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

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.may20.19.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Bible Quotations For today
Stand firm in one spirit, strive side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and in no way be intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation
Letter to the Philippians 01/21-30: “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again. Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on May 19-20/19
Rahi presides over Mass devoted to Sfeir
Report: Trump's Sanctions on Iran Are Hitting Hezbollah Hard
Economy Ministry Moves against Asmar after 'Moral Fall'
Kanaan Says 'Late State Budget is Not a Budget'
Jumblat Warns Arabs against War amid U.S.-Iran Tensions
Bassil Withdraws Recognition of GCLW Presidency in Bkirki Visit
Jabaq Says No Concerns over Sanctions
Head of Lebanon’s General Labor Confederation Arrested After Insulting Late Patriarch Sfeir in Leak
Minister of Culture: Budget just around the corner
Minister: Lebanon Aims to Cut Debt Servicing Costs with 1% Interest Rate T-Bonds

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 19-20/19
Trump: If Iran wants to fight then that will be its official end
GOP ( Grand Old Party (Republican Party) Lawmaker on Iran Threat: Directive Was to 'Kill and Kidnap American Soldiers'
Rocket fired on Iraqi capital's 'Green Zone', no casualties
Syria: Israel Raids on Iranian Base Near Damascus
Bomb Blast Hits Tourist Bus near Egypt Pyramids, Injuring 17
72-Hour Truce in Idlib, Moscow Continues to Attack ‘Terrorists’
US Fifth Fleet: GCC Countries Begin Enhanced Maritime Security Patrols
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih: Recent Attacks Haven’t Affected Us
Saudi King Calls for Arab, Gulf Summits in Makkah
US Reports: Trump Might Declare War on Iran Without Congress Approval
China Says Opposes ‘Unilateral’ US Sanctions Against Iran
Trump: At Least Iran Doesn’t Know What to Think
UK Warns British-Iranian Dual Nationals from Traveling to Iran
Saudi Arabia Deposits $250 Million Into Sudan's Central Bank
Algerian Figures Call for Agreement That Meets Protesters’ Aspirations
Turkey Says to Produce S-500s with Russia after S-400 Missile Deal
May to Make MPs a Final 'Bold Offer' on Brexit Deal
Arab League Urges German Parliament to Reverse Anti-BDS Motion

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 19-20/19
GOP ( Grand Old Party (Republican Party) Lawmaker on Iran Threat: Directive Was to 'Kill and Kidnap American Soldiers'/USA Today/May 19/2019
Pope calls for humble and free journalism that serves truth and goodness/Vatican News/NNA/May 19/2019
Burkina Faso: The New Land of Islamic Jihad and Christian Slaughter/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/May 19/2019
Theresa May's Exit Won’t End Tories' Brexit Nightmare/Therese Raphael/Bloomberg/May 19/2019
Sfeir’s Departure and the Strong Wall of Nationalism/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 19/2019

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on May 19-20/19
Rahi presides over Mass devoted to Sfeir
Sun 19 May 2019/NNA - Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutors Rahi presided over Sunday's mass service devoted for late former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, in the "Church of Our Lady" in the Patriarchal Edifice of Bkirki, in the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs Gibran Bassil, members of the Executive Council of the Labor Union and a delegation of the National Federation of Trade Unions and employees in Lebanon. In his religious sermon on the occasion, Rahi called on the Lebanese officials to "exercise their responsibilities in dedication, determination and hard work, in order to lift the Lebanese people from their social and economic sufferings."Rahi concluded that, "political power does not take its moral legitimacy from itself, but work for the public good."

Report: Trump's Sanctions on Iran Are Hitting Hezbollah Hard
Kataeb.org/Sunday 19th May 2019/U.S. sanctions on Iran have affected Tehran’s ability to fund its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, forcing drastic cuts, as reported by The Washington Post on Saturday. "Hezbollah, the best funded and most senior of Tehran's proxies, has seen a sharp fall in its revenue and is being forced to make draconian cuts to its spending, according to Hezbollah officials, members and supporters," the newspaper wrote. Salaries and social services for Hezbollah’s fighters, which are funded by Iran, have been curtailed after the Trump administration pulled out from the 2015 nuclear deal decreasing Iranian revenue by $10 billion since last November. According to the report, essential expenses are being sustained, such as salaries to full-time fighters and stipends to families of the militants who died in Syria. However, draconian cuts are being applied as social benefits that used to be granted to militants and their families (meals, gas, medicines, transportation and others) have been canceled. Many of the group's fighters have been pulled out from Syria or assigned to the reserves with lower salaries, said a Hezbollah employee with one of the group's administrative units. “There is no doubt these sanctions have had a negative impact; but ultimately, sanctions are a component of war, and we are going to confront them in this context,” a senior Hezbollah official told the newspaper. Programs on Hezbollah's television station Al-Manar have been canceled and their staff laid off, according to another Hezbollah insider. The Hezbollah official insisted that the cutbacks have not impacted the group's military capabilities, affirming that this will be just another war to be won by the group. "We are still getting arms from Iran. We are still ready to confront Israel. Our role in Iraq and Syria remains. There is no person in Hezbollah who left because they didn't get their salary, and the social services have not stopped," he said. The sanctions "won't last forever," he predicted. "Just as we were able to win militarily in Syria and Iraq, we will be victorious in this war, too."

Economy Ministry Moves against Asmar after 'Moral Fall'
Naharnet/May 19/2019/Economy Minister Mansour Bteish announced Sunday that the ministry will scrap a contract with General Confederation of Lebanese Workers chief Beshara al-Asmar over his abusive remarks against late former Maronite patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. “After his condemned moral fall and his detention by the judiciary, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce will, tomorrow, scrap a Beirut Silos work contract with Beshara al-Asmar,” Bteish tweeted. Asmar’s leaked remarks have sparked a storm of outrage in the country. He has been summoned for interrogation and is still in detention, amid calls for stripping him of his post. A video that went viral on social media on Friday shows Asmar mocking Sfeir shortly before a televised press conference. Asmar was unaware his microphone was on before the conference.

Kanaan Says 'Late State Budget is Not a Budget'
Naharnet/May 19/2019/The head of the Finance Parliamentary Committee MP Ibrahim Kanaan stressed Sunday that a late state budget is not a real budget. “A budget that is not approved on time is not a budget but rather a de facto situation and the 2019 state budget is eight months late from its constitutional deadline and it should have been passed before the fiscal year’s end so that we implement it,” Kanaan said in an interview with Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3). The approval of timely state budgets “has not taken place since the endorsement of the Taef Accord,” Kanaan lamented. He added: “Finalizing the budget within a month in Parliament depends on the responsiveness of ministries, administrations and MPs, but what’s certain is that will not endorse it blindly. There are over 1,000 pages and credits for 24 ministries that should be scrutinized and all viewpoints must be heard,” he added. “What’s practically happening in Cabinet is preparation for the 2020 budget, after the (2019) missed its constitutional deadline,” Kanaan went on to say, urging a new mentality in approaching state budgets and “real reforms.”Lebanon has vowed to slash public spending to unlock $11 billion worth of aid pledged by international donors during an April 2018 conference in Paris. Last month, Prime Minister Saad Hariri vowed to introduce "the most austere budget in Lebanon's history" to combat the country's bulging fiscal deficit, sparking fears among public sector employees that their salaries may be cut. Lebanon is one of the world's most indebted countries, with public debt estimated at 141 percent of GDP in 2018, according to credit ratings agency Moody's.

Jumblat Warns Arabs against War amid U.S.-Iran Tensions
Naharnet/May 19/2019/Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat on Sunday warned Arabs against getting involved in a war in the region amid the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. “Amid this huge and scary confrontation between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic, and amid the Israeli incitement to warm, we hope no one in the Arab world will get involved, because war will only produce vast devastation,” Jumblat tweeted. Separately, he hoped Lebanon’s state budget will be finalized as soon as possible and without political bickering in order to “avoid the worse.”

Bassil Withdraws Recognition of GCLW Presidency in Bkirki Visit
Naharnet/May 19/2019/Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Sunday visited the seat of the Maronite church in Bkirki at the head of a Strong Lebanon bloc and FPM delegation, in the wake of a storm of condemnation sparked by leaked remarks against revered late ex-patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. “We stand by Bkirki in its national message,” Bassil said, stressing that “this message cannot be touched and this message will remain even after the departure of Bkirki’s great figures.”“The insult against Bkirki and the Lebanese points to an ethics problem in the country targeted against dignitaries, leaders and dignities,” Bassil decried, referring to General Confederation of Lebanese Workers chief Beshara al-Asmar’s leaked remarks against Sfeir, who passed away last Sunday at the age of 99. “It is normal that we don’t recognize the GCLW’s presidency until the current situation gets rectified,” Bassil added. Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi for his part said that he was “deeply hurt, like all people, by the disgraceful insult” against Sfeir. Asmar has been summoned for interrogation and is still in detention, amid calls for stripping him of his post. A video that went viral on social media on Friday shows Asmar mocking Sfeir shortly before a televised press conference. Asmar was unaware his microphone was on before the conference.

Jabaq Says No Concerns over Sanctions
Associated Press/Naharnet/May 19/2019/Health Minister Jamil Jabaq — named to the post by Hizbullah — has said that he has overcome U.S. concerns about his ministry potentially funneling finances to the militant organization by gaining public trust and ensuring transparency. Jabaq told The Associated Press that although he is not a member, he was picked to the post because Hizbullah has trust in him. Jabak insisted he is working for all Lebanese. "People's trust in you is what erases" concerns, said Jabaq, a physician who spoke at his private clinic in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh. He has maintained his practice since taking on the Health Ministry job. Jabaq was named in January by Hizbullah after the group made significant gains in parliamentary elections, allowing it to lobby and gain a bigger share in the Cabinet. After months of haggling, Hizbullah increased the ministries it can name to three, including the strategic Health Ministry. U.S. officials then warned against funneling the ministry's resources to Hizbullah, which has an expansive social network of charity institutions and many wounded members from its role in the war in neighboring Syria.But the Iranian-backed Hizbullah is under various sanctions by the United States, which labels the group a terrorist organization. Even Hizbullah officials say the increasing U.S. sanctions, including on its ally Iran, are hurting the group. Jabaq said Hizbullah avoided the sanctions on the ministry by reaching a deal with President Michel Aoun to appoint a man trusted by the group but not a member. "I treated many Hizbullah officials. They know through my work how transparent I am," he said. Jabaq denied reports he was the personal physician of the group's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. "I have not had the honor," he said. Jabaq said his government won't accept any international monitoring of its spending. Internal auditing and domestic scrutiny will do the job, he said. "Internationally, there was fear at the start but after meetings with all international organizations and the ambassadors, it became clear, something they already knew, that I don't have a political affiliation," he said. But Jabaq was cognizant of the challenges he faces. Domestically, nearly 1.8 million of Lebanon's more than 4 million residents are without health care. Over 1 million Syrian refugees live in the country, adding pressure to Lebanon's debilitated infrastructure. Jabaq has toured Lebanon to dispel concerns he was biased toward Hizbullah. "What matters is that all civil groups working in Lebanon get an equal share from the ministry of health in terms of medicine support," he said. "Hizbullah and its institutions are part of Lebanese society." Beaming with confidence that he has the public's trust, it is clearly because of his successful campaign to reduce, in some cases by over 50 percent, the price of medications for chronic and infectious diseases. As the government negotiates spending cuts to deal with a deepening economic slump, Jabaq said he successfully prevented cuts to his $500 million budget and is working to increase it from 1.7 percent to 3 percent of the national budget. Jabaq is negotiating a project with the World Bank to rehabilitate government hospitals and primary health care centers to improve public services, particularly for the poor. Lebanon has only 30 government hospitals but at least 120 private ones. He said there will be a monitoring mechanism for spending in this project: "I have nothing to hide," he said. A graduate of Zaghreb university in 1982, Jabaq returned to Lebanon to work in a number of hospitals. He is the first physician in the post in ten years and prides himself in knowing the secrets of the profession. He is negotiating exporting Lebanese medicine to Iraq and boosting medicinal tourism. Jabaq travels to Geneva on Sunday to attend the World Health Organization's 72nd Assembly, where he said he will raise Lebanon's health sector concerns, including the "dream" of medical care for every Lebanese.

Head of Lebanon’s General Labor Confederation Arrested After Insulting Late Patriarch Sfeir in Leak
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/Head of Lebanon’s General Labor Confederation Bechara Asmar was arrested on Saturday after he insulted late patriarch Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir in a leaked video. Before beginning his press conference, Asmar appeared in the video while mocking Sfeir, who passed away a few days ago, as he was unaware the microphones were already turned on. Acting Cassation Prosecutor, Judge Imad Qabalan, issued the arrest warrant on Saturday, while a large number of Lebanese called on Asmar to resign from his post. Qabalan also opened an investigation into Asmar and the five other individuals who appear to be laughing at Asmar’s comments in the same leaked video. Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi sternly condemned on Saturday Asmar’s offensive remarks on Sfeir. In a statement issued by Bkirki’s press office, the Patriarch welcomed the swift mobilization of the state prosecution. "Such comments automatically disqualify their author from assuming responsibilities relevant to public affairs," Rahi said. He added that the doors of Bkirki would remain closed to Asmar until "he makes amends for his sin."In a tweet posted on his account, Justice Minister Albert Serhan said the head of the GLC had been remanded in custody. "I have been following up on Beshara Asmar's affair with the acting state prosecutor since morning, and he informed me that after his questioning, Asmar had been detained and that investigations with the concerned side were still underway," Serhan said. In a separate tweet, Labor Minister Camille Abousleiman said his ministry would take legal action against the union leader. Asmar’s lawyer said head of the GLC clarified he did not mean to insult Sfeir, adding there was “no clear, explicit or convincing justification” for his arrest.
On Saturday, the Maronite League canceled the membership of Asmar and decided to sue him over his insulting remarks.

Minister of Culture: Budget just around the corner
Sun 19 May 2019/NNA - Minister of Culture Mohamed Daoud said via Twitter: "The approval of the budget at the Council of Ministers and its referral to the House of Representatives is just around the corner. We affirm, in the name of the Amal movement, our keenness on protect the rights and earnings of low-income employees, public workers, retirees and the poor and middle classes. We will be the spearhead in the fight against corruption."

Minister: Lebanon Aims to Cut Debt Servicing Costs with 1% Interest Rate T-Bonds
Reuters/Sunday 19th May 2019/The Lebanese government aims to shave some 1 trillion Lebanese pounds ($660 million) from debt servicing costs in the draft 2019 state budget through issuing treasury bonds at an interest rate of 1%, the finance minister said on Saturday. "This matter will happen through coordination between the finance ministry, the central bank and the banks after the budget approval to issue treasury bonds in Lebanese currency in the range of 11,000 billion Lebanese pounds at an interest rate of 1 percent," Ali Hassan Khalil told Reuters. Khalil had earlier written on Twitter that the draft budget includes a reduction of around 1 trillion Lebanese pounds in debt servicing costs, without giving further details.The Lebanese state draft budget for 2019 will have a deficit below 9% of gross domestic product (GDP) and it may be less than 8.5% of GDP, Khalil had told media reporters.The deficit was 11.2% of GDP in 2018. Government discussions on the draft budget should be concluded on Sunday, Khalil was also cited as saying by the National News Agency in the discussion.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 19-20/19
Trump: If Iran wants to fight then that will be its official end
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Monday, 20 May 2019/US President Donald Trump threatened Iran in a tweet on Sunday, raising concerns about a potential US-Iran conflict at a time when tensions between Washington and Tehran have risen. “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again,” Trump said in a tweet. Trump has tightened economic sanctions against Iran, and his administration says it has built up the US military presence in the region. It accuses Iran of threats to US troops and interests. Tehran has described US moves as “psychological warfare” and a “political game.”On Saturday, The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that his country is in a full intelligence war with the United States and “enemies of the Islamic Republic” which includes cyber and military operations.

GOP ( Grand Old Party (Republican Party) Lawmaker on Iran Threat: Directive Was to 'Kill and Kidnap American Soldiers'
USA Today/May 19/2019
A top Republican lawmaker said Friday that the threat from Iran picked up by U.S. intelligence – which sparked a U.S. military deployment to the Middle East and heightened tensions across the region – was very specific and involved the possible kidnapping and killing of American soldiers.
"To the extent I can discuss it, it was human intelligence," Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told USA TODAY on Friday. He was referring to intelligence information that prompted the Pentagon to deploy an aircraft carrier, along with B-52 bombers and other military forces, to the Middle East. Trump administration officials said the move was made to counter what they described as credible threats from Iran to U.S. forces in the region. McCaul said U.S. intelligence officials learned that the head of Iran's Quds Force, a unit of Iran's military force, met with Iran's proxy militias and said: "We are getting ready to have a proxy war and target Americans."He said the same message was delivered to a Hezbollah proxy group. Hezbollah is an Iranian-sponsored terrorist group. "One of the Hezbollah cells is known for its kidnapping and killing operations, and their directive was to go in and kill and kidnap American soldiers," McCaul said. McCaul made the comments in a brief interview with USA TODAY after delivering remarks on U.S. foreign policy at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. He made similar comments in a question-and-answer session at that event. The Guardian newspaper first reported some details of this threat, citing unnamed sources.
The leader of Iran's Quds Force is Major General Qasem Soleimani, an extremely powerful figure inside the country and across the region. Experts say he has helped Iran extend its sphere of influence through proxy forces in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. "Without question, Soleimani is the most powerful general in the Middle East today," Ali Soufan, a former FBI agent who handled several high-profile terrorism cases, wrote in an analysis last fall. "More than anyone else, Soleimani has been responsible for the creation of an arc of influence – which Iran terms its 'Axis of Resistance' – extending from the Gulf of Oman through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea," Soufan wrote. Until now, top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have said the U.S. had specific, credible threats that Iran or its proxies might be preparing attacks against American forces or U.S. targets in the region, but they did not provide details.
In addition to the Pentagon deployment , the State Department on Wednesday ordered all nonemergency employees to leave Iraq immediately. The U.S. has more than 5,000 troops stationed in Iraq. McCaul did not directly answer a question about new reporting that suggests the increasingly aggressive moves by both Iran and the U.S. may have been spurred by a misreading of the intelligence threats. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Iranian officials believed the U.S. was planning an attack and that prompted Tehran to prepare for possible counterstrikes. The U.S. intelligence officials may have misread Iran's countermeasures as aggression, the Journal reported, noting there are divisions within the Trump administration over the meaning of the intelligence gathered in recent weeks.The State Department declined to comment on McCaul's remarks or the Wall Street Journal story. A spokesman for the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats did not immediately respond to questions on these matters.

Rocket fired on Iraqi capital's 'Green Zone', no casualties
BAGHDAD (Reuters)May 19/2019/A rocket was fired into the Iraqi capital Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign embassies, on Sunday but caused no casualties, the Iraqi military said. “A Katyusha rocket fell in the middle of the Green Zone without causing any losses,” the military said in a statement, later specifying that it landed near the Monument of the Unknown Soldier. The blast was heard across central Baghdad on Sunday night, according to Reuters witnesses and residents. The Katyusha multiple rocket launcher is an inexpensive type of rocket artillery that can deliver explosives to a target quicker than conventional artillery, but is less accurate. Police special forces found a rocket launcher in eastern Baghdad’s al-Sina district, about 7 km (4.3 miles) away across the Tigris River from the Green Zone, and sealed off the area, a police source told Reuters.

Syria: Israel Raids on Iranian Base Near Damascus
Beirut, Damascus, London- Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/Syrian air defense batteries on Friday intercepted projectiles coming from Israel and downed a number of them, state-owned news agency SANA reported.
"Our air defense systems intercepted luminous objects coming from the occupied territories (Israel) and downed several of them," SANA said quoting a military source. Head of Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman said three explosions shook southwest Damascus on Friday.
“They were Israeli strikes that targeted the Kiswah region where weapons warehouses belonging to Iran and (its Lebanese proxy) Hezbollah are located,” he told AFP. In April, Syrian air defense intercepted an Israeli air strike targeting Mesyaf in central Hama province, wounding three combatants and destroying buildings, according to SANA. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets.
Israeli shelling recently targeted Aleppo, and in March, Syria announced its air defenses intercepted the Israeli aggression targeting the northeast of the city.
On January 21, Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes inside Syria, targeting Iranian facilities and Syrian aerial defense batteries, as well as a site near the Damascus International Airport. The strikes, according to the Observatory, killed 21 people, including members of the Iranian forces and affiliated fighters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed during his visit to Chad not to let Iran entrench itself militarily in the war-torn country.
In a detailed report, the Observatory said explosions were heard in the vicinity of Damascus, caused by several Israeli missiles where at least three violent explosions took place in the south and south-west of the capital. The flash of one of the explosions was seen in the west of Jaramana, and it was not known whether it was caused by interception by the air defenses to the missiles or the missiles reached their targets in areas in the vicinity of the capital. SOHR noted that the Israeli airstrikes targeted Masyaf area in the western countryside of Hama on the 13th of April, killing several and injuring many others. The Observatory documented the death of at least 14 Iranians and their loyal groups, 9 of which were Syrians and non-Syrians residing on the Syrian territory, while the other 5 include at least 3 Iranians.
They were all killed in the Israeli shelling that targeted the Accountant School in Masyaf city, and the mid-range missiles development center in al-Zawi village, and al-Talaee camp in Sheikh Ghadban village in Masyaf countryside.
The shelling injured more than 15 others, while the Observatory received information about the killing of Russian and North Korean experts in the Israeli bombardment.
On March 28, the Observatory learned that the explosions that rocked the area near Aleppo International Airport and Industrial City in Sheikh Najjar were caused by Israeli raids which targeted ammunition warehouses affiliated with the Iranian forces.
SOHR stated in a report that on March 19, violent explosions rocked the suburbs of Damascus, without information so far about the nature of the explosions. The violent sound coincided with firing missiles by the anti-aircraft defenses spread in the suburbs. Earlier in March, an explosion rocked Hodr town in the northern sector of al-Quneitra countryside, caused by at least one rocket shell on an area at the western outskirts of the town, without information about causalities.On February 11, the Observatory recorded an Israeli missile attack targeting Hezbollah and Iranian fighters in the areas of Jubata al-Khashab and al-Quneitra.

Bomb Blast Hits Tourist Bus near Egypt Pyramids, Injuring 17
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 19/2019/A bomb blast hit a tourist bus near Egypt's famed Giza pyramids on Sunday, wounding at least 17 people, including South Africans, in the latest blow to the country's tourism industry. The roadside bomb went off as the bus was being driven in Giza, also causing injuries to Egyptians in a nearby car, medical and security sources said. There were no deaths reported. "A device exploded and smashed the windows of a bus carrying 25 people from South Africa and a private car carrying four Egyptians," the security source said. Video footage captured by AFP showed the bus and car with broken windows on the side of the road. According to the security source, the wounded were being treated for scratches caused by the broken glass. Ndivhuwo Mabaya, spokesman for South Africa's department of international relations, told AFP that "there might be South Africans involved" but declined to give any figures. Sunday's incident comes after three Vietnamese holidaymakers and their Egyptian guide were killed when a roadside bomb hit their bus as it travelled near the Giza pyramids outside Cairo in December.
It also comes just little more than a month before the African Cup of Nations hosted by Egypt is to kick off. Egypt has been battling an insurgency that surged especially in the turbulent North Sinai region following the 2013 military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was replaced by former army general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In February 2018, the army launched a nationwide operation against militants, focusing mainly on the North Sinai region. Some 650 militants and around 45 soldiers have been killed since the start of the offensive, according to separate statements by the armed forces. Since first being elected in 2014, Sisi has presented himself as a bulwark against terrorism, promising stability and increased security. Recently, the country's vital tourism industry has started to slowly rebound after suffering strong blows due to deadly attacks targeting tourists following the turmoil of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak. Figures by the official statistics agency showed that tourist arrivals reached 8.3 million in 2017, compared with 5.3 million the previous year. Authorities have gone at great lengths to lure tourists back, touting a series of archaeological finds and a new museum next to the pyramids, as well as enhanced security at airports and around ancient sites. But that figure was still far short of the record influx of 2010 when more than 14 million visitors flocked to see the country's sites.

72-Hour Truce in Idlib, Moscow Continues to Attack ‘Terrorists’
Moscow – Raed Jabr/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/Official Russian circles avoided Saturday issuing a clear position on the temporary truce in Idlib as Moscow accused armed factions in the area of continuing to breach the ceasefire. The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on Saturday on reports published by official state media outlets quoting field sources in Syria as saying that a 72-hour truce was reached in Idlib and that the ceasefire will go into effect on Saturday night. The sources did not offer further details about the truce. Surprisingly, Moscow issued on Saturday a military statement saying: “Terrorists were continuing to violate the truce in Idlib.” The chief of Russia's center for the reconciliation of conflicting parties in Syria, Major-General Viktor Kupchishin, said on Saturday that during the past 24 hours, illegitimate armed groups violated the ceasefire in the two provinces of Latakia and Aleppo. The Novosti news agency quoted Kupchishin as saying that over the past day, terrorists attacked areas in the Latakia province and others in the Hama province. Meanwhile, the Russian side of the Russian-Turkish commission monitoring the implementation of the Syrian ceasefire said it has registered 10 ceasefire violations in Syria over the past 24 hours, while the Turkish side has recorded 16 truce breaches, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a daily bulletin on Saturday. The Russian notice said that all violations registered by Moscow were in Latakia and Idlib while the Turkish side registered the violations in Idlib, Latakia, and Hama. In September 2018, several areas in the countryside of Hama, Idlib, and the western countryside of Aleppo were included in the de-escalation zones deal, reached between Russia and Turkey. However, late last month, the Syrian army started an operation against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the northern countryside of Hama in central Syria and nearby Idlib, saying the attacks were a response to the rebels' assault and infiltration attempts into Syrian military sites in the region.

US Fifth Fleet: GCC Countries Begin Enhanced Maritime Security Patrols
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) began "enhanced security patrols" in the international waters of the Arabian Gulf area on Saturday, the US Navy's Fifth Fleet said on Sunday. The GCC countries were "specifically increasing communication and coordination with each other in support of regional naval cooperation and maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf," the statement said. Also Sunday, the US Navy said it has conducted exercises in the Arabian Sea with the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group in coordination with the US Marine Corps, highlighting US "lethality and agility to respond to threat," as well as to deter conflict and preserve US strategic interests. Taking part in exercises were the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, both deployed to the US Fifth Fleet area of operations. The Navy said the exercises, conducted Friday and Saturday, included air-to-air training and steaming in formation and maneuvering. The White House has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln and B-52s bombers into the region over what US officials say are Iranian threats. Tension grew when four vessels were subjected to sabotage acts near the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates last Sunday.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih: Recent Attacks Haven’t Affected Us
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday that recent attacks on Saudi energy assets have not affected his country's oil output. “Although it has not affected our supplies, such acts of terrorism are deplorable," Falih said. "They threaten uninterrupted supplies of energy to the world and put a global economy that is already facing headwinds at further risk." Four commercial ships were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates last Sunday, and two days later drones attacked oil installations west of the Saudi capital Riyadh. Iran-backed Houthi militias have claimed the attack in Saudi Arabia. Falih called on Saudi Arabia's partners to condemn the attacks. He was speaking in Jeddah ahead of a ministerial panel meeting of top OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers. The minister recommended "gently" driving oil inventories down at a time of plentiful global supplies.

Saudi King Calls for Arab, Gulf Summits in Makkah
Riyadh- Saleh Al- Zayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, called on leaders of GCC and Arab countries to hold two emergency summits in the Holy city of Makkah on Ramadan 25 (May 30) to discuss ways to enhance regional security and stability in the wake of the attacks on commercial vessels in UAE territorial waters and on two Saudi pumping stations by Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militias. The announcement was made by an official source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The two summits will take place one day ahead of the 14th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to which King Salman has invited 57 members. The Saudi Press Agency quoted the ministry official as saying that Arab and GCC leaders at the summits would discuss the recent aggressions and their repercussions on the region. Last Sunday, four commercial vessels had been sabotaged near Fujairah emirate, outside the Strait of Hormuz, including two Saudi oil tankers and two days later drones attacked oil installations west of the Saudi capital Riyadh. The UAE said on Sunday that "critical circumstances" in the region require a united Gulf Arab and Arab stand, amid heightened tensions with Iran following last week's attacks. A foreign ministry statement published on state news agency WAM welcomed a call by Saudi Arabia's King Salman to convene emergency summits in Makkah. For his part, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir said in a press conference held on Sunday morning that the Kingdom is following with great concern the latest developments at the regional and international arenas, which are escalating because of the actions of the Iranian regime and its hostile proxies in the region. “Saudi Arabia does not want a war in the region and does not seek to do so and will do its utmost to prevent this war,” Jubeir said. However, the Minister stressed that if the other side chooses war, the Kingdom will respond firmly and decisively and will defend itself and its interests. The King’s call for holding two urgent summits came as several procedures and warnings were taken for fear of a possible confrontation in the Gulf between the United States and Iran. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Notice to Airmen in the US said that all commercial aircraft flying over the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman needed to be aware of Iran’s fighter jets and weaponry, the Associated Press reported Saturday. And while reports published in the US said President Donald Trump might order an attack on Iran without the Congress’ approval, Iraqi officials said ExxonMobil Corp. began evacuating staff from Basra, south of Iraq.

US Reports: Trump Might Declare War on Iran Without Congress Approval
Washington- Atef Abdullatif/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/US administration could launch a military strike against Iran without congressional approval, according to US media reports. The administration is relying on key elements drawing links between al-Qaeda and Iran and casting Iran as a terrorist threat to the US. Sources in the reports indicated that these elements will give Donald Trump's administration the justification it needs to fight Iran under the still-in-effect 2001 use-of-force resolution without congressional approval. President Trump has said more than once that he does not want to wage a war against Iran, however, the reports noted that the possibility of a US military strike against Tehran is still possible. The strike is particularly supported by National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to US media reports. Congress would not give Trump the green light to a strike unless it was needed, as Congress saw it. Most Democrats, and even some Republicans, refuse to engage US forces in another war in the Middle East. With Congress unlikely to grant Trump new authority to strike Iran under the current circumstances, and amid a campaign of "maximum pressure" against the regime in Tehran, media reports revealed that Trump administration sent strong signals that they will be ready to make an end run around lawmakers, using the 2001 authorization for the use of military force, if necessary. The use of military force law gave the president the power to use force against “nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.”The United States already included some of Iran's organizations, including the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as terrorist organizations, and Trump and his administration can use the hawks to justify a military strike, or even a war with Tehran, without the need for congressional approval. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has accused Iran of assisting al-Qaeda and being linked to a terrorist threat against the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. That could give the US administration the justification it needs to fight Iran under the still-in-effect 2001 use-of-force resolution without congressional approval. Earlier this month, the US deployed an aircraft carrier strike group “Abraham Lincoln” to the region. US officials said that a surge in US forces in the region was a response in part to intelligence-gathering suggesting that the Iranian regime had given proxies a green light to attack US personnel and assets in the region. Lawyers familiar with the 2001 law and its applications say it's obvious from those moves that the Trump administration is trying to enforce the use-of-force resolution in case the President decided to strike Iran. Yale University law professor Harold Koh, who served as the State Department's top lawyer under Secretary Hillary Clinton, indicated that the whole thing is building up to the notion that they don't have to go to Congress for approval. “The theory of war powers has to be that Congress doesn't just sign off once,” said Koh in a telephone interview with NBC News, adding that the “suggestion now that Iran attacked us on 9/11 is ridiculous.” Meanwhile, Trump pushed back Friday against reports of conflict between Pompeo and Bolton, calling sourcing cited by reporters “bull----.”“Mike Pompeo is doing a great job. Bolton is doing a great job. They make it sound like it’s a conflict,” the president said in a speech to the National Association of Realtors. “At least Iran doesn’t know what to think, which at this point may very well be a good thing!” Trump said in a tweet.

China Says Opposes ‘Unilateral’ US Sanctions Against Iran
Beijing/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019//The Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday that China resolutely opposes “unilateral” sanctions imposed by the United States. China supports Iran to safeguard its legitimate rights and understands Iran's situation, Wang Yi said in a meeting with Zarif in Beijing, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement. Tensions have escalated in recent days with increasing concerns about a potential US-Iran conflict. Iran has said it is committed to its obligations under an international nuclear deal despite the US withdrawal from the landmark agreement last year, and has called the reimposition of US sanctions unacceptable. Zarif urged China to take "concrete actions" to safeguard the 2015 nuclear deal as he warned of a "dangerous" situation amid the escalating tensions with the US. US officials said the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf, one of the world's most strategic waterways, was in reaction to photographs showing that Iran had loaded missiles onto small traditional boats. On Wednesday, the US State Department ordered the evacuation of most personnel from the US embassy and consulate in Iraq over an alleged "imminent" threat from Iraqi militias with close links to Tehran. Zarif said Thursday there is "no possibility" of negotiations with the United States to reduce spiraling tensions, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. "No, there is no possibility for negotiations," the news agency cited Zarif as telling reporters in Tokyo, where he met with Japanese officials.

Trump: At Least Iran Doesn’t Know What to Think
Washington - Heba El Koudsy/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/US President Donald Trump has criticized US media outlets for their “fraudulent” coverage of Iran amid growing tension in the Gulf. “The Fake News Media is hurting our Country with its fraudulent and highly inaccurate coverage of Iran,” he said on Twitter on Friday. He described it as “poorly sourced” and “dangerous.” “At least Iran doesn’t know what to think, which at this point may very well be a good thing!” Trump continued. The United States is "sitting by the phone" but has heard no message yet from Iran that it is willing to accept Trump's overtures for direct talks, a senior Trump administration official said on Friday. "We think they should de-escalate and come to negotiations," the official, who declined to be identified, told a small group of reporters. Also Friday, a State Department spokesman said Washington takes all alleged sanctions violations seriously and will take action as appropriate, responding to a question about a tanker unloading Iranian fuel oil at a Chinese port. Reuters on Thursday reported that a tanker carrying nearly 130,000 tons of Iranian fuel oil had unloaded its cargo into storage tanks near the Chinese city of Zhoushan. “The United States takes all alleged sanctionable activities seriously and will take action as appropriate. We are committed to enforcing our sanctions, especially those related to Iran’s oil and petrochemicals sectors,” the State Department spokesman said in an emailed response. He said the department was aware of the specific report about the tanker but declined to comment on it. Meanwhile, two Navy guided-missile destroyers, the USS McFaul and USS Gonzalez, have traveled through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday afternoon without challenge from Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, Pentagon defense officials said. The McFaul and Gonzalez will be part of the Abraham Carrier Strike Group. The USS Arlington amphibious transport dock ship and a Patriot surface-to-air missile battery are being moved to the Middle East. Also, four B-52 bombers have been sent to the region.

UK Warns British-Iranian Dual Nationals from Traveling to Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/The UK banned on Friday British-Iranian dual nationals from traveling to Iran, saying they faced an unacceptably higher risk of arbitrary detention and mistreatment compared to other nationals. The move comes as Britain continues to try to secure the release from jail of dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Tehran has also recently sentenced an Iranian British Council employee, Aras Amiri, to 10 years in prison on charges of spying. In a statement, the Foreign Office said British-Iranian dual nationals faced an "unacceptably higher risk of arbitrary detention and mistreatment" than nationals of other countries. "The security forces may be suspicious of people with British connections, including those with links to institutions based in the UK, or which receive public funds from, or have perceived links to, the British government," the statement said. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested by Iranian authorities in 2016 as she was leaving Tehran. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was put on trial and is now serving a five-year jail sentence for allegedly trying to topple the Iranian government. "Dual nationals face an intolerable risk of mistreatment if they visit Iran," Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said. "Despite the UK providing repeated opportunities to resolve this issue, the Iranian regime's conduct has worsened. "Having exhausted all other options, I must now advise all British-Iranian dual nationals against travelling to Iran.
"The dangers they face include arbitrary detention and lack of access to basic legal rights, as we have seen in the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been separated from her family since 2016." The Iranian government does not recognize dual nationality, meaning the Foreign Office's ability to provide consular support is limited. Hunt added: "Regrettably, I must also offer a message of caution to Iranian nationals resident in the UK -- but who return to visit family and friends -- especially where the Iranian government may perceive them to have personal links to UK institutions or the British government."

Saudi Arabia Deposits $250 Million Into Sudan's Central Bank
Dubai, Khartoum/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it deposited $250 million with the Sudanese central bank, according to a statement from the kingdom's ministry of finance. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged to send $3 billion worth of aid to Sudan, after mass protests led to the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir last month. The move will strengthen Sudan's "financial position, alleviate pressure on the Sudanese pound and achieve more stability in the exchange rate,' the statement said. In a related development, Sudanese protest leaders said Sunday they will insist a civilian runs a planned new governing body in new talks with army rulers, as Islamists warn against excluding sharia from the political roadmap. The Alliance for Freedom and Change is determined that the country's new ruling body be "led by a civilian as its chairman and with a limited military representation", it said in a statement. The protesters' umbrella group said talks would resume with the military council -- which has ruled Sudan since Bashir was deposed on April 11 -- at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Sunday. Talks over a transfer of power by the generals have repeatedly stalled, resulting in international pressure to return to the table after the generals suspended negotiations earlier this week. The generals insist the new body be military-led but the protest leaders demand a majority civilian body. On Sunday the protest movement raised the ante by insisting that the ruling body should be headed by a civilian. The military council is headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the generals have previously said he would lead the new governing body. Before talks were suspended the two sides had agreed on several key issues, including a three-year transition period and the creation of a 300-member parliament, with two-thirds of lawmakers to come from the protesters' umbrella group. The previous round of talks was marred by violence after five protesters and an army major were shot dead near the ongoing sit-in outside the military headquarters in central Khartoum, where thousands have camped out for weeks. Initially, the protesters gathered to demand Bashir resign -- but they have stayed put, to pressure the generals into stepping aside. The protesters had also erected roadblocks on some avenues in Khartoum, paralyzing large parts of the capital, to put further pressure on the generals during negotiations, but the military rulers suspended the last round of talks and demanded the barriers be removed. Protesters duly took the roadblocks down in recent days -- but they warn they will put them back up if the army fails to transfer power to a civilian administration. The generals have allowed protesters to maintain their sit-in outside Khartoum's army headquarters.

Algerian Figures Call for Agreement That Meets Protesters’ Aspirations
Algiers- Boualam Ghimrasah/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 19 May, 2019/Three prominent Algerian figures called on the military leadership to start “frank and honest” talks with representatives of the demonstrators, political parties and the civil society supporting the civil movement to find a consensual political solution as soon as possible. They said this solution should respond to legitimate popular aspirations, which have been put forward every day for almost three months now. As the situation in Algeria nears a dead-end, former Foreign Minister Ahmed Talib Brahimi, dean of human rights activists in Algeria senior Lawyer Ali Yahya Abdel Nour, 98, and the retired general, Rashid Ben Yels, proposed solutions. The three figures are known for their engagement in public affairs, especially at times of crises. “The deadlock witnessed nowadays carries grave dangers, in addition to the tension in our regional environment,” the three figures said in a joint statement. “Sticking to July 4 to hold elections will only postpone the inevitable birth time of the new republic,” the statement added. “How can we imagine holding free and fair elections that are already rejected by the vast majority of people, being organized by institutions that are still run by incompetent forces hostile to constructive change?” They wondered. They were referring in their statement to acting head of state Abdelkader Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, who are both stalwarts of Bouteflika’s regime. However, they both, in fact, are kept in their positions by Army Chief Gaid Salah under the pretext of “adhering to the constitution.”Demonstrators, according to the statement, are calling for building a state of law with true democracy after ousting Bouteflika. This law should be preceded by a short transition period led by figures who had nothing to do with the former corrupt system over the past 20 years. “This phase is necessary in order to develop mechanisms and take measures that will allow the sovereign people to voice their opinions with freedom and democracy and decide on their president through ballot boxes,” the statement noted.

Turkey Says to Produce S-500s with Russia after S-400 Missile Deal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 19/2019/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey and Russia would jointly produce S-500 defense systems after Ankara's controversial purchase of the S-400 missile defense system from Moscow. Turkey's push to buy the S-400s has further strained already tense relations with the United States which has repeatedly warned Ankara of the risks including sanctions as a result of the purchase. "There is absolutely no question of (Turkey) taking a step back from the S-400s purchase. That is a done deal," Erdogan said in Istanbul. "There will be joint production of the S-500 after the S-400," Erdogan told an audience of young people asking questions.Ties between NATO allies Turkey and the U.S. have frayed over multiple issues including American support for a Syrian Kurdish militia viewed as terrorists by Ankara and the U.S. failure to extradite a Muslim preacher blamed for the 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan. Washington says the deal with Moscow is a threat to Western defense and in April suspended deliveries of the F-35 stealth fighter jet to Turkey in a bid to halt the purchase. Turkish pilots are in the U.S. receiving training on the F-35s, manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Turkey is expected to buy 100 of the jets in total. Erdogan said Turkey conducted technical studies amid US concerns over the compatibility of the S-400s and the F-35s but found there were no issues.He also insisted "sooner or later" Turkey would receive the F-35 jets. Despite the threat of sanctions, Erdogan repeated that the S-400s were expected to be delivered in July, "but this could be brought forward", he added.

May to Make MPs a Final 'Bold Offer' on Brexit Deal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 19/2019/British Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday she was preparing to make a "bold offer" to MPs in one final attempt to get them to back her Brexit deal. May said that when she brings the Withdrawal Agreement Bill before parliament early next month, it will come with a new package of measures attached that she hopes can command majority support. "I still believe there is a majority in parliament to be won for leaving with a deal," May wrote in The Sunday Times newspaper. MPs three times rejected the deal May struck with Brussels, forcing Britain's EU departure date to pushed back from March 29 to April 12 and again to October 31. The bill is needed to ratify the divorce agreement struck with the European Union. Her authority weakened by the defeats, May on Thursday agreed to set out a timetable for her departure following the vote in the week beginning June 3, regardless of whether MPs back her deal at the fourth time of asking. Observers say she will likely trigger a contest for the leadership of her governing Conservative Party once the bill either falls or completes all of its stages through parliament.
- 'New and improved' -
"When the Withdrawal Agreement Bill comes before MPs, it will represent a new, bold offer to MPs across the House of Commons, with an improved package of measures that I believe can win new support," May wrote.
"I will not be simply asking MPs to think again. Instead I will ask them to look at a new and improved deal with fresh pairs of eyes -- and to give it their support."
The bill is expected to include new measures on workers' rights, future customs arrangements with the EU, and on the use of technology to avoid the need for border controls between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state and the UK's only land neighbor.It will not, however, seek to re-open the withdrawal agreement, which Brussels repeatedly insisted could not be re-negotiated, despite many MPs voting it down due to concerns about its so-called "backstop" clauses on Northern Ireland.
- 'Huge betrayal' -
May said that in six weeks of Brexit compromise talks with the Labor main opposition -- which collapsed on Friday -- common ground had been found on rights and protections for workers and the environment, and on security.
She said the government now had a much clearer understanding of what it would take to get a deal through. May's cabinet is due to consider the changes during the week, and whether holding votes in parliament before June 3 to test support for possible Brexit options would be worthwhile. Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party was still on course to vote against the bill. "Nothing I've heard leads me to believe it's fundamentally any different to the previous bill that's been put forward, so as of now we're not supporting it," he told BBC television. Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said the alternatives to the deal were not leaving the EU, which he labelled a "huge betrayal" to the democratic system, or a no-deal Brexit. "If parliament won't back a deal then it needs to confront that reality," he told Sky News television.
- May's poll gloom -
May's gambit comes ahead of the European Parliament elections, to be held in Britain on Thursday. The opinion polls make dire reading for the Conservatives, with the newly-formed Brexit Party forecast to win the most seats, ratcheting up the pressure on May. The latest survey out Sunday put euroskeptic figurehead Nigel Farage's single-issue party way ahead on 34 percent, with Labour on 20 percent, the pro-EU Liberal Democrats on 15 percent and the Conservatives on 11 percent.
Furthermore, the poll said the Brexit Party had overtaken the Conservatives in general election voting intentions too, with Labour leading on 29 percent, Farage's party on 24 percent and the Conservatives on 22 percent. Opinium Research conducted an online survey of 2,004 British adults between Tuesday and Thursday for The Observer newspaper.

Arab League Urges German Parliament to Reverse Anti-BDS Motion
The Arab League called Sunday on the German parliament to rescind a resolution that condemned a boycott movement against Israel as "anti-semitic". The call by the pan-Arab bloc comes after the Bundestag passed a motion on Friday against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, warning that its actions were reminiscent of the Nazis' campaign against Jews. BDS, founded in 2005, describes itself as a Palestinian-led movement, which calls for the boycott of Israeli goods, services and culture as a means of pressuring the Jewish state to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. The Arab League's assistant secretary-general for Palestinian affairs Saeed Abu Ali said in a statement the Bundestag's motion against BDS is "regrettable... unjustified... (and) biased" in favor of Israel. He urged Germany's parliament to "reverse this erroneous step and support the Palestinian people's right for liberation." The non-binding resolution said the BDS movement's "Don't Buy" stickers on Israeli products revive memories of the Nazis' slogan 'Don't buy from Jews', and other graffiti on shop facades and windows. The Bundestag also pledged to reject any financial support for the boycott movement, and to prevent BDS and its partners holding events on its premises. The multi-party motion was backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right CDU-CSU bloc, the Social Democratic Party, the liberal FDP and the Greens.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 19-20/19
Pope calls for humble and free journalism that serves truth and goodness
 Vatican News/NNA/May 19/2019
Pope Francis is encouraging a humble and free journalism that does not indulge in selling the “rotten food of misinformation” but rather offers the healthy bread of truth and goodness.
“I therefore urge you to work according to truth and justice, so that communication is truly an instrument for building, not for destroying; for meeting, not for clashing; for dialoguing, not for monologizing; for orienting, not for disorienting; for understanding, not for misunderstanding; for walking in peace, not for sowing hatred; for giving a voice to those who have no voice, not for being a megaphone to those who shout louder,” the Pope told some 400 journalists of the Foreign Press Association of Italy on Saturday. Pope Francis expressed his and the Church’s esteem for their precious work, saying it “contributes to the search for the truth, and only the truth makes us free.”
Humility and truth
Underscoring humility as the fundamental element of their profession, the Argentine Pope said that the search for truth entails many difficulties and much humility.
The presumption of already knowing everything, he said, blocks the search for truth. An article, a tweet or a live report, he said, can do good but also evil to others and sometimes to entire communities if one is not careful and scrupulous.
Noting that certain "screaming” headlines can create a false representation of reality, he urged journalists to resist the temptation to publish news that has not been sufficiently verified.
Instead, he said, the humble journalist tries to know the facts correctly and completely before telling and commenting on them. Such a journalism does not feed "the excess of slogans that, instead of setting the thought in motion, cancel it out".
Language that hurts
The Pope lamented the use of violent and derogatory language that hurts and sometimes destroys people. In a time of too many hostile words, in which saying bad things about others has become a habit for many, along with that of classifying people, we must always remember that each person has his or her intangible dignity, which can never be taken away. At a time when many people are spreading fake news, “humility prevents you from selling the rotten food of misinformation and invites you to offer the good bread of truth.”
On the side of victims
Emphasizing that “freedom of the press and of expression is an important indicator of the state of health of a country,” the Pope shared the pain of journalists killed while carrying out their work with courage and dedication to report on what many people face during wars and the dramatic situations. He said, “We need journalists who are on the side of the victims…, of those who are persecuted, on the side of those who are excluded, discarded, discriminated against.” Journalists, he said, are needed to recall the many forgotten situations of suffering and wars, such as those of the Rohingya and the Yazidi. He thanked them for helping the world not forget the lives that are suffocated even before they are born; those that are just born that are extinguished by hunger, hardship, lack of care, wars; the lives of child soldiers and the lives of children violated.
He called on reporters to help the world not to forget those persecuted and discriminated against for their faith or their ethnicity and the victims of violence and trafficking in human beings. He said those forced to leave their homes because of disasters, wars, terrorism, hunger and thirst, are not numbers, but a face, a story and a desire for happiness. “There is a submerged ocean of goodness that deserves to be known and that gives strength to our hope,” Pope said, noting that women journalists are particularly sensitive to such stories of life. At the end of his talk, Pope Francis gifted the journalists a copy each of a book entitled, “Communicare il Bene” (Communicating the Good), containing his talks to various groups of journalists and his messages for World Communications Days.

Burkina Faso: The New Land of Islamic Jihad and Christian Slaughter
ريموند إبراهيم/معهد كايتستون: بوركينو فاسو الإفريقية هي أرض الجهاد الإسلامي الجديدة وذبح المسيحيين
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/May 19/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75033/%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%88%d9%86%d8%af-%d8%a5%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%87%d9%8a%d9%85-%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%87%d8%af-%d9%83%d8%a7%d9%8a%d8%aa%d8%b3%d8%aa%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a8%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%83%d9%8a%d9%86%d9%88/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14243/burkina-faso-jihad-terrorism
"The assailants asked the Christians to convert to Islam, but the pastor and the others refused. They ordered them to gather under a tree and took their Bibles and mobile phones. Then they called them, one after the other, behind the church building where they shot them dead." — Local Christian, reported by World Watch Monitor, May 2, 2019.
"Much of the Islamic anger in Burkina Faso has to do with the teaching of so-called Western thoughts and ideals. Besides churches, schools are also a favorite target of the militants, who are pushing to make the country an Islamic state and impose Sharia Law... Of 2,869 schools in Burkina Faso, 1,111 have been closed in the last three years as a direct result of Islamic extremist violence." — James Murphy, The New American, May 16, 2019.
As with other African Islamic terror groups, the motivating ideology fueling the terrorists of Burkina Faso is distinctly Islamic and jihadi in nature. For example, after eight Muslims were arrested for their role in terrorist attacks that killed 14, their prosecutor said, "they all carried on their foreheads or had white bands on which were written in Arabic the following expression — translated as — 'there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger.'" — Africa News, July 3, 2018.
When five assailants opened fire on the French embassy in Ouagadougou, Burkina
Last Sunday, May 12, in the small West African nation of Burkina Faso, as many as 30 armed Islamic terrorists stormed a Catholic church, slaughtered at least six Christian worshippers — including the officiating priest — then burned the church to the ground.
Ousmane Zongo, the mayor of Dablo, where the attack occurred, recalled the incident: "Towards 9:00am, during mass, armed individuals burst into the Catholic Church... They started firing as the congregation tried to flee.... They burned down the church, then shops and a small restaurant before going to the health centre where they searched the premises and set fire to the head nurse's vehicle.... The city is filled with panic. People are holed up at home. Shops and stores are closed. It's practically a ghost town."
Discussing the situation in the country — which is 60% Muslim, 23% Christian, and 17% animist or other — the BBC reports that "Jihadist violence has flared in Burkina Faso since 2016.... Fighters affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as the local Ansarul Islam [Champions of Islam] have been active in the region."
Sadly, while a total of 12 Islamic terror attacks were registered in 2016, nearly 160 were reported in just the first five months of 2019.
Last Sunday's assault is, in fact, the third church attack in only five weeks. On Sunday, April 28, in Silgadji, Islamic terrorists stormed a Protestant church near the end of the service and killed six Christian worshippers, including the pastor, 80-year-old Pierre Oult, and his two sons. According to a local Christian:
"The assailants asked the Christians to convert to Islam, but the pastor and the others refused. They ordered them to gather under a tree and took their Bibles and mobile phones. Then they called them, one after the other, behind the church building where they shot them dead."
On April 5, Islamic gunmen entered another Catholic church and murdered four Christians. The same report adds that "the fate of a Catholic priest kidnapped a month ago remains unclear."
Considering the usual fate in store for Christians kidnapped in Burkina Faso, optimism is not warranted. For example, in February, Muslim terrorists abducted and murdered Antonio Cesar Fernandez, a 72-year-old Christian who had served as a missionary in Africa since 1982. Others — including Kirk Woodman, a Canadian — were also kidnapped and later found slaughtered.
The Islamic terrorists operating in Burkina Faso seem to be similar to other African jihadi groups, such as Nigeria's Boko Haram and Somalia's Al Shabaab. Like them, when not terrorizing churches and slaughtering Christians, they target anything else that might be associated with the West. According to one report:
"Much of the Islamic anger in Burkina Faso has to do with the teaching of so-called Western thoughts and ideals. Besides churches, schools are also a favorite target of the militants, who are pushing to make the country an Islamic state and impose Sharia Law... Of 2,869 schools in Burkina Faso, 1,111 have been closed in the last three years as a direct result of Islamic extremist violence."
"A lot of schools have been torched," elaborated one head teacher whose own school was set ablaze in the town of Foubé.
The jihadis have also targeted a hotel (20 killed) and a restaurant (18 killed) popular with Western people.
As with other African Islamic terror groups, the motivating ideology fueling the terrorists of Burkina Faso is distinctly Islamic and jihadi in nature. For example, after eight Muslims were arrested for their role in terrorist attacks that killed 14, their prosecutor said, "they all carried on their foreheads or had white bands on which were written in Arabic the following expression — translated as — 'there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger.'"
Similarly, when they opened fire on the French embassy in Ouagadougou, the five assailants were heard to cry the jihad's ancient war cry, "Allahu Akbar" ("Allah is the greatest.").
Needless to say, such clear indicators of motive have not caused the establishment to revise its narrative. When interviewed on last Sunday's church carnage, Sten Hagberg, a Swedish professor of anthropology at Uppsala University, offered the usual fare: The attack, he said, "has, to my mind, much more to do with politics and economics than religion."
The situation in Burkina Faso is a reminder that, if groups like the Islamic State are on the wane in Iraq and Syria, the jihad continues to spread like wildfire in more obscure and forgotten nations around the world, and to consume countless nameless and faceless innocents.
*Raymond Ibrahim, author of the new book, Sword and Scimitar, Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and a Judith Rosen Friedman 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.

Theresa May's Exit Won’t End Tories' Brexit Nightmare
Therese Raphael/Bloomberg/May 19/2019
This time it's for real. Theresa May didn't exactly say when she would leave 10 Downing Street, but on Thursday she promised to name her exit date in early June.
The question is what difference changing leader will make for the Conservative party. After a potentially messy leadership contest (one is already underway), the party will likely rally behind a new chief – only to find that the old problems are still with it.
When you consider May's ability to defy political gravity, it's tempting to wonder if she means it. She has survived an election disaster, a no-confidence vote by her MPs, historic parliamentary defeats, a long list of resignations, open revolt from cabinet ministers, and an attempt to change the party rules just so she could be pushed out a few months early.
She previously promised to leave before the next election and then after her Brexit deal won approval from parliament; now she will step down regardless.
It was always possible she would wriggle out of her earlier vaguely worded pledges. But the pressure to give a firm commitment was becoming irresistible. The 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs that presides over leadership selection looked poised to change the rules this time to allow a second confidence vote within a year if May refused to go. Her closest government allies, and former advisers, were publicly pressing her to call it quits. An extraordinary meeting of senior Conservative activists from around the country on June 15 is expected to vote to remove her; though non-binding, it would be a humiliating gesture.
Her actual departure date depends on how long it will take the Tories to settle on a new leader (a few weeks would seem the minimum given that the party membership is likely to vote on two candidates selected by Tory MPs). Still, Britain will almost certainly have a new Conservative leader, and prime minister, this summer.
The timing for the leadership battle could not be more awkward. Next week, the Conservatives must endure the torture of a European Parliamentary election they never wanted, swore to avoid, and in which they will almost certainly be trounced by Nigel Farage's Brexit Party.
After that humiliation, another: May has promised to bring her Brexit plan back to parliament for a fourth vote. Her hope is that the European elections will focus minds on getting Brexit over the line. That looks unlikely. If, as Nigel Farage is fond of saying in his stump speeches, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over for the same result, what would four failed votes say?
Then, Donald Trump is coming for a state visit in early June; a Brexit-supporting president who has reigned defiant will face a lame duck prime minister who failed to deliver it. She will probably have to endure his praise for Boris Johnson, a leadership contender whom Trump admires, criticism over Britain's decision to parlay with China’s Huawei, and no doubt other indignities.
What will the Conservative Party get in return for dumping yet another leader over Europe? Catharsis, perhaps. The only thing that members seem to agree on at this point is that May should go. There will be hope that her successor can forge a new Brexit policy, or at least unite disparate factions over some souped-up version of the one that has been rejected.
That seems wishful thinking. Changing leader won’t change the parliamentary arithmetic. Talks with the opposition Labour party to broker a compromise deal have ended without agreement. Britain's legislature hasn’t been able to agree on any other way forward. Neither has the Tory party itself. A large number of its supporters fiercely desire a no-deal Brexit, something parliament has legislated to avoid and another part of the party regards as lunacy. Even so, as I wrote earlier this week, that outcome looks increasingly possible.
Replacing May doesn't change the fact that there will be no trade deal with Europe of any kind without an agreement that keeps the Irish border open. It won't suddenly make the European Union allow the UK to choose which of the four single-market freedoms it wishes to have and at what price.
When Britain's current extension expires on Oct. 31, the choice will still be what it is today: pass a deal that looks a lot like the terms of divorce May negotiated, leave without a deal (most likely requiring a new vote) or decide not to quit at all. Of course, the EU could decide to keep extending, but how would that make a Brexit-supporting party leader look?
One hears over and over from May's detractors that she didn't really believe in leaving the EU since she herself voted to remain. By choosing a true believer for a leader, the obstacles to Brexit will melt away. That will quickly prove unfounded. May's departure may be for real. But reality can look a lot harsher closer up.

Sfeir’s Departure and the Strong Wall of Nationalism
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 19/2019
A week ago, former Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir passed away. Social media sites and the remaining newspapers were full of sincere grief and lamentation. A great sense of loss has affected the March 14 environment, which has been shaken by years of defeats and a number of setbacks.
The Cardinal deserves the honor he has received based on his stance on national issues. He sponsored, in partnership with Walid Jumblatt, the “reconciliation of the mountain”, before backing the "Qornet Shehwan gathering". These events in 2000 and 2001, in a sense, have paved the way for the birth of the March 14 forces following the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri.
In addition, Sfeir did not visit Damascus during its hegemony over Lebanon. Even his last political statement insisted that Hezbollah’s arms were illegal and unacceptable, but were forcibly imposed by the status quo.
It is no exaggeration to say that he was one of the most prominent fathers of the second Lebanese independence, which led to the withdrawal of the Syrian military and security forces from Lebanon.
However, it was noted that some of those who participated in Sfeir’s tribute were advocates of social, cultural, and sexual freedoms, hostility to any authority, and rejected any restriction on the freedom of doubt and any interference of religious institutions in public life. The holders of this position have not registered any reservation dictated by their beliefs. In fact, Sfeir, as a prominent cleric, did not share these values, nor was he required to do so.
They, of course, do not tolerate conservative values and are not required to do so. If we add to the freedoms the issue of Syrian refugees, it is doubtful that the late Cardinal had the same sensitivities expressed by critics of racism. He was, till the very end, very attentive to sectarian balances in his capacity as a spiritual leader of a sect.
These words do not involve a value judgment. It is the designation of two stances that are very difficult to converge. Reservation and understanding should not be ignored in their artificial conformity. Yes, there is a wide intersection in the national question, but beyond that, the issue is different.
Many countries have seen the bias of senior clerics towards national questions. We find this, for example, in countries like Ireland or Poland, whose church has sponsored its people’s revolt against the Communist and Soviet regimes. However, those clergymen, were in definition, against divorce and abortion. Their position with regards to women’s freedom and rights is often worse than that of the communist regime. Thus, with those clerics, it is necessary to mix support with criticism, that is, to adopt a color of critical support.
This section of Lebanese has done the same with political leaders who do not necessarily share their values and convictions, such as Rafik Hariri, Ghassan and Gebran Tueni, and before them Kamal Jumblatt and Bashir Gemayel: maximizing support and reducing criticism.
When wars of identity are raging, it becomes difficult to be completely and homogeneously aligned with values: these wars develop in us what brings together and perpetuates our cohesion against the other side, which seeks to perpetuate its own cohesion facing “us”. The search for fathers becomes urgent.
We have already witnessed, on a broader scale, similar cases in which an emotional event, such as the death of a leader, is compounded by bitterness and defeat that fall on his supporters: after the 1967 war, for example, the radical left began insulting Jamal Abdel Nasser as a “petty bourgeois”, because of his approval of the Rogers project and UN Resolution 242. Calls for toppling Abdel Nasser’s regime became a daily activity of this portion of people, who presented themselves as the "revolutionary" alternative to Nasserism. But when Abdel Nasser died in September 1970, Al-Hurriya magazine - the most prominent representative of this left and the sharpest voice in the Egyptian president’s satire - came out with a famous cover: Nasser, the “reservoir of Arab dignity.”
The worst form of the search for the “protective father” is seen at some pro-Hezbollah progressive figures. They are trying to suggest that the party shares their feminist views and those related to cultural and sexual freedoms, as well as their own rejection of racism and anti-Semitism; while Hezbollah, on the other hand, is exclusively led by male clerics, disseminates anti-Semitic literature in its areas of control, and claims nothing but the opposite of what it tries to portray.
The transition from absolute support to critical support, here and there, is useful to all and beneficial to the issues they are supposed to embrace. It brings us to a higher level of politics, may carve small scales in the wall of rigid nationalism, and make us gradually favor values over preferences.