LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 26/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.may26.19.htm

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

Bible Quotations For today
Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Letter to the Hebrews 12/12-21:”Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled. See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears. You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’)”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on May 25-26/19
Lebanon: Inflation Fears after Government Decides to Impose Import Tax
US Sanctions Affect Lebanon’s Import of Pharmaceuticals from Iran
Berri Meets Engel, Reiterates Lebanon’s Land and Maritime Rights
Bassil Hails 'First Budget that Secures Financial Regularity'
Jumblat Marks Resistance and Liberation Day
Geagea: No One Can Pressure Lebanon into Refugee Resettlement
Khalil Says Deficit Could Have Been Lowered Further
Lebanon denies forcing Syrians home from Beirut airportLebanon's Army Commander, US Congress Foreign Relations Committee Chief meet
Nasrallah says unconditional withdrawal of enemy from Lebanon “great victory”
Hariri: The deficit reduction is a message in all directions and the winner is the Lebanese people
Bassil meets with US Congress Foreign Relations Committee Head
Bassil from Bekaa: I received a member of Congress and a friend of Israel in my home to convince him of the position that serves my country, treason accusations are forbidden
Siniora: May 25 a day of pride for the Lebanese and Arabs, national unity incomplete without Resistance's initiative to allow State to extend its authority on all its territory
Khreiss: Our enemy solely understands the language of bullets, only fears the strikes of resistance
Makhzoumi: To preserve liberation gains to deter the enemy from any attempt to destabilize Lebanon's security, stability
Habshi in Washington to meet officials, representatives of humanitarian organizations
Lebanon Tragedy: An opportunity for long-term reforms

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 25-26/19
US Suggests Iran Responsible for GCC Attacks
US State Department Denies Sending Delegations to Tehran for Negotiations
Iran Threatens to Target US Warships With 'Secret Weapons'
Iranian FM arrives in Baghdad to meet with Iraq officials
Pakistan, Iran Discuss Easing Tension in the Region
Trump to Bypass Congress to Sell Arms to Saudi, UAE
Iran FM: US Troop Boost 'Threat to International Peace'
Trump Urges Fairer Trade with Japan at Start of State Visit
Race to Replace May Leaves Brexit in Limbo
Russia Slams US over Claims on Syrian Regime Chemical Attack
216 Migrants Rescued From 2 Boats in Mediterranean Sea
Sisi, Lungu Discuss Regional Developments, African Security
Sudanese Protesters Call for Strike Starting Next Tuesday
Rockets Hit Libya HQ of Sarraj’s MPs Amid Arrest of Pro-Haftar Activists
Police hunt suspect after explosion in French city of Lyon

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 25-26/19
Hezbollah’s bogus Liberation & Resistance Day/Elias Bejjani/May 25/19
Nasrallah says unconditional withdrawal of enemy from Lebanon “great victory”/NNA/May 25/2019
Lebanon Tragedy: An opportunity for long-term reforms/Dr. Nancy Kanbar/Annahar/May 25/2019
Trump’s Public Enemies List Is an Impeachable Offense/The Daily Beast/ David R. Lurie/May 25/2019/
Poverty Is a Bigger Problem Than Gentrification/Noah Smith/Bloomberg View/May 25/2019
Why the Middle East cannot afford to ignore climate change/Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/May 25/2019
NATO’s expansion will help stability, despite concerns about Russia/Luke Coffey/Arab News/May 25/2019
An uneasy calm settles over Israel after bruising elections/Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/May 25/2019
Next UK leader must tackle troubled Tory legacy/Andrew Hammond/Arab News/May 25/2019

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on May 25-26/19
Hezbollah’s bogus Liberation & Resistance Day
Elias Bejjani/May 25/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/75168/elias-bejjani-hezbollahs-bogus-liberation-resistance-day-3/
Believe it or not, on May 25 each year since 2000 Lebanon has been celebrating the so-called “Liberation & Resistance Day.”
Sadly, this celebration commemorates a bogus event, and a phony heroism that did not actually take place.
On May 22, 2000 the Israeli Army unilaterally and for solely Israeli domestic reasons withdrew from the security zone of South Lebanon in accordance with UN Resolution 425.
This miscalculated and hasty withdrawal was a fatal Israeli decision that has inspired the Hamas terrorism acts and the on-going havoc in the Palestinian Gaza strip.
During the last 19 years many Israeli officials and politicians from all parties openly and harshly criticized Barak’s Government (Barak was PM at that time) hasty and unwise decision through which Israel’ abandoned its ally the South Lebanon Army (SLA) and gave Hezbollah all south Lebanon and the entire Lebanon on a plate of sliver.
The unilateral Israeli withdrawal created a security vacuum in south Lebanon.
The Syrians who were occupying Lebanon at that time and fully controlling its government, did not allow the Lebanese Army to deploy in the south and fill this vacuum after the Israeli withdrawal.
Instead Syria helped the Hezbollah militia to militarily control the whole southern region, and even patrol the Israeli-Lebanese border.
It is worth mentioning that the Israeli army’s withdrawal was executed without any military battles, or even minor skirmishes with Hezbollah, or the Lebanese and Syrian armies.
The Syrian regime, in a bid to justify both its on going occupation of Lebanon and the avoidance of disarming Hezbollah, came up with the “Shabaa Farms occupation big lie” and declared Hezbollah a Liberator, alleging it had forced Israel to withdrawal from South Lebanon.
Syria, in the same camouflaging and devious context, dictated to both its puppet Lebanese parliament and government to declare May 25th a National Day under the tag of “Liberation & Resistance Day”.
In reality Hezbollah did not force the Israeli withdrawal, and did not play any role in the Liberation of the southern Lebanese region.
In fact both Hezbollah and Syria deliberately hindered and delayed the Israeli withdrawal for more than 14 years.
Every time the Israelis called on the Lebanese government to engage in a joint, serious effort under the United Nations umbrella to ensure a safe and mutually organized withdrawal of its army from South Lebanon, the Lebanese government refused to cooperate, did not agree to deploy its army in the south, and accused the Israelis of plotting to divide and split the Syrian-Lebanese joint track.
This approach to the Israeli calls was an official Syrian decision dictated to all the Lebanese puppet governments during the Syrian occupation era.
Since then, Hezbollah has been hijacking Lebanon and its people, refusing to disarm and advocating for the annihilation of Israel.
This Iranian mullahs’ terrorist army stationed in Lebanon, is viciously hiding behind labels of resistance, liberation and religion.
Hezbollah has recklessly jeopardized the Lebanese peoples’ lives, safety, security and livelihood.
It has been growing bolder and bolder in the last 19 years and mercilessly taking the Lebanese state and the Lebanese people hostage through terrorism, force and organized crime.
Sadly, Hezbollah is systematically devouring Lebanon day after day, and piece by piece, while at the same time marginalizing all its governmental institutions in a bid to topple the Lebanese state and erect in its place a Shiite Muslim regime, a replica of the Iranian Shiite mullahs’ fundamentalist republic.
Meanwhile the free world and Arabic countries are totally silent, indifferent, and idly watching from far away the horrible crime unfolding without taking any practical or tangible measures to put an end to this anti-Lebanese Syria-Iranian scheme that is executed through their spearhead, the Hezbollah armed militia.
Who is to be blamed for Hezbollah’s current odd and bizarre status?
Definitely the Syrians who have occupied Lebanon for more than 28 years (1976-2005).
During their bloody and criminal occupation, Syria helped the Iranian Hezbollah militia build a state within Lebanon and fully control the Lebanese Shiite community.
But also the majority of the Lebanese politicians, leaders, officials and clergymen share the responsibility because they were subservient and acted in a dire Dhimmitude, selfish and cowardly manner.
If these so-called Lebanese leaders had been courageous and patriotic and had not appeased Hezbollah and turned a blind eye to all its vicious and human rights atrocities, intimidation tactics, crimes and expansionism schemes, this Iranian Shiite fundamentalist militia would not have been able to erect its own mini-state in the southern suburb of Beirut, and its numerous mini-cantons in the Bekaa Valley and the South; nor would Hezbollah have been able to build its mighty military power, with 70 thousand militiamen, or stockpile more than 200 thousand missiles and force the Iranian “Wilayat Al-Faqih” religious doctrine on the Lebanese Shiite community and confiscate Lebanon’s decision making process and freedoms.
Since Hezbollah’s emergence in 1982, these politicians have been serving their own selfish interests and not the interests of the Lebanese people and the nation. They went along with Hezbollah’s schemes, deluding themselves that its militia and weaponry would remain in South Lebanon and would not turn against them.
This failure to serve the people of Lebanon allowed Hezbollah to make many Lebanese and most of the Arab-Muslim countries through its terrorism propaganda to blindly swallow its big lie of theatrical, faked resistance and Liberation.
Hezbollah would not have been able to refuse to disarm in 1991, like all the other Lebanese militias in accordance to the “Taef Accord,” which called for the disarmament of all militias.
Hezbollah would not have become a state inside the Lebanese state, and a world-wide terrorism Iranian-Syrian tool which turned against them all after its war with Israel in year 2006 and after the UN troops were deployed on the Lebanese – Israeli borders in accordance with the UN Resolution 1701.
On May 7, 2008 Hezbollah invaded Sunni Western Beirut killing and injuring in cold blood hundreds of its civilian citizens, and too attempted to take over by force Mount Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s General Secretary Sheik Hassan Nasrallah called that day (May 7, 2008) a great and glorious victory for his resistance, and keeps on threatening the Lebanese that a replicate of that day will take place if they do not succumb and obey his Iranian orders.
Hezbollah is a deadly dragon that the Lebanese politicians have been allowing him to feed on sacrifices from the southern Lebanese citizens, especially on those who were living in the “Security Zone” and who fled to Israel in May 2000 after the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon.
This dragon who enjoyed devouring his southern sacrifices has now turned on all the Lebanese and if they do not stand for their rights and dignity, he will keep on devouring them all one after the other.
We call on the Lebanese government, the Lebanese Parliament and on all the free and patriotic Lebanese politicians and leaders to cancel the May 25 National Day, because it is not national at all, and also to stop calling Hezbollah a resistance, put an end for its mini-state, cantons and weaponry, and secure a dignified, honorable and safe return for all the Lebanese citizens who have been taking refuge in Israel since May 2000.
N.B: The original version of the above article was first published in 2010..It is republished with minor changes.

Lebanon: Inflation Fears after Government Decides to Impose Import Tax
Beirut - Paula Astih/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/Lebanese politicians and industrialists welcomed the government’s decision to impose a two percent import tax, arguing such measure would back the local industry. However, some experts expressed belief that imposing taxes “randomly” in the absence of a clear economic plan, could fail to achieve the desired objectives of the government. Importers of food products called on the government to review its decision, warning that such taxes would lead to inflation. Food import companies warned they risked closure. The Lebanese cabinet had met almost on a daily basis to debate the 2019 draft budget that aims to avert a financial crisis by cutting public spending and reduce a ballooning deficit. Ministers have said the proposed measures include tax increases, including a 2 percent tax on imports such as refined oil products, but excludes medicine, environment-friendly cars and primary equipment for agriculture and industry. Minister of Economy and Trade Mansour Bteish announced that the Cabinet has also decided to impose additional tax on 20 imported products that are entering the country in large amounts at prices lower than the local production cost, including flour, dairy products, detergents, furniture, leather shoes, clothes, and wafers and biscuits. Several experts considered the new measures as the first steps in moving Lebanon, which is dependent on tourism, banks and real estate, into becoming an industrial country.Former Economy Minister Raed Khoury told Asharq Al-Awsat that the import tax would help boost local production, limit imports which would ease the deficit and bring in more revenues to the treasury. Fadi Gemayel, Chairman of the Association of Industrialists, also said that the taxes on imported products will have a positive impact on the industrial sector.

US Sanctions Affect Lebanon’s Import of Pharmaceuticals from Iran
Beirut/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/Lebanese Health Minister Jamil Jabak has said that Lebanon can no longer import pharmaceuticals from Iran after the US sanctions on Iran. During a news conference he held on Friday to brief the public on his recent trip to Geneva where he attended the World Health Organization’s World Health Assembly, the minister said US sanctions meant it was easier for Lebanon to import pharmaceuticals from Europe instead. “If we decided to import the medicine from Iran, there will be no way to pay and do business,” he said. Asked whether the standstill in Iranian medicine imports was a result of US pressure on his ministry, Jabak, who is affiliated with Hezbollah, replied that the issue concerned the Lebanese state as a whole and not just the health ministry. “We belong to the Lebanese Republic and work for the Lebanese people,” Jabak said. “We in the Health Ministry do not set public policy in the Lebanese state. The cabinet sets this policy. We are committed to the decision taken by government,” he added in response to a question on whether the ministry would distance itself from Iran.

Berri Meets Engel, Reiterates Lebanon’s Land and Maritime Rights
Naharnet/May 25/2019/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri received in Ain el-Tineh on Saturday, US Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel and the accompanying delegation, in the presence of the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee MP Yassin Jaber, the National New Agency reported on Saturday. Discussions tackled the latest regional developments and the situation in Lebanon, mainly the US-mediated talks on the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel. “Lebanon does not want war, but it will not relinquish its sovereignty and rights to land and sea," Berri said.

Bassil Hails 'First Budget that Secures Financial Regularity'
Naharnet/May 25/2019/Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Friday said the government has endorsed the “first” state budget in Lebanon's history that “secures financial regularity.”“We have achieved the first state budget that secures financial regularity. Only the state develops the country and development cannot be seasonal but rather a daily act,” Bassil said during an iftar banquet in the northern city of Tripoli. “We have kickstarted the course of curbing and lowering the deficit and we will continue it through the subsequent budgets, until we reach a day when the state would fund its projects from its own revenues,” he added. “Only the state can implement major projects through a rectified state budget,” Bassil went on to say. He also said that Tripoli has all the assets needed in order to become a platform for rebuilding Syria and Iraq, citing its port, exhibition and the nearby Qlayaat airport. The Cabinet has held around 18 sessions to finalize the budget and several parties have accused Bassil of hindering the discussions with side proposals. Proposals he made in Wednesday's session had prompted Prime Minister Saad Hariri to give ministers 48 hours to study them. 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, 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 Marks Resistance and Liberation Day
Naharnet/May 25/2019/Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat marked Resistance and Liberation Day on Saturday saying it will always be a “shining beacon in Lebanon’s history.”“Despite our political differences, Liberation Day will remain the shining and hopeful beacon in the history of Lebanon and the history of its confrontation with Israel," Jumblat said in a tweet. Resistance and Liberation Day falls on May 25 and marks the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon in 2000 following an occupation of 22 years.

Geagea: No One Can Pressure Lebanon into Refugee Resettlement
Naharnet/May 25/2019/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea emphasized on Saturday that no one can impose a refugee resettlement in Lebanon as part of a US “peace” plan for the Middle East, the Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday. In an interview with said news agency, Geagea said the leaked reports about a US plan for the Middle East known as the “Deal of the Century, was born dead before it’s declaration. No one can pressure Lebanon into a refugee resettlement because it is a sovereign matter of the Lebanese state alone,” said Geagea.” “Speaking about the deal of the century at present is premature. We can not judge it before it is made public,” said Geagea, noting that Lebanon will never accept a resettlement if the deal shows such plans “this will not happen,” he said. On the file of displaced Syrians in Lebanon, the LF chief: “Lebanon’s position is not divided over the need to return the displaced to their country. Lebanon is a country with 4 million people and can no longer afford a million or a million and a half refugees on its land.”He added: “The entire host countries have started demanding the return of those displaced, including Lebanon, but the Syrian regime is fabricating excuses and picking some names to return while rejecting the return of others.”

Khalil Says Deficit Could Have Been Lowered Further
Naharnet/May 25/2019/After wrapping up weeks of Cabinet negotiations to slash a ballooning budget deficit, Finance Minister ali Hassan Khalil said on Saturday that the deficit could have been lowered further. “The deficit could have been lowered more, but that would have required additional burdens on the middle and lower income social classes,” said Khalil via Twitter. "We have committed ourselves to adopting an extraordinary budget that cuts the deficit to the best possible rate, reorganizes the management of public funds, and strengthens confidence in the state for its citizens and the world," he added. "The most important thing now is that all political forces and parliamentary blocs unite to show what has been accomplished as a national achievement to boost a comprehensive economic start, not to record political points," he added. On Friday, Lebanese Cabinet ministers wrapped up weeks of haggling, agreeing on a 2019 draft budget that aims to avert a financial crisis by cutting public spending and reduce a ballooning deficit. Critics say the proposed measures fail to introduce structural reforms needed to rescue the flagging economy. Information Minister Jamal Jarrah said the proposals put forward reduce the projected percentage of the deficit compared to the gross domestic product from an estimated 11% last year to around 7.5%. Reducing the deficit was a key aim through which the government hopes to unlock $11 billion in loans and grants made by international donors at an international conference in Paris last year.

Lebanon denies forcing Syrians home from Beirut airport
AFP/Arab News/May 25/2019/BEIRUT: Lebanese security forces on Saturday denied accusations by rights groups that they had coerced Syrians who had landed at Beirut airport into signing forms to return to their war-torn country. Human Rights Watch and four other groups Friday accused Lebanon of “summarily deporting” at least 16 Syrians on April 26, after forcing them to sign “voluntary repatriation forms.”Most of them had been sent back to Lebanon after they were barred from entering northern Cyprus via Turkey, quashing their plans to seek asylum, HRW said. But Lebanon’s General Security agency “categorically denies it forced any Syrian to sign any form,” it said in a statement carried by state-run news agency NNA on Saturday. “Any Syrian who arrives in Lebanon and does not meet entry requirements, and... wants to go to Syria because they do not wish to remain in their country of residence for a number of reasons, signs a declaration of responsibility for choosing to return voluntarily,” it said. Lebanon hosts almost one million Syrian refugees, a significant burden for a country that had 4.5 million inhabitants before the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011. The latest deportees said they were “pressured” by General Security officers at the airport, the rights group said. Around 30 Syrians have been deported from Beirut airport this year by the General Security agency, the rights group said, citing local refugee organizations. General Security estimates that over 170,000 Syrians returned home from Lebanon between December 2017 and March 2019. The conflict has wound down in Syria, after a string of victories by the regime and its Russian ally since 2015, but the United Nations has stressed all returns should be voluntary. The rights groups say some 74 percent of Syrians in Lebanon lack legal residency and are at risk of detention. Local media in Lebanon have reported that the Supreme Defense Council, whose decisions are not made public, recently instructed General Security to deport all Syrians who have entered the country illegally. The official NNA news agency, quoting a “security report,” said Friday that Lebanese authorities had deported 301 Syrians between May 7 and May 20. Syria’s war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions inside the country and abroad. The war was triggered in March 2011 by a violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.

Lebanon's Army Commander, US Congress Foreign Relations Committee Chief meet
Sat 25 May 2019/NNA - Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, met Saturday afternoon with the Head of the Foreign Relations Committee at the US Congress, MP Elliott Engel. Talks reportedly touched on most recent developments in Lebanon and the broader region.

Nasrallah says unconditional withdrawal of enemy from Lebanon “great victory”
NNA/May 25/2019
Hezbollah Secretary General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, delivered a speech on Saturday marking the “Resistance and Liberation Day” via Al-Manar TV.
In his televised speech, Sayyed Nasrallah described the liberation of a huge number Lebanese territories, and the unconditional withdrawal of the Israeli enemy a "great victory".
He also pointed out that he would deliver a speech at a public ceremony to be held in Beirut southern suburbs at 9 pm on Friday the 31st of May, marking Al-Quds International Day, calling for a huge turnout — due to the importance of this year’s event, which will be titled “Facing the deal of the era”.
Touching on the Palestinian scene, Nasrallah lauded the “united, unified, and steadfast Palestinian stance” in rejection of the economic conference that will be held in Bahrain, deeming this “the true position of the Palestinian people."
Nasrallah also praised the position of Bahraini scholars, people, and political forces, who refused to embrace the first step of “the deal of the era” aimed at the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.
As for the escalating tension in the region due to the US-Iranian spat, Nasrallah declared that he would reveal Hezbollah’s stance in this regard in Al-Quds Day speech to be delivered next week.
Then he paid tribute to all of those who contributed to the achievement of the liberation day victory and thanked all of those who supported it, whether in Lebanon or abroad, especially Syria and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Furthermore, Nasrallah hailed the sacrifices of the resistance, which liberated Lebanese lands and forced the Israeli enemy to withdraw unconditionally.
“This was a complete defeat for the Israeli enemy and a victory for Lebanon and its people, army, and all those who contributed to making this victory,” Nasrallah said.
"Hezbollah's strength is part of a deterrent force which is preventing the Israeli enemy from achieving its ambitions in our country and our land," he added.
“If it weren’t for the resistance in Lebanon, or if Israel still occupied a part of Lebanon, we would have seen Trump gifting Israel parts of South Lebanon, as he did in Jerusalem and the Golan,” Nasrallah maintained.
He reiterated the resistance's adherence to Shebaa farms, Kfarshouba hilltops, and the occupied part of Ghajar, heaping praise on the stances of President Michel Aoun in this regard, and those of the army leadership. Moreover, he highlighted the Lebanese people’s right to exercise all forms of resistance.
"The resistance supports the state and the three presidents by cleaving to the country’s full right to land, water, as well as to negotiating the demarcation of its maritime border," Nasrallah added.
Touching on the Syrian refugee presence in Lebanon, he said, “I am aware that the US and some Western countries do not wish the return of Syrian refugees to their country before the presidential elections in Syria; the reason is political and not related to security issues.”
He also addressed the issue of corruption in Lebanon, reiterating Hezbollah’s keenness on combatting corruption. “This issue needs patience, time, and cooperation,” he added.

Hariri: The deficit reduction is a message in all directions and the winner is the Lebanese people
Sun 26 May 2019/NNA - The president of the council of ministers Saad Hariri sponsored this evening the Iftar of the Future movement liberal professions section, at the Seaside Arena. On this occasion, he said: “This morning, they told me that there will not be a speech at the iftar. But I said, if we don’t speak at the iftar of the liberal professions, where could words be valuable? You laid the cornerstone of the Future movement. You started the work with Martyr Prime Minister Saad Hariri and my decision is to continue with you today, tomorrow and ten years from now. Liberal professions are the striking force behind the project of advancing the country. It is the elite of the country, and includes engineers, doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, journalists, writers and accountants. That is more than half of the middle class in Lebanon. Yesterday, we finished the budget and with it ended the bet of some people on the failure of the government to reduce the deficit and expenses and control squander. The percentage of deficit reduction is a message in all directions, to the Lebanese in the first place, to the economic sector, the financial markets and our friends in the international community. The message is that the Lebanese government is determined to address the weakness, imbalance and squander in the public sector and that it insists on the highest degree of transparency in implementing the CEDRE program. The 2019 budget is not the end. This budget is the beginning of a long road that we decided to take in order to lead the Lebanese economy to safety.
You remember that when we started talking about the budget, I said that there would be difficult decisions. In the past years, we disagreed on politics, between March 8 and March 14. This affected the country, and there were no more projects, electricity, budgets…Today, things are different, we want to fix what happened earlier, it is not easy and requires sacrifices. We have two choices: Either we continue as we are and wait for the World Bank to impose impossible conditions on us, as happened in Jordan, Egypt and Greece, and then we will be obliged to implement the conditions. Or we do what we are doing today, do our internal reform before reaching the danger zone. This phase will not be long. One or two years after implementing CEDRE, things will move. After applying the budget, you will notice that things changed, and we will see many tourists this summer, because we managed to reconcile with our brothers in the Gulf and all Arab countries. We had to meet 19 times to approve the budget. Some think that there was some waste of time. Yes, there was in some places. But in others no, because for the first time, we were working as a group to reach the best figures and projects to reduce the deficit. It is not easy, especially that many political groups gathered to prepare the budget, and each has its economic ideas and wants to come out as the winner. What they did not understand is that Lebanon is the winner from this budget, and not any political team. The Lebanese are the winners and this is what was important to me. This is why I took time and was very patient. But the 2020 budget will not take that much, because now we know what we want to do. The 2019 budget is the beginning of the process of what we want to do in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.”

Bassil meets with US Congress Foreign Relations Committee Head
Sat 25 May 2019/NNA - Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Minister, Gebran Bassil, received Saturday afternoon the Head of the Foreign Relations Committee at the US Congress, MP Elliott Engel, accompanied by the Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Beirut, Edward White, his office manager and members of his work team, in presence of Lebanon's Ambassador in Washington, Gaby Issa. The encounter was a chance to review the historical relations between Lebanon and the United States, and to discuss the prevailing conditions in the Middle East region. Bassil and the American MP also toured the old market of Batroun.

Bassil from Bekaa: I received a member of Congress and a friend of Israel in my home to convince him of the position that serves my country, treason accusations are forbidden
Sat 25 May 2019/NNA - Free Patriotic Movement Chief, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, referred Saturday to his meeting earlier today at his Batroun residence with US Congressman Elliott Engel, who is a friend of Israel, saying that the encounter was "to convince him of the position that serves Lebanon," adding that "treason accusations are forbidden." Bassil's words came during his tour in the Bekaa region, where he had a stop-over in the town of Khirbet Qanafar and was received at St. Elias Roman Catholic Church by MP Henry Chedid and various dignitaries from the region.
In his delivered word, Bassil highlighted the "national significance of this historic day, during which Lebanon achieved its liberation from the Israeli enemy that occupied its land," stressing that "our rights and resistance are enshrined by doctrines and international laws, and we seek to gain our rights through negotiation, and if we cannot do so, all options remain legitimate." "Today, on Liberation Day, I received at my home in Batroun the Head of the Foreign Relations Committee at the US Congress, who is a friend of Israel and has a supportive stand towards it...I have been criticized, as if no one else has met him in Lebanon...," Bassil went on. He added: "What concerns me is that I want to convince him of the position that serves my country, and that we serve no one at the expense of our homeland, and we deal with states based on our interest, especially those with which we have diplomatic representation."
"Our one enemy is Israel as long as it occupies our land," Bassil asserted, underlining that "it is not permissible to accuse anyone of betrayal or treason." Meanwhile, Bassil pointed to a "resistance of another kind, namely to liberate our country from the financial and economic occupation so that we have the immunity to meet the challenges," referring herein to the annual budget that aims to put an end to waste expenditure and corruption. He indicated that parts of the problems at stake have been addressed in this year's budget, with a lot still pending to be addressed in the upcoming 2020 annual budget with strong determination. Bassil's next stop-over in his Bekaa tour was at the residence of Deputy House Speaker Elie Ferzli, where he received a warm and popular welcome. Both Bassil and Ferzli later paid a visit to the family of the late MP Sami El-Khatib to offer sincere condolences, following his passing away this morning.

Siniora: May 25 a day of pride for the Lebanese and Arabs, national unity incomplete without Resistance's initiative to allow State to extend its authority on all its territory
Sat 25 May 2019/NNA - Marking the 19th commemoration of Lebanon's "Resistance and Liberation Day", Future Parliamentary Bloc Head, former PM Fouad Siniora, said that "this occasion is a day of pride and honor for the Lebanese and Arabs." He added: "Lebanon managed, through the steadfastness, sacrifices, solidarity and unity of the Lebanese, and their armed resistance to the Israeli enemy, to force Israel to withdraw from the occupied Lebanese territories, a precedent not witnessed by any other Arab country since the outbreak of the Arab-Israeli conflict."Siniora commended the relentless struggle of the Lebanese since the Israeli invasion in 1982 and later on, especially in the nineties, when the State supported the Lebanese resistance in its battle against occupation, far-reaching the April Understanding. He paid tribute herein to the late Martyr PM Rafic Hariri, "who played a key, pivotal role in the achievement of this unique and important Understanding that paved the way for liberation." "It is necessary for Lebanon to maintain this unique experience in the positive framework by emphasizing the solidarity of the Lebanese and strengthening their internal national unity, in order to complete the liberation process which began in 2000 and was later reinforced by the issuance of UN Resolution #1701 in 2006, with serious and committed efforts along the path of achieving full sovereignty of the Lebanese State on all its territory with its legitimate powers that should have the exclusive right to weapons' use in the country," Siniora underscored. He concluded by stressing that it is solely through the restoration of the Lebanese State's authority and self-respect before the Lebanese and the world at large, that Lebanon can move forward in achieving economic growth, financial and monetary stability, prosperity and improvement in new employment opportunities for the Lebanese youth.

Khreiss: Our enemy solely understands the language of bullets, only fears the strikes of resistance
Sat 25 May 2019 /NNA - Marking the Liberaiton and Resistance Day, "Development and Liberation" Parliamentary Bloc Member, MP Ali Khreiss, said via his Twitter account: "Teach your children the love of the homeland and resistance to the occupation, no matter how feeble their weapons and how weak their capabilities, for this enemy knows only the language of bullets and fears not but the blows of resistance."

Makhzoumi: To preserve liberation gains to deter the enemy from any attempt to destabilize Lebanon's security, stability
Sat 25 May 2019/NNA - National Dialogue Party Chief, MP Fouad Makhzoumi, congratulated the Lebanese on the 19th commemoration of Liberation Day, deeming it a "Lebanese uniting juncture, and an affirmation of Lebanon's sovereignty over its territory and the need to preserve this sovereignty and freedom through national unity." "The important thing today is to maintain our stability away from the region's tension crises, while simultaneously preserving the liberation gains in order to deter the enemy from any attempt to destabilize Lebanon's security and stability," Makhzoumi emphasized. The MP concluded by calling upon the Lebanese "to stand by our national army because it protects all of Lebanon and ensures its security and stability."

Habshi in Washington to meet officials, representatives of humanitarian organizations
Sat 25 May 2019/NNA - Member of the "Strong Republic" Parliamentary Bloc, MP Antoine Habshi, indicated via his Twitter account that he arrived in Washington on Friday "on a work visit that will last several days, which will include meetings with a number of officials and humanitarian organizations' representatives as part of a development and services projects bundle." MP Habshi also disclosed that he will be holding several meetings with members of the Lebanese community in the United States, and will be visiting Lebanese Forces Party centers. In this context, the MP was greeted upon arrival at Washington Airport by a group of LF officials and comrades residing in the US.

Lebanon Tragedy: An opportunity for long-term reforms
Dr. Nancy Kanbar/Annahar/May 25/2019
BEIRUT: The current alarming financial crisis may mark the start of a new chapter in the history of Lebanon.
After delays for about two years, a new president was elected with much public support and many expectations on safeguarding human welfare. After extensive deliberations that lasted for about nine months, a new cabinet was born. A new president and a new cabinet are expected to improve the system; thus, an opportunity to make long-term reforms.
Citizens are waiting for drastic changes; not for mere budget cuts that target public servants’ wages, social and health benefits. Lebanon has the third highest debt to GDP ratio, the worst rated sovereign debt and the highest debt service: a tragedy caused by unremitting fiscal deficits accrued by former governments. A comprehensive plan with long-term reforms is demanded to evade social and economic challenges.
Politicians need to review the budget using objective and scientific methodologies based on solid reforms. A comprehensive plan founded on respect for the dignity of the Lebanese is needed. Politicians are required to regain the people’s trust through a trust-building process that considers: 1) re-examining the laws on illicit enrichment, 2) scrutinizing any conflict of interest and abuse of public office throughout the last decades, 3) punishing misuse of official information, and 4) granting open data access to Lebanese scientists and experts who can use their professional competences to serve the country. Enhancing citizens’ trust in the government is instrumental to promote sociopolitical democracy. It is about time for Lebanese politicians to deviate from utilizing the “eye of an accountant” aiming to make budget cuts to utilizing the “eye of an economist” portraying a holistic view with reforms.
Policy-making must not be seized by capitalists, religious groups or other political parties who have little or no interest in development. Though Lebanese treasure that the formal structure of their country is democratic; unfortunately, Lebanon is not governed ‘to further the best interests of its citizens.
Influential groups have full command to define “social” goals, according to their own “private” gains (Tragedy of the Commons). Due to economic, financial and political hegemony, a “democratic” nation may in practice be an oligarchy, a form of government in which power is vested in few dominant individuals. Thus, we cannot assume that formal structures of democracy would necessarily lead to policies that are in the best interest of the majority. It is vital to re-examine the linkages between the political economy and the socio-economic policy-making.
Scientists should not make political trade-offs. When trying to resolve complex challenges that have socio-economic repercussions, experts complain of “too much politics” and they often express frustration about how policy debates unfold. They believe that “good science” is not being given enough credence in policy-making. It is essential to reinforce a better balance between science and politics by ensuring that scientific input is sincerely considered. If the science could be isolated from political disputes, the science by itself could identify good policy choices.
It is evident that it would be difficult to get someone to adopt a position on an issue when their job depends on him not adopting that position. It is useless to argue with a policy-maker whose opinion is based upon personal interests.
Lately, the Washington Post proclaims that politicians and their families control one-third of the banking assets. It states: “because Lebanese banks own about 85% of the debt, these payments profit the very political leaders sinking Lebanon deeper into debt”. Also, delays in forming the cabinet were mainly caused by political parties fighting over specific ministries that have superior budgets. Only in rare cases, top-level appointments are based on expertise and credibility. Lebanon is broke because they were ineffective and incompetent politicians who consistently spent more money that they could raise, and they borrowed and continued borrowing for decades. It is immoral to ask ordinary taxpayers to pick up a tab for failed politicians. Politicians themselves are the drivers of what the citizens are suffering of; thus, they will be better off restoring the citizens’ trust by adopting measures to stop corruption and penalize those responsible for the debt accumulated through previous years. System restructuring by appointing competent and credible policy-makers is of upmost priority.
It is true that the McKinsey report found it alarming that two-thirds of the budget is allocated to wages of public employees and it recommended freezing employment. Yet, caution should be used when diagnosing the ‘real’ problem: Is this the fault of the public sector employees? Or is this the responsibility of politicians who made the wide-ranging hiring before elections without any consideration? Politicians should be vigilant; otherwise, they will not be able to restrain social discontent.
Lebanon is not a “poor” country; it is rich in resources, but these are “mismanaged”- to say the least. The government should seize the opportunity for a corrective path towards developing a comprehensive economic plan. Politicians have hired an international consulting firm to develop an economic vision for Lebanon (maybe by lack of trust in the expertise of local scientists and economists- a dangerous situation to be discussed later!). Before finalizing the national budget, politicians are invited to make use of McKinzey recommendations: 1) allocate money to improve the productive sectors; 2) build flagship projects, such the “Smart Lebanon” initiative that would foster knowledge economy; 3) focus on production and services based on knowledge-intensive activities; such as technology and digital services, outsourcing and business services, creative industries, financial services, as well as education; 4) build Beirut Knowledge Village, etc.
A thorough analysis of the aforementioned recommendations reveals that the main component of all suggested activities relies on the intellectual capabilities of the Lebanese people. Thus, it is essential to highlight the intellectual capital component by allocating the proper budget needed to reinforce all public schools and the only public institution of higher education, the Lebanese University, which serves about 85,000 students, constituting approximately half of the total number of students in institutions of higher education in Lebanon.
*Dr. Nancy Kanbar is a member of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at the Lebanese University.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 25-26/19
US Suggests Iran Responsible for GCC Attacks
Washington- Elie Youssef/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/US administration officials presented confidential briefings to members of Congress, including Senate and House of Representatives, to explain why Washington sent troops to the Gulf region, citing intelligence that Iran and its proxies were prepared to attack US interests in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States has not made “a definitive conclusion” that can be presented publicly over sabotage incidents of oil tankers off the United Arab Emirates or drone strikes on a crude pipeline in Saudi Arabia. “But given all the regional conflicts that we have seen over the past decade and the shape of these attacks, it seems like it’s quite possible that Iran was behind these,” AFP quoted Pompeo as saying before heading to Congress. “Most importantly, we will continue to take acts that protect American interests and that work to deter Iran from misbehavior in the region, which has the real risk of escalating the situation such that crude oil prices rise,” he stressed. He pointed out during a seminar in the Heritage Foundation in Washington that none of the 12 conditions laid out by Washington to lift its sanctions on Iran have happened to date. He said investigations are still underway to determine the responsible party for the attacks last week. Pompeo also slammed former US officials - referring to former Secretary of State John Kerry – for calling Iranians to persuade them not to negotiate with Trump’s administration and wait for internal developments after the elections. “These practices are not only wrong and threaten the administration’s current efforts but might also be considered violations of US laws,” he said. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who will also brief lawmakers alongside the US military chief, General Joseph Dunford, said the US response had made an impact but warned of continued risks. “I think our steps were very prudent and we’ve put on hold the potential for attacks on Americans,” Shanahan told reporters. “I’d say we're in a period where the threat remains high and our job is to make sure that there is no miscalculation by the Iranians,” he said.

US State Department Denies Sending Delegations to Tehran for Negotiations
Washington, London - Elie Youssef, Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/ US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the United States had not been silent about its public messages to Iran. She denied that Washington had sent any special signals or delegations, saying that her country had nothing to hide from its position on tension with Iran. At a press briefing Thursday night, Ortagus said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had expressed this view to the Senate and during his hearings with Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. She confirmed that Pompeo - during his visit to Baghdad and his meetings with his European counterparts in Brussels - sent clear messages to Tehran about the threats it poses. Ortagus noted that the US asked each concerned party to encourage Iran to refrain from escalation, “and we have also taken steps to deter it.”The official also denied that Washington had sent delegations to Tehran carrying messages to its officials, saying that her administration was very open with its public messages and valued any effort by US allies to help ease tensions with Iran. “We were clear that the Iranian regime should realize that the only way to get out of this situation is to negotiate a new and more comprehensive deal, including the 12 steps set by Minister Pompeo.... We still hope that they make the right choice,” she said. The State Department's response came hours after a spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced that his country had received US letters from foreign officials who had visited Tehran. “There will be no negotiations between Iran and America,” Iranian Supreme National Security Council spokesman Keyvan Khosravi said on Thursday. State television also quoted Khosravi as saying that some officials from a number of countries had visited Iran recently, “most of them representing the United States.”

Iran Threatens to Target US Warships With 'Secret Weapons'
Asharq Al-Awsat/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/A senior Iranian military official said Iran can sink US warships sent to the Gulf region using missiles and “secret weapons,” semi-official news agency Mizan reported on Saturday. General Morteza Qorbani, an adviser to Iran’s military command, has threatened the US with targeting its warships. “America.. is sending two warships to the region. If they commit the slightest stupidity, we will send these ships to the bottom of the sea along with their crew and planes using two missiles or two new secret weapons,” Qorbani stressed. Washington on Friday announced the deployment of 1,500 troops to the Middle East, describing it as an effort to bolster defenses against Iran, Reuters reported. Western experts say Iran often exaggerates its weapons capabilities, although there are concerns about its missile program and particularly its long-range ballistic missiles.

Iranian FM arrives in Baghdad to meet with Iraq officials
Associated Press/25 May 2019/TEHRAN, Iran: Iranian media are reporting that the country’s foreign minister has arrived in Baghdad to meet his Iraqi counterpart and other officials. The official IRNA news agency reported Saturday that Mohammad Javad Zarif will meet with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Alhakim, Iraqi President Barham Salih, and Prime Minister Mohammed al-Halbousi during his two-day visit. Iraq’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Zarif will discuss the situation in the region and ways of finding common ground. On Friday, Zarif was in Pakistan and met officials there as tensions have ratcheted up in the Mideast. The White House earlier this month sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region in response to a still-unexplained threat from Iran.

Pakistan, Iran Discuss Easing Tension in the Region
Islamabad, London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/Iranian-US tension prevailed over the agenda of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Islamabad, where the Tehran official held consultations with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Foreign Minister Mehmood Shah Qureshi on regional developments and economic relations under the US sanctions. Qureshi said Pakistan would maintain reconciliation efforts to ensure peace and stability, stressing that regional tension would be in nobody’s interest. The Iranian foreign minister, for his part, said his country valued Pakistan’s efforts to bring peace to the region. Zarif is on a two-day visit to Pakistan, before heading for Baghdad. His consultations precede an emergency meeting of the Arab League next week at the invitation of Saudi Arabia to discuss the growing tensions in the Gulf region. The Iranian foreign minister said he had held talks in Islamabad on US actions against Iran, including “the economic war.” He emphasized that the US Donald Trump administration was practicing “economic terrorism” over his country. In parallel, Japanese sources said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to visit Iran soon, probably in mid-June. If conducted, it will be the first visit by a Japanese prime minister to Iran in four decades, amid international concern over the growing tension between Tehran and Washington. The report on plans for a visit by Abe comes a week after Zarif visited Japan and met the prime minister and Foreign Minister Taro Kono. NHK Japanese agency said Abe was likely to discuss his plan for a Tehran visit with US President Donald Trump when the latter visits Japan from Saturday, and a final decision might rest on the results of that.

Trump to Bypass Congress to Sell Arms to Saudi, UAE
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 25/2019/President Donald Trump's administration has notified Congress it will bypass a required review to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, citing a threat from Iran, a senator said Friday."With this move, the president is destroying the productive and decades-long working relationship on arms sales between the Congress and the executive branch," Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who had blocked sales due to concerns the weapons would lead to civilian deaths in Yemen, said in a statement.

Iran FM: US Troop Boost 'Threat to International Peace'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 25/2019/The United States said it was deploying 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East to counter "credible threats" from Iran in a move denounced by Tehran on Saturday as "a threat to international peace"."Increased US presence in our region is very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security and must be confronted," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the official IRNA news agency. The escalation of the US military presence follows a decision in early May to send an aircraft carrier strike force and B-52 bombers in a show of force against what Washington's leaders believed was an imminent Iranian plan to attack US assets. And it comes as the Trump administration is planning to bypass congressional restrictions to sell arms to Saudi Arabia, a close US ally and Iran's arch-enemy in the region. "This is a prudent response to credible threats from Iran," acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Friday. President Donald Trump, who approved the deployment, called it "protective.""We want to have protection in the Middle East," Trump told reporters as he prepared to set off on a trip to Japan. "We're going to be sending a relatively small number of troops, mostly protective," Trump added. "It'll be about 1,500 people."
Fighter jets, missile battalion
The new deployment includes reconnaissance aircraft, fighter jets and engineers. Six hundred of the personnel belong to a Patriot missile defense battalion that had its deployment in the region extended. Pentagon officials said the move was necessary after multiple threatening actions and several small-in-scope attacks in May by Iranian forces, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and "proxy" forces. Those include a rocket launched into the Green Zone in Baghdad, explosive devices that damaged four tankers in Fujairah near the entrance to the Gulf, and a Houthi drone attack against a Saudi oil installation. Iran has denied involvement in any of the attacks. "Americans make such claims to justify their hostile policies and to create tension in the Persian Gulf," Zarif said. The initial threat came at the beginning of May, according to Rear Admiral Michael Gilday, director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff. The US caught the IRGC attempting to covertly deploy "modified dhows capable of launching cruise missiles," he said, referring to small traditional boats. "We view this as a campaign," Gilday told reporters. The moves "are all part of a dangerous and escalatory strategy by Iran to threaten global trade and to destabilize the region."
'Highest levels'
"We believe with a high degree of confidence that this stems back to the leadership of Iran at the highest levels, and that all of the attacks... have been attributed to Iran through their proxies or their forces," Gilday said, citing still-secret US intelligence. US officials said the aim of the deployment was both to extend greater protection to the 70,000 US forces in the Middle East and Afghanistan, and to deliver a message to Iran to refrain from attacks. "We think that through a combination of a very measured deployment of assets as well as public messaging, we are again trying to underscore that we are not seeking hostilities with Iran," he said. Gilday said the US moves have had some impact. When Washington first learned of Tehran's alleged intent to launch attacks, it delivered a stern warning to Tehran "within hours" through an unnamed third party. Since then, the threat of the missile-bearing dhows appears to have subsided.
'No strategy'
However, the Trump administration continues to draw criticism that it has not clearly shown the need for an escalation. Members of Congress were also angered that Trump was overriding their block on delivery of lethal weapons to the Saudis. "More tactics with absolutely no strategy," tweeted Democratic Senator Chris Murphy. "All that is happening now is escalatory move after escalatory move. Trump has ZERO plan for how this ends, and that should scare the hell out of everyone."But Pentagon officials stressed that the US does not seek war with Iran. "We do not see these additional capabilities as encouraging hostilities. We see them as defensive in nature," said acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Katie Wheelbarger. "Our policy remains an economic and diplomatic effort to bring Iran back to the negotiating table to encourage a comprehensive deal that addresses the range of their destabilizing behavior in the region."

Trump Urges Fairer Trade with Japan at Start of State Visit
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 25/2019/President Donald Trump Saturday vowed to make the US trade relationship with Japan a "little bit more fair", as he kicked off a four-day visit to Tokyo aimed at cementing ties between the two close allies. Trump's four-day trip is expected to feature plenty of warm words and images as he plays golf and watches sumo with his "friend" Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister. But the world's top and third-biggest economies are also thrashing out a trade deal and Trump wasted no time in lashing out at what he sees as an imbalance between the pair. "Japan has had a substantial edge for many, many years. But that's OK, maybe that's why you like us so much," Trump told leaders from some of Japan's leading companies, including Toyota, Honda and Nissan. After a bilateral trade deal has been signed, it will be "a little bit more fair," vowed the president. "With this deal we hope to address the trade imbalance, remove the barriers to United States exports and ensure fairness and reciprocity in our relationship. We're getting close," said Trump. He added: "We hope to have several further announcements soon and some very big ones over the next few months." Some observers suspect Abe is rolling out the red carpet to present Japan as the most favourable of the countries currently engaged in trade disputes with Washington but little concrete progress is expected with elections looming for the Japanese PM. Japanese and US officials hail as "unprecedented" the relationship between Trump and his "golf buddy" Abe, and the pair are scheduled to again find time for a round to burnish their diplomatic bromance. Just over an hour before Trump arrived, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake rattled buildings in Tokyo, with the epicentre very close to where the leaders are due to tee off. The official centrepiece of the trip is Trump's meeting on Monday with Japan's new Emperor Naruhito, who only ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne at the beginning of the month following his father's historic abdication for health reasons. "With all the countries of the world, I'm the guest of honour at the biggest event that they've had in over 200 years," said Trump before his departure. But the visual highlight is more likely to be Trump's visit on Sunday to the final day of the summer "basho" or sumo tournament where he is expected to present the trophy to the winner. Japanese wrestler Asanoyama will receive the "president's cup" -- weighing 60-70 pounds (27-32 kilos) and measuring 54 inches (1.4 metres) -- after his win as Trump was arriving on Saturday gave him a 12-2 record and put him out of reach on the final day. Trump's appearance at the hallowed sumo hall has presented a logistical, security and protocol nightmare, ranging from where he sits to how he should be protected if the crowd start throwing chair pillows -- as tradition dictates when a Grand Champion (yokozuna) falls. The leaders will play golf before going to the sumo and then repair with their wives to a restaurant in Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district, where the menu features skewers of prime sirloin beef at 5,184 yen ($47) for two.
'Never been closer'
Abe has just recently returned from Washington and Trump himself will be coming back to Japan in just over a month for the Group of 20 leaders' summit in the western city of Osaka. The relationship between the former war-time foes "has never been stronger, has never been more powerful, has never been closer," Trump said. "This is an exciting time for commerce between the two countries that we both love." The formal diplomatic part of the trip is limited to a short bilateral meeting and a working lunch on Monday, after which the two leaders will brief the media. They are also poised to meet families of people abducted by North Korea during the Cold War era to train Pyongyang's spies, an emotive issue in Japan that Abe has pressed Trump to raise in talks with the North's leader Kim Jong Un. Trump will also address troops at a US base in Japan, highlighting the military alliance between the two allies at a time when tensions are running higher with North Korea after the failure of the Hanoi summit in February. Hours before Trump landed, hawkish National Security Advisory John Bolton told local media there was "no doubt" Pyongyang's recent missile tests had violated UN Security Council resolutions but insisted Washington is still ready to resume talks. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer held talks with his Japanese counterpart on the sidelines of the visit but with Abe facing upper house elections in the coming months and Trump battling China, both are likely to avoid concessions.

Race to Replace May Leaves Brexit in Limbo
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 25/2019/Contenders to succeed Theresa May as Britain's prime minister prepared to launch their leadership campaigns on Saturday, leaving Brexit shrouded in uncertainty. A tearful May announced her resignation on Friday, leaving the Brexit process for exiting the European Union in limbo and raising the risk of Britain crashing out of the bloc in a few months.May's statement inevitably triggered the starting gun on a two-month contest to replace her. May will step down as Conservative leader on June 7 but stay on as prime minister until party members have chosen her successor, which will happen by July 20. Britain's EU departure date is currently fixed for October 31, although any new leader could ask for a further delay. Conservative Party leadership contests are typically bloodthirsty affairs, with plot twists and betrayals. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson is the bookmakers' odds-on favourite, ahead of former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab. Both have embraced the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. But whoever takes over from May will like her face the same razor-thin majority in parliament, an EU with no intention of changing the divorce offer that MPs have rejected three times, and proponents both for and against Brexit who will never compromise. Main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said whoever wins the contest should call an immediate general election. That too would be a risky move, with the newly-formed, single-issue Brexit Party set to triumph in the European Parliament elections when the results become clear on Monday.
Waiting in the wings
Raab as well as Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Environment Secretary Michael Gove all held off from throwing their hats in the ring on Friday, but are widely expected to stand. The next prime minister of the UK, a country of more than 66 million people, will be decided by the 100,000 or so paid-up members of the Conservative Party. After Johnson and Raab, the next most likely winners are Gove, Hunt and former Commons leader Andrea Leadsom, bookmakers say. They are followed by International Development Secretary Rory Stewart, Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid. So far, only Johnson, Stewart and former pensions minister Esther McVey have declared their intention to stand. "There's a lot of runners and riders in this particular race," Tony Travers, a politics professor at the London School of Economics university, told AFP. Johnson "would certainly be the party membership's choice but not necessarily members of parliament", he added. With the House of Commons' arithmetic unchanged, "the question is, could a new prime minister go back to the EU 27 and get a different deal that would be more attractive to parliament," Travers said. A snap YouGov poll of 2,200 adults on Friday found 67 percent thought May had made the right choice in standing down. At the same time May told her local party branch that she would stay on in parliament and remain a MP. Labour MP Chris Bryant, calling for a second Brexit referendum, said the new prime minister could not go for a no-deal Brexit. "If they opt for confrontation, they will suffer Mrs May's fate, but in a matter of months and weeks, not years," he said.
Deep regret
In an emotional address outside her Downing Street Office on Friday, May ended a dramatic three-year tenure of near-constant crisis over Brexit. May, who took charge in the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum, was forced out following a Conservative mutiny over her ill-fated strategy to end Britain's near five-decade membership of the EU. "It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit," said May. "I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold. "I do so with no ill-will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love," she said, her voice breaking and close to tears. May was hastily pushed into the humiliating spectacle after a meeting with the Conservative Party's committee chief in charge of leadership elections. Her fourth bid to get MPs to agree to her EU divorce deal, this time with changes seeking to woo the opposition, went too far for many key cabinet members and her last remaining authority had all but evaporated.With her resignation, the manner of Britain's withdrawal from the EU appears more ambiguous than ever.

Russia Slams US over Claims on Syrian Regime Chemical Attack
/Moscow - Washington - London - Raed Jabr and Asharq Al-Awsat/Moscow has blasted Washington over its claims that Syrian regime forces have carried out a fresh chemical attack. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Washington’s attempts to “impose another lie on this world” about the situation in Syria were “not even surprising anymore. The ministry denied that any such attack in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib has taken place. The US State Department said earlier this week that it was assessing indications that the Syrian regime used chemical weapons on Sunday during its offensive in Idlib. "We are still gathering information on this incident, but we repeat our warning that if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons, the United States and our allies will respond quickly and appropriately," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. She also denounced Russia for what she called a "disinformation campaign" as it tries to blame other parties for chemical attacks. "The Assad regime's culpability in horrific chemical weapons attacks is undeniable," Ortagus said. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova blasted the US over its claims. “We regret to say that these insinuations on the alleged use of chemical weapons by Damascus against their own people have become an integral part of NATO policy in Syria and in the Middle East,” the spokeswoman told a news briefing. “Instead of making efforts to assist in the political settlement of the internal Syrian conflict involving all the warring parties, the West opts for the continuous destabilization of the region,” she said. Zakharova warned Washington against any move to “immediately and appropriately respond” to the alleged chemical use. “We know very well what this means – in violation of the UN Charter and generally recognised norms of international law, they have twice launched missile strikes at Syrian territory in the interests of the armed Syrian opposition as well as the international extremist and terrorist groups operating in this sovereign state,” she told reporters. “Recent discussions once again showed the West’s policy of double standards and the selective approach to the humanitarian aspects of the situation in Syria,” the spokeswoman said. “In this connection, we would like to ask the Western representatives who are concerned so much about the humanitarian aspects of the situation in Idlib – why, for instance, don’t you demand special UNSC meetings on the situation in Syria’s northeast? In particular, on the aftermath of the anti-terrorist operations of the so-called international anti-ISIS coalition.”

216 Migrants Rescued From 2 Boats in Mediterranean Sea
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/Maltese authorities announced rescuing up to 216 migrants aboard two dinghies in the Mediterranean Sea near Malta.At least one pregnant woman and a number of children were believed to be among the rescued, Reuters reported. The migrants were rescued Friday night by the Armed Forces of Malta and are being taken to Malta where they will be examined by doctors and given the chance to seek asylum. The Libyan coast guard said on Friday it had rescued 290 migrants from inflatable rafts near the capital Tripoli.
Maltese officials say good weather prompted at least 12 migrant boats to cross the Mediterranean in the past two days. According to the officials, the boats left from Libya, Tunisia and Algeria.

Sisi, Lungu Discuss Regional Developments, African Security
Cairo - Waleed Abdul Rahman/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Zambian counterpart, Edgar Lungu, have discussed the regional developments and security in the African continent. In a phone call with Lungu on Thursday, Sisi affirmed Egypt's keenness on more cooperation with Zambia in all fields, said Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi in a statement. Sisi said he is looking forward to continuing coordination with Lungu on security and stability in Africa, Radi said, adding that the Zambian President lauded the role Egypt is playing in Africa in light of its chairmanship of the African Union (AU) in 2019. Lungu also praised the continued improvement of his country’s relations with Egypt, saying there were wide prospects for further consolidation of ties. According to Radi, Sisi told his Zambian counterpart that he was looking forward to continuing cooperation with him on security, stability and development-related issues in Africa. Lungu, in his turn, expressed confidence that the Egyptian Presidency of the AU would bring huge benefits to the continent. Meanwhile, Sisi inspected on Friday several construction sites at Egypt’s administrative capital outside Cairo. Among the facilities the Egyptian President inspected were the culture and arts city, including the opera house, said Radi. On Thursday, the government denied rumors circulating on social media that it had put a stop to construction projects in the new administrative capital over lack of funding and a labor shortage. “All projects are being executed on time,” the government’s media office said.

Sudanese Protesters Call for Strike Starting Next Tuesday
Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/The Sudanese Professionals' Association called for a nationwide strike set to begin on Tuesday. The association released a statement on Saturday in which it asked people to go to work but abstain from any activity, then head to various marches and sit-ins across the country. The days of protest are set to culminate in mass rallies on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Despite ending al-Bashir's 30-year rule, protesters have remained in the streets demanding a "limited military representation" in a sovereign council. Meanwhile the military wants to lead the body during an agreed-upon three-year transition. In a statement distributed on social media, the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF) also called for a strike starting at private and public enterprises that will include various professional sectors starting on Tuesday. “The strike will continue for two days, and involved gathering at the protest squares in the national and state capitals,” the statement said, Reuters reported.

Rockets Hit Libya HQ of Sarraj’s MPs Amid Arrest of Pro-Haftar Activists
Cairo - Jamal Jawhar/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 25 May, 2019/The Rixos Hotel and Conference Center in the Libyan capital serving as a base for lawmakers allied with the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, was hit by rocket fire Friday. Sarraj’s Presidential Council condemned what it said was a “crime committed by rival forces.” This behavior is a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law that criminalizes attacks on civilian infrastructure and neighborhoods,” it said in a statement. It stressed that GNA forces continue to confront the attackers and make progress on all battlefronts. The Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive against Tripoli in early April. Witnesses said Friday that leaflets were distributed in Tripoli urging residents to launch an “intifadah” against militias to help the LNA gain control of the capital. A statement by the LNA command said that GNA forces have been carrying out a campaign of arrest and intimidation against journalists and activists who have called for the National Army’s support. The statement reassured the residents that it would bring the detainees back from captivity. Also Friday, Libya's navy confirmed that it rescued three boats carrying a total of 290 Europe-bound migrants off the country's Mediterranean coast. Libyan coast guards first reported finding off Qarabuli a sinking rubber boat whose bottom had collapsed on Thursday, leaving most migrants in the water and hanging onto what was left of the boat and plastic barrels. A statement posted on the navy press center's official Facebook page said that boat carried 87 migrants, including six women and a child. Earlier, the coast guard came to the rescue of two other rubber boats carrying a total of 203 migrants off Zlitin, according to a separate statement.

Police hunt suspect after explosion in French city of Lyon
LYON, France (AP) — French police on Saturday hunted a suspect believed to have deposited a paper bag containing a device that exploded Friday, wounding 13 people on a busy pedestrian street in the city of Lyon. France's counter-terrorism prosecutor, Remy Heitz, said an investigation has been opened for "attempted murderer in relation with a terrorist undertaking" and "criminal terrorist association."He said no group has claimed responsibility for the explosion yet. Regional authorities said 13 people suffered mostly minor injuries but 11 were still in the hospital on Saturday morning. French President Emmanuel Macron called the explosion an "attack" during a live interview Friday about the European Parliament elections that run through Sunday. Heitz described video surveillance that showed the suspect heading toward the center of Lyon on a bike Friday afternoon. The man was seen arriving on foot, pushing his bike along the pedestrian-only Victor Hugo street, then leaving paper bag on a concrete block in the middle of the street near a bakery. The suspect immediately returned to his bike and left by the same path. One minute later, the explosion shattered the glass of a refrigerator in the bakery, Heitz said.
Investigators at the scene have found screws, metallic balls, batteries, a triggering device that can be used remotely and plastic pieces that may come from the explosive device. Police issued an appeal for witnesses Saturday with a photo of the suspect from video surveillance. They described the man as "dangerous." Heitz said police will release more photos soon. The man was wearing a cap and sunglasses that partially hid his face. In this May 24, 2019 screen grab taken from the French police website - an image and description of a suspect wanted in connection with an explosion in Lyon. French police are hunting a suspect following an explosion that wounded 13 people in a busy pedestrian street Friday in the city of Lyon. (French Police via AP) In this May 24, 2019 screen grab taken from the French police website - an image and description of a suspect wanted in connection with an explosion in Lyon. French police are hunting a suspect following an explosion that wounded 13 people in a busy pedestrian street Friday in the city of Lyon. (French Police via AP) Local authorities said security has been enhanced in France's third-largest city, including with more police and military patrols.The women's World Cup soccer tournament is scheduled to start in France on June 7 and Lyon will host the semifinals and then the July 7 final. After the explosion, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner sent instructions for Lyon authorities to strengthen security for "public sites and sporting, cultural and religious events."
On Victor Hugo street, police removed their cordon around the explosion area and the atmosphere Saturday was almost back to normal with people doing their shopping — except for the chalk lines drawn by forensics on the ground."It was scary," said Gisele Sanchez, owner of a cloth shop in front of the bakery. Large wood planks protected her shop window, which was impacted by the blast. Police found screws, metallic balls and batteries in her shop yet Sanchez was able to reopen on Saturday morning. France is jittery over a spate of attacks in recent years, some of them deadly, carried out by people ranging from extremist attackers to mentally unstable individuals. Five people were killed Dec. 11 in an attack on the Christmas Market in Strasbourg, in eastern France. The alleged killer, Cherif Chekatt — killed by police — had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 25-26/19
Trump’s Public Enemies List Is an Impeachable Offense
The Daily Beast/ David R. Lurie/May 25/2019/
Long before becoming president, Donald Trump called for the jailing of his adversaries. Aided by Attorney General William Barr, he may now actually be training the full force of federal law enforcement against his enemies, real or perceived. Unlike Richard Nixon, who acted in secret, Trump is corrupting the justice system openly and publicly. The seriousness of such a presidential abuse of power, and its potential for undermining the constitutional order, could well surpass any of the crimes detailed in the Mueller Report. Indeed, the Congress long ago recognized that such misconduct can merit impeachment. Trump’s desire to investigate the investigators who uncovered the Russian plot to elect him president has taken on a special urgency since the release of the Mueller Report, with Trump repeatedly accusing government officials of “treason,” and the White House declaring: “This whole thing was a TAKEDOWN ATTEMPT at the President of the United States.”
On Thursday night, after Trump had spent days excoriating the purportedly “treasonous” investigators by name, he announced he had granted Barr the “full and complete authority” to declassify documents relating to the Russia probe. The White House also stated that Trump had directed intelligence agencies to “quickly and fully” cooperate with the investigation into the investigation.
Trump’s ‘Cover-Up’ Tantrum Means Democrats Can Go in for the Kill
It’s reminiscent of Nixon’s secret scheme to “use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies,” as then-White House Counsel John Dean put it, by manipulating “grant availability, federal contract, litigation, prosecution, etc.” Nixon directed the IRS provide potentially damaging information against some of his enemies. Although the agency’s commissioner refused Nixon’s demand, the scheme became part of the impeachment case against Nixon, which accused him of illegally endeavoring “to obtain [information] from the Internal Revenue Service, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens.”
While much of Nixon’s scheme was forestalled, Trump appears poised to effectuate his. Barr recently named Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham (best known for investigating the FBI’s corrupt relationship with Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger) to head up an inquiry into the “origins” of the Russia investigation. Unnamed government officials have attempted to minimize the significance of the inquiry by stating to the press that it does not currently entail the use of grand jury subpoenas, but that of course could change at any time—indeed, Senator Lindsey Graham is publicly demanding as much.
Barr, meanwhile, has become remarkably open about his intent to follow the president’s lead by making the investigators the focus of as much opprobrium as possible. In Senate testimony several weeks ago, Barr denied endorsing the president’s accusation that there was “improper surveillance”of the Trump campaign. More recently, however, he responded to a Fox News interviewer’s question whether he “smell[ed] a rat” at the FBI by stating: “I don’t know if I’d describe it as a rat. I would just say that the answers that I’m getting are not sufficient.” In the same interview, Barr emphasized that officials at the highest levels of the FBI and other agencies were involved, in a plain allusion to James Comey and the other former high-level law enforcement and intelligence officials that Trump has repeatedly excoriated.
Trump’s initial target was Hillary Clinton.Trump implored Jeff Sessions (ultimately with some success) to reopen an investigation into unsubstantiated claims that she had improperly interfered in the sale of a uranium mining concern, Uranium One, to a Russian company as secretary of state. In November 2017, the New York Times’s called 10 former attorneys general, but only one responded to its question whether Sessions should accede to Trump’s loud demands: It was Barr, who said he saw no problem with the president training the sights of the Department of Justice on a political enemy, as long as it was “warrant[ed].” Barr even opined that the evidence against Clinton was stronger than any potential evidence of wrongdoing by the president, this despite the fact that the primary “evidence” for the Uranium One allegations came from a book sponsored by Steve Bannon.
Barr seemed unconcerned with the risk posed by a president employing the Justice Department as a mechanism for exacting revenge against a former electoral opponent. Indeed, Barr declared, the department would be “abdicating its responsibility” if it did not pursue Clinton as Trump desired. In a memorandum he later wrote to the DOJ officials overseeing Mueller, and shared with Trump’s defense team, before becoming attorney general, Barr asserted that there is “no limit” on the president’s authority to direct the course of law enforcement investigations, including those he is personally interested in.
In fact, Trump’s effort to undermine the legitimacy of the now-completed Russia investigation is part-and-parcel of Trump’s earlier efforts to limit and even terminate the investigation while it was ongoing, conduct that the Mueller Report identified as potential obstruction of justice, and that Trump (with Barr’s support) has asserted merely amounted to “fighting back.”
Barr suggested to the Times that there is just no problem with a president personally selecting who should or should not become the subjects of criminal investigations, as long as the facts “warrant” inquiries. But that entirely misses the point.
As the nation recognized during the Watergate era, if the president employs the apparatus of the federal government to single out and punish political or personal enemies by making them the focus of law enforcement investigations, the perception (and the reality) of fairness on which our justice system depends will be gravely endangered.

Poverty Is a Bigger Problem Than Gentrification
Noah Smith/Bloomberg View/May 25/2019
First, the good news. More white Americans want to live in heavily black neighborhoods. A 2016 paper by the National University of Singapore’s Kwan Ok Lee found that since 1990, neighborhood segregation by race declined. Even better, mixed white-black neighborhoods have tended to stay mixed, instead of resulting in white flight or displacement of black residents. This trend isn’t true in every area of the country, but it’s quite a change from the mid-20th century, when whites fled mixed neighborhoods en masse to more segregated suburbs.
Now for the not-so-good news. A recent investigation by the New York Times confirmed the trend of white people moving into black neighborhoods. But it also found a disturbing pattern. When a neighborhood is diversified by an influx of nonwhite people, the newcomers’ incomes tend to be about average for that neighborhood. But when white people move into a mostly nonwhite neighborhood, their incomes tend to be much higher than the local average.
Although gentrification tends to improve neighborhood amenities, it can also cause difficulties for long-time residents of poor minority communities. Gentrifiers may be more likely to call the police on their neighbors. New retail outlets can change the character of a neighborhood. And most importantly, housing prices tend to rise, putting pressure on those of modest income. The biggest worry related to gentrification is that it will result in displacement.
For some low-income residents in the country’s so-called superstar cities, this is the reality. A study by the nonprofit National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that from 2000 through 2013, displacement of long-time residents was heavily concentrated in big cities with strong economies. A 2013 study by Daniel Hartley of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland supports this story.
Although gentrification displaces a few low-income minority Americans, this isn’t a widespread phenomenon, and it isn’t leading to re-segregation — if anything, it appears to be modestly reversing the effects of white flight. Of course, rising housing costs are still a burden for those who aren’t displaced, which is part of a more general crisis of affordability in the country’s more desirable cities. And higher rents deter poor minority Americans from moving to economically healthy neighborhoods. The government should be doing all it can to bring down housing costs.
But the phenomenon of gentrification tends to distract urbanists, reporters and policy makers from the bigger problem afflicting American cities — concentrated poverty. Even as a few superstar cities see influxes of well-to-do residents, many more are languishing in neglect and decay.
A 2019 study by the University of Minnesota Law School’s Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity found that for poor Americans, concentration of poverty and local decline were much more common outcomes than gentrification. Since 2000, the study reports, 36.5 million Americans have experienced both local economic decline and an increase in the number of poor people living nearby. It found that the low-income population of economically declining regions has grown by more than 5 million in that time.
Policy makers should try to manage and alleviate the strains of gentrification, while continuing to vigorously attack concentrated poverty. Policies to encourage investment in poor minority neighborhoods should be maintained and expanded. Just because a problem is old doesn’t mean it can be safely forgotten.

Why the Middle East cannot afford to ignore climate change
Hafed Al-Ghwell/Arab News/May 25/2019
There is a painful irony to the grave threat that climate change proposes to the Middle East, the world's most important producer of oil and natural gas. While the American Midwest is battered by floods and brutal storms, Texas is inundated by floods and heatwaves, and California is reeling from devastating forest fires. It is these stories that most of the world will point to as signs of an impending climate nightmare.
It is not the low rainfall, higher temperatures and increased evaporation that have led to the Dead Sea shrinking by about a meter every year. It is not the five million residents of Alexandria who can already feel the effects of sea levels rising from flooded basements and seafront buildings collapsing. Sea levels rising would also affect low-lying coastal areas elsewhere in the region from Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, the UAE and Kuwait, where millions have their homes, workplaces and livelihoods.
It is not the sudden violent storms in the Middle East's driest regions that have led to severe flooding, deaths and emergency evacuations in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen. Unfortunately, while the rest of the world debates the next steps forward, the Middle East is already feeling the effects of climate change.
Iraqi, Kuwaiti and UAE cities have had temperatures soar past 50°C in the last three years. Temperatures in the region are projected to increase by 4°C in three decades. By 2099, the Middle East will experience daytime highs above 50°C and exceptional heat for more than half of the year absent urgent action to curb global emissions. Should current trends persist, entire cities will become unlivable at the end of the century.
The stories are many, the statistics are alarming, and the evidence is damning. Yet, attempts at curbing global emissions or mitigating the risks of warming planet too often fade into the hum-drum cycle of wonky policy debate with little or no action. The Middle East can no longer wait because the dangers of climate change go beyond flooding, extreme temperatures and sinking coastal cities. While the wealthy can easily retreat to the relative comforts of air-conditioned buildings or flee to cooler regions, it’s the working poor who will bear the worst to come.
Already, the region has been experiencing a continuous drought for the past 21 years that has put enormous strain on scarce water resources. It is this climate-change-induced drought that drove rural dwellers to Syria’s urban centers between 2002 and 2010, creating the concentrated mass of the poor and disaffected at the heart of the civil war. The potential for conflict and instability stemming from water shortages was also evident in Iraq, where Daesh took control of the dams that provided drinking water, irrigation and electricity to 23 million people in the Tigris/Euphrates river basin.
The Nile Delta is already shrinking. The reduced flow caused by the Aswan High Dam as well as increased upstream extraction is decreasing the amount of silt deposited by the river. Silt replenishes the Delta and is also responsible for the area’s fertile lands. Without it, there would be less arable land to grow crops, which further compounds food insecurity issues already plaguing the region.
Unfortunately, while the rest of the world debates the next steps forward, the Middle East is already feeling the effects of climate change.
The most troubling aspect of climate change is that there is a domino effect caused by some of its worst outcomes. For instance, as governments scurry to deliver emergency aid to victims of climate-related disasters, it takes away resources from the increasingly critical work of climate change risk mitigation. In cases where heatwaves, water and food shortages have led to unrest and even civil war, state capacities to address the underlying vulnerabilities will be relegated in favor of law enforcement, public security and even military actions to restore stability.
A potential solution to reducing global emissions is already underway as the developed world is increasingly migrating towards cleaner energy sources such as hydro, geothermal, wind, solar and wave power. Unfortunately, for the Middle East and parts of North Africa that depend on petroleum exports, there will be fewer oil revenues going into the public purse. This will jeopardize the social safety nets, generous subsidies and exorbitant public projects that many have come to expect. Take that away, and civil unrest will be guaranteed as already demonstrated in Jordan and Algeria. The former has the eighth largest shale oil resources in the world, while the latter is home to the third largest untapped shale gas resources.
Unfortunately, as the world goes greener, this “potential” becomes meaningless, which demands that they and other MENA countries prioritize tapping into cleaner sources such as solar. Currently, oil prices remain relatively low, which would affect any reconstruction and stabilization efforts in conflict zones like Libya. Without reconstruction and stability, it would be impossible to completely shift from the petroleum dependence to clean energy sources despite the abundance of solar radiation in the Sahara.
There is a further angle of complexity to addressing the risks posed by warming temperatures that Middle East governments must confront. The already shrinking Nile Delta and other river basins drying up will intensify conflicts surrounding trans-boundary resources essential for irrigation, power generation, drinking water and sanitation. Almost every country in the region shares water resources with their neighbors. Already, there is conflict between Turkey and Syria concerning water resources from the Euphrates, which has sparked a pseudo-proxy war between the two nations.
Elsewhere, Egypt remains fiercely opposed to upstream projects such as Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam that threaten to reduce the Nile River’s downstream flow by about 25 percent. In fact, the Egyptian government has repeatedly threatened war on any initiatives by the other nine riparian states to siphon off Nile waters. Should the tributaries and rivers that feed the Nile dry up in warmer temperatures, conflict in north-eastern Africa will be inevitable.
In the end, the most logical outcome of heatwaves, severe droughts, extreme weather events, flooding, food and water shortages brought by climate change is not just widespread unrest or violent conflict. To the rest of the world, warming temperatures will lead to generations of climate refugees seeking resettlement elsewhere. The developed world is already reeling from mass migrations that have pushed anti-immigrant sentiment to the fore in Europe and North America.
At the end of the century, 40 percent of the world’s projected 11.2 billion population will be living in the Middle East and Africa. However, decades from now, flooded coastal areas, year-long heatwaves drying up water sources and killing crops amidst chaotic battles vying for control on what little is left, will force many towards cooler regions where new challenges await.
It is long past due for governments and the world to act to reduce global emissions and prepare, especially here in the Middle East, where scientists conclude that climate change will hit the region 50 percent harder than anywhere else on the planet.
*Hafed Al-Ghwell is a non-resident senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute at the John Hopkins University School of Advance International Studies. He is also senior adviser at the international economic consultancy Maxwell Stamp and at the geopolitical risk advisory firm Oxford Analytica, a member of the Strategic Advisory Solutions International Group in Washington DC and a former adviser to the board of the World Bank Group. Twitter: @HafedAlGhwell

NATO’s expansion will help stability, despite concerns about Russia
Luke Coffey/Arab News/May 25/2019
On the campaign trail US President Donald Trump was a vocal critic of NATO, and he has never been considered to be a strong supporter of adding new members to the alliance. This view on NATO enlargement is shared by many, not just in the US but also in Europe.
Those against NATO adding new members argue that the more members that join, especially smaller and weaker states with complicated histories with Russia, the more risk of confrontation with Moscow. In reality NATO has done more than any other organization, including the European Union, to promote democracy, stability, and security in the Euro-Atlantic region. This was accomplished by enticing countries to become a part of the club.
In a twist of geopolitical irony, Trump has done more for NATO and overseen the enlargement of the alliance more than his predecessor, Barack Obama. Despite Trump’s past rhetoric, the overall health of the alliance is in good shape. The members of NATO are spending more on their militaries. The alliance has more troops on its eastern flank with Russia than ever before. NATO now has a training mission in Iraq that helped to defeat Daesh.
When it comes to shepherding in new members, Trump has surprised many, too. Within the first few weeks in the Oval Office he approved Montenegro joining NATO, even though some in his own party warned him against it. Earlier this month, Trump formally asked the US Senate to approve North Macedonia as the 30th member of NATO.
NATO has underpinned Europe and North America’s security for more than 70 years, so it is no surprise that many countries in the Euro-Atlantic region want to join the alliance.
Perhaps this was most evident after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. The countries in the former Warsaw Pact in Eastern Europe were desperately finding ways to re-enter the European community. NATO was an obvious choice.
The ability to add new members is at the core of NATO’s foundation. Article 10 of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty says that any country in Europe can apply to join. Yet NATO membership isn’t automatic.
In a twist of geopolitical irony, Trump has done more for NATO and overseen the enlargement of the alliance more than his predecessor, Barack Obama
Membership requires an aspiring country to reform its systems of governance, economy and military to become more democratic and open. In many ways, the allure of NATO membership is one of the West’s most effective tools of democracy promotion.
After an explosion of new members in NATO after the Cold War, which brought the alliance from 16 members to the current 29 (soon to be 30 with Macedonia), the process of adding new members has slowed down.
Of the two remaining official candidate countries to join NATO, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, neither are close to full membership, but both are making great progress.
Although Georgia was promised eventual membership in 2008, acting as a steadfast ally of NATO and sending thousands of troops to fight in Afghanistan, countries such as France and Germany have blocked its membership progress for fear of upsetting Russia. Bosnia and Herzegovina has too many internal domestic problems preventing it from meeting the criteria to join NATO anytime soon.
Like Georgia, Ukraine was promised eventual membership in 2008. Unlike Georgia, it has done very little to achieve this goal until Russia’s invasion in 2014. Of course, recent events with Russia have changed attitudes in Ukraine about NATO, but the country has a long way to go before realistically joining the alliance.
Those who worry about adding new members to NATO risking war with Russia should remember that, first and foremost, NATO is a defensive alliance. Its primary mission is to defend the territorial integrity of its member states. As long as Russia does not plan to invade a NATO member, it has nothing to fear, and NATO won’t start a war with Moscow.
While Russia has described any further NATO enlargement as a “provocation,” no third party should have a veto over the decision of NATO’s sovereign member states. Rather, it is for the democratic countries that make up the alliance to decide on whether to admit new members.
Just because a country was once occupied by the Soviet Union or under the domination of the Russian empire does not mean it is blocked from joining the alliance in perpetuity. NATO is a collection of democracies. All decisions taken inside the alliance require unanimity. Any country that seeks to join must be a democracy. If a country meets the criteria and the alliance issues an invitation, the matter should be final and not up for debate with Russia. This needs to be made clear to Moscow.
NATO’s open-door policy for qualified countries has contributed greatly to transatlantic security since the first round of enlargement in 1952, helping to ensure its central place as the prime guarantor of security in Europe.
While it may be tempting to view Macedonia’s upcoming accession to NATO as a closing ceremony for enlargement, that would be a substantial mistake. It is in NATO’s interest that its door remains open to deserving European countries. This is the best chance for peace, stability and prosperity in Europe.

An uneasy calm settles over Israel after bruising elections
Yossi Mekelberg/Arab News/May 25/2019
That Israel is a country full of contradictions is an understatement. After spending just over a week there earlier this month, I experienced the commemoration of the Holocaust and Israel’s fallen soldiers, then the nation’s 71st Independence Day, and finally, a complete Eurovision frenzy.
All of this took place while, on the other side of the border, in the occupied West Bank and blockaded Gaza, it was time to remember the catastrophe that befell the Palestinians in 1948 — the Nakba. There was not much to celebrate, as the future in both places looks bleak.
Israel is still recovering from last month’s bruising elections. It deepened divisions and fragmentation across the country, producing another set of results that made horse-trading look honorable compared to the negotiations that followed to form the new coalition government.
For decades now there has been no smooth route to forming Israeli governments. But the pending indictment of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on corruption charges has made the process even more delicate.
At the best of times, assembling a majority in the Knesset to support a government is a momentous task: The divide between the two major parties is too wide for a grand coalition.
Consequently, Likud needs to add to its 35 seats at least four other parties to cross the majority threshold of 61 seats, and to add a fifth to have any chance of surviving the full four-year term.
Although the April elections produced one of the most right-wing parliaments in the country's history, this has not made assembling the coalition any easier, and for two major reasons.
First, though one should not underestimate Netanyahu’s success at the ballot box, positioning himself as the only person capable of forming a government despite scant achievements to his name and a long list of corruption allegations against him, he is in a very weak position when it comes to negotiations.
His potential partners in government are all well aware that, this time around, things are different and the stakes are much higher. For Netanyahu, it is no longer solely about his political future and retaining the top ministerial position, but about avoiding the possibility of prison.
Not great for someone who is turning 70 this year and — if still in power this coming July — would become the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Israel.
His rivals are well aware that despite his nonchalant attitude towards the accusations against him, he is desperate for them to support legislation that will prevent the legal authorities from pursuing his case in court.
There is an air of acceptance among Israelis as much as Palestinians that any progress on the peace process is extremely unlikely — for now.
His supporters in the Israeli legislature are promoting either a new law automatically granting governing legislators immunity from prosecution, or a move to undermine the judiciary by limiting its powers to override legislation passed by the Knesset.
In other words, the Knesset would be able to re-legislate laws that the High Court strikes down, making it almost impossible for the court to overturn any Knesset decision. Either of these options would pave the way for corrupt politicians to cling on to power indefinitely.
If this is one ugly side of the current attempts to form a government, there is another factor that is hampering them. There is an illusion that just because the parties involved are all of the right, they have a sense of common purpose, and of responsibility to ensure a government that represents their ideology.
In reality, this bloc is far from monolithic. They include the ultra-Orthodox Sephardi and Ashkenazi parties, religious messianic ultra-nationalists, and extreme right-wing secular populists who mainly represent immigrants from the former USSR.
They differ on almost everything, except an extremely hawkish approach towards the Palestinians, and in international affairs generally. They want to perpetuate the occupation of the West Bank and take a tougher stand against Hamas in Gaza.
It won’t be shocking news if Netanyahu asks President Reuven Rivlin for an extension, as the law permits, to allow him more time to form his fifth administration. Yet it has become clear that the national agenda has been hijacked by the whims and legal complications of the Netanyahu family.
While these medieval political shenanigans are taking place, there is an air of acceptance among Israelis and Palestinians that any progress on the peace process is now extremely unlikely — for now, at least. There remain some who hope for the Trump peace plan to be published, even though that is expected to be a one-sided initiative in line with Israeli government policies.
It takes an eternal optimist to believe that there would be more in it than something along the lines of economic peace, which ignored completely the national, political and civil rights of the Palestinians.
For now in Israel there is a sense of restored calm after the hostilities with Hamas earlier this month. It is back to the routine mode of denial regarding what happens close by on the other side of the Green Line, as Israelis have become accustomed to. Even producing an extremely impressive international song contest cannot conceal the harsh realities of the erosion of the country’s democratic ethos, or its fragile and fractured relations with the Palestinians. Eurovision was just a short-term tranquilizer.
**Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations at Regent’s University London, where he is head of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program. Twitter: @YMekelberg
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point-of-view

Next UK leader must tackle troubled Tory legacy
Andrew Hammond/Arab News/May 25/2019
Theresa May announced, with unusual emotion, on Friday that she will resign as Conservative Party leader on June 7. While she will stay on as Britain’s prime minister until at least July, her time in office is now ending with an unfortunately lousy legacy.
So, with the selection of a new Conservative leader, and by extension prime minister, about to begin, attention is rightly turning to the massive agenda he or she will inherit.
First and foremost, this comprises tackling the damning legacy of May and David Cameron, which has seen the shambolic handling of Brexit, but also wider political drift, and the possibility of the UK itself unraveling.
This leaves a huge in-box. The tragedy is that this troubled political inheritance was by no means inevitable, and results in large part from some of May and Cameron’s unwise decisions in office.
On Brexit, for instance, the referendum that Cameron called was not one of necessity. This was compounded by his failure, before the 2016 plebiscite, to allow the civil service to conduct any planning in the event of a “Leave” win.
Calling a referendum in these circumstances proved to be a reckless gamble that destroyed his premiership. And in the past three years May has failed to pick up the pieces and secure a domestic consensus around an EU withdrawal deal, exceptionally difficult as that task would have been for any politician.
The referendum vote also had major implications for the longer-term future not just of the EU but also the UK itself.
On the latter front, for instance, the UK’s current constitutional settlement has become further destabilized, with a significantly increased likelihood of a second Scottish independence referendum, for example.
Unlike England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, too, voted to remain in the EU. This is a point constantly emphasized by parties such as the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), which favor further fragmentation of the UK.
Among the key tasks for the next prime minister will be resolving the Brexit shambles in the national interest and preventing the breakup of the UK.
Unfortunately for unionists, the aftermath of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum has emboldened the SNP. Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister and SNP leader, has previously argued that the UK should exit the EU only if all four constituent parts (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) individually voted to leave, an exceptionally unlikely scenario as she well knows.
Should the leave vote ultimately lead to the UK leaving the EU under the next prime minister, which still appears likely barring a so-called people’s ballot which reverses the decision, it would increase the probability of a second Scottish independence referendum.
Sturgeon has sought to lay the ground for such a post-Brexit plebiscite, and given the strong attachment that many Scottish people have to the EU, it is more likely than not that Scotland could vote for independence.
For those who continue to favor a strong UK, these developments are immensely concerning, and the end result is likely to have ramifications not just for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but for the rest of the world, too.
The fact is a weaker UK would no longer punch so strongly on the international stage, which would also adversely affect its ability to bolster international security and prosperity at a time when both remain fragile.
Scottish independence would undermine the UK’s influence in multiple ways, including its voice in key international forums such as the UN, G7, G20 and NATO.
As John Major, the former Conservative prime minister, has argued, the union would be perceived to be harmed “if a chunk of it voluntarily chose to leave ... the voice of Britain ... would be growing weaker because we would have had a political fracture of a most dramatic nature.”
Perhaps most prominently, the breakup of the union could be seized on by some non-permanent members of the Security Council, and/or other UN members, to demand a review of the UK’s membership of one of the six principal organs of the UN. To be sure, reform of the Security Council is overdue. However, Scottish independence could see this issue being decided on less favorable terms for Britain than might otherwise be the case.
Budgetary cuts forced by the loss of Scotland’s tax base could also affect the UK’s sizeable overseas aid budget, which promotes massive goodwill abroad.
The UK is one of the world’s largest providers of international aid after the US, and is one of the few G7 states to adhere to an internationally agreed target of spending 0.7 percent of GDP on overseas aid.
Moreover, a UK parliamentary committee has rightly warned that losing the Scottish tax base could lead to further spending cuts to the armed forces.
Taken overall, the new Conservative leader will have to tackle as best he or she can the lousy legacy of May and Cameron. Key tasks will be resolving the Brexit shambles in the national interest and preventing the breakup of the UK.
Failure to achieve these goals would diminish the nation’s international standing, adversely affecting its ability to bolster international security and prosperity.
*Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics.