llLCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

May 31/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.may31.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, "Where are you going?" But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 16/05-11:"But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, "Where are you going?" But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been condemned."

They rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of the name.of the Messiah
Acts of the Apostles 05/34-42:"But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. Then he said to them, ‘Fellow-Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared. After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them in that case you may even be found fighting against God!’ They were convinced by him, and when they had called in the apostles, they had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of the name. And every day in the temple and at home they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah."

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
We are stewards, not masters of our earth. Each of us has a personal responsibility to care for the precious gift of God’s creation.
Gardiens, non pas propriétaires de cette terre, chacun a une responsabilité dans la protection de la création, don précieux de Dieu.
نحن حرّاس هذه الأرض ولسنا أسيادها، وكل منا لديه مسؤوليّة شخصيّة في حماية الخليقة، عطيّة الله الثمينة

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 30- 31/16

Rifi’s gamble pays off/Alex Rowell/Now Lebanon/May 30/16
US election 2016: Trump, Clinton now running neck and neck/Reeves Barbour/Al-Monitor/May 30/16
Is Egyptian government pushing farmers to stop growing wheat/Albaraa Abdullah/Al-Monitor/May 30/16
Will Israel move from occupation to annexation/Uri Savir/Al-Monitor/May 30/16
Can US, Turkey keep up appearances in Syria/Week in Review/Al-Monitor/May 30/16
UK's Co-operative Group - Boycotting Israeli Produce/Myra Carr/Gatestone Institute/May 30/16
UK Labour Party Inquiry: Deny, Divert, Cover Up/Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/May 30/16
Saudi scholar Maghamsi and the new jurisprudential speech/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/May 30/16
The most agonizing wait in US history/Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/May 30/16
Modest objectives of the Gulf-Russia dialogue/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/May 30/16
The punches and slaps exchanged on television/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/May 30/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 30- 31/16

Rifi Extends his Hand to Hariri: We Reject Control of Syrian Regime Allies of Tripoli Municipality
Hariri: Tripoli Deserves our Support Regardless of the Circumstances
Initial Results of Municipal Polls Show Landslide Victory for Rifi in Tripoli
Hariri from Kuwait: Having Good Relations with Iran a Necessity, but We Reject Interferences
Kaag Praises 'Successful' Municipal Polls
Mashnouq Satisfied with Municipal Polls, Hopes Parliamentary Elections Will be Held next
Jumblat Says Major Powers Did not Unite in Tripoli's Municipal Polls
MP Robert Fadel Resigns in Wake of Tripoli Municipal Vote
Qatisha: LF, FPM to Appeal Results of Qoubaiyat Municipal Vote
Palestinian Held for 'Communicating with Extremist Groups'
MP Robert Fadel resigns: My happiness not at the expense of people's misery
Salam discusses tourism activation with Pharaon, WTO
Salameh at Lebanese Businessmen Gathering's anniversary: Central Bank continues with its monetary policy
Kanaan: Christian duo uncovered all flaws
Harb contacts Salam to put telecom item on cabinet schedule
UNIFIL Pays Tribute to Military and Civilian Personnel on Peacekeepers’ Day
Lebanese-American ex-CEO Jailed 15 Years in UAE for 'Fraud'
Rifi’s gamble pays off
 

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 30- 31/16

Iraq Kurds Retake Nine Villages from IS
Saudi FM: Iran regime must halt its meddling in Iraq
Iran regime carries out two public executions
Iraq Forces Push into Streets of IS-Held Fallujah
Nowhere to Go': MSF Says IS Syria Assault Traps Thousands
Bahrain upholds sentences for five spies tied to Iran regime
29 young men and women detained in Iran for attending party
Iran regime responds to labor protests with lashings, fines
Iranian municipality worker self-immolates in protest to non-receipt of overdue wages
Canada welcomes acquittal of Salim Alaradi
Turkey Offers U.S. Joint Syria Operation -- without the Kurds
Australian Killed Fighting IS in Syria
Egypt Court Sentences Brotherhood Leader to Life
Kuwait Upholds Death Sentence for Mosque Blast Ringleader
Kuwait Jails Three Royals for Insulting Emir
Tunisia Landmine Blast Kills 2 Women
Palestinian Teens Held over Attack on Israeli Women
Israel Cabinet Okays Far-Right Lieberman as Defense Minister
Palestinian Stabs Israeli in Tel Aviv

Links From Jihad Watch Site for May 30- 31/16
NY Muslim leader: “True Islam recognizes the equality of men and women”
Uganda: Muslim kills Christian wife for leaving Islam
Father of Pakistan nuke program: Pakistan could target Delhi in five minutes
Hugh Fitzgerald: One More Time: “What Race Is…”
Pope Francis might jettison idea of a ‘just war’
Video: Robert Spencer on how to defeat the jihad
Hamas-linked CAIR says US troops should not be honored on Memorial Day
Muslim posts on social media that Robert Spencer must be “lynched from his scrotum,” accounts not suspended
Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of ‘blocking the path to Allah’ and bans pilgrims from going to Mecca
Video: Robert Spencer on The Meaning of the Word “Jihad”
Malaysian government backs bill to impose Sharia in the country
Nigeria: Sultan of Sokoto says Islam is a religion of peace
Canada: Pro-Sharia, pro-Caliphate organization holds conference in Mississauga
Islamic State seems to be selling sex slaves online

Latest Lebanese Related News published on May 30- 31/16

Rifi Extends his Hand to Hariri: We Reject Control of Syrian Regime Allies of Tripoli Municipality
Naharnet/May 30/16/Resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi stressed on Monday that his “hand is extended to all sides” in wake of his list's victory in the municipal polls in the northern city of Tripoli, reiterating his commitment to the values of the March 14 coalition. He said during a press conference: “We voiced our rejection of the control of one political party of Tripoli and the control of the Syrian regime allies of the city's municipality.”The list backed by Rifi was waging an electoral battle in Tripoli against one backed by Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri, former Premier Najib Miqati, and former ministers Faisal Karami and Mohammed al-Safadi. Two other lists were also running, but the main competition was limited to the Rifi- and Hariri-backed lists. “Change is coming. They wanted a Tripoli that would serve their interests and they sought a hybrid alliance that undermines the city,” continued Rifi in wake of his victory. “We rejected their goals and Tripoli made its voice heard. Tripoli will adhere to its dignity and will remain loyal to its vows. The will of Tripoli will remain among its sons.” “I did not seek to achieve personal gain, but that the municipal list I was backing would be responsible enough to cater to Tripoli. It will remain a city of coexistence and we will preserve this heritage.”“We present this victory to slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the martyrs of the Cedar Revolution. We vow to continue along their path until we reach justice. We gift this victory to all those who seek sovereignty and we urge them to return to the values of March 14, 2005,” Rifi added. “My hand is extended to all the citizens who seek the rise of the state and others should cease taking decisions that contradict the path that leads to independence,” he demanded. On whether he would extend his hand to Hizbullah, he replied: “I had initially joined the cabinet among Hizbullah members.”“It has however formed an illegal statelet and it has imposed a status quo in Lebanon, which we reject.”“We will not allow Lebanon to be transformed into an Iranian province. I am ready to hold talks with Hizbullah to resolve issues peacefully.”In addition, Rifi remarked that he extends his hand to MP Saad Hariri, adding that the rift with him emerged when he nominated Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh as president. Earlier, the resigned minister told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5): “I have no problem holding direct or indirect talks with the Mustaqbal Movement.”“I urge Hariri to return to the principles of his father Rafik Hariri,” he added. The rift with the MP with Hariri's openness to figures loyal to the Syrian regime and Rifi's refusal to “subject the cabinet to Hizbullah's will.” The minister resigned earlier this year in protest against “the power Hizbullah wields over the cabinet”. Hariri refused to back his resignation. “I was never a member of the Mustaqbal Movement, but I followed the Hariri mentality,” Rifi told VDL on Monday in reference to Rafik Hariri. Asked if the municipal polls will reflect on the presidential ones, he replied: “Tripoli had long stated that it opposes Franjieh's nomination.”“I will not go back on my resignation until a new president is elected.”The fourth and final round of the municipal elections were held in the North and Akkar on Sunday.

Hariri: Tripoli Deserves our Support Regardless of the Circumstances
Naharnet/May 30/16/Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri congratulated on Monday the winners in the North municipal elections and stressed the need for efforts to be put together for the benefit of Tripoli. “I urge everyone to work for the city's interest. We reiterate our respect for the democratic will of the people of Tripoli who chose their new municipal council,” said Hariri via Twitter. Hariri urged the officials in Tripoli to “bypass their electoral alignments and facilitate the task of the elected council in the development of the city and solving its problems.”He asserted: “Tripoli deserves that we put our effort and support together, whatever the circumstances.”According to preliminary results, Hariri lost the municipal elections in the northern city of Tripoli to a list backed by resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi. Hariri's list was also backed by major powers in the city, including former Prime Minister Najib Miqati and former ministers Faisal Karami and Mohammed al-Safadi.

Initial Results of Municipal Polls Show Landslide Victory for Rifi in Tripoli
Naharnet/May 30/16/The fourth and final round of Lebanon's municipal polls concluded in the governorates of the North and Akkar on Sunday, with a landslide victory registered in the city of Tripoli by a list backed by resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi that garnered 18 seats according to preliminary reports Monday. Rifi's list faced three others. The first described by reports as the "wide coalition" is backed by Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri, former Prime Minister Najib Miqati, and former ministers Faisal Karami and Mohammed al-Safadi. The third list that ran in the elections was headed by former MP Mosbah al-Ahdab and a fourth one comprised independent figures and civil society activists. In the areas of Batroun and al-Qoubaiyat, an alliance between the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement was not successful in defeating lists backed by Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb in Batroun and another backed by Mustaqbal MP Hadi Hbeish and former MP Mikhail al-Daher in Qoubaiyat. Early results have shown that the list backed by Harb defeated a list backed by the LF-FPM alliance in Tannourine. In al-Qoubaiyat, the initial results showed that a list backed by Hbeish has won 15 seats. In Bcharre, a list backed by the LF won all the municipal council seats. An alliance between former rivals of the Marada Movement of MP Suleiman Franjieh and the Independence Movement of Michel Mouawad won the elections in Zgharta after facing a list of independents. The official results will be announced by the Interior Ministry. The Ministry said that voter turnouts of 26.9% in Tripoli, 43.8% in Koura, 54.4% in Batroun, 57.2% in Minieh-Dinniyeh, 61.6% in Akkar, 36.6% in Bsharri and 36.68% in Zgharta were recorded.

Hariri from Kuwait: Having Good Relations with Iran a Necessity, but We Reject Interferences
Naharnet/May 30/16/Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri met in Kuwait on Monday with Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah al-Sabah where talks focused on the developments in Lebanon and the region and Iran's “unacceptable” interference in other countries, Hariri's press office said in a statement.The meeting was held in the presence of several Kuwaiti officials and Lebanese ex-MPs Bassel al-Sabaa and Ghattas Khoury and Hariri's adviser Nader Hariri. In a closed meeting between the Emir and Hariri, discussions touched on the circumstances in the Arab region and the situation in Lebanon, in addition to the bilateral relations between the two countries. “We have discussed several issues mainly regional ones. We agreed on the necessity to have good relations with Iran, but assured that its interferences (in the affairs of other countries') are unacceptable.” Hariri added that the talks highlighted the necessity to elect a Lebanese president and the initiatives undertaken in that regard.“For his part, the Emir expressed Kuwait's readiness to offer additional aid for Lebanon and assured that it has constantly backed our country in every phase,” and will continue to do so, said Hariri. To a question on the significance of his visit, Hariri said: “It is true that we have a presidential vacuum, but that does not mean that Lebanon does not exist. Until this vacuum ends, we have to let our brethren in the gulf know that this country needs them and that we respect the historic relations that we have with them.”

Kaag Praises 'Successful' Municipal Polls
Naharnet/May 30/16/U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag welcomed on Monday the “successful completion of municipal elections in Lebanon,” that ended its last round over the weekend. Kaag praised in a statement issued by her media office the “safe environment that prevailed thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Interior and the security forces.” The Special Coordinator expressed the hope that “the success of the municipal elections would contribute to breaking the political deadlock in the country, leading to the election of a president and paving the way for parliamentary elections.”On Sunday, Lebanon concluded its fourth and last round of municipal elections in the governorates of the North and Akkar. The first three rounds were held in three stages in Beirut, Baalbek-al-Hermel, Mount Lebanon, South and Nabatieh. Lebanon's interior ministry praised Monday the success of the municipal elections, as its Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq hailed the polls and hoped that they would be followed by parliamentary and hopefully presidential ones. Lebanon has been witnessing a vacuum at its top state post since May 2014 when the term of president Michel Suleiman ended.

Mashnouq Satisfied with Municipal Polls, Hopes Parliamentary Elections Will be Held next
Naharnet/May 30/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq praised on Monday the success of the municipal elections, saying that they demonstrated that the Lebanese people “yearn for a return to state institutions.”He hoped in a press conference assessing the polls that they would be followed by parliamentary ones.Mashnouq doubted however that the political powers would be able to agree on a new parliamentary electoral law. Lebanon on Sunday saw the conclusion of municipal elections that were held over four stages in the country throughout the month of May. “I was banking on the Lebanese people, not the political powers, to hold the municipal polls,” continued the interior minister. “I will leave it up to the political powers to decipher the messages that emerged from the elections and to reconsider their choices.”Furthermore, he stressed: “We sent a strong message against those who sought to label Lebanon as a failed state.”The elections “proved that the Lebanese are committed to democracy and are keen on preserving their state institutions away from violence.” The results of the elections were predictable in most areas, which means that politics “is well” and that the Lebanese interact with this politics, he noted, while revealing that with the exceptions of Beirut and Tripoli, the voter turnout averaged 50 percent.

Jumblat Says Major Powers Did not Unite in Tripoli's Municipal Polls
Naharnet/May 30/16/Democratic Gathering bloc MP Walid Jumblat commented on the initial victory of resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi in the municipal elections in the northern city of Tripoli and said that the lists that faced him in the polls were unsuccessful. “It seems that the Titanic (in reference to a list backed by the Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri, former Prime Minister Najib Miqati, and former ministers Faisal Karami and Mohammed al-Safadi) that carried strongmen from Baysour and Kfar Matta has arrived in Tripoli to drown there,” said Jumblat via Twitter. The last round of the municipal elections concluded on Sunday in the North and Akkar. In the city of Tripoli, a list backed by Rifi competed against one backed by Hariri, Miqati, Karami and al-Safadi. According to preliminary results, Rifi's list won the elections, garnering 18 municipal seats. A third list running in the elections was headed by former MP Mosbah al-Ahdab and a fourth one comprised independent figures and civil society activists. Jumblat hinted that the major powers in Tripoli were not in accord, saying: “What a great grief in the hearts of the believers.”

MP Robert Fadel Resigns in Wake of Tripoli Municipal Vote
Naharnet/May 30/16/Tripoli MP Robert Fadel announced Monday his resignation from parliament, protesting the surprising results of Sunday's elections in the northern city in which no Christian candidates managed to win seats on the municipal council. “An MP cannot be happy while his people are miserable,” Fadel said in a statement. “Pluralism, coexistence and balance among the country's components are necessary conditions for Lebanon's existence,” he stressed. “I have stood by (al-Mustaqbal movement leader) ex-PM (Saad) Hariri and I will always stand by him every time his representation, position and moderation are being targeted,” Fadel went on to say. A list backed by resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi achieved a stunning victory Sunday against a list backed by Hariri, ex-PM Najib Miqati, former ministers Faisal Karami and Mohammed al-Safadi, Jamaa Islamiya, al-Ahbash and the Arab Democratic Party. The Rifi-backed list clinched 18 seats on the municipal council as the broad coalition's list won only six.Christian and Alawite candidates representing the city's two minorities failed to win any seats, which is a first in the history of Tripoli's municipal elections.

Qatisha: LF, FPM to Appeal Results of Qoubaiyat Municipal Vote
Naharnet/May 30/16/The Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement will appeal the results of the municipal polls in the Akkar town of Qoubaiyat, where the two allies lost a close race to a coalition formed by al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Hadi Hbeish and ex-MP Mikhail al-Daher, an LF official said Monday. “We will appeal the results of Qoubaiyat's vote due to the illegal and shameful practices that MP Hbeish and his brother Ziad did at some polling stations, which would offset the results achieved by the two lists,” LF official Wehbe Qatisha told the al-Markazia news agency. “Ties will be strained between us and MP Hbeish because of his electoral behavior,” he added. “Political parties proved their heavy presence in all governorates during the municipal elections and they confronted the feudal leaders who were trying to eliminate them,” Qatisha went on to say. Earlier in the day, Hbeish had for his part accused the LF-FPM alliance of attempting to “usurp Qoubaiyat's free decision and to defy the will of its people.”LF chief Geagea had urged Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq to intervene overnight Sunday, claiming that irregularities were taking place at Qoubaiyat's al-Gharbiyeh polling station during the counting of votes.

Palestinian Held for 'Communicating with Extremist Groups'
Naharnet/May 30/16/A Palestinian man was arrested Monday in the Eastern Sidon region on charges of contacting “extremist groups,” state-run National News Agency reported. “Following a surveillance and enticement operation, a patrol from General Security's intelligence branch arrested the Palestinian Kh. A. in the Siroub area east of Sidon for his communication with extremist groups,” NNA said. He was referred to General Security's investigation department for further interrogation, the agency added.

MP Robert Fadel resigns: My happiness not at the expense of people's misery
Mon 30 May 2016/NNA - MP Robert Fadel resigned on Monday from the House of Representatives, saying in a statement that he does not accept to be happy at the expense of Lebanese people misery.

Salam discusses tourism activation with Pharaon, WTO
Mon 30 May 2016/NNA - Prime Minister, Tammam Salam, met at the Grand Serail on Monday with Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, and Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai, over the means to activate tourism sector in Lebanon.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Rifai indicated that talks also touched on the current juncture in the region, recommending Arabs to visit Lebanon. For his part, Pharaon maintained that the international airport road was safe. Salam later welcomed President of The EastWest Institute, Cameron Munter, and an accompanying delegation specialized in resolving international conflicts.

Salameh at Lebanese Businessmen Gathering's anniversary: Central Bank continues with its monetary policy
Mon 30 May 2016/NNA - Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh, stressed that the Bank continues with its adopted monetary policy in cooperation with other banks, to stimulate economy, encourage investments and create jobs opportunities for generations.
Salameh's fresh words came on Monday during a dialogue session organized by the "Lebanese Businessmen Gathering" on the occasion of its 30th anniversary, attended by scores of political, diplomatic, financial, banking and business dignitaries. "All central banks in the world carry out unconventional initiatives... All these incentives helped to achieve growth in the Lebanese economy which could be up to 2 percent," Salameh said. Salameh also asserted that the Lebanese banking sector is "good and solid" enjoying capitalism with necessary capabilities outweighing the capitalization of many of the states in accordance with the Basel 3 standards.

Kanaan: Christian duo uncovered all flaws
Mon 30 May 2016/NNA - MP Ibrahim Kanaan said, in a tweet on Monday, that the Christian duo, in reference to the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement, succeeded in uncovering all flaws and breaking the national formula that had marginalized the duality.

Harb contacts Salam to put telecom item on cabinet schedule
Mon 30 May 2016/NNA - Telecom Minister, Boutros Harb, on Monday phone called PM Tammam Salam asking him to put the report [over OGERO] he referred to head of the cabinet on February 19 on the work schedule of the cabinet that will convene Thursday.

UNIFIL Pays Tribute to Military and Civilian Personnel on Peacekeepers’ Day
Naharnet/May 30/16/The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon observed on Monday the International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers, paying tribute to thousands of military and civilian personnel for their service of peace, in a ceremony held at its Naqoura Headquarters in southern Lebanon. UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander, Major-General Luciano Portolano, underlined that for more than 70 years, since 1948 when the first Peacekeeping Mission was established “U.N. peacekeeping has been a dedicated and internationally recognized instrument aimed at supporting countries around the world in the difficult transition from conflict to peace.” He stressed how during those years “conflicts have been changing in form and nature” and that “peacekeeping missions are [increasingly] deployed where there is little peace to keep.”Portolano paid tribute to 3,400 peacekeepers “who have tragically lost their lives in the service of peace since 1948” and he used this occasion for paying tribute to “the five peacekeepers from Togo who lost their lives” on the 29 May 2016 “in the line of duty in Mali”. He echoed the “Secretary General’s words in condemning in the strongest terms the terrorist attack against peacekeepers, women and men, military and civilians who are serving in the name of peace around the world.”With particular reference to UNIFIL, Portolano paid tribute to “more than 300 military and civilian peacekeepers” who “have lost their lives while serving the cause of peace in southern Lebanon” since UNIFIL establishment in 1978. “Those heroes, with many different background, all believed that peacekeeping is a global force for good,” he added. “Let me honor the peacekeepers, civilian and military alike, who are currently serving in UNIFIL for your courage, commitment to the service of peace and the professionalism shown in your everyday work as well as in exceptional circumstances”, said Portolano at the ceremony. Peacekeepers representing 40 national contingents in UNIFIL and civilian personnel were joined at the event by Brigadier General Charbel Abou Khalil, the representative of the Lebanese Army Commander, representatives of the security forces, governors, religious leaders and members of the international community. In this contest, he expressed words of appreciation to the Lebanese army and security organizations, who are UNIFIL’s partners in the implementation of the Security Council Resolution 1701. He conveyed them his gratitude for their support by saying that that it is “indispensable for the success of the Mission”.On the occasion, UNIFIL military staff officers were awarded with the UN Peacekeeping Medal. The U.N. General Assembly designated 29 May as the International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers in February 2003 in order to pay tribute to the professionalism, dedication and courage of all the men and women serving in U.N. peacekeeping operations, and honor the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. The global theme of this year’s observances is “Honoring Our Heroes.”

Lebanese-American ex-CEO Jailed 15 Years in UAE for 'Fraud'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/A Dubai court has sentenced a Lebanese-American businessman to 15 years in prison over fraud and misuse of power in a property deal, local media reported Monday. Zack Shahin, a former CEO of Emirati property firm Deyaar who has been in detention for more than eight years, was sentenced Sunday along with two others over a 56.3-million-dirham ($15.3-million) fraud, Khaleej Times reported. The prosecution said Shahin, 51, had "misused his power as CEO of Deyaar back in November 2007 and committed irregularities and fraud", the paper said. He was accused of submitting a misleading feasibility study to the company's board for the purchase of a plot of land in the United States, causing Deyaar to lose the $15 million, the paper said. The two other defendants, both Americans working for a private U.S. realty firm, were also sentenced to 15 years in jail each but local media said they remain at large. The court, which could not be contacted on Monday, acquitted five other Deyaar staff of complicity. Several fraud cases surfaced in the United Arab Emirates in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis that hit Dubai's economy.

Rifi’s gamble pays off
Alex Rowell/Now Lebanon/May 30/16
Surprise victory for renegade March 14 hawk Ashraf Rifi in Tripoli’s municipal elections suggests his cabinet resignation was shrewd. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying the remarkability of the feat pulled off by retired Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi at the municipal ballot box in Tripoli yesterday. Competing alone against an all-star coalition of establishment heavyweights, including two billionaire former prime ministers, the son of a grain miller from the humble Al-Qubba neighborhood with just two years of political experience on his CV swept between 17 and 22 of the available 24 seats, according to preliminary results.
It was an outcome even his ardent supporters hadn’t expected. In the blue-collar Bab al-Tabbaneh quarter, notorious in past years for deadly Syria-linked militia battles with its Jabal Mohsen neighbor, residents almost unanimously told NOW Thursday Rifi was their man, yet even they didn’t expect his ‘Tripoli’s Decision’ list to take more than about five seats off the ‘For Tripoli’ favorite. Former Prime Minister Najib Miqati, one of the latter’s two key sponsors, was alleged to be paying handsomely for votes, and it was money, they said, rather than politics that would carry the day.
In the event, exactly the reverse happened. Municipal elections are normally fought over strictly local affairs; often reduced to little more than arcane family rivalries. Yet Rifi ran on an overtly politicized ticket, castigating the list backed by Miqati and Future Movement head Saad al-Hariri as an Iranian-Syrian Trojan Horse, implicitly accusing Hariri, his erstwhile ally, of selling out the principles of the Cedar Revolution. This was of a piece with the general trajectory Rifi has taken since resigning as justice minister in February, a decision he said at the time he made because, “The practices of Hezbollah's statelet and its allies are not acceptable and staying in the government means approving them.” Back then, many thought the move a reckless gamble; a futile stunt he would later live to regret. Today, that assessment would seem to need revising.
How did he manage it? His critics will say he pandered to the currents of Sunni Muslim religious conservatism in the city, in contrast to the moderation and pluralism of the Hariri-Miqati coalition. There’s obviously some truth in this – in the days leading up to the election his public pronouncements included such tweets as, “The Sunni sect does not and will not know defeat, for the Sunnis believe in themselves and are strong in their faith.” And who could forget him trying to criminalize the burning of the ISIS flag? Still, it’s worth noting the most explicitly theocratic party in the race, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, in fact ran on the opposing list. As for Tripoli’s truly hardcore Salafist-jihadist minority, they wouldn’t be caught partaking in the idolatrous abomination of democratic voting for any candidate.
The more salient point is that he tapped into street-level frustration with the political accommodations made by the March 14 leadership. “Out of spite,” was a phrase repeated by a mechanic in Bab al-Tabbaneh by way of explaining why he was voting for Rifi. Tripolitans have not forgotten the horrific car bombs outside mosques in August 2013 (later linked by investigators to the Syrian regime), nor the assassination of their son, former minister Mohammad Chatah, by the same means four months later. Rifi’s indignant demand for the retrial of Michel Samaha, a politician released on bail after just three and a half years’ imprisonment for plotting more bomb attacks on civilian targets in north Lebanon (again in coordination with Damascus), was understandably appreciated by many in Tripoli, just as Hariri’s statement at the time that “the stance of Minister Rifi doesn’t represent me” can only have bred rancor. Add to this Rifi’s vehement rejection of the presidential candidacy of staunch Assad ally Sleiman Franjieh, mysteriously endorsed by Hariri, and the former security czar’s popularity in the city is not difficult to comprehend. At a time of disenchantment with the government generally – aggravated by socioeconomic neglect – most Tripolitans evidently feel Rifi is the only one sticking up for them.
This will have obvious implications for next year’s parliamentary elections, when Rifi will have to be accounted for as the city’s new za`eem, or kingpin. What’s not clear, however, is how much impact any of it will have outside Tripoli. The Future Movement may well feel pressed to take a harder line against Hezbollah rhetorically, but it’s unlikely to rock the boat in any dramatic way. Perhaps, now that Rifi has shown Hariri he wields genuine political weight independent of his former patron, the two will come eventually to some sort of amicable reconciliation, for instance with Rifi getting the interior minister position in the next cabinet that he was said to covet aggressively last time round. Already, Rifi has signaled overtures to Future, telling a radio station Monday his “door is open” to business with them. Equally, however, he may continue his new solo path, and try to challenge Hariri’s stature on the national stage. That would be a tall order, but the past year has brought about stranger shakeups. Today more than ever in Lebanese politics the governing law seems to be that anyone who thinks they know what’s going on hasn’t a clue what’s going on.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 30- 31/16

Iraq Kurds Retake Nine Villages from IS
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/Iraq's Kurdish peshmerga forces wrapped up an operation east of the Islamic State group's northern hub of Mosul Monday after recapturing nine villages, a statement said. The Kurdistan Region Security Council said the operation launched before dawn on Sunday "had achieved its key objectives". The KRSC statement listed nine villages that had been occupied by IS since the summer of 2014 and were previously mainly inhabited by northern Iraq's Kakai and Shabak minorities. The operation involved around 5,500 peshmerga fighters backed by US-led coalition air strikes and reconquered an area of 120 square kilometers (46 square miles). The area, near Khazir, lies near the main road between Mosul and the autonomous Kurdish region's capital Arbil. The KRSC claimed that in the course of the two-day operation, 140 IS fighters were killed and 14 car bombs were destroyed. The peshmerga officer in charge of the region said at a news conference that four Kurdish forces were killed and 34 others wounded during the operation. The fresh push against the jihadist organization in the north came a week after Iraqi forces launched an operation against Fallujah, IS's only other major urban hub in Iraq.

Saudi FM: Iran regime must halt its meddling in Iraq
Monday, 30 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI – Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Sunday that Iran's regime must stop meddling in Iraq and that the presence of Iranian military units there is "unacceptable.""Iraq's problem is religious conflicts caused by the Iranian interference," Jubeir stressed, adding that Saudi Arabia insists on withdrawal of Iranian troops from Iraq, saying that one of the Iranian regime's senior officers is leading operations in Iraq against Sunnis. Earlier last week, the Iraqi Defense Ministry published an official report which includes statements confirming that the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades are involved in the battle of Fallujah. A YouTube account linked to Kata’ib Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization and a proxy of the Iranian regime, has uploaded a video showing a large convoy of its rocket launcher systems being sent to the front lines near Iraqi city of Fallujah. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' terrorist Quds Force, was also spotted in a picture said to be taken near Fallujah. A picture of Soleimani in the “Fallujah operations room” was posted to the Facebook account of Harakat al Nujaba, or Movement of the Noble, an Iranian regime-backed so-called “Shiite militia” which operates in both Iraq and Syria. "Sending Iranian Shia armed units to Iraq or their training there is unacceptable both on invitation [of the Iraqi authorities] and without it," Jubeir stated at a joint press conference with his UK counterpart Philip Hammond broadcast by Al Arabiya Channel. Jubeir accused Iran's regime of sowing “sedition” in Iraq. He urged Tehran to “stop intervening” in the affairs of its neighbors. “Sedition and division in Iraq are the results of sectarian policies that developed out of Iran’s policies in Iraq,” he said.
“If Iran wants stability in Iraq, it has to stop intervening and withdraw,” he said after accusing Tehran of sending “Shiite militias” to the war-torn country. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he was reassuring his Gulf counterparts that world powers are closely monitoring Iran's regime in the wake of last year's nuclear deal which paved the way for a partial lifting of sanctions. "Just because we've made an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program does not mean that we will turn a blind eye to Iran's continuing attempts to destabilize the region or to its ballistic missiles program which remains a serious threat to peace and which breaches UN resolutions," Hammond said. Jubeir criticized the Iranian regime for its warmongering policies. "But it's difficult to live with a neighbor whose objective is to destroy you: that's why the relation with Iran is not what it should be," he said. “Iran should respect the principle of good neighborly relations, to focus on its internal situation and not intervene in the affairs of other countries in the region, mainly Iraq,” he added.

Iran regime carries out two public executions
Monday, 30 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI – Iran’s fundamentalist regime has publicly hanged two men in Fars Province, southern Iran, and Mazandaran Province, northern Iran, in the past 24 hours. On Monday, May 30, an unnamed 40-year-old prisoner, was hanged in public in the town of Noor in Mazandaran, according to the state-run Young Journalists Club (YJC) news agency which quoted the regime's prosecutor in Noor, Qanbar Qanbari. On Sunday, May 29, a man identified only by his surname Zohrabi, was hanged in public in the town of Kovar, 40 kilometers south of Shiraz, the provincial capital in Fars. The mullahs' regime last Thursday publicly hanged a man, identified only as Hamid B., in the southern city of Shiraz. The latest hangings bring to at least 118 the number of people executed in Iran since April 10. Three of those executed were women and two are believed to have been juvenile offenders. Ms. Farideh Karimi, a member of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and a human rights activist, last week called for an urgent response by the United Nations and foreign governments to the recent spate of executions and the appalling state of human rights in Iran.
Iran's fundamentalist regime earlier this month amputated the fingers of a man in his thirties in Mashhad, the latest in a line of draconian punishments handed down and carried out in recent weeks. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on April 13 that the increasing trend of executions “aimed at intensifying the climate of terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society, especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval regime.”
Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the 2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to at least 743 the year before." "Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East and North Africa, the human rights group said.
There have been more than 2,300 executions during Hassan Rouhani’s tenure as President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the executions as examples of “God’s commandments” and “laws of the parliament that belong to the people.

Iraq Forces Push into Streets of IS-Held Fallujah
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/Iraqi forces thrust into the city of Fallujah from three directions on Monday marking a new and perilous urban phase in the week-old operation to retake the jihadist bastion. The drive to recapture the first city to be lost from government control in 2014 came as fighting also raged in neighboring Syria, leaving huge numbers of civilians exposed. Led by the elite counter-terrorism service (CTS), Iraq's best trained and most seasoned fighting unit, the forces pushed into Fallujah before dawn, commanders said."Iraqi forces entered Fallujah under air cover from the international coalition, the Iraqi air force and army aviation, and supported by artillery and tanks," said Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, the commander of the operation. "CTS forces, the Anbar (provincial) police and the Iraqi army, at around 4:00 am (0100 GMT), started moving into Fallujah from three directions," he said. "There is resistance from Daesh," he added, using an Arabic acronym for IS. CTS spokesman Sabah al-Noman told AFP: "We started early this morning our operations to break into Fallujah."The involvement of the elite CTS marks the start of a phase of urban combat in a city where in 2004 U.S. forces fought some of their toughest battles since the Vietnam War. The week-old operation had previously focused on retaking rural areas around Fallujah, which lies just 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Baghdad. It had been led by the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force, which is dominated by Tehran-backed Shiite militias. They were still in action Monday, attempting to clear an area northwest of Fallujah called Saqlawiya, officers said. Only a few hundred families have managed to slip out of the Fallujah area ahead of the assault on the city, with an estimated 50,000 civilians still trapped inside, sparking fears the jihadists could try to use them as human shields. The only families who were able to flee so far lived in outlying areas, with the biggest wave of displaced reaching camps on Saturday night. "Our resources in the camps are now very strained and with many more expected to flee we might not be able to provide enough drinking water for everyone," said Nasr Muflahi, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Iraq director."We expect bigger waves of displacement the fiercer the fighting gets."
Concern for civilians
In Amriyat al-Fallujah, a government-controlled town to the south of the jihadist bastion, civilians trickled in, starving and exhausted after walking through the countryside for hours at night, dodging IS surveillance. "I just decided to risk everything. I was either going to save my children or die with my children," said Ahmad Sabih, 40, who reached the NRC-run camp early on Sunday. A senior police commander said his forces had assisted 800 civilians fleeing areas north of Fallujah on Monday. Fallujah is one of just two major urban centers in Iraq still held by IS jihadists. They also hold Mosul, the country's second city and de-facto jihadist capital in Iraq, east of which Kurdish-led forces launched a fresh offensive on Sunday. The jihadists holed up in Fallujah are believed to number around 1,000. It is not yet clear what resources IS is prepared to invest in the defense of Fallujah, which has been almost completely isolated for months, but the city looms large in modern jihadist mythology. Fallujah is expected to give Iraqi forces one of their toughest battles yet but IS has appeared weakened in recent months and has been losing territory consistently over the past year. According to the government, the organization that has sewn havoc across Iraq and Syria over the past two years now controls around 14 percent of the national territory, down from 40 percent in 2014. However, as the "caliphate" it declared two years ago unravels, IS has been reverting to its old tactics of bombings against civilians and commando raids.A fresh wave of bomb attacks struck the Baghdad area on Monday, killing 11 people in three separate blasts. At least one of them was claimed by IS. In northern Syria, clashes raged around the flashpoint town of Marea as IS pressed an assault on non-jihadist rebels.The IS onslaught has threatened tens of thousands of people, many of them already displaced from other areas, who have sought refuge in camps near the Turkish border. "At least 165,000 Syrian civilians are now stuck between IS to the east and south, Kurdish forces to the west and the closed Turkish border to the north. What more does the U.S., EU and UN need to call on Turkey to give these people refuge?" Gerry Simpson, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, told AFP.

Nowhere to Go': MSF Says IS Syria Assault Traps Thousands
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/A surprise assault by the Islamic State group has trapped tens of thousands of terrified people on the Syrian border with Turkey, Doctors Without Borders said Monday, warning the situation was "unacceptable."Pablo Marco, the regional manager of the charity known by its French acronym MSF, said concerns were rising for a large civilian population less than five kilometers (three miles) from advancing IS jihadists. "We are talking about 100,000 people who are trapped a few kilometers from IS. They are terrified, there is nowhere to go," Marco said in a telephone interview with AFP.IS swept towards the last rebel strongholds of Marea and Azaz in Aleppo province on Friday, forcing thousands to flee towards the northern frontier. But Turkey has kept the border closed, leaving civilians stuck between the violent front line with IS to the east, the sealed border to the north, and the autonomous Kurdish canton of Afrin to the west. "These people are now in a very small area of four by seven kilometers," said Marco. "The situation is absolutely unsustainable and unacceptable for this population." The United Nations has said the fighting has trapped up to 165,000 civilians between Azaz and the closed Turkish border. MSF's Marco said many of those who were fleeing the IS onslaught in recent days had already been displaced two or three times from other parts of the province. "You can imagine how hard it is for them." More than half of Syria's population have fled their homes since the conflict first erupted in 2011, with nearly five million escaping to neighboring countries. An estimated 6,000 people have escaped the fighting in Marea either towards the border or west towards the Kurdish-controlled region of Afrin. But with limited resources, Marco said, Kurdish authorities would not be able to take in an influx of displaced individuals. As the circumstances grow increasingly dire, Marco called on the Turkish authorities to allow safe haven for those fleeing IS' speedy advance. "We know that the Turkish authorities are very concerned about the situation. They have made big efforts as you know, but the situation is so terrible that it justifies (opening the border)." But he also called on the European Union "to do their part" to both support Turkey and take in more Syrian refugees escaping violence at home. "All actors who are involved need to find a solution... This is really a shame."

Bahrain upholds sentences for five spies tied to Iran regime
Monday, 30 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI/An appeals court in Bahrain has upheld life prison sentences against five men convicted of spying for Iran's regime. A May 29 statement by the prosecution said the court rejected the appeal by the five defendants. The men were convicted in November of "spying for and seeking with Iran and its agents to carry out hostile acts against the kingdom." They were found guilty of working with the Iranian regime's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to carry out attacks in Bahrain against "public and financial institutions."Two of them had received training in Iran on "the manufacture and use of explosives and firearms in preparation for carrying out these hostile attacks," according to the charges. In February Bahrain adopted measures to counter the Iranian regime’s “interference” in the kingdom. “We have taken a series of measures to confront the dangers of terrorism,” Bahrain’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid al-Khalifa said at the time. The measures included monitoring money transfers and donations to combat the “financing of terrorism” and imposing travel restrictions on citizens. Sheikh Rashid also said authorities will also take measures to “protect religious discourse against religious and political extremism as well as incitement.”Bahrain has repeatedly accused the Iranian regime of meddling in its internal affairs.Bahrain recalled its ambassador to Iran in October 2015 after it said security forces discovered a bomb-making factory and arrested a number of suspects linked to the IRGC. Bahrain cut diplomatic relations with Iran's regime in January, one day after Saudi Arabia severed ties with the mullahs’ regime following attacks by demonstrators on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad.
Based in part on wire reports

29 young men and women detained in Iran for attending party
Monday, 30 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI – More than two dozen young Iranian men and women were arrested over the weekend by the mullahs' regime for participating in a mixed-gender party in Mashhad, north-east Iran. The 29 youngsters were rounded up by the regime's police at a party on Saturday evening, May 28, at a villa near the Danesh Junction in Mashhad. The state-run Rokna news agency said on Monday, May 30, that altogether 15 young men and 14 young women were arrested at the party and were taken to the regime's court in District 6 of Mashhad on Sunday to face prosecution. Some 35 young men and women were flogged last week for taking part in a mixed-gender party after their graduation ceremony near Qazvin, some 140 kilometers northwest of the Iranian capital Tehran, the regime's Prosecutor in the city said last Thursday, May 26. Ismaeil Sadeqi Niaraki, a notorious mullah, said a special court session was held after all the young men and women at the party were rounded up, the Mizan news agency, affiliated to the fundamentalist regime's judiciary, reported on May 26. "After we received information that a large number of men and women were mingling in a villa in the suburbs of Qazvin ... all the participants at the party were arrested," he said. Niaraki added that the following morning every one of those detained received 99 lashes as punishment by the so-called 'Morality Police.' According to Niaraki, given the social significance of mixed-gender partying, "this once again required a firm response by the judiciary in quickly reviewing and implementing the law." "Thanks God that the police questioning, investigation, court hearing, verdict and implementation of the punishment all took place in less than 24 hours," Niaraki added.
The regime’s prosecutor claimed that the judiciary would not tolerate the actions of “law-breakers who use excuses such as freedom and having fun in birthday parties and graduation ceremonies.”He warned the youths that they should be careful about their conduct “since being arrested in mixed-gender parties and receiving sentences is a crime and would create problems for their future education and employment.”Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on Thursday said that such barbaric acts prove that "moderation" during Hassan Rouhani’s Presidency is "nothing but a myth.""Three years after Rouhani’s Presidency the human rights situation in Iran is deteriorating in every aspect. This also shows the regime’s fragile state and total isolation among the Iranian people, in particular among the youths. The notion advocated by some in the West that this regime has a future is totally naive,” he said. Earlier this month, the Iranian regime’s paramilitary Basij in north-eastern Iran broke up two mixed-gender parties within 72 hours, detaining 70 people. The head of the fundamentalist Basij in Nishapur precinct, Ali-Akbar Hosseini, announced that his forces were alerted to a so-called “obscene party” in the city. During the raid, 14 boys and 14 girls were arrested and transferred to a local police station. A second party was raided on May 20, leading to the arrest of over 40 participants, Hosseini told the state-run Fars news agency on May 21.

Iran regime responds to labor protests with lashings, fines
Monday, 30 May 2016//National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI –NCRI Labor Committee calls for condemnation of mullahs’ anti-labor policies and support for Iranian workers
The Labor Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran calls on all international human rights organizations, labor rights institutes, syndicates, labor unions and the International Labor Organization to condemn the oppressive and criminal approach adopted by the mullahs’ regime against deprived Iranian workers who protested being fired from work and their unemployment. The Iranian regime responded to these protests by lashing, imprisoning and issuing fines against these protesters. The NCRI Labor Committee is calling for solidarity and supporting Iranian workers to see their most basic rights materialized.
The Iranian regime’s judiciary officials condemned 17 deprived workers of the Aq Dareh gold mine to 30 to 100 lashes and 5 million rial fines (around $170) for protesting their expulsion from work. The lashings were carried out in public. In flagrant collaboration with the Revolutionary Guards that has taken control of the Aq Dareh gold mine for years now, a farce court in the city of Takkab (West Azerbaijan Province in northwestern Iran) issued these rulings on the bogus charges of “preventing people from seeking employment by causing furor,” “insulting the company guard,” “destroying clothes and illegally detaining the guard” and “deliberately destroying the company billboard.”
The Aq Dareh gold mine is a national asset belonging to the Iranian people which the IRGC, like many other natural resources in Iran, has taken complete control over. Back in January 2015 the IRGC-associated “Puyan Zarkan Company” fired 350 miners under the pretext of their “contracts expiring.” On December 27, 2014, three workers committed suicide in the mine vicinity for losing their jobs, and due to the hard burden of trying to make ends meet and the intolerable poverty they were living in. The inhumane mullahs’ regime has to this day responded to workers’ rightfully staged protests with arrests, imprisonment and lashings. At a time when dozens of factories are closing each day in cities across the country and hundreds of workers are being added to the growing “army of the unemployed,” the religious fascism ruling Iran has intensified its pressures on the workers in an attempt to quell the expansion of their protests. Labor strikes and demonstrations in Iran are being oppressed harsher than ever before. The NCRI Labor Committee emphasizes that workers’ rights in Iran will only be materialized through the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime and the establishment of democracy and freedom in Iran. The NCRI Labor Committee calls on all the Iranian people, especially the youths, to protest the increasing cruelty that is devastating the lives of Iran’s already suffering workers and their families.
Labor Committee
National Council of Resistance of Iran
May 28, 2016

Iranian municipality worker self-immolates in protest to non-receipt of overdue wages
Monday, 30 May 2016/National Council of Resistance of Iran/NCRI – NCRI – An Iranian municipal worker in the city of Falahieh (Shadegan) in Iran’s south-western Khuzestan province has set himself on fire in protest against non-payment of his salaries for the past six month. Ismail Shaverdi (Khanafareh), 30, who was married and was the sole breadwinner of his household, died of his injuries after he self-immolated on Friday, May 27. Last week, this hardworking worker along with other municipal workers staged a gathering and sit-in in protest to the non-payment of their salaries, but their demands went unanswered.
Poverty, deprivation and suppression in Iran under the mullahs’ regime have driven some people, in particular women and girls, to the point of taking their own lives. On May 6, a young street vendor in Ahwaz, south-western Iran, died after throwing himself under a train in protest against the confiscation of his belongings and the only source of his income by the regime’s suppressive forces. On May 13, a hardworking vendor named Laveh Ahmadi Nia in Sanandaj, western Iran, set himself on fire in protest against oppression and the plundering of his property by the regime’s suppressive forces. Following his arrest and the confiscation of his property, and after he was released from the prison, this Iranian Kurdish laborer went to the repressive bodies of the regime several times to reclaim his property, but when he received no answer he set himself on fire near Mother Square outside the mining industry building in Sanandaj.
On average, 11 people commit suicide in Iran every day, with an equivalent of three in every 100,000 people, according to the website of the Women's Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). Iranian laborers in particular are suffering from poverty, hunger and unemployment while Iran’s great wealth is spent on domestic suppression, antinationalistic polices of export of terrorism and warmongering in the region, and weapons of mass destruction projects or is plundered by the regime’s officials.As long as the mullahs’ regime is in power, suppression, poverty, hunger, prostitution and addiction will continue in Iran. The sole solution to end such tyranny and oppression is to topple the antihuman regime of the mullahs and establish democracy in Iran.

Canada welcomes acquittal of Salim Alaradi
May 30, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Omar Alghabra, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), today issued the following statement:
“On behalf of the Government of Canada, we welcome the acquittal of Salim Alaradi by the Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates. We expect an expedited process to promptly reunite him with his family and friends.‎
“We are moved by the resiliency shown by Mr. Alaradi’s family, in particular, their courage and conviction.
“We ‎also want to acknowledge the work of members of Parliament from both sides of the aisle. Joining forces as parliamentarians is the most effective way to support Canadians abroad in need of assistance.
“The Government of Canada raised Mr. Alaradi’s case at the highest levels and called for his release and return to Canada.
“Canadian officials will continue to provide consular assistance to Mr. Alaradi and his family, including by helping to facilitate his return home.”
Contacts
Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
343-203-7700

Turkey Offers U.S. Joint Syria Operation -- without the Kurds
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/Turkey is offering to "join forces" with Washington for a special operation inside Syria on condition it doesn't include a Syrian Kurdish militia blacklisted by Ankara but seen as an ally by the U.S., the foreign minister said. Washington's support of Kurdish fighters in Syria in the fight against Islamic State jihadists has angered Ankara, especially after AFP pictures last week revealed U.S. commandos sporting patches of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) detested by Turkey. "If we join forces, they (the U.S.) have their own special forces and we have our special forces," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a small group of journalists in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya. Such a coalition could "easily" head to IS' de facto capital in Raqa to the south in a second front, he said. There was no immediate reaction to the proposal from the United States, whose strategy for fighting jihadists inside Syria is pinned on its alliance with the battle-hardened Syrian Kurds. The U.S. is supporting an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as the most effective fighting force on the ground against IS. But the SDF is still dominated by the YPG, which Turkey sees as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has fought a three decade insurgency against the Turkish state. Cavusoglu said Syrian Arab opposition forces opposing the regime of President Bashar Assad could be backed up with special forces from Turkey, the United States as well as from France, Britain and Germany.
'Terror group as partner'
"The subject we are discussing with the Americans is the closure of the Manbij pocket as soon as possible... and the opening of a second front," Cavusoglu said, referring to a backdoor border route favored by IS for smuggling jihadists into and out of Syria. "We say okay, a second front should be opened but not with the PYD," he said, referring to the Democratic Union Party, the YPG's political wing. "Unfortunately, both Russia and the United States see a terrorist organization as a partner and support it." In Ankara, government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus declined to comment on details of any operation but said Turkey placed top priority on protecting a line stretching between Syria's flashpoint towns of Marea and Jarablus. "Turkey is determined whatever is needed to protect the line from terrorist groups," he said on Monday after a cabinet meeting.
'U.S. not keeping promise
The dispute over the role of the YPG has proved a major bone of contention in relations between the two NATO allies. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the weekend accused the US of dishonesty. Cavusoglu lamented the delay in the delivery of American light multiple rocket launchers to be deployed along its border with Syria to combat IS. The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) was to have been deployed along the Turkish border by the end of May, but Cavusoglu said it would now only happen in August. "The United States is unfortunately not keeping its promise," he charged. "We are completely ready. Not us, but the U.S. is responsible for the delay." The system would allow Turkey to hit IS positions within a 90-kilometer (56-mile) range, while Turkish artillery has a more limited range of 40 kilometers. Yet Turkish cooperation is critical for the U.S.-led fight against IS, with coalition war planes using the southern Turkish base of Incirlik as a hub for attacks on the group. Cavusoglu said U.S. support for YPG was "very dangerous" for the future of Syria. Asked if could have implications for the U.S. use of Incirlik, he replied: "The United States is our NATO ally, model partner. To be honest, we don't want the business to reach that stage."

Australian Killed Fighting IS in Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/An Australian man has been killed in Syria fighting Islamic State jihadists, the country's third national thought to have died alongside Kurdish forces, reports said Monday. Former Australian soldier Jamie Bright, in his 40s, was named on social media as having been "martyred" in recent days. The Kurdish People's Protection Unit said on its Facebook page that Bright died alongside three other Kurdish fighters. "He was shot about three or four days ago," an Australian friend who fought alongside Bright in Syria told News Corporation The friend, who was not named, said Bright had travelled to Syria in early 2015 because he "saw something was happening that wasn't right and wanted to fix it". "He saw governments doing nothing. He saw it as wrong and believed it had to be changed," he added. Australia's foreign ministry said it could not verify if Bright had been killed as the "government's capacity to confirm reports of deaths in Syria is extremely limited"."If confirmed, this latest death is yet another tragic reminder of the dangers involved for those who seek to travel and fight in conflict zones," it added in a statement. At least two other Australians, Reece Harding and Ashley Johnston, were killed in 2015 while with Kurdish groups fighting the Islamic State group. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said "Australians must understand that if they go and fight in conflicts like that, they are breaking Australian law". "If they come back within Australia's jurisdiction, they will be held to account for that."Under new laws designed to stop citizens travelling overseas to join jihadist groups, it is a crime to fight for militants on either side of the conflict in Syria.

Egypt Court Sentences Brotherhood Leader to Life
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/An Egyptian court Monday sentenced the Muslim Brotherhood's leader and 35 other people to life in prison over violent clashes after the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a judicial official said. Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood's supreme guide, has already been sentenced to death and prison terms in other trials. The court also sentenced 48 defendants to jail terms ranging from three to 15 years, and acquitted 20 others.The authorities have arrested thousands of Brotherhood leaders and members, including Morsi, since his ouster by the army in 2013. Hundreds have been sentenced to death, although many have appealed and won retrials. On Monday, the court convicted Badie and the other defendants of involvement in clashes in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya that killed three people. The country was rocked by violence for weeks after Morsi's supporters set up protest camps and demonstrated against his overthrow. The police killed hundreds of his supporters in clashes, including more than 600 on August 14, 2013 as they dispersed a Cairo protest camp. Morsi, a senior Brotherhood leader, had won the country's first free election in 2012, more than a year after a popular uprising ousted veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak. His rule was divisive and millions held protests in Cairo demanding his resignation, prompting the army to overthrow and detain him.

Kuwait Upholds Death Sentence for Mosque Blast Ringleader
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/Kuwait's supreme court on Monday upheld the death sentence handed down to the main convict in the Islamic State group bombing of a Shiite mosque that killed 26 people. The court confirmed the sentence of capital punishment passed on Abdulrahman Sabah Saud, a stateless man who drove the Saudi suicide bomber to the mosque in June last year. The court also upheld jail terms of between two and 15 years for eight people, including four women, and acquitted 15 others including three women. The court did not hear the appeals of five others -- four Saudis and a stateless man -- who had been sentenced to death in absentia by a lower court. Under Kuwaiti law, sentences issued in absentia are not reviewed by higher courts until those convicted appear in person. The four Saudi men still at large include two brothers who smuggled the explosives belt used in the attack into Kuwait from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The fifth man is a stateless Arab.Twenty-nine defendants, including seven women, had been charged with helping the Saudi suicide bomber attack a Shiite mosque in the capital, which was the bloodiest in Kuwait's history. An IS-affiliated group calling itself Najd Province claimed the bombing as well as suicide attacks on two Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia in May last year. Najd is the central region of Saudi Arabia. The Sunni extremists of IS consider Shiites to be heretics and have repeatedly attacked Shiite targets in the region. In addition to driving the suicide bomber, Saud was also charged with bringing the explosives belt from a site near the border and aiding the bomber. At his initial trial, Saud confessed to most charges, but later denied them all in the appeals and supreme courts. The death penalty in Kuwait is carried out by hanging, and to be implemented it requires the approval of the Gulf state's ruler. Among the supreme court's main verdicts on Monday, the court upheld the commuting of the death sentence for the alleged IS leader in Kuwait, Fahad Farraj Muhareb, to 15 years in prison. It also upheld the acquittal of Jarrah Nimer, owner of the car used to transport the bomber. Courts in Kuwait have previously handed down several verdicts against IS supporters and financiers.

Kuwait Jails Three Royals for Insulting Emir
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/A Kuwait court on Monday sentenced three members of the Al-Sabah ruling family and four others to jail terms for insulting the emir and the judiciary on the Internet. The court sentenced the three royals and two others to five years each, a sixth man for one year and handed down a 10-year term to a seventh man in absentia. The royals include Sheikh Athbi al-Fahad Al-Sabah, a nephew of the Gulf state's emir and the former head of the secret service police. He is also the younger brother of international sports figure Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad Al-Sabah. The defendants remain free on bail. They were among 13 people charged with using Whatsapp and Twitter to insult the emir and publish false news accusing judges of accepting bribes, the court ruled. Also convicted was Sheikh Khalifa Ali Al-Sabah, the editor of Al-Watan newspaper and television which were closed by the government for violating corporate finance rules in a decision ratified by the courts. Another six men were acquitted. The rulings are not final as they can still be challenged in the appeals and supreme courts.

Tunisia Landmine Blast Kills 2 Women
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/A landmine blast killed two women and wounded a third on Monday near Mount Sammama, Tunisia's defense ministry said, blaming "terrorist elements".Ministry spokesman Belhassen Oueslati told AFP the two were killed while gathering herbs when the home-made device exploded near the base of Mount Sammama in the Kasserine region, where a military operation is under way. The third woman was seriously wounded and flown to hospital by military helicopter, he added. The mine was probably laid by "terrorist elements," Oueslati added. Intense military operations against jihadists holed up in the mountains have been ongoing for several days. Demining formed part of the military operation, Oueslati said. On Sunday, media reported "bombardments" in the area, which is close to the border with Algeria. A soldier was wounded earlier this month when a mine exploded on Mount Sammama which is adjacent to Mount Chaambi. Kasserine and Mount Chaambi have become the North African nation's prime jihadist hideouts, including of the Okba Ibn Nafaa Battalion, a group linked to al-Qaida. Tunisia, the cradle of the Arab Spring uprisings, has been plagued by Islamist violence since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In March 2015, jihadist gunmen killed 21 tourists and a policeman at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis. And in June, 30 Britons were among 38 foreign holidaymakers killed in a gun and grenade attack on a beach resort near the Tunisian city of Sousse. A state of emergency has been in force since November 24, when a suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed 12 presidential guards in central Tunis.

Palestinian Teens Held over Attack on Israeli Women
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/Israeli authorities have arrested three Palestinian teenagers over the stabbing of two Israeli women in their 80s earlier this month, police said on Monday. "Three Arab suspects have been arrested, minors, residents of Jabal Mukaber" in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, a police statement said. It said the suspects were aged 16 to 17 and that one of their mothers had been arrested in the occupied West Bank a week ago on suspicion of trying to carry out a stabbing attack. The two Israeli women in their 80s were part of a group of five on a walk in woods between west and east Jerusalem when they were attacked and moderately wounded on May 10. The police said that the suspects went to the scene, two of them armed with a knife and an axe brought from home, and lay in wait "for Jewish victims".Two of the youths attacked the women with the knife and the wooden handle of the axe, police said. They fled the scene but were arrested on May 19 after discussing on social media plans to carry out another attack, they added. Police said the third suspect had left the ambush site, fearing that his parents' home would suffer punitive demolition by Israel if he took part. Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency said in a statement that the third suspect had agreed to carry out a subsequent attack on his own if the other two died in their attempt. Violence since October last year has left 205 Palestinians and 28 Israelis dead, according to an AFP count. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, Israeli authorities say. Many have been young Palestinians, including teenagers.

Israel Cabinet Okays Far-Right Lieberman as Defense Minister
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Monday approved the entry of ultra-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman to the ruling coalition as defense minister, after defusing opposition from another partner, the government said. The religious nationalist party Jewish Home had planned to block the addition of Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party by voting against it in parliament, possibly sparking fresh elections, unless demands for procedural reform were met. "The cabinet unanimously approved the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as minister of defense," a statement from Netanyahu's office said. It added that Yisrael Beitenu's Sofa Landver was approved as minister of immigrant absorption. The deal is expected to be approved by parliament later on Monday, with the new ministers to take their oaths of office. The prime minister's office said that as part of the reshuffle, veteran Likud MP Tzachi Hanegbi, chairman of parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, would become a minister without portfolio. Netanyahu and Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett reached a compromise on Sunday night after mediation by a third party, a Likud statement said. Jewish Home holds eight parliamentary seats, enough to block Netanyahu's proposed new line-up. If approved by parliament, the deal would create what is seen as the most right-wing government in Israel's history. Jewish Home had demanded the creation of a military liaison for the government's security cabinet, a smaller forum of cabinet members which decides on matters of national security. Bennett says such a post is needed to avoid security cabinet members being kept in the dark on important developments, pointing to aspects of the 2014 conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza, among other concerns. Under the compromise brokered by Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, of the United Torah Judaism alliance of ultra-Orthodox parties, security cabinet members will receive frequent personal briefings from Israel's National Security Council as an interim measure, while a committee of experts looks at ways to improve procedure. While some analysts say such a change is needed, Bennett's demand is also seen as political maneuvering ahead of the next general election, due by 2019 at the latest. Bennett is widely seen as aspiring to replace Netanyahu, whose Likud party is currently the largest in parliament. Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party will add five lawmakers to Netanyahu's previous razor-thin majority, giving it 66 of the 120 in parliament. The move to hand the defense ministry to the 57-year-old hardliner has sparked deep concern among Israeli centrist and left-wing politicians, as well as among some of Netanyahu's Likud colleagues.

Palestinian Stabs Israeli in Tel Aviv
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/16/A Palestinian stabbed and slightly wounded an Israeli man in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on Monday before being arrested by security forces, police said. Public radio identified the Israeli man as a soldier. Channel 10 private television broadcast footage showing an assailant holding a knife and hiding in the staircase of a building after the attack, before police are seen arresting him. Israeli police said the assailant was a 17-year-old from the occupied Palestinian territories but gave no further details. Since October 1, a wave of violence has killed 205 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an AFP count. Most of the Palestinians were killed while carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to the Israeli authorities. Others were shot dead during protests and clashes. The violence has decreased over the past few weeks.
 

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 30- 31/16

US election 2016: Trump, Clinton now running neck and neck
Reeves Barbour/Al-Monitor/May 30/16
Can Donald Trump actually win this thing?
When the billionaire real estate mogul first threw his hat in the ring, some news outlets confined him to their entertainment section. Eleven months and hundreds of front pages later, he is running neck and neck with the once heavily favored Hillary Clinton — and may even be ahead.
Real Clear Politics' average of recent polls this week showed Trump ahead by 0.2 percentage points — 43.4% to 43.2%. NBC’s recent poll shows Trump down by 3 points, while ABC’s newest poll showed Trump up by 2 points. All are well within the margin of error.
Republicans are now supporting Trump over Clinton by an 86% to 6% margin, up from 72% to 13% just a month ago. The shift was to be expected after Trump this week formally acquired the number of delegates he needs to win the Republican primary, a mere formality since his challengers had already dropped out.
With leftist candidate Bernie Sanders still in the race, Democrats are having a tougher time uniting. They back Clinton 83% to 9%, but only 66% of Democratic primary voters who prefer Sanders say they support Clinton in a matchup against Trump.
Further muddying the waters are the record numbers of people who dislike both presumptive nominees. Both Clinton and Trump are viewed more negatively by voters than any other nominee of a major party in the history of polling.
Some 34% of registered voters have a positive opinion of Clinton, versus 54% who have a negative opinion (minus 20 net). That’s a slight improvement over her minus 24 score last month.
Trump's rating is even worse than Clinton's: 29% have a positive opinion of him, while 58% have a negative opinion (minus 29 net). That’s also an improvement from his minus 41 score in April.
Will voters’ intense dislike for either candidate drive them in droves to support the alternative, however flawed? Or will record numbers simply sit out the election?
By comparison, at this point in 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was seen favorably by 62% of voters and unfavorably by just 33%. In March 2000, then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) was viewed favorably by 63% of respondents in one Gallup poll and unfavorably by 32%.
Still, history shows us that a lot can change between now and Election Day.
In May of 1968, Republican nominee Richard Nixon was polling at 36%, while Democrat Hubert Humphrey was at 42%. American Independent Party candidate George Wallace was polling at 14%. The race was always close, but after the riotous 1968 Democratic National Convention Nixon was able to establish a lead that he never relinquished. Humphrey, the then-vice president, began catching up only late in the race but ran out of time, and Nixon won a narrow victory.
And in 1980, Republican nominee Ronald Reagan was polling at 32% in May, while incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter was at 39%. Independent candidate John B. Anderson was polling at 21%. Carter initially had a huge lead, but the Iran hostage crisis and the economic recession clobbered him. Carter would never recover. The race remained close until almost the very end, when Reagan asked Americans if they were better off than they had been four years earlier. Reagan received 51% of the vote to Carter’s 41%.
The vagaries of fate cannot be discounted today.
Already struggling with widespread concerns about her trustworthiness, Clinton's image suffered another blow this week when a long-awaited State Department Inspector General (IG) report skewered her for not getting — or even seeking — approval before setting up a private server for her emails when she was the nation's top diplomat. With the FBI and the Justice Department yet to decide whether to pursue legal action over the matter, the IG report was a timely reminder that candidates remain at the mercy of a devastating development right to Election Day.
In Trump's case, there is always a chance that the former reality TV star will blurt out something so shocking that it will spell his doom. His ability so far to survive — and even benefit from — comments offensive to many women, Muslims and Hispanics, however, suggests that may prove a tall order.
Beyond their personal foibles, the candidates are always at the mercy of outside events — a terrorist attack, economic downturn or other calamity, for instance. Any such development may well hurt Clinton and help Trump, since she is irrevocably tied to the sitting president.
A lot can and will happen before this year’s general election. We have two conventions this summer, vice presidential candidates to pick and plenty of debates and policy discussions. Expect a negative campaign with lots of twists and turns before Nov. 8.

Is Egyptian government pushing farmers to stop growing wheat?
Albaraa Abdullah/Al-Monitor/May 30/16
In November, the Egyptian government announced that it would start buying wheat from local farmers at the average global price to encourage Egyptian farmers to grow the crop. Egypt is seeking to reduce the gap between domestic production and actual consumption, seeing that the country consumes about 18 million tons of wheat annually but has a domestic production of less than 9 million tons.This year's wheat harvest season, which started in mid-April and ends in mid-July, has been hit by several crises that have burdened Egyptian farmers. Egypt’s governorates have been battling a wheat supply crisis in storage houses and cooperative associations affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture.
Ramadan Jaafar, a farmer and owner of agricultural land in Beheira governorate, one of the most prominent wheat-producing regions in the country, decided to grow wheat after the government announced in November that it would pay 1,300 Egyptian pounds ($146) in subsidies for each planted acre. But Jaafar was unpleasantly surprised when the government renounced its earlier decision and decided in April to instead buy wheat at a price of 420 Egyptian pounds per ardeb (equal to roughly 150 kilos), with a slight increase over the global price.
Jaafar said that he decided to proceed with his wheat cultivation plan, even though the government had slashed the subsidy aimed at boosting the Egyptian economy and paving the way for cutting imports and reaching self-sufficiency with the domestic crop.
He told Al-Monitor that after completing the harvest of his fields this year he transported the crop at his own expense to the shouna (a traditional open-air storage barn affiliated with the government) 50 kilometers (31 miles) from his home town.
Jaafar said he found a line of trucks stretching for 2 kilometers from the shouna due to the high supply level and bureaucratic procedures, which led him to stay all night in front of the facility, guarding the crop that he intended to sell in the morning. The next day, he had to wait for hours and in the end was unable to sell his crop because his name was not on the government’s list. The government maintains a list of farmers registered to sell their crops to the government storehouses. He ended up returning to his hometown, after having paid 700 Egyptian pounds to the truck driver who had transported his crop and stayed with him all night in front of the storage facility.
He said that he then resorted to a trader who he described as mediator between him and the shouna. According to him, the trader would handle the supply formality since he has good connections, unlike farmers. In return for this service, Jaafar sold the trader his wheat at a reduced price of 400 Egyptian pounds per ardeb, including 10 additional kilos for each ardeb.
Jaafar said that he had to accept the trader’s demands because he could not afford to sit on his crop without being able to sell it.
He said that he suffered a big loss this season because of his decision to grow wheat, having trusted a government that he said let him down during the buying-and-selling process.
When Al-Monitor asked Jaafar whether he will cultivate wheat again, he said that he will only produce enough for his own household consumption. He criticized Egyptian agricultural policy officials for turning their backs on farmers, indicating that he would prefer to grow any crop other than wheat that will yield him a profit.
Jaafar further indicated that his situation is not unique in his town, and also applies to many farmers across the country.
Al-Monitor asked Jaafar whether he filed any complaint to any official about his predicament, and he said that he did not do so because he does not think that anyone would listen to him.
For his part, Farid Wassel, the head of the Farmers and Agricultural Producers Syndicate, told Al-Monitor that the wheat supply crisis stems from what he sees as a conflict between state sectors and the failure to agree on a unified policy.
He described Egypt’s agricultural policy as policy based on an individual, which means that it changes when the minister of agriculture is changed. He called on the state to draw up a unified and comprehensive policy based on a clear plan that clarifies to the farmer the required production quantity, the methods of supply and the sale and purchase process. Wassel said that the lack of an agricultural policy will push farmers to stop wheat cultivation.
Nader Noureddin, a professor in the faculty of agriculture at Cairo University, believes that the Ministry of Supply should absorb the repercussions of the supply crunch.
He told Al-Monitor that Egyptian Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafi stands as an obstacle between farmers and the state since he has imposed complex procedures to the process, such as requiring farmers to sell their supply to specific government storehouses that are often far from their farms.
This followed the corruption scandal in 2015 where the government supposedly bought 5.3 million tons of domestic wheat, but it turned out that about 2 million tons of that were imported and sold at the subsidized price; this entailed a loss estimated at about 2 billion Egyptian pounds.
Noureddin said the current minister of supply is siding with importers and traders and prefers to rely on purchase of wheat from global markets.
Wael Abbas, the assistant to the minister of supply, told Al-Monitor that the packed line of trucks in front of the shounas is a natural phenomenon and that some farmers, out of laziness, prefer to head to nearby dirt storage shounas rather than transporting the crop to more modern ones.
He said that the Ministry of Supply supports farmers, pointing out that it is buying the ardeb at a price higher than the global price.
Abbas expects the government to buy about 5 million tons of wheat in the current season.
The Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement that as of May 25, 4,000,076 tons of domestic wheat had been bought by the government.
It should be noted that Egypt is the world’s largest wheat importer and that wheat is considered a strategic commodity that controls stability in the country. When the Egyptian people revolted on January 25, 2011, they chanted demands for “bread, freedom and social justice.”

Will Israel move from occupation to annexation?
Uri Savir/Al-Monitor/May 30/16
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s surprising turn in appointing Avigdor Liberman, head of the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu party, as defense minister May 25 caught the international community off-guard. In the days before the appointment, intense deliberations took place about the upcoming Quartet report on obstacles in the way of a two-state solution and the Paris conference to relaunch a two-state process. The deliberations were based on the assumption that Netanyahu was on his way to enlarging his government with the moderate center-left Zionist Camp and Isaac Herzog as foreign minister in charge of peace negotiations.A senior official at EU headquarters dealing with the Middle East peace process told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that there was a new, although brief, sense of optimism in European capitals that Netanyahu would, at the very least, engage in the beginning of a two-state solution process and restrain settlement expansion.
These intense international deliberations included exchanges over US Secretary of State John Kerry’s participation at the Paris conference, which has now been rescheduled for June 3.
The United States and France convinced Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to issue a statement May 17 calling on Israel and Palestine to engage in a two-state solution and regional peace process that would also lead to regional cooperation. The Palestinian leadership was encouraged by the French diplomatic move and the Egyptian position. The light at the end of the tunnel seemed to reappear.
The horizon darkened again when instead of Herzog’s appointment as foreign minister, Liberman was appointed defense minister.
Expressing European disappointment over the appointment, the EU official analyzed for Al-Monitor its ramifications in the eyes of Brussels. The way Europe sees it, Netanyahu has made a final decision to avoid at all costs a two-state solution. Liberman is an extreme hawk; he is greatly hostile to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and has expressed interest to wipe out Hamas. Hence, the move is likely to weaken the pragmatic Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. EU leaders fear that an armed intifada is now more likely. Instead of a settlement freeze, a settlement expansion is probable as well as an Israeli strong fist policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians of the West Bank. Occupation will only deepen. Israel’s relations with Egypt, Jordan and Turkey could also suffer severely.
The source further argued that while outgoing Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon was not considered in the EU to be a force advocating a peace process, his contribution to Israel’s democratic fiber was well-recognized — in particular, his support of the ethical stance demonstrated by Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and his deputy Yair Golan over the past few weeks. Liberman, known for his racist rhetoric and legislative attempts, would further cast doubt over Israel’s flawed democracy.
The EU official sounded extremely alarmed, yet determined to proceed with the preparation for the Quartet report and the Paris conference.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is even more alarmed at the Liberman appointment and the Ya’alon resignation. A senior PLO official close to Abbas told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Ramallah had warned the international community not to expect anything from Netanyahu: “From government to government, Israel moves more and more to the right. With Netanyahu, Liberman and [HaBayit HaYehudi chair Naftali] Bennett, we expect this to be an annexation government — be it settlement expansion in the Jerusalem and Ramallah areas and the Jordan Valley or land expropriations and economic activity in Area C.”
According to the official, the PA notified Egypt, the European Union and the United States that, without international activity to stop Israel’s annexation policies and guarantee Palestinian statehood, it will have to take measures to solidify its position within its people. These measures would include halting the security cooperation with Israel (with the exception of the passages on the Jordan River), asking Egypt and the Arab League for a UN Security Council resolution on Palestinian statehood on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as the capital, halting all civilian and economic cooperation with Israel, and enhancing unity and cooperation between Fatah and Hamas.
The official expressed skepticism about the possible outcomes of the Paris conference and believes that the diplomatic arena has to move to the Security Council.
The international community should be aware of this Palestinian desperation. In the eyes of the PA, the Liberman appointment is not “more of the same,” but a policy leap toward annexation policies.
The US administration should be attentive to these Palestinian alarm bells when it comes to deciding its policy positions relating to President Barack Obama’s Middle East policy legacy.

Can US, Turkey keep up appearances in Syria?
Week in Review/Al-Monitor/May 30/16
A terrorist group linked to the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Tartus and Jableh in Syria on May 23 that killed more than 150 civilians and wounded more than 200 others. Maxim Suchkov points out that the attack in Tartus occurred deep inside government-controlled territory. Russia maintains a naval base in Tartus and an air base and reconnaissance center in Khmeimim in the Latakia region. The suicide attacks, Suchkov suggests, could be a catalyst for a Russian “first strike” strategy against terrorist and aligned Salafi groups.
Moscow had already signaled the prospect of escalation against Jabhat al-Nusra and allied groups prior to the May 23 attacks. The Russian Ministry of Defense has announced a pause in its air campaign to allow armed groups allied with Jabhat-al Nusra to distance themselves from the al-Qaeda affiliate. On May 26, Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham and allied groups seized the town of Dirkhabiyah near Damascus. Ahrar al-Sham has coordinated more closely with Jabhat al-Nusra in response to increased US and Russian targeting of the al-Qaeda affiliate over the past few months.
This column last week suggested that the United States take up a Russian offer to coordinate attacks on Jabhat al-Nusra, which is not a party to the cessation of hostilities. For the record, we have no tolerance or empathy for groups or individuals who stand with al-Qaeda. We hope that this is at least part of the message the United States is conveying to its regional partners who have backed these groups.
With the Geneva talks suspended for several weeks, the prospect of a Russian campaign to deliver heavy and potentially fatal blows to Jabhat al-Nusra and its allies, especially in and around Aleppo and Idlib, could signal yet another turning point in the Syria conflict.
Turkey’s failed proxy war
The United States and Turkey are struggling to keep up appearances in Syria, despite even further signs of division and discord.
Gen. Joseph Votel, US CENTCOM commander, met last week with Syrian Kurdish forces during a “secret” visit to northern Syria as part of a regional diplomatic tour that also included a stop in Ankara. Votel told Washington Post columnist David Ignatius that he is seeking to “balance” Turkey’s role as a “fabulous” partner in the battle against IS with that of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), which is a “very good partner on the ground.”
In contrast to the YPG, Turkey’s proxy forces, including a worrying mix of Salafists who are willing to run operations with Jabhat al-Nusra, have been a flop. Last week, IS seized at least seven villages in the northern Aleppo region.
Fehim Tastekin reports that SDF-led military operations to liberate Jarablus, which is an essential gateway along with al-Rai to the outside world via Turkey, were postponed “because of Turkey's red line against the Kurds.” The offensive against Raqqa has also been slowed, writes Tastekin, because “the SDF's operational capacity still leaves much to be desired. It is not an option for the Kurdish YPG-YPJ to control Raqqa, because they will encounter local resistance. They also worry that scattering their forces in Arab regions could weaken the defensive lines of Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan). Therefore, Arab forces would have to get in shape to control the situation in the post-IS period.” Laura Rozen reports from Washington that the United States is seeking to boost the numbers of Arab Sunni forces among the SDF in anticipation of an advance on Raqqa.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon found itself in a public relations fiasco after Turkey complained that US special forces in Syria were wearing badges with the logo of the YPG, which Turkey considers the Syrian partner of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and therefore also a terrorist organization. This might be compared with what in the sports world is known as an unforced error, and made Votel’s already daunting diplomacy that much more complicated.
Air Force Col. Sean McCarthy also told Ignatius that US air operations against IS out of Incirlik Air Base were mostly "autonomous" of Turkish missions, saying that "we don't discuss with them where we're going.”
Adding it all up, the US-Turkish "partnership" against IS may be more fable than fabulous. The open secret is that Turkey is preoccupied first with thwarting advances by Syria’s Kurds, and second with shutting down the remaining lifelines for IS in northern Syria. These priorities are of a piece. No doubt Turkey is taking up the fight against IS, but first things first. Tastekin, who previously broke the back story on Turkey’s disastrous proxy efforts to retake al-Rai from IS in April, now concludes that “there is no room for optimism that Ankara will erase its red lines vis-a-vis the Kurds. Instead, Turkey is now trying to put together an even more formidable force with Jabhat al-Nusra, which it is trying to steer away from al-Qaeda.”
The catch might just be that many of the Syrian armed groups backed by Washington’s regional partners are proxies for a sectarian agenda that is mostly about toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, however unlikely that now appears, and, by extension, keeping the heat on Iran. The when and where of taking the fight to IS or Jabhat al-Nusra is more or less negotiable, depending on trade-offs and pressure. We do not feel we are out on a limb in suggesting that efforts by Ankara or others to wean Jabhat al-Nusra from al-Qaeda will come to no good. This column has repeatedly documented the fluidity of foreign-backed Salafi groups such as Ahrar al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam shifting in and out of tactical alliances with Jabhat al-Nusra, all the while preaching an ideology almost indistinguishable from al-Qaeda and IS.
The losers, of course, are the people of Syria, including those who suffer under IS’ tyranny that much longer because of Turkey’s concerns about the Kurds, and as Washington’s policymakers and pundits begin another maddening deep dive into how to rejigger ethnic and sectarian fault lines. Syrians fleeing IS terror in Aleppo, meanwhile, told Mohammed al-Khatieb that living under IS is “like hell … unbearable.” While we acknowledge the complexities and challenges of the raw ethnic and sectarian politics of Syria, as well as the potential for vendettas and mass killings, there is, in our score, an urgency and priority to focus on the destruction of IS and al-Qaeda above all else.
Sur’s aftermath
Diyarbakir’s historic district of Sur has witnessed some of the most brutal fighting between Turkish military and PKK forces over the past year. Mahmut Bozarslan reports from Diyarbakir that “historical landmarks in Sur, which was last year added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, also suffered their share of destruction. The walls of the Armenian Catholic church are partially destroyed, while the nearby Haci Hamit Mosque is missing its minaret, with a dome riddled with bullets. Another Armenian church, Surp Giragos, had its windows shattered and interior damaged.”
“Still, those ancient monuments were lucky compared with more ordinary structures in the area,” writes Bozarslan. "A building with an intact door was almost impossible to find. The warring parties had used some buildings as fighting bases, others as places to rest. Stairways were littered with empty tins; one was also stained with blood. At the bloodied spot, a piece of paper reading “body #1” was left behind, suggesting that the security forces had been there for a crime scene report. A couple seemed relieved that they had escaped with relatively little damage, but grumbled that their apartment had been broken into, with the bedroom and closets rummaged. They claimed it was the security forces who had entered, while their neighbor showed Al-Monitor binoculars that had been left behind."

UK's Co-operative Group - Boycotting Israeli Produce
Myra Carr/Gatestone Institute/May 30/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8154/co-operative-group-israel-boycott
The UK's Co-operative Group is closely linked to -- and a major funder of -- the Co-operative Party, which has an electoral pact with the Labour Party, the UK's official opposition.
This assumes that those advocating the boycott know exactly where the new borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state will be, despite that they are yet to be determined through negotiation. The enterprises boycotted by the Co-op Group employ many local Arab workers, whose livelihoods are endangered by the boycott.
The Co-op Group continues to refer to Israel's "illegal settlements" as if these were the only disputed territories in the world. There is no boycott, of course, of major exporting countries with appalling human rights records, such as China (invasion of Tibet), Russia (invasion of the Ukraine) and other countries whose occupation of other areas is not recognized internationally, such as Nagorno-Karabakh or Northern Cyprus.
As usual, of all the countries in the world, Israel is being singled out. For the boycotters of the Co-op Group, Israel is the usual soft target.
The Co-operative Group is the only major British retailer to boycott Israeli goods. It is the fifth-largest retail grocery chain in the UK, with thousands of Co-op minimarkets throughout the United Kingdom. The Co-operative Group (formerly known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society) is closely linked to -- and a major funder of -- the Co-operative Party, which has an electoral pact with the Labour Party, the UK's official opposition. The Co-operative Party has, like the Labour Party itself, been infiltrated by a strong anti-Israel faction.
The Co-operative Group is the fifth-largest retail grocery chain in the UK, with thousands of Co-op minimarkets throughout the United Kingdom. Right: The Co-operative Group head office in Manchester. (Image source: Co-operative Group/Wikimedia commons)
The "co-operative movement" in England began in 1844 when a group of people in Rochdale, Lancashire decided that local stores were charging too much for food, and decided to set up a co-operative retail outlet. From there, the movement mushroomed until, at one time, it even had a flagship department store in London's premier shopping street, Oxford Street, as well as farms, pharmacies and funeral services, to say nothing of the Co-operative Bank, its most lucrative enterprise.
The co-operative movement is also linked to the Co-operative Party, a political party with close links to the British Labour Party, a relationship that dates back to the Co-operative Congress held in 1917, which eventually led to an agreement between the Co-operative Party and the Labour Party to elect joint "Labour Co-operative" candidates. At the last general election in 2015, 21 members of parliament were elected on the Labour and Co-operative ticket.
In 2013, a scandal hit the Co-operative Bank, when it was discovered that there was a massive shortfall in funds due to corruption and mismanagement at the top. The Co-operative Group suffered a terrible financial blow, losing many millions of pounds. This resulted in an entire re-organization of the Co-operative Group, including the sale of the pharmacies and most of the Co-operative Bank (the Co-operative Group still has a 20% share but the bank has demutualized, meaning it is now mainly owned by a hedge fund and is no longer a mutual fund owned by the members).
The Co-operative Group is finally on the road to recovery thanks to new management and the policy of opening minimarkets throughout the United Kingdom, backed up by a massive TV advertising campaign. However, the boycott of Israeli produce remains.
A certain pressure group within the co-operative movement, formed in 2008, caused the Co-operative Group to boycott Israeli agricultural produce exported by the four major Israeli produce exporters. The Co-op Group has refused to stock products from Jewish communities on the West Bank since 2009, but in 2014 its board extended the boycott to the four main exporters of Israeli fresh produce -- Agrexco, Arava Export Growers, Adafresh and Mehadrin -- because they do not distinguish between produce from Israel within the 1949 armistice lines borders and (Arab- and Jewish-grown) produce from beyond it. This assumes that those advocating the boycott know exactly where the new borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state will be, despite that they are yet to be determined through negotiation. Ironically, most of the produce from Jewish settlements currently beyond the Green Line (the 1949 armistice lines between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) is produced by kibbutzim that were there before 1948, when the West Bank was lost in Israel's War of Independence.
One such area is the Etzion Bloc of four kibbutzim, for which the land was purchased from its previous owners long before the British withdrew from Palestine. The Etzion Bloc will, in fact, almost certainly become part of Israel after a final settlement.
A substantial proportion of the produce marketed by Israel's four agricultural exporters is produced by Arab farmers, operating both inside and outside the pre-1967 borders, as Israel does not discriminate between them. According to The Guardian, in April 2012, the Co-Operative Group said in a statement that it had decided to stop buying products from companies known to source from Jewish "settlements." The decision affects contracts valued at £350,000 (about $500,000) -- a practice apparently begun in 2009. Presumably it had still been doing business with Israeli pharmaceutical products; if not, according to one Co-operative Group board member, "the shelves of the pharmacy would have been bare." Unfortunately, the Co-operative pharmacies had to be sold when the Co-op Group faced virtual ruin due to the mismanagement of the Co-op Bank's directors.
There is, of course, no proof that the Israeli companies with which the Co-op continues to do business do not source any products from Jewish "settlements" because many Israeli businesses in the West Bank are mainly involved in manufacturing. These enterprises employ many local Arab workers, whose livelihoods are endangered by the boycott.
Although the Co-operative Group also claims to reject exports from the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, also alleged to be an illegal occupation, in practice the boycott only affects Israel, because the Western Sahara boycott is applicable only to a few tins of sardines. The Co-op Group continues to refer to Israel's "illegal settlements" as if these and those in the Western Sahara (included "for balance" no doubt) were the only disputed territories in the world. There is no boycott, of course, of major exporting countries with appalling human rights records, such as China (invasion of Tibet), Russia (invasion of the Ukraine) and other countries whose occupation of other areas is not recognized internationally, such as Nagorno-Karabakh or Northern Cyprus. It should be remembered that in none of the above cases were the occupying countries threatened; the aggression came purely from one side, the side that was victorious This is the exact opposite of what happened in the case of Israel, but with a bloc of 58 Muslim countries in the United Nations, supported by most of the members of the European Union, might proves to be right in this case.
To set the record straight, the so-called "occupation" of the West Bank by Israel is not an occupation at all, since the territory was taken from Mandate Palestine, after it had been abandoned by the British and was occupied by the Kingdom of Jordan (then known as Transjordan), in its attempt to destroy the new State of Israel in 1948-49. Between 1948 and 1967, the West Bank was occupied by Jordan, an occupation that could indeed be said to be illegal, being recognized only by the United Kingdom (which had colluded therein) and Pakistan. This former "no man's land" was taken by Israel during the Six-Day War against it in 1967. The massive Muslim bloc in the United Nations has ruthlessly pursued the concept of an "occupation" to divert attention from the appalling human rights abuses that their dictatorships continue to maintain in their own countries.
By no means everyone running the Co-operative Group is in favour of the boycott in fact; ironically, some of the newer members of the Group's management even seem to be unaware of it. A recent statement made by a new member of the Members' Board at a members' meeting in London implied that whether or not one bought Israeli goods (presumably from the Co-op) was a mere matter of preference. As usual, of all the countries in the world, Israel is being singled out. For the boycotters of the Co-op Group, Israel is the usual soft target.
**Myra Carr is based in the United Kingdom.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

UK Labour Party Inquiry: Deny, Divert, Cover Up
Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/May 30/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8153/labour-party-inquiry
Today, as the leader of Her Majesty's Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn has the opportunity either to tackle anti-Semitism or mainstream it into the UK body politic. The evidence that he has any interest in doing the former are not good.
Whenever the specific question of anti-Semitism was raised, Corbyn would say how opposed he was to all forms of racism, "including Islamophobia." It has apparently proven impossible for Corbyn to realize the specific nature of anti-Semitism; whenever it has come up, he has used the opportunity to talk not about racial hatred against Jews but what he believes to be an epidemic of hatred towards Muslims.
The British Labour party today evidently is riddled with anti-Semitism from top to bottom, and led by people who want to divert attention from the fact or cover it over entirely. Things can only get worse.
How would you push away a problem you did not want to deal with? The best way, as any addict could tell you, is to pretend that you have dealt with it. The drug-addict pretends to have given up drugs. The alcoholic pretends to have cut down on drink. And the British Labour party pretends to have dealt with its anti-Semitism problem.
Since the start of this year, stories of routine anti-Semitism have emerged from the most junior levels of the Labour party (the Oxford University Labour Club) to the highest levels (a member of Parliament and a member of the party's National Executive Committee). No one who had followed the career and hobby-horses of the current Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, could have been surprised by this. Anti-Semitism is a swamp he has spent his political life swimming in. But today, this has become not just a problem for him. In recent decades, Jeremy Corbyn's activities had been of interest only to the small number of people who had hoped to keep the Labour stable clean of anti-Semitism. Today, as the leader of Her Majesty's Opposition, he has the opportunity either to tackle anti-Semitism or mainstream it into the UK body politic.
The evidence that he has any interest in doing the former are not good. Last month, after online media released anti-Semitic tropes shared and composed by the Labour MP Naz Shah, she was suspended from the party, pending an investigation. The former Mayor of London and Labour grandee Ken Livingstone then spent a week trying to defend Shah by (among other things) explaining which of Hitler's early policies were not that objectionable. Every day for more than a week, the national newspapers were running headlines about Labour's anti-Semitism problem. Finally, even this Labour leader realized that something had to be done. And of course the best way to do "something" is to announce an inquiry that will do nothing. This Corbyn soon did, announcing an inquiry that would be led by Shami Chakrabarti, a left-wing human rights advocate, with no expertise in anti-Semitism and a tendency to think well of Islamist extremists. Oddly enough, Chakrabarti -- who has made a virtue of her non-party affiliation throughout her career -- joined the Labour party on the day that the inquiry was announced.
Labour Party MP Naz Shah (left), was recently suspended from the party for composing and sharing anti-Semitic tropes. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (right), has a tendency to hang around with Holocaust deniers, anti-Semitic hate-preachers and others of a similar ilk, and is a self-declared "friend" of the terror outfits Hamas and Hezbollah.
From the outset, she showed that she was willing to do the precise bidding of her party leader. Not least in ensuring that the point of any inquiry was entirely missed. For immediately upon being announced as the leader of the party's inquiry into anti-Semitism, Chakrabarti announced that it would make no sense "only" to look into anti-Semitism, and that the inquiry must instead also look into "other forms of racism, including Islamophobia." In a subsequent interview, she went on to question why the Conservative party had not set up an inquiry into what she alleged was its "Islamophobia." Of course, this is a side-step that Jeremy Corbyn has very much made his own.
In the run-up to his election as Labour party leader, Corbyn was often asked about his tendency to hang around with Holocaust deniers, anti-Semitic hate-preachers and others of a similar ilk. Apart from not quite owning up to his connections to such people, the other technique he employed at this time was to put on a look of extreme affront and say that he had spent his entire life "fighting racism." Whenever the specific question of anti-Semitism was raised, he would say how opposed he was to all forms of racism "including Islamophobia." It has apparently proven impossible for Corbyn to realize the specific nature of anti-Semitism; whenever it has come up, he has used the opportunity to talk not about racial hatred against Jews but what he believes to be an epidemic of hatred towards Muslims.
Leaving aside the obvious fact that Muslims are not a race, there is in any case no evidence whatsoever to support the allegation of Corbyn and others that there is an epidemic of "Islamophobia" in the UK, and specifically no evidence of such an issue in the Conservative party. But this attempt to turn around the narrative was pushed by certain Labour apparatchiks to complain that any and all questioning of the newly elected London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, for his past affiliations with Islamist extremists was not a legitimate line of questioning of the judgement of anyone running for elected office, but instead an "Islamophobic" attack purely motivated by "racism." Even now, Corbyn supporters are trying to distract attention from their own party's very evident problem and turn racism allegations around on the Conservative party. None of which suggests any serious desire to get on top of their problem.
We can already predict what the conclusions of the Chakrabarti Inquiry will be, from the manner in which she has started it. Will she able to explain that the main originator of anti-Semitism in the Labour party today comes from its growing Muslim base? If she does identify that, will she then need to have an inquiry into herself for such flagrant "Islamophobia"? More likely she will find the party entirely blameless. Just a few dozen bad apples, and so on. And even then, we now have a nice demonstration of what will happen if any unpleasant findings do accidentally slip through.
The Labour party has another inquiry: into allegations, reported earlier this month, of anti-Semitism at its Oxford University club. Amazingly enough, while that inquiry (led by Baroness Royall) found "difficulties," it claimed to find no "institutional anti-Semitism." These careful headline facts having been released, the rest of the report was then swiftly supressed on the orders of the Labour party. Only a bland executive summary and some recommendations were made public, evidently leaving even the author of the inquiry "frustrated." So there is the state of the British Labour party in 2016. A party evidently riddled with anti-Semitism from top to bottom, and led by people who want to divert attention from the fact or cover it over entirely. The Labour party has a serious problem, and it is in institutional denial. Things can only get worse.
*Douglas Murray is a writer, journalist and commentator based in the United Kingdom.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Saudi scholar Maghamsi and the new jurisprudential speech
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/May 30/16
Many have predicted that Saudi Sheikh Saleh al-Maghamsi will play a distinctive role in the field of Islamic jurisprudence. He studied for years at the Prophet’s Mosque, where he learnt about Mohammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti, Abi Bakr al-Jazairi and Attia Salem.
In an interview with MBC program “Bil Mokhtsar” (In Brief), he said he had developed a lot and that it would be a disaster if someone stayed as they were following 24 years of education. When discussing a case, he addresses its roots and problems. His religious edicts are based on sharia law, and he believes catching up with the current era is a necessity. The base of his edicts is “the permissible,” and as long as there is no text that prohibits something, the permissible remains as is. He has granted jurisprudential speech a vibrant and different color that revives society and its interests, as well as religion and its purposes
Roles
This is not about permitting music or not, discussing an opinion or ending wrong convictions. His basis is doctrinal persuasion and raising awareness via facts. When asked about politics, he said he read a lot about it, but it was not the role of the entire society to turn into a group of politicians. Maghamsi said some preachers were not fully aware of what they circulated, adding that a governor does not randomly make decisions as he employs relevant institutions to know what people’s interests are, but preachers learn about reality via TV and mobile phones. This is how Maghamsi blames some enthusiasts. He has granted jurisprudential speech a vibrant and different color that revives society and its interests, as well as religion and its purposes.
This article was first published in Okaz on May 30, 2016.

The most agonizing wait in US history
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor/Al Arabiya/May 30/16
The 20th of January 2017 will witness the birth of the most influential person on earth, an individual chosen by American voters to be their new President, Commander-in-Chief and Leader of the Free World. The air is filled with excitement but also with dread in equal measure. The gestation period has been and is almost as long as an elephant’s and understandably so when this new born will have access to the nuclear button, command over the planet’s most powerful military and control over the largest economy whose ripples are capable of making or breaking others. With eight months to go until the results are announced on the 5th January 2017, the world is pregnant with anticipation; more so this time because we live in one of the most tumultuous and violent eras in living history, fraught with conflicts, terrorism, burgeoning racism, global warming and social deviations now accepted – and even celebrated – as the norm. The Doomsday Clock is ticking closer to midnight and some American religious leaders believe we are edging close to the Day of Judgment. Only the Creator in His wisdom knows when that day will come but Islam gives us 50 major and minor signs. These include the death of scholars, the prevailing of ignorance and the loss of trustworthiness when authority is given to people who do not deserve it. At this crucial moment in time, America’s leadership and guidance are essential to maintain global security and stability. The US and the world needs a strong yet steady hand; someone willing to heal divisions within, battle against poverty and work in partnership with other nations to combat threats.
The US and the world needs a strong yet steady hand; someone willing to heal divisions within, battle against poverty and work in partnership with other nations to combat threats. Washington has been bereft of such a leader since the United States’ 42nd President Bill Clinton, who cultivated good relationships, created 10 million jobs and succeeded in turning his country’s deficit into a surplus. On the other hand, his successor George W. Bush squandered that surplus on wars of choice while President Barack Obama has been a divisive figure accused of leading from behind. In essence, America, which has rarely been this politically and socially polarized, is in dire need of a unifier with the ability to coalesce the nation behind those values upon which America was founded, values which are in danger of being eroded by xenophobia combined with a misguided sense of nationalism, actively fuelled by one of these embryonic presidential hopefuls. The fear is that relationships between nations nurtured over centuries may be irrevocably destroyed or damaged.
Birth of a president
The parents of the one to be anointed are the 240 million Americans with the right to vote. The birth of a president rests in their hands. Will their combined DNA produce a saviour who will lead us into a new age of peace and prosperity or an egotistical ignoramus demonically stoking the fires of hatred, violence and discrimination bringing our planet close to ruination? They have had ample time to study the ultrasound scans; they have x-rayed the qualities and faults of all three in the running but, unfortunately, the most likeable of the trio is being pushed aside by an unfair pre-natal system whereby nominees are tapped by party delegates rather than by popular vote. The endgame is likely to be a contest between two lacking personal likeability or so polls suggest. To believe a saviour will emerge is, sadly, a stretch of the imagination at this stage, but as long as the one loose cannon is taken out of the picture, there is room for optimism. Whoever wears the Oval Office crown will bring their imperfections to the table. Nevertheless, it is hoped that once in office, he or she will rise to the occasion or failing which will be deterred by the other arms of government as well as cabinet members and advisers from taking unwise steps. That is one of the main advantages of democracy. No single person holds all the cards. Apart from my global concerns about America’s choice, I wish the best for the American people, many of whom rank among my closest friends. I am full of admiration for all that the United States has achieved in just about all fields and am grateful for its many gifts. Americans are rightly proud of their country and their flag and it is little wonder so many clamour to be part of what has been a magnificent inspirational success story.America remains a multi-ethnic, multi-religious beacon of light for the dispossessed and the disenfranchised. It is an open society encouraging self-expression and self-fulfilment. God forbid it will ever transform into a forbidding fortress surrounded by high walls. Americans, please do not be tempted to stray from the well-trodden path that has always served you well! Do not be lured by false promises! Refuse to become victims of fear-based politics! Stay true to yourselves and your love for each other, no matter of colour or creed. There is one thing that binds you all – your love for your great country. For these reasons and more, I pray that next January we will discover it is a girl.

Modest objectives of the Gulf-Russia dialogue
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/May 30/16
The objectives of the strategic dialogue between Russia and the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are not complicated, but fulfilling them requires the Gulf states to take clear decisions on several issues. This week in Moscow, a new round of the strategic dialogue was held under Saudi’s rotating presidency, amid radical differences over Syria as both sides themselves admit. However, the two are determined to have cordial relations, each for its own calculations, which could include motives such as Russian-American relations and Gulf-American relations. Moscow wants the six GCC capitals to recognize the key Russian role in the future of the Arab region and the Middle East in general, and is intent to let Arab leaders understand Russia is indispensable when it comes to finding solutions. It has imposed this equation on the Syrian battlefield primarily, and through it alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran, filling the vacuum the US has chosen to produce by abandoning its traditional relations with the Gulf nations. Despite the Russian positions that are diametrically opposed to the Gulf positions on Syria and Iran, Gulf countries have accepted what the Russian leadership has imposed, agreeing to the principle of separating political differences from economic and strategic relations. At the economic level, the equation is clear, and it is based on mutual interests. But strategically, this is where the dilemma lies, unless the definition of the term strategic relations has become devoid of its traditional components. Therefore, it is perhaps time for the GCC countries to explain what they have in mind and to elaborate their policies, to avoid being misunderstood and to allow for positive outcomes. Realistically speaking, there is nothing on the horizon that suggests any convergence is taking place between Russian and Gulf positions on Syria. There is no hint of deals or accords. The most that we can speculatively say is that perhaps there is some kind of a moratorium agreed on public differences.
Russia is clear with regard to its strategic alliance with Iran in Syria, and is clear about clinging to Bashar al-Assad, regardless of its hints to the otherwise by claiming it is keen about the regime rather than the president. Russia is also determined to have a permanent foothold in Syria. The Gulf countries are not opposed to Russia’s consolidation of influence in Syria. They are keen to see a separation between the regime and the man at the helm, but at least publicly, they are determined for Bashar al-Assad to step down. The key difference, therefore, is Bashar al-Assad not the long-term Russian strategy in Syria.
Moscow is offering the Gulf countries to be the intermediary who can keep its Iranian partner in check, provided that the Gulf countries agree to a joint security framework and share regional influence with the Islamic Republic
Syria’s future
Gulf states recognize the central Russian political role in Syria’s future but they also understand that the Russian military role keeps Bashar al-Assad in power and fundamentally undermines the Syrian opposition backed by the Gulf. The difference is not superficial after all. It is fundamental and it translates on the battlefield and in the military balance of power on the ground. Russia is a direct party to the war being fought on the other side by Gulf countries, through Syrian rebel groups, though in a scattered manner restricted by the US, given that supplying advanced US-made weapons to third parties needed to change the balance of power requires Washington’s approval. However, this could also be a convenient excuse for some Gulf countries, which differ among themselves over which faction in the Syrian opposition are worth the risk. Indeed, there exists Chinese-made missiles that can hit Syrian – but not Russian – warplanes in the altitudes they operate at, and yet, those missiles have been withheld. This is while the Russian-Iranian-Hezbollah axis has been making major gains in favor of the Assad regime in Syria.
A high-level official Gulf source said the Gulf nations are not ready to abandon their condition for Assad to be removed from power, because his survival in power is absolutely unacceptable. They are not ready either to supply advanced weapons, fearing a response against Gulf countries by the UN Security Council, which bans arming militant groups that can turn the military balance of power on its head. Faced with this reality, the Gulf countries in their dialogue with Russia are seeking to persuade Moscow to establish better relations with the Syrian opposition, which Russia is completely undermining, to stop trying to replace it with the Russian-sanctioned Syrian opposition, that is, the opposition that Bashar al-Assad has no qualms with.
The Gulf ambitions in the strategic dialogue with Russia are thus very modest. The remarks by the Gulf official are a message that the Syrian opposition must heed. In the most extreme case, it seems, what is coming is not a Russian pledge to stop striking the Syrian rebels, nor advanced weapons for the rebels even if Chinese missiles are released. It is a recipe for continued fighting as part of the equation of attrition, rather than prescription for strategic understandings to stop the bleeding in Syria. The Russian-Gulf strategic dialogue has an Iranian dimension that goes beyond Tehran’s role in Syria. Moscow wants to be the sponsor of Gulf-Iranian relations, and has offered to mediate though this was not well received by the Saudis at some point. The Gulf positions on Iran are convergent in that they want Russia to put pressure on Tehran to rein in its regional ambitions. Moscow’s thinking is different from the Gulf assessment of Iranian objectives, especially since the Russian-Iranian partnership in Syria is strategic, not just tactical.
Moscow is offering the Gulf countries to be the intermediary who can keep its Iranian partner in check, provided that the Gulf countries agree to a joint security framework and to share regional influence with the Islamic Republic. But the GCC countries are categorically opposed to the idea, as this would legitimize Iran’s influence in major Arab countries like Iraq and Syria. They do not trust Russian or American security proposals that call for a new security system in the Gulf and Middle East, which would give Iran a position of dictating its superiority in the security equation. Russia wants to describe its proposal as a formula for sharing Saudi-Iranian influence in the Middle East, meaning the Arab region. By doing so, Russia converges with the US administration, which is also intent on forcing the Gulf countries to accept legitimizing Iran’s role in the Arab countries. Russia gives these efforts the title of “mediation” seeking “balance” in Russian-Gulf and Russian-Iranian relations. Here too, there are differences over the notion of Gulf-Iranian relations in accordance to the Russian-American lexicon. It is not clear whether the Russian-Gulf strategic dialogue has made any progress except on issues like Yemen and Libya.
Yemeni arena
On the subject of Yemen, Russia remains cautions, playing its card very carefully. Moscow is seeking to enter the Yemeni arena surreptitiously through proposals for Russian-American partnership in managing the dossier. This has raised the suspicions of Gulf players, who point at Russian-American partnership in Syria as an example that must be avoided in Yemen. Still, Yemen remains a low priority for Russia. Even Iraq doesn’t seem to be a Russian priority. There, Moscow has accepted that Iraq is Iran’s and America’s prerogative. What Moscow wants, according to an informed observer, is contracts to guarantee Russian interests in Iraq. As for Palestine and Israel, Moscow appears to be keen on having an excellent relationship with Israel and on maintaining what it considers balance in its Palestinian-Israeli relations. Al-Hayat’s correspondent in Moscow Raed Jaber wrote this week that the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as defense minister in Israel is “good news” for Russia. He quoted Russian press reports as describing the man as a “close friend of President Vladimir Putin”, saying the Kremlin looks at the political landscape from the standpoint of the existing coordination between Moscow and Tel Aviv in Syria and the improvement of relations with Tehran. Concerning Palestine, Moscow appears to be keen to support the “burial” of the French peace initiative rejected by Israel, because Moscow wants to push an alternative initiative it has yet to reveal. However, Russia’s priority it seems is not Palestine but its interests with Israel, especially in terms of Israeli-Turkish relations that the appointment of Lieberman will further strain. In practice, then, there are no strong foundations for strategic Russian-Gulf relations. Still, dialogue is a good start. However, clarity is needed with regard to the objectives of the dialogue, whether it is a Russian-Gulf or Gulf-American dialogue. The Arab region is not in a state that allows it to engage in open-ended strategic dialogues. They are drowning in bloodletting and tragedy that could get even worse. Therefore, the Gulf countries should explain to the people of the Gulf and the Arab region their thinking and their policies vis-à-vis those conflict zones that are deeply affected by the Gulf’s regional and international policies.
This article was first published in Al-Hayat on May. 27, 2016 and translated by Karim Traboulsi.

The punches and slaps exchanged on television
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/May 30/16
The fight between Egyptian sports anchor and former MP Ahmad Shobeir and sports commentator Ahmad al-Tayeb is not the first of its kind on TV, and it will not be the last. The initial discussion between the two was about sports. It then took a social angle, then a political one, and ended with tackling a sensitive personal topic, so the studio turned into a fighting arena and the two men hurled water bottles at each other and punched one another. It does not matter who is right or wrong. What matters is viewers’ repulsion by such scenes. Anger is part of human nature, but viewers should not be subjected to such unexpected scenes. Such fights are not limited to Egypt, as there are famous Saudi sports-related incidents in which bad words and insults were exchanged and guests almost came to blows.
Anger is part of human nature, but viewers should not be subjected to such unexpected scenes
Examples
Such problems also erupt over politics. Al-Taqreer al-Masry newspaper highlighted the most famous disputes on Arab TV around two years ago. An example is the fight between Wajih Hassan, a member of the dissolved National Democratic Party, and Dr Yehya al-Qazaz during a show on Al-Faraeen TV.
There was also the fight between Shaker al-Jouhari, chief of the Jordanian Electronic Press Association, and journalist Mohammad Sharif al-Jyousi, who sympathizes with the Syrian regime, on Jordanian TV channel Seven Stars. A relatively old incident was between Egyptian writer and critic Safinaz Kathem, and Jordanian politician Toujan Faisal, on the program “The Opposite Direction,” which prompted Kathem to leave the studio. The anchor told her: “We’re on air.” She replied: “So what? [I’m leaving] even if you’re on the moon.” Another funny incident was between actress and anchor Ranya Mahmoud Yassine, and a guest who was described as an atheist. Yassine kicked him out of the studio, saying: “Get out you infidel.”Is it possible to set regulations by resorting to the law to prevent such incidents? Or is this a natural result of programs’ attempts to gain higher rates by spicing things up? Such incidents certainly do not please viewers. This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on May 30, 2016.