reported to be in critical condition. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest to target Kabul. However, both the Taliban and ISIS often stage large-scale bombings in the city. The early blast also set two vehicles ablaze although it wasn’t clear if the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber or a remotely detonated bomb, stated Kabul police spokesman Ferdous Faramarz. The casualty tolls were released by the Health Ministry spokesman, Dr. Wahidullah Mayar over Twitter. “All the wounded patients were evacuated to our hospitals and have been receiving the required treatment,” he tweeted. According to AP, after initial reports of six dead, Mayer said two people died of their wounds and that the number of wounded rose to 33, following reports from hospitals around the city. The university compound houses several hostels where many students stay over the summer, attending classes and working on research projects. In a 2016 attack, 13 people were killed, mostly students, and more than 40 people were wounded when militants attacked the American University in Kabul. In that attack, a car bomb exploded outside the university gates, followed by a blistering, hours-long attack in which gunmen roamed through the compound shooting at students and teachers.

Israel Unearths Remains of Rare Ancient Mosque
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 July, 2019
Israeli archaeologists said Thursday they had unearthed the remains of a rare ancient rural mosque from the seventh and eighth centuries AD in the country's south. The remains were discovered during preparations to construct a new building in the Bedouin town of Rahat, the Israel Antiquities Authority said. It said the remains were of an open-air rectangular mosque with a mihrab, or prayer niche, facing Makkah. The authority called it one of the earliest known rural mosques worldwide. "From this period there are large known mosques in Jerusalem and in Mecca, but here we have evidence of an ancient house of prayer, which seems to have served the farmers who lived in the area," the authority said in a statement from the excavations' directors, Jon Seligman and Shahar Zur. It said no similar building had been found in the area where it was discovered. The authority was "examining possible ways in which this special finding can be integrated into the new neighborhood," it said, according to AFP. Other finds in the area were a small settlement from the early Islamic period, the authority said. The Muslim conquest of the region occurred in the first half of the seventh century.

Shin Bet Arrests Network that Transfers Money from Gaza to West Bank
Tel Aviv- Asharq Al Awsat/Friday, 19 July, 2019
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) has announced arresting a group of Palestinians who have established a network to transfer money from Hamas in Gaza to Ramallah and Qalqilya for the sake of funding acts against the Israeli army and settlers. In its statement, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu office (in charge of Shin Bet) revealed that the network was operated by a civilian travel and passport-issuing agency named “Al-Haramain,” owned by the Hani brothers and Firas Blbiesi, along with a money exchanger named Mohammad Swesi, all of whom operated from the Gaza Strip.
Further, a number of recipients were arrested in the West Bank, especially in Ramallah and Qalqilya. According to the statement, the individuals of the network conducted big deceit that was covered by forged money transfers. Three suspected operatives of the Hamas-run cell in the West Bank were arrested: Ibrahim Mzfr and his brother Khaled from the village of Al-Nubani near Ariel, and Mohammad Abu Salim from Rantis. Mazari and Abu Salim were both formerly incarcerated in Israeli prisons. The office added that large amounts of money transferred through this method was used for armed activity against the army and the Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and for funding the salaries of Hamas operatives. A Shin Bet spokesman commented saying that Hamas suffers a shortage of funds and demands Qatari and non-Qatari aid. Notably, the Israeli occupation forces arrested Thursday morning 14 Palestinians from various regions n the West Bank without disclosing the reasons -- they restricted to saying that they are wanted.

Abu Rudeineh: Saudi, Egyptian, Jordanian Efforts Foiled 'Deal of the Century'
Cairo - Sawsan Abu Hussein/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 July, 2019
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that Arab efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, have foiled the so-called “Century Deal”. He noted that the Arab stance was committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in return for the normalization of Arab-Israeli relations. “Free normalization is unacceptable and rejected. The Arab peace initiative is a red line,” Abu Rudeineh said during a meeting with a limited number of Egyptian thinkers and writers in Cairo on Thursday. “The US Administration received a very important and strong message from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the Jordanian monarch about their adherence to the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital…”, the Palestinian Information minister stated. He explained that relations between the Palestinian Authority and the US have deteriorated because of the latter’s insistence on removing the issues of Jerusalem and refugees from the negotiations. Abu Rudeineh also discussed the difficult financial situation faced by the government as a result of the Israeli decision to deduct the money transferred by the PA to the families of prisoners and martyrs. He stressed in this regard that the leadership would continue to pay the salaries of prisoners and families of the martyrs in full “even if only one penny remains with the Palestinian National Authority.” With regard to the file of Palestinian reconciliation, he said that the PA was fully committed to the agreement signed jointly signed with Hamas in 2017. “We are fully prepared to implement it in the event Hamas declared its commitment to it under Egyptian guarantees,” he emphasized.

Bolton May Discuss in Tokyo US Request for Japan to Join Military Coalition in Gulf
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 July, 2019
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces a tough diplomatic challenge from an expected US request to send its navy to join a military coalition to safeguard strategic waters off Iran and Yemen. It could be on the agenda when US national security adviser John Bolton visits Tokyo next week, domestic media said, according to Reuters. A decision to join such a coalition would likely inflame a divide in Japanese public opinion over sending troops abroad. Japan’s military has not fought overseas since World War Two. Abe’s coalition is expected to win a solid majority in an upper house election on Sunday but ruling bloc lawmakers have avoided discussing the possible maritime mission during the campaign. “Until the election is over, they can’t touch such a touchy subject”, said a source familiar with the government’s stance.
Below is an explanation of why this issue is contentious and what Japan’s options are.
Japan’s stake in the region
Japan is the world’s fourth-biggest oil buyer and 86% of its oil supplies last year passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond. Last month, a tanker operated by a Japanese shipping company was attacked in the Gulf of Oman and the United States blamed Iran. Tehran denied the allegation. Abe is also keen to maintain and strengthen the US-Japan security alliance, the pillar of its defense policies. US President Donald Trump has criticized the pact as unfair and rejecting a US request to join a maritime coalition could exacerbate that dissatisfaction. “Japan has to do something to protect our own vessels,” said a former Japanese senior diplomat. “We cannot keep asking others to do it.” Abe made an unsuccessful bid to ease tensions in the region when he met Iranian leaders in Tehran last month.
Why is this politically contentious?
Japan in 2015 enacted legislation that could let its troops fight overseas for the first time since its defeat in World War Two, a milestone in Abe’s push to loosen the limits of the pacifist constitution on the military. The legislation allows Japan to go to the defense of a friendly country under attack if it constitutes an “existential threat” to Japan. If the government decides the situation could lead to an armed attack on Japan, it can offer logistical support to multi-national forces. Enactment of the laws, which Abe said were needed to meet new security challenges, triggered huge protests from opponents who said it violated the constitution and could ensnare Japan in US-led conflicts. A move to send the navy to take part in a US-led operation would almost certainly revive that debate.
Japan’s options
Experts have pointed to four legal frameworks that could be used to justify a decision to send Japanese warships and planes to join the maritime mission. The most likely option, they said, would be for Japan to take part based on an existing Anti-Piracy Law for anti-piracy and escort missions, as long as attackers are considered non-state actors. Japan currently takes part in a multilateral mission off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. Or Japan could exercise its right of collective self-defense, or aiding an ally under attack, based on the 2015 laws, but the legal hurdle is higher. The defense minister could dispatch naval vessels or planes as a maritime security operation to protect Japanese ships and goods bound for Japan. In principle, other countries’ vessels would not be protected. Japan could also enact special, one-off legislation, but that would be a time-consuming process.

Bahrain Exposes Incitement, Fabrications by Qatar’s Al Jazeera
Manama - Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 19 July, 2019
Bahrain exposed the fabrications and incitement by Qatar-owned Al Jazeera television against Manama, refuting claims that Bahraini authorities had sought to recruit al-Qaeda jihadists to assassinated opposition figures in the Gulf state. A report by Bahrain television broadcast interviews with former extremists who were featured in the Al Jazeera documentary. One extremist asserted that the recordings were prepared by a group that has been accused of terrorism and which supported al-Qaeda in order to extort Bahraini security agencies. The recordings somehow made their way to Al Jazeera, which turned them into a documentary. The documentary alleged that Bahraini security forces had recruited the main suspect to carry out terrorist attacks and that he had made the recordings to extort the security agencies. The suspect appeared in the Bahrain television report to refute the claims, saying he was never recruited by anyone to carry out any attack. The documentary showed recordings of each of Mohammed Saleh Ali and Hisham Hilal al-Balushi. The Bahrain report revealed that the recordings date back to 2011. A terrorist organization had recruited the individuals in order to exploit them in the media and use them to pressure authorities in Manama. Former jihadist Saleh said that Al Jazeera had paid to obtain the recordings. He denied that he had ever come in contact with the Doha-based channel. The recordings were never meant to reach Al Jazeera, he stated. He admitted that the recordings were made in Bahrain in 2011 at Hisham and Jamal Balushi’s residence. Present were the Balushi brothers, Muheiddine Khan and Bassam al-Ali. The recordings aimed to pressure security agencies against arresting them. The suspects were previously arrested and put on trial in 2004. He also refuted allegations that he was recruited to carry out assassinations and smuggle weapons from Saudi Arabia. Such claims are part of sensationalist reporting, Saleh said. He revealed that he possessed the recordings on CDs, copies of which were also kept by Khan and Ali. He was surprised when they were leaked to Qatar, saying they were probably sold to it. For his part, Jamal said that the recordings of Hisham and Saleh shown by Al Jazeera were manipulated and taken out of context in order to tarnish Bahrain’s image. The Bahrain report also released recordings of contacts made by Qatari officials to Khan, who had fled to Turkey, to arrange his political asylum in the Gulf state.

Egypt: At least 20 killed in airstrikes in northern Sinai
AP/July 19, 2019
Officials said that Egypt's air force on Friday hit more than 100 mountainous hideouts of militant groups in the city of El-Arish and the small town of Bir Al-Abd. The airstrikes come on the heels of a suicide bombing attack that left two killed, including a soldier and a civilian Thursday in the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid. EL-ARISH: Egyptian security officials say airstrikes targeting militants are underway in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 20 insurgents. Officials said that Egypt's air force on Friday hit more than 100 mountainous hideouts of militant groups in the city of El-Arish and the small town of Bir Al-Abd. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media. The airstrikes come on the heels of a suicide bombing attack that left two killed, including a soldier and a civilian Thursday in the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid. A day earlier, militants beheaded four people and kidnapped a fifth in Bir Al-Abd, after accusing them of cooperating with security forces. Daesh claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Iraq Kurds identify suspected shooter of Turkish diplomat
AFP, Arbil, Iraq/Friday, 19 July 2019
Iraqi Kurdish authorities on Friday identified a Kurdish man from Turkey as the suspected shooter in the murder of a Turkish diplomat, as Turkish state media said he’s the brother of an opposition lawmaker. Mazloum Dag, 27, is “wanted” for Wednesday’s murder of Turkish Vice Consul Osman and two Iraqis at a restaurant in the regional capital Arbil, the area’s counterterrorism unit said. A wanted notice released by the unit showed two photos of a black-haired young man with a close-cut beard, with one image apparently taken from CCTV footage. “We call on all citizens to provide security services with information about this suspect as soon as possible,” the counterterrorism unit said, adding that Dag is from Diyarbakir in Turkey. It called the murder a “terrorist” act. Turkey’s Anadolu state news agency said the suspect is the brother of Dersim Dag, a member of Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party, the People’s Democratic Party (HDP). The HDP, the country’s second largest opposition group, is regularly accused by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of links to Turkey’s outlawed separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). It “strongly” condemned the Arbil attack, calling it an “absolutely unacceptable provocation attempt.”
The HDP also slammed the accusation that one of its deputies was “designated as a target because of his brother”, without mentioning any names. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Ankara on Thursday launched a “comprehensive air operation” against the PKK “terror organization” in Iraqi Kurdistan’s Qandil mountain area, defense minister Hulusi Akar said. Turkey has been conducting a ground offensive and bombing campaign since May in the mountainous northern region to root out the PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. Other air strikes on Thursday night targeted “PKK bases and members” in the Makhmur area south of Iraq’s northern city of Mosul, wounding two in a displacement camp, local sources to AFP.

Turkish jets strike Kurdish rebels after diplomat’s death
The Associated Press, Ankara/Friday, 19 July 2019
Turkey launched airstrikes against Kurdish rebel targets in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, after the killing of a Turkish diplomat there, state-run media quoted Turkey’s defense minister as saying on Friday. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkish jets on Thursday hit the Qandil mountains region in northern Iraq, where the leadership of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, is reported to be based.  A Defense Ministry statement said airstrikes were also conducted Friday against alleged PKK targets in Iraq’s Karajak region. Akar said the offensive was launched after an employee of the Turkish Consulate in the city of Irbil was killed along with an Iraqi national in a gun attack at a Turkish-owned restaurant in the city on Wednesday. The diplomat has been identified as Osman Kose. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting although suspicion fell on Kurdish militants.
In Irbil, a statement issued by security forces said the lead suspect in the investigation was a 27-year-old who hails from Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir. The statement did not give further details but said the suspect was already wanted by security agencies in Iraq’s Kurdish region.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency claimed that two of the suspect’s siblings were alleged PKK militants and that a third was a legislator from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party. “The terror organization was dealt a major blow following the heinous attack in Irbil through the most extensive aerial operation conducted lately in the Qandil region,” Anadolu Agency quoted Akar as saying. He said the Turkish jets struck “weapons positions, shelters, and caves” belonging to the PKK. “Our struggle against terror will continue with growing determination until the last terrorist is neutralized and the blood of our martyrs is avenged,” Akar said. Iraq’s self-governing Kurdish region is politically allied with the Turkish government, but PKK militants, who have fought a decades-long insurgency against Ankara, operate in parts of the territory. Turkey labels the group a terrorist organization.
Turkey has regularly bombed the mountainous areas where the PKK maintains bases. The group has been waging an insurgency for more than three decades. The Turkish defense ministry announced last week that it had launched a new operation, dubbed “Operation Claw-2” aiming to destroy caves and shelters used by the PKK in the Hakurk region.

ISIS claims suicide bombing that killed 2 in Egypt’s Sinai
The Associated Press, Cairo/Friday, 19 July 2019
ISIS has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed two people, including a civilian, and wounded three in Egypt’s restive northern Sinai Peninsula. The militant group says in a statement on an ISIS-affiliate website that an ISIS militant named Abu Omar El-Seedy had detonated his explosive-laden vest near a military checkpoint at dawn on Thursday. Egyptian security officials had said the bomber targeted an armored vehicle near the local market of the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, killing a soldier and a civilian and wounding three soldiers. Egypt has battled extremist militants for years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency that has occasionally spilled over to the mainland, striking minority Christians and also at times tourists.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 19-20/2019
The 'Slow Death' of Palestinians in Lebanon
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/July 19, 2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14553/slow-death-palestinians-lebanon
The Lebanese authorities' measures against Palestinians again highlight the discrimination Palestinians have long been facing in this Arab country. "Palestinians in Lebanon," according to a 2017 report by the Associated Press, "suffer discrimination in nearly every aspect of daily life..." Lebanese law restricts Palestinians' ability to work in several professions, including law, medicine and engineering, and bars them from receiving social security benefits. In 2001, the Lebanese parliament also passed a law prohibiting Palestinians from owning property.
Yet, somehow, Lebanon's discriminatory and racist measures against Palestinians do not seem to bother pro-Palestinian groups around the world. These groups regularly turn a blind eye to the misery of Palestinians living in Arab countries. Instead, they set their sights on Israel, scrutinizing it for imagined abuses against Palestinians.
It is high time for the pro-Palestinian groups on university campuses in the US, Canada, Britain and Australia to organize an "Arab Apartheid Week" instead of accusing Israel of "discriminating" against Palestinians. It is also high time for the international media to take notice of anti-Palestinian measures taken by Lebanon against the Palestinians at a time when Israel is increasing the number of Palestinian workers allowed to enter Israel for work.
Who will address the following question: Why are the UN and other international institutions remaining silent as Palestinians are being thrown out of their jobs in an Arab country while more than 100,000 Palestinians enter Israel on a daily basis for work? Will we see an emergency meeting of the Arab League or the UN Security Council to denounce Lebanese apartheid and racism? Or are they too busy drafting resolutions condemning Israel, which has opened its doors wide open to Palestinian workers?
Somehow, Lebanon's discriminatory and racist measures against Palestinians do not seem to bother pro-Palestinian groups around the world. These groups regularly turn a blind eye to the anguish of Palestinians living in Arab countries. Instead, they set their sights on Israel, scrutinizing it for imagined abuses against Palestinians. Pictured: Burj Barajneh, a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon administered by UNRWA. (Image source: Al Jazeera English/Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)
More than 100,000 Palestinians from the West Bank have permits to work in Israel, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources. In addition, the sources said, thousands of Palestinians enter Israel every day without permits.
On July 15, the number of Palestinian workers who entered Israel, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry, was estimated at more than 80,000.
Last week, as part of efforts to reach a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israel was reported to have agreed to increase the number of Palestinian merchants and businessmen allowed to go from the Gaza Strip to Israel from 3,500 to 5,000.
Reports said that the latest Israeli gesture were the outcome of attempts by Egypt and the United Nations to prevent an all-out military confrontation between Israel and Hamas.
While Israel is constantly increasing the number of work permits for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Lebanon, on the contrary, has launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal foreign workers, including Palestinians, thereby triggering a wave of protests among Palestinians living there.
The Lebanese authorities say the crackdown on illegal foreign workers is directed mostly against Syrians who fled to Lebanon after the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011. As part of this campaign against illegal workers, several businesses have been closed and many Palestinian and Syrian workers have been suspended from their jobs.
Lebanese Minister of Labor Kamil Abu Sulieman denied allegations that the campaign was organized as a "conspiracy" targeting the 450,000 Palestinians in his country. "The plan to combat illegal labor was prepared several months ago and does not target the Palestinians," Abu Sulieman said. "There is a labor law in Lebanon, and we have decided to implement it. We gave a six-month warning to all the illegal workers and businesses to seek proper permits."
The Lebanese minister admitted, however, that as a result of the campaign against illegal workers, some Palestinian businesses have been shut.
The Palestinians have rejected the minister's claims. Instead, they launched protests in different parts of Lebanon against the crackdown on illegal foreign workers. Protesters burned tires at the entrances to a number of refugee camps, and some Palestinian factions and officials, condemning the campaign, have asked the Lebanese authorities to halt their measures against Palestinian businessmen and workers.
"The Lebanese measures cause harm to the Palestinians," said Ali Faisal, member of the PLO's Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). He urged the Lebanese authorities to rescind their measures against Palestinians and pointed out that the Palestinian contribution to Lebanon's economic growth is estimated at 11%. The DFLP official also noted that, "on various pretexts," Palestinians in Lebanon are legally barred from working in several professions.
Lebanese law restricts Palestinians' ability to work in several professions, including law, medicine and engineering, and bars them from receiving social security benefits. In 2001, the Lebanese parliament also passed a law prohibiting Palestinians from owning property.
According to reports in the Arab media, the Palestinian protests could mark the beginning of a Palestinian "Intifada" [uprising] against Lebanon. The reports said that anyhow Palestinians face difficulty in obtaining work permits from the Lebanese authorities.
"The rate of unemployment among Palestinians in Lebanon is very high," said Palestinian businessman Ziad Aref. "We have the right to work towards solving this problem. The new campaign by the Lebanese authorities will leave thousands of Palestinians jobless and aggravate the financial crisis."
Aref said he believes the rate of unemployment among Palestinians in Lebanon is estimated at 56%. He also took Palestinian leaders to task for failing to address the distress of Palestinian workers and businessmen there.
Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Lebanon say they are in daily contact with the Lebanese authorities in an attempt to halt the crackdown on Palestinian workers.
Senior PLO official Azzam al-Ahmed, who is in charge of the "Palestinian portfolio" in Lebanon, expressed deep concern over the Lebanese campaign against illegal foreign workers. He said he has contacted several Lebanese officials to warn them against harming any Palestinians.
Hamas, for its part, has accused the Lebanese authorities of employing a policy of "slow death" against Palestinians in Lebanon. Hamas said in a statement that the Lebanese campaign against illegal workers and businesses seemed to be part of a "conspiracy to liquidate the rights of Palestinian refugees. We will not accept any threat to the lives and future of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and we will thwart the policy of slow death."
The Lebanese authorities' measures against Palestinians again highlight the discrimination Palestinians have long been facing in this Arab country. "Palestinians in Lebanon," according to a 2017 report by the Associated Press, "suffer discrimination in nearly every aspect of daily life... Many live in settlements officially recognized as refugee camps, but better described as concrete ghettos ringed by checkpoints and, in some cases, blast walls and barbed wire."
"The discrimination and marginalization [Palestinians] suffer is compounded by the restrictions they face in the labour market, which contribute to high levels of unemployment, low wages and poor working conditions.," according to a UN report. "Until 2005, more than 70 jobs were barred to Palestinians - around 20 still are. The resultant poverty is exacerbated by restrictions placed on their access to state education and social services."
Yet, somehow, Lebanon's discriminatory and racist measures against Palestinians do not seem to bother pro-Palestinian groups around the world. These groups regularly turn a blind eye to the anguish of Palestinians living in Arab countries. Instead, they set their sights on Israel, scrutinizing it for imagined abuses against Palestinians.
It is high time for the pro-Palestinian groups on university campuses in the US, Canada, Britain and Australia to organize an "Arab Apartheid Week" instead of accusing Israel of "discriminating" against Palestinians. It is also high time for the international media to take notice of anti-Palestinian measures taken by Lebanon against the Palestinians at a time when Israel is increasing the number of Palestinian workers allowed to enter Israel for work.
Who will address the following question: Why are the UN and other international institutions remaining silent as Palestinians are being thrown out of their jobs in an Arab country, while more than 100,000 Palestinians enter Israel on a daily basis for work? Will we see an emergency meeting of the Arab League or the UN Security Council to denounce Lebanese apartheid and racism? Or are they too busy drafting resolutions condemning Israel, which has opened its doors wide open to Palestinian workers?
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Muslim Jihadis Gang-Rape, Torture, and Murder 60-Year-Old Christian Virgin
Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine
Islamic jihadis recently gang-raped a 60-year-old Christian woman to triumphant cries of “Allahu Akbar!” before stoning her to death.
When no one in her small Christian village saw Susan Grigor (or “Gregory”) on July 9, the worried priest sent parishioners to search for her. They eventually found her mangled and bloodied corpse on the ground of a field adjacent to her home.
The autopsy revealed that Susan had been repeatedly raped and tortured over the course of nine hours before finally being murdered by stoning.
The men responsible for this heinous act are believed to be members of the al-Qaeda-linked jihadi group, al-Nusra (elements of which the Obama administration referred to and supported as “freedom fighters”).
Described as a pious Christian and “pillar in her community,” Susan had never married and lived her entire life as a virgin (suggesting that violent gang-rape was her first—and last—sexual experience).
Susan Grigor
Although she never had any of her own, Susan loved children and, after retiring, volunteered much of her time helping educate the youth of her local church and developing their skills. Before that she was an Arabic language school teacher for over 30 years and an avid gardener.
Of Armenian descent, Susan was likely a descendant of those displaced Armenians—ironically, the “lucky ones” that survived the Islamic Turkic genocide that claimed 1.5 million of their numbers—who ended up in northern Syria.
Below I translate portions of one of the earliest reports on this incident, written in Arabic by an apparently dumbstruck local and/or acquaintance (who also provided the victim’s picture):
They rape, they kill, they rob, and they fornicate while proclaiming “Allahu Akbar!” [meaning “Allah is greater”] Who, I wonder, is this god that they worship? Surely it is the god of demons… I certainly cannot call them “animals,” for animals are cleaner and more merciful… Susan was 60 and spent her life educating generations of her village… According to forensics, this 60-year-old woman was gang-raped for nine continuous hours before being stoned to death. … What did this virgin woman who was never before touched by a man feel between their filthy hands, as they gored at her flesh, tore at her chastity? What physical pain? What spiritual pain? What humiliation?…
The report goes on to note what may be the most deplorable aspect of this incident—one that English-language media reports on this incident fail to mention:
Her rapists and murderers are from the organization, al-Nusra. Some of them are foreigners but others are from the area. In other words, those who raped and stoned her are themselves from among her former students and neighbors, whom she taught Arabic in school over the course of 30 years…. Surely she never dreamt to see such depraved savagery in the eyes of her former students…. Nonetheless, they preyed on her like wild beasts—even though wild beasts do not rape their mothers.
To be sure, this is hardly the first time that Muslim neighbors, students, and even friends turn on non-Muslims once the opportunity presents itself. Back in 2013, when al-Nusra first began to penetrate Christian villages that had Muslim minorities, one Christian man explained how
We knew our Muslim neighbours all our lives. Yes, we knew the Diab family were quite radical, but we thought they would never betray us. We ate with them. We are one people. A few of the Diab family had left months ago and we guessed they were with the Nusra. But their wives and children were still here. We looked after them. Then, two days before the Nusra attacked, the families suddenly left the town. We didn’t know why. And then our neighbours led our enemies in among us…. Some of the Muslims who lived with us are good people but I will never trust 90 per cent of them again.

Erdoğan's American Gamble
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/July 19, 2019
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14552/erdogan-american-gamble
"Turkey's decision to proceed with the acquisition of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system presents a serious national security threat to the United States and to our NATO allies. By purchasing and integrating a sophisticated Russian missile defense system into NATO hardware, Turkey not only stands to jeopardize NATO security in the region but also presents Russia with a victory in its ongoing effort to sow division and distrust among NATO member states." — U.S. Representative John Sarbanes (D-Md.) July 12, 2019.
The S-400 can engage targets at a range of up to 400km (250 miles). It has been designed to shoot down NATO's aerial assets -- including U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets.
What Erdogan fears most is the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, passed by the US Senate in 2017: the CAATSA sanctions. The unemployment rate in Turkey is 13%, with 4.2 million people looking for work. The economy is in recession and the lira rate unstable.
Last week, Turkey took delivery of the first parts for the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile systems it ordered. The S-400 can engage targets at a range of up to 400km (250 miles). It has been designed to shoot down NATO's aerial assets -- including U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets. Pictured: A Russian S-400 missile battery.
Ever since Turkey officially selected the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system for its long-range air-aircraft and anti-missile architecture at the end of 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has not changed his rhetoric that the purchase was "a done deal;" and that "it is Turkey's sovereign choice to deploy which air defense system is on its soil." In response, the U.S. administration threatened to suspend Turkey's membership in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program, which is building the F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter jet. The U.S. has also threatened Turkey with more sanctions within the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Industry officials say the CAATSA sanctions may cost Turkish companies more than $10 billion in lost (sub-) contracts. Turkey has committed to buy at least 100 F-35s and has already paid $1.4 billion.
Erdoğan just shrugs it off. He says that Turkey would consider co-production of the S-400 and the more advanced S-500 system with Russia; that the S-400 was Turkey's sovereign decision and that Turkey would also open negotiations for the acquisition or co-production of the Russian-made Su-57 fighter jet in place of the F-35s.
The S-400 can engage targets at a range of up to 400km (250 miles). It has been designed to shoot down NATO's aerial assets -- including the F-35s in the making.
The first parts of the S-400 systems arrived in Ankara on July 13.
U.S. Representative John Sarbanes (D-Md.) released the following statement on July 12:
"Turkey's decision to proceed with the acquisition of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system presents a serious national security threat to the United States and to our NATO allies. By purchasing and integrating a sophisticated Russian missile defense system into NATO hardware, Turkey not only stands to jeopardize NATO security in the region but also presents Russia with a victory in its ongoing effort to sow division and distrust among NATO member states. Under President Erdogan, Turkey has spiraled – perilously – into an anti-democratic, authoritarian regime whose actions have repeatedly undermined NATO defenses. In order to demonstrate that it can operate as a trusted and reliable partner in the region, Turkey must take immediate steps to completely dismantle and return the S-400 system to Russia."
Meanwhile, the Turkish lira fell and so far this year the country's economy has contracted again.
The relationship between Ankara and Washington could drift into a storm if the U.S. retaliates in the way it promised: Suspend Turkey's membership in the JSF program, stop Turkish pilots' training; fail to deliver other critical military gear, especially the smart munitions Turkey uses against Kurdish militants in its own southeast and/or in northern Syria and northern Iraq; sanction senior Turkish officials and defense companies involved in the S-400 program; and a new wave of economic sanctions may push the country's already fragile financial posture into a free fall.
One might use a bit of political acrobatics here: Squeeze Erdoğan further (economically) but without burning bridges: Erdogan will not be in charge by, say, 2074.
In Washington there are three options to deal with an ally-turned-menace: Since there are several other transactional issues for which the U.S. and Turkey remain dependent on each other, go soft on the sanctions.
Recall the case of Pastor Andrew Brunson, when Turkey's economic downturn helped to secure the American pastor's release by squeezing Turkey economically. What Erdogan fears most are the U.S. CAATSA sanctions. According to the latest official statistics, the unemployment rate in Turkey is 13%, with 4.2 million people looking for work. The economy is in recession and the lira rate unstable.
Devise a pragmatic blend of both plans to try to avoid permanently explosive damage to the country.
By becoming the first NATO ally to deploy a Russian-made air defense system on its soil and ignoring interoperability, NATO members will have to figure out how to deal with a new "frenemy."
*Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey's leading journalists, was recently fired from the country's most noted newspaper after 29 years, for writing in Gatestone what is taking place in Turkey. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The Trade-Off Between Jobs and Inflation Disappears
Noah Smith/Bloomberg/July 19/2019
Earlier this week Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez challenged Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on whether something known as the Phillips curve -- the hypothetical inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation – is “no longer describing what is happening in today’s economy.” In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, presidential economic adviser Larry Kudlow agreed.
Ocasio-Cortez is probably concerned about wages. Although unemployment is at historic lows, real wage growth has been distinctly underwhelming in recent years.
If the Fed cuts interest rates, or keeps them lower for longer, it could prolong the current expansion and raise wage growth. That would be especially beneficial for less-educated workers and minority workers, who tend to do the best near the end of an expansion. It would also be good for President Donald Trump’s reelection prospects, which is doubtless why Kudlow agreed with Ocasio-Cortez.
Despite sluggish real wage growth, the Fed raised rates pretty steadily from late 2016 through early 2019, at which point it halted.
The standard reason for the Fed to raise rates is to ward off possible inflation. But inflation, excluding volatile food and energy prices, has generally been below the Fed’s official 2% target rate.
According to the classic Phillips curve, low unemployment should mean rising inflation. The fact that this hasn’t been happening seems to indicate that the Phillips curve has either broken down, or was never really right in the first place. By reminding Powell of this, Ocasio-Cortez is telling the Fed not to let fear of inflation get in the way of rate cuts.
But is she correct? Is the Phillips curve defunct? Economists have been arguing about this question for decades. In the 1970s, macroeconomist Robert Lucas pointed out that the Phillips curve should break down as soon as the Fed tries to use it to make policy. At that time, some policy makers believed that allowing higher inflation would lead to lower unemployment; Lucas argued that if people realized that the government was trying to do this, the government would get both high inflation and high unemployment. The stagflation of the 1970s seemed to bear out this prediction, and the classic Phillips curve fell into disrepute.
But over the years, economists have come up with a variety of alternative Phillips curves. Many rely on different definitions of inflation. The most popular ones, instead of using current or past inflation, use expectations of future inflation. (These are the models typically used at central banks.) Some use nominal wage changes in place of consumer price inflation. A number of other innovations have been tried.
There are also different concepts of labor market slack -- i.e., how many workers could still get jobs without causing a bidding war and inflation. Traditionally, slack is represented by the unemployment rate. But in the most recent expansion, although unemployment has hit record lows, the percent of the population between the ages of 25 and 54 without jobs has not fallen to the all-time low levels it attained in the 1990.
Using the prime-age non-employment rate and the employment cost index (a measure of nominal wage inflation), economist and writer Adam Ozimek showed that recent levels of unemployment and inflation fit nicely along a traditional Phillips curve. In other words, the reason low unemployment hasn’t led to higher inflation in the recent expansion could be that true unemployment simply isn’t that low.
Of course, Ozimek and others who claim that the Phillips curve is alive and well might simply be cherry-picking their data. Past tests of various Phillips curves have generally found that they do a poorer job of forecasting inflation as time goes on. New and improved versions might prove equally fickle.
So don’t expect the academic dispute over the Phillips curve to end anytime soon. But in some sense, that debate is irrelevant to the question of whether to cut interest rates right now. If the curve has broken down, as Ocasio-Cortez suggests -- or if it was always a mirage -- then the Fed should probably cut interest rates, in order to sustain the expansion and help marginal workers get a raise. But if there really is a Phillips curve and low inflation is due to continued labor market slack, as Ozimek argues, it means there are still some workers left to be put to work, which also implies that the Fed should cut rates.
So essentially everyone now agrees -- looser monetary policy is in order. But if inflation were to make a comeback someday, the argument over the Phillips curve will inevitably reignite.

Iran's Trojan Army Faces Challenge in Iraq
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/July 19/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/76824/%d8%a3%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d8%b7%d8%a7%d9%87%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b4-%d8%b7%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a/
By the end of July, Iraq is set to face what may be the biggest challenge it has faced in its post-liberation history: the full integration of Shiite militias into the regular national army. But, will that actually happen?
This is not the first time that the Iraqi leadership, this time in the person of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, announces the integration. Abdul-Mahdi’s predecessor Haidar al-Abadi issued similar statements on at least two occasions, each time under pressure from Washington, before meekly retreating.
No one knows exactly how many groups are involved as figures vary between 5 and 10 in the umbrella organization known as Hashd al-Shaabai (Popular Mobilization). However, one thing is certain: although some of the groups involved have exclusively Iraqi roots the “mobilization” as a whole could be regarded as Iran’s Trojan army in Iraq.
Three large groups; the Badr Organization led by Hadi al-Ameri and Kataeb Hezbollah under Abu-Mahdi Muhandis are largely manned and led by Iraqis who also have Iranian citizenship and regard themselves as part of a global “Islamic” revolution led from Tehran. Two other outfits, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Hezbollah al-Nujaba are also too close to Tehran to be regarded as independent Iraqi units.
From its first days, the Khomeinist regime in Tehran regarded most Arab nations as artificial states created by colonial powers around an army of natives they had created as a means of controlling the population. Thus, revolutionary Iran had to disband or at least weaken those armies by creating Arab revolutionary armies loyal to the ayatollah.
The original theoretician of the strategy was Mostafa Chamran, a US-educated scientist who helped launch the Harakat al-Mahroumin (Movement of the Dispossessed) in Lebanon before returning to Iran after the mullahs had seized power. He was one of the principal founders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Minister of Defence under Khomeini.
In 1979 and part of 1980 Khomeini had hoped that to overthrow Saddam with a repeat of the scenario that led to the fall of the Shah. Soon, however, he realized that Saddam was a different beast, not hesitating to massacre opponents on a large scale.
In 1980 the mullahs concluded that they would not be able to seize power in Baghdad with a military coup either. There were few senior Shiite officers in the Iraq army and those who have had no desire to bring the mullahs to power.
Therefore, it was back to Chamran’s idea of a parallel army.
The plan was facilitated by the fact that Saddam Hussein had driven over a million Iraqi Shiites from their homes and into Iran. With the start of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) thousands of Iraqi army deserters, including many officers and NCOs fled to Iran providing a pool for recruitment for the planned parallel army.
The Badr Brigade was given an outward Iraqi identity as the military wing of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a clerical-political anti-Saddam group led by Muhammad Baqer Hakim.
By 1983, Badr was reported to have built up its strength to 15000 men, equipped with two dozen tanks captured from the Iraqi army, a number of armored vehicles and batteries of RPGs and short-range artillery.
However, by 1988 it had become clear that Saddam would not be easily dislodged.
“The experience of the Badr Brigade provides an interesting contrast with that of Hezbollah, another parallel army created by Iran in Lebanon,” says Hamid Zomorrodi, a specialist in Iran-controlled militias. “Hezbollah was successful because it was totally loyal to Iran’s new rulers, regarding Lebanon as little more than a geographical expression. The Iraqis of Badr, however, had residual Iraqi nationalist sentiments and found it hard to be totally devoted to Iran.”
That analysis may miss a key point. The Iraqis believed that since Shiites form the majority of their country’s population they would end up in control of the country at some point. Lebanese Shiites, however, knew that although they formed the largest community they could never impose their rule except by force, and that required the support of strong foreign power, in this case, Iran.
Whatever the reason, Tehran never managed to bring Badr under the kind of tight control that it had imposed on the Lebanese Hezbollah. The result was Tehran’s support for alternative parallel armies, notably the Army of Mahdi (Jaish al-Mahdi) of Muqtada al-Sadr, a junior mullah who belonged to another Iranian clerical dynasty. Tehran also created an Iraqi branch of Hezbollah for Arab Shiites and another for Sunni Kurds.
After a period of relative independence from Tehran, the Badr Brigade ended up under tighter Iranian control, this time through the Quds (Jerusalem) Corps led by General Qassem Suleimani.
However, by 2011 it seemed that Iran did not need a Trojan horse in Iraq. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was prepared to recast Iraq as part of Iran’s zone of influence in exchange for Tehran’s support.
The eruptive appearance of the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) changed all that. The ease with which ISIL seized Mosul, extending its Syrian conquests into Iraq showed that the battle for dominance in the region was far from over. Maliki and his allies in Tehran realized that the newly created Iraqi army trained and equipped by the US and its allies, might not share their domestic and/or regional goals.
The daily Kayhan believed to echo the thinking of “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei, run an editorial castigating the new Iraqi army as “a bunch of cowards and traitors” because they had allegedly ran away from ISIL in Mosul.
The old Chamran doctrine of "parallel armies" was revived.
In the winter of 2014 General Esmail Qaani, Suleiman’s number-two was sent to Iraq to create the parallel army.
Hashad al-Shaabi claims to be a force of over 150,000. Military analysts, however, believe that figure to be exaggerated. In battles that Hashad fought notably in Tikrit where it was udder direct Iranian command, the force could not deploy more than 10,000 men at any given time which, taking into account the traditional rate of rotation of military formations means manpower of around 30,000.
Iraq has an excellent chance, perhaps a unique one, to rebuild itself as an independent and progressive power in the Middle East. However, it cannot do so by repeating the colonial method of nation-building: creating a state around an army subservient to an outside power.

Why the Islamic Republic is so unpopular with Iranians
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/July 19, 2019
After the last shah of Iran, his family and loyalists fled the country on Jan. 16, 1979, nearly 99 percent of Iranian voters supported abolishing the monarchy and establishing the Islamic Republic.
The “Islamic Republic” was an undefined system of governance. People believed that this political establishment would be the opposite of the monarchy, as a large portion of the population was dissatisfied with the widespread political and financial corruption, lack of freedom of the press, infringements on the rights of assembly and free speech, elitism, forced Westernization and modernization, disregard for the society’s religious traditions, the repression of human rights activists and political dissidents by security police, and the suppression of social movements and political parties.
Based on the ruling clergy’s promises, people thought that the Islamic Republic would bring social justice, democracy and freedom.
But, year by year, the popularity of the theocratic establishment declined to the extent that even a supporter of the regime, Sadegh Zibakalam, who is a professor of political science at the University of Tehran, said last year that “if there were a referendum on the political system in Iran now, 70 percent of the people would say no to an Islamic Republic.”
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, he described the population’s disappointment and disenchantment with the political system. Infuriated with his comments, the Revolutionary Court sentenced the professor to 18 months in prison and banned him from giving interviews, writing articles and delivering public speeches on the vague charges of spreading “false information” and “propaganda against the Islamic Republic.”
A key question to ask is: How did a political system that was supported by an overwhelming majority of the population four decades ago become extremely unpopular and despised?
The regime’s organizations, officials and their connections became wealthier as the ordinary people became poorer.
One of the major reasons is the unfair distribution of wealth and resources. Instead of providing equal job and market opportunities, private enterprise and entrepreneurship, the regime took full control of the country’s wealth and means of production.
The Islamic Republic monopolized the industries and led a state-controlled economy. The Washington office of the Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, released a book entitled “The Rise of the Revolutionary Guards’ Financial Empire,” in which it demonstrated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps controls more than half of Iran’s gross domestic product and owns several major economic powerhouses and religious endowments, such as Astan Quds Razavi in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
The regime’s organizations, officials and their connections became wealthier as the ordinary people became poorer. For example, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who gained his wealth after he became Iran’s second supreme leader, reportedly has a financial empire that is worth at least $95 billion. One of Khamenei’s major organizations, which is rarely spoken of, is Setad Ejraiye Farmane Hazrate Emam.
Roughly half of Setad’s holdings are invested in the corporate field and the other half in real estate, mainly through “the systematic seizure of thousands of properties belonging to ordinary Iranians,” mostly dissidents and foreign expatriates. Setad enjoys the advantage of monopolizing economic sectors, exploiting the nation’s wealth and bending the law in order to maximize its profits.
As the regime and its cronies accumulated wealth and monopolized the economy, they saw no need to create jobs or improve people’s living standards. This resulted in a high unemployment rate in spite of many of the younger generation having university degrees. According to an official representative of the regime’s Planning and Management Organization, “42 percent of unemployed people in Iran have a university degree, and huge sums of money have been spent on their education.” Although Iran has an educated youth population, almost 30 percent of them cannot find jobs. In some provinces, the unemployment rate is above 60 percent.
The unemployment rate among university-educated women is much higher than that of men, hovering near 80 percent in some provinces. In addition, more than 40 percent of the population, or approximately 32 million citizens, live below the poverty line.
In some provinces, such as Sistan and Baluchistan, more than 75 percent of the population is struggling with food shortages and a lack of drinking water.
The revolutionary regime made the middle class slowly disappear, which caused a wide gap between social classes. This is all happening while the Iranian people are cognizant of the fact that their country is one of the richest in the world when it comes to natural resources and commodities. In fact, by having approximately $27.3 trillion of natural resources, Iran is ranked fifth in the world, ahead of China and Australia and only behind Canada, the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Income inequality and the leaders’ failure to create jobs are among the most critical reasons why the revolutionary regime is so unpopular in Iran.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh