• The Trump administration’s hardline policy on Iran, could disrupt nations and peoples across the Middle East, especially the fragile coalition government in Lebanon. The powerful Shiite organization Hezbollah won parliamentary elections by a slim majority in May and Washington hardliners have threatened to cut off U.S. aid.
(“How Us Stance on Iran Could Raise Price of Peace in Lebanon,” Christian Science Monitor, July 16, 2018)
• The Guardian newspaper reports that oil-rich Nigeria has overtaken India as the nation with the greatest concentration of extreme poverty in the world. There are warning signs that within the next 12 years the African continent will be home to nine out of 10 of the world’s poorest people.
(“Oil-Rich Nigeria Outstrips India As Country With Most People in Poverty,” The Guardian, July 16, 2018)
• Los Angeles is the first city in the U.S. that is attempting to protect bank employees from their company’s high pressure sales tactics, such as those that triggered the Wells Fargo scandal. Wells Fargo bank employees were pressured to open 3 million fake accounts that cost unsuspecting customers monthly fees. A new city ordinance, signed by Mayor Eric Garcetti requires banks that accept city deposits to demonstrate that it doesn’t link employee pay to quotas imposed for the sale of bank products.
(“Bank Workers Rising,” In These Times, July 2, 2018)
