LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

May 12/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.may12.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

Now the ruler of this world will be driven out.And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

’Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 12/31-36:"Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains for ever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’ After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them."

Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.
Letter to the Ephesians 04/25-32:"So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today

May today's challenges become forces for unity to overcome our fears and build together a better future for Europe and the world.
Que les difficultés deviennent des promotrices d'unité, pour vaincre les peurs et construire ensemble l'avenir de l’Europe et du monde.

لتكن الصعوبات حافزًا للوحدة لنتغلّب على الخوف ونبني معًا مستقبل أوروبا والعالم

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 12/16

Turkey? In the EU/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/May 11/16
Why Terrorism Thrives in West Africa/Nuhu Othman/Gatestone Institute/May 11/16
Hunger and conflicts walk hand in hand/José Graziano da Silva/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
The importance of reading/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
Donald Trump and the seduction of ignorance/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
Londoners vote for diverse (co)existence/Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
Tunisia needs more than ‘fifteen minutes of fame’/Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
 

Titles Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 12/16

Conflicting Reports Emerge on Israeli Strike on Hizbullah Convoy
Report: International Efforts underway to Elect President after Municipal Polls Success
Berri: Parliamentary Elections Possible after Municipal Ones
Uncontested Municipal Wins in Shiyyah, Mreijeh as Tensions Postpone Salima Vote
Activists Rally at Interior Ministry Demanding Parliamentary Polls
11 Charged with Belonging to IS Group
Bassil Holds Talks with Qatari Counterpart in Doha
Lebanese-Origin Politician Poised to be Brazil's Next President
Uncontested Municipal Wins in Shiyyah, Mreijeh as Tensions Postpone Salima Vote
Zeaiter: Continued disruption, paralysis unacceptable
Pharaon, Araiji launch Baalbek International Festivals
Sami Gemayel meets State Security Service Director, General George Qoraa
SCC Says to Force Suspension of Municipal Polls if New Wage Scale Not Passed
For Beirut Madinati, now what?

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 12/16

Saudis Braced for Release of Hidden Pages of 9/11 Report
Trump says to visit Israel 'soon'
Three car bombs target Baghdad neighborhoods
Russian Soldier Dies after Coming under Fire in Syria
Russia plans attack on Aleppo: Opposition
Syria army and rebels trade fire in Aleppo
Turkish air strikes kill 11 Kurdish militants
Erdogan: Turkey has killed 3,000 ISIS militants in Syria, Iraq
Asiri: Yemen army to enter Sanaa if talks fail
Bangladesh hangs Nizami for war crimes
Four police killed in south Tunisia: ministry
Police allege 5 radicals planned to leave Australia by boat
Italy arrests Somalis accused of holding migrants hostage
Brazilian Senate Opens Rousseff Impeachment Vote Session
Syrian Army Battles IS Jihadists near Palmyra
Triple Baghdad Car Bomb Attacks Kill at Least 86
Egypt Court Recommends Death for 25 over Tribal Clash

Links From Jihad Watch Site for May 12/16
Australian judge to jury in jihadi’s trial: “Islam is not on trial here”
Turkey threatens to “send the refugees” if European Parliament doesn’t allow visa-free travel in Europe for Turks
Hindu group asks gods to help Trump save humanity from Islamic terrorism
Hamas-linked CAIR threatens suit as Citadel denies hijab for Muslim cadet
As Iran repeats that US is its chief enemy, Kerry tries to drum up some business in Europe for Iran
London Muslim mayor’s veiled threat: “Trump’s ignorant view of Islam could make both of our countries less safe”
Germany: Muslim migrant sexually assaults 6-year-old boy in changing room
UK: Muslim sentenced for threatening to behead UKIP candidate wins appeal, sentence quashed
Daniel Greenfield Moment: Palestine is Colonialism
Raymond Ibrahim: The West Lies Down Before Saudi Lies
Robert Spencer in PJ Media: Is the U.S. Government Now TRACKING ‘Right-Wing Extremists’?
Italy: Two Muslims arrested for plotting Islamic State mass murder attacks in Rome and London
Germany: Muslim who stabbed four screamed “Infidel, you must die” as well as “Allahu akbar”
MIT talk: “Is Islamophobia Accelerating Global Warming?”
Germany: Victim was begging Muslim who stabbed four at train station: “I love God. I love Allah.”
UK police chief apologizes for featuring Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” in counterterror training exercise

Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 12/16
Conflicting Reports Emerge on Israeli Strike on Hizbullah Convoy
Naharnet/May 11/16/Conflicting claims have been made over the nature of the Israeli strike against an alleged weapons convoy to Hizbullah, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Wednesday. Syrian rebels said that the strike targeted a Hizbullah rockets convoy on the Lebanese-Syrian border on Tuesday. They did not specify the exact location of the attack. A military source told al-Joumhouria meanwhile that there are no signs that indicate that the strike took place within Lebanese territory. Hizbullah for its part denied that one of its convoys had been struck in the area of Majdal Anjar in the Bekaa. Israeli warplanes struck a Hizbullah weapons convoy on the Syrian-Lebanese border on Tuesday afternoon, Israeli media reports said. Citing Arab media sources, Israel's Channel 2 said the Israeli Air Force bombed the arms convoy near a Syrian rebel "safe haven" where Hizbullah fighters were allegedly stationed.

Report: International Efforts underway to Elect President after Municipal Polls Success
Naharnet/May 11/16/The success of the municipal elections held in Beirut and the eastern Bekaa region over the weekend have created a new incentive for international powers to push for ending the presidential vacuum in Lebanon, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper. Informed sources spoke of international efforts to stage the presidential elections “while adhering to the consensus of the political powers,” reported al-Liwaa newspaper. They also underlined the need to hold these elections before the election of a new U.S. president in November. Diplomatic sources told al-Joumhouria meanwhile that the ambassadors of various European and Arab countries had sent cables to their governments on the success and results of the municipal polls. They highlighted the fact that they were the first polls to be held in Lebanon in around seven years. They remarked that the “concept of a powerful president has been eliminated in wake of the polls in that the political powers failed to garner more than 25 percent of the vote in Beirut or Zahle combined.” “No one can now claim that he is a strong president or that he alone represents Christians.” Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted the polls. French President Francois Hollande sent a message to Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday stressing Paris’ efforts to resolve the presidential deadlock.
 

Berri: Parliamentary Elections Possible after Municipal Ones
Naharnet/May 11/16/Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated his demand for the adoption of a new electoral law ahead of staging the parliamentary polls, reported An Nahar daily on Wednesday. He said according to his visitors: “The parliamentary elections can be held in wake of the success of the municipal ones.” The current parliament’s term ends in ten months. “We are now in a race against time,” continued Berri in reference to attempts to agree on a new electoral law. The speaker also rejected attempts to extend the term of parliament for the third time.
Parliament had extended its term once in 2013 and another time in 2014 over disputes on the electoral law and over security concerns. The joint parliamentary committees have been holding regular meetings to narrow down the number of electoral draft-laws before referring a handful over to parliament for agreement.
 

Uncontested Municipal Wins in Shiyyah, Mreijeh as Tensions Postpone Salima Vote
Naharnet/May 11/16/Two lists have won uncontested in Beirut's southern suburbs ahead of Mount Lebanon's municipal polls that will be held Sunday, state-run National News Agency reported on Wednesday. The victorious list in Shiyyah comprises candidates nominated by the Lebanese Forces, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Kataeb Party and families, while the list that won in Mreijeh-Tahwitat al-Ghadir is an alliance involving the AMAL Movement, Hizbullah and the FPM, NNA said. The two areas will however witness mayoral elections despite the uncontested municipal wins, the agency noted. Meanwhile, independent candidates are seeking to take on a Hizbullah-led coalition in the party's stronghold in Haret Hreik, although there are efforts to “find consensus and secure the list's uncontested win,” NNA said. The current coalition includes candidates from Hizbullah, AMAL, the FPM and some families. In Bourj al-Barajneh, several lists will vie to win the municipal council, including one formed by Hizbullah, AMAL and the FPM. Some independents are also running in the elections. Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq issued a decree postponing elections in the Baabda District town of Salima over “sectarian tensions” there. “Based upon the memos of the Progressive Socialist Party, the LF party and the residents of the town of Salima, who have demanded the postponement of the municipal and mayoral polls in the town amid the current tensions... the municipal and mayoral elections there have been postponed until further notice,” said Mashnouq in his decree. The minister noted that the town's electoral battle “had started to take a sectarian turn that could lead to incitement, disputes, strife and or security incidents.” The municipal and mayoral polls that started on Sunday in Beirut and the Bekaa are the first elections of any kind in Lebanon since the last municipal vote in 2010, in a country with a deeply divided political scene that has not had a president for the past two years nor voted for a parliament since 2009.

Activists Rally at Interior Ministry Demanding Parliamentary Polls
Naharnet/May 11/16/Activists from the We Want Accountability civil society campaign staged a sit-in Wednesday outside the Interior Ministry in Sanayeh to urge authorities to organize parliamentary elections. The sit-in, which was surrounded by a heavy police deployment, was held under the slogan “The Excuses for Extension Have Fallen and We Want Parliamentary Polls”. The campaign meant to refer to the first round of municipal and mayoral elections that was held in Beirut and the Bekaa on Sunday, the first elections of any kind in Lebanon since the last municipal vote in 2010. The country has not had a president for the past two years nor voted for a parliament since 2009 due to sharp differences among the rival political parties. The legislature has extended its own term twice, citing security concerns. “Seeing as the staging of municipal polls has proved that there are no extraordinary circumstances, the continued failure to organize parliamentary elections by this ruling class turns it into a rogue authority that is violating the Constitution,” We Want Accountability said in a statement recited at the sit-in. “This usurper ruling class, with both its legislative and executive councils, must take the necessary measures in order to stage the parliamentary polls immediately and according to a new and proportional electoral law that respects all aspects of citizenship,” the campaign added. A new civic campaign won a third of votes in Sunday's municipal elections in the capital, despite all council seats going to the established political class. Beirut Madinati emerged this year with the aim to take on traditional parties in the politically deadlocked country's first elections in six years. Experts hailed Beirut Madinati's results as a victory despite it not winning any of the city council's 24 seats. Civil society in Lebanon gained momentum after protests last summer over the country's unprecedented waste disposal crisis.
 

11 Charged with Belonging to IS Group
Naharnet/May 11/16/State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Wednesday 11 people with belonging to the Islamic State group, reported the National News Agency. It said that seven of the suspects are currently in custody. The Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian suspects are charged with carrying out terrorist activity, planning bombings in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahieh, and other areas where foreigners are located. In November, the IS claimed responsibility for twin bombings in Beirut’s suburb of Bourj al-Barajneh that left at least 40 people dead. The army and security forces have in recent months arrested numerous terror suspects linked to the groups fighting in the Syrian conflict.

Bassil Holds Talks with Qatari Counterpart in Doha
Naharnet/May 11/16/Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil held talks Wednesday in Doha with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani. “Talks tackled the bilateral ties between Lebanon and Qatar and the one-hour meeting also addressed the refugee crisis and the issue of combating terrorism,” Lebanon's National News Agency said. The Qatari minister stressed his country's “appreciation of Lebanon and the Lebanese,” hoping relations “will return to normal” between the two countries and describing the current period as “transient.” Bassil for his part highlighted “the friendly ties that gather Lebanon and Qatar” and Lebanon's keenness on “restoring the balance of relations” between the two countries. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. Lebanon's ties with the Gulf countries have deteriorated in recent months as Hizbullah engaged in a political confrontation with Saudi Arabia against the backdrop of a Saudi-Iranian standoff in the region. Bassil's stances at Arab and Muslim meetings were also part of the moves that angered Riyadh and pushed it to take a series of measures against Hizbullah and Lebanon. Saudi Arabia's measures started on February 19 when it announced that it was halting around $4 billion in aid to the Lebanese army and security forces over “hostile” Lebanese diplomatic positions resulting from “Hizbullah's stranglehold on the State.”The kingdom later slapped sanctions on individuals and firms accused of ties to Hizbullah and advised its citizens against travel to Lebanon while urging those already in the country to leave it. Saudi Arabia also pushed the Gulf Cooperation Council to label Hizbullah as a “terrorist” organization over purported "terrorist acts and incitement in Syria, Yemen and in Iraq."

Lebanese-Origin Politician Poised to be Brazil's Next President
Naharnet/May 11/16/Michel Temer used to be known in Brazil as a behind-the-scenes operator, but that was before he pulled the trigger on a masterful plot to topple his boss, President Dilma Rousseff, and take her job. After months of playing his cards close to his chest, the vice president is poised to take over as president Thursday, when the Senate is expected to open an impeachment trial against Rousseff. Brazil's first woman president will then be suspended for up to six months, and Temer, a constitutional scholar who kept a low profile until now, will take her place. Rousseff's running mate-turned-nemesis has already lined up a business-friendly cabinet and hatched plans to pivot away from 13 years of left-leaning policy in a bid to get the ailing South American giant's economy out of recession. But with popularity ratings as dismal as Rousseff's and many of his allies implicated in corruption, Temer will face a tall task restoring stability in Brazil. The 75-year-old lawyer had long been a backroom wheeler-dealer. He was perhaps best known to voters for having a 32-year-old former beauty contestant as a wife. But as Brazil's economic boom turned to spectacular bust and a corruption scandal at state oil company Petrobras tainted nearly the entire political class, Temer slowly emerged from the shadows to seize the starring role.
Kingmaker to king
Rousseff and her running mate always made an awkward couple. As head of the PMDB, a centrist party, Temer represented the biggest force in the former leftist guerrilla's shaky coalition. For years, the PMDB played the role of kingmaker, content with pulling the strings and keeping the keys to the government pork barrel. Temer played his hand cautiously, gradually making his disapproval of Rousseff known as the momentum to impeach her built. In October, he published a document called "A bridge to the future" in which he criticized "excesses" in government policies. And in December, he complained of being treated as "a decorative vice president." But while lower-level PMDB supporters liked to refer to him as "President Temer," he insisted he had no such ambitions, except perhaps for the next scheduled elections in 2018. Finally, in March, he came out into the open, calling on the PMDB to abandon the government and go into opposition. Temer followed that up by brazenly leaking an audio recording of himself practicing the speech he'd give if he were to replace Rousseff. In it, he said his "great mission from now is the calming of the country, the unification of the country." The president calls him a leading "conspirator" in the impeachment process, which she says has turned the commonly accepted practice of papering over shortfalls in the government's accounts into an excuse for a "coup."
Poet and ladies' man
For someone known as a colorless political insider, Temer has a surprising side. Not only is he married to a woman less than half his age, but this is his third marriage. He has five children born across four decades. Nor is he the stuffed suit that he might appear to be on television. In addition to a highly regarded work on constitutional law, this child of Lebanese immigrants has authored a book of poetry. He has served three times as speaker of the lower house of Congress and has been president of the PMDB for 15 years. Temer does not apologize for his dour manner, telling Piaui magazine in 2010 that joking is not his thing: "I don't know how to do this. If I tried, it would be a disaster." That persona may account for his rock-bottom popularity -- only two percent of the country would vote for him in a presidential election, according to a recent poll. Political analysts say his most immediate threat comes from the Petrobras scandal, in which a host of powerful PMDB colleagues are implicated. Temer himself is not under investigation, but a key witness has accused him of participating in schemes to bilk the company of billions of dollars. The VP also stands accused of the same budgetary shenanigans that Rousseff is being impeached for -- and opponents are calling for him to face the same fate.

Uncontested Municipal Wins in Shiyyah, Mreijeh as Tensions Postpone Salima Vote
Naharnet/May 11/16/Two lists have won uncontested in Beirut's southern suburbs ahead of Mount Lebanon's municipal polls that will be held Sunday, state-run National News Agency reported on Wednesday. The victorious list in Shiyyah comprises candidates nominated by the Lebanese Forces, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Kataeb Party and families, while the list that won in Mreijeh-Tahwitat al-Ghadir is an alliance involving the AMAL Movement, Hizbullah and the FPM, NNA said. The two areas will however witness mayoral elections despite the uncontested municipal wins, the agency noted. Meanwhile, independent candidates are seeking to take on a Hizbullah-led coalition in the party's stronghold in Haret Hreik, although there are efforts to “find consensus and secure the list's uncontested win,” NNA said. The current coalition includes candidates from Hizbullah, AMAL, the FPM and some families. In Bourj al-Barajneh, several lists will vie to win the municipal council, including one formed by Hizbullah, AMAL and the FPM. Some independents are also running in the elections.
Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq issued a decree postponing elections in the Baabda District town of Salima over “sectarian tensions” there. “Based upon the memos of the Progressive Socialist Party, the LF party and the residents of the town of Salima, who have demanded the postponement of the municipal and mayoral polls in the town amid the current tensions... the municipal and mayoral elections there have been postponed until further notice,” said Mashnouq in his decree. The minister noted that the town's electoral battle “had started to take a sectarian turn that could lead to incitement, disputes, strife and or security incidents.” The municipal and mayoral polls that started on Sunday in Beirut and the Bekaa are the first elections of any kind in Lebanon since the last municipal vote in 2010, in a country with a deeply divided political scene that has not had a president for the past two years nor voted for a parliament since 2009.
 

Zeaiter: Continued disruption, paralysis unacceptable
Wed 11 May 2016/NNA - Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Ghazi Zeaiter, said in a statement on Wednesday that the municipal election is a positive indicator of stability and determination by the Lebanese to express their opinions. "The elections have taken a democratic path but the presidential vacuum needs to be ended as soon as possible to bring the country out of this state of disruption and paralysis," he added. Zeaiter stressed that voters should base their choice of candidates on developmental interests. "It is good time to prioritize the interests of the Lebanese. The continued blockade and paralysis are unacceptable," he said.

Pharaon, Araiji launch Baalbek International Festivals
Wed 11 May 2016/NNA - Minister of Tourism Michel Pharaon and Minister of Culture Rony Araiji launched on Wednesday the Baalbek International Festivals. Minister Araiji's word on the occasion commanded the constant efforts exerted on yearly basis, for over 60 years, so as to make these festivals happen. "With great pride we recall the memory of that beautiful moment in the year 1956 when the Baalbek Festivals committee was established," Araiji said, listing decades of achievements marked by these festivals. Minister Pharaon also delivered a statement on the occasion, thanking the media and the security forces on their role in the success of the Baalbek Festivals. The Minister highlighted the importance of the security plan applied in Baalbek, as it restored tourism and civilization when it restored security in the area.

Sami Gemayel meets State Security Service Director, General George Qoraa
Wed 11 May 2016/NNA - Head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel, met on Wednesday State Security Service Director, General George Qoraa, with talks touching on the latest efforts made to address the State Security dossier.

SCC Says to Force Suspension of Municipal Polls if New Wage Scale Not Passed
Naharnet/The Syndical Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and civil servants, warned Wednesday that it might force the suspension of the coming rounds of the country's municipal and mayoral polls should parliament fail to approve the long-awaited new wage scale.
“If the wage scale does not top the agenda of the next legislative session, then that will lead to the suspension of the rest of the electoral rounds and the obstruction of official school exams,” SCC official Mahmoud Ayyoub said at a press conference, in response to a question. The Ministry of Interior relies on public school teachers and public employees in the organization of elections and their boycott of their role as election workers would effectively force the suspension of the ongoing municipal polls. According to al-Mustaqbal bloc leader ex-PM Fouad Saniora, there are several obstacles impeding the adoption of the new wage scale, in particular the failure to pass a new state budget. Al-Joumhouria newspaper last year quoted Saniora as saying that “we cannot finance the new scale without a state budget.” Lebanon has not had a state budget in the past ten years. The state’s treasury will have more than $1.2 billion to cover as there are over 180,000 public sector employees including the members of the army and security forces. The municipal and mayoral polls that started on Sunday in Beirut and the Bekaa are the first elections of any kind in Lebanon since the last municipal vote in 2010, in a country with a deeply divided political scene that has not had a president for the past two years nor voted for a parliament since 2009.

For Beirut Madinati, now what?
Hussain Abdul-Hussain/Now Lebanon/May 11/16
Building on the momentum from the municipal elections, Beirut Madinati must transform from a civil society group to a real grass roots political movement
Rarely has an electoral defeat generated such hope among supporters as has that of Beirut Madinati, which won 40 percent of Beirut’s electorate in recent municipal elections, but still lost all 24 council seats thanks to an obsolete “first-past-the-post” system. Had election been contested on a proportional basis, the oligarchy’s Beirut for Beirutis list would have collected 14 seats and Beirut Madinati 10. Proportional representation would also have increased the number of women in Beirut’s new council from three to eight. Beirut Madinati exceeded expectations. It beat the three Christian oligarchs in the First District where it won 60 percent of the vote. It surprised former Prime Minister Saad Hariri in his home district, the Third District, where one in three Sunnis abandoned him and voted for Beirut Madinati. After the votes of 80 thousand Beirutis were tallied, Beirut Madinati came only seven thousand votes behind Beirut for Beirutis.
Word has it that leaders of Beirut Madinati had already considered creating a grass root movement before election. With the above results, they are probably thinking of keeping the momentum.
Going forward, Beirut Madinati should drop its civil society tag, which it lost the minute it announced its candidacy. Perhaps the confusion stems from the Lebanese misusage of the word civil to mean non-sectarian. But the campaign was, by definition, political. Beirut Madinati should not shy away from engaging in politics, which most Lebanese mistake for tribo-sectarian feuds. Politics means debating policies and advocating for, or against, them. The nine points on Beirut Madinati’s platform were policy promises. Had the ticket won, it would have had to employ politics to put policies into effect, which includes building consensus around them, budgeting for their execution and pressuring Lebanon’s dominating oligarchs to accept them. Beirut Madinati should not underestimate the oligarchy. Municipal elections were held on an off year, as opposed to a parliamentary election year, when oligarchs use a dizzying amount of money and employ acute sectarian rhetoric to fire up their tribal bases. Lebanon’s voter turnout has always been higher in parliamentary elections than municipal ones. Higher turnout gives oligarchs the advantage.
Beirut Madinati should not transform itself into a political party with founding principles and a defined leadership. It should rather maintain a loose structure, like that of America’s Tea Party. The network behind Beirut Madinati has been alive for over two decades. Under Assad’s rule of Lebanon, it was either coopted or persecuted. Starting 2005, these activists were split into March 8 and March 14. Yet over the past few years, they have abandoned the dichotomy and converged onto campaigns like YouStink and Beirut Madinati. While political, the new grass roots movement should stay away from Lebanon’s politics. Let March 14 and March 8 fight all they want over the nation’s top three spots — president, speaker and prime minister — or over who is right in the conflict between the Yemeni government and its Houthi opponents. A Beirut Madinati movement, perhaps upgraded to Lebanon Watani, should remain focused on the least divisive Lebanese-centric issues.
For instance, civil society — with support from foreign governments and NGOs — often presented recommendations for “electoral reform,” including minor steps like using official pre-printed ballots and major ones such as replacing the current “majoritarian” system with a more representative proportional one.
Environmental issues also win consensus often, and so do campaigns for the improvement of public services, such as electricity and the internet. Beirut Madinati should not try to be what it is not. The movement is elitist, and there is no shame in the elite driving change and setting trends.
Beirut Madinati should also understand that it has a lot of room to grow, such as sharpening its rhetoric and making its public figures rehearse talking points. Since the movement promises to introduce a fresh political style, it can show the Lebanese how it is principled and sticks to its script, instead of engaging in endless bickering over futile semantics and punditry. The 2016 municipal election might have caught the oligarchy off guard. But should Beirut Madinati turn itself into a serious movement, it should expect the oligarchs to turn up the heat, which will include all sorts of threats — form bullying supporters to cutting them loose at their workplace or within their communities. After giving the oligarchy a political beating, Beirut Madinati should expect things to get harder. But with the stamina and perseverance that it has shown so far, it stands a chance in causing some dents, and for that, it deserves further support.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 12/16

Saudis Braced for Release of Hidden Pages of 9/11 Report
Saudi Arabia is confident nothing in a secret 28-page section of a U.S. congressional report on the September 11 attacks implicates its leaders. But some officials worry its eventual publication -- 15 years after the assault on New York and Washington -- will stir suspicion at a time of tense ties.In December 2002, a year after the attacks, the House and Senate committees on intelligence published a report into the U.S. investigation into them. But the then president, George W. Bush, ordered that 28 pages of the report be classified to protect the methods and identities of U.S. intelligence sources. Last month, former senator Bob Graham said the pages should be made public and alleged Saudi officials had provided assistance to the 9/11 hijackers. Graham, who was the Senate intelligence committee chairman, said the White House had told him they will decide by June whether to declassify the pages. The issue of alleged -- and fiercely denied -- Saudi involvement in the attacks has been brought up again by attempts to lodge a lawsuit against the kingdom. Relatives of some of the American victims of the hijackers are lobbying Congress to pass a law lifting Saudi Arabia's sovereign immunity from liability.
Mystery pages
But Riyadh insists it has nothing to fear from the mysterious 28 pages and that U.S. investigators have thoroughly debunked all the allegations they contain. "Our position, since 2002 when the report first came out, was 'release the pages'," Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Geneva last week. "We know from other senior US officials that the charges made in the 28 pages do not stand up to scrutiny. And so yes, release the 28 pages." For most in Washington, the congressional report was superseded in July 2004 by the final report of the separate 9/11 Commission set up by Bush. This found no evidence of official Saudi complicity -- but the ongoing secrecy surrounding Congress' earlier 28 pages has continued to stir suspicion. "We can't rebut charges if we're being charged by ghosts in the form of 28 pages," Jubeir said. "But every four or five years this issue comes up and it's like a sword over our head. Release it." Jubeir added that, thanks to multiple leaks in the years since the congressional report was locked away in a safe on Capitol Hill, he can guess what it says. "Nothing stays a secret," he said. "So we know that it's a lot of innuendo and insinuations."So what exactly are the secret allegations?
The 28 pages are thought to include a claim that Princess Haifa, the wife of then Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, sent money to the hijackers. Princess Haifa sent thousands of dollars to Osama Basnan, a Saudi living in San Diego who befriended 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar. Investigators were told the money was to pay to treat Basnan's wife for thyroid cancer. The 9/11 Commission found no evidence it was passed to the hijackers. Another likely allegation in the missing pages concerns Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi civil aviation official who had been studying in California. Bayoumi was arrested in England 10 days after the September 11 attacks and questioned by British and US authorities before being released without charge. It is thought the missing pages cite allegations that he met Hazmi and Mihdhar at a Los Angeles restaurant.
Clandestine ties?
Later he helped the pair settle in San Diego, leading to suspicions that he was acting on behalf of Saudi paymasters to help prepare the al-Qaida attack. But the 9/11 Commission report said FBI investigators found Bayoumi to be "an unlikely candidate for clandestine involvement with Islamist extremists." Whatever allegations are in the missing pages of the congressional report, Saudi Arabia's defenders will point to the later 9/11 Commission report. "Saudi Arabia has long been considered the primary source of Al-Qaeda funding," it said. "But we have found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded the organization." But if Riyadh is so confident in its defense, why then the nervousness about the release? Reports allege the kingdom threatened to withdraw $750 billion in investments from the United States if Congress strips it of its immunity in US courts. This claim triggered outrage -- the tabloid New York Daily News reported it under the headline "Royal Scum" -- but Jubeir denies it amounted to a threat. "Nonsense," he declared, arguing Riyadh had simply warned the legislation being considered by Congress would overturn the idea of sovereign immunity. "It's a simple principle and it protects everybody, including the United States," he said. "We said a law like this is going to cause investor confidence to shrink, not just for Saudi Arabia but for everybody," he added. "But this idea that 'Oh my God, now the Saudis are threatening us'? We don't threaten things."
 

Trump says to visit Israel 'soon'
AFP, Jerusalem Wednesday, 11 May 2016/US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will visit Israel "soon", he said told an Israeli newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday. "Yes, I will be coming soon," Trump said without giving further details in response to a question from the Israel Hayom newspaper, a freesheet considered close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump had scheduled a visit to Israel for late December but postponed it a few days before following an uproar over his proposal to bar all Muslims from entering the United States. "I have decided to postpone my trip to Israel and to schedule my meeting with @Netanyahu at a later date after I become president of the US," he tweeted at the time. In the interview published on Wednesday, Trump renewed his criticism of US President Barack Obama over a July nuclear deal with Iran that was vigorously opposed by the Israeli prime minister. "The current threat against Israel is more important than ever" because of "President Obama's policy towards Iran and the nuclear deal," he said. "I think the people of Israel have suffered a lot because of Obama." White House hopefuls often visit Israel as part of efforts to bolster their foreign policy credentials.

Three car bombs target Baghdad neighborhoods
Reuters, Baghdad Wednesday, 11 May 2016/Three suicide bombings claimed by ISIS across Baghdad killed at least 80 people on Wednesday, Iraqi police and hospital sources said, in the deadliest attacks in the Iraqi capital this year.
Security has gradually improved in Baghdad, which was the target of daily bombings a decade ago, but violence against security forces and Shiite Muslim civilians is still frequent. Large blasts sometimes set off reprisal attacks against the minority Sunni community. The fight against ISIS, which seized about a third of Iraq's territory in 2014, has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict in Iraq mostly between Sunnis and the Shiite majority that came to power after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Such violence threatens to undermine U.S.-backed efforts to defeat the militant group. Wednesday's bombings could also intensify pressure on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to resolve a political crisis that has crippled the government for more than a month. The first attack, a suicide car bomb at a bustling market in the Shiite Muslim area of Sadr City, killed 55 people during morning rush hour and wounded 68. Two more blasts struck at the end of the working day. A suicide bomber stormed a security checkpoint leading into Kadhimiya, a northwestern area housing one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam, killing 17 and wounding more than 30. Another bomb went off at a checkpoint on a commercial thoroughfare in a predominantly Sunni district of western Baghdad, killing eight and wounding 20.
Brides and grooms
A pickup truck packed with explosives in Sadr City went off near a beauty salon in a bustling market. Many of the victims were women including several brides who appeared to be getting ready for their weddings, the sources said. The bodies of two men said to be grooms were found in an adjacent barber shop. Wigs, shoes and children's toys were scattered on the ground outside. At least two cars were destroyed in the explosion, their parts scattered far from the blast site. Rescue workers stepped through puddles of blood to put out fires and remove victims. Smoke was still rising from several shops hours after the explosion as a bulldozer cleared the burnt-out chassis of the vehicle used in the blast. ISIS said in statements circulated online by supporters that a car bomb had aimed at Shiite militia fighters gathered in the area and two fighters wearing explosive vests targeted security forces in the later attacks. Since 2014, Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have driven the group back in the western province of Anbar and are preparing for an offensive to retake the northern city of Mosul. A spokesman said on Wednesday ISIS had lost two-thirds . of the territory seized by the militants in 2014. Yet the militants are still able to strike outside territory they control. The ultra-hardline Sunni jihadist group, which considers Shi'ites apostates, has claimed recent attacks across the country as well as a twin suicide bombing in Sadr City in February that killed 70 people.

Russian Soldier Dies after Coming under Fire in Syria
A Russian soldier has died in Syria after coming under fire from rebels in Homs province, a representative of Russia's Hmeimim air base told Russian news agencies on Wednesday. The soldier, named as Anton Yerygin, "sustained serious injuries after coming under fire by rebels while escorting vehicles of the Russian coordination center mediating between the warring sides", the unnamed official told Interfax news agency. Yergyin died after doctors fought for his life for two days at the military hospital where he was taken shortly after the assault, the official added. He did not specify however when the assault had taken place, or when exactly the soldier died. The soldier will be decorated with a posthumous medal, the official said. The death came after the body of a Russian special forces officer killed in late March close to Palmyra was flown back to his home town on May 5 in a full military ceremony. Russia said Tuesday it had delivered bread to parts of Homs province and extended the ceasefire to one more area of the battered region. The announcement of the latest casualty also came hours before the expiry at midnight of Wednesday of a Russian and U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Aleppo. Regime forces and rebels in the battleground city have already agreed to extend the truce twice. The fighting comes as world powers prepare to meet in Vienna next week to try to revive peace talks aimed at ending a five-year conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people.

Russia plans attack on Aleppo: Opposition
By Staff writer Al Arabiya News Wednesday, 11 May 2016/Iranian troops will be heading to the Damascus suburb of Ghouta to fight against Syrian rebels, while Russian forces prepare for an attack on Aleppo, a Syrian opposition figure revealed on Wednesday. Asaad Al-Zoubi, who heads the Syrian opposition delegation in Geneva, said 3000 Iranian troops will be sent to eastern Ghouta as part of a Russian plan to “distract” Syrian rebel forces. During an interview with Al Arabiya’s sister news channel Al Hadath, Al-Zoubi said the plan was leaked to the opposition by a spy from within the Syrian regime. He also said the plan consists of sending more troops from Iran, the Syrian government and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to northern Ghouta. Russian forces will be heading to Aleppo, via Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria. A local truce took effect in Aleppo last Thursday after a surge in fighting in the city killed more than 300 people and threatened to unravel a nationwide ceasefire between government forces and non-jihadist rebels in force since February. The truce has led to a sharp reduction in the death toll. Rebel rocket fire on government neighborhoods killed three civilians on Sunday but otherwise it has largely held. It has been extended twice after 11th-hour diplomatic intervention by the major powers but there was no immediate word of any new extension ahead of Wednesday's expiry time. Moscow and Washington pledged on Monday to redouble efforts to shore up the nationwide truce and reach a political settlement to the conflict which has killed more than 270,000 people in Syria since 2011.

Syria army and rebels trade fire in Aleppo
AFP, Aleppo, Syria Wednesday, 11 May 2016/The Syrian army exchanged fire with rebels in battleground second city Aleppo even before the expiry at midnight on Wednesday of a Russian and US-brokered ceasefire. Two people were wounded early Wednesday when regime aircraft strafed rebel positions in two eastern neighborhoods of the divided city with heavy machinegun fire, an AFP correspondent reported. Late Tuesday, government warplanes struck two other rebel-held neighborhoods, the correspondent added. Rebel rocket fire hit two government-controlled neighborhoods in the west of the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Rebel sniper fire killed one person late Tuesday, the state SANA news agency reported. A local truce took effect in Aleppo last Thursday after a surge in fighting in the city killed more than 300 people and threatened to unravel a nationwide ceasefire between government forces and non-jihadist rebels in force since February. The truce has led to a sharp reduction in the death toll. Rebel rocket fire on government neighborhoods killed three civilians on Sunday but otherwise it has largely held. It has been extended twice after 11th-hour diplomatic intervention by the major powers but there was no immediate word of any new extension ahead of Wednesday's expiry time. Moscow and Washington pledged on Monday to redouble efforts to shore up the nationwide truce and reach a political settlement to the conflict which has killed more than 270,000 people in Syria since 2011.

Turkish air strikes kill 11 Kurdish militants
Reuters, Istanbul Wednesday, 11 May 2016/Turkish air strikes in the southeastern province of Hakkari and in northern Iraq killed 11 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters on Tuesday, the armed forces said in a statement on Wednesday. It also said security operations in southeast Turkey killed three PKK fighters in Nusaybin and four in Sirnak on Tuesday, bringing the militant death toll in the two towns to around 700 during the operations of recent months.
Last Update: Wednesday, 11 May 2016 KSA 15:08 - GMT 12:08

Erdogan: Turkey has killed 3,000 ISIS militants in Syria, Iraq
Reuters Wednesday, 11 May 2016/Turkey has killed 3,000 ISIS militants in Syria and Iraq, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, adding that no other country is fighting ISIS as Ankara is. NATO member Turkey was initially a reluctant partner in the US-led coalition against ISIS and faced criticism in the earlier stages of the Syrian war for failing to stop foreign fighters crossing its borders and joining the radical group. Turkey has meanwhile said it needs more help from Western allies in the fight against ISIS, particularly near the Syrian border, where the Turkish town of Kilis has been hit for weeks by repeated rocket fire. Watch: Turkey blames ISIS for the worst attack in its history

Asiri: Yemen army to enter Sanaa if talks fail
By Staff writer Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 11 May 2016/If the United Nations announces the failure of peace talks in Kuwait aimed at ending the year-long war in Yemen, Yemen’s internationally recognized government will launch a military operation to enter the capital Sanaa, the Saudi-led military coalition spokesman said on Tuesday. Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri defended the presence of coalition troops in Yemen, saying it was meant to protect the Yemeni people, not invade the country or take its resources. He said coalition forces used precision-guided munitions to hit targets in Yemen to avoid harming civilians. Iran-allied Houthi rebels and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government are trying to reach a peace deal in Kuwait. Following a two-day interruption, the two delegations resumed face-to-face talks on Monday after mediation efforts and an appeal by the U.N. envoy. The two sides met again on Wednesday and agreed in principle on a proposal to free half of the prisoners and detainees held by both sides ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, which starts in early June. They also discussed the mechanism of the prisoners’ exchange, Al Arabiya’s correspondent in Kuwait said. Top Yemeni commander escapes assassination . Meanwhile, a top Yemeni commander escaped an assassination attempt by a suicide car bomber in southern Yemen on Wednesday, in an attack that also killed three people and injured others, a military statement and security officials said. The officials say that the bomber targeted Maj. Gen. Abdel-Rahman al-Halili, the commander of the First Army District in the province of Hadramawt. He was heading to a camp located between the towns of Qatn and Sayoum. No group claimed responsibility for the attack but al-Hilali has been targeted by al-Qaeda previously in failed assassination attempts.

Bangladesh hangs Nizami for war crimes
By Ruma Paul Reuters, Dhaka Wednesday, 11 May 2016/Bangladesh hanged an Islamist party leader, Motiur Rahman Nizami, on Wednesday for genocide and other crimes committed during a 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, drawing an angry reaction and some scattered violence from supporters. Nizami, head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was executed at Dhaka Central jail just after midnight after the Supreme Court rejected his final plea against a death sentence imposed by a special tribunal for genocide, rape and orchestrating the massacre of intellectuals during the war. Nizami, 73, a former legislator and minister during opposition leader Khaleda Zia's last term as prime minister, was sentenced to death in 2014. Five opposition politicians, including four Jamaat leaders, have been executed since late 2013 after being convicted by the war crimes tribunal, which was set up by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2010. International human rights groups say the tribunal's procedures fall short of international standards but the government rejects that and the trials are supported by many Bangladeshis. Hundreds of people flooded the streets of the capital to cheer the execution. "We have waited for this day for a long 45 years," said war veteran Akram Hossain. "Justice has finally been served."Opposition politicians, including leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, say the tribunal is victimizing Hasina's political opponents. Thousands of extra police and border guards were deployed in Dhaka and other major cities. Previous convictions and executions have triggered violence that killed about 200 people, most of them Islamist party activists and police. On Wednesday, as Nizami was buried in his ancestral home in the northwest, about 300 supporters gathered at Dhaka's main mosque to offer prayers in his memory. Later, they streamed out of the mosque, shouting slogans and vowing not to let Nizami's death be in vain. But they quickly dispersed, watched by armed policemen.

Four police killed in south Tunisia: ministry
AFP, Tunisia Wednesday, 11 May 2016/An Islamist militant detonated his explosives belt killing four policemen during a raid by security forces in southern Tunisia on Wednesday, the interior ministry said. It said a firefight erupted between militants in the Tatouine governorate and a national guard unit acting on information from an "anti-terrorist" operation earlier the same day near Tunis. "One terrorist element was shot dead while the other detonated his explosives belt, killing two officers and two agents of the national guard," it said. Earlier, the interior ministry said two suspected jihadists were killed during a security operation near the capital against a cell planning "simultaneous" attacks. Sixteen others were arrested during the operation in Ariana province just outside Tunis, and Kalashnikov assault rifles, pistols and ammunition seized, it said. The ministry said the suspects had gathered in the area from different parts of the country. Tunisia's security forces: Heroes against madmen

Police allege 5 radicals planned to leave Australia by boat
The Associated Press, Canberra Wednesday, 11 May 2016/Five men have been arrested on suspicion that they planned to leave Australia in a seven-meter (23-foot) boat to fight in Syria, police said Wednesday. The men, aged 21 to 33, had towed the half-cabin power boat with a car 2,800 kilometers (1,700 miles) from their homes in the southern city of Melbourne to Cairns in Australia's tropical north before they were arrested Tuesday, police said. All had their passports canceled to prevent them leaving the country to fight for extremist groups such as the ISIS movement. The men were being held on suspicion of breaking a federal law banning foreign incursions, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan said. Entering or preparing to enter a foreign country to engage in a hostile activity is a crime punishable by life imprisonment. Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said the men planned to travel by boat through Indonesia to the Philippines. He did not specify how they planned to get from the Philippines to Syria. "This is a serious attempt by five men who are of security interest to us who have had their passports canceled in attempting to exit Australia ... and then ultimately we're investigating the intention to possibly end up in Syria to fight," Patton told reporters. "We can't allow Australians to leave Australia and support terrorism anywhere," he said. The men had been under police investigation for weeks. Police would not say when they left Melbourne or where they intended to leave Australia. Gaughan said the men were known to have "extremist views." Police declined to identify them. Attorney-General George Brandis later said the men were arrested in Queensland state north of Cairns but would not say where. It was the first suspected attempt by would-be foreign fighters to leave Australia by boat, he said. Security officials estimate 110 Australians are fighting for the Islamic State group in the Middle East.

Italy arrests Somalis accused of holding migrants hostage
AFP, Rome Wednesday, 11 May 2016/Italy has arrested 13 Somalis accused of being part of a network which held migrants hostage on their arrival in Sicily to extort money for the trip to northern Europe. An eight-month investigation in Catania, in the island's south, uncovered a "criminal organization" which scanned reception centers for Somalis who had recently been picked up at sea while crossing from North Africa, police said Wednesday in a statement. The migrants, many of whom are likely to have faced similar extortion in crisis-torn Libya before attempting the perilous crossing, were held in apartments until relatives or friends abroad paid for their liberation and the rest of their journey in Italy or across Europe. Police intervened several times during the probe to free those being held in Catania or the surrounding area, including minors. According to the UN's refugee agency Somalis account for nine percent of the 31,000 migrants who have landed in Italy so far this year. Like Eritrean and Sudanese migrants, they rarely file for asylum in Italy and the majority hope to reach northern Europe.

Brazilian Senate Opens Rousseff Impeachment Vote Session
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 11/16/Brazil's Senate opened debate Wednesday ahead of a vote on suspending President Dilma Rousseff and launching an impeachment trial that could bring down the curtain on 13 years of leftist rule in Latin America's biggest country. Even allies of Rousseff, 68, said she had no chance of surviving the vote. She is accused of illegal accounting maneuvers but says the charges are trumped up and amount to a coup d'etat by her center-right opponents. Debate was expected to last all day with a vote during the night or early hours of Thursday. A simple majority in the 81 member Senate would be enough to trigger Rousseff's six-month suspension pending judgment, in which a two thirds majority would force her from office permanently. Senate President Renan Calheiros, who was overseeing the proceedings, told journalists that impeachment would be "traumatic" for Brazil, which is already struggling with the worst recession in decades and a corruption scandal that has ripped apart the political and business elite."The process of impeachment... is long, traumatic and does not produce quick results," Calheiros warned.
'No miracle'
Rousseff's government lawyer lodged a last-ditch appeal with the Supreme Court on Tuesday to block the vote, but the court had not even responded before senators sat down in their futuristic building in the capital Brasilia. "There won't be any miracle. She'll be suspended for six months and then we'll open the debate on the merits" of the case, Paulo Paim, a senator of Rousseff's Workers' Party (PT), told reporters. He said the impeachment drive was "a symbol of Brazilian politicians' incompetence, to accept a tainted process against a president they know is honest." But Magno Malta, a senator of the opposition PR party, said impeachment was needed to heal a sick country. "As soon as we vote for impeachment, the dollar will fall (strengthening Brazil's currency), our stock market will rise and the patient will breathe again," said Malta."The doctor will say the patient is showing signs of life and is in intensive care," he added. "But it is a long, painful process which depends on all of us."
Fight to the end
Rousseff is accused of breaking budgetary laws by taking loans to boost public spending and mask the sinking state of the economy during her 2014 re-election campaign. She says the accounting maneuvers were standard practice in the past. She describes the impeachment as a coup mounted by her vice president, Michel Temer, who will take over if she is suspended. Temer, whose center-right PMDB party broke off its uneasy partnership with Rousseff's party, has already prepared a new government. He said his priority will be to rescue the economy, now in its worst recession for decades.
Rousseff vowed to resist. "I am going to fight with all my strength, using all means available," she told a women's forum in Brasilia on Tuesday. Rousseff called her opponents "people (who) can't win the presidency through a popular vote" and claimed they had a "project to dismantle" social gains made by millions of poor during 13 years of Workers' Party rule. In an effort to cripple Temer's ambitions, Rousseff allies also went to the top electoral court asking that the probable acting president be barred from appointing his own ministers. However, analysts say Rousseff's fightback probably comes too late and that she had already burned many of her political bridges before the crisis erupted with an awkward style and inability to negotiate. The country's first female president has also become deeply unpopular with most Brazilians, who blame her for presiding over the recession and a massive corruption scandal centered on the state oil company Petrobras.
Street tensions
Workers' Party faithful on Tuesday burned tires and blocked roads in Brasilia and in Sao Paulo in a potential taste of more street trouble to come. Lawmaker Jose Guimaraes, a Rousseff ally, said that despite almost certain defeat in the initial Senate vote, the impeachment trial itself would be an all-out fight as his side fought to win over Senators. Police responded to heightened tension by building a huge metal barricade outside Congress in Brasilia to separate rival groups of protesters during the Senate vote. A separation corridor 80 meters (yards) wide and more than a kilometer (half a mile) long will also be enforced. A square where major government institutions are located will be declared a "national security zone" made off-limits to the public, the Brasilia security authorities announced. The Senate impeachment trial could last months, running through the Olympics, which open in Rio de Janeiro on August 5 -- the first Games to be held in South America.

Syrian Army Battles IS Jihadists near Palmyra
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 11/16/Syrian regime forces Wednesday battled jihadists who cut a key supply route west of ancient Palmyra, after new bombardments hit Aleppo city where a ceasefire is due to expire at midnight. The latest fighting comes as world powers prepare to meet in Vienna next week to try to revive peace talks aimed at ending a five-year conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said the Islamic State (IS) group on Tuesday cut the main road from Homs city to Palmyra just weeks after the army recaptured the city, a UNESCO world heritage site. A military source told the SANA official news agency that the Syrian air force had carried out strikes against IS around the main facility in the Shaer gas field northwest of Palmyra. A security source told AFP: "Military operations are ongoing in the Shaer gas field," which is one of the biggest in the central province of Homs. Both sides have been battling each other in the desert around Palmyra since IS was ousted from the city in late March.The jihadist group last week seized the Shaer gas field from the regime.
Palmyra surrounded
President Bashar Assad's troops retook Palmyra with support from Russian air strikes on March 27 -- an achievement his regime celebrated with concerts in its ancient amphitheater last week. But today IS surrounds Palmyra from all directions except the southwest, the head of the Observatory said, adding that IS was within 10 kilometers (around six miles) of the city. Rami Abdel Rahman said the group was "attempting to surround regime forces in Palmyra and isolate the city from its surroundings."In the northern battleground city of Aleppo, an AFP correspondent said the city's rebel-held east was calm on Wednesday after fighting overnight. A local truce -- brokered by Russia and the United States after a spike in violence in the city last month -- is set to expire at midnight on Wednesday. The former economic hub has been divided between the regime-held west and rebel-controlled east since 2012. Two people were wounded early Wednesday when regime aircraft strafed rebel positions in two eastern neighborhoods with heavy machinegun fire, an AFP correspondent reported.
Late Tuesday, government warplanes struck two other rebel-held neighborhoods, the correspondent added. Rebel rocket fire hit two government-controlled districts in the west of the city, the Observatory said. Rebel sniper fire killed a garbage collector late Tuesday, SANA reported. A local truce took effect in Aleppo last Thursday after a surge in fighting killed more than 300 people in the city and threatened to unravel a nationwide ceasefire between regime forces and non-jihadist rebels in force since February. The truce has led to a sharp reduction in the death toll. Rebel rocket fire on government neighborhoods killed three civilians on Sunday but otherwise it has largely held. It has been extended twice after 11th-hour diplomatic intervention from major powers, but there was no immediate word of any new extension ahead of Wednesday's expiry time.
Last obstetrician dies
In the rebel-held bastion of Eastern Ghouta, outside Damascus, the area's last obstetrician and gynecologist has died of wounds sustained during fighting between rebels around the city of Douma, the Observatory said. Moscow and Washington pledged on Monday to redouble efforts to shore up the nationwide truce and reach a political settlement to the conflict. The February 27 ceasefire applies to all areas except those where IS and al-Nusra Front, Syria's al-Qaida affiliate, are present. Britain, France, the United States and Ukraine on Tuesday blocked a Russian request to add two rebel groups to a U.N. terror blacklist and sideline them from the peace process. Russia had requested that Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) and Ahrar al-Sham be added to the sanctions list for their ties to al-Qaida and IS. Jaish al-Islam is a member of the opposition group that has taken part in peace negotiations in Geneva. It counts the group's chief negotiator Mohammed Alloush among its members. Russia's foreign ministry on Tuesday said global powers would gather in Vienna on May 17 to discuss the crisis in Syria.
The civil war has displaced millions since it erupted after the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.

Triple Baghdad Car Bomb Attacks Kill at Least 86
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 11/16/Three car bombs in Baghdad, including a huge blast at a market in a Shiite area, killed at least 86 people Wednesday, the bloodiest day in the Iraqi capital this year. The attacks, the deadliest of which was claimed by the Islamic State group, came with the government locked in a political crisis that some have warned could undermine the fight against the jihadists. The worst bombing struck the frequently targeted Sadr City area of northern Baghdad at around 10:00 am (0700 GMT), killing at least 64 people and wounding 82 others, officials said. The blast set nearby shops on fire and left debris including the charred, twisted remains of a vehicle in the street. Dozens of angry people gathered at the scene of the bombing, blaming the government for the carnage. "The state is in a conflict over (government positions) and the people are the victims," said a man named Abu Ali. "The politicians are behind the explosion." Abu Muntadhar echoed his anger. "The state is responsible for the bombings that hit civilians," the local resident said. The politicians "should all get out."Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who spearheaded a protest movement demanding a cabinet reshuffle and other reforms, has a huge following in the working class neighborhood of Sadr City, which was named after his father. Another suicide car bomb attack killed at least 14 people at the entrance of the northwestern neighborhood of Kadhimiya, which is home to an important Shiite Muslim shrine. Access to the neighborhood, which has also been repeatedly targeted over the years, is heavily controlled. Several members of the security forces were among the victims, hospital sources said. In the Jamea district in western Baghdad, another car bomb went off in the afternoon, killing at least eight people and wounding 21, an interior ministry official and medics told AFP. IS issued an online statement claiming responsibility for the attack in Sadr City and saying a suicide bomber it identified as "Abu Sulaiman al-Ansari" detonated the explosives-rigged vehicle.
Political crisis
There was no immediate claim for the two subsequent bombings but all such attacks recently have been perpetrated by IS. The U.N.'s top envoy in Iraq, Jan Kubis, condemned the bloodshed. "These are cowardly terrorist attacks on civilians who have done nothing but going about their normal daily lives," he said. IS, which overran large areas in 2014, considers Shiites, who make up the majority of Iraq's population, to be heretics and often targets them with bombings. Iraqi forces have regained significant ground from IS, but the jihadists still control a large part of western Iraq, and are able to carry out frequent bombings in government-held areas. The months-old political crisis has led to repeated mass demonstrations that required a huge security deployment and hampered government action at a time when Iraq is still battling jihadists on several fronts. Security forces are currently engaged in large-scale military operations in the provinces of Anbar and Nineveh as they close in on Fallujah and Mosul, IS' two major remaining hubs in Iraq. The United States and the United Nations have warned the political impasse could undermine the fight against IS. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has sought to replace the cabinet of party-affiliated ministers with a government of technocrats, a move opposed by powerful parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds. Angry demonstrators last month broke into central Baghdad's fortified Green Zone and stormed parliament after lawmakers again failed to approve new ministers. While the protesters withdrew the following day, parliament has still yet to hold another session. Zainab al-Tai, a lawmaker from Sadr's political movement, said the most recent efforts to resume the parliamentary process were still floundering Wednesday. "Some disagreements remain, there is no session and we have yet to set a date for the next session," she told AFP. "Parliament is divided in three groups... I don't think we can reach a result, the decision will be in the hands of the people," she added.

Egypt Court Recommends Death for 25 over Tribal Clash
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 11/16/An Egyptian court on Wednesday recommended death sentences for 25 people over deadly tribal clashes in 2014 in the southern province of Aswan, judicial and prosecution officials said. The court asked the mufti -- the country's official interpreter of Islamic law -- to consider the death sentences and it scheduled a session to pronounce its final decision on June 7. The 25 defendants were among 163 people accused of killing 28 people in clashes between two tribes in Aswan that erupted after a woman was accosted in April 2014. Egyptian law requires the mufti to sign off on death sentences. His opinion is not binding but is usually respected by courts. Sixteen of the defendants were present while nine were tried in absentia, the officials said. They were charged with murder, attempted murder and arson. The two clans, Bani Hilal and the Nubian Dabudiya family, had long-standing tensions before the incident. The trial was held in another southern province, Assiut, for security reasons. Tribal vendettas are common in Egypt's poor, rural south, but police called the 2014 clashes among the deadliest in recent memory.
 

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 12/16

Turkey? In the EU?
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/May 11/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7948/turkey-erdogan-eu

"What is the conquest?" Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked his audience. "The conquest is Hijrah [expansion of Islam through emigration, following the example of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, and his followers from Mecca to Medina]. The conquest is Al-Andalus [Muslim Spain]. ... The conquest is Salah al-Din al-Ayubbi [Saladin]. ... It is to hoist the flag of Islam in Jerusalem again. ... The conquest is to have the courage, tenacity and sagacity to defy the entire world even at the hardest times."
"The EU needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the EU. Let everyone know it like that." — Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On April 25, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, while speaking at the High-Level EU-Turkey Economic Dialogue meeting in Istanbul, said that the full membership process to the European Union was Turkey's most crucial strategic target.
Simsek noted that Turkey will increase the quality of its institutions, strengthen the rule of law and complete the approximation process with Europe by running a reform process.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, has made affectionate statements expressing his admiration not for the European Union, but for the last Islamic caliphate -- the Ottoman Empire, an expansionist Islamic realm that committed massacres, rapes, and sexual slavery of people in the lands it invaded.
In Istanbul on May 30, 2015, in a public meeting celebrating the 562nd anniversary of the fall of Constantinople, Erdogan, sounded more like an Ottoman sultan than the leader of a NATO member nation.
He praised "hoisting the flag of Islam in Jerusalem again" and "stamping the seal of Islam on Al-Aqsa Mosque." According to some media outlets, two million people attended the event and cheered him.
"What is the conquest?" Erdogan asked his audience.
"The conquest is Hijrah [expansion of Islam through emigration, following the example of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, and his followers from Mecca to Medina]. The conquest is Mecca. It is to cleanse the Kaaba, the house of Allah on earth, of all the icons. The conquest is Jerusalem. It is when the prophet Omar stamped the seal of Islam on Al-Aqsa Mosque, our first Qibla [the direction to face when a Muslim prays during the five times daily prayers] while respecting all faiths including [those of] Christians and Jews.
"The conquest is Al-Andalus [Muslim Spain]. It is to build the most beautiful architecture, literature and culture of the world such as in Córdoba and Granada.
"The conquest is Samarkand [a city in present-day Uzbekistan and once a capital of the ancient Sogdian civilization whose main religion was Zoroastrianism.]
"The conquest is Bukhara [also in present-day Uzbekistan. It was a diverse city with Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Jewish and Nestorian Christian communities]. It is to establish one of the greatest civilizations of history in the steppes of Central Asia.
"The conquest is Salah al-Din al-Ayubbi [Saladin, who in 1187 invaded Jerusalem]. It is to hoist the flag of Islam in Jerusalem again.
"The conquest is Alp Arslan [the second Sultan of the medieval Muslim Seljuk Empire, who conquered Anatolia]."
"The conquest is to open the doors of Anatolia up to Vienna for this blessed nation. The conquest is Osman Ghazi [the first Ottoman Sultan]. It is to make the sycamore [the Ottoman Empire] meet with the ground that would cover three continents and seven climates through the enlightenment inspired by Sheikh Edebali who said, 'Make the human live so that the state can live'.
"The conquest is preparation. The conquest is when the Sultan Murad II abdicated the throne to his 12-year-old son, Mehmed II. And of course, the conquest is the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. It is, at age 21, to embrace Istanbul, the most favorite city of the world, after destroying the millennial Byzantium.
"Mehmed the Conqueror conquered Istanbul in 1453. But the conquests always continued before and after that. They continued with Sultan Selim I the Grim, Sultan Suleiman the Lawgiver, Sultan Murad IV, and Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
"The conquest is to have the courage, tenacity and sagacity to defy the entire world even at the hardest times.
"The conquest is 1994 [when Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul]. It is to serve Istanbul and the legacy of the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. The conquest is to make Turkey stand up on its feet again."
The crowd shouted, "Here is the army, here is the commander."
On April 14, the European Parliament sent a stern warning to Turkey, accusing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government of "backsliding" on democracy and the rule of law.
Kati Piri, rapporteur for Turkey at the European Parliament, said the regression in areas such as freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary was "particularly worrying."
Ankara rejected the report, which cited references that the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, Turkish EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir said.
"We will consider this report as null and void," Bozkir was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu Agency. "There is no moment in our history that we feel ashamed of. All of our archives are open. We believe this is an issue that should be decided by historians. Politicians should not write history."
On April 19, 2016 Erdogan's response to the EU report, according to the pro-government newspaper Yeni Akit, was loud and clear:
"The EU needs Turkey.
"That they presented such a report to us at a time when our relations with the European Union are going positively in many fields, such as immigrants, opening some chapters and visa liberalization, is simply a provocative approach, a provocative act. I guess Europeans will see that.
"They have not been able to see that since 1963. But I do not know what will happen from now on. The EU needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the EU. Let everyone know it like that. There is no need to go to further places to understand that. It is enough to look at the latest developments.
"The report has a crippled perspective on the issues of Cyprus and the Aegean Sea, the independence of judiciary, and the freedom of expression, press and assembly. These people [EU officials] do what their nature (disposition) requires them to. [In the report], there is also the part about the 1915 events which is utterly farcical."
Erdogan glorifies the Ottoman armies that reached the gates of Vienna, talks about the "good old times" when the Islamic flag was hoisted in Jerusalem, and aggrandizes Ottoman Sultans who were also caliphs.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) recently made affectionate statements expressing admiration not for the European Union, but for the last Islamic caliphate -- the Ottoman Empire, an expansionist Islamic realm that committed massacres, rapes, and sexual slavery of people in the lands it invaded. The question is when the EU will start acting like a self-respecting institution, and consider Turkey according to what it actually says and does? Pictured right: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Unfortunately the Turkish public's opinion of the EU is not that different from the Turkish government's. According to a 2014 PEW poll, around two-thirds of the Turks (66 %) expressed unfavorable views of the European Union. Turkish distaste for the West was not only about the EU. Nearly three-quarters (73%) also shared a dislike of their NATO ally, the U.S. In addition, 70% of the people of Turkey dislike NATO.
The question is when the EU will stop playing ostrich and start acting like a self-respecting institution. And when will the EU authorities take Turkey not according to their own wishful thinking, but according to what Turkey actually says and does?
***Uzay Bulut, a journalist born and raised a Muslim in Turkey, is currently based in Washington D.C.

Why Terrorism Thrives in West Africa
Nuhu Othman/Gatestone Institute/May 11/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8020/terrorism-west-africa

In the mid-20th century, the Western powers partitioned West Africa, and other parts of the African continent, into nation-states that had nothing in common with each other apart from geographical proximity. The general consensus among the Muslims in fragmented West Africa was that the West won over the vast Caliphate not by the superiority of its idea or civilization but by its sheer superiority in organized violence. This reasoning plays into the hands of extremist Islamic groups today.
There has been no way for people to reject the past Empire and Caliphate in West Africa as failed systems because they were not replaced by better systems.
Whatever democratic values were handed to these newly independent states were short-lived, trampled by military incursions. Military leadership suppressed freedoms in every aspect. This in itself served as a gag to protest the rule of any aspiring terror group. Now Africa, especially West Africa, would like to democratize. Amid the madness of terrorism, it is calling for freedom. But is anyone listening?
Great civilizations existed in northern Nigeria before the West ever set foot there. The Kanem Bornu Empire (700-1900) stretched to present-day Chad, Libya, Niger and Cameroon, and was bound by trade and ethnic similarities and religion.
Present day Northern Nigeria is home to the large Hausa ethnic group. The Hausa language is spoken by more than 50 million people across the present-day Sahel (north Central Africa, spanning much of Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Togo, Chad, and Sudan). Hausa is still the region's second language of trade; the primary languages come from the region's colonizers: English, French and to a degree, Arabic.
In the early 19th century, a towering Islamic figure, Sheikh Uthman ibn Fodio (1754-1817), emerged in what is now northwest Nigeria. Although of ethnic Fulani extraction, he galvanized support across the Hausa-dominated regions and parts of the old Kanem Bornu Empire. In this multi-ethnic region, he had a uni-directional purpose: Islamic evangelism, imperialism and dominance. He ended up creating an Islamic Caliphate.
In the mid-20th century, the Western powers partitioned West Africa, and other parts of the African continent, into nation-states that had nothing in common with each other apart from geographical proximity. The ethnic groups that made up the old order still consider themselves as distinctive nations, regardless of the fragmentation of the Caliphate into multiple nation-states. Under such splintering, it was easy for the ideas of Islamists Sayyid Qutb or Osama Bin Laden violently to re-order the region through Jihad to reverberate and gain a following.
Although shattering the Caliphate succeeded in collapsing it geographically, the general consensus among the Muslims in the now-fragmented Caliphate was that the West won not by the superiority of its ideas or civilization, but by its sheer superiority in organized violence. This reasoning has played into the hands of extremist Islamic groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda, as they galvanize support across the region. These new groups also exploit thorny and delicate issues such as casting a negative obsession with Israel and its sovereignty as a way to unite Muslims, as many Islamic groups have been doing for decades.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau (center) in one of the group's propaganda videos.
Above all, there has been no way for people to reject the past Empire and Caliphate in West Africa as failed systems because they were not replaced by better systems.
In the mid-20th century, most of the West African colonies were given independence. Whatever democratic values were handed to these newly independent states, however, were short-lived, trampled by military incursions. Military leadership suppressed freedoms in every aspect. This in itself served as a gag to protest the rule of any aspiring terror group. Now Africa, especially West Africa, would like to democratize; amid the madness of terrorism, it is calling for freedom. But is anyone listening?
Expectedly, the violent idea of jihad has taken on a regional dimension and therefore should necessitate a regional solution. Nigeria has played a leading role, based on the platform of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in peace-keeping missions and restoring democratic rule in many West African countries. ECOWAS should be the linchpin for greater integration and the possible eradication of terror. The following, in no particular order, can help to root out those elements of terror and foster greater cooperation among states in West Africa:
The worsening of environmental conditions in West Africa have increased the rate of violent crimes. Desertification and the shrinking of the Chad Basin have significantly affected the means of livelihood of tens of millions of people in this region. There is simply less arable land and grazing land. This has immensely contributed to the increasing number of unemployed youths. As a result, many have turned to joining various terror groups. Others go into cattle rustling. ECOWAS member states should encourage the spread of modern agricultural methods that work with limited supplies of water -- a specialty of Israelis -- and revive the Chad Basin so as to boost trade. That would deplete the pool of people from which terror groups get easy and unquestioning recruits.
Each country in West Africa should strengthen their various "transitional justice mechanisms." This is paramount for Ivory Coast and the Central African Republic, which recently experienced violent civil strife with religious undertones. Such upheavals are created and exploited by various terror groups. Committees and courts of law should be put in place to handle matters of genocide, secular education, rule of law, equal justice under law, property rights, freedom of expression, separation of religion and state, and also establish "truth and reconciliation" commissions to heal past wounds. Taking a cue from the Gacaca Court in Rwanda would be helpful.
Islamic clerics should be included in this exercise. It will be an adventure in futility if this critical group is neglected, because a single sermon from a revered preacher could roll back whatever gains are achieved. Some clerics may see any improvement in the economy as a threat to their hegemony, and any democratic values as a threat to their power, but many moderate clerics have been killed by Boko Haram, as well. In essence, there should be room for reward and sanction. A preacher is responsible for any incitement they engage in -- on or off the pulpit. Kaduna State in northern Nigeria is proposing a bill to license preachers.
A highly motivated joint military task force comprising all member states should be established to patrol the porous regional borders -- especially the borders between Mali and Libya.
The ECOWAS Community Court should be empowered to deal with cross-border crimes and the prosecution of terrorists. So far, this court is merely an expression on paper.
Financial institutions. After the 9/11 attacks, there were calls in banking institutions for "due diligence" and "know your customer" in opening accounts. This forced terrorists to go underground and use the informal system of hawala. One can bring cash to a hawala broker in Lagos, and a designated person can collect the same amount from a money broker in Jos. Terror groups still use this medium to fund their operations.
David C. Faith at Global Security Studies estimates that over $7 billion enters Pakistan through the hawala system every year. The true number is likely higher. And because of hawala's unregulated nature, it is impossible to verify the amounts used to finance terrorism.
Worries about terror financing led the Central Bank of Nigeria to strengthen its anti-money laundering laws. Transactions above the threshold of $5,000 for individuals and corporations are flagged, and details sent to Nigerian security services on a weekly basis.
Democracy is gradually becoming rooted in West Africa, especially in Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana. Demands for transparency and accountability are growing with visible positive results. The ECOWAS Commission has a robust strategy on counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering. The Institute for Security Studies West Africa explained that the ECOWAS Commission has identified three pillars of counter-terrorism:
PILLAR ONE -- PREVENT: It constitutes the central pillar of the strategy. Its main goal is to prevent terrorism before it occurs based on the concept of "DID" -Detect, Intercept and Deter.
PILLAR TWO -- PURSUE: The second phase of actions seeks to ensure timely and effective responses to terrorist acts. It is anchored on military and non-military approaches to terrorism, as well as the criminal justice system. One of the key objectives of this pillar is to eliminate impunity and ensure that all those who participate, support, finance and facilitate terrorists acts, whether directly or indirectly, are investigated, prosecuted and punished to the limit allowed by the law.
PILLAR THREE -- REBUILD: seeks to restore society and re-assert the authority of the state after terrorist attacks. This strategy is based on regional and international cooperation including mutual legal assistance to meet the shortfalls and disparities in states' capabilities. Above all, it requires cooperation in the areas of intelligence, investigation, prosecution and counter-terrorism.
The success of the Nigerian military in recent months is an indication that a coherent and enduring policy can see the end of these terror groups.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a Cameroonian Muslim clergyman emerged in the northeast of Nigeria: Muhammad Marwa, popularly known as Maitatsine, Hausa for "the one who damns." He, like Boko Haram, also rejected Western education. He and his movement were crushed by military firepower. Nigeria's current President, General Muhammadu Buhari, was appointed at that time to neutralize Maitatsine. Nigeria's military captured Maitatsine, and his movement collapsed. This feat endeared Buhari to the people of northeast Nigeria, who had suffered greatly under Maitatsine. Not surprisingly, Boko Haram emerged in the same place 30 years later with the same ideology,
In 2015, Muhammadu Buhari was elected president in the hope that he could repeat his success.
Unfortunately, Iran's nuclear deal has emboldened the terrorists, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has also been increasing its presence in Nigeria by sponsoring Sunni clergymen in their institutions of learning.
Military campaigns alone cannot bring a lasting solution to terrorism in the West African sub-region. The political will seriously to address the issues above will make joining these criminal and heartless groups far less desirable.
**Nuhu Othman is a senior consultant at Atta Zubairu & Associates, in Abuja, Nigeria. He can be reached at nuhuothman@gmail.com
© 2016 Gatestone Institute.

Hunger and conflicts walk hand in hand
José Graziano da Silva/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
This week, the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO of the United Nations is convening, in Rome, the Regional Conference for the Near East and North Africa, a forum where 30 countries from Mauritania to Iran, and from Turkey to Somalia, meet every two years to review the achievements, challenges and priorities in food security and sustainable agriculture development. These are turbulent times for the region, where conflicts and protracted crises have almost become endemic and are inflicting immense suffering on the populations of the region. Despite the progress made by individual countries in reaching the Millennium Development Goals, the number of undernourished has doubled between 1990 and 2015, and the prevalence of undernourishment has increased by 30 percent. In fact, conflicts and hunger are strongly connected. Evidence shows that countries with the highest levels of food insecurity are also those most affected by conflicts. And violence and hunger are often locked in vicious cycles in which one feeds on the other.
In Syria alone, 6.5 million people have been internally displaced, while more than 4.8 million have fled to the neighboring countries as refugees, with increasing numbers fleeing to Europe. Half of the population that has remained in the country is in need of food assistance. The damage to the capital stock in Syria has been estimated at 70 billion dollars. The effect of the conflict has been devastating as the country has lost half of its livestock and the agriculture production now barely reaches 40 percent of its pre-crisis level. The Syrian crisis is also creating huge costs for its neighboring countries.
For Lebanon alone, this has reached 1.5 percent of its GDP per year, due to loss in trade and the adverse effects on tourism and infrastructure. Jordan is generously sharing its natural resources with about one million Syrian refugees, in addition to those who fled from Iraq and Gaza in earlier times. Food insecurity, natural resources scarcity, unemployment and migration, as well as the impoverishment of rural areas, will continue to destabilize peace and stability if sustainable solutions are not implemented urgently
This is all happening in a region that is considered the most arid in the world, which is facing an unprecedented escalation in water scarcity. The average availability of fresh water per capita stands at just 10 percent of the world average and is set to decline further as a result of increasing needs as well as the impacts of climate change. Food insecurity, natural resources scarcity, unemployment and migration, as well as the impoverishment of rural areas, will continue to destabilize peace and stability if sustainable solutions are not implemented urgently. This defines FAO’s engagement with its Member Countries in the region. Together, we have launched regional initiatives to address water scarcity and food security challenges, to build resilience in crisis contexts, and to tackle the root causes of rural poverty and unemployment among women and youth.
Defining priorities
It is high time give priority to investing in the resilience of farmers and rural communities. We need to invest massively in infrastructure, human capital and social protection in rural areas, create the conditions to diversify the source of economic growth, bridge the spatial inequality gap and stop the migration dynamics. We need to put in place comprehensive rural poverty alleviation strategies to support family farmers, enhance their productivity of small holders and link them to markets, and improve the professionalization of producer organizations. We need to reverse the escalation of water scarcity by enhancing governance of the water sector, strengthening the role of farmers and communities in water management, and scaling up technologies and best agriculture practices that improve agriculture water productivity and conserve the quality of water.
The Near East and North Africa Region has the capacity to emerge stronger from the current series of conflicts and crises. Other countries and regions have succeeded in the past, sometimes against the odds. This requires decisive collective action to restore confidence and build a shared vision among the region’s member countries. It will also need the support of all its partners and friends, and FAO is committed to do its part in this endeavor.

The importance of reading
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
It is impossible to have a vivid and developmental society if reading is not an essential part of it. Data shows that handheld devices have invaded our lives, while books are being ignored. Even before this technology emerged, the relation between Arab readers and books was not good. For example, when a book by a prominent Arab author was published, the number of prints did not exceed 5,000 - a very small number if distributed among 300 million Arabs. This issue has always worried Emirati Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, as he is a writer and poet. A significant initiative he launched is the Arab Reading Challenge, to encourage reading among students in the Arab world, and to see more than 1 million of them read 50 million books during the academic year. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) dedicated AED 100 million ($27.2 million) to the reading strategy. It also issued the National Reading Law to detail national roles and responsibilities, and to make reading a key element in citizens’ lives. UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan said: “The aim of the Reading Law is to provide lifelong learning for all members of our society, and enhance the intellectual and cultural assets of our citizens.” Books are no longer the first source of entertainment due to technology’s invasion of our lives, but those who make time to read paper books save themselves from the fatal addiction to technology. Sheikh Mohammed said: “There’s no knowledge-based economy without knowledge-based societies. It’s not possible to develop strategies without improving our generations. It’s not possible to build a tolerant society and coherent families, develop civilized social awareness or build a solid national identity without education, reading and knowledge. A reading society is a civilized society that’s flexible, a pioneer in development and accepts all cultures.”
Examples
The UAE is determined to solidify reading on the social and educational levels, and via organized and practical work. If we look at the resumes of people who influenced the history and civilization of their countries, we find that education, wit, reading and staying up to date in different fields are the reasons behind their success. Reading is a pleasure and its benefits many. To understand this passion, one can read Alberto Manguel’s enjoyable works A History of Reading, A Reading Diary and The Library at Night. Reading is important for everyone. We often see photos of people in China, Japan, South Korea and Europe who have allotted a certain amount of time for handheld devices and for reading books either. We need this self-knowledge to achieve progress. Old people make time to read. This is what we hope from subsequent generations. Books are no longer the first source of entertainment due to technology’s invasion of our lives, but those who make time to read paper books save themselves from the fatal addiction to technology. If you want your mind to develop, you must read.

Donald Trump and the seduction of ignorance
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
US President Barack Obama has ridiculed the possibility of Donald Trump, the repugnant reality-show figure, becoming president, adding that assuming the presidency is not the same as managing a reality show. However, a Trump victory is now closer than ever to reality. He has succeeded in his game of attracting media coverage, even if it is negative. This has not stopped his hateful, racist rhetoric that conveys naivety and ignorance. Trump has made himself available to the media, which has prioritized all news related to him. In all interviews and programs, he appears as a racist demagogue skilled at manipulating people’s feelings and spreading patriotic myths. Media coverage has helped Trump win the support of Republican voters. Electing a man who wants to build a wall on the southern US border, who advocates the use of torture, and who despises women and Mexican and Chinese immigrants would not be possible without so much media attention. The angry and scared media, which wanted to convince voters that he would be the worst president in U.S. history, has become an indirect marketing tool for Trump. Trump is an example of ignorance becoming a patriotic tool, whereby good citizens are incapable of distinguishing between truth and nonsense.He is an example of ignorance becoming a patriotic tool, whereby good citizens are incapable of distinguishing between truth and nonsense. He is an example of rising populism generally, as each country has its own Trump. Our fear of the spread of this phenomenon is legitimate.
Deceit
Deceiving people is an active industry. What worries those who market ignorance is the presence of a well-informed, educated audience. Those who try to think seriously and independently are met with suppression and contempt. The ignorance from which we suffer in the Middle East is the product of years of polarization by political regimes and extremists. This has enabled the spread of lies regarding many events, past and present. Technology and social media have allowed the spread of misinformation in a manner that was not possible before. However, to believe such false information requires a badly-educated nation that is not used to verification. In the past, if someone was not informed and talked nonsense, no one would listen to him. Today, such people are celebrated by the press, which publishes their news without pointing out their faults. For an ignorant man claiming to be patriotic, lying always seems more attractive than telling the truth. US society is not poorly educated, so hopefully Americans will not elect Trump. However, when will we correct our own mistakes?

Londoners vote for diverse (co)existence
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
Fair play is one the characteristics British people are very proud of. However, this sense of fair play was missing from the London mayoral election campaign, which ended last Thursday with a very impressive victory for the Labour Party’s candidate Sadiq Khan. The smear campaign against him by his main rival, Zac Goldsmith of the Conservative Party and other right wing parties, was repulsive with its Islamophobic innuendos. Mercifully, this did not deter Londoners from electing a Muslim, who grew up on a council estate in Tooting, to the highest position in the city—unprecedented in any Western capital. The son of a bus driver and seamstress, who emigrated from Pakistan, is entering his new position with a massive personal mandate considering the more than 13 percent margin of his victory. This must be also considered as a testimony to the political maturity of London voters, who rejected the politics of fear of the other and elected the person who they consider the best for the very complex job of running the British capital.
Mayoral elections are traditionally fought over local issues such as housing, transport, education, crime and even environmental issues. However, this London mayoral election was unusual from the onset in the sense that there was more to it than the typical local concerns of ordinary citizens. It had to do with the two main candidates themselves as much as the general political, social and economic atmosphere in Britain and the rest of the European Union. One could not imagine two more dissimilar candidates than Khan and Goldsmith. One epitomises the London that has evolved since the end of the Second World War. Khan’s route (thus far) to the top represents social mobility, especially for newcomers that hardly existed before the introduction of the welfare state. It enabled someone from humble socio-economic beginnings to gain an education and complete a law degree, while at the same time staying true to his upbringing and values.The election of Khan to this powerful political position is even more significant, considering the wider debate on migration in the European Union and the forthcoming Brexit referendum. Khan’s choice to pursue a career first as a human rights lawyer, and then as an MP for the very constituency he was born and grew up in, are clear evidence of holding steadfast to his roots and values. His life’s path has been in complete contrast to that of Mr. Goldsmith. Goldsmith, who is one of the wealthiest members of the British Parliament, mainly inherited from his late financier father, and was educated in very prestigious institutions including Eaton College.
This is not to suggest that in any shape or form Goldsmith’s background should automatically make him an inferior candidate to lead such a complex and multi-ethnic city. However, it seems that after eight years of a very similar prototype, in the image of Boris Johnson, Londoners opted for someone who could relate to the daily challenges faced by ordinary citizens in this intriguing capital. Unaffordable housing, overcrowded schools and a congested transport system are affecting more ordinary wage-earning citizens and minorities, than those who come from privileged backgrounds.
Revulsion against slur
The margin of victory for Sadiq Khan also reflects the revulsion, by large parts of the London population, of the underhanded anti-Muslim slur campaign by Goldsmith and other right wing candidates. It even angered a number of members from his Conservative party, who found it shameful and outrageous.
In his desperation, Goldsmith resorted to the spreading of fear, warning that voting for Khan would compromise London’s security in the face of terrorist threats, though he had no shred of evidence to back up his claim. Khan was “guilty” by association both because he shared a platform during debates with radical Islamists, and for defending suspected terrorists during his time as a human rights lawyer. These allegations are absurd by nature, and an obvious attempt to exploit the fear factor in a city, which is on high terrorist alert for quite a long while now. Anyone who has engaged in public debate has experienced at times fundamental disagreement with fellow panelists with whom she or he shared a stage. It is actually regarded as good practice in a pluralist society to debate with those with whom one disagrees.
Moreover, taking issue with defending suspected terrorists in court, is contemptable and bizarre in equal measures in a country which gave the world the Magna Carta eight hundred years ago. Everyone is entitled to legal representation, and if Khan’s origins had not been Muslim, this sort of denunciation would have never been leveled against him. In a city in which nearly thirteen percent of the population is Muslim, and 44 percent black and ethnic minorities, such a move was inexcusably divisive, not to mention an act of political suicide.
Larger issues
The election of Khan to this powerful political position is even more significant, considering the wider debate on migration in the European Union, especially of Muslims, and the forthcoming Brexit referendum. The more progressive minded would see this as a testimony of the integration of British Muslims in society and their contribution, if given the opportunity. It should provide the “Remain” campaign with some tailwind in the weeks left until polling day on 23 June. Great credit should be given to Sadiq Khan himself for rising above gutter politics, and at the same time also strongly condemning expressions of antisemitism that tainted his own Labour Party in the run up to the London elections. He did it with great assertiveness and integrity. In the aftermath of the elections, Khan has a huge task in front of him to fulfil his pre-election promises and keep London as one of the leading financial, cultural and political centers of the world. In doing so he must utilize the city’s ethnic diversity as one of its biggest assets moving forward. If he succeeds in doing this, he might pave the way to 10 Downing Street to someone with a similar background, if not himself.

Tunisia needs more than ‘fifteen minutes of fame’
Chris Doyle/Al Arabiya/May 11/16
International attention in the Middle East seems related to three factors: how great the disaster is, does it matter and can it be resolved? No war on Gaza, so it plummets to the bottom of the Presidential in-tray. Syria is cataclysmic but international politicians engage in mass shoulder shrugging with no will or vision to resolve it. Increasingly in the crisis ridden territories of the region, local politicians say to me, “What do we have to do to be noticed, make the war worse, kill people?”This prioritization of conflict management over conflict prevention is breathtakingly clear with respect to Tunisia. The North African state has for the most part been ignored since independence in 1956. Since 2010 it has been the recipient of short-lived bouts of international admiration and sympathy. The post-Jasmine Spring euphoria lasted but a few weeks, drowned out by the bigger noises of its larger neighbours. Three major terrorist attacks in 2015 at the Bardo museum, a hotel in Sousse and on a Presidential convoy all triggered the customary proclamations of solidarity. President Obama was "fully committed" to the success of Tunisia, but it seems on a part-time basis. Tunisians largely believe their country falls off the radar bouncing back for another fifteen minutes of fame and pledges of support. Tunisia needs consistent support, investment, technological help and tourism to keep its economy moving forward. Above all, for Tunisia, it is ‘more jobs’ stupid. In a visit this month, every interlocutor, every activist and official recited this mantra to me. Protests this year underline the point. Instability is growing. The unemployment rate runs at around 35 percent. ISIS feeds off this despair. Tunisia needs consistent support, investment, technological help and tourism to keep its economy moving forward. Optimism is limited. The state of emergency, introduced in November after a bus bombing killed 12 members of the Presidential guard in a bus bombing, has been extended until 22 June. Those used to the Egyptian or Syrian states of emergency may not recognise this version – there are no military courts and snap trials but it does show how fearful the authorities are.
So here is a plucky, moderate, pragmatic Tunisia, the driver and spark of the Arab uprisings, the one remaining beacon of the last five years struggling to hold it together. What is the West doing then, not least Europe? Tunisia is a mere 85 miles from Sicily. There have been favorable loans and the technical support but this has yet to make much impression. France has pledged $1.1 billion over the next five years targeting job creation in Tunisia’s poorest areas, precisely where ISIS has so successfully recruited. Have others done enough? The US gives over $3 billion annually to first world economic power like Israel but just a mere $66 million to Tunisia.
Libya’s progress
Tunisia needs progress in Libya too, and the formation of an effective Libyan national government that has the mandate and capability to tackle ISIS. The 500 km of border with Libya poses a security threat beyond Tunisia’s means. Weapons and fighters can still enter Tunisia despite the additional support from Britain that has sent 20 troops on a two-month training mission to help border security. Only on 7 March, Tunisian forces repelled a major ISIS assault on the border town of Ben Guardane. But it is in the tourism sector that Tunisians seem to complain about most, desperate to see the return of tour operators not least in tourist dependent places like Djerba. Some Russian tourists have opted for Tunisian rather than Egyptian resorts but European tourists are needed back. At Sousse where the June 2016 attack occurred, many hotels remain closed. Britain, that used to send almost 400,000 tourists, advises against all but essential travel to Tunisia whilst the US advice is to exercise caution in all areas. A Tunisian hotelier complains, “Why does Britain advise against travel here but thinks it is fine in Brussels?” A fair point. Would Britain dare advise against travel to the US after 372 mass shootings in the US in 2015, killing 475 people? It is tough on Tunisians because the security risk is largely not their fault. The average time to recover from a terrorist attack is around 13 months according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. So if there are no further atrocities, Tunisia might recover lost ground later this year. Wondering across the closed Imperial Marhaba hotel in Sousse, it strikes me that those images of Seifeddine Rezgui killing people asleep on their sun loungers may take longer to erase from the collective memory than the attacks in Brussels or Paris. Armed guards, checkpoints, scanners all help but at some point, European authorities have a tough decision to make. If they keep the restrictive travel advice in place, tour operators cannot return for insurance reasons. The economic decline and joblessness that ISIS feeds off will increase. Lift it too early and they may be blamed for placing their citizens at risk. A prosperous successful Tunisia will ultimately be the most resounding defeat of ISIS and its ilk.