LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِSeptember
19/2011
Bible Quotation for today
Paul’s Letter to the Galatians Chapter 1/6-13: "I marvel that you are so quickly
deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”;
and there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you, and
want to pervert the Good News of Christ. But even though we, or an angel
from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we
preached to you, let him be cursed. As we have said before, so I now say
again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you
received, let him be cursed. For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of
God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I
wouldn’t be a servant of Christ. But I make known to you, brothers, concerning
the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man. For
neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me
through revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my way of living
in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the
assembly of God, and ravaged it."
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources
for September 18/11
Israeli-Greek-Turkish air sea
forces on guard for first Cypriot gas drilling
Obama Heads to U.N. Touting Libya,
Backing Israel
Syria Opposition Calls for Unity,
Continued Protests
Netanyahu Says Palestinian U.N. Bid
Doomed to Fail
Hamas: We may back Palestinian
state that does not recognize Israel's existence
Hamas: We Want U.N. Recognition of
All of Palestine
Turkey Threatens Ties Freeze if
Cyprus Takes EU Helm
Assad: Foreign Intervention May
Fragment Region, Amplify Extremism
Syria activists call for mass
anti-Assad protests as school year begins
Israeli Spy Confesses to Providing Israel with Mughniyeh’s Car Plate Number
'Spy' tells Syrian TV of
role in Mughniyeh hit
Hizbullah Will Not Topple Govt.
despite Dispute over STL Funding
Lebanese-French Summit in New York
Next Week
Mikati, Sleiman to resort
to decree for STL funding: report
Suleiman to Stress Lebanon’s Right to its Natural Resources at Security Council
Al-Rahi Urges Lebanese Not to Become Followers of Other Countries
Mansour: Draft Law on Expatriates’
Right to Vote to Be Referred to Cabinet
Jumblat Meets Sarkozy’s Advisors in
France
Gemayel in Saudi to Meet Number of
High-Ranking Officials
Gemayels hold high-level
talks in Riyadh
Opposition: Govt. Must Take
Electricity File Amendments into Consideration
Assad: Foreign Intervention May Fragment Region, Amplify Extremism
Naharnet/Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday warned against "any foreign intervention
that threatens to fragment states in the region and increase the risk of
extremism in them," in talks with a Russian delegation on a mission to help end
the government crackdown on anti-regime protests. Assad also welcomed the
"balanced and constructive Russian position toward the security and stability of
Syria," the state-run SANA news agency reported. It said Assad denounced
"attempts to destabilize Syria through armed terrorist operations targeting
civilians, policemen, army troops and security personnel." Assad's government
blamed the protests that began on March 15 on "armed terrorist gangs."Russia has
continued to support Assad despite the crackdown on protests that the United
Nations estimates to have killed around 2,600 people, and has been a bulwark
against any Security Council resolution condemning the regime.
Ilyas Umakhanov, deputy head of Russia's upper house of parliament, the
Federation Council, held discussions with Assad that were "open, trust-based and
substantial," Russia's Interfax news agency said."It confirmed that the
country's leadership understands that one can only overcome a political crisis
by uniting all the country's healthy political forces."
"We once again saw for ourselves that the country's leadership intends to firmly
move along the path of political reforms, create all the necessary conditions to
consolidate society and all the patriotic forces of the country," the Russian
senator was quoted as saying. The Russian delegation also is due to meet
parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash, and plans to visit the flashpoint town of
Daraa and opposition cities of Homs and Hama, according to Interfax. The Russian
delegation arrived on Saturday to try to initiate a dialogue between the
government and opposition. The opposition, meanwhile, called in Damascus on
Sunday for the continuation of popular protests to overthrow the "tyrannical"
regime.
Source Naharnet
Strong Quake Hits Northeast India and Nepal, 11 Dead
Naharnet /A
powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked northeastern India on Sunday, killing
at least 11 people, including five who died in tremors that rocked neighboring
Nepal.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit the small, landlocked Himalayan
state of Sikkim -- which borders Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet -- at around 6:10pm
(1240 GMT).
The epicenter was just over 60 kilometers northwest of the state capital Gangtok,
which was plunged into darkness by a power cut of about 20 seconds after the
quake.
"There is no electricity. Everybody is out on the road," Gangtok resident C.K.
Dahal told the CNN-IBN television news channel.
"We all ran out our houses, some even jumped out of their windows. You can see
some buildings that have developed cracks," Dahal added.
Sikkim Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso told the channel, "It was a massive
earthquake. We have alerted the armed forces and the paramilitary."
Powerful tremors were felt across a wide region, including Nepal, Bhutan,
Bangladesh and the eastern Indian cities of Guwahati and Kolkata, as well as the
Indian capital New Delhi.
In Nepal, police said that five people had been killed, including three when a
wall collapsed at the British Embassy compound in the capital Kathmandu, 270
kilometers west of the epicenter.
"Another two died in a separate incident in eastern Nepal," national police
spokesman Binod Singh told Agence France Presse.
A motorcyclist and his eight-year-old daughter who was riding with him were
struck and killed by the collapsing wall, Singh said, while another person whose
identity was unknown also died at the embassy.
There were reports of isolated building collapses in towns outside Gangtok,
while residents of the city said large cracks had appeared in some buildings.
Telephone land lines to Sikkim, India's least populous state, were knocked out
and mobile networks were swamped, making communication with the affected area
difficult.
Local journalist Prakash Adhikary cited Sikkim police officials as saying that
three people were killed in and around Gangtok.
One died and 25 were injured when an apartment building collapsed in the town of
Rangpo, 40 kilometers away, Adhikary told AFP.
Another man was killed in a mudslide on the outskirts of Gangtok, and a young
child died after being hit by falling debris.
Manish Sharma, a doctor attending a conference in Gangtok, told the NDTV news
channel that guests in his hotel had all run for the doors as soon as the first
tremors were felt.
"I am standing in front of the legislative assembly of Gangtok and I can see one
of the outer buildings ... the upper side is in two parts," Sharma said.
"I can see light coming out of that particular portion. It has not collapsed but
it is in two parts. One part has moved aside," he said.
"The police are trying to calm people down."
In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency meeting of the
National Disaster Management Authority, and Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth said
rescue teams were being flown in to Sikkim from neighboring states. "The teams
will land there in the night. Indian air force aircraft are also being sent with
relief supplies," Seth said.
Strong tremors were felt in Guwahati, the main city in neighboring Assam state,
some 600 kilometers away, sending panicked residents running into the streets.
"Our apartment block was literally swaying," said housewife Anamika Das. In
Kathmandu, traffic came to a standstill as hotels and bars were evacuated.
Hundreds of anxious tourists and residents waited for news in car parks and on
the streets as the seasonal monsoon rain lashed down.
In Bhutan, buildings in the capital Thimphu were also rocked. "Our wooden house
is safe. Jars fell in kitchen, books fell from shelf," Thimphu resident Aby
Tharakan, a media consultant, said in a message posted on the microblogging
website Twitter. India's seven northeastern states, joined to the rest of the
country by a narrow sliver of land, are located in an area of frequent seismic
activity.
Source Agence France Presse
Mansour: Draft Law on Expatriates’ Right to Vote to Be Referred to Cabinet
Naharnet/Foreign
Minister Adnan Mansour revealed on Saturday that a team has succeeded in
devising a draft law on granting expatriates the right to vote in parliamentary
elections.
He told Sawt al-Mada radio: “The file has been finalized and we will refer it to
cabinet in the next few days.”“We now have the exact number of expatriates in
each country and the number of registered Lebanese in Lebanese embassies
throughout the world,” he stressed. MP Marwan Hamadeh praised this step, deeming
it an accomplishment.
He told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Sunday: “This issue and the
possession of illegitimate arms are weighing down on any election in Lebanon.”
He added that the form of electoral law, whether based on proportional
representation or majority rules, won’t matter as long as these two issues are
not resolved.
“Failing to tackle them is a violation of the fundamental rules of election that
are adopted in any country in the world,” the MP declared.
Hizbullah Will Not Topple Govt. despite Dispute over STL Funding
Naharnet /The
dispute over the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will not lead the
government to propose its dissolution, prominent government sources told the
pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published on Sunday. Furthermore, they added
that this issue would not lead to the toppling of the government either seeing
as it was able to overcome other contentious matters, such as the electricity
file. They noted that the government will not be overthrown because of the STL
even if the majority of the political factions oppose the tribunal.
President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati may therefore not even
propose the issue of the funding before cabinet in order to avoid its rejection,
continued the sources.
They may instead issue a decree ordering Lebanon to pay its share of the STL
budget.
This decree would only need their approval and that of the Finance Minister,
revealed the sources. Circles supporting the funding asserted that it will take
place regardless of Hizbullah’s deep opposition to the tribunal. They noted
however that the party would not go so far in its opposition to actually topple
the government because “its main priority is to remain the most powerful voice
within cabinet.” “Should it overthrow the government, it may lose its last
chance to ever acquire a political majority in a new one,” added the sources.
“Furthermore, maintaining Miqati as head of government is better than having
someone else, like former PM Saad Hariri, take his place despite the differences
in opinion between the prime minister and Hizbullah,” they stated. Miqati had
said that he advocates the funding of the STL, while Hizbullah has repeatedly
stated that it will not cooperate with the court, which it has deemed an
America-Israeli product aimed at destroying the party.
Gemayel in Saudi to Meet Number of High-Ranking Officials
Naharnet/The head
of the Phalange Party Amin Gemayel traveled to Saudi Arabia on Saturday, in a
first visit of its kind by a Lebanese official since the failure of the
Saudi-Syrian initiative that was aimed at ending Lebanon’s political crisis in
2010, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday. Gemayel, who is accompanied by his
son MP Sami Gemayel, was invited to the Kingdom by Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon
Ali Awadh Asiri. They are expected to hold talks with Crown Prince Sultan bin
Abdul Aziz, if his health permits him, revealed Phalange Party sources to the
daily. They will also hold talks with Second Deputy Premier Prince Nayef bin
Abdul Aziz, the head of General Intelligence Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz,
Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdul
Aziz bin Abdullah, and a number of other high-ranking officials. The sources
added that the Saudi leadership may be taking important measures towards the
region, including Lebanon. They noted that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is
currently residing in the kingdom. “Gemayel enjoys good relations with the
kingdom and his visit will serve to bolster these ties,” they added. The
Phalange Party leader is expected to return to Lebanon on Wednesday.
Lebanese-French Summit in New York Next Week
Naharnet President
Michel Suleiman is expected to hold talks next week with his French counterpart
Nicolas Sarkozy during his trip to New York, revealed western diplomatic sources
to the daily al-Mustaqbal Sunday. They said that the talks will tackle Lebanon’s
obligation to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The talks will also address
the situation of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, as well as the
developments in Syria. Suleiman is expected to arrive in New York on Monday on
three-day visit where he will deliver speech at the U.N.’s 66th General Assembly
and later chair a U.N. Security Council session on September 21. His speech at
the Security Council will assert Lebanon’s position on the regional
developments, stress its adherence to the Arab peace initiative and importance
of the peace process in the region, the Central News Agency reported on
Saturday.
“The president will stress the importance of recognizing a Palestinian state and
Lebanon’s right to preserve its national natural resources and oil,”
high-ranking sources told the news agency.
Suleiman will stress, during his speech entitled “Preventive Diplomacy,” on the
importance of diplomacy to avoid conflicts, its role in preventing its
recurrence, and Lebanon’s experience in this field. The sources revealed that
the president is expected to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama, Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Qatari
Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani during his New York visit.He will also
hold talks with the heads of state of Slovenia and Serbia.
Israeli-Greek-Turkish air sea forces on guard for first Cypriot gas drilling
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 17, 2011,
Military
tension is building up among Greece, Turkey and Israel as Cyprus prepares to
start exploratory drilling for gas offshore Monday, Sept. 19 in the face of
threats from Ankara. All three have placed their air and sea forces in a state
of preparedness along with the Cypriot army.
From Wednesday, Sept 14, Turkish warplanes and fighters kept watch on the Homer
Ferrington rig belonging to Houston-based Noble Energy as it moved from Israel's
offshore field Noa opposite Ashdod to Cyprus's Aphrodite (Block 12) field ready
to start work.
It was the first time since the Mavis Marmara episode of May 2010 that Turkish
warships came less than 80 kilometers from Israel's territorial waters.
debkafile's military sources report that Israeli missile ships and drones kept
watch from afar on the Noble rig's movement and tracked Turkish surveillance.
As the rig moved into position opposite Cyprus, so too did two Turkish frigates.
A Cypriot spokesman said Turkish warships and fighters had not entered the
island's territorial waters.
Ankara questions the rights of Israel and Cyprus to drill for hydrocarbon
reserves in the respective Exclusive Economic Zones marked out in an accord they
concluded last year.
The UN-approved Law of the Sea authorizes nations to mark out their Exclusive
Economic Zones for the exploration of natural resources to a distance of 200
miles outside their territorial waters. Israel has never signed this treaty.
Thursday, Sept. 15, in Tunis, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan continued to
inveigh against Israel declaring: "They will see what our decisions will be on
this subject. Our navy attack ships can be there at any moment."
Without specifically mentioning Cyprus, he said: "Israel cannot do as it pleases
in the Mediterranean" and "Turkey is committed to preserving the freedom of
navigation in international waters."
Erdogan avoided linking Israel to the Turkish dispute with Greece and Greek
Cyprus but is obviously galled by the connection and its three manifestations.
1. Cyprus's Block 12 where drilling starts Monday borders on the huge Leviathan
field Israel is developing in the eastern Mediterranean, whose proven gas
reserves are calculated to be 8.5 trillion cubic feet. This would supply the
entire US economy's needs for a year.
2. Noble Energy of Houston has a license to drill in Cyrus's Aphrodite while the
Israeli company Delek which is developing the Israeli offshore gas fields also
has an option in the Cypriot field.
3. Greece and Israel concluded a mutual defense pact on Sept. 4, 2011. Ten days
later, Prime Ministers George Papandreou and Binyamin Netanyahu agreed to
activate the pact in the light of Turkish threats against Israel and to
exploration activity in the Mediterranean basin.
Israel and Greece have therefore begun to coordinate their fleet movements in
the eastern Mediterranean and around Cyprus.
Erdogan's threats were followed up this week by a Turkish Foreign Ministry
statement saying: “It has been agreed that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus will conclude a continental shelf delimitation agreement should
the Greek Cypriot administration proceed with offshore drilling activities in
the south of the island.”
Ankara's problem is that the Turkish Republic of Cyprus is not recognized by any
country but Turkey.
Washington has not only given Noble Energy a green light to start drilling off
Cyprus but backed it up with a State Department statement Thursday: "The US
supports the efforts to enhance energy diversity in Europe, noting the fact a US
company was involved was also positive."
Since last Tuesday, Sept. 13, Turkish troop reinforcements are reported by
debkafile's military sources as having landed in North Cyprus along with
drilling equipment.
These preparations indicate that Turkey is planning to start drilling in the
Cypriot EEZ without reference to Nicosia. This would mean that Prime Minister
Erdogan, while spouting high-sounding pledges to "preserve "freedom of
navigation in international waters," is preparing a wildcat breach of
international law and treaties. Friday, the Greek government in Athens warned
Ankara against pursuing this step.
However, it would be in keeping with his past defiance of international norms.
Even though Turkey accepted the UN Palmer commission's mediation in its dispute
with Israel over the flotilla escapade, Erdogan declared its findings "null and
void" –- after the panel ruled that Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip was
legal and justified.
Next Monday, therefore, many eyes will be alertly watching to see what happens
when the Noble rig starts drilling in Cyprus' Block 12 of the Mediterranean.
The Turkish prime minister has painted himself into a corner: If he orders his
naval and/or air units to strike the American rig, he will have to take the
consequences, possibly a confrontation with the US, Israel, Greece and Cyprus.
If he does nothing, or nothing more than a token drilling off the Turkish side
of the island, he will lose face as a leader able to back up his threats.
He could take a third course like other Muslim rulers and vent his ire on
Israel.
The guessing in Washington, NATO and Israel is that the most likely arena for a
potential clash of arms in the Mediterranean is offshore Cyprus and it is most
likely to evolve into sea and air confrontatons involving Turkey, Greece, Cyprus
and Israel.
Israeli Spy Confesses to Providing Israel with Mughniyeh’s Car Plate Number
Naharnet /Syrian state television broadcast on Saturday the confessions of an alleged
Israeli spy who conspired to assassinate top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh.
He confessed that Mughniyeh was murdered a day after he gave Israel his car
plate number.
The top Hizbullah official was assassinated in Damascus on February 13, 2008.
The alleged Israeli spy Iyad Youssef Naim told the Syrian TV that he headed to
Damascus twice, on Israeli orders, to locate any assembly of a political or
international organization, but he wasn’t able to reach any valuable
information.
However, the Israeli side that he was in contact with urged him to pursue the
issue and head to Damascus again, providing him with a street address. “But I
didn’t find any political gathering,” Naim told the state television.
“They meant (by political gathering) any center for Hamas, Hizbullah, or any
other non-Syrian assembly,” the spy explained.
He confessed that he “saw a man holding a newspaper on the street and two other
people in a Korean car… but they contacted me again to check if there was any
(Mitsubishi) Pajero car on the site.”
Naim was born in 1976 and is a Palestinian – Jordanian national.
“I saw the car entering the street along with a Mercedes, so I gave them the
Pajero plate number… and headed back to Latakia,” the spy said.
He confirmed that his espionage mission took place on February 12, 2008, and he
knew the next day that Mughniyeh was assassinated in the same car he had seen a
day earlier.
Asked about the nature of the information that Israel wanted to obtain, he noted
that it was related “to Latakia city and its demographic issues like the
residents’ sects and if there were any churches in the area, as well as issues
related to Tartus and Latakia ports, ships numbers and most importantly the
containers and the capacity of the port,” Naim added.
He pointed out that he was forbidden from drinking alcohol, contacting women,
and conducting any long conversations.
He as was also ordered to avoid contact with anyone working in a security
institution.
Mughniyeh, linked to the kidnappings of western hostages in the 1980s, was
killed in a car bomb in Damascus in February 2008.
Hizbullah had repeatedly accused Israel of being behind his murder.
Jumblat Meets Sarkozy’s Advisors in France
Naharnet /Newsdesk 9 hours agoProgressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid
Jumblat held a series of meetings in Paris with a number of French officials on
the situation in Lebanon and the region, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on
Sunday. His held talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s diplomatic
advisor, Jean-David Levitte, his advisor for Middle East affairs, Nicolas Gallet,
and ambassador Patrice Paoli. The MP traveled to France on Wednesday on a
private visit.
Israeli Spy Confesses to Providing Israel with Mughniyeh’s Car Plate Number
Naharnet /oSyrian state television broadcast on Saturday the confessions of an
alleged Israeli spy who conspired to assassinate top Hizbullah commander Imad
Mughniyeh.
He confessed that Mughniyeh was murdered a day after he gave Israel his car
plate number.
The top Hizbullah official was assassinated in Damascus on February 13, 2008.
The alleged Israeli spy Iyad Youssef Naim told the Syrian TV that he headed to
Damascus twice, on Israeli orders, to locate any assembly of a political or
international organization, but he wasn’t able to reach any valuable
information.
However, the Israeli side that he was in contact with urged him to pursue the
issue and head to Damascus again, providing him with a street address. “But I
didn’t find any political gathering,” Naim told the state television.
“They meant (by political gathering) any center for Hamas, Hizbullah, or any
other non-Syrian assembly,” the spy explained.
He confessed that he “saw a man holding a newspaper on the street and two other
people in a Korean car… but they contacted me again to check if there was any
(Mitsubishi) Pajero car on the site.”
Naim was born in 1976 and is a Palestinian – Jordanian national.
“I saw the car entering the street along with a Mercedes, so I gave them the
Pajero plate number… and headed back to Latakia,” the spy said.
He confirmed that his espionage mission took place on February 12, 2008, and he
knew the next day that Mughniyeh was assassinated in the same car he had seen a
day earlier.
Asked about the nature of the information that Israel wanted to obtain, he noted
that it was related “to Latakia city and its demographic issues like the
residents’ sects and if there were any churches in the area, as well as issues
related to Tartus and Latakia ports, ships numbers and most importantly the
containers and the capacity of the port,” Naim added.
He pointed out that he was forbidden from drinking alcohol, contacting women,
and conducting any long conversations.
He as was also ordered to avoid contact with anyone working in a security
institution.
Mughniyeh, linked to the kidnappings of western hostages in the 1980s, was
killed in a car bomb in Damascus in February 2008.
Hizbullah had repeatedly accused Israel of being behind his murder.