The daily Star Lebanon - BEIRUT: Economy Minister Raed Khoury called upon Lebanese expatriates Friday to grab the historical opportunity of investing in Lebanon. “Lebanon is witnessing today a positive turning point in economy reflected in the great political consensus among the different political parties and the great will to work on developing the economy and creating job opportunities,” he said at a session held within the framework of the fourth annual “Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference” at BIEL. Khoury encouraged expatriates to invest in Lebanon by saying that the country’s current economic slowdown is only temporary and it does not reflect the real capacity of the Lebanese economy. “For instance, Lebanon was capable, five years ago, to register a growth rate of 9 percent in addition to achieving record surplus in the balance of payments while the rest of the world was suffering from the worst financial crises,” he said.

Khoury attributed the economic slowdown to the political bickering that took place in the past few years in addition to the negative impact of the Syrian crisis and the flow of the hundreds of thousands of refugees to Lebanon. Spillover from the regional turmoil in combination with a deteriorating domestic political process, have led to sluggish, below potential real GDP growth since 2011. According to the World Bank’s latest Lebanon Economic Monitor, real GDP growth in 2016 underwent a slight acceleration to reach an estimated 1.8 percent, compared to 1.3 percent in 2015. The report estimated real GDP growth for 2017 to pick up somewhat to 2.5 percent as a result of progress made in the domestic political process, continued revival of the tourism sector and a slight improvement in real estate and construction.

Khoury said that despite the several crises that the country has been through it was able to maintain its position as a safe haven for deposits and a pioneer in preserving the freedom of money and capital transfers due to its sound financial and banking systems. The minister said investment in the infrastructure, industry and trade sectors remains of utmost importance for economic development.

by Sonam Sheth - business insider

The modern history of the "deep state" in American politics — real or imagined — starts with real leaks of classified information and ends as a conspiracy theory on popular yet dubious websites. And how it got there raises serious questions about whether the intelligence community is trying to subvert a new president or whether it's a convenient scapegoat for an administration that's had its share of early foibles.

A deep state is a network of influential members of a government’s agencies or military who operate against a democratically elected government. It might work to undermine an elected president’s authority or legitimacy and has been common in countries such as Egypt and Turkey. The concern in the US started shortly after Donald Trump took office. In early February, The New York Times and The Washington Post published a series of explosive reports about the intelligence community’s investigations into the Trump campaign’s communications with Russian officials during the 2016 election.

The reports, citing anonymous officials, revealed that then national-security adviser Michael Flynn had discussed US sanctions on Russia with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak before Trump took office, despite Flynn’s claims that he and Kislyak had not discussed anything sensitive during their phone calls. The next day, The Times broke a story on what it said were "repeated contacts" that Trump associates had with Russian officials during the campaign. CNN published another report that night in which sources said communication between Trump associates and Russian officials during the campaign was “constant.” Flynn resigned a short time later.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions later had to recuse himself from any Department of Justice investigations into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia after additional leaks revealed that he had also had contact with Russian officials during the campaign.

An American deep state?

The steady drip of classified leaks about President Trump’s young administration has led some to speculate about the beginnings of an American deep state. The term is derived from the Turkish "derin devlet," which refers to an intricate network made up of government officials, often including those from the military and intelligence communities, whose primary goal is to subvert a democratically elected leader's agenda and ultimately remove that leader from power.

by Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer gulf news  – Beirut: Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and Amal Party leader Nabih Berri has …

by Daily Star Lebanon – BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri Friday launched a promotional offer for mobile users who are university students …